CPS Lecture: Mario Antonio Cossío Olavide

Abstract

After deposing his father, Alfonso X of Castile-León (1252-1284), Sancho IV ruled until 1295. During this short period, he promoted the composition of a series of books infused with the teachings of the Church’s Fathers and Scholastic theologians. Focusing on the Lucidario, a didactic dialogue written around 1290, this presentation addresses how Sancho builds his dynastic legitimacy with a return to Christian orthodoxy contrasted to his father’s heterodox beliefs and astrological interests. I also explore his usage of theological arguments against Aristotelian natural philosophy, which played a central role in Alfonso’s cultural program for Castile.

About the speaker

Mario Cossío Olavide received his PhD in Spanish Literature, with a minor in Medieval Studies, from the University of Minnesota in 2020. After this, he received a one-year postdoctoral position at the Universidad de Alcalá, in Spain. Currently he is an adjunct professor in the School of Humanities in the Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola in Perú, where he also teaches as a professor in the Graduate School of Letters of the Universidad Mayor de San Marcos.

Cosponsored by the Medieval Studies Fund