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460 Rubén González Cuerva

Fig. 7. J.C. Vermeyen, A Fantasy in Tunis: the Game of Canes, Louvre Museum, Paris
(ca. 1535).

By showing his mastery in the riding style of the gineta (in which
riders used shorter stirrups that allowed for an easier manoeuvring of
the horse and in spear-throwing), Mulay Hassan both demonstrated
his aristocratic skills, which compared well with those of Spanish
noblemen, and deeply impressed the northern European members of
the campaign for whom it was more of a novelty . It is recorded that
50
the Tunisian riders engaged with Christian riders in this game, as
happened again in Naples in 1543. On that occasion, as Mulay Hassan
began another period of exile, a game of canes was held in his honour,
with Spanish, Italian, and Tunisian knights all participating in these
equestrian games. It can be hypothesized that the game of canes
served as the expression of a shared cultural practice between the
three Mediterranean realms .
51

50 N. Guldin, Relato de la jornada cit., pp. 126-127; R. Puddu, ‘Toros y cañas’: I giochi
equestri nella Spagna del Secolo d’Oro, «Quaderni Storici», 117:3 (2004), 807-829.
51 P. de Sandoval, Historia de la vida cit., p. 247; G. De Spenis, Breve cronica dai 2
giugno 1543 a 25 maggio 1547, ed. by B. Capasso, «Archivio Storico per le provincie
napoletane», 2 (1877), pp. 518-521. There are also later testimonies of such mock battles
between Moors of Tlemcen and Christians of the garrison of Oran in J. Irigoyen-García,
‘Poco os falta para moros cit., p. 362.

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