“¡Dios que buen vassallo- que oviesse buen señor!” Discuss the

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“¡Dios que buen vassallo- que oviesse buen señor!” Discuss the portrayal of
social hierarchy in the Cantar de Mio Cid. To what extent is there a veiled
criticism to kingship in the Cantar?”
Considerable critical debate revolves around the Cantar’s stance on social hierarchy and
kingship; whether it is “an anti-noble diatribe” (Lacarra:1980:208) or simply “reminding
Castilians of a certain rank...of where precisely their duty lay” (Barton:2000:78) and whether
it is “defendiendo la legitimidad del Rey” (Bautista:2007:178) or “una leyenda anticastellana”
(Molho:1977:245). Few critics however, have contested the very existence of social
hierarchy in the text. The Cantar in fact exemplifies a kin-orientated world whose same
principles are mimicked in vassalage with a circumstantial hierarchy based on prestige. The
issues of kinship and descent underpin both the Cid’s motivations for his actions and the
tension with the Infantes de Carrion. The Cid preserves the traditional kinship traditions while
Alfonso’s Castille shows the beginnings of social stratification in medieval Spain, which the
poet opposes. Kingship equally belongs to the Castilian model and is critiqued where the
King’s behaviour differs from how the absolute leader in a kin based society would act.
Menéndez Pidal first proposed that “el verdadero tema básico del poema” is the tension
between the infanzones and the ricos hombres (1963:211). The Infantes, purportedly
representing the ricos hombres, are certainly objects of derision. They are the “malos
mestureros”(267) responsible for the Cid’s exile and their defects obviously juxtapose with
his quintessence. Boix-Jovani notes that “los siete pecados capitales están presentes en
ellos, lo cual nos muestra su baja catadura moral” (1997:191). Moreover, Montgomery
highlights that their series of actions is “directly contrary to the heroic pattern” (2008:42). The
lion episode shows their lack of masculinity; they flee in terror whereas the Cid upholds the
heroic tradition of a power from the eyes, “el león, cuando lo vio”(2298) that disables the
aggressive animal. Finally, they fail the real litmus test of heroism, they lack warrior passion;
“catamos la ganançia- e la perdida no”(2320), they are not prepared to fight for the winnings.
This argument however presupposes that the critique represents a blanket “satire of
hereditary nobility” (Lawrance:2002:47). Hart states that “the opposition between the
Infantes and the Cid provides a kind of polarity around which the whole structure of the
poem is organised”, however it does not follow that the poet means to generalise this
comparison to regard social classes (2006:14). Many critics contend that the Infantes do
correspond to stock types of hereditary nobility. The Infantes de Carrion vaunt their “tierras”,
“heredades” and “haberes” but they are not rich and seek the Cid’s wealth instead (1374),
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which corresponds to the 12th century reality that “caballeros villanos were by now the most
important class” as conceived by Lourie (1966:65). Fernán Gonzalez uses status as
justification for the Infantes’ horrific actions, “de natura somos de Condes de Carrión”(3299).
Additionally, Asur Gonzalez embodies the stereotype of the well-fed noble, “Bermejo viene
ca era almorzado”(3375). The critique is not however unanimously negative. The Cid warmly
embraces Count Anrrich and Count Raymond and offers them his wealth(3495-3504).
Additionally, their manner throughout the trial is one of righteousness. Ximena is herself a
noble woman, “duena es de pro”(3039), and both the Cid and the Narrator favour the noble
marriages of his daughters, “deste vuestro casamiento creceremos en honor”(2198) and
“Así le crece la honra a mío Cid”(3453).
The riddle’s solution lies in the fact that critics have analysed the text through a class lens
rather than recognising its kin-orientated structure. The debate over its position on class
emanates from the research of critics like Lourie and Hinojosa who have depicted a
medieval social hierarchy akin to modern notions of class structure. “Until recently the
nature of kinship and its shaping effect upon social and political institutions in medieval
Spain was not a topic accorded much attention by historians” and therefore the kinship
interpretation has been thwarted (Glick:2005:146). Molho is right that the relevant historical
context is “la de la España del XII” rather than the historical Cid’s era; however, evidence of
the Cantar’s frontier preoccupations is in the emergence of a state not based on a kinship
ideology, not a portrayal of class conflict (1977:245).
