Estado moderno y mentalidad social: Siglos XV a XVII. by Jos Antonio Maravall Review by: Joseph G.

Fucilla Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 28, No. 2 (Summer, 1975), pp. 249-254 Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Renaissance Society of America Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2860625 . Accessed: 13/04/2012 15:48
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on andoffers interesting with parallels histreatise poetry.Inits turn,the

Traite,which follows closely the Latin work of Albericus, 'fait la somme des connaissances d'une epoque sur les mythes et leur interpretation' (p. 32) by collating in its fifteenchaptersavailablecontemporary know'ledgeof Saturn,'le premierdes dieux' (p. 61), and fourteenother relatedpoetic myths. characteristics consideredin are Thenaud'smedieval and Renaissance the introduction (pp. 5-32) which also discusseshis biography and the nature, sources, and chronology of the Lignee and Thenaud's other writings, cautiouslyoutlining the problems that continue to challenge studentsof his works. Inspiredlargely by medieval commentaries,Thenaudremainsa man of the Middle Ages; yet in his role as 'epurateurdes gloses medievales' (p. 31), he moves away from his sourcesand anticipatesa new era. His erudition and Christianthought, his emphasison the divine origins of poetic inspiration,his recognition of the ancientsratherthan of medieval Frenchpoets as exemplary, and his presentationof Platonic phihumanist. losophy to Francefurthermark him as an early Renaissance The critical apparatusof this edition includes notes indicating the different stages of the manuscriptand possible sources of the text, a glossary, an index of authors cited, an 'index mythopoetique,' and a bibliographyof Thenaud'sworks (includingthose published,unedited, attributed to the author, lost, or incomplete) and related collatoral
materials.

Studentsof the early Renaissanceand the poetic myth will particularly welcome this edition and look forward to ProfessorMasters'projected edition of Thcnaud'sother previously unpublishedworks. STATE UNIVERSITY FriedaS. Brown MICHIGAN social:SiglosXV a y Jose Antonio Maravall.Estadomoderno mentalidad XVII. Madrid: Revista de Occidente, 1972. 2 vols. 529 and 619 pp. 85o ptas. ProfessorMaravall'swork is divided into five parts:'La transformnaci6n del universo politico,' 'Poder, individuo, comunidad,' 'Los cambios de mentalidaden relacion con las nuevas formas politicas y economicas,' 'Ampliacion de los fines de la organizacion politica en su conexion con los cambios estructuralesdel Estado,' and 'Los medios del accion del Estado.'The firstthreepartsare made up of four chapters

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and the last two of three. These, in turn, are dividedinto sections fromsix to twelvein eachcase,whichaffords someidea us numbering of the greattopicalrangeof the study. is The author's a of approach basically combination the sociological He his andthe economical. acknowledges indebtedness outstanding to suchas MaxWeber,T6nnies,Mumford, OsDahrendorf, sociologists and of sowski, Foster,Eisenstadt, to economistsand historians economicssuchasMarx,Sombert, Heckscher, Braudel, Tawney,Carande, Rostow.He himselfis a pioneerin his own countryin thistype of research for the pastthirtyyearshasbeenproducing steadystream a and in of contributions the field. For the bulk of his datahe drawsupon of materials the fifteenth,sixteenthand the first half of the Spanish available printed in seventeenth form,of whichthereis an uncentury usualabundance. the non-Spaniards the times,the two bigof Among to of gestnames whichwe owe so muchforourunderstanding themodernstate, Machiavelli Bodin,arecitedwith considerable and frequency. Someconception theHerculean of laborthathasgoneintothepreparationof thevolumescanbe gainedfromthenumber footnotes, of which reachthe staggering totalof morethan3,600. elite ThoughBurckhardt majorcreditto thecultural for ushergives he ing in the Renaissance, doesnot ruleout thatthe Statewas a potent factorin moldingit. With reference it Professor Maravall to to prefers use the word 'modern' instead 'Renaissance' he of because seesin the that it. are he periodaspects transcend Theinnovations discusses not, he the or breaks with insists, repeatedly necessarily resultof abrupt drastic the past. Some had actuallybegun in the MiddleAges, while others weretheoutcroppings medieval of traditions hadcontinued surthat to vive in thefifteenth sixteenth and centuries. process oftenslow was The anduneven,at timesalmostimperceptible. Sincethe components created New Age couldbe foundin that the most of WesternEurope,they tendedto be very muchthe sameand different and only in the degree,manner, time when they took effect. was and that Borrowing common,hencethefindings observations pertainto a component one countrycanconveniently in serveto explain, to in with, or contrast the phenomenon another. compare On page23 of VolumeI Professor Maravall writes:
La tradicion de la Edad media espafiolaque es probablementela menos medieval de todas en Europa-epoca en que se conservael caracterpublico respecto a relacionesde dominacion polfticay en la que paralelmentea lo anterior,se reconoce una ausenciao

