The  requesta  de  amores  theme,  which  is  identical  with  the
pastourelle,  is  found  occasionally  in  the  courtly  literature  of
the  fifteenth  and  early  sixteenth  centuries.1  Encina  himself
composed  a  sort  of  contrasto  between  a  shepherd  and  knight,
published  in  the  Cancionero  musical.  The  thirteenth-century
Jeu  de  Robin  et  Marion  of  Adam  de  la  Halle  represents  the
same  sort  of  transition  from  lyric  poetry  to  drama  as  we  find
in  this  eclogue  of  Encina.
The  second  Egloga  en  requesta  de  amores,  with  the  same
characters  as  the  above,  was  performed  after  an  interval  of
a  year,  probably  at  Christmas,  1495,  and  consists  of  two  scenes.
In  a  brief  prologue,  the  timid  Mingo  offers  to  the  Duke  and
Duchess  his  collected  works,  (which  were  published  in  1496),
and  in  rather  awkward  fashion  we  are  informed  that  a  year
has  passed  since  the  incidents  described  in  the  preceding  play.
The  knight,  now  known  as  Gil,  wearies  of  pastoral  life,  and
longs  to  return  to  the  palace  with  Pascuala.  The  latter  dons
the  robes  of  a  lady  and  amazes  Mingo  and  his  wife,  Menga,
by  her  beauty,  which  Mingo  ascribes  to  the  power  of  Love.
*R.  Menendez  Pidal  discusses  the  early  popular  scrranillas  in  his
essay  entitled  La  primitiva  poesia  lirica  espanola,  published  in  Estudios
litcrarios,  Madrid,  1920.
JUAN  DEL  ENCINA  2$

Gil  urges  Mingo  to  accompany  them,  but  the  shepherd  hesi-
tates, alleging  his  ignorance  of  courtly  manners  and  his  delight
in  the  simple  joys  of  pastoral  life,  which  he  describes  in  verses
that  reveal  true  poetic  feeling.  The  idea  of  becoming  a  gentle-
man, however,  tickles  his  vanity,  and  with  keen  satisfaction  he
puts  on  his  best  clothes  and  adopts  the  airs  of  a  courtier.
The  play  ends  with  a  song  in  praise  of  all-powerful  Love.
