Thematic Glossary
Europe´s Hidden History: Local Heroes
OUR TOPIC: GONZALO DE BERCEO
MEDIEVAL VOCABULARY
Colegio Immaculado Corazon De Maria
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Thematic Glossary/ MEDIEVAL VOCABULARY

Abbot (Sp. Abad): Head priest in a monastery.

Allegory (Sp. Alegoría): It is a literary device in which characters or
events in a literary, visual, or musical art form represent or symbolize ideas
and concepts.

Amplificatio (Sp. Ampliacion): Gonzalo de Berceo's writings are not
original, they are copies. His originality comes from the fact that he wrote
notes, add ups to the copies that he translated.

Anchorite (Sp. Anacoreta): It is denotes someone who, for religious
reasons, withdraws from secular society so as to be able to lead an
intensely prayer-oriented, ascetic, and Eucharist-focused life. As a result,
anchorites are usually considered to be a type of religious hermit, although
there are distinctions in their historical development and theology.

Anthropocentrism (Sp. Antropocentrismo):
It is the position that human beings are the central
or most significant species on the planet, or the
assessment of reality through an exclusively
human perspective.

Bell steeple (Sp. Campanario): Church tower
usually coronate with a bell.

Benedictine
monks
(Sp.
Benedictinos):
Monks that follow the order of Saint Benedict.

1. Anthropocentrism
Bookrest (Sp. Atril): Bracket made of wood. The monks used it to hold
the codex that they had to copy.

Bookrest (Sp. Atril): Piece of furniture used by
monks in a monastery to place their praying books while
reading.

Bust (Sp. Busto): It represents the head and
shoulders of a man without the lower part of the body.
2. Example of bust
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Thematic Glossary/ MEDIEVAL VOCABULARY

Byzantine painting (Sp. Pintura Bizantina): Uses a great variety of
materials, mainly gold leaves over which appear polychrome figures. The
human characters represented in this style are serious and motionless, very
symmetric and show elongated faces. They are usually represented
standing, showing just one hand and usually holding something. Their
clothes are usually full of detail and show symmetrical vertical folding.

Calf (Sp. Ternero): Is the young cow. With its skin pergamins were made.

Cantiga (Sp. Cantiga): It is a medieval monophonic song,
characteristic of the Galician-Portuguese lyric.

Carving (Sp. Talla): Sculpture made generally our of wood. It is
important to refine and polish the wood to later on apply color in
polychrome carvings.

Cell (Sp. Celda): Small chamber, usually bare, where monks slept.

Cellar (Sp. Bodega): Part of the monastery where the monks made and
kept the wine along with other foods.

Chanson de geste (Sp. Cantar de Gesta): It is Old French "songs of
heroic deeds". They are the epic poems that appear at the dawn of
French literature. Composed in verse, these narrative poems of moderate
length, were originally sung, or (later) recited, by minstrels or jongleurs.
3. Chanson de geste
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Thematic Glossary/ MEDIEVAL VOCABULARY

Chansonnier (Sp. Cancionero): It is a manuscript or printed book
which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic
settings of songs. The most important chansonniers contain lyrics, poems
and songs of the troubadours and trouvères of the Middle Ages.

Chapter room (Sp. Sala Capitular): Meeting room in a Monastery.

Chivalric novel (Sp. Novela caballeresca): It is a genre of medieval
literature greatly appreciated since the twelfth century in Paris and Milan.

Church (Sp. Iglesia): Main part in a Monastery used for common
praying.

Clergyman (Sp. Clérigo): It is an
ordained minister of the Anglican
Church, or of some other Protestant
churches.

Cloister (Sp. Claustro): Gallery that
surrounded the main gardens of the
monastery.
4. Cloister

Codex (Sp. Códice): Hand written copy of a manuscript.

Copyist (Sp. Copista): Monk whose job was to make handwritten
copies of books in the Medieval Times.

Courtly love (Sp. Amor Cortés): It was a
medieval European conception of nobly and
chivalrously expressing love and admiration.
Generally, courtly love was secret and between
members of the nobility. It was also generally not
practiced between husband and wife.

Cult (Sp. Culto): Creation of pious images of
saints, virgins and other characters from the Holy
Books.
5. Courtly love
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Thematic Glossary/ MEDIEVAL VOCABULARY

Dance of Death (Sp. Danzas
de la Muerte): It is an artistic
genre of late-medieval allegory
on the universality of death: no
matter one's station in life, the
Dance of Death unites all.

