Commentary: |
Snow 2007rn"This biography reads like a novel with intertwined threads, unlike the more documented and authoritative study of Ballesteros Beretta (1963; 19842). It is almost exclusively politics-based, centered largely on Alfonso's 20-year quest of the Imperial crown. Alfonso's cultural accomplishments would be hard to assume from this account, although a few of the Cantigas with historical material are briefly touched upon: 122 and 256 (pp. 51-3); 292 (125); 377 (135); 235 (295-6), and a minor mention of its figuring in his last will and testament (341)." |