Part 10

“Such absurd encounters have no existence save in silly books of chivalry and in plays which in our time have been taken from them; but which in the time of Lope de Rueda, Gil Vicente and Alonzo de Cisneros, would not have been tolerated on the stage.” (Page 128).

Cervantes highly appreciated the genius of Lope de Rueda, who was a celebrated actor as well as a dramatic writer. He styles him _el gran Lope de Rueda, insigne varón, &c._ Some curious particulars respecting Lope de Rueda and the state of the Spanish stage in his time are related by Cervantes in the _Prólogo_ or Preface to his _Ocho comedias y ocho entremeses nunca representadas_,[82] from which the following extract is translated--

“A short time ago, when I was in company with some friends, our conversation turned on play-writing, acting, and other matters connected with dramatic representation. These subjects were so ably discussed and criticised that in my opinion it would have been difficult to meet with more clever remarks. One of the questions under consideration was to ascertain who first stripped Spanish comedy of its swaddling clothes, dressed it up, and arrayed it with ornament. I, who was the oldest person in the company, observed that I had a perfect recollection of having seen Lope de Rueda act, and that that extraordinary man was remarkable not only for his talent as a writer, but also for his power as an actor. He was a native of Seville, and was by trade a gold-beater, that is to say, his employment was making gold leaf for gilding. He was an admirable writer of pastoral poetry, and in that style of composition no one either before his time, or unto the present day, has surpassed him. When I knew him, I was a mere boy, and therefore I could form no well grounded judgment respecting the merit of his writing; yet in my present mature age, when I reflect on some of his verses which my memory retains, I think the opinion I have expressed is correct. Were it not for the fear of going beyond the limits of this preface, I would cite some of Lope de Rueda’s verses in support of my opinion.

“In the time of that celebrated man, all the apparatus of a theatrical manager could be packed up in a sack. It consisted of four shepherd’s dresses of white skin trimmed with gilt leather, four beards and wigs, and four shepherd’s staffs. The comedies were composed of dialogues (after the manner of eclogues), between two or three shepherds and a shepherdess. The entertainment was augmented, or rather spun out, by two or three interludes in which sometimes a negro, sometimes a _rufián_,[83] a fool, or a Biscayan were introduced. All these four characters, and many others, Lope de Rueda, acted in most excellent style, and with the utmost truth to nature. At that period there was no such thing as stage machinery; no combats between Moors and Christians either on foot or on horseback, no figures rising up from trap doors, and seeming as though they rose from the bowels of the earth; no descending clouds in which spirits and angels came down from Heaven. The stage was constructed of four benches ranged square-wise, and over them were laid a few planks, by which means the stage was raised about four spans above the ground. There were no scenes, but an old curtain was hung across the back part of the stage, and was drawn by two cords from one side to the other. A space behind the curtain served as a dressing-room for the actors. The musicians also stood there. They sang old romances, but without guitar accompaniment. Lope de Rueda died at Cordova, and out of respect for his excellent character and great talent he was buried in the cathedral of that city, between the two choirs.”

Further particulars of the life of Lope de Rueda may be found in Moratin’s _Orígenes del Teatro Español_, and in _El Teatro Español Anterior a Lope de Vega_, by Nicolás Böhl de Faber.

Of the life of Gil Vicente, the Hispano-Portuguese dramatist and comedian, who has not inaptly been styled the Portuguese Plautus, but little is known. No biographical accounts of him furnish any authentic record either of the date or the place of his birth. Some describe him to have been a native of Guimaräes, others assign Barcellos, and others Lisbon, as his birth-place. Don Adolfo de Castro, notices a fact which would appear to have escaped the observation of Gil Vicente’s biographers, both Spanish and Portuguese, viz.: that he himself mentions his birth-place in one of his Portuguese autos.[84] In that piece, one of the characters steps forward and delivers a sort of address commencing thus:--

Gil Vicente o autor Me fez seu embaixador.[85]

Then follows a description of the condition and calling of the author’s grandfather and parents, and Alemtejo is mentioned as the place of his nativity.

