This talk will
introduce pictorial representations of the game of canes,
a festive equestrian display, popular in Spain and Italy,
in which noble Christian participants dressed as Moors.
This form of mimicry raises a number of questions
about iconography and identity.
Is costume a helpful clue or a misleading disguise?
How is it possible to persecute Muslims
while adopting the clothing and pastimes associated
with them?
The game of canes was performed across Spain,
but we have several images and documentation
about events in the Castilian city of Valladolid.
On the left, a naive, untutored artist sketched
the game performed around 1490 for the Catholic Monarchs,
Ferdinand and Isabella.
On the right, a Flemish member of the Royal Court
described a spectacle performed for King Philip, the second in 1592.
In each case, the scene is oriented toward the royal viewing box
or balcony, with squadrons of riders launching weapons
while riding in choreographed patterns.
Note the image on the right also includes gladiatorial combat
and bullfighting.
These pages come
from two versions of a German knight's travel book.
They document the association of the Game of canes with Spain.
The caption say
on the left: in Spain. And on the right: it's called The Game of canes.
Contemporaries debated whether the game came from ancient
Troy or from North Africa, a descendent of the djerid.
Some authors argued for an entirely classical origin, while others
recognize the shared roots of cultures around the Mediterranean.
These images show a Spaniard dressed in a turban and marlota
carrying an adarga shield, raising a lance or cane,
and riding in the jineta style with his legs
drawn up to hug the sides of the horse.
Equipping oneself for the game of canes required
a substantial investment.
In some cases, riders imported their horses, stirrups and tackle
from Spanish allied cities in North Africa
like Tlemcen today in Algeria.
In the case of the Marlota,
however, riders bought these garments from Spanish tailors
who were required by law to know how to make them.
The pattern at the top is for a silk marlota,
while the one below specifies damasc. Real moriscos
recently converted Muslims were forbidden
from wearing such clothing or fabrics.
Scholars today propose that garments like the marlota
were divorced from association with Islam and instead represented
an Andalusian heritage of noble wealth and luxury.
On the other hand, some clerics denounced the game of canes
for its ostentation and incitement to gambling.
The Flemish painter Jacob Van Laethem
produced a suite of four paintings documenting the travels of Philip
the Fair of Burgundy. For the Game of canes performed in Valladolid
he shows the usual riders dressed in Moorish, or perhaps
we should say Andalusian and style throwing weapons in the air.
While spectators appreciate the festive display
from the rooftops of the Plaza Mayor.
The only rider wearing a black cap
and dressed in a red and yellow marlota to the colors of Aragon
might be identified as Philip himself, who consolidated
his control over Castile and Aragon during this
1506 visit.
Philip's son, the Habsburg Emperor Charles V
organized a game of canes in Toledo
to entertain his pregnant wife, Isabel of Portugal
as is explained by an inscription on the painting.
Once again, the royal couple appears just to the left of center
in a temporary viewing box,
guarded by soldiers with pikes and accompanied by members of the court.
Squadrons dressed in blue and red compete below
accompanied by the sound of trumpets and drums.
This rider, dressed in blue, carries
a lance with a flag showing a crescent moon, the emblem of Islam.
The painting may reflect the fact that Charles and the artist Vermeyen
witnessed real equestrian spectacles
during the siege of Tunis in 1535.
In a few documented cases, we know that North African visitors
took part in cane games in Spain, Italy
and Germany.
How should we read
images of the game of canes as we have seen
costume alone is not reliable.
We need to understand cultural practices,
the distinction made between Moorish, which is to say
Andalusian clothing, and actual moors or Moriscos,
between highly desirable versus denigrated entities.
In addition, we cannot forget that public festivals drew together
many different spectators
from various social classes, trades and genders.
In these details from the foreground of Vermeyen's painting, we can see
black or sub-Saharan African servants or slaves, wealthy city dwellers,
tradesmen and peasants in addition to the Royal Court above.
For some viewers, the
display might have been a bittersweet reminder of a lost homeland.
Others may have been impressed
or just disgusted. In the later 17th century.
The Moorish or Andalusian features of the game of canes were erased
and its popularity waned.