Don Juan Manuel, Real name Juan Manuel de Villena y Borgoña-Saboya, was a Toledo writer who achieved popularity during the fourteenth century for his contribution to prose fiction in the Spanish language, as well as for his outstanding participation in the political events of his time..
His capacity for letters made him a figure of reference. His works and writings are based on the military and political experiences of his time, being elaborated with great skill and clear pedagogical objectives, in order to train young people who were developing within the nobility..
His closeness to the Spanish monarchy made him one of the richest men of his time. His prestige was so great that he managed to consolidate his own currency, in the same way that the monarchs did at that time..
Not enough with the aforementioned, his courage and strategic intelligence allowed him to be in command of more than a thousand men of the army.
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The one who was named by his parents "Juan Manuel de Villena y Borgoña-Saboya", later to be popularly known as "Don Juan Manuel", was born in 1282, in Escalona, in the province of Toledo, Spain..
It is known that his father was the Infante Manuel de Castilla, brother of King Alfonso X, known as El Sabio, and his mother Beatriz de Saboya, daughter of Amadeo IV of Saboya. His parents died at an early age, and King Sancho IV of Castile took care of him.
It came from the Royal family, which had special care and attention for the Spanish and Castilian culture, which notoriously influenced the formation of Juan Manuel.
He was not only formed in noble traditions, but in languages, political and military arts, as well as in literature, whose passion led him to be one of the greatest.
He belonged to the highest cultural elite of his time. His ancestors were precursors of the Toledo Translation School. The first version of the famous Amadís de Gaula is attributed to his uncle Enrique de Castilla, while his uncle Alfonso X El Sabio promoted several studies of the language.
As his father was the youngest son of Fernando III El Santo, he received as an inheritance the famous Lobera sword, preserved today in the cathedral of Seville (Spain). He inherited from his father the vast territories of Villena and Escalona.
In 1330 he became prince for life of Villena, being at the service of Alfonso IV of Aragon.
Regarding his academic training, he was raised from a very young age as a nobleman. He struggled to learn Latin, history, law, and theology. He was a constant reader of encyclopedias. Hunting, fencing and horse riding were part of his sports training.
As for his religious education, he was a Thomist, that is, he was inclined to the philosophy of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Among the favorite works of his training are the poems of the Book of Alexandre and the Book of Apollonius, the creations of his uncle Alfonso X, and the treatises of Raimundo Lulio..
In short, Don Juan Manuel was a great lover of letters, although until the last years of his life he did not dedicate himself to them, because he was always in activities of political struggle and wars..
He admired the literary ability of his uncle, the Wise Alfonso. That admiration for his uncle led many scholars to make a comparison of his writings, among which the following differences stand out:
El Sabio's works were the product of a team effort, as he subjected them to corrections by royal scholars, while Juan Manuel made his own notes, giving them a unique style and a marked linguistic character..
King Alfonso X was dedicated to the translation of works in other languages, such as Arabic, Latin and Hebrew. For his part, our writer in question was inspired by them to develop essays and compositions based on their understanding.
The moral questions were Don Juan Manuel's, and he sought to polish himself in everything related to the subject. For his part, Alfonso X was nourished by history, astronomy and law. Juan's works are considered the first originally created from Spanish, without inspiration in other languages.
Don Juan Manuel was a man of women and loves, which led him to marry three times. At an early age he married for the first time with the daughter of Jaime II of Mallorca, Isabel de Mallorca, of whom he was widowed at the age of nineteen, and with whom he had no children..
On the second occasion he married Constanza de Aragón, also from the monarchy because she was the daughter of King Jaime II of Aragon and Blanca of Naples. With her he had three children: Constanza Manuel de Villena in 1323, mother of King Fernando I of Portugal; as well as Beatriz de Villena and Manuel de Villena, who died at an early age.
As the third time is the charm, he married Blanca Núñez de Lara for the last time, having two more children: Fernando Manuel de Villena, Duke of Villena, and Juana Manuel de Villena, who later married Enrique de Trastamara, who reigned as Henry II of Castile.
Manuel was a real Don Juan, the five legitimate children he had were joined by many other products of his romances: Sancho Manuel de Villena, who was mayor of Lorca, and Enrique Manuel de Villena, count of Seia and Sintra.
Letters, writings, politics and love were the life of Don Juan Manuel. His ability to speak allowed him to conquer the hearts of many, although he did not always know how to keep them by his side..
From a very young age he proved to be a proud person, intriguing in his verb, and with a cunning force for politics and war. However, these characteristics seem to be in opposition to what his life was, and to his writings..
His way of doing things in the society where he developed, was contrary to everything he expressed in his publications. It was a character that apparently showed two personalities, with different knowledge and knowledge, but necessary to move in both waters..
The illustrious character spent the last years of his life in the Garcimuñoz castle in Cuenca, province of Córdoba. There he was away from politics, but fully immersed in the literary and writing world. He died on June 13, 1348, at the age of 66..
