The topic locus amoenus, a literary device from classical literature, was used very often in medieval literature for the purpose of finding emotional tranquility through mental contemplation of an idyllic landscape. Both the reader and the writer know that the landscape is not real, what is sought is the inner peace produced by the visualization of the idyllically described place.

In Spain, this resource was developed mainly by writers on religious themes, such as Gonzalo de Berceo (1187-1264). References abound in Berceo's work to everything that provides a degree of quiet enjoyment of the senses: pleasant shade, green meadows, sound fountains, scented flowers, and the sweet singing of birds, among others. A good example is his  description of the meadow where the weary walker arrives in his Introduction to the book Milagros de Nuestra Señora (Miracles of Our Lady):

Daban olor muy grande las flores bien olientes,

refrescaban lo mismo las caras que las mentes;

manaba cada esquina aguas claras corrientes,

en verano bien frías, en invierno calientes (…)

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Finding happiness in contemplation

"Locus amoenus' in medieval Spanish Literature

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