Spanish Legends: A Collection of Tales
The White Deer
In this legend appears an Aragonese nobleman, Don Dinis, who had a daughter, Constance, and her personal servant named Garcés. One day, after finishing a hunt, they all gathered under some trees and a young man approached. Don Dinis told him it was fine to join them because he thought that all the deer were against him. One day, while looking for deer, a group of roe deer led by a white doe appeared, and the young man fled in panic. Everyone laughed except Esteban Garcés, who couldn’t stop thinking about the story of the white deer.
Garcés loved Constance and thought that if he caught the white deer for her, she would fall into his arms. He left the castle armed, thinking that he would catch his prey. After battling the elements, he spied the white doe with her flock. The white deer was caught in a thicket, and he could approach her and try to catch her. But when he was going to do it, the deer spoke! Garcés was so surprised that he released her. The doe tried to escape, but Garcés threw an arrow and hit the target. But in reality, the deer was Constance, wallowing in her own blood after being hit by the arrow of her suitor.
Themes:
- Transformation caused by love leading to death.
Structure:
- Two parts: the first in which Garcés plots the deer hunting and prepares for it, and the second when the hunting takes place and he injures his beloved.
Type of Text:
- An Aragonese legend that uses fairies as a guideline.
- A combination of narrative and dialogue, with some descriptive elements.
Characters:
- Main: Esteban, Constance, Don Dinis, Garcés.
- Secondary: The hunters that accompany Don Dinis, servants of the castle, etc.
Setting:
- Time: Around the 1300s (Medieval Age).
- Place: A small place in Aragon, with mentions of Tarazona, South Fitera, and the land of Veratón.
Green Eyes
Fernando and his cavalcade were hunting in the forest. They saw a deer in the distance and began to shoot. They wounded it, but the deer kept running into an area of the forest where nobody dared to enter because a legend said that there was a fountain where an evil spirit lived. The hunting party stopped, but Fernando went in search of his prey, ignoring the warnings of Iñigo, one of his vassals.
From that day on, Fernando stopped going to hunt. He became withdrawn and got up early every day to go to the fountain. Once, when he was looking at the calm waters of the fountain, he saw an eye at the bottom. Green eyes, which he could not stop thinking about. He continued going to the fountain until one day, he saw a beautiful woman with the green eyes he had seen at the bottom, sitting on one of the fountain’s rocks. He spoke with her whenever he saw her, but she never said a word. Except once, when Fernando said “I love you.” Then she told him that she lived in the fountain, that she was an evil spirit, and that she also loved him. Fernando kissed her and fell to the bottom of the fountain.
Mount of Souls
The story is set on a hill in Soria, called Mount of Souls, on All Souls’ Day. It begins with a hunting expedition, but they are already preparing to return since it is November 1st, All Saints’ Day, just before the dreaded date. Beatrice and Alonso, children of the Counts of Borges and Alcudiel, are with their parents and pages, on horseback, on the road to begin the hunt. Alonso, who is a hunter, starts to tell a legend, that of the Mount of Souls.
Apparently, this mountain, named for the souls, belonged to the Templars, who were warriors and religious at the same time. When the Arabs were expelled from Soria, the king had come to defend the city, which offended the nobles of Castile and created hostility between them. A deep struggle began until the king ended the awful battle. The hill was abandoned, and the bodies of the monks were buried in the chapel. Since then, on the night of the dead, the legend says that the spirits of the dead roam the forest with all the animals, dead with fear, and no one wants to stay there on that date.
Once back at the Counts’ home and sitting by the fire, Alonso and Beatrice were the only ones outside the general conversation. The boy broke his long silence, telling his cousin that they would soon be separated and that before that, he wanted to give her a jewel. Beatrice told him that accepting his gift could compromise her will and reminded him that it was All Saints’ Day and therefore a day of celebration for everyone. She said nothing more, accepted the gift, and asked for something of her own. Beatriz agreed and said that she had lost the blue ribbon she wore on the hunt on the Mount of Souls and simply wanted him to retrieve it.
At these words, Alonso, who felt capable of fighting wolves, was not brave enough to go to the woods at night and find that lost item. But seeing Beatrice’s wry smile, he got up and, scared to death, went to the mountain on his horse, saying goodbye to the beautiful girl. Hours passed until midnight, and Beatrice, unable to sleep, got up to pray, believing she heard his name when it was just the wind whipping at her window. Scared and sleepless, she heard the bells of the city of Soria until dawn. When she got up, on the verge of laughing at herself for being so scared the night before, she saw her torn and bloody blue ribbon on her bedside table. Beatrice froze, her eyes haggard, as her servants came to warn her that Alonso had been devoured by wolves from the mountain. He was found dead, still and full of horror.
The Miserere
A man finds a book in an abbey. While reading it, he discovers a word on the edge of a page whose meaning he doesn’t know, so he asks an old man about it. The old man recognizes the word and tells the “researcher” an old legend.
It is said that some time ago, a man walked into the abbey seeking shelter and a piece of bread. Those who lived in the abbey didn’t have any problem with this since it was practically their job. At dinner, the monks began to ask the newcomer questions. He answered almost every question until they reached one he couldn’t answer: “What do you do?” The man replied that he was a musician and that he was currently finishing the Miserere so that the Lord would forgive all his sins. Upon hearing this, one of the monks told him that his work was already done because in that monastery in the mountains, they had heard the dead monks sing the Miserere every night. The musician decided to climb to the monastery and take notes to complete the score.
