Infidel Friends: Charles V, Mulay Hassan and the Theatre of Majesty
[EN] The famous conquest of Tunis by Charles V in 1535 has been frequently interpreted as one of the last Christian crusades, a European campaign commanded by the virtuous Emperor Charles, a new Saint Louis of France. However, the voluminous propaganda around the campaign tended to overshadow that Charles V actually fought as protector of the Hafsids (the local Muslim dynasty) against the menacing expansion of the Ottoman Empire. While alliances between Muslim and Christian princes were not exceptional in the early modern Mediterranean, the meeting of Emperor Charles V and Mulay Hassan (Sultan Abû `Abd Allâh Muhammad V al-Hasan, known in Christendom as King Mulay) represents a unique interconfessional encounter between two sovereigns who shared neither language nor religion. Consequently, the representation of their alliance (or more exactly, the Hafsid's vassalage to the Emperor) acquired a very performative character. Both sides attempted to show their shared princely culture through different representations. European chroniclers described the ceremonies during their encounters as a mute theatre where majesty and rank had to be negotiated. There were differences in their treatment, however. Spanish chroniclers, with their greater experience and long coexistence Muslims, tended to present the encounters as part of a familiar exchange, while Central European observers offered detailed depictions of what appeared to them an exotic and amazing event. This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science (Project PGC2018-099152-B-I00). ; [IT] La celebre conquista di Tunisi da parte di Carlo V nel 1535 è stata spesso ritenuta una delle ultime crociate cristiane: una campagna europea comandata dal virtuoso imperatore Carlo, un nuovo San Luigi di Francia. Tuttavia, la voluminosa propaganda creatasi attorno alla campagna stessa finì per adombrare il fatto che Carlo V avesse combattuto in difesa della dinastia musulmana degli Hafsidi per respingere la temuta espansione dell'Impero ottomano. Sebbene le alleanze ...