Juan Ruiz
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Juan Ruiz (ca. 1283 - ca. 1350) was Archpriest of Hita, in Guadalajara, Spain, and is best known for his ribald, earthy epic poem, Libro de buen amor (The Book of Good Love). He was born in Alcalá de Henares. Little is known about him today, save that he was a cleric and probably studied in Toledo. Though his birth name is known to be Juan Ruiz, he is widely referred to using his title Arcipreste de Hita, which translates to "archpriest of Hita."
Late in his life, he was imprisoned for years, thought to be between 1337 to 1350, as punishment for some of his deeds (if the poem is any guide, they were quite inconsistent with his position as priest). One of his poems states that he was imprisoned on the order of Gil Albornoz, archbishop of Toledo. In retaliation, he wrote Libro de Buen Amor (Book of Good Love), a massive, episodic work that chronicled much of medieval society through his eyes: ancient fables, ugly peasants, Ruiz's amorous dalliances with nuns, and what seems to be sincere religious fervor. The breadth of his scope, and the exuberance of his style have caused some to term him "the Spanish Chaucer."
His language is characterized by its richness and its sermon-like tendency to repeat the same concept in several different ways. Noted for being very creative and alive, his work utilizes colloquial, popular vocabulary. At the same time, though, he shows a profound knowledge of human emotion and is able to strike a balance between gentleness and brazenness in his shrewd and frequently ironic writing.
It has been estimated that he died around 1350; by 1351, he no longer held the title of archpriest of Hita.
There are today three manuscripts of the Libro de Buen Amor. The Salamanca version, denoted S, resides in Madrid's Biblioteca Real and is considered the best of the three codices. The other two are the Academia Española version, known as Gayoso (G), and the Toledo (T) manuscript. The poem itself is 1,728 stanzas long and claims to be an autobiographical account of the author's love life. Through his lovers, we see a rich representation of medieval Spanish society.es:Arcipreste de Hita