Misplaced Pages

#143856

60-564: He was born in Alcalá de Henares . Little is known about him today, save that he was a cleric and probably studied in Toledo . Though his birth name is known to be Juan Ruiz, he is widely referred to by his title of "archpriest of Hita." According to his own book, he was imprisoned for years, thought to be between 1337 and 1350, as punishment for some of his deeds (if the poem is any guide, they were quite inconsistent with his position as priest ). However,

120-623: A compluvium ). The city boundaries have been inhabited since the Chalcolithic phase of the Bronze Age . Romans conquered the area in the 1st century BC, and built the town of Complutum near a previous Carpetanian settlement, Iplacea. With 10,000 inhabitants, it reached the status of municipium and had its own governing institutions. It played an important role, located on the Roman road connecting Emerita Augusta and Caesaraugusta . After

180-513: A collegiate church , and derives from the requirement that all of the canons of the cathedral must possess the academic distinction of Doctor of Theology in order to serve there. In addition to that of Saints Justus and Pastor, the cathedral also houses the tomb of renowned 17th-century Spanish sculptor Gregorio Fernández . The city is also home to the Archbishops Palace. This site is where Christopher Columbus and King Ferdinand planned

240-577: A bishopric seat in the 5th century. One of the several Muslim citadels in the Middle Mark of al-Andalus (hence the name Alcalá , a derivative of the Arabic term for citadel) was established on the left bank, while, after the Christian conquest culminated c.  1118 , the bulk of the urban nucleus returned to the right bank. For much of the late middle-ages and the early modern period before becoming part of

300-431: A commuter town, with many of its inhabitants travelling to work in the capital. By Cercanias (railway) is the lines C2 and C7 that links Alcalá de Henares with Madrid in 35 minutes, or Guadalajara in 25 minutes, also exists in the peak hours trains called CIVIS, direct train, that makes the journey in 20 minutes. Also it is linked by bus to Madrid, Guadalajara and several towns and villages in nearby. By car, Alcalá de Henares

360-457: A major recreational center for city residents and lies along a main road of Alcalá, Vía Complutense. Recent archaeological excavations have opened up the city's Roman forum where a large complex comprising a basilica, public baths, a cryptoporticus , a market and a large monumental façade stands out. Alongside the forum is the Domus with an extraordinary collection of Roman domestic mural paintings. On

420-507: Is a massive and episodic work that combines poems to Jesus and Mary; Ruiz's unrequited love, and fables. The poem itself is 1,728 stanzas long. The breadth of the writer's scope, and the exuberance of his style have caused some to term him "the Castilian Chaucer ." Speculation regarding whether or not the book was actually an autobiography is incessant. His language is characterized by its richness and its sermon-like tendency to repeat

480-460: Is generally known simply as Alcalá , but de Henares (‘of the river Henares ’) is appended when needed to differentiate it from a dozen Spanish cities sharing the name Alcalá (from the Arabic word القلعة al-qalʿa , for fortification or citadel , typically a castle). Its Latin name, Complutum , means " confluence ", where rivers' water (or rain water) flow into one place (i.e.,

540-468: Is it possible to fix the precise date of his imprisonment. Albornoz nominally occupied the see of Toledo from 1337 to 1368, but he fell into disgrace in 1351 and fled to Avignon . A consideration of these circumstances points to the probable conclusion that Ruiz was in prison from 1337 to 1350, but this is conjecture. What seems established is that he finished the Libro de buen amor in 1343. Indeed, almost nothing

600-461: Is known about the author(s) of the poem or if he was even named Juan Ruiz. One scholarly study found hundreds of clerics in mid-fourteenth-century Castile named Juan Ruiz. The name appears to be the equivalent of John Smith and may have been chosen to represent the everyman . It has been estimated that he died around 1350 (presumably in prison); by 1351, he no longer held the title of archpriest of Hita. El Libro de Buen Amor (The Book of Good Love)

660-661: Is located in the central part of the Iberian Peninsula , in the southern half of the Inner Plateau . It lies on the valley of the Henares , a left-bank tributary of the Jarama , which is in turn a right-bank tributary of the Tagus . The right (north) bank of the river (on which the current urban nucleus was built) displays a very flat relief with a series of quaternary fluvial terraces , while

SECTION 10

#1732858415144

720-510: Is named "Universidad de Alcalá", the ancient institution founded by Cisneros is the one now called "Universidad Complutense", translocated in the capital city of Madrid ("Complutensis" is the Latin word for "native of Alcalá"). The modern university is related to the original institution in name only, although it occupies the former buildings of the Complutense. Aside from the buildings associated with

