Praise as a Tool for Self-Validation. Self-Representation and Legitimation in Pedro de Oña’s Arauco domado

El elogio al poder como herramienta de validación propia: Autorrepresentación y legitimación en el Arauco domado de Pedro de Oña

Abstract

This article argues that Arauco domado (1596) by Pedro de Oña —an epic poem written under the patronage of Viceroy García Hurtado de Mendoza— serves as a tool through which the author —a Creole born in Angol, Chile— validates himself both as a man of letters and as a participant in the decision-making processes of the viceregal court through the panegyric praise of the viceroy. It is proposed that Oña employs self-fashioning to highlight his youth—a quality overtly exalted in the poem—and to associate himself with the figure of the viceroy, who is portrayed as a puer senex. In turn, the exaltation of the viceroy allows Oña to frame his poem as a mirror for princes, placing himself in a privileged position from which he can express opinions and offer guidance on proper governance—one that prioritizes the baquianos, the group to which the Academia Antártica belonged and which Oña represents.