"Sixty years before a gaunt and deluded nobleman from La Mancha was overdosing on tales of derring-do, visiting his madness on those around him and single-handedly rewriting the rules of fiction the deeds of another heroic knight had already made literary history. Though completely eclipsed by Don Quixote, Cristalian de Espana, which was first published in 1545, has a unique claim to fame. Its 800 pages, bristling with swords, sorcerers, dragons and damsels, make up the earliest known work by a female Spanish novelist."
"But while Miguel de Cervantes and his fatal skewering of chivalric romance have long permeated western culture, the life and work of Beatriz Bernal have been largely relegated to the sphere of academic research. A new, illustrated adaptation of her novel, called Las aventuras del caballero Cristalian (The Adventures of Cristalian the Knight), aims to redress the balance and introduce Bernal's work to younger readers."
Cristalian de Espana, first published in 1545, is an 800-page chivalric romance filled with swords, sorcerers, dragons and damsels. The novel represents the earliest known long-form work by a Spanish woman. Beatriz Bernal, born to a well-to-do northern Spanish family in the early 16th century, published Cristalian in her early forties. The first edition did not bear her name and was credited to a noble and native lady of the most loyal town of Valladolid; a 1587 second edition posthumously identified Bernal. Bernal's knight was namechecked by Luis de Gongora. A contemporary illustrated adaptation by Diego Arboleda aims to introduce Cristalian to younger readers and broaden Bernal's readership.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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