La moza de cántaro | Page 5

Isabella saw fall the last stronghold of the Moors in the surrender
of Granada, Columbus discovered America, and Juan del Encina
founded the Spanish theater." Juan del Encina was a graduate of the
University of Salamanca and lived at the time mentioned above in the
household of the Duke of Alba at Alba de Tormes. It was here that,
before select audiences, were first presented his early plays or Églogas.
The plays of Encina, fourteen in number, were staged and constitute the
modest beginnings of a movement that was to develop rapidly in the
next two decades. A contemporary of Juan del Encina, Fernando de
Rojas, published in 1498 his famous dramatized romance, La Celestina,
which, while it was not suited for representation on the stage, was a
work of great literary merit and had remarkable influence on the early
drama. About the same time a disciple of Juan del Encina, Gil Vicente,
founded the Portuguese theater and made notable contributions to
Spanish letters, for he seems to have written with equal facility in the
two idioms. Perhaps the greatest dramatic genius of the period,
Bartolomé Torres Naharro, while he wrote in Spanish, passed the
greater part of his life in Italy, where he published at Naples in 1517 an
edition of his plays entitled Propaladia. He, first of Spanish authors,
divided his plays into five acts, called jornadas, limited the number of
personages, and created a plot worthy of the name.
For almost half a century after the publication of the Propaladia the
Spanish theater advanced but little, for this was the period when Carlos
Quinto ruled Spain and kept the national interest fixed on his military
achievements, which were for the most part outside of the peninsula.
But about 1560 there flourished in Spain probably the most important
figure in the early history of the national drama. This was the Sevillian
gold-beater, later actor and dramatic author, Lope de Rueda. The

dramatic representations before this time were doubtless limited in a
large measure to select audiences in castles and courts of noble
residences; but Lope de Rueda had as his theater the public squares and
market-places, and as his audience the great masses of the Spanish
people, who now for the first time had a chance to dictate the trend
which the national drama should take. In his rôle of manager and
playwright Lope de Rueda showed no remarkable genius, but he began
a movement which was to reach its culmination and perfection under
the leadership of no less a personage than the great Lope himself.
Between the two Lopes there lived and wrote a number of dramatic
authors of diverse merit. Lope de Rueda's work was continued by the
Valencian bookseller, Juan de Timoneda, and by his fellow actors,
Alonso de la Vega and Alonso de Cisneros. In this interim there took
place a struggle between the popular and classic schools. The former
was defended by such authors as Juan de la Cueva and Cristóbal de
Virués, while the latter was espoused by Gerónimo Bermúdez and
others. The immortal Cervantes wrote many plays in this period and
claimed to favor the classic drama, but his dramatic works are not of
sufficient importance to win for him a place in either party. Thus we
find that in 1585 Spain had a divided drama, represented on the one
side by the drama of reason and proportion fashioned after Greek and
Roman models, and on the other a loosely joined, irregular, romantic
drama of adventure and intrigue, such as was demanded by the Spanish
temperament. Besides the defenders of these schools there was an
infinite variety of lesser lights who wrote all sorts of plays from the
grossest farces to the dullest Latin dramas. Before taking up the
discussion of the works of the mighty genius who was to establish the
popular drama, it is well to give a brief glance at the people who
presented plays and the places in which they were given.
As has been already observed, the dramas of Juan del Encina and his
immediate successors were probably presented to limited audiences. It
is not improbable that parts were often taken by amateurs rather than by
members of regular troupes. However, at an early date there were many
strolling players who are classed in the Viaje entretenido in no less than
eight professional grades: (1) The bululú, a solitary stroller who went
from village to village reading simple pieces in public places and living

from the scanty collections taken among the audience. (2) The ñaque,
two players, who could perform entremeses and play one or two
musical instruments. (3) The gangarilla, group of three or four actors
of whom one was a boy to play a woman's part. They usually played a
farce or some other short play.