Saintly Relics, Solidarity, and Sidetracking in the First Published Asturian Ballad

This article examines the duality of Antón de Marirreguera’s ballad “Pleitu entre Uviéu y Mérida pola posesión de las cenises de santa Olaya” (1639), the first literary work published in Asturian. This romance noticiero served as a response to what was then thought of by the citizens of Oviedo as contemptible claims made by a Regidor from Merida in an ongoing conflict between the two cities over the remains of St. Eulalia. In the poem, Marirreguera clearly promotes solidarity among the Oviedan public by referring to familiar cultural referents and a beloved religious figure. Furthermore, his use of Asturian instead of Castilian further appealed to regional pride, drawing a clear boundary—linguistic, in this case—between the two quarreling sides. I suggest, however, that although there was a sense of unity on its surface, the ballad might also conceal a more subversive underbelly that served to distract the disgruntled peasantry from the imprudent practices of local aristocratic and ecclesiastical classes.