GARCILASO DE LA VEGA: BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS - LITERATURE - 2024

Garcilaso de la Vega y Guzmán was a renowned Toledo poet and soldier born during the Spanish Golden Age. He was as fierce with the pen as with the sword; an idealistic and original man with a verb, to the point that many scholars classify his work - along with that of Shakespeare and Cervantes - as a promoter of modernism.

After his death, his letters have been studied by a large number of writers. This has been both for its poetic richness and for considering it an autobiography in verse. It is said that the writer made a break in himself and arranged his experiences, loves and regrets throughout all his poems.

Garcilaso de la Vega, the poet-soldier

His talents as a poet and a warrior made him wander between the letters and the battlefield, although the latter was more out of obligation than pleasure. For the first they called him "the prince of the poets of the Castilian language." His non-passionate and imposed military career was the one that caused his early death.

Biography

Garcilaso de la Vega was given birth in Toledo. The exact date of his birth is still in dispute, although according to the latest research it was September 30, 1499.

From an early age he embodied in himself the perfect example of a poet-warrior, although the latter was not a choice and he lamented in his poetry at the bloodthirsty of the trade.

Family

His father was Pedro Suárez de Figueroa, a nobleman with a certain scope at the time, holder of the title of Lord of Los Arcos and Cuerva, as well as commander of the lion in the Order of Santiago. He fought in the war in Granada, in addition to holding several important positions at court at the service of the Catholic kings.

An interesting fact is that at that time people changed their names at will, there was no legal aspect that conditioned them. Pedro himself, Garcilaso's father, changed his name to Garci Lasso.

His mother was Sancha de Guzmán, also a noblewoman, who held the title of IV Lady of Batres. She was the great-granddaughter of the renowned Spanish nobleman Fernán Pérez de Guzmán, the same one who wrote the work Generaciones y semblanzas.

De la Vega was the third of six siblings. Something that marked Garcilaso's life was being the second boy, or the "second man," as he was called at that time. The first-born had the greatest attention and benefits over the rest due to the so-called law of mayorazgo, common in Eastern cultures.

Early years and education

His childhood was spent moving in seasons between Batres (in the dominions of his mother in Madrid), Cuerva and Los Arcos (in the powers of his father in Toledo and Bajadoz).

Due to the positions held and the good positions of his parents, Garcilaso managed to enjoy a privileged education in his childhood. He learned Latin, Greek, Italian and French, this last Romance language was the one used in the court of Carlos V.

Among his tutors are Pedro Mártir de Anglería and Juan Gaitán, although it is also assured that many of the monks of the Toledo Cathedral served as guides in his personal training.

He was an outstanding musician in the domain of string instruments. He played the harp, zither and lute with great ease, instruments with which he did not go unnoticed at court.

When he was about 13 years old, his father died. He received only 80 thousand coins as an inheritance due to his status as "second". This did not greatly affect the boy's attitudes or his close relationship with Pedro Laso, his older brother.

Seeking the favors of Charles V

Carlos V arrived in Spain in 1517. For a long time Garcilaso and his brother prepared to appear before the emperor and lend themselves to serve him. However, despite having the protection and endorsement of the Dukes of Alba, they did not manage to have the benefits they wanted, nor did the Toledons.

Emperor Charles V

King Carlos V went to Zaragoza and Barcelona to distribute positions among his courtiers, not to Toledo. This behavior of the monarch caused great annoyance between the Toledo people and the Castilians, annoyance that would later turn into rebellion.

Garcilaso de la Vega, together with his brother Pedro Laso, tried several times to achieve an address with Carlos V so that he could travel to Toledo and calm the spirits of the settlers; however, Chievres, the king's secretary, avoided it.

Exile from Toledo

As a result of a brawl with the clergy of the Toledo Cathedral, provoked by the fight regarding the guardianship of the Hospital del Nuncio, Garcilaso de la Vega was expelled from this city. The exile lasted 90 days and, in addition, he was forced to pay 4000 coins as a penalty.

Brothers faced

In 1521 a battle took place very close to Olías. In that crusade the brothers Pedro Laso and Garcilaso de la Vega held opposite positions. Pedro supported the people of Toledo who already had some friction with Carlos V, while, out of conviction and honor, the poet supported the official side.

Garcilaso was wounded in the face during the battle, and after the confrontation his path and that of his brother were separated. Pedro, leading the so-called “comuneros”, fled to Portugal after being lost in the confrontation.

