The Book of Good Love
Encyclopedia
The Book of Good Love considered to be one of the masterpieces of Spanish
poetry, is a semi-biographical account of romantic adventures by Juan Ruiz
, the Archpriest
of Hita, dating from 1330.
The work is considered as the best piece in the medieval
genre known as Mester de Clerecía
.
The Book begins with prayers and a guide as to how to read the work, followed by stories each containing a moral and often comical tale.
s, centering on the fictitious autobiography of Juan Ruiz
, Archpriest
of Hita.
Today three manuscripts of the work survive: the Toledo (T) and Gayoso (G) manuscripts originating from the fourteenth century, and the Salamanca (S) manuscript copied at the start of the fifteenth century by Alonso de Paradinas. All three manuscripts have various pages missing, which prevents a complete reading of the book, and each manuscript varies extensively from each other due to the diversions of the authors.
The work most commonly read today was suggested by Menéndez Pidal in 1898, based on sections from all three manuscripts.
The book is famous for its variety of:
The work is composed of the following:
The book of Good Love explains how men must be careful about Love that can be Good (el buen amor) or Fool (el loco amor). The Good Love is God's one and is preferred to the Fool's love which only gives men sins. Juan Ruiz gives the reader a lot of examples to explain his theory and avoid Fool love in name of Good one.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
poetry, is a semi-biographical account of romantic adventures by Juan Ruiz
Juan Ruiz
Juan Ruiz , known as the Archpriest of Hita , was a medieval Spanish poet. He is best known for his ribald, earthy poem, Libro de buen amor .-Origins:...
, the Archpriest
Archpriest
An archpriest is a priest with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic Churches, although it may be used in the Latin rite of the Roman Catholic Church instead of dean or vicar forane.In the 16th and 17th centuries, during...
of Hita, dating from 1330.
The work is considered as the best piece in the medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
genre known as Mester de Clerecía
Mester de Clerecía
Mester de Clerecía is a Castilian literature genre that can be understood as an opposition and surpassing of Mester de Juglaría. It was cultivated in the 13th century by Spanish clergymen....
.
The Book begins with prayers and a guide as to how to read the work, followed by stories each containing a moral and often comical tale.
Theme and Structure
The Book of Good Love is a varied and extensive composition of 1728 stanzaStanza
In poetry, a stanza is a unit within a larger poem. In modern poetry, the term is often equivalent with strophe; in popular vocal music, a stanza is typically referred to as a "verse"...
s, centering on the fictitious autobiography of Juan Ruiz
Juan Ruiz
Juan Ruiz , known as the Archpriest of Hita , was a medieval Spanish poet. He is best known for his ribald, earthy poem, Libro de buen amor .-Origins:...
, Archpriest
Archpriest
An archpriest is a priest with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic Churches, although it may be used in the Latin rite of the Roman Catholic Church instead of dean or vicar forane.In the 16th and 17th centuries, during...
of Hita.
Today three manuscripts of the work survive: the Toledo (T) and Gayoso (G) manuscripts originating from the fourteenth century, and the Salamanca (S) manuscript copied at the start of the fifteenth century by Alonso de Paradinas. All three manuscripts have various pages missing, which prevents a complete reading of the book, and each manuscript varies extensively from each other due to the diversions of the authors.
The work most commonly read today was suggested by Menéndez Pidal in 1898, based on sections from all three manuscripts.
The book is famous for its variety of:
- Content (examples, love stories, traditional bucolic poems, fables, lyrical compositions, etc.)
- Meter (the cuaderna vía, sixteen syillabic verses, zéjel stanzas, etc.)
- Tone (serious, festive, religious, profane, etc.)
The work is composed of the following:
- The introduction, where the author explains how the book should be interpreted.
- A fictitious autobiography of the author in which he tells us of his relationships with women of different origin and social status: a nunNunA nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
, a MoorMoorsThe description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
, a housewife he spied praying, a baker, a noble woman and several mountain women (serranas), often helped by another woman named Urraca, better known as Trotaconventos (Trots-between-monasteries) - Several examples (parables, fables and tales) which serve as moral education at the end of each episode.
- The dispute between the author and Love (Don Amor), in which he accuses Love of being the cause of the seven mortal sinMortal sinMortal sins are in the theology of some, but not all Christian denominations wrongful acts that condemn a person to Hell after death. These sins are considered "mortal" because they constitute a rupture in a person's link to God's saving grace: the person's soul becomes "dead", not merely weakened...
s - The tale of the love of Mr. Melon (don Melón) and Mrs. Endrina, an adaptation of the medieval humanistic comedy "PamphilusPamphilusPamphilus may refer to:* Pamphilus , son of Aegimius* Pamphilus of Amphipolis, painter of 4th century BC head of Sicyonian school* Pamphilus of Alexandria, grammarian in the 1st century...
". - The tale of a battle between CarnivalCarnivalCarnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
("Don Carnal") and LentLentIn the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...
("Doña Cuaresma") - A commentary of "Ars Amandi" (Art of Love) by OvidOvidPublius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
- A number of songs dedicated to Mary (mother of Jesus)Mary (mother of Jesus)Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
- A number of profane songs, such as upon the death of "Trotaconventos"
Interpretation
The title The Book of Good Love is inferred from the text, and who or what Good Love may be is not revealed by the author.The book of Good Love explains how men must be careful about Love that can be Good (el buen amor) or Fool (el loco amor). The Good Love is God's one and is preferred to the Fool's love which only gives men sins. Juan Ruiz gives the reader a lot of examples to explain his theory and avoid Fool love in name of Good one.
External links
- Libro de buen amor, original text in Spanish
- Juan Ruiz, Arcipreste de Hita, y el libro del buen amor, comprehensive readers research and critic at Centro Virtual Cervantes