Don Pedre, Roi de Castille
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| Title: | Don Pedre, Roi de Castille |
| Genus: | tragedy |
| Original language: | French |
| Author: | Voltaire |
| Publishing year: | 1775 |
| Premiere: | not listed |
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Don Pèdre, roi de Castille is a tragedy in five acts by Voltaire . Don or initially Dom Pèdre , begun in 1761 and completed in 1774, was rejected by the Comédie-Française due to several weaknesses and published in book form in 1775 without being performed.
action
The action takes place at the court of Castile . Don Pèdre ( Peter I (Castile) ) rivals his half-brother Transtamare ( Heinrich II (Castile) ) for the crown and hand of Princess Léonore de la Cerda. Transtamare, better connected and supported by the Church, defeated Don Pèdre with the help of French troops led by Du Guesclin . Transtamare personally murders his half-brother Pèdre, who has been taken prisoner in France, and appropriates his kingdom. Léonore chooses suicide to avoid marriage to Transtamare.
Literary source and biographical references
Voltaire worked on the material from Spanish history as early as 1761. As part of the Écrasez l'infâme campaign , Voltaire took up the material again in 1774 with the intention of depicting the disastrous influence of the Church.
Performances and contemporary reception
The tragedy was not accepted by the Comédie-Française and was never performed. In the rejection, it was less the intention to criticize the church than the psychologically imperfect and contradicting characterization of the characters that was decisive. After Theodore Bestermann, Don Pèdre ranks very low in Voltaire's oeuvre.
Going to press
Voltaire decided in his resignation to a purely literary publication and included the piece in a volume with smaller prose works and verses. As early as January 16, 1775, he announced by letter to Charles-Augustin de Ferriol d'Argental three or four small children, the Don Pèdre with the gifts.
Additions
Voltaire preceded the tragedy with a dedication letter to Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert and a fourteen - page historical and critical discourse on the tragedy of Don Pèdre . The piece was followed by four shorter texts already published elsewhere: the Éloge historique de la raison , De L'encyclopédie , the Dialoque de Pégase et du vieillard and La Tactique .
First editions
- Don Pedre, roi de Castille, tragedy. Et autres pieces , without imprint, 8 °, (2), XVI, 139 p. [1]
- Don Pedre, roi de Castille, tragedy. Et autres pieces , without imprint (probably Paris), 8 ° (2), XVI, 148 pp.
- Don Pedre, Roi de Castille: tragedy. Nouvelle edition, purgee des fautes, qui se trouvent dans les precedentes , Lausanne, Grasset, 1775, 8 °, 88 pp.
- Don Pedre, Roi de Castille: tragedy. Nouvelle edition, purgee des fautes, qui se trouvent dans les precedentes , Londres, 1775, 8 °, 78 pp.
- Don Pedre, Roi de Castille, tragédie par M. de Voltaire , without imprint (Rouen), 1776, 8 °, 66 p. (Edition without accompanying texts)
literature
- Theodore Besterman : Exil (1773–1775), in: Voltaire, Winkler, Munich, 1971, p. 443.
- Valérie André: Don Pèdre, in: Dictionnaire Voltaire, Hachette Livre, 1994, p. 137.
- Siegfried Detemple: Don Pedro, in: Voltaire: The works. 300th birthday catalog. Reichert, Wiesbaden 1994, p. 237 ff.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Siegfried Detemple: Voltaire: Die Werke, catalog for the 300th birthday, Berlin, 1994, p. 237.
- ^ Valérie André: Don Pèdre, in: Dictionnaire Voltaire, Hachette Livre, 1994, p. 137.
- ^ Theodore Besterman: Exil (1773–1775), in: Voltaire, Winkler, Munich, 1971, p. 443.
- ^ Siegfried Detemple: Voltaire: Die Werke, catalog for the 300th birthday, Berlin, 1994, p. 238.