Resumen de "Amor de Artur" (1982), by Méndez Ferrín: a short story crosses many boundaries with the help of translation
Juan Miguel Zarandona Fernández
It is a well known fact that the matter of Britain or Arthurian literature has not only been a powerful mythical source of inspiration for poets and all kinds of artists in the early or late Middle Ages, but for those writing and producing since the late 19th century onwards, thanks mainly to the leading figures of Alfred Lord Tennyson and Richard Wagner. Besides, Arthuriana has now invaded all new popular genres and formats, from cinema and comic strips to the Internet, and all languages and cultures: Those belonging to the Iberian Peninsula as well. The short story “Amor de Artur” (1982), for example by the Galician writer Xosé Luís Méndez Ferrín, half narrative fiction, half mythical epic poem, can easily be regarded as a top landmark of the 20th century Spanish Arthurian letters. The plot, contents, and characterization imply an original interpretation and a major breakaway from the canonical Arthurian tradition, old and modern, and its boundaries. And it is only a short story. But “Amor de Artur” has also broken other boundaries: the boundaries of source text, readership, language and culture. In other words, it has been translated into Spanish (1990), into Catalan (1988), and into English (1996). The other Latin languages of Spain, which is very unusual, and the favourite world language for contemporary Arthurian literature: English, a close preserve, which is even more unusual.
