ABSTRACT
Among the numerous art forms for which early modern Spain is justly renowned, drama became the most popular, as playwrights, producers, theater managers, and professional actors collaborated in the staging of thousands of plays. Creating a style specific to Spain, dramatists drew upon multiple sources of inspiration: mythology, legend, the country’s history, its mores, and poetic genres such as the romance. From the late sixteenth century through the early eighteenth century, the comedia flourished both in public playhouses and at court, as playwrights such as Lope de Vega, Calderón de la Barca, Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, Ana Caro, and Tirso de Molina to name only a few, crafted plays staged for both royals and commoners. Such vibrant cultural activity did not pass unnoticed beyond Spain’s borders, and the endless political and military hostilities among early modern European states would not impede the rich cross-pollination of diverse theatrical sources and practices. That these exchanges occurred so frequently and vibrantly was due in many instances to the extensive efforts of women rulers, actresses, and playwrights, who contributed signifi - cantly to the pan-Europeanization of early modern drama. Addressing the import ance of these interactions, the essays in this volume explore different manifestations of the often-overlooked influence of gender on theatrical crossings between Spain and other European nations.
