Medieval Spanish Poetry: Key Works and Authors
Medieval Spanish Learned Poetry (Mester de Clerecía)
Medieval Spanish literature of the Middle Ages was not limited to local and religious topics, but also addressed major themes of European literature of its time. The length of these texts, often exceeding ten thousand verses, the relevance of their sources and the matters discussed, the vast erudition displayed, and the international nature of the subject make these books perhaps the most interesting of their time.
Archpriest of Hita: The Book of Good Love
The Book of Good Love is one of the most important works in Castilian literature. It consists of little more than 1600 verses, mostly in cuaderna vía, and a prologue in prose. The work is a conglomeration of themes and literary materials from different sources, organized around an invented autobiographical narrative: there are medieval exempla, dialogues illustrating the characters, short narratives, religious and secular poems, and adaptations of Latin texts.
The theme of the book is the suppression of loco amor, or carnal love, through the love affairs of an archpriest and other characters. A notable creation of the author is the character of the old Trotaconventos, a bawd for the Archpriest’s love affairs, a character foreshadowing Celestina.
Libro de Alexandre
The Libro de Alexandre is a narrative poem from the first half of the 13th century, which tells, with abundant fabulous elements, the life of Alexander the Great. It is written using the meter known as cuaderna vía (alexandrine monorhyme tetrastich) and is included in the school of poetry called Mester de Clerecía. It is composed of 2,675 stanzas, totaling 10,700 verses.
Book of Apollonius
The Book of Apollonius is a medieval Castilian verse work belonging to the Mester de Clerecía. Traditionally, the Book of Apollonius is dated around 1250 and is generally regarded as one of the earliest manifestations of the Mester de Clerecía (Menéndez Pidal, from a lexicographical point of view, places it in the second half of the 13th century). Although it seemingly presents abundant cuaderna vía irregularities, this is not true, because the only manuscript we have is a late copy from the mid-14th century, which introduced changes to the original.
Juan de Mena: El laberinto de Fortuna
Juan de Mena was born in Córdoba in 1414. There has been much debate about his status as a converso. Upon returning from his trip to Italy, he was appointed Latin secretary to John II, and in 1444 he was appointed official historian. He enjoyed great favor in court circles and died in 1456. He is the prototype of the pure intellectual who focused on his studies outside of political struggles. He is the antithesis of the Marquis of Santillana, though they were united by close ties of friendship.
Work: Part of his poetic production falls under the troubadour school (1st stage), including love songs and verses on satirical political circumstances. His most important work, The Labyrinth of Fortune (also known as The Three Hundred), is the most famous allegorical poem of its time. It is composed of arte mayor stanzas (8 lines of 12 syllables with the rhyme scheme ABBAACCA).
The poem was presented to the king in Tordesillas in 1444. In this work, the author visits the palace of the goddess Fortune, where she shows him three wheels: of the past, the present, and the future. The wheels of the past and future are still, while the present one is in motion. They contain characters who symbolize vices and virtues. From the wheel of the future, he is only allowed to see the glories of John II, to whom the work is dedicated.
The work seeks to reflect the Spanish political situation, proposing a remedy against the anarchy of the nobles and supporting the efforts of Álvaro de Luna to achieve a strong absolute monarchy. The style is dense, full of erudition and Latinisms. The Castilian poetic style aims to reach the height of classical art. It accumulates cultismos and neologisms (new words).