The Lyre and the Lyric: Spanish Vihuelists and the Courtly Poetry of the Renaissance

Abstract

This article provides a close examination of sixteenth-century vihuela books to understand the ways in which vihuelists affected courtly poetry in Renaissance Spain. Analysis of their cancioneros in the light of other poetry collections and accounts of the aulic life reveal aural and performative aspects of the production and consumption of poetry that otherwise would have remained hidden to literary studies. These aspects range from voice register of the singer to tempo and musical ornamentation, but also textual manipulation of ballads and sonnets—which they help popularize among courtiers—and management of noise and interruptions.