by Lope de Vega
A basilisk: the basilisk was a fabled, serpent-like creature which lived in the African desert and whose gaze was considered fatal. The effect of Alonso's eyes upon Inés is, therefore, fatal in the sense that she immediately falls in love with him.
87 Worship: in the double sense, of course, of worshipping in church and worshipping Inés. The mixture of religion and eroticism frequently goes hand in hand in Spanish culture.
It shall ennoble: in the same way that the cross worn on the breast of the master or commander of one of the religious-military orders gave him a special distinction.
88 killing him: Golden Age literature is full of attacks on doctors who kill their patients. In Francisco de Quevedo Los sueños (Dreams), published in 1627, doctors are condemned to hell for their crimes.
mother: the word was often used when addressing older and respected women.
a girl: in Rojas La Celestina the procuress similarly tempts the servants Pármeno and Sempronio with the promise of two of her girls.
89 Determined by the stars: the discussion between Inés and Leonor about the extent to which one's falling in love is determined by the stars is, to an extent, part of the Golden Age debate between free will and predestination.
Fabiana: the form of the name with a suffix was, until fairly recently, preferred in Castilian to the shorter form. Other examples are Juliana and Emiliana.
90 the Phoenix of Medina: in comparing the mother of Inés and Leonor with the mythical bird which was reborn from its own ashes, Fabia presumably means that she remains alive in the beauty of her daughters, or indeed in the memory of those who knew her.
Saint Catalina: this refers to the virgin and martyr, Saint Catalina of Alexandria. The phrase used by Fabia was applied to anyone who was pure and good.
93 camphor and mercury: camphor was used in ointments and mercury was
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an important ingredient in facial make-up.
common sickness: menstruation.
to help her: to apply to the girl some remedy which will give her husband, on their wedding night, the impression that she is still a virgin.
94 satanic flames: a suggestion that Fabia, as well as being a go-between, is associated with witchcraft. At the time Lope wrote the play there was a considerable preoccupation in Spain with witches. In Madrid one of the most notorious was a woman known as La Margaritona, who would then have been in her fifties. At the age of 88, in 1656, she was arrested, exhibited publicly, and sentenced to death. As well as being a witch she was a renowned procuress.
To suffer: to a certain extent Don Rodrigo is the typical unrequited lover and Inés the disdainful lady so common in the literature of the time, though the traditional unhappy lover did not usually murder his rival. More often than not, he died himself of a broken heart.
96 the agent of my death: because he loves Inés, she is the source of his life, but because she does not love him, he has no life and she is thus the agent of his death. The life-death contrast within the context of love had been a central concept in the poetry of Petrarch and was much imitated and elaborated in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Later in Lope's play it is an important element in Alonso's speeches.
97 At Medina's fair: in the original this poem is in the form of a sonnet: two stanzas of four lines each, followed by two stanzas of three lines each, and a rhyming pattern throughout. In the translation I have not attempted to follow the form, but the sense is the same.
slender pillar: a traditional image for the leg of a beautiful young woman, again part of the poetic language of love.
lovely eyes?: the last line of the sonnet contains a sudden twist or surprise, much loved and sought after by those seventeenth-century Spanish poets who delighted in the play of words and ideas.
98 When Nature rules: see note to p. 89 above. Inés may, of course, be speaking flippantly, but for the audience of the play her words suggest that not only are she and Alonso destined for each other, but that their destiny is also ruled by forces beyond their control.
99 A pulpit of your back?: a reference to the way in which the sacristan beats the pulpit or lectern when leading the congregation in prayer.
100 Eager to know: in his plays Lope de Vega used prose only for letters or messages of this kind. night-watchman's duties: the job of the sereno was to walk the streets of a particular area at night in order to safeguard properties and raise the alarm in case of fires.
101 a tooth: traditionally witches used for their spells the teeth of criminals who had been hanged. See, for example, the etching 'A caza de dientes' ('Tooth Hunting') from Goya's series of prints, Los Caprichos ( 1797-8).
