4 Jews and Conversos in Spanish Cancioneros and Portuguese Cancioneiros (c. 1350–1520)

Abstract

This chapter presents the significance of both Spanish cancioneros and Portuguese cancioneiros for the scholarly examination of medieval Jewish history and literature on the Iberian Peninsula. Through a close integration of historiographical and literary analysis, all major cancioneros are examined and contextualized based on exemplary interpretations. The chapter is divided into six parts. The first part explains the importance of the historical context of warfare in the development of late medieval Iberian cultures. The second part presents Cancionero de Baena and Cancionero de Palacio as the two initial stepping stones of the new poetic style and their connection with the problems endured by both Jews and conversos. The third part explains the evolution that occurred during the reign of Enrique IV (1454-1474), while the fourth part is focused on the reign of the Catholic Monarchs (1474-1504) and on how the Castilian cancioneros can serve as proof of the issues endured by Jewish and converso populations during those uncertain times. The fifth part analyzes the influence of the expulsion of the Jews and of the Inquisition by examining the paramount example of Castilian poetry, the Cancionero general (1511), by Hernando del Castillo. Finally, the sixth part is centered on the expulsion of the Jews from Portugal, showing how this is reflected in the Cancioneiro geral (1516), by Garcia de Resende.