Una obra teatral inédita de Francisco Galeas: el «Introito para representación a la venida del Ilustrísimo Arzobispo de Sevilla»

Abstract

The Sevillian Francisco Galeas (1567-1614), a Carthusian monk, has been studied mainly as an artist in the wake of Francisco Pacheco and Antonio Palomino. This is an interesting literary author halfway between the baroqueness of his prose and lyric verse, which reflects the poetic currents of the Seville of the moment , and his dramatic work that fits well in the trends of the school theater of the end of the 16th century. In the work of Galeas, the Old Testament theme is combined with allegorical comedies, representations (rather than farces) of birth and pastoral dialogue. The dramatic work of Galeas owes much to the mourned Mercedes de los Reyes Peña, to whom this article is dedicated, as she made four major works on him (2005, 2017, 2020, 2021).  It remains to edit and study a piece, theIntroito para representación a la venida del Ilustrísimo Arzobispo de Sevilla después de mucha ausencia de prelado en ella (fols. 94r-95r), which I edit from the unique copy that remains in the Hispanic Society of America (ms. 380/611). Galeas´´´  dramatic praxis combines the cult record of the analyzed Introit that starts from a series of images of wide ecclesiastical tradition together with a set not negligible of scenic resources of the moment in dances and pastoral pullas. The recovery of this work of Galeas allows us to see that it is a theatrical praxis tremendously representative of the literary currents of his time and that it is an excellent example of the use of biblical and mystical imagery in religious theater.