Collections of Spanish paremias of the XVI century and their influence
on the development of folklore tradition

Bakanova Anna Valentinovna PhD in Philology Associate Professor, Department of Ibero-Romanic Language Studies, Faculty of Philology, Lomonosov Moscow State University 119991, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Leninskie Gory, 1, of. 1GUM asia_sim@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Terentieva Ekaterina Dmitrievna PhD in Philology Associate Professor, Department of Foreign Languages, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Miklukho-Maklaya, 10/2 terentyeva-ed@rudn.ru Other publications by this author

Spain of the XVI century is experiencing the rise of national consciousness, which is accompanied, in addition to political and economic results, including the discovery of the New World and the completion of the Reconquista, by the growth of scientific interest in the Spanish language, its lexical richness and grammatical system. "Naturally, many linguistic processes take only the beginning, but do not end within the specified time frame; however, the very fact of their fixation indicates a certain mood of the collective linguistic mentality, demonstrating its own preference in expressing thoughts in its native language" ^{[11, p. 5]}. During this period, issues of the development of the Castilian language, its normalization and codification come to the fore, and proverbs and sayings become the main illustrative material in the works of Spanish grammarians, in the absence of a developed literary tradition, which for several centuries causes the convergence of interests of the emerging science of folklore and linguistics. And if the end of the XV century and the first half of the XVI century are characterized by the rise of Spanish linguistic thought, based on small genre forms of oral folk art in the issue of exemplification (the first grammar of the Castilian language by Antonio de Nebrija (1492), "Dialogue on Language" by Juan de Valdez (1535-1536)), then in the second half of the century linguistic interest is reinforced a powerful literary movement that marked the beginning of the Golden Age of Spanish Literature. "Proximity to folk art, folklore traditions were one of the distinctive features of the literature of the Spanish Renaissance, and, as can be seen, these trends also found theoretical justification" ^{[12, p. 42]}. The period of the XVI - XVII centuries . In Europe, it is a transitional stage between the medieval system of knowledge and a new cultural formation, at the center of which is a person and a national tradition, which requires other methods and approaches under the influence of the Renaissance worldview: "following the discovery of America, the struggle with everything that connects a person with the old culture intensifies in the European consciousness [...] At the same time appears and begins It is here, in this general process of the development of knowledge, that the study of folklore acquires its special character, closely connected with all those myths, new information and ideas in which the political, social, philosophical and artistic experience of Europe found its expression" ^{[1, p. 24]}. As we can see, both the Spanish linguistic tradition and the Spanish folklore science begin to experience a period of rapid development in the XVI century.

The interest of folklore lovers and leading linguists is primarily attracted by such genres as proverbs and sayings, while they do not ignore other small genre forms – jokes, aphorisms, witty answers, life stories, fairy tales, superstitions, traditions and children's folklore. But it is proverbs and sayings, apophegms and other didactic genres that appear in several guises at once during this period: as an example of the correct language usage, as an example of folk wisdom and as a connecting element between the ancient tradition and the Renaissance. The spread of a new worldview in Spain is happening, on the one hand, under the influence of Italian humanism with its desire to improve the national language and focus on the use of educated people, on the other hand, it is impossible not to take into account the influence of northern humanism, "Christian", and the authority of Erasmus of Rotterdam, balancing in his writings between issues of faith and culture, morality and scholarship and seeking in oral folk art the source of the formation of national identity and linguistic wealth. "The idea of the Dutch scientist about the expression of the philosophy of the people, the national spirit, and the identity of the nation in proverbs and sayings found a wide response among the "Erasmists" ^{[12, p. 37]}. Interest in the works of folklore in Spain since the end of the XV century thus acquires not only scientific, but also philosophical confirmation.

