mester de clerecía

literature

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Spanish:: “craft of the clergy”

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mester de clerecía, poetic mode in Castilian literature of the mid-13th to 14th centuries known for its scholarship and written form, in contrast to the popular and oral mode called mester de juglaría. The mester de clerecía owes its name to its principal creators, the clergy (a term that in the Middle Ages encompassed not only the ecclesiastics but also educated people in general). Its most common metrical form is the cuaderna vía (“fourfold way”). The mester de clerecía is characterized by its metrical regularity, diverse scholarly topics, narrative style, and didactic intent. Many works of this school are based directly on Latin sources. Among its most prominent representatives are Gonzalo de Berceo and Juan Ruiz.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Kathleen Kuiper.