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105 give more light: the exterior of Inés's house would not, of course, be suggested by any set, nor would there be windows giving more light. Indeed, the performance of the play would have taken place in broad daylight. As Alonso and Tello exit here and are replaced on stage by Inés and Leonor, the setting of the action immediately changes from outside to inside the house and from night to the following morning. The lines spoken by Inés contain all the information required by an audience which was accustomed to using its imagination.
bright April's flowers: the comparison of the ground covered with flowers to a beautiful carpet trodden by lovely feet was common enough in the poetry of the time. Frequently, contact with a lady's lovely feet ensured that the flowers flourished in greater abundance.
106 I come on his behalf: in matters of courtship and marriage, it was the custom for an intermediary to act on behalf of the suitor. The fact that the custom persisted well into the twentieth century is suggested in Lorca The House of Bernarda Alba (La casa de Bernarda Alba), written in 1936, when, in relation to the forthcoming marriage of Bernarda Alba's eldest daughter Angustias, it is said that: 'They'll be coming to make a formal request in the next three days.'
107 Inés: the conversation between Inés and Leonor clearly takes the form of an aside, though asides are rarely indicated in the text.
108 My father's reputation: if it became known publicly that Inés were meeting Alonso secretly when Rodrigo is, as it were, her official suitor, this would doubtless become a topic of common gossip and therefore a slur upon the good name of Don Pedro. Secret affairs were much frowned upon for this reason. Inés is well aware of the danger involved in a secret relationship, but ignores the dictate of common sense.
FABIA: this is another aside. On the question of spells, Fabia evidently believes that they work for her.
109 Cupid's bow: Inés's arched eyebrows call to mind the shape of a bow, while the brilliance of her gaze has the effect of Cupid's arrow, fatally wounding its victim with love. ducats: the ducat was the most valuable gold coin of the time. The fact that Don Alonso will inherit ten thousand points to his considerable potential wealth.
The royal wedding: the King, Juan II of Castile, married Doña María of Aragon at Medina del Campo in 1418.
Hector: in Homer Iliad, the Trojan hero of the siege of Troy, son of Priam and Hecuba.
Achilles: the Greek hero of Homer Iliad, son of Peleus and Thetis, slayer of Hector.
Adonis: the young man adored by Aphrodite, or Venus, for his good looks. When he was killed by a wild boar, such was the grief of Venus that the gods allowed him to return to earth for six months each year.
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Despite the fact that Fabia suggests that Alonso's fate may be different, the allusions to the three Classical heroes would have been for an audience of Lope's time a pointer to his death.
the jewel of | Medina, the flower of Olmedo!: Fabia's words here are those 110
of the ominous song sung in Act Three by the peasant prior to Alonso's death. Indeed, after the peasant has sung the song and is questioned about it by Alonso, he observes that it was told to him 'By one called Fabia' (3.501).
Act Two
discretion: in the sense of prudence. Tello's fears reflect what would have 111
been the opinion of most: that Alonso is put
ting at risk his own and Inés's good name.
three-day fever!: this refers to a high temperature which, accompanying a fever, appeared every three days. Alonso has known Inés for three days and by the third day, Tello suggests, his passion for her has the character of a burning fever.
salamander: a lizard-like creature which, according to legend, was capable of living in fire. Thus, if Alonso were near Inés, whose passion consumes him, he would be like the salamander.
Leander: in Classical legend Leander swam the Hellespont every night from Abydos to Sestos in order to be with his lover Hero, a priestess of Aphrodite. When he was drowned, Hero threw herself into the sea. Lope seems to have written a play, Hero y Leandro, which was subsequently lost.
upon its dunghill: a well-known Spanish proverb. 112
Harlequin: the figure of Harlequin, pulling grotesque faces, is often seen in old prints climbing a ladder to one side of the tightrope on which an acrobat is performing.
wet: Tello has wet himself from sheer terror. The comic character or 113
gracioso of Golden Age plays was more often than not portrayed as a coward, concerned only with his own safety and well-being.
