Medieval & Pre-Renaissance Spanish Literary Works
Medieval Spanish Literature Highlights
Hispano-Hebrew Literature and Conversos
Focus on Hispano-Hebrew literature and works concerning Moors, Conversos (New Christians), often presenting a critical attitude towards the society that despised them for their origins.
Mester de Juglaría (Minstrelsy)
Mester de Juglaría: The craft of minstrels (juglares) who performed epic poems, lyrics, and other works, often for popular audiences.
- Topics: Included military exploits, courtly lyrics, and poetry by both male (troubadour) and female (trobairitz) minstrels.
Cantares de Gesta (Songs of Deeds)
Cantares de Gesta: Epic poems, vast narratives in verse, recounting historical events and legends centered on a hero, embodying the values of a people. Often anonymous and transmitted orally before being written down.
Castilian Epic
Castilian Epic: Only three major examples survive in Castilian literature:
- El Cantar de Mio Cid (The Song of the Cid)
- A fragment of Cantar de Roncesvalles (Song of Roncesvalles)
- A fragment of Mocedades de Rodrigo (The Youthful Deeds of Rodrigo)
Mester de Clerecía (Clerical Poetry)
Mester de Clerecía (13th Century): Initiated by poets like Gonzalo de Berceo. This refers to narrative poetry written in Romance language by known, educated authors (clerics), typically with didactic and moral aims.
- Used the cuaderna vía (fourfold way) stanza: four alexandrine lines with a single consonant rhyme.
- Combined themes from classical, religious, and popular traditions.
El Cantar de Mio Cid (The Song of the Cid)
Author, Theme, and Plot
- Author: Anonymous.
- Theme: A hero’s quest to restore his lost honor after being exiled.
- Plot: Chronicles the hero’s journey from hardship and exile to regaining royal favor and achieving glory. It is divided into three parts (cantares):
- Cantar del destierro (Song of the Exile)
- Cantar de las bodas (Song of the Weddings)
- Cantar de la afrenta de Corpes (Song of the Affront of Corpes)
Protagonist and Historicity
- Protagonist: Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (El Cid), presented as a perfect model of a Castilian knight: loyal, brave, pious, and a good family man.
- Historicity: Loosely based on the biography of the historical Rodrigo Díaz, a Castilian nobleman and military leader who was a vassal and rose socially. The poem blends historical facts with medieval legends and literary conventions.
Style and Metrics
- Style: Characterized by realism in detail, directness, and solemnity.
- Metrics: Composed in variable-length verses (anisosyllabic, typically ranging from ten to twenty syllables) grouped in irregular stanzas (tiradas) with assonant rhyme. Verses usually have a caesura dividing them into two hemistichs.
- Literary Devices:
- Epic epithets: Formulaic phrases used to characterize the hero (e.g., “the one who girded his sword in a good hour”).
- Shifting narrative point of view: The narrator sometimes comments directly.
- Minstrel’s commentary: Expressions where the minstrel addresses the audience or expresses opinions.
- Archaic language: Use of older linguistic forms.
Spanish Literature in the 14th Century
The 14th century marks a transition period in the Late Middle Ages.
Chivalric Novels Emerge
Rise of chivalric novels (libros de caballerías) in prose. These fictions typically featured:
- Open-ended structures, often leading to sequels.
- Knights seeking honor, valor, and adventure through various trials and battles.
- Idealized courtly love between the knight and his lady.
- Glorified, often fantastical violence.
- Heroes with extraordinary or mysterious origins.
- Fantastic geography, mythical creatures, and remote historical or timeless settings.
- Frequently employed the literary trope of a ‘false translation’ (claiming the work was translated from an older, exotic language).
La Gran Conquista de Ultramar is considered an important precursor to the genre.
El Conde Lucanor by Don Juan Manuel
El Conde Lucanor (or Libro de los ejemplos del conde Lucanor y de Patronio) by Don Juan Manuel (nephew of King Alfonso X). A collection of fifty-one exemplary tales (exempla) framed by conversations between Count Lucanor and his wise advisor, Patronio. Written in the first half of the 14th century, it is considered a foundational masterpiece of Castilian prose narrative.
- Stories draw from diverse sources, including Eastern (Arabic, Persian, Indian) and Greco-Roman traditions, as well as Spanish folklore.
- Clear didactic and moral purpose: to provide practical wisdom for a nobleman.
Characters and Purpose
- Count Lucanor: An educated nobleman facing various dilemmas, often insecure and reliant on his advisor for guidance on how to act.
- Patronio: The wise, pragmatic advisor with vast life experience. He guides the Count by telling illustrative stories directly related to the problems posed.
Structure and Themes
- Structure: Each tale follows a consistent pattern:
- Count Lucanor presents a problem or asks for advice.
- Patronio responds by narrating a story (exemplum) that offers a relevant analogy.
- Patronio explicitly draws the lesson from the story.
- The Count applies the advice successfully.
- Don Juan Manuel concludes with a rhyming couplet summarizing the moral (moraleja).
- Themes: Reflect the concerns of the 14th-century aristocracy, such as maintaining honor, status, wealth, and reputation; dealing with friends and enemies; making wise decisions; and understanding human nature.
Pre-Renaissance Spanish Literature
Context: Rise of Humanism
This period (roughly the 15th century) saw the consolidation of power under the Catholic Monarchs (Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon), leading to a more centralized and authoritarian state. Key events include the expulsion of the Jews in 1492. The middle class (bourgeoisie) grew in influence, and intellectual life was increasingly influenced by Italian Humanism, focusing more on human affairs and classical learning, though still within a Christian framework.
Sentimental Novels
Sentimental Novels (novela sentimental): A popular genre in the 15th century. These were relatively short prose works focused intensely on the analysis of love, often unrequited or tragic.
- Characteristics:
- Themes centered on courtly love, suffering, and psychological introspection.
- Often employed a highly rhetorical, Latinate language and style.
- Religious undertones might be present.
- Characters tended to be conventional aristocratic types.
- Frequently included letters and poems exchanged between lovers.
- Endings were often tragic and sorrowful.
- Featured a mannered, sometimes artificial style.
- Aimed primarily at a courtly audience.
- Typically featured a male protagonist recounting his amorous misfortunes.
Chivalric Novels (Continued Popularity)
Chivalric Novels continued to be immensely popular, evolving from earlier forms.
- Emphasis remained on the defense of honor and the idealization of women (though often passive figures).
- The chivalrous hero (caballero andante) fought in wars, sought adventure, battled formidable enemies (knights, giants, monsters, sorcerers), and performed extraordinary feats.
- Settings were typically fantastic and geographically vague, filled with enchantments and marvels.
- Notable examples influencing this era include the early Libro del caballero Zifar (early 14th c.) and the highly influential Catalan work Tirant lo Blanch (published 1490).
Satire: El Corbacho
Satire flourished, often addressing social customs, love, and morality from a critical, Christian perspective. Anti-courtly and misogynistic themes were common during this period.
- Satirical works often utilized lively, colloquial language, rich in proverbs and popular expressions, reminiscent of the 14th-century Libro de Buen Amor and foreshadowing the realism of later works like La Celestina.
El Corbacho (also known as Arcipreste de Talavera) by Alfonso Martínez de Toledo (written 1438): A prominent example of prose satire.
- Divided into parts, it serves as a treatise against lust, a sharp satire against women (employing common misogynistic tropes of the time), and an analysis of the complexions (temperaments) of men and their different approaches to love.