THE CUP OF DISCORD. A SATIRICAL POETRY CYCLE IN THE COURT OF CHARLES II

Abstract

This paper examines five poems of political satire written during the reing of King Charles II of Spain. They were inspired by an altercation that occurred in September 1683 in Queen Marie Louise of Orleans’s Chamber between two of her Ladies of Honour. The incident illustrates the struggle between two political factions at that time, one supportive of the prime minister –the VIII Duke of the other opposed to him and favoured by the Queen of Spain. After discussing the historical frame, I present a commented edition of the poems, three of which are anonymous, while the other two were written by Francisco Bances Candamo and José Pérez de Montoro.