The 1541 Crónica general and the Historical Theatre of Juan de la Cueva and Lope de Vega: An Epic Debt

This article attempts to cover new ground by examining in detail the influence of Florián de Ocampo's Crónica general of 1541 upon the historical theatre of Juan de la Cueva and Lope de Vega, specifically the plays based on Iberian epic legend. Critical discussion of Cueva's and Lope's sources has either tended to privilege the predominant employment of the romancero in the national theatre, or to allude in unsupported terms to the possible use of chronicle material, usually the work in question by Florián de Ocampo. This study seeks to address the validity of the former argument, and the need to develop and prove the latter. I challenge the traditional presumption that the romancero is the predominant source of, and influence upon, these plays by elucidating the scale and nature of Cueva's and Lope's borrowing from Ocampo. A representative selection of plays from each author is examined in order to ascertain their debt to the Crónica general in terms of plot, dramatic structure, and thematic reminiscence between chronicle and theatre. Similarities of narrative style are also treated through the exposition of direct verbal and syntactic borrowings from Ocampo. With the aim of establishing a more nuanced and balanced discussion of Cueva's and Lope's sources, I demonstrate that a considerable body of correspondence between chronicle and theatre suggests that Ocampo's Crónica general ought to occupy a more central position of influence. (GC)