International Journal of History

Author(s): Enrique García de Gabiola

Abstract: This article analyzes some parts of a previously understudied manuscript chronicle of the Schmalkaldic War (1546-1547) penned by Don Luis de Ávila y Zúñiga, a close confidant and military commander of Emperor Charles V. While the printed version of this chronicle is renowned as a masterpiece of imperial propaganda, this study argues that this manuscript represents a distinct and crucial historical object: the memory draft before being approved by the Emperor Charles V, this is, the story before the History. By examining this manuscript not merely as a textual draft but as a material artifact of political communication, this article reveals the intricate process of crafting official history at the Habsburg court. It demonstrates how the narrative of Charles V's victory was negotiated before public dissemination. The manuscript thus offers a unique window into the moment before the official history was frozen in print, illuminating the deliberate construction of imperial ideology, the rhetoric of eyewitness testimony, and the collaborative mechanics of power between a Renaissance prince and his courtly chronicler.

DOI: 10.22271/27069109.2025.v7.i9b.517

Pages: 76-78 | Views: 260 | Downloads: 50

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