Bouterwek, who furnishes some particulars relating to the life of this celebrated man, says:--“There is reason to suppose that Gil Vicente was born within twenty years of the close of the fifteenth century. He first studied the law, but speedily relinquished it, and devoted himself wholly to the dramatic art. It is not recorded whether he was a regularly pensioned writer for the Court, but he was most indefatigable in furnishing the royal family and the public with entertainments suited to the taste of the age. He constantly resided at Court, where his poetic talents were held in permanent requisition for the celebration of spiritual as well as of temporal festivals, and no dramatic writer in Europe was more admired and esteemed than Gil Vicente. His early productions were performed with approbation at court in the reign of Emmanuel the Great, but his reputation rose higher in the reign of John III., and that monarch did not, in his youthful years, scruple to perform characters in the dramas of this favourite author. We are not informed whether Vicente was himself an actor, but he was the tutor of the most celebrated actress of his age, viz.: his daughter Paula.”[86]

Gil Vicente wrote the following epitaph on his wife, to whom he was most affectionately attached, and who was interred in the Franciscan monastery at Evora.

Aqui jaez a muy prudente Senhora Branca Becerra, Mulher de Gil Vicente, Feita terra.

Which may be thus literally construed:--

Here lies the most discreet, Senhora Branca Becerra, Wife of Gil Vicente, Turned to clay.

Gil Vicente died in the year 1577, at Evora, and his remains were interred beside those of his wife, in the Franciscan monastery. He wrote for his own tomb the following epitaph:--

O gran juizo esperando Jazo aqui nesta morada, Desta vida tao cauçado Descançando.

(The great Judgment-day awaiting Here, in this narrow dwelling-place, After life’s weary course, I am reposing.)

In an old collection of Gil Vicente’s works, this epitaph is given with the addition of the following lines:--

Preguntas-me quem fui eu? Atenta bem pera ti, Porque tal fui com’ a ti E tal has de ser com’ eu. E pois tudo a isto vem, O lector de meu conselho, Tomame por teu espelho:-- Olhame e olhate bem.

(Thou askest what I was, Attend, lend ear to me; That which thou art, I was, What I am, thou wilt be. Since all to this must come, Reader, then counselled be, As the mirror of thy doom, Look! and look well on me!)

Alonso de Cisneros, a native of Toledo, a famous actor of the sixteenth century, is less known by his proper name than by the appellation of _el Tamborillo_. He received this nickname because it was a part of his theatrical duty to beat a drum, which, according to the old Spanish custom, was sounded in the street, to announce that the performances were about to commence, and that the public might assemble in the theatre. It happened that this drum disturbed the siestas of Cardinal Espinosa, who was then officiating as President of Castile, and who stood high in the favour of Phillip II. The Cardinal, irritated by the annoyance, and determined to get rid of it, devised some unfounded pretext for ordering Cisneros to quit Madrid.

This circumstance came to the ears of the Infante Don Carlos, who used to be much diverted by the comedian’s humour and drollery; for at that time the Prince had withdrawn from the court circle, on account of the mortification he suffered from the favour shewn by his father to Rui Gómez de Silva and Cardinal Espinosa.

On hearing of the banishment of Cisneros, and its cause, Carlos resolved on revenge. He ordered the Captain of his Guard to beat four drums daily, from two till five in the afternoon, in front of the Cardinal’s residence. One day when the Prelate went to pay a visit to the palace, his unlucky star brought him face to face with the Prince, who seizing him by his rocket, and shaking him angrily, exclaimed, “How now, priest!--do you dare to face me, after having sent away Cisneros? By the life of my father, I have a great mind to kill you!” Espinosa would doubtless have been roughly handled, but that, luckily for him, Philip II. at that moment entered the apartment.

(R).

“Micer Oliver de la Marcha was then living, though in a very advanced old age. He wrote a book entitled, _El Caballero Determinado, &c._” (Page 135).