Her slave: in many ways Alonso is reminiscent of the traditional courtly lover whose life was totally dedicated to the lady he worshipped.
Melibea: through the words of Tello, Lope deliberately invites a com- 114
parison between the plot of his play and Fernando de Rojas La Celestina, in which Calisto becomes obsessed with Melibea and their meetings are arranged by Celestina, with the assistance of a servant, Sempronio. The comparison reveals Lope's admiration for the earlier work, as well as his confidence in his own ability as a writer, but it also suggests that Alonso's fate will be as tragic as Calisto's. See the Introduction.
why complain?: the story was a common one, often repeated, and can be 115
traced back to Cicero, Tusculan Disputations, v. xxxviii. 112, where the remark is attributed to the Stoic philosopher Antipater.
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A moth!: Inés corrects herself because the moth, seeking a light or flame, 115
is consumed by it, but the Phoenix was not. See note to p. 90.
The coral: her lips are here compared to a pink rose.
radishes: it appears that radishes from Olmedo were famous for their quality. 116
I'm dying: this poem of five lines -- known in Spanish as a quintilla -- was very well known in Spain before Lope's time. It had appeared as early as 1578 in the Flor de romances, a collection of ballads published in Zaragoza. A short poem of this kind frequently served as a basis for elaboration, as is the case here, each of its lines appearing at the end of a new stanza.
Inés's lovely feet: Lope's original is in stanzas of ten lines, with an elab- 117
orate rhyme scheme. In the translation the stanzas are of nine lines, without a regular rhyming pattern. The notion of a lady's lovely feet making the flowers grow has been mentioned earlier. See note on bright April's flowers, p. 105.
I'm dying: the poem is full of traditional poetic clichés, in particular the 118
notion of the beautiful young woman as both the life and death of her admirer. See note p. 96.
Already married: in intention to Alonso, but, as far as her father is 119
concerned, to Christ.
My heart is moved: Don Pedro is very much in the tradition of the gullible father who appears in so many Golden Age plays and who is, to a certain extent, a comic figure. He is also, as his speech here suggests, extremely long-winded.
keep his word to him: if Inés is to enter a convent, Don Rodrigo would 121
now be expected to free her from his promise to marry her.
salvation: Alonso's references to Inés's being his life and his death have an irony which is now reinforced, following her pretence to want to become a nun, by irony of a religious nature.
The Festival of the Cross of May: a religious festival which takes place on 3 May. 122
The Constable's | Invited him: Don Alvaro de Luna ( 1390?-1453) was the King's royal favourite and someone on whom he relied greatly. He was much hated by the nobility of Castile for the power he exercised over the King. His ultimate downfall was frequently used by later Spanish writers to illustrate the theme of the fickleness of fortune. Antonio Mira de Amescua ( 1574?-1644), a contemporary of Lope, was probably the author of The Good Fortune of Don Álvaro de Luna (La próspera fortuna de Don Álvaro de Luna) and certainly the author of The Adverse Fortune of Don Álvaro de Luna (La adversa fortuna de Don Álvaro de Luna), both plays serving in part as warnings to kings and their favourites.
the sun: Inés is the sun in Alonso's heaven. When he is away from her, the sun has, for him, effectively set.
A kind of monster: jealousy was as much a monster in the Golden Age 124
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theatre as in that of Elizabethan England. Indeed, fear and suspicion regarding the behaviour of a wife, a daughter, or a lover were closely connected with topic of honour in the drama of the time. In certain respects Calderón The Greatest Monster in the World (El mayor monstruo del mundo), first published in 1637 in the Segunda Parte or second volume of his plays, and whose title he subsequently changed to Jealousy the Greatest Monster (El mayor monstruo los celos), is a Spanish Othello.
dishonoured: if Inés is promised to him in marriage yet persists in seeing Alonso, Rodrigo is, of course, 'dishonoured'. He would not be so if she chose instead to become a nun.
