The Knight of God and the most noble queen: Maria de Molina's patronage of the Book of the Knight Zifar

This article analyzes the political discourses on chivalry and gender in Libro del Caballero Zifar and provides textual evidence in support of the theory that Maria de Molina was an original patron of this anonymous work from the cathedral school of Toledo. Using the portrait of the queen in the prologue as a point of departure, this study explores the intertextuality of Libro del Caballero Zifar and contemporary royal chronicles, elucidating the manner in which the political discourse of the former supports the political propaganda of the latter, ultimately creating a legitimizing discourse for Maria de Molina's rule as queen of Castile-Leon at the turn of the fourteenth century.