Cartularies of Valpuesta facts for kids
The Valpuesta Cartularies are two very old Spanish books from the Middle Ages. They belonged to a monastery in a place called Valpuesta, which is now in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. These special books are named Gótico and Galicano because of the different styles of writing used in them. Today, you can find them safely kept in the National Archives of Spain.
These cartularies are like collections of important papers. They were put together in the 1100s, but many of the documents inside them are much older, some even from the 800s! They are filled with words from an early form of the Spanish language and lots of old place names from the Gaubea Valley and nearby areas. It's rare to find another old book from that time with so many clues about how the Spanish language was just starting to form.
The people who copied these documents weren't writing in perfect, old Latin. Instead, they used a simpler kind of Latin that was mixed with words that sound more like early Spanish. This made it easier for everyday people to understand. This copying happened when the Kingdom of Castile was just beginning, and these writings might show us how the Castilian dialect (which became modern Spanish) first started to grow.
Even though some parts of these old texts are debated, the Valpuesta Cartularies are super important for understanding the history of the Spanish language. The Spanish Royal Academy and other groups have said that these documents contain some of the earliest words ever written in Spanish. This is special because the documents were meant to be in Latin, but they show a mix of Latin and an early form of Spanish.
The official rules for the region of Castile and León (called the Statute of Autonomy) even mention the Valpuesta Cartularies. They say these books, along with another document called the Nodicia de Kesos, have the earliest traces of Spanish. However, there are other old documents that also claim to have the first Spanish words, like the Glosas Emilianenses from around the year 1000. But in 2010, the Spanish Royal Academy officially agreed that the Valpuesta Cartularies show the earliest words written in Castilian, even before the Glosas Emilianenses. They described the language as "a Latin language attacked by a living language," meaning new Spanish words were breaking into the old Latin.
What are Cartularies?
A cartulary is like a special scrapbook from long ago. Monasteries, churches, or rich families would create them to keep copies of important documents. These documents could be things like:
- Records of land sales
- Agreements between people
- Gifts of property
- Important decisions
They were made to protect these valuable papers from getting lost or damaged. If the original document was lost, they still had a copy in the cartulary. The Valpuesta Cartularies are special because they contain copies of documents that are much older than the books themselves, giving us a peek into a very distant past.
Why are the Valpuesta Cartularies Important?
The Valpuesta Cartularies are a big deal for people who study the Spanish language. Here's why:
- Early Spanish Clues: They show how Latin, the language of the Roman Empire, slowly changed into early Spanish. The scribes (the people who wrote them) used words that were common in everyday speech, not just formal Latin.
- First Written Words: Many experts believe these documents contain some of the very first words written down that clearly look like Spanish. This helps us understand how the language developed step-by-step.
- History of Castile: They give us clues about the early days of the Kingdom of Castile, a very important kingdom in Spanish history.
- Place Names: The many old place names in the documents help historians and language experts understand how towns and regions were named long ago.
These cartularies are like a time capsule, showing us a moment when a new language was being born!
See also
In Spanish: Cartularios de Valpuesta para niños
