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A Bell & Howell Information Company 300North Zeeb Road.Ann Arbor.Ml 48106-1346USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 THE MARY SYMBOL IN THE ROMANCES OF
DON FRANCISCO DE MEDRANO
DISSERTATION
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate
School of the Ohio State University
By Jorge Washington Suazo-Jaque, B.A., M.A.
******
The Ohio State University
1996
Dissertation Committee: Approved by
J.A. Giordano
D.R. Larson
S.J. Summerhill Department of Spanish and Portuguese UMI Number: 9620076
UMI Microform 9620076 Copyright 1996, by UMI Company. All rights reserved.
This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code.
UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 To My son Andre, My Mother, and
In Memoriam
Jose Segundo Suazo Navarrete (1922-1993)
Y aungue la vida murio, nos dej6 harto consuelo su memoria.
Jorge Manrique ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My utmost gratitude goes to Dr. Donald R. Larson for his significant effort and valuable comments during the completion of this dissertation. Special thanks are due to the other members of my committee, Drs. Jaime Giordano and Stephen
Summerhill for their willingness to serve on my committee.
Finally, I wish to express my deepest appreciation for my colleague, Dr. Donnie D. Richards, for his suggestions and support throughout the writing of this work.
111 VITA
October 20, 1953 ...... Born - San Carlos, Chile
1979 ...... B.A., Universidad de Chile-ChillSn, Chilian, Chile
1986 ...... M.A., Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
1992-93 ...... Visiting Instructor, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan
1993-Present ...... Assistant Professor of Spanish, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia
PUBLICATIONS
"The Virgin Mary: Religious Symbols in a Villancico of Sor Juana In£s de la Cruz." Rocky Mountain Council for Latin American Studies Proceedings 1993 and 1994. Ed. Theo R. Crevena. Alburquerque: University of New Mexico- Alburquerque, 1995.
FIELDS OF STUDY
Major Field: Department of Spanish and Portuguese TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION ...... ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... iii
VITA ...... iv
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE POET AND HIS W O R K S ...... 1
Introduction ...... 1 Biographical Data ...... 2 Medrano within the tradition of the Spanish Renaissance ...... 9 Medrano and the two Literary Schools: Salamanca and Sevilla ...... 14 Medrano as Imitative Poet ...... 20 Early Editions and Manuscripts of Medrano's Poetry ...... 25 Critical Studies of Medrano ...... 27 Dissertation Project ...... 37 Justification ...... 38 Scope and Purpose ...... 41 M e t h o l o g y ...... 41
II. THE MARY MYTH AND THE RELIGIOUS SYMBOL .. . 44
Introduction ...... 44 Limit-experiencies and the Experience of Sexual Differentiation ...... 44 The Mary Symbol: Four Paradigms.... 56 Origins of the Mary C u l t ...... 58 Symbols, Signs, and the Nature of Religious Symbols ...... 67
III. MARY AS MADONNA ...... 75
Introduction ...... 75 Text of Romance 4: "De la Natividad" . . 76 Discussion of Greeley's constituent aspects of the Madonna Symbol of Mary and Romance 4: "De la Natividad".... 77
v Romance 5: "En la misma fiesta a la Virgen Madre"...... 108
IV. MARY AS V I R G O ...... 121
Introduction ...... 121 Greeley's VirgoSymbol ...... 122 The Feast of theAssumption of Mary . . 130 Romance 32: "Assumpsion de Nuestra S e f i o r a " ...... 133 Romance 8: "De la Natividad de X Nuestro Sefior" ...... 146
V. MARY AS SPONSA ...... 161
Introduction ...... 161 Text of Romance 36: "Otro super illud api mihi etc." ...... 162 Greeley's Sponsa Symbol ...... 166 The Nuptial Imagery in Christian T r a d i t i o n ...... 173 Romance 36: "Otro super illud api mihi e t c . " ...... 180
CONCLUSION ...... 200
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 204
vi CHAPTER I
THE POET AND HIS WORKS
Introduction
The present dissertation centers on the romances of the
Spanish Golden Age poet Francisco de Medrano. These poems, primarily religious in theme, are products of the poet's early years, and they have received little attention from contemporary scholarship. One reason for their neglect is undoubtedly that the vast majority of them were not published until the relatively recent date of 1969. Another reason is that scholars in recent times have preferred to focus upon the works of the poet's later years, works that are principally secular in orientation.
The first part on this chapter will provide the essential facts of Medrano's life. Subsequently, we shall situate our poet within the period of the Spanish Renaissance and define his place among his contemporaries. We shall then discuss the various manuscripts that embody Medrano's poetic corpus, as well as the most important editions of Medrano's works, starting with the posthumous Palermo edition of 1617.
Finally, we shall survey the criticism devoted to Medrano's
1 2 poetry ranging from several early critics of the seventeenth
century to those of the present time.
Biographical Data
Francisco de Medrano (c. 1570-C.1607) was a Spanish poet born in Seville.1 Although he died at an early age, approximately thirty seven, his premature death did not prevent him from having a notable place among the great poets of his time. Although we presently know a great deal about his life, there are some obscure aspects. We can only speculate about those areas of Medrano's life that remain unclear. In pursuit of information about the poet, a most valuable source of information is the family register in the archives of the Cathedral of Seville.2 D&maso Alonso, the foremost student of the poet, utilized this register in his
1 Francisco de Medrano's exact birth date has never been discovered, however, D&maso Alonso arrived at the date 1570 by comparing the records of the poet's life which appear in the Cataloai triennalis with references written by Francisco de Pacheco and other Sevillian contemporaries. The complete biographical information is given in Vida v obra de Medrano, vol. 1 (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 1948) 17-25. The first volume of this book is entirely Alonso's work. The second part, published in 1958, was written in collaboration with the English critic Stephen Reckert. All succeeding references to this book will be appropriately designated by author, volume, and page number.
2 Most of the information about Medrano's family was obtained by Alonso from the Cathedral of Seville as a result of a visit of three days in December, 1947. While there, he examined the files of two of Medrano's descendants who were priests in Seville, his brother Diego Herber de Medrano and his nephew Miguel de Medrano. For more information on Medrano's ancestry, see Alonso, Vida, vol. 1, 317-21 and 323- 25. 3 book entitled Vida y obra de Medrano, where he provides the following facts about the poet.3
Francisco de Medrano was the eldest of six children born to Miguel de Medrano and Maria de Villa. Doha Maria was a member of the Herber family, who were wealthy Sevillian bankers.4 It is also altogether possible that Don Miguel himself had quite a large amount of money.5 Lending credence
3 In writing this chapter, besides using Alonso's book as a source of information about Medrano, we have also relied a great deal on the study of the poet's biography and literary background contained in Constance Moneer Kihyet's first chapter of her dissertation, "A Stylistic analysis of the Imitative Sonnets of Francisco de Medrano," diss., Florida State U, 1979.
4 The information that Alonso provides about the Herber family comes from Francisco Rodriguez Marin who, in the introduction to his edition of Cervantes' Rinconete v Cortadillo. makes the following statement:
Pocos anos antes de 1590, habia en Sevilla cinco bancos: el de Espinosa, el de Juan Ihiguez, el de Domingo de Lizarraras, el de Pedro Juan Leardo y el de Jeronimo y Juan de Herber, tios carnales del notable poeta don Francisco de Medrano; "todos los hubo en un tiempo y cadauno dellos parescia que estauan muy acreditados y con siguridad se ponian los dineros en sus bancos y las fiangas que cada uno dellos hazian las tenian por muy bastantes, y todos quebraron." (In Alonso. Vida, vol. 1, 24).
5 Further information about Don Miguel de Medrano's place of birth and alleged fortune is supplied by DSmaso Alonso as follows:
El padre del poeta, Miguel de Medrano, vivio de nifio en Torrijos, y cuando su madre enviudo paso con ella a Maqueda .... Debio de nacer hacia 1530 y tantos. Hacia 1550 y tantos se fue de esas tierras toledanas a Sevilla, y de alii pas6 a Indias (un testigo puntualiza que al Perd), de donde volvio con fama de rico unos diez ahos mSs tarde. Ya en Espaha, visitd los lugares de su infancia, y luego se volvid a Sevilla otra vez, donde se caso con to this hypothesis is the fact that, after his father's death, the poet inherited a considerable fortune, in spite of having to share the inheritance with six siblings.
Maria de Villa and Miguel de Medrano established themselves in Seville, where they earned their living from various businesses they managed. Several members of the family are known to have travelled to the Indies. Dona Maria and Don Miguel also owned several houses and some rustic farms in Seville. The most important of these, named Mirarbueno, was the poet's solace and refuge; as we see below, he spent the happiest moments of his life there. This estate offered him the opportunity to explore the friendship of other contemporary poets, such as Fernando de Soria, Francisco de
Rioja, Juan de Arguijo, Francisco de Pacheco, Pedro Venegas de
Saavedra, Cristdbal de Mesa and others. At Mirarbueno he was also able to let his imagination wander freely, travelling over its beautiful landscape. Something about the poet's feelings regarding this country estate may be gathered from the following composition, Ode XXXI, dedicated to his friend
Alonso de Santilldn:
Cumple tu voto, y, grato al cielo santo,
con ldgrimas gozosas ya el sereno
rostro vafia el seno;
dofia Maria de Villa, "sefiora rica." (In Ap§ndice 1, "Ascendientes de Medrano," Vida, vol. 1, 318). 5
que yo, Santiso, al tanto,
te espero en Mirarbueno.
iOh, fuese a mi vejez firme reposo
este lugar!; de mis navegaciones
y peregrinaciones,
ioh, termino dichoso
fuese!, y de mis pasiones.
Este rincdn, de todos los deel suelo
me place mSs, do brota la primera
y la rosa postrera;
do siempre es uno el cielo,
do siempre es primavera.
Este a la mesa espl€ndida comigo
y al brindis te combida. jOh cuerdo ecceso!
Dulce me es ser travieso,
cobrado un tal amigo;
dulce perder el seso.6
In 1579, at the age of nine, Francisco de Medrano entered the Jesuit School of Medina Sidonia, in the vicinity of
Seville. According to the Cataloai triennales. the official chronicle of Jesuit history, Medrano there continued his study of Latin, apparently begun some years before, and took up
6 Alonso and Reckert, Vida, vol. 2, 269. other subjects considered appropriate for a youth of his background and social class.7 In 1584, again according to the
Catalogi. our principal source of information about the early
life of the poet, Medrano joined Montilia, the Jesuit house for novices at Seville. He was about fourteen years old.
In the year 1587, when Medrano was seventeen, he entered another Jesuit institution in Cdrdoba. There he continued his studies in theology, and also served as an instructor of Latin for two years. Subsequently, the various Catalogi tell us,
Medrano travelled constantly throughout various parts of
Spain.
The Catalogue of 1593 states that Medrano had been transferred from Andalusia to Salamanca, in Castille. He was twenty-three years old, and he had been in the order for nine years. As we shall see in the next section, his stay in
Salamanca had a tremendous impact on his life because it was there that he became affiliated with what we now know as the
Salamancan school of poetry.
7 Concerning Medrano's Latin studies, Alonso makes the following observation:
Notemos que en 1585 se le atribuyen [en los Catalogi] ya al recien venido Hermano Francisco Medrano, ocho anos de estudios de latin. 0 trajera los ocho, o haya que descontar uno cursado quizci ya dentro de la Compafila, resulta que Francisquito Medrano estaba ... estudiando latin desde los seis o los siete afios. (Vida, vol. 1, 26) 7
Medrano’s travels in the 1590’s also took him to the
Jesuit foundation in Villagarcia de Campos, near Valladolid, and the school of Monterrey in Galicia, where he taught Greek and Latin for three years. The 1600 Catalogue places him in
Salamanca again, where he completed the formal studies required for his entrance into the Jesuit order. An interesting fact appears in this Catalogue: Medrano had completed all his studies but he had neither graduated nor professed yet. Suddenly, in the Catalogue of the year 1602, someone wrote simply: egressus. Medrano had left the Jesuits.
He withdrew from the order before taking the final vows.
The reasons for his withdrawal from the Jesuits have never been explained in any of the catalogues of the Jesuit order. Dcimaso Alonso published several letters that were exchanged between Medrano and other Jesuit colleagues who had also left the order. These letters have a common thread of complaint, notably, the need to be informed when they would be allowed to profess. This leads Alonso to believe that these complaints may have influenced Medrano's decision to leave the
Jesuits.
Other studies concerning the Jesuit order during this period, such as Father Antonio Astrain's and Martin P.
Harney's, also report that a state of turmoil existed among the Jesuits during the last two decades of the sixteenth 8 century (Kihyet, 4-7).8 The fact that Medrano's membership in the order coincides with the years of the aforementioned disturbances is the basis of Alonso's idea that some poems reflect the inner conflicts experienced by Medrano over his chosen vocation. The ode quoted earlier, addressed to
Medrano's friend and fellow Jesuit, Alonso de Santilldn, appears to refer to this conflict:
Ambos del mar hulmos proceloso
la sana: a ml, por medio del cerrado
peligro, mi buen hado,
alegre y victorioso,
a puerto me ha sacado.
A ti segunda vez, maladvertido,
la resaca sorbid del mar hambriento,
y al arbitrio del viento
y al caso, permitido
te viste y sin aliento.9
After leaving the Jesuits, Medrano returned to his native
Seville where he spent the rest of his years as a man of letters and as trustee of the family estate, Mirarbueno. He
8 Information about the Jesuit's turmoil during this time appears in Padre Antonio Astraln's book, Historia de la Compafila. en la Asistencia de Espafla. (Madrid: Gredos, 1949); and in Martin P. Harney, The Jesuits in History: The Society of Jesus through Four Centuries. (Chicago: Loyola UP, 1962). In Kihyet's Bibliography 196-98.
9 Alonso and Reckert, Vida, vol. 2, 268. 9
also spent time with other gentlemen who shared a common
interest in literature, especially other Sevillian poets such
as Fernando de Soria, Francisco de Rioja, and Don Juan de
Arguijo. These were also the years (1602-1607) when his art
seems to have flourished the most.
The year 1607 is taken by Ddmaso Alonso to be the
approximate date of Medrano's death. He based his conjecture
upon an entry in the Jesuits' Catalogi triennales.
Specifically, Alonso believed that the poet died sometime
between December 1, 1606 and April 6, 1607.10 Medrano was
then only thirty-seven years old.
Medrano within the Tradition of the Spanish Renaissance
The term Renaissance is usually understood to refer to
that period immediately after the Middle Ages when Europe
underwent a significant political and cultural transformation.
This change initiated the Modern era. The changes were felt
throughout all of Europe, although the duration, intensity,
and specific characteristics of those changes varied from
country to country.
Traditionally, the sixteenth century in Spain is regarded
as the beginning of the Modern age. However, one needs to understand that the transition from the Middle Ages to that of the Renaissance did not occur suddenly. Rather, it was a
10 Information about possible date of Medrano's death appears in Alonso, Vida, vol. 1, 56 and also 71-73. 10
process that evolved for many years. The spirit of the
Renaissance had been heard throughout the fifteenth century
when Juan de Mena and other Spanish poets recognized the
superiority and novelty of the new Italian poetry. Even
earlier, Juan Ruiz, in the fourteenth century, showed much of
the pagan spirit that was characteristic of the new attitude.
Consequently, it is impossible to clearly designate any
specific year as the beginning point of the Renaissance in
Spain.
It must also be noted that the sixteenth century was
characterized by two different periods, sometimes designated
the First, or Italianate Renaissance, and the Second, or Late
Renaissance. Chronologically, the First Renaissance
corresponds to the reign of Charles I (V of the Holy Roman
Empire), spanning the first half of the century. The Second
Renaissance covers the reign of Charles' successor, Philip II,
in the second half of the century. Spain's First Renaissance was classical, humanist, and Italianate. The Second
Renaissance was anticlassical, Counter-Reformational and
Spanish.11 The lyric poetry of the first period is exemplified by the poems of Garcilaso and Boscdn, which were
in the Italian style. That style was manifested in various ways, notably in the use of the canzone meter, a mixing of eleven and seven syllable lines in rather long stanzas.
11 In Kihyet 14-17. 11
The second half of the sixteenth century shows the complexity of the nation after the advent of the Counter-
Reformation. During this period, Spain closed itself off from the rest of Europe. The isolationist policies of Philip II gradually brought about Spain's eventual weakness in politics, culture, and economy. As evidenced later, Spain declined to join the rest of Europe's march to modernity, brought about by the new rationalism, the basis of modern scientific thought and method, upon which modern culture was built.
The secular humanistic spirit coexisted with the medieval spirit. The new-found epicureanism of the Renaissance was telling men how to live while the old medieval stoicism was still teaching them how to die. This accounts for the retention of so many beliefs and practices from the Middle
Ages as the country moved into the Renaissance. It is also responsible, to a great extent, for the blossoming of mystic literature in the latter half of the sixteenth century.
The two great influences on Spanish literature of the
Renaissance were Humanism and Italianism. Humanistic studies received a great deal of attention and encouragement under the
Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella. They brought in foreign scholars to educate the nobility, and the Queen herself was a well known student and patron of the arts. Men of learning imitated Greek and Roman writers stylistically as well as thematically. Seneca, Cicero, Caesar, Horace, Ovid and Boethius were their favorites. They also extensively 12
imitated the Italians, among them Petrarch, Tasso, Bembo, and
Dante. Several new universities were established in Spain.
Later, many of them became centers of Humanistic studies.
Prominent among these is the University of Alcald de Henares
(now Madrid) founded in 1508 by Cardinal Jimenez de Cisneros.
Some people rejected the new style and the new philosophy. One of the opponents of the new school, and a notable advocate of traditionalism in poetry, was Cristobal de
Castillejo (1480 or 1490-1550).12 Needless to say, while many poets quickly adapted to the new Italianate form, others continued to compose verses in the older forms. Thus, the old style survived alongside the new, and shared in the atmosphere of vitality.
In any event, the lyric poetry written during the period of the First Renaissance was different from any verse produced before in Spain. The new style that emerged was the result of a remarkable change in poetic sensibility that was to influence the entire course of Spanish poetry. Up until this time, the meter that had dominated Castilian poetry was the octosyllable, used both in the ballads and in courtly love poetry. This line, although capable of great vigor, sometimes gave the effect of abruptness and monotony.
In the sixteenth century a different meter became popular: the eleven-syllable line with a fixed accent on the
12 Otis H. Green, Espafia v la tradicidn o ccidental, trans. Cecilio SSnchez Gil, vol. 1 (Madrid: Gredos, 1969) 200. 13 tenth syllable and fluctuating accents on the other syllables.
This longer line was more flexible and could be more musical.
The hendecasyliable also had the advantage of being employable with no rhyme at all, as in blank verse; however, rhyme was a
favorite among many poets.
The new eleven-syllable verses were usually grouped into strict forms, and of these, the sonnet was the preferred form of most poets. In general, Castilian poetry assimilated completely the new metrical forms, and the conversion of variants such as the lira and decima was one of the most remarkable achievements of the Renaissance. Moreover, as a fortunate consequence of having adopted this new style, a poet now could speak of his innermost personal feelings more easily than with the previous style. Thus, by the end of the century, prevailing literary types and genres were established, and Spain had entered its greatest literary age.
During the second half of the sixteenth century, lyric poetry evolved in several directions. There were a few leaders around whom groups of followers gathered, and later studies recognized these as schools of poetry. The poets in the south of Spain, in the area of Seville, imitated Fernando de Herrera. The poets in the north were guided by the example of Fray Luis de Ledn, Professor of Biblical Studies in
Salamanca. Accordingly, these two schools of poetry were named the Sevillian School and the Salamancan School, after their place of origin. The poets of the two schools reflected 14 the literary tastes of the two separate regions. A distinction frequently made is that the poets of the School of
Salamanca were preoccupied with philosophical teaching, and the poets of Seville with questions of form and color.
Medrano and the two Literary Schools; Salamanca and Seville
The school of poetry which was initiated in the city where Fray Luis de Le6n spent most of his life came to be known as the Salamancan school. Luis de Le6n was the son of a lawyer from Belmonte in La Mancha who had risen to the position of "oidor," or judge. Fray Luis was sent to the
University of Salamanca at the age of sixteen. There he entered the Agustinian Monastery and after two years as novitiate he took his vows. He was to spend the rest of his life in the city of Salamanca.
Salamanca had recently begun to acquire international fame, and there was a great deal of intellectual activity.
Religion was the most important preoccupation of the period and Salamanca was the place where dogma was discussed and refined. Great scholars and theologians competed for the applause of the students, and there existed between the
Augustinians and the Dominicans a rivalry for the chairs of scripture and theology. Commenting on this rivalry, Gerald
Brenan writes that "Fray Luis soon began to give proof of his 15 outstanding talents, and by the time that he was thirty had become the leading champion of his order in these fields."13
In addition to his skills as a lecturer, Fray Luis was a fine classical and Hebrew scholar. His readings included
Hebrew and Greek texts, but his favorite authors, after Plato and the Bible, seem to have been Virgil and Horace. Thus, the most famous of his poems is a passionate celebration of the charms of a retired life, such as Horace exalted, away from the disappointments of the world. Ddmaso Alonso has commented that:
En Horacio, sobre todo, aprendio el sentido de la
contencidn, de la imitacidn; de la modestia, o sea,
del clasicismo. Sabemos por Pacheco que Fray Luis
tenia un admirable "don de silencio"; era "el
hombre mSs callado que se habia visto."14
Luis de Ledn's admiration for Horace also accounts for his writing of so many poems in the beautiful lira form. This was the strophe which had been invented by the Italian poet,
Tasso, in order to convey in a stressed language the feeling of Horace's Odes, and Garcilaso had borrowed it for "Si de mi baja lira." Like the canzone, it is a combination of seven and eleven syllable lines.
13 Gerald Brenan, The Literature of the Spanish People. (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1976) 156.
14 Alonso, in "Notas sobre Fray Luis de Le6n y la poesia renacentista," Ensavos sobre poesia espafiola (Madrid: Revista de Occidente, 1944) 155-56. Following the example of Fray Luis de Le6n, there existed a select group of minor poets whose works reflect the same vigor and seriousness as that of the head of the Salamancan school. In discussing these poets, most authorities and critics mention the same figures, with only a few variations.
One of those named is Francisco SSnchez de las Brozas (el
Brocense) . A celebrated Humanist and translator of Horace and
The Book of Psalms, el Brocense also wrote original poetry of his own. Another notable name is that of Malon de Chaide
(15307-1589), a disciple of Fray Luis. Like Fray Luis, de
Chaide was deeply influenced by the Bible and the works of
Virgil and Ovid. In his Tratado de la Conversidn de la
Magdalena (1588), he reveals himself as a magnificent prose writer and as a great poet as well. Another representative of this group is Benito Arias Montano (1527-1598) . Arias Montano was a theologian and Knight of the Order of Santiago who collaborated in the production of the Polyglot Bible. He has the reputation of being one of the principal imitators of Fray
Luis. Resembling the master, Arias Montano also attempted his own version of the Song of Songs. Parifrasis sobre el Cantar de los Cantares. The last poet who is frequently grouped with the writers of the Salamancan School is the subject of this dissertation, Francisco de Medrano.
The reasons for which Medrano is often associated with the poets of Salamanca are understandable. Like that of Fray
Luis and his followers, the poetry of Medrano is marked by a 17 touch of classical purity and candidness. For Jos£ Maria de
Cossio, the place of Medrano in the literary panorama of the
Golden Age is quite clear:
Aunque Medrano naci6 en Sevilla y en cierto sentido
pertenece a esta escuela, sin embargo, muchas de
sus poesias demuestran que estuvo y tal vez estudio
en Salamanca. En realidad, su inspiracion y su
estilo es m&s de la escuela de Luis de Leon que de
H e rrera.15
Complicating the picture, however, we must note that
Medrano undeniably shares certain characteristics of the poets who are traditionally associated with Seville. Most important among these poets, is Fernando de Herrera (1534-1597).
Herrera is known for continuing the Italianate trend set by
Boscdn and Garcilaso. He was a great admirer of the latter poet and edited his works in Anotaciones a las obras de
Garcilaso de la Vega (1580), which provoked a literary polemic. His attitude exposes what he felt was his mission: to improve and ennoble Spanish poetry both in theme and diction. For Herrera, clarity is the supreme quality of poetry:
Es importantisimo la claridad en el verso, y si
falta en el, se pierde toda la gracia y la
15 Jos£ Maria de Cossio, "Las formas y el espiritu italianos en la poesia espafiola," in Historia general de las literaturas hisp&nicas. vol. 1 (Barcelona: Barna, 1953) 668- 69. 18
hermosura de la poesla ... porgue las palabras son
imdgenes de los pensamientos, debe ser la clarldad
que nace della luciente, suelta, libre, blanda,
entera; no oscura, ni intrincada, no forzada, no
Aspera y despedazada .... C&usase la claridad de
la puridad y elegancia.16
Herrera's theories of literary reform guided the Spanish lyric toward nobler and loftier language and themes. His compositions set the general tone for what has been identified as the Sevillian school of poets. These writers are generally known for their spectacular erudition, their verbal musicality, and for their archaeological interest in classical ruins.
In addition to their love of clarity, their erudition and their musicality, Herrera and Medrano, both natives of
Seville, shared several other common traits. Both had the skill and talent to imitate Horaces's poetry. Herrera was a poet who distinguished himself from other imitative poets of the same period by the extreme use— some would say abuse— of
Latinate syntax and expressions in his translations and imitations. He wanted to elevate the Spanish language to a more dignified and ostentatious style, with obscure words and phrases. This gave the impression that his poetry was intended for the learned. Oreste Macri believes that
16 Quoted by R.O. Jones, Historia de la literatura espaftola. Siqlo de Pro; Prosa v Poesia (Sialos XVI y XVII). 2da. ed., vol. 2 (Barcelona: Ariel, 1974) 149. 19
Herrera's erudition certainly lends a degree of artificiality to his poetry.17 The poetry of Herrera's contemporary,
Francisco de Medrano, utilizes numerous archaisms and certain
lexical features that come from the Italian language, as well as others that derive from Latin. Although, his poetry is generally characterized by its simplicity, elegance and moderation, there are times when its mannerism reminds one of
Herrera's artificiality.
Perhaps the most justifiable position with regard to
Medrano's situation during this period is that of Audrey
Lumsden. She, along with other critics, sees Medrano as a transitional figure between the School of Seville and that of
Salamanca:
As obscure as the details of his life are his
literary affinities. Mendndez y Pelayo calls him a
Sevillian of the Salamancan School and later
critics attach him, now to Salamanca, now to
Seville. And no wonder, for he is akin to poets of
each. Like Luis de Le6n, he is a lover of Horace,
though, unlike him, he adds nothing original to his
model. His links with Garcilaso, though less
obvious, are perhaps stronger, for he follows him
17 Oreste Maori in his Fernando de Herrera (Madrid: Gredos, 1959), discusses Herrera's environment and his circle of friends. He writes that: "su espiritu austero y solitario fue mds bien una conguista y seleccion en la convivencia con personas de elevada clase social, que una aplicacidn a la letra de la retorica horaciana del 'Odi profanum vulgus' y del 'Beatus ille'" (27). 20
as a poet of emotion. With the Andalusian poets he
shares a fondness for plastic imagery and a feeling
for colour and light; the mannered elegance of one
or two amorous sonnets may be ascribed to these
influences.18
Lumsden's ideas of Medrano as a transitional figure echo those of Antonio Gallego Morel. He states:
... hay que situar a Medrano entre Salamanca y
Sevilla y sorprender dentro de ese colorismo y esa
pompa, tradicionales caracteristicas andaluzas, la
otra vena sobria y seria que alienta en La Eoistola
M o r a l .19
Medrano as Imitative Poet
Most poets of the Spanish Sixteenth Century can easily be identified with one or the other of the two principal schools of poetry that were in existence at the time. Medrano, however, as stated, is a poet who shares characteristics with both the Salamancan and Sevillian groups. This is one of the reasons that critics such as Dcimaso Alonso embrace the idea of his poetry as a connection between Fray Luis and Herrera on
18 Audrey Lumsden, "Sentiment and Artistry in the Works of Three Golden Age Poets, I. Francisco de Medrano," In E. Allison Peers, Spanish Golden Aae Poetry and Drama (Liverpool: Institute of Hispanic Studies, 1946) 1-2.
19 Antonio Gallego Morel, Estudios sobre poesia espafiola del primer sialo de oro (Madrid: Insula, 1970) 35. 21
the one hand, and Luis de Gdngora on the other. Alonso
writes:
Pues bien; entre Fray Luis y Herrera, por un lado,
y el Gdngora de las Soledades, por otro, se
intercala Medrano, que escribe antes de 1607. Mds
exactamente: Medrano es un representante de un
perlodo intermedio; otro, es el mismo Gongora mozo
(que en algtin momento inf luye sobre Medrano) ; otros
son los antequerano-granadinos (Espinosa, Martin de
la Plaza, Tejeda, etc.) .... En ese punto
intermedio de hacia 1600, en ese momento poetico de
las Flores de Espinosa, tan mal conocido como
interesante, est£ Medrano.20
Although, as we have seen, the poetry of Medrano has
affinities with that of many others, it displays certain
features which distinguish it from that of his contemporaries.
One original characteristic of Medrano's style, which is
discussed by Alonso, is the poet's vitalization of the
classical materials of his craft. Medrano, as an imitator,
adapted his style to that of his model. At the same time, he was careful to project into his compositions his own emotions
and sentiments.
It has often been pointed out that poets of the sixteenth century were expected to know the classical texts and to
20 Alonso, Vida, vol. 1, 165. 22 utilize that knowledge in their own work. In fact, the process of imitation was regarded in the Renaissance as one of the highest goals of art. Then, during Medrano's time, the
assimilation of classical models was a prerequisite for
scholarly poets.