_El Caballero Determinado, traducido de lengua francesa en castellana, par Don Hernando de Acuña, y dirigido al emperador D. Carlos Quinto, Maximo, Rey de España nuestro Señor.--En Anvers, en casa de Juan Steelsio.--Año de MDLIII._[87]

“Cervantes,” observed Don Adolfo de Castro, “has committed an anachronism in that passage of the _Buscapié_, in which it is affirmed that Oliver de la Marcha was living at the period when Charles V. was challenged by the King of France. He appears to have confounded the author of the _Caballero Determinado_, who lived in the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, with the translator of the work, Hernando de Acuña, who was contemporary with the Emperor, Charles V. But similar errors are of frequent occurrence in the printed works of Cervantes, as well as in the manuscript of _El Buscapié_.”

(S).

“The whole history is in print as related by Juan Calvete de Estrella.” (Page 137.)

The following is the title of the work here alluded to--

_El felicissimo viage del muy alto y muy poderoso Príncipe don Felipe, hijo del Emperador don Carlos Quinto Maximo, desde España à sus tierras de la baja Alemaña, con la descripcion de todos los estados de Brabante y Flandes, escripto en quatro libros por Juan Calvete de Estrella. En Anvers en casa de Martín Nucio, 1552._

(The happy journey of the most high and powerful Prince Philip, son of the Emperor Charles V., from Spain to his territories in lower Germany;--together with a description of all the states of Brabant and Flanders. Written in four books, by Juan Calvete de Estrella. Published at Antwerp by Martín Nucio, 1552.)

(T).

“I know the book you speak of----. It contains nothing but truth, and that cannot be said of the writings of all historians, some of whom give currency to falsehood by narrating events which never took place.” (Page 137.)

To the above passage, Don Adolfo de Castro appends the subjoined note, which, though bearing no direct reference to anything mentioned in the _Buscapié_, is nevertheless sufficiently curious to claim a place here.

“It cannot be doubted that many unfounded statements, by dint of being frequently repeated, come to be regarded as authentic historical facts. An example of this kind which may be here adduced had its origin in the Marques de San Felipe’s _Comentarios de la guerra de España, e historia de Su Rey Felipe V. el animoso_.[88] In that work we find the following passage--‘On the 24th of August, 1702, the combined English and Austrian fleet appeared before Cádiz. The vessels formed a line along the coast; some anchoring in the sands, and others slowly plying to windward. The Prince of Armstad, with five hundred English, landed at Rota, and the Governor of that town, after surrendering the place without opposition, went over to the enemy. His treachery was rewarded by the title of Marques, conferred on him by the Emperor of Austria. As soon as the Spaniards regained possession of Rota, the Governor was arrested. He was condemned to death and hanged by order of the Marquis de Villadarias, Captain-General of Andalusia.’

“Such is the Marquis de San Felipe’s account of the taking of Rota, by the English; and it was repeated by Fray Nicolás de Jesús Belando in his history of the Spanish civil war of that period.

“Don Tomás de Yriarte, in his lessons on the History of Spain (_Lecciones instructivas de la Historia de España_) relates the event in the same manner as the two writers above-named, adding that the Governor _was hanged as a traitor, rather than as a coward_.

“Don Antonio Alcalá Galiano, in his recently published History of Spain conforms, in his account of the taking of Rota, with the statements of the writers just noticed.

“And, lastly, to speak of myself,” pursues Don Adolfo de Castro, “in the history of my native city Cádiz, which I published in the year 1845, I adopted the accounts of the writers who had preceded me, presuming them to be correct. But it appears that all have been led into error by the original misstatement of the Marquis de San Felipe. The following is the true account of the affair.

