Cortesian Epilogue: Hernandía by Francisco Ruiz de León

Abstract

This article presents a critical examination of Francisco Ruiz de León’s epic poem Hernandía through a historical-literary and sociocritical methodology that integrates documentary research, textual analysis, and comparison with major Hispanic epic models. Its primary objective is to elucidate how this eighteenth-century New Spanish poem reinterprets the figure of Hernán Cortés within the tradition of “Cortesian epic,” highlighting the role of heroic, religious, and colonial discourse in shaping the literary and cultural identity of New Spain. The study outlines the scope of the poem by analyzing its formal features—use of royal octaves, mythological references, baroque enumerations, and hyperbolic imagery—as well as its reliance on historical sources, particularly Antonio de Solís’s History of the Conquest of Mexico, which serves as the foundational narrative for Ruiz de León’s poetic reconstruction. The article also explores the representation of the Indigenous other through axiological and praxeological dimensions, revealing the tension between Spanish glorification and the marginalization of the Mesoamerican world. Although some critics classify Ruiz de León as a late baroque epigone, the analysis demonstrates that Hernandía contributes to sustaining the epic genre at a time when it was believed to be in decline, reframing the conquest through providential and aesthetic lenses.