The reality is that the vast majority of the poets of the
sixteenth century were influenced by two models: poets of
Greece and Rome, and the Renaissance Italians. Francisco
S&nchez de las Brozas— el Brocense— in his commentary on
Garcilaso's affinity with the "classics” of Italy and Rome says:
Digo, y afirmo, que no tengo por buen poeta al que
no imita a los excelentes antiguos. Y si me
preguntan por que entre tantos miHares de poetas
como nuestra Espana tiene, tan pocos se pueden
contar dignos de este nombre, digo que no hay otra
razon sino porque les faltan las ciencias, lenguas
y doctrina para saber imitar.21
The fact that many of Medrano's poems constitute imitations or translations of different classical writers does not invalidate his own creativity as a poet. On the contrary, it speaks well of his great ability to assimilate the material, deriving inspiration from a great variety of sources. As Antonio Vilanova has written:
21 Quoted by Otis Green in Espafla v la tradicidn occidental, vol. 3, 32-33. 23
Segfin Herrera, la imitacion es compatible con la
originalidad, mientras se base en el modelo de los
grandes poetas de la antiguedad cl&sica y en el
ejemplo simult&neo de los poetas italianos, no como
una sumisa repeticion de ideas y conceptos, sino
como punto de partida para encontrar nuevos modos y
formas de hermosura.22
It would be useful to keep Herrera's ideas in mind when studying Medrano's imitative poetry, because that poetry shows the poet's ability to synthesize material from numerous sources to produce a unique pattern of verses that reflect both original and received ideas.
Medrano's sources are listed by Damaso Alonso in a series of tables in Volume II of his Vida v Obra de Medrano.23 The list includes works by Horace, Virgil, and Torquato Tasso, with an emphasis on Horace's odes. Although Fray Luis de Leon and Medrano excelled as imitators of Horace's odes, D&maso
Alonso argues that Medrano deserves praise as the poet who better reproduces the spirit of Horace in absolute fidelity to the model, while Fray Luis focuses more on free interpretation of the model.24 As Alonso notes, some of the characteristics
22 Antonio Vilanova, "Preceptistas espanoles de los siglos XVI y XVII," in Historia general de las literaturas hispdnicas. vol. 2 (Barcelona: Barna, 1951) 581.
23 Alonso and Reckert, Vida, vol. 2, 365-71.
24 Alonso, Vida, vol. 1, 158-62. 24 that Medrano and Horace share arej the usage of numerous epithets, the careful selection of vocabulary, and the expression of a deeply melancholic attitude towards life
(Kihyet, 26).
Another important influence on Medrano's poetry was the
Italian poet Torquato Tasso (1544-1595). Chandler B. Beall, in an article published in 1943, has examined four sonnets, which are imitations of Tasso. Alonso lists Tasso's
Gerusalemme liberata as the main origin of Medrano's sonnet I.
Sonnet XLII and sonnet VII were also based on Tasso's songs, or Solerti.25
Besides the influence of Horace and Tasso, a third major source of the poetry of Medrano is Virgil. Passages from the
Aeneid are imitated directly by Medrano, and there are scattered references throughout the sonnets. In addition to these three major sources, there are numerous other writers whose works are reflected in Medrano's poetry. One of them is the Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius. Another poet is the
Italian Ariosto, and the medieval philosopher Boethius.
Finally, in connection with the topic of imitation, it is important to mention that Medrano was capable of combining various sources in a single poem. Ddmaso Alonso mentions that the poet's facility in adapting the source material to his own creation makes of Medrano an imitative poet of the highest
25 Alonso and Reckert, Vida, vol. 2, 366. 25 quality. Thus, the poetry of Francisco de Medrano carries the stamp of the poet's unique creativity.
Earlv Editions and Manuscripts of Medrano's Poetry
All the editions of Francisco de Medrano's poetry that were published prior to 1969 were based primarily upon the text contained in a volume that was published in Palermo in
1617 by Angelo Orlandi. The title page of that volume reads, curiously, as follows: Remedios de Amor de Don Pedro Venegas de Saavedra con otras diversas rimas de Don Francisco de
Medrano. Although apparently included as something of an afterthought, the "diversas rimas" contained in the Palermo edition constitute the majority of Medrano's poems known today.
In addition to the Palermo edition, there exist two important early manuscripts that contain the bulk of the known poems of Medrano. The first of them is MS. 3783 of the
Biblioteca Nacional of Spain. The second is MS. 3888, also of the Biblioteca Nacional. These two manuscripts are critically important to the contemporary editor for both, with the exception of two poems in MS. 3783, are in the hand of the poet himself.26 MS. 3783 includes— with few variations in the order and text of the compositions— all the poems
26 Alonso and Reckhert, Vida, vol. 2, 11. For more details about these manuscripts refer to attached Bibliography.
V 26 published by Orlandi in his edition of 1617. MS. 3888 is somewhat less complete.
Neither the Orlandi edition of 1617 nor the two autograph manuscripts in the collection of the Biblioteca Nacional contain any of Medrano's romances. In fact, prior to 1969, only two of the poet's ballads were recognized to exist. They are those that are known by the titles "Un bulto casi sin bulto" and "A1 son cuerdo de las cuerdas." Both are contained in three additional early manuscripts— MS. 861 of the
Biblioteca Nacional, MS. Rodriguez Marin 3879 of the Consejo
Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas of Madrid, and a manuscript of the Hispanic Society of New York— and both are studied by Ddmaso Alonso and Stephen Reckert in their work of
1958.
Since for several centuries, only two of Medrano's romances were known to be in existence, the publication in
1969 in the Boletln de la Real Academia of thirty-four "new" ballads, in addition to the two already studied by Alonso and
Reckert, was a literary event of great significance. The editor of this romancero was Antonio Rodriguez-Monino, and the ballads it contained came from a manuscript in his private library. Surprisingly, given the obvious importance of this collection, it has been little taken into account by contemporary scholarship. Thus, the principal purpose of this dissertation, devoted to a study of the symbol of the Virgin
Mary in the poet's romances, is to fill a gap in our knowledge ■ 27
of the poetry of Francisco de Medrano, and in our knowledge of
Golden Age poetry in general.
Critical Studies of Medrano
It was stated above that the earliest known printed text of the poetry of Francisco de Medrano is that contained in the volume published by Angelo Orlandi in Palermo.in 1617. That volume, as already mentioned, contains works both by Medrano and Pedro Venegas de Saavedra. Orlandi appears to have been a very intelligent man who possessed a keen literary sensibility. He tells us in the prologue to his edition that upon finding a manuscript of the poems of both Medrano and
Venegas de Saavedra, he went immediately to a specialist in
Spanish poetry:
Siendo comdn afeto i desseo de los impressores
aprovechar a todos los estudiosos i onrar
juntamente sus oficinas, procurando que dellas
salgan a luz escritos que en todo o en parte
consigan este fin, e querido tomar cuidado de
estampar este pequeno volumen que halld en vn libro
manuscrito i confirdndolo con persona bien
inteligente de la lengua espafiola, me asegurd que
serla mui aceto a todos los estudiosos i
aficionados de la poesla i de aquella lengua ... i
enriquecida por dos caminos ... o renovando i
apoyando para que no cay an i se desusen del todo 28
las vozes antiguas i propias de aquella lengua ...
i esta es vna manera de enriguecer la lengua, no
dexdndola enpobrecer. La otra es trayendo al conrtin
i proprio lenguage frases i vozes de otros nobles
idlomas, principalmente del griego i latino de que
la espafiola i la italiana i fracesa se deduzen.27
Orlandi is the first critic to comment on Medrano's poetry.
Particularly noteworthy is his remark that it is almost impossible to praise enough, in Medrano's poems, "los afectos i el nfimero i frasi en que parece que suena i se siente la lira propia de Oracio."28
In addition to Orlandi, other figures from the seventeenth century who made mention of Medrano are Cristobal de Mesa— a personal friend of the poet— , Nicol&s Antonio, and
Francisco Pacheco. Mesa's comment is friendly, but vague. He mentions Medrano when referring to other poets from Seville in
"Restauracidn de Espafia" (1607):
De Guzmdn, don Hernando, insigne gloria
del Betis y su v&ndalo horizonte;
dale Hernando el c&lebre de Soria
m&s fama que al Eridano Faetonte;
y por tu ingenio lleva la vitoria
al Tibre y Arno y de Parnaso al Monte,
27 Alonso and Reckert, Vida, vol. 2, 394.
28 Alonso and Reckert, Vida, vol. 2, 395. 29
buen don Francisco de Medrano, y tiene
Febo nuevo laurel, nueva Hipocrene.29
Nicol&s Antonio's reference to Medrano is even briefer. In his Biblioteca Nova, he says only ... "Publicata una cum don
Francisci de Medrano, eximii poetae, variis carminibus.1,30
Alonso states that Medrano's poetry was apparently of interest in the eighteenth century, but the only commentary of the time is that of don Luis Jos& Velazquez:
Las poesias liricas de don Francisco de Medrano ...
son de las mejores de aquel siglo y se conoce el
buen gusto con que se aplicd su autor a imitar la
gravedad y juicio de Horacio .... Otras muchas
[odas de Horacio] se hallan traducidas con singular
acierto por don Francisco de Medrano entre sus
rimas. 31 1
Later, closer to the emergence of Romanticism, the German
Hispanophile Bohl de Faber offers a very enthusiastic evaluation of the poet. He especially praises Medrano's language and style. Thus, we read in his Floresta:
Odas segtin el espiritu de Horacio, que estSn entre
lo mejor que pueda ofrecer la poesia espafiola, y
que sin embargo no se encuentran en ninguna
29 Alonso, V i d a , vol. 1, 66.
30 Cited by Adolfo de Castro in Biblioteca de Autores Espafioles; Desde la formacidn del lencruaie hast a nuestros dias. vol. 32 (Madrid: Editorial Hernando) 343.
31 Cited by Castro, Biblioteca de Autores Espafioles 343. 30
coleccidn. El lenguaje es especialmente
maravilloso. Hasta ese punto, exactamente, le es
dado a un poeta espafiol imitar el orden latino de
las voces. Gongora fue m&s all£, y se hizo
incomprensible.32
In the nineteenth century, Adolfo de Castro was also a great admirer of Medrano's poetry. Interestingly enough, his point of view is quite different from that of Bohl de Faber:
Don Francisco de Medrano fue el mejor de los
imitadores de Horacio. Sin duda compite igualmente
con Fray Luis de Leon en seguir las huellas del
famoso llrico venusiano; poeta filosofico, dotado
de excelente gusto literario, conocedor de la
lengua castellana, y siguiendo los excelentes
modelos de Horacio y otros genios latinos, sus odas
y sus sonetos merecen el aprecio de los que amen
las glorias literarias de la Nacidn espafiola. Para
mi, la verdadera poesia es la filosdfica, porque se
encamina al noble fin de ensefiar y de engrandecer
al hombre. Por eso tengo en tan alta estima las
obras de Medrano.33
Adolfo de Castro's comments are contained in his re edition of 1854 of the Palermo edition of 1617. Castro's text
32 Juan Nicolds Bohl de Faber, in Appendix of Floresta de Rimas Antiquas castellanas. (Hamburg: Perthes & Besser, 1821) 5.
33 Castro, Biblioteca de Autores Espafioles 23. 31
does not adhere strictly to that of Orlandi. According to
Alonso: [Castro] MProcedi6 con tan increible descuido, que
apenas hay composicidn sin uno o varies errores de bulto."34
Another critic from the nineteenth century is Cayetano
Alberto de la Barrera. His assessment of Medrano's poetry appeared in his Cancionero de poetas varios espafioles:
El jenero a qe Medrano did la preferenzia en sus
pasatiempos liricos fue el moral i filosofico.
Menos elebado qe Rioja, tiene con el mucha
semejanza en lo razonado i logico de la doctrina;
es, sin embargo, la suya m&s natural i algun tanto
Epictarea. Sus bersos no se distinguen por aquellas
suabes i delicadas tintas con qe Rioja nos pinto
las Flores; no tiene toda la elocuenzia i seberidad
de la Epistola de Fabio, ni toda la sublime i
energica entonacion de la Oda a las Ruinas de
ItSlica; pero, en cambio, no adolezen de cansadas
repeticiones metafdricas ni se inbierten
esterilmente en espresar metafisicos i casi
incomprensibles conceptos. Con un estilo claro i a
la par bigoroso, con una dizidn castiza y pura, si
bien demasiado prddiga de latinismos no siempre
admisibles, Medrano desembuelbe pensamientos
morales profundos, inculca saludables mdcsimas,
abentura ideas notables por su espiritu i su
34 Alonso, Vida, vol. 1, 91. tendenzia, i canta el amor, la amistad i los
plazeres con azento no inenos apaslonado que
senzillo i berdadero. Brilla sobretodo como
traductor o m&s bien imitador de Orazio.35
During the rest of the nineteenth century, Medrano's poetry did not receive much attention from critics and
literary historians. There is one exception. Marcelino
Menendez y Pelayo published a comparative study of Medrano and other Spanish imitators of Horace in Horacio en Esoafia. His comments on Medrano's poetry are more detailed than the rest of the critics of the nineteenth century. He writes:
Nuestros poetas del siglo XVI solian traducir como
quien hace obra original, poniendo en cabeza del
Venusiano sus propias ideas y sus afectos, y
haci^ndole sentir y pensar en castellano. De aqui
cierta infidelidad sistem&tica: de aqui tambien
cierto desenfado, gallardia, frescura y abandono
juvenil, que en los mejores enamora. Pero
Francisco de Medrano procede al contrario: piensa y
siente en cabeza de Horacio, y, en vez de
modificarle, se modifies a si mismo hasta beberle
los alientos y respirar por su boca. No tiene un
solo pensamiento que no sea de Horacio, y es
imposible adivinar su alma propia; pero a Horacio,
;c6mo le entiende! No ya en el sentido material,
35 Cited by Alonso, Vida, vol. 1, 128. 33
que muchos alcanzan, ni siquiera en su espiritu,
que tampoco tiene muchos repliegues ni es libro muy
cerrado, sino en la forma, es decir, en el
especial, intimo y singularisimo modo de verter en
los modelos poeticos la materia .... Otros poetas
han sido mds originales siendo horacianos, pero
ninguno ha sido m&s latino que Medrano, ninguno mis
sobrio y cenido, ninguno ha remedado mejor la
marcha de los periodos ritmicos del original,
ninguno se acerca tanto a su modelo en el arte de
no perder las palabras. A veces lucha en gimnasia
de concisidn con la lengua madre, y no siempre
queda vencido.36
Although Menlndez y Pelayo is accurate in his criticism of Medrano's poetry, he lacks precision and clarity. This shortcoming may be noted in his remark that "en vez de modificarle [a Horacio] se modifica [Medrano] a si mismo, hasta beberle los alientos, y respirar por su boca" (49) .
The truth is, says Alonso, that such a modification is mutual.
One also has to remember that Menlndez y Pelayo was only twenty-two years old when he wrote Horacio en Espafia.
In the twentieth century, the notable writer Luis Cernuda devoted attention to the poetry of Medrano and other poets of his native Seville. He also published some of the poems of
36 Marcelino Mendndez y Pelayo, Horacio en Esoafia. vol. 1 (Madrid: Pdrez Dubrull, 1885) 49-50. 34
Medrano together with sonnets written by Juan de Arguijo and
Francisco de Rioja, in Cruz v Rava.37 Gerardo Diego, also in
the twentieth century, was one of those who devoted attention
to Medrano. Diego's opinion differs from that of Menendez
Pelayo who believed that there was nothing else in Medrano's
but his Horatian classicism. Diego cites passages from Ode IV
concerning the entrance of Philip III into Salamanca. The
poem is a good illustration of Diego's point of view because
it is anything but Horatian in style. Diego also examines
"the tendencies and mannerisms of Medrano in opposition to
those of the succeeding Baroque poets of the seventeenth
century" (Kihyet, 37). He claims that the poetry of Medrano
is similar in form as well as in expression to that of Luis de
Gdngora. As far as the odes are concerned, Diego maintains
"that Medrano stands [far] apart from other Horatian imitators
because Medrano creates poems that are almost exact
reproductions of the Latin model" (Kihyet, 37) . It should be
noted that Diego places the emphasis of his study on the
expression and the style of Medrano, that is to say, his
"linguistic sensibility" (Kihyet, 37).
However, Vida v Obra de Medrano is the best and only
fully annotated version of Medrano's poetry.38 It was
37 Luis Cernuda, "Sonetos cl&sicos sevillanos," Cruz v Rava. 36 (1936): 103-36.
38 The biographical data contained in this first volume have been used as a major source of information in the present dissertation. 35 published in two volumes; one in 1948 by Ddmaso de Alonso, and the other in 1958 in conjunction with his collaborator, the
Englishman Stephen Reckert. The poems' organization in this work is based upon that of the Palermo edition. Each composition is followed by a brief commentary on the poet's choice of vocabulary, stylistic devices, and sources.
The first part of the study of Alonso and Reckert is dedicated mainly to an examination of the poet's personal life, the development of his literary style, and the various opinions of his works held by his contemporaries and later scholars. The second part of the Alonso-Reckert work is an annotated edition of all the poetry of Medrano known in the
50's; it also includes indices and references to the principal sources used by the poet. The analyses supplied in Volume 2 examine the poet's linguistic and literary peculiarities.
Along with the information contained in Volume 1, they constitute an indispensable basis for any study of Medrano's p o e t r y .
There are a few American studies of Medrano's poetry.
The earliest to appear is an article by Chandler B. Beall, entitled "Medrano's Imitations of Tasso," in which Beall compares the sonnets of Medrano with those of the Italian model. The other studies are two doctoral dissertations. The first of these, completed in 1972, is by Alberto Ruiz- Sotovenia.39 In it, he examines the frequency of certain
literary devices in the sonnets and odes. Ruiz-Sotovenia
explains, in an extensive and very detailed fashion, the
linguistic distinctiveness of Medrano's poetry. He includes
a series of tables that summarize the percentages of Medrano's
usage of a number of devices such as hyperbaton, synecdoche,
metonymy, and metaphor. In spite of the fact that the charts
included in Ruiz-Sotovenia's dissertation provide a brief
summary, indispensable for an extensive study of Medrano's
style, they do not contain a detailed stylistic analysis of
individual poems.
The second dissertation was completed in 1985 by
Constance Moneer Kihyet.40 This particular work presents a
stylistic analysis of several meditative sonnets grouped in
three categories according to thematic content: epitaph and
elegiac poetry, meditative poetry, and poetry of desengafio.
Previous scholars had studied Medrano's poetry placing special
emphasis on the poet's sources and the degree of comparison
between Medrano's imitations and those of his contemporaries.
Moneer Kihyet's main contribution lies in her thorough
examination of those stylistic procedures that are unique to
Medrano's style and the way these features distinguish Medrano
39 Alberto Ruiz-Sotovenia, "El estilo portico de Don Fran cisco de Medrano." diss., U of Southern California, 1972.
40 Constance Moneer Kihyet, "A Stylistic Analysis of the Meditative sonnets of Francisco de Medrano." diss., Florida State U, 1979. 37 from other poets who wrote similar kinds of poetry during the sixteenth century.
Dissertation Project
Francisco de Medrano's works, as mentioned in the first part of this chapter, have been studied by several critics, most notably by Dcimaso Alonso. Mainly, all of these scholars focused upon Medrano's sonnets and odes. These poems basically comprise Medrano's later production. That is to say, they were written during the period immediately after he left the Jesuit order in 1602. As we know, those were his most productive years.
Barely mentioned in any of the existing studies of
Medrano are the poet's romances. They are not contained either in Orlandi's edition of 1617, or in the two main manuscripts existing in the Biblioteca Nacional in Spain. In fact, most of the romances were unknown until published, for the first time, in an article by Antonio Rodriguez-Monino that appeared in 1969.41 Rodrlguez-Mofiino's article includes the text of thirty-four "new" romances, in addition to the two published previously and studied by Alonso. All of these compositions are thought to have been written during Medrano's youth.42
41 Rodrlguez-Mofiino, "Los romances de don Francisco de Medrano," Biblioteca de la Real Academia Espafiola 49 (1969): 495-550.
42 See Rodrlguez-Mofiino 497 and 499-500. 38
Justification
The romances published by Antonio Rodriguez-Monino derive from a manuscript in his private library. He describes the manuscript as follows:
Las circunstancias de hallarse acefalo, incompleto
y andnimo, junto con su temario, exclusivamente
religioso, han hecho que el cartapacio poetico
manuscrito ... haya permanecido varios lustros
entre mis libros sin despertar la atencidn hacia
sus folios.43
Rodrlguez-Mofiino further explains that the MS. came to his library from the bookseller Manuel Ontafidn. Ontafidn had previously acquired it from the private library of the
Sevillian Manuel de la Port ilia. Rodriguez-Mofiino adds that
Ontafion, knowing about his weakness for manuscripts in verse, included it in a bundle of old books that he sent to
Rodriguez-Mofiino. In exchange for those books, the bookseller wanted some volumes of which Rodriguez-Mofiino had double copies in his library.
The contents of the Rodriguez-Mofiino manuscript range from sonnets to octaves, tercets, various type of songs, liras, redondillas, letras, glosas, villancicos, chanzonetas, and romances. The latter start on folio 237 and extend to the end of the document. There are a handful of references that link the manuscript to the Jesuits. The cover of the
43 Rodriguez-Mofiino 495. 39 manuscript contains the seal of the Jesuit order (IHS), and various Jesuit church locations are mentioned in the text.
These few topographic clues seem to connect the MS. to the city of Valladolid. An elegy on the death of Fray Luis de
Le6n, helped Rodriguez-Mofiino date the composition of the MS. between 1591 or 1592, immediately after the death of Fray
Luis.
In connection with his publication of these romances,
Rodriguez-Mofiino did a detailed study of the handwriting in the manuscript in his possession, comparing it to that of other well known writings in the hand of the poet. Based on the information he gathered, Rodriguez-Mofiino arrived at the following conclusions. The author of the manuscript is a
Jesuit who lived originally in Salamanca. There he surely met
Fray Luis. Subsequently to his stay in Salamanca, he moved to
Valladolid. Without any doubt, the writer is Francisco de
M e d r a n o .
Most of the poetry in the Rodriguez-Mofiino MS. is religious in nature. This, in itself, is highly significant because it calls attention to a previously underappreciated facet of Medrano's work:
Todo lo que se conserva es poesia religiosa y tiene
el mayor interns, puesto que nada sabiamos (con la
excepcidn de estas dos piezas: ["Un bulto casi sin
bulto" y "Al son cuerdo de las cuerdas"]) de su 40
obra po£tica que no fuese la profana incluida en el
voltimen pdstumo que aparece en 1617.44
Known earlier as a poet of primarily secular interests,
Medrano is now revealed to be a profoundly spiritual writer as well.
Rodriguez-Mofiino1 s edition of Medrano's romances is the first to include all thirty-six of those which are now known.
Like the other poems in the manuscript in which they are found, they are primarily religious in nature, and their themes vary from eulogies of the Virgin Mary and various saints (San Juan Bautista, Santo Domingo, San Francisco, San
Jer6nimo, San Albano ProtomSrtir de Inglaterra, San Pedro), to celebration of the Nativity, to meditations on death. In addition to the religious ballads, there are four others: one dedicated to the "Desengano de la mocedad," one to Spring, one to "Algunos almendros helados," and one other, an allegorical and semi-secular poem.
The study of Rodriguez-Mofiino, which accompanies his edition of the romances, implies that Medrano was greatly influenced by the romancero nuevo of the last decade of the sixteenth century. Many of Medrano's ballads recall those that appear in the Primera parte de la Flor de varios romances. This work was edited several times in 1591; possibly, there was an edition of the year before. Therefore,
Rodrlguez-Mofiino believes that the date of composition of the
44 Rodriguez-Mofiino 498. 41
MS. is around the first part of the last decade of the sixteenth century.
Scope and Purpose
The purpose of this dissertation will be to analyze the religious symbol of the Virgin Mary as Madonna, Virgo, and
Sponsa in a selected group of Medrano's romances. Our intention is to focus attention on an important, and basically unexamined, part of Medrano's poetic output. In the past, studies of Medrano have dealt primarily with the secular poetry of his later years. Little is known about the poetry he wrote during his youth while he was still a member of the
Jesuit order. Therefore, the goal of the present work is to contribute to the completion of knowledge of this important poet of the Spanish Golden Age.
Methodology
The proposed topic will be carried out with the support of the various critical studies that have dealt with Medrano's main works. It will also be grounded on various studies on the symbol, specifically, the religious symbol. Chief among the latter is Andrew A. Greeley's examination of the Mary symbol entitled: The Marv Mvth: On the Femininity of God. (New
York: Seabury, 1977). Additionally, we will utilize the work of several other theoreticians who have worked on symbols and symbolism. Among these are such prominent figures as Susanne 42
K. Langer, Paul Tillich, F. W. Dillistone, Stephen Benko,
Thomas Fawcett, Gaston Bachelard, Northrop Frye, Mircea
Eliade, and Marina Warner.
The dissertation will consist of five chapters. Chapter
I has been dedicated to a presentation of the life and principal works of don Francisco de Medrano.
Chapter II will provide the necessary theoretical background for the study of the romances of Francisco de
Medrano that will be discussed in the following three chapters. In the first section we will discuss Andrew
Greeley's notions of limit-experience and sexual differentiation which underlie our interpretation of the symbol of Mary. This discussion will also examine Greeley's four-cell paradigm of the Virgin Mary as Madonna, Virgo,
Sponsa, and PietA. Subsequently, we will trace briefly origin and evolution of the Mary myth, with special reference to developments in Spain. Finally, we will explore various theories of the nature of symbols, specifically religious symbols.
In Chapter III we will analyze a group of romances that have a common basis in the Marian symbol of Madonna. Andrew
M. Greeley analyzes all the symbols of Mary on the basis of fourteen constituent aspects. Not all of these aspects are found in the symbol of Mary as Madonna as that symbol appears in the romances of Medrano. Many of them, however, are present, and a brief discussion of each of those aspects is 43 included. The final section in this chapter will be devoted to the discussion of the romances in which the symbol of Mary as Madonna appears.
Chapter IV will be dedicated to an examination of the
Virgin Mary as Virgo in two romances of Medrano. The fourteen constituent aspects of Mary as Virgo, as defined by Greeley, will be enumerated and related to the romances selected for this section. Next, we will consider a succinct reference to the Feast of the Assumption of Mary. Finally, the last part of the chapter will analyze the romances themselves.
Chapter V will examine the Mary symbol of Sponsa in one particular romance of Francisco de Medrano. Once again we will consider the constituent aspects of the symbol before proceeding to the analysis of the ballad itself. Following the discussion of those aspects, we will take up the matter of nuptial imagery in Christian tradition, Finally, we will turn to a detailed analysis of Romance 36. The dissertation will conclude with some final observations, and an annotated bibliography. CHAPTER II
THE MARY MYTH AND THE RELIGIOUS SYMBOL
Introduction
The present chapter will provide the necessary theoretical background for the study of the romances of
Francisco de Medrano to be discussed in the following three chapters. In the first section we will discuss "limit- experiences" and Andrew Greeley's theory of sexual differentiation as a means of understanding the Mary symbol.
This discussion will lead us to Greeley's four-cell paradigm of the Virgin Mary as Madonna, Virgo, Sponsa, and Piet&.
Subsequently, we will trace briefly the highlights of the origin of the Mary myth in history, with special reference to the Spanish Golden Age period. Finally, we will attempt to define more precisely the nature.of symbols in general and of religious symbols in particular, relying on such scholars as
Susanne K. Langer, F. W. Dillistone, and Paul Tillich.
Limit-exoeriences and the Experience of Sexual Differentiation
This chapter proposes to examine the Virgin Mary in her role as the Christian symbol that represents the experience of sexual differentiation as sacrament (revelation of truth) and
44 45
as grace (revelation to us of Something beyond the limits of
our lives) as disclosed by "limit-experiences11.
In general, religion functions as a guideline with a set
of moral standards in which people believe. At the same time,
it offers a body of ritual to practice. People belong to a
particular church, accept a doctrine, follow moral norms, and
participate in the performance of specific accepted rituals.
According to Andrew M. Greeley:
Religion is ... a [symbolic interpretation] of
ultimate reality that provides templates,
guideposts, road maps according to which people can
chart their way through the obscurities of life."1
Symbols have been associated with religion since the
beginning of time. For Greeley, one characteristic of
religion is that it first surfaces in symbols and later
appears in theology treatises. The reason for this is that when we deal with the most primal or the ultimate, prose is not enough. The proposition appeals to the intellect, but the
symbol appeals to all aspects of the personality: the
intellectual, emotional, and volitional.
Thus, as Greeley writes:
When one deals with religious symbols, one does not
argue about them. One merely lays out the symbol
for people to look at. If they are attracted to it
1 Andrew M. Greeley, The Mary Myth: On the Femininity of God. (New York: Seabury, 1977) 24. 46
or transformed by it, fine. If not, no amount of
argument will persuade them.2
Greeley contends that many of the symbols that appear in religion are dense, complex, multilayered, polyvalent pictures, stories, and rituals because religion has its origin in experience, and religious communication is essentially designed to lead to the replication of experience. Symbols recreate and produce in us a religious experience like the one that led to the creation of the symbol itself. Thus, we must ask, what type of experience produces religious symbols?
More than we realize, we are most likely to have profoundly ecstatic experiences in our daily encounters with ordinary situations. Regardless of how conscious or unconscious we are of what is happening, occasionally we stumble upon a wall that creates a boundary to our existence.
This is what Greeley terms a limit-experience, and according to him, it is when we begin to meditate upon the limit- experience that we start to comprehend the meaning of human life.3
To take one of the examples given by Greeley, when a mother wipes away the tears of her child, she realizes she can only wipe them away today. She also understands that more tears will come later in life, and it becomes clear to her
2 Greeley 105.
3 Greeleys1 discussion of limit-experiencies clearly derives from modern existentialist philosophy, and suggests such earlier thinkers as Kierkegaard, Jaspers, and Barth. 47 that she will not always be there to help those she loves. In the future, the caretaker that she is will no longer be available to help her child. This realization is the stumbling stone, and according to Greeley, it is also the instant the mother comes face to face with the finitude of life. The situation the mother has experienced is telling her that there are boundaries to our existence— boundaries which come from the physiological, biological, psychological, and sociological limitations. Thus, she undergoes a "limit- experience."4
Limit-experiences (also called horizon or boundary experiences), besides defining where we are, impose boundaries on our finite existence. Those boundaries carry us to a whole new realm beyond where we are. The specific incident makes us wonder about what is out there beyond the wall of our limitations. The limit-experience then forces us to
"disclose" a reality to ourselves. Its "disclosive" nature is very important because it has the power to stir up wonder in us. We begin to perceive the "giftedness" or "grace" that surrounds our lives, the fact that there is a certain gratuity in our existence. In others words, the limit-experience is a
"religious experience" because it makes us wonder about grace.
