La Poesía de Nicolás Núńez

Abstract

An exponent of the much maligned form cancionero poetry, Nicolás Núńez was one of the few poets writing in this genre who received some recognition. Some years ago Keith Whinnom produced and edition of Continuación of Cárcel de Amor, Nicolás Núńez's poetic works however remain almost entirely unstudied. The aim of this thesis is to produce a critical study and edition of the poetry of Nicolás Núńez, who epitomises a generation of writers devoted to the game of poetry or the game of love. Exploring this definition of love as a 'courtly pastime', I have sifted the formulaic critical appraisal of courtly love, with the aim of clarifying and revising this critical stand point. In the light of the Herculean effort of Keith Whinnom to bring a breath of fresh air to this rather state field of criticism, the first part of my work, based in 15(^th)C Spain, will seek to define the theme of love in the cancioneros in relation to the theory of love as a play phenomenon, and will proceed to the close examination of a seminal text which reveals the ludic characteristics of this genre. Here I elucidate features essential to an understanding of cancionero poetry, which represents a confluence of three strands: the courtly, the religious and sexual. Unfortunately I have been unable to discover any new details relatives to the identity of Nicolás Núńez. My edition upon his poetic opus which proposes new additions to the canon suggested by Alan Deyermond, precedes my critical study of a poet who represents the final work in a chain of learning originating with the Cancionero de Baena, and who is a magnificent exponent of this highly individual 15(^th)C poetic form. In addition, I have considered issues such as the dating and authorship of LBl. Fundamental to my thesis is the first of the four appendices which make up part three. The remaining appendices are a compilation of previously published texts and critical studies, which provide information germane to the understanding of certain chapters.