From the Christians of Al-Andalus to the mosarabs Jarchas – the oldest examples of lyric poetry in Spain

Abstract

Mosarabs were Christians of Islamic Spain who coexisted peacefully with Muslims until the XIIth century. The Mosarabs also had their own language. Their language was one of the Romance languages devided from Latin, which, unlike the other Romance languages of the Iberian Peninsula, was hevily influenced by Arabic. „Las jarchas“ are samples of the folk poetry of the Christians of Islamic Spain, which the Mosarabs composed in their own language. Unlike the epic poems popular in the Christian kingdoms of the north, the poetry of the Mosarababs was lyrical in content. The Arab poets of al—Andalus saved the poetry of the Mosarabs from being lost and preserved it for us.