The Typological Universe of the Spanish Hapsburgs

This paper`s contribution lies in the study of early modern political philosophy in the Spanish monarchy: the centrality of the historical and prophetic books of the Old Testament as the raw material upon which to interpret the present. And it seeks to account for the extraordinary flexibility of the typological imagination, that celebrated and encouraged individuals  hermeneutical creativity,`rendering  almost every commentary unique and unpredictable.  I also suggest that to understand the vast complexity of the system one has to be willing to dispense with narrow interpretations of politcs as the study of human communities. As much energy and creativity went into elcuditating the hierachies and politics of heaven as the political economy of individual bodies and souls.