Spanish Vampire Fiction Since 1900: Blood Relations. By Abigail Lee Six. New York: Routledge, 2019. Pp. 238. $160.00 (hardback). ISBN 9781138303836

Abstract

from is the visual arts. Such comparisons demonstrate how the anthology of the poetic texts discussed in this study can unlock many new investigations into the arts and culture of medieval Iberia. For instance, art history students could build on Twomey’s analysis of fountain imagery in verses to Our Lady of Guadalupe in an investigation of the medieval fountain at the monastery that housed this statue. Similarly, the author’s extensive analysis of garden imagery would provide exciting material for further studies of the influence of Islamic garden design in this region of the medieval Mediterranean. Twomey begins her book by discussing Marian miracles featured in the works of Gonzalo de Berceo and Alfonso X, the earliest vernacular poets of the period she is interested in. In the chapters that follow, her identification of numerous texts as containing the “earliest” examples of certain types of images must thus be understood as referring to the thirteenth century. Not included in her analysis is Marian imagery in Visigothic liturgy from the Peninsula, recently studied by Kati Ihnat (2016, 2017, and 2019). Twomey’s meaning of “earliest” as referring to the thirteenth century is sometimes obscured by the author’s use of much earlier biblical commentary and by the limited inclusion of dates throughout the book; although Twomey does provide dates for key authors in her introduction, which helps to orient the reader. Of particular value in this book is the author’s thorough references to numerous late medieval liturgical manuscripts from across Iberia’s kingdoms. These are sources that are significantly underutilized in cultural studies of medieval Iberia and so their inclusion here helps to make this book indispensable. Also of great value, especially to students, is the inclusion of English translations for the majority of the book’s numerous quotations, though a full appreciation of these texts rests on Twomey’s sensitive analysis of the secondary or tertiary meanings or contextual significance of the words. The inclusion of yet longer passages from these medieval poems would have only augmented this helpful aspect of the book. Separate indexes for the different images she studies—figures, objects, containers, plants, medicinal substances, and perfumes—will also prove extremely useful to future studies of all forms of Marian art from medieval Iberia. Indeed, students and researchers will be much better able to navigate the, at times, labyrinthine field of Iberian art and devotion thanks to Twomey’s book.