Description
Distinguished Men of Letters from the Illustrious City of Seville
Book Summary
This work rescues the unfinished project of humanist Rodrigo Caro, who around 1647 began compiling the biographies of Seville's most prominent writers. The book traces a continuous line of Sevillian culture from Turdetan and Roman antiquity to the reign of Philip IV, reflecting the city's aspiration to be recognized as a new Rome. A fundamental edition for understanding the intellectual history of the Andalusian capital and the erudition of the Golden Age.
What is it about?
Rodrigo Caro, a 17th-century Sevillian scholar, undertook the ambitious task of gathering the portraits of the illustrious men of letters native to Seville. The work, which remained unfinished at his death, traverses the city's intellectual production from its pre-Roman origins to the author's own time. Caro intended to demonstrate the continuity and excellence of Sevillian culture, equating its legacy to that of ancient Rome. Each biography is conceived as a piece of a larger mosaic that asserts the central role of Seville in the history of Hispanic letters.
Main Topics
- Intellectual history of Seville from antiquity to the 17th century.
- Biography and erudition in the Spanish Golden Age.
- Vindication of Sevillian cultural identity against the Roman model.
- Humanism and classical tradition in Spanish literature.
- Unfinished literary project as a testimony of an era.
Who is it recommended for?
This book is aimed at researchers and students of Golden Age literature, local history of Seville, and Spanish humanism. It will also interest readers passionate about Baroque scholarship, biographies of classical writers, and the construction of urban cultural identities in the Early Modern period.
What this book provides
- Access to an unpublished manuscript by the scholar Rodrigo Caro, key to Sevillian literary history.
- Understanding of the cultural continuity of Seville from antiquity to the Baroque.
- Unique perspective on how intellectual history was conceived in the 17th century.
- Reference material for studies on humanism and local erudition in Spain.
Technical Details
- Author: Caro, Rodrigo
- Publisher: University of Huelva
- Language: Spanish
- Subject: LITERATURE: HISTORY AND CRITICISM, LITERARY STUDIES: C. 1500-C. 1800
- Collection: BIBLIOTHECA MONTANIANA
- Binding: Paperback
- Number of pages: 162
- Weight: 401 g
Editorial Assessment
This edition rescues a fundamental text for specialists in Golden Age literature and the cultural history of Seville. Rodrigo Caro's work, although unfinished, offers a privileged window into Baroque scholarship and the construction of a Sevillian scholarly identity. Its value lies as much in the biographical content as in its testimony to an intellectual project of its time.