On Manuscripts, Prints and Blessed Transformations: Caterina da Siena’s <i>Legenda maior</i> as a Model of Sainthood in Premodern Castile

• Main Author: Pablo Acosta-García
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-01-01
• Series: Religions
• Subjects: catherine of siena; raymond of capua; cardinal cisneros; maría de santo domingo; <i>legenda maior</i>
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/11/1/33

In this article, I analyze the translation commissioned in 1511 by Cardinal Francisco Xim&#233;nez Cisneros of the <i>Life of Catherine of Siena</i> by Raimundo da Capua, which includes the <i>legendae</i> of Giovanna (also known as Vanna) da Orvieto and Margherita da Citt&#224; di Castello in the light of its translation, commission, and reception in premodern Castile. In the first place, I clarify the medieval transformations of Caterina&#8217;s text by discussing the main branches of her manuscript tradition and explaining the specificities of the editions authorized by Cisneros in order to know what exactly was printed. In the second place, I put these specificities into the courtly, prophetic context in which those books were published. Finally, I analyze the reception of these editions in the Iberian Peninsula, especially in relation to the figure of Mar&#237;a de Santo Domingo, the famous Dominican tertiary.