Medieval Narrative Verse Forms
Medieval Narrative Verse
The Epic
The medieval epic unfolded between the 12th and 14th centuries, linked to the minstrel, a popular character. Epic poems sought to spread two important aspects of the time:
- The spirit of chivalry and feudal ideals at the time of the first emerging nations.
- The story of the extraordinary exploits of a hero who represents the ideals of the people, whose identity is aimed at consolidating.
Features
Epic poems were anonymous and composed to be recited with music and performance. Monorhyme verses were composed in arte mayor (major art), assonant, divided by a caesura into two hemistiches. They were recited by minstrels in castles, palaces, public houses, and other venues to entertain people and instill values. The narrator is omniscient but never criticizes or satirizes the hero; they are seen from below. Traits of humor and fantastic events coexist with brief descriptions and realistic landscapes.
Works
The main work is the Chanson de Roland from the 11th century, which extolled the exploits of Charlemagne’s champion. In Spain, the most comprehensive is The Song of the Cid.
Style
There are plenty of epic epithets aimed at the glorification of people and places, minstrel formulas to call attention to listeners, and some archaisms. Common figures include parallels, comparisons, and repetitions.
Mester de Clerecía
Emerged in the 13th century and developed in the 14th.
Characteristics
- These are narratives of religious or historical themes.
- Sometimes lyrical elements are introduced.
- Have a moral or didactic intention.
- They are written in verse and use a regular meter, the cuaderna vía (frame track).
- Were intended for individual or collective reading and disseminated orally by clerics, often in sermons.
- Most are anonymous, except for Gonzalo de Berceo.
Anonymous Works
- The Book of Apollonius
- The Book of Alexander
- The Poem of Fernán González
Gonzalo de Berceo
First Castilian poet to abandon anonymity. Berceo’s texts responded to a plan by the Church, determined by the need for change in education. The poems are addressed to monks, priests, and novices, who transmitted the teaching of Christian doctrine in the vernacular. There are three types of works:
- Hagiographic Works: Triumph of the Saints, Lives of Santo Domingo de Silos.
- Marian Works: Emphasize the importance of the Virgin, Miracles of Our Lady.
- Doctrinal Works: Characterized by cultured language, sometimes incorporating elements from minstrelsy, The Sacrifice of the Mass.
Miracles of Our Lady
In Europe, the worship of the Virgin was widespread in the 12th and 13th centuries. This devotion made its mark on iconography and literature. In this work, Berceo exalts the mediating power of the Virgin in the salvation of souls. It is structured in two parts: an introduction and twenty-five miracles.
The Book of Good Love
By the Archpriest of Hita. It appears as a structured autobiography recounting a series of adventures, usually failed, in which a third party often mediates. It incorporates vernacular language, manifested in the use of proverbs, direct addresses to the listener, and sexual euphemisms.
The Romances
Romances are anonymous narrative poems intended to be sung. They consist of eight-syllable verses rhyming in assonance in pairs. They originated from the chansons de geste. Romances generally respect chronological order, but sometimes break it. Common features include beginning in medias res and abrupt, suspenseful endings.
Old Romances
Dating from the late Middle Ages to the mid-16th century, they were very popular due to their anonymity and oral transmission, making them difficult to date.
New Romances
Composed by poets from the late 16th century onwards, imitating the form and style of the old romances.