Page 192 - sfogliabile 49

458 Rubén González Cuerva

Fig. 6. J.C. Vermeyen, King Mulay Hasan and his retinue at a repast in Tunis,
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (ca. 1535).

The rules of the princely game were clear to both sides, so that the
recently acquired bond of protection was expressed through the
exchange of gifts, which were much richer from the imperial side.
Charles V gave the king 40.000 ducats and a costly cargo of brocade
and silk, i.e., the money and clothes required for Mulay Hassan to
appear again as a real king. For his part, Mulay offered an auburn
mare, aware that Maghrebian horses were much appreciated in
Christian Europe .
42
Mulay Hassan needed more than new clothes and the presentation
of gifts to demonstrate his royal status. He was deliberately concerned
with performing and thereby demonstrating his nobility. Christian
eye-witnesses were unanimous in characterising him as a «courteous
and liberal» prince who «demonstrated that he was a king despite being
expelled from his city» . His dignity was comparable to that expected
43
from a Christian king, except for his sexual vices, which were said to

42 P. de Sandoval, Historia de la vida cit., pp. 247, 255.
43 «Cortés y liberal». L. del Mármol Carvajal, Libro tercero, y segvndo volvmen cit., p.
253r. «Era hombre de buena persona, que demostraba ser Rey aunque echado de su
ciudad». P. Girón, Crónica del emperador cit., p. 59.

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