Category: Jane: El Libro de Buen Amor

El Libro de Buen Amor: A Historical Account

El Libro de Buen Amor is a work of Spanish poetry written by the cleric Juan Ruiz, a 14th century Spanish poet renowned for his witty and realistic explorations of love. While much of Ruiz’s life remains a mystery, scholars have gleaned information from this heavily autobiographical work. Ruiz, born in 1283 in the south-central Spanish town of Alcala, was educated in Toledo, an Islamic city and the capital of the Toledo province in Castile-la Mancha (“Juan Ruiz”). An intellectually engaged student, Ruiz was greatly influenced by a variety of works of literature such as: The Bible, ecclesiastical treatises, Ovid and other classical authors, medieval Goliard poets, and various Arabic writings. After his studies, Ruiz became the archpriest of a small village near Alcala by the name of Hita, where he wrote the first edition of El Libro de Buen Amor in 1330. In 1343 the expanded and final version of this poem was released, earning Ruiz fame and historical recognition until his death in 1350 (“Juan Ruiz”).

Perhaps one of the most celebrated and revered works of medieval Spanish poetry, Juan Ruiz’s El Libro de Buen Amor provides a lyrical depiction of life in Spain during the 14th century as well as the author’s satirical and occasionally bawdy musings on love, God, and religion. The book serves as a semi-autobiographical account of Juan Ruiz’s adventures as he attempts to grapple with two disparate forms of love– buen amor, or the true spiritual love between man and God, and loco amor, carnal love. The book contains twelve narrative poems, composed in the form of cuaderna dia, describing Ruiz’s encounters with love; namely the spiritual love between the protagonist of the poem and God, and the sexual desire he seeks to gratify by seducing several women. The work includes a parodical sermon, anticlerical satires, and a myriad of love songs, and is greatly praised for its realistic treatment of love quests, and thus demonstrates Ruiz’s ability to weave together his religious, erotic, and satirical points. Medieval life is also portrayed in a realistic and satirical manner throughout the poem, representing the people and problems ubiquitous in medieval Spain. Ruiz’s work also examines the moral ugliness of sin and death in an attempt to emphasize the importance of the spiritual love connection between man and God. Original manuscripts of this work are incredibly rare: only three medieval manuscripts survived the ages, and of these none are transcribed by the poet himself, and all have suffered minor to severe damages.

There are many different interpretations of the work, but the poetry’s true meaning is as elusive as the poet himself, vexing scholars and lovers of poetry for centuries. The debate lies in the differing definitions of “true love.” Ruiz’s work contains a multitude of hidden meanings and innuendos, but disagreements over the true intent are multifold. Scholars and casual readers alike argue over lexicon, syntax, and deeper meanings (Willis xi). The enigmatic and obscure quality of the writing reflects the intentions of the author to design a book which provokes thought and intellectual discourse among readers.

Another point of innovation in Ruiz’s work is his use of vernacular Spanish; evidenced by the presence of folk sayings and proverbs, making his book of poetry an insightful case study into vernacular middle-Spanish. Vernacular Spanish was not present in classical Spanish works of poetry, however in the medieval period its became far more prevalent. The earliest forms of vernacular poetry in Spain stemmed from heroic epics– poems that nostalgically described the great feats and deeds of past heroes, and were intended to inspire audiences to attempt heroic acts of their own. At the same time as these poems were being produced an autonomous Castilian identity was also forming, making the poems informative accounts of Castilian society. Heroic epics such as these arose during times of great political and social instability, but as the tense period passed– by the end of the 11th century– Spanish poetry was shifting its focus from national afflictions to more ubiquitous intellectual questions (Willis 75). The subsequent wave of poetry served to elucidate many characteristics of Castilian society including their most valued virtues: strength, knowledge, and a fine balance of prudence, forbearing and moderation (Willis 76). This new form of poetry also expanded its subject matter, now including a more worldly Spain– one connected to other global powers such as Greece and Germany.

By the early 13th century a new school of poetry was emerging in northern Spain called mester de clerecıa. This new style included the poetic verse cuaderna vıa, or “quatrains of monorhymed Alexandrines (or fourteen-syllable lines), divided by a central caesura” (Cambridge 78). While this is the same verse style in which Ruiz so expertly penned his masterpiece El Libro de Buen Amor, Ruiz’s work is exceptional in that it does not blindly adhere to the cuaderna via format, but furthermore contains prose at the beginning, and a variety of metrical schemes throughout the poem. While the work is still greatly admired today, and has influenced brilliant authors such as Chaucer, the context of the 14th century–markedly the diverse proliferation of various types of poetry– meant that Ruiz’s distinct writing did not exert significant influence over contemporary poetic styles (Cambridge 85).

El Libro de Buen Amor reflects the time period and society in which it was written. The book was written during the height of Spain’s Christian Period– an epoch lasting from 1260 to 1479, that was characterized by greater communication with northern Europe, an emphasis on urban developments and commerce, and the spread of Christian ideals. The church adopted a substantial role in this era, and there was a mutually beneficial relationship between the Church and State: the Church legitimized the reigning king, and the monarchy legitimized the jurisdiction of the Church. Religion was a prominent theme in general throughout this period, and the church infiltrated many prominent positions within the government including the chancellor, who would have been an ecclesiastic, the mayordomo, or a magnate who oversaw the royal domain, and the alférez, another magnate who controlled the royal army (Ginés). Bishops, magnates, monasteries, and other highly regarded religious figures were even granted immunity relieving them of certain taxes and prohibitions set by the government. King Peter II of Aragon, ruler of the kingdom from 1196 to 1213, voyaged to Rome to receive his crown from the high pope, and declared his realm a papal fiefdom, demonstrating the extent to which the church influenced the government (Ginés).

