Library of Rassegna iberistica

Series | Library of Rassegna iberistica
Edited book | Serenísima palabra
Chapter | El arte del equívoco en Las damas del vellón de Quiñones de Benavente

El arte del equívoco en Las damas del vellón de Quiñones de Benavente

Abstract

Las damas del vellón (The Ladies of Money) is an interlude written by the master of the Spanish Golden Age minor theater Quiñones de Benavente, which parodies a ceremony of the chivalric Order of the Golden Fleece, based on the double meaning of the word vellón (copper coin and sheepskin). This witty play illustrates the recurrent financial crisis caused by the policy of war of the Spanish Empire and the splendor of its court, especially in 1627, with a devaluation of over fifty per cent of copper currency. Using an allegory, the performance denounces the loss of the moral values based on the symbology of the famous chain of the Golden Fleece. This study aims to show how the literary device of ambiguity permits both to amuse and to depict a kingdom whose prince and ministers are involved in robbery, as expressed by Juan de Mariana in El tratado de la moneda de vellón and Quevedo in El Chitón de la tarabillas.  


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: Dec. 23, 2015 | Accepted: June 27, 2016 | Language: it

Keywords Copper coin • Financial crisis • Slang • Robbery • Juan de Mariana • Parody • Quiñones de Benavente • Witticism • Ambiguity • Order of the Golden Fleece • Quevedo • Golden Age minor theater

Copyright © 2017 Josée Gallego Chin. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.14277/6969-163-8/RiB-5-43


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