In a decided attempt to increase his family’s effective control on
those of the Canaries yet unconquered, the young and self-confident
Guillén Peraza led an expedition to La Palma in 1447 which ended
tragically. The primitive but wise islanders based their defense on the
roughness of La Palma and on their perfect knowledge of their homeland.
The invaders, on the contrary, found themselves in a disadvantageous
position because of their uneasiness and lack of experience in a
rough and unknown soil and so they were defeated and had to retreat to
their ships. Many men died and, among them, the brave Peraza. His
loss was sung by an anonymous poet in the famous Endechas, a splendid
and moving dirge which is a major work in 15th century Spanish
poetry. Later, in 1764, George Glas published his English translation of
this funeral elegy, which is studied in this paper.
