Berta Cano-Echevarria
Universidad de Valladolid, Filología Inglesa, Faculty Member
- Berta Cano Echevarría is Associate Professor of English Literature and Culture at the University of Valladolid in Spa... moreBerta Cano Echevarría is Associate Professor of English Literature and Culture at the University of Valladolid in Spain. Her main research area is Anglo-Spanish cultural relations and textual transmission.Her PhD and first monograph were devoted to the literature of war but her recent interests have moved towards peacetime. She has published a number of articles and book chapters on the literature of the exiles in the English College, on the work of Philip Sidney and its first translation into Spanish and on the Cultural Manifestations of Anglo-Spanish wartime and peacetime relations. She has been editor of the journal Sederi Yearbook, the Journal of the Spanish and Portuguese Association of English Renaissance Studies. For six years she was the Academic director of the Language Centre of the University of Valladolid and is now head of the English Department at the same University.edit
For a short period, from 1601 to 1606, the city of Valladolid was the capital of Spain. Philip III decided to move his court from Madrid and reestablish it in a Castilian town that was scarcely prepared for such a commitment.... more
For a short period, from 1601 to 1606, the city of Valladolid was the capital of Spain. Philip III decided to move his court from Madrid and reestablish it in a Castilian town that was scarcely prepared for such a commitment. Nevertheless, both the city’s population and the newcomers applied themselves to transform its appearance, refurbishing old palaces, pulling down buildings and opening up avenues. The climax, however, occurred in 1605, when the birth of the king’s first male heir coincided with the arrival of an English embassy led by the Earl of Nottingham to ratify the peace between Spain and England that had been negotiated and signed in London the previous year. In the space of a month the city witnessed a succession of entries, pageants, processions, and parades as never before. The English ambassador and his entourage, comprising six hundred men, became both witnesses and performers in a spectacle, while the Spanish court made every possible effort to impress their guests with a splendour that would compensate for their loss of face in the peace negotiations. Philip instructed that a whole new wing be added to the Royal Palace for a hall that would be inaugurated with the ceremony of the peace and a masque in honour of the newborn prince. This chapter explores the complex intersection between international diplomatic ceremonial and early modern theatricality, focusing on the ways in which Valladolid performed the function of civic theatrical stage.
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Research Interests: Art and The Changeling
Hand-held map of the entry into the city of Valladolid by the English Ambassador and his embassy to the court of Philip III of Spain in May 1605.
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Despite the popularity of Renaissance pattern poetry, this verse form was neglected in the English poetical tradition. I suggest that this lack of recognition may be explored by looking into its presentation as an oriental import, which... more
Despite the popularity of Renaissance pattern poetry, this verse form was neglected in the English poetical tradition. I suggest that this lack of recognition may be explored by looking into its presentation as an oriental import, which chose to ignore its relationship with classical Greek models. The inspiration for George Puttenham’s shift of attribution from the West to the East in his Arte of English Poesie can be explained by the early modern fascination with travel writing and by Puttenham’s knowledge of the work of a fellow literary theorist, Richard Willes, and his novel poetical compositions.
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It has long been established that Middleton and Rowley’s The Changeling (1622) was based in two combined sources, John Reynolds’ God’s Revenge against Murder (1621) and Leonard Digges’ translation of Gerardo, the Unfortunate Spaniard,... more
It has long been established that Middleton and Rowley’s The Changeling (1622) was based in two combined sources, John Reynolds’ God’s Revenge against Murder (1621) and Leonard Digges’ translation of Gerardo, the Unfortunate Spaniard, from an original by Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses (1622). In this paper I want to revisit the Spanish locations of the play and reconsider the relation between The Changeling and its English source, Reynolds’ The triumphs of God’s revenge, as if both works were echoing a true crime story based on actual events that may have happened in the Mediterranean coast shortly before or at the time of Reynolds’ sojourn in Spain as a merchant and trade dealer. In so doing I would like to observe the adaptability of the murder mystery genre in the different cultures and its dependence on authentic stories recorded as real events at the time. In the appropriation and different transformations of the actual events I follow the linear progression from one text or set of events to their adaptation, both culturally and generically. Moving backwards from The Changeling to God’s Revenge Against Murder to the crimes in the coast of Alicante and Valencia compiled in the chronicles and diaries of the time, where comparable events were recorded, I intend to explore how these stories circulated, reshaped and adapted as part of the process of cultural transmission between the Mediterranean and the British Isles.
