All a (erotic) matter of nuns: attribution and censorship of a 17th century play

Abstract

From the 17th century, a play entitled Lo que pasa en un torno de monjas circulated in numerous printed copies and some manuscripts (perhaps an  indication of a certain success). The genre of this play is doubtful: it was published as a “comedia”, since it was
divided into three acts, but it can be considered rather an entremés of unusual length. Its authorship is unknown. Centuries ago it was said that its anonymous author was King Felipe IV. If this hypothesis were true, we would be faced with the surprising fact that the Rey Planeta was a playwright censored by the Inquisition, since the play was included
in the Index Librorum Prohibitorum at the beginning of the 19th century. One could even suggest, after a meticulous comparison of its textual tradition, that the play already suffered a partial mutilation due to theatrical censorship in the 17th century. In this article, both issues (the inquisitorial ban and the early theatrical censorship) are studied. Other aspects of the play are also analyzed: authorship, characters and plot, and textual coincidences with Francisco de Andrade’s Pensión del endevotado.