Sound and Power in Early Modern Alcalá de Henares

This chapter grew from the conjecture that the University of Alcalá de Henares had a deep sonic imprint on its surroundings during the early modern period. Due to its strategic location on the road from Madrid to the kingdom of Aragon, the city of Alcalá de Henares enjoyed economic prosperity during the Middle Ages as an important hub of commerce. The city also became an important educational center a result of the founding of a learning institution (studium generale) by King Sancho IV of Castile in 1293. This studium generale would serve as the foundation for one of the most ambitious educational projects in early modern Spain: the founding of the Complutensis Universitas (the University of Alcalá de Henares) by Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros. By interpreting descriptions of sonic events found in official accounts of public festivals (publica laetitia) and select works of picaresque fiction set in the city of Alcalá de Henares, this chapter elucidates the ways that sound punctuated life in Alcalá and demonstrates how the University deployed sound to further establish its institutional identity within the life of the city and the Spanish imaginary.