Memoria y Civilización (Dec 2017)

The Powerful Lord and His Double. Amis and Amiles in the Spanish Early Modern Theatre

  • Josefa Badía Herrera

DOI
https://doi.org/10.15581/001.20.71-91
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 20
pp. 71 – 91

Abstract

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The aim of this article is twofold. First, to analyze two Spanish theatrical versions of the legend of Amis and Amiles; for which purpose we will study La sutil maraña de los dos fieles y parescidos amigos Luis y Alejandro y los sucesos de Alejandro y cómo por su saber vino a ser rey de Egipto (BNE, mss. 15049) and Los pronósticos de Alejandre (BNE, mss. 16064), in order to explore their connection with the 21st chapter of the Seven Sages of Rome. The analysis of the texts’ metrical structure reveals that they were probably written during the last two decades of the 16th century. The second aim is to go deeper into Philip III's education and cultural background by analyzing the friendship between Luis and Alejandro, as well as the use and significances of the mythic theme of the double.

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