The birth of the Christian Period was characterized by a power struggle between the Castilian monarchy and the nobles, stemming from Alfonso X’s ascent to the throne in 1252. Alfonso X, also known as Alfonso the Wise, greatly emphasized the importance of literary and scientific achievement. This new focus resulted in the capital city of Toledo in reaching unprecedented heights of academic achievement as it ballooned in rank as a prestigious translation center. Toledo’s impressive translating prowess and influence would later prove to be an asset to Alfonso X as he decided to reject Latin as the translation language and instead shift to the more local, and commonly spoken, Castilian– a vernacular and early form of modern Spanish (“Toledo School of Translators”). This separation from Latin was a driving force in the development of the Spanish language, one whose importance should not be understated.

El libro de Buen Amor includes myriad depictions of the medieval Spanish peasantry, a prominent group Ruiz would have encountered often in the bucolic village of Hita. The economy of medieval Spain depended heavily on the agricultural industry, and hence on the exploitation of serfs. A variety of peasant types made up this extensive group– serfs with varying degrees of agency. The members with the fewest rights, known as the solariegos in Castile, were essentially indentured servants, tied to the land they worked and subject to their master’s every whim and abuse. The peasants with slightly more liberties in selecting their place of work, namely which feudal Lord they would serve, were the behetrías, however even their rights were greatly curbed towards the end of the 13th century. While peasants were not granted the same rights as aristocrats or religious clergy, they still exhibited a sense of independence and were surprisingly optimistic considering their situation.

Juan Ruiz’s poem, El Libro de Buen Amor, makes for a wonderful case study because the historical context is integrated with a variety of poetic styles. The work itself is a clever and ribald exploration that begs for a more nuanced view of love. He demonstrates the role of the clergy, peasants, and provides insight into the general makeup of society of his time, while simultaneously examining the historical context his work to heighten the complexity of the content. From a broader perspective, the work is remarkable because of the ability of the author to incorporate such a sophisticated and original poetic style with profound, possibly unanswerable questions, giving the poem a real air of originality and wit. The work is also fascinating to linguists due to Ruiz’s descriptions in vernacular medieval Spanish. Hence El Libro de Buen Amor is a testament to time and will be admired and debated for ages to come.

 

Works Cited

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Juan Ruiz.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 8 May 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Juan-Ruiz.

Gies, David Thatcher., and Andrew M Beresford. “The Cambridge History of Spanish Literature.” The Cambridge History of Spanish Literature, Cambridge University Press, 2009, pp. 75–86.

Ginés, Juan Vernet, and Vicente Rodriguez. “Spain.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 24 Feb. 2019, www.britannica.com/place/Spain/The-rise-of-Castile-and-Aragon#ref70366.

Ruiz, Juan, and Raymond S. Willis. “Preamble.” Juan Ruiz: Libro De Buen Amor, Princeton University Press, 2015, pp. xix-liii.

“Toledo School of Translators.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Dec. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo_School_of_Translators#Alfonso_X_and_the_establishment_of_the_School.

Pictures

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Original Version of Selected Text:

82. Diz’ que yazíe doliente el león, de dolor:

Todas las animalias venieron ver su señor;

Tomó plazer con ellas é sentióse mejor:

Alegráronse todas mucho por su amor.

 

83. Por le fazer serviçio, por más le alegrar,

Conbidáronle todas que l’ darían á yantar,

Dixieron que mandase qual quisiese matar:

Mandó matar el toro, que podría abastar.

 

84. Ffiz’ partidor al lobo é mandó á todos diese:

El apartó el menudo por el león, que comiese,

E para sí la canal, la mayor que ome viese;

Al león dixo el lobo que la mesa bendexiese.

 

85. “Señor, tú estás flaco: esta vianda liviana

“Cómela tú, señor, te será buena é sana;

“Para mí é los otros, la canal que es vana.”—

El león fué sañudo, que de comer á gana.

 

86. Alçó el león la mano por la mesa santiguar,

Dió grand golp’ en la cabeça al lobo por castigar:

El cuero con la oreja del casco le fué arrancar:

El león a la rraposa la vianda mandó dar.

 

87. La golpeja, con miedo é como es artera,

Toda la canal del toro al león la dió entera;

Para sí é los otros todo el menudo era:

Maravillós’ el león de tan buen’ ygualadera:

 

88. “Quién vos mostró, comadre, á fazer parteçión

“Tan buena é tan gisada, tan derecha con rrazón?”

Ella diz’: “En la cabeça del lobo tomé liçión:

“En el lobo castigué qué feziese ó qué non.”—

 

89. “Por ende yo te digo, vieja é non amiga,

“Que jamás á mí vengas nin me digas tal, nemiga;

“Synon, te mostraré como el león santiga:

“Que el cuerdo en el mal ageno se castiga.”—

90. Segund diz’ Jhesuxristo, non ay cossa escondida,

Que á cabo de tienpo non sea bien sabida:

Ffué la mi poridat luego á plaça salida,

La dueña muy guardada ffué luego de mi partida.

Modern Spanish translation:

82. Dicen que enfermo estaba el león, con dolor:

los animales fueron a ver a su señor.

animose con ellos y sintiose mejor,

alegráronse todos demostrándole amor.

Por hacerle servicio y por más le alegrar

 

83. convidáronle todos para darle a yantar;

le rogaron señale a quién sacrificar;

mandó matar un toro, que podría bastar.

Partidor se hizo al lobo; mandó que a todos diese:

 

84. éste apartó el menudo, para que lo comiese

el león, a quien dijo la mesa bendijese;

para sí, la canal, la mayor que se viese.

—Señor, tú estás enfermo; esta carne liviana

 

85. cómela tú, Señor, te será buena y sana;

a nosotros nos basta la canal, parte vana.

El león se enfurece: de comer tiene gana.

Alzó el león la mano, como si bendijera,

 

86. y al lobo en la cabeza golpeó, de manera

que una oreja del casco casi le arrancó entera.

