The  Auto  de  las  cortes  de  la  Muerte  recalls  Pedraza's
Danza,  de  la  Muerte  and  Sanchez  de  Badajoz's  Farsa  de  let
Muerte,  as  well  as  the  Sorrowful  Knight's  encounter  with  a
troupe  of  strolling  players  who  had  just  performed  El  auto  de
la-s  cortes  de  la  Muerte,  as  narrated  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of
the  second  part  of  Don  Quixote.  It  was  published  in  1557
by  Luis  Hurtado  de  Toledo,  who  states  in  the  prologue  that  he
had  completed  the  work  which  had  been  begun  by  Micael  de
Carvajal.  We  may  assume  that  the  greater  part  of  this  com-
position was  written  by  Luis  Hurtado  de  Toledo,  for  it  is  in
no  sense  worthy  of  the  author  of  the  Tragedia  Josefina.
Death  convokes  a  great  assembly  to  which  are  summoned  re-
presentatives of  many  social  classes.  Interminable  dialogues
are  held  in  which  Satan,  World  and  Flesh  present  charges
against  the  various  characters,  while  St.  Augustine  and  St.
Francis  serve  as  attorneys  for  the  defense.  The  length  of  the
play — about  8000  lines  in  double  quintillas — seems  to  preclude
the  possibility  of  representation.
