Thursday, December 26, 2013

Cantar del mio Cid - Anonimo (maybe 1207, maybe 14th century)



Comps Example Question
-          Narrative poetry: epic and clerecía (Cantar de mío Cid, Milagros de Nuestra Señora, Poema de Fernán González, Libro de buen amor), origins and development. Castilian texts.

Professor’s Introduction
El  Cantar de Mio Cid es el texto literario más importante de este periodo. Ha sido central para la crítica medieval desde su reaparición en el siglo XIX. El Cantar aparece en un sinfín de sitios, incluyendo http://www.laits.utexas.edu/cid/. Este sitio contiene el texto antiguo y el modernizado, con una traduccion y una lectura del texto. Seleccionen "Views" y entonces, escojan el segundo escudo. El texto tambien se encuentra en Cervantes virtual en diferentes versiones, una modernizada todavia parcial (http://www.cervantesvirtual.com search Cantar de mio Cid).

Summary (Wikipedia)

The story begins with the exile of El Cid, whose enemies had unjustly accused him of stealing money from the king, Alfonso VI of Castile and León, leading to his exile. To regain his honor, he participated in the battles against the Moorish armies and conquered Valencia. By these heroic acts he regained the confidence of the king and his honor was restored. The king personally marries El Cid's daughters to the infantes (princes) of Carrión. However, when the princes are humiliated by El Cid's men for their cowardice, the infantes swear revenge. They beat their new wives and leave them for dead. When El Cid learns of this he pleads to the king for justice. The infantes are forced to return El Cid's dowry and are defeated in a duel, stripping them of all honor. El Cid's two daughters then remarry to the infantes of Navarre and Aragon. Through the marriages of his daughters, El Cid began the unification of Spain.

Themes / Important ideas to note (In brief)
-          Orality
-          Honor (and revenge)
o   Dishonor of the Cid when the king rejects him in the beginning and exiles him
o   Dishonor of the Cid when all the mess with his daughters’ marriage goes down
-          Social/political criticism
-          Concept of hero (Cid, esp. as compared with infantes)
-          The “other” (Jews, Moors/Arabs, women)

-          Idea of extremes, extreme examples
o   Extreme of a good vassal
o   Extreme of a bad king (although the king realizes and rectifies his error)


Personajes
-          Infantes de Carrión
o   Cowardly, lazy, greedy, selfish, insincere, deceitful, rancorous, cruel, spendthrift (wasteful)
o   Run away when there’s a lion; don’t try to protect the Cid – try to hide instead
o   They want to kill the Moorish friend of the Cid to win his riches without working
o   At court when the Cid wants them to return the money, they don’t want to
o   Fernando acts like he killed the moor in battle, when it was actually don Pero
o   They never forget that the Cid’s vassals made fun of them because of the lion episode
-          Cid
o   Both militant side and political side
o   Pg. 240-241 (tercer canto) – long description of the Cid’s clothing at court… shows that he’s not just a warrior; he can also be elegant. He’s conquering a different type of society, but still using military-like strategy.
o   A central characteristic of the Cid is his loyalty – he’s completely loyal to the king
§  He gives riches to the king – this is a criticism of the nobility (not sure why – maybe other nobles didn’t do this?)
o   Theory about the Cid’s origins – idea that the Cid and his family were actually part of nobility, but that in the poem he’s portrayed as being of humble origins so that his actions seem even more generous and amazing for Spain
§  The problem is that there’s not much clarity about the Cid’s life and there’s no way of knowing these things
o   Very important quality of Cid – his use of strategy; he doesn’t react quickly to things (example: the dishonor of his daughters), but rather thinks things over

Literary Style/Techniques/Structure
-          Type of poetry that has a lot to do with oral poetry
-          It’s a very visual and action-oriented poem
-          *** Use of epic epithet – “el Cid que nació en buena hora” – way of finishing a verse, also easier to memorize/remember
-          The Cantar includes many fantastic aspects
o   Example: heroes with supernatural strength
-          Structure
o   3000 verses, divided in three cantares
o   The division between the cantares is indicated by the change in style and the phrases that start each cantar (“internal evidence”)
-          La obra está escrita en verso juglaresco: tiradas o series de irregular extensión de versos asonantes y anisolibacios divididos en dos hemistiquios (pares) por una cesura.