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After twenty years without diplomatic representation due to the prolonged hostilities of the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604) Spain made the first move towards peace by sending an ambassador, Don Juan de Tassis, Conde de... more
After twenty years without diplomatic representation due to the prolonged hostilities of the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604) Spain made the first move towards peace by sending an ambassador, Don Juan de Tassis, Conde de Villamediana, to congratulate King James on his accession to the throne of England. His arrival in Dover with an entourage of one hundred and fifty men as “his house” was a sensation according to Relacion muy verdadera del recebimiento y fiestas. Villamediana’s audience with the king kept being postponed due to a number of unanticipated circumstances related to the plague so the ambassador and his train had to wander around the south of England until he was finally received in Winchester in October 1603. The journey of the Spanish ambassador is considered in this essay as a source of debate about the need and convenience of sizable retinues as part of embassies. It is moreover suggested that such a debate may have contributed to define King Lear’s retinue in Shakespeare’s tragedy. Après vingt ans sans représentation diplomatique en raison des hostilités prolongées de la guerre anglo-espagnole non déclarée (1585-1604), l'Espagne a fait le premier pas vers la paix en envoyant un ambassadeur, Don Juan de Tassis, Conde de Villamediana, pour féliciter le roi James pour son accession au trône d'Angleterre. Son arrivée à Douvres avec un entourage de cent cinquante hommes comme “sa maison” fit sensation selon Relacion muy verdadera del recebimiento y fiestas. L'audience de Villamediana avec le roi n'a cessé d'être reportée en raison d'un certain nombre de circonstances imprévues liées à la peste. L'ambassadeur et son train ont donc dû errer dans le sud de l'Angleterre jusqu'à ce qu'il soit finalement reçu à Winchester en octobre 1603. Le voyage de l'ambassadeur d'Espagne est considéré dans cet essai comme une source de débat sur la nécessité et la commodité de suites importantes dans le cadre des ambassades. Il est d'ailleurs suggéré qu'un tel débat ait pu contribuer à définir la suite du roi Lear dans la tragédie de Shakespeare.
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After twenty years without diplomatic representation due to the prolonged hostilities of the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604) Spain made the first move towards peace by sending an ambassador, Don Juan de Tassis, Conde de... more
After twenty years without diplomatic representation due to the prolonged hostilities of the
undeclared Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604) Spain made the first move towards peace by sending
an ambassador, Don Juan de Tassis, Conde de Villamediana, to congratulate King James on his
accession to the throne of England. His arrival in Dover with an entourage of one hundred and
fifty men as “his house” was a sensation according to Relacion muy verdadera del recebimiento y
fiestas. Villamediana’s audience with the king kept being postponed due to a number of
unanticipated circumstances related to the plague so the ambassador and his train had to wander
around the south of England until he was finally received in Winchester in October 1603. The
journey of the Spanish ambassador is considered in this essay as a source of debate about the
need and convenience of sizable retinues as part of embassies. It is moreover suggested that such
a debate may have contributed to define King Lear’s retinue in Shakespeare’s tragedy.
