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.
 BOOK I.
FROM THE END OF THE THIRTEENTH TO THE
COMMENCEMENT OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY.

PROBABLE PERIOD OF THE FIRST ROMANCES.

The origin of Castilian poetry is lost in the obscurity of the middle
ages. The poetic spirit which then awoke in the north of Spain,
doubtless first manifested itself in romances and popular songs.
Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, called El Campeador, (the Champion), and
still better known by the Arabic title of the Cid, (the Lord or Leader),
assisted in founding the kingdom of Castile for his prince, Ferdinand
I. about the year 1036, and the name and the exploits of that
favorite hero of the nation were probably celebrated during his own
age in imperfect redondillas. That some of the many romances
which record anecdotes of the life of the Cid may be the offspring of
that period, is a conjecture which, to say the least of it, has never
been disproved; and indeed the whole character impressed upon
Spanish poetry from its rise, denotes that the era which gave birth to
the first songs of chivalry must be very remote. In the form,
however, in which these romances now exist, it does not appear that
even the oldest can be referred to the twelfth, far less to the
eleventh century.25
 POEMA DEL CID.
Some examples of Old Castilian verse, which are held to be more
ancient than any known romance or ballad in that language, have
been preserved.26 Of these the rhymed chronicle, Of the Exile and
Return of the Cid, (Poema del Cid, el Campeador), is considered the
oldest. This chronicle can scarcely be called a poem; and that it
could not have been the result of a poetic essay made in the spirit of
the national taste, is evident, from the nature of the verse, which is
a kind of rude alexandrine. It is the more difficult to speak with any
certainty respecting its age, as there also exists a very old prose
account of the Cid, which corresponds in all the principal facts with
this rhymed chronicle. Though it may be true that the author lived
about the middle of the twelfth century, as his editor Sanchez
supposes, still it is not with this work that the history of Spanish
poetry ought to commence. As a philological curiosity, the rhymed
chronicle is highly valuable; but any thing like poetry which it
contains must be considered as a consequence of the poetic
character of the nation to which the versifier belonged, and of the
internal interest of the subject. The events are narrated in the order
in which they succeed each other, and the whole work scarcely
exhibits a single mark of invention. The small portion of poetical
colouring with which the dryness of the relation is occasionally
relieved, is the result of the chivalrous cordiality of the writer’s tone,
and of a few happy traits in the description of some of the
situations.27

POEMA DE ALEXANDRO MAGNO.

Still less of the character of poetry belongs to the fabulous chronicle
of Alexander the Great (Poema de Alexandro Magno), respecting the
origin and age of which the Spanish critics are far from being
agreed. Whether it be, as some pretend, a Spanish original of the
twelfth or thirteenth century, or as others assert, the translation of a
French work of the same age, in verse, or, what is still more
probable, a versified translation of a latin legend, with the
manufacture of which some monk had occupied his solitary hours,
are questions which a writer of the history of Spanish poetry cannot,
with propriety, stop to discuss, even though alexandrine verse
should, as some suppose, have taken its name from this chronicle.
Next to stringing together his rhymes,28 the chief object of the
author probably was to dress the biography of Alexander the Great
in the costume of chivalry. Accordingly he relates how the Infante
Alexander, whose birth was distinguished by numerous prodigies,
seemed, while yet a youth a Hercules; how he was taught to read in
his seventh year; how he then every day learned a lesson in the
seven liberal arts, and maintained a daily disputation thereon; and
many other wonders of this sort.29 Alexander’s officers are counts
and barons. The real history only feebly glimmers through a
grotesque compound of puerile fictions and distorted facts. But
perhaps this mode of treating the materials is not to be laid to the
account of the versifier.

GONZALO BERCEO.
There are some prayers, monastic rules, and legends in Castilian
alexandrines, which are regarded as of very ancient date, but they
were probably composed by Gonzalo Berceo, a benedictine, about
the middle of the thirteenth century. Spanish authors have made the
dates of the birth and death of this monk objects of very minute
research, and have exerted great industry in recovering his rude
verses.30 In this field, however, the poetical historian can find
nothing worth the gleaning.
 ALPHONSO X.; HIS LITERARY MERITS—NICOLAS
AND ANTONIO DE LOS ROMANCES, &c.
The names of several early writers of rude Castilian verse are
recorded by different authors. A notice, however, of the literary
merits of Alphonso X. called the Wise, by which is meant the
learned, forms the most suitable commencement for a history of
Spanish poetry. This sovereign, who was a very extraordinary man,
for the age in which he lived, was ambitious, among his other
distinctions, of being a poet. Scarcely any romance or song of true
poetic feeling can be attributed to him; but he loved to embody his
science and learning in verse. He disclosed his Alchymical Secrets in
the dactylic stanzas, called versos de arte mayor. Alchymy was his
favourite study; and if his assertions in verse may be relied on, he
several times made gold, and in times of difficulty turned his power
of producing that precious metal to his own advantage. His verses
are, in some degree, harmonious, and ingeniously constructed; but
no trait of poetic description enlivens the dry and uninteresting
precepts he details.31 It is not, therefore, on account of his rhymes
that Alphonso the Wise deserves to be placed at the head of the
Castilian poets. His claim to occupy that station can only be founded
on the attention he devoted to the cultivation of the Castilian
language, an attention which is easily recognized even in his
unpoetic verses, and which could not fail to prove a most powerful
incitement to emulation, since he who set the example was the king
of the country, and possessed a reputation for learning which was
flattering to the national pride. The greater purity and precision
which was thus introduced into the dialect of Castile and Leon,
enabled the poetic genius of the nation to unfold itself with
increasing vigour and freedom. But the benefits which Alphonso
conferred on the Spanish language and literature, did not stop here.
The bible was, by his command, rendered into Castilian; and a
Paraphrase of Scripture History accompanied the translation. A
General Chronicle of Spain, and a History of the Conquest of the
Holy Land, founded on the work of William of Tyre, were also written
by his order. Finally, he introduced the use of the national language
into legal and judicial proceedings. No direct interest was, however,
taken by Alphonso in the improvement of the popular Castilian
poetry. He probably thought it too destitute of art and learning to
deserve much consideration. It appears to have been on this
account, and not from vanity, that he favoured the Troubadours,
assembled at his court, in whose more elegant verse his praises
were unceasingly proclaimed.32 His influence had an extensive
operation; but his death, which happened in the year 1284, was no
loss to the national bards of Castile, who still sung their Romances in
obscurity.

The history of Spanish poetry continues barren of names until

towards the end of the fourteenth century; and yet, according to all
literary probability, the greater part of the ancient Castilian
romances, which have, in the progress of time, been collected, and
have undergone more or less improvement, were composed at a
much earlier period. One Nicolas, and an abbot named Antonio, are
mentioned as celebrated writers of romances in the thirteenth
century, anterior to the reign of Alphonso X.33 But until the period of
the invention of printing, no regard was paid by the learned, or by
those who wished to be considered learned, to popular ballads; and
when the attention of men of letters began at last to be directed to
the old romances, the authors were either forgotten, or no trouble
was taken to preserve or recover their names. With a view,
therefore, to the convenience of historical arrangement, a particular
account of the ancient romance poetry of Castile may, with propriety,
be postponed until the period when the first instance of literary
publicity, which was given to it, must be recorded. In the mean
while, some little known, though not unimportant memorials of the
state of poetical and rhetorical culture in the fourteenth century, may
here be brought to recollection.