780-692: Is said to have died 7 or 8 years after his release from the Inquisition's holding facility. There are today three manuscripts of the Libro de Buen Amor . The Salamanca version, denoted S, resides in Madrid's Biblioteca Real and is considered the best of the three codices. The other two are the Academia Española version, known as Gayoso (G), and the Toledo (T) manuscript. Ruiz's influence is visible in El Corbacho ,

840-452: Is well known for its population of white storks . Their large nests can be observed atop many of the churches and historic buildings in the city, and are themselves a significant tourist attraction. Situated in the lowlands of the Henares river , the city is an attractive home for the migratory storks due to the wide availability of food and nesting material in the area. For over twenty years, Alcalá's storks have been counted and studied, and

900-609: The Universidad Complutense , one of the oldest universities in the world, as a Studium Generale . With the patronage of Cardinal Cisneros , it was recognized in a 1499 papal bull , and quickly gained international fame as a main centre of learning of the Renaissance thanks to the production of the Complutensian Polyglot Bible in 1517, which is the basis for most of the current translations. By royal decree,

960-572: The Disticha of Dionysius Cato , and admits his indebtedness to Ovid and to the De Amore ascribed to Pamphilus ; his references to Blanchefleur , to Tristan and to Yseult, indicate an acquaintance with French literature, and he utilizes the fabliaux with remarkable deftness; lastly, he adapts fables and apologues from Aesop , from Pedro Alfonso 's Disciplina clericalis , and from medieval bestiaries . All these heterogeneous materials are fused in

1020-575: The Henares River , it is located 31 kilometres (19 miles) to the northeast of the center of Madrid . As of 2018 , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated municipality . Predated by earlier settlements ( oppida ) on the left bank of the Henares, the city has its origins in the Complutum settlement founded in Roman times on the right bank (north) of the river, that became

1080-603: The Libro de buen amor is mainly written in the cuaderna via modelled on the French alexandrine , but he imparts to the measure a variety and rapidity previously unknown in Castilian, and he experiments by introducing internal rhymes or by shortening the fourth line into an octosyllabic verse; or he boldly recasts the form of the stanza, extending it to six or seven lines with alternate verses of eight and five syllables. But his technical skill never sinks to triviality. All his writing bears

1140-626: The Plaza de Cervantes and is traversed by a long pedestrian main street, the Calle Mayor . The city includes the Moorish quarter, the Jewish quarter, and the Christian quarter. These distinct neighborhoods have given Alcalá the reputation of "the city of three cultures". The old city centre has been largely preserved, unlike the suburbs. There has been no clear planning by the city councillors regarding expansion, and

1200-644: The Spanish Civil War . Thousands of prisoners were held in different camps in the city after the end of the war. From March 1939 to February 1948, at least 264 individuals were executed in Alcalá by the Francoist authorities . The town of historic importance was one of the first bishoprics founded in Spain. The polyglot Bible known as the Complutensian Polyglot Bible , the first of the many similar Bibles produced during

1260-551: The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party in the province of Madrid in 1903. Emerging in reaction to Socialist advances, Social catholicism also took hold in the city from 1905, founding a number of organizations such as Centro Católico de Acción Social Popular and the Mutual Obrera Complutense . Following the 1936 coup d'etat that sparked the Spanish Civil War , putschist elements seized key posts around

SECTION 20

#1732858415144

1320-569: The 14th-century Satire by Marrano Pero Ferrús . During the 15th century, the Jewish congregation of the city was one of the largest in Castile , having about 200 Jewish families. Hebrew studies at the University of Alcalá were encouraged by Cardinal Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros during the 16th century, bringing some Jews and Marrano Hebraists to work in the city. The location of the Jewish quarter of

1380-524: The Ottoman Empire. The origins of Miguel de Cervantes' family are supposed (there is no total certainty) to be Jewish. Because his father worked on the former Jewish neighbourhood, the birthplace was close to the workplace, and also because the surname Cervantes makes reference to a different site in the Northwest of Spain, and geographical surnames were common among the Jewish population. Alcalá de Henares

1440-418: The active protection and maintenance of their nests is by official policy. Although once in danger of disappearing, with only eleven pairs counted between 1986 and 1987, the population has grown to around 90 resident pairs today, many of which have shortened the distance and duration of their typical migrations to remain in the city nearly all year. Some 18% of the population are of foreign origin, according to