Our Lord?: only the gullible Don Pedro is unaware of the true meaning 126
of Fabia's words. Lope had observed in his poetic essay, "The New Art of Writing Plays" (see the Introduction, p. x), that 'To deceive with the truth is effective . . .', which is precisely what Fabia is doing here. hair-shirt: a shirt-like garment made of rough cloth, frequently made from goats' hair, and worn by penitents in order to punish the flesh.
. . . Festina: the reference is to Psalm 69:1, and the meaning is 'Lord, 127
hasten to my aid'.
S.D. scholar's cap: this would be the cap worn by an impoverished student, in contrast to the more elegant headgear worn by the rich.
Calahorra: a town in the province of Logroño in northern Spain. 128
Martín Peláez: a companion of El Cid who, having once been lacking in courage, became one of his bravest men.
La Coruña: this is another example of Don Pedro's gullibility, for there was no university in La Coruña.
a shield: a shield of leather, used to protect themselves by those who 129
participated in jousting. The jousting alluded to here -- in Spanish juego de cañas -- was introduced into Spain by the Moors and took place on certain special occasions. The jousting involved groups of up to eight men on horseback, four groups at each end of the arena. They proceeded to attack each other either in pairs or in larger numbers, employing both swords and lances.
I stamp it: the stamp was paid for not by the sender but by the recipient of the letter.
Jugatoribus paternus: strictly speaking, the phrase does not make sense 130
but alludes to the fact that Inés's father is to be present at the games (the jousting).
The old one: the Grand Master and the Knights of the Order of Alcántara 131
wore a pointed hood. The hood was abandoned in 1411 and the members of the Order were allowed to wear a green cross, just as the members of the Order of Calatrava wore a red cross. This change was not, however, effected by Don Juan II, but by the Infante Don Fernando de Antequera ( 1379-1416), who in 1412 was elected King of Aragon and who in the previous year had obtained the Pope's permission for the
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modification to the dress described above. The reference to the Infante in 581 seems rather strange if, just a few lines earlier, Juan II is given credit for the change of dress.
Brother Vicente Ferrer: a famous Dominican priest ( 1350-1419) and cel- 131
ebrated preacher who lived for some time at the Court of Juan II. He supporte
d Fernando de Antequera in his election to the throne of Aragon and had also been confessor to the Pope, Benedict XIII, who gave permission for the change of dress for members of the Order of Alcántara.
Jews . . . Moors: despite the fact that many Jews and Muslims had sworn 132
to accept and convert to the Catholic faith -- conversos in Spanish -- they often continued to practise their own faith in secret. Because it was feared that Catholics would somehow be contaminated by such people, it was decreed in 1412 that Jews and Moors alike should be restricted to living in certain areas of towns and cities, and that Jews be obliged to wear a tabard or gown with a red sign, and Moors a green hood with a blue moon.
the habit: this was the habit worn by the knights of the three great military-religious orders.
My sister's marriage: Juan II had two sisters, María and Catalina, but neither of them was married in Valladolid, where, it is suggested, this particular scene takes place. Once more, then, Lope is guilty of historical confusion.
Knight Commander: a position in the Order higher than that of a knight and which would allow the individual concerned to collect rents paid by those who lived on the land granted to him by the Order.
Oh, absence, this is hard indeed: the passage which follows also appeared, with certain modifications, in Lope La Dorotea, published in Madrid in 1632. The work is a prose dialogue in five acts and, like The Knight from Olmedo, contains many echoes of La Celestina. Largely autobiographical too, it reflects Lope's youthful love-affair with Elena Osorio (see the Introduction, p. ix) and tells how the beautiful Dorotea, who is really in love with a poor poet, Fernando, is obliged by her mother and the Celestina-like Gerarda to marry the wealthy Don Bela. His murder means that in the end she loses both her husband and, since widows did not normally remarry, the man she really loves.
