La conversación civilen España

Abstract

The present study exposes the keys and characteristics of a forgotten and recently digitalised manuscript by the National Library of Madrid. It is the first and only translation into Castilian of the work of Stefano Guazzo (1530–1593). The civil conversation (Brescia, 1574) is known as one of the Renaissance dialogues on moral education and was one of the most successful in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries of its kind. The work was translated into Spanish by Joseph Gerardo de Hervás at the beginning of the 18th century and until this present time, its handwritten version has never received any kind of consideration. The civil conversazione, together with The Courtier of Baltasar Castiglione and the Galateo of Giovanni della Casa, served as the most renowned three manuals on modalities in trend among the European Renaissance societies. Its purpose was to introduce not only Italian customs and the belle maniere but also to powerfully shape societies. This research proposes a multidisciplinary view on the discovery of the Spanish version of the civil conversation covering a general overview of the Renaissance dialogue as well as the importance of Guazzo’s work in Spain. It provides an overview of the translator himself and gives an in-depth analysis on the reasons for such a translation, carefully considering its Castilian anachronistic version.