According to Greeley, this revelation is a "hint of an explanation," and when a limit-experience gives us a "hint of
4 Greeley 25. 48
an explanation," it makes "a thing [become] a sacrament."5
The reason that this happens, Greeley states, is because:
a revelatory symbol, which dialogues with our own
existential need, shatters the old structures of
our perceptions, and gives us new insights by
reordering and renewing our perceptions into new
structures.6
Wondering about grace, then, we begin to disclose a world
of meaning that goes beyond our daily routine.7 Disclosive
experiences give us the illusion that there is "something
else" going in with our lives. Religion, Greeley states, is
"necessarily and inevitably" about that "something else."8
He explains that it is in this world revealed in front of us that religious symbols originate.
5 Greeley 47.
6 Greeley 47.
7 We must clarify the meaning of "grace" and "sacrament" two terms widely used by Greeley. He uses them in a different sense than they were used in old catechisms and theology manuals. Greeley writes:
"Grace" here means the capacity of a reality to possess our perception with the utter gratuity, the sheer given-ness of its existence. "Sacrament" is a thing-becoming-symbol which reveals to us its graciousness and the graciousness of Being in which it is rooted and from which it has been thrust into a being of its own. I would contend, by the way, that this use of the words is primary, and the old catechetical and apologetic use of them was derivative. (Greeley 46.)
8 Greeley 27. 49
With limit-experiences we have limit-questions, and both
form the basis of all religious issues. They also could give
us clues about what the answers might be. Our thrust for
self-transcendence, Greeley states:
runs up against Something Else (or Someone Else)
which is perceived as having set boundaries to
self-transcendence; and more than that, this
Something Else is also perceived as responsible for
both the self and the thrust for transcendence; or,
alternately, it is the object of our longing for
transcendence.9
The limits set by this "Something Else" are perceived as being
temporary; they are obstacles that may eventually fall down.
But the "Something Else" is like a seductive lover, teasing us
to go only so far and no further. Nevertheless, there is
always the promise of Something more.
The event of the limit-experience, then, makes us feel as though we were thrust into being. As the event is taking place, we wonder about this "Being,"10 about the origin and
objective of such a thrust. The thrust into being simply happens. We do not ask for it. Nonetheless, we wonder about the nature of Being. We begin to understand that anything that shares in Being can become the occasion of a limit- experience.
9 Greeley 27.
10 Greeley 29. 50
For Greeley, one of the most profound of all limit- experiences is the perception of sexual differentiation.
Sexual differentiation, he says, has been a source of limit- experience and religious meaning since the beginning of human culture. Greeley's analysis is based on the fact that sexual differentiation is believed sacramental: that is, it has the extraordinarily powerful potential to create in us a limit- experience. It is important to note that sexual differentiation can reveal to us two things: the limits of our guest for transcendence and the hint of a possibility of breaking beyond those limits. This revelation occurs because sexual differentiation takes part in the enigma of a universe that in its totality and in its individual parts imposes limits to, and poses questions about, the possibility of transcending the universe itself. Thus, that which we have just experienced may transform itself into a disclosure.
According to Thomas Fawcett, a disclosure "of any kind is only possible when something within a man's experience confronts him in such a way that a response is evoked within him."11 Thus, Greeley says "when a thing becomes a disclosure, it also becomes a symbol."12 As a consequence of the disclosure, symbols become revelations, or signs, like a procession of events telling us that a cycle has been started.
11 Thomas Fawcett, The Symbolic Language of Religion. (Minneapolis: Ausburg Publishing, 1971) 174
12 Greeley 29. However, the signs do not become disclosures until they
"produce specific reactions in us, [until] they operate at the personal level of emotion and imagination [and] something new appears to be given in the experience they create."13 When the signs produce in us a personal reaction at the emotional and imaginative level, that is the moment when we realize something new has been revealed to us. For example, the arrival of spring makes us realize that there is life and death; but life defeats death in the process of renewing itself in yearly repeated cycles. The realization that there is a cycle— that there is life in death— is a sign. Guided by this realization, we are led to think of our own death. The message is that death is not the end. The sign has become a symbol. It is clear that there has to be a need or predisposition toward a limit-experience before a thing can produce this kind of experience.
Thomas Fawcett reports that the transformation of a thing into a limit-experience and a revelatory experience takes place in three moments:
1. The presenceof an existential need.
2. The moment of disclosure orperception
itself.
3. The embodiment of the experience in symbolic
form.14
13 Fawcett 174.
14 Fawcett 170. 52
A person may see the flowers blossom every spring, but
unless that person, during a particular spring starts to
wonder about life and death, the second and third steps are
not going to take place. We must be predisposed to wonder;
otherwise, even the most extraordinary things become dull. If
we have the predisposition to wonder, then everything is
potent i a1ly sacramenta1.
Thus, at a given moment, we might feel a need inside of
us to find an answer to the fact that our human existence will
be terminated one day. This moment of realization is what
Greeley, basing himself on Fawcett's idea, refers to as the moment when we "symbolize" our own existential anxiety about
death. The perception is that life is stronger than death,
that our individual lives are stronger than our death.
Through this process, the "symbol" is transformed into a
limit-experience. Therefore, when we talk to others about our experience, we rely on the symbol because the symbol is the experience.
The next step in the overwhelming experience caused by a thing-turned symbol, in a limit-experience, is that it moves
* us to "action." We modify our internal world in light of our new perspective on the perception of a reality. Then, we try to share the experience of our new perspective of reality with others. For example, Greeley points out that after the apostles experienced Jesus, they went forth and preached Him.
After having preached for years they wrote about Him; and 53
finally, they began to turn to theology. The idea is that we
first reflect on the symbol and its meaning after we have had
a chance to live the changes this renewed life has given us by means of the symbol. Greeley affirms that reflection is derivative, but that action is primary. Reflection makes us
focus on both the symbol and the subsequent action, and it also tries to explain to others what the experience has just revealed to us in the symbol and what the symbol really means after it has been incorporated into our lives.
It is obvious that there are certain experiences common to all humankind simply because we are human beings. The experience of birth, life, death, rebirth of nature, the sun and the moon, as associated with sexual differentiation, fertility, the life cycle— all these sacraments are experienced by every culture on our planet. This very fact provides a unity in human religious experiences according to
Greeley.15 Given the similarity of these experiences in all the different cultures, there is also a great possibility for different interpretations and expansion of the same sacraments; sacraments, in other words, are open-ended. This is the reason why there is always room for new understandings of the riches of the symbol. For example, we have all experienced a sunset, but our individual experiences are unique in each one of us. Similarly, the religious experience of diverse groups, based on primal universal truths common to
15 Greeley 35. 54
us all, take on their own insights. Concerning great
religious leaders, and based on the premise that sacramental
things are accessible to us all, Greeley affirms that this
type of leaders have had an enormous influence on people
because their experience of the sacramental things are
profoundly new to them. Also, religious leaders, because of
the powerful enthusiasm with which they elaborate the symbol
of their experience, make the symbol produce again new or
renewed experiences for their followers.
With regard to the Virgin Mary, Greeley explains that she
is considered a universal human experience of sexual
differentiation as a sacrament of alienation and delineation,
of diversity and unity, of the combination of opposites in the
one. Mary reveals to us the feminine aspect of the deity just
as all goddesses do, although we do not see the same kind of deity in Mary that we see in the pagan mother goddesses of antiquity, Astarte (Canaanite goddess) or Kali (Indian goddess of death) . The basic experience that shatters our perception, which we later restructure, is the same in any experience of sexual differentiation. However, the way the structures are shattered and reorganized, imposed by our encounter with a particular symbol, may be very different. Each symbol restructures and reorganizes our perceptions very differently.
Often times, that which is revealed to us is multilayered, dense and polyvalent. Sometimes the symbol speaks to us in ways that are paradoxical or even contradictory. When we try 55 to explain the experience of the symbol, we cannot adequately express the true reality of the significance of the thing- turned-symbol, and we run the risk of even distorting the symbol. The reason, Greeley states, is that all things sacramental are generally complicated.
As we try to explain the symbol, to give the symbol a
"meaning," we realize we have a limit-language. The limit- language seeks to describe the experience with language that is not ordinary, but rather as Ian Ramsey termed it, "odd."16
We certainly understand that when we describe a limit- experience we must do so with other than our common, everyday language. We need to resort to metaphor, paradox, symbols, or myths. We must use a special language to let the reader know we are using words in a limit-sense, says Greeley, and not in the ordinary sense. But metaphors, symbols and myths have the possibility of being extended to new situations. As we reflect on one symbol, we may also encounter a reality we might have missed as the "new" reality reflects back on the symbol itself. This situation enables us to discover potential extensions of the symbol. Once we have assigned meaning to the symbol, we turn to it to regenerate the
"experience" once again.
Hence, the cycle is repeated in the individual and in the history of the religious tradition, and each time new dimensions revealed by the symbol are added with newer and
16 In Greeley 37. 56
richer language. It must be understood, however, that the
limit-experience produced by the symbol today and the
experience of the same symbol produced in our predecessors
have a fundamental similarity.
The Marv Symbol: Four Paradigms
Mary emerged as the Christian symbol of the feminine
aspect of the deity. Thus, the Christian myth became rooted
in the limit-experience of sexual differentiation. She is the
sum of all the goddesses who had gone before her, and she has
become, perhaps, the most powerful symbol in Western culture.
Early Christians used the typological argument that Jesus was the new Adam. As the new Adam, Jesus represented the
beginning of a new creation— he was father of a new humankind.
And if there was a new Adam, there had to be a new Eve to be the new mother of us all. Who better than Mary, his mother, to assume the role of the mother of humankind?
Another Christian idea, the church as the bride of Jesus, had its roots in the Jewish symbolism of Yahweh's romance with his people. Yahweh was the spouse; Israel, his bride, represented the people. The later prophets symbolized this romance in the figure of the Daughter of Zion. In Jewish religious writing, Greeley says, there is a technique called
"the corporate personality" in which a single person, real or imaginary, is equated with the whole people. Thus, the 57
Daughter of Zion is frequently depicted as an individual, but she represents the corporate body of Israel.
Greeley incorporates the three symbols of Mary as New
Eve, the Church, and the Daughter of Zion into his four-cell paradigm. He explains that there are different emphases in each of the three symbols. The Daughter of Zion is the beloved spouse, the sponsa of Yahweh; Eve, the mother of us all, is the Madonna and the Church; and Mary as Piet& is the one who receives us back into death. There remains the virgin symbolism of Mother Mary as the Virgo. This aspect of Mary appears in Luke's nativity story. She, in her virginity, represents the total renewal of creation.
Mary is the life-giving mother, the life-renewing Virgin, the attractive and fascinating Daughter of Zion, and the reuniting, peace-giving PietS. Thus, Mary is Madonna, Virgo,
Sponsa, and Pietd. In any of these symbols, Mary activates a limit-experience, and she also helps us describe to others what went on in that experience. On one side, Mary— in the symbol of Madonna and Virgin— represents Life; on the other, she represents Death in the symbol of Sponsa and Piett. This symbolism is based on the central element of the feminine: birth and rebirth. Woman as a symbol reveals the universe as giving life or as taking it away.
Following Greeley's method, we have chosen to apply the four-cell paradigm to the analysis of selected religious romances by Francisco de Medrano. In the following three 58
chapters, we will study the Madonna, Virgo, and Sponsa symbols
of the Virgin Mary as they are found in various romances. The
PietS symbol appears in a few of these. There are not,
however, sufficient references in them to warrant an entire
chapter on this aspect of Mary.
Origins of the Marv Cult
The cult of Mary has, since early times, had more
followers than any other type of Christian cult. Indeed, the cult of the Virgin Mary is one of the distinguishing features of the Catholic faith. In Spain, as elsewhere, it has preoccupied theologians and artists alike. A convenient starting point for tracing the evolution of devotion to Mary
in Spanish literature is Gonzalo de Berceo and his Milaaros de
Santa Maria. The Marian theme is also present in Poema del
Mlo Cid. the legend of Libre de los tres reis d 1 Orient and
Auto de los Reves Maaos. About the same time, Alfonso X el
Sabio, a devoted admirer of the Virgin, wrote the famous
Cantigas de Santa Maria.
Later, in the fourteenth century, Juan Ruiz would write
"loores' and "gozos" to Mary which reappeared in his Libro de
Buen Amor. Many of the Cancioneros of the late Middle Ages included poetry dedicated to the Virgin. Among the several authors who appear in them with works centered on the figure of the Virgin are Francisco Imperial, Pedro Velez de Guevara,
Garci Fern&ndez de Gerena, and Rodriguez del Padrdn. Numerous 59 transitional figures of the period between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance also wrote literature dedicated to Mary. Some writers who might be mentioned in this connection are Fray
Ambrosio Montesinos, Bartolome Torres Naharro, and Gregorio
Silvestre.
During the Renaissance, such famous authors as Fray Luis de Leon and Miguel de Cervantes adopted the Marian theme.
Several of the works of Lope de Vega, who incorporated the popular and the traditional element into his writings, contain passages dedicated to the Virgin. Thus, we find her presence in La Arcadia. Los pastores de Bel6n. and La Dorotea as well as in La Circe and El Isidro. Other poets, such as Fernando de Herrera, San Juan de la Cruz, and later, Luis de Gdngora also wrote about the Virgin Mary. Tirso de Molina, Guillen de
Castro, Mira de Amescua, and Calderon are among the dramatists who focused on the subject of Mary. Finally, and most pertinently, Francisco de Medrano devoted fourteen of his thirty-six known romances to the Virgin Mary and to the theme of the Nativity.
As we now know, several factors shaped the introduction of the Mary cult in religion in the Roman Catholic Church.17
17 The history of the development of the Mary cult presented in this section is necessarily brief. For a complete history of the Mary Cult from antiquity to the fifteenth century see Hilda Graef, Marv: A History of Doctrine and Devotion, vol. 1, From the Beginning to the Eve of the Reformation. (Sheed and Ward: New York, 1963). In her book, Graef traces the main developments in the history of Marian doctrine and devotion both in the West and in the East, as she says, "in strict chronological order." Another book that 60
The most important of these is the historical one, but the process had sociological and psychological dimensions as well.
The latter have been particularly illuminated by Michael P.
Carroll in his The Cult of the Virgin Marv.18
Christians, who lived mainly in urban areas, were a minority in the Roman Empire and at a tremendous disadvantage with respect to pagan cults.19 We know that toward the end of the third century and during the first decade of the fourth, Decius (who reigned 249-251), Gallus (251-253),
Valerian (253-260), and Diocletian (284-305) ordered the persecution and torture of Christians.20 But a great change-
-what Carroll calls the great transformation— took place during the reign of Emperor Constantine (306-337) upon the promulgation of the famous Edict of Milan.21 What exactly examines the development of the Marian tradition from its roots in late antiquity to its apogee and that proves to be very helpful in the study of Marian literature is Bonaventura Rinaldi's Marv of Nazareth: Mvth or History?, trans. Mary F. Ingoldsby (Westminster, Maryland: Newman Press, 1966).
18 Michael P. Carroll, The Cult of the Virgin Marv: Psychological Origins. (New Jersey: Princeton UP, 1986) xiii.
19 In Carroll 75. For more detailed accounts of the development of Christianity during this period, see Karl Baus, "The Development of the Church of the Empire within the Framework of the Imperial Religious Policy," in In The Imperial Church from Constantine to the Earlv Middle Ages, eds., K. Baus, H.-G. Beck, E. W. Ewig, and H. J. Vogt, (New York: Seabury Press, 1980) 1-89; B. J. Kidd, A History of the Church to A.D. 461. vol. 1, (Oxford: Clarendon, 1922); and Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. 2, (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1910).
20 In Carroll 75-76.
21 Carroll 76. 61 was accomplished by the edict is a matter of dispute among modern scholars, but we know that one of its effects was the easing of sanctions against the Christians. A series of laws was also passed between 313 and Constantine's death in 337 which benefitted the Christian clergy. According to Carroll, the effect of these was that:
[Clergy were] exempted from taxation; childless and
celibate clergy were allowed to inherit; private
citizens could make out wills naming the Church as
beneficiaries; bishops were given the right to
adjudicate certain legal matters, and their
decisions were binding on the civil authorities;
Sundays and other Christian festivals were given
the same legal status as pagan festivals."22
Historically, as pointed out by Carroll,23 Hilda
Graef,24 and others, there is little evidence that the Mary cult existed during the first four centuries of the Christian
Church. Graef, a leader among modern Catholic apologists, nevertheless believes that the neglect of Mary at the beginning of Church history has been overemphasized. Her evidence to the contrary is limited to four observations: she mentions two apocryphal references to Mary in the Scriptures, a reference to the apparition of the Virgin Mary to Gregory
22 Carroll 76.
23 Carroll 4.
24 Graef 32-161. 62
the Wonderworker (270 AD) in the late fourth century; and a
papyrus fragment of a prayer, probably from the fourth
century, that invokes Mary's mediation.25 Thus, Graef and
many other Catholic historians conclude that the increase in
the devotion to Mary was, in part, the result of the Council
of Ephesus (431 AD).26 During this council, Mary was proclaimed the Theotokos— "Bearer of God"— or as the term is more commonly translated from the Greek, "Mother of God."
By the first decade of the fifth century, Christianity had become the religion of the majority of the people of the
Roman Empire. As Carroll points out, the Mary cult emerged about the time of this great change. For him, this fact cannot be a mere coincidence, although apparently the connection has not been suggested by other scholars in the field. Whatever the circumstances that brought it into being, the cult of Mary did not become widespread until the latter part of the fifth century. The sixth and seventh centuries saw a notable increase in the popular devotion to Mary. One example mentioned by Carroll as evidence of this is the feast of the Purification of the Virgin which was introduced in the latter part of the seventh century. This was followed by the
25 Graef 46-48.
26 For more information on this subject see Yrjo Hirn, The Sacred Shrine. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1957); Ren6 Laurentin, Mary's Place in the Church. (London: Burns and Oates, 1964) and, by the same author, The Question of Mary. (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1965); also, Greeley's The Mary Mvth: On the Femininity of God. 63 feasts commemorating the Assumption, the Annunciation, and the
Nativity of Mary. Throughout the following centuries, the
Mary cult continued to grow in importance until it reached its apogee during the eleventh and twelfth centuries.27
Scholars of religious history have always recognized that the Mary cult is particularly strong in certain areas in
Europe. In the Latin Catholic countries of Italy and Spain, for example, it has traditionally been very intense. In
Spain, the phenomenon has been strongly marked from the Middle
Ages to the present in examples that vary from innumerable geographical villages to small towns, and shrines that have been named "Santa Maria" to countless legends and Marian traditions.
Stanley G. Payne states that after the thirteenth century, Catholicism was secure and triumphant everywhere in the Iberian peninsula, excepting only the Kingdom of
Granada.28 He points out that culture and religion in Spain had been moving toward fuller integration with Western Europe for several hundred years, and the Church of the thirteenth century was both wealthier and more sophisticated than in earlier times. As a result of the Reconquest, the peninsula had been restored to Christianity region by region, and
27 Carroll 5.
28 Stanley G. Payne, Spanish Catholicism: An Historical Overview. (Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1984) 26. 64 nowhere could the formal religious identity of the people have been said to be stronger than in Spain.
The most interesting facts in the history of Spanish
Catholicism, according to Payne, were the events that took place during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, a time of fundamental changes in religious policy and emphasis. The new direction was influenced by conflict with the Muslim and
Jewish minorities in the peninsula. As a result of this conflict, the Inquisition was imposed, and absolute religious unity and exclusiveness became Spain's most distinguishing features.
Payne divides this period of Spanish Catholicism into three principal phases. The first phase extended from the late fifteenth century to about 1540. This was a time of major reform and also of creative, diversified and cultural trends. According to Payne, the Inquisition and the purification of the Church were judged compatible with scholarly development of a broadened Renaissance Catholic humanism and more sensitive expressions of internal religiosity. The end of the fifteenth-century was marked by two great historical events that occurred during the reign of
Their Catholic Majesties. The first of those was the defeat of Granada. Queen Isabella I had accomplished her dream of freeing the peninsula of the last Moorish domain, thus allowing Spain to achieve political and religious unity.
Spain was also destined to head a powerful nation after the 65
second great event of the time, the "discovery" of the New
World.
The second period encompasses what is normally called the
Counter-Reformation and the struggle against Protestantism.
It lasted roughly from 1540 to the close of the century, and
it was marked by the redefinition of Catholicism at the
Council of Trent (1545-63) and the implementation of the
Tridentine reforms. During this period Spain confirmed her
political, religious and geographical unity, thanks
principally to King Philip II. Spain became the most powerful
Christian nation under Philip's leadership, and the country's
greatness was reflected in the cult of Mary. One example is
the splendid main altar dedicated to Santa Maria la Mayor in
the Burgos Cathedral. The cathedral also has chapels
dedicated to "Nuestra Sefiora de los Remedios," "Presentacidn,"
"Consolacidn," "Visitacidn," "Purificacidn, " "Anunciacion,"
and to the "Concepcidn de la Santisima Virgen." This era was
also characterized by an increasing rigidity that halted the
liberal trends of the previous generation. Payne states that
in spite of the Church's disapproval of new currents, this period continued to be a time of active reform and development of religious culture.
During the seventeenth century, which corresponds to the third period, the traditional religion reached its peak and entered a phase of decline. The Church was more fully unified ethnically, but divided internally by fierce jurisdictional 6 6 disputes and rivalry among various clerical groups. Spanish
Catholicism at this time manifested a strong tendency toward xenophobia, with an unbending pride in its purity, orthodoxy, and unity. For generations, Spanish people had thought of themselves as Chosen People and they also conceived of their religion as superior to other branches of Catholicism. These
ideas, however, were severely shaken by numerous disasters of the seventeenth century that had the effect of undermining the confidence of the people.
As Payne has noted, it is difficult to separate the influences of the Counter-Reformation from the intensification of religion that had already begun in Spain during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. He affirms that the intensity of religion had produced the Counter-Reformation, and not the reverse, so that new accents in Counter-
Reformation religiosity were merely the continuation of trends that had already started about two centuries earlier. In general, there was now an increased emphasis on Christ and the
Passion. This upsurge in devotion to Christ and the Passion took place as the Counter-Reformation reforms continued in the last years of the sixteenth century. Mariolatry remained strong, but now Mary's role in the Passion of Christ was much more stressed. Payne points out that the intensified religiosity of the Counter-Reformation and Baroque periods became increasingly dramatic and vivid as the common people acted out the sufferings of Christ and Mary. Payne reports 67 that these devotional dramatizations were carried out as communal expressions of religious and social concern. He states that entire groups and neighborhoods, or even whole villages and towns participated together in spiritual and religio-social activities.29
In conclusion, during the seventeenth century, there were new theological accents in popular religiosity that came about as a product of the post-Tridentine doctrine. These changes placed a greater stress than before on purgatory and the function of penance. Nonetheless, they were secondary, Payne says, to further intensification of Mariolatry, which reached a new peak.30
Symbols. Signs, and the Nature of Religious Symbols
The word symbol, as defined in The New Princeton
Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics, derives from the Greek verb symballein, "to put together," and the related noun symbolon, "mark," "token," or "sign," referring to the half coin carried away as a pledge by each of the two parties to an agreement. Basically, it means a conjoining or a combination that was once joined, and which therefore stands for or
29 Payne 50.
30 For a somewhat different analysis of local religion in sixteenth century Spain, see William A. Christian, Jr., Local Religion in Sixteenth Century Spain. (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton UP, 1981). 6 8 represents, when seen alone, the entire complex.31 In general usage, however, a symbol is any thing that stands for something else. Because of this broad definition, anything that represents some single, uncomplicated idea can be called a symbol. Normally, of course, the symbol will have some kind of natural relationship to the thing it stands for.32 But the fact is that there is a wide range of applications and interpretations of the term.
In her book, Philosophy in a New Kev.33 Susanne K.
Langer discusses symbolism in language, ritual, and art. She affirms that man rises above the level of the animal because he has "the power of using symbols" and "the power of speech" that "make him lord of the earth."34 Further, she writes:
Man's conquest of the world undoubtedly rests on
the supreme development of his brain, which allows
him to synthesize, delay, and modify his reactions
by the interpolation of symbols in the gaps and
confusions of direct experience, and by means of
31 Alex Preminger and T. V. F. Brogan, co-eds., The New Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics. (Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton UP, 1993) 1250.
32 Lynn Altenbernd and Leslie L. Lewis, A Handbook for the Study on Poetry. (New York: Macmillan, 1966) 73.
33 Susanne K. Langer, Philosophy in a New Kev : A Study in the Symbolism of Reason. Rite, and Art. (New York: Mentor, 1961).
34 Langer 33. 69
"verbal signs" to add the experiences of other
people to his own.35
F. W. Dillistone, in Christianity and Symbolism.36 presents a critique of Langer's thesis. He states that it has two main aspects: first, he points out that Langer, like modern semioticians, sees a distinctive difference between
"symbols" and "signs." A sign directly indicates a thing, event or condition. The symbol indirectly or obliquely represents a thing, event or condition. The sign operates in the immediate context of space and time, while the symbol extends the frame of reference indefinitely.37 The other distinction that Langer makes is between "discursive" and
"presentational" symbols.38 A discursive symbol bears a recognized meaning and obeys well-established rules; a presentational symbol is evoked by, and evokes, a "new"
35 Langer 35.
36 F. W. Dillistone, Christianity and Symbolism. (London: Collins, 1955).
37 Dillistone 24.
38 Discursive Forms are used to set forth clear and definite meanings. Symbols used this way represent determinate conceptions and the relations between them (the symbols) are governed by definite rules. Discursive symbols are employed within the context of the regularities and the agreed conventions of human experience. Presentational Forms are used to represent indeterminate conceptions. Here symbols are connected and combined by less definite rules. They participate more of the quality of picture and moving pattern. They have "presented" themselves to the observer but they do not fit into any preconceived pattern. In Dillistone 25-26. 70 experience and may break certain recognized rules in order that new forms may be created.
With regard to the religious symbol specifically, in his article "The Religious Symbol," Paul Tillich asserts that it combines the general characteristics of the symbol with the peculiar characteristics of a religious symbol.39 For
Tillich the symbol has four characteristics: 1) figurative quality, 2) perceptibility, 3) innate power, and 4) acceptability. "Figurative" quality, the first characteristic, is defined as the inner attitude which is oriented to the symbol that does not have the symbol itself in view but rather that which is symbolized in it.
The second characteristic, "perceptibility," implies that something which is intrinsically invisible, ideal, or transcendent is made perceptible in the symbol and is in this way given objectivity. Perceptibility does not need to be sensory, however, Tillich says it can just as well be something imaginatively conceived. An example could be the idea of the "Supreme Being" as symbol of the ultimate in the consciousness of the religious community.
"Innate power," a third characteristic of the symbol, indicates that the symbol has a power inherent within it that distinguishes the symbol from the mere sign which is impotent in itself. Tillich considers this characteristic to be the
39 Paul Tillich, "The Religious Symbol," Symbolism in Religion and Literature, ed. Rollo May (New York: George Braziller, 1960) 75. 71 symbol's most important aspect because it gives the symbol the reality which it has almost lost in ordinary usage. This fact is also important because it helps to distinguish between a sign and a symbol. The sign can be interchanged at will. It does not arise from necessity, since it has no power. The symbol, says Tillich, does possess a necessary character. It cannot be exchanged, but it can disappear when it loses its inner power. The symbol cannot be merely constructed either; it can only be created.
The last characteristic of the symbol, for Tillich, is its "acceptability." The implication here is that the symbol is socially rooted and socially supported. Tillich maintains that the process of becoming a symbol and its acceptance as such belong together, denying the contrary idea that suggests a thing is first a symbol and then it is accepted. He concludes that these general characteristics of the symbol also hold for the religious symbol.
Tillich claims that religious symbols, however, are distinguished from other symbols. Religious symbols are different because they represent that which is unconditionally beyond the conceptual sphere; and they point to the ultimate reality implied in the religious act, to what concerns us finally. Other symbols can represent something that also has an unsymbolic objective, aside from its ideal, significance.
For example, a flag may represent a king, and a king in turn represents the state. Non-religious symbols may be the forms 72 that give expression to an invisible thing that has no existence except in its symbols; for example, cultural creations like works of art, scientific concepts, and legal forms. However, religious symbols must express an object that by its very nature transcends everything in the world that divides all things into subjectivity and objectivity. Tillich insists that religious symbols represent the transcendent but do not make the transcendent immanent. They do not make God a part of the empirical world.
Finally, Tillich distinguishes two levels of religious symbols: a supporting level in which religious objectivity is established and which is based in itself; and a level supported by the symbol and pointing to objects of the other level. He calls the symbols of the first level the "objective religious symbols" (89) and those of the second level, the
"self-transcending religious symbols" (89). The center of his discussion focuses on the objective religious symbols that are themselves subdivided into three groups.
The first and basic level of objective religious symbolism is the world of "divine beings" (89), among which is the "Supreme Being," God (89). The divine beings and the
Supreme Being, God, are representations of that which is ultimately referred to in the religious act. They are representations, for the unconditioned transcendent surpasses every possible conception of a being, including even the conception of a Supreme Being. The second group of objective religious symbols has to do with "characterizations of the nature and actions of God" (91) . Although God here is presupposed as an object, these characteristics still have an element in them that indicates the figurative character of that presupposition. Tillich affirms that religiously and theologically, this fact is expressed in the awareness that all knowledge of God has a symbolic character. The third group of objective religious symbols is constituted by the
"natural and historical objects" (92) that are drawn as holy objects into the sphere of religious objects and thus become religious symbols.
However, the third group of objective religious symbols, according to Tillich, involves the level of symbols that he characterizes as "pointing symbols" (93). These encompass signs and actions of a special significance that contain a reference to religious objects of the first level.
