Renaissance Spanish Novels: A Guide to Genres and Styles
Renaissance Spanish Novels
Byzantine Novel
The discovery of Ethiopian manuscripts and their translations introduced a new subgenre to the Renaissance: the Byzantine novel. These stories feature a young, beautiful, and chaste couple separated and reunited by fate. Their journey involves overcoming obstacles such as pirates, shipwrecks, and captivity. In Spanish Byzantine novels, the hero is a chaste young man whose main objective is love, often transforming into a symbolic pilgrim figure.
Narrative
Read MoreMedieval Spanish Literature: An Overview
Medieval Spanish Literature
Narrative
Verse
Mester of Minstrelsy: Epic poems sung by minstrels. Focuses on heroic deeds and national sentiment. Example: Cantar del Mio Cid.
Mester of Clericia: Religious and didactic works written by clerics. Employs the cuaderna vía (four-line Alexandrine verses with consonant rhyme). Examples: Libro de Alexandre, Libro de Apolonio, Gonzalo de Berceo’s Miracles of Our Lady.
Prose
Early Prose (late 12th – early 13th centuries): Consolidated by Alfonso X “The Wise”
Read MoreMajorcan School: A Renaissance in Mallorcan Poetry
The Majorcan School: A Literary Renaissance
The Majorcan School, a literary movement originating in Mallorca in 1870, united Mallorcan poets with a shared cultural identity. While chronologically coinciding with the broader Renaissance and Modernist periods, the school’s distinct style marked a formal beginning to 20th-century literature in Mallorca, enduring until 1950.
Generations of Poets
Several generations of poets contributed to the Majorcan School, including:
- Miquel Costa i Llobera
- Joan Alcover
- Maria
Spanish Civil War Poetry: A Literary and Historical Analysis
Main Orientations of Civil War Poetry
Lyric poetry production significantly increased after the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), influenced by the 1936 ideological propaganda. Different moments in Miguel Hernández’s career are evident: from social poetry to pure poetry, and from aestheticism to avant-garde experimentation. Historical circumstances shaped these changes: the 1940s saw neoclassical (exaltation), nationalist (evasion), existentialist (distress), and avant-garde (continuation of pre-
Read MoreComprehensive Guide to Spanish History: Key Terms and Concepts
Aula Regia
Advisory body formed by officials, aristocrats, and clerics.
Alan
People originally from Turkestan whose empire in the Caspian Sea region was destroyed by the Huns in 375.
Arte Hispano (Hispano-Islamic Art)
Islamic art developed in Al-Andalus between the 8th and 15th centuries. It includes architecture like mosques (the Mosque of Cordoba and the Alhambra), palaces, and citadels.
Romanesque Art
Artistic style prevalent in Europe during the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries. It blended Roman and
Read MoreGalicia from 1936 to 1976: Socioeconomic and Cultural Changes
Galicia Between 1936 and 1976: Socioeconomic and Cultural Transformations
Socioeconomic Changes
The economic policies implemented by the Franco regime after the war prioritized the interests of the landowning oligarchy. This led to the marginalization of Portugal’s agricultural model, hindering modernization and causing stagnation tied to the industrial recession. As a result, Galicia experienced a process of re-ruralization.
In the 1950s, the construction of hydroelectric dams on the Sil and Miño
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