A Common Time, a Common Space for Imperial Rule: Royal Exequies and the Absent King’s Presence and Legitimacy in the Spanish Habsburg Empire

Arguably, the most important and imposing ceremony was the royal funeral or exequies, celebrated in all the courts and cities of the empire. It required the design and construction of a massive catafalque with elaborate lighting and artwork symbolizing the majesty and life-achievements of the departed king, and death; it was usually placed in the central nave of a cathedral, and enclosed by daily masses, sermons, music, and processions that included the different estates in the city clad in special attire. The royal exequies constituted a privileged moment for the projection of royal powers; for participants, it was an important ritual of obedience and allegiance to the king and his monarchy; sponsoring such events was central to the economy of favors that governed the relationship between the king and his imperial subjects, affording the monarch legitimacy. The production, and wide circulation of printed accounts of their celebration, beyond the celebrant city, not only cemented a shared ceremonial calendar that established a common imperial (ritual) time, but in concurrence with certain urban designs and architectural structures, produced similar authorized imperial spaces (and places) for the exercise of monarchical rule from afar, and a unified sense of empire, belonging, and royal power throughout the Spanish Habsburg dominions.