Spain unified in 1469 through the marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, laying the foundations for its conquests and Golden Age. In the 1500s, Spain began extracting gold from the New World, established the Spanish Inquisition, and defeated the Ottoman navy at Lepanto. The Spanish Golden Age of theater then began in the late 1500s, sparked by playwrights like Lope de Vega and Cervantes, before declining in the 1600s due to wars and the death of key figures like Cervantes and Calderon de la Barca.

2. Spain’s Conquest
 1492 Spain reclaims it’s territory, Grenada, from the Muslims
 Spain was unified in 1469 through the marriage of Ferdinand II of Aragon
and Isabella I of Castile.
 Spanish Inquisition begins, influences playwrights subject matter
 1510 Spain begins massive extraction of gold from New World
 1515 The ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church forbids the
printing of any book without the Church’s permission
 1561 King Philip, frustrated by Queen Elizabeth, moves the court to Madrid,
creating a dynamic and powerful capital in the center of the country.
 1571 At the battle of Lepanto, a league of Christian countries destroys the
Ottoman naval fleet, freeing the Mediterranean for Spanish and Italian
trade.

3. The Golden Age Begins
 1547 Miguel de Cervantes is born
 1562 Lope de Vega is born in Madrid. He will be the spark that begins the
Spanish Golden Age of theatre writing more than 1,000 plays
 1571 The Christian fleet destroys the Ottoman Navy opining up the
Mediterranean
 1574 Lope de Vega writes his first play at the age of 12!
 The Corral de la Cruz, built in 1579, was Madrid’s first permanent theater.
 1600 Pedro Calderón de la Barca is born in Madrid. He too will become an
influential playwright
 1605 Cervantes publishes part one of his masterpiece Don Quixote
 1613 Lope de Vega writes The Dog in the Manger, one of his best plays.

4. The Golden Years in
Decline
 1616 Cervantes dies
 1618 The Thirty Years’ War begins, Marking the decline of Spain
 1621 King Philip III dies, making his son King Philip IV
 1635 Lope de Vega dies
 1640 Coloseo is built
 1648 Thirty Years war ends
 1665 King Philip IV dies, making his son King Charles II Spanish Empire
begins to collapse.
 1681 Pedro Calderón de la Barca dies. His death is considered the end of
the Spanish Golden Age.
 1700 King Charles II dies setting off the War of the Spanish Succession.

5. Religious Drama
 Autos Sacramentales: uses human and supernatural
qualities, in a usualy allegorical drama
 2-4 Carros, Wagons, were used to celebrate Corpus
Christi
 They were produced by the trade guilds
 Often with professional, touring groups performing or
religious clergy

6. Public Theatre
 Corrales
 Professional theatre produced in major cities
 Corral de la Cruz Built moved court yard
performances into a permanent theatre
 Often a raucous crowd
 State controlled by 1615

7. Autores
 1603 only licensed actors could perform
 Actors after 1615 were hired by the state
 Women, if you remember, were allowed to perform,
but after 1599 women must be married to continue
 Actors who made it into the court were heavily
praised and rewarded for their hard work
 Unemployed actors joined companias de la legua
(companies of the road) and went around the
country side

8. Theatre in the Court
 Phillip the second brought about the practice in 1600
 Colliseo is built by Lotti
 1590’s comedia nueva was the new fad
 Genre’s include: cape and sword, romance and intrigue,
comedies of manners
 Lope de Vega and Tirso de Molina are two most famous
writers in this style
 Calderon de la Barca brings Corrales and opera style
grandeur
 Wrote all auto’s for Madrid

9. The times…
 Lavish Kings rich off south American gold brought a
need for artists
 Galileo, the New world, a unified country
 The Inquisition is finally easing up as the entire
country converts to Catholicism
 And Lope De Vega returns from battle…
 All the makings for the Golden Age of Spain.

10. Sources
 http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nadrama
/content/review/shorthistory/antiquity-
18c/spanish.aspx
 http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/plays/articles.as
px?&id=707
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Golden_Age
 http://tiltingatwindmillsblog.wordpress.com/2007/04
/30/historical-timeline-spain-1510-1616/