The XVI century gave Spanish folklore several important works at once. First of all, we are talking about the famous collection of apothegmas, short stories, maxims and aphorisms Floresta espa?ola de apotegmas o sentencias, sabia y graciosamente dichas, de algunos espa?oles (1574) by the Spanish collector Melchor de Santa Cruz de Due?as. This collection enjoys the special attention of collectors and publishers of Spanish folklore and for a long time becomes a role model, a classic work that folklorists of a later period focus on in their research: "Es ?sta una de las m?s importantes colecciones de la ?poca y quiz? la m?s interesante, no solo como obra folklore, sino porque en ella hace ver el autor c?mo deliberadamente atendi? a recoger el material que en ella se ha conservado, y cu?nto esmero puso en su trabajo" ^{[17, p. 38]} (hereafter my italics).

According to the preserved historical information, Melchor de Santa Cruz was born in 1500 - 1510. in a family of converted Jews, the so-called "new Christians", he lived all his life in the city of Toledo, where he died presumably in 1577-1587. It remains unknown what kind of education he received, but the humanitarian orientation of his activities, his love of reading, and deep knowledge of history and law are obvious. And although M. de Santa Cruz speaks about his work with due modesty, and about his native Toledo as a center of eloquence - with undisguised admiration ("Y aunque hombre de ningunas letras, y de poco ingenio, as? por intercesi?n de algunos amigos, que conocieron que ten?a inclinaci?n a esto, como la naturaleza, que de esta antigua, y noble Ciudad de Toledo tengo, donde todo primor, y elegancia del buen decir florece; me he atrevido a tomar esta empresa" ^{[17, p. 39]}), this does not contradict the fact that he was a well-educated man for his time, who had a penchant for studying oral texts folk tradition. It is assumed that he was familiar with university circles, which is reflected in several thematic sections of apophegmata. It is also known that the patrons of Melchor de Santa Cruz in different periods was the Bishop of Segovia Diego de Covarrubias (Diego de Covarrubias) and King Philip II of Spain (Felipe II de Espa?a).

The collection Floresta espa?ola de apotegmas o sentencias was published in 1574 in Toledo and quickly became very popular among readers and scientists, largely due to the sense of humor of its author. The texts presented in it can be combined according to two criteria – short form and humorous orientation: "Una caracter?stica com?n a los chistes, sales, agudezas de ingenio, cuentos folcl?ricos o populares y refranes es su brevedad, frente a otras formas literarias de mayor tama?o o extensi?n: asimismo, une a todas ellas la veta humor?stica" ^[18]. As V. Y. Propp notes, laughter in the popular imagination can cause almost any human qualities, both external and internal. "A person's appearance, his face, figure, and movements may turn out to be funny; his judgments in which he shows a lack of intelligence may appear comic; a special area of ridicule is the character of a person, the area of his moral life, his aspirations, his desires and goals. A person's speech can be funny as a manifestation of such qualities that were invisible while he was silent. In short, a person's physical, mental and moral life can become an object of laughter in life" ^{[10, p. 15]}. Spanish folk humor develops a certain set of themes, some of which become obsolete over time, while others, on the contrary, continue to cause a smile until now, for example, the eternal theme of the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law: "Embiaronle a una Se?ora rezien casada un retrato de su suegra, hecho de a?ucar. Gustole con la lengua, y dixo: Aun de a?ucar amarga» ^[19].

