Gonzalez (Gonzalo) De Berceo, Juan,
the most ancient Spanish poet, was born in 1196 at Avila, in Castile, estred the Benedictine order, and died in 1266. He is the author of poetical works on the Mass, on Doomsday, on the Virgin Mary, on the Life of St. Dominic, etc. Timey are painted in Sanchez's Coleccion de poesias castellanas aemteriores al siglo xv (Madrid; 1775-90, 3 volumes). Some writers an Spanish literature attribute to his works a decisive influence on the peculiar development of Spanish poetry. (A.J.S.)