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debilidad del feudalismo, nos debe hacerya sospechar,desde el principio, que-como se dio en el caso del gobiemo de Federico II en Sicilia-tambien en Espafiatenia que hallarsepreparadoel terrenopara una organizacionpolitica nacida, entre otrascausas, de la eliminacion del feudalismo.

of That organization,which led to the transformation the country into a modern state, startedwith the Catholic kings, when Spain became a geographicaland national entity, and extended through the reigns of CharlesI and Philip II. The objective of these absolute monarchswas the attainmentof political and military supremacy. The meansto achieve it was capitaland through it to develop a capitalisticeconomy. It is well known that the mines of precious metals in the Americaswere the property of the king, a fact which enabled the country to amass huge reservesof gold and silver. They made it the wealthiestcountry in the world. There was hardlyany spherethe structure of which was not directlyor indirectlyreshapedby it-agriculture, commerce and industry,public works, sanitation,education,the armed forces, law. The list can, of course, be enlarged. In more concrete terms, the following are some of the changes that took place. Agriculture: plow, on supersedingthe primitive hoe and The spade, greatly expanded the areaof cultivatableland, for example, the valleys of the Duero, Ebro, and Tagus. Big drainage and irrigation increasedthe acreageof the most profitablecrops, projectssubstantially at first wheat, which, suffering later from the competition of grape production, was obtained from Spanish-owned Sicily, the granary of the Mediterranean. They were the two chief exports that were used by the Stateto gain political advantagein other countries.The ownership of land ceasedto be the prerogativeof the nobility or of the communes now appears but could be bought and sold for profit. The rich labrador and for the first time as the owner of extensive farmlands.Commerce InThe new frontier, which displacedthe old march, a no-man'sdustry: land, became importantnot only for political and military reasonsbut also through its customhouses,which controlled the inflow and outflow of trade. Coinage that had been subject to seigniorage was abolished in favor of a single national currency. Money-wages for human labor did away with the surviving feudal system of payment in goods. Maritimetradewas carriedon in royal vessels,the caravels,a new type of ship capableof making long voyages thanksto the compass,till then virtually unused in Europe. In handling the exchange of various commodities by land or sea both the government and private citizens ap-

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bookkeeping, plied modernbusinessmethodssuch as double-entry of letters credit,andbillsof lading.The adoption a unifiedsystemof of finallyput an end to the chaoticandconfusing weightsandmeasures therewas a reassortment hadpreviously that Incidentally, prevailed. in naissance the study of mathematics widely employednot only in and commerce industry alsoin architecture, but engineering, navigaMaravall dwellsat lengthuponthe spiritof calculation,etc. Professor comoartificio on tionthatpervaded epochin hischapter the'Estado the to whichhadbeenentrusted the Public humano.' zvorks: Road-building was municipalities takenoverby andput undertllecontrolof the State the aboutthemiddleof thesixteenth The Madrid, century. new capital, ciudad becamethe hub of a networkof roads.Sanitation: cailinera, Hywere enforcedeverywhereand numeroushospitals gienic measures of for concern the improvement living built.Therewasgovernmental was made conditions Primaryeducation among the poor. Education: Stateuniversities were founded.Armed War, conforces: compulsory. and in with thelatestadvances military ducted accordance in weaponry
strategy, was fought not so much for the sake of conquest as for mer-

led cantilisticmotives. Enormousmilitary expenditures to 'deficit andwhile they ultimately the countryto the brink brought spending,' of disaster, they did providea powerfulincentiveto the economyfor and in Law:With therisein numbers, affluence, in political manyyears. to andsocialimportance the middleclass,a new legalcode adjusted of it To the timesandneedsof the groupbecameimperative. administer andothecr andto runitsnumerous laws the Stateemployeda enterprises host of middlec-class bureaucrats.
La Monarqula moderna o de los Estadosabsolutos,no podria haber sido lo que fue sin contar en cadacaso, con el cuerpo de funcionarios,desde los mas elevados a los medianos, de los cualesse nos aparecerodeadaen Espafia,Francia,Inglaterra,etc. Un poder absoluto con las caracteristicas este pretendi6 alcanzar,una ampliacion de funcioque nes comlola que se da en los Estadosde la epoca, un gobierno sobre el pals que hiciera posible el desenvolvimiento de una economia de tipo rcnacentista,todo ello no fue posible masque por la colaboracion del cuerpode burocratas.(In, 445)

of Individualism all belongsto a category its own. Everyone, course, of it characteristic the epoch.To its recognizes asthe mostpronounced
various manifcstationsin Spain our author properly devotes an ample chapterof more than fifty pages. What hasjust been noted provides us with a glimpse of the ways in which Spain was graduallybeing transformedinto a modern state. In

