Felixmarte de Hircania

Felixmarte de Hircania is a Spanish book of chivalry first published in Valladolid in 1556 with the title First part of the great story of the very courageous and hard-working Prince Felixmarte of Hircania and his strange birth. It was the work of Melchor Ortega, a neighbor of Úbeda, who dedicated it to Juan Vázquez de Molina, commander of Guadalcanal and secretary of Felipe II. Its cover was imitated of that of another book of chivalry, Platir, published in 1533. In accordance with the topic of the false translation, Melchor Ortega affirms that the original of the work was written in Greek by the historian Philosio Athenian and translated by him to the Castilian from a version made in Tuscan by Petrarca. p>

The work is very typical of the chivalric genre of the mid-sixteenth century and in many respects is inspired by the Amadis de Gaula. Cervantes, who mentions it in several passages of Don Quixote with the name of Florismarte de Hircania, criticized the hardness and dryness of his style. However, although Ortega is not a first-line author, the work contains pleasant episodes and the fan of this genre of books can still find many passages of pleasant reading.

Felixmarte of Hircania is divided into three parts: the first of 49 chapters, the second of 64 and the third of 41. It relates the exploits of Prince Flosaran of Misia and his loves with Princess Martedina, daughter of the Emperor of Germany, with which it contracts secret marriage. From this union is born Felixmarte de Hircania, who is raised by Leandís del Fosado and his wife Lerina, with the name Doncel de la Aventura. In love with Princess Claribea, daughter of the emperor of Constantinople, he is knighted by Flosaran, not knowing that he is his father, and gives rise to numerous adventures. The book concludes with the announcement of a quarter, which did not get published. Modern edition

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