The Podcast of the Lotus Eaters

00:00:00.000 Hello and welcome to this episode of Chronicles, where today we're going to be talking all about

00:00:18.420 Fuente Ovajuna by López Vega. Now, I realise that this is not a play that many people may

00:00:25.800 have heard before, but it is a play from the Spanish Golden Age, and I wanted to cover it really.

00:00:32.660 Not only because as a play it's a very good play, but also to talk around the play as well about some

00:00:40.380 of the technical aspects of what this play is doing, the particular time and place that it came

00:00:45.420 from, and something about the life of López Vega as well, because he did lead a very, very interesting

00:00:52.660 life, and was an absolutely immense, very, very prolific writer, writing well over apparently

00:01:00.960 800 plays. We have several hundred of them, not all of them have survived down to our day, but yeah,

00:01:07.700 the Spanish Golden Age. So just for his dates, Félix López Vega y Capio, just known really as López

00:01:16.140 was born in 1562 in Madrid, one year after it was proclaimed the official capital of Spain, and he

00:01:27.360 died in 1635. So for much of López's life, he lived through a time of, you know, Spanish dominance in the

00:01:37.960 world, and actually this entire period from the 16th century to the 17th century, the output

00:01:46.120 plays, creative writing from Spain alone was more vast than the rest of Europe combined. It was a

00:01:54.700 genuine flourishing of the arts, of culture, and obviously López Vega himself was very, very close

00:02:02.840 to all of this, being in the heart of it, in the thick of it, in Madrid, though not necessarily all of

00:02:09.880 his life. As I say, he had quite a turbulent life. He was actually exiled from Madrid at one point in

00:02:16.000 his life because he wrote a somewhat libelous play against another member of the nobility, and so he

00:02:25.000 had to wait for relations to smooth over again for that. Perhaps one of the most remarkable little

00:02:32.300 events in his life was actually, in 1588, López Vega himself was aboard one of the battleships

00:02:41.100 in the Spanish Armada, and if anyone knows the history of the Spanish Armada, you know, well enough,

00:02:47.800 you'll know not only was it an English victory, but actually as well that very, very few of the ships

00:02:54.940 actually managed to get back to Spain safely. And fortunately for us, and it is because if it had died

00:03:02.380 there, we wouldn't have this play now, which was written later in the early 1600s, López Vega managed to

00:03:09.340 survive the Spanish Armada as well. So a very, very impressive man. He was, you know, he was everything

00:03:16.720 you'd expect from a Spaniard as well, you know, living it up in the theatres. You know, he had this whole sort of 0.89

00:03:24.600 life that you can now conjure in your head from all those sorts of things. In fact, just sort of codify

00:03:31.580 everything. He was jailed, exiled, married, and on the Armada all in the same year, all around 1588. So

00:03:41.280 yeah, a very, very adventurous life. And his plays are an enduring part of Spanish culture. Fuente

00:03:49.980 over who there is amongst his most famous plays. And it's one that I studied at drama school. And so

00:03:56.920 it's actually been a lot of fun revisiting it all these years later to present it to you here today.

00:04:03.200 At the time that López Vega was writing, we're seeing a true transformation of theatre's place

00:04:11.720 within Spanish society. You know, moving away from those medieval centuries where we had sort of

00:04:18.380 religious dramas that were put on by the church. And of course, they were a place of high ideals and

00:04:25.280 morals. And, you know, theatre performance was used as a means of moral instruction. Now, of course,

00:04:32.440 that is also true of López Vega's plays. Most plays have some sort of moral lesson to them,

00:04:39.140 of course. But the primary aim of López Vega's plays, and naturally from that, his popularity, was the fact

00:04:48.740 that he just wrote his plays first and foremost as entertainment. He wrote them for mass appeal. A cynic may

00:04:58.420 call them slop, though if they do be slop, they'd be a very, very high strand of it. It's very, very good. But it is

00:05:07.980 theatre for the masses, all of this to say. And López Vega actually wrote a guide in 1609 called The New Art

00:05:16.340 of Writing Plays, where we'll talk about this a bit more after I've gone through the story with you. But

00:05:23.180 really deconstructing the old way of storytelling, the neoclassical Greek form of plays, and creating what

00:05:32.300 we would think of today as sort of the new modern drama, the genesis of the new drama. But within his

00:05:40.380 new art for writing plays, Vega really emphasises the fact that you need to write first and foremost

00:05:47.180 for your audience. You know what they want, and it's your job as a playwright actually to give it to

00:05:54.460 them. As he's quoted as saying, we who live to please, must please to live. And for those of you

00:06:00.780 who might fairly, you know, criticise for lacking artistic integrity, you know, a sense of bravery

00:06:07.260 and danger and experimentation, and, you know, to accuse López Vega of just playing it very, very safe,

00:06:13.920 we have to remember, of course, the type of people who were attending these theatres back during

00:06:20.940 López Vega's contemporary age, and obviously being a contemporary of Shakespeare too. Though

00:06:26.220 naturally, the two never met one another, is the fact that these audiences at the time were, you know,

00:06:35.020 labourers, you know, mainly from the lower end of society. And these people could be very, very feral.

