Spanish Renaissance literature is the literature written in Spain during the Spanish Renaissance during the 15th and 16th centuries. .
Overview
Political, religious, literary, and military relations between Italy and Spain from the second half of the 15th century provided a remarkable cultural interchange between those two countries. The papacy of two illustrious Valencians, Calixto III (Alfonso de Borja) and Alejandro VI (Rodrigo de Borja y Oms), narrowed cultural relations between Castile, Aragón, and Rome. From 1480, there were printers active in Spain The Spanish literary works of greatest prominence were published or translated in Italy, the center of early printing. This was the case with Amadís de Gaula, The Celestina, Jail of Love, the poetic compositions of Jorge Manrique, Íñigo López de Mendoza, 1st Marquess of Santillana and popular productions such as romances, carols, etc. The same thing happened in Spain with Italian works, among them the Jerusalén liberada of Torquato Tasso. Hispanic-Italian relations were very important, since they brought to the Iberian Peninsula the intellectual ferment and tastes that precipitated the Spanish Renaissance.
The Spanish Renaissance began with the unification of Spain by the Catholic Monarchs and included the reigns of Carlos I and Felipe II. For this reason, it is possible to distinguish two stages: Reign of Carlos I: New ideas are received and the Italian Renaissance is imitated. Reign of Felipe II: The Spanish Renaissance withdraws into itself and its religious aspects are accentuated.
With respect to ideology, the Renaissance mentality is characterized by: Esteem of the Greco-Latin world, in the light of which a new, more secular scale of values for the individual is sought. Humanity is the focal point of the universe (anthropocentrism), able to dominate the world and to create its own destiny. Reason precedes sentiment; balance, moderation and harmony prevail. The new ideal man is the courtier, capable as poet and soldier. A new conception of beauty that idealizes the present world (as opposed to heaven) not as it is, but as it should be in terms of nature, woman, and love.
The Spanish Renaissance
Classically, 1492 is spoken of as the beginning of the Renaissance in Spain; nevertheless it is complex to consider a date, due to the multiple circumstances that happened. The situation of Spain was always very complex but even so the humanism managed to maintain its innovating characteristics, in spite of the interferences that limited the study of the classic works.
An important fact is the heterogeneity of the population, a fact that dates from the year 711 when part of the peninsula was conquered by the Muslims, whose last governors were expelled from the last of their possessions in 1492 during the Reconquista. Later, the period was characterized by its vitality and renovation. The Inquisition became an organ which also depended on the State and not only on the Church.
One can speak of erudition since the Catholic Monarchs. Within this period the first important author is Antonio de Nebrija (1442–1522), with his Spanish grammar. In 1492, he published the first book of grammar in the Spanish language (titled Gramática Castellana in Spanish), which was the first grammar produced by any Romance language. At this time, Castilian became Spanish, the official language of Spain, replacing Latin.
A great patron during the Renaissance was cardinal Gonzalo Jiménez de Cisneros, whose humble origin contrasts with his austere character and with the fact that he put his greatest effort in reforming the indisciplined customs of the religious orders. He thought that the reform had to be the fruit of an educational reform, and although not an erudite, he was the maximum protector of the new studies. In 1498 he founded the University of Alcalá de Henares, that surpassed in prestige and influence all the others except the University of Salamanca, its greatest rival. The direction of his reform agreed partly with the ideas of Erasmus in a moment in which these were the booming doctrines in Europe and Spain.
During this time a work like the one by Pedro Mexía was common, who compiled miscellaneous scientific information. It is an example of the Renaissance tendency towards idealization, because of the conviction that wisdom could be extracted from the common people, whose pure tradition was thought to have conserved it, because people had always been close to nature.