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424 María José Rodríguez-Salgado

The lord of Vély, French ambassador at the imperial court, kept them
well informed of the emperor’s military preparations but could not
confirm the emperor’s target, and the uncertainty exacerbated
divisions among French councillors. This, argued Carpi, was making
French policy erratic – «negotiano a salti» – and had driven them into
the arms of the Ottomans . The nuncio was alarmed when Francis I
31
showed his approval of Süleyman’s decision to reinforce Tunis because
the greater the danger, the easier it would be to recover Milan and to
put Zapolya on the throne of Hungary. The stronger Barbarossa and
Süleyman were, the happier the French were . Paul III continued to
32
demand that Francis I join the campaign against Barbarossa,
alternating persuasion with threats but all in vain .
33
The instability caused by the emperor’s refusal to declare where his
forces would strike affected even his closest collaborators, including
his siblings Mary of Hungary and Ferdinand I, whom he had promised
to keep informed . They shared what secret information they gleaned
34
with each other, but not with imperial officials, since they did not know
who to trust. In April 1535 the imperial secretary Antoine de Perrenin
revealed in a secret missive to Mary that Charles V would command
an expedition against Tunis. They did not believe it at first, convinced
he would surely have informed them of such an important decision .
35
On 10 and 13 May, the imperial secretariat issued another raft of

official letters, proclamations and pamphlets with orders to
disseminate them widely, announcing the emperor’s decision to
embark for Italy «to visit» Naples and Sicily, and his decision to attack
Barbarossa and Süleyman. There was still no indication of where his
forces would strike . By then he was estimated to have over 300 sail
36

31 Ang, Carpi, pp. 11-13, cit. p. 12, Carpi to Ricalcato, 26 February 1535.
32 Ang, Carpi, pp. 8-10 (22-23 February 1535) and pp. 18-19 (12 March 1535), Carpi
to Ricalcato.
33 Ang, Carpi, p. 28, Instructions for Latino Giovenale, special envoy to Francis I,
Rome, 3 March 1535. LP, viii, n. 498, Gregorio Casale to Cromwell, Rome, 4 April 1535;
n. 535 (12 April 1535); n. 545 (13 April 1535). Du Bellay, I, p. 471, Charles Hémard de
Denonville to Jean du Bellay, Rome, 15 April 1535.
34 Hannart, for example, PEG, II, pp. 329 and 333, 14 April 1535. KFI, V, p. 171,
Charles V to Ferdinand I, 3 February 1535.
35 KFI, V, p. 199, Mary of Hungary to Ferdinand I (1 April 1535), ivi, p. 212 (12 April),
Ferdinand I to Mary (25 April), p. 225. Salinas to Ferdinand I (21 February 1535), cit.,
p. 238.
36 Examples of Charles V’s letter from Barcelona ca. 10 May 1535 to Ferdinand I
(KFI, V, 226-228) who disseminated it to princes and institutions in the Holy Roman
Empire and in his own lands (Ferdinand I to Charles V, 7 June, ivi, p. 246); PEG, II, p.
354, to Francis I; Csp Sp 5(1), n. 158 and LP, viii, n. 697, to Henry VIII; Cdcv, I, pp. 423-
425 to Lope de Soria for the Venetians. Once the pope had it, multiple copies were
disseminated, Du Bellay, I, p. 485, Gregorio Casale to [Jean du Bellay], 14 May 1535.

Mediterranea - ricerche storiche - Anno XVII - Agosto 2020
ISSN 1824-3010 (stampa) ISSN 1828-230X (online)