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Which Italian character in which Shakespeare play may have been given an apparently "incorrect" Spanish name by the author for the sake of a "correct" symbolic meaning ?
Question
#57752. Asked by Flem-ish. (Jun 14 05 8:30 PM)
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lanfranco
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Off the top of my head, I can think of "Iago," Spanish for James, from "Othello." Spain was, of course, England's traditional enemy, though in 1604, when the play was first performed, making a "James" the villain would not have been very politic.
I'll have to consider this a bit more.
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Flem-ish
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Jago is correct but why is the Spanish name Iago very suitable for this opponent of Othello? In Shakespeare's source (Giraldi Cinthio) no name was given for this character. It may have been a mere coincidence but this Spanish name could have had a "double bottom" for those familiar with medieval legend.
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lanfranco
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A couple of sites I examined (one in Italian)state that in Cinthio's "Gli Hecatommithi," the prototype for Iago is called "Alfiero," though the name seems to be mentioned only once.
Santiago (St. James) is the patron saint of Spain, having washed up in Iberia and evangelized the place, according to legend. And, in 841, or 843, he supposedly appeared at the Battle of Clavijo and helped the Spanish (or, at least, the people of Leon) defeat the Moors. There is a painting of this subject by Tiepolo, a Venetian artist, interestingly enough.
 http://www.thebookofdays.com/months/july/25.htm
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Flem-ish
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David and Ben Crystal in their "Shakespeare Miscellany" - apparently mistakenly -claim Iago is "never addressed by name" in the tale by Cinthio.
http://www.artandarchitecture.org.uk/images/gallery/e350414e.html has a picture of a pen and ink drawing of "Santiago Matamoros in battle". Matamoros = Slayer of Moors. Drawing is attributed to Antonio Castillo y Saavedra and is in the Courtauld Institute of Art Gallery, London.
As Jago indirectly causes Othello's suicide he might be called a Slayer of Moors as well.
I doubt whether Shakespeare was really aware of this as there is at least one other Spanish name in this play as well such as Roderigo. Lodovico on the other hand is Italian. Shakespeare may not have cared too much about linguistic accuracy. All that probably mattered was that the names had an exotic- Mediterranean flavour.
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