Sovereign Display

Abstract

Chapter 3 reviews the triumphal entries staged in Habsburg-controlled cities across Sicily and the Italian peninsula that celebrated the 1535 victory in Tunis. Up to now scholars have focused solely on the role of Charles V. But the triumphs also made references to Muley al-Hassan, and occasionally included his image. The chapter traces this topic in letters, news pamphlets, and festival books that describe the King of Tunis being restored to power and receiving a crown. The chapter considers whether the Versailles portrait might have been made for, or after, one of the major entries in Cosenza, Naples, Rome, or Florence. It shows how European artists represented North African rulers with crowns as attributes of sovereignty. The second half of the chapter moves from ephemeral decoration to the booty taken back to Europe by soldiers that kept the memory of Tunis alive in Habsburg courts.