As possible sources of borrowing plots, not only the works of predecessors are mentioned, but also the folklore tradition modern to the author, for example, the famous collection of oral stories by the Valencian Juan de Timoneda (Juan de Timoneda) "Sobremesa y alivio de caminantes" (1563) or collections similar in genre in Italian. It is also likely that M. de Santa Cruz is familiar with the collections of apothegms of ancient authors and the collection of proverbs of Erasmus of Rotterdam, which allows researchers to identify the features of the northern humanistic tradition in his approach. In the title, the author uses the term apotegma from the Greek "to speak bluntly", which means a short story, a witty answer or instruction, built around an unexpected violation of logic, exaggeration, wordplay, etc. In the definition of the Dictionary of the Royal Academy, we are talking about a short saying in the form of a maxim, the authorship of which is often attributed to some famous person: "Del lat. apopthegma, y este del gr. ap?phthegma.1. m. Dicho breve, sentencioso y feliz, especialmente el que tiene celebridad por haberlo proferido o escrito alguna personalidad o por cualquier otro concepto» ^[14]. Indeed, many of the stories presented in the collection mention famous personalities: Isabella of Castile, Cardinal Cisneros, General Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba, nicknamed el Gran Capit?n, Archbishop of Toledo A. de Carrillo, as well as ordinary residents of Toledo and representatives of various professions. In their genre form, Floresta's tests are close to such genres as anecdote, joke, a brief history of a humorous nature, a sample of wisdom: cuento, an?cdota, chiste, historieta, dicho agudo, sentencia, cuentecillo, burla. Let's consider an example that could be compared in meaning with the Russian expression "money loves an account": "Al maestreescuelas de Toledo, fundador del Colegio de Sta. Catalina, vino uno a pedir prestados 50 ducados. Mand? sacar un taleg?n de reales y di?selos. El q. los ped?a en prestados, tom?les de su mano y ech?los en un pa?i?uelo sin mas contarlos. Viendo el maestreescuela q no los contaba, pidi?le el pa?uelo con los dineros y volvi?los a donde los hab?a sacado, diciendo: Quien no los cuenta no los piensa pagar" ^{[17, p. 39]}.

