The Knight-Errant Journey. Maps and Itineraries in Amadís de Gaula

Abstract

The knight is errant par excellence. Because of this, he is a traveler of real and fictitious geographies. In this way chivalric books intertwine with travel literature. In regard to this genre, we might think that geography depends on the realm of the fantastic; yet this paper aims to explore the places visited by the main character of the Cuatro libros de Amadís de Gaula, in order to know whether there is a symbolic geography that reveals a more realistic context. Thus, a series of specifications in the description of space would allow the correspondence between the literary world and the reader’s cultural imaginary, which would imply that Rodríguez de Montalvo knew this and managed to start one of the most popular literary genres in the XIVth century.