Medieval Galician-Portuguese Lyric Poetry
The medieval Galician-Portuguese lyric was born from the confluence of two currents. On the one hand, the popular songs of oral tradition linked with agricultural tasks, dancing, and the various seasons of the year. On the other hand, the knowledge that, thanks to the existence of the road to Santiago, will be taking a literary fashion, “Troubadour Lyricism,” which had its center of influence in Provence, southern France. This confluence of indigenous popular poetry and Provençal literature was decisive for the existence of our medieval lyric.
Literary Agents of Galician-Portuguese Lyricism
Galician-Portuguese lyricism falls within the leisure activities of the nobility, such as hunting and tournaments. Therefore, medieval songs were not texts designed for reading, but for their declamation before an audience in court, almost always with musical accompaniment. The following enjoyed great importance:
- Troubadours: Belonged to the lay or ecclesiastical nobility, mainly responsible for the composition of songs.
- Jesters: Recited the songs, though sometimes they composed them.
- Minstrels: Were in charge of the instrumental accompaniment of songs.
- Soldadeiras: Women accompanying the jester in their interpretations, singing, dancing, and doing gymnastic exercises.
Cantigas de Amigo and Cantigas de Amor
Cantigas de Amigo (Friend Songs) characteristics:
- A passionate woman speaks.
- Continual references to the “friend” (lover).
- Often feature other figures as “proceedings” of the friend.
- Personified forces of nature.
- Naturalistic setting.
- Formal use of parallelism and repetition.
Cantigas de Amor (Love Songs) characteristics:
- The troubadour expresses himself to the recipient, “you”.
- Reflects a platonic love for an aristocratic woman.
- The topic of death for love, and the troubadour expresses the feeling of hurt at not being reciprocated.
- Courtly love is the core, making clear the position of servitude from troubadour to his lover.
- A variable number of stanzas of four or seven lines.
- Use of *exhárdio* (introduction item) and *fiinda* (final verses with conclusive function).
The two types share their amorous theme and the use of repetition procedures in the compositions.
Cantigas de Escarnio e Maldecir
The Cantigas de Escarnio e Maldecir (Songs of Scorn and Cursing) are songs of burlesque and satirical character. The troubadour and jester, through them, are able to criticize people and the habits of their time. These songs are close to a wide variety of subjects: sexual themes, highlights dedicated to *soldadeiras*, others refer to historical facts or satirize addictions, habits, or physical defects. Some criticisms of different social classes are crafts: medical, religious, and other invectives against other poets.
The difference is that *Escarnio* (Scorn) criticizes indirectly, secretly, and *Maldecir* (Cursing) criticizes openly.
Cantigas de Santa Maria
Cantigas de Santa Maria is the name given to a set of 427 songs performed in honor of the Virgin Mary between 1257 and 1282. Poems are composed in the court of Alfonso X of Castile, under the guidance of the monarch himself. Compositions can be classified into two groups: *Cantigas* that narrate a miracle attributed to the Virgin, and *Lyrics*, which are texts composed in the form of prayer and praise to the Virgin Mary.
Medieval Prose
Medieval Portuguese prose has three textual groups. The groups with which we are called “Matter of Britain” (narratives about the adventures of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table along with the recreation of the myth of the Holy Grail), “The Matter of Troy” (reporting what happened in the Trojan War) and the Miracles of Santiago (it can find biblical stories, legends, and texts concerning the life of the Apostle).