~HISTORY THE REIGN OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. VOL. I. ' — -..~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~;iiain. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~........ H I S T O RY OF THE REIGN OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLi:A, THE CATHOLIC. BY WILLIAM HI. PRESCOTT. Quam surgere regnsa ConJugio tali I Virgil. XEneid. iv. 47. Crevere vires, famaque et impen Porrecta majestas ab Euro Solis ad Occiduum cubile. Horat. Carmr. iv. 15. IN THREE VOLUMES.-VOL. I. TENTH EDITION. NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 329 &. 331 PEARL STREET, FRANKLIN SQUARE. 1852. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1837, BY WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT, In the Clerk's office of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts. TO THE HONORABLE WILLIAM PRESCOTT, LL. D., THE GUIDE OF MY YOUTH, MY BEST FRIEND IN RIPER YEARS, THESE VOLUMES, WITH THE WARMEST FEELINGS OF FILIAL AFFECTION9 ARE RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. ENGLISH writers have done more for the illus. tration of Spanish history, than for that of any other except their own. To say nothing of the recent general compendium, executed for the " Cabinet Cyclopaedia," a work of singular acuteness and Information, we have particular narratives of the several reigns, in an unbroken series, from the emperor Charles the Fifth (the First of Spain) to Charles the Third, at the close of the last century, by authors whose names are a sufficient guaranty for the excellence of their productions. It is singular, that, with this attention to the modern history of the Peninsula, there should be no particular account of the period, which may be considered as the proper basis of it, -the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. In this reign, the several States, into which the country had been broken up for ages, were brought IV PREFACE. under a common rule; the kingdom of Naples was conquered; America discovered and colonized; the ancient empire of the Spanish Arabs subverted; the dread tribunal of the Modern Inquisition established; the Jews, who contributed so sensibly to the wealth and civilization of the country, were banished; and, in fine, such changes were introduced into the interior administration of the monarchy, as have left a permanent impression on the character and condition of the nation. The actors in these events, were every way suited to their importance. Besides the reigning sovereigns, Ferdinand and Isabella, the latter certainly one of the most interesting personages in history, we have, in political affairs, that consummate statesman, Cardinal Ximenes, in military, the " Great Captain," Gonsalvo de Cordova, and In maritime, the most successful navigator of any age, Christopher Columbus; whose entire biographies fall within the limits of this period. Even such portions of it as have been incidentally touched by English writers, as the Italian wars, for example, have been drawn so exclusively from French and Italian sources, that they may be said to be untrodden ground for the historian of Spain.* * The only histories of this reign by continental writers, with which I am acquainted, are the "Histoire des Rois Catholiques PRE FACE. V It must be admitted, however, that an account or this reign could not have been undertaken at any preceding period, with any thing like the advantages at present afforded; owing to the light which recent researches of Spanish scholars, in the greater freedom of inquiry now enjoyed, have shed on some of its most interesting and least familiar features. The most important of the works to which I allude are, the History of the Inquisition, from official documents, by its secretary, Llorente; the analysis of the political institutions of the kingdom, by such writers as Marina, Sempere, and Capmany; the literal version, now made for the first time, of the Spanish-Arab chronicles, by Conde; the collection of original and unpublished documents, illustrating the history of Columbus and the early Castilian navigators, by Navarrete; and, lastly, the copious illustrations of Isabella's reign, by Cleinencin, the late lamented secretary of the Royal Academy of Ferdinand et Isabelle, par l'AbbW Mignot, Paris, 1766," and the " Geschichte der Regierung Ferdinand des Katholischen, von Rupert Becker, Prag und Leipzig, 1790." Their authors have employed the most accessible materials only in the compilation; and, indeed, they lay claim to no great research, which would seem to be precluded by the extent of their works, in neither instance exceeding two volumes duodecimo. They have the merit of exhibiting, in a simple, perspicuous form, those events, which, lying on the surface, may be found more or less expanded in most general histories. Vio PREFACE. History, forming the sixth volume of its valuable Memoirs. It was the knowledge of these facilities for doing justice to this subject, as well as its intrinsic merits, which led me, ten years since, to select it; and surely no subject could be found more suitable for the pen of an American, than a history of that reign, under the auspices of which the existence of his own favored quarter of the globe was first revealed. As I was conscious that the value of the history must depend mainly on that of its materials, I have spared neither pains nor expense, from the first, in collecting the most authentic. In accomplishing this, I must acknowledge the services of my friends Mr. Alexander H. Everett, then minister plenipo tentiary from the United States to the court of Mad rid, Mr. Arthur Middleton, secretary of the American legation, and, above all, Mr. O. Rich, now American consul for the Balearic Islands, a gentleman, whose extensive bibliographical knowledge, and unwearied researches, during a long residence in the Peninsula, have been liberally employed for the-benefit both of his own country and of England. With such assistance, I flatter myself that I have been enabled to secure whatever can materially conduce to the illustration of the period in question, whether PREFACE. Vii in the form of chronicle, memoir, private correspondence, legal codes, or official documents. Among these are various contemporary manuscripts, covering the whole ground of the narrative, none of which have been printed, and some of them but little known to Spanish scholars. In obtaining copies of these from the public libraries, I must add, that I have found facilities under the present liberal government, which were denied me under the preceding. In addition to these sources of information, I have availed myself, in the part of the work occupied with literary criticism and history, of the library of my friend, Mr. George Ticknor, who during a visit to Spain, some years since, collected whatever was rare and valuable in the literature of the Peninsula. I must further acknowledge my obligations to the library of Harvard University, in Cambridge, from whose rich repository of books relating to our own country I have derived material aid. And, lastly, I must not omit to notice the favors of another kind for which I am indebted to my friend, Mr. William H. Gardiner, whose judicious counsels have been of essential benefit to me in the revision of my labors. In the plan of the work, I have not limited myself to a strict chronological narrative of passing events, but have occasionally paused, at the ex viii PREFACE pense, perhaps, of some interest in the story, to seek such collateral information, as might bring these events into a clearer view. I have devoted a liberal portion of the work to the literary progress of the nation, conceiving this quite as essential a part of its history as civil and military details. I have occasionally introduced, at the close of the chapters, a critical notice of the authorities used, that the reader may form some estimate of their comparative value and credibility. Finally, I have endeavoured to present him with such an account of the state of affairs, both before the accession, and at the demise of the Catholic sovereigns, as might afford him the best points of view for surveying the entire results of their reign. How far I have succeeded in the execution of this plan, must be left to the reader's candid judgment. Many errors he may be able to detect. Sure I am, there can be no one more sensible of my deficiencies, than myself; although it was not till after practical experience, that I could fully estimate the difficulty of obtaining any thing like a faithful portraiture of a distant age, amidst the shifting hues and perplexing cross lights of historic testimony. From one class of errors my subject necessarily exempts me; those founded on national or party PREFACE. ix feeling. I may have been more open to another fault; that of too strong a bias in favor of my principal actors; for characters, noble and interesting in themselves, naturally beget a sort of partiality akin to friendship, in the historian's mind, accustomed to the daily contemplation of them. Whatever defects may be charged on the work, I can at least assure myself, that it is an honest record of a reign important in itself, new to the reader in an English dress, and resting on a solid basis of authentic materials, such as probably could not be met with out of Spain, nor in it without much difficulty. I hope I shall be acquitted of egotism, although I add a few words respecting the peculiar embarrassments I have encountered, in composing these volumes. Soon after my arrangements were made, early in 1826, for obtaining the necessary materials from'Madrid, I was deprived of the use of my eyes for all purposes of reading and writing, and had no prospect of again recovering it. This was a serious obstacle to the prosecution of a work, requiring the perusal of a large mass of authorities, in various languages, the contents of which were to be carefully collated, and transferred to'my own pages, verified by minute reference.* Thus shut * " To compile a history from various authors, when they can only be consulted by other eyes, is not easy, nor possible, but with VOL. I. b X PREFACE. out from one sense, I was driven to rely exclusively on another, and to make the ear do the work of the eye. With the assistance of a reader, uninitiated, it may be added, in any modern language but his own, I worked my way through several venerable Castilian quartos, until I was satisfied of the practicability of the undertaking. I next procured the services of one more competent to aid me in pursuing my historical inquiries. The process was slow and irksome enough, doubtless, to both parties, at least till my ear was accommodated to foreign sounds, and an antiquated, oftentimes barbarous phraseology, when my progress became more sensible, and I was cheered with the prospect of success. It certainly would have been a far more serious misfortune, to be led thus blindfold through the pleasant paths of literature; but my track stretched, for the most part, across dreary wastes, where no beauty lurked, to arrest the traveller's eye and charm his senses. After persevering in this course for some years, my eyes, by the blessing of Providence, recovered sufficient strength more skilful and attentive help than can be commonly obtained." (Johnson's Life of 3Milton.) This remark of the great critic, which first engaged my attention in the midst of my embarrassments, although discouraging at first, in the end stimulated the desire to overcome them. PREFACE. X1 to allow me to use them, with tolerable freedom, in the prosecution of my labors, and in the revision of all previously written. I hope I shall not be misunderstood, as stating these circumstances to deprecate the severity of criticism, since I am inclined to think the greater circumspection I have been compelled to use has left me, on the whole, less exposed to inaccuracies, than I should have been in the ordinary mode of composition. But, as I reflect on the many sober hours I have passed in wading through black letter tomes, and through manuscripts whose doubtful orthography and defiance of all punctuation were so many stumblingblocks to my amanuensis, it calls up a scene of whimsical distresses, not usually encountered, on which the good-natured reader may, perhaps, allow I have some right, now that I have got the better of them, to dwell with satisfaction. I will only remark, in conclusion of this too prolix discussion about myself, that while making my tortoise-like progress, I saw what I had fondly looked upon as my own ground, (having indeed lain unmolested by any other invader for so many ages,) suddenly entered, and in part occupied, by one of my countrymen. I allude to Mr. Irving's "History of Columbus," and "Chronicle of Granada"; Xii PREFACE. the subjects of which, although covering but a small part of my whole plan, form certainly two of its most brilliant portions. Now, alas! if not devoid of interest, they are, at least, stripped of the charm of novelty. For what eye has not been attracted to the spot, on which the light of that writer's genius has fallen? I cannot quit the subject which has so long occupied me, without one glance at the present unhappy condition of Spain; who, shorn of her ancient splendor, humbled by the loss of empire abroad, and credit at home, is abandoned to all the evils of anarchy. Yet, deplorable as this condition is, it is not so bad as the lethargy in which she has been sunk for ages. Better be hurried forward for a season on the wings of the tempest, than stagnate in a deathlike calm, fatal alike to intellectual and moral progress. The crisis of a revolution, when old things are passing away, and new ones are not yet established, is, indeed, fearful. Even the immediate consequences of its achievement are scarcely less so to a people who have yet to learn by experiment the precise form of institutions best suited to their wants, and to accommodate their character to these institutions. Such results must come with time, however, if the nation be but true to itself. PREFACE. Xiii And that they will come, sooner or later, to the Spaniards, surely no one can distrust who is at all conversant with their earlier history, and has witnessed the examples it affords of heroic virtue, devoted patriotism, and generous love of freedom; " ChU 1' antico valore ~ —- non e ancor morto." Clouds and darkness have, indeed, settled thick around the throne of the youthful Isabella; but not a deeper darkness than that which covered the land in the first years of her illustrious namesake; and we may humbly trust, that the same Providence, which guided her reign to so prosperous a termination, may carry the nation safe through its present perils, and secure to it the greatest of earthly blessings, civil and religious liberty. Vovember, 1837. PREFACE TO THE THIRD ENGLISH EDITION. SINCE the publication of the First Edition of this work, it has undergone a careful revision; and this, aided by the communications of several intelligent friends, who have taken an interest in its success, has enabled me to correct several verbal inaccuracies, and a few typographical errors, which had been previously overlooked. While the Second Edition was passing through the press, I received, also, copies of two valuable Spanish works, having relation to the reign of the Catholic sovereigns, but which, as they appeared during the recent troubles of the Peninsula, had not before come to my knowledge. For these I am indebted to the politeness of Don Angel Calderon de la Barca, late Spanish Minister at Washington; a gentleman, whose frank and liberal manners, personal accomplishments, and indepen dent conduct in public life, have secured for him de servedly high consideration in the United States, as well as in his own country. I must still farther acknowledge my obligation to Don Pascual de Gayangos, the learned author of the "Mahommedan Dynasties in Spain," recently published in London, — a work, which, from its thorough investigation of original sources, and fine spirit of criticism, must supply, what has been so long felt as an important desideratum with the student, - the means of forming a perfect xvi PREFACE TO THE THIRD ENGLISH EDITION. acquaintance with the Arabian portion of the Peninsular annals. There fell into the hands of this gentleman, on the breaking up of the convents of Saragossa in 1835, a rich collection of original documents, comprehending, among other things, the autograph correspondence of Ferdinand and Isabella, and of the principal persons of their court. It formed, probably, part of the library of Geromimo Zurita, -historiographer of Aragon, under Philip the Second, —who, by virtue of his office, was intrusted with whatever documents could illustrate the history of the country. This rare collection was left at his death to a monastery in his native city. Although Zurita is one of the principal authorities for the present work, there are many details of interest in this correspondence, which have passed unnoticed by him, although forming the basis of his conclusions; and I have gladly availed myself of the liberality and great kindness of Seinor de Gayangos, who has placed these manuscripts at my disposal, transcribing such as I have selected, for the corroboration and further illustration of my work. The difficulties attending this labor of love will be better appreciated, when it is understood, that the original writing is in an antiquated character, which few Spanish scholars of the present day could comprehend, and often in cypher, which requires much patience and ingenuity to explain. With these various emendations, it is hoped that the present Edition may be found more deserving of that favor from the public, which has been so courteously accorded to the preceding..March, 1841. CONTENTS OF VOLUME FIRST INTRODUCTION. SECTION I. VIEW OF THE CASTILIAN MONARCHY BEFORE THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.0.. xxix State of Spain at the Middle of the Fifteenth Century. xxx Early History and Constitution of Castile xxxii The Visigoths..... xxxil Invasion of the Arabs..... xxxiii Its Influence on the Condition of the Spaniards.. xxxvi Causes of their slow Reconquest of the Country. xxxvii Their ultimate Success certain. xxxviii Their Religious Enthusiasm.... xxxvii Influence of their Minstrelsy.... x Their Charity to the Infidel... xli Their Chivalry... lii Early Importance of the Castilian Towns xlv Their Privileges..... xlv Castilian Cortes....v. iii Its great Powers......... 1 Its Boldness....... lii Hermandades of Castile....... liii Wealth of the Cities.... liv Period of the highest Power of the Commons.. lvii The Nobility........ lviii Their Privileges lix Their great Wealth....... Ix Their turbulent Spirit.... Iii VOL. I. c Xviii CONTENTS. Page Thle Catdlleros or Knights..... lxiv The Clergy......... lxvI Influence of the Papal Court...... lxvl Corruption of the Clergy. lxvdi Their rich Possessions...... ixviii Limited Extent of the Royal Prerogative.... lxxi Poverty of the Crown.......xxiv Its Causes...... lxxiv Anecdote of Hienry Il., of Castile lxxv Constitutional Writers on Castile.....lxxvii Constitution at the Beginning of the Fifteenth Century lxxix Notice of Marina and Sempere.. lxxix SECTION II. REVIEW OF TIHE CONSTITUTION OF ARAGON TO THE MIDDLE OF THE FIFTEENTIH CENTURY lxxxii Rise of Aragon.. lxxxii Foreign Conquests.. lxxxiv Code of Soprarbe... lxxxvi The Ricos HIombres..... lxxxvii Their Immunities..... lxxxviii Their Turbulence...... xc Privile(res of Union..... xci Their Abrogation...... xciii The Legislature of Aragon..... xcv Its Forms of Proceeding..... xcvii Its Powers....... xcviii The General Privilege.... xcix Judicial Functions of Cortes..... ci Preponderance of the Commons.. Cii The Justice of Aragon...... civ His great Authority ~.... cv Security against its Abuse..... cviii Independent Execution of it.... cix Valencia and Catalonia...... cx Rise and Opulence of Barcelona... cxi I1er free Institutions.. 0... cx ii tHaughty Spirit of the Catalans cxv Intellectual Culture...... cxviii Poetical Academy of Tortosa.... cxix Brief Glory of the Limousin. cxxii Constitutional Writers on Aragon. cxxlil N-tiCs of Blancas. Martel. and Capmanv cxxii CONTENTS. xix PART FIRST. TIiE PERIOD, WHEN THE DIFFERENT KINGDOMS OF SPAIN WERE FIRST UNITED UNDER ONE MONARCHY, AND A THOROUGHI REFORM WAS INTRODUCED INTO THEIR INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION; OR THE PERIOD EXHIBITING MOST FULLY THE DOMESTIC POLICY OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. CHAPTER I. Page STATE OF CASTILE AT TIHE BIRTH OF ISABELLA. - REIGN OF JOHN II., OF CASTILE.... 3 Revolution of Trastamara...... 4 Accession of John II.. 4 Rise of Alvaro de Luna 5 Jealousy of the Nobles..... 7 Oppression of the Commons...... 8 Its Consequences.. 11 Early Literature of Castile.. 12 Its Encouragement under John II. 13 Marquis of Villena. 14 Marquis of Santillana....... 16 John de Mena. 18 ]His Influence... 19 Baena's Cancionero..... 20 Castilian Literature under John II... 22 Decline of Alvaro de Luna...... 23 His Fall. 24 His Death.........25 Lamented by John....... 27 Death of John II....28 Birth of Isabella........ 28 CHAPTER II. CONDITION OF ARAGON DURING THE MINORITY OF FE.DINAND. —REIGN OF JOHN II., OF ARAGON. 29 John of Aragon... 30 Title of his Son Carlos to Navarre 30 HIe takes Arms against his Father..... 32 is defeated.....33 XX CONTENTS Page Birth of Ferdinand........33 Carlos retires to Naples.. 35 He passes into Sicily.... 36 John II. succeeds to the Crown of Aragon... 37 Carlos reconciled with his Father.. 37 Is imprisoned.. 39 Insurrection of the Catalans...... 40 Carlos released.. 41 His Death.. 42 His Character...43 Tragical Story of Blanche.. 45 Ferdinand sworn Heir to the Crown.. 47 Besieged by the Catalans in Gerona.. 48 Treaty between France and Aragon.. 50 General Revolt in Catalonia.. 51 Successes of John.. 52 Crown of Catalonia offered to Ren6 of Anjou 54 Distress and Embarrassments of John 55 Popularity of the Duke of Lorraine..... 56 Death of the Queen of Aragon..... 57 Improvement in John's Affairs..... 58 Siege of Barcelona.....60 It surrenders........ 60 CHAPTER III. REIGN OF HENRY IV., OF, CASTILE. — CIVIL WAR. MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 63 Popularity of Henry IV.......63 He disappoints Expectations..... 65 His dissolute Habits....... 66 Oppression of the People. 68 Debasement of the Coin 69 Character of Pacheco, Marquis of Villena.. 70 Character of the Archbishop of Toledo. 72 Interview between Henry IV. and Louis XI... 73 Disgrace of Villena and the Archbishop of Toledo 74 League of the Nobles... 75 Deposition of Henry at Avila.... 77 Division of Parties.... 79 Intrigues of the Marquis of Villena.... 80 Henry disbands his Forces.. 81 Prpsitic: fr the Marriage of Isabella.. 82 CONTENTS. xx1 Page Her early Education. 83 Projected Union with the Grand Master of Calatrava. 84 His sudden Death. 86 Battle of Olmedo......... 86 Civil Anarchy........ 88 Death and Character of Alfonso...... 90 His Reign a Usurpation...... 91 The Crown offered to Isabella... 92 She declines it..... 93 Treaty between Henry and the Confederates.. 93 Isabella acknowledged Heir to the Crown at Toros de Guisando 94 Suitors to Isabella........ 95 Ferdinand of Aragon....... 97 Support of Joanna Beltraneja...... 98 Proposal of the King of Portugal rejected by Isabella 99 She accepts Ferdinand...... 100 Articles of Marriage........ 102 Critical Situation of Isabella...... 103 Ferdinand enters Castile....... 106 Private Interview between Ferdinand and Isabella 108 Their Marriage....... 110 Notice of the Quincuagenas of Oviedo.... 112 CHAPTER IV. FACTIONS IN CASTILE. -WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND ARAGON. —-DEATH OF HENRY IV., OP CASTILE. 114 Factions in Castile........ 114 Ferdinand and Isabella... 116 Civil Anarchy....... 117 Revolt of Roussillon from Louis XI.... 120 Gallant Defence of Perpignan...... 122 Ferdinand raises the Siege..... 122 Treaty between France and Aragon.... 123 Isabella's Party gains Strength..... 124 Interview between Henry IV. and Isabella at Segovia 126 Second French Invasion of Roussillon 130 Ferdinand's summary Execution of Justice. 131 Siege and Reduction of Perpignan. 133 Perfidy of Louis XI.... 133 Illness of Henry IV., of Castile.... 134 His Death... 134 Influence of his Reign...... 137 xxii CONTENTS. Page Notice of Alonso de Palencia 136 Notice of Enriquez de Castilllo... 137 CHAPTER V. ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. -WAR OF THIE SUCCESSION. - BATTLE OF TORO... 139 Title of Isabella....... 139 She is proclaimed Queen....... 141 Settlement of the Crown.143 Partisans of Joanna....... 145 Alfonso of Portugal supports her Cause... 146 He invades Castile..... 148 He espouses Joanna. 149 Castilian Army. 151 Ferdinand marches against Alfonso.. 151 He challenges him to personal Combat.. 152 Disorderly Retreat of the Castilians. 152 Appropriation of the Church Plate..... 155 Reorganization of the Army. 156 King of Portugal arrives before Zamora 157 Absurd Position.......158 He suddenly decamps....... 159 Overtaken by Ferdinand. 159 Battle of Toro........ 160 The Portuguese routed.... 162 Isabella's Thanksgiving for the Victorj 164 Submission of the whole Kingdomn 165 The King of Portugal visits France. 166; Returns to Portugal... 168 Peace with France...... 169) Active Measures of Isabella..... 170 Treaty of Peace with Portugal..... 171 Joanna takes the Veil.... 173 Death of the King of Portugal... 174 Death of the King of Aragon.... 175 CHAPTER VI. INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION OF CAS'rILE... 177 Scheme of Reform for the Government of Castile 178 Administration of Justice... 178 CONTENTS. XXIii Page Establishment of the tIermandad.... 179 Code of the Ilermandad.... 181 Ineffectual Opposition of the Nobility... 181 Tumult at Segovia.... 183 Isabella's Presence of Mind... 184 Isabella visits Seville.....186 Her splendid Reception there.... 187 Severe Execution of Justice..... 188 Marquis of Cadiz and Duke of Medina Sidonia. 189 Royal Progress through Andalusia.... 190 Impartial Execution of the Laws... 191 Reorganization of the Tribunals... 192 King and Queen preside in Courts of Justice... 195 Reestablishment of Order..... 195 Reform of the Jurisprudence..... 196 Code of Ordenanqas Reales..... 198 Schemes for reducing the Nobility.... 199 Revocation of the royal Grants..... 201 Legislative Enactments 204 The Queen's spirited Conduct to the Nobility. 206 Military Orders of Castile..... 209 Order of St. Jago...... 210 Order of Calatrava..... 212 Order of Alcantara...... 213 Grand-masterships annexed to the Crown.. 216 Their Reformation.. 217 Usurpations of the Church..... 218 Resisted by Cortes. 219 Difference with the Pope...... 220 Restoration of Trade....... 223 Salutary Enactments of Cortes.... 224 Prosperity of the Kingdom......'.225 Notice of Clemencin..... 2'28 CIHAPTER VII. ESTABLISIIMENr OF T'rlE MODERN INQUISITION. 230 Origin of the Ancient Inquisition..... 231 Its Introduction into Aragon..... 232 Restrospective View of the Jews in Spain. 235 Under the Arabs....... 236 Under the Castilians.... 238 Persecution of the Jews.. 239 Their State at the Accession of Isabella. 242 xxiv CONTENTS. Page hliarges against them 243 Bigotry of the Age..... 245 Its Influence on Isabella.. 246 Character of her Confessor Torquemada 2. 47 Papal Bull authorizing the Inquisition.. 248 Isabella resorts to milder Measures.. 49 Enforces the Papal Bull 25... 250 Inquisition at Seville.... 250 Proofs of Judaism...... 251 The sanguinary Proceedings of the Inquisitors. 252 Conduct of the Papal Court.... 254 Final Organization of the Inquisition.... 255 Forms of Trial.. 255 Torture......... 257 Injustice of its Proceedings 259 Autos da Fe....... 260 Convictions under Torquemada.. 264 Perfidious Policy of Rome.. 267 Notice of Llorente's History of the Inquisition... 268 CHAPTER VIII. REVIEW OF THE POLITICAL AND INTELLECTUAL CONDITION OF THE SPANISH ARABS PREVIOUS TO THE WAR OF GRANADA... 270 Early Successes of Mahometanism.... 270 Conquest of Spain........ 272 Western Caliphate.. 275 Form of Government...... 275 Character of the Sovereigns... 276 Military Establishment...... 277 Sumptuous public Works...... 277 Great Mosque of Cordova...... 278 Revenues.......279 Mineral Wealth of Spain....... 281 Husbandry and Manufactures...... 81 Population........ 282 Character of Alhakem II... 284 Intellectual Developement....... 285 Dismemberment of the Cordovan Empire... 286 Kingdom of Granada....288 Agriculture and Commerce....... 290 Resources of the Crown....... 291 CONTENTS. Xxv Page Luxurious Character of the People.. 292 Moorish Gallantry.... 294 Chivalry.. -... 295 Unsettled State of Granada...... 296 Causes of her successful Resistance. 297 Literature of the Spanish Arabs. 299 Circumstances favorable to it. 300 Provisions for Learning.. 301 The actual Results.....302 Averroes..... 303 Their Historical Merits..... 304 Useful Discoveries........ 305 The impulse given by them to Europe.. 306 Their elegant Literature.. 306 Poetical Character.. 308 Influence on the Castilian.... 310 Circumstances prejudicial to their Reputation. 311 Notices of Casiri, Conde, and Cardonne 312 CHAPTER IX. WAR OF GRANADA. SURPRISE OF ZAHARA. CAPTURE OF ALLIAMA...316 Zahara surprised by the Moors...... 317 Description of Alhama.... 319 The Marquis of Cadiz 320 His Expedition against Alhama.... 322 Surprise of the Fortress...... 323 Valor of the Citizens.... 324 Sally upon the Moors..... 324 Desperate Combat..... e 325 Fall of Alhama. 327 Consternation of the Moors.... 3.28 The Moors besiege Alhama.3. 330 Distress of the Garrison.... 331 The Duke of Medina Sidonia... 333 Marches to relieve Alhama.. 33 Raises the Siege.... 3 34 Meeting of the two Armies. 334 The Sovereigns at Cordova... 335 Alhama invested again by the Moors 3:36 Isabella's Firmness......... 336 Ferdinand raises the Siege...... 37 Vigorous Measures of the Queen... f.39 VOL. 1. d xxvi CONTENTS. CHAPTER X. Page WAR OF GRANADA.- UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT ON LOJA. - DEFEAT IN THE AXARQUIA.. 340 Siege of Loja..... 340 Castilian Forces...... 341 Encampment before Loja 312 Skirmish with the Enemy...... 342 Retreat of the Spaniards...... 345 Revolution in Granada..,. 348 Death of the Archbishop of Toledo. 351 Affairs of Italy.. 352 Of Navarre...... 353 Resources of the Crown... 355 Justice of the Sovereigns.... 356 Expedition to the Axarquia.. 357 The military Array..... 360 Progress of the Army... 361 Moorish Preparations.... 361 Skirmish -Lamong the Mountains..... 362 Retreat of the Spaniards.... 363 Their disastrous Situation... 364 They resolve to force a Passage... 366 Difficulties of the Ascent.. 367 Dreadful Slaughter.....367 Marquis of Cadiz escapes....; Losses of the Christians..'70 CHAPTER XI. WAR OF GRANADA. -GENERAL VIEW OF TIIE POLICY PURSUED IN TIlE CONDUCT OF TIllS WAR.. 373 Abdallah marches against the Christians... 373 Ill Omens......... 374 Marches on Lucena... 375 Battle of Lucena 376 Capture of Abdallah.. 377 Losses of the Moors....... 378 Moorish Embassy to Cordova...... 379 Debates in the Spanish Council.. 379 Treaty with Abdallah..... 380 Interview between the two Kings.... 38J CONTEN TS. xxvi Page General Policy of the War... 382 Incessant Hostilities.. 382 Devastating Forays... 383 Strength of the Moorish Fortresses. 384 Description of the Pieces.. 385 Of the Kinds of Ammunition.. 386 Roads for the Artillery.. 387 Defences of the Moors.. 388 Terms to the Vanquished..389 Supplies for the Army...... 390 Isabella's Care of the Troops.. 391 Her tPerseverance in the War...... 394' Policy towards the Nobles...... 393 Composition of the Army. 395 Swiss Mercenaries 396 The English Lord Scales. 397 The Queen's Courtesy...... 39. ) Magnificence of tle Nobles....... 398 Their Gallantry....... 399 Isabella visits the Camp....400 Royal Costume.. 401 Devout Demeanor of the Sovereigns..... 403 Ceremonies on the Occupation of a City 404 Release of Christian Captives. 405 Policy in fomenting the Moorish Factions 405 Christian Conquests...... 408 Notice of Fernando del Pulgar.... 409 Notice of Antonio de Lebrija.... 410 ILLUSTRATIONS. PORTRAITS& Isabella the Catholic.... to face title, Vol. I. Ferdinand the Catholic.. to face title, Vol. II. Cardinal Ximenes.page 401, " " Christopher Columbus.. to face title, Vol. III. Gonsalvo Fernandez of Cordova (a medallion) page 368, " " AUTOGRAPHS. No. 1. Henry IV. of Castile, signed " Io el Rey." 2. Isabella the Catholic, dated 1473, signed'la Princesa y Reyna." 3. Ferdinand the Catholic, dated 1472, signed "el Principe y Rey.' 4. Joanna, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, signed " de vuestra alteza." 5. Isabella, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, and Queen of Portugal, signed " la Reyna." 6. Philip, husband of Joanna, and King of Castile, signed " Yo el Rey." 7. The Emperor, Charles V. when 13 years old, signed "El Principe." 8. Emanuel the Great, King of Portugal. 9. Gonzalo Hernandez de Cordova, " The Great Captain." 10. Alonzo de Carillo, Archbishop of Toledo, signed " Archiepiscopus Toletanus." 11. Prospero Colonna, signed "Prospero Colonna." 1 /.t /, / I~~~~~~ 6 /J ed~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ VIJK.) ~~~~~~II~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~AA~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 35~~~~~~~~~ )~~~~~~~tg\~~~~~~~~~ INTRODUCTION. SECTION I. VIEW OF THE CASTILIAN MONARCHY BEFORE THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Early History and Constitution of Castile. -Invasion of the Arabs.Slow Reconquest of the Country. -Religious Enthusiasm of the Spaniards. - Influence of their Minstrelsy. - Their Chivalry. - Castilian Towns. - Cortes. - Its Powers. - Its Boldness. - Wealth of the Cities.- The Nobility. - Their Privileges and Wealth. — Knights. - Clergy. - Poverty of the Crown. - Limited extent of the Prerogative. FOR several hundred years after the great Sar- SECTION acen invasion in the beginning of the eighth century, Spain was broken up into a number of small, but independent states, divided in their interests, and often in deadly hostility with one another. It was inhabited by races, the most dissimilar in their origin, religion, and government, the least important of which has exerted a sensible influence on the character and institutions of its present inhabitants. At the close of the fifteenth century, these various races were blended into one great nation, under one common rule. Its territorial limits were widely extended by discovery and conquest. Its domestic institutions, and even its literature, were moulded into the form, which, to a considerable ex XXx INTRODUCTION. INTROD. tent, they have maintained to the present day. It is the object of the present narrative to exhibit the period, in which these momentous results were effected; the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. state of By the middle of the fifteenth century, the nummiddllfte e of states, ito rhich the country had been divided, was reduced to four; Castile, Aragon, Navaire, and the Moorish kingdom of Granada. The last, comprised within nearly the same limits as the modern province of that name, was all that remained to the Moslems of their once vast possessions in the Peninsula. Its concentrated population gave it a degree of strength altogether disproportioned to the extent of its territory; and the profuse magnificence of its court, which rivalled that of the ancient caliphs, was supported by the labors of a sober, industrious people, under whom agriculture and several of the mechanic arts had reached a degree of excellence, probably unequalled in any other part of Europe during the Middle Ages. The little kingdom of Navarre, embosomed within the Pyrenees, had often attracted the avarice of neighbouring and more powerful states. But, since their selfish schemes operated as a mutual check upon each other, Navarre still continued to maintain her independence, when all the smaller states in the Peninsula had been absorbed in the gradually increasing dominion of Castile and Aragon. This latter kingdom comprehended the province of that name, together with Catalonia and Valencia. Under its auspicious climate and free political CASTILE. xxxI institutions, its inhabitants displayed an uncommon SECTION share of intellectual and moral energy. Its long line of coast opened the way to an extensive and flourishing commerce; and its enterprising navy indemnified the nation for the scantiness of its territory at home, by the important foreign conquests of Sardinia, Sicily, Naples, and the Balearic Isles. The remaining provin6es of Leon, Biscay, the Asturias, Galicia, Old and New Castile, Estremadura, Murcia, and Andalusia, fell to the crown of Castile, which, thus extending its sway over an unbroken line of country from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean, seemed by the magnitude of its territory, as well as by its antiquity, (for it was there that the old Gothic monarchy may be said to have first revived after the great Saracen invasion,) to be entitled to a preeminence over the other states of the Peninsula. This claim, indeed, appears to have been recognised at an early period of her history. Aragon did homage to Castile for her territory on the western bank of the Ebro, until the twelfth century, as did Navarre, Portugal, and, at a later period, the Moorish kingdom of Granada.' And, when at length the various states of Spain were consolidated into one monarchy, the capital of Castile became the capital of the new empire, and 1 Aragon was formally released under him with a stipulated number from this homage in 1177, and Por- of his knights in war, and persontugal in 1264. (Mariana, Historia ally attend cortes when summoen.ne; — General de Espaila, (Madrid, 1780,) a whimsical stipulation this il.r a lib. 11, cap. 14; lib. 13, cap. 20.) Mahometan prince. Conde, HisThe king of Granada, Aben Alah- toria de la Dominacion de los Aramar, swore fealty to St. Ferdinand, bes en Espaila, (Madrid, 1820, in 1215, binding himself to the 1821,) tom. iii. cap. 30. payment of an annual rent, to serve xxxii INTRODUCTION. INTROD. her language the language of the court and of literature. Early histo- It will facilitate our inquiry into the circumry and consti,ttion of stances which immediately led to these results, if we briefly glance at the prominent features in the early history and constitution of the two principal Christian states, Castile and Aragon, previous to the fifteenth century.2 ohet Visi- The Visigoths who overran the Peninsula, in the fifth century, brought with them the same liberal principles of government which distinguished their Teutonic brethren. Their crown was declared elective by a formal legislative act.3 Laws were enacted in the great national councils, composed of prelates and nobility, and not unfrequently ratified in an assembly of the people. Their code of jurisprudence, although abounding in frivolous detail, contained many admirable provisions for the security of justice; and, in the degree of civil liberty which it accorded to the Roman inhabitants of the country, far transcended those of most of the other barbarians of the north.4 In short, their simple 2 Navarre was too inconsider- 3 See the Canons of the fifth able, and bore too near a resem- Council of Toledo. Florez, Espaiia blance in its government to the Sagrada, (Madrid, 1747-1776,) other Peninsular kingdoms, to re- tom. vi. p. 168. quire a separate notice; for which, 4 Recesvinto, in order more efindeed, the national writers afford fectually to bring about the consolbut very scanty materials. The idation of his Gothic' and Roman Moorish empire of Granada, so in- subjects into one nation, abrogated teresting in itself, and so dissimi- the law prohibiting their intermarlar, in all respects, to Christian riage. The terms in which his Spain, merits particular attention. enactment is conceived, disclose a I have deferred the consideration far more enlightened policy than of it, however, to that period of the that pursued either by the Franks history, which is occupied with its or Lombards. (See the Fuero subversion. See Part I., Chapter 8. Juzgo, (ed. de la Acad., Madrid CASTILE. xxxiii polity exhibited the germ of some of those insti- SECToN tutions, which, with other nations, and under happier auspices, have formed the basis of a wellregulated constitutional liberty. 5 But, while in other countries the principles of a invasion o the Arabs free government were slowly and gradually unfolded, their developement was much accelerated in Spain by an event, which, at the time, seemned to ihreaten their total extinction,- the great Saracen invasion at the beginning of the eighth century. The religious, as well as the political institutions of the Arabs, were too dissimilar to those of the conquered nation, to allow the former to exercise any very sensible influence over the latter in these particulars. In the spirit of toleration, which distinguished the early followers of Mahomet, they conceded to such of the Goths, as were willing to continue among them after the conquest, the free enjoyment of their religious, as well as of many of the civil privileges which they possessed under the 1815,) lib. 3, tit. 1, ley 1.) -The plation of these features, which Visigothic code, Fuero Juzgo, (Fo- brought upon these laws the sweeprum Judicum,) originally compiled ing condemnation of Montesquieu, in Latin, was translated into Span- as " pueriles, gauches, idiotes,ish under St. Ferdinand; a copy of frivoles dans le fond et gigantesques which version was first printed in dans le style." Esprit des Loix, 1600, at Madrid. (Los Doctores liv. 28, chap. 1. Asso y Manuel, Instituciones del 5 Some of the local usages, afDerecho Civil de Castilla, (Madrid, terwards incorporated in thefteros, 1792,) pp 6, 7.) A second edi- or charters, of the Castilian comtion, undet the supervision of the munities, may probably be derived Royal Spanish Academy, was pub- from the time of the Visigoths. lished in 1815. This compilation, The English reader may form a notwithstanding the apparent rude- good idea of the tenor of the legal ness and even ferocity of some of institutions of this people and their its features, may be said to have immediate descendants, from an arformed the basis of all the subse- ticle in the sixty-first Number of ule.ntlegislation of Castile. Itwas, the Edinburgh Review, written dcubtless, the exclusive conte-m- with equal learning and vivacity. VOL. I. e xxxIv INTRODUCTION. INTRoD. ancient monarchy.6 Under this liberal dispensation it cannot be doubted, that many preferred remaining in the pleasant regions of their ancestors, to quitting them for a life of poverty and toil. These, however, appear to have been chiefly of the lowec order;7 and the men of higher rank, or of more generous sentiments, who refused to accept a nominal and precarious independence at the hands of their oppressors, escaped from the overwhelming inundation into the neighbouring countries of France, Italy, and Britain, or retreated behind those natural fortresses of the north, the Asturian hills and the Pyrenees, whither the victorious Saracen disdained to pursue them.6 6 The Christians, ia all matters could rely on a singular fact, exclusively relating to themselves, quoted by Zurita, we might infer were governed by their own laws, that a large proportion of the (See the Fuero Juzgo, Introd. p. Goths were content to reside among 40,) administered by their own their Saracen conquerors. The judges, subject only in capital cases intermarriages among the two nato an appeal to the Moorish tribu- tions had been so frequent, that, in hials. Their churches and monas- 1311. the ambassador of James II., teries (rosve inter spinas, says the of Aragon, stated to his Holiness, historian) were scattered over the Pope Clement V., that of 200,000 principal towns, Cordova retaining persons composing the population seven, Toledo six, &c.; and their of Granada, not more than 500 clergy were allowed to display the were of pure Moorish descent I costume, and celebrate the pomp- (Anales de la Corona de Aragon, ous ceremonial, of the Romish (Zaragoza, 1610,) lib. 5, cap. 93.) communion. Florez, Esparia Sa- As the object of the statement was grada, tom. x. trat. 33, cap. 7.