Medieval Spanish Literature: Lyric, Narrative, Prose

Traditional Lyric

Traditional lyrics were sung and danced to. They were anonymous and their main theme was parallelism. They were simple.

• Alba: Songs at dawn, about the beloved woman.
• Songs of Mowing: Songs sung by workers during their workday.
• Serranillas: Lyrical and narrative compositions in verse, singing of the meeting with a loving *serrana* (mountain woman).
• Villancicos: Songs with rhyme that began to be sung in churches and were associated with Christmas.

Cult Lyric

Elaborate poetry, they were borne by minstrels.

• Jarcha: Written in Mozarabic. Loving theme, from a female perspective.
• Cantigas: Written in the prestigious Galician language.

Alfonso X: Cantigas to the Virgin Mary

420 compositions that tell of the Virgin Mary's miracles. They are divided into two groups:

• Praise to the Virgin Mary.
• Poems of reflection about Mary.

Oral Narrative

Minstrels had epic stories passed down by reciting narrative and lyric poems.

Castilian Epic

Narratives in verse. They relate the exploits of a hero.

Cult Fiction

Mester de Clerecía

• *Cuaderna vía*.
• Didactic themes.
• Narrations in the *juglarescos* style.
• Written in the *culta* tradition.
• Resources in Romance language.

Gonzalo de Berceo: Miracles of Our Lady

The book begins by naming the virtues and perfections of the Virgin Mary.

There are 25 miracles of the Virgin for people who have devotion to her. There are three types:

• In which the Virgin Mary rewards and punishes men.
• In which the Virgin forgives and saves her devotees.
• Characters suffer a spiritual crisis and she helps them overcome it.

Archpriest of Hita: Book of Good Love

Work written in verse, in different episodes. The book tells, for the first time, an ironic and vitalist attitude. Rich and varied language, using the *cuaderna vía*.

Prose Fiction Topics

• Overseas collections (*ultramar*).
• Chivalric collections.
• *The Great Conquest of Overseas*.
• Didactic purpose.
• *Tales of Canterbury*, the *Decameron*.

Don Juan Manuel: Count Lucanor

Set of stories linked by two characters: Lucanor and Patronio. First narrative prose.

The structure always follows the same pattern:

1. Lucanor has a problem.
2. Patronio responds with an *ejemplo* (example story).
3. The Count puts the advice into practice, and it works.
4. The author summarizes the idea in a moral.

The didactic themes reflect the concerns of the aristocrats of the time.