Castells reals i castells de fades: un recinte per a tornejos reals i imaginaris

Real castles and fairy castles: a place for real and imaginary tournaments

Abstract

This work analyzes the relationships between certain castles that were historical sites of military events and others that served as fictional settings in the Middle Ages. Castles associated with "bad customs," enigmatic castles, and fairy-tale castles share motifs that blend together in works inspired by the Matter of Britain. These courtly traditions, which ambiguously reflect real activities in castles, transitioned into tournaments, where round tables and wooden castles brought elements of this literature into military exercises in a theatrical and military spectacle. The Calabrian admiral of the Crown of Aragon, Roger de Llúria, took part in one of these tournaments in Calatayud in 1291, for which a wooden castle was constructed. This same military figure later engaged in real heroic military actions in 1304.