- to obtain certain ecclesiastical aids Morales, Coronica General de Es- from the pontiff, in the prosecution palla, (Obras, Madrid, 1791-1793,) of the Moorish war, it appears lib. 12, cap. 78. - Conde, Domina- very suspicious, notwithstanding cion de los Arabes, part. 1, cap. the emphasis laid on it by the his15, 22. torian. 7 Morales, Cor6nica, lib. 12, 8 Bleda, Cor6nica de los Moros cap. 77. -Yet the names of sev- de Espaiia, (Valencia, 1618,) p. eral nobles resident among the 171. -This author states, that in Moors appear in the record of those his time there were several families times. (See Salazar de Mendoza, in Ireland, whose patronymics bore Monarquia de Espaiia, (Madrid, testimony to their descent from.770,) tom. i. p. 34, note.) If we these Spanish exiles. That care CASTILE. xxxv Here the broken remnant of the nation endeav- SECTION oured to revive the forms, at least, of the ancient government. But it may well be conceived, how imperfect these must have been under a calamity, which, breaking up all the artificial distinctions of society, seemed to resolve it at once into its primitive equality. The monarch, once master of the whole Peninsula, now beheld his empire contracte(l to a few barren, inhospitable rocks. The noble, instead of the broad lands and thronged halls of his ancestors, saw himself at best but the chief of some wandering horde, seeking a doubtful subsistence, like himself, by rapine. The peasantry, indeed, may be said to have gained by the exchange; and, in a situation, in which all factitious distinctions were of less worth than individual prowess and efficiency, they rose in political consequence. Even slavery, a sore evil among the Visigoths, as indeed among all the barbarians of German origin, though not effaced, lost many of its most revolting features, under the more generous legislation of' later times. ful antiquarian, Morales, considers tion to the" Chronicle of the Cid,'" the regions of the Pyrenees lying to impute to their cooperation, in betwixt Aragon and Navarre, to- part, the easy conquest of the gether with the Asturias, Biscay, country by the Arabs. But, alGuipuscoa, the northern portion of though the laws, in relation to Galicia and the Alpuxarras, (the them, seem to be taken up with last retreat, too, of the Moors, un- determining their incapacities rathder the Christian domination,) to er than their privileges, it is probahave been untouched by the Sara- ble that they secured to them, on cen invaders. See lib. 12, cap. 76. the whole, quite as great a degree 9 The lot of the Visigothic slave of civil consequence, as was enwas sufficiently hard. The op- joyed by similar classes in the rest pressions, which this unhappy race of Europe. By the Fuero Juzgo, t-dured, were such as to lead Mr. the slave was allowed to acquire oluthey, in his excellent Introduc- property for himself, and with it to 'xXVI INTRODUCTION. INTROD. A sensible and salutary influence, at the same Its-influence time, was exerted on the moral energies of the naon the con ~ditono tion, which had been corrupted in the long enjoyment of uninterrupted prosperity. Indeed, so relaxed were the morals of the court, as well as of the clergy, and so enervated had all classes become, in the general diffusion of luxury, that some authors have not scrupled to refer to these causes principally the perdition of the Gothic monarchy. An entire reformation in these habits was necessarily effected in a situation, where a scanty subsistence could only be earned by a life of extreme temperance and toil, and where it was often to be sought, sword in hand, from an enemy far superior in numbers. Whatever may have been the vices of the Spaniards, they cannot have been those of effeminate sloth. Thus a sober, hardy, and independent race was gradually formed, prepared to assert their ancient inheritance, and to lay the foundations of far purchase his own redemption. (Lib. moreover, the master was prohib5, tit. 4, ley 16.) A certain pro- ited, under the severe penalties of portion of every man's slaves were banishment and sequestration of also required to bear arms, and to property, from either maiming or accompany their master to the murdering his own slave, (lib. 6, field. (Lib. 9, tit 2, Iey 8.) But tit. 5, leyes 12, 13;) while, in other their relative rank is better ascer- codes of the barbarians, the penaltained by the amount of composi- ty was confined to similar trespasstion (that accurate measurement es on the slaves of another; and, of civil rights with all the barbari- by the Salic law, no higher mulct ans of the north) prescribed for was imposed for killing, than for any personal violence inflicted on kidnapping a slave. (Lex Salica, them. Thus, by the Saliclaw, the tit. ll,sec. 1, 3.) The legislation life of a free Roman was estimated of the Visigoths, in those particuat only one fifth of that of a Frank, lars, seems to have regarded this (Lex Salica, tit. 43, sec. 1, 8;) unhappy race as not merely a dis. while, by the law of the Visigoths, tinct species of property. It prothe life of a slave was valued at vided for their personal security, half of that of a freeman, (lib. 6, instead of limiting itself to the intit. 4, ley 1.) In the latter code, demnification of their masters. CASTILE. XXXV 1 more liberal and equitable forms of government, SECTION than were known to their ancestors. At first, their progress was slow and almost im- causes or their slow perceptible. The Saracens, indeed, reposing under rOfthq,,eW.M the sunny skies of Andalusia, so congenial with try their own, seemed willing to relinquish the sterile regions of the north, to an enemy whom they despised. But, when the Spaniards, quitting the shelter of their mountains, descended into the open plains of Leon and Castile, they found themselves exposed to the predatory incursions of the Arab cavalry, who, sweeping over tile face of the coun try, carried off in' a single foray the hard-earned produce of a summer's toil. It was not until they had reached some natural boundary, as the river D)ouro, or the chain of the Guadarrama, that they were enabled, by constructing a line of fortifications along these primitive bulwarks, to secure their conquests, and oppose an effectual resistance to the destructive inroads of their enemies. Their own dissensions were another cause of their. tardy progress. The numerous petty states, which rose from the ruins of the ancient monarchy, seemed to regard each other with even a fiercer hatred than that with which they viewed the enemies of their faith; a circumstance that more than once brought the nation to the verge of ruin. More Christian blood was wasted in these national feuds, than in all their encounters with the infidel. The soldiers of Fernan Gonqalez, a chieftain of the tenth century, complained, that their master made them lead the life of very devils, keeping xxxviii INTRODUCTION INTROD. them in the harness day and night, in wars, not against the Saracens, but one another.'0 lheirLulti- These circumstances so far palsied the arm of mate success "e'rtai" the Christians, that a century and a half elapsed after the invasion, before they had penetrated to the Douro,'l and nearly thrice that period before they had advanced the line of conquest to the Tagus,'2 notwithstanding this portion of the country had been comparatively deserted by the Mahometans. But it was easy to foresee that a people, living, as they did, under circumstances so we:. adapted to the developement of both physical and moral energy, must ultimately prevail over a nation oppressed by despotism, and the effeminate indulgence, to which it was naturally disposed by a sensual religion and a voluptuous climate. In truth, the early Spaniard was urged by every motive, that Their rel can give efficacy to human purpose. Pent up in gious enthuSiam-. his barren mountains, he beheld the pleasant valleys and fruitful vineyards of his ancestors delivered over to the spoiler, the holy places polluted by his abominable rites, and the crescent glittering on the domes, which were once consecrated by the venerated symbol of his faith. His cause became the cause of Heaven. The church published her bulls of crusade, offering liberal indulgences to those wfho served, and Paradise to those who fell in battle, against the infidel. The ancient Castilian was 10 Clor6nica General, part. 3, 12 Toledo was not reconquered fol. 54. until 1085; Lisbon, in 1147 1l According to Morales, (Cor6nica, lib. 13, cap. 57,) this took place about 850. CASTILE. xxxix remarkable for his independent resistance of papal s:;r:te(os encroachment; but the peculiarity of his situation subjected him in an uncommon degree to ecclesiastical influence at home. Priests mingled in the council and the camp, and, arrayed in their sacerdotal robes, not unfrequently led the armies to battle. 13 They interpreted the will of Heaven as mysteriously revealed in dreams and visions. Miracles were a familiar occurrence. The violated tombs of the saints senit forth thunders and lightnings to consume the invaders; and, wherl the Christians fainted in the fight, the apparition of their patron, St. James, mounted on a milk-white steed, and bearing aloft the banner of the cross, wasa seen hlovering in the air, to rally their broken squadrons, and lead them on to victory. 1 Thus 13 The archbishops of Toledo, ions, and a knighlt's portion of the whose revenues and retinues far spoils of every victory over tlhe exceeded those of the other ecclesi- Mussulmans. The privile-A)i( dclI astics, were particularly conspicu- voto, as it is called, is given at.f ous in these holy wars. Mariana, length by Florez in his Collection,!, speaking of one of these belligerent (Esparia Sagrada, tom. xix. prelates, considers it worthy of oen- 329,) and is unhesitatinglyv ited colniurm, that " it is not easy to by most of the Spanish historian:s, decide whsether he was most con- as Garibay. Maritna, lorles, arnd spicuous for his good government others. - More sh;rp-sio'tred critin peace, or his conduct and valor ies discover. in its anachlronills's, in war." I-ist. de Espaiaa, toni. ii. and other pdlpal)le blunlders, alle p. 14. evidence of its fi,)rery. (Mloneltar, 14 1Tlle first occasion, on which Advert-neias a la I-listoria de.ri the milit3ry apostle condescended ana (Valen.ci;, 1 lf; ) no. I5'i to reveal himself to the Leonese, Masdeu, H-isitorl it.lica de i}spala, was thue memorable day of Clavijo, y de la Cultiura Espaniola, (NMadrid, A. D. 844, wvhen 70.000 infidels 1783-1805,) toml. xvi. spl.S.) fell on the field. F'rom that time, The canons of Corpostell, hoow evthe name of St. JIgro, became the er, seem to have found their account battle-cry of the Spaniards. The in it, as the tribute of gFood cheer, truth of the story is attested by a which it imposed, continued to be contemporary charter of Ramiro I. paid by some of tie Castilian to the church of the saint, granting towns, accordin(g to Mariani:, inl his it an annual tribute of corn arid day. l-Iist. de Espania, tom. i. p. wine from the towns in his domin- 416. ,xi INTRODUCTION. INTROD. the Spaniard looked upon himself, as in a peculiar manner the care of Providence. For him the laws of nature were suspended. He was a soldier of the Cross, fighting not only for his country, but for Christendom. Indeed, volunteers from the remotest parts of Christendom eagerly thronged to serve under his banner; and the cause of religion was debated with the same ardor in Spain, as on the plains of Palestine. 15 Hence the national charac ter became exalted by a religious fervor, which in later days, alas! settled into a fierce fanaticism. Hence that solicitude for the purity of the faith, the peculiar boast of the Spaniards, and that deep tinge of superstition, for which they have ever been distinguished above the other nations of Europe..eir min,- The long wars with the Mahometans served to "'r'i' keep alive in their bosoms the ardent glow of patriotism; and this was still further heightened by' the body of traditional minstrelsy, which commemorated in these wars the heroic deeds of their ancestors. The influence of such popular compositions on a simple people is undeniable. A sagacious critic ventures to pronounce the poems of 15 French, Flemish, Italian, and rial de las Chr6nicas de Espailja, English volunteers, led by men of (Barcelona, 1628,) lib. 12, cap. 33.) distinguished rank, are recorded by The crusades in Spain were as rathe Spanish writers to have been tional enterprises, as those in the present at the sieges of Toledo, East were vain and chimerical. Lisbon, Algeziras, and various oth- Pope Pascal II. acted like a man ers. More than sixty, or, as some of sense, when he sent back ceraccounts state, a hundred thousand, tain Spanish adventurers, who had joined the army before the battle of embarked in the wars of Palestine, Navas de Tolosa; a round exag- telling them, that " the cause of re aeration, which, however, implies ligion could be much better served the great number of such auxilia- by them at home." ries. (Garibay, Compcndio Histo CASTILE. xli Homer the principal bond which united the Gre- SECTION cian states.' Such an opinion may be deemed somewhat extravagant. It cannot be doubted, however, that a poem like that of tlie " Cid," which appeared as early as the twelfth century, "7 by calling up the most inspiring national recollections in connexion with their favorite hero, must have operated powerfully on the moral sensibilities of the people. It is pleasing to observe, in the cordial spirit of Their SeHa these early effusions, little of the ferocious bigotry idel. which sullied the character of the nation, in after ages.'3 The Mahomnetans of this period far excel16 See Heeren, Politics of An- puted achievements of the " Cid" cient Greece, translated by Ban- have rested from time immemorial, croft, chap. 7. and concludes with the startling 17 The oldest manuscript extant assertion, that "of Rodrigo Diaz, of this poem, (still preserved at el Campeador, we absolutely know Bivar, the hero's birth-place,) bears nothing, with any degree of probathe date of 1207, or at latest 1307, bility, not even his existence! for there is some obscurity in the (Hist. Critica, tom. xx. p. 370.) writing. Its learned editor, San- There are probably few of his chez, has been led by the peculiari- countrymen, that will thus coolly ties of its orthography, metre, and acquiesce in the annihilation of idiom, to refer its composition to as their favorite hero, whose exploits early a date as 1153. (Coleccion have been the burden of chronicle, de Poesias Castellanas anteriores as well as romance, from the al Siglo XV. (Madrid, 17719-90,) twelfth century down to the prestornm. i. p. 223.) ent day. Some of the late Spanish anti- They may find a warrant for quaries have manifested a skepti- their fond credulity, in the dispascism in relation to the "Cid," truly sionate judgment of one of the alarming. A volume was publish- greatest of modern historians, John ed at Madrid, in 179'2, by Risco, Muller, who, so far from doubting under the title of " Castilla, o His- the existence of the Campeador, toria de Rodrigo Diaz," &c., which has succeeded, in his own opinion lhe worthy father ushered into the at least, in clearing from his histoworld with much solemnity, as a ry the " mists of ftble and extravtranscript of an original manuscript agance," in which it has been coeval with the time of the "Cid," shrouded. See his Life of the and fortunately discovered by him Cid, appended to Escobar's " Roin an obscure corner of some Leo- mancero," edited by the learned nese monastery. (Pr6logo.) Mas- and estimable Dr. Julius, of Berlin. deu, in an analysis of this precious Frankfort, 1828. document, has been led to scruti- 18 A modern minstrel inveighs nize the grounds, on which the re- loudly against this charity of his VIOL. 1. f xlii INTRODUCTION. IN'R0o. led their enemies in general refinement, and had carried some branches of intellectual culture to a height scarcely surpassed by Europeans in later times. The Christians, therefore, notwithstanding their political aversion to the Saracens, conceded to them a degree of' respect, which subsided into feelings of a very different complexion, as they them-',fir ci.iv- selves rose in the scale of civilization. This sentiment of respect tempered the ferocity of a warfare, which, although sufficiently disastrous in its details, affords examples of a generous courtesy, that would do honor to the politest ages of Europe.'9 The Spanish Arabs were accomplished in all knightly exercises, and their natural fondness for magnificence, which shed a lustre over the rugged features ancestors, who devoted their ", can- palace; when the Moorish chivaltos de cigarra," to the glorification ry, after paying their obeisance to of this " Moorish rabble," instead her in the most respectfiil manner, of celebrating the prowess of the instantly raised the siege, and deCid, Bernardo, and other worthies parted. (Ferreras, Histoire Gi;&6of their own nation. His discour- rale d'Espagne, traduite pard'Her tesy, however, is well rebuked by milly, (Paris, 1742 -51,) tom. iii. a more generous brother of the p. 410.) It was a frequent occurcraft. rence to restore a noble captive to " No es culpa si de los Moros liberty without ransom, and even los valieines hechos canitan. with costly presents. IThus Alfonyples lltob m~as respl~andecen so XI. sent back to their father nuestras celebres hazafias; que el encarecer los hechos two daughters of a Moorish prince, del vencido en la batalla, who formed part of the spoils of engrandece al vencedor, theattle of Tarif. (Mariana, aunque no hablen de el palabra." e battle of Tarifa. t(arana, Duran, Romancero de Romances Hist. de Espaiia, tom. ii. p. 32.) Moriscos, (Madrid, 1828,) p. 227. VWhen this same Castilian sove19 When the empress queen of reign, after a career of almost unAlfonso VII. was besieged in the interrupted victory over the Moscastle of Azeca, in 1139, she re- lems, died of the plague before proached the Moslem cavaliers for Gibraltar, in. 1350, the knights of their want of courtesy and courage Granada put on mourning for him, in attacking a fortress defended by saying, that " he was a noble a female. They acknowledged the prince, and one that knew how to justice of the rebuke, and only re- honor his enemies as well as his quested that she would condescend friends." Conde, Dominacion de to show herself to them from her los Arabes, tom. iii. p. 14.9 CASTILE. xllti of chivalry, easily communicated itself to the Chris- SECT1oN' tian cavaliers. In the intervals of peace, these latter frequented the courts of the Moorish princes, and mingled with their adversaries in the comparatively peaceful pleasures of the tourney, as in war they vied with them in feats of Quixotic gallantry. 20 The nature of this warfare between two nations, inhabitants of the same country, yet so dissimilar in their religious and social institutions, as to be almost the natural enemies of each other, was extremely favorable to the exhibition -of the characteristic virtues of chivalry. The contiguity of the hostile parties afforded abundant opportunities for personal rencounter and bold romantic enterprise. Each nation had its regular military associations, who swore to devote their lives to the service of God and their country, in perpetual war against the infidel.2" The Spanish knight became the true hero 20 One of the most extraordinary istence of an Arabic military order, achievements, in this way, was is recorded by Conde. (Dominathat of the grand master of Alcan- cion de los Arabes, tom. i. p. 619, tara, in 1394, who, after ineffectu- note.) The brethren were distinally challenging the king of Gra- guished for the simplicity of their nada to meet him in single combat, attire, and their austere and frugal or with a force double that of his habits. They were stationed on own, marched boldly up to the the Moorish marches, and were gates of his capital, where he was bound by a vow of perpetual war assailed by such an overwhelming against the Christian infidel. As host, that he with all his little their existence is traced as far back band perished oil the field. (Ma- as 1030, they may possibly have riana, list. de Esparia, lib. 19, suggested the organization of simicap. 3.) It was over this worthy lar institutions in Christendom, compeer of Don Quixote, that the which they preceded by a century epitaph was inscribed, " Here lies at least. The loyal historians of one who never knew fear," which the Spanish military orders, it is led Charles V. to remark to one of true, would carry that of St. Jago his courtiers, that "the good knight asfar back as the time of Ramiro I., could never have tried to snuff a in the ninth century; (Caro de candle with his fingers." Torres, Historia de las Ordenes 21 This singular fact, of the ex- Militares de Santiago, Calatrava, xlii' INTRODUCTION. SNTROD. of romance, wandering over his own land, and even into the remotest climes, in quest of adventures; and, as late as the fifteenth century, we find him in the courts of England and Burgundy, doing battle in honor of his mistress, and challenging general admiration by his uncommon personal intrepidity. 22 This romantic spirit lingered in Castile, long after the age of chivalry had become extinct in other parts of Europe, continuing to nourish itself on those illusions of fancy, which were at length dispelled by the caustic satire of Cervantes. Thus patriotism, religious loyalty, and a proud sense of independence, founded on the consciousness of owing their possessions to their personal valor, became characteristic traits of the Castilians previously to the sixteenth century, when the oppressive policy and fanaticism of the Austrian dynasty contrived to throw into the shade these generous y Alcantara, (Madrid, 1629,) fol. chivalrous nobles of Castile; many 2. - Rades y Andrada, Chr6nica of whom, says the Chronicle of de las Tres Ordenes y Cavallerias, Juan II., lost their lives from this (Toledo, 1572,) fol. 4.) but less circumstance, in the splendid tourprejudiced critics, as Zurita, and ney given in honor of the nuptials Mariana, are content with dating it of Blanche of Navarre and Henry, from the papal bull of Alexander son of John 1I. (Crbnica de D. III., 1175. Juan II., (Valencia, 1779,) p. 411.) 22 In one of the Paston letters, Monstrelet records the adventures we find the notice of a Spanish of a Spanish cavalier, who " travknight appearing at the court of elled all the way to the court of Henry VI., " wyth a Kercheff of Burgundy to seek honor and revPlesaunce iwrapped aboute hys erence" by his feats of arms. His arme, the gwych Knight," says antagonist was the Lord of Charthe writer, "'wyl renne a cours gny; on the second da.y they fought wyth asharpe spere for his sou'eyn with battle-axes, and "the Castilady sake." (Fenn, Original Let- lian attracted general admiration, ters, (1787,) vol. i. p. 6.) The by his uncommon daring in fight. practice of using sharp spears, in- ing with his visor up." Chrostead of the guarded and blunted niques, (Paris, 1595.) tom. ii. p. weapons usual in the tournament, 109. seems to have been affected by the CASTILE. x.t virtues. Glimpses of them, however, might long be SECTION discerned in the haughty bearing of the Castilian noble, and in that erect, high-minded peasantry, whom oppression has not yet been able wholly to subdue. 23 To the extraordinary position, in which the nation Early irf portante of was placed, may also be referred the liberal forms theca.stilian of its political institutions, as well as a more early developement of them than took place in other countries of Europe. From the exposure of the Castilian towns to the predatory incursions of the Arabs, it became necessary, not only that they should be strongly fortified, but that every citizen should be trained to bear arms in their defence. An immense increase of consequence was given to the burgesses, who thus constituted the most effective part of the national militia. To this circumstance, as well as to the policy of inviting the settlement of frontier places by the grant of extraordinary privileges to the inhabitants, is to be Their pri, imputed the early date, as well as liberal character, of the charters of community in Castile and Leon.24 23 The Venetian ambassador, by Asso and Manuel and other Navagiero, speaking of the man- writers. Ensayo HIistdrico-Critiqers of the Castilian nobles, in co, sobre la Antigua Leoislacion Charles V.'s time, remarks some- de Castilla, (Madrid, 1808,) pp. what bluntly, that, " if their power 80- 82.) It preceded, by a Ion:, invere equal to their pride, the terval, those granted to the burwhole world would not be able to gesses in other parts of Europe, withstand them." Viaggio fatto with the exception, perhaps, of in Spagna et in Francia, (Vinegia, Italy; where several of the cities, 1563,) fol. 10. as Milan, Pavia, and Pisa, seem 24 The most ancient of these early in the eleventh century to regular charters of incorporation, have exercised some of the funcP.ow extant, was granted by Alfon- tions of independent states. But so V., in 1020, to the city of Leon the extent of municipal immunities and its territory. (Marina rejects conceded to, or rather assumed by, those of an earlier date, adduced the Italian cities at this early pe X(li, INTRODUCTION. K'NROD. These, although varying a good deal in their details, generally conceded to the citizens the right of electing their own magistrates for the regulation of municipal affairs. Judges were appointed by this body for the administration of civil and criminal law, subject to an appeal to the royal tribunal. No person could be affected in life or property, except by a decision of this municipal court; and no cause, while pending before it, could be evoked thence into the superior tribunal. In order to secure the barriers of justice more effectually against the violence of power, so often superior to law in an imperfect state of society, it was provided in many of the charters, that no nobles should be permitted to acquire real property within the limits of the community; that no fortress or palace should be erected by them there; that such as might reside within its territory, should be subject to its jurisdiction; and that any violence, offered by them to its inhabitants, might be forcibly resisted with impunity. Ample and inalienable funds were provided for the maintenance of the municipal functionaries, and for other public expenses. A large riod, is very equivocal; for their cient precision, the nature of the indefatigable antiquarian confesses privileges accorded to the inhabthat all, or nearly all their archives, itants. - Robertson, who wrote previous to the time of Frederic 1., when the constitutional antiquities (the latter part of the twelfth cen- of Castile had been but slightly intury,) had perished amid their fre- vestigated, would seem to have quent civil convulsions. (See the little authority, therefore, for desubject in detail, in Muratori, Dis- riving the establishment of comsertazioni sopra le AntichitA Ita- munities from Italy, and still less liane, (Napoli, 1752,) dissert. 45.) for tracing their progress through Acts of enfranchisement became France and Germany to Spain. frequent in Spain during the elev- See his History of the Reign of enth century; several of which are the Emperor CharlesV., (London, preserved, and exhibit, with suffi- 1796,) vol. i. pp. 29 30 CASTLILE: xlvii extent of circumjacent country, embracing frequent- SECTION ly many towns and villages, was annexed to each city with the right of jurisdiction over it. All arbitrary tallages were commuted for a certain fixed and moderate rent. An officer was appointed by the crown to reside within each community, whose province it was to superintend the collection of this tribute, to maintain public order, and to be associated with the magistrates of each city in the command of the forces it was bound to contribute towards the national defence. Thus while the inhabitants of the great towns in other parts of Europe were languishing in feudal servitude, the members of the Castilian corporations, living under the protection of their own laws and magistrates in timne of peace, and commanded by their own officers in war, were in full enjoyment of all the essential rights and privileges of freemen.25 It is true, that they were often convulsed by intestine feuds, that the laws were often loosely administered by incompetent judges; and that the exercise of so many important prerogatives of independent states inspired them with feelings of independence, which led to mutual rivalry, and sometimes to open collision. But with all this, long alter similar immunities in the free cities of other countries, as Italy for example,26 had been 25 For this account of the ancient de Castilla, (Nos. 160 -196,) and polity of the Castilian cities, the Teoria de las Cortes, (Madrid, reader is referred to Sempere, His- 1813, part. 2, cap. 21 - 23,) where toire des Cortes d'Espagne, (Bor- the meagre outline given above is deaux, 1815,) and Marina's valu- filled up with copious illustration. able works, Ensayo Hist6rico-Cri- 26 The independence of the Lomtico sobre la Antigua Legislacion bard cities had been sacrificed, ao xlviii INTRODUCTION. INTROD. sacrificed to the violence of faction or the lust of power, those of the Castilian cities not only remained unimpaired, but seemed to acquire additional stability with age. This circumstance is chiefly imputable to the constancy of the national legislature, which, until the voice of liberty was stifled by a military despotism, was ever ready to interpose its protecting arm in defence of constitutional rights. castilela The earliest instance on record of popular representation in Castile occurred at Burgos, in 1169;27 nearly a century antecedent to the celebrated Leicester parliament. Each city had but one vote, whatever might be the number of its representatives. A much greater irregularity, in regard to the number of cities required to send deputies to cortes on different occasions, prevailed in Castile, than ever existed in England; 2 though, previously cording to the admission of their Cataluiia, y Valencia, (Madrid, enthusiastic historian, about the 1821,) pp. 230, 231.- _Whether middle of the thirteenth century. the convocation of the third estate Sismondi, Histoire des R6publiques to the national councils proceeded Italiennes du Moyen-Age, (Paris, from politic calculation in the sove1818,) ch. 20. reign, or was in a manner forced 27 Or in 1160, according to the on him by the growing power and Cor6nica General, (part. 4, fol. 344, importance of the cities, it is now 345,) where the fact is mentioned. too late to inquire. It is nearly as Mariana refers this celebration of difficult to settle on what principles cortes to 1170, (Hist. de Espaiia, the selection of cities to be reprelib. 11, cap. 2;) but Ferreras, who sented depended. Marina asserts, often rectifies the chronological in- that every great town and comaccuracies of his predecessor, fixes munity was entitled to a seat in it in 1169. (Hist. d'Espagne, tom. the legislature, from the time of iii. p. 484.) Neither of these au- receiving its municipal charter from thors notices the presence of the the sovereign, (Teoria, tom. i. p. commons in this assembly; al- 138;) and Sempere agrees, that though the phrase used by the this right became general, from Chronicle, los cibdadanos, is per- the first, to all who chose to avail fectly unequivocal. themselves of it. (Histoire des a8 Capmany, PrActica y Estilo Cortes, p. 56.) The right, probade Celebrar Cortes en Aragon, bly, was not much insisted on by CASTILE. xlix to the fifteenth century, this does not seem to have SECTION proceeded from any design of infiinging on the *. liberties of the people. The nomination of these was originally vested in the householders at large, but was afterwards confined to the municipalities; a most mischievous alteration, which subjected their election eventually to the corrupt influence of the crown. 29 They assembled in the same chamber with the higher orders of the nobility and clergy; but, on questions of moment, retired to deliberate by themselves.30 After the transaction of other business, their own petitions were presented to the sovereign, and his assent gave them the validity of laws. The Castilian commons, by neglecting to make their money grants depend on correspondent concessions from the crown, relinquished that powerful check on its operations so beneficially exerted in the British parliament, but in vain contended for even there, till a much later period than that now under consideration. Whatever may have been the right of the nobility and clergy to attend in cortes, their sanction was not deemed essential the smaller and poorer places, some obscurity. (Teoria, tom. i. which, from the charges it involv- cap. 28.) Indeed, there seems to ed, felt it often, no doubt, less of a have been some irregularity in the boon than a burden. This, we parliamentary usages themselves. know, was the case in England. From minutes of a meeting of 29 It was an evil of scarcely less cortes at Toledo, in 1538, too soon magnitude, that contested elections for any material innovation on'the were settled by the crown. (Cap- ancient practice, we find the three many, Prictica y Estilo, p. 231.) estates sitting in separate chamThe latter of these practices, and, bers, from the very commencement indeed, the former to a certain ex- to the close of the session. See tent, are to be met with in English the account drawn up by the count history. of Corufna, apud Capmany, Prac30 Marina leaves this point in tica y Estilo, pp. 240 et seq. VOL. 1. g I' INTRODUCTION. INTROD. to the validity of legislative acts;s' for their presence was not even required in many assemblies of the nation which occurred in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.32 The extraordinary power thus committed to the commons was, on the whole, unfavorable to their liberties. It deprived them of the sympathy and cooperation of the great orders of the state, whose authority alone could have enabled them to withstand the encroachments of arbitrary power, and who, in fact, did eventually desert them in their utmost need.33 powers. But, notwithstanding these defects, the popular branch of the Castilian cortes, very soon after its admission into that body, assumed functions and exercised a degree of power on the whole superior to that enjoyed by it in other European legislatures. It was soon recognised as a fundamental principle of the constitution, that no tax could be imposed without its consent;34 and an express en31 This, however, so contrary to avowed policy was altogether subthe analogy of other European versive of the constitution. governments, is expressly contra- 33 During the famous war of the dieted by the declaration of the Comunidades, under Charles V. For nobles, a.t the cortes of Toledo, in the preceding paragraph consult 1538. " Oida esta respuesta se Marina, (Teoria, part. 1, cap. 10, dijo, que pues S. M. habia dicho 20, 26, 29,) and Capmany. (Pracque no eran C6rtes ni habia Bra- tica y Estilo, pp. 220- 250.) The zos, no podian tratar cosa alguna, municipalities of Castile seem to que ellos sin procuradores, y los pro- have reposed but a very limited curqdores sin ellos, no seria vdlido confidence in their delegates, whom lo que hicieren." Relacion del they furnished with instructions to Conde de Corufia, apud Capmany, which they were bound to conform Practica y Estilo, p. 247. themselves literally. See Marina, 32 This omission of the privi- Teoria, part. 1, cap. 23. leged orders was almost uniform 34 The term "fundamental prinunder Charles V. and his succes- ciple" is fully authorized by the sors. But it would be unfair to existence of repeated enactments seek for constitutional precedent in to this effect. Sempere, who ad the usages of a government, whose mits the " usage," objects to the CASTILE. 1i actment to this effect was suffered to remain on the seCTION statute book, after it had become a dead letter, as if to remind the nation of the liberties it had lost.35 The commons showed a wise solicitude in regard to the mode of collecting the public revenue, oftentimes more onerous to the subject than the tax itself. They watched carefully over its appropriation to its destined uses. They restrained a too prodigal expenditure, and ventured more than once to regulate the economy of the royal household.36 They kept a vigilant eye on the conduct of public officers, as well as on the right administration of justice, and commissions were appointed at their suggestion for inquiring into its abuses. They entered into negotiation for alliances with foreign powers, and, by determining the amount of supplies for the maintenance of troops in time of war, preserved a salutary check over military operations.?7 phrase, "fundamental law," on John II., Henry III., and Charles the ground that these acts were V. specific, not general, in their char- 36 In 1258, they presented a vaacter. Histoire des Cortes, p. riety of petitions to the king, in 254. relation to his own personal ex35," Los Reyes en nuestros Rey- penditure, as well as that of his nos progenitores establecieron por courtiers; requiring him to diminleyes, y ordenanvas fechas en Cor- ish the charges of his table, attire, tes, que no se echassen, ni repar- &c. and, bluntly, to " bring his aptiessen ningunos pechos, seruicios, petite within a more reasonable pedidos, ni monedas, ni otros tribu- compass"; to all which he readitos nueuos, especial, ni general- ly gave his assent. (Sempere y mente en todos nuestros Reynos, Guarinos, Historia del Luxo, y de sin que primeramente sean llama- las Leyes Suntuarias de Espana, dos at Cortes los procuradores de (Madrid, 1788,) tom. i. pp. 91, todas las Ciudades, y villas de 92.) The English reader is renuestros Reynos, y sean otorgados minded of a very different result, por los dichos procuradores que a which attended a similar interpolas Cortes vinieren." (Recopilacion sition of the commons in the time de las Leyes, (Madrid, 1640,) tom. of Richard II., more than a centuii. fol. 124.) Thislaw, passedun- ry later. der Alfonso XI., was confirmed by 37 Marina claims also the right j11i INTRODUCTION. INTROD. The nomination of regencies was subject to their approbation, and they defined the nature of the authority to be intrusted to them. Their consent was esteemed indispensable to the validity of a title to the crown, and this prerogative, or at least the image of it, has continued to survive the wreck of their ancient liberties.3s Finally, they more than once set aside the testamentary provisions of the sovereigns in regard to the succession. 39 ts boldness. Without going further into detail, enough has been said to show the high powers claimed by the commons, previously to the fifteenth century, which, instead of being confined to ordinary subjects of legislation, seem, in some instances, to have reached to the executive duties of the administration. It would, indeed, show but little acquaintance with the social condition of the middle ages, to suppose that the practical exercise of these powers always corresponded with their theory. We trace repeated instances, it is true, in which they were claimed and successfully exerted; while, on the other hand, the multiplicity of remedial statutes proves toni of the cortes to be consulted on tion during the middle ages. View questions of war and peace, of of the State of Europe during the which he adduces several prece- Middle Ages, (London, 1819,) vol. dents. (Teoria, part. 2, cap. 19, iii. chap. 8. 