Fame and Infamy of Duke of Braganza in the Spanish Golden Age Theatre

Abstract

«Portuguese matter» is a subject that inspired a large amount of plays of the Spanish Golden Age. This is especially the case in the period of the dual monarchy, in which the outstanding episodes in the history of Portugal and their main protagonists are dealt, in general, from a Castilian-centered perspective. This article specifically focuses on the events involving the dukes of Braganza. These events were of great importance not only for the history of Portugal but for the Austrian monarchy. They also served as the source of a number of comedies of the theatre in the Golden Age. Several of Lope de Vega’s plays are analyzed including El duque de Viseo, El más galán portugués, with the intention of contrasting them with the Granada playwright Cubillo de Aragón’s La tragedia del duque de Berganza. The analysis of the dramatizations evidences the different attitudes of both playwrights towards the house of Braganza. It also evidences the different assessment of Portuguese nobility in relation to the historical circumstances that they experienced during the reign of John II of Portugal. In the case of Lope de Vega, during the same time period as the dual monarchy, the plays are written in order to ennoble his image and, in the case of Cubillo, to validate his reputation as a traitor, following the uprise against the monarchy of Phillip IV, which lead to the secession of Portugal.