Spanish Ballads Research Articles

The sixteenth-century Spanish Romance: A survey of the Spanish Ballad as found in the music of the vihuelistas

The sixteenth-century Spanish Romance: A survey of the Spanish Ballad as found in the music of the vihuelistas

S. M. Bryant, "The Spanish Ballad in English" (Book Review)

S. M. Bryant, "The Spanish Ballad in English" (Book Review)

"Studies of the Spanish and Portuguese Ballad", ed. N. D. Shergold (Book Review)

"Studies of the Spanish and Portuguese Ballad", ed. N. D. Shergold (Book Review)

Studies of the Spanish and Portuguese Ballad

Studies of the Spanish and Portuguese Ballad

Spanish Ballad and News-Relation in Chapbook Form: The Index of a Mentality

Spanish Ballad and News-Relation in Chapbook Form: The Index of a Mentality

Studies of the Spanish and Portugese Ballad. N. D. Shergold

Previous articleNext article No AccessReviewsStudies of the Spanish and Portugese Ballad. N. D. Shergold PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Speculum Volume 49, Number 4Oct., 1974 The journal of the Medieval Academy of America Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/2852074 Copyright 1974 The Mediaeval Academy of AmericaPDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Studies of the Spanish and Portuguese Ballad.

Studies of the Spanish and Portuguese Ballad.

Spanish Ballad and News-Relation in Chapbook form: The Index of a Mentality

Spanish Ballad and News-Relation in Chapbook form: The Index of a Mentality

Spanish Ballads

Spanish Ballads

Spanish Ballads.

Spanish Ballads.

Spanish Ballads

Spanish Ballads

"Spanish Ballads", ed. C. C. Smith (Book Review)

"Spanish Ballads", ed. C. C. Smith (Book Review)

English Translations of Spanish Ballads

The importance of the ballad or romance in Spanish literature has long been recognized by serious students of Spanish culture. Not so well known, perhaps, is the extent to which the romance has been translated into English. As far as can be determined, Bishop Thomas Percy, of English ballad fame, published the first Spanish ballads in English, and since the initial appearance of his renditions in 1765, this field has attracted the attention of a good many writers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Pre-Conquest Narrative Songs in Spanish America

W H EN the Spanish conquerors of the sixteenth century brought to America the vigorous ballad (i. e., romance) tradition which was flourishing in their homeland, they found that the indigenous inhabitants of several regions of the New World were singing songs which recalled to them their own narrative poems. The areito (or areyto), a song-dance which the Spaniards encountered among the Indians of the island of Hispaniola, so reminded Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo of the romances1 of Spain that he devoted a large part of one chapter of his famous Historia general y natural de las Indias to drawing a direct comparison between the two genres. After noting that the areitos were a good and noble way of recording past and ancient he asserts that . in their singing . . . [the Indians] recount their history and past events, and in these songs they relate how former chiefs died, how many and who they were, and other things which they do not wish to be forgotten. 2 Thus having established the historical character of the areitos, the illustrious chronicler, in a long description of the manner in which they were sung and danced, reveals that, unlike the romances, they were usually presented by large assemblages of performers under the direction of a leader. But such differences notwithstanding, their similarity to the romances of Spain was sufficiently striking to cause him to caution Christian readers against judging the areitos as a mark of savagery. What, he asks, romances and songs which are based upon fact but a portion and a recalling of past events?; and then he devotes several columns to citing Spanish romances, and Italian songs too, which remind him of the areitos he has heard in Hispaniola.3 In calling attention to such evidence of the existence in Indian tradition of songs which were similar to the romances of Spain, my purpose is to explore the possibility that acceptance of Spanish ballad tradition in the New World was not long delayed after the arrival of the conquerors. The fact of its entry into Spanish American tradition is conclusively proved by the presence today of many romances, or derivatives of romances like corridos and logas, in Mexico, Chile, Venezuela, and other areas of America; but the time at which the romance entered popular (i. e., Indian or mestizo) tradition in Spanish America has never been established with precision, and perhaps it never will be for lack of documentary evidence. Because most of the romances from Spanish tradition which today exist in oral tradition are based on novelesque themes, and few examples of the old epic type of ballads have been discovered, the possibility also exists that the entry of romances into Spanish American tradition may have occurred late rather than early in the literary history of America. Nonetheless, it is of interest to observe the many passages in chronicles of the conquest which suggest at least the likelihood that acceptance of the romance

