In the face of a new war with France in October 1683, the monarchy grappled with a liquidity shortage due to a scarcity of currency. Resorting to medieval recruitment methods to mitigate financial strain, the strategy of enlisting men from Castilian cities with representation in Cortes emerged as a viable option. Despite resistance from the nobility and clergy, this study, based on previously unpublished sources, examines the service provided by these cities, the strategies and rewards employed for its achievement, and the ultimate outcomes. It highlights the collaboration between the elites of Castilian cities and the Crown during times of crisis. However, this article underscores the inherent challenges in military management stemming from a lack of foresight and resources from the Royal Treasury. This deficiency significantly impacted the effectiveness of the service, leading to adverse conditions. Consequently, it sheds light on the complexities of military administration in a context of economic constraints.
Juan Caramuel developed and applied in the Rítmica a set of literary ideas —exposed in some epistles prior to the doctrinal body of the work— in order to prepare the «lover of the muses» with some theoretical principles before receiving the doctrine on metrical art. This doctrine is full of all kinds of examples taken from texts written in various languages, predominantly Spanish, and scholia of a broad subject matter. The objective of this work is to analyze some of the judgments, opinions, explanations and comments that qualify and complete certain ideas exposed in the aforementioned epistles.
We study the bronze and porphyry collections of the 7th Marquis of Carpio. It was unknown that he was the owner of four of the fifteen bronze sculptures, nine of them by Antonio Susini based on models by Giambologna, which Cosimo II Medici gave to Prince Henry of Wales in 1612 and which were inherited by his brother, the future Charles I of England. The latter had a Cupid and a Saint George on horseback by Francesco Fanelli, which also passed to Carpio. Carpio commissioned in Rome four firedogs representing the continents, which were acquired by Charles II of Spain at auction. The monarch acquired porphyry tables and vases, some of which we identified in the Prado Museum and in drawings in the Carpio album in London.
This study is based on the comparison established by Vincenzo Giustiniani in 1628 between musical evolution and modes of dress to explain the aesthetic austerity from the reign of Philip II to that of Philip IV. An austerity related to the markedly religious character of the Spanish court, but also to its absence of the competitive display that had given other courts a more innovative character, as was the case with the Burgundian court in the 15th century or that of the Medicis in the 16th century. The great courts, such as the Spanish court, did not need this exhibition, as their consideration did not depend on it. For that reason, it slowly took on some of those elements of prestige, such as the Burgundian ceremonial that was introduced in 1548 or the Florentine opera that had its first trial in 1627 with La selva sin amor (The forest without love). This contribution attempts to explain the modernisation of musical taste at the Spanish court until the final years of Charles II's reign, when the last portraits of Claudio Coello show him in a dress more in keeping with European fashions.
This article delves into Doña Catalina Antonia de Aragón y Sandoval, Duchess of Segorbe, Cardona and Lerma (1635-1697) and her influence in the court of King Carlos II of Spain. One of the most powerful aristocrats of her time, Catalina later became the Duchess of Medinaceli upon her marriage to Don Juan Francisco de la Cerda Enríquez de Ribera. This study examines Doña Catalina’s biography within the power network in the court of Carlos II and shows the Duchess’s contemporary views through, among others, diplomatic relations, travel diaries and political satires against the Duke of Medinaceli’s Ministry. Moreover, the close political and cultural relations of the Cardona-Medinacelis with Italian diplomats in the Spanish court and in Italy are deeply highlighted.
