Page 219 - sfogliabile 49

A baroque vision of the conquest of Tunis in 1535 485

The Emperor marvels at the Spanish character while confirming
the deeply rooted social hierarchy of the period:

Está bien que, aunque gente baja,
española ha de tener
esta honra y esta jactancia (p. 33) 51 .

The scene of Barbarossa’s interrogation of the captive Spanish
captain, Ripalda serves as a contrast and counterbalance to this
encounter. Ripalda is a largely fictional character. He was not a
captain but the commander of a regiment, and thus interacted closely
with the emperor as it is shown in the play. He was a noble, not a
commoner. He was wounded but not captured. Clearly the author
changed the facts for dramatic effect , and to create an unblemished,
52
heroic character who explains and facilitates the fate of the Christian
captives in Tunis. The captain refuses to reveal the Emperor’s plans
and Barbarossa orders him to be locked up in the alcazaba, which is
to be set on fire rather than let it fall into Christian hands.
Barbarossa’s evil plans are thwarted by Ripalda who overpowers the
guards taking him to the dungeons and frees the other captives, who
rebel against their jailers. In fact, the rebellion of the captives in Tunis
appears to have been engineered by a Spanish renegade . With this,
53
Barbarossa disappears from the play.
In the next scene a new character appears linked to Charles V:
Fame. The Emperor is presented as the new Scipio and the taking of
the city is attributed to the heroic act of Captain Ripalda, who is now
ennobled and given the much-coveted honour of a knighthood in a
Military Order. This shows Charles V as king of Spain and head of the
social hierarchy, the only one with power to confer nobility; it also
identifies him as the champion of Christendom. While the hierarchical
system is constantly reinforced, serving the Crown is presented as a
way of transcending a lowly status.

51 «It is good that the Spaniards / though of lowly status / should have such honour
and pride» (p. 33).
52 A. de Ceballos-Escalera, Guerra y nobleza cit., p. 144.
53 The captives, estimated at between 16,000 and 20,000, were released as a result
of the betrayal of the Spanish renegade Francisco de Medellín, who was pardoned by
the Emperor as a reward, A. de Ceballos-Escalera, Guerra y nobleza cit., p. 137. All
accounts – Muslim or Christian – agree it was a crucial factor in the Emperor’s victory:
K. Brandi, Carlos cit., p. 306; M.Á. Bunes, La ocupación del Magreb por Hayreddin
Barbarroja según el ms. 2459 de la Üniversite Kütüphanesi de Estambul, in M.J. Rubiera
(ed.), Carlos cit., p. 192; Seyyid Murad on the life of the Barbarossa brothers in M.Á.
Bunes Ibarra, E. Sola Castaño, La vida cit., p. 124.

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