The first edition of Floresta in 1574 consists of ten parts, in the prologue the author describes the tasks of the work and addresses the reader, who, in his opinion, is a true patriot of Spain: "[...] para quien es curioso, y aficionado a las cosas de su Patria; y es la recopilaci?n de sentencias, y dichos de los Espa?oles ^{[17, p. 39]}. Interest and love for the past of his country, according to the author, motivates those who pick up his book, because it contains no less important, necessary, talented and witty thoughts than those that can be found in old books: "[...] los cuales, como no tengan menos agudeza, y donaire, ni menos peso, o gravedad, que los que en los libros antiguos est?n escritos, antes en parte creo que son mejores" ^{[17, p. 39]}. Melchora de Santa Cruz is attracted by the combination of brevity of form and depth of thought: "son m?s excelentes dichos, los que en pocas palabras tienen encerradas muchas y notables sentencias" ^{[17, p. 39]}, as well as the fact that folklore texts metaphorically rethink all aspects of human life, being both funny and serious, witty and kind: "Porque unos han de ser graves, y entendidos: otros agudos, y maliciosos: otros agradables y apacibles: otros donosos para mover a risa: otros que lo tengan todo; y otros hay metaforizados, y que toda su gracia consiste en semejanza de las cosas que se apropia" ^{[17, p. 40]}. Special attention to M. de Santa Cruz draws attention to ambiguous words, emphasizing that only those who are gifted with philological flair and have the necessary knowledge can perceive such ambiguity: "Otros tienen su sal en las diversas significaciones de un mismo vocablo; para esto es manchester, que as? el que lo escribe, como el que lo lee, tenga ingenio para sentirlo, y juicio para considerarlo" ^{[17, p. 40]}. Such strict requirements are imposed not only on the reader, but also on the author-compiler himself, who should be the first to discern the richness of the folk language, because M. de Santa Cruz compares folklore units with coins made of precious metal: "y la dificultad que en escribir estos dichos hay, es la que se tiene en hallar moneda de buen metal, y subida de quilates" ^{[17, p. 39]}. Having collected the material, the author should conduct a thorough analysis of it, which is the principle of not so much an amateur as a scientific approach: "Pero no es solo una simple vocaci?n o afici?n lo que caracteriza la colecci?n del insigne folklorista toledano, sino un estudio del material recognido que le llev? a distinguirlo y clasificarlo" ^{[17, p. 39]}. The harmony and logic with which the author organizes the collected material deserve special mention. Collected by him 939 folklore units of M. de Santa Cruz combines into eleven parts, each part, in turn, is divided into chapters. The first two parts tell about the ecclesiastical and secular hierarchy. The first part consists of six chapters, and it deals with stories from the life of the clergy: de Sumos Pont?fices, de Cardenales, de Arzobispos, de Obispos, de Cl?rigos, de Frailes ("Dezia un Caballero, que el escudero no engorda sino de necio: y el cl?rigo no enflaquece sino de mal acondicionado" ^[19]). The second part is dedicated to kings and courtiers – guards, pages, servants: de Reyes, de Caballeros, de Capitanes y Soldados, de Aposentadores, de Truhanes, de Pajes (for example, "Dezia la Reyna que el que ten?a buen gesto, llevava carta de recommendaci?n" ^[19]). The third part breaks out of the established order and illustrates the author's attentive attitude to the word and speech techniques, telling, rather, about folk word-making and the rhetorical richness of the language: de responder con la misma palabra, de responder con la copulativa antigua, de gracia doblada, de dos significaciones, de responder al nombre propio, de enmiendas y declaraciones de letras ("Preguntando a uno que cosa era murmuraciones. Respondio; Mur y mura, y colgaderos de estribos» ^[19]). The fourth part continues the line of the first two and examines the range of issues related to the judicial system: de Jueces, de Letrados, de Escribanos, de Alguaciles, de Hurtos, de Ajusticiados, they are also joined by chapters on doctors and surgeons (de M?dicos y Cirujanos), as well as students ("El Doctor Luna salia de leer, y traya consigo siete Estudiantes, todos peque?os. Dixo un colegial: Parece que sale la luna con las siete cabrillas» ^[19]). The fifth part deals with different peoples and nationalities, social status and various professions: de Vizca?nos, de Mercaderes, de Oficiales, de Labradores, de Pobres, de Moros ("Un hidalgo pobre, que se hab?a casado con una hija de un labrador rico, porque le dieron gran dote dezia; que aquel casamiento era como morcilla, que el puso la sangre, y el suegro las cebollas" ^[19]). The sixth part looks the least homogeneous and is devoted to issues of love and marriage, as well as music, games and other pastimes: de Amores, de M?sicos, de Locos, de Casamientos, de Sobrescritos, de Cortes?a, de Juegos, de Mesa ("Dezia un Caballero que no avia otra diferencia entre los cuerdos, y los locos, sino que los cuerdos sue?an de noche, y los locos de dia y de noche" ^[19]). Of particular linguistic interest is part seven, which tells about the ways of ridiculing, inventing nicknames, nicknames, etc.: de Apodos, de motejar de linaje, de motejar de loco, de motejar de necio, de motejar de bestia, de motejar de escaso, de motejar de narices ("A un hombre miserable, que se quejava, que se le cayan los dientes, dixo un Cavallero, sera de usarlos" ^[19]). The satirical tone of the author is continued in the eighth part, where various physical defects of a person from blindness to lameness are ridiculed, arranged in antonymic pairs: de Ciegos, de Chicos, de Largos, de Gordos, de Flacos, de Corcobados, de Cojos ("Un tuerto, que no tenia mas de un ojo, dixo a uno, si le queria jugar un ojo: Respondio, si haria, sino que no teneys para embidar" ^[19]). The ninth part, like the sixth, is somewhat blurry and touches on topics not included in the previous chapters – from humorous and mocking expressions to texts containing information about the peoples of Spain: de Burlas y dislates, de Fieros, de Camino, de Mar y agua, de Retos y desaf?os, de Apodos de algunos Pueblos de Espa?a y de otras naciones ("Alabando a uno que tenia grandes fuer?as, que al?ava mucho peso; respondi?, si el mundo tuviesse alas, lo al?aria" ^[19]). The tenth part contains the so-called dichos extravagantes ("Dezia Pedrosa, que tres cosas se pierden fuera de su natural, peces, Lat?n y frayles" ^[19]). The last part is dedicated to women and children, including ugly women and widows: de Dichos avisados de mujeres, de Dichos graciosos de mujeres, de Dichos de mujeres, de Mujeres feas, de Viudas ("Preguntando a uno porque dezia mal de mugeres, pues tan buenos autores dezian bien dellas. Respondio: estos dizen quales devian ser, e yo, quales son» ^[19]).

