The literature of the Middle Ages in Spain (13th – 15th centuries)
What period of literature are you referring to? : The literature of the Middle Ages in Spain (13th – 15th centuries)
The Spanish medieval literature spans the period from the thirteenth century and the end of the fifteenth century. In fact, we could say that it was the period in which literature in the Spanish language was born, since after the Christian reconquest a period of vindication of the language was experienced: spoken Latin was distancing itself from cultured Latin, which gave rise to the Castilian.
However, until obtaining Castilian literature per se , we found numerous literary works that combined the Romance language with others, such as the Mozarabic jarchas .
Thanks to universities and schools, such as the Toledo School of Translators , new forms and theories were introduced and implanted on the linguistic plane, highlighting popular culture , created to be sung and represented before the people, who were mostly illiterate and I did not know how to read.
In this way, the famous minstrels and troubadours arose who will act as poets of the works written at the time.
What literary genres were cultivated?
The thing to keep in mind from this period is that the most appropriate form of writing was verse. Prose writing was promoted from the 13th century, with Alfonso X, the Wise.
As a summary, we leave the following table with the most cultivated genres during this literary period:
Main works and most representative authors
There were many prominent authors, but the most representative works of this medieval period were:
- Anonymous: «Jarchas», Cantar de mio Cid
- Gonzalo de Berceo and his work The Miracles of Our Lady
- Alfonso X, the Wise , and The Seven Games
- Don Juan Manuel and Count Lucanor
- Archpriest of Hita and his Book of Good Love
- Jorge Manrique and Coplas on the death of his father
- Fernando de Rojas and La Celestina The literature of the Middle Ages in Spain (13th – 15th centuries)