Literary Patronage

La crítica ha retratado tradicionalmente a Cervantes como un hombre con pocos amigos que además no vio cumplidas sus aspiraciones en la corte. Este libro traza por vez primera y con nueva documentación la historia del grupo de amigos escritores del autor del Quijote tras su regreso del cautiverio en Argel, en los años en que abandona la espada y toma la pluma. Se trata de la década de 1580, toda una “década prodigiosa” del Siglo de Oro: es el tiempo en que comienzan a escribir y a frecuentarse aquellos jóvenes como Góngora, Lope de Vega y el propio Cervantes, entre otros, que renovaron la poesía en torno al Romancero Nuevo y asistieron a los comienzos de la Comedia Nueva. La historia de dichas amistades y de la búsqueda de mecenazgo entre los poderosos deja entrever que dicho grupo compartía no solo afinidades estéticas y literarias, sino también cortesanas en el complejo campo político de finales del reinado de Felipe II. Desde la perspectiva interdisciplinar novedosa que combina los estudios literarios y la nueva historia política de la corte en España, estas páginas dan a conocer aspectos desconocidos de las trayectorias de fray Luis de León, el Conde de Salinas, Juan Rufo, Luis Gálvez de Montalvo, Pedro Fernández Navarrete, Juan Bautista de Vivar y Luis de Vargas. Estos escritores buscaron el mecenazgo del aristócrata italiano Ascanio Colonna, primero en España durante su etapa de estudios universitarios (1576-1586) y más tarde en Roma, ya nombrado cardenal. En tanto que formaron un grupo cohesionado en torno a Colonna, a quien Cervantes dedicó La Galatea (1585), componen el campo literario en el que se movió el alcalaíno a finales del siglo XVI. La investigación de archivo ha proporcionado un amplio corpus documental inédito, en el que destaca el rico epistolario del italiano con nobles españoles y con los escritores del círculo de amigos de Cervantes.

Mención en El País (Babelia, 25 de abril de 2015, p. 12):
http://cultura.elpais.com/cultura/2015/04/22/babelia/1429714206_990572.html

Reseñas:
- Atalanta, 3.2 (2015), pp. 90-94. Enlace: http://www.revistaatalanta.com/index.php/ARLB/article/view/56/51
- Arte nuevo 3 (2016): Enlace: http://doc.rero.ch/record/233043/files/Arte_Nuevo_3_2016.pdf
- Archivo de la frontera (diciembre de 2015): http://www.archivodelafrontera.com/bibliografia/patricia-marin-cepeda-cervantes-y-la-corte-de-felipe-ii-escritores-en-el-entorno-de-ascanio-colonna-1560-1608-notas-de-lectura/

Literary patronage was a widespread social practice in Ostrogothic Italy, as the works of Ennodius, Boethius, Cassiodorus and Arator show. Ennodius sought for a long time a dives patronus who could help him winning fame, while Boethius, thanks to Symmachus' support, quickly gained a reputation so great that Theoderic tried to bring him to his court. Cassiodorus is the clearest example of Ostrogothic royal patronage, while Arator reveals that also clergymen could be important patrons. These authors allow us to understand both the reasons why sixth century Italian writers sought a patron and the main features of senatorial, royal and ecclesiastical patronage. They indicate as well the importance of studia litterarum in late antique Italy and the strategies adopted by Ostrogothic kings in order to be accepted by the Roman population.

La recopilación de las dedicatorias de 249 libros que vieron la luz en las prensas sevillanas entre 1582 y 1621 1 conforma el punto de partida de un trabajo cuyo cotejo pone en entredicho el influjo clientelar de la corte en la cultura libresca de Sevilla durante el reinado de Felipe iii. 2 Analizando esta "figuración", 3 fijando por géneros las obras recopiladas y ponderando ciertos avatares históricos relacionados con patrones, clientes y temas, podemos además vislumbrar cómo la ciudad que más contribuía "a los gastos del Reino" (Domínguez Ortiz, Orto 69) se enfrentó a una institución como la corte de la que emanaba el poder político. La aparente disputa tendría su punto álgido a partir de 1615 con motivo de la comisión que Sevilla enviaría a Roma para promover ante el Vaticano el dogma de la Inmaculada Concepción. 4 Este suceso y la problemática que del mismo se derivó dan pie a establecer una serie de puntualizaciones sobre la realidad política de la época. Entre las mismas, se vislumbra la tensión existente entre dos formas de gobierno en la monarquía española: la consolidación del absolutismo cortesano y la pervivencia de una impronta federalista.

