At the start of Act 1, the allegorical character of Jerusalén expresses her torment and that of Christians enslaved within her walls to her oppressor Trabajo. However, Esperança emerges to foretell the coming of the First Crusade, headed by Godofre of Bullón, giving hope to the Holy City, tyrannised by its Muslim controllers. Godofre and his army arrive at the city walls after great sacrifice by his Christian soldiers, promising that if they all refrain from sin, maintain their discipline and give themselves to God, they will be victorious. Meanwhile, inside the city, the Muslim King of Jerusalem is persecuting his Christian subjects after an image of the Virgin Mary, which had been taken from a church to a mosque, had been stolen. A convert to Islam and a necromancer called Marsenio had convinced the King that by doing so he would protect the city against the coming Crusade. As the King was blaming all Christians for this crime, one amongst them, Solinda, confesses to having stolen the image and throwing it into the fire so that it did not remain in Muslim hands. After she is sentenced to burn to death, another Christian, Lustaquio, says he was the one who committed the crime; his confession results from the fact that he and Solinda are in love and plan to marry if they can ever escape their captivity. They know, however, that their fate is grim.
In Act 2, two of Godofre’s captains, Tancredo and Boemundo, discuss the beauty of Tancredo’s Muslim captive Erminia, daughter of the defeated King of Antioch, who has escaped into Jerusalem. They lament the fact that such a beautiful woman has not been baptised, but recognise that love and war are incompatible. In Jerusalem, Clorinda, one of the King’s most feared military leaders despite being a woman, questions the King’s reliance on magic and omens to protect the city with reference to the stolen image of the Virgin, and instead touts the value of military strength. To prove that Marsenio’s science is false, she slays him in the presence of the King, who applauds her valour and requests her council to advise on how to handle the Crusade. The council recommend that the King seek help from the Sultan of Egypt and request a treaty with their enemy until the Sultan’s army arrives. Elsewhere in the city, Erminia discusses with Argente, her ayo (tutor), the fact that she is in love with her former captor Tancredo and, that despite the religious differences, she wants to declare her love in person. She therefore devises a scheme to steal Clorinda’s armour, leave the city at night, approach the camp as an ambassador and speak to Tancredo. Back in the Christian camp, Tancredo and Boemundo speak with a Christian warrior joining their Crusade of their successes thus far, when they are approached by Clorinda for a parley. Tancredo immediately falls in love with Clorinda, despite his earlier claim that love is not practical. After the conference, Tancredo is left on stage alone and decides that he will capture Clorinda in the fight and have her as his.
In the third act, two of Godofre’s captains, Charles and Fabriçio, discuss the Christians’ successes to date and cite the four great miracles that have produced their victories. Godofre then meets with an Egyptian ambassador and Clorinda, representing Jerusalem. The Egyptian delivers a soliloquy offering the Sultan’s friendship and protection if Godofre leaves Palestine, but the Captain General of the Crusade angrily defies the peace request stating that only a Christian victory and the freeing of Christian slaves in Jerusalem would suffice. Godofre chooses war, despite Clorinda’s confidence in her people’s ability to defend themselves. The Christians prepare for what they deem to be a just and holy war. Back in the city, Erminia has dressed herself in Clorinda’s armour and prepares to venture out for her meeting with Tancredo. They finally meet, with Tancredo believing that Erminia is Clorinda, and when she realises that Tancredo is in love with Clorinda and not her, she falls into despair. She requests that, if the Christians are successful in their raid on the city, he burn her alive instead of taking her captive to live in the presence of the man she loves but cannot have. Clorinda then finds out her own true origins from Argente. She is the illegitimate daughter of the Queen of Ethiopia and a Christian soldier. Clorinda was placed in Argente’s care and grew up ignorant of her birth. The final battle for Jerusalem begins. In the fighting, Tancredo meets Clorinda, and not knowing that he is fighting the woman he loves, kills her. Meanwhile, the Christian forces gain ground in the city and the war sways in their favour. As the fighting takes place offstage, the characters of Jerusalén, Trabajo, Contento, Libertad and Esperança narrate the battle. Slowly, Trabajo becomes weaker as the others grow stronger, symbolising the Christian victory. The Christians enter the conquered Jerusalem, and Godofre de Bullón accepts the crown, humbly entering the city barefoot and on his knees.
Summary by Aaron Kahn, used with permission (less)
At the start of Act 1, the allegorical character of Jerusalén expresses her torment and that of Christians enslaved within her walls to her oppressor Trabajo. However, Esperança emerges... (Read more...)
La conquista de Jerusalén is a dramatic adaptation of Gerusalemme liberata, an Italian epic poem by Torquato Tasso which was published in Parma in 1581. It is noteworthy that the play was written before any Spanish translation of the Italian poem was available. (less)
La conquista de Jerusalén is a dramatic adaptation of Gerusalemme liberata, an Italian epic poem by Torquato Tasso which was published in Parma in 1581. It is noteworthy that the play ... (Read more...)
The main analytical work on this play was carried out by Stefano Arata, who published an edition of the play in 1992; it had previously only been available in a library in manuscript form. He makes a cogent argument for its attribution to Cervantes, comparing La conquista de Jerusalén with Cervantes’ other plays, namely El trato de Argel and La Numancia, in terms of versification, structure, themes, content and style. Arata also offers a reading of the play in its historical context. His work has been carried on by Aaron Kahn, whose article ‘Towards a Theory of Attribution: Is La conquista de Jerusalén by Miguel de Cervantes?’ (2010) offers further evidence of the play’s Cervantine pedigree. There is also a brand new edition edited by Brioso Santos (2009).
Arata, Stefano. 1992. ‘La conquista de Jerusalén, Cervantes, y la generación teatral de 1580’, Criticón, 54, 9-112. (in Spanish)
Cervantes, Miguel de. 2009. La conquista de Jerusalén por Godofre de Bullón, atribuida a Miguel de Cervantes, ed. Héctor Brioso Santos. Madrid, Cátedra (in Spanish)
Kahn, Aaron. 2010. ‘Towards a Theory of Attribution: Is La conquista de Jerusalén by Miguel de Cervantes?’, Journal of European Studies, 40, 2, 99–128
(less) The main analytical work on this play was carried out by Stefano Arata, who published an edition of the play in 1992; it had previously only been available in a library in manuscript f... (Read more...)