ALPHONSO XI.
That the example of Alphonso X. operated powerfully among the
grandees of Castile, cannot be doubted; and to its influence must, in
a great measure, be attributed the encouragement given to the
cultivation of knowledge by Alphonso XI. This prince, amidst all the
troubles of his busy reign, maintained the character of a protector of
learning, and endeavoured to distinguish himself as a writer in his
native tongue. In the accounts of his labours given by Spanish
authors, he is stated to have composed a General Chronicle in
Redondillas,34 which is either lost, or still remains buried in some of
the old archives of Spain. However slight may be the merits of this
work, in a poetical point of view, it is rendered interesting by the
circumstance, that the king chose for the rhythmic structure of his
narrative, the easy flowing verse of the romances, instead of stiff
monkish alexandrines, and the ungraceful dactylic stanzas. This
brought the redondillas more into favour. Alphonso XI. also caused
books to be written in Castilian prose, among which were a kind of
Peerage, or Register of the noble families of Castile, with an account
of their hereditary estates and possessions, and a Hunting Book,
(Libro de Monteria,) in the composition of which several persons
assisted. Though rhetorical art might derive no advantage from
these books, they contributed to give consideration to the national
dialect, and to incite persons of rank to engage in literary labour.

EARLY CULTIVATION OF CASTILIAN PROSE—DON

JUAN MANUEL; HIS CONDE LUCANOR; HIS
ROMANCES.
But the most valuable monument of the cultivation of Spanish
eloquence in the fourteenth century is El Conde Lucanor, a book of
moral and political maxims, written by Don Juan Manuel, a Castilian
prince. This Don Juan was one of the most distinguished men of his
age.35 He was descended, in a collateral line with the reigning family
of Castile, from king Ferdinand III. usually called the Saint. He
served his sovereign Alphonso XI. with chivalrous fidelity, and by the
judicious policy of his conduct, retained the favour of that prince,
who certainly had reason to regard him with jealousy. After
distinguishing himself by a number of honourable and gallant deeds,
Alphonso appointed him governor (adelantado mayor) of the country
bordering on the Moorish kingdom of Grenada. In this station he
became the terror of the hereditary enemy of Castile. He made an
irruption into Grenada, and defeated the Moorish king in a great
battle. After this brilliant victory, he always acted one of the first
parts in the internal troubles of Castile, and during twenty years
conducted the war against the Moors. He died in 1362, leaving
behind him some of the ripest fruits of his experience in his Count
Lucanor. A Spanish book, so full of sound practical good sense, of a
character so truly unostentatious, and clothed in a simple, homely,
but far from inanimate garb, could scarcely be expected to belong to
the fourteenth century. In estimating the merit of this work, it ought
also to be recollected, that at the period in which it appeared, the
taste for the wild tales of chivalry called romances had begun to
prevail. Amadis de Gaul, the prototype of all subsequent knight-
errantry romances, had then obtained general circulation. There is,
however, in the Count Lucanor, no trace of romantic extravagance,
none of the dreaming flights of an irregular imagination; for in every
passage of the book the author shews himself a man of the world
and an observer of human nature. In the course of his long
experience he had formed maxims for the conduct of life which he
was desirous of pursuing. He gave to many of these axioms a laconic
expression in verse; and, to impress them the more forcibly,
invented his Count Lucanor, a prince conscious of too limited an
understanding to trust to his own judgment in cases of difficulty. He
gives the Count a minister (consejero), whose wisdom fortunately
supplies the deficiency of his master’s intellect. When the Count asks
advice of his minister, the latter relates a story, or sometimes a fable.
The application comes at the close, and the narrative is the
commentary of the verse or couplet with which it terminates. In this
manner forty-nine moral and political tales are told. They are not of
equal merit; but though some are inferior to others, the difference is
not great, and they have all the same rhetorical form. Sometimes it
is the idea that gives the chief interest, sometimes the execution.
Among the versified maxims are the following.

“If you have done something good in little, do it also in great, as the
good will never die.”36

“He who advises you to be reserved to your friends, wishes to betray

you without witnesses.”37

“Hazard not your wealth on a poor man’s advice.”38

“He who has got a good seat should not leave it.”39

“He who praises you for what you have not, wishes to take from you
what you have.”40

This last axiom is deduced from the well-known fable of the fox and
the raven. It is curious to observe the resemblance between the
unconscious artless simplicity with which Don Juan Manuel relates
his fable, and the finely-studied simplicity with which the elegant La
Fontaine tells the same story. Who would expect to find in an old
Spanish book of the fourteenth century, the same knowledge of the
world and mankind, as distinguished the refined age of Louis XIV.41

This work appears to have been preserved without alteration, as it

was originally written. It is only occasionally that the difference of
the language in single words,42 betrays the officious industry of
some transcriber. In a short preface, the author gives a candid
explanation of the object of this collection of tales.

Don Juan Manuel was also the author of a Chronicle (Chronica de

España); the Book of the Sages, (Libro de los Sabios); a Book of
Chivalry, (Libro del Caballero); and several other works in prose of a
similar nature.43 It appears that these works are now lost, though
they were preserved in manuscript in the sixteenth century. A
collection of Don Juan Manuel’s poems also existed at that time,
according to the express testimony of Argote y Molina, who
published El Conde Lucanor in the sixteenth century, and intended to
publish those poems likewise. He calls them coplas; and they
certainly were not alexandrines. After this testimony, it can scarcely
be doubted that some of the romances and songs, which are
attributed, in the Cancionero general, to a Don Juan Manuel, have
this prince for their author.44 But if such be the fact, then how many
of the similar romances which are still preserved, may, considering
the greater antiquity of their form, be yet more ancient!

SATIRICAL POEM OF JUAN RUYZ, ARCH-PRIEST OF

HITA.
Don Juan Manuel had for his contemporary the author of an
allegorical satire, written in Castilian alexandrines, or in a kind of
verse which may be called doggrel. The result of the researches of
the Spanish critics ascribes this very singular work to Juan Ruiz,
arch-priest of Hita, in Castile.45 This writer evidently possessed a
lively imagination; he has personified with great drollery Lent, the
Carnival, and Breakfast, under the titles of Doña Quaresma, Don
Carnal, and Don Almuerzo; and these and other personages are
placed in a very edifying connection with Don Amor. The object of
the satire is thus apparent, but the execution is as unskilful as the
language is rude. Only a part of the work has been preserved.46