1500-712: The area located in between the railway and the A-2 motorway and beyond. The climate in this city of central Spain is semi-arid , with cold, dry winters and hot, dry summers. The average year-round temperature is 14 °C (57 °F). The average year-round rainfall is about 300 mm (11.8 in), mainly in spring and autumn. Temperatures vary from some degrees below 0 °C (32 °F) in December and January to some over 40 °C (104 °F) in July and August. Dry season coincides with maximum heat in summer. The major landmark and one of

1560-530: The city during the persecutions of the Roman Emperor Diocletian at the beginning of the 4th century. In 414 a chapel was erected at the site of Justus and Pastor's martyrdom, and was converted into a cathedral during the period of Visigoth control of Hispania ; bishops from Alcalá were present at the Councils of Toledo beginning in the 7th century. In 1053 the old city of Alcalá ( Alcalá la Vieja )

1620-562: The city is well known – between Mayor, Santiago, Imagen and Cervantes streets. One synagogue stood in Carmen Calzado street, no. 10. The other was on Santiago street. After the 1492 Alhambra Decree Jews were required to become Christians to continue living in Castile and Aragon; those who refused had to leave these kingdoms and most of them found residence in the North of Africa, Amsterdam and

1680-606: The city. However, following the botched coup in Madrid, Rebel forces in Alcalá eventually surrendered to Republican Colonel Ildefonso Puigdendolas and his troops on 21 July. Alcalá, that reportedly became a Soviet power base during the conflict—a "republic within the republic" where the Republican national government held a tenuous grip—was the place were POUM leader Andrés Nin was transferred to and tortured and killed in June 1937 by NKVD agents. The city suffered severe damage during

1740-669: The downfall of the Roman Empire, under the Visigoths , it declined, although it also became a pilgrimage destination in remembrance of the Saints Justo and Pastor . When the Moors invaded in 711, they conquered the Visigothic city and founded another site, building an al-qalʿa , which means "citadel" in Arabic, on a nearby hill, today known as Alcalá la Vieja (Old Alcalá). On 3 May 1118, it

1800-558: The excursion to the West as well as the birthplace of Catherine of Aragon , daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, who would be the first wife of King Henry VIII of England and therefore queen consort of England . Alcalá's Corral of Comedies , which hosts a full program of theatre and is open for tours, is the oldest documented corral in the history of Spain. The center of the city remains essentially medieval, with many winding cobbled streets, and many historic buildings. The city centre surrounds

1860-615: The faculty of genial observation Ruiz has the gift of creating characters and presenting types of human nature: from his Don Furón is derived the hungry gentleman in Lazarillo de Tormes , in Don Melón and Doña Endrina he anticipates Calisto and Melibea in the Celestina , and Celestina herself is developed from the Trotaconventos of Ruiz. Moreover, Ruiz was justly proud of his metrical innovations:

Juan Ruiz - Misplaced Pages Continue

1920-412: The first half of the 14th century, and his impartial irony lends a deeper tone to his rich coloring. He knows the weaknesses of both clergy and laity, and he dwells with equal complacency on the amorous adventures of great ladies, on the perverse intrigues arranged by demure nuns behind their convent walls, and on the simpler instinctive animalism of country lasses and Moorish dancing-girls. In addition to

1980-460: The first line " Nun bin ich dein, du aller Blumen Blume ". The translation was set to music for voice and piano by Hugo Wolf (1860–1903), and published in his 1891 Lieder collection also called Spanisches Liederbuch . Alcal%C3%A1 de Henares Alcalá de Henares ( Spanish pronunciation: [alkaˈla ðe eˈnaɾes] ) is a Spanish city in the Community of Madrid . Straddling

2040-409: The great prides of the city, its university, uses sites throughout the city, but has two main campuses. The first is on the north side of Alcalá. This campus includes most science departments and student housing (as well as its own, separate Renfe station ). The second, central campus, houses most of the humanities and social-science departments, including a law school. The architectural influence of

2100-546: The influence of his friend Raymond de Sauvetât , the Archbishop of Toledo , decided not to restore the Diocese of Alcalá at that time. Instead, de Sauvetât was able to secure the incorporation of Alcalá into his own archiepiscopal territories through a donation from King Alfonso VII in 1129. The church was rebuilt again some three hundred years later by a subsequent archbishop of Toledo, Alfonso Carrillo de Acuña, who elevated it to

2160-523: The left (southern) bank features a very steep slope of clays from the miocene , rapidly rising up to the moors of La Alcarria . Standing at an average altitude of 654 m, and occupying some 88 km ; the city was for a long time contained in between the Henares to the South and the Madrid-Barcelona railway to the North. However, the increasing population brought on the sprawl of the urbanised area to

