Signs of Power in Habsburg Spain and the New World

Signs of Power in Habsburg Spain and the New World consists of ten chapters that examine the representation of political, economic, military and symbolic power both in Spain and the New World under the Habsburgs. In addition to analyzing the dynamics of power in written texts, chapters also examine pieces of material culture including coats of arms, coins, engravings and paintings by such artists as Titian and El Greco. Titian, Philip Ii, And Pagan Iconography / Anne J. Cruz -- Visual Eroticism, Poetic Voyeurism : Ekphrasis And The Complexities Of Patronage In Góngora's Fabula De Polifemo Y Galatea / Lucia Binotti -- Hercules And The Statue Garden : Sansón Carrasco's Ekphrastic And Imperial Contests In Don Quijote Ii.14 / Frederick A. De Armas -- The Legend Of Marus Curtius Romanus As A Sign Of Auctoritas In Early Modern Spain / Ignacio López Alemany -- Coins, Value And Trust : The Problematic Of Vellón In Seventeenth-century Spanish Culture / Elvira Vilches -- Tampering With Signs Of Power : Juan De Palafox, Historiography, And The Limits Of Heraldry / John Slater -- Antonio Pérez And The Power Of Treason / Ana María G. Laguna -- Iusgentiumand Just War : The Problem Of Representation In Inca Garcilaso's Royal Commentaries / José A. Cárdenas Bunsen -- The Politics Of Salvation In El Greco's Escorial Paintings And Cervantes's La Numancia / E.c. Graf -- Spain Succored By Religion : Titian And Lope De Vega's La Dragontea / Jason Mccloskey. Edited By Jason Mccloskey And Ignacio López Alemany. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 223-240) And Index. 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. Title Page List of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments Myths of Power Titian, Philip II, and Pagan Iconography Visual Eroticism, Poetic Voyeurism Hercules and the Statue Garden The Legend of Marcus Curtius Romanus as a Sign of auctoritas in Early Modern Spain Challenges for Power Coins, Value, and Trust Tampering with Signs of Power Antonio Pérez and the Idioms of Treason Ius gentium and Just War The Politics of Salvation in El Greco’s Escorial Paintings and Cervantes’s La Numancia Spain Succored by Religion Bibliography Index About the Contributors