In the light of kinship therefore, the selectivity of the noble figures’ critique is
comprehensible. The Cid’s behaviour towards the Counts is indicative of a “man-to-man,
rather than a class-structured comprehension of society” meanwhile the tension between the
Infantes and the Cid lies in a “dispute over the relative status of the two clans”
(Harney:1993:204). Historically, the Vanigómez are a reputable family but they are now poor
and need the Cid’s wealth. The Infantes’ misgivings about the Cid though regard his
geographical origins not class, “Mío Cid es de Bivar y nos de los condes de Carrión”(1376).
The terms “parientes” and “bando” highlight the clanic dimension in the Infantes’ crowd.
“Bando” echoes with “the Peninsular lineages which federated into solid, widespread clans,
and formed resolutely hostile parties: the bandos” (Heers:1977:25). So, clanic rivalry, not a
class war explains that narrative conflict.
The Cantar then “is constructed around the contrast between these two modes: descent and
kinship” (Harney:19). The Cid’s preoccupation with securing an advantageous marriage for
his daughters is in the wider context of an “establishment of a claim to agnatic legitimacy”
(ibid:45). His adoption of the “vicinal cognomina” “de Vivar” emphasises his ambition to
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possess an agnatic lineage like the Infantes (ibid:49). Consequently, despite doubts about
the Infantes, the Cid reconciles himself to the marriage because it satisfies his dynastic
concerns. “The poem’s focus on the Kings of Spain who are now the descendants of the Cid
clearly points to a genealogical perspective” (ibid:47). This also supports the argument that
the text was written for an audience of the Cid’s kin (Duggan:2008:147).
Although the Cid aspires to an agnatic lineage, he also supports the notion of bilateral
kinship, which is the cornerstone of his entourage’s social hierarchy. Both from historical
knowledge and textual references, it is known that many in the Cid’s inner circle are his
nephews. The uncle-nephew bond corresponds to a great epic tradition; its role in feud in
chansons de geste like Raoul de Cambrai is widely studied and kinship is even central to the
Castilian epic Siete Infantes de Lara (McGlynn:2008). The kin are nonetheless vassals,
there was “an equality of function between the kinship group and the tie of vassalage”
(Bloch:1989:225). Moreover, the kinship relationship extends to the whole company in
pseudo-kinship. While he does not know them all personally (1264), the Cid’s vassals are
treated like extended family; the term “vassal” is used interchangeably with “amigo”, there is
abundant usage of the verb “criar”, “muchos que crió el campeador”(2514) and terms like
“conpaña” and “mesnada” convey the community spirit.
The Cantar is frequently hailed as promoting the cause of the caballero villano, however
there is no evidence of such arrivisme. The Cid appeals to anyone who is willing to “perder
cueta y venir a rictad”(1189); social advancement is not part of the deal. This is because,
while there are class sensibilities like “fijos d’algo”, these categories relate to “economic
handicap or advantage…rather than the rigid hierarchy…connected with advanced class
structure” (Harney:50). Although there is as Duggan identifies, “hierarchy in the distribution
of the rest of the loot” as in line 513, this relates to the role’s importance, not class (2008:22).
Infantry receive half the sum of the mounted knights because their function is less valuable,
“doszientos con el, que todos cinen espadas, /non son en cuenta, sabet, las
peonadas”(918). When they reach Valencia however, “los que fueron de pie cavalleros se
fazen”(1213). Conventionally interpreted as advocating social mobility for knights who had
earned sufficient wealth to merit social promotion, in fact the verse depicts the men as
“beneficiaries of an entirely pragmatic occupational mobility” whereby infantry become
mounted soldiers by virtue of the horses gathered after battle(730,1777,2406)(Harney:179).
The Cid’s personal ambitions and rise through Castille’s ranks might appear to contradict
this thesis. However, while the Cantar does not endorse social climbing, competition for
prestige is evident. The Cid displays “a circumstantial mobility in terms of enhanced material
prosperity, augmented political influence, and increased personal prestige” (ibid:178).
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Besides his own actions earning such prestige, he raises his status through hypergamy
(Duggan:147). He is however not socially mobile; Guglielmi helpfully summarises saying that
the Cid attains “una posición eminente, un encumbramiento que lo aleja de su primitivo
status, aunque no lo modifique” (Guglielmi:1963:53). Within this circumstantial framework,
as the Cid’s “ganancia...crece”, so the Infantes de Carrion are “abilitados”(1863) and “menos
vales”(3268,3334,3346).
