From the Defence of Peace to the Good Ruler: The Prologue of Bernardo de Vargas’s Cirongilio de Tracia (1545)

Abstract

This article analyzes the prologue of Cirongilio de Tracia, a chivalric romance written in 1545 by Bernardo de Vargas, to verify its connection with its historical-cultural reality. The paratext of Cirongilio highlights two main ideas: the author’s pacifist vision, which advocates for the safeguarding of the peace of the republic, whenever it was possible; and the idea of the good ruler who will know how to govern their states with wisdom in order to lead them to that state of peace and prosperity that will benefit the kingdom. On the other hand, the figure of the good ruler connects the recipient of the book, don Diego López Pacheco, with the protagonist, Cirongilio, showing a propagandistic exaltation of the nobleman and his family.