Essays on key aspects of cultural, religious, and intellectual life in early modern Spain.

The historical study of war in the Spain of Philip II forms the starting point for the articles in this volume. They approach this not so much from a military angle, but as a problem of organization, procurement and finance. In a sense, the articles represent an assessment of the effectiveness of the Spanish government and so, given the apparent precocity of government growth in 16th-century Spain, they can also be seen as a critical commentary on the operational capabilities of the early-modern absolutist state. Six of the essays here focus on the Spanish Armada, in terms of its political and military objectives, but demonstrating how these were conditioned by basic systems limitations, not least in the procurement of suitable cannon. In the final articles Dr Thompson turns to the impact of war and its financing on the social structure, bearing in particular on the definition of nobility (and its sale), and on local democracy, and making full use, here as elsewhere, of the relatively unexplored local sources. Two of the papers here appear for the first time in English, whilst a third has been newly prepared for this volume. L’étude historique de la guerre sous Philippe II, roi d’Espagne, est à la base des articles contenus dans le présent recueil. Ceci est abordé non tant sous l’angle militaire, mais comme un problème d’organisation, d’acquisition de matériel et de financement. En un certain sens, ces documents représentent une évaluation de l’efficacité du gouvernement espagnol et peuvent par conséquent, étant donnée l’apparente précocité de la croissance gouvernementale en Espagne au 16 siècle, être considérés comme un commentaire critique quant aux capacités opérationnelles de l’Etat absolu proto-moderne. Une demi douzaine des essais font l’examen de l’Armada espagnole, en terme d’objectifs politiques et militaires, tout en démontrant comment ces derniers étaient conditionnés par des contraintes structurales,

Translation is indispensible to transmissions of knowledge across time and place; to understanding how and what others think. There is a vast stock of theories about how to translate, deriving mainly from controversies about sacred and literary works. Yet there is little discussion of the distinctive issues involved in translating political and social thought. This volume breaks new ground by focusing on them. Thirteen scholars consider problems arising from the study of translation and the cultural transfer of texts. Especially novel is the application of these issues to two relatively new disciplines: translation studies, and the history of concepts (Begriffsgeschichte). This volume opens a discussion of what and how each of them can learn from, and contribute to, the others.

Beginning with the Black Death in 1348 and extending through to the demise of Habsburg rule in 1700, this second edition of Spanish Society, 1348–1700 has been expanded to provide a wide and compelling exploration of Spain’s transition from the Middle Ages to modernity. Each chapter builds on the first edition by offering new evidence of the changes in Spain’s social structure between the fourteenth and seventeenth century. Every part of society is examined, culminating in a final section that is entirely new to the second edition and presents the changing social practices of the period, particularly in response to the growing crises facing Spain as it moved into the seventeenth century. Also new to this edition is a consideration of the social meaning of culture, specifically the presence of Hermetic themes and of magical elements in Golden Age literature and Cervantes’ Don Quijote. Through the extensive use of case studies, historical examples and literary extracts, Spanish Society is an ideal way for students to gain direct access to this captivating period.

Signs of Power in Habsburg Spain and the New World explores the representation of political, economic, military, religious, and juridical power in texts and artifacts from early modern Spain and her American viceroyalties. In addition to analyzing the dynamics of power in written texts, chapters also examine pieces of material culture including coats of arms, coins, paintings and engravings. As the essays demonstrate, many of these objects work to transform the amorphous concept of power into a material reality with considerable symbolic dimensions subject to, and dependent on, interpretation. With its broad approach to the discourses of power, Signs of Power brings together studies of both canonical literary works as well as more obscure texts and objects. The position of the works studied with respect to the official center of power also varies. Whereas certain essays focus on the ways in which portrayals of power champion the aspirations of the Spanish Crown, other essays attend to voices of dissent that effectively call into question that authority.

