MREMS ONLINE: Ridiculing the ‘Patient’ / Nobility & Diplomacy in the Hispanic Monarchy

Ridiculing the ‘Patient’ and Calling for Men of Honour: Quevedo’s Satirical Approach to Cuckolds in the Entremés de Diego Moreno
Juanjuan Guo (Queen Mary University London)

This presentation is focused on the figure of ‘patient cuckold’ (cornudo paciente) as represented in early modern Spanish visual culture and literature, with special attention to Quevedo’s two-part Entremés de Diego Moreno (c.1604-1614). I argue that the ‘patient cuckold’ in this work –Diego Moreno– is written from a satirical approach with three main elements: paradoxical encomia, self-portrayal, and contrast with a man of honour –Diego Verdugo. Representing, respectively, the external irony, internal parody and reform, these elements render the figure diminished, and constantly compare him with norms of manhood or models of husband that embody masculine power. Furthermore, I will explore whether this counter-exemplum of ‘proper men’ is intended to be a mere figure of fun, or the extent to which it can be read as indicative of personal or societal anxieties about male potency and female sexuality.  

Nobility and Diplomacy in the Hispanic Monarchy: the Embassies as a Way for Social Promotion
Álvaro Bueno Blanco (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)

Diplomacy was one of the main ways for social promotion in Modern Age Spain. However, despite the importance of these positions and the large historiographic production of nobility studies, few of them have examined the social profile of the ambassadors. On the contrary, only the political affairs of diplomacy have been widely studied. Therefore, there is a large, understudied field that needs further investigation: the social history of diplomacy. The present study will examine the characteristics of the Hispanic nobility who served in the embassy in France during the reign of Philip III and Philip IV. We will analyse the socio-economic profile of the ambassadors and how they got their positions: who were their families, their political role in the Hispanic Monarchy, the jobs they previously performed, who supported them in the Court, or how they get the king’s trust. After that, knowing the characteristics previously mentioned, this dissertation will seek to explain the rewards given to the diplomats and what those services meant to them and their parentage, attempting to address the question of why the embassies were so prestigious.

The event will run via Zoom. Details below:

https://ucl.zoom.us/j/93560787962
Meeting ID: 935 6078 7962