Context (literary)
-          We can see the influence of the “juglar” or ballad in some sections and transitions
-          There’s only one manuscript of the text preserved (from 13th century), and it’s a manuscript in rather poor quality – not very decorative
o   So many people were already familiar with the Cid’s story, that nobody really read the written poetic version
-          Literary context
o   Other cantares
o   Lots of chronicles
-          Many cantares of the time period are about revenge and the recuperation of lost honor – this cantar is a little different because instead of recuperating honor through battle, the Cid does it with use of strategy and law
-          The cantar would be presented in small sections in fairs and other public events during the middle ages
o   Incorporation of places familiar to whichever audience so that the public would appreciate the cantar more

Origins and Authorship of poem/cantar of Cid
-          Various cantares about the Cid started appearing around the end of his life and also directly after his death
-          Composition of cantar text
o   Brought together three separate cantares
o   Think it’s an educated person who composed it – knew how to read and write and had heavy interest in law, which would be why so much of third cantar deals with legal process

Social/political context
-          The Cid’s life is considered part of the national history of Spain
-          Division of power in the time period – nobility of the north that controlled the court
-          The Cid is a central figure for Spanish culture – the kings took the Cid’s history/story and associated it with their own genealogy
-          The reality that is imposed in the cantar reflects what is happening in Spain in the 13th century, when the poem was written/composed, not what was happening in the 11th/12th century when the Cid was actually alive
o   The 13th century is a time of change and expansion for Castile. It’s a time during which Castile needs to create an exemplary hero/figure.
o   King Fernando uses the Cid as a symbol to justify his kingdom and his actions/decisions.

Orality in the cantar; context of orality
-          Many precedents in other areas (and  previous time periods) of this type of oral poetry – example: Beowulf
-          The effects that oral poetry has on poetry reader/singer and listening audience:
o   Element of illiteracy – many audience members didn’t know how to read; many readers/singers or oral poetry presenters also didn’t know how to read
o   The singers generally learned from their family/parents – that’s how they would get into that profession
o   The young singers didn’t necessarily learn long memorized poems – they learned the common themes and the formula of a song/poem’s composition, and went from there
o   Singers change existing epic poems as they go along – the beginning of an epic poem is almost always the same, but towards the end there can be various versions because different poets/singers change
-          The written composition of the cantar indicates a sense of transition from the oral poem to a written poem in the time period; gradual movement towards recording things by writing them down
-          Deglosia – mix of two languages (??)
-          Theoretical/critical debate over the purposes of the manuscript of this poem – some theorists think it’s purely a written work, while others think that it’s intended solely for oral recitation
-          Use of formulas – (rather limited vocabulary; uses repetitive formulas)
o   Variety of ready-made phrases that mark change in narration, or the way that a line/section should be read, or address the audience to catch attention, etc.
o   Deíticos – single words that indicate a certain character, or a certain theme/idea
o   Descriptive formulas – key adjectives
o   Narrative formulas –
§  to indicate passage of time
§  to indicate gestures and physical movements (example: kissing hands/feet, also movements of horses – to indicate movements of people from place to place)
§  to indicate expression of emotion
§  to describe battle
o   Epithets (epítetos)

Gender, Role of Women
-          Women do not have a central role here. It’s all about what the men are up to.
-          Ximena’s prayer
o   Some allegorical significance here – in the biblical figures that are present/referred to in her prayer. The biblical figures reflect what will happen in the story.

Treatment of Jews
-          Cultural attitude of time:
o   Jews are necessary in society (social function: loaning money), but they must be kept somewhat separated (alejado) to avoid any “contamination”
o   Prejudice, anti-semitism
-          The Cid is a good example of the cohabitation of the Christians and the Jews
-          Idea that text explores stereotypes about the Jews that are based in reality
-          Representation of Jews (greed)
o   Are tricked in the bad deal with the arcas… don’t open the arcas to check them out because they are greedy and want to earn all they can
-          Depiction of the Jews as “suckers”
o   Example of another scene where some dude asks them for breeches, and the Jews give him 30 pieces of gold (also symbolic meaning – 30 pieces of gold… the same payment that Judas receives for betraying Jesus)
-          The Jews that are in the story are only there as a representation of the perspective that Christians had of Jews during the time period

Treatment of Moors/Arabs
-          Moors are treated in a similar way as the Jews
-          Moors are often associated with the devil; representatives of the devil
o   Moors = trickery, deceit
-          The Cantar recognizes that there are good moors and bad moors
o   The good moors are the ones who have pledged to be vassals of the Cid
o   The bad moors have to be killed
-          Moors do have some power, since they have control over some lands.
-          Christians are fine with having “good” moors as vassals/soldiers – they don’t even have to convert (during this time period, at least).

