Antón de Marirreguera
Encyclopedia
Asturian language
Asturian is a Romance language of the West Iberian group, Astur-Leonese Subgroup, spoken in the Spanish Region of Asturias by the Asturian people...
, the «Pleitu ente Uviéu y Mérida pola posesión de les cenices de Santa Olaya» (Dispute between Oviedo
Oviedo
Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city....
and Mérida
Mérida, Spain
Mérida is the capital of the autonomous community of Extremadura, western central Spain. It has a population of 57,127 . The Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1993.- Climate :...
because of Saint Eulalia
Saint Eulalia of Mérida
Eulalia of Mérida, according to her hagiography, was a Roman Christian teen martyred in Emerita, the capital of Lusitania during the persecution of Christians in the reign of emperor Diocletian and his co-emperor Maximian. Others place her death at the time of Trajan Decius...
's Ashes), of 1639, that takes the first prize in a poetical contest dedicated to Saint Eulalie. Other works include the «Diálogu políticu» (Politician Dialogue), the fables «Dido y Eneas» (Dido and Aeneas
Aeneas
Aeneas , in Greco-Roman mythology, was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was the second cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas Priam's second cousin, once removed. The journey of Aeneas from Troy , which led to the founding a hamlet south of...
) and «Hero y Lleandro» (Hero and Leander
Hero and Leander
Hero and Leander is a Byzantine myth, relating the story of Hērō and like "hero" in English), a priestess of Aphrodite who dwelt in a tower in Sestos on the European side of the Dardanelles, and Leander , a young man from Abydos on the opposite side of the strait. Leander fell in love with Hero...
) and the entremeses
Entremés
Entremés, is a short, comic theatrical performance of one act, usually played during the interlude of a performance of a long dramatic work, in the 16th and 17th centuries in Spain. Later it became the sainete....
«L'ensalmador» (The Healer, «L'alcalde» (The Mayor) and «Los alcaldes» (The Mayors).
Life
Antón González Reguera was born in the first years of the 17th century (in 1605 according to Carlos González de Posada) in Llorgozana (CarreñoCarreño
Carreño is a municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. It is bordered by Corvera de Asturias on the west, Gozón on the north, the Cantabrian Sea on the north and east, and Gijón on the east and south. Its capital is Candás.- History :Almost everywhere in...
), in a fidalgo
Fidalgo
Fidalgo , from Galician and Portuguese filho de algo—sometimes translated into English as "son of somebody" or "son of some "—is a traditional title used in Portugal to refer to a member of the titled or untitled nobility...
family. He was called Antón de Marirreguera because of his mother, María González Reguera. It is supposed that his father was named Pedro Álvarez Hevia and that he died early. Being without a father and starting religious studies, he took the family name from his mother, following the tradition (which would explain why in some documents he appears as Antonio Álvarez).
He studied Latin, Humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
and Theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
in the University of Oviedo
University of Oviedo
The University of Oviedo is a public university in Asturias . It's the only university in the region. It has three campus and research centres, located in Oviedo, Gijón and Mieres.-History:...
, he became a priest in 1631 and took charge of some parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
es in Carreño.
In the fidalgo census of this municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
he is called Antonio González Reguera, priest of Priendes between 1640 and 1644. In 1645 he appears as the priest of Albandi
Albandi
Albandi is one of 12 parishes in Carreño, a municipality within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain.The parroquia is in size, with a population of 587 . The postal code is 33492....
, but with the name of Antonio González Moñiz, taking the second family name from his uncle Xoan Moñiz who was the precedent priest in this parish.
In Albandi documents he continues to appear as the parish priest until 1661, when he is relieved by his nephew Xuan Rodríguez Reguera. He does not appear in the fidalgo census of 1662, so it is supposed that he died between 1661 and 1662.
Works
Antón de Marirreguera had been known as a writer since his days at university and his works became very popular when he was alive. However, most of them are lost today. According to González Posada, Antón de Marirreguera himself asked his nephew to burn some of his papers just before his death, because he didn't want it to be said that a priest "amused himself doing this sort of thing".Some titles of his lost works are known, for example «Los impuestos» (The taxes), «Padrenuesu» (Holy Lord), «Razonamientu ente Xuan Moñiz y Pero Suare» (Argument between Xuan Moñiz and Pero Suare) and «Décimes» (Décima
Décima
A décima refers to a ten-line stanza of poetry, and the song form generally consists of forty-four lines...
s). «Píramo y Tisbe» could also be added, but the assignation of the version collected by Xosé Caveda y Nava is in doubt.
The first edition of his works was made by González Posada, who published the «Pleitu ente Uviéu y Mérida» and the first octave
Octave (poetry)
An octave is a verse form consisting of eight lines of iambic pentameter or of hendecasyllables . The most common rhyme scheme for an octave is abba abba....
of «Dido y Eneas» in Memorias Históricas del Principado de Asturias y Obispado de Oviedo (Historical Memories of the Asturian Principality and the Oviedo Diocese) of 1794.
Later, Xosé Caveda y Nava included these two poems in his Colección de poesías en dialecto asturiano (Collection of Poems in Asturian Dialect) in 1839, adding «Hero y Lleandro», «Píramo y Tisbe», «Diálogu políticu» and «L'ensalmador».
The most complete edition is Xulio Viejo's 1997 one, titled «Fábules, Teatru y Romances» (Fables, Theater and Romances
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
). In his introduction, he disputes the assignation to Marirreguera of the fable called "Píramo y Tisbe", collected by Caveda. Xulio Viejo thinks it's possible that this work had been written by Benito de l'Auxa, although it's known that Marirreguera had written another one with the same title.
In May 2000, the Selmana de les Lletres asturianes (Week of Asturian Letters) was dedicated to Antón de Marirreguera and his work. With this motive, an adaptation of «L'ensalmador» was performed, arranged by Lluis Antón González
Lluis Antón González
Lluis Antón González is an Asturian actor, writer, and director.A member of the theatrical group Telón de Fondo, he participated as an actor, director, and adaptor in many montages by the collective...
and directed by Xulio Vixil.
External links
- Bibliographical registry of asturian authors; It includes Marirreguera's biography, complete bibliography and list of manuscripts (in Asturian language)
- Caveda y Nava Project, with the text of five Marirreguera's preserved works (in Asturian language)
- El sombreru de virxiliu. Webpage with the Marirreguera's biography, some bibliography and the text of the “Pleitu ente Uviéu y Mérida poles cenices de Santa Olaya” (in Asturian language)