The Book of Privileges Issued To Christopher Columbus By King Fernando and Queen Isabel 1492-1502

Book excerpt: From the moment King Fernando and Queen Isabel sponsored Christopher Columbus's voyage, they began issuing contracts, decrees, and privileges implementing the project. Previous editions of these collected documents, known as the Book of Privileges, have been published. Yet because such editions have ordered the material as Columbus left it, use of these books has proven problematic. The Repertorium Columbianum edition presents these documents in chronological order, providing a continuous historical narrative of the monarchs' and Columbus's enterprise. (The documents also appear, separately, in Columbus's arrangement.) Superbly translated, with historical and philological commentary, this edition of the Book of Privileges is a valuable historical resource.