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Information is provided on the conference titled "Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the Reformation Era," developed by Verein fur Reformationsgeschichte and the Society for Reformation Research held in Nuremberg, Germany from July 18-21, 2017. The conference's focus on the relations between Muslims, Christians and Jews in the 16th and 17th centuries, including religious boundaries and their influence on one another, is discussed.

A literary criticism of the novel "El Abencerraje," by Francisco López Estrada is presented. Topics discussed include cross-border culture, Iberian Peninsula in 16th century, contractual relationship between characters of the novel, moral philosophy in Spain in 16th century. An overview of the novel is also given.

Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quijote, Part One (1605) purports to be an historical chronicle of the exploits of a mad Manchegan knight, a conceit which Don Quijote, Part Two (1615) develops by staging encounters between Don Quixote and Sancho Panza and characters who have read the 'true history' of Part One. This structure culminates in the episodes involving the Duke and Duchess, assiduous readers of Part One who concoct elaborate pranks at Quixote's and Sancho's expense. Consumed by their merrymaking, the Duke and Duchess reveal themselves to be quixotic in a peculiarly literary way: they ape Quixote's madness by miming his exaggerated imitation of literature. In this way, Part One, like the books of knight errantry that drive Quixote insane, becomes the stimulus for extravagant behaviour. This identification simultaneously celebrates and satirizes the popular reception and power of Cervantes's own work, which itself achieves a bizarre capacity to drive sane individuals to behavioural extremes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]