Nonetheless, this type of symbols can be divided into
"actions" on one side and, on the other, "objects" that symbolize the religious attitude. For example, all cultic gestures belong to the first category. In the second category belong all illustrative symbols, such as the cross, arrows and the like. A significant point worth mentioning here is the fact that these symbols can be conceived as objective symbols of the third group reduced to a lower power. Originally, they all had more than "pointing" significance. All of them were holy objects or actions loaded with magical sacramental power. 74
As their magical sacramental power was reduced in favor of the unconditioned transcendent on the one side, and in the direction of the objectivation of their reality on the other, they were brought down to the level of the "pointing" symbol.
This process, however, is never wholly completed. Thus, the second level of religious symbols, the "pointing" symbols, are transitional in character. In the end, Tillich concludes that the real religious symbol is the objective symbol, which in its three groups represents the unconditioned transcendent. CHAPTER III
MARY AS MADONNA
Introduction
In Chapter Three we will analyze two of Francisco de
Medrano's romances that have a common basis in the Marian symbol of Madonna. Andrew M. Greeley analyzes symbols of Mary on the basis of fourteen constituent aspects.1 Not all of these aspects are found in the Madonna symbol of Mary as that symbol appears in the two romances. Many of them, however, are encountered, and a brief discussion of each of those aspects follows.
Before proceeding to a discussion, however, it has seemed appropriate to reproduce the complete text of the first romance to be analyzed, "De la Natividad." The text is given
1 The following are the fourteen aspects that correspond to the Madonna symbol of Mary, according to Greeley: 1) Experience of Sexual Differentiation (maternity); 2) Biological Origin (birth, nursing, taking care); 3) Cognate Symbols (earth, water [womb], home, hearth); 4) Ancient Goddesses (Isis, Demeter, Juno); 5) Type (Eve, the source of life); 6) Mary Symbol (Madonna); 7) Existential Need (discouragement, despair); 8) Limit Experience (vitality of cosmos, life-giving love); 9) Grace that is Given (inexhaustible and passionate tenderness of life-giving love); 10) Illumination— Restructuring Perceptions (hope); 11) Action (protection and improvement of the earth— Mary's garden); 12) Man-Woman Implication (acceptance of androgyny); 13) Poem (Hopkins' May Magnificat] : and 14) Plastic Art (Michelangelo's Holv Family).
75 as it is found in the Rodriguez-Moftino edition, with the exception that capitalization and punctuation regularized following modern principles in order to facilitate their understanding. The same norms apply throughout the remainder of the dissertation.
A. Romance 4: "De la Natividad"
1 Por una y otra mexilla
2 del nifio Dios se derraman
3 dos cristalinos arroyos
4 do la virgen se mirava.
5 Y contemplando, entre si,
6 la prisa con gue se alcangan
7 unas perlas a otras perlas,
8 entre unas y otras pajas,
9 mirando, dize a su hijo,
10 si mirarle le dexavan
11 ldgrimas, que por los ojos
12 el coragon distilava.
13 Si s61o en veros llorar,
14 hijo y Dios de mis entranas,
15 me afligen sin descansar,
16 unas ansias y otras ansias,
17 siendo vos, tanto mas tierno, 77
18 y teniendo cien mil causas,
19 iguales serein las angustias
20 gue vuestro coragon pasa?.
21 Lloremos pues, a la par,
22 ya gue la razon lo manda,
23 yo, vuestra pena y dolor,
24 vos, del hombre la desgracia;
25 Que con esta agua caliente
26 arderdn tanto las fraguas,
27 gue se conviertan muy presto
28 nuestro coragon en agua.
29 Yo, con ella deshard
30 la penosa y dura escarcha
31 gue os hace temblar de frlo,
32 y vos, lavardis el alma.
One of the most popular symbols of the Virgin in
Christianity is the one that represents motherhood. Andrew
Greeley states: "Human-as-mother calls to mind Mary-as-mother, and Mary illumines human-as-mother.1,2 Because Mary as Madonna has formed part of the cultural heritage of many human beings, especially Roman Catholics, it appears to make them susceptible to seeing the Madonna as that aspect of sexual
2 Greeley 107. 78 differentiation which is maternity. By means of recalling a common human observation, the symbol has the power to intervene in a particular limit-experience to bestow sacramental power on the human observation we have experienced. Greeley says that the most fundamental association of the experience of sexual differentiation is that of maternity because biologically, psychologically, and theoretically the image of the mother is primal. The elemental idea of sexual differentiation is that women bear children, and men do not. Women are mothers, but men are not.
Consequently, all other images of woman that derive from the primal idea of mother are reflections of the basic image of her, because they reproduce the primal idea of mother.
The experience of maternity forms the core element of the limit-experience of sexual differentiation: the mother brings life into the world. Since religion has to do with the mystery of life and death, and maternity deals with the mystery of life, a great many religions have made the sacrament of birth central to their beliefs.
Greeley claims that a trait common to all great religions is the linking of the fertile womb of the mother with both the container, the vessel, and with the life-giving waters. For example, life springs from water in the Book of Genesis
(Genesis 1:20). In modern times, psychoanalysts believe that in most dream symbolism water stands for the maternal womb.
Franz Alexander, the founder of the Chicago Institute of 79
Psychoanalysis, published a three volume book dedicated entirely to the matter of water as symbol for the maternal womb.3 In world-wide religions and in the human unconscious
"out of water comes life, out of mother comes life ... [and,]
water, mother, vessel, earth all come together to represent one life-containing, life-bestowing symbolism."4
For Greeley, then, the feminine aspect of the Creator is the life-creating dimension of God in contrast to the life ordering or masculine dimension of Him. Greeley and other scholars have stated that in most religions, especially in pagan religions, creation represents the ordering of a primal chaos, but for the Jewish and Christian religions, creation was the production of something that came out of nothing.
Pagan civilizations held the view that life preceded creation. They also thought the male deity was the one who destroyed the female Chaos. After the Chaos was slain, the male deity collected and arranged all the pieces together to form an ordered universe. In the primitive world, the female deity preceded the male deity. The primal mother was the source of life, but the life force she gave had the potential to be destructive and hard to control. Humans had to subdue that potentially destructive force by cultivating their fields and domesticating their flocks. Without humans the feminine life-giving force would spin out of control.
3 Greeley 110.
4 Greeley 110. 80
The Judeo-Christian point of view is quite different. In the Bible, Eve is seen as the mother of all of us. She is not a goddess but simply an all-human being like any other on earth. Greeley explains that the Eve of the Old Testament is probably a transformation and a humanization of a pre-Sinai
Semitic mother goddess. Like her forbears, she is the origin of all life, however, in Greeley's view, she is not divine, nor does she possess any specific force with power of her own.
Eve is only a creature of Yahweh who gives life.
Unlike, perhaps, Eve, Mary is an historical character who lived and died during a specific time in history. Greeley adds that Mary is neither identified with the power of fertility nor the primal vitality inherent in the reproduction of all life. Mary is the servant of the Lord, the agent of
Yahweh. It is through her that Yahweh chooses to bring life to the world. She is the representative of the abundant creativity with which Yahweh has blessed the earth. Mary reveals to us the life-giving, the feminine dimension of
Yahweh.
Somehow we seek the Mary symbol as expressed through her maternity in trying to explain our human existence, because maternity is the most fundamental of all the forces in human existence. In Greeley's view, just as maternity represents the most essential, primal and vital life-giving force, so is the existential need to resolve a basic anxiety, the fear that one day life will turn into death. Maternity is what comforts 81 us in our despair over death. Greeley points out that it is in the symbol of the Madonna that most frequently the conflict of life and death is reflected. The Madonna is the one who speaks to us about life amidst our concern. We come to realize that all things are eventually destroyed, including our own lives, but the power of maternity brings forth birth and new life. We discover, ultimately, that life is an awesome gift that comes from a Giver of whom even Mary seems to be a pale reflection.
In thinking about the gift of the renewal of life through
Mary's maternity, Greeley writes:
[if] we have been sufficiently captured by
maternity-turned symbol, by the grace that the
Madonna as sacrament has revealed to us, then we
can begin to hope once again.5
Accordingly, after we have gone through the earth shattering experience of having discovered our limitations, the shattered structures of our perceptions are organized around a symbol that contains the idea of rebirth. From this comes hope, says
Greeley, and the realization that Life and Death are actually one here on earth.
In today's society we are re-evaluating the sex roles.
We seem to be constantly sorting out the meaning of masculinity and femininity. Mary may serve as the best available evidence for the androgynous divine personality that
5 Greeley 121. 82 combines the essence of both sexes. Greeley argues that the feminine role does not have to be assumed by Mary, but she is the only mother goddess now available in the Western tradition. He says that she is all we have to convey the idea that God is androgynous. Mary is the symbol of the power of femininity. To be a woman does not mean to be retiring, weak, and inferior. It means to be strong, powerful, creative, and dynamic. Mary, as the reflection of an androgynous God, speaks of femininity as being equal to masculinity. Greeley argues that if we realize that there is nothing effeminate about life-giving love, about maternal love that is both tender and fiercely protective, there is no reason why males should hide behind the shield of hypermasculinity. Men can afford to be tender and caring because Mary reveals to them that these qualities are signs, not of weakness, but of strength.
Each of the ballads we have selected for this chapter focuses on the image of the Madonna. These poems, then, like several others, were conceived within the context of the
Nativity. As mentioned at the beginning of this study, that event, the birth of Jesus, constitutes Medrano's favorite religious theme. Thus, of the thirty-six romances in the
Rodriguez-Mofiino edition, fourteen center on the birth of the
Christ Child. 83
According to Richard A. Horsley in The Liberation of
Christmas.6 the Nativity has always been one of the most popular religious celebrations around the world. Biblical narratives of the Nativity, however, can be interpreted either from an "historical" or a "mythical" point of view. Thus,
Richard A. Horsley has written that:
The Renaissance and Reformation brought a victory
of sorts for the literal or historic meaning, as
opposed to the allegorical or other understandings
of the Bible. Most readers in early modern Europe,
like Paul and Augustine before them, understood
biblical narratives to refer for the most part to
real events that formed part of a broader world
history running from the creation to the last
judgment and new creation.7
The "real events" mentioned by Horsley are, then, the direct inspiration of Medrano's many poems that deal with the theme of the Nativity.
Romance 4, "De la Natividad," may be divided into two parts. The first part (lines 1-12) serves as the introduction and presents the Virgin as observer (external point of view).
The second part (lines 13-32) expresses the Virgin's inner
6 Richard A. Horsley, The Liberation of Christmas: The Infancy Narratives in Social Context. (New York: Crossroad, 1989) ix.
7 Horsley 1. 84 suffering in her own voice (internal point of view). The cause of her suffering is her baby's cry.
As we begin to read this romance, the first idea that comes to mind is that of maternity. The Virgin has just given birth to her son. Because the newborn is crying, the Virgin's first wishes, like those of any mother, are to nurse and to take care of Baby Jesus. Initially, the Virgin seems merely to resort to contemplating how the baby's tears trickle down his face. Silently, she cries too. Soon, however, she addresses herself to the baby to inquire about his afflictions. The central paradox here is that the Madonna is contemplating the Christ Child's lying in the manger, but her feelings are of sorrow, not of joy.
In the second part, the Virgin addresses the Christ Child and tells Him how deeply she is hurt at the sight of His pain visible in His tears. The Virgin asks Baby Christ the cause of His distress. Then, she offers a solution to the problem: let us cry together! (lines 13-20). Later, near the end of the poem, we discover that her grief comes from the bottom of her heart. Inner sorrow is expressed externally in the tears of both mother and child (lines 21-32).
In this romance, the image of the Baby Jesus and the
Madonna at the beginning of the poem is strongly visual. Like a painter, Medrano describes the Baby in tears while the
Madonna, who is also in tears, seems to have her eyes tenderly and modestly fixed on her child as they exchange looks: 85
1 Por una y otra mejilia
2 del nino Dios se derramaban
3 dos cristalinos arroyos
4 do la Virgen se miraba.
5 Y contemplando, entre si,
6 la prisa con gue se alcangan
7 unas perlas a otras perlas,
8 entre unas y otras pajas,
9 mirando, dize a su hijo,
10 si mirarle le dexavan
11 ldgrimas, gue por los ojos
12 el coragon distilava.
Some aspects of the sorrowing depiction of Mary in this poem echo the plastic images of the Madonna created by some of the greatest masters of the early Renaissance: Fra Filippo
Lippi (c. 1406-1469), Botticelli (1446-1510), Filippino Lippi
(c. 1459-1504), Ghirlandaio (1449-94), Michelangelo (1475-
1564), and Raphael (1483-1520) in Italy, and, in Spain, El
Greco (15487-1614). Heinrich Wolfflin in Classical Art: An
Introduction to the Italian Renaissance makes the following point about how the Virgin Mary was represented during the sixteenth century in Italy compared with the preceding century:
During the Quattrocento the Virgin Mary was either
portrayed as the wife next door with laughing eyes, or she was shown as having eyes only for her child.
Sometimes she casts down her eyes shyly. In the
Cinquecento the shy maiden becomes a noble,
stately, and unapproachable queen, but her
character is variable, rather worldly as in Andrea
del Sarto, or above the world, as in Michelangelo.
The religious subject after the fifteenth century
becomes more idealized. There is a greater
separation between things in heaven and on earth.
The Virgin is shown as if raised up into the skies.
During the fifteenth century the subject is painted
with extreme realism. If Christ is shown being
baptized he might have both feet submerged in
water, while later he appears above the water.8
Plastic imagery in Medrano, particularly in this poem, seems to show the influence of the Quattrocento and its
"realism" rather than the "idealization" of the Cinquecento.
Spanish art, in general, is very distinctive, yet susceptible to foreign influence. First, it received the influence of the
Moors; and later, it imported its inspiration from Byzantium, the Netherlands, and Germany. All these influences receded before the triumph of the Italian style. The Italian influence was mainly felt in Spain during the sixteenth century, the period of Francisco de Medrano's lifetime.
Spanish painters travelled to Italy and/or their Italian
8 Wolfflin 219-20 and 223-24. 87 counterparts would themselves come to Spain. However, any foreign influence would be adapted and molded to fit the
Spanish culture and its unique situation at the time.
Francisco Pacheco (1564-1654), a contemporary and friend of
Medrano, in his Arte de la pintura (1649) , had defined the principles of Spanish painting. There he established that
"the principal goal of Christian images will always be to persuade men to be pious and to lead them to God.1,9
Clearly, in this poem, the image that dominates the opening lines is the archetypal symbol of water. It appears in various forms: "arroyos," "perlas," and "l&grimas." Tears well in the eyes of the Virgin, just as they appear in her eyes in many works of art of the period.10 The meaning of those tears is obvious. As Marina Warner has written:
The tears [the Virgin] sheds are charged with the
magic of her precious, incorruptible, undying body
and have the power to give life and make whole.11
9 In Enggass, Robert and Jonathan Brown, Italy and Spain 1600-1700: Sources and Documents. (Englewood, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, n. d.) 164.
10 An example of such art is found in Will and Ariel Durant's The Story of Civilization: The Aae of Reason Begins, vol. 7, (New York: MJF Books, 1961) 315:
... Gregorio Hern&ndez ... carved at Valladolid a Mater Dolorosa; with characteristic realism he painted bloodstains on her robe and set tears of glass into her face.
11 Warner 221. 8 8
The symbolism of water has been discussed by many writers including Gaston Bachelard, Maud Bodkin, and Mircea Eliade.
For our purposes, the ideas of Bachelard, contained in his book, Water and Dreams.12 are particularly useful. His discussion focuses on three primary aspects of the symbol: l)
"Clear Waters" and "Narcissism," 2) "Maternal Water," and 3)
"Purity" and "Purification."
In general, Bachelard argues that water "images" do not have the consistency or durability of those brought about by earth, metals, or by crystals. In fact, water images are elusive and they can only give us fleeting impressions. Water images tend to disappear as soon as more consistent earth images materialize. In order to materialize the fleeting images of water, all we need is to give them some substance.
Once this is accomplished, water acquires a certain concreteness. Water becomes matter. The "materializing reverie" (20), Bachelard says, takes place by uniting dreams of water with less mobile, more sensual reveries, and in doing so, water immobilizes itself by producing dreams that are more sensual.
In Romance 4, when Mary contemplates herself in the tears that trickle down the Christ Child's face (lines 1-12), her image is reflected in the water of the baby's tears
12 Gaston Bachelard, Water and Dreams: An Essav on the Imagination of Matter. Originally published in 1942 as L'Eau and les Reves sur 1' imagination de la matidre. trans. Edith R. Farrell, (Dallas, Texas: Pegasus Foundation, 1983). 89
(materialized reverie) at the same time that she, too, cries.
During her contemplation, she laments an anticipated
situation. She also consoles the Baby Christ. This picture
of sorrowing contemplation is illuminated by Bachelard's
discussion of the myth of Narcissus.
According to Bachelard, the story of Narcissus centers on
man's love for his self-image as the latter is reflected in
still water. The instruments used in this auto-seduction are,
first, the human face, and second, the water which acts like
a mirror. The mirror provided by a fountain gives then the
opportunity for "open imagination" (21). The "psychology of
the mirror" (21) needs a lengthy explanation and cannot be
discussed hastily. Nevertheless, it is important to note what
Bachelard calls "the profound ambivalence of narcissism" (21) .
This ambivalence is the result of the double image that
appears in the water as man contemplates himself in it. When
this narcissistic action of deep ambivalence takes place, the
contemplation may pass through various states. It may, for
example, move from the masochistic to the sadistic state as it
evolves from a contemplation that laments to a contemplation
that hopes; or the narcissistic action might be transformed
from a contemplation that consoles to a contemplation that
atta cks.
This is what takes place in Romance 4. The Virgin's
contemplation of herself in the water of Baby Jesus' tears, provides a mirror and thereby presents the opportunity for 90 ambivalence. The poem presents a contemplation of lament and also a contemplation of hope. The Virgin's inner purpose and hope is to be able to offer some consolation to her own suffering and that of the Christ Child.
The Virgin, motivated by her deep state of contemplation as she looks at herself in the mirror of the Baby's tears, starts a dialogue with her Son through the water reverie.
Bachelard says that any being in front of a mirror is
"naturally doubled" (22) . When Narcissus looks at himself, he also questions himself. As he confronts his own image, he has the possibility to speak to himself. Echo, who lives in the water, the fountain, and the river, participates in the conversation. She is he, and she has his voice, and a dialogue ensues. In a similar way, Mother Mary dialogues with
Baby Jesus when she asks: "^quales serein las angustias / que vuestro coragon pasa?" (lines 19 and 20). In her humble and infinite compassion, the answers comes from within herself
(lines 21-32). In Bachelard's commentary, "in the presence of water, Narcissus receives the revelation of his identity and of his duality ... and above all, the revelation of his reality and ideality" (23). Like Narcissus, the Virgin becomes aware of her reality: first, she realizes the reason why both of them are crying; then she becomes aware of her strength and power (lines 29-32).
By contemplating herself in the river of tears of her
Child, the Virgin also wills to see. Her willingness to see 91 enables Mary to contemplate herself as she meditates on the situation. Her meditating is linked to hope. Then, present in the act of contemplation is "the magnetism that belongs to the will" (30). Man wants to see; and to see is a human need.
"Maternal water" is an important aspect of Bachelard*s discussion. His ideas, he states, were in part inspired by
Marie Bonaparte's psychoanalytical research, particularly, a section of his commentaries entitled "mother-landscape cycle"
(115). This section rests upon a basic and widely recognized human experience, the fact that "we can instantly realize that the objective features of the landscape do not suffice to explain our feelings for nature if it is deep and true" (115) .
"Feeling" (115), Bachelard says, is the first and most fundamental value that makes us love reality passionately.
What is more, we love nature without knowing it or without really seeing it, by actualizing in things a love that has its basis elsewhere. Thus, we have to search for a reason to explain why we feel the way we feel about nature. If our feeling for nature is a durable one it is because, in its original form, that feeling is at the root of all feelings.
It is a filial devotion. All forms of love have in their make-up something of the love for a mother. "Emotionally,"
Bachelard affirms, "nature is a projection of the mother"
(115). The one who nourishes us with her milk leaves a permanent mark on very diverse, internal images that cannot be 92
correctly analyzed in terms of the usual themes of formal
imagination.
Thus, for Bachelard, all liquid is a kind of water for
the material imagination. By the same token, all water is a
kind of milk, even more, any happy beverage relates to the
mother's milk. The dream has a tap root that descends into
the unconscious of primitive child life, and it has a network
of roots that live in a more superficial layer. The idea of
water and milk enters the unconscious mind and it remains
there in the mind's deepest zone, always active. In sum, the
material image of milk forms the basis of the more conscious
idea of water.
Supported by these notions, Bachelard suggests that the
essential character of water— its maternal quality— can be
explained. If water is a nutritious substance like milk, milk
should define water by giving water its maternal character.
Thus, water, in Romance 4, is used as a symbol of maternity.
It is present to affirm that the mother is the being who gives
her child much of his most essential and primary care and
protection.
In addition to symbolizing maternity, water is also
symbolic of purity and purification. The idea of purity is reflected in the first seven verses of Romance 4. Here,
adding to the dramatism of the moment, Medrano modifies the
noun "arroyo" with the qualifier "cristalino" (lines 1-7) . 93
Clearly, the adjective "cristalino" is meant to convey the idea that the Christ Child is both innocent and pure.
Bachelard states that forms and words are not all there is in poetry. In order to link them together it is necessary to add certain material themes. His task is to show that certain substances bring to us their oneiric power to give solidity and unity to true poems. Basic to this idea is elementary matter, because it informs and exalts our dreams.
Among many others who have concerned themselves with the trasforming potential of images of elementary matter are
Mircea Eliade, Joseph Campbell, and Maud Bodkin. The latter informs us that symbols and concrete images have the power to awake in us wonder and to give form to poems.13
According to Bachelard, the "ideal of purity has to find a place or matter that is capable of symbolizing it" (134), and it cannot be just anywhere. Clear water normally is an easy depository of the symbolism of purity. Here, Bachelard intentionally obviates the social value of the idea of purity, preferring to follow and relate everything to modern psychology. It is his purpose to avoid reference to the sociological characteristics of purity, and he confesses to careful and prudent mining of universal mythology.
13 Maud Bodkin, Studies of Type Images in Poetry. Religion and Philosophy. (London: Oxford UP, 1951) 108. Also see her book, Archetypal Patterns in Poetry: Psychological Studies of Imagination. (London: Oxford UP, 1948) 35-37. 94
In addition to the idea of purity, verses one through seven of the romance also imply the idea of running water. On the surface, the gushing waters of the "arroyo" suggest that
Baby Jesus' situation is irreversible and it must follow its course. The tears go down his face one after the other in rapid succession, leading us to think of a situation that cannot be stopped (lines 1-7). The meaning increases in depth and becomes clearer when we connect these verses (lines 1-7) with the last verse of the romance: "y vos, lavareis el alma."
(line 32).
Bachelard explains that "running water," gushing water down a stream, is living water (141). The "living, running water" is connected to the idea of "washing" and, together, both suggest the notion of purification. As Bachelard writes, the result of this reasoning is that all purity is substantial. Thus, on a primitive level, what we require of pure water is a purity that is at the same active and substantial.
Purification, then, provides a renovating, polyvalent, and fertile strength. A proof of this is the power that is contained even in a drop of the liquid (such as in the virgin's and Christ Child's tears). There are many texts, for example, the Aeneid 14 where purification appears as a simple
14 In the Aeneid:
three times he [Corinaeus] passes among the company bearing pure water and the auspicious olive branch with which he sprinkles the men 95
aspersion.15 Another example mentioned by Bachelard comes
from Psalm 50 where aspersion appears to precede, as a
reality, the metaphor of washing: "Purge me with hyssop, and
I shall be clean."16 In both these cases, a few drops of
water had the power to produce purity.17 Thus, for the
material imagination, the substance that is given its proper
value can and will act, even in the smallest quantity, on a
large mass of other substances.
Because of the sensitivity of the situation presented at
the beginning of Romance 4, we cannot help being moved by the
Baby's tears. The aim of the dramatic image introduced by
Medrano is to makes us feel both the Virgin's and the Baby's
pain. The poet wants us to sympathize with the helplessness
of both mother and child. The first duty of any mother after
giving birth is to nurse and to care for her baby. The duty
of the Virgin Mother is the same. Thus we realize that the
importance of the tears (water), shed not only by the Virgin
but by the Baby as well, is that they evoke the whole theme of maternity, life, and birth.
lightly and purifies them. (In Bachelard, Water and Dreams 141.)
15 We use the term "aspersion," as does Bachelard, to indicate sprinkling with water.
16 Bachelard, Water and Dreams 142.
17 Bachelard notes that the hyssop of the Hebrews was the smallest of the flowers they knew, and it was probably used for sprinkling (Water and Dreams 142) . 96
At this point we may recall one of Greeley's ideas,
presented earlier. For Greeley, Mary is the incarnation of
the Eve type, and as such, she is the source of all life. She
represents the rich, abundant creativity with which the
Godhead has blessed the earth. She is present here to tell us
about the feminine dimension of the Creator as she reveals to
us the life-giving force. Appropriately, Adam, after Yahweh
pronounces three solemn curses in the instant when they are
about to be expelled from Paradise, names his wife Eve, "the
mother of all the living" (Genesis 3:20). In essence, she is
the creature of Yahweh who gives birth, and Eve becomes one
with the Madonna.
The Virgin recalls the Eve type and becomes the Madonna
in this romance, because she has brought a new life into the
world. Mary is thought of as the life-creating water on
earth. This suggestion is supported by the concept of Eve as
the"mother of all living" and the idea of "water." The
notion of water as the source of all life, as we learn from the recent book of Stephen Benko, is found in many ancient mythologies.18
18 Stephen Benko, The Virgin Goddess: Studies in the Pagan and Christian Roots of Marioloqy. (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1993) 121-122:
According to one line of thought, all life originated from Oceanus, i.e., water, the primeval cosmic power which is the source of all life. Homer says that the rpatrem rerum) was Oceanus. This reference lived on in some versions of the Greek Orphic tradition, whose cosmogony also began with Oceanus as well as in the work of the "father 97
We have seen in the first part of the romance that the
Virgin watches her child as he cries. The scene makes her weep as well (lines 9-12):
9 mirando, dizea su hijo,
10 si mirarle le dexavan
11 ldgrimas, que por los ojos
12 el coragon distilava.
The situation presented is one of extreme sorrow and pain as both mother and child react to what they know will be their affliction. The focus in this group of verses is the Baby's suffering and his knowledge of it.
The Christ-child1s predestination to suffer has been depicted in many different ways. Renderings of Baby Jesus' suffering are abundant in art, devotional books, old manuscripts, altar pieces, and paintings. Images of the Child of Suffering are profuse, especially when he appears in combination with images of the Instruments of the Passion— the
Arma Christ!— such as the lance or spear, nails, the cross, and the crown of thorns. Many of these remained common from the Late Middle Ages through the seventeenth and even the eighteenth centuries. However, the specific form of these images varied depending on the century in which they were
of philosophy," Thales of Miletus, who, according to Aristotle, said that everything in the world originates from one substance and that substance is water. 98
used. Common emblems are the rose or rose-tree, the Sacred
Heart, or Christ praying on the Mount of Olives.
Gertrude Schiller in Iconography of Christian Art
describes one of the wings of the Buxheim altarpiece in Ulm
(c. 1550) in which the Christ-child sits on the lance in a
rose-tree interspersed with many symbols of the Passion.
Because the rose was a symbol of the Passion during this
period, the tree can be interpreted as the Tree of Suffering.
In this piece, the Child points to a scroll carrying the
legend in Middle High German: "I will pick roses and (bring)
much sorrow upon my (Mother)."19 In her analysis Schiller
writes:
The words attributed to the Child [that appear next
to him on the tree] signify on the one hand his
knowledge of his suffering, a knowledge that from
the beginning was part of the way of the Passion on
earth and so must be counted one of the Arma
Christ!, and on the other his knowledge of his
Mother's suffering as a result of his Passion.20
All these plastic images give evidence that the Christ Child,
as is apparent in Romance 4, was prepared for his Passion, and
that he had knowledge of his future suffering.
19 Gertrude Schiller, Iconography of Christian Art: The Passion of Jesus Christ, vol. 2, 1st. ed. in English in the United States, trans. Janet Seligman (Greenwich, Connecticut: New York Graphic Society, 1972) 195.
20 Schiller 196. 99
The sorrow of the Virgin seems to be even more intense than the Baby's since she knows what the future holds for both of them. Mary knew from the moment of the Annunciation that the work of the Redemption could only be accomplished through suffering, yet she made no conditions with the angel, nor does she in any way limit her sacrifice. Forty days after the birth of Jesus, the nature of Mary's sacrifice is confirmed during the Feast of the Purification. There, Simeon utters the famous prophecy concerning Jesus and Mary (Luke 2:34-35):
"Behold this Child is set for the fall and for the resurrection of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be contradicted: And thine own soul a sword shall pierce."
The first three quatrains of the romance are dominated by the verbs "mirar" and "contemplar." Initially, the Mother
"observes" as the tears run down the face of the Child. The extreme tenderness and intimacy of the moment create an intense feeling of pathos in the reader. Medrano intends to evoke for us the helplessness felt by the Virgin regarding her baby. Until verse eight, both the Virgin and the reader have been observers of the external expression of pain in the
Child. The Mother then joins her tears to those of the Baby.
It is not until line 12 that we discover the origin of her tears. They come from the heart, which, accordingto George
Ferguson, is traditionally considered to be:
[T]he source of understanding, love, courage,
devotion, sorrow, and joy. Its deep religious 1 0 0
meaning is expressed in I Samuel 16: 7, 'But the
Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance,
or on the height of his stature ... for the Lord
seeth not as a man seeth; for man looketh on the
outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the
heart.21
This archetypal symbolism is confirmed by Gertrude Grace Sill who writes that the heart is:
[T]he symbol for true love, charity, understanding,
and piety; for happiness and joy as well as sorrow.
It is recognized as the key organ of the human
body, one that coordinates the intellect with the
emotions.22
There are two reasons why we are told that the tears come from the heart. The first reason is to give us the assurance that the heart is where the truth lies. And second, the heart is the central organ where feelings are deposited. Since the
Virgin's heart is believed to possess love and warmth, Mary's love for her Son originates in her heart, thus providing a soothing effect on the Child.