20.) Their interference in what 38 The recognition of the title is so generally held the peculiar of the heir apparent, by a cortes province of the executive, was per- convoked for that purpose, has conhaps encouraged by the sovereign, tinued to be observed in Castile with the politic design of relieving down to the present time. Prictica himself of the responsibility of y Estilo, p. 229. measures, whose success must de- 39 For the preceding notice of pend eventually on their support. the cortes, see Marina, Teoria, iallam notices a similar policy of part. 2, cap. 13, 19, 20, 21, 31 the crown, under Edward III., in 35, 37, 38. his view of the English constitu CASTILE. liii plainly how often the rights of the people were in- SECTION vaded by the violence of the privileged orders, or the more artful and systematic usurpations of the crown. But, far from being intimidated jby4such acts, the representatives in cortes were ever ready to stand forward as the intrepid advocates of constitutional freedom; and the unqualified boldness of their language on such occasions, and the consequent concessions of the sovereign, are satisfactory evidence of the real extent of their power, and show how cordially they must have been supported by public opinion. It would be improper to pass by without notice Hermai an anomalous institution peculiar to Castile, which Castile sought to secure the public tranquillity by means scarcely compatible themselves with civil subordination. I refer to the celebrated Hermandad, or Holy Brotherhood, as the association was sometimes called, a name familiar to most readers in the lively fictions of Le Sage, though conveying there no very adequate idea of the extraordinary functions which it assumed at the period under review. Instead of a regularly organized police, it then consisted of a confederation of the principal cities bound together by solemn league and covenant, for the defence of their liberties in seasons of civil anarchy. Its affairs were conducted by deputies, who assembled at stated intervals for this purpose, transacting their business under a common seal, enacting laws which they were careful to transmit to the nobles and even the sovereign himself, and enforcing their measures by an armed force. This liV INTRODUCTION. INTROD. wild kind of justice, so characteristic of an unsettled state of society, repeatedly received the legislative sanction; and, however formidable such a popular engine may have appeared to the eye of the monarch, he was often led to countenance it by a sense of his own impotence, as well as of the overweening power of the nobles, against whom it was principally directed. Hence these associations, although the epithet may seem somewhat overstrained, have received the appellation of " cortes extraordinary."40 VrealiIh of With these immunities, the cities of Castile atthe cities. tained a degree of opulence and splendor unrivalled, unless in Italy, during the middle ages. At a very early period, indeed, their contact with the Arabs had familiarized them with a better system of agriculture, and a dexterity in the mechanic arts unknown in other parts of Christendom.41 On the 40 So at least they are styled by command of the king, shall atMarina. See his account of these tempt to collect an unlawful tax, he institutions; (Teoria, part. 2, cap. shall be put to death on the spot. 39;) also Salazar de Mendoza, Art. 9. (Monarquia, lib. 3, cap. 15, 16,) 41 See Sempere, Historia del and Sempere, (Histoiredes Cortes, Luxo, tom. i. p. 97. - Masdeu, chap. 12, 13.) One hundred cities Hist. Critica, tom. xiii. nos. 90, associated in the Hermandad of 91. — Gold and silver, curiously 1315. In that of 1295, were thir- wrought into plate, were exportty-four. The knights and inferior ed in considerable quantities from nobility frequently made part of the Spain, in the tenth and eleventh association. The articles of con- centuries. They were much used federation are given by Risco, in in the churches. The tiara of the his continuation of Florez. (Espaila pope was so richly incrusted with Sagrada, (Madrid, 1775-1826,) the precious metals, says Masdeu, tom. xxxvi. p. 162.) In one of these as to receive the name of Spanoarticles it is declared, that, if any clista. The familiar use of these noble shall deprive a member of metals as ornaments of dress is the association of his property, and attested by the ancient poem of the refuse restitution, his house shall "Cid." See, in particular, the be razed to the ground. (Art. 4.) costume of the Campeador; vv In another, that if any one, by 3099 et seq. CASTILE. Iv occupation of a conquered town, we find it distrib- SECTION uted into quarters or districts, appropriated to the several crafts, whose members were incorporated into guilds, under the regulation of magistrates and by-laws of their own appointment. Instead of the unworthy disrepute, into which the more humble occupations have since fallen in Spain, they were fostered by a liberal patronage, and their professors in some instances elevated to the rank of knighthood.42 The excellent breed of sheep, which early became the subject of legislative solicitude, fulrnished themn with an important staple, which, together with the simpler manufactures, and the various products of a prolific soil, formed the materials of a profitable commerce.43 Augmentation of 42 Zufiiga, Annales Eclesiasti- porium of commercial intercourse cos y Seculares de Sevilla, (Madrid, during this period between the north 1677,) pp. 74, 75. —Sempere, His- and south, before those of any othtoria del Luxo, tom. i. p. 80. er people in Europe, except the 43 The historian of Seville de- Germans. (Diccionario Geograficoscribes that city, about the middle Hist6rico de Espaiia, por la Real of the fifteenth century, as possess- Academia de la Historia, (Madrid, ing a flourishing commerce, and a 1802,) tom. i. p. 333.) degree of opulence unexampled The institution of the mesta is since the conquest. It was filled referred, says Laborde, (Itin6raire with an active population, employed Descriptif de l'Espagne, (Paris, in the various mechanic arts. Its 1827 - 1830,) tom. iv. p. 47,) to the domestic fabrics, as well as natu- middle of the fourteenth century, ral products, of oil, wine, wool, when the great plague, which de&c., supplied a trade with France, vastated the country so sorely, left Flanders, Italy, and England. (Zu- large depopulated tracts open to iiga, Annales de Sevilla, p. 341. pasturage. This popular opinion -See also Sempere, Historia del is erroneous, since it engaged the Luxo, p. 81, nota 2.) The ports attention of government, and beof Biscay, which belonged to the came the subject of legislation as Castilian crown, were the marts of anciently as 1273, under A!fonso an extensive trade with the north, the Wise. (See Asso y Manuel, during the thirteenth and four- Instituciones, Introd. p. 56.) Capteenth centuries. This province many, however, dates the great entered into repeated treaties of improvement in the breed of Spancommerce with France and Eng- ish sheep from the year 1394, when land; and her factories were es- Catharine of Lancaster brought tablished at Bruges, the great em- with her, as a part of her do" ry ivi INTRODUCTION. INTROD. wealth brought with it the usual appetite for expensive pleasures; and the popular diffusion of lux ury in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries is attested by the fashionable invective of the satirist, and by the impotence of repeated sumptuary enactments.44 Much of this superfluous wealth, however, was expended on the construction of useful public works. Cities, from which the nobles had once been so jealously excluded, came now to be their favorite residence.45 But, while their sumptuous edifices and splendid retinues dazzled the eyes of the peaceful burghers, their turbulent spirit was preparing the way for those dismal scenes of faction, which convulsed the little commonwealths to their centre during the latter half of the fifteenth century. The flourishing condition of the communities to the heir apparent of Castile, a (Hist. de los Arabes en Esparia, flock of English merinos, distin- tom. i. p. 488, nota.) The derivaguished, at that time, above those tion might startle any but a proof every other country, for the fessed etymologist. beauty and delicacy of their fleece. 44 See the original acts, cited (Memorias Hist6ricas sobre la Ma- by Sempere. (Historia del Luxo, rina, Comercio, y Artes de Barce- passim.) The archpriest of Hita lona, (Madrid, 1779 -17.92,)tom. iii. indulges his vein freely against the pp. 336, 337.) This acute writer, luxury, cupidity, and other fashionafter a very careful examination of able sins of his age. (See Sanchez, the subject, differing from those al- Poesias Castellanas, tom. iv.) — ready quoted, considers the raw The influence of Mammon appears material for manufacture, and the to have been as supreme in the natural productions of the soil, to fourteenth century as at any latei have constituted almost the only period. articles of export from Spain, until ", Sea un ome nescio, et rudo labrador, after the fifteenth century. (Ibid., IJos dineros le fasen fidalgo e sabidor, p. 338.) We will remark, in con- Quanto mas algo tiene, tanto es mas de clusion of this desultory note, that El que no ha dineros, non es de si sefior." the term mnerinos is derived, by Vv. 465 et seq. Conde, from mnoedinos, signifying 45 Marina, Ensayo, nos. 199, "wandering"; the name of an 297. - Zuiiiga, Annales de Sevilla, Arabian tribe, who shifted their p. 341. lace of residence with the season. CAST1LE. Ivii gave their representatives a proportional increase of SECTION importance in the national assembly. The liberties Period of of the people seemed to take deeper root in the the highest midst of those political convulsions, so frequent in Mhlons Castile, which unsettled the ancient prerogatives of the crown. Every new revolution was followed by new concessions on the part of the sovereign, and the popular authority continued to advance with a steady progress until the accession of Henry the Third, of Trastamara, in 1393, when it may be said to have reached its zenith. A disputed title and a disastrous war compelled the father of this prince, John the First, to treat the commons with a deference unknown to his predecessors. We find four of their number admitted into his privy council, and six associated in the regency, to which he confided the government of the kingdom during his son's minority.46 A remarkable fact, which occurred in this reign, showing the important advances made by the commons in political estimation, was the substitution of the sons of burgesses for an equal number of those of the nobility, who were stipulated to be delivered as hostages for the fulfilment of a treaty with Portugal, in 1393.47 There will be occasion to notice, in the first chapter of this History, some of the circumstances, which, contributing to undermine the power of the commons, prepared the way for the eventual subversion of the constitution. 46 Marina, Teoria, part. 2, cap. they not soon been replaced by ju28. - Mariana, Hist. de Espalla, risconsults, whose studies and senlib. 18, cap. 15.- The admission timents inclined them less to the of citizens into the king's council, popular side than to that of prewould have formed a most impor- rogative. tant epoch for the commons, had 47 Ibid., lib. 18, cap. 17. VOL. I. A lviii INTRODUCTION. INTROD. The peculiar situation of Castile, which had been The nobil- SO favorable to popular rights, was eminently so to tty. those of the aristocracy. The nobles, embarked with their sovereign in the same common enterprise of rescuing their ancient patrimony from its invaders, felt entitled to divide with him the spoils of victory. Issuing forth, at the head of their own retainers, from their strong-holds or castles, (the great number of which was originally implied in the name of the country,)48 they were continually enlarging the circuit of their territories, with no other assistance than that of their own good swords.49 This independent mode of effecting their conquests would appear unfavorable to the introduction of the feudal system, which, although its existence in Castile is clearly ascertained, by positive law, as well as usage, never prevailed to any thing like the same extent as it did in the sister kingdom of Aragon, and other parts of Europe."5 48 Castilla. See Salazar de Men- Se perdieron, doza, Monarquia, tom. i. p. 108. - Y en este oficio gan6 doza, Monarquia, tornm. i.pLas rentas y los vasallos Livy mentions the great number of Que le dieron." these towers in Spain in his day. Coplas de Manrique, copla 31. "Multas et locis altis positas turres 50 Asso and Manuel derive the Hispania habet." (Lib. 22, cap. introduction of fiefs into Castile, 19.) -A castle was emblazoned on from Catalonia. (Instituciones, p. the escutcheon of Castile, as far 96.) The twenty-sixth title, part. back as the reign of Urraca, in the 4, of Alfonso X.'s code, (Siete beginning of the twelfth century, Partidas,) treats exclusively of according to Salazar de Mendoza, them. (De losFeudos.) Thelaws (Monarquia, tom. i. p. 142,) al- 2, 4, 5, are expressly devoted to a though Garibay discerns no vestige brief exposition of the nature of a of these arms on any instrument of fief, the ceremonies of investiture, a much older. date than the begin- and the reciprocal obligations of ning of the thirteenth century. lord and vassal. Those of the latCompendio, lib. 12, cap. 32. ter consisted in keeping his lord's 49 "IIizo guerra a los Moros. counsel, maintaining his interest, Ganando sus fortalezas and aiding him in war. With all Yesus villas. this, there are anomalies in this C en las lides que venc usages Caballeros y caballos ~. code, and still more in the usages CASTILE. lix The higher nobility, or ricos hombres, were ev- SECTION empted from general taxation, and the occasional Their prig attempt to infringe on this privilege in seasons of ileges great public emergency, was uniformly repelled by this jealous body.5- They could not be imprisoned for debt; nor be subjected to torture, so repeatedly sanctioned in other cases by the municipal law of Castile. They had the right of deciding their private feuds by an appeal to arms; a right of which they liberally availed themselves.52 They also claimed the privilege, when aggrieved, of denaturalizing themselves, or in other words, of publicly renouncing their allegiance to their sovereign, and of enlisting under the banners of his enemy.5 The number of petty states, which swarmed over the Peninsula, afforded ample opportunity for the exercise of this disorganizing prerogative. The Laras are particularly noticed by Mariana, as having a " great relish for rebellion," and the Castros as being much in the habit of going over to the Moors.54 They assumed the license of arraying of the country, not easy.to explain Cortes, chap. 4. - The incensed on the usual principles of the feu- nobles quitted the cortes in disgust, dal relation; a circumstance, which and threatened to vindicate their has led to much discrepancy of rights by arms, on one such occaopinion on the subject, in political sion, 1176. Mariana, Hist. de writers, as well as to some incon- Espaiia, tom. i. p. 644. See also sistency. Sempere, who enter- tom. ii. p. 176. tains no doubt of the establishment 52 Iidem auctores, ubi supra. - of feudal institutions in Castile, Prieto y Sotelo, HIistoria del Deretells us, that "the nobles, after the cho Real de Espaiia, (Madrid, Conquest, succeeded in obtaining 1738,) lib. 2, cap. 23; lib. 3, cap. 8. an exemption from military ser- 53 Siete Partidas, (ed. de la Real vice," - one of the most conspicu- Acad., Madrid, 1807,) part. 4, tit. ous and essential of all the feudal 25, ley 11. On such occasions they relations. Histoire des Cortes, pp. sent him a formal defiance by their 30, 72, 249. king at arms. Mariarna, Hist. de 51 Asso y Manuel, Instituciones, Espaia, tom. i. pp. 768, 912. p. 26. — Sempere, Histoire des 54 Ibid., tom. i. pp. 707, 713. Ix INTRODUCTION. INTROD. themselves in armed confederacy against the monarch, on any occasion of popular disgust, and they solemnized the act by the most imposing ceremonials of religion.' Their rights of jurisdiction, derived to them, it would seem, originally from royal grant,56 were in a great measure defeated by the liberal charters of incorporation, which, in imitation of the sovereign, they conceded to their vassals, as well as by the gradual encroachment of the royal judicatures. 57 In virtue of their birth they monopolized all the higher offices of state, as those of constable and admiral of Castile, adelantados or governors of the provinces, cities, &c.58 They secured to themselves the grand-masterships of the military orders, which placed at their disposal an immense amount of revenue and patronage. Finally, they entered into the royal or privy council, and formed a constituent portion of the national legis — lature. heirgreatl These important prerogatives were of course fa vorable to the accumulation of great wealth. Thei estates were scattered over every part of the king dom, and, unlike the grandees of Spain at the pre sent day,59 they resided on them in person, main taining the state of petty sovereigns, and surrounded by a numerous retinue, who served the purposes of 55 The forms of this solemnity is explained in Salazar de Mendo may be found in Mariana, Hist. de za, Monarquia, tom. i. pp. 155, 166 Espaiia, tom. i. p. 907. 203. 56 Marina, Ensayo, p. 128. 59 From the scarcity of these 57 John I., in 1390, authorized baronial residences, some fanciful appeals from the seignorial tribu- etymologists have derived the fanals to those of the crown. Ibid., miliar saying of " Chateaux en tom. ii. p. 179. Espagne." SeeBourgoanne,Trav-. 5 The nature of these dignities els in Spain, tom. ii. chap. 12 CASTIIE. lxi a pageant in time of peace, and an efficient military SECTION force in war. The demesnes of John, lord of Biscay, confiscated by Alfonso the Eleventh to the use of the crown, in 1327, amounted to more than eighty towns and castles.60 The "good constable " Davalos, in the time of Henry the Third, could ride through his own estates all the way from Seville to Compostella, almost the two extremities of the kingdom.61' Alvaro de Luna, the powerful favorite of John the Second, could muster twenty thousand vassals.62 A contemporary, who gives a catalogue of the annual rents of the principal Castilian nobility at the close of the fifteenth or beginning of the following century, computes several at fifty and sixty thousand ducats a year,6s an immense income, if we take into consideration the value of money in that age. The same writer estimates their united 60 Mariana, Hist. de Espaila, under view all the different coins tom. i. p. 910. of Ferdinand and Isabella's time, 61 Cr6nica de Don Alvaro de Lu- settling their specific value with na, (ed. de la Acad. Madrid, 1784,) great accuracy. The calculation is App. p. 465. attended with considerable difficul62 Guzman, Generaciones y Sem- ty, owing to the depreciation of the blanzas, (Madrid, 1775,) cap. 84. value of the precious metals, and - His annual revenue is computed the repeated adulteration of the by Perez de Guzman, at 100,000 real. In his tables, at the end, he doblas of gold; a sum equivalent exhibits the commercial value of to 856,000 dollars at the present the different denominations, ascerday. tained by the quantity of wheat 63 The former of these two (as sure a standard as any), which sums is equivalent to $438,875, or they would buy at that day. Tak~91,474 sterling; and the latter ing the average of values, which to $ 526,650, or ~109,716, nearly. varied considerably in different I have been guided by a dissertation years of Ferdinand and Isabella, of Clemencin, in the sixth volume of it appears that the ducat, reduced the Memorias de la Real Academia to our own currency, will be equal de la Historia, (Madrid, 1821, pp. to about eight dollars and seventy507- 566,) in the reduction of sums seven cents, and the dobla to eight in this History. That treatise is very dollars and fifty-six cents. elaborate and ample, and brings lxIi INTRODUCTION. INTROD. revenues as equal to one third of those in the whole kingdom. 64 Their turbu. These ambitious nobles did not consume their lent spirit. fortunes, or their energies in a life of effeminate luxury. From their earliest boyhood, they were accustomed to serve in the ranks against the infidel, 65 and their whole subsequent lives were occupied either with war, or with those martial exercises which reflect the image of it. Looking back with pride to their ancient Gothic descent, and to those times, when they had stood forward as the peers, the electors of their sovereign, they could ill brook the slightest indignity at his hand.66 With these haughty feelings and martial habits, and this enormous assumption of power, it may readily be conceived that they would not suffer the anarchical provisions of the constitution, which seemed to concede an almost unlimited license of rebellion, to 64 The ample revenues of the The only son of Alfonso VI. was Spanish grandee of the present slain, fighting manfully in the time, instead of being lavished on ranks, at the battle of Ucles, in a band of military retainers, as of 1109, when only eleven years of yore, are sometimes dispensed in age. Mariana, Hist. de Esparia, the more peaceful hospitality of tom. i. p. 565. supporting an almost equally for- 66 The northern provinces, the midable host of needy relations and theatre of this primitive independependents. According to Bour- dence, have always been consegoanne (Travels in Spain, vol. i. crated by this very circumstance, chap. 4), no less than 3000 of these in the eyes of a Spaniard. " The gentry were maintained on the proudest lord," says Navagiero, estates of the duke of Arcos, who " feels it an honor to trace his died in 1780. pedigree to this quarter." (Viag65 Mendoza records the circum- gio, fol. 44.) The same feeling stance of the head of the familyof has continued, and the meanest Ponce de Leon, (a descendant of native of Biscay, or the Asturias, the celebrated marquis of Cadiz,) at the present day, claims to be carrying his son, then thirteen noble; a pretension, which often years old, with him into battle; contrasts ridiculously enough with " an ancient usage," he says, "in the humble character of his occuthat noble house." (Guerra de pation, and has furnished many a Granada, (Valencia, 176,)p. 318.) pleasant anecdote to travellers. CASTILE. lxiii remain a dead letter. Accordingly, we find them SECTION perpetually convulsing the kingdom with their schemes of selfish aggrandizement. The petitions of the commons are filled with remonstrances on their various oppressions, and the evils resulting from their long, desolating feuds. So that, notwithstanding the liberal forms of its constitution, there was probably no country in Europe, during the Middle Ages, so sorely afflicted with the vices of intestine anarchy, as Castile. These were still further aggravated by the improvident donations of the monarch to the aristocracy, in the vain hope of conciliating their attachment, but which swelled their already overgrown power to such a height, that, by the middle of the fifteenth century, it not only over shadowed that of the throne, but threatened to subvert the liberties of the state. Their self-confidence, however, proved eventually their ruin. They disdained a cooperation with the lower orders in defence of their privileges, and relied too unhesitatingly on their power as a body, to feel jealous of their exclusion from the national legislature, where alone they could have made an effectual stand against the usurpations of the crown. - The course of this work, will bring under review the dexterous policy, by which the crown contrived to strip the aristocracy of its substantial privileges, and prepared the way for the period, when it should retain possession only of a few barren though ostentatious dignities.67 67 An elaborate dissertation, by on the preeminence and privileges the advocate Don Alonso Carillo, of the Castilian grandee. is append Ixiv INTRODUCTION. INTROD. The inferior orders of nobility, the hzdalgos,.e cava- (whose dignity, like that of the ricos hombres, krihts. would seem, as their name imports, to have been originally founded on wealth,)68 and the cavalleros, or knights, enjoyed many of the immunities of the higher class, especially that of exemption from taxation.69 Knighthood appears to have been regarded with especial favor by the law of Castile. Its ample privileges and its duties are defined with a precision, and in a spirit of romance, that might have served for the court of King Arthur. 70 Spain was indeed the land of chivalry. The respect for the sex, which had descended from the Visigoths,71 ed to Salazar de Mendoza's Origen para que sean essentos de todos de las Dignidades Seglares de Cas- pechos." tilla, (Madrid, 1794.) The most 70 The knight was to array himprized of these, appears to be that self in light and cheerful vestments, of keeping the head covered in the and, in the cities and public places, presence of the sovereign; " pre- his person was to be enveloped in rogativa tan ilustre," says the wri- a long and flowing mantle, in order ter, " que ella sola imprime el prin- to impose greater reverence on the cipal caracter de la Grandeza. Y people. His good steed was to be considerada por sus efectos admira- distinguished by the beauty and bles, ocupa dignamente el primero richness of his caparisons. He lugar." (Discurso 3.) The senti- was to live abstemiously, indulging mental citizen Bourgoanne, finds it himself in none of the effeminate necessary to apologize to his repub- delights of couch or banquet. Durlican brethren, for noticing these ing his repast, his mind was to be " important trifles." Travels in refreshed with the recital, from Spain, vol. i. chap. 4. history, of deeds of ancient hero68," Los llamaron fijosdalgo, que ism; and in the fight he was commuestra a tanto como fijos de bien." manded to invoke the name of his (Siete Partidas, part. 2, tit. 21.) mistress, that it might infuse new " Por hidalgos se entienden los ardor into his soul, and preserve hombres escogidos de buenos lugares him from the commission of uni con algo." Asso y Manuel, In- knightly actions. See Siete Parstituciones, pp. 33, 34. tidas, part. 2, tit. 21, which is taken 69 Recop. de las Leyes, lib. 6, up with defining the obligations of tit. 1, leyes 2, 9; tit. 2, leyes 3, 4, chivalry. 10; tit. 14, leyes 14, 19. - They. 71 See Fuero Juzgo, lib. 3, which were obliged to contribute to the is devoted almost exclusively to the repair of fortifications and public sex. Montesquieu discerns in the works, although, as the statute jealous surveillance, which the expresses it, " tengan privilegios Visigoths maintained overthe honor CASTILE. lxv was mingled with the religious enthusiasm, which SECTION had been kindled in the long wars with the infidel. The apotheosis of chivalry, in the person of their apostle and patron, St. James,72 contributed still further to this exaltation of sentiment, which was maintained by the various military orders, who devoted themselves, in the bold language of the age, to the service "of God and the ladies." So that the Spaniard may be said to have put in action what, in other countries, passed for the extravagancies of the minstrel. An example of this occurs in the fifteenth century, when a passage of arms was defended at Orbigo, not far from the shrine of Compostella, by a Castilian knight, named Sueno de Quenones, and his nine companions, against all comers, in the presence of John the Second and his court. Its object was to release the knight from the obligation, imnposed on him l)y his mistress, of publicly wearing an iron collar round his neck every Thursday. The jousts continued for thirty days, and the doughty champions fought without shield or target, with weapons bearing points of Milan steel. Six hundred and twenty-seven encounters took place, and one hundred and sixty-six lances were broken, when the emprise was declared to be fairly achieved. The whole affair is narrated with becoming gravity by an eyeof their women, so close an analo- 72 Warton's expression. See gy with oriental usages, as must vol. i. p. 245, of the late learned have greatly facilitated the con- edition of his History of English quest of the country by the Ara- Poetry, (London, 1824.) bians. Esprit des Loix, liv. 14, chap. 14. VOL. I. i INTRODUCTION. INTROD. witness, and the reader may fancy himself perusing the adven tures of a Launcelot or an Amadis.7s ra. clergy. The influence of the ecclesiastics in Spain may be traced back to the age of the Visigoths, when they controlled the affairs of the state in the great national'councils of Toledo. This influence was maintained by the extraordinary position of the nation after the conquest. The holy warfare, in which it was embarked, seemed to require the cooperation of the clergy, to propitiate Heaven in its behalf, to interpret its mysterious omens, and to move all the machinery of miracles, by which the imagination is so powerfully affected in a rude and superstitious age. They even condescended, in imitation of their patron saint, to mingle in the ranks, and, with the crucifix in their hanids, to lead the soldiers on to battle. Examples of these militant prelates are to be found in Spain, so late as the sixteenth cent'iry.74 Induence of the papal But, wrhile te native ecclesiastics obtained such complete ascendency over the popular inind, the Roman See could boast of less influence in Spain than in any other country in Europe. The Gothic liturgy was alone riceived as cahonical until the 73 See the " Passo Honroso', pluti, i569,) fleo. 1i0'et seq.) The appended to the Cr'6nica de Alvaro practice, indeed, was familiar in de Luna. other countries, as well as Spain, 74 The present narrative will in- at this late period. In the bloody troduce the reader to more than battle of Ravenna, in 1512, two one belligerent prelaite,'who filled car'dinal legates, one of them the the Very highest post in the Span- future Leo X., fought on opposite ish,'and, I:may say, the Christian sides. Paolo Giovio, Vita Leonis church, h'ext the papacy. (See X., apd " Vitae Illustrium ViroAlvaro Gomez, De Rebus Gestista rum," (Basitia, 1578,) lib. 2. Francisco Ximenio Cisnerio, (Com CASTILE. Ixvii eleventh century; 75 and, until the twelfth, the sovy- SsCTION creign held the right of jurisdiction over all ecclesiastical causes, of collating to benefices, or at least of confirming or annulling the election of the chapters. The code of Alfonso the Tenth, however, which borrowed its principles of jurisprudence -from the civil and canon law, completed a revolution already begun, and transferred these important prerogatives to the pope, who now succeeded in establishing a usurpation over ecclesiastical rights in Castile, similar to that which had been before effected in other parts of Christendom. Some of these abuses, as that of the nomination of foreigners to benefices, were carried to such an impudent height, as repeatedly provoked the indignant remonstrances of the cortes. The ecclesiastics, eager to indemnify themselves for what they had sacrificed to Rome, were more than ever solicitous to assert their independence of the royal jurisdiction. They particularly insisted on their immunity from taxation, and were even reluctant to divide with the laity the necessary burdens of a war, which, from its sacred character, would seem to have imperative claims on them.76 Notwithstanding the immediate dependence thus corruptuon established on the head of the church by the legis75 The contest for supremacy, appears to grudge this appropriabetween the Mozarabic ritual and tion of the "''sacred revenues of the the Roman, is familiar to the read- Church " to defray the expenses er, in thle curious narrative extract- of the holy War against the Saraed by Robertson from Mariana, cen. (Hist. de Esparia, tom. i. p. Hist. de Espaiia, lib. 9, cap. 18. 177.) See also the Ensayo, (nos. 76 Siete Partidas, part. 1, tit. 6. 32-2-364,) where Marina has an- Florez, Espaita Sagrada, tom. alyzed, and discussed the general kx. p. 16. -The Jesuit Mariana import of the first of the Partidas. lxviii INTRODUCTION. NTROD. lation of Alfonso the Tenth, the general immunities secured by it to the ecclesiastics operated as a powerful bounty on their increase; and the mendicant orders in particular,-that spiritual militia of the popes, were multiplied over the country to an alarming extent. Many of their members were not only incompetent to the duties of their profession, being without the least tincture of liberal culture, but fixed a deep stain on it by the careless laxity of their morals. Open concubinage was familiarly practised by the clergy, as well as laity, of the period; and, so far from being reprobated by the law of the land, seems anciently to have been countenanced by it. 77 This moral insensibility may probably be referred to the contagious exam-'le of their Mahometan neighbours; but, from "hatever source derived, the practice was indulged to such a shameless extent, that, as the nation advanced in refinement, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, it became the subject of frequent legislative enactments, in which the concubines of the clergy are described as causing general scandal by their lawless effrontery and ostentatious magnificence of apparel.78 Their rich Notwithstanding this prevalent licentiousness of nO.essions the Spanish ecclesiastics, their influence became every day more widely extended, while this ascendency, for which they were particularly indebted in that rude age to their superior learning and capacity, 77 Marina, Ensayo, ubi suprs, by Sempere, in his Historia del and nos. 220 et seq. Luxo, tom. i. pp. 166 et seq. 78 See the original acts quoted CASTILE. Ixix was perpetuated by their enormous acquisitions of sEcTIrO wealth. Scarcely a town was reconquered from the Moors, without a considerable portion of its territory being appropriated to the support of some ancient, or the foundation of some new, religious establishment. These were the common reservoir, into which flowed the copious streams of private as wel, as royal bounty; and, when the consequences of these-alienations in mortmain came to be visible in the impoverishment of the public revenue, every attempt at legislative interference was in a great measure defeated by the piety or superstition of the age. The abbess of the monastery of Hluelgas, which was situated within the precincts of Burgos, and contained within its walls one hundred and fifty nuns of the noblest families in Castile, exercised jurisdiction over fourteen capital towns, and more than fifty smaller places; and she was accounted inferior to the queen only in dignity. 79 The archbishop of Toledo, by virtue of his office primate of. Spain and grand chancellor of Castile, was esteemed, after the pope, the highest ecclesiastical dignitary in Christendom. His revenues, at the close of the fifteenth century, exceeded eighty thousand ducats; while the gross amount of those of the subordinate beneficiaries of his church rose to one hundred and eighty thousand. He could muster a greater number of vassals than any other subject in the kingdom, and held jurisdiction over fifteen large 79 Lucio Marineo Siculo, Cosas Memorables de Espana, (Alcala de Henares, 1539,) fol. 16. INTRODUCTION. and populous towns, besides a great number of in. ferior places. 8 These princely fiunds, when intrusted to pious prelates, were munificently dispensed in useful public works, and especially in the foundation of eleenlosvnary institutions, with which every great city in Castile was liberally supplied. 8 But, in the hands of worldly men, they were perverted from these noble uses to the gratification of personal vanity, or the disorganizing schemes of faction. The moral perceptions of the people, in the mean time, were confused by the visible demeanor of a hierarchy, so repugnant to the natural conceptions of religious duty. They learned to attach an exclusive value to external rites, to the forms rather than the spirit of Christianity; estimating the piety of men by their speculative opinions, rather than their practical conduct. The ancient Spaniards, notwithstanding their prevalent superstition, were untinctured with the fiercer religious bigotry of later times; and the uncharitable temper of their priests, occasionally disclosed in the heats of reli80 Navagiero, Viaggio, fol. 9.- clergy of the diocese, at one third L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, of the above sum, only; (p. 217, fol. 12.- Laborde reckons the rev- Boston ed. 1829;) an estimate conennes of this prelate, in his tables, firmed by Mr. Inglis, who comat 12,000,000 reals, or 600,000 dol- putes them at ~40,000. Spain in iars. (Itinuraire, tom. vi. p. 9.) 1830, vol. i. ch. 11. The estimate is grossly exagger- 1s Modern travellers, who conated for the present day. The demn without reserve the corruprents of this see, like those of eve- tion of the inferior clergy, bear ry other in the kingdom, have been uniform testimony to the exemplagrievously clipped in the late politi- ry piety and munificent charities cal troubles. They are stated by of the higher dignitaries of the the intelligent author of " A Year church. in Spain," on the authority of the CAST1IE. lxxi gious war, was controlled by public opinion, which SECTION accorded a high degree of respect to the intellectual, as well as political superiority of the Arabs. But the time was now coming when these ancient barriers were to be broken down; when a difference of religious sentiment was to dissolve all the ties of human brotherhood; when uniformity of faith was to be purchased by the sacrifice of any rights, even those of intellectual freedom; when, in fine, the Christian and the Mussulman, the oppressor and the oppressed, were to be alike bowed down under the strong arm of ecclesiastical tyranny. The means, by which a revolution so disastrous to Spain was effected, as well as the incipient stages of its progress, are topics that fall within the scope of the present history. From the preceding survey of the constitutional Limitedex—':'.... ~ ~ ~' ~-' ~...... tent of the privileges enjoyed by the different orders of the royalprerogCastilian monarchy, previous to the fifteenth century, it is evident that the royal authority must have been circumscrilbed within very narrow limits. The numerous states, into which the great Gothic empire was broken after the Conquest, were individually too insignificant to confer on their respective sovereigns the possession of extensive power, or even to authorize their assumption of that state, by which it is supported in the eyes of the vulgar. When sone more fortunate prince, by conquest or alliance, had enlarged the circle of his dorninions, and thus in some measure ren:edied the evil, it was sure to recur upon his death, by the subdivision of his estates among his children. This mischievous lxxIi INTRODUCTION. INTROD practice wras even countenanced by public opinion; for the different districts of the country, in their habitual independence of each other, acquired an exclusiveness of feeling, which made it difficult for them ever cordially to coalesce; and traces of this early repugnance to each other are to be discerned in the mutual jealousies and local peculiarities which still distinguish the different sections of the Peninsula, after their consolidation into one mon archy for more than three centuries. The election to the crown, although no longer vested in the hands of the national assembly, as with the Visigoths, was yet subject to its approbation. The title of the heir apparent was formally recognised by a cortes convoked for the purpose; and, on the demise of his parent, the new sovereign again convened the estates to receive their oath of allegiance, which they cautiously withheld, until he had first sworn to preserve inviolate the liberties of the constitution. Nor was this a merely nominal privilege, as was evinced on more than one memorable occasion. 82 We have seen, in our review of the popular branch of the government, how closely its authority pressed even on the executive functions of the administration. The monarch was still further controlled, in this department, by his Royal or Privy Council, consisting of the chief nobility and great officers of state, to which, in later times, a 82 Marina, Teoria, part. 2, cap. of this occurred as late as the ae. 2, 5, 6. -A remarkable instance cession of Charles V. CASTILE. lxxiii deputation of the commons was sometimes added.83 SECTION This body, together with the king, had cognizance of the most important public transactions, whether of a civil, military, or diplomatic nature. It was established by positive enactment, that the prince, without its consent, had no right to alienate the royal demesne, to confer pensions beyond a very limited amount, or to nominate to vacant benefices.84 His legislative powers were to be exercised in concurrence with the cortes;s5 and, in the 83 The earliest example of this 85 Not so exclusively, however, permanent committee of the com- by any means, as Marina pretends. mons, residing at court, and enter- (Teoria, part. 2, cap. 17, 18.) He ing into the king's council, was in borrows a pertinent illustration the minority of Ferdinand IV.; in from the famous code of Alfonso 1295. The subject is involved in X., which was not received as law some obscurity, which Marina has of the land till it had been formalnot succeeded in dispelling He ly published in cortes, in 1348, considers the deputation to have more than seventy years after its formed a necessary and constituent original compilation. In his zeal part of the council, from the time for popular rights, he omits to noof its first appointment. (Teoria, tice, however, the power, so fretom. ii. cap. 27, 28.) Sempere, quently assumed by the sovereign on the other hand, discerns no of granting futeros, or municipal warrant for this, after its introduc- charters; a right, indeed, which tion, till the time of the Austrian the great lords, spiritual and temdynasty. (Histoire des Cortes, poral, exercised in common with chap. 29.) Marina, who too often him, subject to his sanction. See mistakes anomaly for practice, is a multitude of these seignorial certainly not justified, even by his codes, enumerated by Asso and own showing, in the sweeping con- Manuel. (Instituciones, Introd., clusions to which he arrives. But, pp. 31 et seq.) The monarch if his prejudices lead him to see claimed, moreover, though not, by more than has happened, on the any means, so freely as in later one hand, those of Sempere, on times, the privilege of issuing the other, make him sometimes pragmiticas, ordinances of an ex. high gravel blind. ecutive character, or for the re84 The important functions and dress of grievances submitted to history of this body are investi- him by the national legislature. gated by Marina. (Teoria, part. Within certain limits, this was un2, cap. 27, 28, 29.) See also doubtedly a constitutional prerogaSempere, (Histoire des Cortes, tive. But the history of Castile, cap. 16.) and the Informe de Don like that of most other countries in Agustin Riol, (apud Semanario Europe, shows how easily it was Erudito, tom. iii. pp. 113 et seq.) abused in the hands of an arbitrary where, however, its subsequent prince. condition is chiefly considered. VOL. I. j txsxiv INTRODUCTION. INTROD. judicial departmen.t, his authority, during the latter part of the period under review, setems to have been chiefly exercised in the selection of officers for the higher judicatures, from a list of candidates presented to him on a vacancy by their members concurrently with his privy council.86 Poverty of The scantiness of the king's revenue correspondthe crown. ed with that of his constitutional authority. By an ancient law, indeed, of similar tenor with one familiar to the Saracens, the sovereign was entitled to a fifth of the spoils of victory.87 This, in the course of the long wars with the Moslems, would have secured him more ample possessions than were enjoyed by any prince in Christendom. But several circumstances concurred to prevent it. Its causes. The long minorities, with which Castile was afflicted perhaps more than any country in Europe, frequently threw the government into the hands of the 86 The civil and criminal business further done by the supervision of of the kingdom was committed, in cortes, whose acts show the deep the last resort, to the very ancient solicitude with which it watched tribunal of alcaldes de casa y corte, over the concerns and conduct of until, in 1371, a new one, entitled this important tribunal. For a nothe royal audience or chancery, tice of the original organization was constituted under Henry II., and subsequent modifications of the with supreme and ultimate jurisdic- Castilian courts, consult Marina, tion in civil causes. These, in the (Teoria, part. 2, cap. 21 - 25.) first instance, however, might be Riol, (Informe, apud Semarnario brought before the alcaldes de la Erudito, tom. iii. pp. 129 et seq.) corte, which continued, and has and Sempere, (Histoire des Cortes, since continued, the high court in chap. 15,) whose loose and desulcriminal matters. tory remarks show perfect familThe audiencia, or chancery, con- iarity with the subject, and presisted at first of seven judges, suppose more than is likely to be whose number varied a good deal fouind in the reader. afterwards. They were appointed 87 Siete Partidas, part. 2, tit. by the crown, in the manner men- 26, leyes 5, 6, 7.