In this book, historian María M. Portuondo takes us to sixteenth-century Spain, where she identifies a community of natural philosophers and biblical scholars. They shared what she calls the “Spanish Disquiet”—a preoccupation with the perceived shortcomings of prevailing natural philosophies and empirical approaches when it came to explaining the natural world. Foremost among them was Benito Arias Montano—Spain’s most prominent biblical scholar and exegete of the sixteenth century. He was also a widely read member of the European intellectual community, and his motivation to reform natural philosophy shows that the Spanish Disquiet was a local manifestation of greater concerns about Aristotelian natural philosophy that were overtaking Europe on the eve of the Scientific Revolution. His approach to the study of nature framed the natural world as unfolding from a series of events described in the Book of Genesis, ultimately resulting in a new metaphysics, cosmology, physics, and even a natural history of the world. By bringing Arias Montano’s intellectual and personal biography into conversation with broader themes that inform histories of science of the era, The Spanish Disquiet ensures an appreciation of the variety and richness of Arias Montano’s thought and his influence on early modern science.

Translation and multilingualism are an integral part of Iberian culture, having shaped its literary traditions and cultural production for centuries, contributing to the transmission of knowledge and texts, and to the formation of the religious, linguistic, and ethnic identities.

An unprecedented undertaking by academics reflecting an extraordinary vision of world history, this landmark multivolume encyclopedia focuses on specific themes of human development across cultures era by era, providing the most in-depth, expansive presentation available of the development of humanity from a global perspective. Well-known and widely respected historians worked together to create and guide the project in order to offer the most up-to-date visions available. A monumental undertaking. A stunning academic achievement. ABC-CLIO's World History Encyclopedia is the first comprehensive work to take a large-scale thematic look at the human species worldwide. Comprised of 21 volumes covering 9 eras, an introductory volume, and an index, it charts the extraordinary journey of humankind, revealing crucial connections among civilizations in different regions through the ages. Within each era, the encyclopedia highlights pivotal interactions and exchanges among cultures within eight broad thematic categories: population and environment, society and culture, migration and travel, politics and statecraft, economics and trade, conflict and cooperation, thought and religion, science and technology. Aligned to national history standards and packed with images, primary resources, current citations, and extensive teaching and learning support, the World History Encyclopedia gives students, educators, researchers, and interested general readers a means of navigating the broad sweep of history unlike any ever published.

This thematically organised text provides a compelling introduction and guide to the key problems and issues of this highly controversial century. Offering a genuinely comparative history, Thomas Munck adeptly balances Eastern and Southern Europe, Scandinavia, and the Ottoman Empire against the better-known history of France, the British Isles and Spain. Seventeenth-Century Europe - gives full prominence to the political context of the period, arguing that the Thirty Years War is vital to understanding the social and political developments of the early modern period - provides detailed coverage of the debates surrounding the 'general crisis', absolutism and the growth of the state, and the implications these had for townspeople, the peasantry and the poor - examines changes in economic orientation within Europe, as well as continuity and change in mental and cultural traditions at different social levels. Now fully revised, this second edition of a well-established and approachable synthesis features important new material on the Ottomans, Christian-Moslem contacts and on the role of women. The text has also been thoroughly updated to take account of recent research. This is a fully-revised edition of a well-established synthesis of the period from the Thirty Years War to the consolidation of absolute monarchy and the landowning society of the ancien régime. Thematically organised, the book covers all of Europe, from Britain and Scandinavia to Spain and Eastern Europe. Important new material has been added on the Ottomans, on Christian-Moslem contacts and on the role of women, and the text has been thoroughly updated to take account of recent research.

This book examines the cultural relations between the Spanish and Austrian Habsburg monarchies in the seventeenth century and explores the central role of transnational aristocratic networks in cultural transfer processes between Spain and Central Europe. It tells the story of Central European aristocrats who embraced new foreign fashions, commodities, and practices to demonstrate their wealth and superior social position, thereby contributing significantly to the emergence of a cosmopolitan aristocratic Baroque culture. It shows that a new type of aristocrat emerged during this period: the cultured and educated aristocratic connoisseur, who knew how to use cultural imports and practices for his own strategic ends. However, the book also shows that not everyone was equally enthusiastic about the growing cultural imports, but that the boundaries between acceptance and rejection were often fluid. Covering a wide range of topics that span from early modern luxury consumption and food culture to collecting painting and the emergence of early modern aristocratic libraries, the book will appeal to a broad academic audience, including social and cultural historians, art historians, and cultural anthropologists alike. With its transnational scope, the book will be relevant to scholars interested in exploring the cosmopolitan nature of the early modern aristocracy also beyond the Austrian Habsburg monarchy.