Dramatic Treatments of the Conde Alarcos Theme through Jacinto Grau

The Spanish ballad, Romance del Conde Alarcos y de la Infanta Solisa, has been a source of dramatic material from the Siglo de Oro comedial down to the contemporary theater. Although the theme is Spanish in origin, its theatrical adaptations have been performed in such diverse places as the court of the Sultan of Constantinople, the stage of Goethe's theater at Weimar, the Astley's Theatre Royal in London, the Tac6n Theater in Havana, L'Atelier Theater in Paris, and the Municipal Theater of Prague.2 Such well-known men as Lope de Vega, Guillin de Castro, Mira de Amescua, Goethe, Friedrich Schlegel, and Disraeli are all involved in the dramatic history of this theme. For some, its theatrical presentation was an unqualified success; for others, it brought only failure and bitter disappointment. 3 The recent interpretation of the ballad is that of Jacinto Grau, written in 1907, and performed in Madrid in 1919, at the Teatro de la Princesa. In the prologue of El Conde Alarcos, Grau mentions his awareness of the previous versions of Lope de Vega, Guill'n de Castro, Mira de Amescua, Jose Jacinto Milan6s, and Schlegel.4 He does not state, however, whether his version was influenced by any of these, and the present study attempts to determine to what extent, if any, they served as a source of influence. The romance itself, which has been called one of the most beautiful and tender ballads in any language,5 recounts how the Conde Alarcos, although now married and the father of children, is forced by the King to murder his wife and fulfill a prior promise of marriage to the Infanta. As Alarcos' wife dies, however, she makes a dire prophecy of divine retribution upon the guilty parties, and within thirty days the King, the Infanta and Alarcos are all dead, having been summoned away for sentencing before God's judgment throne.6 There are four Siglo de Oro adaptations, not three as Grau mentions: Lope de Vega's La Fuerza lastimosa, Perez de Montalbin's El Valor perseguido y traici6n vengada, Guillen de Castro's El Conde Alarcos, and Mira de Amescua's El Conde Alarcos. That Grau fails to mention the comedia attributd to Lope's biographer, Perez de Montalbin, may be only a reflection of his judgment about a very inferior reworking of Lope's play.7 All four of these dramatists, who were contemporaries, follow the aesthetic tastes of the Siglo de Oro and reflect a common approach to the dramatization of the Alarcos theme. Specifically, they follow Lope's concept of ponga el casos as constituting the sum and substance of Act I. Each playwright devotes the first act to the creation of a fictional background for the wellknown opening lines of the romance:

Formulistic Diction in the Spanish Ballad

Formulistic Diction in the Spanish Ballad

Brantôme's Spanish Ballad: a MS. from Winchester

Mr. Walter Oakeshott has drawn our attention to a Spanish part-song in the Elizabethan part-books of Winchester College Library (Strong Room, MS Catalogue, Appendix I). The binding of this collection of songs suggests that it was presented to Queen Elizabeth I, and three of the MSS. (which must be earlier than the binding) bear the dates 1564 and 1566. The handwriting is compatible with this period. Of the 97 songs, 16 are in French; the remaining 81 are catalogued under the heading, “Tauola di canzon taliane (sic)) a quatro voci”; but two are in Spanish, not Italian, though transcribed in a quasi-Italian phonetic spelling and corrupted by italianisms. No. 6 (“Ja passo il tiempo”) is a conventional and insignificant piece; but No. 8 (“Staua la gentil dama”) is a new version of a ballad once famous in Europe, and has considerable interest both for Spanish studies and for English history. Its transmission to modern times has been highly precarious, and the Winchester MS is a valuable link.

Formulistic Diction in the Spanish Ballad

Formulistic Diction in the Spanish Ballad

Some Spanish Ballad Problems

Some Spanish Ballad Problems

Spanish Ballads in English Part Ii, Verse Techniue

Spanish Ballads in English Part Ii, Verse Techniue