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Call for papers #37

The Spanish Habsburgs, Warfare, and the Militant Virgin

Jeffery A. Schrader, Bowling Green State University

The Spanish Habsburgs (1516-1700) saw the Virgin Mary as an ally in their military initiatives. In exchange for her assistance in war, the dynasty bolstered her spiritual importance against what were seen as the threats of Protestant heresy and Muslim disbelief. This alliance was meant to fortify Catholicism and to satisfy the chief objective of Habsburg rulership, namely the salvation of souls. Royal piety therefore emphasized the martial powers of the Virgin and her apparent role in securing Spanish victories on the battlefield. This tradition merits study in connection with Marian images, some of which the Habsburgs identified as agents of heavenly intervention in earthly conflicts. The reign of Philip IV (1621-1665), which was characterized by protracted warfare, offers an example in how Spanish leaders harnessed the powers of the militant Virgin through these miraculous images.
Prestigious Marian shrines constituted the venue for much of the discourse between the royal family and the Mother of God. These churches each housed a wonder-working statue that large numbers of people invoked for a variety of causes, including curative miracles and the protection of crops from unfavorable weather. The Spanish monarchs, who claimed to be the foremost devotees of miraculous imagery, transformed the sanctuaries into a wartime stage for appeals to the Virgin. Philip IV and his family accordingly exercised this power in such shrines as those of the Virgin of Atocha in Madrid, the Virgin of the Pillar in Zaragoza, and the Virgin of Montserrat in Catalonia.
The miraculous images were seemingly capable of reaching far beyond their dwellings to smite the enemies of the monarchy. Their deeds took place throughout the Iberian Peninsula and beyond, confirming that the Virgin supported the Habsburgs' imperial ambitions as a just cause. By implication, the opponents of the royal family were rebelling against the heavens and had neither legitimacy nor hope for success. Cast in this light, the images guaranteed the territorial integrity of the Spanish realms and steered the course of history in favor of the House of Austria.