Juan de Mena

Juan de Mena (1411–1456) was one of the most significant Spanish poets of the fifteenth century. He was highly regarded at the court of Juan II de Castilla, who appointed him veinticuatro (one of twenty-four aldermen) of Córdoba, secretario de cartas latinas (secretary of Latin letters) and cronista real (royal chronicler). His works show the influence of Renaissance humanism and place him in the period of transition in Spain from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.

There is scant evidence about the early part of Mena’s life, but most modern scholars agree that he was born at Córdoba, Spain, his father died shortly after his birth, and his mother a few years later. He was likely the second of two sons and was related to a former veinticuatro of Córdoba, although it is unclear how. Memorias de algunos linages (An Account of Some Lineages), attributed to Mena, claims that his family came from the valley of Mena in La Montaña, a region of the northern Spanish province of Cantabria, and served under Fernando III de Castilla and his successors in the Reconquista. His formal education probably began in Córdoba and later continued in Salamanca, where he appears to have fulfilled the requirements for the Master of Arts degree. He then traveled to Rome, perhaps as a continued part of his education, although there is no evidence that he participated in formal study there. During this trip and a later one to Florence, Mena appears to have been seeking ecclesiastical benefices; however, both attempts were fruitless and each was followed by a marriage, first to a supposed sister of García y Lope de Vaca and, secondly, to Marina Méndez, more than 20 years his minor. Neither marriage resulted in descendants for the poet. Some scholars have pointed to a possible converso origin for Mena’s family, but others have found these claims to be highly speculative. Mena continued in the role of cronista real under Enrique IV de Castilla until his death at Torrelaguna in 1456, although he apparently did not produce any chronicle.

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