He, however, who has to record the developement of true poetic

genius, must hasten from this and other examples of monastic
humour and rugged versification, in order to speak with something
like historical precision of the romances and other lyric compositions
which form the real commencement of Spanish poetry.
 MORE PRECISE ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN OF THE
SPANISH POETIC ROMANCES AND SONGS—
PROBABLE RISE OF THE ROMANCES OF CHIVALRY
IN PROSE—ORIGINAL RELATIONSHIP OF THE
POETIC AND THE PROSE ROMANCES.
The latter half of the fourteenth century is the period when the
history of the Spanish romances and songs, the unknown authors of
which yet live in their verse, though still very defective, begins to
acquire some degree of certainty.47 In the absence, however, of that
particular information which would be desirable, it becomes
necessary to take a view of the manner of thinking of the Spaniards
of that age, in order to connect the general idea which ought to be
formed of their literary culture, with those scattered notices which
must supply the place of a more systematic account. It will here be
recollected that the cultivation of Spanish literature received at its
commencement a national poetic impulse. In constant conflict with
the Moors, and acquainted with oriental manners and compositions,
the Spaniards felt the proper distinction between poetry and prose,
less readily than that distinction was perceived by any other people
on the first attempt to give a determinate form to their literature.
Popular songs of every kind were probably indigenous in the
Peninsula. The patriotic Spaniards, like many other ancient nations,
were fond of preserving the memory of remarkable events in
ballads. They also began, at a very early period, to consider it of
importance to record public transactions in prose. The example of
their learned king Alphonso X. who caused a collection of old
national chronicles to be made, gave birth to many similar
compilations of the history of the country. But historical criticism,
and the historical art, were then equally unknown. As the giving to
an accredited fact a poetical dress in a song fit to be sung to a
guitar, was not thought inconsistent with the spirit of genuine
national history, still less could the relating of a fabricated story as a
real event in history seem hostile to the spirit of poetry. Thus the
historical romance in verse, and the chivalric romance in prose,
derived their origin from the confounding of the limits of epic and
historical composition. The history of Spanish poetical romance is
therefore intimately interwoven with the history of the prose chivalric
romance.

Whoever may have been the author of Amadis de Gaul, his genius
lives in his invention; this work soon obscured, even in France, all
the other histories of knights-errant written in latin or french, by
many of which it had been preceded. From the very careful
investigations of several Spanish and Portuguese writers, it appears
that the name of the real author of the first or genuine Amadis was
Vasco Lobeira, or, according to the Spanish orthography and
pronunciation, Lobera, a native of Portugal, who flourished about the
end of the thirteenth century, and lived to 1325. It is probable,
however, that before the period at which the work obtained its
highest celebrity both in Spain and France, it had passed through
the hands of several emendators, and it is therefore impossible to
know how much of the book, as it now exists, belongs to the original
author, and how far it is indebted to the labours of Spanish or French
editors.48 From these circumstances too, it appears that the work
could scarcely be generally known in Spain before the middle of the
fourteenth century; and its influence on the national literature must,
on that account, have been the greater; for it would be operating
with all the force of novelty, precisely at the time when the poetic
genius of the nation began to display itself in youthful vigour. What
other book could have produced an effect so fascinating on the
minds of the Spanish nobles, as Amadis de Gaul? The monstrous
perversions of history and geography in that work, did not disturb
the illusion of readers who knew little or nothing of either history or
geography. The prolixity of the narrative gave as little offence as the
stiff formality of the style. Indeed the virtues of gothic chivalry
appear more pure as they shine through the formal stateliness of the
narration. The author has borrowed nothing from the Arabian tale-
tellers, except the attraction of fairy machinery. This was, however, a
powerful charm, and gave an epic-colouring to the Amadis, which,
joined to the pathetic descriptions of romantic heroism, produced an
influence over the imagination and feelings of the age which no
former work had possessed. The moral character of the plan and
execution is strangely blended with a peculiar kind of delicately
veiled licence, which appears to have very well accorded with the
spirit of Spanish chivalry. While the gentle knights, amidst
innumerable adventures of love and heroism, observe as the chief
law of chivalry, the most inviolable fidelity in all situations towards
females as well as males, they and the ladies with whom they have
pledged their faith, by a secret betrothing, live together without
scruple before marriage, as husband and wife. But a picture, so true
and glowing, of the noblest heroic feelings and the most unshaken
fidelity,—circumscribing with no anxious care the boundaries of
love’s dominion, yet admitting no offensively indecorous or immoral
trait,—displaying the enthusiastic flights of an imagination often
exalted beyond nature, but redeemed by an ingenuous simplicity of
description with which even a refined taste must be delighted,—well
deserved at the time of its appearance that favour which it
continued for ages to enjoy. It is obvious that more of Spanish than
of French features enter into the character of the chivalry exhibited
in this work. The romantic self-torment of Amadis on the Peña pobre
(barren rock) is one of the striking Spanish traits. Even the name
Beltenebros, given on this occasion by a pious hermit to the
disconsolate knight, contributes to prove that the work is not of
French origin; for the French paraphrastic translation, Le beau
tenebreux, is not only in itself very insipid, but poor Amadis appears
quite ridiculous when made to pronounce it from his own mouth as
his name.49

When the Amadis, after being widely circulated, became the object
of numerous imitations, the particular account of which may be left
to the explorers of literary curiosities, it was no longer possible for
the prose romance of knight-errantry and the ballad romance to
disown their relationship. At this period the romance poetry obtained
a consideration which it had not previously enjoyed. Songs which
were formerly disregarded were now carefully noted down. Those
poetic romances, the materials for which are taken from histories of
knights-errant, are among the oldest of the Spanish ballads which
have been preserved in the ancient language and form. Some are
imitations from the Spanish Amadis, others are translations from the
French; and it may here be observed, that the Spaniards and the
French possessed at this period a body of romantic literature, which
was throughout its whole extent nearly the same to both countries.
—With the old poetic romances, derived from books of chivalry, are
closely connected the most ancient of the historical ballads founded
on the history of the country. The latter, it may be presumed, soon
transferred their national tone and character into the former. But it
was not until after they had given to each other a reciprocal support,
that the historical romance found a place in Spanish literature. They
also mutually declined from the height of their common celebrity,
and at last sunk again into the obscurity attached to pieces of mere
popular recreation. In this way, however, they have retained an oral
currency among the common people down to the present age. The
Spanish critics notice them too briefly, as if they were afraid to
depreciate the dignity of their literature by dwelling on the
antiquated and homely effusions of the poetic genius of their
unlettered ancestors. But a people free from this prejudice who can
admire simple and natural, as well as learned and artificial poetry,
and who set little or no value on the latter, when it entirely separates
itself from the former, will be disposed to see justice more impartially
distributed to the old Spanish romances.50

THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF POETIC ROMANCE.

