JUAN DEL

ENCINA (1469–c.1533)  , often called the founder of the Spanish drama, was born in 1469 near Salamanca probably at Encinas . On leaving the university of Salamanca he became a member of the household of the second duke of Alva . In 1492 the poet entertained his patron with a dramatic piece, the Triunfo de la lama, written to commemorate the fall of Granada . In 1496 he published his Cancionero, a collection of dramatic and lyrical poems . Some years afterwards he visited Rome, attracted the attention of Alexander VI. by his skill in music, and was appointed choirmaster . About 1518 Encina took orders, and made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he said his first mass . Since 1509 he had held a lay canonry at Malaga; in 1519 he was appointed prior of Leon and is said to have died at Salamanca about 1533 . His Cancionero is preceded by a prose treatise (Arte de trobar) on the condition of the poetic art in Spain . His fourteen dramatic pieces mark the transition from the purely ecclesiastical to the secular stage . The Aucto del Repel6n and the Egloga de Fileno dramatize the adventures of shepherds; the latter, like Pldcida y Vitoriano, is strongly influenced by the Celestina . The intrinsic interest of Encina's plays is slight, but they are important from the historical point of view, for the lay pieces form a new departure, and the devout eclogues prepare the way for the autos of the 17th century . Moreover, Encina's lyrical poems are remarkable for their intense sincerity and devout grace .