The journey of Raphael Hythlodaeus: The writing of Utopía in its contex

Abstract

En la primera traducción castellana de Utopía, realizada en 1637, no se publicó el prólogo de Rafael Hitlodeo al libro primero. En dicho texto se mencionan sucesos acaecidos en los meses que preceden a la muerte de Fernando el Católico. La misión diplomática, en la que participa el supuesto autor del discurso, existió y permitió un intenso intercambio epistolar entre un grupo de humanistas integrado entre los Países Bajos, Inglaterra y Francia, Erasmo, Tunstall, Egidio y el propio Moro. Utopía se inscribe en una campaña de opinión coordinada por Erasmo y Moro, Utopía se lee o debe leerse con Instituta Principis Christiani puesto que los dos autores lo concibieron así, si bien nunca se han publicado y comentado conjuntamente. Es un momento decisivo para la Historia europea porque los humanistas imperiales, asociados a los reyes, propusieron un espacio político dominado por reyes propietarios de estados, mientras que los erasmistas concibieron estados que podían funcionar sin príncipesThe first translation of Utopia into Spanish was made in 1637. In that edition the prologue of Rafael Hitlodeo was not published in the first book. It mentioned events that occurred before the death of Ferdinand the Catholic. The fictional author of the speech, participated in a diplomatic mission that really existed. During his embassy, there were many letters between humanists of the Netherlands, England and France. The most important were Erasmus, Tunstall, Giles and Thomas More. Utopia was carried out in a coordinated campaign of opinion by Erasmus and More. So, Utopia must be read in that context, with Instituta Principis Christiani. The two authors conceived their books in a complementary way, although it has never been published and discussed together. It was a defining moment for the European History because imperial humanists, associated with the kings, proposed a political space dominated by king’s owners of states, while the erasmian conceived states that could operate without prince