Après vingt ans sans représentation diplomatique en raison des hostilités prolongées de la guerre
anglo-espagnole non déclarée (1585-1604), l'Espagne a fait le premier pas vers la paix en
envoyant un ambassadeur, Don Juan de Tassis, Conde de Villamediana, pour féliciter le roi James
pour son accession au trône d'Angleterre. Son arrivée à Douvres avec un entourage de cent
cinquante hommes comme “sa maison” fit sensation selon Relacion muy verdadera del recebimiento
y fiestas. L'audience de Villamediana avec le roi n'a cessé d'être reportée en raison d'un certain
nombre de circonstances imprévues liées à la peste. L'ambassadeur et son train ont donc dû errer
dans le sud de l'Angleterre jusqu'à ce qu'il soit finalement reçu à Winchester en octobre 1603. Le
voyage de l'ambassadeur d'Espagne est considéré dans cet essai comme une source de débat sur
la nécessité et la commodité de suites importantes dans le cadre des ambassades. Il est d'ailleurs
suggéré qu'un tel débat ait pu contribuer à définir la suite du roi Lear dans la tragédie de
Shakespeare.
undeclared Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604) Spain made the first move towards peace by sending
an ambassador, Don Juan de Tassis, Conde de Villamediana, to congratulate King James on his
accession to the throne of England. His arrival in Dover with an entourage of one hundred and
fifty men as “his house” was a sensation according to Relacion muy verdadera del recebimiento y
fiestas. Villamediana’s audience with the king kept being postponed due to a number of
unanticipated circumstances related to the plague so the ambassador and his train had to wander
around the south of England until he was finally received in Winchester in October 1603. The
journey of the Spanish ambassador is considered in this essay as a source of debate about the
need and convenience of sizable retinues as part of embassies. It is moreover suggested that such
a debate may have contributed to define King Lear’s retinue in Shakespeare’s tragedy.
Après vingt ans sans représentation diplomatique en raison des hostilités prolongées de la guerre
anglo-espagnole non déclarée (1585-1604), l'Espagne a fait le premier pas vers la paix en
envoyant un ambassadeur, Don Juan de Tassis, Conde de Villamediana, pour féliciter le roi James
pour son accession au trône d'Angleterre. Son arrivée à Douvres avec un entourage de cent
cinquante hommes comme “sa maison” fit sensation selon Relacion muy verdadera del recebimiento
y fiestas. L'audience de Villamediana avec le roi n'a cessé d'être reportée en raison d'un certain
nombre de circonstances imprévues liées à la peste. L'ambassadeur et son train ont donc dû errer
dans le sud de l'Angleterre jusqu'à ce qu'il soit finalement reçu à Winchester en octobre 1603. Le
voyage de l'ambassadeur d'Espagne est considéré dans cet essai comme une source de débat sur
la nécessité et la commodité de suites importantes dans le cadre des ambassades. Il est d'ailleurs
suggéré qu'un tel débat ait pu contribuer à définir la suite du roi Lear dans la tragédie de
Shakespeare.
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Hand-held map of the entry into the city of Valladolid by the English Ambassador and his embassy to the court of Philip III of Spain in May 1605.
Research Interests:
For a short period, from 1601 to 1606, the city of Valladolid was the capital of Spain. Philip III decided to move his court from Madrid and reestablish it in a Castilian town that was scarcely prepared for such a commitment.... more
For a short period, from 1601 to 1606, the city of Valladolid was the capital of Spain. Philip III decided to move his court from Madrid and reestablish it in a Castilian town that was scarcely prepared for such a commitment. Nevertheless, both the city’s population and the newcomers applied themselves to transform its appearance, refurbishing old palaces, pulling down buildings and opening up avenues. The climax, however, occurred in 1605, when the birth of the king’s first male heir coincided with the arrival of an English embassy led by the Earl of Nottingham to ratify the peace between Spain and England that had been negotiated and signed in London the previous year. In the space of a month the city witnessed a succession of entries, pageants, processions, and parades as never before. The English ambassador and his entourage, comprising six hundred men, became both witnesses and performers in a spectacle, while the Spanish court made every possible effort to impress their guests with a splendour that would compensate for their loss of face in the peace negotiations. Philip instructed that a whole new wing be added to the Royal Palace for a hall that would be inaugurated with the ceremony of the peace and a masque in honour of the newborn prince. This chapter explores the complex intersection between international diplomatic ceremonial and early modern theatricality, focusing on the ways in which Valladolid performed the function of civic theatrical stage.
