The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Mena, Juan de

MENA, Juan de, Spanish poet: b. Cordova, Spain, about 1411; d. 1456. He was educated at Salamanca and at Rome and afterward was appointed secretary and court historian to John II, king of Castile. His allegorical poems, &lsquo;Coplas de los Siete Pecados Mortales,&rsquo; &lsquo;Le Coronacion,&rsquo; and &lsquo;El Laberinto&rsquo; (The Labyrinth), a poem founded on the &lsquo;Divina Commedia&rsquo; and published in the year 1496, all show the influence of Dante, for whom he held great respect and admiration. They were very popular, but possessed little literary merit. His collected works were published in 1528, entitled &lsquo;Copilación de todas las obras de Juan de Mena.&rsquo;