Medieval Spanish Literature: Poetry, Prose, and Theater
Medieval Spanish Literature
Poetry
Lyric Poetry: Jarchas, Ballads, and Carols
Mozarabic jarchas, Galician-Portuguese cantigas de amigo, and 15th-century Castilian carols represent a shared Iberian lyrical tradition. These are short songs, typically sung by a woman in love.
These lyric forms span a considerable period: jarchas from the mid-11th century to the first half of the 14th century, cantigas de amigo from the late 12th century to the end of the 14th century, and carols from the mid-15th century to the late 17th century.
The central theme is the female lament of love and the absence of the beloved. The girl’s confidantes are usually her mother, sisters, and friends, and in the case of the cantigas de amigo, nature itself.
In terms of meter, jarchas and carols are metrically irregular, consisting of two, three, or four verses with variable rhyme. Cantigas de amigo, however, are characterized by metrical regularity, tending towards isosyllabism and rhyme.
Narrative Poetry: Mester of Minstrelsy (Popular) and Mester of Clergy (Cultured)
Two key figures in medieval narrative poetry are the cleric and the minstrel.
The cleric, a learned man knowledgeable in Latin and ecclesiastical matters, aimed to bring religious themes to the people with a didactic and moralizing purpose. This practice was known as the mester de clerecía.
The minstrel, a wandering entertainer, traveled through castles and villages, offering news (informative function) and entertainment (recreational function) in exchange for money. This art was known as the mester de juglaría.
The Mester of Minstrelsy: The Epic
Medieval epic poetry is of popular origin.
- Epic Poems: These are the earliest manifestations of the medieval epic. According to Menéndez Pidal, they originated in songs sung by barbarians before battles for reassurance and to evoke the deeds of their ancestors.
The word “epic” refers to sung stories of events, disseminated by minstrels for information and entertainment.
The term “epic” also refers to the exploits of heroes with whom the entire community identifies, highlighting the national character of these stories.
Meter: Epics are not structured in stanzas. Poems of 10 to 20 syllables (divided into two hemistichs of 6 to 8 syllables each) are grouped in long, irregular, monorhymed tiradas (typically assonant).
Language and Style: Minstrels used distinctive epic features and, due to oral transmission, employed resources of spoken language.
- The Poem of the Cid (the quintessential epic poem) is preserved in a manuscript copied in the early 14th century by Per Abat, but written much earlier (around 1140, according to Menéndez Pidal; other scholars place it in the late 12th or early 13th century).
The poem’s authorship is uncertain. Menéndez Pidal believed it to be the work of two authors, one from San Esteban de Gormaz and the other from Medinaceli.
Plot: The poem exalts Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, the Cid, banished by King Alfonso VI of Castile, who conquers Valencia. He later reconciles with the king and marries his daughters to the infantes of Navarre and Aragon.
Theme: The poem depicts the hero’s journey from dishonor (exile) to the recovery of his honor and social elevation through bravery and courage.
Structure: The poem has three parts:
- The Song of Exile: The Cid’s banishment, his entry into Moorish lands, and his first victories.
- The Song of the Wedding: The conquest of Valencia, the reunion with his family, and the marriage of his daughters to the heirs of Carrión.
- The Song of the Affront of Corpes: The outrage suffered by the Cid’s daughters, their humiliation and abandonment by their husbands, and the subsequent redress in the courts of Toledo, culminating in their marriage to the infantes of Navarre and Aragon.
Meter: The poem exhibits metrical irregularity with monorhymed tiradas of varying length. Verses consist of two hemistichs of 6 to 8 syllables each, with continuous assonant rhyme and some anomalies.
Artistic Values: The poem’s realism reflects the social organization and customs of the time. Other notable features include its unity around the theme of honor, skillful characterization, and subtle humor.
The poem reflects the spirit of the Castilian people, and its national character is evident in its portrayal of this community.
Stylistic Features:
- Lexical:
- Archaisms.
- Epic epithets (e.g., “clear Valencia,” “Babieca the swift,” “Mio Cid born in a good hour”).
- Dualities or bimembrations.
- Discursive:
- Use of the vocative and second-person plural verb forms.
- Flexibility in tense usage.
Mester of Clergy
This style, practiced by writers in the 13th and 14th centuries, uses the cuaderna vía (monorhymed quatrain). The term “mester de clerecía” refers to its cultivation by clerics and other learned men.
With a didactic and moralizing intent, these writers addressed scholarly topics (science, arts, etc.) derived from Western European cultural heritage.
This narrative poetry is characterized by metrical regularity.
The cultured nature of this school, along with its didactic purpose, led to a style that alternated between:
- Popular language (proverbs, comparisons, etc.).
- Elevated language (cultisms).
This type of poetry is divided into two periods:
- 13th Century: Gonzalo de Berceo exemplifies the religious and chivalric ideals of the time. His works include national and religious epics, the most famous being Miracles of Our Lady.
- 14th Century: The Archpriest of Hita’s Book of Good Love reflects the materialistic and bourgeois society of the time, with a satirical, humorous, and pessimistic tone.
Book of Good Love
Theme: Love, both human (erotic) and divine. The tension between these two creates the work’s deliberate ambiguity.
Plot and Structure: A series of mock love affairs featuring the poet himself, forming an autobiographical core narrative.
The author uses the cuaderna vía, occasionally replaced by the Alexandrine (16 syllables).
The ambiguity between human and divine love contributes to the moralizing intention expressed in the prologue.
Medieval Prose
Glosses (marginal notes in texts) are the first written signs of Castilian. The oldest, the Glosses Emilianenses and Silenses, date from the 10th century.
The first published prose works appeared during the reign of Ferdinand III (first half of the 13th century) and consisted of translations of Latin texts.
Alfonso X (the Wise) is considered the true creator of Castilian prose. He established Castilian as a language of culture by directing the translation of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew works, aided by the Toledo School of Translators.
In 14th-century prose, Don Juan Manuel stands out with El Conde Lucanor, a didactic work considered, along with the Book of Good Love, a literary summit of the 14th century. This collection of 50 tales offers moral teachings emphasizing practicality, cunning, and caution.
The 14th century also saw the emergence of the novel, with examples like the adventure story (The Great Conquest Overseas) and chivalric romances (The Knight Zifar).
Medieval Theater
Medieval theater originated in religious celebrations, arising from the enactment of liturgical ceremonies within churches.
The oldest example of Spanish medieval drama is the Auto de los Reyes Magos (Play of the Magi) from the second half of the 12th century.