Lorenzo de Sepúlveda facts for kids

Lorenzo de Sepúlveda (born around 1505, died around 1580) was a Spanish writer. He is best known for writing exciting stories in verse, called romances. These were popular poems that told tales of heroes and history.

Life and His Writings

We don't know much about Lorenzo de Sepúlveda's life. He came from an important family. He lived most or all of his life in the city of Seville, Spain.

In 1551, a book of his narrative poems was published. It was called Romances nueuamente sacados de historias antiguas de la crónica de España. This means "Romances newly drawn from old stories of the chronicle of Spain." The book was very successful.

Another work often thought to be by him is a funny play. It was written in prose, not verse. The play was first performed around 1565. It is known as the Comedia de Sepúlveda. This play is like the Italian commedia dell'arte, which used funny characters and improvised scenes. Even though the play's style is different from his poems, Lorenzo de Sepúlveda is still believed to be its author.

Understanding His Romances

Spanish romances were a popular type of story poem. They had been around since the Middle Ages. People usually shared these poems by telling them aloud. The stories often changed a bit each time they were told. They were about brave heroes, kings, and knights from history or legends.

How Romances Changed

In the early 1500s, many of these oral poems were finally written down. They were then published in collections. People started to think about history in a new way. This led to a new kind of romance called "erudite romances." These were written as proper literary works. Some people say Sepúlveda started this new style. However, a similar book by Alonso de Fuentes came out a year before his.

Sepúlveda's Goals

In the introduction to his 1551 book, Sepúlveda explained his goal. He wanted to share true Spanish history with everyone. He used the popular romance style to do this. His stories were based on official historical records, called chronicles. He hoped his poems would replace the old legends. He felt the old legends were "exceedingly mendacious, and of very little value" (very untrue and not important).

His main source was the Crónica general. This was a collection of medieval chronicles. It was first ordered by King Alfonso X (Alfonso the Wise) in 1264. A new edition of this chronicle was published in 1541 by Florián de Ocampo. Interestingly, Sepúlveda didn't know that many exciting parts of these chronicles were actually old popular romances rewritten in prose.

Themes and Popularity

Sepúlveda's Romances included many stories. They were about King Alfonso X, El Cid, and other famous historical people. He also included some love stories, tales from the Bible, and allegories. Some of the themes he chose were about the relationship between a king and his loyal followers. He also wrote about the interactions between Christians and Moors. These stories often showed Moors in a good way. This was because people in the 1500s became more interested in Moorish culture and literature.

His Romances became very popular. The book was printed many times. Parts of his work appeared in many other collections of romances. Several of his stories became the most well-known versions of those legends. They stayed popular until the 1800s. Today, they are not read as much. The French poet Théophile Gautier even copied one of Sepúlveda's romances. He used it in his poem called "Le Cid et le juif" (1843).

See also

In Spanish: Lorenzo de Sepúlveda para niños