This article examines two impresas featured in some editions of the book that Gabriel Pérez del Barrio Angulo wrote on the figure of the secretary, a work praised in the paratexts of Spain’s greatest authors in the early seventeenth century. Both the book and the depiction of the minotaur in the silent language of impresa aim to reinforce the dignity of the secretary’s profession so as not to limit it to that of an official versed in rhetorical devices that may turn useful in epistolary correspondence. The author, in the service of the fourth Marquis de los Vélez, evokes and elaborates on multiple traditions, and, with the expressive gesture of the finger on his lips, warns the minotaur-secretary that the court is a labyrinth which, a few years earlier, had cost dearly to Antonio Pérez who had broken the walls of silence and secrecy. In this way, Pérez del Barrio Angulo once again proclaims that his role is to be the keeper of the Lord's secrets, his sacristy, his voice, his hand, and his concept, just as the impresa of another secretary, Gonzalo Pérez, had highlighted.

El minotauro y el dedo de Harpócrates en la boca

Gambin, Felice
2023-01-01

Abstract

This article examines two impresas featured in some editions of the book that Gabriel Pérez del Barrio Angulo wrote on the figure of the secretary, a work praised in the paratexts of Spain’s greatest authors in the early seventeenth century. Both the book and the depiction of the minotaur in the silent language of impresa aim to reinforce the dignity of the secretary’s profession so as not to limit it to that of an official versed in rhetorical devices that may turn useful in epistolary correspondence. The author, in the service of the fourth Marquis de los Vélez, evokes and elaborates on multiple traditions, and, with the expressive gesture of the finger on his lips, warns the minotaur-secretary that the court is a labyrinth which, a few years earlier, had cost dearly to Antonio Pérez who had broken the walls of silence and secrecy. In this way, Pérez del Barrio Angulo once again proclaims that his role is to be the keeper of the Lord's secrets, his sacristy, his voice, his hand, and his concept, just as the impresa of another secretary, Gonzalo Pérez, had highlighted.
2023
Angulo Pérez del Barrio; Dirección de secretarios de señores; Secretary; Counselor; Labyrinth; Silence; Secret; Gonzalo Pérez; Antonio Pérez
Angulo Pérez del Barrio; Dirección de secretarios de señores; secretario consejero; laberinto; silencio; secreto; empresas; Gonzalo Pérez; Antonio Pérez.
El trabajo reflexiona sobre dos empresas presentes en algunas ediciones del libro que, sobre la figura del secretario, escribió Gabriel Pérez del Barrio Angulo, obra elogiada en los preliminares por los mayores ingenios de la España de los primeros años del siglo XVII. Tanto el libro como la representación del minotauro en el lenguaje mudo de las empresas, tienen como objetivo reforzar la dignidad de la profesión secretarial para no limitarla a la de funcionario versado en los expedientes de la retórica, útiles para la buena correspondencia epistolar. El autor, que estaba al servicio del cuarto marqués de los Vélez, evoca y reelabora múltiples tradiciones y, con el expresivo gesto del dedo en los labios, advierte al secretario-minotauro que la corte es un laberinto en el que unos años antes había pagado un alto precio Antonio Pérez por haber roto los muros del silencio y del secreto. De esa forma Pérez del Barrio Angulo proclama de nuevo que su papel es ser guardián de los secretos del señor, su sacristía, su voz, su mano y su concepto, tal y como ya puso en evidencia la empresa de otro secretario, Gonzalo Pérez.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11562/1106126
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