A history of Spanish literature - Cristo Raul

THE ROMANCES 33
a fresh meaning in Spain, begins to be used as an equivalent
for cat/tar, and ends by supplanting the word
completely. Hence, by slow degrees, romance comes to
have its present value, and is applied to a lyrico-narra-
tive poem in eight-syllabled assonants. The Spanish
Romancero is, beyond all cavil, the richest mine of ballad
poetry in the world, and it was once common to declare
that it embodied the oldest known examples of Castilian
verse. As the assertion is still made from time to time, it
becomes necessary to say that it is unfounded. It is true
that the rude cantar was never forgotten in Spain, and
that its persistence partly explains the survival of assonance
in Castilian long after its abandonment by the rest
of Europe. In his historic letter to Dom Pedro, Constable
of Portugal, the Marques de Santillana speaks
with a
student's contempt of singers who, "against all order,
rule, and rhythm, invent these romances and cantares
wherein common lewd fellows do take delight." But
no specimens of the primitive age remain, and no exist-
romance is older than Santillana's own fifteenth
ing
century.
The numerous Cancioncros from Baena's time to the
appearance of the Romancero General (the
First Part
printed in 1602, with additions in 1604-14 ; the Second
Part issued in 1605) present a vast collection of admirable
lyrics, mostly the work of accomplished courtly versifiers.
They contain very few examples of anything that can
be justly called old popular songs. Alonso de Fuentes
published in 1550 his Libro de los Cuarenta Cantos de
Diversas y Peregrinas Historias, and in the following year
was issued Lorenzo de Sepulveda's selection. Both profess
to reproduce the "rusticity" as well as the "tone
and metre" of the ancient romances ; but, in fact, these