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Jorge Manrique (1440 – 1479) was a
Spain|Spanish poet who actively participated in
the coflicts of the
era of John II of Castile|Juan II. He fought on
the side of Isabella of Castile, but during the
defense of his right to become the king he died in
a battle.

When he wrote love poetry, he used terms like "a
battle" and "the war" to describe how to conquer a
woman. Among other genres, he also wrote about
death.

His most famous book is called Coplas por la
muerte de su padre (Verses about the death of his
father), which was obviously "mi padre" (my
father) in the original, but is generally known
under this modified name. He decided to write
Coplas from his admiration of his father after he
died. For him, he was an example of life and a
great hero. Not only did Manrique popularize the
verse metric referred to in Spain as Copla de pie
quebrado (8a 8b 4c 8a 8b 4c), but he also
introduced a new concept of three types of life:

* the terrestrial life
* the eternal life after death
* the life of the fame

The newly introduced type of life, the life of the
fame, means that even dead people continue to live
in the memories of the great acts they did while
alive.

The language Manrique used was precise, exact,
without decoration and difficult metaphors, trying
to focus on the content of what he was trying to
say.

A famous fragment of Coplas por la muerte de su
padre is:
                                      
 Nuestras vidas son los ríos         Our lives
are the rivers
 que van a dar en la mar,            that give
into the sea,
 qu´es el morir.                     which is
death.
 Allí van los señoríos               There go
the noble
 derechos a se acabar                rights to end
and
 e consumir.                         and be
consumed.