The discreet Galateo: Courtesy, Discretion, Concealment and Social Promotion on Lucas Gracián Dantisco´s work

Abstract

Galateo Español, Spanish adaptation of Galateo overo de´costumi, was one of the most successful and widely read treatises of behavior. Nevertheless, the true dimension of the pragmatism and usefulness for Court Life of Gracian Dantisco´s version hasn´t been praised enough. Through a reading that pays due attention to discretion as the main guiding principle, we will find the techniques and means that enable courtiers´ survival, like the “Way to Concealment” and the “Prevention towards flattery”. A view that, finalally, reconsiders some historiographical approaches that have regarded it as a work of “tono menor” or of “naive courtesy”.