The Cid’s relationships
-          With his family
o   Important events
§  The family can be with the Cid in Valencia
§  The Cid arranges the marriages of his daughters
o   The Cid tells Jimena that their daughters are going to get married, he didn’t tell her or ask her opinion before deciding this.
-          With the king Alfonso
o   At the beginning the king has a bad relationship with the Cid because he thinks that he’s stolen from the king and the kingdom
o   The Cid gives the king a lot of gift to show that he wants to increase the riches of the king
o   Little by little the Cid earns the friendship of the king again
o   The king defends the Cid against a noble; says that the Cid has served him well. The king likes the Cid more and more.
o   The king organizes the wedding of the Cid’s daughters
-          The Cid and nobility (the count of Barcelona)
o   The nobility is powerful, dangerous, and deceitful
o   There’s a conflict between the old nobility and new nobility. The [new] nobility is created through military actions. It’s also done through birth. The children of these noble warriors/soldiers are accustomed to this power and riches, but they didn’t earn it themselves.
o   The Cid has power and is brave, but isn’t noble.
o   The old nobility is lazy. An example is the infantes de Carrión. The count of Barcelona is also arrogant and weak.
o   The new nobility is at war. The old nobility is in the court with the king, talking to him and advising him.

Marriage of Cid’s daughters
-          The suspicions of the Cid – he doesn’t want to give away his daughters; Minaya is going to do it. He is still permitting their marriage because he can’t say no to the king when he only has a bad feeling; it’s not rational/fair.
-          The only responsibility that a father has in this time period is to give his daughters a good marriage.
-          It’s important that it was the king rather than the Cid who organized the weddings of Cid’s daughters because now he’s responsible
-          Any marriage of nobles has to be approved by the king

General Notes about aspects of poem (in terms of events that occur)
-          Cid’s exile
o   A financial punishment, because he doesn’t have access to resources
o   An emotional punishment – separated from those he loves
o   Kind of like a death sentence – no longer under king’s protection
-          How does the Cid change over the course of the text?
o   He has more power – he goes from conquering pueblos to conquering big cities (ex: Valencia)
o   He’s creating a structured state
§  Census
§  Names a bishop
o   He’s more political than militant in the second cantar
-          The actions of the Cid in Valencia
o   He establishes a church / Obispo. – the re-conquest of a Moorish city for the Christian kingdom (yay!)
-          The importance of the scene of the lion
o   Shows the cowardice of the infantes de Carrión
o   Shows the bravery of the Cid, and the faithfulness/loyalty of the Cid’s servants/vassals
o   Symbolism of the lion – relates back to the king
o   Reflects the divine favor that the Cid has (from God)
§  Lion respects the Cid and his bravery
-          The importance of the sword for the knight – represents victory and honor. Example: Cid taking back the swords given to the infantes is a way of taking away their honor.
-          At the end, the Cid decides not to fight against the infantes de Carrión, but instead he sends two gentlemen to do it. It’s as though he wins in a new way the honor of his daughters. The Cid doesn’t want to fight against them himself because they’re beneath them. He already has a different type of power in which he can order other people to do this type of work for him.
-          Importance of the element of the beard, and its symbolic function:
o   Cid’s beard grows during the course of the cantar – parallel to his development as a hero.
o   Touching someone’s beard is equivalent of touching their testicles. Cid grabs Count of Barcelona’s beard, which is a dishonor to this count.
o   Various epithets about the beard (way of praising a man)
o   Beard is a sign of masculinity, and also a sign of societal position
o   Luscious growth of beard is representative of God’s favor in your life
-          Ximena’s prayer
o   Kind of a set strategy in literature – way to discuss the helplessness of a character
o   Like a summary of the prayer that is recited at the end of someone’s life, asking for protection and divine guidance for the dying person

General notes about other, miscellaneous aspects of the poem
-          Geography of the Cid’s story – quite specific, mentions many places that actually exist
-          Strategy: the use of this hero, the Cid, to create a public criticism
-          The cantar starts out by alluding to the “parias” of Sevilla (???)
o   This is reflected in the selection of the Tybiano
o   Exile
o   I think parias are some type of fee collected for kingdom – not sure at all!!!!
-          The function of the Cid in the poem is completely different from his function in real life – he’s an idealized and somewhat fantastic character
-          The cantar is a unique work in the way that it approaches the character of the Cid very closely and idealizes him
-          No clear indication that epic poems would have been frequently sung at court – more likely that they sung/read shorter composed poems, as well as participating in other activities such as dance or other types of song.
-          The Cid is the best, most important example of a work of its kind in medieval Spain; however, it is an atypical work due to its theme.
-          Idea of the loyalty of the vassal – the vassals of the Cid, and also the Cid as a vassal to the king
-          This poem can’t exactly criticize the king – the farthest it can go is to imply that the king got bad advice
o   Advice is something central in the king’s role. King gets tons of advice, and his role is to decide what to do, based on all this advice.
-          Parallels between the Jews and the Infantes de Carrión
o   There are two
o   The greed, materialism – want things
o   Message against greed
-          The Cid’s daughters
o   They have a material aspect as well – kind of like “things” in some sense
o   They mirror the Cid – they are honorable women; a continuation of the Cid’s honor
o   Father’s function – marry his daughters well
-          Relationship of Cid and monastery

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