21 George Ferguson, Signs and Symbols in Christian Art. (Great Britain: Oxford UP, 1959) 27.
22 Gertrude Grace Sill, A Handbook of Symbols in Christian Art. (New York: Macmillan, 1975) 63. 1 0 1
Verse 12 leads us into the very depth of the Virgin's
grief. Breaking the silence of her passive contemplation,
Mary now addresses her Son:
13 Si solo en veros llorar,
14 hi jo y Dios de mis entrafias,
15 me afligen sin descansar,
16 unas ansias y otras ansias,
This part of the poem moves to a deeper, more inward level
because the poet wants to examine the internal cause for
sorrow. From line 13 to the end of the romance, the Virgin
speaks to her Child. The voice of the external observer gives
way to the voice of Mary as she appeals to her Child by
letting him know how deeply she feels for him. The emphasis
placed upon the Madonna figure helps to illustrate the grace
that is given by her example— the inexhaustible and passionate
tenderness of her life-giving love. As the poem continues,
the Virgin Mother persists in her inquiry about the real
source of her Child's pain. She expresses her love and
concern as she tries to understand the cause of her Baby's tears (lines 18-20). What can she do to help in this moment
of despair and discouragement?
The solution the Virgin proposes in trying to soothe her
Child's crying is contained in lines twenty-one and twenty- two. Lines eight through twelve, however, had already referred to this: "Lloremos pues, a la par, / ya que la razon
lo manda," Mary, as a compassionate mother, is offering to 1 0 2
her child the only possible thing she can: to suffer with him.
Her offer, as she says, is mandated. Until this moment she
was governed by feelings of extreme sorrow and pity. Since
she could not find a solution entirely through the feelings of
her heart, she must now utilize a combination of both emotion
and understanding.
In the poem we see that both Mother and Child suffer
deeply. The Virgin, in her inexhaustible life-giving love,
suffers with her child. She offers support to her Baby: "yo,
vuestra pena y dolor, / vos, del hombre la desgracia" (lines
23-24). However, the Virgin is aware that the burden of Baby
Jesus is more poignant. He must suffer for the entire human
race.
The answer to both Mother and Child's suffering is not
yet complete. Near the end of the poem, Medrano introduces
the Father (Godhead) into its implied theology in order to
give a final resolution to the affliction of Mother and Son.
The poet, after introducing the symbol of water at the
beginning of the poem, now adds yet another symbol— fire—
through the figure of the God/Father, the first person of the
Holy Trinity. The fire/water connection is implied when the
Virgin says: "Que con esta agua caliente / arder&n tanto las
fraguas" (lines 25-26). Yet another characteristic of water that has surfaced here is that of heat. The Virgin's tears— hot water— are to protect her child with their soothing 103
warmth. She adds: "Yo, con ella deshare / la penosa y dura
escarcha / que os hace temblar de frio" (lines 29-31).
The mystical writings of William Law, as cited by Evelyn
Underhill in Mysticism, reveal how the element of fire is
related to God:
[T]he Kingdom of Heaven ... stands in this
threefold life, where three are one, because it is
a manifestation of the Deity, which is Three and
One; the Father has his distinct manifestation in
the Fire, which is always generating the Light; the
Son has his distinct manifestation in the Light,
which is always generated from the Fire; the Holy
Ghost has his manifestation in the Spirit, that
always proceeds from both, and is always united
with them.23
In the Trinitarian theology of Law, the Virgin Mary is not
included as part of the Trinity. Other theologians, however, do so include her. In The Maternal Face of God: The Feminine and Its Religious Expressions.24 for example, Leonardo Boff writes that since Mary has been the temple of the Holy Spirit
in such a real and genuine way, she is to be regarded as hypostatically united to the Third Person of the Blessed
23 Evelyn Underhill, Mysticism. (New York: Plume, 1974) 114. Underhill notes that Laws's symbolism is borrowed from the system of his master, Jacob Boehme.
24 Leonardo Boff, The Maternal Face of God: The Feminine and Its Religious Expressions. (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1987) 104
Trinity (95-97). Boff explains that this is so because she
has not only received:
the effects of the Holy Spirit's intervention in
her life ... but ... she specifically received the
very person and godhead of the Third Person of the
Holy Trinity.25
Does Boff's theology, then, turn the Trinity into a
"Quaternity"? According to Stephen Benko, it does not:
[I]n Boff's theology Mary is part of the Trinity,
but [that] does not make it into a "Quaternity" as
Jung proposed because she is identical with the
Holy Spirit.26
With regard to the symbolism of fire, Thomas Fawcett has w r i t t e n :
The significance of a symbol is not unlimited. It
has both flexibility and constancy. The
•multiplicity of signification1 is bounded by 'the
natural qualities of the symbol.'... The symbolism
of fire possesses versatile content .... fire could
represent God's energetic revelation of himself as
in the story of the burning bush. The early
Christian fathers used it as an analogy in
discussing the doctrine of the Trinity, drawing out
the parallelism between the relationship of fire
25 Boff 97.
26 Benko 228. 105
and the flame and the relationship of God the
Father and the Son.27
On one hand, Mother and Child, through the fire of this poem, are united in one with the Father. On the other, they are conjoined in love. In his The Psychoanalysis of Fire.
Gaston Bachelard reminds us that the first men produced fire by rubbing together two pieces of dry wood. Since "rubbing is a highly sexualized experience," the objective attempt to produce fire implies an "intimate experience" (23) . Max
Muller, who is quoted by Bachelard, clearly grasped the sexual implications of the discovery: "[Fire] was the son of two pieces of wood."28
In his discussion, Bachelard concludes that love is but a fire that is to be transmitted. The notion finds expression towards the end of Romance 4. There we perceive both the desire of the Mother to transmit that fire which has produced love and the need for a shared warmth and caloric happiness, as Mother and Child commune with each other by means of the fire (lines 25-32).
Commenting on the cosmogony of the poet Novalis, a cosmogony centered on the idea of a "rubbing god," Bachelard writes that the "Novalis complex":
would synthesize, then, this impulse towards fire
that is brought about by friction, the need for a
27 Fawcett 29.
28 Bachelard, Psychoanalysis 24. 106
shared warmth. This impulse would reconstitute, in
its exact primitivity, the prehistoric conquest of
fire. The Novalis complex is characterized by a
consciousness of inner heat which always takes
precedence over a purely visual knowledge of light.
It is based upon a satisfaction of the thermal
sense and the deep-seated consciousness of caloric
happiness. Heat is a property, a possession. It
must be guarded jealously and only given as a gift
to a chosen being who merit its communion in a
reciprocal fusion. Light plays upon and laughs
over the surface of things, but only heat
penetrates.29
The ability of heat to penetrate to the interior of things has bearing on our reading of the ending of Romance 4.
Fire connects with the heart when Mother and Child commune with each other by means of the hot tears. Because fire is also love, and because all love comes from God, Mary is able to soothe the pain of her Baby. This is the ultimate goal of the maternal instinct of the Theotdkos. Now the poet is able to bring the poem close to a solution.
The solution takes place when the fire that produces love reaches the heart of the Mother. The Virgin Mary, with her tears full of her life-giving love, turns them into hot water:
29 Bachelard, Psychoanalysis 40. 107
25 Que con esta agua caliente
26 arderSn tanto las fraguas,
27 que se conviertan muy presto
28 nuestro coragon en agua.
We note that even winter is affected by this fire. The
Virgin says:
29 Yof con ella deshare
30 la penosa y dura escarcha
31 que os hace temblar de frio,
32 y vos, lavar§is el alma.
Fire and winter are joined briefly as the heat of love melts the "frost" covered soul. Fire has finally consumed the icy- cold winter because fire is the creation and completion of love. This is the ultimate combustion. The Father, Mother, and Child are united in one.
Finally, life here is held to be a strange mixture of joy and sadness. Joy is superior to sadness, but in spite of this fact, sorrow leaves a much deeper imprint in the human heart than does joy. The more delicate the heart is, the more keen is the suffering. The Virgin, who had a much more refined nature than any other being, must have felt grief and pain with greater sharpness. Ecclesiastes states that to love is to suffer. It might almost be said that we love in order to suffer to the extreme, for as both the poets and the theologians tells us, suffering sculpts the soul. 108
B. Romance 5: "En la misma fiesta a la Virgen Madre"
1 Virgen, corona del mundo,
2 honrra de nuestro linaje,
3 en cuyo seno ha cabido
4 lo que en sdlo el de Dios cabe.
5 Llegd ya el alegre dia,
6 (que no es noche quando nace
7 la fuente de quien recibe
8 el sol, la luz que reparte).
9 Tan deseado del mundo
10 quanto pudo desearle,
11 porque con 61 esperava
12 el remedio de sus males.
13 Ya mirarS Dios al hombre
14 con apacible semblante;
15 y 61 no se esconderd ya,
16 si el nifio Dios le llamare.
17 Soys vos, virgen, la tercera
18 de tan deseadas pazes;
19 Dios nos d6 con que serviros,
20 seftora, merced tan grande. 109
21 Por muchos aftos, y buenos,
22 os goz&is con ser su madre,
23 ve&is buen gozo, senora,
24 del recifen nacido infante.
25 En todo lo que emprendiere
26 facilidad mucha halle;
27 a los mogos, dexe detr&s;
28 vaya, a los viejos, delante.
29 Veaysle, entre los doctores
30 soltar las difficultades;
31 muy seguido de la gente
32 guando despues predicare.
33 Pontifice le vefiis,
34 con cinco mil cardenales,
35 ensefiando de la silla
36 al mundo, todo verdades.
37 El alma, a guien bien guisiere
38 mcis gue a si, le guiera y ame,
39 y por ser amada del,
40 dexe otro gualguier amante. 1 1 0
41 El mundo, todo le siga;
42 el cielo, por rey le alee,
43 y a vos sefiora, por reyna,
44 pues soys de tal hijo madre.
This second ballad also concerns itself with the Madonna
theme. What distinguishes it from the one discussed
previously is that here there is only one voice: that of the
poet. Everything is presented from the point of view of the
writer.
To facilitate the commentary of the romance, it has been
divided, for the sake of convenience, into quatrains. The
first introduces the theme of Mary (lines 1-4). The second
and third focus on Baby Jesus (lines 5-16). In the fourth,
fifth, and sixth, the poet shifts his attention back to the
Virgin Mother (lines 17-24). The subsequent three quatrains—
the seventh through the ninth— once again pertain to Baby
Jesus (lines 25-36) . Quatrain ten has the soul as subject
(lines 37-40). The last quatrain— the eleventh— centers on
both Jesus and Mary (lines 41-44). We note, then, that the
analysis of the internal structure of the poem reveals two
focal points: the Virgin Mother and Child.
The figure of the Virgin introduced at the beginning of this poem, "Virgen, corona del mundo," (lines 1-4), is in the
Christian tradition of Mary, Regina Coeli. The title of
"Queen of Heaven" was given to Mary at the beginning of the Ill
fourth century. After the fourth century, together with other
appellations, it entered progressively into the common usage.
The title eventually found expression in the Liturgy of the
Hours ("Hail, Holy Queen" [c. 1000-c. 1100] and "Queen of
Heaven" [c. 900-c. 1000]). The Regina Coeli tradition also
existed in popular piety in the Litanv of the Blessed Virgin
[c. 1100-c. 1200]. The same theme is found in the 15th
mystery of the Rosarv of Marv (Crowning of the Blessed Virgin
Mother). In art, Christian iconography frequently depicted
Mary's coronation. For example, it can be seen in a sixth-
century fresco— Maria Regina— in Santa Maria Antiqua and in an
eighth-century icon in Santa Maria, Trastevere, Rome.
Finally, the Queenship of Mary and its celebration as a Feast was officially proclaimed in the Encyclical Ad Coeli Reginam
by Pope Pius XII in 1954.30
Catholic belief holds that upon her Assumption, Mary became "Queen of Heaven." The crown she wears on her head is a reminder to us of her triumph. Her crown stands as a symbol expressing her supremacy. It does not only speak of her glory as an individual, but also about the power of the Church, for which the Virgin often is a symbol. Marina Warner states that the appellation "Queen of Heaven" reveals:
the Church's most profound ambitions for itself,
both in the afterlife, when it hopes to be reunited
30 Dictionary of Marv. (New York: Catholic Book Publishing, 1985) 281 and 405-16. 1 1 2
like the New Jerusalem with Christ the Bridegroom,
and on earth, where it hopes to hold sway in
plenitude of spiritual power.31
Thus, the royal title— Regina Coeli— is indicative of the
Virgin Mary's preeminence and power.
Having introduced the theme of "Queen of Heaven," the
first quatrain of this romance then highlights the maternity
of the Madonna (Experience of Sexual Differentiation). The
Virgin is singled out among other beings as the sublime grace
that surpasses all creatures, both in heaven and on earth.
The reality of the Divine Motherhood explains the human and
supernatural perfection of Mary, alluded to in lines two
through four. This perfection constitutes the only case,
Greeley says, where the "Son" was able to "fashion" His Mother
as He wanted Her to be. In actuality, however, Mary is
redeemed because of the merits of her Son and united to Him by
a close and indissoluble tie. She has been endowed with the high office and dignity of being the Mother to the Son of God; consequently, she is also the beloved daughter of the Father and the Holy Spirit: "honrra de nuestro linaje" (line 2). The
last two lines of this quatrain also help to explain her human and supernatural perfection: "en cuyo seno ha cabido / lo que s61o en el de Dios cabe" (lines 3-4). At the end of this quatrain, the Virgin Mother is equal to God in glory and greatness.
31 Warner 103. 113
The following lines (5-8) concern the Biological Origin;
that is, the birth of the Son of God. The idea of birth in
these lines is associated with the notion of light, as
expressed both by the noun "luz," and its equivalencies: "dia"
(day), "sol" (sun), and "luz" (light). The word "dia," as
used here by Medrano, implies light in opposition to the
darkness of "noche," (night) for he says: "(que no es de noche
cuando nace" (line 6).
The contrast between "day and night" or "light and
darkness" is, of course, common in mystic discourse. Evelyn
Underhill, writing about the mystic masters, summarizes the
meaning of this antithesis as follows:
[Light], ineffable and uncreated, the perfect
symbol of pure undifferentiated Being: above the
intellect, as St. Augustine reminds us, but known
to him who loves. This Uncreated Light is the
'deep yet dazzling darkness1 of the Dyonisian
school, 'dark from its surpassing brightness ... as
the shinning of the sun on his course is as
darkness to weak eyes.32
The birth of Baby Jesus presented in lines five through eight is seen as the dawn of a new day, because with Him humankind is offered another opportunity. It is the birth of a new humanity. This idea, introduced by Medrano in line
32 Underhill 115. 114 five, will predominate throughout the next two quatrains
(lines 9-16).
The theme of humanity having a second opportunity is central to Matthew's discussion of the genealogy of Christ,
(1.1-25), in the New Testament. Matthew's intention is to establish a parallel between the creation of Adam and the
Incarnation of the Word. The event is the creation of a new humanity, a renewal of the first creation. Matthew implies that the creation of Adam is the work of God, and the new Adam is also the work of God. Thus, after recounting Jesus' genealogy, Matthew writes in verse 18: "Now the birth of Jesus
Christ was on this wise ..." He goes on to tell of the appearance of the angel to Joseph, informing him that Mary had conceived by the Holy Spirit (1.20). Both parts of Matthew's relation are intended to show that the birth of Christ is analogous to the birth of the new Adam. The first part shows
Jesus as He who comes at the end of the Old Testament and inaugurates a new humanity. The second shows how the genesis of the new Adam is the work of the Holy Spirit. The new humanity is called into being by God himself.
Lines seven through nine of the romance refer to the idea contained in Matthew:
5 Lleg6 ya el alegre dia,
6 (que no es noche quando nace
7 la fuente de quien recibe
8 el sol, la luz que reparte). 115
His coining brings the light that dissipates darkness: "Llego ya el alegre dia, / (que no es noche cuando nace)" (5-6). The
Sun is present in line eight to indicate that it is the source of all; therefore, light derives from the sun (Father) . God— the sun (el sol)— creates the fountain (la fuente) that is
Christ the Son. Underhill, referring to the light of God, states that light is "the Eternal Father, or Fount of Things"
(115).
The fountain is described in Gertrude Grace Sill's A
Handbook of Symbols in Christian Art as:
[A] symbol of salvation. Christ is identified with
the fountain or the "well of living water," and his
blood at the Crucifixion may flow from the wounds
into a basin and thence into a chalice.33
Both the Godhead and Christ reflect back on each other. "Sol"
(Godhead) and "Fuente" (Jesus Christ) participate in one another. Their participation and unification are possible only through the endeavor of the Virgin Mary. The underlying motif of this quatrain— Mary (the new Eve) as the mother of the new humanity— will be confirmed in subsequent lines.
The next quatrain of the three that center on Baby Jesus
(lines 9-12) has hope as its main theme. Lines nine and ten convey the message: the world is anxiously awaiting its
Savior. Jesus is there to fulfill our existential need in times of discouragement and despair. The reason is explained
33 Sill 131. 116
in lines 11 and 12: "porque con €1 esperava / el remedio de
sus males." Jesus is the redeemer of humankind.
The last four verses of this group, lines 13-16, echo the
Fall of man in the Garden of Eden. Since the birth of Christ
brings the hope of starting anew with the intervention of the
Virgin Mary, mankind will be able to participate in God again.
Medrano says: "Ya mirarS Dios al hombre / con apacible
semblante;" God is all forgiving. He is not judgmental.
Medrano portrays Him as a sweet, peaceful God. He is now
smiling at man because humanity will be redeemed by Jesus
Christ, the new Adam. Lines 15 and 16 predict the outcome of
the arrival of the Redeemer: "y £1 no se esconderd ya / si el
nino Dios le llamare." Man will no longer be ashamed of
looking at God face to face.
The last three quatrains of the romance portray Jesus
Christ as the new Adam. If He is revealed as the new Adam,
bringing a new opportunity to all humankind, so the Virgin is
revealed as Mary, the mother of the new humanity. On the
surface, the lines in this section concern Christ, but in
fact, the overall theme is the Blessed Mother. She plays a
very important role because she is the one who brings forth a
new life— a new Adam. She is the channel through which the new Adam gives humankind its opportunity to redeem itself
(lines 5-16).
In quatrains five and six, the focus is once again upon the Virgin Mary. She is referred to as the third partner in 117 the reconciliation of man with God. Above all there is God, then there is Christ; the third participant is the Virgin
Mary. Medrano writes: "Soys vos, virgen, la tercera / de tan deseadas pazes" (lines 17-18) . She is the one who is able to channel man's desire to redeem himself before God. Thus man will regain the lost paradise with Mary's acting as the new
Eve. The poet expresses thanks to the Virgin for having undertaken such a task: "Dios nos de con que serviros, / senora, merced tan grande" (lines 19-20).
Quatrain six functions as a transition to the next four.
This stanza (lines 21-24) continues the theme of maternity.
There is a certain ingenuous attitude in these verses. They are soothing and appealing not only to mothers, but to all.
Their focus is the future of the Baby Jesus. Like any other mother, the Virgin Mary wants the best for her son. She desires Him to be happy and expects Him to do well.
Verses 25 through 28 continue to speak of Jesus Christ as of any other ordinary child. The poetic voice reflects the concern of the mother for the future of her infant son. The period referred to here is the time between Jesus' birth and his public ministry, a period sometimes characterized as "the obscure years of Jesus." Luke relates: "And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him" (Luke 2. 40).
The next quatrain's first two verses refer to the episode of Jesus in the Temple: "Veaysle, entre los doctores / soltar 118 las difficultades.11 In Jesus' time it was the custom for boys of twelve to be examined before the doctors on the content of the Law. The practice is discussed by many scholars, one of whom is Rend Laurentin.34 The events included in Luke's gospel consist of historical, geographical, sociological and religious information which later scholarly studies have confirmed. Luke mentions the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem
(2.41), the fulfilling of which legal obligation began at the age of approximately twelve (2.46), and the possible examination of a child by the doctors of Law (2.46-47)— all this according to the customs of the time. Luke's account speaks of Jesus as a master worthy to be believed. After all,
Jesus had impressed the doctors of the law. Thus, He is to be accepted not only as the Saviour, but also as Teacher. The last two lines in this stanza and the following four refer to this aspect of Jesus:
31 muy seguido de la gente
32 guando despues predicare.
33 Pontlfice le vedis,
34 con cinco mil cardenales,
35 ensefiando de la silla
36 al mundo, todo verdades.
34 Rend Laurentin, Jdsus au Temple: Mvstdre de Pdaues et Foi de Marie en Luc. 2.48-50. (Paris: n. p., 1966). 119
The evocation of Jesus during the years between his birth and his public ministry concludes in verse 36. The next five verses summarize the idea of the love we should feel towards
Jesus Christ:
37 El alma, a quien bien quisiere
38 mcis que a si, le quiera y ame,
39 y por ser amada del,
40 dexe otro qualquier amante.
41 El mundo, todo le siga;...
These verses echo the Canticle of Canticles (or Song of
Songs). The soul (amada) is portrayed as the spouse in love with Jesus Christ (amante), the true husband. The nuptial imagery is often used by poets and mystics, among them, Saint
Bernard of Clairvaux, Fray Luis de Le6n, and San Juan de la
Cruz. All of them refer to the love felt by the soul once it accepts Christ. In The Spiritual Canticle. Saint John sets forth the stages in the soul's progression as it advances toward union with God as love, spiritual betrothal, and spiritual marriage. The simple allegory helps humans to relate to the great love which comes from God.
The final group of verses emphasizes the main idea of this poem. Before the romance ends, it presents one other image of Mary. She is the "Queen of Heaven" as Jesus is the
King: "el cielo, por rey le alee, / y a vos seftora, por reyna," (lines 42-43). She is crowned "Queen" by the Holy
Ghost upon her triumphant entry into heaven. The image is a 1 2 0 clear reflection of that aspect of the Madonna symbol that
Greeley calls the man-woman implication. Neither Mary nor
Jesus can exist without the other because together they represent both sides of humankind: the masculine and the feminine (Acceptance of androgyny).
The poem closes with the idea of the divine motherhood of
Mary which was introduced at the beginning: "pues soys de tal hijo madre" (line 44). Thus it concludes, as it began, with the theme of Mary's maternity.
We established that the poem has two focal points: Mary and Child. The overriding theme, however, is that of Mary's maternity. She is the vessel through which new life thrusts into existence. Through her maternity humanity has the chance to meet the new Adam. CHAPTER IV
MARY AS VIRGO
Introduction
This chapter will consider the Virgo aspect of the Virgin
Mary in two romances of Francisco de Medrano. Here again, we
follow Greeley, adapting for our purposes his fourteen
constituent aspects of Mary as Virgo.1 Many of those aspects
of the Virgo symbol are present in the romances selected for
this chapter; thus, our discussion begins with them. Next, we
will consider briefly the important Feast of the Assumption of
Mary. Finally, we will focus on the study of the romances
themselves.
1 The fourteen aspects that belong to the Virgo symbol ares 1)Experience of Sexual Differentiation (Transforming, inspiring, renewing); 2) Biological Origin (Arousal, heightened consciousness); 3) Cognate Symbols (Moon, lotus, lily); 4) Ancient Goddesses (Shakti, Kwan-yin, Sophia, Tara); 5) Type (Eve, the beginning); 6) Mary Symbol (Virgin Full of Grace); 7) Existential Need (Weariness); 8) Limit-Experience (Renewal, transformation); 9) Grace that is Given ( Implacable fidelity of life-giving love, which is also life-renewing); 10) Illumination— Restructuring Perceptions (Trust); 11) Action (Commitment); 12) Man-Woman Implication (Both man and woman can inspire, renew, and surrender to inspiration and renewal); 13) Poem (Shelly's Seraph of Heaven); 14) Plastic Art (Michelangelo's Holv Family) 221.
1 2 1 1 2 2
Greeley's Virgo Symbol
Mary as Virgo has been the cause of much controversy.
The Virgo aspect originally and at the height of its tradition represented renewal, transformation, and the beginning of a new creation. Greeley asserts that, unfortunately, for many modern Catholics, Mary's virginity does not speak of the transformation of humankind. On the contrary, her virginity reveals a set of social and religious restrictions imposed on the community at large, which have affected a whole realm of sexual prohibitions.
The symbol of woman as a positive transforming force, embedded in many religious traditions, is difficult to understand in the present world because of a contemporary fixation with orgasmic satisfaction as the only meaningful experience of sexual differentiation. Nevertheless, not all relationships between men and women are expressed as physical sexuality. For example, mothers, daughters, sisters, and friends can all be strong feminine influences in the life of a man. They all exemplify the transforming and renewing power of sexual differentiation. Obviously, even when two people are lovers, the basis of their intimacy is often not the sex act itself, but interludes and episodes of daily ordinary life. Everyday interactions help to clarify the transforming influence of the opposite sex in people's lives. The presence of a man among a group of women, or viceversa, has the power to change the attitudes of the other gender. Conversations 123
become more impressive, and competition is obvious among men
as they try to impress women. The same is true in the
reversed situation.
Greeley states that the reassurance of a mother, sister
or daughter when we are troubled, the care of a nurse when we
are sick, the comic relief offered by the laughter of a female
colleague in the confusion of a project, the smile of a woman
friend when one is depressed are some of the examples of the
transforming and renewing impact of sexual differentiation.
The wife in a marriage, for example, plays all these roles—
mother, sister, daughter, nurse, organizer, and comedienne.
The reality is that the experience of the transforming power
of sexual differentiation is a universal phenomenon.
According to Greeley, the transforming power of sexual
differentiation is biologically rooted because the person we
are attracted to "arouses" us. Sometimes the physical arousal
is very low, but the psychological arousal remains and persists. It is in that state of arousal that our consciousness is heightened, and because of it our behavior can be transformed.
The notion of woman as a source of transformation,
inspiration, and renewal was obvious to ancient people,
Greeley states. He notes that many of the elements that surrounded them were perceived as female in nature: the gate, the tomb, the central pillar of the house, the enclosure, the village, the city, and ultimately, the nation. Erich Neumann 124
writes that the woman was the natural mistress of everything
that implied nourishment— house, table, hearth, and bed. She
was responsible for the gathered food, and only the killing of
large animals was left to men. She was in charge of physical
transformation, the cooking and maintenance of the house.2
The woman was also in charge of medicines, and she knew about
curatives, intoxicants, and poisons. The female goddesses, as
well as those who served them— sibyls, priestesses, and wise
women— derived from this experience. Later, the female
goddesses of transformation emerged as nymphs, graces, and
muses.
In late antiquity, the mother goddess as a source of
spiritual transformation reached the apogee of her development
in the figure of Sophia, or Wisdom. Sophia is the kind of
deity who is always ready to answer our needs and to intervene
on our behalf. Neumann says that the Christian figure of the
Madonna, who shelters humanity under her mantle, communicates the same idea as the Sophia figure.3 But this ancient goddess
of antiquity was herself transformed. No longer concerned
solely with reproduction of, or the caring for, a child, she came to involve herself with the whole man in the entire process of his spiritual growth. Greeley cites several examples of the transforming and spiritual mother from antiquity. He finds, for instance, that in Buddhism, Kwan-yin
2 In Greeley 137.
3 In Greeley 138. 125 is the transforming mother; in India, Kali— when she manifests herself in her benign side— and Shakti both become spiritual mothers; and in Yoga, Tara is the spiritual mother with the lotus and the lily that symbolizes spiritual transformation.
The Virgin Mother paradox emphasizes the total renewal of humanity that took place with the coming of Jesus. We recall that Mary, the Virgin, signifies transformation, renewal, and a new beginning. Within this paradigm, Jesus represents the new Adam, marking the beginning of a New Creation, the dawn of a new day for humanity. His mother is the new Eve, making her, in her virginity, the total renewal of creation.
Mary, the Virgin, is the renewing mother "full of grace."4 Thus, Greeley asserts that she is the mother who consoles, protects, and watches over her children not only for their physical well-being but also their spiritual growth.
She is our spiritual mother. Boff states that Mary's earthly life was as difficult, painful, and monotonous as the lives of many people, but she knew how to accept all her troubles as manifestations of the structural mortality of life, and, responding to the invitation to trascendence, she went beyond
4 Leonardo Boff explains that "to profess that Mary is full of grace is to admit that God— as goodness, gentleness, joy, righteousness, balance, transparency, freedom, and exhuberance in all of life's dimensions— has given the divine self totally to this simple woman of the people. Grace is not something mysterious in the sense of being impalpable. Grace is the personal, living presence of god in life itself, dwelling there to make it more fully life, more open to heaven and earth alike" (The Maternal Face of God. 131-32). 126
them, and desired God.5 Further, he writes that Mary
anticipates the destiny of us all. She gives us the certitude
that God has not abandoned us to our disgrace. Mary is our
departure, our fresh start, provided we are ready, for we are
always surrounded by her love.6 Her being full of grace does
not only characterize the state of her own spirituality, but
it speaks of her graciousness for us. Since she is the
renewing and transforming woman, she has the power to inundate
us with the renewing waters of graciousness. She is a caring
mother when we are weary, desperate, and tired.
Weariness is one of our human existential needs. The
role of the Mary symbol of Virgo here is to illuminate our
weariness and our frustation. This type of limit-experience
opens us up to the limit-experience of woman as inspiration,
transformation and renewal. Greeley states that this type of
experience takes place when the human being goes through
something similar to the death anxiety described previously.
This experience, however, is different. A good example would
be a typical mid-life crisis, or any other crisis in life.
During a period of crisis we might realize we live tedious, obscure, and uneventful lives. This realization can throw us
into extreme states of depression or emptiness, and we feel that it is almost impossible to escape the situation.
Suddenly we are weary, our vitality is gone, our creative
5 Boff 132.
6 Boff 132. 127 energy is exhausted. We no longer feel connected to our drive to excel. This is the moment when we are open to renewal.
We need new experiences to reinvigorate us, to make us feel transformed and renewed. We may fall in love or rediscover our old love. We experience a kind of elation that lifts us out of our monotony, our rutting weariness, and make us feel new again. Mary, because of her love for us, has the power to make us gather our strength under the mantle of her compassion and her tenderness. She is the virgin mother who foresees our rebirth as she oversaw, in the birth of her son
Jesus Christ, the birth of humanity.
