One of my hobbies, whether some people believe it or not, is the study of Medieval Spanish. So far, I've been trying to learn it on my own, much to my disapointment. The only source I have right now is the book, "An Anthology of Old Spanish" by Tatiana Fotitch. And it dates from 1969. Pretty old for a book, more or less. It has samples of texts from the 5th century Visigothic Vulgar Latin texts to the 15th century, around the birth of Modern Spanish and the Age of Discovery for Europe.

Here is a sample of 14th century Spanish:

De los sos ojos tan fuertemientre llorando,
tornava la cabeça i estávalos catando.
Vío puertas abiertas e uços sin cañados,
alcándaras vázias sin pielles e sin mantos
e sin falcones e sin adtores mudados.
Sospiró mio Çid, ca mucho avie grandes cuidados.
Fabló mio Çid bien e tan mesurado:
<< grado a tí, señor padre, que estás en alto!
Esto me an buelto mio enemigos malos.>>

Did you recognize the text?
It's famous one to begin with.

[ 01-16-2002: Message edited by: CS ]

Hola,
What a wonderful text you have. I will look through my sources and let you know of other titles that cover your area of interest.

Booklady---


Con los aluores myo çid ferir los va

En el nombre del criador e del apostol sancti yague

Ferid los caualleros damor e voluntad

Ca yo so Ruydiaz myo çid de biuar (1137-1140)
El Cantar del Mio Cid

Unfortunately, the availability of texts from the time period you most likely want is limited. The Cid and a few others are the genesis of prose in castellano. I'm gathering that you want pre-12th century stuff? The fact that you have some 5th-6th century stuff is pretty remarkable!

I'll keep my eyes peeled. The oldest actual book I have is an old ecclesiastical manual called "El Arte de instruir las almas y llevarlas a la penitencia", published in 1780. One interesting note on the book is that the first syllable of the first word on the following page is written in the lower right corner...most likely so that if you turn two pages by accident you'll know. This is very handy when reading this sort of...yawn...material. Some friar was using his bald noggin on that one!

CaliBasco, would your book have been the kind that would have required the reader to slice open facing pages (which would have bene printed on one piece of paper) as he or she went along? Maybe that's why the syllable appears at the bottom...not just in cases of turning two pages at once, but in case the reader forgot to cut the pages?

Just curious...I had never heard of that practice before this!

Tara

I made a mistake in the last post. The copied texts from the 5th century was from another book, unfortunately a library book. The book I have, which is ALSO another library book *sighs*, doesn't have texts starting from the 5th century, but from the 10th instead. I must of gotten the Roman numerals mixed up somehow.

Anyway, here's a sample of a text from 1044 A.D.

1044 -- San Millán de la Cogolla, Rioja Alta

FUERO DE LAS DEHESAS DE MADRIZ Y DERECHOS QUE EN ELLA TIENEN LOS PUEBLOS VECINOS

The text follows Ramón Menéndez Pidal, Documentos linguísticos de España.--I. Reino de Castilla (Madrid, 1915), 115.

Fuero de defesas de Matrice. In Auantinos habent...defesas: vna
delos labradios usque ad semdero qui exit per serum et uadit ad ualleziello.
Altera defesa delo labratio usque ad semdero qui exit sub serna de fonte
Baiuue. Et si fillaren aliquem de Uilla Gundissaluo facientem ligna, por
asino...arienzos donet, et por homine...arienzo.

This text continues on and on and I rather not type two or three pages of Medieval Spanish and lose track of the words and so on.

--A letter from the Visigothic period (Seventh Century?)--

domno paulo faustinus saluto tvam
claritatem et rogo te domne comodo consu
etum est facere ut per te ipsut oliballa quollige
incella vt ipsos mancipios jn jvra iemento
petere debeas vt tibi fraudem non fa
ciant illas cupas collige calas

recortices et sigilla de tuo anvlo et uide
illas tegolas cara tritas svnt de fibola quo
modo ego ipsas demisi illum meracium manda
de titiata uenire ut ajvtet ibi unum quina
et unum atmancio nostro
de siriola pesitula at illa ammica tua
oris dirige prodi esto sic
tus custudiat

[ 01-16-2002: Message edited by: CS ]

I have some books of medieval poetry that we used for one of my Literature classes in Spain. I will see if I can dig them up...

Has anyone found websites talking about Medieval/Old Spanish?

Surprisingly, there are sites about Medieval/Old French.

[ 01-16-2002: Message edited by: CS ]

Wow, what an interesting thread! I studied medieval English lit/rhetorical theory in grad school and became familiar with the lit of other countries in translation. (It was hard enough getting accustomed to Chaucer's English as a second language!)

Calibasco, do you think that bottom page syllable might have been put there if the book was used in recitation? Since literacy was not wide-spread perhaps that bald friar was reading to an audience of souls who couldn't read and needed penitence to boot!

Spanish is such a gorgeous language ... what would be a good introductory text from this time period?

Churrito

I'm trying to remember if Cantar del Mio Cid was the first literature found writen in Spanish, but I cannot put the hand on the fire, It's dated in S.XII.
You can find other Romances in this page: http://atotos.gksdesign.com/

I FOUND IT!!! I FOUND IT!!! I FOUND IT!!!
I so happy happy happy happy!!!!

I found a book that has both the Medieval and the Modern Spanish Translations of the "Poema del Cid".

[ 01-16-2002: Message edited by: CS ]