Miguel de Barrios y la conquista de Buda: los poemas preliminares al Cesáreo carro triunfal (1687)

Abstract: The Sephardic poet Miguel de Barrios wrote a series of preliminary poems for the Cesáreo carro triunfal (1687), the most ambitious of which is a descriptive poem, the «Triunfo cesáreo», that ends with an account of how the Habsburgs reconquered Buda in 1686. In order to understand this neglected poem, we contrast it with another of Barrios’ descriptive texts: the «Descripción de las islas del mar Atlántico y de América», which he published in 1681 to accompany Piratas de la América. Stylistically, these poems share an interest in geographical and topographical references. This suggests that Barrios conceived these texts due to his participation in Blaeu’s Atlas mayor, and that he later adapted them in order to win both patronage and prestige. In 1687, these attempts involved protecting the interests of the Habsburgs against those of France.