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theseand otherinnovativechangesProfessor Maravall has discussing rewritten historyof his countryduringthe fifteenthandsixteenth the centuries from a completelyoriginalpoint of view. He admitsthat sincehe hashadto charthisown course, workhasits shortcomings. his Not havingaccess the vaststorehouses information buriedin to of still in he the archives, hasbeenobligedto attackhis subject a roundabout e of that accounts new developway, namely,'hechos ideas,' is, factual mentsderived frompublished sources whatwasin the thinkingof and foremost writers the periodwith reference them.Lackof of to Spain's data the of printed wouldseemto explain author's underdevelopment a of topiclike technology.The dearth evidenceyet to be derivedfrom documents obviouslya markof weakness. is unpublished Whereasthe author'sbroad interpretation to what constitutes as modern allowshim greatflexiframework changewithin a historical it bility in choosingand dealingwith a variedsubject-matter, is also His a inside firm likelyto arouse disagreement. habit,too, of not staying line of demarcation, while often germane his discusto chronological sionof a particular can to development, at timesappear be disconcertof the ingly out of place.However,despite inadequacy histoolsandthe flawsthatmay havecreptinto his work hereandthere,thereis never Maravall's havingprettythoroughly aboutProfessor not any question histhesis. refrains hisepiloguefromlabeling period He until the proven that social,'a characterization comesas no sur'epocade la revoluci6n his writtenbook. prisewhen one finishes reading brilliantly In closing,I shouldlike to fill in two lacunae in Professor left Maravall'sdiscussion capitalism of which I feel areof some relevance. The firstrelates usury,specifically restitution meansof donations and to by endowments the Church its institutions. wasa subterfuge or It to used to and Professor by the big financiers avoidaccusation condemnation. Maravall does mentionin passing that evasivetacticswere often emin The is ployed(II,151-152)but doesnot particularize. subject treated 'The Usurerand the Merchant and Prince:ItalianBusinessmen the Law of Restitution,1100-1550,'a study publishedby Ecclesiastical N. Nelsonin TheTasks Economic vii Benjamin History, Supplement of of History(pp. 104-122). The conclusion (1947) to TheJournal Economic in is reached thisinvestigation that
The near exemption of the merchant and financier from the stigma of usury and from liability to crippling actions by ecclesiastical secularcourts was a prerequisite and in the expansion of Europe along capitalistlines. Modern capitalism could not have

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come of age so long as the agents of the church and state were able or especially disposed to require merchants and financiers to disgorge their 'usuries' and 'ill-gotten gains.' Indeed, so long as a traditionalistversion of usury and restitution controlled public sympathy and officialsupport, neither secure title to his earningsnor a consistently honorable reputationcould accrueto the enterpriser.Without these stimuli, his energies could not truly find release. (p. 121)

The second relatesto the golden florin. There is no mention of it in Maravall.It may be recalled that until this coin began to be used in Florencein 1252 Europe was functioning under a monometallic system monopolized by silver. As the resultof the Florentineinnovation, a bimetallicsystem became operative. Quite manifestly,the combined circulation of the two enormously increased the supply of money and hence state and private wealth and purchasingpower. The climax was reachedfollowing the heavy inflow of both metalsfrom the rich mines of Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia. ProfessorH. Michell in his fascinating of article'The Golden Florin' (Transactions theRoyal Societyof Canada, XLI, series III, section two [1947], 103-113) draws this conclusion: 'It was a momentous step, we might almost go so far as to say that it was the most momentous step ever taken in the whole history of money with the single exception of Great Britain going on the gold standard in 1816' (p. 107). UNIVERSITY NORTHWESTERN Joseph G. Fucilla Twayne's World Author Series.New John Lihani. Lucas Fernandez. York: Twayne Publishers,1973. 179 pp. $5.95. A very few years ago, one might have been startledto find Lucas Fernandezincluded in a series of monographs devoted to 'the major writers ... of the nations of the world.' His inclusion is now understandableif not self-evident, owing to a growing interestin the rise of Spanishdramaas a whole, and, more recently, to John Lihani'sedition and studiesof this dramatist,who, long overshadowedby his associate and rivalJuandel Encina,haslately emerged with increasinglyinsistent claims to his own place in history. Encina was the His traditionalsubordinationis also understandable. acknowledged master, Fernandez the follower; Encina's surviving works are more numerous and, unlike Fernandez's comprise excellent nondramaticpoetry and musical compositions in addition to plays; even the two men's parallelcareersas dramatists, performers,and musi-