Messianic Visions in the Spanish Monarchy, 1516–1598

MESSIANIC VISIONS IN THE SPANISH MONARCHY, 1516-1598 Geoffrey Parker The Ohio State University M essianic visions form an integral part of Judaism, Christianity , and Islam because all three faiths ascribe a crucial role to a messiah (in Islam, to a Mahdi or “rightly guided one”): a savior or redeemer sent by God both to establish a new order characterized by justice for all and (often) to herald the end of the world. At certain times, messianic visions have become particularly prevalent; and in the sixteenth century they burgeoned simultaneously in all three faiths, directly involved sovereign rulers, and powerfully influenced international relations.1 My name is Shah Isma’il. I am God’s mystery . . . I am the living Jesus, son of Mary, I am the Alexander of my contemporaries. The Perfect Guide has arrived. Faith has been brought to all . . . A man has become a manifestation of the truth. Prostrate thyself! Pander not to Satan! Adam has put on new clothes. God has come.2 Shah Isma’il, founder of the Safavid dynasty of Iran and author of these verses, was just one of many Muslims who claimed to be the “Mahdi” (the “rightly guided one,” the Islamic equivalent of the Messiah) during the tenth century of the Muslim era, which coincided with the age of Charles V and Philip II. Visitors noted that Isma’il’s entourage called him “neither king nor prince, but saint and prophet”; and the success of his religious propaganda soon alarmed other Muslims, particularly his western neighbor the Ottoman Sultan Selim. In 1514 the two rulers clashed in battle, and after his victory Selim began to use similar messianic terms such as “Shadow of God on earth” and Sahib-kiran, or “World Conqueror ” (Subrahmanyan 55-71; Fleischer, “Mahdi, Messiah” 35).3 Selim’s son and heir Suleiman likewise used the title Sahib-kiran and in 1532 began to wear a special tiara with four crowns, symbolizing the rule of the last world emperor. He also encouraged histories and prophecies that compared him with his namesake Solomon and with Alexander the Great (Fleischer, “Mahdi, Messiah” 53).4 CALÍOPE Vol. 8, No. 2 (2002): pages 5-24 6 Geoffrey Parker D D D D D The Jewish communities of medieval Spain and Portugal also looked for a messiah, and their expulsion from the peninsula during the 1490s heightened speculation that his appearance was imminent— both among those who retained their faith and fled, and among those who converted to Christianity and remained. Thus Isaac Abravanel, who composed three messianic treatises in exile in Italy, argued that redemption would occur between 1503 and 1573; while Solomon Molcho, a Portuguese convert to Christianity who returned to Judaism and circumcised himself, believed he had a messianic mission and went to Regensburg in 1532 to meet the Habsburg emperor, Charles V. Molcho obtained a two-hour audience, during which he displayed the banner, shield, and sword that he proposed to use when he led the Jews against Sultan Suleiman, then advancing into Hungary. He failed to convince Charles, however, who imprisoned him, took him back to Italy in a cage, and had him burnt at the stake (Lenowitz 120-23; Idel).5 By then, Charles too had become the focus of messianic views. Burgundian court tradition included accession pageants that displayed the ruler as the Messiah and the city he “entered” as Jerusalem. During Charles’s ceremonial entry into Bruges in 1515, the first scene, which resembled the birth of Christ, showed three angels presenting Charles with a crown, a coat of arms, and the keys of the city, just as the three Wise Men had brought gifts to the Christ child. Subsequent tableaux equated Bruges with Jerusalem, displayed the prince’s descent from David, and culminated in a massive display that showed Charles as Christ, and his mother (Juana of Castile) as the Virgin Mary ascending into heaven. The images so impressed Charles that he asked to see the whole show again the next day (Anglo 12; Kipling; Blockman and Donckers; Martin).6 The following year, Charles became King of Spain. Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, Charles’s grandparents, had acquired from the Pope the...