Spanish Literary Foundations: Medieval to Pre-Renaissance Masterpieces

Alfonso X the Wise: A Legacy of Knowledge

Alfonso X the Wise significantly fostered intellectual growth through the Toledo School of Translators, a crucial center for the transmission of knowledge across cultures.

Historical Works

• General Chronicle: The first comprehensive history written in Castilian Spain.
• Grand Estoria: Intended as a universal history, spanning from the creation of the world up to his own time, including narratives such as the lineage of the Virgin Mary's parents.

Scientific Works

Alfonso X's court was a hub for scientific inquiry, particularly in astronomy and natural sciences.

• Books on Astronomy: Detailed treatises describing the movement of the stars.
• Lapidary: A comprehensive work exploring the properties of stones and minerals.

Entertainment and Leisure

Beyond scholarly pursuits, Alfonso X also commissioned works related to games and entertainment.

• Dice and Chess Tables: Accounts and rules regarding these popular games.

Legal Works

His reign saw the codification of significant legal texts.

• The Siete Partidas: A monumental work of legal character, influencing Spanish law for centuries.

Poetic Works

Alfonso X was also a patron and practitioner of poetry.

• Cantigas de Santa Maria: Original poems in honor of the Virgin Mary, written in Galician-Portuguese.

Don Juan Manuel and El Conde Lucanor

Don Juan Manuel, a nephew of Alfonso X, was a prominent prose writer of the 14th century, known for his didactic work, El Conde Lucanor.

Structure of El Conde Lucanor

The work is typically divided into four parts, each illustrating a moral lesson:

1. The Count seeks advice from Patronio regarding a conflict or problem.
2. Patronio responds indirectly by narrating a cuento (story) that illustrates the solution.
3. The Count approves of the advice and acts in accordance with the teaching received.
4. Don Juan Manuel himself summarizes the teaching of the story with a concluding couplet.

Don Juan Manuel's Literary Style

His writing is characterized by a clear and concise style, making complex moral lessons accessible to a wider audience.

15th Century Spanish Literature: Transition and Innovation

The 15th century marked a period of significant transition in Spanish literature, bridging the medieval era with the nascent Renaissance.

Lyrical Poetry

• Cancionero Poetry: Collections of popular lyrical poems.
• Romances: Traditional narrative poems, often oral in origin.

Narrative Prose

• Chivalric Romances: Exemplified by works like Amadís de Gaula, featuring heroic knights and fantastical adventures.
• Sentimental Novels: Such as Cárcel de Amor, exploring themes of unrequited love and emotional suffering.

Humanistic Comedy

• La Celestina: A seminal work often classified as a humanistic comedy or tragicomedy, known for its vivid characters and realistic dialogue.

Learned Poetry of the 15th Century

Courtly Love Poetry

This genre, often of Provençal origin, utilized octosyllabic verse and followed the troubadour tradition. The poet typically expresses love for a high-class, often married, lady. The style is frequently elaborate and conceptual, reflecting the suffering and devotion of the lover.

Allegorical Poetry (Dantean Influence)

Inspired by Dante, this poetry employed dodecasyllabic verse. It is characterized by a grave moral tone, a grandiloquent style, and often imitates the Latin language in its structure and vocabulary.

Jorge Manrique: The Elegance of Coplas

Jorge Manrique's Coplas por la muerte de su padre stands as a masterpiece of Spanish pre-Renaissance poetry, reflecting on life, death, and honor.

Metrical Structure of the Coplas

The poem is structured into 40 stanzas, each contributing to its overarching themes:

• Stanzas I to XIII: Generally express reflections on life, death, and the universal transience of existence.
• Stanzas XIV to XXIV: Provide specific examples and illustrations that reinforce the initial themes.
• Stanzas XXV to XL: Introduce his father, Don Rodrigo Manrique, as the central figure and the primary motivation for the composition. These stanzas praise his virtues, presenting him as an exemplary model of Christian acceptance of death.

Language and Style of Manrique

Manrique's poetic voice is distinctive and influential:

• Language: Natural, sober, and elegant, avoiding excessive ornamentation.
• Tone: Often hortatory and reflective, with a judgmental undertone regarding worldly vanity.
• Rhetorical Devices: Emphasizes the use of metaphor, anaphora, parallelism, antithesis, ellipsis, hyperbole, and rhetorical questions.
• Originality: The Coplas are notable for their deep sincerity, which resonates with common human sentiments. Manrique exemplifies how traditional attitudes can be complemented by pre-Renaissance originality.
• Vision of Death: A central and profound aspect of his work is the nuanced and accepting vision of death presented.