ABSTRACT
In the introduction are introduced printed news pamphlets (tabloids), precursors to contemporary newspapers that were considered artifacts of popular literature characteristically, known in Spain as pliegos sueltos [poéticos], pliegos [or literatura] de cordel, or relaciones de sucesos; in Germany as Bilderbogen; in France as canards or complaintes; and in England as broadsheets, broadsides, or chapbooks (Ruff 17). They represent a literary form that became popular after the advent of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440 to put literary artifacts into the hands of those who had little money and no access to libraries (Rodríguez-Moñino, Diccionario bibliográfico de pliegos poéticos 12). In this introduction, there is a description of their structure, their function, their readerships, their conservation, and their subject matter. With respect to the subgenre involving criminality and female criminality in particular, there is also a discussion of the punishments imposed for capital offenses and those imposed on female criminals, including the death penalty. Finally, there is a summary for each chapter.