Luego ordenó a la zorra que la carne partiera.

La raposa, ladina, obedeció asustada;

 

87. todo el toro al león ofreció la taimada.

A los demás, las tripas y bofes, sin más nada.

Del león la raposa fue muy felicitada.

—¿Quién os enseñó, amiga a hacer la partición

 

88. tan buena, equitativa y llena de razón?

—En cabeza del lobo aprendí la lección,

Del lobo tomé ejemplo para mi decisión.

Por tanto, yo te digo, vieja, pero no amiga

 

89. que jamás a mí vengas con cuentos, enemiga:

de cómo el león avisa no hagas que te diga;

del mal ajeno, el propio escarmiento se siga.”

 

English Translation:

82. They say that the lion was lying sick with pain;

all the beasts came to see their king;

he was pleased with them and felt better:

they were all very happy for love of him.

 

83. Todo him service and gladden him still more,

they all invited him to a dinner they would give him;

they asked him to decree which one he wíshed slaughtered;

he gave orders to kill the bull, who could provide him a plentiful supply.

 

84. He named the wolf as server and ordered him to serve them all;

the wolf set aside the entrails for the lion to eat,

and for himself the body,

the biggest you ever saw.

The wolf asked the lion to say grace.

 

85. “Sire, he said, you are weak;

eat these light viands,

which will be lighter for you and more healthful;

for myself and the others,

the carcass,

which is empty.”

The lion grew angry,

for he had great desire to eat.

 

86. The lion raised his paw to bless the repast;

he struck the wolf a great blow on the head to chastise him;

he ripped off his scalp together with an ear,

right off his head;

then the lion ordered the she-fox to serve the meat.

 

87. The vixen,

from fear and because she was very crafty,

gave the whole carcass of the bull to the lion;

to herself and the others went all the inner parts.

The lion was amazed at such a good partitioner.

 

88. The lion said:

“Sister, who showed you how to divide so well and suitably,

so rightly and reasonably?”

She said: “I studied this lesson in the head brain] of the wolf;

by the wolf I learned what and what mot to do.”

 

89. So I tell you,

old woman but no friend of mine,

don’t ever come to me or speak such wicked words,

or I will show you how the lion gives his blessing:

a wise man or woman learns his lesson from another’s misfortune.”

 

Works Cited

Ruiz, Juan, and Raymond S. Willis.  Juan Ruiz: Libro De Buen Amor, Princeton University Press, 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

Phonetic Analysis

1) MELIOR [melior] > MEJOR [meʎor] > MEJOR [mexor]

• Step one: the Latin etymon, MELIOR, contains a semi-vowel, glide represented by the “i” /j/ in the dipthong “io” [jo], known as the yod. This particular yod becomes a /j + vowel/ glide as it palatalizes: [melior] > [meljor]
• Step two: The cluster formed by the voiced alveolar lateral liquid /L/ and the voiced fricative palatal /j/, /L + j/, leads to the yod becoming more lateralized by the influence of the /L/. The /L/ assimilates to the high/palatal feature of the yod /j/ by compromise articulation, and yields the lateral palatal /ʎ/ in Old Spanish (found in the text): [meljor] > [meʎor]
• Step three: The lateral palatal /ʎ/ found in Old Spanish becomes the voiceless velar fricative /x/ sound in Modern Spanish: [meʎor] > [mexor]

2) LUPUS [lupus] > LOBO [lobo]

• Step one: Lenition of the word final fricative voiceless alveolar /s/ to the point of deletion. This occurs because the /s/ is in a vulnerable word final position which makes it more prone to change: LUPUS > LUPU.
• Step two: The word final high back vowel /u/ becomes the low-mid back vowel /o/, a typical transition in Spanish: LUPU > LUPO
• Step three: The stressed high back vowel /u/ also undergoes a change, transitioning to the low-mid back /o/: LUPO > LOPO
• Step four: The voiceless bilabial /p/ is in the vulnerable intervocalic position. The surrounding vowels weaken the consonant and thus /p/ lenites to the voiced bilabial stop /b/: LOPO > LOBO

3) CAPITA [caput] > CABEÇA [cabetsa] > CABEZA [cabeθa]

• Step one: The voiceless bilabial /p/ is in the vulnerable intervocalic position. The surrounding vowels weaken the consonant and thus /p/ lenites to the voiced bilabial stop /b/: [capita] > [cabita]
• Step two: Exception. Generally, the combination of the voiceless alveolar stop /t/ plus a yod results in the voiceless affricate alveolar /ts/ phoneme. However, in our given Latin etymon no yod follows the /t/ making the very palatalization of the /t/ into a /ts/ and the addition of a word final prosthetic low center vowel /a/ exceptions: [cabita] > [cabitsa]

• Step three: Evolution of the high front vowel /i/ to the high-mid front /e/:

[cabitsa] > [cabetsa]

• Step four: The /ts/ sound becomes less palatal and more dental. Hence the evolution of the voiceless affricate alveolar /ts/ to the voiceless fricative interdental /θ/: [cabetsa] > [cabeθa]

4) CAUSA [cawsa] > COSSA [cōsa] > COSA [cosa]

• Step one: The Latin diphthong “au” in the antepenultimate syllable, which consists of the low center vowel /a/ plus a glide and that is prounounced /aw/, /a/ and /w/ assimilate to each other by compromise articulation: /a/ becomes “higher” and /w/ becomes lower. This is a typical evolution from Latin to Spanish: CAUSA [cawsa] > CŌSA
• Step two: The antepenultimate low-mid back vowel /o/ is in the stressed, free antepenultimate syllable, making it a long “o.” The articulatory position is held long which makes voiceless fricative alveolar consonant /s/ into a geminate, which is represented with the grapheme “ss”: COSA [cōsa] > COSSA [cōs:a]
• Step three: Eventually the two /s/s undergo assimilation and degemination occurs: COSSA [cōs:a] > COSA [cosa]

