A type of short story or narrative poem, traditionally sold as a broadsheet or pamphlet in Spanish and Portuguese literature.
From Spanish cordel meaning 'rope' or 'cord,' from cuerda. Originally the name referred to the cord used to bind these cheap printed booklets, and the name transferred to the literature itself.
Cordels were the Spotify of medieval Spain—cheap, accessible stories printed on single sheets that ordinary people could actually afford, spreading tales and news in a pre-newspaper world.
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