Medieval and Renaissance Poetry: Chanson de Geste, Ballads, and Mester de Clerecía
The Chanson de Geste
The earliest forms of European literature include epic poems in Romance languages. These epics narrate the exploits of medieval knights, elevating them to the status of heroes. These poems were widely accepted and recited by minstrels (juglares). The profession of minstrelsy is known as mester de juglaría.
Features of Chansons de Geste
- Meter: Irregular series of verses with assonance rhyme.
- Directness: The narrator gives voice to the characters through direct speech.
- Realism: To enhance credibility, these songs include real details about places.
- Minstrel Resources: Oral character is evident through formulas that facilitated recitation, such as:
- Appeals to the audience.
- Epic formulas: adjectives and expressions that exalt the hero.
Renaissance Poetry
A key feature of Renaissance poetry was the creation of a new poetic model inspired by Petrarch. This Petrarchan model brought about a profound renewal in themes and metrics.
As a humanist, Petrarch rediscovered the classics and created poetry that focused on the individual. His themes were widely imitated by Spanish poets, leading to a significant renewal.
Love in Renaissance Poetry
Love is portrayed as a contradictory experience, with the beauty of the beloved often described as painful. Metaphors and comparisons based on nature are used to describe this beauty.
The carpe diem theme is introduced, inviting young women to enjoy their youth before their beauty fades.
Nature and Mythology
Love scenes often take place in idyllic natural settings, reflecting the locus amoenus. Classical themes of love are sometimes presented through gods, nymphs, and heroes from Greco-Roman mythology, allowing poets to reflect on their own situations.
The Old Ballads
In the fifteenth century, various popular compositions and anonymous ballads (romances) were collected. These poems, often from earlier centuries, were transmitted orally.
The collection of anonymous ballads transmitted orally is known as old romances. Some are fragments of epic poems, while others are lyrical and non-narrative.
Types of Old Ballads
- Epic Ballads: Feature characters from epic poems.
- Historical Ballads: Narrate historical events, including episodes from the Moorish Reconquista.
- Novelistic Ballads: Tell stories of imaginary characters, focusing on their feelings, especially love.
The Mester de Clerecía
From the thirteenth century, works of fiction with a didactic purpose began to appear. The earliest examples of this literature belong to the mester de clerecía.
The mester de clerecía refers to works composed by clerics during the 13th and 14th centuries. These works emerged in monasteries with the aim of teaching religious customs and promoting the lives and miracles of patron saints.
The clergy were educated men who drew on Latin texts for their compositions. They wrote in Castilian to ensure that the people could understand their works.
Features of Mester de Clerecía
- Content: Religious and ethical.
- Purpose: Didactic, aiming to teach the people.
- Meter: Alexandrine verses in monorhyme quatrains (cuaderna vía).
- Oral Transmission: Due to widespread illiteracy.