Siglo de Oro - History Lab

File on the merits and services of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:04 +0000

File on the merits and services of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, containing the following documents: 1.- Memorial (apparently in Cervantes’ own handwriting) in which he sets out his merits and services performed in Italy, in the battle of Lepanto and elsewhere, on the occasion of requesting the granting of any of the four vacant posts he sets out: the accounting of the New Kingdom of Granada, the governorship of Soconusco, the accounting of the galleys of Cartagena de Indias, or the corregimiento of the city of La Paz (1590). Folios 1-2 2.- Certification given by the Duke of Sesa confirming the merits and services of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1578). Folio 3. 2.- Information at the request of Rodrigo de Cervantes, father of Miguel de Cervantes, made in Madrid before a court mayor to prove that he is his son, that he is noble, the services he contracted in Italy, that he was captive in Algiers and that because his father is poor he will not be able to ransom him (1578). Folios 4-13. 3.- Information made in Algiers before the Trinitarian Redemptor Father Fray Juan Gil and before the notary Pedro de Rivera, at the request of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, in which the services he has done and the great labours he suffered in his captivity are stated. All verified with the certification of the said redeeming father (1580). This information was made a few days after the rescue of Cervantes. Folios 14-52.

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Application for the licence and privilege to print Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:04 +0000

In the 17th century, in the face of the general situation of crisis, the field of literature experienced a brilliant period. Its main features can be defined as national exaltation, popular character and defence of traditions. Among the different disciplines, the theatre and the picaresque novel stood out. Cervantes, together with Lope de Vega, Quevedo, Calderón and Góngora were some of the main figures of the period.

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Letter of Lope de Vega Carpio

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:04 +0000

The post Letter of Lope de Vega Carpio first appeared on History Lab.

Proofs for the granting of the Title of Knight of the Order of Santiago to Pedro Calderón de la Barca and González de Henao

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:33:04 +0000

Evidence presented to the Council of Orders by Pedro Calderón de la Barca y González de Henao, a well-known author of the Spanish Golden Age, for the granting of the title of Knight of the Order of Santiago

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Plan of the order of battle of the armies at the Battle of Lepanto

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:32:58 +0000

The first of the Holy League’s objectives (1571) was to recruit a navy of galleys to confront the Turkish navy. In the end, 206 galleys and 6 galleys (large, heavily armed galleys) under the command of Juan de Austria, Luis de Requesens, Álvaro de Bazán, Gianandrea Doria, Agostino Barbarigo and Marcantonio Colonna were ordered. On 7 October 1571 they were confronted by just over 300 Turkish ships off the coast of Naupactos in the Gulf of Patras. The League’s superiority was due to its cannon (the Turks much preferred to sweep the decks with arrows) and the quality of the Spanish infantry on board. The battle was nothing more than a battle of infantry on ships: the League fought in three blocks: one along the coast, with Venetian galleys commanded by Agostino Barbarigo; one in the centre, commanded directly by John of Austria and Marcantonio Colonna; and one towards the open sea, under the command of Gianandrea Doria. The reserve was commanded by Álvaro de Bazán. In the central clash the Turkish admiralty ship, the Sultana, almost took the League’s admiral, the Royal, but the help of Marcantonio Colonna’s galleys reversed the situation and the Turkish admiralty was taken, annihilating all its crew, including Admiral Ali Paschá.By the end of the day the League had sunk 50 ships, taken about 140, taken 10,000 Turkish prisoners and freed the Turkish prisoners.despite the resounding victory (“the highest occasion that the past centuries have seen, the present nor the future centuries hope to see”, in the words of Miguel de Cervantes – who fought on the galley Marquesa – in the prologue to his Don Quixote) neither the League nor Spain nor Venice knew how to profit from it. Two years later the Turkish navy had completely recovered and Venice ceded Cyprus to the Ottoman Empire.

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The gentleman with his hand on his chest

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:31:59 +0000

Portrait of El Greco, by an anonymous nobleman. One of the emblems of Golden Age Spain. The knight must have been a member of the high nobility of Toledo, whose clothing, arms and gesture symbolise the virtues of the nobleman. He appears to be swearing an oath. He combines the elegance of the warrior with the elegance of the Spanish knight, dressed in black and defending the Catholic faith

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Comedy barn

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:26 +0000

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the corral de comedias was a model of public theatre permanently installed in the open air in the courtyards and interior corrals that separated the neighbourhood buildings of the large cities. These were the spaces where the plays of the Golden Age by authors such as Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina and Calderón de la Barca were performed. In these places, both the humble classes and the kings, nobles and prelates enjoyed theatre in its comedies format, who were able to attend and enjoy the three genres that comedies encompassed: tragedy, drama and comedy. The Corral de la Montería was a playhouse that began to be built in the Alcázar of Seville in 1625, commissioned by Philip IV, who wanted to be able to watch theatrical performances from a room of his own. The work was completed in 1626 and had an oval floor plan. Its walls were made of brick and wooden pillars, the seats and roofs were made of pine and it had iron balconies. The social and economic crisis of the second half of the 17th century prompted the city council, in 1679, to ask the Crown to prohibit theatrical performances in this place, as a gesture of Christian piety. After this, the corral was no longer used for theatrical purposes.

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17th century court gloves

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:19 +0000

Leather gloves with large silk cuffs trimmed with an embroidered appliqué in metallic threads and twisted threads with floral motifs. The cuffs are decorated with Spanish knitted lace with sequin appliqué. They belonged to Mary Chafin of Zeals but were previously owned by Colonel Troyte Bullock

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Silk Hump

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:19 +0000

Silk hampers with grey warp-flowing floats and zigzag and scroll decoration. Short to the waist, it is made from four panels: two at the front and two at the back. The front panels have a deep peak which is closed with 25 buttonholes corresponding to the buttons with a wooden core and lined with a small cord forming a taffeta weave. The doublet was a close-fitting garment, basically for men, which covered the trunk of the body, usually with skirts. It could be sleeveless, or have fixed or replacement sleeves. It was usually padded with bird feathers, cotton or layers of fabric and was worn with tights. It is a garment that forms part of some folk costumes in various countries and regions.

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The three musicians

ad_hlab_min — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 16:30:14 +0000

The work, executed by Diego de Velázquez during his early period, belongs to a genre of genre painting that Pacheco nevertheless described as “ridiculous figures with various ugly subjects to provoke laughter”. The men with musical instruments sing while the third, the youngest, who carries the vihuela under his arm with a glass of wine, calls attention to himself with a mocking smile, implying that the spirituous concoction is what inspires the musicians. The monkey, on his back, was a typical animal companion at the time. The setting for the musicians’ performance would indicate the presence of a table with a loaf of bread on a napkin, wine, cheese and a knife before them, which Velázquez uses to study the different textures with an intense, projected light that evokes the classical concepts of chiaroscuro. Special attention should be paid to the fact that paintings of this type were executed during the painter’s first period in his native city, which would tell us about the way Sevillian society functioned at the beginning of the 17th century.

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