Greeley classifies the renewal experience essentially as an experience of fidelity. He explains that ecstatic experiences are but brief instances that allow us to see the whole purpose of the universe and our own place in it. We discover that life makes sense: it has a purpose. There are promises that have been kept. An evidence of these promises is this love that has the power to lift us out of ourselves by integrating us into its unity granting us joy, serenity, confidence, and warmth. The old structures which made us feel weary have been transformed into new ones giving us confidence in a new beginning as Romance 32 will show.
The illumination we achieve in the limit-experience of spiritual transformation is the illumination of trust. After having become weary of our monotonous, ordinary lives, we can once again believe in the cosmos to start anew. Its purpose 128 is reflected to us in the transforming experience of the protective and revitalizing Virgin Mother. We can trust to find love anew knowing that even if we fail for a second time we will have the Virgin Mother to console and protect us. She will drape her mantle around us in protection. There is no guarantee that our hearts will not be broken again, but the difference now is that we risk it full of trust. This fact makes recovery from any hurt easier because Mary reflects the protective power of life-giving, life-renewing love.
Greeley says that if it is possible for us to trust, then it is posssible for us to make more permanent commitments which will not be withdrawn if we become weary, frustated, and discouraged. These commitments could be made to a spouse, children, and family. They can also be made to organizations, friends, and careers. If the cause to which we are committed receives frustation, setback, and failure, we will have the resilience, and the strength to bounce back and start all over again. Thus, Mary is the reason behind this strength and confidence regained to help us start anew. She, who is the inspiring, transforming, renewing Virgin Mother, the rebirth of humanity, incarnates and symbolizes the human capacity to be transformed and renewed.
The transforming power of Mary has been depicted frequently in literature and art. Greeley cites several examples in poetry that extend from the classical tradition to more recent times. He asserts that an early example is "O 129
Glory of Virgins" by Venatius Fortunatus (530-609). Here,
Venatius hymns the glory of the Virgin Mother who renews the cosmos. In "Mary Passes" (Maria durch den Dornewald ging), a medieval German bard envisions Mary passing through the forest with blossoms of renewal springing up in her wake. Later,
Girolamo Savonarola (1492-1498) in "o Star of Galilee" sees
Mary renewing the city of Florence after the plague has passed. Percy Bysshe Shelly (1792-1822), in "Seraph of
Heaven," sees Mary lurking behind transforming dynamisms of the world and pleads with her to eliminate the imperfections of his work.
In painting, Greeley cites the image of the transforming
Virgin in El Greco's Assumption. In this picture "the lovely
Spanish girl with her broadly flowing red and blue robes is lifted up to renewing heaven, and at the same time she bathes in new light the whole world beneath her."7
Additionally, the beautiful woman who is beingcrowned by Jesus and the Father in Vel&squez's Coronation of the
Virgin represents a renewed humankind. Likewise, Mary is the tender, renewing, and protecting mother who intercedes for us in both El Greco's and Michelangelo's Last Judgment.
Thus, in Greeley's ideas as well as in paintings and poetry, the Virgin Mother stands for a second opportunity. It is possible to renew ourselves as she shows us the way to
7 Greeley 149. 130
begin anew, to be reborn if we are willing to accept her in
the Mary symbol of Virgo.
The Feast of the Assumption of Mary
One of the most celebrated feast days of the Virgin Mary
is the Assumption. Since the seventh century, the faithful
have observed it each year on the 15th of August. The
Assumption celebrates the fact that God did not allow the body
of Our Lady to corrupt. Rather than remaining in this world,
after death her body ascended to heaven where it was joined
again to her soul.
The manner of death of the Virgin is not clear, but
according to a popular version, after the crucifixion Mary
lived with St. John. Often in the company of disciples, the
two traveled about visiting places associated with the life of
Christ. Mary prayed daily for death, and in reply, an angel—
holding a palm, symbol of victory over death— appeared to her
announcing her death. Mary asked that the Twelve Apostles be
brought to her, then fell into a deep sleep, the dormition,
and died peacefully. Some accounts relate to us that she was
reanimated immediately after death by the return of her soul
to the body.
Marina Warner writes that the Feast of the Dormition was
originally celebrated in the east and that by the early seventh century it had spread as far west as Gaul.8 Warner
8 In Warner 88. 131
further explains that the name "dormition" was later changed
to "assumption" in ninth-century liturgical calendars. Pope
Leo IV (847-55), possibly in reaction against the Iconoclast
heretics in Constantinople, gave the feast a vigil and an
octave to solemnize it above all others. Subsequently, Pope
Nicholas I (858-67) placed the Assumption on a par with
Christmas and Easter, declaring Mary's translation to heaven
to be as important to Christians as the Incarnation and the
Resurrection.
Although there are many relics of various saints, we have
no relic of the earthly remains of Christ or of His Blessed
Mother, since they were assumed body and soul into heaven.
This fact notwithstanding, various kinds of relics of Mary
were, over the years, claimed to have been found: girdle,
hair, house, and letters. However, there is little or no
evidence to show that any of them are really what they claim
to be.
In spite of the fact that the Virgin's escape from the grave was a special tribute to her purity, medieval men and women did not believe that her fate was exceptional in quite the way that the modern dogma of the Assupmtion has made it.
Eternal life was believed to be the reward of other saints and holy men, just as it was the destiny of every faithful soul.
The Assumption of the Virgin reflects an immanent attitude to the afterlife that is an essential characteristic of Christian philosophy. 132
In Christian theology, the resurrection of the body is an
article of faith.9 Each human being will rise in his own body
on judgment day. We will all be able to recognize each other
if we enjoy the eternal bliss, transfigured by the sight of
God. Those who are in eternal fire of hell will be disfigured
by the loss of that joy. The resurrection of saints
anticipates the future glory of each Christian soul. The gift
of eternal life to the body reflects the more important gift
of eternal life to the soul. However, resurrection is not
always postponed until the last trumpet; on the contrary, for
certain special saints it can occur at the moment of earthly
death. Marina Warner cites the example of the Assumption of
John, depicted in a French ivory altarpiece in the
Metropolitan Museum in New York. The altarpiece shows the
complete sequence of events which include the grave empty but
for John's shift and sandals.10
Warner demonstrates that the idea of ascension into
heaven relates to the classical tradition of the apotheosis of
a hero. She points out that it borrowed from the visual
imagery of the celebration of the triumphs of Roman emperors who, like the unconquered sun, rode the heavens far from death's reach. This classical idea of apotheosis speaks about
an individual's capacity for greatness. A man may rise above ordinary mortals, but he can never reach the highest ranks of
9 Warner 90.
10 Warner 91. 133
the gods. Warner reports that in the Greek topography of Gods
and men, apotheosis marked out the hero: superhuman, but not
divine.
Catholic belief in the Assumption of Mary was proclaimed
as dogma in 1950 by Pope Pius XII' s Papal Bull
Munificentissimus Deus. The proclamation came after prelates
had debated the question for generations. Numerous petitions were signed by cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops
between 1849 and 1940. Likewise, several international Marian
congresses were held to consider the matter. All were in
favour; and hence the bull of Pope Pius XII, issued on
November 1, 1950.
A. Romance 32: "Assumpsion de Nuestra Sefiora"
1 Hermosamente vestida
2 del brocado de la gracia;
3 cuyos altos ricos son
4 fee, charidad y esperanga.
5 Sube la Reyna Maria,
6 a la corte soberana;
7 y como reyna absoluta
8 entrar quiere coronada.
9 Es la corona de estrellas
10 en oro fino engastadas; 134
11 que son las piedras y perlas
12 que lleva la tierra sancta.
13 Entdldanse, ricamente,
14 las calles y las ventanas
15 de telas de resplandor
16 con rayos de sol bordadas.
17 Van delante de la Reyna
18 muchas y lucidas dangas;
19 dangas por ser ya del cielo
20 sin cruzados y mudangas.
21 Suba, dizen, suba, suba
22 la que se puso tan baja;
23 que la ton»6 Dios por madre,
24 y ella se dio por esclava.
25 Llegue, la paloma, llegue
26 a aquesta celestial area;
27 acabado ya el diluvio
28 de tormenta, sangre, y agua.
29 La nave, Sancta Maria,
30 sea, sea bien llegada 135
31 al cabo de su viaje,
32 cabo de buena de [sic] esperanga.
33 El puerto de la florida
34 a mil dias que la aguarda;
35 entre, muy en ora buena,
36 y en tal, la goze su patria.
Romance 32 can be divided into three parts. The first
part (lines 1-12) presents the subject of Mary, Regina Coeli.
The second (lines 13-20) describes the environment surrounding her ascension into heaven. The last part (21-36) characterizes the "Queen of Heaven" as she is received by God.
Overall, the theme is the reunification of heaven and earth as related in Ephesians 1.10:
A plan to be brought to completion when the time
fully comes, to bring everything together in
Christ, things in heaven and things on earth.
As mentioned earlier, in the Assumption Mary becomes
"Queen of Heaven." This title, previously bestowed on
Artemis, was first given to Mary by Church fathers in the 4th century. Together with other royal titles it entered progressively into the usage of the Church and the people.
The liturgical Feast of the Queenship of Mary was instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1954; and, in that same year he issued the
Encyclical Ad coeli Reainam (To the Queen of Heaven) . This is 136
the principal document of the Magisterium (teaching authority
of the church) concerning the royal dignity of Mary. With
this Encyclical, a development of almost two thousand years
reached its zenith: Mary was officially enthroned as "Queen of
Heaven" to reign together with her Son.
In the first part of his poem (lines 1-12) , Francisco de
Medrano introduces Mary through a plastic image. He describes
her as: "Hermosamente vestida / del brocado de la gracia;"
(lines 1-2). Traditionally, gods and goddesses have often
been envisioned with robes covered with heavenly symbols.
What is communicated in Medrano's image is the celestial
character of the Virgin, her authority and rule over the
universe. But a robe or a dress is much more than a means to
cover the body, it is the expression of individuality. As
Stephen Benko has stated:
A garment is an extension of the personality and a
way of communicating with the world outside
oneself. The garment worn by a powerful person may
even absorb some of that person's power.11
Thus, Medrano uses the opening image to establish Mary's power. At the same time, he modifies that image in such a way as to suggest, metaphorically, the Virgin's qualities: "cuyos altos ricos son / fee, charidad y esperanga" (lines 2-4).
The next eight verses (lines 5-12) continue to assert
Marys's symbols of power and majesty: "Sube la Reyna Maria, /
11 Benko 101. 137
a la corte soberana;" Mary is invited to ascend to heaven where she will join Jesus. Upon her arrival in heaven, the
Regina Coeli is expected to be crowned amidst the appropiate
regalia this special occasion demands: "... como reyna
absoluta / entrar quiere coronada" (lines 5-8). Thus, she will enter Jesus Christ's kingdom as the absolute queen, rightfully enthroned by her Son. The kingdom of Jesus Christ
is understood to belong to Mary as well as to Jesus, because she reigns jointly with him. The focus of the next four lines
is the crown of the Virgin. Medrano describes it as:
9 ... corona de estrellas
10 en oro fino engastadas;
11 que son las piedras y perlas
12 que lleva la tierra sancta.
The crown has various symbolisms. For one thing, since it is placed on top of the head, the highest point of the human body and of the human being, it is a visible symbol of the accomplishments of one particular individual. Thus,
Mary's crown is the reward she has attained for her life- giving love; and, it speaks to us of the transforming, inspiring, and renewing experience of her life.
What a crown is made of is another aspect that adds depth to its symbolism. Mary's crown is made of stars. This detail could have been taken by Medrano from Revelation 12 which describes "upon [the Virgin's] head a crown of twelve stars."
The stars also recall Mary's identification with the Stella 138
Haris (Star of the Sea) and the Stella Matutina (Morning
Star).
Due to the error of an early copyist, the original stilla
maris, Latin for "drop of the sea," was changed to stella
mar is. Some find this a logical slip due to the Virgin's
close association with the heavens. The mistake, Marina
Warner says, introduced into Marian literature and art one of
its most suggestive and beautiful metaphors. She points out
that in the seventh- or eighth-century antiphon Ave Haris
Stella, which is included in the Office of the Virgin, Mary
appears as the ocean's guide. She is the pole star who is
smiling favorably overhead to make life's journey safe.
Warner further informs us that Saint Anselm and Saint Bernard
were especially fond of using this title. Bernard saw it "as
another perfect symbol of Mary's incorrupt virginity, because
it seemed to him that a star burns and burns and is never
consumed." He wrote that her splendor:
[B]oth shines in the heavens and penetrates into
hell; and as it traverses the lands, it causes
minds to glow with virtues more than bodies with
heat, while vices it burns up and consumes.12
In the poem we are studying, the stars on Mary's robe are made of gold. The stars are also compared to precious gems and pearls carried by the Virgin Mary to the heavens. Gold and gems are used here to convey the idea of the connection
12 In Warner 262-63. 139 that exists between heaven and mother earth in the figure of the Regina Coeli. Gold, gems, and stones also share the idea of eternity since they are pure, unchanged, and imperishable.
Furthermore, gold is symbolic of the sun and the color of God and divinity. In addition, gold is the symbol of power and of
Heaven. Medrano uses all this symbolism to assert the
Virgin’s eternal, unchanged power reflected through Her by
Jesus because she is the bridge (Mediatrix) between heaven and earth.
In the beginning, according to ancient Sumerian and
Egyptian cosmogonies, heaven and earth were united into one entity. The same notion is found in the Greco-Roman myth of the origin of heaven, as summarized by Diodorus Siculus:
When in the beginning ... the universe was being
formed, both heaven and earth were
undistinguishable in appearance, since their
elements were intermingled: then, when their bodies
separated from one another, the universe took on in
all its parts the ordered form in which it is now
seen; the air set up a continual motion, and the
fiery element in it gathered into the highest
regions ... while all that was mud-like and thick
and contained an admixture of moisture sank because
of its weight into one place ....13
13 In Benko 89. 140
According to Hesiod's poem, the Theoqony■ the first power
was Chaos and then arose "Gaia (Mother Earth), broad bosomed
earth."14 Above Gaia was Nyx (Night), and below her was
Erebus (the Underworld of Death). "Gaia first gave birth to
him who is equal to her, star-studded Uranus (Heaven), to
cover her everywhere over and be an ever-immovable base for
the gods ,.."15 Hesiod further relates that in the "darkness
of the night Uranos falls upon Gaia hugging her, spreading all
over her."16 Thus, we see that there is a continous sexual
relationship between heaven and earth that is always renewing
itself because they love one another. They belong together,
and as such, they are destined to be united again, despite the
fact that a cosmic cataclysm has temporarily forced their
separation.17
According to Benko, the view of heaven in the Old and New
Testament is not a consistent one. One point of agreement
14 Benko 89. For a more complete account on the birth of the Gods, see David Bellingham's Chapter I, An Introduction to Greek Mythology. (Secaucus, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, 1989) 10-29.
15 In Benko 89.
16 In Benko 90.
17 Greek philosphers tried to elucidate the material origin of all things based on the idea that all things have an origin. Benko refers to Plato's Symposium which contains a detailed discussion of the origin of male and female conceived as originating from the androgynous unity. Therefore, male and female have the desire to unite both halves into one again. By analogy, heaven and earth must unite their divided halves as well as male and female. From there, we have that pagan mythologies gave gender to heaven and earth. Heaven is male and earth is female. (Benko 91). 141 between the two testaments, however, is the idea that heaven and earth are part of one and the same divine creation. With this in mind, Benko says, we can assume that there is a cosmic correspondence between heaven and earth because whatever happens in either side influences the other. Events that take place on earth have their response in heaven, and any decision made inheaven has its effect on earth. Thus, the redemption promised in the Bible is also a cosmic event: it is the reunification of all things: "things in heaven and things on earth."18 Benko concludes that:
The "great portent" of Revelation 12.1 that
"appeared in heaven" is without doubt the beginning
of an eschatological drama, the end of which,
according to Revelation 21, will be the elimination
of the distance between heaven and earth and of the
separation of God and men.19
This is exactly what happens in Romance 32. Mary's ascension unites heaven and earth. Lines thirteen through twenty relate the moment in which earth, through the Virgin
Mary's ascension, connects with heaven, thus, shortening the distance between God and men:
13 Entdldanse, ricamente,
14 las calles y las ventanas
18 See Eph. 1.10; Col. 1.15-17.
19 Benko 93. 142
15 de telas de resplandor
16 con rayos de sol bordadas.
17 Van delante de la Reyna
18 muchas y lucidas dangas;
19 dangas por ser ya del cielo
20 sin cruzados y mudangas.
The Sun (God) extends his arms to earth, that is, heaven reaches out to meet the ascending Maria Regina. Earth joins with heaven, and the original unity is reestablished.
Benko states that, in general, the idea of heaven is symbolized in the Christian architectural design of a vault or dome. In addition, heaven is also expressed with the decoration of the ceiling. Even when the ceiling is not a dome but a flat roof, its color, and its decoration with stars, sun, and moon recall a vision of heaven. "Pliny says that 'awnings colored as the sky and spangled with stars have been stretched with ropes even in emperor's Nero's amphitheater, * to serve as shades from the sun for the spectators."20 Therefore, Benko says, even temporary erected canopies can be a symbol of heaven since the shape of a tent can be compared to the sky as it covers the earth. This idea of a canopy is strikingly present in Medrano's romance:
13 Entdldanse, ricamente,
14 las calles y las ventanas,
20 Benko 98. 143
15 de telas de resplandor,
16 con rayos de sol bordadas.
Mary's ascension is a joyous one as the "Queen of Heaven" is preceded by a parade of music and dancers ("Van delante de la Reyna / muchas y lucidas dangas" [lines 17-18]). Happiness abounds because the Virgin is going to a place where there will be no despair: "dangas por ser ya del cielo / sin cruzados y mudangas" (lines 19-20). Her sufferings at the foot of the cross and her wandering in life are over.
The final group of verses (lines 21-36) constitutes the last of the three parts we have identified in this poem. Here we see the culmination of the ascension of the Virgin.
However, this last part can itself be divided into four segments. Each is marked by a verb in the imperative that serves to indicate the change in progression from one action to the next. Thus, the invitation to ascend into heaven in this part has a distinctive tone: the Virgin is called up to heaven in a direct manner by using the command form of the verbs.
The first of the last four quatrains (lines 21-24) starts with the imperative of "subir:"
21 Suba, dizen, suba, suba
22 la que se puso tan baja;
23 que la tomo Dios, por madre,
24 y ella se did por esclava. 144
The Virgin is commanded to go up to heaven, the loftiness of
which contrasts sharply with the Virgin's lowliness and
humility, a point that is emphasized in the following three
verses (22-24).
On the occassion of the Annunciation, when Mary learned
from the Holy Ghost of God's divine plan for her, she said
simply: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me
according to thy word" (Lk 1:38). Her response indicated that
she was prepared to be used as it pleased God to use her. She
was ready for the sacrifice because she had total confidence
in God, never questioning her future sufferings or asking for
details about her humiliations or possible Redemption. What
we see in Mary is a truly humble soul. As Medrano says: "la
que se puso tan baja; / que la tom6 Dios por madre, / y ella
se did por esclava." We are offered here the main reason for
her having been chosen to be the Mother of Jesus. In other
words, because she was lowly in the eyes of the world, God
raised her up by His grace and fitted her for this dignity and
this glorious office.
In the next four lines (25-28) we witness the arrival of
the Virgin in heaven where she is safe and away from the
sufferings and tribulations of life on earth: "acabado ya el
diluvio / de tormenta, sangre, y agua." This quatrain also
introduces us to the nautical imagery present to the end of
the romance (lines 29-36). Thus, in lines 29 to 32, the
Virgin is introduced as the "nave, Sancta Maria." The "nave," 145 when associated with the human body, usually expresses the desire to pass beyond, or to travel through, space to other worlds. The poet uses the metaphor of the "nave" to express the Virgin Mary's transition from earth to heaven:
29 La nave, Sancta Maria,
30 sea, sea bien llegada
31 al cabo de su viaje,
32 cabo de buena de [sic] esperanga.
The wish for the Virgin Mary is that she arrive safely after traveling through the storm of life emphasized by the imperative of "ser." Her destination, heaven, is a metaphorical equivalent of the Cape of Good Hope.
The last quatrain (lines 33-36) continues with the nautical imagery which began in line 25. In this final stanza, the Virgin Mary is eventually invited to enter the
Kingdom of Heaven:
33 El puerto de la florida
34 a mil dias que la aguarda,*
35 entre, muy en ora buena,
36 y en tal, la goze su patria.
The ship arrives at the port. The port contains a suggestion of the Resurrection (Pascua Florida) or Easter. Thus, we understand that the final destination of the Virgin after her death and resurrection, is sanctuary in the bosom of the Lord.
God has been waiting a long time for her arrival, and together they will reign in peace. 146
To summarize, Romance 32 deals with the Assumption of
Mary, and teaches us about the transforming, inspiring and renewing power of the figure of the Virgin. Our consciousness is heightened by her example. In the Assumption, the Virgin
is the new Eve who sends the message that there is always a chance for a new beginning. In spite of our weariness, we can still strive for transformation because we can perceive it in her life-giving love showing us there is opportunity for renewal.
B. Romance 8: De la Natividad de X Nuestro Senor
1 Una doncella, mSs pura
2 que las estrellas del cielo;
3 sin cuyos rayos el mundo,
4 como sin sol, fuera ciego.
5 A un infante que a parido,
6 viendole desnudo al yelo,
7 siendo que viste los campos,
8 llorosa, le est& diciendo.
9 Cese ya, mi bien, el llanto,
10 que en las aguas del, me anego.
11 C6mo est&is, vida, le dize,
12 tan sin abrigo al sereno; 147
13 y el con llorar, le responde,
14 como captivo entre yerros.
15 Si estdis vos como captivo,
16 yo, como captiva peno;
17 vos de amor, yo de aficion;
18 ambos cercados de fuego.
19 Cese ya, mi bien, el llanto,
20 que en las aguas del, me anego.
21 Cese ya, el canto penoso,
22 porque goze mi [me]moria
23 el bien que en teneros tengo.
24 Mirad el mar de mis ojos,
25 de quien en miraros vierto
26 m£s agua que vos criastes,
27 en quanto mar cifie al suelo.
28 Cese ya, [mi bien, el llanto
29 que en las aguas del, me anego.]21
21 We have filled in the rest of the verse not included in the Rodriguez-Mofiino edition. 148
30 No tiene de que llorar
31 qulen es de culpas ageno;
32 el mundo, si es bien que llore,
33 pues no las vee, y estd lleno.
34 Llore, pues huye de vos
35 siguiendo un bien, que huyendo
36 jamSs se dexa alcangar,
37 porque corre a vela y remo.
38 Cese ya, mi bien, el llanto,
39 que en las aguas del, me anego.
This is another romance about Medrano's favorite subject: the theme of the nativity of Jesus Christ. Although at first glance, it would seem to relate to the Madonna aspect of Mary, the overriding theme is the transforming and renewing power for which the Virgo aspect of Mary stands.
Structurally, the romance can be divided into three parts. The first (lines 1-8) introduces the Virgin and Child.
In the second part (lines 11-18), the Virgin inquires about her Baby's well-being. In the last section (lines 21-27 and
30-37) , the Virgin offers the Child several arguments to quiet his distress. This poem also contains a two lineestribillo repeated every two quatrains; in it, the Virgin Mother tells her Child to cease his crying. 149
The poem opens with a description of the Virgin Mary in the tradition of the Immaculate Conception. The poet depicts
Mary as that special being whose spirit possesses the grace of
God.22 Church advocates and Marian theologists alike have established that, from the very first moment, the Immaculate
Conception was filled with Sanctifying Grace and was also free from the supernatural effects of Original Sin. Consequently,
Mary is elevated higher than all the other saints. Following that tradition, Medrano begins by comparing Mary's virginal purity to the radiant stars of the firmament: "Una doncella, m&s pura / que las estrellas del cielo." The celestial imagery continues in lines three to four: "sin cuyos rayos el mundo, / como sin sol, fuera ciego." Here, Medrano introduces the symbol of the "sun" and compares it to the light that the
Virgin emits. Her being reflects the light of the Father. In other words, Mary possesses the "fire" that originates directly from the "sun" (God) to create a new life. Not only does she create life, but she is also the source of great energy and riches.
Philip Wheelwright's comments on fire illuminate the symbolism used here. Fire, he writes:
is an archetypal symbol of wide-ranging importance
... ever springing into existence anew, ever being
22 The state of grace raises up our nature and makes us God-like or capable of enjoying the vision of God. See Fr. H. 01Laverty's The Mother of God and Her Glorious Feasts (Rockford, Illinois: Tan Books, 1987) 2. 150
extinguished and rekindled. Thus, by mythopoeic
logic, it is a principle of life; and the
conclusion appears to be confirmed by the
vitalizing effect of warmth upon the bodily
functions.23
Through her association with the fire of the sun, Mary is seen as a source of constant renewal and transformation of life.
This section of the poem (lines 1-4) also establishes and emphasizes the purity of Mary's soul above that of other superior spiritual beings. The reason these qualities are stressed here is to assert the fact that if we appeal to Mary for grace, she has the right to be heard when she intercedes for us. In addition, in lines three and four, the poet posits the Virgin as a guiding light: "sin cuyos rayos el mundo, / como sin sol, fuera ciego." According to these verses, we have no direction or purpose in life without the Virgin's guidance. But Medrano's simile is even more forceful, for he asks us to imagine the earth without the sun's power; eventually, of course, this would mean the death of all life.
Thus, Medrano strikingly conveys the grandeur and splendor of the Virgin.
The next three lines of this first part introduce Baby
Jesus. The focus of attention shifts from the Virgin to her crying Child. The emphasis here is on the baby's lack of
23 Philip Wheelwright, The Burning Fountain: A Study in the Language of Symbolism. 2nd. ed. (Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1959) 303. 151 clothing, and since he is out in the cold, and suffering, Mary is overcome with affliction and concern:
5 A un infante que a parido,
6 viendole desnudo al yelo,
7 siendo que viste los campos,
8 llorosa, le estS diciendo.
These lines stand in contrast with the previous section
(lines 1-4). If the Virgin is associated with light and warmth, Baby Jesus is associated with the opposite. He is out in the cold and he has virtually no clothes. The antithesis that is created is that of "ice" versus "fire." But the apparent antithesis, like many such, is eventually overcome.
For the "sun" (fire, light) is filled with vitality and will in time triumph over darkness and cold (ice).
The establishing of the fire/ice opposition in the romance, an antithesis that runs throughout the entire poem, leads directly to the introduction of another element, water:
"llorosa, le est£ diciendo." (line 8). In the romance, water is found in various forms— as "llanto," for example, or simply
"agua," and much later in lines 24 and 27 as "mar." Thus, the
"water" symbol is encountered continuously in the poem, most notably in the estribillo: "Cese ya, mi bien, el llanto, / que en las aguas del, me anego." The virgin is not only concerned about her child, but she is also thinking about her own situation. It is important for the child to cease his crying 152 because otherwise she will drown in the flood of both their tears.
Medrano plays on the dual nature of the "water" symbol.
That duality is discussed by Thomas Fawcett, who writes:
Man's varied experience of water gave the symbol
that ambivalence which made it possible for the
primordial ocean to represent two quite different
things at the same time. On one hand, the ocean
sugested chaos and destruction as man had
experienced it flooding his home and sweeping all
life away in its terrifying strengh. On the other
hand, water was also experienced as the source of
life for himself, his cattle and his crops.
Consequently the primeval waters always seem to
have a dual nature.24
As the poem continues, the Virgin Mother begins a monologue directed at her son to find out more about his afflictions: "C6mo estdis, vida, le dize, / tan sin abrigo al sereno; (lines 11-12)." According to the Luke's gospel, the
Baby, after birth, was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger (Lk. 2.7).25 Jesus Christ is outside, "al sereno," that is, in the darkness. The Baby Jesus cries as he responds to the Virgin's inquiries: "como captivo entre
24 Fawcett 110.
25 This is supposed to be a "sign" for the shepherds to find the babe (Lk 2.12, 16). 153 yerros" (line 14). He feels like a captive in jail. We see here that Medrano continues the focus on the antithesis
"light" versus "darkness." This is evident in the Baby Jesus' response. Although we know that the Infant Jesus participates in the "light" of the Father, at the moment he is threatened by the power of "darkness."
Discussing what he calls "the fire-world of heavenly bodies," Northrop Frye says that there are three important cyclical rythms:
Most obvious is the daily journey of the sun-god
across the sky, often thought of as guiding a boat
or chariot, followed by a mysterious passage
through a dark underworld .... The solstitial cycle
of the solar year supplies an extension of the same
symbolism, incorporated in our Christmas
literature. Here there is more emphasis on the
theme of a newborn light threatened by the powers
of darkness.26
Medrano's Baby is clearly the "newborn light" threatened by the power of darkness. Like any newborn of any species, he is not equipped with the power to fend off danger. It will take him time to develop the strength to defend himself against darkness and against negative forces.
26 Northrop Frye, Anatomy of Criticism: Four Essays. (Princeton: Princeton UP, 1957) 159. 154
Another notion implied in lines 11-14 is the future
Passion of the Christ Child. The idea is evoked by the words
"captivo" and "yerro." These two nouns are in agreement with the idea of "darkness" introduced a few lines above, but they are also suggestive of someone who is inside a dark place, without hope of escaping. The forces of evil or error are at work here, significantly, the noun "yerro" can also be read as "hierro," and thus be associated with "chains" and the
"iron" bars of the prision where the "captive" is being held prisoner. Such "chains" or "fetters" are, according to George I Ferguson, "one of the symbols of the Passion, refering to the
Flagellation of Christ by the soldiers."27
As the child's dilemma continues to unfold, the Virgin empathizes with him:
15 Si estciis vos como captivo,
16 yo, como captiva peno;
17 vos de amor, yo de aficidn;
18 ambos cercados de fuego
If he suffers, she suffers along with him. He is here to suffer so that mankind can be redeemed by his sacrifice. In this troubling situation, he is accompanied by the Virgin:
"vos de amor, yo de aficidn" (line 17). However, the only thing that saves them is their union with the "fire" of the
Father's protective love: "ambos cercados de fuego" (line 18).
"Fire" is what binds all of them together in one. Medrano
27 Ferguson 107. 155 wishes to recognize that God's love extends to all of us and
not just to the Virgin Mary and Jesus. The figure of the
Virgin is exalted in this instance because she is giving life,
and hers is a life-giving love in compassion. She is consoling her Infant Son at the moment when he realizes the
extent of his sacrifice as the Redeemer of humanity
(estribillo lines).
