The presence of Erasmian discourse in Luis Zapata’s Carlo famoso (1566) has been both neglected and misinterpreted in literary scholarship. Previously understood as an expression of insubordination against the reign of Philip II, the poet’s intertextual use of Erasmus is reconsidered in this article as political advice imbued with a didactic purpose. Through an exploration of Zapata’s contributions to early modern debates on the formation of the Christian prince, imperial expansion, and war, this study seeks to determine the intellectual and ideological profile of the poet and establish a more accurate link between his epic and the wider European political framework of the sixteenth century. In doing so, it aims to broaden the lens through which Carlo famoso has traditionally been read and shed new light on the politico-ethics of its author.