Reading Epiphany in the Libro de Apolonio and Its Codicological Context: Divinity Materialized in Escorial Manuscript K-III-4

Abstract

In this article, I propose to delve into the combined transmission of the poems that make up Manuscript K-III-4 focusing on the theme of divine revelation. Epiphany or divine revelation in medieval Christianity alludes to a singular manifestation of the divine omnipresence. This phenomenon occurs in each of the three poems, and although I particularly analyze it within the "Libro de Apolonio", I do so in relation to the other two poems of the manuscript. This theme is also directly present in the only illustration in the codex, which, I propose, pictorially represents a synthesis not only of what divine revelation is, but also the forms of perceiving, understanding, and interpreting it.