In the following seven verses we find two ideas. In the
first three lines (21-23) , we have the Virgin's trying to find some peace and joy in having given birth to her son:
21 Cese ya, el canto penoso,
22 porgue goze mi [mejmoria
23 el bien que en teneros tengo.
The thought is paradoxical because motherhood is usually thought of as being joyous for any mother. Mary, however, cannot seize the happiness of it. The Blessed Mother, for the first time, seems to show a more human side. As a dual being, she belongs on earth as well as in heaven. Medrano, however, places her closer to man than to God in lines 21 through 23.
Continuining her address (lines 24-27), the VirginMary tells her son why he should stop crying. She cannot bear to see him cry because she will cry even more:
24 Mirad el mar de mis ojos,
25 de quien en miraros vierto
26 mds agua que vos criastes,
27 en quanto mar cine al suelo. 156
Images of water are profuse in the last section of the poem.
As the Virgin struggles against the tears formed in her eyes,
she asks her Child to "look at the sea of my eyes overflowing
in water." Medrano here seems to be using the tears to
suggest pain and trouble. Thus, water in this part of the
romance acquires a negative feeling quite different from the previous more positive symbolism of maternal water and
feminine water that appeared in the poems we considered in
Chapter Three.
We earlier cited the thoughts of Thomas Fawcett on the duality of the symbolism of water. This duality has been examined by a number of other scholars, including Northrop
Frye who writes that:
Water ... traditionally belongs to a realm of
existence below human life, the state of chaos or
dissolution which follows ordinary death, or the
reduction of the inorganic. In apocalyptic
symbolism we have the "water of life," the fourfold
river of Eden which reappears in the city of God,
and is represented in ritual by baptism.28
Thus, water can be either life-giving, or life-destroying.
This last aspect, of course, is particularly suggested by the violent, threatening waters of the sea.
In his Water and Dreams. Gaston Bachelard considers an array of threatening sea images, among them, a series found in
28 Frye 146. 157
the poetry of Algernon Charles Swinburne. From these,
Bachelard derives what he calls the "Swinburne complex." He
locates this complex particularly in Swinborne's poetry of
swimming which reflects the poet's childhood experiences. In
these poems, the swimmer is seen as a combatant against the
waters of the sea. His challenge is to conquer the fear to
"leap into the sea" (165) . Bachelard states that the sea,
because of its dynamic quality— the fact that it is constantly
moving— suggests the "call of the element." This constant
calling of the water makes water demand a "total offering."
Water summons like a fatherland because it needs an
inhabitant. Once the swimmer has leaped into the sea, the
swimmer experiences the pride of having conquered his initial
fear. As Georges Lafourcade states:
The sea is an enemy who seeks to vanquish and whom
we must vanquish; these waves are so many blows we
must face; the swimmer has the feeling that he
hurls his whole body against his adversary's
limbs.29
In similar fashion, in the estribillo of the romance the
Virgin Mary has to conquer the fear to leap into the
troubling, menacing waters that summon her. Throughout the
entire poem there is the constant threat of disaster
(estribillo lines) because if Mary leaps into the "violent" waters of the sea, she will pluge into trouble. She might
29 In Bachelard, Water and Dreams 167. 158 even possibly drown in the waters: "que en las aguas del
[llanto], me anego." However, amidst the confusion (caused by the Baby’s cry), Mary and Child both are rescued. Mary as
Virgo, armed with the power of her life-giving love, is ready to rescue herself and Baby Jesus from danger. Through the example of her love for Baby Christ, she is showing her commitment to a life-giving love for all people. The moment we grow weary and desperate, she is ready to rescue us from our difficulties; thus does Mary as Virgo inspire renewal and transformation in us.
Finally, a solution is presented for the baby's dilemma.
The Virgin tells Baby Jesus that He need not cry: "No tiene de que llorar / quien es de culpas ageno" (lines 30-31). He should not cry, she says, simply because he is free from the blame of wrongdoing. The "world" is to be blamed for it, and is alone at fault:
32 el mundo, si es bien que llore,
33 pues no las vee, y est£ lleno.
34 Llore, pues huye de vos
35 siguiendo un bien, que huyendo
36 jam&s se dexa alcangar,
37 porque corre a vela y remo.
At the end of the romance, Medrano introduces two more ideas. First, the world is exhorted to cry for it runs away from God. The world should pursue Him and not earthly 159 vanities: "siguiendo un bien que huyendo / jam&s se dexa alcangar" (lines 35-36) . Here, we are reminded of the fifth strophe of Fray Luis de Leon's Vida retirada:
20 21 si soy del vano dedo senalado, 22 si en busca de este viento 23 ando desalentado 24 con ansias vivas, y mortal cuidado? The ship imagery in Medrano's poem ("corre a vela y remo") echoes the nautical images in Vida retirada. There, Fray Luis imagines a world given over to earthly cares as a storm- battered caravel, sinking beneath the waters of the sea: 56 Tengase su tesoro 57 los que de un flaco leno se confian; 58 no es mio ver el lloro 59 de los que desconfian 60 cuando el cierzo y el Sbrego porflan. 61 La combatida antena 62 cruje, y en ciega noche el claro dia 63 se torna, al cielo suena 64 confusa vocerla, 65 y a la mar enriquecen a porfia. Both Medrano and Fray Luis imply the fact that people seem to care more about worldly matters, such as materialism, than 160 about spirituality. The only true life, they both affirm, is one centered in God. Medrano's poem tells us that Baby Jesus' life is threatened by the troubling waters and darkness, but the Virgin Mother, representing the love and the light of the Father, is there to rescue Him from trouble. By analogy, a man's life is like a ship on the rough sea; his only salvation from the threatening waters lies in an appeal to Mary. She stands for the triumph of light over darkness, the overall theme of this romance. The light and the warmth of the love she projects will disolve the fears of the child in distress: "Cese ya, mi bien, el llanto, / que en las aguas del, me anego." Mary as Virgo remains committed to life-renewing love as she banishes trouble. She is also able to foresee the rebirth of man in the birth of her Son so that humanity may have a chance. This is why it is imperative that he be rescued from dispair ("violent water") through the power of her life-giving love. Mary gives us joy, peace, and confidence; and because we trust her, our old structures are transformed into new ones. As a result, we regain enough confidence in ourselves so that we can start anew. CHAPTER V MARY AS SPONSA Introduction Chapter Five will examine the Mary symbol of Sponsa as it appears in Francisco de Medrano's Romance 36. As in Chapters Three and Four, we have followed Greeley's presentation of the symbol utilizing once again his fourteen cell paradigm.1 Following a discussion of the various aspects of the Sponsa symbol, we will consider briefly the development of the nuptial imagery in the Christian tradition. The last part of the Chapter will be dedicated to an explanation of Romance 36 itself. 1 The fourteen aspects of the Sponsa symbol, according to Greeley, are: 1) Experience of Sexual Differentiation (Pleasure, lust); 2) Biological Origin (Orgasm— Vulva); 3) Cognate Symbols (Moon, planets— Venus); 4) Ancient Goddesses (Venus, Astarte, Aphrodite); 5) Type (Daughter of Zion); 6) Mary Symbol (Sponsa, desired of Yahweh— corporate personality in the New Testament) 7) Existential Need (Aloneness, isolation, restriction, inhibition); 8) Limit-Experience (Passionate abandon); 9) Grace that is Given (A love that pursues and attracts, invades and tempts); 10) Illumination— Restructuring of Perceptions (Freedom); 11) Action (Celebration); 12) Man-Woman Implication (Playful pleasure); 13) Poem (W. H. Auden's Dialogue between Mary and Gabrieli: 14) Plastic Art (Botticelli's Annunciation). In Greeley ISO- 81. 161 162 Romance 36: Otro super illud api mihi etc. 1 Sus blancos caballos Phebo, 2 en el mar salado, vana, 3 y de la labor del dla, 4 la sutil mano levanta. 5 De los empinados montes 6 la enbidiosa noche baja, 7 borrando, con negras sombras 8 quanto §1 pinta, dora, esmalta. 9 A vengar aquesta iniuria 10 sale su querida hermana, 11 y por los del sol dorados, 12 tlende sus rayos de plata. 13 En demanda tan honrrosa 14 todo el gielo le acompafia, 15 y de verde y de argentado, 16 raatiza monte y campafta. 17 Los chapiteles y torres 18 visten de plata cendrada, 19 de limpio christal las calles, 20 y texados de las casas. 163 21 En este tiempo un pastor, 22 que en fuego de amor se abrasa, 23 de su choza pobre sale, 24 quemal reposa quien ama. 25 Los fuegos en que se apura, 26 causa una pastora ingrata, 27 cuya belleza y ausengia 28 aviba y sopla su llama. 29 En saliendo, reconoge 30 al pastorgico, Diana; 31 y lastimada de verle, 32 para darle su luz, se para. 33 En pocos pasos del cuerpo, 34 del alma, jornadas largas, 35 llega a la casa, que es nube, 36 que su sol eclipsa y tapa. 37 Ay, dize, querida esposa, 38 si amor como a mi te trata, 39 que largas se avrSn hecho 40 las breves horas que aguardas. 164 41 Que presto responder&s 42 a las vozes de mis ansias, 43 abrir&s a mis suspiros 44 antes que a mi cuerpo abras. 45 Y antes de poner la mano, 46 besa la puerta y aldava, 47 da dos golpes amorosos, 48 y el amor, mil en su alma. 49 Clava los ojos y oydos 50 en la ventana, y aguarda, 51 si su claro sol asoma, 52 o si le responde y habla. 53 Abre, amada hermana mia, 54 dize, viendo que se tarda; 55 despierta al son de mis quexas, 56 pues eres dellas la causa. 57 Mira mi rubia cabega, 58 blanca con la blanca escarcha, 59 y el rugio de mis cabellos, 60 hechos ya de perlas sartas. 165 61 Y que a vueltas del rocio, 62 con lcLgrimas que derraman 63 mis ojos, tienen tus puertas 64 de mil diamantes sembradas. 65 Si es duro tu coragon, 66 si de piedra tus entranas, 67 porque diamantes tan finos 68 no le vencen, y le labran. 69 Tarda su esposa en abrirle, 70 que en blando lecho descansa, 71 un poco tosca y grosera, 72 y a tan fino amor, ingrata. 73 Mds, presto recibe el pago 74 de su tibieza y tardanga, 75 porque en un punto de amor, 76 mucho se pierde, o se gana. 77 Que su pastor se despide 78 diziendo, descansa hermana, 79 que el amor que a mi aflige, 80 no me da cuerda mds larga. 166 Greeley's Sponsa Symbol Looked at in relation to the cycle of life and death, the Marian symbols of Madonna and Virgo are clearly identified with "life." Mary as Madonna is the mother who physically gives life; Mary as Virgo is the one who spiritually renews life. On the other side of the life and death cycle lie the symbols of Sponsa and Piet&, for they must be associated with "death." Greeley states that the Sponsa temporarily "deprives us of the individuality and the rationality of life in the frenzy of orgasmic release."2 However, the Pieta makes us experience death permanently. Greeley affirms that, in examining the Sponsa aspect of Mary as the symbol of the limit-experience of sexual differentiation manifested as sexual passion, we must expect to face the same difficulties we had in accepting the paradox of Mary as the Virgin Mother. In order to come to grips with these difficulties it may be helpful to consider briefly some of the fourteen aspects that Greeley ascribes to the symbol of Mary as Sponsa. The desire for sex, which may be defined as the lust for union with the body of another being, is one of the most demanding, intense, and pleasant aspects of sexual differentiation. The mere fact that this desire has the 2 Greeley states that "orgasm is considered to be a kind of death because any other interests or bodily functions are temporarily suspended as our whole being is concentrated on the release which comes from the sexual union" (157). This is what the French call le petit morte. 167 capacity to absorb the totality of the human being has made man ponder about it throughout his history. Early on he realized the sacredness of the desire since it was connected to fertility, and fertility assured the continuity of life. No doubt, also, sexual desire was considered sacred because of the tremendous strength of its demands and the intensity of its pleasures. Greeley thinks that the fertility goddesses of primeval religions— Aphrodite, Venus, Astarte— could have been transformed into goddesses of orgy and orgasm. These fertility goddesses may have originated with a concern to integrate humanity into the fertility process of the universe. However, Greeley states, as human religions evolved, the ritual intercourse became an end in itself; that is, the mere pleasing of the god and the integration of oneself into the life-giving processes was only a matter of secondary importance, and often unremembered. Likewise, the rites that mark the change of the seasons— winter and summer solstices, the vernal and autumnal equinoxes— are, theoretically, the times when people celebrate the death and the rebirth of the god of light. These rites also served to commemorate the harvest and the vintage, and to express the hope for the return of nature. Because the four seasonal observances all involved the notion of light, fertility, and life, Greeley says, they were easily identified with sexual differentiation. Thus, they later came to be 168 associated with rituals of sexual release: during the time of the Saturnalia, for example, in the Roman Republic and Empire, the archaic and primitive religious implications were entirely absent. Greeley argues that as social functions the Saturnalia were useful, but any connection with the ancient fertility festivals of the mother goddess was vestigial. The fact that the primal idea of the fertility festivals was now so distant does not imply, however, that the religious dimension was entirely lacking. Religious symbolism accompanied the release of social and sexual tensions, and people realized that lust had a certain connection with the divine. It is clear, however, that the religious overtones could easily be forgotten in the frenzy of the experience. The idea of the divine aspect of lust goes back to primeval times. According to Greeley, some religions conceived of the world as the result of the intercourse between the male and the female deity. For other cultures, the lust of the divine beings for one another was responsible for the rebirth of spring each year. In still others, the idea of lust and passion between a particular group of people and their god insured the survival and perpetuation of the tribe. Thus, Greeley shows, the idea of a god in love with the people is not original to the Israelites. What was original about this God's divine romance with Israel was the fact that He loved his chosen people with passion, that is, 169 with human-like lust.3 As Greeley comments, if lust is so powerful and God is powerful, then there may be some kind of lust in God. Lust can be conceived of as the desire for unity, and if God desired unity the way people crave the body of another, then God's craving must have an object. This notion led to the realization that God craved union with us. Once the idea entered human religious consciousness, people began to think of religion in a whole new way. Clearly, God wanted not just the bodies of His people but their souls as well, the whole being of each individual. Greeley states that the people became the bride of Yahweh, and Israel— God's people— became the personification of the Daughter of Zion. From God's passionate lust for Her would come the Messiah. In the Old Testament the Daughter of Zion is the corporate personality, Israel, who is the object of Yahweh's desire. In the New Testament and later Mariology, Mary is the person for whom God felt a passionate attraction. This implies that God's passion for his people has even greater power and strength than human sexual desire. This image of the passionate attraction between God and his people is a fundamental theme of the Yahwistic religion, later modified in Christianity through the adoption of the symbol of Mary, the Daughter of Zion. 3 Greeley 160. 170 Greeley asserts that the symbols of the Divine Romance can be played in two directions. God can be thought of as the aggressive pursuer of us, or as the sensual temptress seductively attracting us. In order to make sense of this duality, we need, of course, to accept the idea of God's androgyny. In romantic relationships, the roles of pursuer and pursued can easily be reversed. In much the same way, God is capable of being both seducer and seduced, the attacker and the attacked. However, in order to accede to this idea of God's dual nature, we have to see Him as one who is involved in the human condition; only then can this belief become logical. In other words, if Mary is the spouse of Yahweh, after whom He lusts, then each of us is equally the spouse of Yahweh. Of course, whether we want to see God as the attacker or the temptress is a matter of personal choice. God, the pursuer, is a very explicit image in the Christian religion; and God, as the beautiful, charming, and fascinating woman, is also part of the Christian legacy through the Mary myth. Mary is in charge of revealing to us a God that is charming, tempting, arousing, and attracting. The attraction felt by us towards the encounter with an aroused being, and the impulse that moves us to him, Greeley thinks, is a combination of alienation, constriction, restraint, and loneliness. We are isolated, restricted, and constrained by all our fears, anxieties, and suspicions. When 171 we encounter a being that invades all aspects of our personalities, catches and holds our attention, wants our interest, excites and consumes us with its "being-ness," then, logically He becomes a symbol for us. The ultimate is a sacrament, a revelation that demands all our attention, attracts all our sense of self, and makes us abandon ourselves to Him entirely. The action of letting ourselves surrender to the thing- turned-symbol makes us abandon our old attitudes toward the world. We are more relaxed, more flexible, and more in tune with our surroundings. Joy, abandonment, and liberation replace our previous perceptions. After all barriers have fallen, and the feeling of total abandonment takes over our selves, then, the nature of the wonderful gift revealed to us becomes apparent: the liberating seductiveness and passion of the Ultimate. This limit-experience is what allows us to meet the other. In our encounters with the previous symbols of Mary— as mother and as virgin— we met life-giving love and life-renewing love. Now, Greeley affirms, we find a love that pursues and attracts us into an act of liberation. This love wishes to absorb us and invites us to immerse ourselves in it. It asks us to surrender to total abandonment, which results in freedom. Freedom, Greeley asserts, is the illumination given to us when we reorganize our past perceptions and allow ourselves to accept Mary as the beloved Sponsa of Yahweh. She is there to 172 tell us that there is nothing to be afraid of. Inevitably, we still have fears and anxieties, but they do not alienate us from others; they do not constrain us because Mary gives us the freedom to live, love, and laugh in the abandonment of the goodness that we have encountered through her. Mary, the beloved Sponsa of God, the bride of Yahweh, stands as the symbol that offers us the possibility of freedom. After we discover that we are free from our old mode of thinking, we want to celebrate. Greeley has told us that Mary as Madonna moves us to the action of protecting others; Mary as Virgo moves us to the commitment to all people; and now, Mary as Sponsa moves us to joyous celebration of the world. This image of Mary— the beloved of a passionate God— is widespread in poetry and art. Greeley's favorite work is a contemporary poem by W. H. Auden which centers on a conversation between Mary and God through Gabriel, his emissary. Among other poems that he recalls is Saint John of the Cross's Romance VIII.4 In this moving ballad, the poet writes about God's passion in choosing Mary as the mother of Jesus Christ. The C£ntico espiritual. another poem by Saint John, is basically an epithalamium inspired by Solomon's Song of Songs. Saint John here describes the mystical union of body and soul, using the marriage metaphor. In these and 4 We utilize the number given to this romance in the E. Allison Peers' edition. 173 similar works there are two aspects of passion. Sometimes there is the abandonment of God, presented as the one who gives himself over in love to his people, personified in Mary. Other times, the theme of abandonment, of joy, of celebration, and of freedom comes from the poet himself. A number of paintings of Mary, like El Greco's and Fra Angelico's Annunciation. seem to express her joy at the news that she is God's chosen bride. Greeley affirms that in El Greco's picture Mary's abandonment and her surrender have been an experience of wonder, but this experience is also one that demands celebration. In Fra Angelico's version, she seems bewildered and reduced to silence, nevertheless, she does not hide the passionate determination of her response. Several other painters like Van der Weyden, Membling, Boticelli, and Bonfigli have created portraits of the Daughter of Zion which show the Virgin expressing modesty, discretion, and surrender. Finally, Greeley believes that in Boticelli's Daughter of Zion, she is shown as a woman of strength and passion. She seems to be capable of responding to God's strong love with a passion of her own. This summarizes Greeley's fourteen aspects of the Mary symbol of Sponsa. The nuptial imagery in Christian tradition The nuptial imagery in Christian asceticism absorbed the Jewish virgin bride as a primary symbol. Yet there was already a long tradition of the marriage imagery in other 174 religious cults when the Hebrews adopted it. Tracing this legacy, Marina Warner writes: The prophet Hosea, writing before 721 B.C., came into contact with the Canaanites's fertility cult and its central drama on the annual marriage of the god Baal to his sister Anat, consummated in order to unleash the forces of nature. Hosea, while remaining faithful to the monotheistic and patriarchal nature of the Hebrew God, boldly adapted this rich nuptial imagery of the rites of Baal to describe the relations of Yahweh and his faithless bride, Israel. Like Hosea1s own wife, Israel is a harlot who deserts her lord and master. He ... punishes her fickleness, but he promises to reward her in the future .... This antithesis between the loving god who promises peace and the thundering lord of vengeance who reigns over his wife through terror, colours much of the prophetic writings of the Bible after Hosea.5 Thus, at times God and his earthly bride are in conflict with each other, but on other occasions, they are united in loving harmony. The conflict between God and his bride was not only part of the Canaanite cult of Baal, as Warner explains, but it also characterized several other religions in the Near East, like the Syrian rites of the shepherd Tammuz, lover of the sky 5 Warner 123. 175 goddess Ishtar; the Phrygian cult of Cybele and Attis; and the Egyptian cult of Isis and Osiris. The marriage of these divinities reflects the nuptials of sky and earth. The result of this union, Warner states, is that there is the promise of abundance. Marriage then became an essential symbol in the cosmology of many religions. However, after the Hebrews had absorbed this pagan symbolism, they reversed the role of the celestial pair: the bride was made God's servant and possession thus making God demand absolute submission (Warner 123) . This fact, Warner says, made Saint Paul instantly refer to the fury of this relationship when he uses the symbol of the bride for the first time in the New Testament (123) . Consequently, Paul contends that today we are tested; tomorrow we celebrate the marriage feast. Therefore, we are to behave well while on earth because it has been promised to us that we will be united with God in heaven. Paul later, in Ephesians, elaborates on the image of the bride and uses it to associate the Church with the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:21-33). Altogether, there are numerous accounts that contain the nuptial imagery, some of which appear in Matthew (9:15), Mark (2:18-20), or Luke (5:33-35). Sometimes they involve Christ as the bridegroom; other times, they refer to the bride. But the marriage feast, Warner writes, is an image that becomes a regular setting for eschatological writings, as the Apocalypse confirms. After all the sufferings and devastations, peace is 176 achieved and it is celebrated by the Church as a wedding: the nuptial banquet of the lamb where Christ is one with his followers in the Church (124) . Warner determines that at this point the symbol of the bride enters Mariology. In the New Testament, John sees "the New Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband" (Revelation 21:2). She is the symbol of the New Church, of renovation, a new beginning. This association of Mary with the figure of the Church has already been examined in Chapter Four. The bride figure of the Church is associated with the "great portent ... in heaven" (Revelation 12:1) which reveals the figure of the Virgin. It was the Hebrews themselves who began the tradition of interpreting the Sona of Sonas as an allegory of God's love. Christians would later associate the lover of the wedding-song with Christ and his Beloved with the Church, each Christian soul, and the Virgin Mary. Warner examines the manner in which early Christian mystics, among them, Saint Ambrose in the West, arrived at a figurative reading of the Song of Songs. Ambrose interpreted the canticle as the love of Christ for his Church. Methodius of Olympus, Origin, and Gregory of Nyssa developed a similar allegorical tradition in the East.6 6 Warner relates that it was Ambrose who first identified the Virgin, the Church, and each Christian soul with the charming Shulamite of the Song of Songs. In the second century, Methodius of Olympus in his Symposium or Banguet of Ten Virgins describes the conversation of ten young women in 177 During the Middle Ages, the metaphor of the virginal state continued to be popular. Warner mentions that the thirteenth-century alliterative homily Holv Maidenhead examines at great length the theme of joy found in the marriage to Christ and the abhorrence of the union with men. According to her, Saint Catherine of Alexandria (d. 307) and Saint Catherine of Siena (d. 1380) , were both said to have contracted marriage with Christ. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a most ardent apologist of the Virgin Mary during the twelth century, gave eighty-six sermons on the Song of Sonas. They are considered to be masterpieces of Christian mysticism because in them Bernard expresses the epitome of the Christian transformation by love. Warner, interpreting Bernard, infers that since God is love— Deus caritas est— then through love alone man can reflect his maker once more. The immense love that Saint Bernard felt for the figure of the Virgin Mary contributed to the spread of her cult after his death. The supreme eloquence of his writings laid the theoretical foundation for Marian devotion in the West.7 a garden under a symbolic agnus castus tree. They comment on the Song of Songs f and for the first time in such a commentary, they assimilate the beloved to a virgin dedicated to Christ (126). 7 As we have earlier seen, Marian devotion started to spread in the tenth century. In subsequent centuries, the Virgin was transformed from a distant queen into a gentle mother, full of mercy. By mid-twelfth century, pilgrims, crusaders and merchants in Byzantium were already ardent devotees of the Virgin Mary; the Mary cult was passed from 178 Following Bernard of Clairvaux, numerous authors drew inspiration from the Song of Sonas in writings that celebrated God's passionate love for the Virgin and its people. In Spain one thinks particularly of Saint John of the Cross (1542-91), author of the great mystical poems, CAntico espiritual entre el Alma v Cristo. su esposo and Noche oscura del alma, and of Fray Luis de Leon (1527-91), translator into both prose and verse of the Cantar de los Cantares. Was Francisco de Medrano aware of and influenced by, the works of these distinguished sixteenth-century predecessors? The question has been much debated in modern scholarship. With regard to Saint John, the influence is problematic, but not impossible. Although the great mystic's poems were not published until 1618, several years after the death of Medrano (d. 1607), it is known that they were circulating in manuscripts during the final decades of the sixteenth century, and Medrano could have seen them. It is also a known fact that it was not unusual for men and women of the cloth to write verses on similar themes in competition with one another.8 The filiation between Medrano there to the Western Christian civilization. Together with other members of his order, the Cistercians, Saint Bernard was instrumental in introducing the cult of Mary into the West. The Cistercians established many abbeys all over Europe— in Aragon, Castile, Portugal, Hungary, Poland, Sweden, Austria, and Wales— and the devotion of the order to the Virgin was very apparent: she appeared on the seals of the abbeys; its members wore white in her honor; they sang the Salve Regina at vespers; and in their churches, they also built special chapels dedicated to her (130). 8 Gerald Brenan, Saint John of the Cross: His Life and Poetry. (London: Cambridge UP, 1973) 101. 179 and Fray Luis is, however, more certain. Thus, D&maso Alonso writes: £Conocia Medrano a Fray Luis? Transplantado a Salamanca entre 1587 y 1590, bien pudo. Lo que si conocio fue la fama inmensa de estos tfltimos anos del agustino, y su obra. La poesia de Fray Luis fue para Medrano, no me cabe duda, una revelacidn. La huella en la obra es evidente.9 The actual extent of the influence of Saint John and Fray Luis on the poetry of Francisco de Medrano cannot be proven. Readers attuned to the very special effects of their works will, however, inevitably hear echoes of those effects in some of Medrano's romances. Nowhere, perhaps, do those echoes sound more clearly than in Romance 36, "Otro super illud api mihi etc."10 This allegorical ballad, a kind of pastorale a lo divino in the manner of Saint John's "El pastorcico," is Medrano's major presentation of the symbol of the Virgin Mary as Sponsa, and we turn to it now. To facilitate its reading and study, we have divided into twenty quatrains. 9 Alonso, Vida, vol. 1, 151. 10 The title of this romance. herewith for some interesting reason, is mostly in Latin. We offer a translation of it in Spanish: (Otro) galarddn m&s sobre esta corona que es mia etc. Medrano mixed Spanish (Otro) and Latin ending with "etc." As we noted in Chapter One, Medrano studied Latin from the time Elementary School. 180 Romance 36: Otro super illud api mihi etc. Romance 36 falls into two sections that move on two distinctive levels. The first level is that of the Celestial Bodies, the Sun and the Moon, personified as the gods Phoebus and Diana (lines 1-20). The second level is that of the two Terrestrial Personalities, the Pastor and the Pastora (lines 21-80). Thus, each of the Celestial Bodies is duplicated by one of the Terrestrial Personalities. This scheme reveals that the internal dynamic of the entire poem relies on a series of contrastive elements: heaven/earth, male/female, day/night, light/darkness. In essence, this duality gives us the key to the romance's deep structure: the disclosure of the spiritual (ideal) versus the physical (real). Medrano begins his poem with the introduction of the mythological figures of Phoebus (or Phoebus Apollo as he is also called) and his sister Diana (or Artemis) . Such mythological figures are common in the poetry of Medrano, and their use is always functional, never merely academic or decorative, as is sometimes the case with other Golden Age poets. Thus, D&maso Alonso has written: Y hay adn algo de esencial importancia: la vitalizacidn de los elementos cl&sicos ... le viene a Medrano de Fray Luis. Pero aun en la poesia de Fray Luis, o por lo menos en sus imitaciones y versiones, hay elementos cldsicos no vitalizados, que Medrano habria rehuido .... [Medrano] elimina 181 una vez y otra los elementos miticos que no le son absolutamente indispensables .... En resumen, ... [l]os dos conservan algunos elementos miticos o antiguos; pero si Le6n muchas veces los sustituye, Medrano lo hace siempre, absolutamente siempre que le es posible.Nunca introduce Medrano ... un elemento cl&sico s61o por su belleza, corao Leon a veces, o por prestar sabor antiguo a su verso, como Herrera o como Torre."11 Mythology in this poem, then, serves the purpose of evoking certain cosmological aspects of antiquity, but in a strictly functional manner, according to Medrano's style of writing. Medrano associates the two celestial bodies— the sun and the moon— with the male god Phoebus and the female goddess Diana. By extension, one may perhaps, associate them with God the Father and the Virgin Mary. The association of heavenly bodies with religious personalities is examined by Susanne K. Langer in Philosophy in a New Key, where she speculates on how people came to identify sun, moon, or stars with anthropomorphic agents of sacred story. Langer writes: [T]he interpretation of gods and heroes as nature- symbols is very ancient; it has been variously accepted and rejected, disputed, exploded, and reestablished, by Hellenic philosophers, medieval 11 Alonso, Vida, vol. 1, 156-57. 