oduct of the popular will. Like other modern theaters, however, the Spanish theater springs directly from the Church, having its origin in the early mysteries, in which the principal themes were i

introduced. This innovation in England and France was the signal for the disappearance of the sacred plays; but not so in Spa

mentioned above in the household of the Duke of Alba at Alba de Tormes. It was here that, before select audiences, were first presented his early plays or églogas. The plays of Encina, fourteen in number, were staged and constitute the modest beginnings of a movement that was to develop rapidly in the next two decades. A contemporary of Juan del Encina, Fernando de Rojas, published in 1498 his famous dramatized romance, La Celestina, which, while it was not suited for representation on the stage, was a work of great literary merit and had remarkable influence on the early drama. About t

o dictate the trend which the national drama should take. In his r?le of manager and playwright Lope de Rueda showed no remarkable genius, but he began a movement which was to reach its culmination and perfection under the leadership of no less a personage than the great Lope himself. Between the two Lopes there lived and wrote a number of dramatic authors of diverse merit. Lope de Rueda's work was continued by the Valencian bookseller, Juan de Timoneda, and by his fellow actors, Alonso de la Vega and Alonso de Cisneros. In this interim there took place a struggle between the popular and classic schools. The former was defended by such authors as Juan de la Cueva and Cristóbal de Virués, while the latter was espoused by Gerónimo Bermúdez and others. The immortal Cervantes wrote many plays in this period

s well equipped and traveled with some ease. (8) The compa?ía was the most pretentious theatrical organization composed of thirty persons, capable of producing as many as fifty pieces and accustomed to travel with dignity due the profession. Of still greater simplicity were the theaters where these variously classified actors gave their plays. In the villages and towns they were simply the plaza or other open space in which the rude stage and paraphernalia were temporarily set up. Quoting from Cervantes, Ticknor says of the theater of Lope de Rueda: "The theater was composed of four benches, arranged in a square, with five or six boards laid across them, that were thus raised about four palms from the ground. The furniture of the theater was an old blanket drawn aside by two cords, making what they called the tiring-room, behind which were the musicians, who sang old ballads without a guitar." In the larger cities such simplicity cannot be expected in the later development of the theater, for there the interest and resources were greater. In this respect Madrid, the capital, may be considered as representative of the most advanced type. In that city the plays were given in corrales or open spaces surrounded on all sides by h

n for the author's pleasure, they were evidently numerous, for Cervantes says that Lope de Vega "filled the world with his own comedias, happily and judiciously planned, and so many that they covered more than ten thousand sheets." That his merit was soon appreciated is evident from the fact that theatrical managers were anxious to have these early compositions and that during his banishment he supported himself and family in Valencia by selling plays and probably kept the best troupes of the land stocked with his works alone. Of the number of his works the figures are almost incredible. In El Peregrino en su Patria, published in 1604, he gives a list of his plays, which up to that time numbered two hundred and nineteen; in 1609 he says, in El Arte Nuevo de hacer Comedias, that the numb

to, en horas v

las musas a

s. This, in addition to his other works, offers us a slight insight into the wonderful fertility of the man's genius and gi

nages are nobles and the theme is usually questions of love and honor. (2) Comedias heroicas, which have royalty as the leading characters, are lofty or tragical in sentiment, and have historical or mythological foundation. (3) Comedias de santos, which represent some incident of biblical origin or some adventure in the lives of the saints. In them the author presents the graver themes of religion to the people in a popular and comprehensible manner, in which levity is often

reconciled all classes to himself; he was as popular with the erudite as he was with the masses, for his plays have a variety, facility, and poetic beauty that won the favor of all. His works abound in the inaccuracies and obscurities that characterize hasty composition and hastier proof-reading, but these are forgotten in the clever intrigue which is the keynote of the Spanish drama, in the infinite variety of versification and in the constant and never flagging interest. Fo