Epic poetry (Sp. Epopeya):
6. Dance of Death
It is a lengthy narrative poem,
ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds
and events significant to a culture or nation.

Exemplum (Sp. Ensiemplo): It is a moral anecdote, brief or extended,
real or fictitious, used to illustrate a point.

Facsimile (Sp. Facsímil): It is a copy or reproduction of an old book,
manuscript, map, art print, or other item of historical value that is as true to
the original source as possible.

Feudalism (Sp. Feudalismo): It was a set of legal and military customs
in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries,
which, broadly defined, was a system for structuring society around
relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or
labour.

Fresco (Sp. Fresco): Painting
on a wall inside a church.

Front piece (Sp. Fronton):
Frontal piece in a church altar that is
usually decorated with sculptures, or
carvings showing scenes of the holy
books.
7. Example of fresco
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Thematic Glossary/ MEDIEVAL VOCABULARY

Galician-Portuguese lyric (Sp. Lírica Galaico-Portuguesa): In the
Middle Ages, it was a lyric poetic school or movement.

Gloss (Sp. Glosas Emilianenses): Handwritten explanation of a difficult
text that usually appeared on the sides of the manuscripts. Berceo writes
these notes mixing three different languages, instead of using Latin only.
This detail is what makes Berceo a special author and gives him the
recognition of being the first known author in Spanish Literature.
8. Gloss

9. Habit
Habit (Sp. Hábito): Clothes that the monks wore and that distinguinthed
them from the rest of people.

Hagiography (Sp. Hagiografiaa): is the study of Saints. This word
comes from the Greek term (h)ağios (ἅγιος, “holy” or “saint”) and
graphēin (γράφειν, “to write”), it refers literally to writings on the subject of
such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of Saints and
eclesiastical leaders. Gonzalo de Berceo wrote Hagiographies.

Hermit (Sp. Ermitaño or Eremita): Person who lives in a chapel and
looks after it.

Hostel (Sp. Albergue): Place where pilgrims could rest.

Illuminator (Sp Iluminador): The person that helps color and light the
codex of the monks. They also drew pictures for the manuscripts.

Infirmary (Sp. Enfermería): Hospital within the monastery.
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Thematic Glossary/ MEDIEVAL VOCABULARY

Initial (Sp. Letra capitular): It is a letter at the
beginning of a word, a chapter, or a paragraph
that is larger than the rest of the text. An initial
often is several lines in height and in older books
or manuscripts, sometimes ornately decorated.

Ink pot (Sp. Gota de tinta): Small pot where
ink is kept.

Ink pen (Sp. Pluma): Pen made out of animal
feathers or bone used to write medieval
manuscripts, that uses ink, a tip and a holder.
11. Initial

Juggler (Sp. Juglar): An
artist
and
entertainment
in
Medieval Europe, gifted to play
musical instruments, sing, tell
stories or legends.
10. Ink pen

Kharja (Sp. Jarcha): It is the final refrain of a muwashshah, a lyric genre
of Al-Andalus (the Islamic Iberian Peninsula) written in Arabic or IberoRomance.

Lectern (Sp. Facistol): It is a reading desk, with a slanted top, usually
placed on a stand or affixed to some other form of support, on which
documents or books are placed as support for reading aloud, as in a
scripture reading, lecture, or sermon.

Manuscript (Sp. Manuscrito): It´s a hand written book or text. It has got
high historical value.

Middle Ages (Sp. Medievo): In European history lasted from the 5th to
the 15th century. It began with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire,
and was followed by the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery.
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Thematic Glossary/ MEDIEVAL VOCABULARY

Ministry of Clergy (Sp. Mester de Clerecía): It is a Literary Genre
(mainly poetry) from Spain developed during the 13th Century written in
Romance language. It was written by clergymen and follows medieval
Latin models, with probable French influence. It was to survive throughout
the following century. Its most characteristic verse is the "cuaderna vía", in
alexandrine verses of 14 (seven plus seven) syllables. Mester signifies
‘profession’ and comes from ministerium) and its themes are very varied.

Ministry of Jongleury (Sp. Mester de Juglaría): It is a Castilianlanguage literature genre from the 12th and 13th centuries, transmitted
orally by "juglares" who made their living by telling and singing these stories
in public places and palaces while performing short theatrical scenes,
acrobatics or other amusements.

