The Poem of AlmerÃÂa () is a medieval Latin epic poem in 385 leonine hexameters. It was appended to the end of the Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris, an account of the reign of Alfonso VII of León and Castile, and narrates the victorious military campaign of 1147 that culminated in the conquest of the port of AlmerÃÂa. The poem, as it survives, is unfinished, abruptly ending mid-line before recounting the actual siege of AlmerÃÂa itself. Of its surviving lines, 293 consist of "dénombrement épique, a stirring roll-call of the chief members and contingents of the army".
The Poem has aroused interest among scholars and critics for the light it may shed on the origins and development of vernacular epic (the cantares de gesta) and on the nature of Iberian aristocratic and military customs. It has been described as "a relict of incomparable interest for the cultural archaeology of the twelfth century" and "a splendid reflection of its time and, in this regard, full of gold also as literature". Stylistically, the Poem is indebted to the parallelism of the poetry of the Hebrew Bible and to the classical models of Virgil and Ovid.
Editions
- L. T. Belgrano, ed. "Frammento di Poemetto sincrono su la conquista di Almeria nel MCXLVII". Atti della SocietÃÂ Ligure di storia patria 19 (1887).
- F. Castro Guisasola, ed. El cantar de la conquista de AlmerÃÂa por Alfonso VII: un poema hispano-latÃÂn del siglo XII. Granada: 1992.
- E. Flórez, ed. "Chronica Adefonsi Imperatoris." España Sagrada 21 (1766): 320âÂÂ409.
- J. Gil, ed. "Carmen de expugnatione Almariae urbis." HabÃÂs V (1974): 45âÂÂ64. <small>online</small>
- J. Gil, ed. "Prefatio de Almaria." Chronica Hispana saeculi XII, Pars Prima, ed. E. Falque, J. Gil and A. Maya (Turnhout: 1990): 249âÂÂ67.
- G. E. Lipskey, ed. and trans. The Chronicle of Alfonso the Emperor. PhD Dissertation, Northwestern University, 1972. <small>online</small>
- C. RodrÃÂguez Aniceto, ed. "El poema latino Prefacio de AlmerÃÂa." BoletÃÂn de la Biblioteca Menédez y Pelayo 13 (1931): 140âÂÂ75. <small>online</small>
- H. Salvador MartÃÂnez, ed. and trans. El âÂÂPoema de AlmerÃÂaâ y la épica románica. Madrid: 1975.
- L. Sánchez Belda, ed. Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris. Madrid: 1950.
Citations
General bibliography
- S. F. Barton. "Two Catalan Magnates in the Courts of the Kings of León-Castile: The Careers of Ponce de Cabrera and Ponce de Minerva Re-Examined." Journal of Medieval History 18:3 (1992): 233âÂÂ66.
- S. F. Barton. The Aristocracy in Twelfth-century León and Castile. Cambridge: 1997.
- S. F. Barton. "From Tyrants to Soldiers of Christ: The Nobility of Twelfth-century León-Castile and the Struggle Against Islam." Nottingham Medieval Studies 44 (2000): 28âÂÂ48. <small>online</small>
- S. F. Barton. "A Forgotten Crusade: Alfonso VII of León-Castile and the Campaign for Jaén (1148)." Historical Research 73:182 (2000): 312âÂÂ20. <small>online</small>
- S. F. Barton. "The âÂÂDiscovery of Aristocracyâ in Twelfth-century Spain: Portraits of the Secular ÃÂlite in the Poem of AlmerÃÂa." Bulletin of Hispanic Studies 83 (2006): 453âÂÂ68.
- S. F. Barton and R. A. Fletcher, eds. The World of El Cid: Chronicles of the Spanish Reconquest. Manchester: 2000.
- J. J. Duggan. The Cantar de Mio Cid: Poetic Creation in Its Economic and Social Contexts. Cambridge: 1989.
- B. Dutton. "Gonzalo de Berceo and the Cantares de Gesta." Bulletin of Hispanic Studies 38:3 (1961): 197âÂÂ205.
- ÃÂ. Ferrari. "Artificios septenarios en la Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris y Poema de AlmerÃÂa." BoletÃÂn de la Real Academia de la Historia 153 (1963): 19âÂÂ67.
- ÃÂ. Ferrari. "El cluniacense Pedro de Poitiers y la Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris y Poema de AlmerÃÂa." BoletÃÂn de la Real Academia de la Historia 153 (1963): 153âÂÂ204.
- R. A. Fletcher. "Reconquest and Crusade in Spain, c.1050âÂÂ1150." Transactions of the Royal Historical Society 37 (1987): 31âÂÂ47.
- R. A. Fletcher. The Quest for El Cid. London: 1989.