The goal of this paper is to highlight the relevance of the access of a woman, Queen Isabella I, to the Castilian throne in the education of the ladies in her court. Likewise, this idea will connect with the importance of Queen Catherine of Aragon’s educational level in her influence in the Tudor court. On the other hand, her great interest for works related to Humanism will have a direct influence on the education of her daughter and of Anne Boleyn’s daughter, Elizabeth. This is not a trivial matter because both women would become England’s first two reigning Queens. The praise of their magnificent education received by their contemporaries is thanks largely to the interest of Queen Catherine in continuing her own mother’s work.

El objetivo de esta comunicación será poner de manifiesto la relevancia que tuvo la llegada al trono castellano de una mujer, la reina Isabel I, en la educación de las damas de su corte. Asimismo, esta idea enlazará con la importancia del nivel educativo de la reina Catalina de Aragón en su influencia en la corte Tudor. Por otra parte, su gran interés por el estudio de obras relacionadas con el humanismo influirá directamente en la educación de su hija y de la hija de Ana Bolena, Isabel. Esta no es una cuestión baladí puesto que estas dos mujeres se convertirían en las dos primeras reinas de Inglaterra por derecho propio. Las alabanzas hacia su magnífica educación, recibidas por sus contemporáneos se deben, en gran parte, al interés de la reina Catalina por continuar con la labor de su madre.

El objetivo de esta comunicación será poner de manifiesto la relevancia que tuvo la llegada al trono de Isabel I de Castilla en la educación de las damasde su corte. Asimismo, esta idea enlazará con la importancia del nivel educativo de la reina Catalina de Aragón en su influencia en la corte Tudor.Por otra parte, su gran interés por el estudio de obras relacionadas con el humanismo influirá directamente en la educación de su hija y de la hija de Ana Bolena, Isabel I.

Uno de los episodios más misteriosos en la ya de por sí fascinante vida de Lope de Vega es la supuesta participación del poeta en la «Jornada de Inglaterra» de 1588, la famosa «Armada Invencible» de Felipe II. Concretamente, este lance ha dejado perplejos a los biógrafos del Fénix porque entraña serias contradicciones entre los datos que poseemos sobre la vida del autor -especialmente lo que afirman Lope y sus amigos-y los documentos históricos que se conservan al respecto. Es más, incluso limitándonos a las obras del propio Lope encontramos inconsistencias que nos hacen dudar de su viaje a Inglaterra, y que hacen de estos meses de la vida del escritor madrileño una auténtica pesadilla para sus biógrafos. Para arrojar alguna luz sobre este complejo asunto, nuestro trabajo repasará los datos que existen acerca de Lope y la Jornada de Inglaterra, añadiendo algunos que hasta ahora no han tenido en cuenta los estudiosos que se han ocupado del episodio. Además, utilizaremos esta información para examinar las referencias del propio Fénix a la Armada de una manera diferente a la que hasta ahora han favorecido los críticos. En lugar de tratar de dilucidar si Lope participó o no en la expedición a Inglaterra, analizaremos por qué aludió tan insistentemente al suceso, y por qué lo hizo de manera diversa en diferentes ocasiones a lo largo de su carrera.

