18 h 44 minAudiobook5 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the priest warning you against desire also shows you how to pursue it?
In The Book of Good Love, Juan Ruiz presents a priest who keeps falling in love. The Archpriest of Hita courts widows, nuns and mountain herdswomen, often helped by Trotaconventos, a quick-witted old go-between. His attempts raise a stubborn question: which love is good, and which only looks good?
This long poem from fourteenth-century Castile moves through love songs, hymns, comic ballads and pointed fables. The Archpriest argues with Don Amor, Love himself, while Carnival and Lent wage a war of foods. In his opening sermon, Ruiz offers two ways to read: as a Christian warning against desire, or a guide to winning love.
What you’ll discover
- Love argues back Meet Don Amor as he defends his power against the Archpriest’s bitter complaints.
- A clever go-between Follow Trotaconventos through messages, gifts and flattery as she works on the priest’s behalf.
- Feasting takes the field Watch Don Carnal and Lady Lent lead rival armies of rich and plain foods.
- Stories with sharp teeth Explore animal fables and short tales whose lessons interrupt the pursuit of love.
- More than courtship Look beneath the love stories for satire aimed at money, clergy and power.
Who will love it
For readers who love medieval voices, bawdy humor, and stories with a sting, and anyone curious about how people joked about love and the Church seven centuries ago.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A priest tells you how to read him
- Love fails again and again at first
- Lord Love argues with his own servant
- Fables carry the sharpest lessons
- An old go-between does the real work
- Carnival goes to war against Lent
- Mountain women turn the tables
- Money, clergy and the limits of the Church
- A patchwork poem with many voices
Who’s who
- TrotaconventosAn old, quick-witted go-between who carries messages, flatters women and knows every trick of persuasion on the Archpriest's behalf.
- Don AmorLord Love in person, who lectures the Archpriest on seduction and defends his own power against the priest's complaints.
- Don Melón de la HuertaA young lover who wants to win the widow Doña Endrina and relies on a clever helper to reach her.
- Doña EndrinaA watchful young widow who weighs the pleasures and the dangers of love and answers the go-between with sharp good sense.
- Don Carnal and Doña CuaresmaCarnival and Lady Lent, who lead rival armies of rich and plain foods in a comic war over feasting and fasting.
- Doña GarozaA nun whom the Archpriest tries to court, courteous but not easily won, and a test of the priest's own vows.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 5 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
El Libro de Buen Amor in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
El Libro de Buen Amor
by Juan Ruiz · 1330
A priest courts love with a cunning go-between, while desire and faith compete to show him which love is good.
Challenging10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
A priest tells you to read his book as a warning, and then hints you might read it as a guide. That is the trick at the heart of The Book of Good Love, written in fourteenth century Castile by Juan Ruiz, the Archpriest of Hita.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A priest tells you how to read him
The book opens with a prayer and a sermon. Ruiz states a plain Christian teaching. People have free will, and the soul must choose between good and ruin.
Then he adds a turn. The poem also describes foolish love. He says readers can learn to avoid it. But others may learn its tricks from his pages instead. He leaves the door open on purpose.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about El Libro de Buen Amor
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Book of Good Love about?
It is a medieval Spanish poem in which a priest tells of his many love affairs, his meeting with Lord Love, and the lessons of fables and songs. Its central question is how to tell good love from foolish love.
Who is the Archpriest of Hita?
He is the narrator of the poem and the name Juan Ruiz gives himself. Scholars treat him as a literary character as well as a real priest, so his adventures should not be read as plain autobiography.
What does good love mean in the book?
Ruiz uses good love for the love of God and virtue, and mad love, loco amor, for worldly desire. In practice the poem shows how hard it is to keep the two apart.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
