Colonial Spanish bureaucracy produced masses of "autobiographical" texts ('relaciones de meritos and servicios') which forced/invited individuals to present themselves as perfect subjects of the King in order to be rewarded. Bureaucracy produced the officials of the colonial regime, and, at the same time, it provided individuals with the possibility of exploring the literary potential of writing one's curriculum vitae. This book helps contextualize a body of often-used yet understudied historic sources; it indicates that the fabric of early modern society was held together by a pervasive...

How is a body written, and in which ways can literary texts shed light on the tension between immediate bodily expressions and writing if medieval writing practices compete with the new technology of printing? The present volume Escritura somática: La materialidad de la escritura en las literaturas ibéricas de la Edad Media a la temprana modernidad explores the relations between corporality and writing in genres and discourses that are key for understanding the phenomenon. The Iberian perspective, including contributions on Spanish and Portuguese texts, focusses on the materiality of...