Monastery (Sp. Monasterio): Buildings where monks or nuns lived. In
medieval times they were formed by lots of smaller buildings that hosted
not only monks but common people as well and they were important for
their Libraries and copyists.

Monastic rule (Regla monástica): Each monastery had different rules.

Monk (Sp. Monje): Religious person who lived and worked in a
Monastery.

Mozarab (Sp. Mozárabe): They were Iberian Christians who lived under
Arab Islamic rule in Al-Andalus.

Muwashshah (Sp. Moaxaja): It is the name for both an Arabic poetic
form and a secular musical genre.

Occitan literature (Sp. Poesía provenzal): It is a body of texts written
in Occitan in the south of France. It originated in the poetry of the 11thand 12th-century troubadours, and inspired the rise of vernacular literature
throughout medieval Europe.

Paintbrush (Sp. Pincel): Uses to write and decorates texts in the middle
ages.
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Thematic Glossary/ MEDIEVAL VOCABULARY

Painting (Sp. Pintura): Graphical representation of art. The artist can do
it on all kinds of surfaces. In our case, Romanesque paintings are used to
decorate the walls of churches (frescoes) frontal altar pieces, or codex
(manuscripts) Romanesque paintings are characterised for the seriousness
of the faces represented, symmetric folding’s in clothes, violent
representation of the characters, and lack of perspective.

Palaeography (Sp. Paleografía): It is the study of ancient writing.
Included in the discipline is the practice of deciphering, reading, and
dating historical manuscripts, and the cultural context of writing, including
the methods with which writing and books were produced, and the history
of scriptoria.

Pantocrator (Sp. Pantocrátor): Main image of
god in the center of the altar.

Parchment (Sp. Pergamino): Thin material
made from calf skin used for writing manuscripts.

Pigment
(Sp.
Pigmento):
Natural coloring
materials obtained from animals, plants, different
kinds of dirt.

12. Parchment
Polychrome (Sp. Policromado): Application of several colours to
sculptures or carvings.

Refectory (Sp. Refectorium): Space in the monastery use as a
common lunchroom.

Relief Carving (Sp. Bulto): It’s a relief sculpture representing three
dimensions. It can be Rounded Relief, in which all sides can be seen, or flat
relief, in which it is superimposed on a flat surface. This is generally used in
architecture in the Romanesque style.

Romance (Sp. Romancero): It is any collection of Spanish romances, a
type of folk ballad (sung narrative).
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Thematic Glossary/ MEDIEVAL VOCABULARY

Romance languages (Sp. Lenguas Romances): They are all the
related languages derived from Vulgar Latin and forming a subgroup of
the Italic languages within the Indo-European language family.

Romanesque Art (Sp. Arte Romanico): Romanesque art refers to the
art of Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style
from the 13th century. In architecture its main characteristics are roundheaded arches, barrel vaults, apses and decoration with accantus leaves.
Romanesque art, especially painting, was highly influenced by Byzantine
art.

Sacristi (Sp. Sacristía): Part of the church where they keep the clothes
and objects for the mass.

Scriptorium (Sp. Escritorio):
Room in a monastery where the monks
copied manuscripts and books.
13. Scriptorium

Sculpture (Sp. Escultura): It is
a branch of visual arts that operates in
three dimensions. In the case of
Romanesque images of the Virgin, most
sculptures
are
made in wood,
sometimes using colors.

Secular (Sp. Secular): Priests that do not belong to a religious order.

Stable (Sp. Establo): Place in the monastery where you keep horses.

Steeple tower (Sp. Torre campanario): A tower usually embedded to
the building, symbol of union between God and the men and of the
power of the church.

Theocentricism (Sp. Teocentrismo): It is the belief that God is the
central aspect to our existence, as opposed to anthropocentrism. In this
view, meaning and value of actions done to people or the environment
are attributed to God.
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Thematic Glossary/ MEDIEVAL VOCABULARY

Troubadour (Sp. Trovador): A composer and
performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High
Middle Ages (1100–1350).

Vernacular
Language
(Sp.
Lengua
Vern'acula): Language used by peoples of a
certain country in a certain period of time. In our
case, the vernacular language used by Gonzalo de
Berceo was a mix of Latin, Old Spanish and Basque.
14. Troubadour
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