Notes on Francisco de Pedrosa’s Austriaca siue Naumachia. The curious case of an unfinished epic

Abstract

A curious manuscript extant in the National Library of Spain contains a series of texts by Madrilenian poet Francisco de Pedrosa. Among them, we find Austriaca siue Naumachia, an unpublished Lepantine epic poem which has up to the present remained unnoticed by many critics. In this article, we intend, in the first place, to lay the groundwork for a first documented biography of this poet. Secondly, and more importantly, we seek to discuss the problems posed both by Austriaca and the other materials included in the manuscript in order to better understand the nature of this singular epic poem.