The romances composed on subjects derived from the fictions of
chivalry, which have been preserved in the collections, are
distinguished by the old forms of the language, and the primitive
mode of repeating a single rhyme, which often becomes a mere
assonance, from the romances of a later date, though even these
have long since been called old. Amadis de Gaul appears to have
contributed very little to this kind of ballad.51 The great number and
the longest of the romances are taken from the fabulous adventures
of Charlemagne and his Paladins. In them we again meet with the
twelve peers of France, who figure in the poems of Boyardo and
Ariosto, with the addition of Don Gayferos, the Moor Calaynos, and
other poetic characters, to whom the Spanish public were the more
readily disposed to grant an historical existence, in consequence of
the chivalric history of Charlemagne’s Paladins (who are represented
to have fought like the Spaniards against the Moors,) being held in
great respect as a supplemental part of Spanish National History. In
progress of time, however, the romance of the Moor Calaynos
became the subject of a proverb, employed to denote verses in an
old exploded and vulgar style.52 The ballad of the Conde Alarcos,
who with his own hands strangled his lady in satisfaction to the
honour, and in obedience to the commands of his king, appears to
have had its origin in some romantic work of chivalry. This and two
other romances which relate how the youthful Don Gayferos
avenged the death of his father, are among the best to which knight-
errantry has given birth; though in the remaining specimens of this
kind of ballad, the poetic genius of the age occasionally displays
itself in all its energetic simplicity. The authors of these romances
paid little regard to ingenuity of invention, and still less to
correctness of execution. When an impressive story of poetical
character was found, the subject and the interest belonging to it
were seized with so much truth and feeling, that the parts of the
little piece, the brief labour of untutored art, linked themselves
together, as it were, spontaneously; and the imagination of the bard
had no higher office than to give to the situations a suitable
colouring and effect. This he performed without study or effort, and
painted them more or less successfully according to the inspiration,
good or bad, of the moment. These antique, racy effusions of a
pregnant poetic imagination, scarcely conscious of its own
productive power, are nature’s genuine offspring. To recount their
easily recognized defects and faults is as superfluous, as it would be
impossible by any critical study to imitate a single trait of that noble
simplicity which constitutes their highest charm.53

The simplicity of the old historical romances is still more remarkable.

They form altogether a mere collection of anecdotes of Spanish
history, from the invasion of the Moors, to the period when the
authors of the romances flourished. Neither the materials nor the
interest of the situations owe any thing to the invention of these
simple bards. They never ventured to embellish with fictitious
circumstances, stories which were already in themselves interesting,
lest they should deprive their ballads of historical credit. In the
historical romances the story displays none of those entanglements
and developements which distinguish some of the longer romances
of chivalry. They are simple pictures of single situations only. The
poetic representation of the details which give effect to the situation
is almost the only merit which can be attributed to the narrators,
and they employed no critical study to obtain it. In this way were
thousands of these romances destined to be composed, and partly
preserved, partly forgotten, without one of their authors acquiring
the reputation of a great poet. It was regarded rather as an instance
of good fortune than a proof of talent, when the author of a
romance was particularly successful in painting an interesting
situation. In general their efforts did not carry them beyond
mediocrity, but mediocrity was not discouraged, for it depended
entirely on accident, or perhaps some secondary causes, whether a
romance became popular or sunk into oblivion. It would require a
separate treatise to discuss in a satisfactory manner, the degree of
merit which belongs to these national ballads, the immense number
of which defies calculation. Many little, and upon the whole very
unimportant specimens are still worthy of preservation, on account
of some one single trait which each exhibits. Others, on the contrary,
excite attention by the happy combination of a number of traits in
themselves minute and of little value; again, a third class is
distinguished by a sonorous rhythm not to be found in the rest.
Unfortunately, no literary critic has yet taken the trouble to arrange
these pieces in anything like a chronological order. Until this be
done, it cannot be discovered how the historical romance gradually
advanced from its original rudeness to the degree of relative beauty
which it at last attained, though it could not rise to classic perfection,
as that kind of composition never acquired the rank or consideration
of classic poetry in Spain.

Among the most ancient historical romances are several, the

subjects of which have been taken from the earliest periods of
Spanish history, anterior to the age of the Cid. Like the romances
derived from the prose works of chivalry, they have only a single
rhyme which interchanges with blank verse, and which is frequently
lost in a simple assonance.54 The romances of the Cid, of which
more than a hundred still exist, are either of a more recent date, or
have, at least, been in a great measure modernized.55 In some a
series of regularly arranged assonances may be perceived.56 Others
are divided into stanzas, with a burden repeated at the close of
each.57 In the greater part, however, the rhyme almost wholly
disappears, and only an accidental assonance occasionally occurs.
This form also prevails in most of the romances founded on the
history of the Moors. Their number is very great, perhaps greater
than that of those derived from events of Spanish history; and this
abundance might well excite as much astonishment in the critic as it
has given offence to some orthodox Spaniards.58 But even the
Spaniards of old Castilian origin found a certain poetic charm in the
oriental manners of the Moors. On the other hand, the European
chivalry, in so far as it was adopted by the Moors, became more
imposing from its union with oriental luxury, which favoured the
display of splendid armour, waving plumes, and emblematical
ornaments of every kind. The Moorish principalities or kingdoms
were even more agitated by internal troubles, and acts of violence,
than the christian states; and in the former, particularly, when
different races powerfully opposed each other, the lives of celebrated
warriors were more fertile in interesting anecdotes than in the latter.
The Christian warriors, it also appears, had sufficient generosity to
allow justice to be done, at least to the distinguished leaders of their
enemies, who are described in an old romance, as gentlemen,
though infidels.59 Besides, all these romances, whether of Moorish
or Spanish history, whether more ancient or more modern, present
nearly the same unsophisticated character and the same artless style
of composition. The subject is generally founded on a single fact.
Thus, for example, Roderick, or Don Rodrigo, the last king of the
Goths in Spain, before the Moorish invasion, takes flight after his
total overthrow, and bewails his own and his country’s fate; and this
is sufficient for a romance.60 The Cid returns victorious from his
exile, alights from his horse before a church, and delivers a short
energetic speech; this again forms the whole subject of a
romance.61 In others, with equal simplicity of story:— the king joins
the hands of the Cid and Ximena, invests him with fiefs of castles
and territories, the names of which are all recorded, and thus makes
preparation for the marriage of the lovers.—The Cid lays aside his
armour and puts on his wedding garments, which are minutely
described from the hat to the boots.—At a tournament the Moorish
knight Ganzul enters the lists on a fiery steed; the beautiful Zayda,
who has been unfaithful to him, once more yields up her heart to
her lover, and confesses to the Moorish ladies who surround her the
emotion she experiences.62—The Moorish hero Abenzulema, who
has filled the prisons with Christian knights,63 being exiled by his
jealous prince, takes leave of his beloved Balaja.64 Such is the
nature of a countless number of these ballads. In general, the
ornaments of the armour, and the device of the knight, which must
harmonize with these ornaments, are minutely described. Were an
artist of genius to study these interesting situations, he would open
to himself a new field for historical painting.

There is a kind of mythological romance in which the heroes of

Greece appear in Spanish costume, which may be regarded as an
imitation of the species already described. The history of the siege of
Troy, having been clothed in the garb of a chivalric romance, it
followed, as a matter of course, that the Grecian heroes should be
exhibited as knights-errant in the poetic romances. It is obvious, on
examination, that most of these mythological romances are very
old.65 Even christianity is made to contribute to this kind of
composition, and anecdotes from the bible are related in the
favourite romance form; as, for example, the lamentation of king
David on the death of his son Absalom.66

