author
Jorge Manrique
d. 1479
A soldier-poet from 15th-century Castile, remembered above all for a moving meditation on grief, memory, and the passing of time. His best-known poem has stayed central to Spanish literature for centuries.
1 Audiobook
Coplas por la muerte de su padre
by Jorge Manrique
About the author
Born around 1440 into a powerful Castilian noble family, Jorge Manrique lived both as a man of arms and a writer. He supported Isabel of Castile in the conflicts of his time and died in 1479 during a military campaign.
He is best known for Coplas por la muerte de su padre (Stanzas on the Death of His Father), an elegy written after the death of his father, Rodrigo Manrique. The poem reflects on loss, fame, and mortality in language that feels direct and human, which helps explain why it remains one of the most admired works of Spanish literature.
Although he wrote other lyric poems, it is the Coplas that made his reputation last. Readers often see Manrique as a bridge between the medieval world and the early Renaissance in Spain, combining courtly tradition with a quieter, more personal voice.