The Mad Love of the World

This chapter explores the pseudo-biographical verse account The Book of Good Love ( Libro de buen amor ), a seminal yet enigmatic fourteenth-century Spanish text attributed to Juan Ruiz, Archpriest of Hita. Recognised as a cornerstone of Spanish medieval literature, the work defies classification with its hybrid structure, weaving together pious discourse, erotic escapades, moral instruction, and literary parody. At its core lies a tension between “good love” (spiritual, divine) and “mad love” (earthly, erotic), which Ruiz purports to navigate with didactic intent. However, his irreverent tone, comic narration, polyphonic voices, and ironic treatment of source material suggest subversive aims. Through the Archpriest’s misadventures – such as his pursuit of Doña Endrina via the matchmaking Trotaconventos – Ruiz satirises the conventions of gentle love as well as contemporary papal strictures against clerical cohabitation with women. Ultimately, The Book of Good Love emerges not only as a comedic mirror of its age but also as a challenge to rigid moral binaries, celebrating human desire with wit and ambiguity.