Editing Amadís de Gaula (section)

==Literary significance==
Called also ''Amadís sin tiempo'' (Amadis without Time) by his mother (in allusion to the fact that being conceived outside marriage she would have to [[child abandonment|abandon]] him and he would probably die), he is the most representative [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberian]] hero of [[chivalric romance]]. His adventures ran to four volumes, probably the most popular such tales of their time. [[François de la Noue]], one of the Huguenot captains of the 16th century, affirmed that reading the romances of Amadis had caused a "spirit of vertigo"<ref>"Un espirit de vertige"; noted in [[Johan Huizinga]], ''[[The Autumn of the Middle Ages|The Waning of the Middle Ages]]'' (1919) 1924:68.</ref> even in his more rationally-minded generation. The books show a complete idealization and simplification of knight-errantry. Even servants are hardly heard of, but there are many princesses, ladies and kings. Knights and [[damsel in distress|damsels in distress]] are found everywhere. The book's style is reasonably modern, but lacks dialogue and the character's impressions, mostly describing the action.

The book's [[literary genre|style]] was praised by the usually demanding [[Juan de Valdés]], although he considered that from time to time it was too low or too high a style. The language is characterized by a certain "Latinizing" influence in its [[syntax]], especially the tendency to place the [[verb]] at the end of the [[Sentence (linguistics)|sentence]]; as well as other such details, such as the use of the [[present participle]], which bring ''Amadís'' into line with the [[allegory|allegorical]] style of the 15th century.

Nevertheless, there is a breach of style when Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo presents the fourth book. It becomes dull and solemn, reflecting the nature of the intruding writer. The first three books are inspired in deeds and feats by knights-errant, dating back to the 13th century, while the fourth book emerges as a less brilliant attachment of the 15th century. The pristine style of ''Amadís'' can be perceived in the few original famous pages analyzed by Antonio Rodríguez Moñino: It is lively and straight to the facts of war and love, with brief dialogs, all quite elegant and amusing. ''Amadís of Gaula'' is frequently referenced in the humorous classic ''Don Quixote'', written by Miguel de Cervantes in the early 17th century. The character Don Quixote idolizes Amadís and tries to imitate him.

Historically, ''Amadís'' was very influential amongst the Spanish [[conquistador]]es. [[Bernal Díaz del Castillo]] mentioned the wonders of ''Amadís'' when he marveled at his first sight of [[Tenochtitlan]] (modern Mexico City)<ref>"These great towns and pyramids and buildings arising from the water, all made of stone, seemed like an enchanted vision from the tale of Amadis. Indeed, some of our soldiers asked whether it was not all a dream." Quoted in [https://books.google.com/books?id=-wY5FQBSH7UC Alan Taylor, ''American Colonies: The Settling of North America'' (2001)], p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=-wY5FQBSH7UC&q=%22These%20great%20towns%20and%20pyramids%20and%20buildings%20arising%20from%20the%20water,%20all%20made%20of%20stone,%20seemed%20like%20an%20enchanted%20vision%20from%20the%20tale%20of%20Amadis.%20Indeed,%20some%20of%20our%20soldiers%20asked%20whether%20it%20was%20not%20all%20a%20dream.%22&pg=PA53 53].</ref> – and such place names as [[Origin of the name California|California]] come directly from the work.

The English literary historian [[Helen Moore (literary scholar)|Helen Moore]] in her 2020 book ''Amadis in English: A Study in the Reading of Romance'' suggested the book has been popular over the centuries because:
{{quote|it is essentially ... a good story: plenty of plot, numerous characters through whom readers can experiment …  with what I call imaginative "transforms of the self," and highly-elaborated familial, erotic and political relationships. Amadis himself …  successively plays the roles of righter-of-wrongs, melancholy lover and poet, and ruler of a new world. There are exotic and magical locations, and an expansive willingness to embrace in literary form the issues of its day, many of which are themes of continuing human fascination such as the boundaries (or not) of individual autonomy, the ideal forms of human society, and the relationship between the human and the material worlds.<ref>[https://www.ccc.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2022-01/p12444_sundial_issue15_web.pdf?bblinkid=257867921&bbemailid=37896305&bbejrid=-2045108086 Corpus Christi College (Oxford) magazine ''Sundial'', Jan. 2022, at pp. 10-11]</ref>.}}

The British writer [[C.S. Lewis]] said that ''Amadis'' was among his "own favourite reading" and that he had an "early & lasting love of Oriana."<ref>C.S. Lewis, ''The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 2''. HarperOne. 2004. pp. 562, 563.</ref>