As already mentioned, the collection of M. de Santa Cruz La Floresta espa?ola de apotegmas o sentencias, sabia y graciosamente dichas, de algunos espa?oles became an important milestone in the history of Spanish folklore, it was addressed not only by contemporaries, but also by later researchers, supplementing with new examples, adopting its structural features and philological approach. Thus, in 1606, a collection of folklorist Gaspar Lucas Hidalgo was published in Barcelona under the title "Dialogos de apacible entretenimiento, que contiene unas Carnestolendas de Castilla; dividida en las tres noches del domingo, lunes, martes de antruejo". The collection is a collection of folklore stories and jokes related to the tradition of celebrating carnival. In their distribution, the author focuses on the classification proposed by Melchor de Santa Cruz: "La principal particularidad de los Dialogos de apacible entretenimiento estriba en un intento de clasificaci?n de los cuentos, semejante a la que hizo Melchor de Santa Cruz en su Floresta" ^{[17, p. 59]}.

In the XVIII century Francisco Asensio (Francisco Asensio) republishes the collection Floresta M. de Santa Cruz and adds new stories, proverbs and expressions to it (cuentos y dichos). The expanded version of the collection was first published in 1730 and later reprinted several times. Francisco Asensio points out in the preface to the second part that his goal is to include in this edition all the folklore texts available to him: "[...] leyendo, y recogniendo cuanto mi anhelo ha podido descubrir sobre este asunto" ^{[17, p. 85]}. According to researchers, the publication prepared by Francisco Asensio has certain advantages, since, on the one hand, the author retains the original classification of folklore material, only slightly changing it ("Con la adici?n de las dos partes de Asensio queda fijado el sistema de clasificaci?n de Santa Cruz, ya que ?ste se limita a llamar a los miembros de la suya partes primera, segunda..., y Asensio da por firme la clasificaci?n y llama clases primera, segunda... a los miembros de ella" ^{[17, p. 86]}), on the other hand, enriches the collection with new vivid examples. So, in comparison with the original version of Floresta, sections dedicated to representatives of different professions, occupations and nationalities appeared in the work: "De predicadores", "De opositores", "De portugueses", "De criados", "De pr?stamos y acreedores", "De poetas", "De tuertos" and others. Thus, the case started by Melchor de Santa Cruz, has found its continuation, and the classification of folklore material developed by him has found its followers.

If we touch upon the question of the originality of the texts presented in the collection of Melchor de Santa Cruz, then it should be recognized that in them one can see a certain similarity with the texts from the collections of his contemporaries. For example, the first text from the third chapter of the first part, which deals with Archbishop Alonso Carrillo ("Don Alonso de Aguilar como vio tanta Morisma la noche, que lo mataron, y se tuviesse por perdido, pregunt?: Como se llama este lugar Respondieronle: Se?or, el Macher: El siguio con dezir; Pues aqui el alma echar" ^[19]), has similarities with the text presented in the book of jokes Libro de chistes by Luis de Pinedo (Luis de Pinedo). The third, fourth ("Dezia el Conde de O?ate, que los Biscaynos eran ricos de man?anas, y; pobres de pan y vino" ^[19]) and the fifth example from the fifth chapter of the third part appear, and even in the same sequence, in the collection Cuentos de Garibay. Nevertheless, researchers doubt that M. de Santa Cruz borrowed plots from contemporaries, and suggest that perhaps they relied on his research, and not vice versa: "Nos aventuramos, pues, a suponer que, declarando Melchor de Santa Cruz en el pr?logo de su colecci?n, que hasta entonces nadie se hab?a ocupado de este asunto, y ser la primera su colecci?n, las colecciones de Luis de Pinedo y de Garibay, sobre todo esta ?ltima, son posteriores y copiadas en parte de la Floresta" ^{[17, p. 41]}. This opinion is also confirmed by the fact that the collection of M. de Santa Cruz was published during the author's lifetime in 1574, while many of the above-mentioned works remained unpublished for a long time. And yet, despite possible plot intersections with the works of contemporaries and predecessors, Florest's collection, first of all, is valuable due to the author's comments, clear principles of the organization of the material and a truly folkloristic approach, which distinguishes it from the works of this period.

