The Co-redemptive Role of Mary in Gonzalo de Berceo's El duelo de la Virgen

Abstract

Much has been done to debunk the perception of Gonzalo Berceo as a folksy or rustic poet so admired by the Generation of 1890. (1) James Marchand and Brian Dutton, (2) among others, have shown Berceo to be a learned man whose sources were varied and rich. Marchand states that Berceo... may seem at first glance to be a primitive, but there is a thread of learned theological symbolism throughout work (Berceo the Learned..., 293). And, in another article, this critic challenges us to take note of the intertextuality inherent in Berceo's writings, i.e., his use of learning and theological lore (Putting the Bite on Hell..., 93) and reminds us that, for the Riojan poet, the path to salvation was more nuanced than heretofore recognized: Like most people in the Middle Ages, Berceo believed in a scheme of salvation which was simple in its conception, but complicated in its working out... (93). One of the complicated facets of Berceo's view of salvation is found in El duelo la Virgen. In this treatise Berceo offers particular take on the theme of the mater dolorosa and the role(s) of the Virgin in redemption. The origins of El duelo can be traced ultimately to the Byzantine poetry of the Lamenting Virgin which, in turn, owed its theme and structure to the classical threnody, or funeral song, of the lamenting woman (Pelikan 128-29). In some texts, especially the Tractatus beati Bernhardi planctu beate Marie virginis, attributed, as its title indicates, to Saint Bernard, the Virgin speaks about her suffering with Saint Bernard of Clairvaux. This version is very close to that of Berceo's as is a provencal version published by Muschacke in 1890 but, in the latter, Mary speaks with Saint Augustine, rather than Saint Bernard, the saint who appears in the Spanish El duelo (Dutton 7). (3) But even if Berceo's is derivative to some extent, it also contains some significant variations such as the extensive use of Saint Matthew's gospel. Berceo in other Marian treatises, Los Milagros Nuestra Senora and the Loores Nuestra Senora, also deals with Mary's role in the scheme of redemption but in El duelo he comes the closest to assigning her a near-equal status with Her divine Son. For example, in Los Milagros, Berceo emphasizes Mary's perpetual virginity: virgin verdat, / illesa, incorrupta en su entegredat (565, vv. 20cd) [she truly was a virgin, illesa, incorrupta in her integrity) (15). (4) He also gives a litany of epithets often applied to Mary: estrella los mares (569, v. 32b) [Star of the Seas] (17); tiemplo Jesu Christo (569, v. 33b) [Temple of Jesus Christ] (17); de los (569, v. 33a) [She is Queen of Heaven] (17); es nuestra talaya, nestra defension (569, 37b) [she is our watchtower, our defense] (17), etc. Although lavish in praise and admiration for the Virgin, in Los Milagros he falls short of equating Her part in salvation with that of Christ. Similary, in the Loores Berceo emphasizes Mary's role as Mother of Christ, essential for salvation but not actually the redeemer, a role reserved for Jesus. The Loores is a lengthy exegesis on Old Testament prefigurations of Mary and a detailed recount of the life of Christ. In the latter section, Jesus takes center stage. In the final stanzas of the Loores, Berceo reiterates many qualities of the Virgin he also identified in Los Milagros. She is estrella la mar (921, v. 197a) [Star of the Sea] (180); por ond' la salut vino, Tu nos fuisti carrera (921, v. 198b) [you were the path that led to our salvation] (180); fuente piadat (921, v. 199a) [Fountain of Mercy] (180); reliquiario pleno sanctidat (921, v. 199b) [reliquary filled with holiness] (180); and reina los cielos (927, v. 223c) [Queen of Heaven] (183).5 But, throughout the Loores, Mary is called Mother of Christ as She is in Los Milagros--a necessary agent but not ultimately responsible for the salvation of mankind. …