Poesía y poder en la la España postbarroca: Gabriel Álvarez de Toledo en la Casa de Montellano (1689-1714)

Abstract

Gabriel Álvarez de Toledo (1662-1714) was one of the most prominent Spanish intellectuals at the turn of the 18th Century. Although his position in the Spanish cultural field was mainly based on his reputation and writings as a Church historian, the occasional writing of poetry, constant during his entire life, played a crucial role in the development of his successful public career under the clientelistic protection of the powerful House of Montellano. This study proposes a new approach to Álvarez de Toledo’s body of poetry, both printed (in vita and posthumously, through Diego de Torres Villarroel’s 1744 edition of Álvarez de Toledo’s Obras póstumas poéticas) and unpublished. It aims to bring that poetry back to its original production-use contexts in order to contribute to a better understanding of both the author himself and the close ties between poetic and political practices characteristic of post-baroque Spain.

Keywords

• Álvarez de Toledo Gabriel
• amateur writer
• clientelism
• literary prestige
• post-Baroque Spanish poetry