Industrial and commercial beginnings.
In the thirteenth century Castilian Spain made a beginning of industrial and commercial life, of which Santiago de Compostela had been perhaps the only representative prior to that date. Laborers united in guilds, just as in other western European lands, working together according to the laws of their guild, and living in the same street. Many of them were foreigners, Jews, or Mudéjares. An export trade of raw materials and wine developed between the towns of the north coast and the merchants of Flanders, England, and Germany, and just at the end of the period the capture of Seville added commercial wealth to Castile, through the trade of that city in the western Mediterranean. Interior commerce still encountered the difficulties which had harassed it in earlier times, but some of them were overcome through the development of fairs to facilitate exchange. Certain days in the year, usually corresponding with the feast of the patron saint of the town, were set aside by important centres for a general market, or fair, on which occasions special measures were undertaken to assure the safety of the roads and to protect all who might attend,—Moslem and Jews as well as Christians. Men naturally travelled in large groups at such times, which was an additional means of security. The season of the fair might be the only occasion in a year when a town could procure a supply of goods not produced at home, wherefore this institution assumed great importance. The increased use of coin as a medium of exchange demonstrates the commercial advance of this period over the preceding.
The intellectual awakening.
In every branch of intellectual culture there was a vigorous awakening at this time. The classical traditions of the Spanish clergy and the Mozárabes were reinforced by western European influences coming especially from France, while the Greco-oriental culture of the Mudéjares and Mozárabes merged with the former to produce a Spanish civilization, which became marked after the conquests of the thirteenth century. In the twelfth century universities had sprung up in Italy and France, where the Roman and the canon law, theology, and philosophy were taught. In those countries the formal organization of the universities had grown naturally out of the gatherings of pupils around celebrated teachers, but Spain had no Irnerius or Abélard, wherefore the origins of the universities of the peninsula were the result of official initiative. In 1212 or 1214 Alfonso VIII founded a university at Palencia, but this institution lived only thirty-one years. About the year 1215 Alfonso IX of León made a beginning of the more celebrated University of Salamanca, the fame of which belongs, however, to the next following era. By the close of the eleventh century the Castilian language had become definitely formed, as also the Leonese and Galician variants. By the middle of the twelfth century all three had become written languages, and, by the middle of the thirteenth, Latin works were already being translated into the Romance tongues.
Romance poetry.
Beginnings of the drama.
One of the earliest forms of Romance literature was that of popular poetry of an epic character, singing the deeds of Christian warriors. This was of French origin, coming in with French crusaders and the monks of Cluny. Two long poems of this class, both dealing with the life of the Cid, have been preserved. One, the Poema (Poem), is believed to date from the middle of the twelfth century, while the other, the Crónica (Chronicle), is probably of later origin. Both mix legend with fact, but the former is the less legendary. In the thirteenth century another type of poetry developed in Castile called mester de clerecía (office of the clergy), also bound up with French influences, but more erudite and formally correct and usually religious in subject-matter, a Spanish expression of European scholasticism. From the side of Aragon came the influence of southern France, in the lyrical and erotic poetry of the Provençal troubadours. Galicia was much affected by these foreign impulses, due to the journeys of pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela, and developed a notable poetry of its own. In this period, too, the Castilian theatre had its origins, in the mystery plays of the church and in the popular performances of jugglers in the streets. Whereas the former were in the nature of a religious ceremony, the latter, which were ultimately to exercise the greater influence, were of a secular character, usually satirical, and given to great liberty of expression.
History and science.
In historical literature there were two names of some note in this period. Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada, archbishop of Toledo (1170-1247), reduced the early Spanish chronicles to a narrative form, embellished by erudite references which his classical knowledge enabled him to employ. He may be regarded as the father of Spanish historiography. Naturally, given the age, his works were not free from legends and errors, and do not display the critical spirit of modern times. Bishop Lucas of Tuy (died 1288), though far inferior to Jiménez de Rada in both method and criticism, wrote a life of Saint Isidore and other works which enjoyed great popularity in the thirteenth century. In scientific literature there were no great names, for this was a period of study and the translation of Arabic and western European texts, rather than one of original composition.
Romanesque architecture.