Funding Entity: Foundation for Science and Techonoly (PTDC/LLT-LES/32366/2017)
Principal Researcher: José Camões
Research Unit: CET – Centre for Theatre Studies
Duration: 10-08-2018 to 09-08-2021 (36 months)
Funding: 239.835,17 euros
Abstract: The project aims at making known a specific dramatic genre – the «entremez» – which, due to its formal, thematic and linguistic characteristics, has been considered a minor category and ignored by Literature and Theatre historians for centuries, being therefore still largely unknown. The project comprehends: 1) An inventory of the Iberian «entremezes» A comprehensive inventory of all titles will be collected from archives, libraries, catalogues, and other bibliographic repertoires. The results will feed a database. 2) The identification and collection of texts Among the catalogued Iberian «entremezes» we select those that are common to the various languages, bringing them together in a corpus that will be edited in  the project. Ten of theses common to various languages «entremezes» have already been identified. Our purpose is to present an electronic edition of the corpus, following a well-tried model that serves also as the basis for printed editions. 3) The critical edition (criteria for transcription, establishing the text, and annotation) It is necessary to establish the transcription criteria. The next stage is the computer processing of the edition, including tagging (notes, thematic fields such as place names and onomastics, quotes, etc.) and linking the textual transcription to digital images from the manuscripts or first editions. The synoptic edition allows the comparison between the different versions of the same text.
The project paves the way for a necessary redesign of the Iberian theatre heritage. Its main goals are: a) To redefine the Iberian canon of «entremezes»; b) To establish and preserve the texts whose interpretation and analysis will result in the study and knowledge capable of generating a new perception of the Iberian cultural identity; c) To establish a catalogue of Iberian «entremezes» from the 17th and 18th centuries; d) To promote new editorial techniques that make use of digital tools. The outcome of this project is of interest to other areas of knowledge, such as: Linguistics: The corpus gives access to a vast collection of vocabulary used in drama and the stage that due to its specificity requires particular circumstances of decoding, which will be of great use in lexicography studies. It is also worth noting that the proximity of the language used in the theatre with the spoken language is greater than that of other literary-oriented texts. Sociology and Cultural Studies: The specificity of this corpus offers a perspective on the history of daily life in the 17th and 18th centuries, which is unparalleled in other literary/theatrical genres. Art Studies (such as architecture and other visual arts): The knowledge of literary contexts, as well as stage activities, of Mannerism and Baroque can enrich the studies of the Iberian culture during the transition to Neoclassicism.