“The Governor and Military Commandant of Rota was Don Francisco Díaz Cano Carillo de los Ríos, who filled that post from the year 1690 to 1708, when he was appointed Corregidor and Commandant of the City of Arcos. The English did not land at Rota, but between Rota and the Cañuelos. So far from taking part with the enemy, the Governor of Rota was desirous of putting the city in a state of defence, for which object he applied for arms and ammunition to the City of Cádiz and to the Marquis de Villadarias, Governor of Andalusia. But the required assistance not being forthcoming, it was declared impossible to defend Rota, and the Marquis de Villadarias then ordered the Governor, with the few troops he had, to withdraw from the town and proceed to Sanlucar. This order he executed in a manner perfectly satisfactory, and after the enemy had left our shores he returned to Rota, where he discharged the functions of governor until the year 1708, when he was appointed corregidor of Arcos. Such are the real facts of the case, founded on documents of unquestionable authenticity, which have been collected by the Governor’s son, and published at Madrid in a volume entitled, _Díaz Cana Vindicado_. Of this publication two copies exist in Cádiz; the one belongs to Señor Don Joaquim Rubio, and the other is in my possession.”

(V).

“On the road he encountered more adventures than ever fell to the lot of that Monster of Fortune, Antonio Pérez” (Page 138).

Antonio Pérez, Secretary of King Philip II., fell into disgrace by engaging in an intrigue with one of the King’s mistresses, and after a series of misfortunes he was obliged to fly to France. He was the author of many able works, historical and political, several of which have never been published.

“That remarkable man,” says Don Adolfo de Castro, “who during his life was so luckless as a statesman, has been, since his death, no less unfortunate as an author, for those of his works which have been printed in foreign countries are full of errors. I have in my possession MS. copies of the following works of Antonio Pérez:”--

1. _Relaciones i cartas._ (“Narratives and Letters.”) This manuscript is in 434 folios, and was written some time in the beginning of the seventeenth century.

2. _Monstruosa vida del rey don Pedro de Costilla, llamado comunmente el Cruel._[89] No notice is taken of this history by the learned Nicolás Antonio, nor by any writer, Spanish or foreign, who has commented on the _Life of Antonio Pérez_.

3. _El conocimento de las naciones de Antonio Pérez, Secretario de estado que fué del Señor Rey D. Felipe II., discurso político fundado en materia y razón de estado y gobierno, al Rey N. S. D. Felipe III. de el estado que tenian sus reinos y señorios, y los de sus amigos y enemigos con algunas advertencias sobre el modo de proceder y gobernarse con los unos y con los otros._[90]

This work was written in the month of October, 1598, and Antonio Pérez addressed it to Philip III. in the hope of conciliating the favour of that monarch and obtaining permission to return to Spain. It is one of the ablest political essays of which the Spanish language can boast, and it is to be regretted that it has never been published.

4. _Máximas de Antonio Pérez, Secretario del Rey D. Felipe II. al Rey Enrique IV. de Francia._[91]

Neither Nicolás Antonio nor any other writer notices this work of the astute politician. In these state maxims, which were written in May, 1600, Pérez betrays the vexation he experienced on finding Philip II. disinclined to permit his return to Spain. In his _Conocimento de las naciones_, Pérez intimates to King Philip the designs of the King of France, and the best mode of defeating them, and in his maxims, addressed to Henry IV., he recommends to that monarch various enterprises hostile to the King of Spain.

5. _Breve compendio y elogio de la vida del Señor Rey D. Felipe II._[92] Nicolás Antonio and other writers state that Antonio Pérez was the author of this work. It is not an original production but a translation by that eminent man, and is extracted from a _History of Henry IV. of France_, written in the French language by Pedro Mateo.

(U).

“More malignant than Arcalaus.” (Page 139).

Proper names terminating in _us_, as _Arcalaus_, _Arcus_, and others, met with in books of chivalry are not in accordance with the true spirit of the Spanish language. In adopting Latin words having the terminations _us_ and _um_, the Spaniards have transferred them to their own language through the medium of the ablative or dative case; thus from _tetricus_ they derive _tétrico_, from _templum_, _templo_, &c. Don Adolfo de Castro observes that he recollects only one proper name in which the termination _us_ is retained, namely, _Nicodemus_; but the _us_ is changed to _os_ in the following names;--_Carlos_ for _Carolus_; _Marcos_ for _Marcus_; _Longinos_ for _Longinus_, and some others.

