The Tree of Chivalry and the Black Lady: Juana of Castile's 1496 Joyous Entry into Brussels

Kupferstichkabinett MS 78D5 (Staatliche Museen Berlin) presents an iconographic account of the Joyous Entry of Juana of Castile into Brussels on 9 December 1496. In this article we newly identify a rare visual record of a civic contribution to a tournament within the manuscript. Folio 13r depicts performers dressed as woodwoses and a Black Lady on horseback, holding in her hand an object, which we are the first to identify as a Tree of Chivalry – an important symbol in tournament culture. We argue for a shift in understanding this iconographic account, and propose a new approach that acknowledges the overlap between fiction, performance, and tournament practice. By drawing on a range of conventions from Burgundian pas d’armes and broader tournament culture, as well as evidence from account books and chronicles, we deepen the understanding of the spectacle created for Juana’s entry. Our reinterpretation of the manuscript image, which we situate alongside the Epinette iconography of Valenciennes MS 806, adds a revealing source to the material which can be used to understand the roles of performers, particularly in civic contexts, on the margins of the tournament.