Spanish Medieval Literature: Poetry, Prose, and La Celestina's Legacy

Cultured Poetry: Characteristics and Influence

Cultured Poetry acquired a courtly air. It has a double influence: from troubadour love poetry and from short, allegorical poetry. Italian Dante led to the development of long poems written on high and solemn subjects, often in minor couplets. This art has survived in various songbooks, such as theBaena Songbook, which contains some of these poems.

Santillana: A Noble Spirit of the 15th Century

Santillana wrote his verses in the 15th century. His work is suffused with the noble attitude of a refined, elegant, and aristocratic spirit. His poetry is classified into three categories:

• Provencal influence poetry
• Italian influence poetry
• Moral-didactic poetry

Juan de Mena: Philosophical Poetry and Fortune's Influence

Mena was a contemporary writer of Santillana. His most important work is the long philosophical poemLaberinto de Fortuna (also known asLas Trescientas orFauna). He follows the allegorical poetry procedures of Dante. In his highly expressive language, he worships and develops in these verses a categorical sound and the idea of the influence of fortune in the lives of men.

Dances of Death: Medieval European Genre

TheDances of Death was a widespread genre in medieval European literature. In this genre, a skeleton dances and calls men to remind them of their mortal condition, inviting them to join a macabre dance.

Prose in Medieval Spanish Literature

Amadís de Gaula: A Chivalric Romance

Amadís de Gaula is a Castilian chivalric romance by an unknown author. The work was corrected and supplemented by Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. It is written in an attractive and elegant style, far from the convoluted nature of the genre. Its lyricism stands out.

Sentimental Novel: Idealist Narrative of the 15th-16th Centuries

The Sentimental Novel is a subgenre of idealist narrative that triumphed in Spain between the mid-15th and 16th centuries. It did not dominate the action but rather sentimental passions. Its atmosphere is courtly, and it follows specific guidelines to characterize courtly love:

• Love is professed as adoration for the beloved, which usually becomes a tormented passion.
• The lady is presented as a being full of beauty and virtue.
• The language is ornate and rhetorical (full of antithesis, paradoxes, etc.).
• The love affair typically ends tragically.

La Celestina: A Masterpiece of Spanish Literature

La Celestina is a great literary work, important both for the depth and complexity of its subject and for the perfection of its style.

Textual Problems and Editions of La Celestina

The first edition had no title or author's signature and consisted of 16 acts. A new edition was titledThe Comedy of Calisto and Melibea and contained some verses whose initials form an acrostic. The author states that he had found the first act already written. Later editions came with the titleTragicomedy of Calisto and Melibea and had 5 acts.

Genre Classification of La Celestina

Some considerLa Celestina a dramatic dialogue, without narration and with few descriptions. Others includeCelestina within the narrative genre, like a dialogue novel.

Plot Summary of La Celestina

In a chance meeting in Melibea's garden, the nobleman Calisto falls for Melibea. At the insistence of his servant Sempronio, Calisto requires the services of a bawd, Celestina, to plot the romantic encounters. Celestina binds them to a chain of lovers. Calisto gives Melibea gold in payment for her favors. Parmeno and Sempronio kill the old woman (Celestina) for her earnings. They are then arrested and executed.