15th Century Literature: Transition to the Renaissance in Spain

15th Century: Transition to the Renaissance

During this period, two types of works are prominent: the romance and cancionero poetry, reflecting the medieval heritage.

The Ballad

The ballad is a collection of romances (narrative poems):

• They consist of eight-syllable verses, rhyming assonance in pairs.
• Its origin lies in the evolution of the meter of epic poems, having a traditional character:
  • They are born from an epic, legend, historical event, or the result of fantasy.
  • They are recited from memory, orally.
  • They are anonymous poems.
• Besides the epic romance, we find romances on Moorish subjects, the Matter of Britain, lyrical, etc.

Cancionero Poetry

Cancionero poetry is named after its musical character. It was composed to be sung at court, and it is love poetry that follows the rules of courtly love. There are also poems with a mocking tone or of moralizing and religious character. The most important author is Jorge Manrique.

Jorge Manrique

Jorge Manrique wrote the famous poem from this era: Verses on the Death of His Father.

• They use a special stanza (copla manriqueña or pie quebrado, which combines verses of 8 and 4 syllables with rhyme) and it is an elegy (poem to the dead).
• They emphasize traditional themes such as the passage of time, life in this world, and that death equates all people.
• They use allegory (an action that represents an idea figuratively).
• The idea of fame appears (the only thing that can save humans from death).

Lyric Poetry

Lyric Poetry is the oldest literary expression. The earliest examples are given in the 11th century:

• Very short poems of popular tradition, which were sung during daily work or leisure.
• Irregular minor art meter, rhyming assonance (vowel rhyme) or free.
• The poems are often placed in a loving context, with the voice of a young girl who talks about the absence of her beloved (whom she calls friend) and her desire to be with him.
• Most are anonymous.
• Written in different languages: in Mozarabic (the jarchas), in Galician-Portuguese (the cantigas d'amigo), and Castilian (carols).

Narrative Poetry

Epic Poetry

Epic poetry is a narrative in verse, developed between the 11th and 13th centuries, that sings the exploits of a hero. The most important is the Cantar de Mio Cid.

Cantar de Mio Cid

The Song tells a fragment of the life of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (El Cid), a Castilian warrior who died in 1099 and soon became a legend. It is divided into three parts or songs:

1. The "Song of Exile" recounts the banishment of the Cid by King Alfonso VI for allegedly stealing money from the king of Seville. He leaves his family and tries to regain the forgiveness of his Lord and his honor.
2. The "Song of the Wedding" describes how he conquers Valencia and is enlarged as a hero. El Cid is pardoned by the king, who proposes the marriage of his daughters to the Infantes of Carrión.
3. The "Song of the Shame of Corpes" shows how the Infantes of Carrión are cowardly and mean. They reproach the Cid's daughters: they hit and beat them up, and leave them in the forest. El Cid calls for justice from the king, and the Infantes are defeated in a duel. His daughters end up marrying the princes of Navarre and Aragon, and the Cid fully recovers his honor.

The Mester de Clerecía

The mester de clerecía developed between the 13th and 14th centuries. It is poetry composed by clergy or educated people (the opposite of mester de juglaría).

Prose

Prose appears in the 13th century. Its principal authors are King Alfonso X the Wise and his nephew, the Infante Don Juan Manuel, who wrote didactic literature (stories).