Góngora and Heraldry: Portraits of Praise

During the lifetime of the renowned European baroque poet, Luis de Góngora y Argote, many authors dedicated their literary works to important benefactors, or they acclaimed grandees in their writings with the hope of acquiring patrons.¹ Much like these men of letters, Góngora wrote his Panegírico al duque de Lerma for King Philip III’s favorite, inscribed his Soledades to the duke of Béjar, and addressed his Fábula de Polifemo y Galatea to the count of Niebla. There were also other reasons, such as friendship and admiration, for the production of laudatory texts. Accordingly, the poet penned “Cantastes, Rufo, tan heroicamente,” a sonnet about the Austríada, for Juan Rufo, his friend from youth (Ciplijauskaité, Sonetos completos 47).

To extol the famous men of his day, Góngora sometimes created verbal portraits of them with the use of heraldry. In particular, five of his sonnets treat dignitaries by employing descriptions of armorial bearings. These poems are “Del León, que en la Silva apenas cabe,” “Un culto risco en venas hoy süaves,” “Entre las hojas cinco, generosa,” “Esta, que admiras, fábrica, esta prima,” and “Llegué a este Monte fuerte, coronado.”² They offer the reader insight into the character of the individuals who they depict through metaphors of plants, animals, keys, and heavenly orbs.

“Del León, que en la Silva apenas cabe,” the first piece cited, was written in 1604 to commemorate the birth of Don Rodrigo Sarmiento de Silva y Villandrando, eighth count of Salinas (Dadson, Diego de Silva y Mendoza 326). However, the text is also a tribute to the infant’s parents who were members of the esteemed houses of Silva and Sarmiento.³ In its beginning six lines Góngora compares the newly born Rodrigo to a lion cub and, by extension, to the picture of this animal blazoned on the silver background of the escutcheon belonging to the family of the child’s father, Don Diego, count of Salinas and Ribadeo, duke of Francavilla, and marquis of Alenquer (Dadson, Diego de Silva y Mendoza 7):

Del León, que en la Silva apenas cabe,    O ya por fuerte, o ya por generoso,    Que a dos Sarmientos, cada cual glorioso,    Obedeció mejor, que al bastón grave,Real cachorro, y pámpano süave    Es este infante en tierna edad dichoso.

(Chacón I.12, 1–6)⁴

In these verses Góngora uses the ordinary of the lion to express his admiration for Don Diego and intimates that Don Rodrigo is sure to have inherited from his father bravery, valor, and strength, traits which are traditionally linked to this animal (“Heraldic ‘Meanings’”; Bergmann 186).⁵ The pun in the initial line, which translates as “Of the lion, that hardly fits in the jungle/poem,” plays on both the word “selva” and the last name “Silva” (186). It is a subtle reminder of Don Diego’s own status as an accomplished bard and indicates that, like him, his son is destined to be a kingly beast that is too great or important for the jungle to contain or for Góngora to revere justly in this sonnet.⁶

The text then goes on to celebrate the birth of Don Rodrigo with other mentions of armorial insignia, further implying that the newborn will become a distinguished nobleman. For example, Don Rodrigo is declared a “real cachorro.” The reference is to the Silva shield with its lion rampant painted in purpure (purple), the color of majesty, and shown wearing a golden crown, a sign of sovereign or manorial authority (“Heraldic ‘Meanings’”).⁷ Moreover, Góngora calls Don Rodrigo a “pámpano” (Sarmiento), an offshoot of the prominent family of Doña Marina, his mother.⁸ From Doña Marina and her sister, Don Diego’s first wife, the little boy will receive the illustrious titles that are tied to the Sarmiento metronymic (Orozco Díaz 180).

The association of Don Rodrigo and Don Diego with these appellations, as well as with power and prestige, is underscored by the fact that the counts of...