«Hagan los principes la quenta con las historias» . La carga del pasado en el debate sobre el valimiento (1598-1621)

The cultural debate about the favorite, already present in the sixteenth century, became more intense during the reign of Philip III, when the Duke of Lerma exercised unprecedented power, taking the king's place in normal government activities. The works of thinkers, intellectuals, but also of some protagonists of the political struggle in the court on this subject, such as Juan de Mariana, Francisco de Quevedo or Juan de Santa María, multiplied during the period. The article tries to explain the use of history in this debate: bringing inspiration in particular from the Bible and Greek-Roman history, but also from medieval history. Many authors used characters and ages of the past to strengthen or justify their arguments, in order to attack or, in other cases, to defend the king's valido.