Lope de Vega' Sacramental Act The Bridge of the World and the Chivalric Literature

Abstract

Lope de Vega's The Bridge of the World, which added public interest of a chivalric literature to the religious solemnity of the sacramental act made a fresh impression on the Spanish audience who were enthusiastic about the chivalric novels. Since the essence of Christianity is the spiritual warfare between Christ and Satan, the sacramental act and the secular chivalric literature are naturally connected. By summoning the Spanish public's passion for chivalric literature and incorporating it into his sacramental act, a representative genre of the Counter-Reformation, Lope de Vega satisfied not only the Catholic Church's purpose of catechesis but also the adventurous taste of the Spanish audience. The incorporation of chivalric literature, a typical secular literature, into a Catholic religious drama, ideally embodied the aesthetics of Horatius' dulce et utile.