MANUEL Prince Juan El Conde Lucanor Compuesto por el excelentissimo principe don Juan Manuel, hijo del Infante don Manuel, y nieto del dancto rey don Fernando. Dirigido por Gonçalo de Argote y de Molina…

Palau, V, 43; Salva, 1885; Heredia 2626 ; Maggs, Spanish Books, 562 (“excessively rare first edition”).

Editio princeps, extremely rare, of one of the most important PIECES of Spanish literature. one of the earliest works of prose in Castilian Spanish.

The “infante” don Juan Manuel lived in Spain from 1282 to 1348. He was highborn as the son of Don Fernando who was the brother of Alfonso X the Wise, king of the Kingdom of Castille, who in his lifetime gathered books and knowledge from the Arab world and had them translated into Castillian.

El Conde Lucanor comprises 51 stories collected or written by Don Juan Manuel. It was a masterpiece that influenced many European writers in the following centuries. His motive was to give knowledge to the laymen, and to teach young noblemen how to defend their high rank in the society into which they were born.

A great deal of his stories derived from stories from the Arab countries or from countries even further away like India. Important sources were “A Thousand and One Nights“, “Barlaam and Josefat“, “Disciplina Clericalis“, “Calila and Dimna“, “Panchatantra“, and “Sinbad“.

Don Juan Manuel wrote in the Romance or Castillian language, not in Latin as most writers before him. His uncle, King Alfonso X the Wise had dedicated his life, before and during his reign, to culture and had had almost everything written in the Arab countries translated into Romance, a language developed and established by the king himself. The subjects were law, history, science, literature, astrology, medicine, and games like chess and dice. All knowledge was important to him.

Don Juan’s book deals with nobility, ordinary people, clerics, rogues, historical people, philosophers, moors, the entire social stratification of his time.

His book is of great novelistic value. It was among the first in the Romance language, it was written in a clear and concise style with the fewest words possible. Don Juan Manuel was very conscious of his language. His book may also be credited for being the first book written as stories to entertain.

William Shakespeare’s “The Taming Of The Shrew” testifies to influence from our Spanish writer’s story, “What Happened To The Lad Who Married A Girl With A Very Bad Character“.  A translation of the story, by Mr. F. W. Cosens, was separately printed a short time since, and was copied into the Athæneum of June 29, 1867, with some preliminary remarks calling attention to its remarkable resemblance in general idea to the “Taming of the Shrew” — a resemblance which Ticknor was the first to point out in 1848 (“History of Spanish Literature,” vol. i. p. 66), and which had escaped the notice of all the Shakespearian editors and commentators. As El Conde Lucanor was published in 1575, it is, of course, possible that Shakespeare may have seen the book, or, if not, that he may have heard the story from one of the wits and poets of Elizabeth’s court.

Another writer inspired by Don Juan Manuel is Miguel de Cervantes in his interlude “The Alterpiece Of Wonders“.

Jean de la Fontaine let himself be inspired to his fable, “The Raven And The Fox” by the story, “What Happened To A Fox With A Raven Which Had A Piece Of Cheese In His Beak“. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing was inspired by the same story.

A very fine copy of this extremely rare and important book.