University/Organization
Department of Foreign Languages
Belmont University
Nashville, Tennessee

Title
From Traditional “Romancero” Poem/Song to Novel: History and Legend of the Spanish Warrior Maiden in Teresa Sagrera’s “La doncella guerrera”

Synopsis
Teresa Sagrera, in “La doncella guerrera” (“The Warrior Maiden”), creates a fictional journey through events of Spain’s unification describing the perspective of a disguised female knight. This paper explores history and legend as well as literary devices used in this novel inspired by a traditional Spanish poem. Also, Sagrera invents new characters and adventures allowing us to learn about Spanish culture and to vicariously imagine the life of a gender-concealing soldier in fifteenth century Spain.

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