SOURCE: Zahareas, Anthony N. “Art and Theme: The Commentary on Love.” In The Art of Juan Ruiz, Archpriest of Hita, pp. 179-206. Madrid, Spain: Estudios de Literatura Española, 1965.

In the following essay, Zahareas explores Ruiz's use of authority sources.

The art of Juan Ruiz lies both in his ironic method and in his inventive brilliance. The intellectual temper of the Middle Ages, the variety of traditions working in the Libro and the background of literary sources, have hitherto been more thoroughly discussed than have Juan Ruiz's technical accomplishments. In the previous chapters, I concentrated on those accomplishments in the belief that such a study offers a promising means for investigating the complex form of the Libro de buen amor. It should not be forgotten, however, that his artistic devices are not simply imposed on his materials, but are organically related to his perception of the disparity between...