His remains were deposited in the Convent of San Pablo, which he himself founded in 1318, with the purpose that upon arrival of his death his body would rest in the main chapel. In the 20th century, year 1955, his remains appeared in a wooden box in the same place.
The find was studied by researchers and historians, and they were identified as their own, because in the stone found there was a tombstone with an epitaph that read the following:
“Here lies the illustrious Mr. Don Juan Manuel, son of the very illustrious Mr. Infante Don Manuel and of the highly enlightened Mrs. Beatriz de Saboya, Duke of Peñafiel, Marquis of Villena, grandfather of the very powerful King and Lord of Castilla y León Don Juan I, of this name. The year of the birth of Our Savior of 1362 ended in the city of Córdoba "
His uncle Alfonso X El Sabio was the inspiration for Don Juan Manuel to enter the world of literature. Most of his works are written in prose, and the moral and the didactic plane are contained in them. However, he also wrote some poetry. His style was simple and precise.
Among his most outstanding poetic works is The Book of Songs or Cantigas, as well as the treaty The Rules of how to Trovar, one of the oldest in the history of the Castilian language.
He ventured into historiography with the work Abbreviated Chronicle. This was a synthesis of a chronological work by his uncle, and he largely imitates his style, through brevity and concise appearance..
Within the development and growth of Juan Manuel, there is a division of three stages: the first is identified, as already said previously, by the admiration he feels for his uncle's written works; which allowed him to delve into chronicles and chivalric themes.
Its second stage opened with The Book of the Cavallero et del Escudero, developed through dialogue. In this stage is born The Count of Lucanor, his most representative and well-known work, where, as in all his works, the clear and pedagogical character predominates.
While his last stage occurs in 1337. This strengthens his orientation as an educator and teacher, since his main objective with each of his jobs is to teach and provide the appropriate tools for learning..
The decision to use more colloquial or vulgar language turned his popularity around. It reached its highest level, since it was no longer read only by royalty, but with its simplicity and precision in writing it reached a larger audience: that of village readers..
Don Juan Manuel described himself a lot in his works. His feats, his decisions, everything he wanted to achieve is evidenced in his writing, it is a mirror of what he was. However, as explained above, many considered that he had two lives: the one he lived and the one he wrote..
The following are considered his most important works, in addition to being preserved today:
- Book of the Cavallero et del Escudero
- Abridged Chronicle (1325)
- Hunting Book (1326)
- Book of States
- Treaty of the Assumption of the Virgin MaryBook of the Count of Lucanor (1335)
- Infinity Book
- Book of Three Reasons (1345)
The plot of four of his most outstanding works is described below:
It tells the story of a young squire who aspires to be part of royalty and who appears before the King, after the courts convened by him, to learn all the teachings that a knight has to share. After the death of the knight, the young man gives him a Christian burial and puts into practice what he has learned.
With this writing, Don Juan Manuel opens a window to show what a fourteenth-century society should be, at the same time that he narrates how a prince should be educated and trained. It was inspired by the legend of Barlaam and Jehoshaphat, related to Buddhist knowledge.
It was written between 1342 and 1345, at first it was known as the book of arms. The author describes the experiences of the time, based largely on his personal experiences. It is a historical narrative endowed with fiction, where Don Juan Manuel is the great hero.
Don Juan Manuel wrote this book between the years 1325 and 1335. It is based on stories, and its first part contains fifty-one stories that emerge from Eastern culture and Christianity. The clarity and precision of the writing denotes narrative fluency.
In this first part, a young man named Lucanor exposes to his counselor a riddle that needs to be solved as soon as possible. After an instructive narration from the old man, the waiter finds the answer that he longed to find so much.
Each of the stories is developed in the same way, but all with a different level of learning, which was the main objective of the writer: to teach the readers. Miguel de Cervantes and Williams Shakespeare were inspired by some of the stories to write their works.
“Once Count Lucanor was talking to Patronio, his adviser, in a secluded way and he said:
-Patronio, an illustrious, powerful and rich man, not long ago told me in a confidential way that, as he has had some problems in his lands, he would like to abandon them and never return, and, as he professes great affection and confidence all his possessions, some sold and others in my care. This wish seems honorable and useful to me, but first I would like to know what you advise me in this matter.
-Mr. Count Lucanor -said Patronio-, I know that you do not need my advice much, but, since you trust me, I must tell you that the one who is called your friend has said everything to prove you and it seems to me that it has happened to you. as it happened to a king with a minister.
Count Lucanor asked him to tell him what happened.
-Sir, "said Patronio," there was a king who had a minister whom he trusted very much. As fortunate men are always envied by people, so it was with him, for the other deprived, suspicious of his influence on the king, sought a way to make him fall out of favor with their lord. They accused him repeatedly before the king, although they did not succeed in making the monarch withdraw his trust, doubt his loyalty or dispense with his services ".
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