(in English Amadis of Gaul; , ; , ) is a landmark chivalric romance first composed in Spain or Portugal. The narrative originates in the late post-Arthurian genre and was likely based on French sources. The earliest version(s) may have been written in an unidentified location on the Iberian Peninsula in the early 14th century as it was certainly known to the Castilian statesman, poet and chancellor Pero López de Ayala, as well as Castilian poet Pero Ferrús. The Amadís is mentioned by the Spanish priest and confessor to Maria of Portugal, Queen of Castile Juan García de Castrojeriz in a document dated between 1342 and 1348.Juan Manuel Cacho Blecua, Los cuatro libros de Amadís de Gaula y Las Sergas de Esplandián: los textos de Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. Accessed on 9 July 2025
The earliest surviving print edition of the text was compiled by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo and published in four volumes in Zaragoza, Spain, in 1508. It was written in Spanish. There were likely earlier printed editions, which are now lost.Daniel Eisenberg and Maricarmen Marín Pina, Bibliografía de los libros de caballerías castellanos, 2000 Fragments of a manuscript of Book III dating from the first quarter of the 15th century, discovered in a bookbinding (now in The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley) show that, in addition to making amendments, Montalvo also made an abbreviation to the older text. In the introduction to his publication, Montalvo explains that he edited the first three volumes from texts in circulation since the 14th century and added a fourth volume not previously published in book form. He later also published a sequel to the romance under the title Las sergas de Esplandián, which he claimed was discovered in a chest buried in Constantinople and transported to Spain by a Hungarian merchant (the famous motif of the found manuscript).
In the Portuguese Chronicle by Gomes Eanes de Zurara (1454), Amadis is attributed to the Portuguese writer Vasco de Lobeira (died in 1403). Other traditional sources claim that the work was first put into prose by a Portuguese troubadour João de Lobeira (c. 1233–1285). No printed principal version in Portuguese is known. A more recent source attributes Amadis to Henry of Castile on the basis of supposed links between his biography and certain events in Amadis. The inspiration for the romance may have been the forbidden marriage of Infanta Constanza of Aragon with Henry in 1260 (see Don Juan Manuel's of 1335) which is mirrored in the plot line of the forbidden marriage between Oriana and Amadis.
Many translations of were produced already in the first century of its publication including into Hebrew, French, Italian, Dutch, German and English and remained for several centuries in Europe an important reference point in courtly, cultural, and social matters. It was the favorite book of the fictional titular character in Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes.
Plot The story narrates the star-crossed love of King Perión of Gaula and Elisena of England, resulting in the secret birth of Amadís. The place called Gaula is a fictional kingdom within Brittany. It has in the past been identified with Wales or France, but it is best understood as a completely legendary place. Abandoned at birth on a raft in England, the child is raised by the knight Gandales in Scotland and investigates his origins through fantastic adventures.
He is persecuted by the wizard Arcaláus, but protected by Urganda la Desconocida (Urganda the Unknown or Unrecognized), an ambiguous priestess with magical powers and a talent for prophecy. Knighted by his father King Perión, Amadís overcomes the challenges of the enchanted Ínsola Firme (a sort of peninsula), including passing through the Arch of Faithful Lovers.
Despite Amadís' celebrated fidelity, his childhood sweetheart, Oriana, heiress to the throne of Great Britain, becomes jealous of a rival princess and sends a letter to chastise Amadís. The knight changes his name to Beltenebros and indulges in a long period of madness on the isolated Peña Pobre (Poor Peak or Mountain).
He recovers his senses only when Oriana sends her maid to retrieve him. He then helps Oriana's father, Lisuarte, repel invaders. A short time later he and Oriana scandalously consummate their love. Their son Esplandián is the result of this one illicit meeting.
Rodríguez de Montalvo asserts that in the "original" Amadís, Esplandián eventually kills his father for this offense against his mother's honor; however, Montalvo amends this defect and resolves their conflict peaceably.
Oriana and Amadís defer their marriage for many years due to enmity between Amadís and Oriana's father, Lisuarte. Amadís absents himself from Britain for at least 10 years, masquerading as "The Knight of the Green Sword". He travels as far as Constantinople and secures the favor of the child-princess Leonorina, who will become Esplandián's wife. His most famous adventure during this time of exile is the battle with the giant Endriago, a monster born of incest who exhales a poisonous gas and whose body is covered in scales.
As a knight, Amadís is courteous, gentle, sensitive, and a Christian, who dares to defend free love. Unlike most literary heroes of his time (French and German, for example), Amadís is a handsome man who would cry if refused by his lady, but is invincible in battle and usually emerges drenched in his own and his opponents' blood.
