Abstract

Perhaps the most significant marker of the transition between medieval and early modern Europe was the transformation in the relationship between authority and singularity. In exploring the nature of this relationship in late 16 th -early 17 th century Spanish and English literature, however, this thesis suggests that such transformation was clearly distinct in each country. Specifically, this thesis offers analysis of El Inca Garcilaso de la Vega's Royal Commentaries of the Incas and studies the work's comparative reception in Spain and England. As an unauthorized work by a marginalized author, the Royal Commentaries sheds light on the tension between singularity and authority through the author's anticipation of difficulty in publishing his work, and its varying reception in Spain and England reflects each country's embrace of, or resistance to, change from medieval to early modern mindsets. In order to explain such difference in attitude toward the Royal Commentaries , and toward modernity, this thesis then considers the effect of two principal historical variables--foreign occupation and discovery of the New World. This thesis combines an analysis of the Royal Commentaries with studies of late 16 th --early 17 th Spain and England, a mixture which has not been previously attempted. The ultimate aim of such combination is to offer a new reading of the Royal Commentaries , as well as to introduce the significance of the work in early modern English Literature.