Valladolid, una ciudad en fiestas (siglos XVII-XVIII)

Abstract

The festival was a great sociocultural event whose dimensions reached their maximum evolution in Early Modern Spain, especially in the 17th and 18th centuries and in its urban centres. This was the «festive society» par excellence, because of the frequency of the celebrations and the multiplicity of meanings, implications and consequences. Society and power, ultimately, were represented at the festival. In this context, the specific case of Valladolid demonstrates both its character as a germane model, applicable to any other town, and its uniqueness. Significantly, in the early 17th century it was once again the seat of the Court and yet even after being abandoned by Philip III in 1606, it continued to be one of the most important towns of Castile, the seat of the Royal Chancellery.