Not only in proper names do we find the terminations _us_ and _um_ converted into _o_, the same change is observable in compound words; thus _cumsecum_ is converted into _consigo_; _cumtecum_ into _contigo_, &c.

The Latin termination has been preserved in the word _vade-mecum_; and modern writers have attempted to introduce several other words of similar formation, such as _album_, _consideratum_, _ultimatum_, and _desideratum_, but these terminations are quite at variance with the genius of the Castilian language.

(W).

“A greater Heretic than Constantino.” (Page 139).

Cervantes here alludes to a Spanish Lutheran, named Constantino Ponce de la Fuente. This martyr to sincere religious faith is frequently mentioned by the old Spanish historians, and it may be presumed the few scattered notices of his life here collected cannot fail to interest the English reader.

In the beginning of the sixteenth century great alarm was created in Spain by the rapidly increasing number of Protestants. In all the principal cities of the kingdom the Jesuits zealously exerted themselves for the discovery of heretics as the Protestants were commonly termed. The crafty brotherhood hoped by this means to recommend themselves to the common people, and also to induce the clergy to regard them as the strongest phalanx on which the Romish Church could rely for upholding the Catholic religion. In Seville, the doctrines of Luther were secretly adopted by many individuals distinguished for their rank and intelligence, and he who laboured most actively and earnestly for their propagation was Dr. Constantino Ponce de la Fuente. This celebrated man was a native of the city of San Clemente de la Mancha, in the Bishoprick of Cuenca, and he studied in the University of Alcalá de Henares, with his friend Dr. Juan Gil de Egidio. After quitting the University, both took up their abode in Seville where they commenced propounding the doctrines of Luther, Calvin, and other reformers, but with such well concerted secrecy that so far from being suspected of heresy they were regarded as most orthodox and exemplary Catholics. The fame of Constantino’s learning and talents induced several prelates to invite him to reside in their respective dioceses. The Bishop of Cuenca, was desirous of appointing him magistral canon of his cathedral, and he wrote several letters urging him to accept a dignity for which he was so well fitted. But Constantino declined the proffered honour founding his refusal on reasons more or less plausible; the real one however being that his partiality for Lutheran doctrines made him reluctant. Shortly after this, the Emperor Charles V., appointed Constantino his Chaplain of Honour, the duties of which post compelled him to proceed to the Netherlands, where he resided for a considerable time.

Immediately after his return to Spain he was elected Magistral Canon of the Cathedral of Seville where he commenced preaching. His orations, in which Lutheran principles were artfully veiled, and ingeniously interwoven with Catholic doctrines, drew crowds of listeners to the Cathedral. About this time, the Jesuit Father Francisco de Borja, happening to be in Seville, he went to the Cathedral to hear from the lips of Constantino one of those eloquent sermons, the fame of which was resounding throughout Spain. The Padre was startled on hearing certain propositions, which in his opinion, were anything but orthodox, and turning to some persons near him, he repeated the line: _Aut aliquis latet error, equo ne credite Teucri_.

Alarmed at Constantino’s popularity Borja recommended Father Juan Suárez (then Rector in Salamanca), to repair to Seville without delay, and there to establish a House of the Brotherhood of Jesus, for the purpose of checking as far as possible the progress of Lutheran opinions. Borja and other learned Jesuits urged the Dominican Friars to attend in the Cathedral whenever Constantino preached for the purpose of noting any observations of heretical tendency in his sermons, and reporting thereon to the Inquisition. Fully aware that he was an object of suspicion, Constantino felt the necessity of holding himself on his guard. On one occasion whilst descanting in the pulpit on some disputed point of belief, he began to fear that he was too freely unveiling his opinions, and suddenly checking himself in the midst of his discourse he said: _Me robaban la voz aquellas capillas_. As he uttered these words he pointed to the vaulted roofs of the lateral Chapels pretending to the Catholic portion of the congregation that an echo or some other cause prevented him from rendering himself audible, but in reality alluding to the Dominican monks, whose presence he wished his friends to understand, obliged him to be cautious and reserved.[93]