Staging Favorites: Theatrical Representations of Political Favoritism in the Early Modern Courts of Spain, France, and England

129 Pages·2020·3.138 MB·English

by  Francisco Gomez Martos

Staging Favorites
Staging Favorites explores theatrical representations of royal favorites in
Spanish, French, and English dramatic production during the late sixteenth
and seventeenth centuries.
During this time, the courts of Spain, France, and England were dom-
inated by all-powerful ministers who enjoyed royal favor. The politics of
royal favoritism gave rise to a significant group of plays which constitutes
the subject of this book. While scholars have studied this group partially
and separately in national context, Staging Favorites approaches these “dra-
mas about favorites” from a wider European point of view, and p erforms
comparative analyses of a number of plays – including La paciencia en la
fortuna; Le Favori, ou la Coquette; and Sejanus His Fall – and adds new
detail and differentiation to the early modern perception and representation
of the royal favorite.
This book will appeal to scholars and students interested in early modern
literature, history of theater, and cultural history.
Francisco Gómez Martos holds a PhD in History from the Universidad
Carlos III de Madrid, Spain, and a PhD in Spanish Literature from the Johns
Hopkins University, USA. His main research interests are historiography
and early modern culture.
Routledge Studies in Renaissance and Early Modern
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Wistreich (Royal College of Music, UK)
14 Staging Favorites
Theatrical Representations of Political Favoritism in the Early
Modern Courts of Spain, France, and England
Francisco Gómez Martos
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.com/
Routledge-Studies-in-Renaissance-and-Early-Modern-Worlds-of-Knowledge/
book-series/ASHSER4043
Staging Favorites
Theatrical Representations of Political
Favoritism in the Early Modern Courts
of Spain, France, and England
Francisco Gómez Martos
First published 2021
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2021 Francisco Gómez Martos
The right of Francisco Gómez Martos to be identified as author
of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections
77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Gómez Martos, Francisco, author.
Title: Staging favorites : theatrical representations of political
favoritism in the early modern courts of Spain, France, and
England / Francisco Gómez Martos.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York : Routledge, 2021. |
Series: Routledge studies in Renaissance and early modern worlds
of knowledge | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020015749 (print) | LCCN 2020015750
(ebook) | ISBN 9780367538415 (hardback) | ISBN
9781003083481 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: European drama—17th century—History and
criticism. | Favorites, Royal, in literature. | Courts and courtiers
in literature. | Authors and patrons—Europe—History—
17th century. | Theater—Europe—History—17th century. |
Europe—Courts and courtiers—History—17th century.
Classification: LCC PN1831. G66 2021 (print) | LCC PN1831.
(ebook) | DDC 809.2/9352621—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020015749
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020015750
ISBN: 978-0-367-53841-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-08348-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
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Contents
Introduction 1
1 Dramas on favorites: history and theory 7
2 Favorites in Spanish drama 35
3 Favorites in French drama 58
4 Favorites in English drama 82
Conclusion 113
Index 119
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Introduction
In 1969 the sociologist Norbert Elias published a seminal work discussing
what he called the “court society.” He first questioned the conventional
perspectives of an industrial society that had overlooked the social and
historical significance of the etiquette and the symbolism surrounding the
absolute monarch and, by extension, the functioning of the royal court.
Elias then made clear that during the early modern age, the king was the
main source of power, and the court, the place where the royal household
with its countless dependents was located, was the primary destination
for people seeking favors, influence, and status. The ultimate goal of these
p eople living at court was therefore being as close as possible to the king
and enjoying the honor and favors that were associated with that position.
This court society, during the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries,
witnessed the emergence of court favorites, all-powerful ministers who en-
joyed royal favor in its greatest form. In the courts of Spain, France, and
England these royal favorites, at the apex of the pyramid of power, used their
privileged position to monopolize relations of patronage and lead extensive
networks of clients, ranging from the favorite’s most immediate subordi-
nate to the most miserable poet who hoped to obtain some sort of reward
by serving as an entertainer and propagandist for his patron. The rise of fa-
vorite ministers coincided with the exponential growth of urban population
in those cities hosting a court, such as Madrid, Paris, and London, and the
subsequent growth of the play-going public and the transformation of the
theater into an exceptional channel for cultural expression.1
Throughout this period, numerous playwrights composed dramas fea-
turing favorite ministers and commenting on political favoritism. Just as
there are multiple names for the figure of the royal favorite – among the
most frequently used are valido and privado in Spanish, favori in French,
and “favorite” and “private” in English–, scholars also employ various
terms to describe the plays dealing with the phenomenon of royal favor-
itism, which in Spanish is usually known as valimiento or privanza and
in French as ministériat. Those plays are generally known in Spanish as
dramas or comedias de privanza, and in French, the expression drames
des favoris has been used sporadically for the same purpose.2 In English,