- Mendoza notitioned in the text. Their salaries ces this custom as recently as Philwere such as to secure their inde- ip II.'s day. Guerra de Granada, pendence, as far as possible,.of any p. 170. undue influence; and this was still CASTILE. txxV principal nobility, who perverted to their own emol- SECTION uments the high powers intrusted to them. They usurped the possessions of the crown, and invaded some of its most valuable privileges; so that the sovereign's subsequent life was often consumed in fruitless attempts to repair the losses of his minority. He sometimes, indeed, in the impotence of other resources, resorted to such unhappy expedients as treachery and assassination.88 A pleasant tale is told by the Spanish historians, of the more innocent device of Henry the Third, for the recovery of the estates extorted firom the crown by the rapacious nobles during his minority, Returning home late one evening, fatigued and Anecdoteof Henry Ill., half famished, from a hunting expedition, he was of Castile. chagrined to find no refreshment prepared for him, and still more so, to learn from his steward, that he had neither money nor credit to purchase it. The day's sport, however, fortunately fiurnished the means of appeasing the royal appetite; and, while this was in progress, the steward took occasion to contrast the indigent condition of the king with that of his nobles, who habitually indulged in the most expensive entertainments, and were that very evening feasting with the archbishop of Tole-! do. The prince, suppressing his indignation, determined like the far-famed caliph, in the "Arabian Nights," to inspect the affair in person, and, assuming a disguise, introduced hirnself privately nto the archbishop's palace, where he witnessed 88 Mariana, Hist. de Espaiia, lib. 15, cap. 19, 20. Ixxvl INTRODUCTION. INToD. with his own eyes the prodigal magnificence of the banquet, teeming with costly wines and the most luxurious viands. The next day he caused a rumor to be circulated through the court, that he had fallen suddenly and dangerously ill. The courtiers, at these tidings, thronged to the palace; and, when they had all assembled, the king made his appearance among them, bearing his naked sword in his hand, and, with an aspect of unusual severity, seated himself on his throne at the upper extremity of the apartment. After an interval of silence in the astonished assembly, the monarch, addressing himself to the primate, inquired of him, "How many sovereigns he had known in Castile?" The prelate answering four, Henry put the same question to the duke of Benevente, and so on to the other courtiers in succession. None of them, however, having answered more than five, "How is this," said the prince, "that you, who are so old, should have known so few, while I, young as I am, have beheld more than twenty! Yes," continued he, raising his voice, to the astonished multitude, "you are the real sovereigns of Castile, en joying all the rights and revenues of royalty, while I, stripped of my patrimony, have scarcely wherewithal to procure the necessaries of life." Then giving a concerted signal, his guards entered the apartment, followed by the public executioner bearing along with him the implements of death. The dismayed nobles, not relishing the turn the jest appeared CASTILE. lxxvii likely to take, fell on their knees before the mon- sECTION arch and besought his forgiveness, promising, in requital, complete restitution of the fruits of their rapacity. Henry, content with having so cheaply gained his point, allowed himself to soften at their entreaties, taking care, however, to detain their persons as security for their engagements, until such time as the rents, royal fortresses, and whatever effects had been filched from the crown, were restored. The story, although repeated by the gravest Castilian writers, wears, it must be owned, a marvellous tinge of romance. But, whether fact, or founded on it, it may serve to show the dilapidated condition of the revenues at the beginning of the fourteenth century, and its immediate causes. Another circumstance, which contributed to impoverish the exchequer, was the occasional political 89 Garibay, Compendio, tom. ii. thentic materials for history. The p. 399. - Mariana, Hist. de Espa- editor of Ayala's Chronicle considrla, tom. ii. pp. 234, 235. - Pedro ers the adventure, quoted in the Lopez de Ayala, chancellor of Cas- text, as fictitious, and probably sugtile and chronicler of the reigns of gested by a stratagem employed by four of its successive monarchs, Henry fobr the seizure of the duke terminated his labors abruptly with of Benevente, and by his subsethe sixth year of Henry III., the quent imprisonment at Burgos. See subsequent period of whose adlnin- Ayala, Cr6nica de Castilla, p. 355, istration is singularly barren of au- note, (ed. de la Acad., 1780.) Notwithstanding the general dil- work upon that subject. Robert- Constituigence of the Spanish historians, son frequently complains of the tionalwri they have done little towards the total deficiency of authentic sources Castile. investigation of the constitutional of information respecting the laws antiquities of Castile, until the pres- and government of Castile; a cirent century. Dr. Geddes's meagre cumstance, that suggests to a cannotice of the cortes preceded prob- did mind an obvious explanation of ably, by a long interval, any native several errors, into which *he has ixxviii INTRODUCTION. iNTROD. revolutions in Castile, in which the adhesion of a faction was to be purchased only by the most ample concessions of the crown. - Such was the violent revolution, Which placed the House of Trastamara on the throne, in the middle of the fourteenth century. But perhaps a more operative cause, than all these, of the alleged evil, was the conduct of those imbecile princes, who, with heedless prodigality, squandered the public resources on their own personal pleasures and unworthy minions. The disastrous reigns of John the Second and Henry the Fourth, extending over the greater portion of the fifteenth century, furnish pertinent examples of this. It was not unusual, indeed, for the cortes, interposing its paternal authority, by passing an act for the partial resumption of grants thus illegally made, in some degree to repair the broken condition of the finances. Nor was such a resumption unfair to the actual proprietors. The promise to maintain the integrity of the royal demesnes formed an essential part of the coronation oath of every sovereign; and the subject, on whom he afterwards confallen. Capmany, in the preface lead, fro'm the contrast it suggests to a work, compiled by order of the of existing institutions to the freer central junta in Seville, in 1809, forms of antiquity, might well have on the ancient organization of the deterred the mo'dern Spaniard from cortes in the different states of the these inquiries; which, moreover, Peninsula, remarks, that "no au- it can hardly be supposed, would thor has appeared, down to the have received the countenance of present day, to instruct us in regard government. The brief interval, to the origin, constitution, and cel- however, in the early part of the ebration of the Castilian cortes, on present century, when the nation all which topics there remains the so ineffectually struggled to resume most profound ignorance." The its ancient liberties, gave birth to melancholy results to which such two productions, which have gone an investigation must necessarily far to supply the desiderata in this CASTILE. Ihxix terred themn, knew well by what a precarious, illicit SECTION tenlire bhe was to hold them. From the view which has been presented of the co.tithuin at the begin. Castilian constitution at the beginning of the fif- ofitle teenth century, it is apparent, that the sovereign ury. was possessed of less power, and the people of greater, than in other European monarchies at that peiiod. It must be owned, however, as before intimated, that the practical operation did not always correspond with the theory of their respective functions in these rude times; and that the powers of the executive, being susceptible of greater compactness and energy in their movements, than could possibly belong to those of more complex bodies, Twere sufficiently strong in the hands of a resolute prince, to break down the comparatively feeble barriers of the law. Neither were the relative privileges, assigned to the different orders of the state, equitably adjusted. Those of the aristocracy were indefinite and exorbitant. The license of armed combinations too. so freely assumed both by this order and the commons, although operating as a safety-valve for the escape of the efferivescing department. I allude to the val- skilful a manner as to give a dry Marina anl tiable works of Marina, on the early and repulsive air to the whole Sempere. legislation, and on the cortes, of work. The original documents, on Castile, to which repeated refer- which it is established, instead ot ence has been made in this section. being reserved for an appendix, The latter, especially, presents us and their import only conveyed in with a full exposition of the appro- the text, state at the rea'der in every priate finctions assigned to the page, arrayed in all the technicalseveral departments of government, ities, periphrases, and repetitions and with the parliamentary history incident to legal enactments. The of Castile deduced from original, course of the investigation is, moreunpublished records. over, frequently interrupted by imIt is unfortunate that his copious pertinent dissertations on the conillustrations are arranged in so un- stitution of 1812, in which the lxxx INTRODUCTION. INTnD.. spirit of the age, was itself obviously repugnant to all principles of civil obedience, and exposed the state to evils scarcely less disastrous than those which it was intended to prevent. It was apparent, that, notwithstanding the magnitude of the powers conceded to the nobility and the commons, there were important defects, which prevented them from resting on any sound and permanent basis. The representation of the people in cortes, instead of partially emanating, as in England, from an independent body of landed proprietors, constituting the real strength of the nation, proceeded exclusively from the cities, whose elections were much more open to popular caprice and ministerial corruption, and whose numerous local jealousies prevented them from acting in cordial cooperation. The nobles, notwithstanding their occasional coalitions, were often arrayed in feuds against each other. They relied, for the defence of their privileges, solely on their physical strength, and heartily disdained, in any emergency, to support their own cause by identifying it with that of the commons. Hence it became obvious, that the author has fallen into abundance tal and transient exertion of power of crudities, which he would have in a season of popular excitement. escaped, had he but witnessed the The student of this department practical operation of those liberal of Spanish history, may consult, in forms of government, which he so conjunction with Marina, Sempere's justly admires. The sanguine tem- little treatise, often quoted, on the per of Marina has also betrayed History of the Castilian Cortes. It him into the error of putting, too is, indeed, too limited and desulto. uniformly, a favorable construction ry in its plan, to afford any thing on the proceedings of the com- like a complete view of the subject. mons, and of frequently deriving a But, as a sensible commentary, by constitutional precedent from what one well skilled in the topics that he can only be regarded as an acciden- discusses, it is of undoubted value. CASTILE. 1xxxi monarch, who, notwithstanding his limited prerog- SECT10N ative, assumed the anomalous privilege of transacting public business with the advice of only one branch of the legislature, and of occasionally dispensing altogether with the attendance of the other, might, by throwing his own influence into the scale, give the preponderance to whichever party he should prefer; and, by thus dexterously availing himself of their opposite forces, erect his own authority on the ruins of the weaker. - How far and how successfully this policy was pursued by Ferdinand and Isabella, will be seen in the course of this History. Since the political principles and But, with every deduction, Mabias of the author were of an oppo- rina's publications must be considsite character to Marina's, they ered an important contribution to frequently lead him to opposite political science. They exhibit an conclusions in the investigation of able analysis of a constitution, the same facts. Making all allow- which becomes singularly interestance for obvious prejudices, Sem- ing, from its having furnished, topere's work, therefore, may be of gether with that of the sister kingmuch use in correcting the erro- dom of Aragon, the earliest examneous impressions made by the for- ple of representative government, mer writer, whose fabric of liberty as well as from the liberal princitoo often rests, as exemplified more ples, on which that government was than once in the preceding pages, Fong administered. an an ideal basis. VOL. I. SECTIrON 11. REVIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION OF ARAGON, TO THE MIDDLE OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. Rise of Aragon. - Ricos HIombres. - Their Immunities. - Their Turbulence. - Privileges of Union. - The Legislature. - Its Forms. - Its Powers. -General Privilege. -Judicial Functions of Cortes. - The Justice. - His great Authority. - Rise and Opulence of Barcelona. - Her free Institutions.- Intellectual Culture. INTR,,oD. THE political institutions of Aragon, although Rise of A- bearing a general resemblance to those of Castile, wvere sufficiently dissimilar to stamp a peculiar physiognomy on the character of the nation, which still continued after it had been incorporated with the great mass of the Spanish monarchy. - It was not until tile expiration of nearly five centuries after the Saracen invasion, that the little district of Aragon, growing up under the shelter of the Pyrenees, was expanded into the dimensions of the province which now bears that name. During this period, it was painfully struggling into being, like the other states of the Peninsula, by dint of fierce. unintermitted warfare with the infidel. Even after this period, it would probably have filled but an insignificant space in the map of history, and, instead of assuming an independent station, have been compelled, like Navarre, to accommodate itself to the politics of the potent ARAGON. lxxxiii monarchies by which it was surrounded, had it not SECTION extended its empire by a fortunate union with Catalonia in the twelfth, and the conquest of Valencia in the thirteenth century.' These new territories were not only far more productive than its own, but, by their long line of coast and commodious ports, enabled the Aragonese, hitherto pent up within their barren mountains, to open a communication with distant regions. The ancient county of Barcelona had reached a higher degree of civilization than Aragon, and was distinguished by institutions quite as liberal. The sea-board would seem to be the natural seat of liberty. There is something in the very presence, in the atmosphere of the ocean, which invigorates not only the physical, but the moral energies of man. The adventurous life of the mariner familiarizes him with dangers, and early accustoms him to independence. Intercourse with various climes opens new and more copious sources of knowledge; and increased wealth brings with it an augmentation of power and consequence. It was in the maritime cities scattered along the Mediterranean, that the seeds of liberty both in ancient and modern times, were implanted and brought to maturity. During the Middle Ages, when the people of Europe generally maintained a toilsome and infrequent intercourse with each other, those situated on the margin of this inland ocean found an easy 1 Catalonia was united with Ar- gere, count of Barcelona, in 1150. Eaon by the marriage of queen Valencia was conquered from the Petronilla with Raymond Beren- Moors by James I., in 1238. [xxxIv INTRODUCTION. INTR1J). mode of communication across the high road of its waters. They mingled in war too as in peace, and this long period is filled with their international contests, while the other free cities of Christendom were wasting themselves in civil feuds and degrading domestic broils. In this wide and various collision their moral powers were quickened by constant activity; and more enlarged views were formed, with a deeper consciousness of their own strength, than could be obtained by those inhabitants of the interior, who were conversant only with a limited range of objects, and subjected to the influence of the same dull, monotonous circumstances. oVrgel Among these maritime republics, those of Catalonia were eminently conspicuous. By the incorporation of this country with the kingdom of Aragon, therefore, the strength of the latter was greatly augmented. The Aragonese princes, well aware of this, liberally fostered institutions to which the country owed its prosperity, and skilfully availed themselves of its resources for the aggrandizement of their own dominions. They paid particular attention to the navy, for the more perfect discipline of which a body of laws was prepared by Peter the Fourth, in 1354, that was designed to render it invincible. No allusion whatever is made in this stern code to the mode of surrendering to, or re treating from the enemy. The commander, who declined attacking any force not exceeding his own by more than one vessel, was punished with death.2 2 Capmany, Mem. de Barcelona, lans were much celebrated during tom. iii. pp. 45 -47.- The Cata- the Middle Ages for their skill with ARAGON. 1.Kxav The Catalan navy successfully disputed the empire s.(:cTIaN of the Mediterranean with the fleets of Pisa, and still more of Genoa. With its aid, the Aragonese monarchs achieved the conquest successively of Sicily, Sardinia, and the Balearic Isles, and annexed them to the empire.3 It penetrated into the farthest regions of the Levant; and the expedition of the Catalans into Asia, which terminated with the more splendid than useful acquisition of Athens, forms one of the most romantic passages in this stirring and adventurous era. 4 But, while the princes of Aragon were thus enlarging the bounds of their dominion abroad, there was probably not a sovereign in Europe possessed of such limited authority at home. The three great states with their dependencies, which constituted the Aragonese monarchy, had been declared by a statute of James the Second, in 1319, inalienable and indivisible.5 Each of them, however, maintained a separate constitution of government, and was administered by distinct laws. As it would be fruitless to investigate the peculiarities of their respective institutions, which bear a very the crossbow; for a more perfect 4 Hence the title of duke of instruction in which, the munici- Athens. assumed by the Spanish pality of Barcelona established sovereigns. The brilliant fortunes games and gymnasiums. Ibid., of Roger de Flor are related by tom. i. p. 113. count Moncada, (Expedicion de 3 Sicily revolted to Peter III., in los Catalanes y Aragoneses contra 1282. - Sardinia was conquered Turcos y Griegos, Madrid, 1805,) by James II., in 1324, and the in a style much commended by Balearic Isles by Peter IV., in Spanish critics for its elegance. 1343-4. Zurita, Anales, tom. i. See Mondejar, Advertencias, p. fol. 247; tom. ii. fol. 60.- Her- 114. milly, Histoire du Royaume de 5 It was confirmed by Alfonso Majorque, (Maestricht, 1777,) pp. III., in 1328. Zurita, Anales, tom 227- 268. ii. fol. 90. lsxxvi INTRODUCTION.,rnoD,. close affinity to one another, we may confine ourselves to those of Aragon, which exhibit a more perfect model than those either of Catalonia or Valencia, and have been far more copiously illus trated by her writers. o1; —j t The national historians refer the origin of their C:Jpraibe. government to a written constitution of about the middle of the ninth century, fragments of which are still preserved in certain ancient documents and chronicles. On occurrence of a vacancy in the throne, at this epoch, a monarch was elected by the twelve principal nobles, who prescribed a code of laws, to the observance of which he was obliged to swear before assuming the sceptre. The import of these laws was to circumscribe within very narrow limits the authority of the sovereign, distributing the principal functions to a Justicia, or Justice. and these same peers, who, in case of a violation of the compact by the monarch, were authorized to withdraw their allegiance, and, in the bold language of the ordinance, " to substitute any other ruler in his stead, even a pagan, if they listed."6 The whole of this wears much of a fabulous aspect, and may remind the reader of the government which Ulysses met with in Phaeacia; where King Alcinous 6 See the fragments of the Philip II., who, however good a Fuero de Soprarbe, cited by Blan- voucher for the usages of his own cas, Aragonensium Rerum Com- time, has made a blunder in the mentarii, (Caesaraugusta, 1588.) very sentence preceding this, by pp. 25 - 29. - The well-known confounding the Privilege of Union oath of the Aragonese to their with one of the Laws of Soprarbe, sovereign on his accession, " Nos which shows him to be insufficient; que valemos tanto como vos," &c. especially as he is the only, aufrequently quoted by historians, thority for this ancient ceremony. rests on the authority of Antonio See Antonio Perez, Relaciones, Perez, the unfortunate minister of (Paris, 1598,) fol. 92. ARAGON. fXXXVll is surrounded by his 1" twelve illustrious peers or sECTIoN archons," subordinate to himself, " who," says he, "rule over the people, I myself being the thirteenth." 7 But, whether true or not, this venerable tradition must be admitted to have been well calculated to repress the arrogance of the Aragonese monarchs, and to exalt the minds of their subjects by the image of ancient liberty which it presented 8 The great barons of Aragon were few in number. The ricos b ombrex They affected to derive their descent firom the twelve peers above mentioned, and were styled ricos hombres de natura, implying by this epithet, that they were not indebted for their creation to the will of the sovereign. No estate could be legally conferred by the crown, as an honor (the denomination of fiefs in Aragon), on any but one of these high nobles. This, however, was in time evaded by the monarchs, who advanced certain of their own retainers to a level with the ancient peers of the land; a measure which proved a fruitful 7 Aszc ye o.r& wtowe~l7'srh even of the name, of Soprarbe, $3a~Axiss until the eleventh century; a start-'Ae~Xo; xLeaC;woe,~ rxlzalqXaS' huling circumstance for the antiquary. Viy70,a,5;. (Investigaciones Hist6ricas de las Odyss. ~. s90. Antiguedades del Reyno de Navarra, (Pamplona, 1766,) tom. vi. In like manner Alfonso III. al- lib. 2, cap. 11.) Indeed, the histoludes to " the ancient times in rians of Aragon admit, that the Aragon, when there were as many public documents previous to the kings as ricos hombres." See fourteenth century suffered somuch Zurita, Anales, tom. i. fol. 316. from various causes as to leave 8 The authenticity of the " Fue- comparatively few materials for auro de Soprarbe" has been keenly thentic narrative. (Blancas, Comdebated by the Aragonese and Na- mentarii, Pref. -- Risco, Espaiit varrese writers. Moret, in refuta- Sagrada, tom. xxx. Pr6logo.) tion of Blancas, who espouses it, Blancas transcribed his extract of (See Commentarii, p. 289,) states, the laws of Soprarbe principally that, after a diligent investigation from Prince Charles of Viana's of the archives of that region, he History, written in the fifteenth finds no mention of the laws. nor century. See Commentarii, p. 25. lxxxviii INTRODUCTION. INTROD. source of disquietude.9 No baron could be divested of his fief, unless by public sentence of the Justice and the cortes. The proprietor, however, was required, as usual, to attend the king in council, and to perform military service, when summoned, during two months in the year, at his own charge.10 Their immu- The privileges, both honorary and substantial, enjoyed by the ricos hombres, were very considerable. They filled the highest posts in the state. They originally appointed judges in their domains for the cognizance of certai-n civil causes, and over a class of their vassals exercised an unlimited criminal jurisdiction. They were excused from taxation except in specified cases i were exempted from all corporal and capital punishment; nor could they be imprisoned, although their estates might be sequestrated, for debt. A lower class of nobility styled infanzones, equivalent to the Castilian hidalgos, together with the caballeros, or knights, were also possessed of important though inferior immunities. " Tile king distributed among the great barons the territory reconquered from the Moors, in proportions 9 Asso y Manuel, instituciones, among his knights, so that a compp. 39, 40. - Blancas, Commen- plete system ofsub-infeudation was tarii, pp. 333, 334, 340. - Fueros established. The knights, on rey Observancias del Reyno de Ara- storing their fiefs, might change gon, (Zaragoza, 1667,) tom. i. fol. their suzerains at pleasure. 130. - The ricos hombres, thus 10 Asso y Manuel, Instituciones, created by the monarch, were p. 41. -Blancas, Commentarii, pp. styled de mesnada, signifying "of 307, 322, 331. the household." It was lawful for 11 Fueros y Observancias, tom. a rico hombre to bequeath his hon- i. fol. 130. — Martel, Forma de ors to whichsoever of his legitimate Celebrar Cortes en Aragon, (Zara. children he might prefer, and, in goza, 1641,) p. 98.- Blancas, default of issue, to his nearest of Commentarii, pp. 306, 312-317, kin. He was bound to distribute 323, 360. - Asso y Manuel, Instithe bulk of his estates in fiefs tuciones, pp. 40-43. ARAGON. lxxxlx determined by the amount of their respective ser- SECTION I. vices. We find a stipulation to this effect from James the First to his nobles, previous to his invasion of Majorca.l2 On a similar principle they claimed nearly the whole of Valencia. 3 On occupying a city, it was usual to divide it into barrios, or districts, each of which was granted by way of fief to some one of the ricos hombres, from which he was to derive his revenue. What proportion of the conquered territory was reserved for the royal demesne does not appear.14 We find one of these nobles, Bernard de Cabrera, in the latter part of the fourteenth century, manning a fleet of king's ships on his own credit; another, of the ancient family of Luna, in the fifteenth century, so wealthy that he could travel through an almost unbroken line of his estates all the way from Castile to France.'5 With all this, their incomes in general, in this comparatively poor country, were very inferior to those of the great Castilian lords. 16 The laws conceded certain powers to the aristocracy of a most dangerous character. They were entitled, like the nobles of the sister kingdom, to defy, and publicly renounce their allegiance to their sovereign, with the whimsical privilege, in addition, of commending their families and estates to his pro12 Zurita, Anales, tom. i. fol. tom. ii. p. 198.-Blancas, Commen124. tarii, p. 218. 13 Blancas, Commentarii, p. 334. lo See a register of these at the 14 See the partition of Saragossa beginning of the sixteenth century, by Alonso the Warrior. Zurita, apud L. Mlarineo, Cosas MemoraAnales, tom. i. fol. 43. bles, fol. 25. 15 Mariana, Hist. de Espatia, VOl, I. I xc INTRODUCTION. INT.OD. tection, which he was obliged to accord, until they were again reconciled.'7 The mischievous right of private war was repeatedly recognised by statute. It was claimed and exercised in its full extent, and occasionally with circumstances of peculiar atrocity. An instance is recorded by Zurita of a bloody feud between two of these nobles, prosecuted with such inveteracy that the parties bound themselves by solemn oath, never to desist from it during their lives, and to resist every effort, even on the part of the crown itself, to effect a pacification between them. 18 This remnant of barbarism lingered longer in Aragon, than in any other country in Christendom. eturb-. The Aragonese sovereigns, who were many of lence. them possessed of singular capacity and vigor,"9 made repeated efforts to reduce the authority of their nobles within more temperate limits. Peter the Second, by a bold stretch of prerogative, stripped them of their most important rights of jurisdiction.20 James the Conqueror artfully endeavoured to counterbalance their weight by that of the com17 Zurita, Anales, tom. ii. fol. ulla erat eorum utilitatis facienda 127. — Blancas, Commentarii, p. jactura." 324. —" Adhaec Ricis hominibus 18 Fueros y Observancias, tom. ipsis majorum more institutisque i. p. 84. — Zurita, Anales, toni. i. concedebatur, ut sese possenat, dum fol. 350. ipsi vellent, a nostrorum Regum 19 Blancas somewhere boasts, jure et potestate, quasi nodum ali- that no one of the kings of Aragon quem, expedire; neque expedire has been stigmatized by a cognosolum, sed dimisso prius, quo poti- men of infamy, as in most of the rentur, Honore, bellum ipsis inferre; other royal races of Europe. PeReges vero Rici hominis sic expe- ter IV., "the Ceremonious," richditi uxorem, filios, familiam, res, ly deserved one. bona, et fortunas omnes in suam 20 Zurita, Anales, tom. i. fol. recipere fidemn tenebantur. Neque 102. ARAGON. XCI mons and the ecclesiastics.21 But they were too SECTION formidable when united, and too easily united, to be successfully assailed. The Moorish wars terminated, in Aragon, with the conquest of Valencia, or rather the invasion of Murcia, by the middle of the thirteenth century. The tumultuous spirits of the aristocracy, therefore, instead of finding a vent, as in Castile, in these foreign expeditions, were turned within, and convulsed their own country with perpetual revolution. Haughty from the consciousness of their exclusive privileges and of the limited number who monopolized them, the Aragonese barons regarded themselves rather as the rivals of their sovereign, than as his inferiors. Intrenched within the mountain fastnesses, which the rugged nature of the country everywhere afforded, they easily bade defiance to his authority. Their small number gave a compactness and concert to their operations, which could not have been obtained in a multitudinous body. Ferdinand the Catholic well discriminated the relative position of the Aragonese and Castilian nobility, by saying, " it was as difficult to divide the one, as to unite the other." 22 These combinations became still more frequent Priviegeof after formally receiving the approbation of King Alfonso the Third, who, in 1287, signed the two celebrated ordinances entitled the " Privileges of Union," by which his subjects were authorized tc 21 Zurita, Anales, tom. i. fol. 198. 22 Sempere, Histoire des Cortia, — He recommended this policy to p. 164. his son-in-law, the king of Castile. xcii INTRODUCTION. INTROD. resort to arms on an infringement of their liberties.23 The hermandad of Castile had never been countenanced by legislative sanction; it was chiefly resorted to as a measure of police, and was directed more frequently against the disorders of the no bility, than of the sovereign; it was organized with difficulty, and, compared with the union of Aragon, was cumbrous and languid in its operations. While these privileges continued in force, the nation was delivered over to the most frightful anarchy. The least offensive movement, on the part of the monarch, the slightest encroachment on personal right or privilege, was the signal for a general revolt. At the cry of Union, that " last voice," says the enthusiastic historian, "of the expiring republic, full of authority and majesty, and an open indication of the insolence of kings," the nobles and the citizens eagerly rushed to arms. The principal castles, belonging to the former were pledged as security for their fidelity, and intrusted to conservators, as they were styled, whose duty it was to direct the operations and watch over the interests of the Union. A common seal was prepared, bearing the device of armed men kneeling before their king, intimating at once their loyalty and their resolution, and a similar device was displayed on the standard and the other military Insignia of the confederates. 24 23 Zurita, Anales, lib. 4, cap. 24 Blancas, Commentarii, pp. 96. — Abarea dates this event in 192, 193. — Zurita, Anales, tom the year preceding. Reyes de Ar- i. fol. 266 et alibi. agon, en Anales Historicos, (MIadrid, 1682 -1684,) tom. ii. fol. 8. ARAGON. xciii The power of the monarch was as nothing be- SECTION fore this formidable array. The Union appointed L Their abro a council to control all his movements, and, in fact, gation. during the whole period of its existence, the reigns of four successive monarchs, it may be said to have dictated law to the land. At length Peter the Fourth, a despot in heart, and naturally enough impatient of this eclipse of regal prerogative, brought the matter to an issue, by defeating the army of the Union, at the memorable battle of Epila, in 1348, " the last," says Zurita, " in which it was permitted to the subject to take up arms against the sovereign for the cause of liberty." Then, convoking an assembly of the states at Saragossa, he produced before them the instrument containing the two Privileges, and cut it in pieces with his dagger. In doing this, having wounded himself in the hand, he suffered the blood to trickle upon the parchment, exclaiming, that "a law, which had been the occasion of so much blood, should be blotted out by the blood of a king. 25 All copies of it, whether in the public archives, or in the possession of private individuals, were ordered, under a heavy penalty, to be destroyed. The statute passed to that effect carefully omits the date of the detested instrument, that all evidence of its existence might perish with it.26 25 Zurita, Anales, tom. ii. fol. ber of Deputation at Saragossa in 126- 130. — Blancas, Commenta- Philip II.'s time. See Antonio rii, pp. 195- 197.- Hence he was Perez, Relaciones, fol. 95. styled " Peter of the Dagger"; 26 See the statute, De Prohibita and a statue of him, bearing in one Unione, &c. Fueros y Observan hand this weapon, and in the other cias, tom. i. fol. 178. - A copy of the Privilege, stood in the Cham- the original Privileges was detected xciv INTRODUCTION. INTROD. Instead of abusing his victory, as might have been anticipated from his character, Peter adopted a far more magnanimous policy. He confirmedd the ancient privileges of the realm, and made in addition other wise and salutary concessions. From this period, therefore, is to be dated the possession of constitutional liberty in Aragon; (for surely the reign of unbridled license, above described, is not deserving that name;) and this not so much from the acquisition of new immunities, as from the more perfect security afforded for the enjoyment of the old. The court of the Justicia, that great barrier interposed by the constitution between despotism on the one hand and popular license on the other, was more strongly protected, and causes hitherto decided by arms were referred for adjudication to this tribunal.27 From this period, too, the cortes, whose voice was scarcely heard amid the wild uproar of preceding times, was allowed to extend a beneficial and protecting sway over the land. And, although the social history of Aragon, like that of other countries in this rude age, is too often stained with deeds of violence and personal feuds, yet the state at large, under the steady operation of its laws, probably enjoyed a more uninterrupted tranquillity, than fell to the lot of any other nation in Europe. by Blancas among the manuscripts Reipublicae interitum videbatur esse of the archbishop of Saragossa; allatura, stabilem nobis constituit but he declined publishing it from pacem, tranquillitatem, et otium. deference to the prohibition of his Inde enim Magistratus Justitias Arancestors. Commentarii, p. 179. agonum in eam, quam nunc coli27,, Hzc itaque domestica Regis mus, amplitudinem dignitatis dovevictoria, ques miserrimum universae nit." Ibid., p. 197. ARAGON. xcV The Aragonese cortes was composed of four SECTION branches, or arms;28 the ricos hombres, or great The legislabarons; the lesser nobles, comprehending the tureofAragon. knights; the clergy, and the commons. The nobility of every denomination were entitled to a seat in the legislature. The ricos hornbres were allowed to appear by proxy, and a similar privilege was enjoyed by baronial heiresses. The number of this body was very limited, twelve of them constituting a quorum.29 The arm of the ecclesiastics embraced an ample delegation from the inferior as well as higher clergy. 0 It is affirmed not to have been a component of the national legislature until more than a century and a half after the admission of the commons. 31 Indeed the influence of the church was much less sensible in Aragon, than in the other kingdoms of the Peninsula. Notwithstanding the humiliating concessions of certain of their princes to the papal see, they were never recognised by the nation, who uniformly asserted their independence of the temporal supremacy of Rome; and who, as we 28 Martel, Forma de Celebrar 30 Capmany, Practica y Estilo, Cortes, cap. 8. - " Bravos del rei- p. 12. no, porque albraran, y tienen en si." 31 Blancas, Modo de Proceder, — The cortes consisted only of fol. 14, — and Commentarii, p. three arms in Catalonia and Valen- 374. -Zurita, indeed, gives repeatcia; both the greater and lesser ed instances of their convocation in nobility sitting in the same chain- the thirteenth and twelfth centuber. Perguera, Cortes en Cataluria, ries, from a date almost coeval with and Matheu y Sanz, Constitucion that of the commons; yet Blancas, de Valencia, apud Capmany, Prac- who made this subject his particutica y Estilo, pp. 65, 183, 184. lar study, who wrote posterior to 29 Martel, Forma de Celebrar Zurita, and occasionally refers to Cortes, cap. 10, 17, 21, 46. - him, postpones'the era of their adBlancas, Modo de Proceder en mission into the legislature to the Cortes de Aragon, (Zaragoza, beginning of the fourteenth cen1641,) fol. 17, 18. tury. xcvi INTRODUCTION. INTROD. shall see hereafter, resisted the introduction of the Inquisition, that last stretch of ecclesiastical usurpation, even to blood.32 The commons enjoyed higher consideration and civil privileges than in Castile. For this they were perhaps somewhat indebted to the example of their Catalan neighbours, the influence of whose democratic institutions naturally extended to other parts of the Aragonese monarchy. The charters of certain cities accorded to the inhabitants privileges of nobility, particularly that of immunity from taxation; while the magistrates of others were permitted to take their seats in the order of hidalgos.3 From a very early period we find them employed in offices of public trust, and on important missions.34 The epoch of their admission into the national assembly is traced as far back as 1133, several years earlier than the commencement of popular representation in Castile.35 Each city had the right of sending two or more deputies selected from persons eligible to its magistracy; but with the privilege of only 32 One of the monarchs of Ara- 33 Martel, Forma de Celebrar gon, Alfonso the Warrior, accord- Cortes, cap. 22.- Asso y Manuel, ing to Mariana, bequeathed all Instituciones, p. 44. his dominions to the Templars and 34 Zurita, Anales, tomn. i. fol. Hospitallers. Another, Peter II., 163, A. D. 1250. agreed to hold his kingdom as a 35 Ibid., tom. i. fol. 51. —The fief of the see of Rome, and to pay earliest appearance of popular repit an annual tribute. (Hist. de resentation in Catalonia is fixed by Espafa, tom. i. pp. 596, 664.) Ripoll at 1283, (apud Capmany, This so much disgusted the people, Pra'ctica y Estilo, p. 135.) What that they compelled his successors can Capmany mean by postponing to make a public protest against the introduction of the commons the claims of the church, before into the cortes of Aragon to 1300?" their coronation. - See Blancas, (See p. 56.) Their presence and Coronaciones de los Serenisimos names are commemorated by the Reyes de Aragon, (Zaragoza, exact Zurita, several times before 1641,) cap. 2. the close of the twelfth century. ARAGON. XCVII one vote, whatever might be the number of its SEC(TION deputies. Any place, which had been once repre- sented in cortes, might always claim to be so. 36 By a statute of 1307, the convocation of the itsfoonsor states, which had been annual, was declared biennial. The kings, however, paid little regard to this provision, rarely summoning them except for some specific necessity.37 The great officers of the crown, whatever might be their personal rank, were jealously excluded from their deliberations. The session was opened by an address fromn the king in person, a point, of which they were very tenacious; after which the different arms withdrew to their separate apartments. 