Competition and Conflict: Ludic Structures and Strategies in Late Medieval Iberian Romance

Abstract

The current dissertation analyzes the ludic foundations of the conflictive moments found within Juan Rodríguez del Padrón's Siervo libre de amor, Juan de Flores' Grimalte y Gradissa, Diego de San Pedro's Cárcel de amor, and Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo's Amadís de Gaula. Building on the notion that there is a special reciprocal bond between the concepts of conflict and play, I assert that this binary phenomenon forms the foundation of the Sentimental and Chivalric sub-genres of late medieval Iberia, thus requiring a reclassification of the works under a ludic fiction category. My analysis draws from multiple twentieth and twenty-first century theories on conflict and play in order to analyze plot creation, character motivation and interaction, as well as authorial messaging. My approach attempts to situate the works not only in recent debates about the boundaries and limitations of both sub-genres, but also within the socio-cultural framework of late fifteenth-century Iberia.