Antigua disciplina: El ejemplo romano en los tratados militares ibéricos, c. 1560-16001

The military history and the imperial image of Rome offered an essential framework for conceiving the strategic role of the army in the early modern Portuguese and Spanish monarchies. Disciplina (discipline) was a key element of the military thought of the epoch. The term referred not only to the growing professionalization and standardization of military practices (such as drill itself), but also to the development of a specific field of knowledge regarding war. This article analyses the works of several Portuguese and Spanish military authors of the period and the importance of Rome in their reflections and proposals. The article's objective is twofold: to identify and analyse a particular kind of "Roman" discourse and to contextualize the literary genre of martial arts as a cultural phenomenon whose significance goes considerably beyond the limits of military history.