5) VIDERE [widere] > VER [ber]

• Step one: The stressed syllable is the antepenultimate “VI,” hence syncope of the unstressed high mid front vowel /e/ in the penultimate syllable “DE” occurs:

VIDERE > VIDRE

• Step two: In a typical evolution from vulgar Latin to Spanish, the stressed high front vowel /i/ evolves into the high-mid front vowel /e/: VIDRE > VEDRE
• Step three: The voiced stop consonant /d/ is in a word-medial cluster, “dr,” and is postvocalic which places it in a particularly vulnerable position for lenition. Thus the d weakens until the point of deletion: VEDRE > VERE
• Step four: Finally, the word final high-mid vowel /e/ is in a vulnerable position. And thus lenites to the point of deletion: VERE > VER

6) BONA [bona] > BUENA [bwena]

• Step one: The low-mid back short vowel /o/ diphthongizes to “ue” [we]. This is a typical evolution from Latin to Spanish. The word final low center vowel /a/ remains, which is again typical of Spanish: BONA [bona] > BUENA [bwena]

7) LEŌNEM [leo] > LEÓN [león]

• Step one: Syncope of unstressed word final syllable /em/:

LEŌNEM  > LEŌN

• Step two: orthographical change, the fact that the low-mid back vowel /o/ is stressed is represented orthographically with the grapheme “ó”:

LEON > LEÓN

8)ANIMALIS > ANIMALIAS >ANIMALES

• Step one: Dipthonghization of high front vowel “i” into “ia”, resulting in the word found in the text: ANIMALIS > ANIMALIAS
• Step two: Exception. In modern Spanish the diphthong “ia” present in the text evolves to a high-mid front vowel /e/. This is unexpected as there is a //L + j/ combination in the syllable “LIAS,” in Spanish we would expect the combination of a voiced alveolar lateral and a yod to lead to the yod becoming more lateralized by the influence of the /L/, and thus for the lateral palatal /ʎ/ to occur in Old Spanish. However, this change never occurs:

ANIMALIAS > ANIMALES

9) MAGIS > MÁS

• Step one: Lenition of the voiced velar stop intervocalic consonant /g/:

MAGIS > MAIS

• Step two: assimilation of the mid front vowel /e/ with the high front vowel /i/:

MAIS > MAES

• Step three: Further assimilation into low center vowel /a/ represented by stressed /á/ in the orthographical representation /á/: MAES > MAAS
• Step four: Assimilation into low center vowel /a/ represented by stressed /á/ in the orthographical representation /á/: MAAS > MÁS

10) DIXIT [dicksit] > DIXO [dixo] > DIJO [dixo]

• Step one: The word final voiceless alveolar stop consonant /t/ lenites to deletion due to its vulnerable word final geography: DIXIT [dicksit] > DIXI [dicksi]
• Step two: Exception. The word final high front vowel /i/ evolves to the mid back vowel /o/, we would normally expect it to evolve to the mid front vowel /e/:

DIXI [dicksi] > DIXO [dickso]

• Step three: The word-medial cluster /-ks/ undergoes a typical process of evolution from Latin to Spanish as it becomes the new fricative post-alveolar voiceless /ʃ/. The spelling, for the time being, is kept: DIXO [dickso] > DIXO [diʃo]
• Step four: The word-medial cluster /-ks/ undergoes a typical process of evolution from Latin to spanish as it becomes the voiceless velar fricative /x/ sound. The spelling, for the time being, is kept: DIXO [dickso] > DIXO [dixo]
• Step five: The word is pronounced the same, but the voiceless velar fricative sound is now represented with the graphme “j”: DIXO [dixo] > DIJO [dixo]

11) BENEDICIRE > BENDEXIESE > BENDIJESE

• Step one: Syncope of unstressed mid front vowel /e/:

BENEDICIRE > BENDICIRE

• Step two: Evolution of high front unstressed vowel /i/ to mid front vowel /e/:

BENDICIRE > BENDECIRE

• Step three: Complete lenition of intervocalic voiceless alveolar affricate “c”: BENDECIRE > BENDEIRE
• Step four: Assimilation of high front and mid front vowels to high front vowel /i/:

BENDEIRE > BENDIRE

• Step five: Diphthongization of word final mid front vowel /e/ to “ie” typical in Spanish: BENDIRE > BENDIRIE
• Step six: Palatalization of voiced alveolar trill due to influence of following yod to the voiceless velar fricative: BENDIRIE > BENDEXIE
• Step seven: Exception. Addition of a prosthetic voiceless alveolar fricative consonant /s/, normally we would expect the weakening of a word-final /s/ as opposed to the addition of one, a prosthetic /e/ is also added:

BENDEXIE > BENDEXESE

• Step eight: The word is pronounced the same, but the voiceless velar fricative sound is now represented with the grapheme “j”: BENDIXESE > BENDIJESE

12) METUS > MIEDO

• Step one: Lenition of the word final fricative voiceless alveolar /s/ to the point of deletion. This occurs because the /s/ is in a vulnerable word final position which makes it more prone to change: METUS > METU
• Step two: The low-mid front short vowel /e/ diphthongizes to “ie” [ɛ]. This is a typical evolution from Latin to Spanish: METU > MIETU
• Step three: The voiceless alveolar stop consonant /t/ is in an intervocalic position, making it more vulnerable to weakening. Thus, voiceless alveolar stop consonant /t/ lenites to a voiced stop consonant /d/: MIETU > MIEDU
• Step three: Finally, the word final high back /u/ evolves to a low-mid back /o/, an evolution typical in Spanish: MIEDU > MIEDO

 

Analysis of Verbal Morphology

1. Modern Spanish verb: DECIR Latin etymon: DĪCĚRE

Word found in text: “Dixieron”

Conjugation of Latin etymon “DECIRE” (preterite tense):