CASTILIAN POETRY IN THE THIRTEENTH AND

FOURTEENTH CENTURIES.
In ancient Spanish poetry the strictly lyric romances do not form a
different class from the narrative romances. On the contrary, these
kinds are inseparably confounded. In like manner, no essential
distinction between what was called a cancion (song), and a lyric
romance, was established either in theory or in practice. A custom
prevailed of classing, without distinction, under the general name of
romance, any lyric expression of the feelings which ran on, in the
popular manner, in a string of redondillas, without distinct strophes,
and which, in that respect resembled the greater part of the
narrative romances. When, however, the composition was divided
into little strophes, or coplas, it was usually called a cancion, a term
employed in nearly the same indeterminate sense as the word song
in English, or lied in German, but which does not correspond with
the Italian canzone. The same name, however, came afterwards to
be applied to lyric pieces of greater research and more elevated
character, if they were divided into strophes. Compositions in coplas
must have been common in Spain about the middle of the
fourteenth century; for the traces of their origin lead back to the
ancient Spanish custom of accompanying such songs, in the true
style of national poetry, with dances. The saraband is one of those
old national dances, during the performance of which coplas were
sung. Hence the Spanish proverb denoting antiquated and trivial
poetry, when it is said of verses that “they are not worth as much as
the coplas of the saraband,” in the same way as the romance of
Calainos is quoted proverbially.67 But many lyric compositions which
are preserved in the collections of the most ancient of the pieces
known by the general name of romances, are probably of an older
date than those in coplas which appear in the Cancioneros. They
have, like the older romances, only a single rhyme, alternating with
assonances and blank verses; but, independently of this proof, their
old language, which corresponds so naturally with the ingenuous
simplicity of their manner, is sufficient to mark their antiquity.68

The Castilian lyric poetry seems to have begun to confer reputation

on those who cultivated it, in the latter half of the fourteenth
century. The Marquis of Santillana, who lived in the first half of the
fifteenth century, relates that his grandfather composed very good
songs, and among others some, the first lines of which he quotes.69
According to the statement of the Marquis, a Spanish jew, named
Rabbi Santo, celebrated as the author of maxims in verse, flourished
about the same time. He also informs us, that during the reign of
John I. from 1379 to 1390, Alfonso Gonzales de Castro, and some
other poets, were esteemed for their lyric compositions. But all these
names, so honoured in their own age, were forgotten in the
commencement of the fifteenth century, when under the reign of
John II. there arose a new race of poets, who outshone all their
predecessors.

POETICAL COURT OF JOHN II.

The Spanish authors make the reign of John II. the commencement
of an epoch in their poetry. But though some poetic essays of
greater compass than had previously been undertaken, were then
produced, still this period ought really to be regarded only as that in
which the ancient poetry received its last improvement, and by no
means as constituting a new era. The old national muse of Castile
continued the favourite of many of the grandees of the kingdom who
were ambitious, in imitation of Alphonso X. of uniting the reputation
of learning to the fame of their poetry, but who had more true poetic
feeling than that monarch. These noble authors thought they could
acquire little honour by devoting their attention to the composition
of romances, properly so called, but preferred distinguishing
themselves by giving to lyric poetry a higher degree of art in its
forms, and more ingenuity of invention. As a consequence of this
taste, they displayed a particular fondness for allegory, and
ingenious difficulties and subtilties of every kind were the great
objects of their labours. Their best works are some compositions in
which they seem unconsciously to have allowed nature to speak,
and these specimens possess about the same value as the
anonymous romances. They brought the dactylic stanzas (versos de
arte mayor,) again into vogue, because such artificial strophes had a
more learned air than the easy flowing redondillas. Mythological
illusions and moral sentences were, with these authors, the usual
substitutes for true poetic dignity. But barbarous as was their taste,
nature, which they wished to renounce, sometimes worked so
powerfully within them, that she triumphed over the pedantic
refinement to which they had surrendered their understandings;—
and the graceful facility of the popular manner occasionally appeared
in their writings. In this way the ancient national poetry became
amalgamated with works distinguished for laborious efforts of art,
and ultimately attained a higher degree of consideration. There
resulted, however, no revolution in the literature of Spain; and it
cannot be said, that the authors of the age of John II. formed an
epoch, unless it be for having introduced, with more success than
Alphonso X. learning and philosophy into the sphere of poetry; and
for having, besides, by their united endeavours, given to the ancient
lyric forms of their maternal language, that sort of improvement
which, consistently with the spirit of the age, they were capable of
receiving, and which finally brought them to their highest state of
perfection.
But this period of brilliant improvement in the ancient national
poetry of Spain is, in another respect, more memorable than the
writers on Spanish literature appear to have regarded it. During the
whole period the Castilian monarchy was convulsed by internal
troubles. Even in the last ten years of the fourteenth century, the
powerful barons of the kingdom had almost wrested the sceptre
from the hands of John I. and Henry III. Under John II. the
celebrated patron of poetry, who reigned from 1407 to 1454, the
monarchy was more than once menaced with destruction. The
grandees sported with the royal prerogatives, and John II. had not
sufficient firmness of character to render his authority respected. In
the difficult situations in which he was involved, he derived, in a
certain measure, his security from his love of literature, which
yielded a valuable return for the favours he had bestowed. It won
and preserved for him the attachment of many of the most
considerable noblemen of the country, who formed around him a
poetical court, which was not without influence on public affairs. It
would not be easy to find in the history of states and of literature,
another instance of a similar court, with the members composing it,
at once poets, warriors, and statesmen, surrounding and supporting
a learned sovereign, in spite of his imbecility, during a period of civil
commotion. This phenomenon proves the supremacy of the poetic
spirit at this time in Spain, since it was not to be subdued even by
the spirit of political faction, which is always hostile to poetry, and
which was, at this time, particularly powerful.

THE MARQUIS OF VILLENA.

Previously to this period, before the poets had rendered the court of
John II. the most brilliant society of the age, an eminent nobleman,
the Marquis Enrique de Villena, was distinguished for his literary
efforts. He sought to adorn his erudition with the lyric graces of the
Limosin Troubadours, who had then attained their highest and final
celebrity at the court of Arragon; and, thus united, to adapt both the
learning and the poetry to the Castilian taste. He seemed called by
birth to the performance of this task; for he was descended by the
paternal side from the kings of Arragon, and by the maternal from
those of Castile. His reputation for metaphysical and natural
knowledge was so great, that he came, at last, in that ignorant age,
to be regarded as a magician, and on that account he and his books
were never mentioned but with horror. His talent for poetic invention
was, however, an object of particular admiration with many of the
poets of the age of John II. and among others of the Marquis de
Santillana and Juan de Mena.

