About the work
Play by Pedro Calderón de la Barca based on a real incident from Philip II's Portuguese campaign of 1580/81, a subject Lope de Vega had already dramatized. The exact date of composition is disputed; the text was first printed in 1651, initially without naming an author.
Plot
The wealthy farmer Pedro Crespo takes in a captain billeted in his house, who dishonours and abducts his daughter Isabel. Having just been elected village magistrate, Crespo must try the case himself, even after his own son wounds the captain in a confrontation. Crespo has the captain executed before the king arrives; the king upholds the verdict and confirms Crespo as magistrate for life.
Cultural significance
The play is regarded as one of the major honour dramas of the Spanish Baroque, being among the first to grant a common farmer the same dignity on stage as the nobility. Repeatedly translated into German since 1771, it remains one of Calderón's most widely performed works internationally.