The 15th century

The early 15th century witnessed a renewal of poetry under Italian influence. During the reign of King
John II, the anarchy of feudalism’s death throes contrasted with the cultivation of polite letters, which
signified good birth and breeding. The Cancionero de Baena (“Songbook of Baena”), compiled for the
king by the poet Juan Alfonso de Baena, anthologized 583 poems (mostly courtly lyrics) by 55 poets from
the highest nobles to the humblest versifiers. The collection showed not merely the decadence of
Galician-Portuguese troubadours but also the stirrings of more-intellectual poetry incorporating symbol,
allegory, and Classical allusions in the treatment of moral, philosophical, and political themes. Other
significant verse collections include the Cancionero de Estúñiga (c. 1460–63) and the important
Cancionero general (1511) of Hernando del Castillo; among the latter’s 128 named poets is Florencia
Pinar, one of the first women poets in Castilian to be identified by name. Francisco Imperial, a Genoese
who settled in Sevilla and a leader among new poets, drew on Dante, attempting to transplant the Italian
hendecasyllable (11-syllable line) to Spanish poetry.

The marqués de Santillana—a poet, scholar, soldier, and statesman—collected masterpieces of foreign
literatures and stimulated translation. His Proemio e carta al condestable de Portugal (1449; “Preface
and Letter to the Constable of Portugal”), which initiated literary history and criticism in Spanish,
reflected his readings in contemporary foreign languages and translated classics. Santillana’s sonnets in
the “Italian style” launched the formal enrichment of Spanish poetry. He is still acknowledged as a
precursor of the Renaissance, though his sonnets and long poems, which reflect his Italian-influenced
training, are often neglected in favour of his charming rustic songs of native inspiration. Juan de Mena’s
vast allegorical poem dramatizing history past, present, and future (El laberinto de fortuna, 1444; “The
Labyrinth of Fortune”), a more conscious attempt to rival Dante, suffers from pedantry and over-
Latinization of syntax and vocabulary.