Spanish Literary History: Middle Ages to Baroque

Toledo School of Translators

Founded in the twelfth century, the School of Translators used the vernacular as a channel of communication between languages. Thanks to King Alfonso X, this institution gave Castilian the status of a cultural language.

Early Theatrical Forms

Momos

From the Latin MOMUS, a momo was a theatrical piece within a larger play. It emphasized the text to amuse the nobility in a hall setting and is considered a forerunner of pantomime.

Tropes

Tropes were short texts sung in Latin by priests, interpolated as dialogue in religious celebrations. They eventually transitioned from Latin into Castilian.

Juan del Encina and His Work

Juan del Encina, considered the father of Spanish theater, wrote an eclogue in which he used the Sayagués dialect.

Exempla

Exempla are collections of tales and fables, often of oriental origin, intended to provide a moral lesson.

Erasmus and Reform

Erasmus of Rotterdam was a key representative of the reform that advocated a return to the Christianity of the Gospels. He called for tolerance towards other beliefs and the practice of a more personal, domestic religiosity, harshly criticizing the established norms of the Church.

The Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that emerged in Italy and gradually spread throughout Europe. In Spain, its development was later and is believed to have started with the work of Antonio de Nebrija, who published the first grammar in Castilian. Its main features include:

• Flourishing of Humanism: Characterized by anthropocentrism (placing man at the center of all things).
• Classical Culture as a Model: A renewed interest in the art and literature of ancient Greece and Rome.
• Importance of Philosophy: A focus on dialectic and rhetoric.
• Ideal of the Courtly Gentleman: The concept of a well-rounded, educated, and noble individual.
• Idea of Progress: A belief in the advancement of human knowledge and society.

Mannerism

Mannerism was a transitional artistic movement between the High Renaissance and the Baroque period. The term was originally coined to describe artists who imitated the complex and stylized manner of Michelangelo.

The Baroque

The Baroque period was characterized by the following features:

1. A sense of distrust and disillusionment, often expressed through the theme of life as a dream.
2. A paradoxical society, full of contrasts and tensions.
3. The prominence of love and honor as central themes in literature and theater.
4. A preference for artifice, complexity, and ornate language in literature.
5. Cultural and linguistic novelties, with literary models being influenced by the Silver Age of Latin.

Asceticism and Mysticism

Asceticism

Asceticism is a way of life based on the rejection of material goods, characterized by simplicity, humility, and a life devoid of luxuries.

Mysticism

Mysticism aimed at the union of the soul with God, a process believed to occur through three stages or ways:

• The Purgative Way (purification)
• The Illuminative Way (enlightenment)
• The Unitive Way (union with God)

Baroque Literary Styles

Conceptismo

Represented by Francisco de Quevedo, Conceptismo is characterized by its intellectual wit, using puns, paronomasia (plays on words with similar sounds), and double meanings (dilogías) to convey complex ideas concisely.

Culteranismo

Represented by Luis de Góngora, Culteranismo is based on creating powerful sensory images through the elaborate use of metaphors, symbolism, hyperbaton (altered word order), neologisms from Latin and Greek (cultismos), and mythological allusions.