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The Indian pilgrim, by Antonio de Saavedra Guzmán

Authors: Antonio de Saavedra Guzmán

The Indian pilgrim is a rare epic Novohispanic poem (because of the rarity of this kind of compositions) and not much frequented by scholars. Printed in Madrid in 1599, this extensive work was written by Antonio de Saavedra Guzmán (of whom little is known besides that he was great-grandson of the Count of Castellar).

In a sonnet of the preliminaries, Lope de Vega contextualizes the work within the political codes of the imperial Hispanic epic: the Hispanic epic, follower of the historicist inclination of Lucanus, establishes the history of the victors and exalts his Catholic heroes facing idolatry in defense of the Court. These are the purposes of the “musa bélica española” (Spanish war muse) that the Phoenix (Lope de Vega) finds in the poem that celebrates the figure of Hernán Cortés. In addition to the first edition, we can consult a 19th-century edition. We also share a study published in the Nueva Revista de Filología Hispánica (New Journal of Hispanic Philology) that provides the plot and some biographical scopes of its author.