He was already inside the monastery when he saw that it was in ruins, and only the skeletons of the monks remained. They climbed up the mountainside and stood in a line to sing the song. The stunned man tried to stay alert to hear the result of so many years of work, but when the monks reached verse 10, a big flash froze him and left him unconscious. When he awoke the next day, he went down the mountain to reach the abbey and sought refuge there to write the Miserere. He wrote down everything he had heard, but when he tried to write the ending, it was impossible. He wrote many drafts but couldn’t finish it. Such was his frustration that he died mad.
Maese Pérez, the Organist
In this legend, the mystery revolves around the death of Maese Pérez and how his spirit continues to play the organ after his death.
The legend begins on Christmas Eve, when midnight mass was to be celebrated at the convent of Santa Inés in Seville. The church was astonishingly lit, and the best of Seville’s nobility, the archbishop, and his family were present because Maese Pérez was the best organist in the city. It was time to begin the Mass, but it didn’t start because Maese Pérez had fallen ill. The news spread instantly among the people, and then a poorly dressed, thin, bony, and cross-eyed man stood before the bishop and offered to play the organ. The archbishop accepted the offer, but suddenly, there were cries of joy announcing that Maese Pérez had arrived at the convent.
Maese Pérez was pale and haggard and entered the church carried in a chair. He knew it was the last night he could play the organ and wanted to bid it farewell. He began the Mass, and the organ sounded majestic, until suddenly, a piercing scream was heard. It was Maese Pérez’s daughter, who had seen her father die. The following year, the organist at the church of the convent of Santa Inés was the man from San Román (who had offered to play when Maese Pérez arrived last year). Everyone considered him a bad musician, but when he began to play, the organ sounded just like it did with Maese Pérez. People were amazed, but the organist swore that he had never touched that instrument. The archbishop then invited him to play at the Cathedral the following year, and he accepted.
The following year, two years after the death of Maese Pérez, the abbess of the convent of Santa Inés asked Maese Pérez’s daughter (who had become a nun after her father’s death) to play the organ at midnight mass. She replied that she was very scared because the previous night she had seen her father playing the organ. The abbess told her that it was just her imagination and to forget it because her father was in heaven and from there, he would inspire her to play well in that solemn ceremony.
The Mass began, and nothing happened until the offertory. At that moment, they heard a cry from Maese Pérez’s daughter, who said that she was watching her father play the organ. The organ bench was empty, but the music continued to play. It was the spirit of Maese Pérez playing the organ. This also solved the mystery of the organist of San Román; it wasn’t him playing last year, but the spirit of Maese Pérez.
Setting:
- Place: Seville, Convent of Santa Inés.
- Time: The Golden Age, during the reign of Philip II. The action takes place over two years, from Maese Pérez’s death until his spirit returns to play the organ.
The Moonlight
This legend tells the story of a man named Manrique, who was very withdrawn and appreciated solitude. He loved poetry, and his solitary nature allowed him to clear his mind. One warm summer night, he saw a woman walking towards the monastery of the Templars. He followed her and tried to reach her and talk to her, but despite all his attempts, he failed to catch up until he reached what he assumed was her home. But when he knocked on the door and asked who lived there, the person who opened it said it was the house of Alonso de Valdecuellos, the king’s chief huntsman, who lived alone.
After a while, he saw her again from the balcony and went back to follow her, but much more closely this time. He realized that what he saw was a ray of moonlight in the middle of the forest, which was given a voice by the wind crashing into the trees. This led our protagonist into a deep depression, thinking that life was a hoax and love was just a ray of moonlight.
Themes:
- Idealized love.
Structure:
- Introduction, six sections (one, four, and one), and an epilogue.
Type of Text:
- A legend from Soria.
- It could be a story or a tale, based on a man’s experiences.
- Part of the work belongs to popular legend, but part is invented.
- The text is mainly narrative, with some descriptions (landscape, architecture, vegetation, etc.), and a form of dialogue in which Manrique talks to himself.
Setting:
- Time: The Middle Ages.
- Place: The entire play takes place in Soria: the Duero River, the Templars’ monastery, and the Hermitage of San Saturio (San Juan district).
The Kiss
Abstract:
French troops enter Toledo in the early nineteenth century. One of the captains is housed in a church with some of his soldiers. The next day, the officers gather at the Zocodover Square and ask the captain about his night. He says that a noise woke him up, and before going back to sleep in the dark, he could see a beautiful woman, but she was made of marble. Beside her stood another statue, this time of a soldier, who the captain assumed was her husband.
Upon hearing this, his comrades decide to go see the statues that night while enjoying some wine. The officers investigate and discover that the statues belong to a famous warrior and his wife, Doña Elvira Castañeda. When they all arrive at the church, they are fascinated and start drinking. A soldier throws a glass of wine in the face of the warrior statue. Moments later, the captain tries to kiss the lips of Doña Elvira’s statue, but her marble husband raises his arm and strikes the officer in the face, leaving him bleeding from the mouth, nose, and eyes.
The Golden Bracelet
(Legend of Toledo)
Context in which the fantasy element occurs: Pedro, possibly at the request of or to please his beloved Mary (the reason remains unknown), tried to steal the gold bracelet that the statue of the Virgin Mary in the Cathedral of Toledo wears on one of her hands. During his attempt, the floor of the cathedral turns into graves, all the statues come down from their niches and fill the church, looking at Pedro with pupil-less eyes. He also sees a world of reptiles and vermin. After so many terrifying experiences, he falls unconscious on the altar. When he wakes up, he no longer has the gold bracelet in his hands, but he has apparently gone mad.