Characteristics of Medieval Spanish Literature and Courtly Love

Medieval Literature

The language of scholars in the early Middle Ages was Latin, but oral communication and Romance languages were also performed.

Most previous Castilian literary texts in the thirteenth century have their origin in folk literature and oral tradition. In this century, cultured authors stopped using Latin in their literary works and began to write in different vernaculars.

Thus, Spanish literature slowly began to develop. Its features are:

• The transmission of many texts was done orally. This means that many works are anonymous and reflect well the sense of community and the popular and traditional character. This tends to lead to a sober, spontaneous, and often very expressive literary language.
• Many works show a marked realism, such as the chansons de geste.
• The desire to moralize and teach is typical of many authors.
• This didacticism favored the cultivation of genres used to teach and educate: stories and fables, and the use of allegory.
• The female figure held a central role. Numerous works were devoted to the Virgin or even saints.
• Among the topics most frequently addressed were:
  • Religious themes from the Bible, lives of saints, etc.
  • The theme of death, which involves the contempt of worldly goods and the consideration of eternal life.
  • The theme of capricious fortune and its influence on the lives of men.
  • The theme referred to the heroic and chivalrous world.
  • The theme of love found in popular and cultured poetry.
• It drew from a number of very diverse influences:
  • Arab and Eastern in jarchas and stories.
  • French, across the Way of Saint James, affecting troubadour lyric, epic, and drama.
  • Italian influences on the Marqués de Santillana and Juan de Mena.
  • Classical influences, which were accentuated in the final stretch of the Middle Ages.

Courtly Love

This was a lyrical movement that arose and flourished in Provence between the 11th and 13th centuries, resulting in troubadour poetry. Features:

• The poet sang his love to a beautiful and noble lady, declaring himself her vassal and faithful servant until death.
• The lady was inaccessible.
• Marriage was not pursued, but rather carnal joy.
• Correspondence with the lady was impossible; the poet usually ended in despair or frustration.
• Troubadour poetry was erotic, using religious language and mythology. The lady was described as a divine goddess.
• Courtly love introduced a pagan concept of love into medieval society. Love was an innate passion born of admiration for the beauty of another. Love was a passion that ennobled the lover.