38 The greatest scrupulousness was manifested in maintaining the rights and dignity of the body; and their intercourse with one another, and with the king, was regulated by the most precise forms of parliamentary etiquette.39 The sub1jects of deliberation were referred to a committee from each order, who, after conferring 36 Prictica y Estilo, pp. 14, 17, Discurso Breve sobre la Celebracion 18, 30. —Martel, Forma de Cel- de Cortes de Aragron,(1626,) fol.12. ebrar Cortes, cap. 10. — Those 38 Capmany, PrActica y Estilo, who followed a mechanical oc- p. 15. - Blancas has preserved a cupation, including surgeons and specimen of an address from the apothecaries, were excluded from a throne, in 1398, in which the king, scat in cortes. (Cap. 17.) The after selecting some moral apofaculty have rarely been treated thegm as a text, rambles for the with so little ceremony. space of half an hour through 37 Martel, Forma de Celebrar Scripture history, &c., and conCortes, cap. 7. -The cortes ap- eludes with announcing the object pear to have been more frequently of his convening the cortes togethconvoked in the fourteenth century, er, in three lines. Commentarii, than in any other. Blancas refers pp. 376-380. to no less than twenty-three within 39 See the ceremonial detailed that period, averaging nearly one with sufficient prolixity by Martel, in four years. (Commentarii,Index, (Forma de Celebrar Cortes, cap. voce Comitia.) In Catalonia and 52, 53,) and a curious illustration Valencia, the cortes was to be sum- of it in Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. moned every three years. Berart, 313. VOL. I. mI KCVlii INTROD UCTION. INTROD. together, reported to their several departments. Every question, it may be presumed, underwent a carefill examination; as the legislature, we are told, was usually divided into two parties, "the one maintaining the rights of the monarch, the other, those of the nation," corresponding nearly enough with those of our day. It was in the power of any member to defeat the passage of a bill, by opposing to it his veto or dissent, formally registered to that effect. He might even interpose his negative on the proceedings of the house, and thus put a stop to the prosecution of all further business during the session. This anomalous privilege, transcending even that claimed in the Polish diet, must have been too invidious in its exercise, and too pernicious in its consequences, to have been often resorted to. This may be inferred from the fact, that it was not formally repealed until the reign of Philip the Second, in 1592. During the interval of the sessions of the legislature, a deputation of eight was appointed, two from each arm, to preside over public affairs, particularly in regard to the revenue, and the security of justice; with authority to convoke a cortes extraordinary, whenever the exigency might demand it. 40 xts powers. The cortes exercised the highest functions wheth er of a deliberative, legislative, or judicial nature. 40 Capmany, Prtctica y Estilo, son, misinterpreting a passage of pp. 44 et seq. - Martel, Forma de Blancas, (Commentarii, p. 375,) Celebrar Cortes, cap. 50, 60 et states, that a "session of Cortes seq. —Fuerosy Observancias, tom. continued forty days." (History i. fol. 229. —Blancas, Modo de of Charles V., vol. i. p. 140.) It Proceder, fol. 2 - 4. - Zurita, An- usually lasted months. ales, tom. iii. fol. 321. -Robert ARAGON. xclI It had a right to be consulted on all matters of im- SECTION portance, especially on those of peace and war. No law was valid, no tax could be imposed, without its consent; and it carefully provided for the application of the revenue to its destined uses. 41 It determined the succession to the crown; removed obnoxious ministers; reformed the household, and domestic expenditure, of the monarch; and exercised the power, in the most unreserved manner, of withholding supplies, as well as of resisting what it regarded as an encroachment on the liberties of the nation.42 The excellent commentators on the constitution The Generd Privilege. of Aragon have bestowed comparatively little attention on the developement of its parliamentary history; confining themselves too exclusively to mere forms of procedure. The defect has been greatly obviated by the copiousness of their general historians. But the statute-book affords the most unequivocal evidence of the fidelity with which the guardians of the realm discharged the high trust reposed in them, in the numerous enactments it exhibits, for the security both of person and property. Almost the first page which meets the eye in this venerable record contains the General Privilege, 41 Fueros y Observancias, fil. 6. tian subjects were wont to serve tit. Privileg. Gen. -Blancas, Com- him with their persons, and it was mentarii, p. 371.- Capmany, Prac- only for Jews and Moors to serve tica y Estilo, p. 51. - It was an- him with money." Blancas, Modo ciently the practice of the legisla- de Proceder, cap. 18. ture to grant supplies of troops, but 42 See examples of them in Zunot of money. When Peter IV. rita, Anales, torn. i. fol. 51, 263; requested a pecuniary subsidy, the tom. ii. fol. 391, 394, 424. - Blancortes told him, that "such thing cas, Modo de Proceder, fol. 98,106. had not been usual; that his Chris c INTRODUCTION. INTROD. the Magna Charta, as it has been well denomlnated, of Aragon. It was granted by Peter the Great to the cortes at Saragossa, in 1283. It embraces a variety of provisions for the fair and open administration of justice; for ascertaining the legitimate powers intrusted to the cortes; for the security of property against exactions of the crown; and for the conservation of their legal immunities to the municipal corporations and the different orders of nobility. In short, the distinguishing excellence of this instrument, like that of Magna Charta, consists in the wise and equitable protection which it affords to all classes of the community. 43 The General Privilege, instead of being wrested, like King John's charter, from a pusillanimous prince, was conceded, reluctantly enough, it is true, in an assembly of the nation, by one of the ablest monarchs who ever sat on the throne of Aragon, at a time when his arms, crowned with repeated victory, had secured to the state the most important of her foreign acquisitions. The Aragonese, who rightly regarded the General Privilege as the broadest basis of their liberties, repeatedly procured its confirmation by succeeding sovereigns. "By so many and such various 43," There was such a confor- confirmation of the privilege by mity of sentiment among all par- James the Second, in 1325, torture, ties," says Zurita, " that the privi- then generally recognised by the leges of the nobility were no bet- municipal law of Europe, was exter secured than those of the com- pressly prohibited in Aragon, " as mons. For the Aragonese deemed unworthy of freemen." See Zuthat the existence of the common- rita, Anales, lib. 6, cap. 61, - and wealth depended not so much on Fueros y Observancias, tom. i. fol. its strength, as on its liberties." 9. Declaratio Priv. Generalis. (Anales, lib. 4, cap 38.) In the ARAGON. ci precautions," says Blancas, "did our ancestors SECTION establish that freedom which their posterity have n. enjoyed; manifesting a wise solicitude, that all orders of men, even kings themselves, confined within their own sphere, should discharge their legitimate functions without jostling or jarring with one another; for in this harmony consists the temperance of our government. Alas! " he adds, "'how much of all this has fallen into desuetude from its antiquity, or been effaced by new customs. 11 44 The judicial functions of the cortes have not Judicial functions been sufficiently noticed by writers. They were ofcort extensive in their operation, and gave it the name of the General Court. They were principally directed to protect the subject from the oppressions of the crown and its officers; over all which cases it possessed original and ultimate jurisdiction. The suit was conducted before the Justice, as president of the cortes, in its judicial capacity, who delivered an opinion conformable to the will of the majority.45 44 The patriotism of Blancas nere virtutum floruere, ut egregia warms as he dwells on the illu- hee laus videatur non hominum sosory picture of ancient virtue, and lum, verum illorum etiam tempocontrasts it with the degeneracy of rum fuisse." Commentarii, p. 340. his own day. "Et vero prisca 45 It was more frequently referhaec tanta severitas, desertaque illa red, both for the sake of expeet inculta vita, quando dies noc- dition, and of obtaining a more tesque nostri armati concursabant, full investigation, to commissioners ac in bello et Maurorum sanguine nominated conjointly by the cortes assidui versabantur; verb quidem and the party demanding redress. parsimonia, fortitudinis, temperan- The nature of the greuges, or tia, creterarumque virtutum omni- grievances, which might be brought um magistra fuit. In qua maleficia before the legislature, and the ac scelera, quae nune in otiosa hac mode of proceeding in relation to nostra umbratili et delicatA gignun- them, are circumstantially detailed tur, gigni non solebant; quinimmo by the parliamentary historians of ita tune oequaliter omnes omni ge- Aragon. See Berart, Discurso so cii INTRODUCTION. NTROD. The authority, indeed, of this magistrate in his own court was fully equal to providing adequate relief in all these cases.46 But for several reasons this parliamentary tribunal was preferred. The process was both more expeditious and less expen sive to the suitor. Indeed, " the most obscure inhabitant of the most obscure village in the kingdom, although a foreigner," might demand redress of this body; and, if he was incapable of bearing the burden himself, the state was bound to maintain his suit, and provide him with counsel at its own charge. But the most important consequence, resulting from this legislative investigation, was the remedial laws frequently attendant on it. "And our ancestors,) says Blancas, "deemed it great wisdom patiently to endure contumely and oppression for a season, rather than seek redress before an inferior tribunal, since, by postponing their suit till the meeting of cortes, they would not only obtain a remedy for their own grievance, but one of a universal and permanent application."' 47 Preponder- The Aragonese cortes maintained a steady conimea of the,,,mmons. trol over the operations of government, especially after the dissolution of the Union; and the weight of the commons was more decisive in it, than in other similar assemblies of that period. Its singular distribution into four estates was favorable to bre la Celebracion de Cortes, cap. 7. cap. 14. -Yet Peter IV., in his -Capmany, Practica v Estilo, pp. dispute with the justice Fernandez 37-44. — Blancas, Modo de Pro- de Castro, denied this. Zurita, ceder, cap. 14,-and Martel, For- Anales, tom. ii. fol. 170. ma de Celebrar Cortes, cap. 54- 47 Blancas, Modo de Proceder 59. ubi supra. 46 Blancas, Modo de Proceder, ARAGON. ciii this. The knights and hidalgos, an intermediate SECTION order between the great nobility and the people, - when detached from the former, naturally lent additional support to the latter, with whom, indeed, they had considerable affinity. The representatives of certain cities, as well as a certain class of citizens, were entitled to a seat in this body;4s so that it approached both in spirit and substance to something like a popular representation. Indeed, this arm of the cortes was so uniformly vigilant in resisting any encroachment on the part of the crown, that it has been said to represent, more than any other, the liberties of the nation.40 In some other particulars the Aragonese commons possessed an advantage over those of Castile. 1. By postponing their money grants to the conclusion of the session, and regulating them in some degree by the previous dispositions of the crown, they availed themselves of an important lever relinquished by the Castilian cortes.50 2. The kingdom of Aragon proper was circumscribed within too narrow limits to allow of such local jealousies and estrangements, growing out of an apparent 48 As for example the ciudadanos 50 Not, however, it must be alhonrados of Saragossa. (Capma- lowed, without a manly struggle ny, Practica y Estilo, p. 14.) A in its defence, and which, in the ciudadano honrado in Catalonia, early part of Charles V.'s reign, in and I presume the same in Aragon, 1525, wrenched a promise from the was a landholder, who lived on his crown, to answer all petitions derents without being engaged in finitively, before the rising of corcommerce or trade of ally kind, tes. The law still remains on the answering to the French proprie- statute-book, (Recop. de las Leyes, taire. See Capmany, Mem. de lib. 6, tit. 7, ley 8,) a sad cornBarcelona, tom. ii. Apend. no. 30. mentary on the faith of princes. 49 Blancas, Modo de Proceder, fol. 102. CeV INTRODUCTION. INrRoD. diversity of interests, as existed in the neighbouring monarchy. Their representatives, therefore, were enabled to move with a more hearty concert, and on a more consistent line of policy. 3. Lastly, the acknowledged right to a seat in cortes, possessed by every city, which had once been represented there, and this equally whether summoned or not, if we may credit Capmany,51 must have gone far to preserve the popular branch from the melancholy state of dilapidation, to which it was reduced in Castile by the arts of despotic princes. Indeed, the kings of Aragon, notwithstanding occasional excesses, seem never to have attempted any systematic invasion of the constitutional rights of their subjects. They well knew, that the spirit of liberty was too high among them to endure it. When the queen of Alfonso the Fourth urged her husband, by quoting the example of her brother the king of Castile, to punish certain refractory citizens of Valencia, he prudently replied, " My people are free, and not so submissive as the Castilians. They respect me as their prince, and I hold them for good vassals and comrades." 52 rhe.lustice No part of the constitution of Aragon has excited of Aragon. more interest, or more deservedly, than the office of the Justicia, or Justice; "5 whose extraordinary functions were far from being limited to judicial matters, although in these his authority was su51 Practica y Estilo, p. 14. made masculine for the accommo52,, Y nos tenemos a. ellos como dation of this magistrate, who was buenos vassallos y compalleros." styled "el justicia." Antonio Pe— Zurita, Anales, lib. 7, cap. 17. rez, Relaciones, fol. 91. 53 The noun " justicia" was ARAGON. cv preme. The origin of this institution is affirmed SECTION to have been coeval with that of the constitution or --- frame of government itself. 54 If it were so, his authority may be said, in the language of Blancas, "to have slept in the scabbard " until the dissolution of the Union; when the control of a tumultuous aristocracy was exchanged for the mild and uniform operation of the law, administered by this, its supreme interpreter. His most important duties may be briefly enu- Hisgreatsutllority. merated. He was authorized to pronounce on the validity of all royal letters and ordinances. He possessed, as has been said, concurrent jurisdiction with the cortes over all suits against the crown and its officers. Inferior judges were bound to consult him in all doubtful cases, and to abide by his opinion, as of "equal authority," in the words of an ancient jurist, " with the law itself." 55 An appeal lay to his tribunal from those of the territorial and royal judges.56 He could even evoke a cause, while pending before them, into his own court, and secure the defendant from molestation on his giving surety for his appearance. By another process, he might remove a person under arrest from the place in which he had been confined by order of an inferior court, to the public prison appropriated to this purpose, there to abide his own examination of the legality of his detention. These 54 Blancas, Commentarii, p. 26. 5s Blancas, Commentarii, p. 536. - Zurita, Anales, tom. i. fol. 9. - The principal of these jurisdic55 Molinus, apud Blancas, Com- tions was the royal audience in mentarii, pp. 343, 344.- Fueros y which the king himself presided in Observancias, tom. i. fol. 21, 25. person. Ibid., p. 355. VOL. I. n cvi INTRODUCTION. INTROD two provisions, by which the precipitate and perhaps intemperate proceedings of subordinate judicatures were subjected to the revision of a dignified and dispassionate tribunal, might seem to afford sufficient security for personal liberty and property. 57 In addition to these official functions, the Justice of Aragon was constituted a permanent counsellor of the sovereign, and, as such, was required to accompany him wherever he might reside. He was to advise the king on all constitutional questions of a doubtful complexion; and finally, on a new accession to the throne, it was his province to administer the coronation oath; this he performed with his head covered, and sitting, while the monarch, kneeling before him bare-headed, solemnly promised to maintain the liberties of the kingdom. A ceremony eminently symbolical of that superiority of law over prerogative, which was so constantly asserted in Aragon. 58 57 Fueros y Observancias, tom. Hallam, Middle Ages, vol. ii. pp. i. fol. 23, 60 et seq., 155, lib. 3, tit. 75 - 77, notes. De Manifestationibus Personarum. When complex litigation became -Also fol. 137 et seq., tit. 7, De more frequent, the Justice was alFirmis Juris. - Blancas, Commen- lowed one, afterwards two, and at a tarii, pp. 350, 351. - Zurita, An- still later period, in 1528, five lieuales, lib. 10, cap. 37. - The first tenants, as they were called, who of these processes was styled firma aided him in the discharge of his de derecho, the last, manifestacion. onerous duties. Martel, Forma de The Spanish writers are warm in Celebrar Cortes, Notas de Uztartheir encomiums of these two pro- roz, pp. 92- 96. - Blancas, Comvisions. " Quibus duobus prwasi- mentarii, pp. 361-366. diis," says Blancas, "ita nostrae 58 Ibid., pp. 343, 346, 347.reipublicm status continetur, ut Idem, Coronaciones, pp. 200, 202. nulla pars communium fortunarum - Antonio Perez, Relaciones, fol tutela vacua relinquatur." Both 92. this author and Zurita have ampli- Sempere cites the opinion of an fled the details respecting them, ancient canonist, Canellas, bishop which the reader may find extract- of Huesca, as conclusive agairist the ed, and in part translated by Mr. existence of the vast powers im ARAGON. Cvil It was the avowed purpose of the institution of SECTION the Justicia to interpose such an authority between the crown and the people, as might suffice for the entire protection of the latter. This is the express import of one of the laws of Soprarbe, which, whatever be thought of their authenticity, are undeniably of very high antiquity.59 This part of his duties is particularly insisted on by the most eminent juridical writers of the nation. Whatever estimate, therefore, may be formed of the real extent of his powers, as compared with those of similar functionaries in other states of Europe, there can be no doubt that this ostensible object of their creation, thus openly asserted, must have had a great tendency to enforce their practical operation. Accordingly we find repeated examples, in the history of Aragon, of successful interposition on the part of the Justice for the protection of individuals persecuted by the crown, and in defiance of every attempt at intimidation.60 The kings of Aragon, puted by later commentators to the si quas forsan Reipub. intulerit, jus Justicia. (Histoire des Cortets, fasque esto." Blancas, Commenchap. 19.) The vague, rhapsod- tarii, p. 26. ical tone of the extract shows it to 60 Such instances may be found be altogether undeserving of the in Zurita, Anales, torn. ii. fol. 385, emphasis laid on it; not to add, 414. - Blancas, Commentarii, pp. that it was written more than a 199, 202-206, 214, 225. - When century before the period, when the Ximenes Cerdan, the independent Justicia possessed the influence or Justice of John I., removed certain the legal authority claimed for him citizens from the prison, in which by Aragonese writers, - by Blan- they had been unlawfully confined cas, in particular, from whom by the king, in defiance equally of Sempere borrowed the passage at that officer's importunities and mensecond hand. aces, the inhabitants of Saragossa, 59 The law alluded to runs thus, says Abarca, came out in a body to'Ne quid autem damni detrimen- receive him on his return to the tive leges aut libertates nostrae pa- city, and greeted him as the defentiantur, judex quidam medius ades- der of their ancient and natural libto, ad quem a Rege provocare, si erties. (Reyes de Aragon, tom. i. aliquem laeserit, injuriasque arcere fol. 155.) So openly did the Ar eviii INTRODUCTION. INTROD. chafed by this opposition, procured the resignation or deposition, on more than one occasion of the obnoxious magistrate.6' But, as such an exercise of prerogative must have been altogether subversive of an independent discharge of the duties of this office, it was provided by a statute of Alfonso the Fifth, in 1442, that the Justice should continue in office during life, removable only, on sufficient cause, by the king and the cortes united.62 ~Security Several provisions vere enacted, in order to seagainst its alrlse. cure the nation more effectually against the abuse ofethe high trust reposed in this officer. He was to be taken from the equestrian order, which, as intermediate between the high nobility and the people, was less likely to be influenced by undue partiality to either. He could not be selected from the ricos hombres, since this class was exempted from corporal punishment, while the Justice was made responsible to the cortes for the faithful discharge of his duties, under penalty of death.63 As this supervision of the whole legislature was found unwieldy in practice, it was superseded, after various modifications by a commission of members elected from each one of the four estates, empowered to sit every year in Saragossa, with authority to investigate the charges preferred against the Justice, and to pronounce sentence upon him. 64 agonese support their magistrate 489, 499.) The Justice was apin the boldest exercise of his au- pointed by the king. thority. 62 Fueros y Observancias, tom. 61 This occurred once under Pe- i. fol. 22. ter III., and twice under Alfonso V. 63 Ibid., tom. i. fol. 25. (Zurita, Anales, tom. iii. fol. 255. 64 Ibid., tom. i. lib. 3, tit. Fo-Blancas, Commentarii, pp. 174, ruin Inquisitionis Officii Just. Arag., ARAGON. Cel'rhe Aragonese writers are prodigal of their en- SECTIoN II. comiums on the preeminence and dignity of this functionary, whose office might seem, indeed, but execution of it. a doubtful expedient for balancing the authority of the sovereign; depending for its success less on any legal powers confided to it, than on the efficient and constant support of public opinion. Fortunately the Justice of Aragon uniformly received such support, and was thus enabled to carry the original design of the institution into effect, to check the usurpations of the crown, as well as to control the license of the nobility and the people. A series of learned and independent magistrates, by the weight of their own character, gave additional dignity to the office. The people, familiarized with the benignant operation of the law, referred to peaceful arbitration those great political questions, which, in other countries at this period, must have been settled by a sanguinary revolution.65 While, and tom. ii. fol. 37-41. —Blancas, rather 1467. Robertson appears Commentarii, pp. 391 - 399. to have confounded the council of The examination was conducted seventeen with the court of inquisiin the first instance before a court tion. See his History of Charles of four inquisitors, as they were V., vol. i. note 31. termed; who, after a patient hear- 65 Probably no nation of the peing of both sides, reported the re- riod would have displayed a temsult of their examination to a coun- perance similar to that exhibited cil of seventeen, chosen like them by the Aragonese at the beginning from the cortes, from whose de- of the fifteenth century, in 1412; cision there was no appeal. No when the people, having been split lawyer was admitted into this coun- into factions by a contested succescil, lest the law might be distorted sion, agreed to refer the dispute by verba. quibbles, says Blancas. to a committee of judges, elected The council, however, was allowed equally from the three great provthe advice of two of the profession. inces of the kingdom; who, after They voted by ballot, and the ma- an examination conducted with all jority decided. Such, after various the forms of law, and on the same modifications, were the regulations equitable principles as would have ultimately adopted in 1461, or guided the determination of a pri cx INTRODUCTION. INTROD. in the rest of Europe, the law seemed only the wel to ensnare the weak, the Aragonese historians could exult in the reflection, that the fearless administration of justice in their land " protected the weak equally with the strong, the foreigner with the native." Well might their legislature assert, that the value of their liberties more than counterbalanced " the poverty of the nation, and the steril-.ty of their soil."66 Valenciaand The governments of Valencia and Catalonla, which, as has been already remarked, were administered independently of each other after their consolidation into one monarchy, bore a very neai resemblance to that of Aragon.67 No institution, however, corresponding in its functions with that of the Justicia, seens to have obtained in either.6" vate suit, delivered an opinion, 67 Although the legislatures ot which was received as obligatory the different states of the crown on the whole nation. of Aragon were never united in 66 See Zurita, Anales, lib. 8, one body when convened in the cap. 29, - and the admirable sen- same town, yet they were so averse timents cited by Blancas from the to all appearance of incorporation, parliamentary acts, in 1451. Com- that the monarch frequently apmentarii, p. 350. pointed for the places of meeting From this independent position three distinct towns, within their must be excepted, indeed, the lower respective territories and contiguclasses of the peasantry, who seem ous, in order that he might pass to have been in a more abject state the more expeditiously from one to in Aragon than in most other feu- the other. See Blancas, Modo de dal countries. "Era tan absoluto Proceder, cap. 4. su dominio (of their lords) que po- 68 It is indeed true, that Peter dian mater con hambre, sed, y frio III., at the request of the Valena sus vasallos de servidumbre." cians, appointed an Aragonese (Asso y Manuel, Instituciones, p. knight Justice of that kingdom, in 40, — also Blancas, Commentarii, 1283. (Zurita, Anales, tom. i. fol. p. 309.) These serfs extorted, in 281.) But we find no further an insurrection, the recognition of mention of this officer, or of the certain rights from their masters, office. Nor have I met with any on condition of paying a specified notice of it in the details of the tax; whence the name villanos de Valencian constitution, compiled varada. by Capmany from various writers. ARAGON. cxi Valencia, which had derived a large portion of its SECTION primitive population, after the conquest, from Aragon, preserved the most intimate relations with the parent kingdom, and was constantly at its side during the tempestuous season of the Union. The Catalans were peculiarly jealous of their exclusive,privileges, and their civil institutions wore a more democratical aspect than those of any other of the confederated states; circumstances, which led to important results that fall within the compass of our narrative.69 The city of Barcelona, which originally gave its Riseand opulence of name to the county of which it was the capital, Barcelona. was distinguished from a very early period by ample municipal privileges.70 After the union with Aragon in the twelfth century, the monarchs of the latter kingdom extended towards it the same liberal legislation; so that, by the thirteenth, Barcelona had reached a degree of commercial prosperity rivalling that of any of the Italian republics. She divided with them the lucrative commerce with Alexandria; and her port, thronged with foreigners (Praictica y Estilo, pp. 161-208.) ing Castile. The indifference of An anecdote of Ximenes Cerdan, the Spanish writers, till very rerecorded by Blancas, (Commen- cently, to the constitutional antiquitarii, p. 214,) may lead one to ties of the latter kingdom, so much infer, that the places in Valencia, more important than the other which received the laws of Ara- states of the Peninsula, is altogon, acknowledged the jurisdic- gether inexplicable. lion of its Justicia. 70 Corbera, Cataluiia Illustrada, 69 Capnlany, PrActica y Estilo, (NApoles, 1678,) lib. 1, c. 17.pp. 62- 214. —Capmany has col- Petrus de Marca cites a charter of lected copious materials, from a Raymond Berenger, count of Barvariety of authors, for the parlia- celona, to the city, as ancient as tnentary history of Catalonia and 1025, confirming its former priviValencia, forming a stri.king con- leges. See Marca Hispanica, sive Irast to the scantiness of informa- Limes Hispanicus, (Parisiis, 1688,) tion he was able to glean respect- Apend. no. 198. cxii INTRODUCTION. INTROD. from every nation, became a principal emporium in the Mediterranean for the spices, drugs, perfumes, and other rich commodities of the east, whence they were diffused over the interior of Spain and the European continent.' Her consuls, and her commercial factories, were established in every considerable port in the Mediterranean and in *the north of Europe.72 The natural products of hei soil, and her various domestic fabrics, supplied her with abundant articles of export. Fine wool was imported by her in considerable quantities from England in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and returned there manufactured into cloth; an exchange of commodities the reverse of that existing between the two nations at the present day.73 Barcelona claims the merit of having established the first bank of exchange and deposit in Europe, in 1401; it was devoted to the accommodation of foreigners as well as of her own citizens. She. 71 Navarrete,Discurso Hist6rico, they protected the trade of their apud Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., own nation with these ports; and tom. v. pp. 81, 82, 112, 113. — were employed in adjusting comCapmany, Mem. de Barcelona, mercial relations, treaties, &c. In tom. i. part. 1, cap. 1, pp. 4, 8, short, they filled in some sort the 10, 11. post of a modern ambassador, or 72 Mem. de Barcelona, part. 1, resident minister, at a period when cap. 2, 3. - Capmany has given a this functionary was only employed register of the consuls and of the on extraordinary occasions. numerous stations, at which they 73 Macpherson, Annals of Comwere established throughout Africa merce, (London, 1825,) vol. i. p. and Europe, in the fourteenth and 655. -- The woollen manufacture fifteenth centuries, (tom. ii. Apend. constituted the principal staple of no. 23.) These officers during Barcelona, (Capmany, Mem. de the Middle Ages discharged much Barcelona, tom. i. p. 241.) The more important duties than at the English sovereigns encouraged the present day, if we except those few Catalan traders by considerable residing with the Barbary powers. immunities to frequent their ports They settled the disputes arising during the fourteenth century. between their countrymen, in the Macpherson, ubi supra, pp. 502, ports where they were established; 551, 588. ARAGON. ctill claims the glolyf too, of having compiled the most sECTION ancient written code, among the moderns, of maritime law now extant, digested from the usages of commercial nations, and which formed the basis of the mercantile jurisprudence of Europe during the Middle Ages.74 The wealth which flowed in upon Barcelona, HerUfreen h as the result of her activity and enterprise, was evinced by her numerous public works, her docks, arsenal, ware-houses, exchange, hospitals, and other constructions of general utility. Strangers, who visited Spain in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, expatiate on the magnificence of this city, its commodious private edifices, the cleanliness of its streets and public squares (a virtue by no means usual in that day), and on the amenity of its gardens and cultivated environs." But the peculiar glory of Barcelona was the freedom of her municipal institutions. Her government consisted of a senate or council of one'hundred, and a body of regidores or counsellors, as they were styled, varying at times from four to six in number; the former intrusted with the legislative, 74 Heeren, Essai sur l'Influence 75 Navagiero, Viaggio, fol. 3. - des Croisades, traduit par Villers, L. Marineo styles it " the most (Paris, 1808,) p. 376. - Capmany, beautiful city he had ever seen, or Mem. de Barcelona, tom. i. p. 213, to speak more correctly, in the also pp. 170- 180. - Capmany whole world." (Cosas Memorafixes the date of the publication of bles, fol. 18.) Alfonso V., in one the Consulado del Mar at the mid- of his ordinances, in 1438, calls it dle of the thirteenth century, under " urbs venerabilis in egregiis temJames I. He discusses and refutes plis, tuta ut in optimis, pulchra in the claims of the Pisans to prece- caeteris wedificiis," &c. Capmany, dence in this codification. See his gem. de Barcelona, tom. ii. Preliminary Discourse to the Cos- Apend. no. 13. tumbres Maritimas de Barcelona. VOL. I. 0 cxiv INTRODUCTION. INTROD. the latter with the executive functions of administration. A large proportion of these bodies were selected from the merchants, tradesmen, and mechanics of the city. They were invested, not merely with municipal authority, but with many of the rights of sovereignty. They entered intc commercial treaties with. foreign powers; superintended the defence of the city in time of war; provided for the security of trade; granted letters of reprisal against any nation who might violate it; and raised and appropriated the public moneys for the construction of useful works, or the encouragement of such commercial adventures as were too hazardous or expensive for individual enterprise. The counsellors, who presided over the municipality, were complimented with certain honorary privileges, not even accorded to the nobility. They were addressed by the title of magnificos; were seated, with their heads covered, in the presence of royalty; were preceded by mace-bearers, or lictors, in their progress through the country; and deputies from their body to the court were admitted on the footing, and received the honors, of foreign ambassadors.77 These it will be recollected, were plebeians, — merchants and mechanics. Trade nevei was esteemed a degradation in Catalonia, as it came to be inll Castile.7 The professors of the different 76 Capmany, Mem. de Barcelo- 77 Corbera, Catalu'ia Illustrada, na, Apend. no. 24.- The senate p. 84. - Capmany, Mem. de Bar or great council, though styled the celona, tom. ii. Apend. no. 29. "one hundred," _seems to have 78 Capmany, Mem. de Barcelofluctuated at different times be- na, tom. i. part. 3, p. 40, tom. iii tween that number and double its part. 2, pp. 317, 318. amount. ARAGON. 6xv arts, as they were called, organized into guilds or sEcTrIoN companies, constituted so many independent associations, whose members were eligible to the highest municipal offices. And such was the importance attached to these offices, that the nobility in many instances, resigning the privileges of their rank, a necessary preliminary, were desirous of being enrolled among the candidates for them. 79 One cannot but observe in the peculiar organization of this little commonwealth, and in the equality assumed by every class of its citizens, a close analogy to the constitutions of the Italian republics; which the Catalans, having become familiar with in their intimate commercial intercourse with Italy, may have adopted as the model of their own. Under the influence of these democratic insti- Haughty spirit of tIhs tutions, the burghers of Barcelona, and indeed of Catalans. Catalonia in general, which enjoyed more or less of a similar freedom, assumed a haughty independence of character beyond what existed among the same class in other parts of Spain; and this, combined with the martial daring fostered by a life of maritime adventure and warfare, made them impatient, not merely of oppression, but of contradiction, on the part of their sovereigns, who have experienced more frequent and more sturdy resistance 79 Capmany, Mem. de Barce- orders, the knights and hidalgos. lona, tom. i. part. 2, p. 187. The great barons of Catalonia, for-tom. ii. Apend. 30. - Capmany tified with extensive immunities says principal nobleza; yet it may and wealth. lived on their estates be presumed that much the larger in the country, probably little reloroportion of these noble candi- ishincg the levelling spirit of the (ates for office was drawn from burghers of Barcelona.;he inferior class of the privileged ^i"vl INTR.ODUCTION. iNTROD. from this quarter of their dominions, than from every other.80 Navagiero, the Venetian ambassador to Spain, early in the sixteenth century, although a republican himself, was so struck with what he deemed the insubordination of the Barcelonians, that he asserts, "The inhabitants have so many privileges, that the king scarcely retains any authority over them; their liberty," he adds, "should rather go by the name of license." 81 One example among many, may be given, of the tenacity with which they adhered to their most inconsiderable immunities. Ferdinand the First, in 1416, being desirous, in consequence of the exhausted state of the finances on his coming to the throne, to evade the payment of a certain tax or subsidy customarily paid by the kings of Aragon to the city of Barcelona, sent for the president of the council, John Fiveller, to require the consent of that body to this measure. The magistrate, having previously advised with his colleagues, determined to encounter any hazard, says Zurita, rather than compromise the rights of the city. He reminded the king of his coronation oath, expressed his regret that he was willing so soon to deviate from the good usages of his prede80 Barcelona revolted and was of the siege may be found in Coxe's twice besieged by the royal arms Memoirs of the Kings of Spain of under John II.; once under Philip the House of Bourbon, (London, IV., twice under Charles II., and 1815,) vol. ii. chap. 21. - The late twice under Philip V. This last monarch, Ferdinand VII., also had siege, 1713-14, in which it held occasion to feel, that the indepenout against the combined forces of dent spirit of the Catalans did not France and Spain under Marshal become extinct with their ancient Berwick, is one of the most mem- constitution. orable events in the eighteenth 81 Viaggio, fol. 3. century. An interesting account ARAGON. cxvii cessors, and plainly told him, that he and his corn- SECTION II. rades would never betray the liberties intrusted to them. Ferdinand, indignant at this language, ordered the patriot to withdraw into another apartment, where he remained in much uncertainty as to the consequences of his temerity. But the king was dissuaded from violent measures, if he ever contemplated them, by the representation of his courtiers, who warned him not to reckon too much on the patience of the people, who bore small affection to his person, from the little familiarity with which he had treated them in comparison with their preceding monarchs, and who were already in arms to protect their magistrate. In consequence of these suggestions, Ferdinand deemed it prudent to release the counsellor, and withdrew abruptly from the city on the ensuing day, disgusted at the ill success of his enterprise.82 The Aragonese monarchs well understood the value of their Catalan dominions, which sustained a proportion of the public burdens equal in amount to that of both the other states of the kingdom. 8s Notwithstanding the mortifications, which they occasionally experienced from this quarter, therefore, they uniformly extended towards it the most liberal 82 Abarca,' Reyes de Aragon, for at his death, which occurred very tom. ii. fol. 183. - Zurita, Anales, soon after, we find this citizen mentom. iii. lib. 12, cap. 59. -The king tioned as one of his executors. See turned his back on the magistrates, Capmany, Mem. de Barcelona, who came to pay their respects to tom. ii. Apend. 29. him, on learning his intention of 83 The taxes were assessed in quitting the city. He seems, how- the ratio of one sixth on Valencia, ever, to have had the magnanimity two sixths on Aragon, and three to forgive, perhaps to admire, the sixths on Catalonia. See Martel, independent conduct of Fiveller; Forma de Celebrar Cortes, cap. 71. cxvili INTRODUCTION.;N-TRD. protection. A register of the various customs paid in the ports of Catalonia, compiled in 1413, under the abovementioned Ferdinand, exhibits a discriminating legislation, extraordinary in an age when the true principles of financial policy were so little understood. 84 Under James the First, in 1227, a navigation act, limited in its application, was published, and another under Alfonso the Fifth, in 1454, embracing all the dominions of Aragon; thus preceding by some centuries the celebrated ordinance, to which England owes so much of her commercial grandeur. 