Dos precursores de la teoría tradicionalista de R. Menéndez Pidal: J. Costa y M. de Unamuno

Ramón Menéndez Pidal’s concept of tradition as envisioned in his studies of popular poetry, that is to say a kind of collective poetry resulting from multiple individual creations and constantly evolving itself due to the singers’ numerous variants, was considered as one of the most original contributions to the Spanish romance tradition. This original conception was meant to be one of the founding principles of the School of Spanish philology. It is my aim to illustrate the theories of Joaquín Costa and Miguel de Unamuno, two forerunners who in their writings developed the principles of Pidal’s later philology and the Spanish School.