The Marquis of Villena was the author of an allegorical drama, which

was performed at the court of Arragon in celebration of a marriage,
and which may, therefore, be supposed to have been written in the
Limosin rather than in the Castilian language. Among the characters
stated to have been introduced into this drama, are Justice, Truth,
Peace, and Clemency.70 Rhetorical and poetical competitions were
instituted at Toulouse, in the year 1324, under the name of the
Floral Games, to foster, by prizes and gallant ceremonies, the
Troubadour spirit. This institution, which was soon after imitated in
Arragon, was transplanted by the Marquis of Villena to Castile, but
the result of that enterprize was not successful.71 The Marquis died
at Madrid in 1434. A work supposed to have been printed at Burgos
in 1499, under the title of Los trabajos de Hercules, (The Labours of
Hercules), used formerly to be quoted as one of his poems; but from
more recent investigations, it appears that this pretended poem was
a mythological tale in prose.72 A translation of the Æneid by the
Marquis, is besides mentioned, but this work appears also to be lost.
A kind of art of poetry, which he wrote under the title of La Gaya
Ciencia, has been more fortunate; for it has been partially preserved,
and is still regarded with respect as the oldest work of the kind in
the Spanish language.73 This treatise, however, does not deserve to
be called an Art of Poetry, except in a very limited sense. It must
have been intended as a necessary instruction, in the first place, for
the Marquis of Santillana, to whom it is directly addressed, and
doubtless, in the next, for the other members of the Institute of the
Gay Science, (El Consistorio de la gaya Ciencia), which the Marquis
of Villena had formed in Castile. In conformity with this object, the
author relates the history of the Institute, endeavours to prove its
utility, takes that opportunity of expressing his opinion on the object
of poetry in general, and concludes with laying down the principles
of Castilian prosody. These principles appear to have been
particularly useful with reference to the conflict which then subsisted
between the Castilian and Limosin tongues. Among his general
observations on poetry, he says—“Great are the benefits which this
science confers on civil society, by banishing indolence, and
employing noble minds in laudable speculations: other nations have,
accordingly, wished for and established among themselves, schools
of this science, by which it has been diffused over different parts of
the world.”74 It is obvious that this active nobleman was full of zeal
for the improvement of the poetry of his country, and for the honour
of that art which was cultivated with method and dignity in the
Arragonian provinces, but which in Castile, where it was left to itself,
appeared to stand in need of direction and encouragement. The
difference between science and art was not more clearly perceived
by the Marquis of Villena than by the other poets and men of
learning of his age; and to distinguish the Castilian forms of romantic
poetry from the Limosin, did not appear to him necessary. Thus,
while his labours contributed to heighten the respect in which poetry
and liberal pursuits were held, they had only an indirect influence on
the improvement of Castilian poetry.

THE MARQUIS OF SANTILLANA; HIS POETICAL

WORKS; HIS HISTORICAL AND CRITICAL LETTER.
After the death of the Marquis of Villena, his pupil, Don Iñigo Lopez
de Mendoza, Marquis of Santa Juliana, or Santillana, appears at the
head of the brilliant society of poets who adorned the court of John
II. Whenever a Marquis of Santillana is mentioned in the history of
Spanish literature, without any more particular description, it is this
nobleman that is meant. He was born in the year 1398. His elevated
rank and great fortune, joined to the military and political talents by
which he was distinguished from youth upwards, placed him in a
situation in which he was called upon to perform a principal part
among the nobles of Castile. His intellectual culture had for its basis
the philosophy of Socrates; and his strict morality procured him no
less celebrity than his sound understanding and love of science.75
This uncommon union of rank, influence, character, talents, and
learning, could not fail to render the Marquis of Santillana highly
respected; and he was indeed regarded as so extraordinary a man,
that foreigners are said to have undertaken journies to Castile for
the sole purpose of seeing him. He was greatly esteemed by king
John, who, during the civil wars, constantly received from him, in
return, the homage which was due to a protector of learning, though
the Marquis was not always of that prince’s party. After the death of
John II. in the latter years of his life, this eminent man assisted with
his counsels Henry IV. under whom the regal authority in Castile was
subsequently almost annihilated. He died in the year 1458.

The Marquis of Santillana possessed no uncommon poetic talent. But

he studied to give to the poetry of his age a moral tendency, to
extend its sphere by allegorical invention, and to adorn poetic
description with the stores of learning. Two poems, in which he has
best succeeded in realizing these objects, are also the most
celebrated of his works. The first is an elegy on the death of the
Marquis of Villena;76 a lyric allegory in twenty-five dactylic stanzas,
constructed according to the ancient form. The idea is very simple,
and the commencement of the piece brings to recollection the hell of
Dante, of which it is probably an imitation.77 The poet loses himself
in a desert, finds himself surrounded by wild and frightful animals,
advances forward, hears dismal tones of lamentation, and finally
discovers some nymphs in mourning, who bewail the loss and
chaunt the merits of the deceased Marquis of Villena. On this poem,
which does not discover much ingenuity of invention, the Marquis of
Santillana probably expended all his stock of learning. He cites as
many deities and ancient authors, as the nature of his work will
permit him to notice.78 Such a display of erudition had never before
been seen in the Castilian language. No genial poetic spirit is to be
found except in the descriptions and in some other scattered
passages of this lyric allegory;79 but the verse is not destitute of
harmony. The other considerable poem of the Marquis, consists of a
series of moral reflections, occasioned by the unfortunate fate of
Don Alvaro de Luna, the favourite of John II.; the Marquis called this
work, El doctrinal de Privados, (the Manual of Favourites.) It must be
regarded as the earliest didactic poem in the Spanish language,
unless that title be given to any series of moral maxims in verse. The
work which is divided into fifty-three stanzas in redondillas, receives
a poetic colouring from the manner in which the shade of Don Alvaro
is introduced confessing his faults, and uttering those moral truths,
which the author wished to impress on the hearts of the restless
Castilians.80 He was less successful in his love songs composed in
the Castilian manner, to which he unfortunately thought a new
dignity would be given, by rendering them the vehicles of learned
allusions. He possessed, however, the art of reconciling this pedantry
with a pleasing style of versification.81 A kind of hymn, which he
composed, under the title of Los Gozos de neustra Señora, (the Joys
of our Lady) has been preserved, but it possesses no poetic merit.82
He also wrote a collection of proverbs and maxims in verse, for the
use of the Prince Royal of Castile, who afterwards ascended a
tottering throne under the title of Henry IV.83 However low a critical
examination might reduce the value of these works, still the Marquis
of Santillana deserves to retain the place assigned to him in the
history of Spanish literature by his contemporaries, by whom he was
generally admired, as the “representative of the honour of poetry.”

