The literary authority: Intellectual circles and genres in Castilla in XV century

The historical development of the different intellectual circles of 15 th century Castile are analysed in relation to poetical erudition. First, it is observed that in the first half of the century there were major differences between the different groups, which became smaller as the century went on, and had almost disappeared by the 1460 's, following the deaths of Cartagena, Mena, Santillana and El Tostado, and as familiarity with classicist culture increased. Paradoxically, this implied the progressive abandonment of 'arte mayor' and excessively erudite poetry, anda return to a certain spirituality, which is best exemplified by Jorge Manriques 'conceptism of the next generation, following the failed experiments of some of the poets of the transitional period, such as Gómez Manrique and Pero Guillén of Segovia, in Archbishop Carrillo's circle. This path towards simple, moral poetry was sanctioned at the end of the century by Juan del Encina.