00:06:42.580 And if they didn't like what you were performing, you know, food would be thrown at the actors. And,

00:06:48.640 you know, there would be a lot of abuse heckled, and all these sorts of things that seem a bit

00:06:53.840 inconceivable to us today. But nonetheless, López Vega obviously just wants to keep their attention

00:07:00.700 and just keep them happy for a good two hours. And that, in and of itself, does require its own

00:07:07.960 particular type of talent. In fact, to give some sort of comparison between López Vega and Shakespeare,

00:07:15.380 I actually have here a terrific quote from the American literary critic Brandon Matthews,

00:07:21.120 where he goes on to say that Shakespeare came forward after the English drama had already

00:07:26.240 developed a variety of forms, and he found the road broken for him by Marlowe and Kidd,

00:07:32.500 by Lyle and Green. At first he followed in their footsteps, however far beyond them he was to

00:07:38.540 advance in the end. López Vega, on the other hand, was a pioneer. He it was who blazed new trails in

00:07:46.040 which all the succeeding playwrights of Spain gladly trod. Shakespeare seems to have cared little for

00:07:52.300 invention, borrowing his plots anywhere and everywhere, and reserving his imagination for

00:07:58.340 the interpretation of tales first told by others. Lope, on the other hand again, abounded rather in

00:08:05.280 invention than in the interpreting imagination. He was wonderfully fusened and prolific, unsurpassed in

00:08:12.200 productivity even by Defoe or Dumas. It was he who made the pattern that Calderon, and all the rest

00:08:18.880 were to employ. It was he who worked out the formula of the Spanish commedia, often not a comedy at all

00:08:25.440 in our English understanding of the term, but rather a play of intrigue, peopled with hot-blooded heroes

00:08:31.680 who wore their hearts on their sleeves, and who carried their hands on the hilts of their swords.

00:08:37.000 And I think that that is a very fair assessment, personally. I think that López Vega's place

00:08:42.840 in Spanish culture really can't be understated. So with all of this lead up to the play and the story

00:08:50.280 itself, shall we begin to talk about what happens in Fuente over Juna.

00:09:01.920 Our story begins in 1476, during the War of the Castilian Succession. Alfonso V, King of Portugal,

00:09:11.280 has ambitions in Castile and seeks to establish Portuguese power over the region by ensuring that 1.00

00:09:18.080 his wife, Joanna, is placed on its throne. Checking Alfonso's strength stands the alliance of King

00:09:24.560 Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, who marshal their armies. And in the town of Almagro,

00:09:31.980 the commander of the order of Calatrava, Fernan Gómez de Guzman, waits for the arrival of the Grand

00:09:39.520 Master, flanked by his cronies, Ortuño and Flores. Upon the Grand Master's arrival, Commander Guzman

00:09:47.660 impresses him on how the young master has risen with such prestige. You honour me as you should.

00:09:54.100 How often have I risked my life on your behalf in these dangerous times? And who intervened with

00:10:00.800 his holiness when the question of your youth put your succession in doubt? The master swears this to

00:10:07.480 be true by the holy crosses that grace their breasts. The commander is pleased and offers him

00:10:13.500 in this council. Don Rodrigo Teogiron, Grand Master of Calatrava. I remember the day your father gave up

00:10:22.400 that title and propose that you should succeed him. I remember an eight-year-old boy swearing a vow of

00:10:29.800 allegiance, his election confirmed on oath by a host of high commanders, six anointed kings and pious,

00:10:37.440 the holy father of Rome. I remember a boy of sixteen, weeping as he buried his uncle, his loyal regent's

00:10:46.720 Juan Pacheco, Grand Master of Santiago. I watched that boy take up the heavy burden of power, and today

00:10:55.500 I address a youth who must make a man's decision. Since the death of King Enrique, one question has

00:11:02.340 echoed through our land. Who should sit on the throne of Castile? Ferdinand, great king of Aragon, makes his claim

00:11:10.380 through his marriage to Isabella, Enrique's sister. But your family support Alfonso, king of Portugal, and his claim

00:11:18.000 through his wife, Princess Juana, Enrique's only natural child. Blood and honour demand that you support your cousin

00:11:26.620 Alfonso's cause. And to that end, I have come here to urge you, master, to assemble all the knights of Calatrava