2220-554: The modern Colegio de San Ildefonso, the Colegio de Málaga and other Colegios , and the structures have served as a model for other universities across the Spanish territories in the Americas and other dependencies. The university chapel dedicated to Saint Ildefonso has a monument to the university's founder, Cardinal Cisneros, by Fancelli , an Italian sculptor. Although the present university

2280-441: The official data, a large part of the newcomers (30%) are immigrants from Eastern Europe . Many Chinese businesses have also been established in the city. Alcalá has the largest community (18%) of Romanian immigrants in Spain , with over 35,000 people. In 2007, for the first time, the immigrants from Romania created a political party for the elections to come. Alcalá's excellent transport links with Madrid have led to its becoming

2340-689: The original Roman site, and the Muslim one was abandoned. Under Christian rule until the end of the Reconquista, the town had both a Jewish and a Moorish quarter and a renowned marketplace. Its central position allowed it to be a frequent residence of the Kings of Castile , when travelling south. At some time in the 1480s, Christopher Columbus first met there the Reyes Católicos , King Ferdinand II of Aragon and his wife Queen Isabella I of Castile , who financed

2400-578: The outskirts is the House of Hippolytus, an old school. In turn, the Regional Archaeology Museum (MAR) holds highly valuable mosaics. The city hosts a large population of international students due to the presence of the university, and in particular its Spanish language and literature programs for foreign students. Alcalingua, a branch of University of Alcalá , is one of the major foreign language learning centers for students from abroad. Alcalá

2460-460: The poem has long been considered as pseudo- autobiography and the verses that mention his imprisonment appear at the end of the book and are generally thought to have been added after the fact. One of his poems states that he was imprisoned on the order of Gil Albornoz , the Archbishop of Toledo . It is not known whether he was sentenced for his irregularities of conduct, or on account of his satirical reflections on his ecclesiastical superiors. Nor

Juan Ruiz - Misplaced Pages Continue

2520-518: The province of Madrid, Alcalá de Henares was a seigneurial estate of the archbishops of Toledo . Its historical centre is one of UNESCO 's World Heritage Sites . The city has a long university tradition. Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros founded the Complutense University in Alcalá de Henares in the late 15th century. The city currently hosts the (refounded) University of Alcalá . It is the native city of Miguel de Cervantes . Locally, it

2580-410: The revival of Biblical studies that took place in the 16th century, was printed at Alcalá under the care of Cardinal Cisneros . A papal bull of 7 March 1885, united Alcalá with (effectively merging it into) the diocese of Madrid , which includes the civil province of Madrid, suffragan of the archbishopric of Toledo . The bishop's residence has since been used for preserving historical archives. It

2640-404: The same concept in several different ways. Noted for being very creative and alive, his work utilizes colloquial, popular vocabulary. His natural gifts were supplemented by his varied culture; he clearly had a considerable knowledge of the colloquial (and perhaps also of literary) Arabic widely spoken in the Spain of his time; his classical reading was apparently not extensive, but he knew by heart

2700-562: The sprawling suburban areas are irregularly constructed, with the addition of 1970s-style high rise blocks in many places. One of the most important streets in the city is the Calle del Cardenal Cisneros which takes tourists from the Madrid Gate at the entrance of the city, to the old city center and the cathedral in Santos Niños Square. The main park of Alcalá, Parque Municipal O'Donnell is

2760-447: The stamp of a unique personality, and, if he never attempts a sublime flight, he conveys with contagious force his enthusiasm for life under any conditions — in town, country, vagabondage or gaol. Johan Ruys (original spelling), arcipreste de la Hita, was imprisoned by the Inquisition for a few years due to his one-sided love affair with a lady of the nobility. In our modern society, he would have been charged with "harassment". He

2820-492: The status of a collegiate church . It was finally reconstructed in its present Isabelline Gothic style under Cardinal Cisneros (1495–1517), the founder of the university. A tower was added between 1528 and 1582, achieving its modern appearance in 1618. The processional cloister and the Chapel of Saint Peter were incorporated into the building in the 17th century. The building was declared a national monument in 1904. Nevertheless, it

2880-460: The substance of his versified autobiography, into which he intercalates devout songs, parodies of epic or forensic formulae, and lyrical digressions on every aspect of life. He shows a profound knowledge of human emotion and is able to strike a balance between gentleness and brazenness in his shrewd and frequently ironic writing. Ruiz, in fact, offers a complete picture of picaresque society in the most complex and rich cultural geography of Europe during

