Spanish Medieval Literature: Epic Poems, Prose, and Theater
Spanish Medieval Literature
Epic Poetry
Cantar de Gesta
The Romanesque medieval epic is constituted by so-called epics (deeds). Among the French chansons de geste, the “Chanson de Roland” stands out. Of Castilian epics, few texts are preserved: a fragment of the song of Roncesvalles, the Cantar de Mio Cid, and the Mocedades de Rodrigo.
The Cantar de Mio Cid
This unique Castilian epic poem is almost entirely preserved, though a 14th-century manuscript leaf is missing. The initial states that it was written by Per Abbat. The Cantar de Mio Cid is based on the last years of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, also known as “El Cid Campeador”.
The poem exalts the figure of the Cid, a nobleman of lesser lineage, valued for his effort and loyalty, in contrast to the ricoshombres, who appear degraded. The hero is presented as a valiant knight, wary of his host (the company of armed men who served a king), a good husband and father, and a fervent Christian.
The protagonist of the Cantar de Mio Cid is presented with the fundamental feature of moderation: he is prudent, balanced, shrewd, and cunning.
Levels of History
- Recovery of Public Honor: In the initial situation, the Cid is deterred by the king because of false accusations. To regain his lost honor, Rodrigo carries out a series of feats that increase his fame and wealth, which allows him to reintegrate into the community and regain his honor through the royal pardon.
- Recovery of Private Honor: The Cid subsequently suffers a personal affront: his sons-in-law, the Infantes of Carrión, abuse and neglect his daughters. The Cid gets a second repositioning of his honor by using the Riepto (a 12th-century legal innovation). After hearing the parties to a lawsuit, the king appointed and chaired a public fight. The Cid gets the win over the Infantes and arranges a new marriage. By regaining his honor, the Cid moves up the social hierarchy.
Level of Discourse
The poem presents an irregular metric. The verses are divided by a caesura into two hemistiches and are grouped in series or runs: the shortest of 3 lines and the longest of 190. The rhyme is assonant.
The Cantar de Mio Cid has the following outer structure:
- Cantar del Destierro (Song of Exile): Recounts the events from the departure of Vivar to the Cid’s victory over the Count of Barcelona.
- Cantar de las Bodas (Song of the Weddings): Extends from the beginning of the Levantine season until the wedding of the Cid’s daughters with the Infantes of Carrión.
- Cantar de la Afrenta de Corpes (Song of the Shame of Corpes): Covers from the scene of the lion to the outcome of the story with the final triumph of the hero. In reality, ellipses occur and axes are announced that will later be counted (prolepsis).
The narrator, omniscient, respects the chronological order. There is significant use of dramatic speech, reproducing the words of the characters. Due to oral transmission, a notable feature of the Cantar is the use of tokenism: abundant formulas are used, groups of words that regularly appear, constituting a mnemonic device for the juglar. Among them stand out:
- Formulas with conative function or fatica: “Well now you shall hear what he said.”
- Epic epithets focusing especially on the hero: “He who was born in a good hour.” Binary phrases and redundancies also abound.
Mester de Clerecía
The mester de clerecía (office of expression equivalent to clergy) arises in the 13th century.
Features
- Religious, narrative, or heroic character.
- Moral or didactic intention.
- Written in verse using a regular metric, the cuaderna vía, stanzas of 4 verses in Alexandrines with consonant monorhyme.
- Earmarked for reading individually or collectively, both religious and secular, and spread orally by bards or clerics in sermons.
Anonymous Works of the 13th Century
These include the Libro de Alexandre, the Libro de Apolonio, and the Poema de Fernán González.
Gonzalo de Berceo
The first Castilian poet whose name we know. He was a member of the lower clergy, instructed in religious matters. Berceo’s poems are addressed to monks, priests, and novices, who transmitted the teaching of Christian doctrine to the faithful by preaching in the vernacular language. His major works are distinguished:
- Hagiographic Works: “Vida de San Millán de la Cogolla“
- Marian Works: “Milagros de Nuestra Señora“
- Doctrinal Works: “El sacrificio de la misa“
Milagros de Nuestra Señora
In the 12th-13th centuries, the cult of the Virgin was widespread. In “Milagros de Nuestra Señora“, Berceo exalts the power of the Virgin in the salvation of souls. The book is structured into two parts: an introduction and a set of 25 miracles.
Introduction
The protagonist is the narrator, who identifies with Berceo himself. He is presented as a pilgrim in a garden described as a locus amoenus (pleasant place), associated with the Virgin Mary. Rosemary symbolizes the fallen man searching for lost grace.
Miracles
The 25 stories exemplify the merciful action of Mary and her power to advocate with Christ. The Virgin Mary appears characterized in human terms: maternal, although also authoritarian, strong, and severe. In each story, devotees are rewarded, punished, or relieved from danger. The characters are worldly individuals with ties to the church.
