Article
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Canary Islands in Andean brushes: insular fantasies in the pictorial cycle of Saint Didacus of Alcalá, 1705-1715 (Colonial Museum of Santiago, Chile)
Antonio MARRERO ALBERTO
Original title: Canarias en pinceles andinos: fantasías insulares en el ciclo pictórico de San Diego de Alcalá, 1705-1715 (Museo Colonial de Santiago de Chile)
Published in Languages and Cultures in Tradition
This research examines seven paintings from the Dieguine cycle preserved at the Colonial Museum of Santiago de Chile, attributed to the circle of the Nolasco and Lucas García (1705–1715). It focuses on the representation of the saint’s stay on the island of Fuerteventura, constructing a visual imaginary of the Canary Islands from the perspective of Andean viceregal workshops. Through iconographic and iconological analysis, the study reveals idealized landscapes, fictitious architectures, symbolic elements, and aboriginal figures reinterpreted according to European and American models. Rather than seeking ethnographic or geographic accuracy, these images contribute to the creation of an “insular fantasy” that redefines the Canary Islands as a strategic enclave between Europe and the Americas.
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Echoes of “Perceval ou le Conte du Graal” (c. 1182-1190) by Chrétien de Troyes in the work of Rubén Darío (1867-1916)
Antonia Javiera CABRERA MUÑOZ
Original title: Ecos de “Perceval ou le Conte du Graal” (c. 1182-1190) de Chrétien de Troyes en la obra de Rubén Darío (1867-1916)
Published in Languages and Cultures in Tradition
Throughout history, the myth of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table has been conceived as a model, an ideal of human action. They are the model of perfect conduct that transcends time: we first hear of this myth in Chrétien de Troyes, in the 12th century, in the unfinished work “Perceval ou le Conte du Graal” (c.1182-1190), translated into Spanish by Martín de Riquer as “Perceval o el Cuento del Grial” (1961). In Spanish-American literature, the Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío (1867-1916) published several works in which the medieval is present in poetry and prose, such as in the short story “A las orillas del Rhin”, published in serial form in the magazine “El Porvenir” de Nicaragua on 14 July 1885. In poetry, we have more references to medieval characters, such as “Percival and Lohengrin”. In Troyes’ version, Percival admits his mistakes and returns to complete his quest for the Holy Grail. In Darío, similarly, we have an erratic Percival, characterised as “el loco luminoso” (“the luminous madman”), which leads us to believe that there is a possible intertextual relationship between these works. We ask ourselves: what is the influence of this archetypal character in Darío’s poetry, which, like Troyes, portrays him as a buffoon or a clumsy character according to Mircea Eliade’s reading (1938), and which may have possible connections with the character of “Don Quixote”, the Knight of the Sad Countenance? The aim is to bring the myth closer to the literature of the two authors in question, based on the notion of myth as a human archetype.
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The human being as a speaking being. Heidegger’s appropriation of Aristotle’s distinction on the fundamental modes of λόγον ἔχον (having language)
Bento Silva SANTOS
Original title: O ser humano como um ente que fala. A apropriação heideggeriana da distinção de Aristóteles sobre os modos fundamentais do λόγον ἔχον (ter a linguagem)
Published in Languages and Cultures in Tradition
The article deals with Heidegger’s appropriation of Aristotle’s distinction of the fundamental modes of λόγον ἔχον (“having language”), as outlined by the Stagirite in Book VI, Chapter 2 of “Nicomachean Ethics”. In this sense, I emphasize, firstly, an aspect of the “scientific” part of the soul regarding the genesis of wisdom; secondly, I stress the importance of the distinction between wisdom and technique in relation to the growing epistemological autonomy of technique; thirdly, I comment on the difference in levels of understanding between experience and technique. Finally, I conclude with reflections on the increasingly autonomous character of saying within doing, based on a brief comparison of technique and science.
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The Persistence of the Classical Ideal in the Portuense Works of Ángel Acosta Martín: Academicism and Tradition in 20th-Century Canarian Sculpture
Clementina CALERO RUIZ; Domingo SOLA ANTEQUERA
Original title: La pervivencia del ideal clásico en la obra portuense de Ángel Acosta Martín (1922-2015): academicismo y tradición en la imaginería canaria del siglo XX
Published in Languages and Cultures in Tradition
Our article revolves around the image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the sculptor Ángel Acosta Martín. Based on the study of the statue, we have been able to confirm the decisive role that his academic training played in his search for inspiration. On one hand, his knowledge of classical Greek sculpture provided him with the models, on the other hand, the contemplation of works by 18th-century Canary Islands artists allowed him to demonstrate to what extent those “ancient” models could be brought up to date under a new appearance.
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The Decline of Style as a Decline of the Soul in the Stoic Philosophy of Seneca the Younger (4 BC-65 AD)
Júlia BUTIÑYÀ I JIMÉNEZ; Ricardo da COSTA
Original title: A Decadência do Estilo como Decadência da Alma na Filosofia Estoica de Sêneca, o Jovem (4 a.C.-65 d.C.)
Published in The rise and fall of Western tradition
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What are the symptoms of a Culture’s decline? What are the reasons for a Civilization’s downfall? In the Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium of the philosopher Seneca the Younger (4 BC - 65 AD), there are letters (n. 114, 115) in which the Stoic master relates the decline of style to the decline of the soul, the main theme of this article.
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Augustine in the Shadow of Virgil: Augustine’s Reception of the Fourth Eclogue
Fábio Frohwein de Salles MONIZ; Israel Matheus Siqueira SANTOS
Original title: Agostinho à sombra de Virgílio: a recepção agostiniana da Quarta Bucólica
Published in The rise and fall of Western tradition
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This article examines Augustine’s reception of Virgil’s Fourth Eclogue as a privileged case study for understanding the bishop of Hippo’s relationship with his pagan past and classical education. The poem’s eschatological imagery, the figure of the puer, and the promise of a renewed age made it one of the most readily Christianized texts in late antiquity. Within the framework of Classical Reception Studies, reception is understood not as passive transmission but as an active process of reconfiguration, through which ancient texts acquire new meanings in new historical contexts. Against that background, Augustine’s five references to the Fourth Eclogue, scattered across commentaries, letters, and The City of God, show a selective and strategic use of Virgil in apologetic contexts. Rather than treating the poem as a complete Christian allegory, Augustine mobilizes its language to mediate between Roman literary culture and Christian truth. The article argues that this reading reveals not only Augustine’s nuanced engagement with Virgil, but also the broader formation of a Christian Romanitas in Late Antiquity.
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The apogee of Minnesang lyric poetry in the Western Tradition: Walther von der Vogelweide (1170-1230)
Beatriz Passamai PEREIRA
Original title: O apogeu da lírica do Minnesang na Tradição Ocidental: Walther von der Vogelweide (1170-1230)
Published in The rise and fall of Western tradition
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This article presents one of the most notorious medieval troubadours, the quintessential Minnesänger, Walther von der Vogelweide, as well as a brief overview of the German-speaking troubadour movement, the Minnesang. Based on accounts from several authors and observations of songs by this troubadour, we aim to familiarize the reader with the lyric poetry of this period, highlighting its relevance, as it undoubtedly constituted the apogee of the medieval literary tradition in the West, a landmark for an entire civilization.
