This collection of essays analyses the publication and reception history
of sixteenth-century Iberian books of chivalry in English translation. A
comprehensive introduction explains the subject, its importance for the
study of early modern fiction writing in general, and the state of
Anglo-Spanish literary relations at the time. Contributors consider the
impact of Iberian chivalric writing on other contemporary genres - such
as native English romance, letter-writing, and chronicle - and explore
the influence of translations in English prose fiction from the 1590s to
the mid-seventeenth century.
The volume delves into the role of predominant translator Anthony Munday
in the literary book market, approaching some of his most representative
translations - Amadis, Palmendos, Primaleon of Greece, and
Palmerin of England - and examining the contribution of these works to
early modern cultural debates on sexuality, marriage, female
individualism, colonialism, and religious controversy.