cancionero

Collection of early lyrical poems, especially those collections made by the poetic guilds that flourished in Spain and Portugal in the Middle Ages.

The oldest is that made about 1445 by Juan Alfonso de Baena for King Juan II, the poems of which belong to the 14th and 15th centuries.

A later cancionero, attributed to López de (Stunica) Zuniga, contains songs by poets who accompanied Alfonso V of Aragón to Naples and afterwards shared his imprisonment at Milan. The first Cancionero general, published 1511, was that of Juan de Fernandez, including lyrics by over 100 writers, the earliest of whom is the Marquess of Santillano.

The earliest of the Portuguese collections is that by King Diniz (1279-1325), whereas the best known is García de Resende's Cancioneiro geral (1516). These anthologies are important for the light they throw on contemporary manners and ideals.

cancionero

Collection of songs, usually Spanish. The term equally applies to the collection of the texts alone, without written music.