2940-516: The travel for the Discovery of America . Cardinal Cisneros granted the town a new fuero in 1509. Despite being largely ruined, the town acquired the status of city in 1687 after long negotiations. In decadence since the mid-18th century, Alcalá de Henares experienced a relative demographic and economic upturn in the second half of the 19th century, based on its newly acquired condition of military outpost, to which an embryonic industrial nucleus

3000-463: The university can be found in other present-day academic institutions. The University of San Diego is largely based on the Spanish university; its campus and address take the name "Alcalá Park". In addition, some buildings at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas were modeled after the architecture of Universidad de Alcalá de Henares. In 1293 in Alcalá de Henares King Sancho IV of Castile founded

3060-571: The university moved to Madrid in 1836 (initially as the Universidad de Madrid, later as the Universidad Central, which in the 1970s would finally be renamed Universidad Complutense de Madrid ). A new university was founded in the old buildings as the Universidad de Alcalá in 1977. Parts of the new university occupy the buildings of the old Universidad Complutense in the city centre, including

SECTION 50

#1732858415144

3120-582: The university, one of the city's most important and historic building is the Cathedral-Magistral of Saints Justus and Pastor , known formally in Spanish as the Santa e Insigne Catedral-Magistral de los Santos Justo y Pastor or more familiarly as the Catedral de los Santos Niños . Constructed between 1497 and 1514, the cathedral houses the remains of Saints Justus and Pastor, two Christian schoolboys martyred near

3180-468: The work of another jovial goliard , Alphonso Martinez de Toledo, arch-priest of Talavera, who wrote more than half a century before the Libro de buen amor was imitated by the author of the Celestina . Ruiz is mentioned with respect by Santillana, and that his reputation extended beyond Spain is proved by the surviving fragments of a Portuguese version of the Libro de buen amor . By some strange accident he

3240-405: Was also added. The population steadily increased from 1868 to 1939. The population was still agrarian to a large extent, with high levels of illiteracy and poverty. Seeking social change, Republican and later Socialist movements grew in force in the city. The leading figure in the latter movement was Antonio Fernández Quer  [ es ] , who became the first municipal councillor from

3300-502: Was burned during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), and practically all of its contents were destroyed with the exception of a few minor relics and choir seats. It was not until 1991 that the Diocese of Alcalá was finally restored, being separated from the Archdiocese of Madrid, at which time the building was granted its present status of cathedral-magistral (although the title "magistral"

3360-421: Was conquered by Ferdinand the Great , only to be recaptured the following year by the Moorish armies then warring for control of the Iberian Peninsula , who destroyed the cathedral as an act of retaliation. At that time the relics of Saints Justus and Pastor were taken to Huesca for safekeeping until after the reconquest of Alcalá in 1118. Although a church was rebuilt on the site in 1122, Pope Urban II , under

3420-439: Was designed by Alonso Berruguete and has a famous staircase. During Muslim rule, the Jewish community of the city was granted equal rights as the Christians living in it: special restrictions were not placed on Jews regarding criminal compensation, residency, and other municipal aspects. In the Middle Ages , the Jewish congregation of the city paid taxes to the Archbishop of Toledo . The Jews of Alcalá were mentioned in

3480-454: Was neglected, and apparently forgotten, until 1790, when an expurgated edition of his poems was published by Tomás Antonio Sanchez ; from that date his fame has steadily increased, and by the unanimous verdict of all competent judges he is now ranked as the greatest Castilian poet of his century. Paul Heyse (1830–1914) published a translation into German of a poem by Ruiz in the 1852 collection Spanisches Liederbuch (Spanish Songbook), with

3540-399: Was originally granted by Cardinal Cisneros, the building was still technically only a collegiate church , and not yet a cathedral within the ecclesiastical meaning of the term). The Cathedral of Alcalá is notable as one of only two churches in the world to be granted the special title "magistral" (along with St. Peter's Church in Leuven , Belgium ). The title reflects its former status as

3600-407: Was reconquered by the Archbishop of Toledo Bernard de Sedirac at behest of Castile . Soon after, on 10 February 1129, Alfonso VII gave Alcalá to Raymond de Sauvetât , also Archbishop of Toledo, becoming an archiepiscopal property for centuries to come. Raymond granted the town an old fuero (charter) in 1135. The Christians preferred the Burgo de Santiuste ("Saint Just's borough") on

#143856