Among the folklore contemporaries of M. de Santa Cruz, it is impossible not to mention the name of Juan de Mal Lara from Seville, who in 1568 published a collection of proverbs and sayings called "La Philosophia vulgar", containing about a thousand capacious examples of folk wisdom, each of which is also accompanied by a detailed commentary. The author strives to reveal to readers the deep meaning and traditional foundations of each expression. As an example, let's give the saying number 45, which talks about the organization of a family business and that children should become a support for parents: Dios te da ovejas, y hijos para con ellas ^[15]. Thanks to the attentive attitude of X. de Mal Lara to the collected material, this collection can be considered a full-fledged folklore study reflecting the experience of generations: "Es en realidad, a m?s de colecci?n, un estudio folkl?rico muy notable y digno de encomio, porque en ?l se propuso Mal Lara exponer el fundamento filos?fico del Pueblo y las observaciones que pudieron llevarle a cristalizar en el refr?n la conclusi?n obtenida de las experiencias proporcionadas por la vida cotidiana" ^{[17, p. 37]}.

Another contemporary of Melchor de Santa Cruz, who was interested in oral folk art, was the famous folklorist, playwright and publisher from Valencia Juan de Timoneda (1518-1583), who was engaged in publishing mainly texts of song and fairy folklore (cuentos, an?cdota s, r elatos breves, canciones, romances). Thus, the collections "Sarao de amor" (1561), "Flor de enamorados" (1562), "Guisadillo de amor" (1573) and "Rosa de romances" (1573) contain adapted song lyrics in Spanish. The texts of fairy-tale and fable folklore are presented in the collection "El Patra?uelo" (1567), compiled in imitation of Italian authors. In the Prologue, Timoneda demonstrates an interest in folklore terminology and discusses in detail about fairy-tale terms and such a genre as patra?a: "Patra?uelo deriva de patra?a, y patra?a no es otra cosa sino una fengida traza, tan lindamente amplificada y compuesta que parece que trae alguna apariencia de verdad. Y as?, semejantes mara?as las intitula mi lengua natural valenciana rondalles y la toscana, novelas, que quiere decir: ‘T?, trabajador, pues no velas, yo te desvelar? con algunos graciosos y aseados cuentos, con tal que los sepas contar como aqu? van relatados’» ^[20]. Timoneda's collection "El buen aviso y portacuentos" (1564) presents short stories, anecdotal situations collected by the author from various oral and written sources. The collection "Sobremesa y alivio de caminantes" (1563) by Timoneda contains more than one hundred and twenty fairy-tale texts, some of them are close in genre to the so-called genre "cuentos paremiol?gicos", when the fairy-tale text explains the origin or meaning of a proverb or a stable expression. It should be noted that folklore themes have penetrated into Timoneda's literary work, so a whole gallery of folklore images appears in his works in the genre of entremes: "Entrem?s de un ?iego y un mo?o y un pobre", "Paso de dos ciegos y un mo?o", "Paso de un soldado y un moro y un ermita?o". One of the most important landmarks for Timoneda, as in the case of the work of M. de Santa Cruz, becomes a collection of short sayings Apophthegmata by Erasmus of Rotterdam, translated into Spanish by Francisco Tamara in 1549.

