La "impermeabilización ideológica" de Felipe II: cronología de una coyuntura (1558-1571)

Résumé

Historians have often argued over the interpretation of Philip II’s Royal Decree of 20th November 1559 forbidding his subjects to study in foreign universities. The discussion has particularly centred on the context in which that order was issued, i.e. the king’s efforts to stem the advance of Protestant doctrines in his territories. In our view this decree has not been sufficiently contextualized nor has it been compared with other royal orders of the peri- od, both of which would contribute to a better understanding of Philip II’s policy changes in the ideological arena. This study analyzes, on the one hand, the changes in press legislation and the scope of the orders issued, both within and beyond Castile, in the historical conjunc- ture of the king’s “ideological impermeabilization”. On the other, the 1559 decree is com- pared with the placards issued in 1570 for the Universities of Douai and Dole in the Duchy of Burgundy, which show close similarities with the earlier decree. The resulting picture shows that ideological (more specifically religious) motivations, more than economic ones, were behind the creation of university circuits which sought to ensure Catholic orthodoxy in the European territories of the Spanish Empire.