Ecology of a master motif: cattle raiding in late medieval Spain in light of cross-cultural evidence

• Michael McGlynn ^[1]
  1. [1] National Taiwan University

     National Taiwan University

     Taiwán

     
• Localización: Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies, ISSN 1463-6204, ISSN-e 1469-9818, Vol. 19, Nº. 1, 2018, págs. 1-21
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Cattle raiding as a motif figures prominently in early Castilian literature. The author attempts to explain why by describing cattle raiding as symbol and practice. Cattle raiding is a master motif in early literature from Greek myth to the Bible to medieval European epic to the early literature of Mexico. It is also a practice associated with certain economic, ideological and ecological conditions, not the least of which are scarcity, a political border and arid zones. Information about cattle raiding in Castile is found in legal documents (fueros), historical chronicles and in the poetic record.