Among the literary remains of the Marquis of Santillana, the critical

and historical letter is particularly remarkable. This letter, which is
frequently mentioned in the early accounts of Spanish poetry,84 is
instructive in various respects. It affords the means of accurately
observing the infancy of Spanish criticism in that age, for the
Marquis has added to the letter a collection of his ingenious maxims,
(decires,) and of his poems for Don Pedro, a Portuguese prince; and
from the embarrassment evinced by the Marquis when he attempts
to give the prince an account of the rise of Castilian poetry, it is
obvious, that with respect to the real origin of that poetry, less was
understood at that time than is known at the present day. Poetry, or
the gay science, is, according to the Marquis of Santillana, “an
invention of useful things, which being enveloped in a beautiful veil,
are arranged, exposed, and concealed according to a certain
calculation, measurement, and weight.”85 Thus, allegory appeared to
him to belong to the essence of poetry. He could scarcely have
imbibed this opinion from Dante. In Spain, as well as in Italy and
France, it seems to have issued forth from the monkish cells, when
endeavours were made to unite poetry with philosophy, and to make
the poetic art the symbol of knowledge, in order to ensure to it
estimation among the learned. The allegorical spirit which pervades
the half gothic poetry of that period, is therefore inseparably
connected with the characteristic origin of modern poetry. The
Marquis of Santillana would have come to a totally different
conclusion, had he taken an unprejudiced view of the genuine
national poetry of his country. But he imagined he was laying down
a principle which would ennoble it, when, according to his theory, he
held allegory to be indispensable. Without scruple, therefore, he
confounded the Castilian and Limosin poetry together in one mass.
Respecting the origin of the former, he entered into no investigation.
He commences the history of poetry with Moses, Joshua, David,
Solomon, and Job,86 gives a copious account of the changes which
the art of the Troubadours had undergone in the Arragonian
provinces, and adds a notice of some of the earliest Galician and
Portuguese poets: among the Castilian poets, he mentions king
Alphonso and some others, without saying a syllable on the subject
of the ancient romances.
 JUAN DE MENA.
Juan de Mena, who is by some writers, styled the Spanish Ennius,
ranks, as a poet, in a somewhat higher scale than the Marquis of
Santillana, though he was less favoured by fortune, and was not
distinguished by so many various merits as the latter. He was born in
Cordova, about the year 1412. In this southern district of Spain,
which but a short time before had been recovered from the Moors,
the Castilian genius was doubtless very rapidly naturalized. Juan de
Mena, though not descended from a family of rank,87 was not of
mean origin, and at the early age of three-and-twenty he was
invested with a civil appointment in his native city. His own
inclination, however, prompted him to devote himself to philosophy,
and particularly to the study of ancient literature and history. From
Cordova he went to the University of Salamanca. But in order more
nearly to approach the source of ancient literature, he undertook a
journey to Rome, where he zealously prosecuted his studies.
Enriched with knowledge, he returned to his native country, and
immediately attracted the notice of the Marquis of Santillana, and
shortly after of king John. Both received him into their literary circles
with distinguished approbation. The Marquis of Santillana attached
himself with more friendship to Juan de Mena than to any other poet
who enjoyed the favour of the king, although their political opinions
did not always coincide. The king nominated him one of the
historiographers, who, according to the arrangement which had
subsisted since the time of Alphonso X. were appointed to continue
the national chronicles. Juan de Mena lived in high favour at the
court of John II. and was a constant adherent of the king. He died in
1456, at Guadalaxara, in New Castile, being then about forty-five
years of age. The Marquis of Santillana erected a monument to his
memory.

From the history of Juan de Mena’s life, it might be expected that his
endeavours to extend the boundaries of Castilian poetry would be
made under the influence of Italian taste, more or less of which he
may be presumed to have adopted, and on his return introduced
into his native country. But no Italian poet, save Dante, appears to
have produced any remarkable impression on him. Indeed, with the
exception of Dante and Petrarch, there was, at that period, no
Italian poet of classic consideration; and in the first half of the
fifteenth century Italian poetry suddenly declined. Sonnets were still
in favour throughout the whole of Italy, but Juan de Mena continued
faithful to the old forms of the Castilian poetry, perhaps from a
feeling of national pride. He certainly did not imitate the sonnet; and
even from Dante himself, he copied neither metrical form nor style.
In allegory alone he followed the footsteps of the Italian poet. His
most celebrated poem is, the Labyrinth, (el Labyrintho) or, the Three
Hundred Stanzas (las trecientas,) an allegorical historical didactic
work, in old dactylic verse (versos de arte mayor.88) Had the
Labyrinth proved what, according to the idea of the author, it was
intended to be, it would have been proper, merely on account of that
single work, to commence a new epoch of Spanish poetry with the
reign of John II. But with all its merits, which have been highly
extolled by some authors, and which are certainly by no means
trivial, it can only be regarded as a mere specimen of gothic art.89 It
belongs to the period which gave it birth, and bears no traces of the
superiority of a genius which might have ruled the spirit of the age.
Juan de Mena formed the grand design of executing in this work an
allegorical picture of the whole course of human life. His intention
was, to embrace every age, to immortalize great virtues, to
stigmatize with opprobrium great vices, and to represent in striking
colours the irresistible power of destiny.90 But the poetical invention
of Juan de Mena was subordinate to his false learning. The three
hundred stanzas, of which the poem consists, are divided into seven
orders, (ordenes), in imitation of the seven planets, the influence of
which, according to Juan de Mena’s doctrine, is wisely prescribed by
Providence. To represent this influence figuratively, Mena resorted to
a most insipid and grotesque invention. After invoking Apollo and
Calliope, and earnestly apostrophising Fortune,91 he loses himself in
imitation of Dante in an allegorical world, where a female of
astonishing beauty appears to him, and becomes his guide. This
female is Providence:92 she conducts him to three wheels, two of
which are motionless, while the third is in a state of continual
movement. These wheels, it will readily be conjectured, represent
the past, the present, and the future. Human beings drop down
through this mill of time. The centre wheel turns them round. Each
has his name and destiny inscribed on his forehead. While the wheel
of the present is revolving with all the existing human race, it is
controlled astrologically in its motion by the seven orders or circles
of the seven planets under the influence of which men are born.
Whether or not these circles are perceptible on the wheel itself, is
not clearly stated. To this description succeeds, in the order of the
seven planets, a long gallery of mythological and historical pictures,
which presents abundant fruits of the poet’s extensive reading. This
grotesque composition is interspersed with individual passages of
great interest and beauty, though none of the traits call to mind
similar traits in Dante. The most glowing passages of the lyric,
didactic, and narrative class, are those in which Juan de Mena gives
utterance to the language of Spanish patriotism.93 He is particularly
successful in the description of the death of the Count de Niebla, a
Spanish naval hero, who attempted to recover Gibraltar from the
Moors; but through ignorance of the return of the tide, fell a
sacrifice to the waves, because he preferred perishing with his men,
to saving himself singly.94 But particular attention is bestowed on
Don Alvaro de Luna,95 the favourite of the king, who is introduced in
this poem with great pomp, under the constellation of Saturn. When
Juan de Mena wrote this poem, and thus proclaimed the glory of de
Luna, the latter had not yet fallen, and the energy of his character
seemed to promise, as the poet prophesied, that he would ultimately
triumph over all the Castilian nobles who had excited the hostility of
the country against him. King John, as may naturally be supposed, is
in Juan de Mena’s Labyrinth complimented on every suitable
occasion. A genealogy of the kings of Spain forms the conclusion of
the poem; and thus were the Spaniards made to feel a kind of
national interest for the whole work, which in some measure
subsists, at least among their writers at the present day. Even in
Juan de Mena’s time, the learned solecisms with which he
endeavoured to elevate his poetic language were uncommon;96 but
other essential faults, such, for instance, as Aristotelian definitions in
verse, were then esteemed great beauties; and the gothic and
fantastic hyperboles in praise of king John, with which the poem
opens, as if intended to appal the reader at the outset, were not at
that period considered unpoetic.97

But king John was not satisfied with the torrent of praise which was
poured upon him by Mena’s Labyrinth. The king, with critical gravity,
signified his wish that the poet should add sixty-five stanzas to the
three hundred which he had already written, so that by making the
number of stanzas correspond with the number of days in the year,
the beauty of the composition might be heightened. The sixty-five
new stanzas were also to have a political tendency, with the view of
recalling the rebellious nobles to their allegiance. Juan de Mena
proceeded to the prescribed task; but he could produce no more
than twenty-four additional stanzas (coplas añadidas.) They are
contained in the Cancionero general.

