Medieval Spanish literature facts for kids
Medieval Spanish literature includes all the amazing stories, poems, and plays written in Old Spanish. This was a long time ago, between the early 1200s and the late 1400s. Think of it as the literature from the Middle Ages in Spain.
Two very important works mark this period. The first is the Cantar de Mio Cid, a long poem about a hero, written around 1207. The last is La Celestina from 1499. This play is often seen as a bridge between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, a time of new ideas.
By the end of the 900s, the languages spoken in northern Spain had changed a lot from their original Latin roots. They had become what we now call Romance languages. People no longer understood old Latin texts very well. This is why they started adding notes, called glosses, to explain Latin words in manuscripts.
Before people started writing down Spanish stories, there were many oral stories and songs. We know this because some writers in the late 1000s would end their poems, written in Arabic or Hebrew, with short verses in a Romance language called Mozarabic. These short, traditional songs are known as kharjas (pronounced "har-chas").
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What are the Kharjas?
The very first examples of written literature in a Romance language come from a special time and place. This was Muslim Spain, where Muslim, Jewish, and Christian cultures mixed together. Great thinkers like Maimonides and Averroes lived there.
The kharjas were short poems from the 800s to the 1100s. They were spoken in local Spanish dialects, called Mozarabic. But they were written using Arabic letters. These kharjas usually appeared at the end of longer poems written in Arabic or Hebrew, called muwashshah.
Often, a woman's voice speaks in the kharjas. They talk about feelings of love, especially when love is lost. Here is an example:
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These kharjas were only discovered in 1948. Their discovery showed that Spanish literature started in a place where many cultures and languages came together. The Mozarabic language of the kharjas developed separately from Castilian Spanish. So, while they are older than the Poema del Cid, they are not a direct start to that famous epic. Instead, they show how rich and diverse early Spanish literature was.
The Story of El Cid
The epic poem Cantar de Mio Cid tells the story of a real person. It describes his battles, his victories, and his everyday life. The poet who wrote it is unknown, but it was likely written around 1140. The hero, El Cid, had died about 40 years earlier, in 1099.
This poem is very realistic. Nothing is exaggerated, and the details feel true to life. Even the places El Cid traveled and lived are correctly described. Unlike other European epic poems, this one does not have supernatural beings or overly perfect heroes.
The poem uses a type of sound repetition called assonance instead of perfect rhyme. Its lines have different lengths, but many are fourteen syllables long. This style of verse is known as mester de juglaria, which means "minstrel's craft." The epic is divided into three main parts, called cantos.
Minstrel's Craft: Mester de Juglaría
The Mester de Juglaría was a popular type of poetry in medieval Spain. It was written and performed by minstrels, who were traveling entertainers. These poems had lines of different lengths and used assonance instead of rhyme. Minstrels sang them to everyone, from nobles to peasants, who might not have been able to read.
Cleric's Craft: Mester de Clerecía
Another type of poetry, the Mester de Clerecía, became popular in the 1200s. This was the style of learned poets, often clerics (church scholars), which is where the name "clerecía" comes from. These poets were very careful with their verses. They counted the syllables in each line to make them perfect.
They often used a 14-syllable line, called an Alexandrine line, with perfect rhymes in groups of four lines. This form is known as the cuaderna vía, or "fourfold way." It came from France and was popular until the late 1300s.
These poets often wrote about Christian legends, the lives of saints, and stories from ancient times. Their poems were read aloud to villagers in public squares. What made this style different from the mester de juglaría was its focus on teaching and its scholarly nature.
Gonzalo de Berceo, a Castilian priest, was a famous follower of the mester de clerecía. All his works were religious. Two of his best-known poems are Milagros de Nuestra Señora (about miracles by the Virgin Mary) and Vida de Santa Oria. Sem Tob de Carrión, a Jewish poet from the late 1200s, was admired for his Proverbios Morales (Moral Proverbs).
In the 1300s, the poet Juan Ruíz, also known as the Arcipreste de Hita, used the cuaderna vía in parts of his famous work Libro de buen amor (Book of Good Love). He even added some 16-syllable lines.
Spanish Prose: Written Stories
Spanish prose, which means written stories and texts that are not poetry, became popular in the mid-1200s. King Alfonso X el Sabio (the Wise) of Castile greatly supported this. He and his group of smart scholars created many prose works.
One important work was Las siete partidas, the first modern book of laws written in the language people spoke. Another was La primera crónica general, which told the history of Spain from the very beginning until the end of his father's reign. Because he led the creation of these and many other works, Alfonso X is called the father of Spanish prose.
His nephew, Don Juan Manuel, is famous for his prose work El Conde Lucanor. This book is a frame story, meaning it has many short stories inside a larger story. In it, Count Lucanor asks his wise advisor, Patronio, for advice. Patronio gives advice by telling a story. Don Juan Manuel also wrote other works, like El libro de los estados about social classes, and El libro del caballero y escudero with philosophical discussions.
Towards the end of the Middle Ages, a writer named Hernando del Pulgar (around 1436-1490) created a new type of prose called the verbal portrait. In his work Claros varones de Castilla, he wrote detailed descriptions of 24 important people of his time. He explored their personalities, thoughts, and even their physical looks. Pulgar was the official historian for King Fernando and Queen Isabel, the famous Catholic Monarchs of Spain. This job allowed him to know these people well, making his descriptions very realistic.
Lyric Poetry: Songs and Feelings
Lyric poetry in the Middle Ages can be split into three groups: the kharjas (which we talked about), popular folk songs, and the fancy poetry of the nobles.
Alfonso X el Sabio also wrote lyric poetry. He created a series of 300 poems in Galician, called Las cantigas de Santa María, which are songs praising the Virgin Mary.
Juan Ruiz, the Arcipreste de Hita, was an amazing lyric poet in the 1300s. His only work, Libro de buen amor, is a collection of different writings. It includes translations from Ovid, funny satires, short poems called serranillas, fables, a sermon, and many lyric poems praising the Virgin Mary.
Poet Íñigo López de Mendoza, the Marqués de Santillana (1398–1458), started to move away from older medieval traditions. He knew about Latin writers and was familiar with the works of Dante and Petrarch. Mendoza was also the first to bring the sonnet, a specific type of poem, into Spanish literature.
Another well-known medieval Spanish poet is Jorge Manrique. He is famous for his work Coplas a la muerte de su padre, which is a poem mourning his father's death. In this poem, Manrique shows a classic feeling: that all things eventually end. He is still considered a medieval poet because he finds peace and answers in religion.
Mystery Plays: Early Theater
The Auto de los Reyes Magos is the oldest surviving play written in Spanish. It dates from the 1100s. This play is a mystery play about the Christmas story. It tells the story of the Biblical Magi, three wise men from the East who followed a star to visit baby Jesus in Bethlehem. It is believed to be based on an older Latin play from France.
The Misteri d'Elx (also known as the Elx Mystery Play or Mystery Play of Elx) is another liturgical drama from the Middle Ages. It is still performed every year on August 14 and 15 in the Basilica de Santa María in the city of Elx. In 2001, UNESCO recognized it as a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity." This play celebrates the Assumption of Mary.
Images for kids
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Libro del caballero Zifar, f. 32r del manuscrito de París. «De cómmo una leona llevó a Garfín, el fijo mayor del cavallero Zifar»
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The Cantar de Mio Cid is the oldest preserved Spanish cantar de gesta
See also
In Spanish: Literatura medieval española para niños