Among the folklore collections of the XVI century, several more names should be mentioned. This is the collection "Liber facetiarium et similitudinum Ludovici de Pinedo et amicorun" by Luis de Pinedo, which contains small genre forms (cuentecillos, hechos, dichos): "Es otra verdadera colecci?n folklore y no de escasa importancia para hallar el origen o transformaci?n de muchos cuentezuelos que hoy corren en el Pueblo" ^{[17, p. 42]}. Funny stories (cuentecillos, hechos, dichos, an ?dotas, chascarrillos) about the Portuguese with glosses supposedly authored by Diego Hurtado de Mendoza are presented in the work "Serm?n de Aljubarrota". It is also impossible not to mention the collection of stories from the life of the royal court "Suentos de Garibay", which is highly appreciated by researchers ("Este autor no identificado todav?a, que sepamos, nos lleg? una colecci?n de un gran valor folkl?rico" ^{[17, p. 43]}) and has plot intersections with texts collected by Melchor de SantaCruz.

A rich palette of folk ideas about life, beliefs and superstitions is presented in the work of Pedro Mej?a "Silva de varia lecci?n", first published in 1542 and repeatedly reprinted in the future. In the prologue, the author explains the purpose of the work and the chosen form of presentation of the material: "pareciome q si desto yo avia alcan?ado alguna erudicion, o noticia de cosas (que cierto es todo muy poco tenia obligacion a lo comunicar; y hazer participantes dello a mis naturales, y vezinos, escriviendo yo alguna cosa q fuesse comun, y publica a todos. Y como en esto, y con lo demas los ingenios de los hombres son tan varios, y cada uno va por diversos propositos, sin perseverar, ni guardar orden en ellos, y por ello le puse por nombre, Silva: porque en las Selvas estan las plantas y arboles sin orden ni regla ^[16]. Spanish researchers call the author foklorista indiscutible, he himself speaks about the stories collected in the work with great modesty, denying them credibility: "esto que tengo dicho m?s lo quise escribir por curiosidad y ejercicio, que porque lo tenga por muy verdadero, ni de tener en mucho" ^{[17, p. 43]}. The work consists of three parts, each of which in turn is divided into chapters. Here are some examples of titles illustrating the combination of worldly wisdom, mythological representations, folklore plots, fragments of occult and other sciences: "De los Tritones y Nereidas que llaman hombres marinos", "De las siete edades y partes de la vida del hombre seg?n la doctrina de astr?logos", "En el cual se cuentan muchos r?os y lagos, y fuentes cuyas aguas tienen propiedades maravillosas y singulares", "De la amistad y enemistad que por secreta propiedad hay entre muchas cosas". It is important to note that two centuries later, the famous scientist and philosopher of the XVIII century Benito Jer?nimo Feij?o y Montenegro will continue the study of superstitions and folk philosophy in his work "Teatro cr?tico universal": "As? encontramos en Feij?o discursos acerca de los tritones y nereidas, de las edades y d?as cr?ticos, de la simpat?a y de otras muchas cosas tratadas por Mex?a, si bien el trabajo de Feij?o es de cr?tica y el de Mex?a de mero colector" ^{[17, p. 45]}.

It is important to emphasize that, as in the case of the famous Floresta M. de Santa Cruz, the principles of working with texts of the oral folk tradition developed in the XVI century are continued in the works of researchers of a later period, which allows us to speak about the important role of continuity in the works of Spanish folklorists. The genre of apophegma itself, so popular in the period under review, gradually acquires the features of a literary anecdote, without, however, completely losing its folklore roots.

The authors who laid the foundation in the XVI century. the foundations of Spanish folklore and paremiology continued, on the one hand, the traditions that came from antiquity and received new recognition within the framework of Renaissance science, on the other hand, they accepted the traditions of northern humanism with its attentive attitude to oral folk art, and also supported the linguistic tradition, glorified by Nebrikha at the end of the XV century, with its appeal to folklore texts as the main material for the exemplification of linguistic usage is an approach that will remain in Spanish science for several centuries. In conclusion, it should be noted that familiarity with folklore texts of the XVI century allows us to see the peculiarities of the organization of public life in Spain, the specifics of the perception of moral categories, echoes of ancient mythological ideas preserved in folklore consciousness, reflection of the national picture of the world and national humor.