Spanish Medieval Literary Development: Prose, Chivalry, and Early Drama

Prose in the Thirteenth Century

Medieval prose romance emerged in the thirteenth century with the purpose of providing Christian education to the people in their vernacular language. This objective drove the development of Bible translations, collections of exempla, and gnomic literature.

Alfonso X the Wise: A Cultural Legacy

An undisputed icon of this century, Alfonso X was the son of Ferdinand III and inherited the throne of Castile and León in 1252. He undertook significant cultural work, though this success did not extend to his political endeavors. He attempted to strengthen royal authority with the nobility, but his hesitation led to the rebellion of his son Sancho over the succession to the throne.

Alfonso X promoted Castilian as the sole language common to Jews, Christians, and Arabs, leading to its use in all official documents, replacing Latin. He also boosted the work of the Toledo School of Translators, commissioning numerous translations into the Romance language.

Alfonso X's Literary Contributions

His extensive corpus aimed to synthesize the knowledge of his era, encompassing historical, legal, scientific, and entertainment texts.

Challenges in Romance Language Development

As previously mentioned, the King was an active director in all his literary undertakings. He endeavored to find an appropriate form for the Romance language, but not without initial challenges, particularly syntactic and lexical issues.

Prose in the Fourteenth Century

Following the Chancellor's chronicles, Don Juan Manuel, nephew of Alfonso X, stands out. He is considered the first author with a modern consciousness of authorship, deeply concerned about the style and the preservation of his works.

Don Juan Manuel and El Conde Lucanor

His seminal work, El Conde Lucanor (also known as Libro de Patronio), reflects this concern for style and preservation. It comprises 51 exempla within a narrative framework where a disciple seeks advice from his teacher.

Fourteenth-Century Prose Fiction: Chivalric Novels

During the fourteenth century, prose fiction also developed, notably the novels of chivalry. In these tales, a knight is the hero of countless adventures, demonstrating his valor, often inspired by a lady.

Notable works include:

• El Libro del Caballero Zifar by Ferrán Martínez de Toledo
• La Gran Conquista de Ultramar
• Amadís de Gaula, known from a 14th-century recasting by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo

Medieval Drama: Early Spanish Theater

Romance language theater emerged linked to religious ceremonies. Its first manifestations were tropes, brief texts interspersed within the liturgy.

The sole surviving example of Castilian medieval drama is the Auto de los Reyes Magos from the twelfth century. Its theme is the Adoration, and it consists of 147 polymetric verses. Dramatic texts did not reappear until the fifteenth century with authors like Gómez Manrique.