Martial Festivals and the Chivalrous Imaginary
Martial Festivals and the Chivalrous Imaginary
This chapter focuses on martial festivals. Mock warfare had a long history in Spain, and while it shared many characteristics with other European traditions, certain aspects of these martial festivals were deeply rooted in Iberian autochthonous experiences of warfare against Islam and in the long and complicated symbiosis of Castilian, Aragonese, Catalan, and other regional communities with Islamic Spain. The juego de cañas and fictitious battles between moros y cristianos (Moors and Christians) are only the most obvious examples of festive military displays that reflect historical interactions between these two religions traditions. The chapter then presents two different perspectives on festive martial displays. The first is the social and military perspective and the second relates to the romances and chivalrous literature that promoted and served as models for these activities.
Keywords: martial festivals, mock warfare, Islamic Spain, juego de cañas, Moors, Christians, fictitious battles, martial displays, chivalrous literature
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