Christ as a Gambler in «Auto Sacramental del Juego del Hombre» by Luis Mejía de la Cerda

Abstract

This article contains a deep analysis of the sacramental play Auto Sa­cramental del Juego del Hombre written by Luis Mejía de la Cerda in 1625. The piece is composed taking a card game as the core topic and representing Christ as a player betting amongst the Death, Devil and World. One of the most remarkable characteristics is the absolute presence of the play in a devote text, because of the combination of such mundane and religious features. But it is necessary to say, that this way of leisure was very popular during the Golden Age period, where people of every social class were willing to enjoy.