85:~lect a. The brisk concussion given to the minds of the Catalans in the busy career in which they were engaged, seems to have been favorable to the developement of poetical talent, in the same manner as it was in Italy. Catalonia may divide with Provence, the glory of being the region, where the voice of song was first awakened in modern Europe. Whatever may be the relative claims of the two countries to precedence in this respect,86 it is certain that under the family of Barcelona, the 84 See the items specified by on the exportation of domestic proCapmany, Mem. de Barcelona, duce to foreign countries, except, tom. i. pp. 231, 232. indeed, its own colonies. 85 Idem, tom. i. pp. 221, 234.- 86 Andres, Dell' Origine, de' Capmany states, that the statute of Progressi, e dello Stato AttuaAlfonso V. prohibited " all fbreign le d' Ogni Letteratura, (Venezia, ships from taking cargoes in the 1783,) part. 1, cap. 11. — Lamports of his dominions." (See also pillas, Saggio Storico-Apologetico Colec. Dipl., tom. ii. no. 187.) The della Letteratura Spagnuola, (Geobject of this law, like that of the nova, 1778,) part. 1, dis. 6, sec. 7.British Navigation Act, was the Andres conjectures, and Lampillas encouragement of the national ma- decides, in favor of Catalonia. Arrine. It deviated, far, however, cades ambo; and the latter critic. from the sagacious policy of the the worst possible authority on all latter, which imposed no restriction questions of national preference. ARAGON. cxlx Proven;al of the south of France reached its high- SECTION est perfection; and, when the tempest of persecu- - tion in the beginning of the thirteenth century fell on the lovely valleys of that unhappy country, its minstrels found a hospitable asylum in the court of the kings of Aragon; many of whom not only protected, but cultivated the gay science with considerable success. S7 Their names have descended to us, as well as those of less illustrious troubadours, whom Petrarch and his contemporaries did not disdain to imitate;88 but their compositions, for the most part, lie still buried in those cemeteries of the intellect so numerous in Spain, and call loudly for the diligence of some Sainte Palaye or Raynouard to disinter them. 89 The languishing condition of the poetic art, at Pretical acadelliv the close of the fourteenth century, induced John of Tort((k 87 Velazquez, Origenes de la Po- teurs. Sanchez, after a careful exesia Castellana, (MMlaga, 1797,) amination of the evidence, candidly pp. 20 - 22.- Andres, Letteratu- decides against his countryman. ra, part. 1, cap. 11. — Alfonso II., (PoesiasCastellanas, tom. i. pp.81Peter II., Peter III., James I., Pe- 84.) A competent critic in the Retter IV., have all left compositions rospective Review, (No. 7, art. 2,) in the Limousin tongue behind who enjoyed the advantage over them; the three former in verse; Sanchez of perusing a MS. copy the two latter in prose, setting forth of Jordi's original poem, makes out the history of their own time. For a very plausible argument in favor a particular account of their respec- of the originality of the Valencian tive productions, see Latassa, (Es- poet. After all, as the amount critoresAragoneses, torn. i. pp.175- stolen, or, to speak more reverent179, 185 - 189, 222, 224, 242 - 248; ly, borrowed, does not exceed half tom. ii. p. 28,) also Lanuza. (His- a dozen lines, it is not of vital imtorias Eclesi/sticas y Seculares de portance to the reputation of either Aragon, (Zaragoza, 1622,) tom. i. poet. p. 553.) The Chronicle of James 89 The abate Andres lamented I. is particularly esteemed for its fifty years ago, that the worms and fidelity. moths should be allowed to revel 88 Whether Jordi stole from Pe- among the precious relics of antrarch, or Petrarch from Jordi, has cient Castilian literature. (Lettebeen matter of hot debate between ratura, tom. ii. p. 306.) Have their the Spanish and French littera- revels been disturbed yet? cxx INTRODUCTION INTnOD. the First, who mingled somewhat of the ridiculous even with his most respectable tastes, to depute a solemn embassy to the king of France, requesting that a commission might be detached from the Floral Academy of Toulouse, into Spain, to erect there a similar institution. This was accordingly done, and the Consistory of Barcelona was organized, in 1390. The kings of Aragon endowed it with funds, and with a library valuable for that day, presiding over its meetings in person, and distribting the poetical premiums with their own hands. During the troubles consequent on the death of Martin, this establishment fell into decay, until it was again revived, on the accession of Ferdinand the First, by the celebrated Henry, marquis of Villena, who transplanted it to Tortosa.90 The marquis, in his treatise on the gaya sciencia, details with becoming gravity the pompous ceremonial observed in his academy on the event of a public celebration. The topics of discussion were "' the praises of the Virgin, love, arms, and other good usages." The performances of the candidates, "inscribed on parchment of various colors, richly enamelled with gold and silver, and beautifully illuminated," were publicly recited, and then referred to a committee, who made solemn oath to decide impartially and according to the rules of the art. On the delivery of the verdict, a wreath of gold was deposited on the victorious poem, which 90 MayAns v SiscAr, Origenes sia, (Venezia, 1731,) tom. ii. p. de la Lengua tspafiola, (Madrid, 170. -Mariana, Hist. de Espa-ia, 1737,) tom. ii. pp. 323, 324.- Cre- tom. i. p. 183.-Velazquez, Poesia scimbeni, Istoria della Volgar Poe- Castellana, pp. 23, 24. ARAGON. cxxI was registered in the academic archives; and the SECTION fortunate troubadour, greeted with a magnificent prize, was escorted to the royal palace amid a cortege of minstrelsy and chivalry; " thus manifesting to the world," says the marquis, " the superiority which God and nature have assigned to genius over dulness." x The influence of such an institution in awakening a poetic spirit is at best very questionable. Whatever effect all academy may have in stimulating the researches of science, the inspirations of genius must come unbidden; " Adflata est numine quando Jam propiore dei." The Catalans, indeed, seem to have been of this opinion; for they suffered the Consistory of Tortosa to expire with its founder. Somewhat later, in 1430, was established the University of Barcelona, placed under the direction of the municipality, and endowed by the city with ample funds for instruction in the various departments of law, theology, medicine, and the belles-lettres. This institution survived until the commencement of the last century. 92 During the first half of the fifteenth century, 91 Mayans y Siscar, Origenes, losophy; four of grammar; one of tom. ii. pp. 325 - 327. rhetoric; one of surgery.; one of 92 Andres, Letteratura, tom. iv. anatomy; one of Hebrew, and anpp. 85, 86. — Capmany, Mem. de other of Greek. It is singular, that Barcelona, tom. ii. Apend. no. 16. none should have existed for the -There were thirty-two chairs, or Latin, so much more currently professorships, founded and main- studied at that time, and of so tained at the expense of the city; much more practical application alsix of theology; six of jurispru- ways, than either of the other an. dence; five of medicine; six of phi- cient languages. VOL. I. p cxxi INTRODUCTION. INTROD. long after the genuine race of the troubadours had Brief glory passed away, the Provenqal or Limousin verse was of thie Linoucinl. carried to its highest excellence by the poets of Valencia.93 It would be presumptuous for any one, who has not made the romance dialects his particular study, to attempt a discriminating criticism of these compositions, so much of the merit of which necessarily consists in the almost impalpable beau ties of style and expression. The Spaniards, however, applaud, in the verses of Ausias March, the same musical combinations of sound, and the same tone of moral melancholy, which pervade the productions of Petrarch.94 In prose too, they have (to borrow the words of Andres) their Boccacio in Martorell; whose fiction of " Tirante el Blanco I is honored by the commendation of the curate in Don Quixote, as "the best book in the world of the kind, since the knights-errant in it eat, drink, sleep, and die quietly in their beds, like other folk, and very unlike most heroes of romance." The productions of these, and some other of their distinguished contemporaries, obtained a general circulation very early by means of the recently invented art of printing, and subsequently passed into repeated editions s. 93 The Valencian, "the sweetest - 75. —Andres, Letteratura, ubi and most graceful of the Limousin supra.- Pellicer seems to take dialects," says Mayans y Siscar, Martorell's word in good earnest, Origenes, tom. i. p. 58. that his book is only a version from 94 Nicol-as Antonio, Bibliotheca, the Castilian. Hispana Vetus, (Matriti, 1788,) The names of some of the most tom. ii. p. 146. - Andres, Lette- noted troubadours are collected by ratura, tom. iv. p. 87. Velazquez, Poesia Castellana, (pp. 95 Cervantes, Don Quixote, (ed. 20 - 24. - Capmany, Mem. de de Pellicer, Madrid, 1787,) tom. Barcelona, tom. ii. Apend. no. 5.) i. p. 62.- Mendez, Typographia Some extracts and pertinent critiEspaiiola, (Madrid, 1796,) pp. 72 cisms on their productions may be ARAGON. cxxiii But their language has long since ceased to be the SECTION language of literature. On the union of the two crowns of Castile and Aragon, the dialect of the former became that of the court and of the Muses. The beautiful Provenial, once more rich and mefound by the English reader in the the author has not redeemed his Retrospective Review. (No. 7. pledge of continuing his notices to art. 2.) It is to be regretted that the Castilian era of Spanish poetry. The influence of free institutions have used, appeared in 1588, in folio Consttll. in Aragon is perceptible in the fa- at Saragossa, executed with much tional wri miliarity displayed by its writers typographical beauty. The work gon. with public affairs, and in the free- was afterwards incorporated into dom with which they have dis- Schottus's "Hispania Illustrata." cussed the organization, and gen- - Blancas, after having held his eral economy of its government. office for ten years, died in his The creation of the office of national native city of Saragossa, in 1590. chronicler, under Charles V., gave Jerome Martel, from whose lit- Blancas, wider scope to the developement tie treatise, "Forma de Celebrar Martel, and of historic talent. Among the most Cortes," I have also liberally cited, Capmany conspicuous of these historiogra- was appointed public historiographers was Jerome Blancas, several pher in 1597. His continuation of of whose productions, as the " Co- Zurita's Annals, which he left unronaciones de los Reyes," " Modo published at his decease, was never de Proceder en Cortes," and admitted to the honors of the "Commentarii Rerum Aragonen- press, because, says his biograslum," especially the last, have pher, Uztarroz, verdades lastiman; been repeatedly quoted in the pre- a reason as creditable to the author, ceding section. This work pre- as disgraceful to the government. sents a view of the different orders A third writer, and the one of the state, and particularly of the chiefly relied on for the account of office of the Justicia, with their pe- Catalonia, is Don Antonio Capmaculiar functions and privileges. The ny. His " Memorias Historicas tde author, omitting the usual details of Barcelona," (5 tom. 4to. Madrid, history, has devoted himself to the 1779- 1792,) may be thought someillustration of the constitutional what too discursive and circumantiquities of his country, in the stantial for his subject; but it is execution of which he has shown hardly right to quarrel with infora sagacity and erudition equally mation so rare, and painfully colprofound. His sentiments breathe lected; the sin of exuberance at a generous love of freedom, which any rate is much less frequent, and one would scarcely suppose to have more easily corrected, than that of existed, and still less to have been sterility. His work is a vast repromulgated, under Philip II. His pertory of facts relating to the style is distinguished by the purity commerce, manufactures, general and even elegance of its latinity. policy, and public prosperity, not The first edition, being that which I only of Barcelona, but of Catalonia. cxxiv INTRODUCTION. SECTION lodious than any other idiom in the Peninsula, was abandoned as a patois to the lower orders of the Catalans, who, with the language, may boast that they also have inherited the noble principles of freedom, which distinguished their ancestors. It is written with an independent cially the latter, have given such a and liberal spirit, which may be re- view of its prominent features to garded as affording the best corn- the English reader, as must, I fear, mentary on the genius of the insti- deprive the sketch which I have tutions which he celebrates. —Cap- attempted, in a great degree, of many closed his useful labors at novelty. To these names must Madrid, in 1810, at the age of fifty- now be added that of the author of six. the " History of Spain and PortuNotwithstanding the interesting gal," (Cabinet Cyclopadia,) whose character of the Aragonese consti- work, published since the precedtution, and the amplitude of mate- ing pages were written, contains rials for its history, the subject has much curious and learned disquisibeen hitherto neglected, as far as I tion on the early jurisprudence and am aware, by continental writers. municipal institutions of both CaRobertson and Hallam, more espe- tile and Aragon. GENEALOGY OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. Henry II. of Trastamara. d. 1,379. JOL I. Leonora 3f Castile, of Aragon. d. 1390. Cat harine Henry III. Ferdinand I. Leonora of Lancaster. of Castile, of Aragon, of Albuquerque. d. 1406. d. 1416. Mary John II. Isabella Blanche John II. Joan of Aragon. of Castile, of Portugal. of NMavarre. of Aragon, Henmiquez. (Ist wife.) d. 1454. (2d wife.) I1st wife.) d. 1479. (2d wife.) Henry IV.. FERDINAND of Castile, Alfonso, ISABELLA Carlos, Blanche. Leonora. THE CATHOLIC. d. 1474. d. 1468. THE CATHOLIC. d. 1461. PART FIRST. 1406- 1492. THE PERIOD, WHEN THE DIFFERENT KINGDOMS OF SPAIN WERE FIRST UNITED UNDER ONE MONARCHY, AND A THOROUGH REFORM WAS INTRODUCED INTO THEIR INTERNAL ADMIINISTRATION; OR THE PERIOD EXHIBITING MOST FULLY THE DOMESTIC POLICY OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. vOl'. I. 1 PART FIRST. CHAPTER I. STATE OF CASTILE AT THE BIRTH OF ISABELLA.- REIGN OF JOHN II., OF CASTILE. 1406- 1454. Revolution of Trastamara. -Accession of John II. -Rise of Alvaro de Luna. - Jealousy of the Nobles. -Oppression oT the Commons. - Its Consequences. -Early Literature of Castile. - Its Encouragement under John II. - Decline of Alvaro de Luna. -His Fall.Death of John II. -Birth of Isabella. THE fierce civil feuds, which preceded the ac- CHIIP.Ir cession of the House of Trastamara in 1368, were as fatal to the nobility of Castile, as the wars of the Roses were to that of England. There was scarcely a family of note, which had not poured out its blood on the field or the scaffold. The influence of the aristocracy was, of course, much diminished with its numbers. The long wars with foreign powers, which a disputed succession entailed on the country, were almost equally prejudicial to the authority of the monarch, who was willing to buoy up his tottering title by the most liberal concession of privileges to the people. Thus the commons rose in proportion as the crown and the privileged orders REIGN OF JOHN 1I., OF CASTILE. PART' descended in the scale; and, when the claims of the several competitors for the throne were finally Revolution,f Trasta- extinguished, and the tranquillity of the kingdom was secured, by the union of Henry the Third with Catharine of Lancaster at the close of the fourteenth century, the third estate may be said to have attained to the highest degree of political consequence, which it ever reached in Castile. The healthful action of the body politic, during the long interval of peace that followed this auspicious union, enabled it to repair the strength, which had been wasted in its murderous civil contests. The ancient channels of commerce were again opened; various new manufactures were introduced, and carried to a considerable perfection;' wealth, with its usual concomitants, elegance and comfort, flowed in apace; and the nation promised itself a long career of prosperity under a monarch, who respected the laws in his own person, and administered them with vigor. All these fair hopes were blasted by the premature death of Henry the Third, before he had reached Accession of his twenty-eighth year. The crown devolved on John II. his son John the Second, then a minor, whose reign was one of the longest and the most disastrous in the Castilian annals.2 As it was that, however, which gave birth to Isabella, the illustrious subject of our narrative, it will be necessary 1 Sempere y Guarinos, Historia 2 Cr6nica de Enrique III., edidel Luxo, y de las Leves Suntua- cion de la Academia, (Madrid, rias de Espaiia, (Madrid, 1788,) 1780,) passim. - Cr6nica de Juan tom. i. p. 171. II., (Valencia, 1779,) p. 6. BIRTH OF ISABELLA. 5 to pass its principal features under review, in order ChAPTER to obtain a correct idea of her government. The wise administration of the regency, during a long minority, postponed the season of calamity; and, when it at length arrived, it was concealed for some time from the eyes of the vulgar by the pomp and brilliant festivities, which distinguished the court of the young monarch. His indisposition, if not incapacity for business, however, gradually became manifest; and, while he resigned himself without reserve to pleasures, which it must be confessed were not unfrequently of a refined and intellectual character, he abandoned the government of his kingdom to the control of favorites. The most conspicuous of-these was Alvaro de Riseofalva. ro de Luna Luna, grand master of St. James, and constable of Castile. This remarkable person, the illegitimate descendant of a noble house in Aragon, was introduced very early as a page into the royal household, where he soon distinguished himself by his amiable manners and personal accomplishments. He could ride, fence, dance, sing, if we may credit his loyal biographer, better than any other cavalier in the court; while his proficiency in music and poetry recommended him most effectually to the favor of the monarch, who professed to be a connoisseur in both. With these showy qualities, Alvaro de Luna united others of a more dangerous complexion. His insinuating address easily conciliated confidence, and enabled him to master the motives of others, while his own were masked by consummate dissimulation. He was as fearless in 6 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF CASTILE. PART executing his ambitious schemes, as he was cau—'- tious in devising them. He was indefatigable in his application to business, so that John, whose aversion to it we have noticed, willingly reposed on him the whole burden of government. The king, it was said, only signed, while the constable dictated and executed. He was the only channel of promotion to public office, whether secular or ecclesiastical. As his cupidity was insatiable, he perverted the great trust confided to him to the acquisition of the principal posts in the government for himself or his kindred, and at his death is said to have left a larger amount of treasure, than was possessed by the whole nobility of the kingdom. He affected a magnificence of state corresponding with his elevated rank. The most considerable grandees in Castile contended for the honor of having'their sons, after the fashion of the time, educated in his family. When he rode abroad, he was accompanied by a numerous retinue of knights and nobles, which left his sovereign's court comparatively deserted; so that royalty might be said on all occasions, whether of business or pleasure, to be eclipsed by the superior splendors of its satellite.3 The history of this man may remind the English reader of that of Cardinal Wolsey, whom he somewhat resembled in character, and still more in his ex — traordinary fortunes. 3 Cr6nica de Alvaro de Luna, t6ricos, (Madrid, 1682,) tom. i. fol. edicion de la Academia, (Madrid, 227.- Cr6nica de Juan II., passim. 1784,) tit. 3, 5, 68, 74. - Guzman, - He possessed sixty towns and Generaciones y Semblanzas, (Ma- fortresses, and kept three thousand drid, 1775,) cap. 33, 34.- Abarca, lances constantly in pay. Oviedo Reyes de Aragon, en Anales His- Quincuagenas, MS. BIRTH OF ISABELLA. 7 It may easily be believed, that the haughty aris- CHAPI'TE tocracy of Castile would ill brook this exaltation of l Jealousy osf an individual so inferior to them in birth, and who the nobles. withal did not wear his honors with exemplary meekness. John's blind partiality for his favorite is the key to all the troubles, which agitated the kingdom during the last thirty years of his reign. The disgusted nobles organized confederacies for the purpose of deposing the minister. The whole nation took sides in this unhappy struggle. The heats of civil discord were still further heightened by the interference of the royal house of Aragon, which, descended from a common stock with that of Castile, was proprietor of large estates in the latter country. The wretched monarch beheld even his own son Henry, the heir to the crown, enlisted in the opposite faction, and saw himself reduced to the extremity of shedding the blood of his subjects in the fatal battle of Olmedo. Still the address, or the good fortune, of the constable enabled him to triumph, over his enemies; and, although he was obliged occasionally to yield to the violence of the storm and withdraw a while from the court, he was soon recalled and reinstated in all his former dignities. This melancholy infatuation of the king is imputed by the writers of that age to sorcery on the part of the favorite.4 4 Guzman, Generaciones, cap. que con mayor maravilla se puede 33. - Cr6nica de Don Juan II., p. decir d oir, que aun en los autos 491, et alibi. naturales se dio asi ta la ordenanza His complaisance for the favor- del condestable, que seyendo 61 ite, indeed, must be admitted, if we mozo bien complexionado, e tenibelieve Guzman, to have been of a endo'a la reyna su muger moza nost extraordinary kind. " E lo v hermosa, si el condestable se lo 8 tREIGN OF JOHN II., OF CASTILE. rPART But the only witchcraft, which he used, was the:L ascendency of a strong mind over a weak one. O pressiom During this long-protracted anarchy, the people lost whatever they had gained in the two preceding reigns. By the advice of his minister, who seems to have possessed a full measure of the insolence, so usual with persons suddenly advanced from low to elevated station, the king not only abandoned the constitutional policy of his predecessors in regard to the commons, but entered on the most arbitrary and systematic violation of their rights Their deputies were excluded from the privy coun cil, or lost all influence in it. Attempts were made to impose taxes without the legislative sanction. The municipal territories were alienated, and lavished on the royal minions. The freedom of elections was invaded, and delegates to cortes were frequently nominated by the crown; and, to complete the iniquitous scheme of oppression, pragnmaticas, or royal proclamations, were issued, containing provisions repugnant to the acknowledged law of the land, and affirming in the most unqualified terms the right of the sovereign to legislate for his subjects. 5 The commons indeed, when assembled in cortes, stoutly resisted the assumption of such unconstitutional powers by the crown, and compel. led the prince not only to revoke his pretensions, contradixiese, no iria a dormir a' Practica y Estilo de Celebrar Corsu cama della." Ubi supra. tes en Aragon, Catalu/ia y Valen 5 Marina, Teoria de las Cortes, cia, (Madrid, 1821,) pp. 234, 235. (Madrid, 1813,) tom. i. cap. 20.- — Sempere, Histoire des Cortgs tom. ii. pp. 216, 390, 391.-tom. d'Espagne,(Bordeaux, 1815,) ch iii. part. 2, no. 4. - Capmany, 18, 24. BIRTH OF ISABELLA.!j but to accompany his revocation with the most CHAPTER humiliating concessions.6 They even ventured so _ — far, during this reign, as to regulate the expenses of the royal household;7 and their language to the throne on all these occasions, though temperate and loyal, breathed a generous spirit of patriotism, evincing a perfect consciousness of their own rights, and a steady determination to maintain them.8 Alas! what could such resolution avail, in this season of misrule, against the intrigues of a cunning and profligate minister, unsupported too, as the commons were, by any sympathy or co6peration on the part of the higher orders of the state! A scheme was devised for bringing the popular branch of the legislature more effectually within the control of the crown, by diminishing the number of its constituents. It has been already remarked, in the Introduction, that a great irregularity prevailed in Castile as to the number of cities, which, at different times, exercised the right of representation. During the fourteenth century, the deputation from this order had been uncommonly full. The king, however, availing himself of this indeterminateness, caused writs to be issued to a very small proportion of the towns which had usually enjoyed the privi6 Several of this prince's laws cessario consejo de nuestros subfor redressing the alleged griev- ditos, y naturales, especialmente de ances are incorporated in the great los procuradores de las nuestras code of Philip II., (Recopilacion de ciudades, villas, y lugares de los lasLeyes, (Madrid, 1640,) lib. 6, nuestros reynos." It was much tit. 7, leyes 5, 7, 2,) which de- easier to extort good laws from clares, in the most unequivocal lan- this monarch, than to enforce guage, the right of the commons them. to be consulted on all important 7 Mariana, Historia de Espalia, matters. "Porque en los hechos (Madrid, 1780,) tom. ii. p. 299. arduos de nuestros reynos es ne- 8 Marina, Teoria, ubi supra. VOL. I. 2 10 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF CASTILE PART lege. Some of those that were excluded, indignantly though ineffectually remonstrated against this abuse. Others, previously despoiled of their possessions by the rapacity of the crown, or impoverished by the disastrous feuds into which the country had been thrown, acquiesced in the measure from motives of economy. From the same mistaken policy several cities, again, as Burgos, Toledo, and others, petitioned the sovereign to defray the charges of their representatives from the royal treasury; a most ill-advised parsimony, which suggested to the crown a plausible pretext for the new system of exclusion. In this manner the Castilian cortes, which, notwithstanding its occasional fluctuations, had exhibited during the preceding century what might be regarded as a representation of the whole commonwealth, was gradually reduced, during the reigns of John the Second and his son Henry the Fourth, to the deputations of some seventeen or eighteen cities. And to this number, with slight variation, it has been restricted until the occurrence of the recent revolutionary movements in that kingdom.9 The non-represented were required to transmit their instructions to the deputies of the privileged cities. Thus Salamanca appeared in behalf of five hundred towns and fourteen hundred villages; and the populous province of Galicia was represented by the little town of Zamora, which is not even 9 Capmany, Practica y Estilo, p. lencia was content to repurchase its 228. - Sempere, Hist. des Cortes, ancient right of representation from chap. 19.- Marina, Teoria, part. 1, the crown, at an expense of 80,000 cap. 16. — In 1656, the city of Pa- ducats. BIRTH OF ISABEnLLA..1 included within its geographical limits. 1'lhc priv- cHIqAPwi:nI ilege of a voice in, cortes, as it was called, canme at length to be prized so higchly by the favored cities, that when, in 1506, some of those which were excluded solicited the restitution of thelir ancient rights, their petition was opposed by the former on the impudent pretence, that "6 the right of deputation haicd been reserved by ancient law and usage to only eighteen cities of the realm.91' In this short-sighted and most unhappy policy, iwe see the operation of those local jealousies and estrangements, to 1iwhich we have alluded in the Introductiono But, althouwgh the cortes, thus reduced in numbers, necessarily lost much of its weight, it still maintained a bold front against the usurpations of the crown. It does not appear, indeed, that any attempt was made under John the Second, or his successor, to corrupt its members, or to control the freedom of debate; although such a proceeding is not improbable, as altogether conformable to their ordinary policy, and as the natural result of their preliminary measureso But, however true the dep Its conK uties continued to themselves and to those who sent them, it is evident that so limited and partial a selection no longer afforded a representation of the interests of the whole country. Their necessarily imperfect acquaintance with the principles or even wishes of their widely scattered constituents, in an age vhen knowledge was not circulated on the thousand wTings of the press, as in ourl day, 10 Capmany, Prectica y Esti- des Cortes d'Espagne, chap. 19. 1o p. 230.- - Sempere, H-istoire M1 Marina, Teoria, tom. i. p 161. ;12 REIGN OF JOHN 11., OF CASTILE. PART must have left them oftentimes in painful uncerI~' tainty, and deprived them of the cheering support of )public opinion. The voice of remonstrance, which derives such confidence from numbers, would hardly now be raised in their deserted halls with the same frequency or energy as before; and, however the representatives of that day might maintain their integrity uncorrupted, yet, as every facility was afforded to the undue influence of the crown, the time might come when venality would prove stronger than principle, and the unworthy patriot be tempted to sacrifice his birthright for a mess of pottage. Thus early was the fair dawn of freedom overcast, which opened in Castile under more brilliant auspices, perhaps, than in any other country in Europe. Early loitra- While the reign of John the Second is so detile. servedly odious in a political view, in a literary, it may be inscribed with what Giovio calls " the golden pen of history." It was an epoch in the Castilian, corresponding with that of the reign of Francis ths First in French literature, distinguished not so much by any production of extraordinary genius, as by the effort made for the introduction of an elegant culture, by conducting it on more scientific principles than had been hitherto known. The early literature of Castile could boast of the "Poem of the Cid," in some respects the most remarkable performance of the middle ages. It was enriched, moreover, with other elaborate compositions, displaying occasional glimpses of a buoyant fancy, or of sensibility to BIRTH OF ISABELLA.- 13 external beauty, to say nothing of those delightful cIIAPrER romantic ballads, which seemed to spring up spontaneously in every quarter of the country, like the natural wild flowers of the soil. But the unaffected beauties of sentiment, which seem rather the result of accident than design, were dearly purchased, in the more extended pieces, at the expense of such a crude mass of grotesque and undigested verse, as shows an entire ignorance of the principles of the art.12 The profession of letters itself was held in little Its encoura-aement unrepute by the higher orders of the nation, who der John 1 were altogether untinctured with liberal learning. While the nobles of the sister kingdom of Aragon, assembled in their poetic courts, in imitation of their Provencal neighbours, vied with each other in lays of love and chivalry, those of Castile disdained these effeminate pleasures as unworthy of the profession of arms, the only one of any estimation in their eyes. The benignant influence of John was perceptible in softening this ferocious temper. He was himself sufficiently accomplished, for a king; and, notwithstanding his aversion to business, manifested, as has been noticed, a lively relish for intellectual enjoyment. He was fond of books, wrote and spoke Latin with facility, composed verses, and condescended occasionally to correct those of his loving subjects.'3 Whatever 12 See the ample collections of ton Epistolario, (Madrid, 1775,) Sanchez, " Poesias Castellanas epist. 20, 49. —Cibdareal has given anteriores al Siglo XV." 4 tom:. us a specimen of this royal critiMadrid. 1779- 1790. cism, which Juan de Mena, the 13 Guzman, Generaciones, cap. subject of it, was courtier enough 33. -Gomez de Cibdareal, Cen- to adopt. 14i REIGN OF JOHN II., OF CASTILE. PART might be the value of his criticisms, that of his example cannot be doubted. The courtiers, with the quick scent for their own interest which distinguishes the tribe in every country, soon turned their attention to the same polite studies;' and thus Castilian poetry received very early the courtly stamp, which continued its prominent characteristic down to the age of its meridian glory. Miarquis of Among the most eminent of these noble savans, ~illella. was Henry, marquis of Villena, descended from the royal houses of Castile and Aragon,"5 but more illustrious, as one of his countrymen has observed, by his talents and attainments, than by his birth. His whole life was consecrated to letters, and especially to the study of natural science. I am not aware that any specimen of his poetry, although much lauded by his contemporaries,16 has come down to us.'7 He translated Dante's " Commedia I into 14 Velazquez, Origenes de la 16 Guzman, Generaciones, cap. 28. Poesia Castellana, (Malaga, 1797,) - Juan de Mena introduces Villep. 45. —Sanchez, Poesias Cas- na into his "Laberinto," in an tellanas, tom. i. p. 10. -" The agreeable stanza, which has someCancioneros Generales, in print thing of the mannerism of Dante. and in manuscript," says Sanchez, ", Aquel claro padre aquel dulce fuente " show the great number of dukes, aquel que en el castolo monte resuena.... 1' es don Enrique Seiior de Villena counts, marquises, and other no- honrra de Espaiay del siglopresente,"&c. bles, who cultivated this art." Juan de Mena, Obras, (Alcala, 15 He was the grandson, not, as 1566,) fol. 138. Sanchez supposes (tom. i. p. 15), 17 The recent Castilian translathe son, of Alonso de Villena, the tors of Bouterwek's History of first marquis as well as constable Spanish Literature have fallen into created in Castile, descended from an error in imputing the beautiful James II. of Aragon. (See Dor- cancion of the " Querellade Amor" mer, Enmiendas y Advertencias to Villena. It was composed by de Zurita, (Zaragoza, 1683,) pp. the Marquis of Santillana. (Bou371-376.) His mother was an terwek, Historia de la Literatura illegitimate daughter of Henry II., Espaiiola, traducida por Cortina of Castile. Guzman, Generaciones, y Hugalde y Mollinedo, (Madrid, cap. 28. - Salazar de Mendoza, 1829,) p. 196., and Sanchez, Poesias Monarqufa de Esparia, (Madrid, Castellanas, tom. i. pp. 38, 143.) 1770,) tom. i. pp. 203, 339. The mistake into which Nicolats BIRTH OF ISABELLA. 15 prose, and is said to have given the first example CHAPTER of a version of the iEneid into a modern language.'8. He labored assiduously to introduce a more cultivated taste among his countrymen, and his little treatise on the gaya sciencia, as the divine art was then called, in which he gives an historical and critical view of the poetical Consistory of Barcelona, is the first approximation, however faint, to an Art of Poetry in the Castilian tongue.'9 The exclusiveness, with which he devoted himself to science, and especially astronomy, to the utter neglect of his temporal concerns, led the wits of that day to remark, that " he knew much of heaven, and nothing of earth." He paid the usual penalty of such indifference to worldly weal, by seeing himself eventually stripped of his lordly possessions, and reduced, at the close of life, to extreme poverty.20 His secluded habits brought on him the appalling imputation of necromancy. A scene took place at his death, in 1434, which is sufficiently characteristic of the age, and may possibly have suggested a similar adventure to Cervantes. The king commissioned his son's preceptor, Brother Lope de Barrientos, afterwards bishop of Cuenqa, to examine the valuable library of the deceased; Antonio had also fallen in suppos- terwek, Literatura EspaSlola, trad. ing Villena's "Trabajos de Hercu- de Cortina y Mollinedo, nota S. les," written in verse, has been 19 See an abstract of it in subsequently corrected by his learn- Mayans y Siscar, Origines de la ed commentator Bayer. See Ni- Lengua Espafiola, (Madrid, 1737,) colas Antonio, Bibliotheca Hispana tom. ii. pp. 321 et seq. Vetus, (Matriti, 1788,) tom. ii. p. 20 Zurita, Anales de la Corona de 222, nota. Aragon, (Zaragoza, 1669,) tom. iii. 1is Velazquez, Origenes de la p. 227. - Guzman, Generaciones, Poesia Castellana, p. 45. — Bou- cap. 28. 16 REIGN OF JOHN IL., OF CASTILE. PART and the worthy ecclesiastic consigned more than a hundred volumes of it to the flames, as savouring too strongly of the black art. The Bachelor Cibdareal, the confidential physician of John the Second, in a lively letter on this occurrence to the poet John de Mena, remarks, that " some would fain get the reputation of saints, by making others necromancers;: and requests his friend " to allow him to solicit, in his behalf, some of the surviving volumes from the king, that in this way the soul of Brother Lope might be saved from further sin, and the spirit of the defunct marquis consoled by the consciousness, that his books no longer rested on the shelves of the man who had converted him into a conjuror."" John de Mena denounces this auto da fe of science in a similar, but graver tone of sarcasm, in his " Laberinto." These liberal sentiments in the Spanish writers of the fifteenth century may put to shame the more bigoted criticism of the seventeenth." narquisaof Another of the illustrious wits of this reign was iniigo Lopez de Mendoza, marquis of Santillana, " the glory and delight of the Castilian nobility," whose celebrity was such, that foreigners, it was said, journeyed to Spain from distant part~,,pof 21 Centon Epistolario, epist. 66.- of the posterity of Adam, from a The bishop endeavoured to transfer copy of which Villena derived his the blame of the conflagration to the science." (See Juan de Mena, king. There can be little doubt, Obras, fol. 139, glosa.) One however, that the good father in- would think that such an orthodox fused the suspicions of necromancy source might have justified Villena into his master's bosom. " The in the use of it. angels," he says in one of his 2 Comp. Juan de Mena, Obras, works, "who guarded Paradise, copl. 127, 128.; and Nic. Antonio, presented a treatise on magic to one Bibliotheca Vetus, tom. ii. p. 220 BIRTH OF ISABELLA. 17 Europe to see him. Although passionately devoted CHAPTER to letters, he did not, like his friend the marquis of Villena, neglect his public or domestic duties for them. On the contrary, he discharged the most important civil and military functions. He made his house an academy, in which the young cavaliers of the court might practise the martial exercises of the age; and he assembled around him at the same time men eminent for genius and science, whom he munificently recompensed, and encouraged by his example.23 His own taste led him to poetry, of which he has left some elaborate specimens. They are chiefly of a moral and preceptive character; but, although replete with noble sentiment, and finished in a style of literary exceltence far more correct than that of the preceding age, they are too much infected with mythology and metaphorical affectations, to suit the palate of the present day. He possessed, however, the soul of a poet; and when he abandons himself to his native redondillas, delivers his sentiments with a sweetness and grace inimitable. To him is to be ascribed the glory, such as it is, of having naturalized the Italian sonnet in Castile, which Boscan, mo,~y years later, claimed for himself with no small degree of self-congratulation.24 His epistle on the 23 Pulgar, Claros Varones de -Sanchez, Poesas Castellanas, Castilla, y Letras, (Madrid, 1755,) tom. i. p. 21. — Boscan, Obras, tit. 4. - Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca (1543,) fol.19. - It must be admitVetus, lib. 10, cap. 9. - Quin- ted, however, that the attempt was cuagenas de Gonzalo de Oviedo, premature, and that it required a lMS., batalla 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8. riper stage of the language to give 24 Garcilasso de la Vega, Obras, a permanent character to; the in ed. de Herrera, (1580,) pp. 75, 76. novation. VOL. I. 3 18 REIGN OF JOHN 1., OF CASTILE. PART primitive history of Spanish verse, although containing notices sufficiently curious from the age and the source whence they proceed, has perhaps done more service to letters by the valuable illustrations it has called forth from its learned editor.25 This great man, who found so much leisure for the cultivation of letters amidst the busy strife of politics, closed his career at the age of sixty, in 1458. Though a conspicuous actor in the revolutionary scenes of the period, he maintained a character for honor and purity of motive, unimpeached even by his enemies. The king, notwithstanding his devotion to the faction of his son Henry, conferred on him the dignities of count of Real de Manzanares and marquis of Santillana; this being the oldest creation of a marquis in Castile, with the exception of Villena.26 His eldest son was sub sequently made duke of Infantado, by which titl: his descendants have continued to be distinguished to the present day.,onn de Me. But the most conspicuous, for his poetical talents, of the brilliant circle which graced the court of John the Second, was John de Mena, a native of fair Cordova, "' the flower of science and of chival 25 See Sanchez, Poesias Caste- tom. i. p. 218. —Idem, Origen de llanas, tom. i. pp. 1- 119. - A las Dignidades Seglares de Castilla copious catalogue of the marquis y Leonl, (Madrid, 1794,) p. 285.de Santillana's writings is given in Oviedo makes the marquis much the same volume, (pp. 33 et seq.) older, seventy-five years of age, Several of his poetical pieces are when he died. He left, besides collected in the Cancionero Gen- daughters, six sons, who all became eral, (Anvers, 1573,) fol. 34 et the founders of noble and powerful seq. houses. See the whole genealo26 Pulgar, Claros Varones, tit. 4. gy, in Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS — Salazar de Mendoza, Monarquia, bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8. BIRTH OF ISABELLA. 