Si el caballo vos han muerto, y Blasón de los Mendozas (review)

In a concerted effort to bring forth more attention to the works of Spanish Golden Age dramatist Vélez de Guevara (1578-1644), William R. Manson and C. George Peale have edited and published rarely studied plays since 1997, including their latest, Si el caballo vos han muerto, y Blasón de los Mendozas, dated between 1625-1630, with introductions by Javier González and Valerie F. Endres. This ambitious project stems from the fact that, as in the case of many of his contemporaries, not only are there significant research gaps in the vast majority of Vélez de Guevara's extant plays (approximately seventy-five), but the number of modern editions of his works is limited. The authors continue their series by offering this particular edition because "los mejores dramas de Luis Vélez de Guevara son los que se basan en la historia nacional . . . y el más destacado de todos ellos es Si el caballo vos han muerto" (13).

Based on a popular romance published in Flores del Parnaso, Octava parte (Toledo, 1596), which pays homage to historical figures Don Pedro de González de Mendoza (1340-1385) and his son Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (1367-1404), Vélez de Guevara contextualizes the glossed events in characteristic "fabla antigua." The play dramatizes the relationship between Don Pedro, his son, and the king, culminating in Pedro's heroic actions in the Battle of Aljubarrota (1385), in which Pedro gave his horse to the king so that he could flee to safety, and, with no way to escape, Pedro falls in battle. Due in large part to this valiant and noble act, the Mendoza family continued on a path to greatness in power and wealth.

In conjunction with Vélez de Guevara's mastery of dramatic ambiance, dialogues, and recycling of legendary episodes well known to the public, Javier J. González maintains that the dramatist's ingenuity in his creation of a theatrical world that makes the action in the romance come to life not only sets this historical play apart from many others in the genre, but it is an excellent example of the fame, popularity, and direct influence that traditional romances had on the Comedia Nueva during the first decades of the seventeenth century, particularly with regard to action and themes. Si el caballo is unique in that "fue compuesta, y seguro representada, cuando estaba en auge el culteranismo que desterró por completo la recurrencia al romancero tradicional" (15).

Although Manson and Peale are the primary authors of the play's annotations (135-62), manuscript variants, versification analysis (31-39), and bibliographical information (41-47), González and Endres share a surprisingly thin introduction to the work (sixteen pages total). González's portion includes the following subheadings: "La historia tomada de un romance," "La dramatización de un romance," "La historicidad del drama," "El asunto del drama," "Tiempo de escritura," "Los Hurtado de Mendoza y el teatro" (13-21). This is followed by Endres's contribution focusing primarily on the source of the drama and Vélez's modifications to the romance (23-30). The introduction appears to be lacking in explanation of potentially compelling findings, among these, allusions to links between the author of the romance, identified as Hurtado de Guadalajara Fajardo (13), and Vélez de Guevara, since the reader is left unsure as to what exactly these connections are and/or their potential ramifications.

The modern transcription of the primary text in this edition is clear and easy to read, although the footnotes—even though detailing entries of up to five manuscript variants stemming from seventeenth- and eighteenth-century sources—far from being practical, become distracting and lack significant details to aid an in-depth comprehension or analysis of the play. One suggestion for future editions would be to...