The Origin of Public Attendance at the Spanish Court Theatre in the Seventeenth Century

Abstract

During the Siglo de Oro, the Golden Age of Spanish drama (1580–1680), the Spanish court sponsored many types of theatrical entertainments. The kings and queens of Spain enjoyed re-enactments of battles, processions using triumphal arches and cars, invenciones (scenic charades), ballets, and máscaras (masques). In addition to these theatrical forms, two major types of drama developed at court towards the end of the sixteenth century. N.D. Shergold refers to these forms as particulares, or command performances of plays from the public repertory, and festival plays: elaborate productions involving machines and Italianate scenery, which were performed on special occasions.