Las danzas del Corpus Christi en Ávila a finales del siglo XVI: fiesta y ritualidad como escaparate de la Contrarreforma

Abstract

The recent discovery of a contract relating to the organisation of dances for the feast of Corpus Christi in Ávila from the year 1579 casts new and interesting light on the study of the historical aspect of dance. One of its most striking details is the originality of several of the productions described, wherein, without disregarding certain conventionalities, it accommodates elements unheard-of in the Eucharistic feast. It is worth pointing out the inclusion of a dance of the living and the dead with obvious parallels to the medieval danse macabre. The newly discovered document will also become the leitmotiv with which to identify the most distinctive features of Corpus celebrations in Ávila based on a markedly interdisciplinary perspective.