UCB Manuscript 161 of the Bancroft Library [University of California, Berkeley]: A New Codex of El Laberinto de Fortuna by Juan de Mena

A discussion of a manuscript of El Laberinto de Fortuna (The Labyrinth of Fortune), one of the most important Spanish literary texts of the 15th century, written by Juan de Mena (1411-1456). The manuscript, now at the Bancroft Library of the U of California, Berkeley, was copied in 1515; watermarks & linguistic features analysis suggest it was copied in the south of France, probably Franche Comte. The text of the manuscript is compared to that of other manuscripts of the same work copied prior to 1515; results demonstrate that this manuscript derives from a copy of the Nunez edition of Seville, 1499. 2 Appendixes. Adapted from the source document