Preserved uniquely in Escorial MS K–III–4 alongside the Libro de Apolonio (fols. 1r–64v) and the Vida de Santa María Egipciaca (fols. 65r–82r), the Libre dels tres reys d’Orient (fols. 82v–85v) is a short, early thirteenth-century poem (c. 1225–50) offering fleeting insights into the nativity and martyrdom of Christ. Composed in rhyming couplets in Castilian, albeit with a significant number of Aragonese features, the poem is referred to in Carina Zubillaga’s edition by a Castilianized title, the Libro de los tres reyes de Oriente, and in Manuel Alvar’s edition (rather less convincingly) as the fully renamed Libro de la infancia y muerte de Jesús. In each instance, editorial departures raise a series of crucial epistemological as well as
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Citation: Beresford, Andrew M.. "Libre dels tres reys d'Orient". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 April 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=38812, accessed 21 November 2024.]