Another work of Juan de Mena, very celebrated at the period when

the poet flourished, is his Ode for the Poetical Coronation of the
Marquis of Santillana.98 That Mecænas sometimes vied with him in
the composition of ingenious questions, or enigmas and their
answers, which were versified by both in dactylic stanzas.99 His
other poems are, for the most part, love songs, in the style of the
age, and according to the perverted taste of the poet, loaded with
mythological learning. In the course of this work further notice will
be taken of these songs, together with other amatory poems of the
same period. During the last year of his life, Juan de Mena was
engaged in a moral allegorical poem, which, however, he did not
complete. It was entitled a Treatise on Vices and Virtues, (Tractado
de Vicios y Virtudes.) The author intended in an epic poem to
represent the “more than civil war,” which the will, instigated by the
passions, maintains with reason.100 The will and reason are in the
end personified.

To collect biographical notices of the other poets and writers of verse

who enjoyed the favour of king John II. and whose works are partly
contained in the Cancionero general, or to give an extensive account
of their productions, is a task which must be resigned to the author
who has made this department of Spanish literature his particular
study. As to poetic value, the writings of all those authors are in the
main the same; and it may therefore be presumed that it will prove
more instructive to consider works so nearly related to each other,
under the comprehensive view of general criticism. A few notices,
however, of men worthy of more particular remembrance, may
precede the critical comparison of their works.101

PEREZ DE GUZMAN, RODRIGUEZ DEL PADRON, AND

OTHER SPANISH LYRIC POETS OF THE AGE OF
JOHN II.
Fernan Perez de Guzman was held in no trifling consideration at the
court of John II. His family, which was one of the most distinguished
in Castile, was related to all the other great families in the country.
As a poet, he studied to combine the peculiar tone of moral and
spiritual poetry with that of the old romances. His Representation of
the Four Cardinal Virtues, dedicated to the Marquis of Santillana,
which consists of sixty-four strophes or couplets, is versified in
redondillas, as are also his Ave Maria, his Paternoster, and his other
spiritual songs.

Rodriguez del Padron seems likewise to have been held in some

esteem at the court of John II. His family name is not known, and as
little are the dates of his birth and death, but he is named after the
place of his nativity, the little town El Padron in Galicia. It is
remarkable that in his poetry he dropped his Galician idiom and
adopted the Castilian. Besides the reputation he obtained by his
poetic productions, which are chiefly love songs, he is celebrated for
his friendship with the Galician poet Macias, who will be further
mentioned in the history of Portuguese poetry. The tragical death of
Macias, who fell a sacrifice to his romantic susceptibility, made such
an impression on Rodriguez del Padron, that he shut himself up in a
Dominican cloister, which he had erected at his own expense. He
became a monk, and terminated his life in that convent.

Alonzo de Santa Maria, called also Alonzo de Cartagena, wrote love

songs, probably in his youth, and then devoted himself to spiritual
affairs. He died Archbishop of Burgos, in the year 1456.

Several other poets whose works fill the Cancionero general, also
lived in the reign, or rather under the anticipated domination of
queen Isabella, who, in the year 1465, vouchsafed to her almost
dethroned brother, Henry IV. the little authority, which, as a nominal
king he retained till his death in 1474. At this troubled period Garci
Sanchez de Badajoz sang his passionate and glowing songs of love;
and at the same time flourished the two Manriques, Gomez
Manrique and Jorge Manrique; the latter was nephew to the former.
Both owed the consideration they enjoyed no less to their poetical
works than to their high and pure Castilian descent. The Bachelor de
la Torre, of whom nothing further is known than what his own songs
express, lived at the same period.

OF THE CANCIONERO GENERAL, AND THE

DIFFERENT KINDS OF ANCIENT SPANISH SONGS.
Between the works of the above poets, all of which are to be found
in the Cancionero general, and the other poems contained in the
same collection, whether their authors lived in the first or the second
half of the fifteenth century, there is a very striking resemblance.
This collection, so remarkable in its kind, may therefore be regarded
as a single work, which, together with a portion of the General
Romance Book (Romancero general), embraces nearly all the
Castilian poetry of the fifteenth century. No other remains of Spanish
poetry, belonging to the same age, are sufficiently important to be
brought into comparison with this national treasure. It may not,
then, be improper to introduce here, a few particulars respecting the
history of the Cancionero general. Of the Romancero general some
further account must hereafter be given.

The bibliographic notices towards the history of the collections of

Spanish poetry, to be found in the works of various authors, readily
explain why many old Spanish poems and names of poets have been
either totally lost, or are still only preserved in manuscript in a way
which renders them foreign to literature. It appears that having been
withheld from the press, on the introduction of printing into
Spain,102 they were forgotten as soon as other collections were
made known by means of that art. In the reign of John II. Alphonso
de Baena, who himself wrote in verse, prepared a collection of old
lyric pieces, under the title of Cancionero de Poetas Antiguos. This
collection, though still preserved in the library of the Escurial, was
never printed;103 but a list of the poets whose works are contained
in it, has appeared, and includes names which do not occur
elsewhere. Alvarez de Villapandino is mentioned as a particularly
excellent “master and patron of the said art,” namely, poetry.
Sanchez Salavera, Ruy Paez de Ribera, and others, of whom besides
their names, nothing else is known, are also cited. It is not very
probable that Alphonso de Baena’s collection was the origin of that
which subsequently appeared under the title of the Cancionero
general. Of this celebrated collection it is merely known that it was
originally produced by Fernando del Castillo, at the commencement
of the sixteenth century, and within a short period frequently
augmented and reprinted. Fernando del Castillo began his collection
with the poets of the age of John II. He did not, however, take the
trouble to carry on the series in chronological order through the
fifteenth century. He places the spiritual poems before the rest. He
then gives the works of several poets of the reign of John II.
mingled with others of more recent date, but so arranged, that the
productions of each author seem to be kept distinct. After, however,
the works are thus apparently given, other poems follow under
particular heads, partly by the same and partly by different authors,
whose names are sometimes mentioned and sometimes not: there
are also a few Italian sonnets, and some coplas in the Valencian
language. In proportion as the collection extended, the additions
were always inserted at the end of the book. In the oldest editions
the number of poets mentioned amounts to one hundred and thirty-
six.104

A nation which can enumerate one hundred and thirty-six song

writers in a single century, and which also possesses a great number
of songs by unknown authors, produced within the same period,
may well boast of its lyric genius; and the literary historian, before
he proceeds to a closer review of this collection, may reasonably
expect to find in it a full and true representation of the national
character. Thus the old Spanish Cancionero is even more interesting
to the philosophic observer of human nature than to the critic.

The Spiritual Songs, (Obras de Devocion,) at the head of the

collection, probably will not fulfil the expectations which may be
formed respecting them. It is natural to presume that in a nation so
poetically inclined, and in an age when, for the most part, nature
was followed without reference to the rules of art, the poets could
not fail to view Christianity on its poetic side. But the scholastic
forms of the existing theology crushed the genius of poetry; and the
unpoetic side of Christianity, because it was the most learned, was
alone deemed worthy the strains of the Spanish poets of the
fifteenth century. They likewise seldom ventured to give scope to the
fancy in devotional verses, because the nation was accustomed to
the most implicit faith in every dogma of the church, and the
recognition of the sacredness of literal interpretation was identified
with orthodoxy, long before the terrors of the inquisition and its