Libro de Buen Amor
Written by the Archpriest of Hita.
Structure
Presented as an autobiographical series of affairs, usually failed. The single player conceals several characters. Didactic or moralistic digressions and exempla (anecdotes, fables) are introduced. Lyrics of wide metric and two allegorical compositions are inserted. Most of the work is written in cuaderna vía, although some lines have 16 syllables.
Sense of the Work
In the prose prologue, the author sets two purposes: to teach and to collect his poetic compositions. He justifies the didacticism of the affairs and the introduction of a songbook. The author states that his intention was to induce good love. Didacticism is associated in many places with humor (through parody, irony, and ridicule). The work is characterized by a constant ambiguity, the didactic nature of the work, and a demonstration of vital joy.
Style
Use of the vernacular, particularly evident in the expressive resources of the refranero. Rhetorical questions, anaphora, bimembraciones, antithesis, comparisons, metaphors, hyperbole, and word games stand out.
Romances
Narrative poems, anonymous and intended to be sung, composed of eight-syllable verses rhyming in pairs.
Old and New Romances
The old romances are from between the end of the Middle Ages and the mid-16th century, characterized by their anonymity and oral transmission. New romances are those composed by poets since the end of the 16th century, mimicking the style of the ancients.
Subject Classification
- Epic-medieval French romances
- Carolingian romances
- Historical romances
- Border romances
- Fictional romances
- Biblical and Greco-Roman romances
Medieval Narrative Prose
The first manifestations emerge in the late 12th and 13th centuries.
Enxiemplos Collections
In the 13th and 14th centuries, a movement developed that aimed to offer Christian education to the people in their own language. They used enxiemplos to make preaching more enjoyable.
Alfonso X the Wise
Castilian prose was consolidated through the impetus of King Alfonso X. His works can be classified as:
- Historical
- Legal: “Siete Partidas“
- Recreational
Don Juan Manuel
His works reflect his devotion to Dominican beliefs and ambition for economic and social power.
El Conde Lucanor
Divided into five parts:
- Part 1: Formed by 50 enxiemplos that reflect the teachings of a master. In a narrative framework, the Count poses a problem to his tutor Patronio, and Patronio tells him a story, from which the solution derives. At the end of each enxiemplo, Don Juan Manuel is introduced as a character in the third person and summarizes the moral in a couplet.
- Parts 2, 3, and 4: Contain cultured sentences that fundamentally exalt the virtue of prudence.
- Part 5: Works as a conclusion of the work and focuses on the Christian life.
The Novel in the 15th Century
Collects two large ideals of courtly society: the adventure of chivalry, which will incorporate the novel of chivalry, and ideal love, which generates the sentimental novel.
The Romance of Chivalry
Chronicles the adventures of a knight, heroic, faithful to his lady and defender of justice and the oppressed, who takes a journey in which he faces various tests and supernatural elements. The most important book: Amadis of Gaul.
La Celestina
Published at the end of the 15th century, printed in Castilian in other countries and translated into other languages. In terms of authorship, it is now accepted that acts 2 to 22 are the work of Fernando de Rojas, while the first act could be written by Rodrigo Cota.
Argument
Calisto, rejected by Melibea, resorts, following the advice of his servant Sempronio, to the bawd Celestina. Well rewarded by Calisto, Celestina convinces Melibea to have an affair with Calisto. Sempronio and another servant of Calisto, Pármeno, demand their share of the spoils from the bawd. She refuses, and in a fight, they are killed. Calisto falls off a ladder and dies. Melibea commits suicide by jumping from a tower of her house, and her father laments what happened, blaming the world, fortune, and love.
Characters
- Calisto: At first a comic character, later more tragic, who represents parodied courtly love and the madness of love. After the first night of love, he is foolish and selfish.
- Melibea: The true tragic character of the work, a victim of Celestina’s spell.
- Celestina: The bawd, represents an attack against everything established. Physically, she is wrinkled and bearded, dedicated her life to the trade of sexuality. She is very intelligent and knows how to defeat her opponents through words.
- Sempronio and Pármeno: Calisto’s servants. Sempronio is the false servant of comedy. Pármeno is a complex character who evolves from being faithful to his master to becoming a disloyal servant.
- Elicia and Areúsa: The prostitutes, friends of Celestina and lovers of the servants, represent the realistic and raw side.
Purpose
Presents a profoundly original and complex ideological ambiguity. Some studies insist on its moralizing intention: to show the destructive capacity of mad love and warn of the depravity of procurers and false servants. Proof of this didactic purpose is that the main characters die without confession. Other studies say that a disillusioned and pessimistic vision of the world predominates.