Paper short abstract:

This presentation will address Vicente’s use of the sea and its marine creatures in the theatrical play Cortes de Júpiter as a way of expressing the connection between the political, cultural and symbolic power of the sea and the foreign policy of the Portuguese crown in the early sixteenth century

Paper long abstract:

The Ocean is a contradictory and alien space for humans, and has worked as a mirror of human endeavours in all times. Moreover the world's shores and oceans are privileged spaces for the manifestation of the marvelous and, at human eyes, in their midst everything is possible. Over time various cultural agents have described elements of Ocean and its interaction with human societies. Such was the case in Gil Vicente's theatrical play, Cortes de Júpiter, written in 1521 to commemorate the auspicious marriage of Beatrice, daughter of King Manuel I, with the Duke of Savoy, Charles. Here, the Sea itself is a persona, as are the Gods of Antiquity and even the cardinal points. Through the use of marine animals' aspects to attribute symbolic qualities and personalities to humans, Vicente created a tale in which mythology, fishes, and fantastic creatures shape the expression and assertiveness of power of King Manuel I over the seas. Seas of which lacked the Mediterranean, and that this intended marriage would ensure, as the words of the play emphatically attest.

In this presentation we intend to address the magnificent parade that is described along the journey from Lisbon to Nice, in which several elements of the Princess' entourage are compared to different fish and other marine fauna, both of local and exotic origins. We will argue that for King Manuel I the Mediterranean was the entranceway to European politics beyond the Pyrenees and that the characterization of the seas portrayed in the text, express different levels of political, cultural, and symbolic domain.