Cervantes' Quijote and 'the times of Quijote' by Vilar: changes at the juncture of the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th

Abstract

Following the theme of the writings of the immortal work of Cervantes and the seminal essay of Pierre Vilar, both cited deliberately in its title, this article proposes a reflection on the change of trend that took place in Castilla at the end of the 16th Century and the beginning of the 17th, and attempts to better understand the how and why of this change, naturally, situating it within a broader historic period in order to better unravel its meaning. But it also wishes to be a sample of the possibilities that literature—and even more so, great literature—offers as a historical source, while at the same time paying homage to the eloquent teaching of the French Hispanist.