Intrigas en la corte de Buda: disimulación política y género palatino en El cuerdo loco de Lope de Vega

One of the Hungarian comedies by Lope is El cuerdo loco, which constitutes one of the few examples where the resource of the pretended madness mask interweaves with a series of political intrigues. Tn this way, prince Antonio's strategy olpretending to be fool is an example or dissimulation which could be understood as a sign of prudence and, at the same time, could be connected with the political theory of the moment, which debates some Maquiavelian ideas. This work studies the development of this tactic in the play as well as some models (king David, Lucius Junius Brutus) which may have inspired the poet. It also outlines the generic definition of a serious palatine comedy.