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Parmi les séminaires établis après la Réforme, le Collège de St-Alban de Valladolid a joué un rôle politique et religieux particulièrement significatif. Dès ses premières années, la couronne espagnole a démontré son soutien envers le... more
Parmi les séminaires établis après la Réforme, le Collège de St-Alban de Valladolid a joué un rôle politique et religieux particulièrement significatif. Dès ses premières années, la couronne espagnole a démontré son soutien envers le Collège des Anglais, et exprimé ses objectifs à travers une série de visites royales. Chaque visite était différente, mais elles ont en commun le fait que le collège a souligné ces occasions au moyen d’une commémoration riche du point de vue littéraire et imaginative. Des poèmes et des emblèmes étaient affichés sur les murs et récités par les séminaristes, et des récits ont par la suite été imprimés et ont circulé en anglais et en espagnol pour faire connaître publiquement ces célébrations et ainsi réaliser leurs buts politiques et religieux. Cet essai examine les premières années d'existence du Collège des Anglais de Valladolid, en situant son rôle dans le contexte politique, religieux et culturel, et en se concentrant sur les événements dont le co...
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Research Interests: Reception Studies, Book History, Early Modern England, Early Modern Europe, History of Reading and Writing, and 12 moreEarly Modern Literature, Imagology, Early Modern Catholicism, Religion and Cultural Exchange, Cultural Exchange, Recusant Studies, Irish Early Modern history, Early Modern News Culture, Early modern diplomacy, Irish in Europe, The Spanish Armada and Anglo-Irish Relations, and Early Modern Chronicles
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A manuscript in the Biblioteca Nacional de España contains a translation into Spanish of Philip Sidney’s The Defence of Poesy. This seventeenth-century document is possibly the first translation of Sidney’s treatise into any language as... more
A manuscript in the Biblioteca Nacional de España contains a translation into Spanish of Philip Sidney’s The Defence of Poesy. This seventeenth-century document is possibly the first translation of Sidney’s treatise into any language as well as a very rare example in this period of cultural transmission from England into Spain, which was at the time isolating itself from foreign influence, especially from protestant countries. The mere existence of this manuscript invites a number of questions about the transmission of literary texts in early modern Europe, the relationship of the Sidney family to the Spanish court, and the possible readings a treatise on poetics could receive. This article explores some of the enigmas that surround Deffensa de la Poesia, and examines the puzzling marginalia contained in its pages, a facet of the text ignored by the few previous scholars who have discussed it.
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In his Defence of Poesie, Sidney insists on poetry as a means of attaining "fruitful knowledge" and thus he underlines its profitable nature. This seems quite coherent with the spirit of his narrative production, but reading... more
In his Defence of Poesie, Sidney insists on poetry as a means of attaining "fruitful knowledge" and thus he underlines its profitable nature. This seems quite coherent with the spirit of his narrative production, but reading closely his sonnet sequence, Astrophil and Stella, the same conclusion is not so obvious. The poems are quite controversial as regards their moral benefit, and moreover the story-line that can be traced is one of loss and frustration To what extent can these sonnets be read as a profitable composition? The dialogue that can be established between the Defence and Astrophil and Stella will lead the argumentation put forward in this paper. On the SEDERI Conference at Huelva, we delivered a paper in which we analysed how Sidney's Defence of Poesie is pervaded by a vocabulary that makes of poetry a puritan value based on the ideas of profit, usefulness and action. Inspired by the suggestion of an attendant at that lecture, we have decided to pursue thi...
