Note 5 — PREFACE

I have not been able to verify on what foundation Hartzenbusch bases the statement that the play was written first in 1625. It is true that several historical events which took place about that year are alluded to in the work in a way to indicate that they were fresh in the mind of the author, but they do not offer conclusive proof. It does not appear in the twenty-five Partes or collections of Lope's dramas, and it is doubtful if it was published in any regular edition during the poet's life. In a note, Act II, Scene III, Hartzenbusch mentions "la edición antigua de la comedia," but does not specify to what edition he refers. The play appears in Comedias de Diferentes Autores, Vol. XXXVII, Valencia, 1646, but it is not certain or even probable that this is the first time it was published.