Esta obra de Perez de Guzman es una coleccion de biografias breves de personajes de la politica de la Espana de su epoca. Su estilo, vivaz y apasionado, se fundo en la observacion personal y la veracidad opuesta al estilo laudatorio de otros autores.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

This Book Is In Spanish. Due to the very old age and scarcity of this book, many of the pages may be hard to read due to the blurring of the original text.

This Book Is In Spanish. Due to the very old age and scarcity of this book, many of the pages may be hard to read due to the blurring of the original text.

A traves de la genealogia de reyes, nobles y prelados, Perez de Guzman transmite en esta obra la ideologia fundamentada en la estructura feudal estamentaria. En el prologo hace una reflexion sobre el papel que debe desempenar el historiador, por este motivo ha sido considerado como el primer tratado castellano de la historia.

Medieval Texts in Translation Series Pen Portraits of Illustrious Castilians is the first English translation of Generaciones y Semblanzas, a compilation of thirty-four biographical sketches of the most illustrious Castilians of the mid-fifteenth century. These include three kings, a queen, and thirty nobles, prelates, and scholars who represented the most prominent families of the day. Notably, this is the first collection of biographies in Spanish historiography to be published. The text was written in Spanish in 1450 by Fernan Perez de Guzman, an historian, moralist, politician, and poet whose personal contact with the most powerful nobles of the time provided him with the material for these intimate and revealing portraits. Through insightful commentary on his subjects' family background, personality traits, outstanding deeds, virtues, and vices, the author brings to the reader vivid portraits of some of the most important players in Castilian history. Within the portraits, occasional digressions provide the author with the opportunity to present his own personal beliefs on such timely issues as the situation of Jewish convers in Castilla, the greed and self-serving motives of many of his contemporaries, and the role played by Divine Providence in shaping the history of his country. Perez's introduction appears to be the first treatise written in Spanish on the nature of history and on the duties and responsibilities of those recording it. The translators have succeeded in maintaining certain stylistic characteristics of fifteenth-century Spanish without sacrificing readability. Their introduction and notes provide useful background information, as do the map and genealogical table.