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Early Modern Spain had an outstanding scarcity of news reports concerning England given that they were sworn enemies during most of the period. The reason behind this apparent lack of information is complex and ranges from the poor... more
Early Modern Spain had an outstanding scarcity of news reports concerning England given that they were sworn enemies during most of the period. The reason behind this apparent lack of information is complex and ranges from the poor knowledge of the English tongue to Inquisitorial intervention banning books from outside Spain. I argue, however, that the knowledge, or lack of knowledge, about English affairs derived not so much from a lack of interest, but from a certain political convenience that suited both the Spanish authorities and the English exile community in order to promote an image of England as a primarily Catholic country subjected to a temporary Protestant rule that would necessarily end. To explore my argument I have chosen texts from three different genres representative of the different channels that delivered information and news in Early Modern Spain. Much has been written about the Black Legend and the construction of the Spanish Machiavel, but little about how the English were regarded by the Spaniards. The Black Legend that circulated in England about Spain’s evil practices and arrogant character was not publicized in Spain and was not challenged by a mirror negative image in response. Rather, we can identify a ‘White Legend’ of sorts, equally based on selected news and partial information but delivering an image with which the Spanish people could identify and empathise. The image of the English that transpires from the few pieces of information that circulated in Spain represented the common population as composed of primarily secret Catholics at heart who were either persecuted for their ideas or remained silently waiting for their country to return to the path of reconciliation with Rome, a situation that justified Spain’s interference with English affairs as a policy of liberation.
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For a short period, from 1601 to 1606, the city of Valladolid was the capital of Spain. Philip III decided to move his court from Madrid and reestablish it in a Castilian town that was scarcely prepared for such a commitment.... more
For a short period, from 1601 to 1606, the city of Valladolid was the capital of Spain. Philip III decided to move his court from Madrid and reestablish it in a Castilian town that was scarcely prepared for such a commitment. Nevertheless, both the city’s population and the newcomers applied themselves to transform its appearance, refurbishing old palaces, pulling down buildings and opening up avenues. The climax, however, occurred in 1605, when the birth of the king’s first male heir coincided with the arrival of an English embassy led by the Earl of Nottingham to ratify the peace between Spain and England that had been negotiated and signed in London the previous year.
In the space of a month the city witnessed a succession of entries, pageants, processions, and parades as never before. The English ambassador and his entourage, comprising six hundred men, became both witnesses and performers in a spectacle, while the Spanish court made every possible effort to impress their guests with a splendour that would compensate for their loss of face in the peace negotiations. Philip instructed that a whole new wing be added to the Royal Palace for a hall that would be inaugurated with the ceremony of the peace and a masque in honour of the newborn prince. This chapter explores the complex intersection between international diplomatic ceremonial and early modern theatricality, focusing on the ways in which Valladolid performed the function of civic theatrical stage.
In the space of a month the city witnessed a succession of entries, pageants, processions, and parades as never before. The English ambassador and his entourage, comprising six hundred men, became both witnesses and performers in a spectacle, while the Spanish court made every possible effort to impress their guests with a splendour that would compensate for their loss of face in the peace negotiations. Philip instructed that a whole new wing be added to the Royal Palace for a hall that would be inaugurated with the ceremony of the peace and a masque in honour of the newborn prince. This chapter explores the complex intersection between international diplomatic ceremonial and early modern theatricality, focusing on the ways in which Valladolid performed the function of civic theatrical stage.
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The ceremonial entry of James I into London in 1604 was scripted by Thomas Dekker (with a poem by Thomas Middleton), Ben Jonson, and Stephen Harrison: texts of the entertainment were published by Dekker, Jonson, and Harrison in 1604; in... more
The ceremonial entry of James I into London in 1604 was scripted by Thomas Dekker (with a poem by Thomas Middleton), Ben Jonson, and Stephen Harrison: texts of the entertainment were published by Dekker, Jonson, and Harrison in 1604; in addition, modern scholars have drawn upon three manuscripts detailing the order of the procession, and a putative eyewitness account by Gilbert Dugdale, also printed in 1604. Hitherto unknown until we found it in the Archivo General de Simancas is a further account compiled by the Spanish ambassador, who along with fellow ambassadors watched the procession from a vantage point in the Strand. We provide here a transcription in Spanish together with a fully-annotated translation, and situate the textual transmission to Philip III in the context of the peacemaking that would lead to the signing of the Treaty of London in August 1604 and its ratification the following year in Valladolid.
