‘From her pen sprang unforgettable females’: 16th-century Spanish author’s knight’s tale given reboot

An illustration from Las aventuras del caballero Cristalián. Bernal’s ‘female characters aren’t passive, they’re strong and active’. Photograph: Anaya

Sixty years before a gaunt and deluded nobleman from La Mancha was overdosing on tales of derring-do, visiting his madness on those around him – and single-handedly rewriting the rules of fiction – the deeds of another heroic knight had already made literary history.

Though completely eclipsed by Don Quixote, Cristalián de España, which was first published in 1545, has a unique claim to fame. Its 800 pages, bristling with swords, sorcerers, dragons and damsels, make up the earliest known work by a female Spanish novelist.