Cantar del mio Cid and Medieval Spanish Poetry
Cantar del mio Cid: Epic Poem Analysis
Cantar del mio Cid is an epic poem consisting of 3,700 verses. It tells the exploits of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar. The poem consists of 3 parts or songs:
- The Song of Exile: The Cid is accused of false crimes and banished by King Alfonso VI. In his exile, the Cid and his men fight against the Arabs.
- The Song of the Wedding: El Cid conquers Valencia and gains the pardon and favor of the king, who offers his daughters’ weddings to the Infantes of Carrión.
- The Song of the Shame of Corpes: The Infantes of Carrión beat their wives. After this outrage, Alfonso VI ensures that the Cid’s honor is restored in the courts of Toledo, where they agree to the weddings of his daughters to the heirs of the crowns of Navarre and Aragon.
Style and Literary Language
It is characterized by its plausibility as a credible story, lacking fantastic elements. Although the hero’s qualities are magnified and exaggerated, the protagonist is presented as a human being. The poem features fixed formulas (repeated expressions appealing to the listener or introducing actions). Epic epithets highlight names and identify characters by a quality.
Key Characters
Characters are defined by their narrative function, which depends on their relationship with the protagonist:
- El Cid: Embodies knightly virtues with human touches, such as expressing grief before exile and tenderness towards his family.
- King Alfonso VI: Drives the action. As monarch, he is the one to whom the Cid pays homage and the judge who presides over his actions.
- The Cid’s Family: Composed of Doña Jimena, his wife (who shared the hero’s disgrace and success), and his daughters, Elvira and Sol.
- The Cid’s Vassals: Highlights some close to the hero for family reasons or upbringing, such as Minaya Álvar Fáñez.
- The Cid’s Enemies: Include the nobles who instigated his exile, the Infantes of Carrión who caused shame, and the Moors, who are presented as worthy rivals in his campaigns.
Medieval Spanish Poetry Traditions
Oral Tradition Poetry
In the 13th century, Latin was used for written texts, avoiding the use of Romance languages. Literature in society, transmitted in verse, was easier to memorize and was accompanied by music. Oral poetry was and is anonymous. When sung or recited by the people, it transforms into a traditional piece, with variations introduced. In the Middle Ages, oral poetry was transmitted by minstrels who traveled through towns and castles, singing or reciting. These poems have been preserved because a learned poet wrote them down.
Lyric Poetry Forms
The first poems in Romance languages were lyrical. Jarchas dealt with love from a woman’s viewpoint, characterized by simplicity and scarcity of details, lending a sense of mystery. Forms include jarchas, songs of friend, and villancicos.
Songs of Friend
Originated in the Middle Ages, consisting of verses in chains where a verse is repeated with variations. The earliest examples date from the 12th century.
Villancicos
Manifestations of popular lyric poetry. They are short poems with lines of minor art, consisting of a chorus (stating the theme) and a gloss (one or more stanzas developing the chorus content, often repeating the initial chorus at the end).
Epic Poetry and Chansons de Geste
The taste for narrative, recounting the glorious deeds of collective history, led to the development of epic poetry from the Middle Ages. In the 12th and 13th centuries, minstrels recited poems extolling the exploits of a hero who embodied the virtues of a people. These poems were called chansons de geste. Three testimonies remain: Cantar del mio Cid, Cantar de Roncesvalles, and Mocedades de Rodrigo.
The Romances
Chansons de geste declined in the 14th century, and testimonies about the diffusion of romances, which were oral, emerged. A romance is a poem composed of variable eight-syllable verses rhyming in assonance. It is related to epic poetry due to its narrative nature and its subject matter, often drawn from important compositions.