Monarchy and Raison d'etat in Calderon de la Barca

Calderon's view of the monarchy is related to the thoughts of Golden Age political writers who were clearly opposed to Machiavelli's ideas, like Pedro de Rivadeneira, Juan de Mariana and Diego Saavedra Fajardo. The aim in these authors was the education of the prince based on the concept of "raison d'etat" to avoid that kings' wrong government degenerate into tyranny. The presence of these notions in Calderon in order to advise the king about his behavior as a good sovereign and Christian will be analyzed in his plays La cisma de Inglaterra (1627), Los cabellos de Absalon (1636) and La hija del aire (first performance in 1643).