The ''Poema de Fernán González'' is a Castilian

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

, specifically, a ''

cantar de gesta A ''cantar de gesta'' is the Spanish equivalent of the Old French medieval ''chanson de geste'' or "songs of heroic deeds". The most important ''cantares de gesta'' of Castile were: * The '' Cantar de Mio Cid'', where the triumph of the true no ...

'' of the Mester de Clerecía. Composed in a metre called the '' cuaderna vía'', it narrates the deeds of the historical

Count of Castile This is a list of counts of Castile. The County of Castile had its origin in a fortified march on the eastern frontier of the Kingdom of Asturias. The earliest counts were not hereditary, being appointed as representatives of the Asturian king. Fr ...

Fernán González Fernan or Fernán is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * Fernán Blázquez de Cáceres, Spanish nobleman * Fernán Caballero (1796–1877), Spanish novelist * Fernando Fernán Gómez (1921–2007), Spanish actor ...

. It was written between 1250 and 1266 by a monk of San Pedro de Arlanza. In 1960 a fourteenth-century Arab roofing tile was discovered in Merindad de Sotoscueva north of

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...

that had some verses of the poem scrawled on it in Old Spanish. It is the oldest copy of (a part of) the work. The poem reiterates the campaigns of Fernán González against the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

, his wars against the Kingdom of Navarre, his debates with the

King of León In the reign of Ordoño I of Asturias (850–866), the kingdom began to be known as that of León. In 910, an independent Kingdom of León was founded when the king of Asturias divided his territory amongst his three sons. Below follows a ...

, and his protection of San Pedro de Arlanza, where he was eventually buried. Fernán's ability to keep Castile out of the reach of the Moors, however, is most heavily stressed. The poem is designed to present Fernán as the legitimate ruler of all Spain and thus justify Castilian supremacy in the poet's own day. The opening lines express the poet's own desire: Despite this strong ideological bent, the author was not well aware of the historical details. Very little about Fernán González has been conserved in writing and most of the stories about him were transmitted orally, developing into legend in the process. The ''Poema'' itself is conserved in only one fifteenth-century

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in ...

, where the mentality and language of the work attest to its thirteenth-century origins.

Text

Complete text
at La Manticora: Revista de Textos Medievales.

Bibliography

*Avalle-Arce, Juan B. "El ''Poema de Fernan González'': Clerecía y juglaría." ''

Philological Quarterly The ''Philological Quarterly'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering research on medieval European and modern literature and culture. It was established in 1922 by Hardin Craig. The inaugural issue of the journal was made available at sixty ...

'', Vol. 1, No. 51 (Jan., 1972), pp. 60–74. *Chalon, Louis. "L'effondrement de l'Epagne visigothique et l'invasion musulmane selon le ''Poema de Fernán González''." ''Anuario de estudios medievales'', Vol. 9 (1974–79), pp. 351–362. *Duque, Adriano. ''Política y memoria en el Poema de Fernán González''. Newark: Juan de la Cuesta, 2017. *García de la Fuente, O. "Estudio del léxico bíblico del ''Poema de Fernán González''." ''Analecta Malacitana'', Vol. 1 (1978), pp. 5–68. *Garrido Moraga, A. M. "Ensayo de ordenación conceptual del léxico en el ''Poema de Fernán González''," parts I–III. ''Analecta Malacitana'', Vol. 8–9 (1985–86). *Garrido Moraga, A. M. "El ''Poema de Fernán González'' como objeto semiótico." ''Analecta Malacitana'', Vol. 9 (1986), pp. 265–280. *Gimeno Casalduero, Joaquín. "Sobre la composición del ''Poema de Fernán González''." ''Anuario de estudios medievales'', Vol. 5 (1968), pp. 181–207. *Goldberg, Harriet
"The Dream Report as a Literary Device in Medieval Hispanic Literature."
''Hispania'', Vol. 66, No. 1. (Mar., 1983), pp. 21–31. *Harvey, L. P.; Hook, David
"The Affair of the Horse and Hawk in the ''Poema de Fernán González''."
''The Modern Language Review'', Vol. 77, No. 4. (Oct., 1982), pp. 840–847. *Keller, J. P
"Inversion of the Prison Episodes in the ''Poema de Fernán González''."
''Hispanic Review'', Vol. 22, No. 4. (Oct., 1954), pp. 253–263. *Keller, J. P
"The Hunt and Prophecy Episode of the ''Poema de Fernán González''."
''Hispanic Review'', Vol. 23, No. 4. (Oct., 1955), pp. 251–258. *Keller, J. P
"The Structure of the ''Poema de Fernán González''."
''Hispanic Review'', Vol. 25, No. 4. (Oct., 1957), pp. 235–246. *Terry, Helen V
"The Treatment of the Horse and Hawk Episodes in the Literature of Fernán González."
''Hispania'', Vol. 13, No. 6. (Dec., 1930), pp. 497–504. {{DEFAULTSORT:Poema de Fernan Gonzalez 13th century in Castile Spanish literature Cantares de gesta Epic poems in Spanish