Includes bibliographical references (pages 267-286) and index.
Generating the origins of letters and kingdoms -- The vernacular letter of the law in the Siete Partidas -- The renaissance(s) of the "Companion to Empire" -- Age of iron, age of writing -- The task of translators past and present -- The violence of the letrados.
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"This volume traces a genealogy of the varied conceptions and functions of alphabetic writing in Hispanic cultures of the pre-modern and early colonial periods. The historical junctures selected are those at which the written word (in grammatical, historical and legal discourse) assumed increased ideological importance for bolstering different kinds of 'imperial' power"--Back cover.