Las fuentes de Amar después de la muerte

Abstract

It is a well-known fact that La guerra de los moriscos by Ginés Pérez de Hita was the main source for Calderón’s play Amar después de la muerte. Diego Hurtado de Mendoza’s Guerra de Granada is usually named as an important secondary source, but in this article the supposed proofs of its influence are shown to be unfounded. On the other hand, strong reasons are given to believe that Calderón was influenced by Luis de Mármol Carvajal’s Historia del rebelión y castigo de los moriscos del Reino de Granada. The peculiar use Calderón made of his sources is studied, leading to the conclusion that the transformations to which he subjects the historical material can be explained more satisfactorily from an esthetic point of view than as an interpretation of real events. Finally, Calderón’s attitude towards his historical sources is explored in more general terms.