What is the Mester de Clerecía?

It is the set of works composed by clerics in the 13th and 14th centuries, with ethical content and a didactic, religious purpose. They use the cuaderna vía stanza.

What is the central issue of El Cantar de Mio Cid?

The central issue is the recovery of lost honor. The poem is divided into the Song of Exile, the Song of the Weddings and the Song of the Corpes Affront.

How many stories does El Conde Lucanor contain?

El Conde Lucanor is a collection of fifty-one stories. Each one presents a problem, narrates a story and ends with moral reflections and advice.

Medieval Spanish Literature: Mester de Clerecía, Prose and Epic (13th-14th Centuries)

Summary

This document surveys Spanish medieval literature of the 13th and 14th centuries, covering the Mester de Clerecía, Castilian prose, epic poetry and the romances. It introduces key authors and works such as Gonzalo de Berceo, Juan Ruiz, Alfonso X, Don Juan Manuel and El Cantar de Mio Cid. Students will learn the main features, structures and purposes of each genre.

Key points

The Mester de Clerecía was written by clerics, had ethical and didactic religious purposes and used the cuaderna vía stanza.
Gonzalo de Berceo is the first known Castilian poet; his Miracles of Our Lady contain twenty-five miracles.
The Book of Good Love by Juan Ruiz, Archpriest of Hita, contrasts earthly love with divine love.
Alfonso X the Wise made Castilian the language of legal documents, with the Code of the Seven Partidas as a key legal work.
Don Juan Manuel's El Conde Lucanor contains fifty-one stories, each with a problem, a narration and moral advice.
El Cantar de Mio Cid is an anonymous epic of 3730 assonant verses about the recovery of lost honor.
Romances are oral, eight-syllable ballads classified as epic, historical or novelesque.

Test yourself

Mester de Clerecía: 13th and 14th Centuries

Characteristics and Content

The Mester de Clerecía is the set of works composed by clerics during the 13th and 14th centuries. These texts have ethical content and a didactic, religious purpose. The stanza employed is the cuaderna vía. They were transmitted orally because the majority of the population was illiterate.

Gonzalo de Berceo

Gonzalo de Berceo is the first known Castilian poet. The Miracles of Our Lady are stories of miracles in which the Virgin Mary protects and forgives. It is divided into two parts: an introduction and a set of twenty-five miracles.

Presentation
Devotee's difficulties
Appearances of the Virgin
Final reflections

The Book of Good Love

The Book of Good Love, written by Juan Ruiz, Archpriest of Hita, appears as a reflection on the evils of earthly love in contrast to the goodness of divine love.

Main features:

Love stories: the adventures of the Dean with various women
Prayers and songs
One episode of praise
An epic poem
Serranas (mountain songs)

Castilian Prose: Alfonso X the Wise

Alfonso X the Wise decided that Castilian would become the language of legal documents.

Assorted works:

Legal work: The Code of the Seven Partidas
Scientific and recreational works
Historical collections
Stories: the first stories written in Castilian were translations of oriental tales

Major collections:

Kalila and Dimna
Sendebar

Don Juan Manuel

Don Juan Manuel, nephew of Alfonso X, is the head of prose fiction in the 14th century. El Conde Lucanor (The Count Lucanor) is a collection of fifty-one stories.

Structure of the stories:

Presentation of the problem
Narration of the story
Moral reflections and council

Epic Poetry and Mester de Juglaría

Epics are epic poems narrating exploits starring knights called heroes. The office of minstrels was known under the name of Mester de Juglaría.

Meter

The chansons de geste are composed of a series of irregular verses with assonant rhyme, called assonance runs.

Minstrel Resources

The oral character of these poems is evident in the use of formulas:

Epic epithets
Appellative and straightforward style: the narrator gives voice to the characters
Realism to make the story more credible

These minstrels used real data.

El Cantar de Mio Cid

El Cantar de Mio Cid recounts the exploits of the knight Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, called "El Cid". It is an anonymous work.

Traits of the hero:

Magnificent warrior and skilled in military strategy
Intended by the people
Of noble lineage
Great religiosity
Loyal friend, father, and vassal of the king

It is composed of 3730 assonant rhyming verses. It has three parts:

Song of Exile
Song of the Weddings
Song of the Corpes Affront

The central issue is the recovery of lost honor.

Romances

Romances are all childish and oral transmission belts. There are three types:

Epic Romances: compositions featuring characters from the chansons de geste
Historical Romances: narrating real facts
Novelesque Romances: stories featuring fictional characters

The romances are formed by an indeterminate number of eight-syllable verses, with assonant rhyme in the even verses and the odd verses loose.