For his loyalty and dedication, Garcilaso was named "contino" and assigned a salary that somewhat helped with the expenses of that time.

There was a siege in the city, preventing any supply from entering in order to harass its inhabitants. However, after a while an armistice was reached that led to the cessation of harassment, and among the issues they agreed that no one would enter the city until the emperor appeared.

In the midst of this context, Garcilaso de la Vega was able to enter Toledo in 1522. He found his house ransacked, totally looted; Since then he has dedicated himself to trying to obtain forgiveness for his brother and rebuild the name and honor of the family.

A secret love and an outlaw son

Between the year 1522 and 1523, after a long love affair with Guiomar Carrillo - with whom he continued to maintain contact and sexual relations even after marrying another woman - his son Lorenzo was born, whom the poet formally recognized in 1529.

Guiomar, although she was not the archetype of the perfect woman for Garcilaso, had a wide impact on his life. There are experts who assert that the poet's work is mined with poems in honor of this love on the sidelines, to whom she did not reciprocate as she wanted because the young woman's family was a community member.

The return of the emperor, his punishment and forgiveness

In 1522 Garcilaso was sent to collect a tax delay from Victoria: 126 thousand coins in total. He brought with him an endorsement from Juan de Rivera himself, which spoke of his good behavior in battle and his loyalty to the emperor. The poet-solado returned fully fulfilling the mandate.

A short time later, on July 6 of that year, Carlos V arrived in Spain. Among the noblemen who waited for him was Garcilaso in the company of Don Fradrique, who was Duke of Alba and protector of the poet.

At that time the court was organized into two camps: those who requested the punishment of the comuneros for their rebellion and those who implored for their forgiveness. Carlos V was unforgiving. He was accompanied by a large army and as soon as he disembarked he ordered the main rebel leaders who were in prisons to be beheaded.

Not content with that, Carlos V negotiated with the King of Portugal the repatriation of the commoners who went into exile, including, of course, Pedro Laso.

The event had a great impact in Europe, to the point that in addition to the large number of nobles and clergy who spoke out for clemency, the Pope himself raised his voice, thereby achieving the proclamation of the so-called "general forgiveness" by Carlos V.

The joy was not total in the town, among which Garcilaso was included, since the edict promulgated in Valladolid left out 293 community members accused of being leaders and organizers of the rebellion, among them Pedro Laso.

The poet de la Vega could not insist on forgiveness because, having a blood bond with a leader, his life was at stake.

The House of Alba, Garcilaso's refuge

Under the protection of the Dukes of Alba, Garcilaso managed to strengthen ties of friendship in Valladolid with Juan Boscán, who served as coach of Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo (15 years old at that time).

As time went by, Boscán became the poet-soldier's best friend, as well as his confidante. Garcilaso took such esteem for Juan that he wrote several poems for him. Boscán, reciprocal in his feelings, after the poet's death took charge of publishing his works posthumously, with the help of Garcilaso's widow.

Aware of his delicate situation around Carlos V due to Pedro's betrayal, Garcilaso sought more than one way to strengthen ties with the noblemen of the time, those of the House of Alba being part of his most influential and prestigious ties.

Two great appointments

After a meeting in Valladolid where the different courts were summoned, the representatives of the Castilian provinces demanded that the service positions be granted to men born within the kingdom; that is, to natives from there.

As a result of that meeting of the courts, in the first days of July 1523 Garcilaso de la Vega was conferred the title of Gentleman of Burgundy, and he was assigned a salary that doubled that of his previous appointment as a continuation.

Two months after that appointment - on September 16 - and after his origin in Toledo was confirmed, the poet was dressed as a knight of the Order of Santiago. On his own, Garcilaso settled among the nobility and became famous among the characters of that time with only 24 years.

Campaign and a timely promotion

At the end of the year 1523 tensions with France increased; consequently, Carlos V summoned the men to war. The main objective was to prevent Francis I, who was leading the Franks, from invading the imperial territory of Italy.

In view of his recent appointments and his double responsibility, Garcilaso assumed his role as a warrior and went to the Pyrenees with the army of Pamplona. This crusade was called the Campaign of the Pyrenees.

The Castilians had Bayonne as their objective, but the steepness of the Pyrenees prevented them, so their interests were focused on Fuenterrabía. As a result of a negotiation with the inhabitants of the town, a massacre was avoided, thus recovering the citadel.