This article aims to analyze the role of Bernardino López de Carvajal's (1456 Plasencia-1523 Rome) as a literary patron, namely his contributions to humanism in Rome and to Spanish letters, in the period that has been loosely identified as Spanish Rome. Carvajal held the dignities of orator continuus of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, titular cardinal of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and was even elected antipope with the name of  Martin VI in the conciliabulum of Pisa (1511) against Julius II. A cultivated man and a lover of poets, he belonged to the avant-garde of humanists devoted to create a body of Neolatin and Spanish Literature that would both foster the Spanish presence at Rome and leave a mark in the Spanish literary canon. He sponsored a considerable body of works that celebrated the deeds of the Catholic Kings and those of the Great Captain, Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba. He also commissioned literary translations, and was involved in the production of theatrical pieces, such as those of Baltasar Torres Naharro.

Paradoxically, literary patronage is often regarded either as a system in which rich patrons disinterestedly support talented writers, or as a system that forces writers to flatter their patrons. Both visions deny the fact that literary patronage is essentially a reciprocal, personal and asymmetrical relationship in which the wishes of both patron and writer are constantly negotiated. Moreover, humanist poets regarded this negotiation process itself worthy subjects to reflect on poetically, and in so doing they followed in the footsteps of ancient poets like Horace, Ovid and Martial. By focusing on selected poems dedicated to Leo X by contemporary humanists I will show how this realization helps us to better understand both his role as a patron and the content of the poetry.

The Poetics of Patronage. Poetry as Self-Advancement in Giannantonio Campano (Turnhout: Brepols, 2013) This study examines the system and poetics of literary patronage in the Renaissance by presenting a comprehensive analysis of the poetry of Giannantonio Campano. In this way, it addresses two themes largely overlooked by modern scholarship. Most studies of literary patronage focus on Antiquity, the Middle Ages, or on England during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. If Renaissance patronage is considered at all, the focus is almost exclusively on social and political networks or on the visual arts. In spite of this, literary patronage in fact forms a crucial context for our understanding of the work and careers of Renaissance writers like Campano. By analysing Campano’s poetry in relation to his various patronage relationships, this study also offers the first comprehensive introduction to his poetic oeuvre. His poems not only shed light on his own patronage relationships with important Renaissance princes such as Pope Pius II and Federico da Montefeltro, but also revive and appropriate the ancient literary patronage discourse found in the poetry of Horace, Ovid, Martial and other classical writers. This study not only focuses on the social function of Campano’s poetry, therefore, but also explores its distinct literary character.

Reviews:

"Beautifully produced, with a series of high-quality illustrations in both color and black and white, this is an important book both for what it reveals about Campano and for its discussion of patronage within Renaissance literary culture. Indeed, in its combination of philological rigor and methodological sophistication, this book stands as a model for what a monograph in Neo-Latin studies should look like in 2013."

Craig Kallendorf, in: Seventeenth-Century News, Vol. 71, 3-4, Fall-Winter 2013, p. 164-166

"This book is in any case a fine contribution, with much to offer historians and literary scholars of the period. Neo-Latinists in general – even if not experts on Italian humanism – will appreciate the wealth of close readings and useful edited texts of an author who has previously been hard to access."

Victoria Moul (King’s College London) in: International Journal of the Classical Tradition, Vol. 21, January 2014, p. 83-85

"Le livre de S. de Beer est particulièrement remarquable et il apporte un complément enrichissant aux études de l’humanisme du Quattrocento : on loue tout d’abord l’érudition de l’ouvrage, manifeste dans la restitution précise et détaillée de l’arrière-plan historique, ainsi que la finesse d’analyse appliquée aux pièces poétiques de Campano et mises en regard avec leurs antécédents antiques."

Hélène Casanova-Robin (Université Paris-Sorbonne) in: Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2014.06.07

"In her analyses, de Beer successfully combines historical, sociological, and literary approaches to open up productive thinking about literary patronage in late Quattrocento Italy."

Frances Muecke (The University of Sydney) in: Parergon, Volume 31, Number 1, 2014, pp. 198-200

"The book is a handsome volume, accompanied by forty-five illustrations and sixteen color plates. (...)Not simply a study of Campano, this book has as its focus the Renaissance literary-patronage system. (...) De Beer is an expert scholar who is equally adept at carrying out painstaking research and treating broad themes. She has made a significant contribution to the study of Renaissance humanism, literary criticism, Neo-Latin poetry, and the classical tradition."