19 ry, 27 as lie fondly styles her. Although born in CHAPTER a middling condition of life, with humble prospects, he was early smitten with a love of letters; and, after passing through the usual course of discipline at Salamanca, he repaired to Rome, where in the study of those immortal masters, whose writings had but recently revealed the full capacities of a modern idiom, he imbibed principles of taste, which gave a direction to his own genius, and, in some degree, to that of his countrymen. On his return to Spain, his literary merit soon attracted general admiration, and introduced him to the pat ronage of the great, and above all to the friendship of the marquis of Santillana.28 He was admitted into the private circle of the monarch, who, as his gossiping physician informs us, " used to have Mena's verses lying on his table, as constantly as his prayer-book." The poet repaid the debt of gratitude by administering a due quantity of honeyed rhyme, for which the royal palate seems to have possessed a more than ordinary relish.29 He continued faithful to his master amidst all the fluctuations of faction, and survived him less than two years. He died in 1456; and his friend, the marquis of Santillana, raised a sumptuous monument over his remains, in commemoration of his virtues and of their mutual affection. John de Mena is affirmed by some of the na- His incu. tional critics to have given a new aspect to Castilian 27,, Flor de saber y cabelleria." 29 Cibdareal, Centon Epistolario, El Laberinto, copla 114. epist. 47, 49. 2s Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Ye. tus, tom ii. pp. 265 et seq. 20 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF CASTILE. PART poetry.30 His great work was his " Laberinto," the outlines of whose plan may faintly remind us of that portion of the "Divina Coinmedia," where Dante resigns himself to the guidance of Beatrice. In like manner the Spanish poet, under the escort of a beautiful personification of Providence, wit nesses the apparition of the most eminent indi viduals, whether of history or fable; and, as they revolve on the wheel of destiny, they give occasion to some animated portraiture, and much dull, pe dantic disquisition. In these delineations we now and then meet with a touch of his pencil, which, from its simplicity and vigor, may be called truly Dantesque. Indeed the Castilian Muse never be fore ventured on so bold a flight; and, notwithstanding the deformity of the general plan, the obsolete barbarisms of the phraseology, its quaintness and pedantry, notwithstanding the cantering dactylic measure in which it is composed, and which to the ear of a foreigner can scarcely be made tolerable, the work abounds in conceptions, nay in whole episodes, of such mingled energy and beauty, as indicate genius of the highest order. In some of his smaller pieces his style assumes a gracefu! flexibility, too generally denied to his more strained and elaborate efforts."1 cBaera's cnn- It will not be necessary to bring under review conero. the minor luminaries of this period. Alfonso de Baena, a converted Jew, secretary of John the 30 See Velazquez, Poesia Cas- porated in the Cancionero General, tellana, p. 49. fol. 41 et seq. 31 A collection of them is incor BIRTH OF ISABELLA 21 Second, compiled the fugitive pieces of more than cHAPrTE fifty of these ancient troubadours into a cancionero, "for the disport and divertisement of his highness the king, when he should find himself too sorely oppressed with cares of state," a case we may imagine of no rare occurrence. The original manuscript of Baena, transcribed in beautiful characters of the fifteenth century, lies, or did lie until very lately, unheeded in the cemetery of the Escurial, with the dust of many a better worthy.32 The extracts selected from it by Castro, although occasionally exhibiting some fluent graces with considerable variety of versification, convey, on the whole, no very high idea of taste or poetic talent.33 Indeed this epoch, as before remarked, was not so much distinguished by uncommon displays of genius, as by its general intellectual movement, and the enthusiasm kindled for liberal studies. Thus we find the corporation of Seville granting a hundred doblas of gold as the guerdon of a poet, who had celebrated in some score of verses the glories of their native city; and appropriating the 32 Castro, Biblioteca Espariola, et seq.-The veneration enter(Madrid, 1781,) tom. i. pp. 266, tained for the poetic art in that 267. - This interesting document, day may be conceived from Baena's the most primitive of all the Span- whimsical prologue. "Poetry," ish cancioneros, notwithstanding its he says, " or the gay science, is a local positi.mrl in the library is very subtile and delightsome comspecified by Castro with great pre- position. It demands in him, who cision, eluded the search of the would hope to excel in it, a curiindustrious translators of Bouter- ous invention, a sane judgment, a wek, who think it may have dis- various scholarship, familiarity with appeared during the French inva- courts and public affairs, high birth sion. Literatura Espailola, trad. and breeding, a temperate, courde Cortina y Mollinedo, p. 205, teous, and liberal disposition, and, nota 1Ih,. in fine, honey, sugar, salt, freedom, 33 See these collected in Castro, and hilarity in his discourse." p. Biblioteca Esparfola, tom. ii. p. 265 268. 22 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF CASTILE. ~PART same sum as an annual premium for a similar per formance.34 It is not often that the productions of a poet laureate have been more liberally recompensed even by royal bounty. But the gifted spirits of that day mistook the road to immortality. Disdaining the untutored simplicity of their predecessors, they sought to rise above them by an ostentation of learning, as well as by a more classical idiom. In the latter particular they sue ceeded. They much improved the external forms of poetry, and their compositions exhibit a high degree of literary finish, compared with all that preceded them. But their happiest sentiments are frequently involved in such a cloud of metaphor, as to become nearly unintelligible; while they invoke the pagan deities with a shameless prodigality, that would scandalize even a French lyric. This cheap display of school-boy erudition, however it may have appalled their own age, has been a prin cipal cause of their comparative oblivion with posterity. How far superior is one touch of nature, as the "Finojosa " or "Querella de Amor," foi example, of the marquis of Santillana, to all this farrago of metaphor and mythology! literature The impulse, given to Castilian poetry, ex ia.lier Jolh tended to other departments of elegant literature. Epistolary and historical composition were cultivated with considerable success. The latter, especially, might admit of advantageous comparison with that of any other country in Europe at the 34 Castro, Biblioteca Espariola, tom. i. p. 273. BIRTH OF ISABELLA. 23 same period;35 and it is remarkable, that, after such CHAPTER early promise, the modern Spaniards have not been more successful in perfecting a classical prose style. Enough has been said to give an idea of the state of mental improvement in Castile under John the Second. The Muses, who had found a shelter in his court from the anarchy which reigned abroad, soon fled from its polluted precincts under the reign of his successor Henry the Fourth, whose sordid appetites were incapable of being elevated above the objects of the senses. If we have dwelt somewhat long on a more pleasing picture, it is because our road is now to lead us across a dreary waste exhibiting scarcely a vestige of civilization. While a small portion of the higher orders of eclie of, Alvaro de the nation was thus endeavouring to forget the Luna. public calamities in the tranquillizing pursuit of letters, and a much larger portion in the indulgence of pleasure,"3 the popular aversion for the minister 35 Perhaps the most conspicuous of his great repository, has assemof these historical compositions for bled the biographical and bibliomere literary execution is the graphical notices of the various Chronicle of Alvaro de Luna, to Spanish authors of the fifteenth which I have had occasion to re- century, whose labors diffused a fer, edited in 1784, by Flores, the glimmering of light over their own diligent secretary of the Royal age, which has become faint in Academy of History. He justly the superior illumination of the commends it for the purity and succeeding. harmony of its diction. The loy- 36 Sempere in his Historia del alty of the chronicler seduces him Luxo, (tom. i. p. 177,) has pubsometimes into a swell of panegyr- lished an extract from an unprinted ic, which may be thought to savour manuscript of the celebrated martoo strongly of the current defect quis of Villena, entitled Triunfo of Castilian prose; but it more de las Doias, in which, adverting frequently imparts to his narrative to the petits-maitres of his time, he a generous glow of sentiment, recapitulates the fashionable arts raising it far above the lifeless de- employed by them for the embeltails of ordinary history, and occa- lishment of the person, with a sionally even to positive eloquence. degree of minuteness, which might Nic. Antonio, in the tenth book edify a modern dandy. 24 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF CASTILE. PAXT Luna had been gradually infusing itself into the royal bosom. His too obvious assumption of superiority, even over the monarch who had raised him from the dust, was probably the real though secret cause of this disgust. But the habitual ascendency of the favorite over his master, prevented the latter from disclosing this feeling until it -was heightened by an occurrence, which sets in a strong light the imbecility of the one and the presumption of the other. John, on the death of his wife, Maria of Aragon, had formed the design of connecting himself with a daughter of the king of France. But the constable, in the mean time, without even the privity of his master, entered into negotiations for his marriage with the princess Isabella, granddaughter of John the First of Portugal; and the monarch, with an unprece dented degree of complaisance, acquiesced in an arrangement professedly repugnant to his own inclinations.37 By one of those dispensations of Providence, however, which often confound the plans of the wisest, as of the weakest, the column, which the minister had so artfully raised for his support, served only to crush him. The new queeni, disgusted with his haughty bearing, and probably not much gratified with the subordinate situation to which he had reduced her Hisfl husband, entered heartily into the feelings of the latter, and indeed contrived to extinguish whatever 37 Cr6nica de Juan II., p. 499. guesa, (1679,) tom. ii. pp. 335, — Faria y Sousa, Europa Portu- 372. BIRTH OF ISABELLA. 25 spark of latent affection for his ancient favorite CHAPTER lurked -within his breast. John, yet fearing the overgrown power of the constable too much to encounter him openly, condescended to adopt the dastardly policy of Tiberius on a similar occasion, by caressing the nian whom he designed to ruin, and he eventually obtained possession of his person, only by a violation of the royal safe-conduct. The constable's trial was referred to a commission of jurists and privy counsellors, who, after a sulmmary and informal investigation, pronounced on him the sentence of death on a specification of charges either general and indeterminate, or of tile most trivial import. "If the king," says Garibay, " had dispensed similar justice to all his nobles, who equally deserved it in those turbulent times, he would have had but few to reign over."38 Trhe constable had supported his disgrace, fromn Hisdth the first, with an equanimity not to have been expected from his elation in prosperity; and he now received the tidings of his fate with a similar fortitude. As he rode along the streets to the place of execution, clad in the sable livery of an ordinary criminal, and deserted by those who had been reared by his bounty, the populace, who before called so loudly for his disgrace, struck with this astonishing reverse of his brilliant fortunes, were melted into tears. 39 They called to mind the 38 Cr6nica de Alvaro de Luna, las Chronicas de Espaiia, (Barcetit. 128. - Cr6nica de Juan II., pp. lona, 1628,) tom. ii. p. 493. 457, 460, 572. - Abarca, Reyes de 39 Cr6nica de Alvaro de Luna, Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 227, 228.- tit. 128. - What a contrast to all Garibay, Compendio Historial de this is afforded by the vivid porb VOL. I. 4 26 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF CASTILE. PART numerous instances of his magnanimity. They reflected, that the ambitious schemes of his rivals had been not a whit less selfish, though less successful, than his own; and that, if his cupidity appeared insatiable, he had dispensed the fruits of it in acts of princely munificence. He himself maintained a serene and even cheerful aspect. Meeting one of the domestics of Prince Henry, he bade him request the prince "to reward the attachment of his servants with a different guerdon from what his master had assigned to him." As he ascended the scaffold, he surveyed the apparatus of death with composure, and calmly submitted himself to the stroke of the executioner, who, in the savage style of the executions of that day, plunged his knife into the throat of his victim, and deliberately severed his head from his body. A basin, for the reception of alms to defray the expenses of his interment, was placed at one extremity of the scaffold; and his mutilated remains, after having been exposed for several days to the gaze of the populace, were removed, by the brethren of a charitable order, to a place called the 1453. hermitage of St. Andrew, appropriated as the ceme tery for malefactors. 40 Such was the tragical end of Alvaro de Luna; a man, who, for more than thirty years, controlled trait, sketched by John de Mena, 40 Cibdareal, Centon Epistola of the constable in the noontide of rio, ep. 103. —Cr6nica de Juan his glory. 11., p. 564. - Cronica de Alvare "Este caualga sobre la fortuna de Luna, tit. 128, and Apend. p y doma su cuello con asperas riendas 458 y aunque del tenga tan muchas de prendas ella non le osa tocar de ninguna," &c. Laberinto, coplas 235 et seq. BIRTH OF ISABELLA. 27 the counsels of the sovereign, or, to speak more IIAPTER properly, was himself the sovereign of Castile. HEis fate furnishes one of the most memorable lessons in history. It was not lost on his contemporaries; and the marquis of Santillana has made use of it to point the moral of perhaps the most pleasing of his didactic compositions. 41 John did Lamented not long survive his favorite's death, which he was seen afterwards to lament even with tears. Indeed during the whole of the trial he had exhibited the most pitiable agitation, having twice issued and recalled his orders countermanding the constable's execution; and, had it not been for the superior constancy, or vindictive temper of the queen, he would probably have yielded to these impulses of returning affection. 42 So far from deriving a wholesome warning from experience, John confided the entire direction of his kingdom to individuals not less interested, but possessed of far less enlarged capacities, than the former minister. Penetrated with remorse at the retrospect of his unprofitable life, and filled with 41 Entitled " Doctrinal de Priva- I give Longfellow's version, as dos." See the Cancionero Gene- spirited as it is literal. ral, fol. 37 et seq. - In the follow-,, spain's haughty Constable,- the great ing stanza, the constable is made to And gallant Master, -cruel fate moralize with good effect on the Stripped him of all. moralize with good effect on Breatie not a whisper of his pride, instability of worldly grandeur. He on the gloomy scaffold died, Ignoble fall! "' Que se hizo la moneda The countless treasures of his care, que guarde para mis dafios Hamlets and villas green and fair, tantos tiempos tantos anos His mighty power, - plata joyas oro y seda What were they all but grief and shame y de todo no me queda Tears and a broken heart, - when came sino este cadahalso; The parting hour! " mundo malo mundo falso Stanza 21. no ay quien contigo pueda." 42 Cibdareal, Centon EpistolaManrique has the same senti- rio, ep. 103. - Cronica de Alvaro mnents in his exquisite " Coplas." de Luna, tit. 128 28 REIGN OF JOHN I], OF CASTILL. PART melancholy presages of the future, the unhappy prince lamented to his faithful attendant Cibdareal, on his deathbed, that " he had not been born the Deathof son of a mechanic, instead of king of Castile." He John 11. died July 21st, 1454, after a reign of eight and forty years, if reign it may be called, which was more properly one protracted minority. John left one child by his first wife, Henry, who succeeded him on the throne; and by his second wife two others, Alfonso, then an infant, and Isabella, afterwards queen of Castile, the subject of the present narrative. She had scarcely reached her fourth year at the time of her father's decease, having been born Birth uf lsa- on the 22d of April, 1451, at Madrigal. The king bell.a recommended his younger children to the especial care and protection of their brother Henry, and assigned the town of Cuellar, with its territory and a considerable sum of money, for the maintenance of the Infanta Isabella." 43 43 Cr6nica de Juan II., p. 576. of the various authorities, in the - Cibdareal, Centon Epistolario, sixth volume of the Memorias de la epist. 105. Real Academia de Historia, (MaThere has been considerable dis- drid, 1821,) Ilust. 1, pp. 56-60. crepancy, even among cotempora- Isabella was descended both on the ry writers, both as to the place father's and mother's side from the and the epoch of Isabella's birth, famous John of Gaunt, duke of amounting, as regards the latter, Lancaster. See Florez, Memorias to nearly two years. I have adopt- de las Reynas Cath6licas, (2d ed. ed the conclusion of Sefior Clemen- Madrid, 1770,) tom. ii. pp. 743, cin, formed from a careful collation 787. CHAPTER II. CONDITION OF ARAGON DURING THE MINORITY OF FERDINAND.-REIGN OF JOHN II., OF ARAGON. 1452-1472. John of Aragon. —Difficulties with his Son Carlos. - Birth of Ferdinand. - Insurrection of Catalonia. - Death of Carlos. - His Character. - Tragical Story of Blanche. - Young Ferdinand besieged by the Catalans. - Treaty between France and Aragon.Distress and Embarrassments of John. - Siege and Surrender of Barcelona. WE must now transport the reader to Aragon, in CIIAPTER order to take a view of the extraordinary circum- __ stances, which opened the way for Ferdinand's succession in that kingdom. The throne, which had become vacant by the death of Martin, in 1410, was'awarded by the committee of judges to whom the nation had referred the great question of the succession, to Ferdinand, regent of Castile during the minority of his nephew, John the Second; and thus the sceptre, after having for more than two centuries descended in the family of Barcelona, was transferred to the same bastard branch of Trastamara, that ruled over the Castilian monarchy.' Ferdinand the First was succeeded after a 1 The reader who may be curi- pedigree exhibiting the titles of ous in this matter will find the the several competitors to the 30 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF ARAGON. PART brief reign by his son Alfonso the Fifth, whose personal history belongs less to Aragon than to Naples, which kingdom he acquired by his own prowess, and where he established his residence, attracted, no doubt, by the superior amenity of the climate and the higher intellectual culture, as well as the pliant temper of the people, far more grateful to the monarch than the sturdy independence of his own countrymen. John of Ara- During his long absence, tht government of his gon. hereditary domains devolved on his brother John, as his lieutenant-general in Aragon.2 This prince had married Blanche, widow of Martin, king of Sicily, and daughter of Charles the Third, of Navarre. By her he had three children; Carlos, prince of Viana; Blanche, married to and afterwards repudiated by Henry the Fourth, of Castile; 4 and Eleanor, who espoused a French noble, Gaston, count of Foix. On the demise of the elder Blanche, the crown of Navarre rightfully belonged tlae,ohto to her son, the prince of Viana, conformably to a Navarre. 1442. stipulation in her marriage contract, that, on the crown given by Mr. Hallam. II., of Castile. The genealogical (State of Europe during the Mid- table, at the beginning of this Hisdie Ages, (2d ed. London, 1819,) tory, will show their relationship vol. ii. p. 60, note.) The claims to each other. of Ferdinand were certainly not 3 His grandfather, Charles III., derived from the usual laws of de- created this title in favor of Carlos, scent. appropriating it as the designation 2 The reader of Spanish history henceforth of the heir apparent.often experiences embarrassment Aleson, Anales del Reyno de Na from the identity of names in the varra, contin. de Moret, (Pamplona, various princes of the Peninsula. 1766,) tom. iv. p. 398. —Salazar Thus the John, mentioned in the de Mendoza, Monarquia, tom. ii. p. text, afterwards John II., might 331. be easily confounded with his 4 See Part I. Chap. 3, Note 5, namesake and contemporary, John of this History. MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 31 event of her death, the eldest heir male, and, in CIAPTER I' default of sons, female, should inherit the kingdom wo the exclusion of her husband.5 This provision, awhich had been confirmed by her father, Charles the Third, in his testament, was also recognised in ner own, accompanied however with a request, that her son Carlos, then twenty-one years of age, would, before assuming the sovereignty, solicit "' the good will and approbation of his father."' Whether this approbation was withheld, or whether it was ever solicited, does not appear. It seems probable, however, that Carlos, perceiving no disposition in his father to relinquish the rank and nominal title of king of Navarre, was willing he should retain them, so long as he himself should be allowed to exercise the actual rights of sovereign ty; which indeed he did, as lieutenant-general or governor of the kingdom, at the time of his mother's decease, and for some years after.7 In 1447, John of Aragon contracted a second alliance with Joan- Henriquez, of the blood royal of Castile, and daughter of Don Frederic Henriquez, admiral of that kingdom; 8 a woman considerably younger than himself, of consummate address, intrepid spirit, and unprincipled ambition. 5 This fact, vaguely and various- pp. 365, 366.) This industrious ly reported by Spanish writers, is writer has established the title of fully established by Aleson, who Prince Carlos to Navarre, so frecites the original instrument, con- quently misunderstood or misreptained in the archives of the resented by the national historians, counts of Lerin. Anales de Navar- on an incontestable basis. ra, tom. iv. pp. 354, 365. 7 Ibid., tom. iv. p. 467. 6 See the reference to the origi- 8 See Part I. Chap. 3, of this nal document in Aleson. (Tom. iv. work. 32 REIGN OF JOHN II. OF ARAGON. PART Some years after this union, John sent his wife into Navarre, with authority to divide with his son Carlos the administration of the government there. This encroachment on his rights, for such Carlos reasonably deemed it, was not mitigated by the deportment of the young queen, who displayed all the insolence of sudden elevation, and who from the first seems to have regarded the prince with the malevolent eye of a step-mother. He takes Navarre was at that time divided by two potent arms against his father. factions, styled, from their ancient leaders, Beaumonts and Agramonts; whose hostility, originating in a personal feud, had continued long after its original cause had become extinct.9 The prince of Viana was intimately connected with some of the principal partisans of the Beaumont faction, who heightened by their suggestions the indignation to which his naturally gentle temper had been roused by the usurpation of Joan, and who even called on him to assume openly, and in defian~e of his father, the sovereignty which of right belonged to him. The emissaries of Castile, too, eagerly seized this occasion of retaliating on John his interference in the domestic concerns of that monarchy, by fanning the spark of discord into a flame. The Agramonts, on the other hand, induced rather by hostility to their political adversaries than to the prince of Viana, vehemently espoused the cause of the 9 Gaillard errs in referring the quotes a proclamation of John in origin of these factions to this relation to them in the lifetime of epoch. (Histoire de la Rivalit6 de Queen Blanche. Annales de NaFrance et de l'Espagne, (Paris, varra, tom. iv. p. 494. 1801,) tom. iii. p. 227.) Aleson MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 33 queen. In this revival of half-buried animosities, cIIArTEk fresh causes of disgust were multiplied, and matters soon came to the worst extremity. The queen, who had retired to Estella, was besieged there by the forces of the prince. The king, her husband, on receiving intelligence of this, instantly marched to her relief; and the father and son confronted each other at the head of their respective armies near the town of Aybar.'~ The unnatural position, in which they thus found Is defeated themselves, seems to have sobered their minds, and to have opened the way to an accommodation, the terms of which were actually arranged, when the long-smothered rancor of the ancient factions of Navarre thus brought in martial array against each other, refusing all control, precipitated them into an engagement. The royal forces were inferior in number, but superior in discipline, to those of the prince, who, after a well-contested action, saw his 1452. own party entirely discomfited, and himself a prisoner.-' Some months before this event, Queen Joan. had BlrtllofFer been delivered of a son, afterwards so famous. as Ferdinand the Catholic; whose humble prospects, at the time of his birth, as a younger brother, afforded a striking contrast with the splendid destiny 10 Zurita, Anales, tom. iii. fol. 1 Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, 278. - Lucio Marineo Siculo, Co, tom. ii, fol. 223. —Aleson, Anaronista de sus Magestades, Las Co- les de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 501 sas Memorables de Espaiia, (Alta- - 503. -L. Marineo, Cosas Memla' de Henares, 1539,) fol. 104.- orables, fol. 105. Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 494-498. VOL. 1. 34 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF ARAGON. PART which eventually awaited him. This auspicious event occurred in the little town of Sos, in Aragon, on the 10th of March, 1452; and, as it was nearly contemporary with the capture of Constantinople, is regarded by Garibav to have been providentially assigned to this period, as affording, in a religious view, an ample counterpoise to the loss of the capital of Christendom.l2 The demonstrations of satisfaction, exhibited by John and his court on this occasion, contrasted strangely with the stern severity with which he continued to visit the offences of his elder offspring. It was not till after many months of captivity that the king, in deference to public opinion rather than the movements of his own heart, was induced to release his son, on conditions, however, so illiberal (his indisputable claim to Navarre not being even touched upon) as to afford no reasonable basis of reconciliation. The young prince accordingly, on his return to Navarre, became again involved in the 12 Compendio, tom. iii. p. 419.- ascertains with curious precision L. Marineo describes the heavens even the date of his conception, as uncommonly serene at the mo- fixes his birth in 1450. (fol. 153.) ment of Ferdinand's birth. " The But Alonso de Palencia in his Hissun, which had been obscured tory, (Verdadera Cor6nica de Don with clouds during the whole day, Enrique IV., Rei de Castilla v Lesuddenly broke forth with unwont- on, y del Rei Don Alonso su Hermaed splendor. A crown was also no, MS.) and Andrds Bernaldez, beheld in the sky, composed of va- Cura de Los Palacios, (Historia de pious brilliant colors like those of los Reyes Cat6licos, MS., c. 8,) a rainbow. All which appearances both of them contemporaries, refer were interpreted by the spectators this event to the period assigned as an omen, that the child then in the text; and, as the same born would be the most illustrious epoch is adopted by the accurate among men." (Cosas Menora- Zurita, (Anales, tom. iv. fol. bles, fol. 153.) Garibaypostpones 9,) 1 have given it the prefthe nativity of Ferdinand to the erence. year 1453, and L. Marineo, who MINORITY OF FERDINAND. St) factions which desolated that unhappy kingdom, CHAPTER and, after an ineffectual struggle against his ene- I_ inies, resolved to seek an asylum at the court of his uncle Alfonso the Fifth, of Naples, and to refer to him the final arbitration of his differences with his father.'3 On his passage through France and the various Carlosre courts of Italy, he was received with the attentions pies due to his rank, and still more to his personal chaiacter and misfortunes. Nor was he disappointed in the sympathy and favorable reception, which he had anticipated from his uncle. Assured of protection from so high a quarter, Carlos might now reasonably flatter himself with the restitution of his legitimate rights, when these bright prospects were suddenly overcast by the death of Alfonso, who expired at Naples of a fever in the month of May, 1458, bequeathing his hereditary dominions of 1458 Spain, Sicily, and Sardinia to his brother John, and his kingdom of Naples to his illegitimate son Fer dinand.T" The frank and courteous manners of Carlos had won so powerfully on the affections of the Neapolitans, who distrusted the dark, ambiguous character of Ferdinand, Alfonso's heir, that a large party eagerly pressed the prince to assert his title to the vacant throne, assuring him of a general support 13 Zurita, Anales tom. iv. fol. lib. 26, c. 7. —Ferreras, Histoire 3-48. —Aleson, Anales de Na- Ghnerale d'Espagne, trad. par varra, tom. iv. pp. 508-526. — D'Hermilly, (Paris, 1751,) tom. L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, vii. p. 60. —L'Histoire du Roy fol. 105. aume de Navarre, par P'un des 14 Giannone, Istoria Civile del SecrStaires Interprettes de sa Ma-'tegno di Napoli, (Milano, 1823,) jestS, (Paris, 1596.) p. 468. '826 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF ARAGON. PART from the people. But Carlos, from motives of prudence or magnanimity, declined engaging in this,ir;-Sicily. new contest,15 and passed over to Sicily, whence he resolved to solicit a final reconciliation with his father. He was received with much kindness by the Sicilians, who, preserving a grateful recollection of the beneficent sway of his mother Blanche, when queen of that island, readily transferred to the son their ancient attachment to the parent. An assembly of the states voted a liberal supply for his present exigencies, and even urged him, if we are to credit the Catalan ambassador at the court of Castile, to assume the sovereignty of the isl and.'6 Carlos, however, far from entertaining so rash an ambition, seems to have been willing to seclude himself from public observation. He passed the greater portion of his time at a convent of Benedictine friars not far from Messina, where, in the society of learned men, and with the facilities of an extensive library, he endeavoured to recall the happier hours of youth in the pursuit of his favorite studies of philosophy and history.'7 15 Compare the narrative of the 97. —Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Neapolitan historians, Summonte, Vetus, tom. ii. p. 282. -L. Mari(Historia della Citta e Regno di neo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 106.Napoli, (Napoli, 1675,) lib. 5, c. Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. 2.) and Giannone, (Istoria Civile, fol. 250.- Carlos bargained with lib. 26, c. 7. —lib. 27. Introd.) Pope Pius II. for a transfer of this with the opposite statements of L. library, particularly rich in the anMarineo, Cosas Mernorables, (fol. cient classics, to Spain, which was 106,) himself a contemporary, eventually defeated by his death. Aleson, (Anales de Navarra, tom. Zurita, who visited the monastery iv. p. 546,) and other Spanish containing it nearly a century after writers. this period, found its inmates pos16 Enriquez del Castillo, Croni- sessed of many traditionary anecca de Enrique el Quarto, (Madrid, dotes respecting the prince during 1787,) cap. 43. his seclusion among them. 17 Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 3'7 In the mean while, John, now king of Aragon cHIAlrr:T and its dependencies, alarmed by the reports of his U. sons popularity in Sicily, became as solicitous for Joil.: ceeds to sidc the security of his authority there, as he had before cro.` been for it in Navarre. He accordingly sought to soothe the mind of the prince by the fairest professions, and to allure him back to Spain by the pros-,pect of an effectual reconciliation. Carlos, believing what he most earnestly wished, in opposition to the advice of his Sicilian counsellors, embarked for Majorca, and, after some preliminary negotiations, crossed over to the coast of Barcelona. Postponing, for fear of giving offence to his father, his entrance into that city, which, indignant at his persecution, had made the most brilliant preparations for his reception, he proceeded to Igualada, where an interview took place between him and the king and queen, in which he conducted himself with unfeigned humility and penitence, reciprocated on their part by the most consummate dissimulation.'8 All parties now confided in the stability of a Carlosrec onciled Avth pacification so anxiously desired, and effected with his father. such apparent cordiality. It was expected, that John would hasten to acknowledge his son's title as heir apparent to the crown of Aragon, and convene an assembly of the states to tender him the customary oath of allegiance. But nothing was further from the monarch's intention. He indeed 18 Aleson, Anales de Navarra, -Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 60 tom. iv. pp. 548-554. —Abarca, -69. Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 251 ;e38 REIGN OF JOHN 11., OF ARAGON. PART summoned the Aragonese cortes at Fraga for the -- Z purpose of receiving their homage to himself; but he expressly refused their request touching a similar ceremony to the prince of Viana; and he openly rebuked the Catalans for presuming to address him as the successor to the crown.19 In this unnatural procedure it was easy to discern the influence of the queen. In addition to her original causes of aversion to Carlos, she regarded him with hatred as the insuperable obstacle to her own child Ferdinand's advancement. Even the affection of John seemed to be now wholly transferred from the offspring of his first to that of his second marriage; and, as the queen's influence over him was unbounded, she found it easy by artful suggestions to put a dark construction on every action of Carlos, and to close up every avenue of returning affection within his bosom. Convinced at length of the hopeless alienation of his father, the prince of Viana turned his atten tion to other quarters, whence he might obtain sup port, and eagerly entered into a negotiation, which had been opened with him on the part of Henry the Fourth, of Castile, for a union with his sister the princess Isabella. This was coming in direct collision with the favorite scheme of his parents. The marriage of Isabella with the young Ferdinand, which indeed, from the parity of their ages, was a much more suitable connexion than that with 19 Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, iv. fol. 70-75.- Aleson, Anales ubi supra. — Zurita, Anales, tom. de Navarra, tom. iv. p. 556. MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 39 Carlos, had long been the darling object of their CIAPTER policy, and they resolved to effect it in the face of every obstacle. In conformity with this purpose, John invited the prince of Viana to attend him at Lerida, where he was then holding the cortes of Catalonia. The latter fondly, and indeed foolishly, after his manifold experience to the contrary, confiding in the relenting disposition of his father, hastened to obey the summons, in expectation of being publicly acknowledged as his heir in the assembly of the states. After a brief interview he was arrested, and his person placed in strict con- IS impri finement.20 The intelligence of this perfidious procedure diffused general consternation among all classes. They understood too well the artifices of the queen and the vindictive temper of the king, not to feel the most serious apprehensions, not only for the liberty, but for the life of their prisoner. The cortes of Lerida, which, though dissolved on that very day, had not yet separated, sent an embassy to John, requesting to know the nature of the crimes imputed to his son. The permanent deputation of Aragon, and a delegation from the council of Barcelona, waited on him for a similar purpose, remonstrating at the same time against any violent and unconstitutional proceeding. To all these John returned a cold, evasive answer, darkly intimating a suspicion of conspiracy by his son against his 20 L. Marineo, Cosas Memora- de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 55i6, 557. bies, fol. 108. —Zurita, Anales, — Castillo, Cronica, cap. 27. rib. 17, cap. 3. - Aleson, Anales -e0 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF ARAGON.,ARTr life, and reserving to himself the punishment of the -. offence.21 Insurrection No sooner was the result of their mission comot the Catalanls municated, than the whole kingdom was thrown into a ferment. The high-spirited Catalans rose in arms, almost to a man. The royal governor, after a fruitless attempt to escape, was seized and imprisoned in Barcelona. Troops were levied, and placed under the command of experienced officers of the highest rank. The heated populace, out — stripping the tardy movement of military operations, marched forward to Lerida in order to get possession of the royal person. The king, who had seasonable notice of this, displayed his wonted presence of mind. He ordered supper to be prepared for him at the usual hour, but, on the approach of night, made his escape on horseback with one or two attendants only, on the road to Fraga, a town within the territory of Aragon; while the mob, traversing the streets of Lerida. and finding little resistance at the gate, burst into the palace and ransacked every corner of it, piercing, in their fury, even the curtains and beds with their swords and lances. 22 The Catalan army, ascertaining the route of the royal fugitive, marched directly on Fraga, and arrived so promptly, that John, with his wife, and he 21 L. Marineo, Cosas Memora- 22 Aleson, Anales de Navarra, bles, fol. 108, 109. - Abarca, tom. ii. p. 358. - Zurita, Anales, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 252. lib. 17, cap 6. 6.-Abarca, Reyes de -Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap.45. Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 253. —L. -Aleson, Anales de Navarra, Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. tom. ii. p. 357. 111. MINORITY Of' FERDINAND. 41 deputies of the Aragonese cortes assembled there, CIHAPTER had barely time to make their escape on the road IL to Saragossa, while the insurgents poured into the city from the opposite quarter. The person of Carlos, in the mean time, was secured in the inaccessible fortress of Morella, situated in a mountainous district on the confines of Valencia. John, on halting at Saragossa, endeavoured to assemble an Aragonese force capable of resisting the Catalan rebels. But the flame of insurrection had spread throughout Aragon, Valencia, and Navarre, and was speedily communicated to his transmarine possessions of Sardinia and Sicily. The king of Castile supported Carlos at the same time by an irruption into Navarre, and his partisans, the Beaumonts, cooperated with these movements by a descent on Aragon. 23 John, alarmed at the tempest which his precipi- Cnrlosre tate conduct had roused, at length saw the necessity of releasing his prisoner; and, as the queen had incurred general odium as the chief instigator of his persecution, he affected to do this in consequence of her interposition. As Carlos with his mother-in-law traversed the country on their way to Barcelona, he was everywhere greeted, by the inhabitants of the villages thronging out to meet him, with the most touching enthusiasm. The queen, however, having been informed by the magistrates that her presence would not be permitted in the capital, deemed it prudent to remain at 23 Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 6. - L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables. fVOL. 111. VOL. I. 6 42 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF ARAGON. PrAnT Villa Franca, about twenty miles distant; while the prince, entering Barcelona, was welcomed with the triumphant acclamations due to a conqueror returning from a campaign of victories. 24 The conditions, on which the Catalans proposed to resume their allegiance to their sovereign, were sufficiently humiliating. They insisted not only on his public acknowledgment of Carlos as his rightful heir and successor, with the office, conferred on him for life, of lieutenant-general of Catalonia, but on an obligation on his own part, that he would never enter the province without their express permission. Such was John's extremity, that he not only accepted these unpalatable conditions, but did it with affected cheerfulness. Fortune seemed now weary of persecution, and Carlos, happy in the attachment of a brave and powerful people, appeared at length to have reached a haven of permanent security. But at this crisis he fell ill of a fever, or, as some historians insinuate, of a disorder occasioned by poison administered during his imprisonment; a fact, which, although unsupported by positive evidence, seems, notwithstanding its atrocity, to be no wise improbable, considering the character of the parties impli His death. cated. He expired on the 23d of September, 1461. 