After the recovery of that redoubt, Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo was appointed governor with only 16 years. Due to his close ties with Juan Boscán and Garcilaso, they accompanied him at the triumphal entry of his appointment.

Women in the life of the poet-soldier

After the taking of Fuenterrabía and the dilution of his army, Garcilaso did not think twice and went to Portugal to visit his brother Pedro Laso. Because of the ties he had with the Infanta Isabel of Portugal, he was able to meet Isabel Freire.

His biographers will later entwine him more than once in love affairs with that lady. Some even said that his Eclogue I is an autobiography where the poet denotes this love.

At the hand of Isabel, Garcilaso later met Beatriz de Sá, with whom he was also related later and it is said that it was one of his secret loves, even though Sá ended up marrying Pedro Laso, the poet's brother.

After Carlos V won in Pavia and took Francisco I prisoner, there was a party throughout Toledo. Courts were held there and the monarch, together with Garcilaso, made the respective negotiations of their weddings.

Isabel de Portugal was ceded to Carlos V, while Elena de Zúñiga, lady of Doña Leonor -sister of the king-, was ceded to Garcilaso. The poet gave in for sheer interest, although he conceived six children with her. However, he maintained his adventures and, as a confessional of these, his poems.

The poet married in 1525, while Carlos V in 1526. It was a time of peace for Garcilaso, when he enjoyed very comfortable economic stability.

Times of calm and near death

In those almost three years of tense calm, Garcilaso dedicated himself to property negotiations and to getting things done with the town and the house. In the squares and universities the subjects referring to Spanish nationalism opposed to the emperor and centralism in favor of Carlos V were discussed in large groups.

At the same time, the Protestant reform promoted by Luther was raging in much of Europe. Added to this, the Turks began their invasions; spaces were tense and the aroma of war was breathed.

For his part, Fernando I broke free from his imprisonment and ordered the siege of Italy in 1528. After the brutal siege, Fernando, Garcilaso's younger brother, died, who at that time was serving as a soldier in Naples.

A coronation journey and a testament

Carlos V decided to go to Italy in 1529 so that the pope would crown him Caesar, and thus overthrow all opposition; the emperor asked Garcilaso to accompany him. In view of the request, the poet prepared to work his will in case something dire should happen to him.

That is how in 1529, in Barcelona and having Juan Boscán and his brother Pedro Laso as witnesses, Garcilaso refined the content concerning their material legacy. It is there that he recognized his first son, Lorenzo, although he did not specify with whom he had it, and requested that he be paid for a good education.

He tried to leave all his relatives well, pay all his debts in addition to making considerable donations to charity.

When it was time to leave, both Carlos V and Garcilaso changed their haircuts and adjusted them to the Carolino style, keeping their beards. All out of respect for the pope.

Carlos V landed tremendously in Genoa, and then went to Bologna, where it would be his coronation. The event took place on the same day as the emperor's 30th birthday. After being crowned, peace was signed between all the Catholic states, joined by Francisco I. Only Florence and the Lutherans were excluded.

The Empress's Spy

Francis I, King of France

Garcilaso quietly returned to Toledo in 1530. After arriving, the Empress Isabel sent him to France to congratulate Francisco I on his marriage to Dona Leonor. The real background of this trip was to find out how the military situation was on the border with Italy.

The trip passed without minors, nothing strange was seen and the poet returned calmly to Toledo. At that time Garcilaso was at a peak envied by many, with contacts that he could never have imagined, but a small incident changed everything.

A wedding and its misfortune

In 1531 the poet was in Ávila, together with the empress's court. While there, he was invited to a ceremony that took place in the cathedral, where a nephew named after him married: Garcilaso.

The tragedy occurred because the couple were only 14 and 11 years old, the girl being the youngest, and also heir to the renowned Duke of Albuquerque. Her name was Ana Isabel de la Cueva; Garcilaso was a participant and witness of that clandestine union.

Some time later, the poet was questioned about it and before the incessant insistence of the interrogator, he acknowledged having been at the ceremony. After the confession the empress immediately requested her exile.

Service to Don Pedro in Naples

After a trip to Germany where he tried to get several acquaintances to intercede for him with the emperor, the Dukes of Alba and other nobles succeeded in getting Caesar to make the poet choose between going to a convent or serving Don Pedro, who had been dressed as viceroy. in Naples. Without much thought, Garcilaso agreed to go to Naples.

