Pedro Calderón de la Barca

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Pedro Calderón de la Barca (Dictionary of World Biography: The 17th and 18th Centuries)

Early Life

The bright Spanish cultural renaissance had its center in the fin de siècle spirit, and Pedro Calderón de la Barca was born into it, in 1600, in Madrid. His parents were very much part of the establishment; his father, strong-willed and demanding, was secretary to the Council of the Royal Treasury. It was his mother’s wish before her death in 1610 that Pedro enter the priesthood; his father, on his deathbed when Calderón was fifteen, turned her request into an order, a dying command that was to plague Calderón throughout his career, until he finally took holy...

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