El Carnero (The Sheep)

El Carnero (The Sheep)

Juan Rodríguez Freyle (1566–1640) was an author and novelist in the Spanish New Kingdom of Granada in South America. This Nuevo Reino de Granada lay mainly in present-day Colombia. Freyle was a resident of Santa Fé de Bogotá, the capital of the New Kingdom and the modern capital of Columbia. The author participated in the campaigns of the Spanish conquerors against indigenous peoples and spent six years of his life in Spain. In the last years of his life, he composed his magnum opus with the ironic title of El carnero. Conquista y descubrimiento del nuevo reino de granada. Conquista y descubrimiento del Nuevo Reino de Granada de las Indias Occidentales del Mar Océano, y Fundación de la ciudad de Santafé de Bogotá, primera de este reino donde se fundó la Real Audiencia y Cancillería, siendo la cabeza se hizo su arzobispado.

A Personal Chronicle of his Home

While Freyle’s autograph has not survived, this copy from 1784—which was likely made for José Antonio Ricaurte Rigueiro (1748–1804), a lawyer and mayor of Santa Fe de Bogotá—has been preserved. Today, it can be found in the National Library of Columbia in Bogotá. The arc from the year 1538 to 1638 is spanned across 368 pages, and thus offers a fantastically vivid glimpse into the 17th century Spanish colony of New Grenada. The salient theme is the foundation of Santa Fé de Bogotá in the year 1538, with which Freyle begins his chronicle. El Carnero is subdivided in 21 chapters and two appendices. It presents one of the first overviews of the official events of the Conquista, the conquest of America, and the history of the 17th century in South America.

An Exceptional Work for its Time

In his work, Freyle presented accounts of the Conquista, family histories, tales of magic and witchcraft, of betrayals, and other events in simple form. He describes in detail the social and political life in America, he treats scandalous incidents with irony and humor, but also mixes moral considerations and observations in with the objective reports. El Carnero is an unusual and unique book for its time. It presents itself as a mix of fiction and chronicle. In this way, a wonderfully vivid picture of this epoch emerged in connection with the political events and further stories concerning the most varied themes. In addition, the literary capabilities of the author really come into their own, making up a large part of the significance of this work for South American literature!