On his trip to Italy he was accompanied by the Marquis de Villafranca. During the journey they had a wonderful time, even becoming guests of the pope for ten days. After a month of travel they arrived in Naples, where the viceroy fixed the stay of the poet in Castelnuovo.

There he was appointed as the king's lieutenant and was given a high salary: 8 thousand coins a month. The atmosphere at that time was tense, with noblemen opposed to Carlos V, as well as an unpleasant outbreak of plague.

Return to Spain

As if by divine design, Garcilaso returned to Spain. Don Pedro chose him to take a message to the emperor in Genoa, but when Caesar arrived he was not there. The emperor had made his way to Barcelona, ​​so the poet decided to go after him.

On the trip he visited his wife to fulfill his duties and then, in June 1533, he returned to perform his duties in Genoa. There he wrote his Eclogue II (although it was the first, it was so designated).

Death of Isabel Freire and

Complying with some message from the viceroy to Caesar, Garcilaso traveled to Toledo in 1534. Upon arrival, he learned of the death of Isabel Freire, who lost his life giving birth to his third child. The news cracked the soul of the poet, who dedicated his sonnet XXV to him.

In April of that year, and without knowing it, Garcilaso left Toledo never to return. Overwhelmed by the pain of the loss of Isabel, he set out to head to Naples again.

He arrived at his destination in May, and without wasting time he set out to write his most recognized work: Eclogue I. In its composition, it recalls Virgilio, Ovidio and other greats of letters.

Death

That same year, 1534, he was appointed mayor of Ríjoles. In the year 1535 he joined the Tunis Day, where he was wounded in the mouth and arm by spears. From this he managed to recover, not from the following.

Despite not having noticed anything when he served as a spy for the empress in France, Francis I did have something on his hands. In 1536 the monarch started the Italian war against Emperor Charles V.

In that warlike conflict, Garcilaso was appointed field master and 3,000 infantrymen were placed in his charge. That would be his last military experience.

The man from Toledo went to an enemy tower alone, climbed a ladder and one of the opponents threw a stone at him that knocked him down into a pit, where he was seriously wounded.

It is said that in those days before his participation in the war he wrote his Eclogue III to the Queen of Naples. The man from Toledo was transferred to Nice, where he agonized for 25 days until he died on October 14, 1536. He was buried with honors in the church of Santo Domingo.

Plays

During his life, Garcilaso de la Vega produced a large number of works in different genres: songs, verses, elegies, epistles and sonnets, to name a few, but he never formally published them. It was his wife, with the help of his friend Juan Boscán, who published them after his death.

Among these works are:

- Garcilasso de la Vega. Born in Toledo, prince of the Castilian poets. From Don Thomás Tamaio de Vargas.

Two sonnets

I

When I stop to contemplate my state

and to see the steps by which they have brought me,

I find, depending on where I have been lost,

that a greater evil could have come;

but when the road was forgotten,

I don't know why I came to so badly;

I know that I am finished, and more I have felt to

see I finish with my care.

I will finish, that I gave myself without art

to who will know how to lose me and finish me

if he wants, and will still know how to complain;

that my will can kill me,

yours, which is not so much on my part,

being able, what will I do but do it?

II

Finally, I have come to your hands, I

know that I have to die so tight

that even alleviating my care with complaints

as a remedy already defended;

my life I do not know what it has sustained

if it is not in having been saved

so that only in me it would be proven

how much a 'spada cuts in one surrender.

My tears have been shed

where dryness and roughness

bore bad fruit, and my luck:

The ones I have cried for you are enough;

take no more revenge on me with my weakness;

There avenge you, lady, with my death!

References

1. Ferri Coll, JM (S. f.). Garcilaso de la Vega. Spain: virtual Cervantes. Recovered from: cervantesvirtual.com
2. Garcilaso de la Vega (1501-1536). (S. f.). (n / a): Rinón del Castilian. Recovered from: -rinconcastellano.com
3. Garcilaso de la Vega. (S. f.). (n / a): Biographies and lives. Recovered from: biografiasyvidas.com
4. Calvo, M. (S. f.). Biography of Garcilaso de la Vega. Spain: Garcilaso's website. Recovered from: garcilaso.org
5. Garcilaso de la Vega. (S. f.). (n / a): Wikipedia. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org