CC 001 Crossbowman

At the beginning of the 16th century, Charles of Habsburg, son of Philip the Handsome and Joanna I of Castile, became heir to one of the largest concentrations of territories in Europe. Following the death of his maternal grandfather, Ferdinand the Catholic, in 1516, he was proclaimed king of the Spanish realms as Charles I of Spain. He arrived in the Iberian Peninsula in 1517 to take personal control of his kingdoms. In 1519 he was elected Holy Roman Emperor, becoming known as Charles V.

Charles inherited the crowns of Castile and Aragon, their American possessions, the Italian territories of the Crown of Aragon and the Burgundian Netherlands, together with the dynastic connections of the House of Habsburg. This vast monarchy required experienced military forces to defend its territories and support its political ambitions throughout Europe and the Mediterranean.

The armies Charles inherited were the result of a long process of military development. The campaigns of the Reconquista, the Granada War and the Italian Wars had helped produce experienced soldiers. Among the most influential military leaders of this period was Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, known as the Great Captain, whose Italian campaigns had a profound influence on the organisation and tactics of Spanish infantry.

The work of Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, Cardinal and Regent of Castile during the new king's absence, was also significant. Cisneros promoted military expeditions in North Africa and played a major role in the conquest of Oran in 1509, a campaign under the military command of Pedro Navarro. These operations helped establish Spanish power along the North African coast and brought together soldiers with considerable combat experience.

This Castilian crossbowman evokes the soldiers of that transitional age, when the crossbow remained an important weapon in European armies despite the growing use of firearms. The figure recalls the men who served in the armies of the Spanish Monarchy during the early years of Charles I's reign.

A tribute to the soldiers of Renaissance Castile, at the dawn of an era in which the Spanish Monarchy would become a major European and global power.