182 scholars, modern philologists, archaeologists, and theologians, over a period of twenty-five hundred years. Mystifying as it is to psychology, it challenges us as a fact. Demeter was certainly an earth-goddess, and the identity of Olympian Zeus with the heavens, Apollo with the sun, Artemis with the moon, etc., is so authentic that it has long been considered a truism to declare these gods "personifications" of the corresponding natural phenomena.12 Marina Warner takes the discussion a step further by showing how the Church Fathers connected the sun with God/Christ and the moon with the Church/Virgin Mary. She states: Origin in Alexandria, and Ambrose and Augustine later in the west all perceived in the relations of the sun and moon the ideal model of the love and reciprocity between Christ and his bride the Church ... By the middle ages ... the Church and the Virgin were closely identified, particularly with the symbol of the woman of the Apocalypse and the beloved of the Canticle.13 12 Langer 156. 13 Warner 257-58. 183 For Medrano, the passion of God and the Virgin for each other is an emblem of the mutual love of the Heavenly Father and His earthly Children. Thus, Romance 36 allies each celestial body with a terrestrial personality. Phoebus Apollo (God=sun) and Diana (Virgin=moon) are associated, respectively, with the Pastor and the Pastora. In other words, there is in the poem a parallelism which implies a reproduction of the heavens on earth. The passion of the celestial pair— Sun and Moon— while in pursuit of one another in the realm of the heavens, is duplicated on earth by the shepherd and the shepherdess. In essence, what we have in this poem is the limit-experience of the passionate desire for union between Heaven and Earth. The "above" and the "below" will mate, and the object of their coupling is to unite both worlds into one. Man has always looked to the moment when he can become one with God. Consequently, Medrano turns in the poem to the Mary symbol of the Sponsa because, Mary, as the personification of the Beloved (Moon), is pursued and desired of Yahweh. The theme of the mating of the gods has enjoyed universal appeal. Mating myths have been abundant throughout history, and they have appeared in many different cultures: the Chinese, the early Hindus, Semites, Norse and Germans have all had such myths. Usually the Sky is the Father-God, and the Earth the Mother-God. Philip Freund says that this identification rests on a simple analogy, "since the Sky is 184 the only source of impregnating heat and light, and the Earth outspread supinely beneath it becomes a fecund womb."14 Romance 36 opens with the introduction of Phoebus who, at the end of the day, is preparing to end his labor: 1 Sus blancos caballos Phebo, 2 en el mar salado, vana, 3 y de la labor del dia, 4 la sutil mano levanta. Phoebus has to contend with the fact that after the sun sets, night will inevitably invade earth, covering everything with her shadows. Everything Phoebus had created, painted, and decorated will be shrouded in darkness: 5 De los empinados montes 6 la enbidiosa noche baja, 7 borrando con negras sombras 8 quanto €1 pinta, dora, esmalta. However, the avenger of Phoebus is his sister Diana, the Moon. She comes to his rescue as she extends her loving arms over the earth, covering mountains and valleys, churches and houses, the city and the country. Sister Moon reaches over everything with her pale light that is a reflection of Phoebus's own light: 9 A vengar aquesta iniuria 10 sale su querida hermana, 14 Philip Freund, Mvths of Creation. (New York: Washington Square Press, 1965) 72. 185 11 y por los del sol dorados, 12 tiende sus rayos de plata.15 According to Marina Warner pagan lunar symbolism was early on incorporated into Christian thought. She relates: In some Greek thought, the moon was believed to retain the sunlight, to preserve it for the following day, and thus to mother each new sun into being .... Methodius of Olympus, in the Symposium of Ten Virgins, interprets the Woman Clothed with the Sun of Apocalypse 12 as the Church that, reflecting like the moon the dazzling light of Christ, pours forth more light on the souls of her members.16 Why the moon should have been such an abidingly popular symbol for the feminine principle, both in pre-Christian and in Christian times, has been well explained by Langer. She writes: 15 At this point in the poem, Medrano introduces another interesting element: Phoebus and Diana are portrayed as brother and sister. Philip Freund states that Freudians have made much of the incestuous element in these Sky-Father and Earth-Mother myths, for the reason that they include ample sexual symbolism. But the explanation, according to Freund is perhaps rather simple: [The incest motif] is to be found in the Egyptian legend, the Greek legend, and scores of others. Either the divine Mother conjugates with her son, or the Sister with the Brother .... Probably this is partly because the first gods are so few, they and their offspring have little choice but inbreeding; there is no alternative (74). 16 Warner 257. 186 The moon, by reason of its spectacular changes, is a very expressive, adaptable, and striking symbol— far more so than the sun, with its simple career and unvarying form. A little contemplation shows quite clearly why the moon is so apt a feminine symbol, and why its meanings are so diverse that it may present many women at once ... [in] often incompatible forms, mother and maid and crone, young and old. ... The eternal regularities of nature, the heavenly motions, the alternation of night and day on earth, the tides of the ocean, are the most insistent repetitious forms outside our own behaviour patterns. They are the most obvious metaphors to convey the dawning concepts of life- functions— birth, growth, decadence, and death.17 Further, Langer says: The connection of the culture-hero with the moon helps to humanize and define the functions of that deity, because the culture-hero is unequivocally human; so the lunar changes of light and form and place, nameless and difficult as mere empirical facts, acquire importance and obviousness from their analogy to human relations and functions: conceiving, bearing, loving, and hating, devouring and being devoured. The moon lends itself 17 Langer 164. 187 particularly to such interpretations, because it can present so many phases of womanhood.18 Thus, Diana (=Virgin) is the protector of and co- laborator in the work of Phoebus (=God). Echoing in attenuated form the labors of her brother, Diana sends a subdued pale silver light over all the land. This action not only serves to emphasize the presence of Diana (=Moon=Virgin) , it also conveys her kindness, tenderness and benevolence, as we read in the following verses: 13 En demanda tan honrrosa 14 todo el gielo le acompana, 15 y de verde y de argentado, 16 matiza monte y campana. 17 Los chapiteles y torres 18 visten de plata cendrada, 19 de limpio christal las calles, 20 y texados de las casas. The Moon's light is pale, but it is a generative type of light. It is kind to the mountain, to the countryside, to the young plants and animals, to the city, to the streets and to the houses. The Sun, on the contrary, with its pitiless heat and its blazing light, makes a great part of the land uninhabitable. The Moon's actions seem to be governed by reason and perfect wisdom, whereas those of the Sun appear to 18 Langer 166. 188 be violent and brutal. The first section of the poem concludes here. In the second part (lines 21-80) of the romance, Medrano introduces us to the earthly counterparts of the Celestial Beings, the Pastor and the Pastora. This section of the poem, which is subject to several possible interpretations, is rich in intertexts. We are prompted to recall, among other works, countless earlier pastoral poems, especially the pastorales a lo divino of Sebastian de Cordoba, who rewrote a number of Garcilaso's poems in order to makethem read as allegories of God's love for the Virgin. At the same time, we think of the major mystical poems of St. John of the Cross, who was directly inspired by Sebastian de Cordoba. Finally, and inevitably, we are reminded of the Song of Songs. with its striking Nature-derived imagery, its impassioned lovers, and its embedded allegory of Divine Romance. Interestingly, however, whereas in the Song of Songs the female is the unfulfilled Lover who rises and goes in search of the distant Beloved, in Medrano's poem those roles are reversed.19 The inversion is, of course, an accepted notion in Christian exegesis. As we have seen, the Divine Romance is two dimensional: God can play two parts, either the aggressive 19 Song of Songs Romance 36 Male: Beloved=God Female: Pastora/Beloved = Mary/Diana/ Moon Female: Lover=Soul Male: Pastor/Lover = God/Phoebus/Sun 189 pursuer of his loved ones, or the passive temptress who seductively attracts us. Thus, in Romance 36, the absent shepherdess (Seduced) is the cause of the shepherd's (Seducer) burning love. As we see, this part of the poem relates, with a certain degree of poignancy, the "intense experience of desire," if not of both lovers, then certainly of the shepherd whose yearning for his Beloved is unbearably intense. In lines 21 to 80, then, the romance shifts its focus from Heaven to Earth. Heaven is now actively in pursuit of Earth. In the first lines of this section, two important pieces of information about the Pastor are communicated. The first is his abandoning of his house— so reminiscent of both St. John and the Song of Sonas— to go in search of his Beloved. The second concerns the degree of his passion. Medrano portrays the Pastor as being completely consumed by the fire of the love he feels for the Pastora, and this intense love does not let him rest: 21 En este tiempo un pastor, 22 gue en fuego de amor se abrasa, 23 de su choza pobre sale, 24 gue mal reposa guien ama. As we next read, the Pastora is beautiful but both figuratively and literally distant from the Pastor. This fact makes his incandescent love burn ever so hotly: 25 Los fuegos en gue se apura, 26 causa una pastora ingrata, 190 27 cuya belleza y ausengia 28 aviba y sopla su llama. The third quatrain of this section focuses on the moment when Diana notices, during the night, that the Pastor has left his house: 29 En saliendo, reconoge 30 al pastorgico, Diana; 31 y lastimada de verle, 32 para darle su luz, se para. Like the Virgin, Diana here plays the role of the all- protecting deity. She pauses for a moment, as she realizes the affliction of the Pastor. Immediately afterward, she extends her protecting arms— the rays of her light. Through this action, the celestial body connects with the terrestrial personality. This action of the Moon also serves to emphasize two ideas. First, God is always observing us through Mary. And, second, like a heavenly star, the Moon hangs over all as an intermediarybetween the ultimate light of God (Sun) and the dark earth. She is the mediator between the spiritual heavenly world and the material earthly world. Meanwhile, the Pastor is anxious because he wishes to gain entrance to the Pastora's house: 33 En pocos pasos del cuerpo, 34 del alma, jornadas largas, 191 3 5 llega a la casa, gue es nube, 36 que su sol eclipsa y tapa. The emphasis in this stanza falls on the notion of "journeying." The nature of the journey, as well as the nature of the destination, may be understood on two levels: the literal/physical and the allegorical/spiritual. Interpreted as allegory, the journey of the Pastor conveys God's impassioned search for the object of his divine love: the Church/Virgin Mary. The account of the journey also suggests, both on the basis of intertextual echoes of Fray Luis de Leon and Saint John of the Cross and on the basis of occasional phraseology, ("En pocos pasos del cuerpo/ del alma jornadas largas" [lines 34-34]) the mystical path of the soul. Reading on the literal/physical level, we gather that the body terrestrial— Pastor (God)— is able to arrive quickly at the house of his Beloved. However, on the allegorical/spiritual level, we find that it will take longer for the body intangible— the Virgin (Pastora)— to surrender to Christ's active pursuit of her. There are many barriers that delay God's prompt arrival as He journeys to be united with Mary— who, as the Daughter of Zion, represents the Church and/or the soul of the people. As we have learned from St. John of the Cross and other mystical writers, before union with God may take place, the soul must undergo a profound spiritual transformation. This transformation will eventually allow the soul to become one with the Godhead. But the soul's 192 preparation for her encounter with God has to overcome many obstacles. As Evelyn Underhill has written: Every person in whom the mystical instinct awakes soon discovers in himself certain tastes or qualities which interrupt the development of that instinct. Often these tastes and qualities are legitimate enough upon their own plane; but they are a drain upon the energy of the self, preventing her from attaining that intense life for which she was made and which demands her undivided zest ... The nature of these distracting factors which "confuse and enchain the mind" will vary with almost every individual ... Thus each adventurer must discover and extirpate all those interests which nourish selfhood, however innocent or even useful these interests may seem in the eyes of the world. The only rule is the ruthless abandonment of everything which is in the way.20 In lines 35-36, the Pastor arrives at the destination of his journey: "llega a la casa que es nube / que su sol eclipsa y tapa." These verses anticipate the outcome of the romance, which seems to suggest, much like St. John's poem, "El pastorcico," temporary unfulfillment of the mystical experience. The house of the Pastora, we notice is shrouded in clouds, and is easily eclipsed. Here, once again, the poem 20 Underhill 212. 193 moves on two planes: the physical (real) and the spiritual (ideal). Thus, on one level, Medrano is describing a natural state: the sun is above the house but has not yet penetrated inside. On the other, allegorical level, he refers to the potential union of God (sun) with Mary (moon) .21 Terrestrial personalities have the potential in them to become part of the sun or like the sun. The Lover's journey in pursuit of his Beloved here seems to have come to a halt. Although the Pastor has arrived at his destination, he cannot enter because the house is in darkness and covered with clouds. In these lines, various intertexts point us once again toward the Mystic path of the self, in particular to that stage known as the dark night of the soul. In general, the dark night is due, Underhill says, to the double fact of the exhaustion of an old state, and the incomplete growth towards a new state of consciousness. It is a "growing pain" in the organic process of the self's attainment of the Absolute.22 Quoting Augustine Baker, Underhill writes: For first He not only withdraws all comfortable observable infusions of light and grace, but also 21 The sun is light; thus, light and brightness, according to Gertrude Grace Sill, "are equated with superior spirit and intelligence, with divinity and holiness .... In the Bible light is used as a symbol of goodness and wisdom, a positive force, while darkness is the personification of evil and ignorance, a negative force" (30). 22 Underhill 386. 194 deprives her of a power to exercise any perceptible operations of her superior spirit, and of all comfortable reflections upon His love, plunging her into the depth of her inferior powers ... her former calmness of passions is quite lost, neither can she introvert herself; sinful motions and suggestions do violently assault her, and she finds as great a spiritual course .... If she would elevate her spirit, she sees nothing but clouds and darkness. She sees God, and cannot find the least marks or footsteps of His Presence; something there is that hinders her from executing the sinful suggestions within her, but what that is she knows not, for to her thinking she has no spirit at all, and, indeed, she is now in a region of all other most distant from spirit and spiritual operations— I mean, such as are perceptible.23 The quatrains that comprise lines 37-43 describe the Lover as he conjectures about his Beloved's feelings. He wonders how the Beloved would feel if she only loved the way he loves: 37 Ay, dize, querida esposa, 38 si amor como a mi te trata, 39 que largas se avrdn hecho 40 las breves horas que aguardas. 23 In Underhill 387. 195 Here, the Lover doubts the Beloved's eagerness. If she loved in the same manner as the Pastor, then the Fastora might feel the same anxiety felt by her Lover as he waits outside the house. The wait lasts only a few minutes, but it seems excruciatingly long to him. Here, the poet seems to be trying to evoke what he imagines to be the feelings of God when He realizes that His People (personified in the Daughter of Zion=Virgin Mary) are not yet ready or prepared to accept Him. As the poem continues, the Lover is still outside the house of the Beloved (lines 45 through 68). He is ready to go in, but his Beloved does not answer to his call. All he can do in the meantime is to make contact with the inanimate world— the door and the knocker: 45 Y antes de poner la mano, 46 besa la puerta y aldava, 47 da dos golpes amorosos, 48 y el amor mil en su alma. As he kisses these objects, a joy inundates the Lover in anticipation of the union with his Beloved. He feels his whole being flooded with love because he is physically closer to the Loved One. No doubt some readers here will hear an echo of the Songs of Songs: "My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door" (5:4). Standing in frustration outside the house of the Bride, the Lover continues to seek his Beloved's presence. He looks 196 for a clue from his spouse, that is, some response to his pursuit: 49 Clava, los ojos y oydos 50 en la ventana, y aguarda, 51 si su claro sol asoma, 52 o si le responde, y habla. The Lover (God/Christ) is transfixed as heawaits a sign of communication from the Beloved (Mary/Soul). Hestill insists: 53 Abre, amada hermana mia, 54 dize, viendo que se tarda; 55 despierta al son de mis quexas, 56 pues eres dellas la causa. 57 Mira mi rubia cabega, 58 blanca con la blanca escarcha, 59 y el rugio de mis cabellos, 60 hechos ya de perlas sartas.24 At this point, overcome with emotion, the Pastor bathes the door of the recalcitrant Pastora with tears: 24 Here, once again, Medrano's verses echo those of the Sona of Solomon: I sleep, but my heart waketh: it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night (5:2). 197 61 Y que a vueltas del rocio, 62 con l&grimas que derraman 63 mis ojos, tienen tus puertas 64 de mil diamantes sembradas. Since the Beloved still does not present herself, the Lover asks himself the reason why she is being so cold and hard with him: 65 Si es duro tu coragon, 66 si de piedra tus entrafias, 67 porque diamantes tan finos 68 no le vencen, y le labran. Nothing seems to move the Beloved to appear: neither the Lover's patient vigil, nor his words of praise, nor the tears he sheds on behalf of the Loved One. These tears, a precious offering of diamond-like beauty, come from the depths of the being of the Pastor, and they suggest the way in which God gives of himself to achieve union with the Divine Bride or Soul. Finally, the tardy Beloved opens the door to her Lover: 69 Tarda su esposa en abrirle, 70 que en blando lecho descansa, 71 un poco tosca y grosera, 72 y a tan fino amor, ingrata. She has been asleep, and being rather rough and rude, she is not pleased to be awakened. The price of her sluggishness is now made clear: 198 73 M&s, presto recibe el pago 74 de su tibieza y tardanga, 75 porque en un punto de amor, 76 mucho se pierde, o se gana. It would appear that the Lover (Pastor=God) has only one option. He has to concede to temporary defeat in his attempt to become one with his Beloved {Pastora=Virgin Mary/Soul): 77 Que su pastor se despide, 78 diziendo, descansa hermana, 79 que el amor que a mi aflige, 80 no me da cuerda meis larga. The Pastor turns around and says good-bye to the Pastora. He understands he cannot complete the much desired union with her. She is not ready to accept his love, just as the soul is not always prepared to receive God. In this Chapter we have focused on themost interesting aspects of Medrano's Romance 36: the possible utilization of Fray Luis de Ledn's Cantar de los Cantares. the echoes of several of the major mystical poems of St. John of the Cross, and the clear inspiration of the Song of Sonas. Most importantly, we have traced the allegory of the Divine Romance, as personified in the figures of the Pastor and the Pastora. Through these figures, Medrano has conveyed to us the dual nature of God, as well as his desire for union with His Heavenly Brides, the Virgin Mary and the Church. Drawing upon the mystic tradition, Medrano has also communicated both the joys and the frustrations of God and the Soul as they seek to join with the other. All these related readings rest, of course, on the central symbol of Mary, the beloved Sponsa of Christ. CONCLUSION The purpose of the present dissertation has been to contribute to the appreciation and knowledge of an important Spanish Golden Age poet, Francisco de Medrano. To that end, we have singled out for study a relatively neglected part of the poet's production, his religious romances. The principal object of our attention has been the Marian theme as it appears in those romances. Although we have drawn upon a number of different theologians and literary critics in our explanation of the various permutations of that theme, our methodology was derived principally from the work of Andrew Greeley. Clearly, no one approach can reveal all the important aspects of a particular poem, and we do not claim to have exhausted the meanings of the works we have studied. We trust, however, that we have said something worth saying about each of them. In The Marv Mvth: On the Femininity of God. Greeley presents a four-celled model of the Mary symbol: Mary as Madonna, Virgin, Sponsa, and Pieta. Each of these symbols relates to the four elements of the human limit-experience of sexual differentiation, and each is studied by Greeley on the basis of fourteen different paradigms. Three of the four 200 201 symbols— Mary as Madonna, Virgin, and Sponsa— appear prominently in the romances of Medrano, and they have been examined in some detail in previous chapters. The fourth— Mary as PietA— is less predominant. To be sure, there are clear suggestions of the Pieta in Romance 4, as we noted in Chapter Three. For the most part, however, the Grieving Mother of God makes only tangential appearances in the ballads, and thus this symbol is largely absent from our analysis. What general conclusions can we draw from that analysis? First, in his Christian belief, Medrano was greatly influenced by the period of time in which he lived. He seems largely to have absorbed traditional religious values, particularly as regards the figure and symbolism of Mary. Here, as in other aspects of his life and art, Medrano seems to have preferred not to stand out, not to go against the current, but rather to blend in with the spirit of the day. Second, Medrano's early religious poems, like his later, more secular poetry, reveal an ample use of plastic imagery. We noted this especially in one of the poems examined in Chapter Three, Romance 4 ("De la Natividad"), and also in Romance 32 ("Assumpsion de Nuestra Senora"), which was studied in Chapter Four. In each of these poems, references to fire and water abound, as do allusions to other natural phenomena. Many of these images, are quite conventional, and as has often been noted, Medrano was not a highly original poet. We recall 202 that, in his own day, he was known primarily as a skilled imitator of Horace. Lack of originality does not, however, imply lack of talent or sensitivity. This sensitivity is clearly evident in Medrano's presentation of the Marian theme which is, above all, notable for its extremely moving portraits, as we observed, for example, in our explication of Romance 4. Third, it would seem that Medrano's religion tended to be more emotional than dogmatic. Our examination of the different Marian symbols used by the poet reveals that he had an intimate, personal approach to Mary, and as a consequence, to God himself. It is for this reason, no doubt, that Medrano's ballads strike us as being so deeply emotional. For Medrano, God/Mary is the One who can calm him when he is troubled and deliver him when human help has failed. He instinctively trusts God in Mary because more than anything, she represents hope. Thus, Mary as Madonna gives love, expecting nothing in return. Thus, also, Mary as Virgo, reveals the transforming and renewing nature of God, which is the key to salvation. It is, however, in his conception of Mary as Sponsa that we perceive some of the most interesting aspects of the poet's religious feelings. As we saw in Chapter Five, Medrano elevates the loved object to a supernatural plane. The heavens' passionate pursuit of earthly creatures is sincerely and movingly described in the last poem examined, "Otro super illud api mihi etc." Here, correspondences created between the Virgin Mary, the Church, and the Earthly Children suggest Medrano's passionate love of God and aspirations toward a greater identification with Him. Does this mean that Medrano was a mystic? Clearly, not as that word is normally understood. Despite the poet's deep longing for God, Romance 36 seems to suggest that is not yet ready to fully embrace Him. There are intimations here of Medrano's own feelings of unworthiness, feelings which later had something to do, no doubt, with his leaving the Jesuit order. Perhaps in this regard Medrano can best be compared with his great predecessor, Fray Luis de Leon, another poet whose aspirations toward mystical union were genuine and deep- rooted, but largely, and sadly, unfulfilled. Thus, we come to the end of our examination of a number of religious romances of Francisco de Medrano. It is our hope that the present dissertation has added to the fund of knowledge of this significant, gifted, and multi-faceted figure. BIBLIOGRAPHY Manuscripts of Medrano Manuscript of the Hispanic Society, New York. It includes the romance "Un bulto casi sin bulto." (Cited by Antonio Rodriguez Moftino in Catdlooo de los manuscritos porticos castellanos existentes en la biblioteca de The Hispanic Society of America, vol. 1, New York: n. p., 111). Manuscript from the private library of Antonio Rodriguez- Moftino. It is autographed by Medrano and includes a great number of his compositions, among them, all the known romances, as well as a number of sonetos, chanzonetas, villancicos, octavas, tercetos, liras, etc., that have not been yet edited. Rodriguez-Mofiino published all the romances of this manuscript in "Los romances de don Francisco de Medrano", Biblioteca de la Real Academia de Esoafia. XLIX (1969) 495-550. Manuscript 861 of the Biblioteca Nacional de Espana. There are two unattributed romances in this manuscript on folios 481 and 487, and they correspond to the same romances mentioned later in MS. R. M. 3879. Manuscript 3783 of the Biblioteca Nacional de Espana. Versos de Don Francisco de Medrano. It contains all of Medrano's compositions with the exception of several sonnets ("Para el Patr6n de Espafia", X, XII, XV, and XXXVI) and the romances. It is autographed. Manuscript R. M. 3879 of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas of Madrid. This MS. comes from the library of Francisco Rodriguez-Marin. There are two romances that have been described and studied by DSrnaso Alonso in Vida v obra de Medrano, vol. 2, 349-59. Alonso's study was reprinted, with modifications, in his Obras Completas. vol. 3, 476-87: "Un manuscrito de Medrano que se creia perdido: Dos romances." The romances in question are: "A1 son cuerdo de las cuerdas" and "Un bulto casi sin bulto." 204 205 Manuscript 3888 of the Biblioteca Nacional de Espana. It contains Medrano's sonnets I, II and XII; also, his odes I, XII, XXIII, XXV and XXXIII. It is autographed. Manuscript 4141 of the Biblioteca Nacional de Espana. It includes Medrano's ode XIII and the sonnets XXIV, XXV and XLVII. Manuscript 20355 of the Biblioteca Nacional de Espafia. It contains Medrano's sonnet XXXV. Editions of Medrano's poetry Jardines. compuestos por Sebastian Francisco de Medrano v Francisco de Rioia. Santiago de Chile: Cruz del Sur, 1946. Rimas de Cristobal de Mesa. Madrid: n.p., 1611. It includes Medrano's sonnet VIb in folio 230 (numbered 229 by mistake); and also sonnet VI in folio 123. Seaunda parte de las Flores de poetas ilustres de Espafia. Edition ordered by J. A. Calderon [1611]. Rpt. and ed. J. Quir6s de los Rios and F. Rodriguez Marin. Sevilla: n. p., 1896. It includes Medrano's sonnets XLV and XLII. Alonso, D&maso, and Stephen Reckert, eds. Vida v Obra de Medrano. Vol. 2. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 1958. This volume is a critical edition of Medrano's work. Cernuda, Luis, ed. "Sonetos cldsicos sevillanos." Cruz v Raya, 36 (1936), 103-36. The sonnets of Medrano included are XI, XII, XII, XXI, XXXIX, XLI, and XLII. De Castro, Adolfo., ed. Poetas llricos de los sialos XVI and XVII. 2 vols. Biblioteca de Autores Espafioles, XXXII and XLII. Madrid: Hernando, 1854-57. Most of the sonnets and odes of Medrano are contained in Vol. 1 (344- 59); sonnets [XV], XXIV and XXVI are in Vol. 2. De Madrigal, Miguel, comp. Seaunda parte del Romancero General, flor de diversa poesla. Valladolid: Sdnchez, 1605. Rpt. and ed. J. de Entrambasaguas. Vol. 2. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 1948. It includes Medrano's sonnets II, V, VII, VII, IX, XII, XIV, XXII [anonymous], XXVIII, XXIX, XXXIV, XLI, XLIX, and LI; also ode IV. De Sancha, Justo, ed. Romancero v Cancionero saarados. Coleccidn de ooeslas cristianas. morales v divinas. 206 Madrid: Hernando, 1855. It includes Medrano's sonnet XLVI, here numbered 82. Foulche-Delbosc, R. "237 sonnets." Revue Hispaniaue. XVIII (1908), 488-618. The sonnet here numbered 118 is Medrano's sonnet XLVII; it is printed as anonymous. Orlandi, Angelo, ed. Remedios de Amor de don Pedro Venegas de Saavedra con otras Diversas Rimas de Don Francisco de Medrano. Palermo: Angelo Orlandi, 1617. A copy of this work is preserved in the Biblioteca Nacional de Espana under number R-7554. DSmaso Alonso describes Volume R- 7554 as: un lindo tomito (13x8 cms.) encuadernado en pasta marr6n, con recuadro dorado; lleva en el lomo letras doradas sobre fondo rojo que dicen asi: 'REMED/DE/MOR'. Consta de 196 p&ginas. In Alonso, Vida, vol. 2, 393 and 397. There are also four other copies of the Palermo edition in the same library in Spain; they are: R-11644, R-2423, R-7923, and R-1911. Pedraza Jimenez, Felipe B., ed. Francisco de Medrano. Rimas. (Facsimile of the Palermo edition of 1617). Aranjuez: Ara Ovis, 1985. Rodriguez-Mofiino, Antonio., ed. "Los romances de don Francisco de Medrano." Biblioteca de la Real Academia Espaflola, XLIX (1969), 494-550. Rpt. in La transmision de la poesia esoafiola en los sialos de oro. Barcelona: Ariel, 1976, 73-136. Critical Studies of Medrano Alonso, Ddmaso. "Ascendientes de Medrano." In Addendum to Vida. Vol. 1., 317-25. Rpt. in D&maso Alonso, Obras Completas. Vol. 3, 467-75. Madrid: Gredos, 1974. . "Dos composiciones octosildbicas del Ms. 3783." In Addendum to Vida. Vol. 2, 315-17. Rpt. in Alonso, Obras. Vol. 3, 467-75. . "La Epistola Moral (de Andr6s Fernandez de Andrada) y Medrano." In Addendum to Vida. Vol. 2, 372-84. Rpt. in Alonso, Obras. Vol. 3, 495-514. . "Nota final a la reimpresidn en estas Obras Completas. del libro V. O. M. I. Nuevas poesias." In Obras. Vol. 3, 454-63. 207 . Obras completas. Vol. 3. Madrid: Gredos, 1974, 135-514. . "Para la historia temprana del conceptismo: Un Manuscrito sevillano de Justas en honor a Santos (de 1584 a 1600)." Archivo Hisnalense 109 (1961): 1-33. Rpt. in Alonso, Obras. Vol. 3, 75-120. . "Un manuscrito de Medrano que se creia perdido: dos romances." In Addendum to Vida. Vol. 2, 349-59. Rpt. with some modifications in Alonso, Obras. Vol. 3, 476- 87. . "Un soneto de Medrano imitado de Ariosto." Hispanic Review 16 (1948): 162-64. Rpt. in Alonso, Obras. Vol. 2, 492-94. Also in Del Siglo de Pro a este sialo de sialas. 55-74. Madrid: Gredos, 1962. . Vida de Don Francisco de Medrano. Discurso leldo .. . por ... D3maso Alonso. Madrid: Real Academia Espafiola, 1948. . Vida y Obra de Medrano. Vol. 1. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 1948. Rpt. in Alonso, Obras. Vol. 3, 135-453. , and Stephen Reckert. Vida v obra de Medrano. Vol. 2. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 1958. Barrera, Cayetano Alberto de la., comp. Cancionero de poetas varios espafloles de los siolos XVI y XVII. Vol. 1. Madrid: n. p., 1852-1862. Beall, Chandler Baker. "Francisco de Medrano's Imitations from Tasso." Hispanic Review 16 (1943): 76-79. Bohl de Faber, Juan Nicol&s. Floresta de Rimas Antiauas Castelianas. Hamburg: Perthes & Besser, 1821. Cabello Porras, G. "Francisco de Medrano como modelo de imitacidn poetica en la obra de Soto de Rojas." Analecta Malacitana 5 (1982): 33-47. . "Sobre la configuracidn del cancionero petrarquista en el Siglo de Oro. (La serie de Amarilis en Medrano y la serie de Lisi en Quevedo)." Analecta Malacitana 4 (1981): 15-34. Diego, Gerardo. "Menendez Pelayo y la historia de la poesla espafiola hasta el siglo XIX." Boletln de la Biblioteca Men6ndez Pelavo 13 (1931): 115-39. 208 Ferreres, Rafael. 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