Medieval Spanish Literature: From Minstrelsy to Troubadours
Mester of Minstrelsy and of Clergy
Mester of minstrelsy and of clergy coexisted, though clearly differentiated. The former belonged to a national and popular literary tradition, while the latter was part of a European and cultured tradition.
Mester of Minstrelsy: Anonymous minstrels orally transmitted epic poems with irregular meter, assonance, and profane themes, recounting the exploits of heroes. A key example is the Poema del Mio Cid.
Mester of Clergy: Cultured authors demonstrated a clear concern for form, using the cuaderna vía (four Alexandrine verses with a central pause). Their works, with didactic purposes, were intended for reading aloud to illiterate audiences, not for recitation.
Mester of Clergy in the 13th Century: Gonzalo de Berceo
Gonzalo de Berceo, born in the late 12th century, is the first known Castilian poet. His Miracles of Our Lady, a collection of 25 miracles, showcases the Virgin Mary’s beneficial involvement in human lives.
Berceo’s style is natural, avoiding cultism and minstrel formulas. His works, targeting rural audiences, feature a recurring structure: the author speaks directly to the audience, introducing the protagonist (often a man with flaws and qualities), the setting, and the unfolding action, always centered on devotion to the Virgin Mary.
Arcipreste de Hita
The 14th century saw the second period of the Mester of Clergy, marked by evolving features: irregular metrics, diverse influences, critical and satirical emphasis, dramatic and lyrical content, and a strong troubadour influence.
The Libro de Buen Amor (Book of Good Love), written around 1330, exemplifies this evolution. This extensive, original text, primarily in cuaderna vía but incorporating other metrics, displays remarkable variety.
Structure:
- The Dean’s love story: The central character, the Dean, attempts to seduce women with the help of intermediaries (e.g., Don Melon and Doña Endrina, the mountain encounter, Doña Garoz).
- Interspersed stories and examples.
- Moral and didactic digressions.
- Allegorical episodes.
- Lyrical compositions.
The book features a diverse cast of real, mythological, and allegorical characters, including the Dean’s love interest and the old procuress. It portrays a realistic view of love, social classes, customs, and characters, foreshadowing works like La Celestina and Lazarillo de Tormes.
Language and Style:
Beyond cuaderna vía, Juan Ruiz uses other metrics (e.g., sixteen-syllable quatrains, lyrical compositions, zéjel). His language blends rhetorical procedures with colloquial speech.
Intent:
The Libro de Buen Amor has an open-ended moral purpose. While some critics see a clear condemnation of carnal love, the protagonist’s debauchery complicates this interpretation. The prologue claims a didactic intention, distinguishing between “good love” and “mad love.” However, the author’s irony and ambiguity leave the true purpose open to debate.
Traditional Lyric
During the Middle Ages, popular lyric poetry developed in four Iberian Peninsula areas: Al-Andalus, Galicia, Castile, and Catalonia. Transmitted orally, it was later recorded by learned poets who adapted its meters, themes, and fragments.
Jarchas:
Short Mozarabic poems appended to longer Arabic or Hebrew poems (moaxajas). They express a young woman’s love, often lamenting absence, jealousy, or distress.
Villancicos:
Similar to jarchas, they express a young woman’s love, often confided to her mother or sisters.
Galician-Portuguese Cantigas:
13th- and 14th-century compositions encompassing love songs (courtly love), songs of ridicule and scorn, and cantigas de amigo, resembling jarchas, where a woman laments her beloved’s absence.
Troubadour Lyric
12th- and 13th-century courtly lyric poetry from Provence significantly influenced educated love poetry. Troubadours developed the concept of courtly love, characterized by:
- Feudal relationships: The poet, a servant of his married lady (midons), declares his inferiority and dependence.
- Secrecy: Discretion is essential due to the lady’s married status, often requiring pseudonyms (senhal).
- Spiritual, frustrated love: Often unconsummated or leading to disaster.