Tratado en defensa de vir­tuosas mugeres

Diego de Valera (1412–1482) com­posed this treatise in and for the court of Queen María of Aragón (1403–1445), Queen of Castile and León and wife of John II of Castile and León (1405–1454). The final addressee is Queen Maria, but the second person to whom Valera addresses the text is a friend, maybe the same imag­inary friend to whom he addresses some of his letters and other treatises.

Glosses

The man­u­script has been pre­pared to receive glosses, although there are some pages with no glosses (Ø). This man­u­script has a total of 61 glosses of which 34 con­stitute microbiographies.

1r = Ø; 1v = 1 (Delete); 2r = 1 (Ia sea mi tratado de tan sinple materia); 2v = 3 (prenaso; pegasea fuente; febica lira); 3r = 1 (cantos musanos); 3v, 4r, 4v = Ø; 5r = 2 (no querays ser fecho como el cauallo y el mulo; señalada es la luz del tu bulto); 5v = 2 (Ca no es ella poderosa; Que las vir­tudes); 6r = 5 (Ata­lante; Camila; Claudia Vestal; Minerba; Marçia); [ref­er­ences pile up on folio 6v and glosses do not fit in this folio alone, so they con­tinue referring to this folio until fol. 9r] 6v: 4 (Clodia romana; Erifola Sebila; Armonia; Inter­title between these glosses and those that follow: “Delas castas”; Lucreçia); 7r = 4 (Penelope; Porçia; Iulia; Cor­nelia); 7v = 4 (Antonia; Tamaris; Arte­missa; Argia); 8r = 5 (Supliçia; Ipol[it]a; La muger del rrey amete de Tesalia; Las mugeres delos tudescos; Las nobles dueñas yndianas); 8v = 5 (El fecho de las nobles mugeres delos demenja; Intertítulo entre glosas: “Delas judias”; Sarra; Cipora; Debora; Ester); 9r = 7 (Tamar; Marian; La madre de sanson; Elisabet; Ana; [ref­er­ences on fol. 7r]; Rabeca; Rachel); 9v = 2 (Remem­brare yo aqui debe de contar muchas castas y sanctas vír­genes…; Honze mill vir­gines); [Ref­erence on fol. 7v]; 10r = 1 (Qual de las leyes); Ref­erence on fol. 8r; 10v = 4 (Prouidençia; Fortuna; Fados; [Ref­erence on fol. 8v] Canadas ondas delete); [ref­erence on fol. 9r] 11r = 1 (Que tentada no sea); [Ref­erence on fol. 11r] 11v = 3 (exordio; [ref­erence on fol. 11v] paresçe [≠ ser]; el filosofo); 12r, 12v = Ø; 13r = 2 (Del tu libro mayor [Ovidius]; Declaras mugeres [Boc­caccio]); 13v = 3 (Pues quando yo bien pienso; O pasión; Pero ya quanta); 14 r = Ø; 14v = 1 (Inf­fançia).

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