Poema de Yuçuf
The Poema de Yuçuf or Poema de Yusuf is an anonymous poem written in Aragonese in the Aljamiado Arabic script from the fourteenth century. It was written in a strophic form called "cuaderna vía" by a Morisco poet. The text was discovered incomplete, but 380 verses have been preserved.
Manuscripts and origins
The poem has been passed on two codices. The most complete is Manuscript B, written, according to
Summary
The poem recounts the story of the patriarch
The poem relates the story of Joseph (Yuçuf) and the jealousy he aroused in his brothers, who mistreated him and abandoned him. Yuçuf was sold as a slave and brought to Egypt, where he is trained by
Style
According to Antonio Pérez Lasheras, the poem shines with the poet's emotional expressive ability. He highlights passages of lyrical intensity, despite the poet's obligation to conform to the well-known development of the narrative. He provides as an example Yuçuf's lament, after he has been beaten and caned by his brothers (strophe 17):
Non querás que finque sin padre y sin madre, |
You would not want me to be left without father and without mother, |
Later, we find another lyrical description of the landscape and environment, a rare occurrence in romance literature of this period, though less so for the Andalusian tradition (strophe 59):
Cuando entroron por la villa, las gentes se maravellaban; |
When they entered the town, the people marveled at them; |
Bibliography
- Deyermond, Alan D., Historia de la literatura española, vol. 1: La Edad Media, Barcelona, Ariel, 2001 (1st ed. 1973), pp. 214–215. ISBN 84-344-8305-X
- Johnson, W. W., The Poema de Jose: A Transcription and Comparison of the Extant Manuscripts (Mississippi, 1974)
- Klenk, U., La leyenda de Yūsuf. Ein Aljamiadotext, Berlin 1972
- Menéndez Pidal, Ramón, Poema de Yuçuf: Materiales para su estudio, Granada, Universidad de Granada, 1952, pp. 62–63
- Pérez Lasheras, Antonio, La literatura del reino de Aragón hasta el siglo XVI, Zaragoza, Ibercaja-Institución «Fernando el Católico» (Biblioteca Aragonesa de Cultura, 15), 2003, pp. 143–144. ISBN 84-8324-149-8
References
- ISBN 84-8324-149-8.
External links
- Poesía medieval española:La poesía del siglo XIV Archived 2008-10-17 at the Wayback Machine
- Imagen de la hoja inicial Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine y final from Manuscrito A of Poema de Yuçuf from the Real Academia de la Historia de España.
- Edición del Poema de José, following the publication in Poetas castellanos anteriores al siglo XV, collected by Tomás Antonio Sánchez, continued by Pedro José Pidal, and expanded and illustrated byFlorencio Janer, Madrid, M. Rivadeneyra, 1864, pp. 413–423. (Biblioteca de Autores Españoles desde la formación del lenguaje hasta nuestros días; 58).