00:11:34.660 and take Suedad Real, a place of vital strategic significance, forming as it does a gateway between

00:11:42.320 Andalusia and Castile. Minimal forces will be required. The city is defended by a handful of civilians

00:11:49.140 and a collection of minor nobility. Master, it's time to silence those who claim that the crimson cross

00:11:55.880 you wear is too heavy for your young shoulders. Remember the counts of Verwenna, from whom you draw

00:12:02.360 most noble blood, and let their triumphs drive you on to heights of even greater glory. Remember the

00:12:09.560 lords of Vienna, and all the brave generals of that line, whose many victories are almost too numerous to

00:12:15.940 be carried aloft, even on the wings of fame herself. It's time for you to go to war, and dip your as yet

00:12:23.680 untried sword in the blood of your enemies. Let its blade match the cross on your breast, for how can I

00:12:30.420 truly call you master of the Holy Cross, when one is crimson and the other white? It's time, Rodrigo, for you to

00:12:39.200 write your own burning page in the proud history of your illustrious kinsmen.

00:12:44.940 Duty and honour compels the master to agree, and the two warriors move to siege Suedad Real.

00:12:51.940 In the nearby town of Fuente Ovuhuna, the peasants gossip about the commander. The town is his fife, and beneath his

00:12:59.880 veneer of chivalry, the townsfolk know his nature as a lecherous and oppressive overlord. He demands the obedience of the women, 1.00

00:13:08.940 humiliating their husbands and besmirching their honour, yet the mayor's daughter, Lorencia, refuses. She has no desire for the 0.97

00:13:16.380 commander, or the trinkets he offers in exchange for submission. Lorencia values her honour above all else, and she defends it with a

00:13:24.860 sharp tongue and a strong will. Her closest friend, Pasquala, sees a wisdom in Lorencia's chastity, being sensible of empty

00:13:32.940 promises, and the lures of men. Captain Flores arrives in the town, and recounts the deeds that the knights of Calatrava

00:13:40.380 achieved at Suedad Real. All of its nobles were put to the sword, and its other inhabitants flogged through the streets, the

00:13:48.460 commander being hostile to all notions of clemency. The common people congregate in the town square, awaiting their lord's return. Upon his arrival, he is

00:13:58.940 addressed by Esteban, the mayor of Fuente of Ahuna, and father of Lorencia. Esteban is fawning, and offers up many

00:14:07.260 handmade gifts. The commander accepts them curtly, and the townsfolk disperse. Lorencia is then interrogated by the

00:14:15.260 commander, who means to have her, but she resists the attempt to be taken to his residence. In the next scene, King

00:14:21.900 Ferdinand and Queen Isabella discuss their plans for a counter-offensive, after a survivor from Suedad Real

00:14:28.700 recounts a brutal sacking. Act 1 ends with Lorencia and Frendoso, by the stream, where the maiden has been

00:14:36.220 washing her clothes. Rumours abound that the two are in love, and they are not unfounded. As Lorencia herself

00:14:43.660 admits, she does feel she possesses many of love's symptoms. Alas, the romance is ruined when the

00:14:51.420 commander approaches and tries to force himself on the poor woman, but she is saved by Frendoso when he 0.90

00:14:57.740 seizes the commander's crossbow. Lorencia flees with her honour enduring, and the knight and the peasant

00:15:04.460 are left to confront one another. Peasant lout, the girl has gone now. Put down my crossbow. 0.71

00:15:11.660 Put it down! Do you hear me, boy? No, my lord. A man in love is deaf to all insults,

00:15:19.660 and I'd be a fool to put this down. You'd just pick it up and kill me. Do you think a man of my rank 1.00

00:15:26.540 could turn his back and walk away? Retreat before a peasant child? Stand fast and shoot me through the 1.00

00:15:33.900 heart. I won't break my oath of chivalry. I don't ask that. I understand the obligation of your rank, 0.99

00:15:41.820 but I've my own obligations, one of which is to stay alive. So I'll take your crossbow and leave.

00:15:49.900 If you enjoyed this piece of premium content from the Lotus Eaters,

00:15:53.260 head to our website where you can find more.

00:16:04.540 I dice that much later.

00:16:07.340 Please don't leave my conscience if you ask.

00:16:11.100 All right?

00:16:11.820 If you enjoyed it, Uniqt or coworkers,

00:16:16.540 let us check to review it by Christine Il Joan.

00:16:18.060 I assign the NPC to make sure you smash that down because it's so useful.

00:16:21.740 Please let us see.

00:16:23.820 Great because you are still alive.

00:16:25.580 Now please share that down.

00:16:28.060 I also take my mind out from theistemus

PREVIEW： Chronicles #29 ｜ Fuenteovejuna

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