DON JUAN MANUEL: BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS - LITERATURE - 2025

Don Juan Manuel, real name Juan Manuel de Villena y Borgoña-Saboya, was a Toledo writer who achieved popularity during the 14th century for his contribution to fictional prose in the Spanish language, as well as for his outstanding participation in political events. of his time.

His capacity for letters made him a reference figure. 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.

Don Juan Manuel. Source: By UnknownUnknown author, via Wikimedia Commons

His closeness to the Spanish monarchy made him one of the richest men of his time. Its prestige was so great that it managed to consolidate its 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 army men.

Biography

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 Savoy. At an early age his parents died, and King Sancho IV of Castile took care of him.

Family

He came from the royal family, which had special care and attention for Spanish and Castilian culture, which greatly influenced the formation of Juan Manuel.

He was not only trained in noble traditions, but in languages, political and military arts, as well as 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 School of Translation. 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 various 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.

Studies

As for his academic training, he was raised from a very young age as a noble. 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.

Regarding his religious education, he was a Thomist, that is to say: 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.

Late delivery to letters

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 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.

Marriages

Don Juan Manuel was a man of women and love, 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 would later marry Enrique de Trastámara, who reigned as Enrique 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 ease of speech allowed him to conquer the hearts of many, although he did not always know how to keep them by his side.

Personality traits

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.

Death

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 passed away on June 13, 1348, at the age of 66.

Sepulcher of Don Juan Manuel. Source: By Jose Luis Filpo Cabana, from Wikimedia Commons

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 the subject of study 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 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 "

Plays

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 Las Cantigas, as well as the treatise The Rules of how Trovar should be, 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 it largely imitates his style, through brevity and concise appearance.

Stages of his work

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 opens with El Libro del Cavallero et del Escudero, developed through dialogue. At this stage, El Conde de Lucanor was born, 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.

States Book

Don Juan Manuel described himself a lot in his works. His exploits, 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.

More important works

The following are considered his most important works, in addition to being preserved today:

- Book of Three Reasons (1345)

Description of his most outstanding works

The plot of four of his most outstanding works is described below:

The Book of the Knight and the Squire

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 what he has learned into practice.

The Book of States

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.

The Book of Three Reasons

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.

Count Lucanor

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 denote narrative fluency.

In this first part a young man named Lucanor exposes a riddle to his counselor that needs to be solved as soon as possible. After an instructive narration from the old man, the waiter finds the answer that he so longed to find.

Each of the stories develops in the same way, but all with a different level of learning, which was the main objective of the writer: to teach readers. Miguel de Cervantes and Williams Shakespeare were inspired by some of the stories to write their works.

Excerpt from the Count of Lucanor

“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 trust in me, he would love me leave all your 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 well that you don't 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 with him as 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 a lot. As fortunate men are always envied, so it was with him, since 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 failed to make the monarch withdraw his trust, doubt his loyalty or dispense with his services.

References

1. Biography of Don Juan Manuel. (2018). (Spain): Wikipedia. Recovered from: wikipedia.org
2. Benavides Molero, JA (2006). Characters in its History: Biographical Studies. (Spain): Gibralfaro. Recovered from: gibralfaro.uma.es
3. Don Juan Manuel: Biography. (Sf). (N / a): Writers. Recovered from: Escritores.org
4. Don Juan Manuel. (2018). (N / a): Biographies and Lives. Recovered from: biogramasyvidas.com
5. Don Juan Manuel. (Sf). (Spain): Spain is culture. Recovered from: españaescultura.es