Chivalry and the Perfect Prince: Tournaments, Art, and Armor at the Spanish Habsburg Court

Chivalry and the Perfect Prince is a survey of the ceremonial armor crafted for the Spanish Habsburg monarchs of the sixteenth century. It examines notable tournaments and pageantry held at the courts of Charles V and Philip II, and the artworks associated with them. Braden Frieder guides the reader through these tournaments, jousting, and other knightly exercises as part of a larger aristocratic culture that included arms and armor, paintings, tapestries, medals, and sculptures with chivalric themes. Frieder presents Habsburg tournaments in their proper historical context as an extension of imperial politics, drawing comparisons with popular chivalric literature of the period. Frieder's study utilizes extensive primary source material and contemporary documents, many appearing for the first time in English.