Medieval History and Renaissance Cultural Shifts

The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is the historical period of Western civilization between the 5th and 15th centuries. Its onset is conventionally located in 476 with the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and its end in 1492 with the discovery of America, or in 1453 with the fall of the Byzantine Empire.

Late Antiquity Transition

Historians now prefer to qualify this break period between Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Thus, between the 3rd and 8th centuries, there is usually talk of Late Antiquity, which was a major transition in all spheres:

• Economic: The replacement of the slave mode of production by the feudal mode of production.
• Socially: The disappearance of the concept of Roman citizenship and the definition of the medieval estates.
• Politically: The breakdown of the centralized structures of the Roman Empire.

Linguistic Legacy and Invasions

We have inherited many vocabulary words, mainly referring to war, such as espada (sword) and names like Álvaro, Alfonso, etc.

In the late eighth century, the peninsula was invaded by the Arabs, sources suggest, defeating the last Gothic King Roderick and conquering the peninsula except for Galicia and the Basque Country. They left us magnificent works such as the Alhambra.

Mester de Juglaría (Minstrelsy)

Mester de Juglaría is the term for the entire epic and lyric poetry broadcast popularly during the Middle Ages by the juglares (minstrels). These were the individuals who sang or recited works for nobles, kings, and the general public. In Castilian, the word juglar was first mentioned in 1116 when minstrels appeared in León.

Types of Minstrels

There were two main types:

1. Epic Minstrels: Recited narrative poetry.
2. Lyric Bards: Dedicated to cultivating and spreading sentimental poetry, such as serranillas, poetic compositions, songs, and poems composed by troubadours, etc.

The repertoire of the minstrels often included selected scenes from epic poems, which were recited semi-representatively to the public. Hearing these constantly in the plaza, the audience memorized what they liked, which is why some still survive today remembered in oral tradition, known as romances (integrating old ballads).

The Renaissance

The Renaissance is the name given to the broad cultural revitalization movement that occurred in Western Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its main exponents were in the field of art, but it also saw renewal in literature and the sciences, both natural and human. The Renaissance resulted from the dissemination of humanism ideas, which determined a new conception of man and the world. The name symbolizes the revival of knowledge and progress after centuries of dominance of the dogmatic mentality set in medieval Europe.

Garcilaso de la Vega

Poet of the Golden Age

Garcilaso de la Vega (Toledo, between 1498—perhaps some years earlier, from 1494—and 1503 [1][2]—Le Muy, County of Nice, Duchy of Savoy, October 14, 1536) was a Spanish poet and soldier of the Golden Age, considered one of the greatest writers in Spanish history.