Medieval Spanish Literature: Poetry, Prose, and Novels
Medieval Spanish Literature
1. The Romance
1.1 Definition and Features
Ballads are anonymous narrative poems intended to be sung. They are typically composed of eight-syllable verses with assonance, though variations in verse length exist (nine, seven, and six syllables).
1.2 Old and New Ballads
Old ballads are documents from the late Middle Ages and mid-16th century, a period of great popularity for the form. Due to their anonymity and oral transmission, they are difficult to date. The oldest known copy dates to c. 1421, but its existence is assumed to predate the 14th century.
New ballads are those composed by poets from the 16th century onward, imitating the form and style of the older ballads.
1.3 Classification of Romances
- Medieval Epic Theme: Derived from epic poems or other literary sources, these ballads extol the virtues of heroes and kings.
- French/Carolingian Theme: These ballads deal with matters of French epic and romance novels, often featuring characters of courtly romance.
- Historical Theme: These ballads refer to events or figures in Castilian medieval history.
- Border Issue: These narrate episodes of border struggles between Christians and Muslims.
- Fiction: This category includes subdivisions such as unfaithful love, unrequited love, adultery, seduction, etc.
- Biblical: These ballads narrate episodes from the Bible and the Gospels.
1.4 Speech
Romances generally respect chronological order, though breaks can occur. Beginnings in medias res and abrupt endings are common. Narration can be in first or third person.
1.5 Style
Romances exhibit a distinct style with peculiar features:
- Use of singular verbs: Historic and imperfect indicative used in contexts where present perfect simple might be expected.
- Archaisms: Phonetic features like the conservation of initial Latin f- and paragogic -e (e.g., amare).
- Use of Formulae: Conative formulae to enter dialogue, audience appeals, epic epithets, and parallelism.
- Repetitions: Hemistiches repeated within lines, between lines, or across groups of verses.
- Other Resources: Frequent use of antithesis and enumerations.
2. Prose in Medieval Narrative
The first manifestations of Castilian prose date to the late 12th and early 13th centuries.
2.1 Collections of Exempla
The 12th and 14th centuries saw a movement to provide Christian education in the vernacular. In Castile, this involved the use of exempla (moral anecdotes). Early collections (e.g., Kalila and Dimna, 13th century) consist of stories from India, translated from Arabic. These are framed narratives: in the first, stories are told by scholars of a court and the king’s concubine; in the second, a philosopher advises a king through stories featuring animals.
2.2 Alfonso X “El Sabio”
Works by Alfonso X include:
- History: General Estoria and Estoria de España
- Legal: Setenario, Fuero Real, and Espéculo
- Scientific: Alfonsine Tables, Libro del saber de astronomía, and Lapidario
- Recreation: Libro de los dados and Libro del ajedrez
3. The Novel in the Fifteenth Century
3.1 The Romance of Chivalry
Chivalric novels follow the adventures of a heroic knight, loyal to his queen and a defender of justice and the oppressed. The knight undertakes a journey, facing various tests and supernatural elements. The most important work, Amadis of Gaul, narrates the adventures of Amadis and the obstacles he faces to marry his beloved Oriana. The action takes place in real and exotic locations, alternating between open environments and courtly settings. The novel employs the technique of entanglement.
3.2 The Sentimental Novel
Sentimental novels focus on the emotional states and internal conflicts of characters, rather than external action. This introspection is often conveyed through letters and poetry. These stories develop a love story with a sad or tragic ending, often involving the death of one or both lovers. The lady is often portrayed as cruel to the devoted chevalier. The prototypical sentimental novel is Cárcel de amor (1492) by Diego de San Pedro, who also wrote Tratado de amores de Arnalte y Lucenda (1491).