Principal characters Amadís: Greatest of knights-errant, renowned in feats of arms Perión: King of Gaula, father of Amadís Elisena: Queen of Gaula, mother of Amadís Galaor: Brother of Amadís Melicia: Sister of Amadís Gandales: Scottish knight, foster-father of Amadís Gandalin: Son of Gandales, squire of Amadís Lisuarte: King of Britain Brisena: Queen of Britain Oriana: Daughter of Lisuarte and Brisena, beloved of Amadís Esplandián: Son of Amadís and Oriana Leonorina: Princess of Constantinople, beloved of Esplandián Languines: King of Scotland Agrajes: Son of Languines Mabilia: Daughter of Languines Ardian: Dwarf who serves Amadís Abies: King of Ireland, defeated by Amadís Endriago: Monster defeated by Amadís Arcaláus: Wizard who opposes Amadís Urganda the Unknown: Sorceress who protects Amadís
Literary significance Called also Amadís sin tiempo (Amadis without Time) by his mother (in allusion to the fact that being conceived outside marriage she would have to abandon him and he would probably die), he is the most representative Iberian hero of chivalric romance. His adventures ran to four volumes, probably the most popular such tales of their time. François de la Noue, one of the Huguenot captains of the 16th century, affirmed that reading the romances of Amadis had caused a "spirit of vertigo""Un espirit de vertige"; noted in Johan Huizinga, The Waning of the Middle Ages (1919) 1924:68. even in his more rationally-minded generation. The books show a complete idealization and simplification of knight-errantry. Even servants are hardly heard of, but there are many princesses, ladies and kings. Knights and damsels in distress are found everywhere. The book's style is reasonably modern, but lacks dialogue and the character's impressions, mostly describing the action.
The book's style was praised by the usually demanding Juan de Valdés, although he considered that from time to time it was too low or too high a style. The language is characterized by a certain "Latinizing" influence in its syntax, especially the tendency to place the verb at the end of the sentence; as well as other such details, such as the use of the present participle, which bring Amadís into line with the allegorical style of the 15th century.
Nevertheless, there is a breach of style when Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo presents the fourth book. It becomes dull and solemn, reflecting the nature of the intruding writer. The first three books are inspired in deeds and feats by knights-errant, dating back to the 13th century, while the fourth book emerges as a less brilliant attachment of the 15th century. The pristine style of Amadís can be perceived in the few original famous pages analyzed by Antonio Rodríguez Moñino: It is lively and straight to the facts of war and love, with brief dialogs, all quite elegant and amusing. Amadís of Gaula is frequently referenced in the humorous classic Don Quixote, written by Miguel de Cervantes in the early 17th century. The character Don Quixote idolizes Amadís and tries to imitate him.
Historically, Amadís was very influential amongst the Spanish conquistadores. Bernal Díaz del Castillo mentioned the wonders of Amadís when he marveled at his first sight of Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City)"These great towns and pyramids and buildings arising from the water, all made of stone, seemed like an enchanted vision from the tale of Amadis. Indeed, some of our soldiers asked whether it was not all a dream." Quoted in Alan Taylor, American Colonies: The Settling of North America (2001), p. 53. – and such place names as California come directly from the work.
The English literary historian Helen Moore in her 2020 book Amadis in English: A Study in the Reading of Romance suggested the book has been popular over the centuries because:
The British writer C.S. Lewis said that Amadis was among his "own favourite reading" and that he had an "early & lasting love of Oriana."C.S. Lewis, The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, Volume 2. HarperOne. 2004. pp. 562, 563.
Origins As mentioned above, the origins of the book of Amadís are disputed.
The existing texts The version of Montalvo The only known complete text of is that of Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo, a Castilian writer. The earliest surviving text (book) is from 1508, although scholars accept that there were earlier editions.
If this text had been based on a Portuguese original, there would be linguistic evidence in the text. As there is none, the text of Montalvo must have been written in Castilian.
Manuscript fragments The existence of a prior version of Books I to III has been supported by 's identification of four 15th-century manuscript fragments () which had been used for binding another book. The name "Esplandián" is clearly visible in one of these. The fragments are part of the collection of Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. They show that, contrary to the usual view that Montalvo expanded the first three books, he instead abbreviated them.
Earlier mentions of Amadis In the Spanish translation of Egidio Colonna's De regimine principum, Amadís is mentioned and also the poet Enrico, who could well be Enrico de Castiglia. Egidio Colonna was in Rome in 1267 when Henry of Castile was elected Senator. The translation was made around 1350 under King Peter the Cruel. This is the oldest mention of Amadís.
Sequels in Spanish Amadis of Gauls popularity was such that in the decades following its publication, dozens of sequels of sometimes minor quality were published in Spanish, Italian, and German, together with a number of other imitative works. Montalvo himself cashed in with the continuation Las sergas de Esplandián (Book V), and the sequel-specialist Feliciano de Silva (also the author of Second Celestina) added four more books including Amadis of Greece (Book IX). Miguel de Cervantes wrote Don Quixote as a burlesque attack on the resulting genre. Cervantes and his protagonist Quixote, however, keep the original Amadís in very high esteem.
The Spanish volumes, with their authors and the names of their main characters:
Books I–IV: 1508 (Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo): Amadís de Gaula Book V: 1510 (Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo): Las sergas de Esplandián Book VI: 1510 (Páez de Ribera): Florisando Book VII: 1514 (Feliciano de Silva): Lisuarte de Grecia Book VIII: 1526 (Juan Díaz): Lisuarte de Grecia Book IX: 1530 (Feliciano de Silva): Amadis of Greece