Stereotypes and the Unpaid Debt in the Episode of Rachel and Vidas in Cantar de Mio Cid

Authors

  • Luis F. López González Vanderbilt University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18192/rceh.v43i2.4654

Abstract

This study addresses the controversial “arcas-de-arena” episode in the Cantar de Mio Cid. The usurious transaction between Mio Cid and the Jewish moneylenders Rachel and Vidas has led critics to interpret this scene in sundry ways. In this article, I provide overlooked textual evidence to argue that neither Mio Cid nor Martín Antolínez intends to honor the promise of repaying the moneylenders. Instead, they perceive the transaction as a deception from which they obtain a profit (“ganancia”). Mio Cid and Martín Antolínez feel entitled to cheat the Jews due to ever-increasing anti-Jewish sentiments prevalent during the time of the Cantar’s composition.

Author Biography

Luis F. López González, Vanderbilt University

Assistant Professor of Spanish at Vanderbilt University.

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Published

2020-04-19

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Section

Articles