Page 9 - Catálogo #78 2020 Bostn Virtual Book Fair

Librería José Porrúa Turanzas 2020 Boston Virtual Book Fair

THE DEFENSE OF WESTERN CIVIIZATION: THE EMPEROR CHARLES V ORGANIZES
THE DEFENSE OFVIENNA AGAINST THE SIEGE OF THE TURCS
4. CARLOS V, Emperador [signed as CARLOS I, king of Spain]. Autograph letter from
Emperor Charles V to the Prior of Barletta (southern Italy), for the defense of the city
and transfer of artillery to Vienna before the siege of the Turks. [Manuscript] Written
during his trip from Germany to Vienna, September 1532. Folio (270 x 215)mm. 1 leaf
writen on one side. Signed “Yo El Rey”. Seil. 30,000 € / US$ $35,000

Letter of exceptional importance, written by the Emperor Carlos V himself and signed as
Carlos I, King of Spain, addressed to his Captain General of Artillery, the Prior of Barlet-
ta, in the Apulia region, southwestern Italy. In the letter, the Emperor gives instructions
to the Prior for the defense of the Italian city, order the transfer of pieces and troops
from Regensburg, where the troops recruited in Germany were concentrated, and or-
ders him to leave Italy for Vienna with the other artillery officers, where he goes for the
defense of Europe against the advance of the Turks, and that he leaves for Vienna, with
the horses that he had paid, and all the gunpowder, shovels, picks, and hoes that they
have. Barletta had been occupied by Spanish troops commanded by the Great Captain
Gonzalo de Córdoba in 1503 and since then it has been under Spanish rule; the city
served as a fortress for the Spanish rulers in southern Italy.
Very important document showing the operations of Emperor Charles V on the Europe-
an board and the defense of Vienna against the attack of the Turks.

— 8 — — 9 —