The Supernatural in Early Spanish Literature: Studied in the Works of the Court of Alfonso X, el Sabio

The human mind is always interested in those things that it can not understand; as soon, however, as the problem has been solved it is no longer an absorbing subject of attention. When a sleight-of-hand feat has been explained we turn with renewed zest to something else and revive our former interest only to mystify or amuse some friend. The unsolved problem, on the other hand, will grip our undivided interest for an indefinite length of time; our minds will revert continually to the unelucidated trick of legerdemain until we learn how it was accomplished. And so we might continue our illustrations thru the whole range of human knowledge.

Furthermore, we are not content to limit our curiosity to the comprehension of what others have understood before us, but push our way in quest of the answer to the eternal and ever haunting how? andwhy? We climb the mountains, we crouch beneath a shelter while the storm beats, we gaze into space on a starlight night, and these compelling queries become ever more insistent. This element of inexhaustible curiosity is, and has been as far back as the existence of society can be traced, present in all human nature; the leaders of mankind have not been slow to utilize it for the attainment of their own lofty or ignoble aims. The warrior has employed it to inspire his soldiers; the priest to exalt his followers; the minstrel to entrance his auditors.

In the introduction to her Columbia doctorial dissertation, The Supernatural in Modern English Fiction, Dr. Dorothy Scarborough has discussed in a very engaging manner the inherent need of the supernatural in fiction. In real life as well it plays a highly important part. It is a demonstrated fact that when a man faces a supreme crisis—when face to face with death—not only will he turn instinctively to the supernatural powers in that moment but all that is extraneous to his real self will disappear and the true man will stand forth revealed. What is true of the individual in this respect applies also to the race. It is in recognition of this universal truth that the following study has been undertaken, in the hope that a careful examination of the supernatural aspect of the beliefs and practices of Spain as reflected in the literature of a given period will contribute to a better understanding of the questions involved.