Abstract

In this article the continuity between two types of late medieval and Renaissance narrative is approached, although they are separated by around 200 years and belong to different literary genres. The first part of the article analyses the genre of autobiography, the experience of shared environment in urban settings, and the difficulties of its survival in a Renaissance monarchy, as shown in Sem Tob de Carrión's Proverbs and in Lazarillo de Tormes. The second part analyses the ethical principles that, according to the Sem Tob Carrión's Proverbs, justified the formulation of a legal complaint against the monarch; and it analyses the degree of moral responsibility contracted by the characters of Lazarillo de Tormes in the genesis of the scandalous ethical case in which they are involved.