mester de juglaría

mester de juglaría, popular poetic mode in Castilian literature that was developed by Castilian minstrels between the 11th and the 14th century. It was instrumental in the creation of numerous lengthy epic poems such as Cantar de mío Cid (“The Song of the Cid”) and shorter works of a narrative or lyrical nature known as romances, or Spanish folk ballads. Later these were joined into collections known as romanceros. The epic poems of the minstrels are characterized by their popular nature, metrical irregularity (based on a rhythmical flow of words, sets of different numbers of verses compiled unevenly, and uncodified rhyme), and oral transmission through artistic performances. Compare mester de clericía.