Levels of Meaning: Grains, Bread, and Bread Making as Informative Images in Berceo

Abstract

This study examines Gonzalo de Berceo's use of the imagery of bread and grains in his works and defines the key cultural contexts from which it springs. This imagery, found in the Sac44cio delaMisa, the Martirio de San Lorenzo, the Milagros de Nuestra Seffora, and the Vida de Santo Domingo de Silos, derives not only from ecclesiastical (Eucharistic) concepts and practices but also from the daily life of the times. Operating in what might be called a hierarchy of bread grains (in which wheat is superior), Berceos imagery is consistent with a general Eu opean conceptualization. Manifestations of this hierarchy are evident in other medieval works such as the Libro deAlixandre, the PoemadeFerndn Gonzalez, and the LibrodeBuenAmor. Ultimately we see that wheat (as well as its flo and dough) is synonymous with goodness and perfection and the lesser grains, especially barley, with evil.