Renaissance dialogues from C16th Catalonia, in which three speakers
elegantly discuss politics, society and the Church.
Dialogue is one of the Classical genres reclaimed by the Renaissance,
which turns it into a hallmark of the period. In the Catalan-speaking
world nearly forty dialogues were written in the course of the
Renaissance. Despuig's Dialogues, written in 1557, stand out from the
rest by the extent to which they incorporate the most innovative aspects
of the genre: the dramatisation of Renaissance multiple perspectives and
the consistency of the fictional plot that provides a structure for the
ideas.
The Dialogues offer a critical review of a host of issues that were
topical at the time. The three speakers in the work - Livio, the knight
from Tortosa; Fabio, the gentleman from Tortosa; and Don Pedro, the
knight from Valencia - elegantly exchange their subtly contrasting views
regarding politics, society and the Church as they stroll through the
streets of the city Tortosa and sail along the Ebro.The main features of
the dialogue, which typify the revival of the genre in the Renaissance,
lie in the way it expresses differing opinions, creates multiple
perspectives and constructs a consistent plot that imitates a
spontaneous conversation whilst providing a structure for the speakers'
reflections. Both the ways in which it articulates the discussion and
the specific ideas that it allocates to its speakers make Despuig's
Dialogues a text thatexemplifies the Renaissance in Catalonia.
Published in association with Editorial Barcino, Barcelona.
