"Virgen bella, nuestras paces os encargo": «Las paces de los Reyes y judía de Toledo» or the Political Bet on a Miraculous Image

• Main Author: Roser López Cruz
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona 2019-01-01
• Series: Anuario Lope de Vega: Texto, Literatura, Cultura
• Subjects: lope de vega; teatro; illescas; santuario de nuestra señora de la caridad; toledo; duque de lerma; felipe iii
• Online Access: https://revistes.uab.cat/anuariolopedevega/article/view/304

In the first decade of the 17th century —according to Morley and Bruerton’s cronology— Lope de Vega wrote Las paces de los Reyes y judía de Toledo. The key issues that scholars have addressed are mainly two: the dramatic structure of the play and its political meaning. Up until the recent studies of Abraham Madroñal, scholars have approached the latter through the metaphors of the love affair of King Alphonso and the beautiful Jewess. Madroñal has opened up a new line of research pointing out the relevance of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity of Illescas and its context. In this paper, I examine closely this context and the circumstances in which Lope might have composed this particular play, which leads to suggesting the actual year of composition. On the other hand, Illescas and the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity play an important role in the third act leading to a conclusion quite different from the well-known legend of King Alphonso and the Jewess. Therefore, I revisit the meanings of the play in the light of the previously mentioned context.