72- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
When Spain fell into place under theReyes Católicos
and Castilian took pole position as the peninsula’s
written language, Spanish literature had the potential
to consume Europe. Learned Moorish ancestry and
classical roots supplied an enviable literary resumé,
while the printing boom of the early 16thcentury made
books increasingly accessible.Yet world domination
never quite materialised.True, a so-called Golden Age
did emerge, but religious persecution ensured the
Moorish/Jewish library wasn’t devoured as it might
have been, while the strictures of divinity didn’t really
rub along with the humanism of the Renaissance.
Given these restraints, perhaps we should marvel that
16 thcentury Spain produced any worthwhile reading
material at all. In particular, chivalric and pastoral novels
gained ground, paving the way for the picaresque
novels and poetry of the Golden Age.Time for heroes: the chivalric novel
Spanish readers lapped up tales of derring-do and
romance in the 16thcentury, ensuring that Spain kept
one literary foot in the medieval period. However, none
could match the innovation or insight ofLa Celestina–
essentially they were action stories that left little room
for reflection.The most popular chivalric novel was
Amadís de Gaula, about a virtuous knight taking on all
comers while staying loyal to his lady.The story was
already a couple of centuries old when Garci Rodríguez
de Montalvo committed it to paper some time around- A glut of sequels (by other authors) followed,
while the original found translation around the rest of
Europe. Despite such successes, the chivalric novel
was waning in popularity by the mid 16thcentury,
usurped by the pastoral novel.
What and when was
Spain’s Golden Age?
Some call it the Golden
Age; others refer to the
Siglo de Oro(Golden
Century). The dates are a
bit woolly, with the cited
period of brilliance
usually falling closer to
two centuries arranged
somewhere between
1474 and 1700.
Either way, the period
unarguably tapped a rich
vein of Spanish culture.
The flowering of art,
literature and drama can
be viewed in the context
of the Renaissance,
with new creativity –
in particular poetry –
inspired by a rediscovery
of the classics. The good
times began during
Spain’s brief sojourn as
a world power but
continued long after,
growing, paradoxically,
during the nation’s long-
winded economic and
political slump. In fact,
the protagonists,
Cervantes, Lope de Vega
and Velázquez among
them, often fed off the
failings of the age.
2.1.3 In search ofDon Quixote:
literature in the Golden Age