The concept of earned honour undermines the argument that “honour is of course
indissolubly linked to the lord-vassal relationship” (Deyermond:1977:37). While the Cid
deferentially thanks the King for the “honra que le habedes dado”(1848), his own actions
facilitated this recognition. The Cid’s pursuit of reconciliation with the King might
understandably then seem pointless since he is a self-made man. However, the vassalic
bond is central to the Cantar’s conception of social hierarchy. Vassalage features in both
societies, not solely as an economic relationship, but a kind of paterfamilias. Undeniably the
Cid’s actions are partly “interested gift-giving”, however that is not discordant with the idea
that the Cid seeks appeasement because it is an intimate bond that has been broken
(Duggan:33).The Cid feels an emotional affinity to the King, shown in the references to love
regarding their relationship(1240,1324,1944,2028).
Despite this, the Cantar is suspicious of the notion of kingship as an expression of
encroaching state authority. While absolute leadership as a principle is not undermined since
the Cid is the outright leader of his band, the poet is uneasy about kingship without kinship.
Many critics have argued to the contrary; Bautista constructs a positivist argument around
the significance of the term “señor natural” and Correa perceives “atributos perfectos
encarnada en la persona del Rey”, however this is incompatible with his portrayal in the
narrative as a whole in which the Cid is the model leader and highlights the King’s failings
(Correa:1951:189). “Cooperation and consultation- not coercion and command” characterise
the Cid’s leadership; he is always in direct contact with his men, “con todos los
sus”(1219,3022,3105), and elicits their opinion, “dezidme, cavalleros”(670), with the result
that they are almost always “acordado”(2217,2258,2486)(Harney:160). Alfonso however,
embraces an impersonal, state-like approach; he listens to advisers in the court rather than
addressing the Cid himself and he asserts his power in absentio, “entro su carta/ Con
grande recaudo y fuertemente sellada”(24). The young girl at the gates obviously represents
innocence and emphasises the oppression. However, rule in kinship societies does not
preclude proper societal organisation as the Cid illustrates once he is lord of Valencia.
The Cid also fulfils the duty of personal reciprocity which is central in kin-orientated societies,
conveyed in the vassalic bond also but not so much in a hierarchical state. The Cid always
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prioritises his vassals’ needs(1044), earns everyone great riches(848) and thus is rewarded
with an abundant company, “Bien aguisado viene el Cid con todos los sus/buenas
companas que assi han tal senor”(3023). This comparison of the Cid and King is implied
elsewhere also, “qui a buen señor sirve siempre bive en deliçio”(849) and “la conpaña del
Cid crece e la del rey mengo”(2165). The Cid even showers the King with gifts, which
prompts him eventually to concede, however initially the King considers himself above
reciprocity.
Alfonso’s portrayal nonetheless becomes more favourable, “debido no a Alfonso mismo,
sino a Rodrigo el infanzón, quien “devuelve” al Rey tales características”(RodriguezPuertolas:1977:156). The King recognises the Cid’s praiseworthiness in comparison to the
Infantes, “en todas guisas mejor me sirve que vos”(1349), and even to himself, “mejor sodes
que nos”(3116). Honour outstrips hierarchy, even though the King retains an honour integral
to his position as leader. He regains the kinship qualities of personal care(3030) while also
executing justice fairly. Nonetheless ultimately, the glory remains with the Cid as the victors
symbolically transport the honour back to Valencia(3701). However, some important
confidence has been placed in kingship which lends support to the institution’s current
existence featuring Cidian descendants.
To conclude, traditional criticism has obscured accurate analysis of the structure of social
hierarchy in the Cantar. Bilateral kinship is endorsed as the cornerstone on which social
structures should be built while agnatic kinship is a stamp of seniority which the Cid covets
and secures. The conflict between the Infantes and the Cid derives from clanic competition
while class is not yet a rooted social reality. Kingship meanwhile is an institution that should
equally model itself on kin-orientated principles. The Cantar is pre-state in its setting;
however its preoccupation with the theme reflects the contemporary issue of the emerging
state and affirms its status as a frontier text.
2082 words
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