Gonzalo de Berceo

Anthony J. Lappin (Maynooth University)

Ed. by Andrew M. Beresford, University of Durham
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.6.2.01: Spanish Literature and Culture from the Beginning to the Golden Age.
Vol. editors: Andrew M. Beresford (University of Durham), Stuart Green (University of Leeds), Juan Pablo Rodriguez (Yale University), Duncan Wheeler (University of Leeds)

Dates

Born c. 1197
Died 1264

Places

Born in Spain
Active in

Activities

Primary

Poet

Resources

Berceo's Works

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Gonzalo (or, as he wrote it,

Gonçalvo

) was a cleric, originating in Berceo, La Rioja, Spain, and active during the first half of the thirteenth century. From his presence as witness in a range of documents of sale and donation, we know he was a deacon there by 1221. If canonical stipulations were followed, his being a deacon then would provide the latest date for his birth as 1198, although it was probably much earlier. Gonzalo was ordained by 1237, and, five years later, his brother was serving as priest in the same church.

Gonzalo died between 1252 and 1264, probably before 1260. He is celebrated as one of the earliest vernacular poets of the Peninsula; all his work is composed in cuaderna vía (“the four-fold way”, referring to the form’s monorrhymed stanzas of, overwhelmingly,

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2051 words

Citation: Lappin, Anthony J.. "Gonzalo de Berceo". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 June 2018 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=14023, accessed 21 November 2024.]