Mester de Clerecía

Mester de Clerecía ("Ministry of Clergy") is a

Spanish literature Spanish literature generally refers to literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects wi ...

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

that can be understood as an opposition and surpassing of Mester de Juglaría. It was cultivated in the 13th century by Spanish learned poets, usually clerics (hence the name 'clerecía'). Unlike Mester de Juglaría, Mester de Clerecía was written on paper, not anonymous, with regular metre (the ''cuaderna vía'') and done by educated authors. Also the topics are more serious: religious, historical and novelesque. The stanzas in them are composed of 4 alexandrine lines which contain 14 syllables each. The most famous authors of this period are

Gonzalo de Berceo Gonzalo de Berceo (ca. 1197 – before 1264) was a Castilian Spanish poet born in the Riojan village of Berceo, close to the major Benedictine monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla. He is celebrated for his poems on religious subjects, writte ...

and

Arcipreste de Hita Juan Ruiz (), known as the Archpriest of Hita (''Arcipreste de Hita''), was a medieval Castilian poet. He is best known for his ribald, earthy poem, ''Libro de buen amor'' (''The Book of Good Love''). Biography Origins He was born in Alcal� ...

. The '' Poema de Fernán González'' is an example of anonymous mester de clerecía. These poets carefully counted the number of syllables in each line and strived to achieve perfect lines. The line form is the Alexandrine line (14 syllables) with consonantal rhyme in stanzas of four lines each. This form is also known as the ''cuaderna vía'' or the fourfold way, and was borrowed from France and was popular until the late fourteenth century. Popular themes of these poets were Christian legends, lives of saints, and tales from classical antiquity. The poems were recited to villagers in public plazas. Two traits separate this form from the mester de juglaría: didacticism and erudition. Castilian priest and poet

was one of the greatest followers of the mester de clerecía. All of his works were religious; two of the most well known are ''Milagros de Nuestra Señora'' (about the miracles worked by the Virgin Mary) and ''Vida de Santa Oria''. Fourteenth-century poet Juan Ruíz, also known as the

, used the cuaderna vía in parts of his famous work ''Libro de buen amor''. He introduced sixteen-syllable lines. Medieval literature Spanish literature {{Lit-genre-stub