Singular: 1st person: DIXI  2nd person: DIXISTI  3rd person: DIXIT

Plural: 1st person: DIXIMUS  2nd person: DIXISTIS 3rd person: DIXERUNT

Conjugation of Modern Spanish “DECIR” (preterite tense):

Singular: 1st person: DIJE  2nd person: DIJISTE  3rd person: DIJO

Plural: 1st person: DIJIMOS  2nd person: DIJISTEIS  3rd person: DIJIERON

Description of verbal morphology:

The Latin etymon is a class III infinitive verb, thus the stress is in the stem of the verb making it rhizotonic. First the Latin etymon underwent the loss of the word final mid front vowel “e”: DICERE > DICER. Next the verb underwent metathesis as the two vowels switched places, resulting in the modern Spanish reflex of the verb: DICER > DECIR. Since the Latin etymon was rhizotonic it can be categorized as an athematic perfect (meaning that it lacks a thematic vowel). This is also known as a strong perfect, which are verbs notorious for their irregular past tense forms. The stem of the past tense form of DECIR in modern Spanish is the irregular -DIJ- which is to be expected as a result of the strong perfect etymon.

In the singular first-person reflex, the word final and unstressed high front vowel “i” evolves to a mid front “e”, an expected change when shifting from Latin to Spanish: DIXI > DIXE. Next the voiceless velar fricative “x” undergoes a grapheme change, and while the phoneme is unaltered the grapheme is replaced with a “j”:

DIXE > DIJE.

In the singular second-person reflex, the word final short high front vowel “i” evolves to a mid front “e”: DIXISTI > DIXISTE. Next, the same graphemic substitution for the voiceless velar fricative occurs: DIXISTE > DIJISTE.

In the singular third-person reflex the word final and vulnerable voiceless alveolar stop “t” is deleted through the process of lenition: DIXIT > DIXI. Next, we would expect the short word final short high front vowel “i” to transition to the mid front “e”, however there is an exception. The word final vowel instead evolves into the mid back rounded vowel “o”.

In the plural first-person reflex, the short high back rounded vowel “u” located in the ultimate syllable evolves to into the mid back rounded vowel “o” in a typical pattern of vocalic evolution: DIXIMUS > DIXIMOS. Again, the voiceless velar fricative is replaced with the grapheme “j”: DIXIMOS > DIJIMOS.

In the plural second-person reflex, the high front vowel “i” located in the ultimate syllable diphthongizes to “EI”. This is an exception because we would generally expect this vowel to simply transition to a mid front “e”, however it transitions yet an “i” remains forming a diphthong: DIXISTIS > DIXISTEIS. As this is a common theme, similar to that in the present, I believe this is an example of analogy in el pretérito. Finally, the grapheme change occurs: DIXISTEIS > DIJISTEIS.

In the plural third-person reflex, the word final voiceless alveolar stop is lenited to zero due to its vulnerable word final position: DIXERUNT > DIXERUN. Next, the short high back rounded vowel “u”, located in the final syllable, evolves into the mid back rounded vowel “o”: DIXERUN > DIXERON. Next, the voiceless velar fricative acts as a yod and palatalizes the ensuing vowel “e” thus forming the diphthong “ie” in the penultimate syllable: DIXERON > DIXIERON. Finally, we transition from the word found in our text “dixieron” to its final modern Spanish form with the replacement of the voiceless velar fricative “x”: DIXIERON > DIJIERON.

2. Modern Spanish verb: VENIR Latin etymon: VENĪRE

Word found in text: venieron

Conjugation of Latin etymon “VENIRE” (preterite tense):

Singular: 1st person: VENI  2nd person: VENISTI  3rd person: VENIT

Plural: 1st person: VENIMUS  2nd person: VENISTIS 3rd person: VENERUNT

Conjugation of Modern Spanish “VENIR” (preterite tense):

Singular: 1st person: VINE  2nd person: VINISTE  3rd person: VINO

Plural: 1st person: VINIMOS  2nd person: VINISTEIS  3rd person: VINIERON

Description of verbal morphology:

The Latin etymon is a class IV infinitive verb; thus the stress is in the stem of the verb making it arhizotonic. To transition to the modern Spanish reflex the Latin etymon first underwent the lenition of the word final short mid front vowel “e”: VENIRE > VENIR. Next it underwent a more significant phonetic change and the phonetic glide, typically represented by the “w” grapheme, became fortified to the voiced bilabial stop. This fortification was due to the glide’s strengthening position at the beginning of the word. This change was not marked by a graphemic change but was solely a phonetic one: VENIR [wenir] > VENIR [benir].

In the singular first-person reflex, the word final and unstressed high front vowel “i” evolves to a mid front “e”, an expected change when shifting from Latin to Spanish: VENI > VENE. Next, an comes a rather exceptional occurrence as the short mid front vowel “e” evolves into the high front vowel “i”. Generally, we would expect this short mid front vowel to evolve into an ɛ, and then subsequently into the diphthong “ie”; perhaps the vowel’s location in a free syllable made it more subject to change: VENE > VINE.

In the singular second-person reflex, the word final short high front vowel “i” evolves to a mid front “e”: VENISTI > VENISTE. Next, the vocalic evolution of the mid front “e” located in the penultimate syllable occurs: VENISTE > VINISTE.

In the singular third-person reflex the word final and vulnerable voiceless alveolar stop “t” is deleted through the process of lenition: VENIT > VENI. Next, we would expect the short word final short high front vowel “i” to transition to the mid front “e”, however there is an exception. The word final vowel instead evolves into the mid back rounded vowel “o”: VENI > VENO. Finally, the exceptional vocalic evolution occurs: VENO > VINO.

In the plural first-person reflex, the short high back rounded vowel “u” located in the ultimate syllable evolves to into the mid back rounded vowel “o” in a typical pattern of vocalic evolution: VENIMUS > VENIMOS. Again, the vocalic change occurs, and we reach our modern Spanish reflex: VENIMOS > VINIMOS.

