Transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance
Transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance (XV-XVI Centuries)
1. Late Middle Ages
In this period, two types of works stand out: the romance and cancionero poetry, which fully reflect their medieval heritage. At the end of the 15th century, La Celestina was published, a work that points directly to the Renaissance.
1.1. Ballads
A ballad is a collection of ballads, narrative poems that have these characteristics:
- They consist of octosyllabic verses, with assonant rhyme in even lines.
- They do not have a specified number of verses or stanzas.
- It is believed that their origin lies in the evolution of the metrics of epic poems. Hence, much of their traditional character: they were recited from memory and transmitted orally from generation to generation.
- For the same reason, they are anonymous poems.
- In addition to epic ballads, there are also Moorish ballads, Carolingian ballads, Arthurian ballads, lyrical ballads, etc.
1.2. Cancionero Poetry
It owes its name to its musical character. It presents poems with a mocking tone and others with a moralizing and religious character, which reflect on the passage of time and the life that leads to death and God.
Jorge Manrique wrote the most famous poem of this period: Coplas a la muerte de su padre, an elegy in memory of his father. These couplets are characterized by:
- They use a special stanza (the coplas manriqueñas or broken-foot couplet, which combines eight-syllable and four-syllable lines with consonant rhyme) and it is an elegy (a poem in memory of a deceased person).
- The poem includes typical medieval topics:
- The passage of time, which devours everything and leads to death and oblivion.
- Life in this world is not considered important in itself, but as a transition to heaven.
- Death comes equally to all people, regardless of their condition.
- It is important to use the allegory of life as a river or as a journey, the personification of death, etc.
- The idea of fame also appears, considered as the only thing that can “save” people from death. This idea is quite novel at the time and already points to the Renaissance.
1.3. La Celestina
It is one of the most important works of universal literature. It was first published in 1499, with the title Comedia de Calisto y Melibea. It was anonymous. It now appears with a new title, Tragicomedia de Calisto y Melibea, and the name of the author is mentioned: Fernando de Rojas, a writer of whom no other work is known. It is only known that he was a lawyer who lived between 1475 and 1541.
1.3.1. The Plot
Calisto falls in love with Melibea. Breaking the rules of the time, he declares his love from the beginning, causing the girl’s anger. Calisto is advised by his servant Sempronius, who hires Celestina (a former prostitute). Despite her reputation, Celestina manages to trick Melibea into agreeing to meet with Calisto. Sempronius and Pármeo murder Celestina because she has not wanted to share the money she received for her work. Calisto’s servants are arrested and die on the gallows. One night, when leaving Melibea’s room, Calisto falls down the stairs and dies. Melibea, in despair, commits suicide by throwing herself from a tower.
1.3.2. Genre: Humanistic Comedy
La Celestina seems like a play, as it is a dialogue text that includes annotations and asides, but the work is meant to be read, not performed, because it has too many events and changes of scenery, which was not usual at the time. La Celestina is a humanistic comedy, which was recited in universities and presented a love theme.
1.3.3. The Characters
The realism of the characters stands out, and even the harshness with which they are introduced and characterized is emphasized. They can be divided into two groups according to their social class:
- Rich: Calisto, Melibea, and their parents.
- Lower class: the servants, Celestina, and her associates.
All of them are complex characters that evolve throughout the play and gradually reveal how they act. In general, they speak and act out of pure self-interest and try to achieve their goals no matter what. To do so, they do not hesitate to be hypocritical or liars, or even to betray and murder.
2. The Renaissance and its Time
The word Renaissance began to be used in 15th-century Italy. Currently, we use it to refer to a period, the 16th century in Spain, characterized by the following features:
2.1. Advances in Science and Discoveries
- Scientific Discoveries: Copernicus’s heliocentric theory stands out, stating that the Earth is no longer the center of the universe, but the Sun.
- Invention of Printing: Gutenberg’s invention greatly contributes to the dissemination of ideas and thus to the expansion of culture. New ideas and humanities spread.
- Discovery of America: It has enormous consequences, first by changing the understanding of the world that was had at that time, then for the conquest and trade between Spain and the new continent, which generated enormous wealth.
2.2. Crisis of Medieval Values
- Religious Crisis: The rise of Protestantism, which rebels against the Pope and separates from the Catholic Church. Between 1545 and 1563, the Council of Trent launched the Counter-Reformation.
- Political Crisis: Arising from the religious crisis, the wars of religion between Protestants and Catholics begin.
- Crisis of Thought: The Renaissance brings a new idea of man and his role in the world. In the Middle Ages, theocentrism predominated; it was believed that the center of life was God.
2.3. Cultural Splendor
In this period, we find the beginning of one of the most brilliant stages of Spanish culture and literature, which extends into the late 17th century. The 16th and 17th centuries are called the Golden Age. In this century, the development of poetry stands out, which, with Garcilaso de la Vega, begins a new path away from the traditional ways of the 15th century. In prose, the novel emerges as we understand it today, with two masterpieces of world literature: Lazarillo de Tormes, anonymous, and Don Quixote, by Cervantes, published in the 17th century, but which summarizes and completes the entire narrative of the Renaissance.