The reception of Fernando de Herrera (1534-1597) during the 19th century

Abstract

During the 19th century there have been found so far very few documents concerning the work and personality of Fernando de Herrera (1534-1597), and basically there are two sorts of texts. One sort was written by Herrera’s conational citizens, who identified him as the most important poetic authority for Andalusia’s nationalism. The second was authored by French positivists who saw Herrera’s poetry as revealing an unprecedented type of amorous passion featuring a both ridiculous and
grandiose mysticism. By the end of the 19th century, Menéndez y Pelayo, by virtue of his Iberian casticismo, invests Herrera with the grand title of the first Spanish literary critic. The next pages focus on these main lines of reception.