In the plural second-person reflex, the high front vowel “i” located in the ultimate syllable diphthongizes to “EI”. This is an exception because we would generally expect this vowel to simply transition to a mid front “e”, however it transitions yet an “i” remains forming a diphthong: VENISTIS > VENISTEIS. Then the vocalic change occurs: VENISTEIS > VINISTEIS.

In the plural third-person reflex, the word final voiceless alveolar stop is lenited to zero due to its vulnerable word final position: VENERUNT > VENERUN. Next, the short high back rounded vowel “u”, located in the final syllable, evolves into the mid back rounded vowel “o”: VENERUN > VENERON. Next, the voiceless velar fricative acts as a yod and palatalizes the ensuing vowel “e” thus forming the diphthong “ie” in the penultimate syllable: VENERON > VENIERON. Finally, the exceptional vocalic change occurs once more, and we transition from the word found in our text to the modern Spanish form: VENIERON > VINIERON. The word found in the text, “venieron” indicates that in Middle Spanish the vocalic shift from the mid front vowel “e” to the high front vowel “i” had not yet occurred and was instead a later change.

3. Modern Spanish verb: Mandar Latin etymon: MANDĀRE

Word found in text: Mandó

Conjugation of Latin etymon “MANDARE” (present tense):

Singular: 1st person: MANDO  2nd person: MANDAS  3rd person: MANDAT

Plural: 1st person: MANDĀMUS  2nd person: MANDĀTIS 3rd person: MANDANT

Conjugation of Modern Spanish “MANDAR” (present tense):

Singular: 1st person: MANDO  2nd person: MANDAS  3rd person: MANDA

Plural: 1st person: MANDAMOS  2nd person: MANDÁIS  3rd person: MANDAN

Description of verbal morphology:

The word final high-mid front vowel “e” is lost from the Latin etymon MANDĀRE, forming the modern Spanish verb MANDAR. The Latin etymon is a Class I conjugate form which is by definition arhizotonic, meaning the stress is in the infinitive ending. The thematic vowel is the low central “a” in the suffix.

The singular first-person and the singular second person conjugations derive directly from their respective Latin forms. Note that the singular first-person form of this verb found in the text in the form of “mandó.” In the middle Spanish form of this conjugation the grapheme representation of the arhizotonic stress in the form of the tilde atop the mid back vowel “o” is still present. This demarcation is eventually lost in modern Spanish, resulting in the singular first-person conjugation MANDO.

In the third person singular form the word final voiceless alveolar stop “t” undergoes lenition and is therefore eliminated resulting in the modern Spanish conjugation “MANDA.”

In the first-person plural conjugation “MANDAMUS” the unstressed—and therefore short— high back rounded vowel “u” evolves into the mid back rounded vowel “o”.

In the second-person plural conjugation from the Latin form MANDATIS to the Spanish form MANDÁIS, the intervocalic voiceless alveolar stop “t” undergoes complete lenition due to its vulnerable location between two vowels. The accent over the A in the modern form of the verbal conjugation demonstrates that the stress is arhizotonic and thus a reminder that the stress lies in the infinitive suffix. The lack of evolution of the “i” is an exception because we would typically expect it to evolve to the vowel “e” yet it remains an “i.” This form is pervasive in all class types and is therefore reflects analogy. This is one of the rare instances of analogy in Spanish.

In the third person plural form the word final voiceless alveolar stop “t” undergoes lenition and is therefore eliminated resulting in the modern Spanish conjugation: MANDANT > MANDAN

Spanish typically adheres to original Latin forms regarding conjugations, hence, the fewer instances of analogy, or the process of phonetic evolution to assimilate to another model, in Spanish.

4. Modern Spanish verb: ESTAR Latin etymon: STĀRE

Word found in text: “estás”

Conjugation of Latin etymon “STARE” (present tense):

Singular: 1st person: STO  2nd person: STAS  3rd person: STAT

Plural: 1st person: STĀMUS  2nd person: STĀTIS 3rd person: STANT

Conjugation of Modern Spanish “ESTAR” (present tense):

Singular: 1st person: ESTOY  2nd person: ESTÁS  3rd person: ESTÁ

Plural: 1st person: ESTAMOS  2nd person: ESTÁIS  3rd person: ESTAN

Description of verbal morphology:

First the infinitive class I Latin etymon undergoes evolution with the addition of a prosthetic mid front vowel “e” typically tacked on before the voiceless alveolar fricative consonant “s” and STARE becomes ESTARE. Next, the word final high-mid front vowel “e” is lost from the Latin etymon STĀRE, forming the modern Spanish verb ESTAR. The Latin etymon is a Class I conjugate form which is by definition arhizotonic, meaning the stress is in the infinitive ending. The thematic vowel of the etymon is the low central “a” in the suffix.

The singular first-person Spanish conjugation is an allomorph induced by a stressed position. The “o” is the stressed vowel in the Latin etymon STO, and the stress of the vowel leads to the palatalization of the mid back vowel “o” into an [oy] sound as the pronunciation moves nearer to the palate: STO > STOY. This change is only present in the first-person singular and is thus is an anomalous first singular conjugation. A prosthetic mid front vowel “e” is also added: STOY > ESTOY.

The singular second person conjugation– with an addition of the prosthetic “e” – is derived directly from the patterns of typical Latin conjugate forms. However, it is unusual that the stressed low central vowel “a” is marked with a tilde—a graphemical representation of the arhizotonic stress. Note that this is the reflex found in the text.

In the third person singular form the word final voiceless alveolar stop “t” undergoes lenition and is therefore eliminated resulting in the modern Spanish conjugation “ESTÁ.” Again, the stressed part of the word is marked with the tilde atop the word final low central vowel “a”.