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Despite the popularity of Renaissance pattern poetry, this verse form was neglected in the English poetical tradition. I suggest that this lack of recognition may be explored by looking into its presentation as an oriental import, which... more
Despite the popularity of Renaissance pattern poetry, this verse form was neglected in the English poetical tradition. I suggest that this lack of recognition may be explored by looking into its presentation as an oriental import, which chose to ignore its relationship with classical Greek models. The inspiration for George Puttenham’s shift of attribution from the West to the East in his Arte of English Poesie can be explained by the early modern fascination with travel writing and by Puttenham’s knowledge of the work of a fellow literary theorist, Richard Willes, and his novel poetical compositions.
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In his Defence of Poesie, Sidney insists on poetry as a means of attaining "fruitful knowledge" and thus he underlines its profitable nature. This seems quite coherent with the spirit of his narrative production, but reading... more
In his Defence of Poesie, Sidney insists on poetry as a means of attaining "fruitful knowledge" and thus he underlines its profitable nature. This seems quite coherent with the spirit of his narrative production, but reading closely his sonnet sequence, Astrophil and Stella, the same conclusion is not so obvious. The poems are quite controversial as regards their moral benefit, and moreover the story-line that can be traced is one of loss and frustration To what extent can these sonnets be read as a profitable composition? The dialogue that can be established between the Defence and Astrophil and Stella will lead the argumentation put forward in this paper. On the SEDERI Conference at Huelva, we delivered a paper in which we analysed how Sidney's Defence of Poesie is pervaded by a vocabulary that makes of poetry a puritan value based on the ideas of profit, usefulness and action. Inspired by the suggestion of an attendant at that lecture, we have decided to pursue thi...
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The performance of Samuel Daniel's masque The Vision of the Twelve Goddesses at court on January 8, 1604 took place in the midst of the preliminary negotiations that would lead to the signing of the Anglo-Spanish peace at Somerset House... more
The performance of Samuel Daniel's masque The Vision of the Twelve Goddesses at court on January 8, 1604 took place in the midst of the preliminary negotiations that would lead to the signing of the Anglo-Spanish peace at Somerset House the following August. Philip III sent a special ambassador to England to congratulate James on his accession, and a series of tussles between Juan de Tassis and his French counterpart ensued. As a recently-discovered document in the Archivo General de Simancas reveals, Anna of Denmark intervened personally to insure that de Tassis, and not the Frenchman, attended the masque. This was a clear signal of James and Anna's peace aims, which de Tassis conveyed to the King of Spain; moreover, he enclosed in his dispatch a text of Daniel's masque which he clearly considered both political intelligence and of interest to the theater-loving Hapsburg monarch. The Simancas text of the Daniel masque is a new version, hitherto unknown, which adds to our knowledge of the circumstances in which the first Stuart masque was performed. Here we present a transcription and annotated translation of both de Tassis' letter and the text of the masque he had compiled for Philip III. (B. C.-E. and M. H.)
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A manuscript in the Biblioteca Nacional de España contains a translation into Spanish of Philip Sidney’s The Defence of Poesy. This seventeenth-century document is possibly the first translation of Sidney’s treatise into any language as... more
A manuscript in the Biblioteca Nacional de España contains a translation into Spanish of Philip Sidney’s The Defence of Poesy. This seventeenth-century document is possibly the first translation of Sidney’s treatise into any language as well as a very rare example in this period of cultural transmission from England into Spain, which was at the time isolating itself from foreign influence, especially from protestant countries. The mere existence of this manuscript invites a number of questions about the transmission of literary texts in early modern Europe, the relationship of the Sidney family to the Spanish court, and the possible readings a treatise on poetics could receive. This article explores some of the enigmas that surround Deffensa de la Poesia, and examines the puzzling marginalia contained in its pages, a facet of the text ignored by the few previous scholars who have discussed it.
