Luis R. Corteguera - Böcker

This is the first essay collection to examine the relation between text and gender in Spain from a broad geographical, social and cultural perspective covering more than 300 years. The contributors examine women and the construction of gender thematically, dealing with the areas of politics, law, religion, sexuality, literature and economics, and in a variety of social categories, from Christians and Moriscas, queens and merchants, peasants and visionaries, heretics and madwomen. The essays cover different regions in the Spanish monarchy, including Andalusia, Aragon, Castile, Catalonia, Valencia and Spanish America, from the fifteenth century through to the eighteenth century. Women, Texts and Authority in Early Modern Spain focuses on two central themes: gender relations in the shaping of family and community life, and women's authority in spheres of power. The representation of women in a variety of texts such as poetry, court cases, or even account books illustrate the multifaceted world in which women lived, constantly choosing and negotiating their identities. The appeal of this collection is not limited to scholars of Spanish history and literature; it is deliberately designed to address the issue of how gender relations were constructed in the formation of modern society, and therefore will be of interest to scholars of women's and gender history generally. Because of the emphasis on how this construction occurs in texts, the collection will also be attractive to scholars interested in literary studies and/or print culture.

On June 7, 1640, the viceroy of Catalonia was stabbed to death on a Barcelona beach. By Christmas, several more royal officials of the Spanish principality had been assassinated. In the wake of these and other violent acts committed by the "people"—a term used for artisans—the Catalans severed their allegiance to the Spanish monarchy and elected Louis XIII of France their new king. The first English-language book to explore the political beliefs and behavior of early modern craftsmen, Luis Corteguera's work offers a dramatically new account of the origins of the Catalan revolt, the longest rebellion in seventeenth-century Spain.Drawing on his extensive research in Barcelona's archives, Corteguera examines how the political actions, ideas, and language of Barcelona's craftsmen shaped the relations between the Spanish monarchy and Catalonia in the decades leading to the insurrection. Artisans made up over half of the population of Barcelona, the political center and largest city of Catalonia. The Mediterranean port had a long history of active popular politics. Artisans sat in the city council, formed the core of the principality's largest militia, and participated in protests and riots. Corteguera finds that the 1640 rebellion was not a social revolution of the poor but rather a political action by craftsmen seeking to defend what they perceived as the ancient liberties of their homeland. Although their behavior was more violent, the artisans were, the author asserts, motivated by the same assumptions, language, and symbols that inspired the elite of the principality.