Background
He was a converso (Jew converted to Christianity) and was attacked by the poet Anton de Montoro for aiding the Inquisition in the persecution of other converted Jews. Although the first act of Rojas' La Celestina and the political satires, Coplas de Mingo Revulgo and Coplas del provincial, have been credited to Cota, such attributions are extremely doubtful. The actual basis of his poetic reputation lies in his undisputed authorship of the delightful DiálogoDialogo entre el amor y un viejo ("Dialogue between Love and an Old Man"). Love scales the walls of the secluded garden of old age and is resisted with recrimination and argument. The old man is finally tempted, and after being caught in the snares of love is ridiculed by his new master. The grace, formal beauty, and nascent dramatic intensity of this poetic dialogue have sufficed to distinguish Rodrigo Cota de Maguaque from among the countless other poets of the 15th-century cancioneros (song anthologies including the works of many authors.)
