Gramática Castellana

Gramática Castellana

The Gramática Castellana is a famous linguistic work, the first treatise on grammar in the Castilian language, which was written by Antonio de Nebrija (1441-1522). Furthermore, it is the first proto-linguistic study of a modern European language to be published. Born Antonio Martínez de Cala, he Latinized his name, as was the style at the time, to Aelius Antonius Nebrissensis, a nod to the Roman name for his hometown of Lebrija, Nebrissa Veneria. Descended from converted Jews, Nebrija was active as a teacher, historian, poet, and astronomer, but is best remembered as a Castilian grammarian, having published and presented the first treatise on Spanish grammar to Queen Isabella I (1451-1504) in 1492.
It was his express desire to “transform Castilian speech into an artifact so that whatever henceforth shall be written in this language may be of one standard tenor, one coinage that can outlast the times. Greek and Latin have been governed by art, and thus have kept their uniformity throughout the ages. Unless the like of this be done for our language, in vain Your Majesty's chroniclers ... shall praise your deeds.” The text appears in a clearly legible Gothic script including large red capitals. This specimen is the proud possession of the Biblioteca del Ayuntamiento de Valencia and represents one of the few surviving examples of the first edition, which was printed in Salamanca on the 18th of August 1492.