El "Arcipreste de Hita" y el subgénero ficcional de la epopeya alegórica

Abstract

Juan Ruiz's episode «The battle between Meat and Lent» hay been related to three fictional subgenres: «debate poems; the mock- epic of the classical traclition and the medieval epic. Having examined the episode in the light of the pertinent features that constitute «debate poems», ave can conclude by stating that it is not reasonable to consider it as such. Regarding the mistaken con nection between «The battle between Meat and Lent» and the mock-epic of the classical tradition that leads us to Balracomiomaquia, several reasons are indicated to deny any intertextual relation between the Helenic work and Juan Ruiz. The said episode has to be related to the subgenre of allegoric mock epic, but its peculiarities suggest a phisiognomy sui generis.