In the first-person plural conjugation “ESTAMOS” the unstressed—and therefore short— high back rounded vowel “u” evolves into the mid back rounded vowel “o”: (representation of verbal evolution post the addition of a prosthetic “e”) ESTAMUS > ESTAMOS.

In the second-person plural conjugation from the Latin form (prosthetic “e” included) ESTATIS to the Spanish form ESTÁIS, the intervocalic voiceless alveolar stop “t” undergoes complete lenition due to its vulnerable location between two vowels. The accent over the A in the modern Spanish reflex demonstrates the arhizotonic (and word final) stress. The lack of evolution of the high front short vowel “i” is an exception because we would typically expect it to evolve to the mid front vowel “e” yet it remains high. This form is pervasive in all class types and is therefore reflective of analogy.

In the third person plural form the word final voiceless alveolar stop “t” undergoes lenition and is therefore eliminated resulting in the modern Spanish conjugation: (post-prosthetic “e”) ESTANT > ESTAN. It is interesting that there is no tilde over the low central vowel “a” in this reflex, however I believe that is due to the fact that the vowel lies in the closed syllable -TAN- and therefore to indicate that the stress lies in the ultimate syllable would be redundant.

5. Modern Spanish verb: SER Latin etymon: ESSE

Word found in text: Ffué

Conjugation of Latin etymon “ESSE” (preterite tense):

Singular: 1st person: FUI  2nd person: FUISTI  3rd person: FUIT

Plural: 1st person: FUIMUS  2nd person: FUISTIS 3rd person:  FUERUNT

Conjugation of Modern Spanish “SER” (preterite tense):

Singular: 1st person: FUI  2nd person: FUISTE  3rd person: FUE

Plural: 1st person: FUIMOS  2nd person: FUISTEIS  3rd person: FUERON

Description of verbal morphology:

      The Latin etymon ESSE, meaning “to be”, is a special case. It has an unusual infinitive form in that it fails to fall into any of the four classes of Latin verbs, and its preterite form is just as bizarre. The likely evolution from the Latin etymon to the modern Spanish verb begins with the lenition of word initial short mid front vowel “e”: ESSE > SSE. Normally this word initial position is one of strength, but since it is a short (read: weak) vowel it still undergoes lenition. Next comes the assimilation of the two voiceless alveolar fricative consonants into one: SSE > SE. Finally, the end of the word becomes fortified with the addition of a prosthetic voiced alveolar trill “r”:

SE > SER.

The singular first-person and preterite conjugation derives directly from its respective Latin forms.

In the singular second-person reflex, the word final short high front vowel “i” evolves to a mid front “e”: FUISTI > FUISTE.

In the singular third-person reflex the word final and vulnerable voiceless alveolar stop “t” is deleted through the process of lenition: FUIT > FUI. Next, the short word final short high front vowel “i” transitions to the mid front “e” in order to differentiate from the singular first-person reflex: FUI > FUE. Note that this is the form of the verb that is found in the text, however there are a few key differences between the modern form and the middle form. Firstly, the word in our text is spelled with two of the same letters to represent the voiceless labiodental fricative consonantal pronunciation of “f”. It is unclear exactly why this extra “f” was added because it was absent in the Latin etymon, but they eventually assimilate back to one grapheme in the modern language. Secondly, there is a tilde hovering over the word final mid front vowel “e” in the middle version which is omitted in modern Spanish. The loss of this demarcation of stress tends to be a common theme in the transition to Latin.

In the first-person plural conjugation “FUIMUS” the unstressed—and therefore short— high back rounded vowel “u” evolves into the mid back rounded vowel “o”: FUIMUS > FUIMOS.

In the plural second-person reflex, the high front vowel “i” located in the ultimate syllable diphthongizes to “EI”. This is an exception because we would generally expect this vowel to simply transition to a mid front “e”, however it transitions yet an “i” remains forming a diphthong: FUISTIS > FUISTEIS.

In the plural third-person reflex, the word final voiceless alveolar stop is lenited to zero due to its vulnerable word final position: FUERUNT > FUERUN. Next, the short high back rounded vowel “u”, located in the final syllable, evolves into the mid back rounded vowel “o” and we arrive at the modern Spanish reflex:

FUERUN > FUERON.

6. Modern Spanish verb: MATAR Latin etymon: MACTĀRE

Word found in text: Matar

Conjugation of Latin etymon “MACTARE” (present tense):

Singular: 1st person: MACTO  2nd person: MACTAS  3rd person: MACTAT

Plural: 1st person: MACTĀMUS  2nd person: MACTĀTIS 3rd person: MACTANT

Conjugation of Modern Spanish “MATAR” (present tense:

Singular: 1st person: MATO  2nd person: MATAS  3rd person: MATA

Plural: 1st person: MATAMOS  2nd person: MATÁIS  3rd person: MATAN

Description of verbal morphology:

Transition of infinitive form of class I, arhizotonic Latin etymon to modern Spanish infinitive form: Due to its end of syllable positioning in the antepenultimate -MAC-, the voiceless alveolar affricate “c” undergoes complete lenition: MACTĀRE > MATARE. Next the word final mid front vowel “e” is lost through the process of lenition, resulting in our modern Spanish infinitive verb: MATARE > MATAR. Note that the infinitive version of the verb is the form found in the text, however I will still continue with an analysis of the verbal morphology in the modern Spanish conjugates. The thematic vowel of the etymon is the low central “a”

The singular first-person and the singular second person conjugations derive directly from their respective Latin forms.

In the third person singular form the word final voiceless alveolar stop “t” undergoes lenition and is therefore eliminated resulting in the modern Spanish conjugation “MATA.”

In the first-person plural conjugation “MATAMOS” the unstressed—and therefore short— high back rounded vowel “u” evolves into the mid back rounded vowel “o”.

