Mare nostrum?: Questions of State and the State of the Question

CALÍOPE 2014, Vol. 19, No. 1: 11-21 MARE NOSTRUM: QUESTIONS OF STATE AND THE STATE OF THE QUESTION Elizabeth B. Davis, The Ohio State University Elizabeth R. Wright, University of Georgia A rich tension underlies this special issue of Calíope: the Mare Nostrum that nourished the literary traditions we explore was an intensely contested space. Consequently, the Roman imperial assertion that marks the lexical terms of “Our Sea” becomes a point for anguished interrogation in the early modern era. Arguably, a large measure of Renaissance literature’s allure comes from its manifold expressions of the rivalries among regions, nations, and religions. Of these, the rivalry between Christians and Muslims would prove an especially powerful source of inspiration. Our original commission was to prepare a volume devoted to the Battle of Lepanto, whose rich poetic legacy certainly needs no introduction. But in a series of conversations about this volume—starting with a comparative literature conference on European representations of Turks held at the University of Copenhagen and continuing during overlapping research trips to Madrid—we became convinced that adequate exploration would require an expanded focus. We thus move both back and forward in time, to offer a more wide ranging view of the Mare Nostrum. In effect, we trace a “polemics of possession,” to borrow and relocate Rolena Adorno’s conceptual framework for interpreting foundational Spanish-American literature.1 One point of caution is necessary to begin. Notwithstanding the religious antipathy between Christian and Muslim realms, many peaceful points of convergence remained. Mutually-beneficial trade relations and a profound curiosity about people from different cultural traditions would inspire many to seek contact with supposed infidels. Religious identity itself would often be a point for negotiation or adaptation, a phenomenon expressed in Natalie Zemon Davis’s notion of Trickster Travels and Emilio Sola’s conception of los que van y vienen. Our initial point of departure, the Battle of Lepanto, epitomizes the complexity of Christian-Muslim rivalries in the Mediterranean Elizabeth B. Davis and Elizabeth R. Wright 12 12 and the methodological challenges that follow for poetry studies. Commanders on both sides of the battle lines that formed on October 7, 1571 carried orders from their sovereigns to destroy the enemy in God’s name. The sultan Selim II, according to Ottoman historian Halil Inalcik, had dispatched his fleets with the order to “attack the fleet of the Infidels fully trusting in God and his Prophet” (Inalcik 189). Philip II, for his part, reminded commanders they were attacking Turks in the name of all Christendom (“Relación de la Batalla de Lepanto” 216; “Instrucciones de Felipe II al marqués de Santa Cruz”). Flags hoisted on the two command ships offered stark visual confirmation of religious antipathy. Juan de Austria’s Real displayed a crucifixion scene. Facing him, the Ottoman Sultana of Muëzzinzade Ali Pasha bore some twentythousand silken panels embroidered with God’s name in Arabic. But the soldiers and commanders riding those galleys into battle attested to a more complex reality. An examination of the cover illustration of this special issue reveals such nuances (Fig. 1). The naval clash depicted is drawn from the scene Fig. 1. Giambattista Péroli y César Arbasia. Fresco de la Jornada de Navarino, 1572 (detalle). Archivo-Museo Naval “Don Álvaro de Bazán”. Viso del Marqués, España. 13 Mare Nostrum in the right foreground of a fresco that commemorates the August 1572 Jornada of Navarino, attributed to Italian artists Giambattista Péroli and Cesare Arbasia. Those fortunate enough to have visited the palace of Álvaro de Bazán (marqués de Santa Cruz) in Viso del Marqués near Ciudad Real will recall it from a portico of the central patio. The main Muslim protagonist in the scene, Uluç Ali, is the very model of the early-modern boundary crosser. Born Dionisio Galera or Galea in Calabria (circa 1503-1507), he was captured by Muslim raiders in early adolescence. After serving as a galley slave in Muslim fleets, he converted to Islam and rose to prominence, as the governor of Algiers. By the 1570s, he was widely respected as a master of galley warfare tactics (Sola 25...