Angela Fritsen (Episcopal School of Dallas) in: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 67, No. 3 (Fall 2014), pp. 1070-1071

Der bleibende Wert von "The Poetics of Patronage" wird nicht nur darin bestehen, mit Campano eine wichtige Figur des Quattrocento wieder in den Fokus einer wissenschaftlichen Besprechung gerückt zu haben; de Beer hat mit ihrem Buch auch Pionierarbeit für die Erforschung der Literaturpatronage in der Renaissance geleistet. Die Fallstudien werden durch ihren paradigmatischen Charakter lange ein Referenzpunkt für die weitere Studien auf diesem Gebiet bleiben.

Alexander Winkler (Freie Universität Berlin), in: Neulateinisches Jahrbuch 17 (2015), pp. 379-84

Le volume consiste en une biographie de Wenceslas de Bohême, duc de Luxembourg et de Brabant, du point de vue des relations « internationales » entre la France et le Saint Empire romain et du rôle joué par le duc dans les grands projets politiques européens de la seconde moitié du XIVe siècle.
Il se concentre en outre sur le mécénat littéraire du duc Wenceslas, notamment sur sa relation avec Jean Froissart, s’appuyant d’une part sur les Chroniques de ce dernier pour la narration des événements et établissant d’autre part un rapport direct entre la vie du duc et les œuvres littéraires qu’il commanda au poète, le roman Méliador et le « dit » de la Prison Amoureuse.
Le livre esquisse également un tableau de la cour de Luxembourg-Brabant, de son milieu culturel ainsi que de ses rapports possibles avec les cours princières des Pays-Bas et celles de l’empereur et du roi de France.

Due to its strong image representing the sultanate, the Mabeyn-ı Hümâyûn, that is, the private pen of the sultanate, received dozens of requests on very different subjects and themes almost every day. These demands, which include various wishes and demands of some statesmen, administrators and bureaucrats, private entrepreneurs, or subjects of all religions and nationalities who want to establish a dialogue with the palace, although they do not exceed one page, gradually increased from the 1840s to the abolition of the sultanate in the early 1920s. turned into historical collections. Among these documents are salary and job demands, brief summaries of daily events in different geographies of the country, appointment and promotion, dismissal records, tax system and many transactions related to finance. Again, developments such as the new year, Ramadan, Eid-al-Adha, culus ceremony, important military achievements, circumcision, wedding and oil lamps were also reflected in the Mabeyn-i Hümâyûn Head Inscription as verse and prose documents. Today, in the Ottoman Archives of the Presidency of State Archives, MB. The number of documents in the aforementioned collection, which consists of approximately 140,000 shirts and stored in 926 files classified as File Procedure Inventory under the Fund code, is approximately 140-160,000. The Mabeyn collection also has a different and special importance for the 19th century literature history research, as it contains verse texts with literary content presented to the palace. In this paper, some determinations and evaluations will be made based on the doctoral thesis that is being prepared by us on the usability of the Mabeyn-i Hümâyûn collection in literature history research.
Keywords: History of Literature, Ottoman Archives, Mabeyn-i Hümâyûn.

Recent studies of Tristram Shandy have deepened our understanding of Sterne's metafiction by looking beyond the scene of writing to the scenes of textual production and reproduction, distribution, and consumption. However, little attention has been paid to the relationship between Sterne’s work and an older literary economy, the economy of patronage. This essay challenges a critical commonplace by arguing that copyright laws initially disrupted the relationship between author and work by eroding the stabilizing influence of patronage. Copyright may have fused author and work into a ‘solid and fundamental unit,’ to use Mark Rose's phrase, but before copyright, patronage served a similar purpose, and as patronage began to age, copyright had not yet fully matured. Sterne’s interventions into the system of literary patronage, illustrated both by his writings and his navigation of the eighteenth-century literary scene, demonstrate a keen awareness of this gradual and uneven transformation, which created possibilities for new kinds of imaginative intimacy between authors and readers.