In the second-person plural conjugation from the Latin form (post consonantal lenition) MATATIS to the Spanish form MATÁIS, the intervocalic voiceless alveolar stop “t” undergoes complete lenition due to its vulnerable location between two vowels. The accent over the A in the modern form of the verbal conjugation demonstrates that the stress is arhizotonic and thus a reminder that the stress lies in the infinitive suffix. The lack of evolution of the “i” is an exception because we would typically expect it to evolve to the vowel “e” yet it remains an “i.” This form is pervasive in all class types and is therefore reflects analogy. This is one of the rare instances of analogy in Spanish.

In the third person plural form the word final voiceless alveolar stop “t” undergoes lenition and is therefore eliminated resulting in the modern Spanish conjugation: (post lenition process) MATANT > MATAN.

 

Analysis of Noun and Adjective Morphology

1. Phrase: “Alçó el león la mano por la mesa santiguar”

The noun found in the text, “la mano,” stemmed from the latin etymon MANUS, meaning hand. MANUS was a feminine fourth declension noun in classical Latin; in the transition from classical to popular Latin the fourth declension dissolved, and its nouns were typically reassigned to the second (masculine) declension. However, because MANUS was a feminine fourth declension noun, its modern reflex became a member of the first declension—the predominantly feminine class. The Spanish “la mano” is exceptional because it retained its form and gender.

The definite articles, “el” and “la,” were innovations in the Romance languages, as Latin grammar did not contain any definite articles previously. While classical Latin lacked definite articles, in pre-Romance they began to form from the demonstrative ǏLLE, ǏLLA. Eventually the definite articles now prevalent in the three primary Romance languages became a legitimate grammatical category. In the context of its new use ILLE ceased to be stressed and evolved into the Old Spanish articles: ele, ela, elos, elas. Another exceptional occurrence in this evolution was the transition from the double l “ll” to the singular voiced alveolar lateral liquid phoneme [l], as opposed to the palatalization of the “ll” into the voiced palatal lateral [ʎ] sound—the expected evolution. From these forms the redundant first syllable in the pronunciation of the mid front vowel “e” was deleted (except in the masculine singular article where the word-initial vowel remained).

2. Phrase: “Ella diz’: “En la cabeça del lobo tomé liçión””

The bolded phrase “del lobo”, meaning “of the wolf” provides an example of the loss of the oblique case via its substitution by a preposition (of)—another common phenomenon in the evolution from Latin to the Romance languages.  To replace the genitive case, DE + noun arose in popular Latin. This transition appeared as early as second century BC. The Latin etymon for lobo is LUPUS– a second declension masculine with the genitive form LUPĪ.

3. Phrase: “los animales fueron a ver a su señor.”

In Spanish, the two-case marking system of popular Latin eventually dissolved and the language instead opted for the accusative form. However, Spanish did not only economize the case marking system but in some instances it expanded. This explains the addition of a new “personal a”, bolded in the phrase from the text. The “personal a” highlighted definite human direct objects, and the form lessened ambiguity. This rule became officially grammaticalized in the 17th century, although it is still present in our 14th century text.

4. Phrase: “Al león dixo el lobo que la mesa bendexiese.”     

As evidenced in the previous morphological evolution, the popular Latin two-case system transitioned into a one-case Spanish system, in which the accusative was favored. A factor in transitioning into the nominative singular was the consistency of the syllable count in the word. For imparisyllabics—nouns where the nominative singular stem contains fewer syllables than its following forms—popular Latin forms its nominative singular based on the longer stem. The Latin etymon for the bolded word from our text, LEO, is inflected as such in classical Latin:

Nominative: LEO                   Genitive: LEONIS                  Dative: LEONI

Accusative: LEONEM                       Ablative: LEONE                   Vocative: LEO

As you can see, the nominative form of the noun LEO contains fewer syllables than following forms. Hence, the modern Spanish reflex “león” present in the middle Spanish of our text is based on the longer stem LEON-.

5. Phrase: “Que á cabo de tienpo non sea bien sabida”

The bolded word from the text “cabo” derives from the Latin etymon CAPUT—an imparisyllabic noun belonging to the third declension. The Latin etymon’s inflections are:

Nominative: CAPUT              Genitive: CAPITIS                 Dative: CAPITI

Accusative: CAPUT               Ablative: CAPITE                  Vocative: CAPUT

Cabo provides an example of a nominative singular that continued into Romance from Latin. It is exceptional in that the short stem CAP- survived in the modern reflex as opposed to the longer stem of the other declensions CAPIT-. We know that cabo must have derived from caput given the typical evolution processes. First, lenition of the word final voiceless alveolar stop “t”, then the lenition of the voiceless bilabial stop “p” to the weaker voiced bilabial stop “b”, finally the evolution of the word final high back vowel “u” to the mid back vowel “o” which results in our modern Spanish reflex:

CAPUT > CAPU > CABU > CABO.

6. Phrase: “Que jamás á mí vengas nin me digas tal, nemiga”

This sentence contains both atonic (weak) and tonic (heavy) personal pronouns with the pronouns “me” and “mí” respectively. Another development which arose in the Romance languages were clitic pronouns. These pronouns were not strong enough to stand alone, but instead act like verb affixes rather than real words. The tonic “mí” found in modern Spanish derived from the Latin etymon MIHI, which is a dative noun.

 

Explanation of Pronunciation

In my audio recording of the excerpt from El Libro de Buen Amor the pronunciation of the Old Spanish text is distinct from that of the modern form of the language. The grapheme “z” was historically pronounced as the voiceless alveolar affricate consonant /ts/. In modern speech the “z” is pronounced as the voiceless dental fricative /θ/. Another divergence of pronunciation is the grapheme “ç”, which also represented the voiceless alveolar affricate consonant /ts/. In the modern Spanish reflex this grapheme is typically replaced with an orthographical “z”. Lastly, I pronounced the grapheme “v” as the phonetic bilabial approximant voiced /β/.