Lope’s El Hamete de Toledo: the infidel’s body as conquered land
Set in the aftermath of the 1609 expulsion of the Moriscos decreed by King Philip III of Spain (r. 1598-1621), the play El Hamete de Toledo, by Lope de Vega, has found a new relevance on stage and in political debates linked to the current immigration crisis. This article aims to rethink the current...
| Published in: | Body and religion |
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| Subtitles: | Special Issue: The Qur'an and affect |
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Equinox Publishing
[2019]
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| In: |
Body and religion
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| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Vega, Lope de 1562-1635, El hamete de Toledo
/ Spain
/ Muslim
/ Expulsion
/ Immigrants
/ Victims
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| RelBib Classification: | CC Christianity and Non-Christian religion; Inter-religious relations CE Christian art CG Christianity and Politics KBH Iberian Peninsula |
| Further subjects: | B
Lope de Vega
B Literature B Immigration B Body B Early Modern B Spanish Literature |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | Set in the aftermath of the 1609 expulsion of the Moriscos decreed by King Philip III of Spain (r. 1598-1621), the play El Hamete de Toledo, by Lope de Vega, has found a new relevance on stage and in political debates linked to the current immigration crisis. This article aims to rethink the current victimization of Muslims, as presented in the production of AlmaViva Teatro, a Spanish theater company which used the Early Modern Spanish tragedy to connect to a contemporary audience, thirsty for social justice. To this end, I will focus on the treatment of Hamete, a Moor imprisoned in Spain, and whose body becomes the symbol of the Other, to be conquered. As such, in the course of the play, his body is vilified, dehumanized, chained, and tortured. The culmination of this process coincides with the final act of surrender, the moment of his conversion, but also of the physical dismemberment of his body, a brutal ritualistic sacrifice carried out in the name of eternal salvation. |
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| ISSN: | 2057-5831 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Body and religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1558/bar.17707 |