Gift exchanges, self-representation, and the political use of objects during Ferdinand the Catholic’s reign

Abstract

The dynastic union of Castile and Aragon under the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, who married in 1469, had a profound impact on the evolution of the Iberian Peninsula in many different ways. The confluence of Christian and Moorish cultures led to the rise of orientalism in the Iberian Peninsula. Orientalizing gifts served to represent power. During the Middle Ages, Iberian sovereigns and many noblemen used references to Islamic culture as a means of self-representation which, in turn, influenced the developing use of material culture in diplomacy. The chapter analyses diplomatic gift-giving during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs. It explores how Ferdinand and Isabella organized their diplomacy, before turning to their gifting relationships within Europe. The chapter also analyses how their gifting strategies related to the war in Granada and military campaigns in the north of Africa.