Reyes sabios para un imperio planetario. Visiones salomónicas en la Casa de Austria (1516-1700)

Abstract

El imperio planetario de los Habsburgo legitimó sus aspiraciones universalistas a través de un complejo y heterogéneo discurso político. Estos programas exaltatorios parangonaban a sus miembros con los grandes reyes y héroes de la Antigüedad clásica y de la historia bíblica. Entre estos tópicos, la revitalización del rey sabio adquirió una importante presencia en la propaganda regia. La materialización de esta idea se llevó a cabo a través del símil salomónico, es decir, el uso del rey bíblico como paradigma del ideal de realeza. Las Sagradas Escrituras recogían el reinado del virtuoso Salomón como un momento de esplendor, riqueza y paz. La razón no era otra que la sabiduría que Dios le había concedido y con esta, todos sus favores. Por supuesto, este modelo regio tenía su origen en la tradición política medieval, concretamente, en el periodo altomedieval. El Ideal sapiencial, concepto acuñado por el investigador alemán Hans Hubert Anton, se configuró a partir de los ideales de la filosofía griega y cristiana. Al calor de esta tradición, la Monarquía Hispánica tomó la imago sapientiae como virtud política inherente en sus miembros, representándolos como «nuevos Salomones». Sin duda, el fin último de estos paralelismos, alegorías y símbolos siempre fue sacralizar la dinastía y alzarse en paladines de la Fe.

The planetary empire of the Habsburgs legitimized their universalist aspirations through a complex and heterogeneous political discourse. These exalting programs paralleled its members with the great kings and heroes of classical Antiquity and biblical history. Among these topics, the revitalization of the wise king acquired an important presence in royal propaganda. The materialization of this idea was carried out through the Solomonic simile, that is, the use of the biblical king as a paradigm of the ideal of kingship. The Holy Scriptures included the reign of the virtuous Solomon as a moment of splendor, wealth, and peace. The reason was none other than the wisdom that God had granted him and with it, all His favors. Of course, this royal model had its origin in medieval political tradition, specifically, in the early medieval period. The sapiential ideal, a concept coined by the German researcher Hans Hubert Anton, was configured based on the ideals of Greek and Christian philosophy. In due of this tradition, the Spanish Monarchy adopted the imago sapientiae as an inherent political virtue in its members, portraying them as "new Solomons." Without a doubt, the ultimate goal of these figures, allegories, parallels, or symbols was always to sanctify the dynasty and rise as champions of the Faith, which was questioned by the religious wars that affected the European continent during the Modern Age. This Doctoral Thesis aims to show the revaluation of sapiential kingship during the centuries of the Casa de Austria's authority. For this purpose, the research has been structured through a series of chapters that demonstrate the importance of wisdom in the Western political tradition and its presence in the literature and art of the 16th and 17th centuries, specifically, in the Habsburg universe. In summary, the essay is organized into two parts: one that addresses the weight of cultural and family tradition, and another that materializes this tradition through literary and iconographic manifestations where the Habsburgs are represented or compared with the Hebrew king, Solomon.