- J. Gibbs. "Quelques observations sur le Poema de AlmerÃÂa." Actes et Mémoires, Société Rencesvals, IV<sup>e</sup> Congrès International (Heidelberg: 1967): 76âÂÂ81.
- R. D. Giles. "âÂÂDel dÃÂa que fue condeâÂÂ: The Parodic Remaking of the Count of Barcelona in the Poema de mio Cid." La corónica: A Journal of Medieval Hispanic Languages, Literatures, and Cultures 38:1 (2009): 121âÂÂ38.
- I. J. las Heras. "Los héroes del Poema de AlmerÃÂa (Castilla, siglo XII) (primera parte)." Temas medievales 7 (1997): 97âÂÂ224.
- I. J. las Heras. "Los héroes del Poema de AlmerÃÂa (Castilla, siglo XII) (conclusión)." Temas medievales 9 (1999): 153âÂÂ76.
- J. Horrent. "Sur deux témoignages espagnols de la Chanson de Roland." Bulletin Hispanique 53 (1956), 48âÂÂ50.
- W.-D. Lange. "El IVð Congreso Internacional de la âÂÂSociété RencesvalsâÂÂ." Anuario de estudios medievales 4 (1967): 705âÂÂ9.
- M. MartÃÂnez Pastor. "Virtuosismos verbales en el Poema de AlmerÃÂa." Epos 4 (1988): 379âÂÂ87. <small>online</small>
- M. MartÃÂnez Pastor. "La rima en el Poema de AlmerÃÂa." Cuadernos de filologÃÂa clásica 21 (1988): 73âÂÂ96. <small>online</small>
- M. MartÃÂnez Pastor. "La métrica del Poema de AlmerÃÂa: su carácter cuantitativo." Cuadernos de filologÃÂa clásica: Estudios latinos 1 (1991): 159âÂÂ94. <small>online</small>
- M. MartÃÂnez Pastor. "Las cláusulas del hexámetro en el Poema de AlmerÃÂa: tipologÃÂa verbal." Humanitas: in honorem Antonio Fontán (Spain: 1992), 363âÂÂ73.
- M. MartÃÂnez Pastor. "Acento y versificación en hexámetros medievales." Cuadernos de filologÃÂa clásica: Estudios latinos 5 (1993): 141âÂÂ48. <small>online</small>
- M. MartÃÂnez Pastor. "Las cláusulas del Poema de AlmerÃÂa: Cadencia acentual." Actas del VIII Congreso Español de Estudios Clásicos 1 (1994): 619âÂÂ26.
- J. F. O'Callaghan. Reconquest and Crusade in Medieval Spain. Philadelphia: 2003.
- E. Pascua Echegaray. "Hacia la formación polÃÂtica de la monarquÃÂa medieval: las relaciones entre la monarquÃÂa y la Iglesia castellanoleonesa en el reinado de Alfonso VII." Hispania 49:172 (1989): 397âÂÂ441.
- E. von Richthofen. "Problemas rolandinos, almerienses y cidianos." Anuario de estudios medievales 5 (1968): 437âÂÂ44.
- F. Rico Manrique. "Las letras latinas de siglo XII en Galicia, León y Castilla." ÃÂbaco: Estudios sobre literatura española 2 (1969): 9âÂÂ91.
- F. Rico Manrique. "Del Cantal del Cid a la Eneida: tradiciones épicas en torno al Poema de AlmerÃÂa." BoletÃÂn de la Real Academia Española 65:235 (1985): 197âÂÂ212.
- C. C. Smith. "Latin Histories and Vernacular Epic in Twelfth-century Spain: Similarities of Spirit and Style." Bulletin of Hispanic Studies 48:1 (1971): 1âÂÂ19.
- C. C. Smith. "The Personages of the Poema de Mio Cid and the Date of the Poem." The Modern Language Review 66:3 (1971): 580âÂÂ98.
- C. C. Smith. "Toward a Reconciliation of Ideas about Medieval Spanish Epic." The Modern Language Review 89:3 (1994): 622âÂÂ34.
- A. Ubieto Arteta. "Observaciones al Cantar de Mio Cid." Arbor 37:138 (1957): 145âÂÂ70.
- A. Ubieto Arteta. "Sugerencias sobre la Chronica Adefonsi imperatoris." Cuadernos de Historia de España 25âÂÂ26 (1957): 317âÂÂ26.
- J. B. Williams. "The Making of a Crusade: The Genoese Anti-Muslim Attacks in Spain, 1146âÂÂ1148." Journal of Medieval History 23:1 (1997): 29âÂÂ53.
- R. Wright. Late Latin and Early Romance in Spain and Carolingian France. Liverpool: 1982.