ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the depiction of monstrosity and alterity from two divergent moments in Spain. As with many cultural products, Spanish comics have certain similarities and other peculiarities in comparison to those produced in other countries. The cultural and historical reality of this complex period has caused long-term and ongoing debates among scholars and the public at large, with interpretations ranging from those based in nostalgic longings for convivencia to those who deny any multi-ethnic or multi-religious elements to Spain's "true" national identity. Similarly, when Alfonso the Wise of Castile had declared that the School of translators would abandon Latin in favour of the vernacular Castilian language, this move revealed the underlying desire that the School's works reach a broad readership. It also anticipated the later dominance of the Castilian language and Christian religion over those of the other groups present in Toledo at the time.