Research Interests:
Parmi les séminaires établis après la Refórme, le College de St-Alban de Valladolid a joue un rôle politique et religieux particulièrement significatif. Dès ses premières années, la couronne espagnole a demontré son soutien envers le... more
Parmi les séminaires établis après la Refórme, le College de St-Alban de Valladolid a joue un rôle politique et religieux particulièrement significatif. Dès ses premières années, la couronne espagnole a demontré son soutien envers le Collège des Anglais, et exprimé ses objectifs à travers une série de visites royales. Chaque visite était différente, mais elles ont en commun le fait que le collège a souligné ces occasions au moyen d’une commemoration riche du point de vue litteraire et imaginative. Des poèmes et des emblèmes étaient affichés sur les murs et récités par les séminaristes, et des r’ecits ont par la suite été imprimés et ont circulé en anglais et en espagnol pour faire connaitre publiquement ces celebrations et ainsi réaliser leurs buts politiques et religieux. Cet essai examine les premières années d’existence du Collège des Anglais de Valladolid, en situant son ròle dans le contexte politique, religieux et culturel, et en se concentrant sur les événements dont le collège a été la scène, et qui ont été diffusés sous forme imprimée dans les toutes dernières années du XVI e siècle.
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Exile, Diplomacy and Texts offers an interdisciplinary narrative of religious, political, and diplomatic exchanges between early modern Iberia and the British Isles during a period uniquely marked by inconstant alliances and corresponding... more
Exile, Diplomacy and Texts offers an interdisciplinary narrative of religious, political, and diplomatic exchanges between early modern Iberia and the British Isles during a period uniquely marked by inconstant alliances and corresponding antagonisms. Such conditions notwithstanding, the essays in this volume challenge conventionally monolithic views of confrontation, providing – through fresh examination of exchanges of news, movements and interactions of people, transactions of books and texts – new evidence of trans-national and trans-cultural conversations between British and Irish communities in the Iberian Peninsula, and of Spanish and Portuguese ‘others’ travelling to Britain and Ireland.
Contributors: Berta Cano-Echevarría, Rui Carvalho Homem, Mark Hutchings, Thomas O’Connor, Susana Oliveira, Tamara Pérez-Fernández, Glyn Redworth, Marta Revilla-Rivas, and Ana Sáez-Hidalgo.
Contributors: Berta Cano-Echevarría, Rui Carvalho Homem, Mark Hutchings, Thomas O’Connor, Susana Oliveira, Tamara Pérez-Fernández, Glyn Redworth, Marta Revilla-Rivas, and Ana Sáez-Hidalgo.
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A pesar de su corta vida, la memoria de Philip Sidney ha pervivido durante varios siglos como la de una de las figuras más destacadas del Renacimiento inglés. Soldado, cortesano y hombre de letras, en su persona aunaba todos los... more
A pesar de su corta vida, la memoria de Philip Sidney ha pervivido durante varios siglos como la de una de las figuras más destacadas del Renacimiento inglés. Soldado, cortesano y hombre de letras, en su persona aunaba todos los requisitos del ideal del perfecto caballero renacentista. A raíz de la publicación de su biografía en 1652, tuvo lugar una especie de mitificación de su persona que le convirtió en modelo moral, político y religioso. La «Defensa de la poesía» de Sidney responde a la preocupación renacentista por el estatus de la literatura, su función estética, didáctica y social y su relación con otras producciones artísticas, así como con las diversas disciplinas del conocimiento. Su «Defensa» se circunscribe, además, en unas particulares condiciones políticas, culturales, religiosas y sociales que la dotan de forma y contenido. La guerra contra la poesía encuentra en Sidney al mejor y más dotado de sus defensores y la teoría literaria inglesa contará a partir de entonces con un texto clave en su historia.
