Medieval Spanish Literature: Poetry, Prose, and Theater
ITEM 3. DIDACTIC POETRY: MEDIEVAL NARRATIVE
Mester de Clerecía
Definition and Origin
This name is known to all the works composed by clerics during the 13th and 14th centuries. These works were created in monasteries to teach the people religious customs as a form of propaganda. The clerics, learned men of the Middle Ages, knew Latin texts and were inspired by them. However, they wrote in Castilian.
Features
These are texts of mostly religious and ethical themes. They narrate the lives of saints, miracles of the Virgin, or include moral reflections. The works composed by clerics have a didactic purpose. The stanza employed is the cuaderna vía: four Alexandrian lines (14 syllables) with a single assonance rhyme. The transmission of these works was made orally, as most of the people in the 14th century were illiterate. In the 14th century, innovations are introduced in the poems:
- The octosyllable is used alongside the Alexandrine and the cuaderna vía.
- Satire, parody, and apologues with religious motives are introduced.
- Verses acquire a moralizing and philosophical purpose.
Authors and Major Works
The most important works of the 13th century are anonymous: ‘Book of Apollonius’, ‘Book of Alexandre’, and the works of Gonzalo de Berceo: Life of Santo Domingo de Silos, Life of San Millán de la Cogolla, and Miracles of Our Lady. In the 14th century appears Juan Ruiz, Archpriest of Hita, with ‘The Book of Good Love’.
Gonzalo de Berceo: Style
He is the first known Castilian poet. He was aware that he was using a different language than Latin and that he was addressing the people in a simple language. He utilizes a clear style, full of popular voices and turns, sometimes in a dialectal mood. His verses contain a deep lyricism, realism, and a rural atmosphere where he usually places his stories. His works are religious, educational, and moralizing. For his creations, he relies on Latin sources.
(The Miracles of Our Lady), his best-known work, are stories of miracles that show how the Virgin protects and forgives her devotees even when they commit sins. It consists of two parts:
- An introduction in which the narrator is presented as a pilgrim who comes to a green and flowery meadow representing the Virgin.
- A set of 25 miracles that all meet a similar structure:
- Presentation
- Difficulties
- Appearance of the devotee of the Virgin and the Miracle
- Final reflection
Juan Ruiz, Archpriest of Hita
He is the most important author of the 14th century. His work “The Book of Good Love” is one of the key works of Spanish literature. It is presented as a reflection on the evils of earthly love in front of the goodness of divine love. The Archpriest narrates a series of love adventures starring himself, which end disastrously. It is a fictional autobiography in which Juan Ruiz believed that the listener would reject earthly love. It is a complex work for its structure and its interpretation.
Structure and Performance
It presents a wide range of topics, genres, stanzas, and verses: Prologue + Prose + Stories + Love Songs + Prayers and Songs of Praise + A Planto + Serranas + Epic Episode + Examples + Satires + Moral Reflections on various topics.
The Archpriest is offered as a model against evil love, but to this end are added the vital joy of the character, which seems to invite the enjoyment of worldly love, and the entertainment that also seeks to target the work.
Characteristics
The work shows minstrel and popular traits, but follows the rules of the Mester de Clerecía. Some aspects are:
- Metric irregularities
- Ease and humor
- Popular characters
- Lively and colloquial speech
- Proverbs, nicknames, rich vocabulary
- Realism
ITEM 4. BIRTH OF CASTILIAN PROSE
Ferdinand III (13th century)
He adopted Castilian as the language of the Foreign Ministry and declared it the official language, so that this language gained prestige and acceptance among the educated people. But it was his son, Alfonso X the Wise, who promoted and strengthened Castilian.
Alfonso X the Wise (2nd half of the 13th century)
He decided that Castilian became the language of government and legal documents, which until then were written in Latin. Under his management and supervision, he set up the School of Translators of Toledo: a key cultural center in the Middle Ages where scientists, thinkers, and writers of the three cultures (Jews, Arabs, and Christians) lived and which promoted the publication in prose of all legal documents, historical documents, and the translation of a long written tradition belonging to the East. With this magnum opus in prose, Alfonso X developed Castilian, giving it the ability to express scientific content.
Works
- Historical: General Chronicle; General Estoria; Estoria de España
- Law: The Seven Parts
- Science: Books of Knowledge and Astronomy; Lapidary
- Games: Alfonsine Tables; Book of Chess, Dice and Tables
The Story
The first stories written in Castilian were translations of stories that were collected in Eastern collections. The first two collections of medieval tales are:
- Kalila and Dimna (moral)
- Sendebar or Book of the Delusions of Women (misogynistic character)
Don Juan Manuel (14th century)
The Infante Don Juan Manuel, nephew of Alfonso X, is the highest representative of narrative prose in the 14th century. In his production, Count Lucanor or Book of Patronio stands out: This book compiles 51 short stories whose purpose is to teach the nobles how to behave in managing their lands. Other works by the author are: Abbreviated Chronicle + Book of the Knight and Squire + Book of the States + Book of Punishment or Advice.
Structure of Count Lucanor
The stories, examples, or enxiemplos, are independent and are structured as follows:
- The narrator presents the Count and his advisor, Patronio.
- Count Lucanor presents a problem to his counselor, Patronio.
- After general advice, Patronio relates a tale from which a lesson can be learned regarding the Count’s problem.
- Narration of the story.
- Having concluded the story, Patronio reflects on the teaching that the story offers and advises the Count to act accordingly.
- Count Lucanor accepts the advice that he intends to implement.
- Don Juan Manuel is introduced as a character in the play, takes the enxiemplo, sends it to be written, and composes a moral in verse, a two-line stanza.
Sources and Influences of Count Lucanor
The tales have their source in the Arabic and Oriental storytelling tradition and the Christian European tradition. In all of them, the structure of the enxiemplos is repeated. Don Juan Manuel could have known many cases from oral tradition and culture.
Style
Don Juan Manuel is a writer with creative and aesthetic consciousness in search of his own style. He wants to use words known to everyone. However, he shows a lack of fluency and archaisms of a language that is still in its infancy.
Theme
Some of the topics that appear in the work must be placed in the context of the Middle Ages in which they arise. The problems and advice were directed to the nobility. The issues covered are varied and there is no thematic unit.
Intention of the Work
It has a clear intention of moral teaching and follows the tradition of storytelling. The work was the most common expression of moralizing literature. The pleasure and entertainment of the work can be lures for readers to approach the work and thus benefit from the lessons learned.
ITEM 5. MEDIEVAL THEATER
The European medieval drama arises within the liturgical rites of the Christian religion and is very close to the short religious representations that are made. The liturgical dramas were represented in Latin by clerics within the church. Little by little, religious theater was born in the vernacular language. The only known piece in Castilian is the Auto or Representation of the Magi, an incomplete text of religious theater from the mid-to-late twelfth century. Its author is anonymous and it is influenced by some French work. It consists of 147 couplets that present Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar following the star that will lead them to Bethlehem and going to talk to King Herod. It is an ordo estellae: a representation of the Three Wise Men in the vicinity of the altar. The preserved theatrical text is the oldest in a Romance language of the Iberian Peninsula. It is written in a Castilian plagued by influences from other Romance languages, especially Gascon and Mozarabic.