Born Mar. 13, 1869, in La Coruña, Spain; died Nov. 14, 1968, in Madrid. Spanish philolo-gist and medievalist. Academician (1902) and president of the Royal Spanish Academy (1925-38; 1947). Professor at Madrid University (1899-1939).
Menéndez Pidal founded the journals Revista de filología española (Journal of Spanish Philology; 1914) and Historia de España (History of Spain; 1940). He studied the history of the Spanish language and the historiography and medieval history of Spain (The Spanish Empire and the Five Kingdoms, 1950; Spain and Its History, 1957). He belonged to the school of cultural history and in his literary criticism devoted primary attention to folklore (The Spanish Romancero: Theory and History, vols. 1-2, 1953). Menéndez Pidal emphasized the popular sources of the heroic epics of Spain and Europe and the democratic tradition of classical Spanish literature. He published critical editions of the most important texts of medieval Spanish literature, including El Cid.
Menéndez Pidal repeatedly denounced the terror tactics of the Franco regime and called for closer cultural ties between Spain and the USSR.
R. A. AGEEVA and Z. I. PLAVSKIN