Manrico is a Spanish variant of
Manrique, an old name coming from an obscure Germanic name of doubtful etymology, perhaps variant of
Amalarico --from the Germanic name
Amalaric, coming from the elements
Amal(also of doubtful meaning, maybe "work", but that is not sure) and
ric, "powerful"-- or from the Germanic elements
man(n), "man", and
ric.
The name was very popular in Castile in the Middle Ages but later died (and survived basically as family name). It was revived, in the form Manrique, in the Spanish play
El trovador, by Antonio García Gutiérrez, setted in the Middle Ages.
The play was adapted as libretto by Salvatore Cammarano (who used the variant Manrico, matching with the Italian uses) and turned in opera by Giuseppe Verdi:
Il trovatore (1853), which had a huge success in Italy and popularized the name.
Lumia
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