Chronicle of Alfonso X /

This is the first English translation of a major Castilian royal chronicle, a 14th-century account of the reign of Alfonso X the Learned by Fernan Sanchez de Valladolid. The version here translated by Thacker and Escobar is made from the accessible but imperfect edition of Cayetano Rosell of 1875. Fortunately, the translators offer footnotes to correct many of the errors in the original, and this edition benefits from an excellent introduction by Joseph O'Callaghan, who reviews the difficulties presented by the various sections of the account. The earliest part of the chronicle is the weakest, covering the years 1252 to 1270. The second section (1270-74) is the most detailed and covers an important era of aristocratic unrest. The last section examines the latter part of Alfonso's reign to 1284, and is the most valuable section of the volume for the general historian, as it deals with revolts both inside and outside the royal family during the troubled twilight of El Sabio's life. The translation is faithful and reasonably clear, making available to English readers a turbulent example of a maturing medieval Iberian monarchy and its opponents in a colorful multicultural world. Upper-division undergraduates and above. J. F. Powers College of the Holy Cross