Amadís de Gaula: Brief SUMMARY

Amadís de Gaulais a medieval literary work in Spanish and has been considered as one of the most famous books of chivalry. This type of literature was widely accepted during the 16th century in the Iberian Peninsula. The original story dates from the 13th or 14th century and its authorship is quite disputed, since it is not known exactly who wrote it and at what time.

In this lesson of a PROFESSOR we want to make you a brief summary of Amadís de Gaula, one of the most important works of Spanish literature.

We begin this summary of Amadís de Gaula. The work begins with an account of the passionate and forbidden love between King Perion of Gaula and Princess Elisena of Brittany, which gave rise to the birth of a bastard child, that he was abandoned in a boat. This boy, named Amadís, was raised by a Gandales gentleman and at a certain age began to investigate about his origins, leaving home in search of fantastic adventures to meet his true his family.

The boy is protected by the sorceress called The Unknown, because he never appears with the same face or with the same appearance. However, the poor boy is chased by the magician Arcaláus, who is a charmer. Amadis' adventure begins when he is able to cross the enchanted arch of the loyal lovers in the middle of the Island called Firm. There too

defeat the monster Endriago and he meets his brother Galaor, who knights him without recognizing each other.

The Amadís' beloved is Oriana daughter of King Lisuarte of Great Britain. However, Lisuarte, advised by a greedy advisor, kicks Amadis out of his side, trying to marry Oriana to his worst enemy. But, the protagonist does not give up, so he rescues her beloved from the hands of her father and takes her to the Ínsula Firme.

Lisuarte then, full of anger, declares war on Amadis, accompanied by Galaor, Amadis' worst enemy and who also wants to marry Oriana. After several battles, Galaor challenges Amadis to single combat and the protagonist kills him. However, Amadis is challenged again by another king's assistant, but this time she dies in combat.

Oriana, who watches the battle from the window, seeing the death of Amadis, he jumps out of the window and dies. The witch appears and reveals the truth about her kinship to the king.

However, there is another version of the work by Amadís de Gaula in which the end of the characters is completely different. in this version Lisuarte and Amadis do peace and no one dies. To finish this version, the author decided that King Listarte was getting sick and that Amadis was in charge of replacing him by dedicating himself to governing.

The work also recounts the exploits of other valorous knights Related to Amadís, such as his brother Galaor, his half-brother Florestán and his cousin Agrajes from Scotland.

Now that you have been able to read a summary of Amadís de Gaula, we are going to frame it in the literary context that was created: the chivalric novels. It is a literary genre that developed in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in Europe. These works narrate the adventures and exploits of brave and noble knights, who fight to defend justice and honor, and to win the love of a lady.

The the importance of Amadís de Gaulalies in several aspects:

• On one hand, it is one of the first novels of chivalry in Spanish, which makes it a milestone in Spanish literature. In addition, its influence on subsequent literature is enormous, both in Spain and in other countries in Europe and America. The novel became a reference for the authors of chivalrous literature and laid the foundations of the genre as it is known today.
• On the other hand, another important aspect of Amadís de Gaula is his ability to transmit values ​​and morals from the time it was written. The work reflects the importance given in the Middle Ages to nobility, honor and loyalty, and shows how these values ​​could be applied in everyday life. Finally, the novel is also important from a linguistic point of view, since it contributed to the development and consolidation of the Spanish language.

Due to the rise of this type of novel, Cervantes published his emblematic work and in unProfesor we have left a complete analysis of Don Quixote de la Mancha so that

Amadís de Gaula It is a masterpiece in Spanish literature, but he has a little difficult language, which makes reading slower. That is why it is important that, before preparing to read this work, you choose a quiet moment and are ready to go step by step, without rushing. However, we leave you with a fragment of Amadís de Gaula so you can see what we mean.

"At a time when the world was full of wonders and men were brave and noble, there lived in the city of Gaula a knight named Amadis. He was a tall handsome man with long blond hair and sky blue eyes. From a very young age he displayed great skill in sword fighting and a bravery that made him stand out from the rest.

One day, Amadis found out that the beautiful princess Oriana was a prisoner in an enchanted tower, guarded by a terrible dragon. He then decided to embark on a dangerous adventure to rescue her from her. After facing numerous dangers and challenges, he finally managed to defeat the dragon and free the princess.

From that moment on, Amadis became the most famous of all knights, and his name spread throughout the known world. Many other knights went on their own adventures, inspired by Amadis' bravery and example."

Now you know the summary of the work of Amadís de Gaula and you know a little about the books of chivalry, so present at a time in our country. If you want to continue learning more about Spanish literature and discover more relevant works, do not hesitate to consult our reading section.