«Loa de la comedia de Montjuïc»: an armed dialogue between Catalonia and Castile

Abstract

Abstract: This article examines a brief dramatic prelude found after La comedia del marqués de los Vélez (1641) in the archives of the Barcelona History Museum. Due to its location and style, it seems likely that the same author wrote both the introduction in verse and the play, with the intention that the Loa de la comedia de Montjuïc be performed or read before La comedia del marqués de los Vélez. In this brief dramatic prelude, the anonymous author from Barcelona encourages Catalan citizens to arm themselves for war against Castilian troops, but he composes it in the Spanish language. Moreover, the anonymous author chooses the theatre —and not the propaganda pamphlet— to present his ideological views. Thus, the Loa de la comedia de Montjuïc becomes the only Catalan short theatrical propaganda piece written in Spanish about the Reapers’ War.

Key words: Baroque Period, Theatre, Pamphlets, Propaganda, The Catalan Revolt.