1461, in the forty-first year of his age, bequeathing 24 Castillo, Cronica, cap. 28. - Tarraca closed their gates upon the Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, fol. 253, queen, and rung the bells on her 254. - L. Marineo, Cosas Memo- approach, the signal of alarm on rables, fol. 111. 112. - Aleson, the appearance of an enemy, or for Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. the pursuit of a malefactor. 559, 560. - The inhabitants of MINORITY OF FERDINAND 43 his title to the crown of Navarre, in conformity CHAPTER with the original marriage contract of his parents, to his sister Blanche and her posterity. 25 Thus in the prime of life, and at the moment when he seemed to have triumphed over the malice of his enemies, died the prince of Viana, whose character, conspicuous for many virtues, has become still more so for his misfortunes. His first act of rebellion, if such, considering his legitimate pretensions to the crown, it can be called, was severely requited by his subsequent calamities; while the vindictive and persecuting temper of his parents excited a very general commiseration in his behalf, and brought him more effectual support, than could have been derived from his own merits or the justice of his cause. The character of Don Carlos has been portrayed His chara by Lucio Marineo, who, as he wrote an account of these transactions by the command of Ferdinand the Catholic, cannot be suspected of any undue partiality in favor of the prince of Viana. " Such,' says he, "were his temperance and moderation, such the excellence of his breeding, the purity of his life, his liberality and munificence, and such the sweetness of his demeanor, that no one thing seemed to be wanting in him which belongs to a true and perfect prince." 26 He is described by 25 Alonso de Palencia, Cr6nica, 26 L. Marineo, Cosas MemoraMS., part. 2, cap. 51. - L. Mari- bles, fol. 106. -" Por quanto era neo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 114. - la templanqa y mesura de aquel Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. principe; tan grande el concierto iv. pp. 561 - 563. - Zurita, Anales, y su crian{a y costumbres, la limcan. 19, 24. pieza de su vida, su liberalidad y 41AW4 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF ARAGON. PART another contemporary, as " in person somewhat above the middle stature, having a thin visage, with a serene and modest expression of countenance, and withal somewhat inclined to melancholy. 1" 7 He was a considerable proficient in music, painting, and several mechanic arts. He frequently amused himself with poetical composition, and was the intimate friend of some of the most eminent bards ol his time. But he was above all devoted to the study of philosophy and history. He made a version of Aristotle's Ethics into the vernacular, which was first printed, nearly fifty years after his death, at Saragossa, in 1509. He compiled also a Chron icle of Navarre from the earliest period to his own times, which, although suffered to remain in manuscript, has been liberally used and cited by the Spanish antiquaries, Garibay, Blancas, and others. 28 His natural taste and his habits fitted him much better for the quiet enjoyment of letters, than for the tumultuous scenes in which it was his misfortune to be involved, and in which he was no match for enemies grown gray in the field and in the intrigues of the cabinet. But, if his devotion to learning, so rare in his own age, and so very rare among princes in any age, was unpropitious to his success on the busy theatre on which he was enmagnificencia, y finalmente su dulce Antonio, Bibliotheca Vetus, tom. conversacion, que ninguna cosa en ii. p. 281. el faltava de aquellas que pertenes- 28 Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Vecen a recta vivir; y que arman el tus, tom. ii. pp. 281, 282. - Mariverdadero y perfecto principe y ana, Hist. de Espafia, tom. ii. p. seilor." 434. 27 Gundisalvus Garsias, apud Nic. MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 45 gaged, it must surely elevate his character in the CHAPTER estimation of an enlightened posterity. The tragedy did not terminate with the death of Tragica Carlos. His sister Blanche, notwithstanding the Blancheh. inoffensive gentleness of her demeanor, had long been involved, by her adhesion to her unfortunate brother, in a similar proscription with him. The succession to Navarre having now devolved on her, she became tenfold an object of jealousy both to her father, the present possessor of that kingdom, and to her sister Eleanor, countess of Foix, to whom the reversion of it had been promised by John, on his own decease. The son of this lady, Gaston de Foix, had lately married a sister of Louis the Eleventh, of France; and, in a treaty subsequently contracted between that monarch and the king of Aragon, it was stipulated that Blanche should be delivered into the custody of the countess of Foix, as surety for the succession of the latter, and of her posterity, to the crown of Navarre. 29 Conformably to this provision, John endeavoured to persuade the princess Blanche to accompany him into France, under the pretext of forming an alliance for her with Louis's brother, the duke of Berri. The unfortunate lady, comprehending too well her father's real purpose, besought him with the most piteous entreaties not to deliver her into the hands of her enemies; but, closing his heart against all natural affection, he caused her to be 29 This treaty was signed at Olit p. 235.- Gaillard confounds it in Navarre, April 12th, 1462. - with the subsequent one made in Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 38, the month of May, near the town 39. - Gaillard, Rivalit6, tom. iii. of Salvatierra in Bearne. 41,6 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF ARAGON. PAnT torn from her residence at Olit, in the heart of hei own dominions, and forcibly transported across the mountains into those of the count of Foix. On arriving at St. Jean Pied de Port, a little town on the French side of the Pyrenees, being convinced that she had nothing further to hope from human succour, she made a formal renunciation of her right to Navarre in favor of her cousin and former husband, Henry the Fourth, of Castile, who had uniformly supported the (cuse of her brother Carlos. Henry, though debased by sensual indulgence, was naturally of a gentle disposition, and had never treated her personally with unkindness. In a letter, which she now addressed to him, and which, says a Spanish historian, cannot be read, after the lapse of so many years, without affecting the most insensible heart,30 she reminded him of the dawn of happiness which she had enjoyed under his protection, of his early engagements to her, and of her subsequent calamities; and, anticipating the gloomy destiny which awaited her, she settled on him her inheritance of Navarre, to the entire exclusion of her intended assassins, the count and countess of Foix. 31 1462, On the same day, the last of April, she was delivered over to one of their emissaries, who conducted her to the castle of Ortes in Bearne, where, after languishing in dreadful suspense for nearly 30 Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, varra, tom. iv. pp. 590-593.tom. vii. p. 110. Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. 31 I-ist. du Royaume de Navarre, fol. 258, 259. - Zurita, Anales. p. 496. —Aleson, Anales de Na- lib. 17, cap. 38. MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 47 two years, she was poisoned by the command of CHAPTER II. her sister. 32 The retribution of Providence not unfrequently overtakes the guilty even in this world. The countess survived her father to reign in Navarre only three short weeks; while the crown was ravished from her posterity for ever by that very Ferdinand, whose elevation had been the object to his parents of so much solicitude and so many crimes. Within a fortnight after the decease of Carlos, Ferdinand the customary oaths of allegiance, so pertinaciously to th withheld from that unfortunate prince, were ten- 146 1. dered by the Aragonese deputation, at Calatayud, October 6. to his brother Ferdinand, then only ten years of age, as heir apparent of the monarchy; after which he was conducted by his mother into Catalonia, in order to receive the more doubtful homage of that province. The extremities of Catalonia at this time seemed to be in perfect repose, but the capital was still agitated by secret discontent. The ghost of Carlos was seen stalking by night through the streets of Barcelona, bewailing in piteous accents his untimely end, and invoking vengeance on his unnatural murderers. The manifold miracles wrought at his tomb soon gained him the reputa32 Lebrija, De Bello Navariensi, Lebrija, a contemporary, (loc. cit.) (Granatin, 1545,) lib. 1, cap. 1, fol. in imputing it to poison. The fact 74.- Aleson, Anales de Navarra, of her death, which Aleson, on I ubi supra. -Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, know not what authority, refers to cap. 38.- The Spanish historians the 2d of December, 1464, was not are not agreed as to the time publicly disclosed till some months or even mode of Blanche's death. after its occurrence, when discloAll concur, however, in attributing sure became necessary in conseit to assassination, and most of quence of the proposed interposi&hem, with the learned Antonio tion of the Navarrese cortes. 41~8 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF ARAGotN. rART tion of a saint, and his image received the devotional honors reserved for such as have been duly canonized by the church. 33 The revolutionary spirit of the Barcelonians, kept alive by the recollection of past injury, as well as by the apprehensions of future vengeance, should John succeed in reestablishing his authority over them, soon became so alarming, that the queen, whose consummate address, however, had first accomplished the object of her visit, found it advisable to withdraw from the capital; and she sought refuge, with her son and such few adherents as still remained faithful to them, in the fortified city of Gerona, about fifty miles north of Barcelona. Besieged by Hither, however, she was speedily pursued by the Catalans in Gerona. the Catalan militia, embodied under the command of their ancient leader Roger, count of Pallas, and eager to regain the prize which they had so inadvertently lost. The city was quickly entered, but the queen, with her handful of followers, had retreated to a tower belonging to the principal church in the place, which, as was very frequent in Spain, in those wild times, was so strongly fortified as to be capable of maintaining a formidable resistance. 33 Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, ient application to the diseased MS., part. 2, cap. 51. - Zurita, members of the pilgrims who visitAnales, tom. iv. fol. 98.- Abarca, ed his shrine, remained in his day Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 256. in a perfectly sound and healthful -- Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. state! (Historias Ecclesiasticas y iv. pp. 563 et seq. —L. Marineo, Co- Seculares de Aragon, (Zaragoza, sas Memorables, fol. 114.-Accord- 1622,) tom. i. p. 553.) Aleson ing to Lanuza, who wrote nearly wonders that any should doubt the two centuries after the death of truth of miracles, attested by the Carlos, the flesh upon his right monks of the very monastery in arm, which had been amputated which Carlos was interred. for the purpose of a more conven MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 49 Tlo oppose this, a wooden fortress of the same CIAPTER height was constructed by the assailants, and planted with lombards and other pieces of artillery then in use, which kept up an unintermitting discharge of stone bullets on the little garrison. 34 The Catalans also succeeded in running a mine beneath the fortress, through which a considerable body of troops penetrated into it, when, their premature cries of exultation having discovered them to the besieged, they were repulsed, after a desperate struggle, with great slaughter. The queen displayed the most intrepid spirit in the midst of these alarming scenes; unappalled by the sense of her own danger and that of her child, and by the dismal lamentations of the females by whom she was surrounded, she visited every part of the works in person, cheering her defenders by her presence and dauntless resolution. Such were the stormy and disastrous scenes in which the youthful Ferdinand commenced a career, whose subsequent prosperity was destined to be checkered by scarcely a reverse of fortune. 35 34 L. Marineo, Cosas Memora- riod, and indeed later, that it was bles, fol. 116. - Alonso de Palen- usual for a field-piece not to be cia, Cor6nica, MS., part. 2, cap. 51. discharged more than twice in the -Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 113. course of an action, if we may The Spaniards, deriving the credit Machiavelli, who, indeed, reknowledge of artillery from the commends dispensing with the use Arabs, had become familiar with of artillery altogether. Arte della it before the other nations of Chris- Guerra, lib. 3. (Opere, Genova, tendom. The affirmation of Zuri- 1798.) ta, however, that 5000 balls were 35 Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, fired from the battery of the be- MS., part. 2, c. 51. -L. Marineo, siegers at Gerona in one day, is Cosas Memorables, fol. 116. - Zuperfectly absurd. So little was the rita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 113.science of gunnery advanced in Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. other parts of Europe at this pe- fol. 259. VOL. I O REIGN OF JOHN II., OF ARAGON. PART In the mean while, John, having in vain attemptI__ ed to penetrate through Catalonia to the relief of twrealye- his wife, effected this by the cooperation of his France and Aragon. French ally, Louis the Eleventh. That monarch, with his usual insidious policy, had covertly despatched an envoy to Barcelona on the death of Carlos, assuring the Catalans of his protection, should they still continue averse to a reconciliation with their own sovereign. These offers were but coldly received; and Louis found it more for his interest to accept the propositions made to him by the king of Aragon himself, which subsequently led to most important consequences. By three several treaties, of the 3d, 21st, and 23d of May, 1462, it was stipulated, that Louis should furnish his ally with seven hundred lances and a proportionate number of archers and artillery during the war with Barcelona, to be indemnified by the payment of two hundred thousand gold crowns within one year after the reduction of that city; as security foi which the counties of Roussillon and Cerdagne were pledged by John, with the cession of their:revenues to the French king, until such time as the original debt should be redeemed. In this transaction both monarchs manifested their usual policy; Louis believing that this temporary mortgage would become a permanent alienation, from John's inability to discharge it; while the latter anticipated, as the event showed, with more justice, that thel aversion of the inhabitants to the dismemberment of their country from the. Aragonese monarchy MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 51 would baffle every attempt on the part of the CHAPTER French to occupy it permanently. 36 n In pursuance of these arrangements, seven hun- Genteral r dred French lances with a considerable body of l'onia archers and artillery 7 crossed the mountains, and, rapidly advancing on Gerona, compelled the insurgent army to raise the siege, and to decamp with such precipitation as to leave their cannon in the hands of the royalists. The Catalans now threw aside the thin veil, with which they had hitherto covered their proceedings. The authorities of the principality, established in Barcelona, publicly renounced their allegiance to King John and his son Ferdinand, and proclaimed them enemies of the republic. Writings at the same time were circulated, denouncing from Scriptural authority, as well as natural reason, the doctrine of legitimacy in the broadest terms, and insisting that the Aragonese monarchs, far from being absolute, might be lawfully deposed for an infringement of the liberties of the nation. "; The good of the commonwealth," it was said, " must always be considered paramount 36 Zurita, Anales. tom. iv. fol. l'Histoire de France, (Paris, 1836,) 111. - Another 100,000 crowns tom. xi. Introd. p. 245. were to be paid in case further 37 A French lance, it may be assistance should be required from stated,of that day, according to L. the French monarch after the re- Marineo, was accompanied by two duction of Barcelona. This treaty horsemen; so that the whole conhas been incorrectly reported by tingent of cavalry to be furnished most of the French and all the on this occasion amounted to 2100. Spanish historians whom I have (Cosas Memorables, fol. 117.) consulted, save the accurate Zuri- Nothing could be more indetermita. An abstract from the original nate than the complement of a documents, compiled by the Abb6 lance in the Middle Ages. It is Legrand, has been given by M. not unusual to find it reckoned at Petitot in his recent edition of the five or six horsemen.:,,llection des Memoires relatifs A REIGN OF JOHN II., OF ARAGON. PART to that of the prince." Extraordinary doctrines ___ these for the age in which they were promulged, affording a still more extraordinary contrast with those which have been since familiar in that unhappy country!38 The government then enforced levies of all such: as were above the age of fourteen, and, distrusting the sufficiency of its own resources, offered the sovereignty of the principality to Henry the Fourth, of Castile. The court of Aragon, however, had so successfully insinuated its influence into the council of this imbecile monarch, that he was not permitted to afford the Catalans any effectual support; and, as he abandoned their cause altogether before the expiration of the year,39 the crown was offered to Don Pedro, constable of Portugal, a descendant Successesof of the ancient house of Barcelona. In the mean )John. while, the old king of Aragon, attended by his 1464. youthful son, had made himself master, with his Jan. characteristic activity, of considerable acquisitions _n the revolted territory, successively reducing Lerida,40 Cervera, Amposta,4' Tortosa, and the most 38 Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. Lucan, (Pharsalia, lib. 4.) with 113- 115.- Alonso de Palencia, his usual swell of hyperbole. Coronica, MS., part. 2, cap. 1. 41 The cold was so intense at 39 In conformity with the famous the siege of Amposta, that serverdiet given by Louis XI. at Bay- pents of an enormous magnitude onne, April 23d, 1463, previously are reported by L. Marineo to have to the interview between him and descended from the mountains, and Henry IV. on the shores of the taken refuge in the camp of the Bidassoa. See Part I. Chap. 3. of besiegers. Portentous and supelthis History. natural voices were frequently 40 This was the battle-ground heard during the nights. Indeed of Julius Caesar in his wars with the superstition of the soldiers Pompey. See his ingenious mili- appears to have been so lively as tary manceuvre as simply narrated to have prepared them for seeing in his own Commentaries, (De and hearing any thing. Bello Civili, tom. i. p. 54.) and by MINORITY OF FERDINAND. important places in the south of Catalonia. Many cH-APTa of these places were strongly fortified, and most I of them defended with a resolution which cost the conqueror a prodigious sacrifice of time and money. John, like Philip of Macedon, made use of gold even more than arms, for the reduction of his enemies; and, though he indulged in occasional acts of resentment, his general treatment of those who submitted was as liberal as it was politic. His competitor, Don Pedro, had brought little foreign aid to the support of his enterprise; he had failed altogether in conciliating the attachment of his new subjects; and, as the operations of the war had been conducted on his part in the most languid manner, the whole of the principality seemed destined soon to relapse under the dominion of its ancient master. At this juncture the Portuguese prince fell ill of a fever, of which he died on the 29th of June, 1466. This event, which seemed likely to lead to a termination of the war, proved ultimately the cause of its protraction.42 It appeared, however, to present a favorable opportunity to John for opening a negotiation with the insurgents. But, so resolute were they in maintaining their independence, that the council of Barcelona condemned two of the principal citizens, 42 Faria y Sousa, Europa Portu- Pedro no sooner arrived in Cataloguesa, tom. ii. p. 390. - Alonso de nia, than he was poisoned." (HisPalencia, MS., part. 2, cap. 60, 61. - toire Gkn6rale de Portugal, (Paris, Castillo, Cr6nica, pp. 43, 44,46,49, 1735,) tom. iii. p. 245.) It must 50, 54. - Zurita, Anales, tom. ii. fol. have been a very slow poison. 116, 124, 127,128, 130,137, 147.- He arrived January 21st, 1464, and MI. La Clkde states, that " Don died June 29th, 1466. 54 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF ARAGON. PARIT suspected of defection from the cause, to be publicly executed; it refused moreover to admit an envoy from the Aragonese cortes within the city, and caused the despatches, with which he was intrusted by that body, to be torn in pieces before his face. Crown o~f The Catalans then proceeded to elect Ren6e le Catalonia fiededf tAn Bon, as he was styled, of Anjou, to the vacant Cou. throne, brother of one of the original competitors for the crown of Aragon on the demise of Martin; whose cognomen of "Good" is indicative of a sway far more salutary to his subjects than the more coveted and imposing title of Great.43 This titular sovereign of half a dozen empires, in which he did not actually possess a rood of land, was too far advanced in years to assume this perilous enterprise himself; and he accordingly intrusted it to his son John, duke of Calabria and Lorraine, who, in his romantic expeditions in southern Italy, had acquired a reputation for courtesy and knightly prowess, inferior to none other of his time.44 43 Sir Walter Scott, in his in greater detail than was perhaps "AnneofGeierstein," has brought to have been desired by Ren6, or into full relief the ridiculous side his readers. of Ren6's character. The good 44 Comnines says of him, " A king's fondness for poetry and the tous alarmes c'estoit le premier arts, however, although showing homme arm6, et de toutes pieces, itself occasionally in puerile eccen- et son cheval tousjours bards. I1 tricities, may compare advanta- portoit un habillement que ces congeously with the coarse appetites ducteurs portent en Italie, et semand mischievous activity of most bloit bien prince et chef de guerre; of the contemporary princes. After et y avoit d'ob6issance autant que all, the best tribute to his worth monseigneur de Charolois, et luy was the earnest attachment of his ob6issoit tout l'ost de meilleur people. His biography has been cceur, car a la v6rit6 il estoit digne well and diligently compiled by the d'estre honor6." Philippe de viscount of Villeneuve Bargemont, Comines, M6moires, apud Petitot; (Histoire de Ren6 d'Anjou, Paris, (Paris, 1826,) liv. 1, chap. 11 1825,) who has, however, indulged MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 55 Crowds of adventurers flocked to the standard of CHAPTER a leader, whose ample inheritance of pretensions had made him familiar with war from his earliest boyhood; and he soon found himself at the head of eight thousand effective troops. Louis the Eleventh, although not directly aiding his enterprise with supplies of men or money, was willing so far to countenance it, as to open a passage for him through the mountain fastnesses of Roussillon, then in his keeping, and thus enable him to descend with his whole army at once on the northern borders 1467. of Catalonia.45 The king of Aragon could oppose no force Distress ana capable of resisting this formidable army. His ments of exchequer, always low, was completely exhausted by the extraordinary efforts, which he had made in the late campaigns; and, as the king of France, either disgusted with the long protraction of the war, or from secret good-will to the enterprise of his feudal subject, withheld from King John the stipulated subsidies, the latter monarch found himself unable, with every expedient of loan and exaction, to raise sufficient money to pay his troops, or to supply his magazines. In addition to this, hle was now involved in a dispute with the count and countess of Foix, who, eager to anticipate the possession of Navarre, which had been guarantied 45 Villeneuve Bargemont, Hist. Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 150, de Ren*, tom. ii. pp. 168, 169.- 153.- Alonso de Palencia, Corbflistoire de Louys XI., autrement nica, MS., part. 2, cap. 17. - Padicte La Chronique Scandaleuse, lencia swells the numbers of the par un Greffier de l'Hostel de Ville French in the service of the duke lde Paris, (Paris, 1620,) p. 145.- of Lorraine to 20,000. .6 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF ARAGON. PART to them on their father's decease, threatened a similar rebellion, though on much less justifiable pretences, to that which he had just experienced from Don Carlos. To crown the whole of John's calamities, his eyesight, which had been impaired by exposure and protracted sufferings during the winter siege of Amposta, now failed him altogether.46 In this extremity, his intrepid wife, putting herself at the head of such forces as she could collect, passed by water to the eastern shores of Catalonia, besieging Rosas in person, and checking the operations of the enemy by the capture of several inferior places; while Prince Ferdinand, effecting a junction with her before Gerona, compelled the duke of Lorraine to abandon the siege of that important city. Ferdinand's ardor, however, had nearly proved fatal to him; as, in an accidental encounter with a more numerous party of the enemy, his jaded horse would infallibly have betrayed him into their hands, had it not been for the devotion of his officers, several of whom, throwing themselves between him and his pursuers, enabled him to escape by the sacrifice of their own liberty. opthlaitke These ineffectual struggles could not turn the,f Lorraine. tide of fortune. The duke of Lorraine succeeded in this and the two following campaigns in making 46 L. Marineo, Cosas Memora- pp. 611 -613.- Duclos, Hist. de bles, fol. 139. —Zurita, Anales, Louis XI., (Amsterdam, 1746,) torn. iv. fol. 148, 149, 158. -Ale- tom. ii. p. 114. —MWm. de Comison, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. nes, Introd. p. 258, apud Petitot. MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 57 himself master of all the rich district of Amnpurdan, CHAPTER northeast of Barcelona. In the capital itself, his truly princely qualities and his popular address secured him the most unbounded influence. Such was the enthusiasm for his person, that, when he rode abroad, the people thronged around him embracing his knees, the trappings of his steed, and even the animal himself, in their extravagance; while the ladies, it is said, pawned their rings, necklaces, and other ornaments of their attire, in order to defray the expenses of the war.47 King John, in the mean while, was draining the Death ofa queen of cup of bitterness to the dregs. In the winter of Aragon. 1468, his queen, Joan Henriquez, fell a victim to a painful disorder, which had been secretly corroding her constitution for a number of years. In many respects, she was the most remarkable woman of her time. She took an active part in the politics of her husband, and may be even said to have given them a direction. She conducted several important diplomatic negotiations to a happy issue, and, what was more uncommon in her sex, displayed considerable capacity for military affairs. Her persecution of her step-son, Carlos, has left a deep stain on her memory. It was the cause of all her husband's subsequent misfortunes. HIer invincible spirit, however, and the resources of her genius, supplied him with the best means of surmounting many of the difficulties in which she had involved 47 Villeneuve Bargemont, Hist. Anales, tom. iv. fol. 153 - 164.de Renr, tom. ii. pp. 182, 183. Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. L. Marineo, fol. 140. -Zurita, ii. rey 29, cap. 7. VOL. I. 8 b8 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF ARAGON. PART him, and her loss at this crisis seemed to leave him ------ at once without solace or support.48 At this period, he was further embarrassed, as will appear in the ensuing chapter, by negotiations for Ferdinand's marriage, which was to deprive him, in a great measure, of his son's cooperation in the struggle with his subjects, and which, as he lamented, while he had scarcely three hundred enniques in his coffers, called on him for additional disbursements. iment in As the darkest hour, however, is commonly said John's af. fairs. to precede the dawning, so light now seemed to break upon the affairs of John. A physician in Lerida of the Hebrew race, which monopolized at that time almost all the medical science in Spain, persuaded the king to submit to the then unusual operation of couching, and succeeded in restoring sight to one of his eyes. As the Jew, after the fashion of the Arabs, debased his real science with astrology, he refused to operate on the other eye, since the planets, he said, wore a malignant aspect. But John's rugged nature was insensible to the timorous superstitions of his age, and he compelled the physician to repeat his experiment, which in the end proved perfectly successful. Thus restored to his natural faculties, the octogenarian chief, for such 48 Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, was heard several times, in her last MS., part. 2, cap. 88. -L. Ma- illness, to exclaim, in allusion, as rineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 143. was supposed, to her assassination Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. of Carlos, " Alas! Ferdinand, how iv. p. 609. - The queen's death dear thou hast cost thy mother! " was said to have been caused by a I find no notice of this improbable cancer. According to Aleson and confession in any contemporary some other Spanish writers, Joan author. MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 59 he might now almost be called, regained his wonted CIAPrTEr elasticity, and prepared to resume offensive operations against the enemy with all his accustomed energy.49 Heaven, too, as if taking compassion on his accumulated misfortunes, now removed the principal obstacle to his success by the death of the duke of Lorraine, who was summoned from the theatre of his short-lived triumphs on the 16th of December, 1469. The Barcelonians were thrown 1469. into the greatest consternation by his death, imputed, as usual, though without apparent foundation, to poison; and their respect for his memory was attested by the honors no less than royal, which they paid to his remains. His body sumptuously attired, with his victorious sword by his side, was paraded in solemn procession through the illuminated streets of the city, and, after lying nine days in state, was deposited amid the lamentations of the people in the sepulchre of the sovereigns of Catalonia.50 As the father of the deceased prince was too old, and his children too young, to give effectual aid to 49 Mariana, Hist. de Esp aiia, the duke of Lorraine, and the entom. ii. pp. 459, 460.-L. Mari- voy despatched to notify his acneo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 141. ceptance of it, on arriving at the - Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, court of Castile, received from the MS., cap. 88. lips of Henry IV. the first tidings 50 Villeneuve Bargemont, Hist. of his master's death. (tom. ii. de Ren6, tom. ii. pp. 182, 333, p. 184.) He must have learned 334.-L. Marineo, Cosas Mem- too with no less surprise that Isaorables, fol. 142. - Alonso de Pa- bella had already been married at lencia, Cor6nica, part. 2, cap. 39. that time more than a year! See - Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. the date of the official marriage 178. - According to M. de Ville- recorded in Mem. de la Acad. de neuve Bargemont, the princess Hist., tom. vi. Apend. no. 4. Isabella's hand had been offered to 60 REIGN OF JOHN ID, OF ARAGON.'PART their cause, the Catalans might be now said to be again without a leader. But their spirit was unbroken, and with the same resolution in which thev refused submission more than two centuries after, in 1714, when the combined forces of France and Spain were at the gates of the capital, they rejected the conciliatory advances made them anew by John. That monarch, however, having succeeded by ex traordinary efforts in assembling a competent force, was proceeding with his usual alacrity in the reduction of such places in the eastern quarter of Catalonia as had revolted to the enemy, while at the same time he instituted a rigorous blockade of Siee of Bar- Barcelona by sea and land. The fortifications were celona. strong, and the king was unwilling to expose so fair a city to the devastating horrors of a storm. The inhabitants made one vigorous effort in a sally against the royal forces; but the civic militia were soon broken, and the loss of four thousand men, killed and prisoners, admonished them of their inability to cope with the veterans of Aragon.5" tiSLUenr- At length, reduced to the last extremity, they consented to enter ihto negotiations, which were concluded by a treaty equally honorable to both parties. It was stipulated, that Barcelona should retain all its ancient privileges and rights of jurisdiction, and, with some exceptions, its large territorial possessions. A general amnesty was to be granted for offences. The foreign mercenaries 51 Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, - Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, rev MS., part. 2, cap. 29, 45.- Zurita, 29, cap. 29. Anales, tom. iv. fol. 180-183 MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 6 1 were to be allowed to depart in safety; and such CHAPTER of the natives, as should refuse to renew their, allegiance to their ancient sovereign within a year, might have the liberty of removing with their effects wherever they would. One provision may be thought somewhat singular, after what had occurred; it was agreed that the king should cause the Barcelonians to be publicly proclaimed, throughout all his dominions, good, faithful, and loyal subjects; which was accordingly done! The king, after the adjustment of the preliminaries, " declining," says a contemporary, " the triumphal car which had been prepared for him, made his entrance into the city by the gate of St. Antony, mounted on a white charger; and, as he rode along the principal streets, the sight of so many pallid countenances and emaciated figures, bespeaking the extremity of famine, smote his heart wmith sorrow." He then proceeded to the hall of the great palace, and on the 22d of December, 1472, 1472. solemnly swore there to respect the constitution and laws of Catalonia.52 Thus ended this long, disastrous civil war, the fruit of parental injustice and oppression, which had nearly cost the king of Aragon the fairest portion of his dominions; which devoted to disquietude and disappointment more than ten years of life, at a period when repose is most grateful; and which opened the way to foreign wars, that 52 L. Marineo, Cosas Memora- Alonso de Palencia, Corbnica, MS., bles, fol. 144, 147.- Zurita, An- part. 2, cap. 1. ales, tom. iv. fol. 187, 188. - !I, I REIGN OF JOHN 1I., OF ARAGON. PART continued to hang like a dark cloud over the evening of his days. It was attended, however, with one important result; that of establishing Ferdinand's succession over the whole of the domains of his ancestors. CHAPTER III. REIGN OF HENRY IV., OF CASTILE. - CIVIL WYAR. - MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 1454 — 1469. Henry IV. disappoints Expectations. - Oppression of the People. — League of the Nobles. -Extraordinary Scene at Avila. —Early Education of Isabella. -- Death of her Brother Alfonso. -Intestine Anarchy. — The Crown offered to Isabella. - She declines it.Her Suitors. - She accepts Ferdinand of Aragon.- Marriage Articles. - Critical Situation of Isabella. - Ferdinand enters Castile.Their Marriage. WHILE these stormy events were occurring in cHAPTEI Aragon, the Infanta Isabella, whose birth was mentioned at the close of the first chapter, was passing her youth amidst scenes scarcely less tumultuous. At the date of her birth, her prospect of succeeding to the throne of her ancestors was even more remote than Ferdinand's prospect of inheriting that of his; and it is interesting to observe through what trials, and by what a series of remarkable events, Providence was pleased to bring about this result, and through it the union, so long deferred, of the great Spanish monarchies. The accession of her elder brother, Henry the Popularity of Henry Fourth, was welcomed with an enthusiasm, propor- IV. tioned to the disgust which had been excited by the long-protracted and imbecile reign of his pre 644 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PAIRT decessor. Some few, indeed, who looked back to the time when he was arrayed in arms against his father, distrusted the soundness either of his principles or of his judgment. But f'ar the larger portion of the nation was disposed to refer this to inexperience, or the ebullition of youthful spirit, and indulged the cheering anticipations which are usually entertained of a new reign and a young monarch.' Henry was distinguished by a benign temper, and by a condescension, which might be called familiarity, in his intercourse with his inferiors, virtues peculiarly engaging in persons of his elevated station; and as vices, which wear the gloss of youth, are not only pardoned, but are oftentimes popular with the vulgar, the reckle'ss extravagance in which he indulged himself was favorably contrasted with the severe parsimony of his father in his latter years, and gained him the surname of " the Liberal." His treasurer having remonstrated with him on the prodigality of his expenditure, he replied; " Kings, instead of hoarding treasure like private persons, are bound to dispense it for the happiness of their subjects. We must give to our enemies to make them friends, and to our friends to keep them so." He suited the action so well to the word, that, in a few years, there was scarcely a maravedi remaining in the royal coffers. 2 1 " Nil pudet assuetos sceptris: mitis- 38, 39. - Pulgar, Claros Varones, Regnorum sub rege novo." tit. 1. - Castillo, Cr6nica, i. 20.Lucan. Pharsalia. lib. 8. Guzman, Generaciones, cap. 33.2Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. Although Henry's lavish expendi1, quinc. 1, dial. 8. — Rodericus ture, particularly on works ofarchiSanctius, Historia Hispanica, cap. tecture, gained him in early life the MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 65 He maintained greater state than was usual with CHAPTER the monarchs of Castile, keeping in pay a bodyguard of thirty-six hundred lances, splendidly equipped, and officered by the sons of the nobility. He proclaimed a crusade against the Moors, a measure always popular in Castile'; assuming the pomegranate branch, the device of Granada, on his escutcheon, in token of his intention to extirpate the Moslems from the Peninsula. He assembled the chivalry of the remote provinces; and, in the early part of his reign, scarce a year elapsed without one or more incursions into the hostile territory, with armies of thirty or forty thousand men. The re- He dead, points exsults did not correspond with the magnificence of pectations the apparatus; and these brilliant expeditions too often evaporated in a mere border foray, or in an empty gasconade under the walls of Granada. Orchards were cut down, harvests plundered, villages burnt to the ground, and all the other modes of annoyance peculiar to this barbarous warfare, put in practice by the invading armies as they swept over the face of the country; individual feats of prowess, too, commemorated in the romantic ballads of the time, were achieved; but no victory was gained, no important post acquired. The king in vain excused his hasty retreats and abortive enterprises, by saying, " that he prized the life of one of his soldiers, more than those of a thousand Mussulmans." His troops murmured at this timorous polappellation of " the Liberal," he is ian sovereigns by the less flatterbetter known on the roll of Castil- ing title of " the Impotent." VOL. I. 9 66 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PART icy, and the people of the south, on whom the charges of the expeditions fell with peculiar heaviness, from their neighbourhood to the scene of operations, complained that "the war was carried on against them, not against the infidel." On one occasion an attempt was made to detain the king's person, and thus prevent him from disbanding his forces. So soon had the royal authority fallen into contempt! The king of Granada himself, when summoned to pay tribute after a series of these ineffectual operations, replied " that, in the first years of Henry's reign, he would have offered any thing, even his children, to preserve peace to his domin ions; but now he would give nothing."3 ais dissolute The contempt, to which the king exposed him habits. self by his public conduct, was still further height ened by his domestic. With even a greater indisposition to business, than was manifested by his father,4 he possessed none of the cultivated tastes, which were the redeeming qualities of the latter. Having been addicted from his earliest youth to debauchery, when he had lost the powers, he retained all the relish, for the brutish pleasures of a voluptuary. He had repudiated his wife, Blanche of Aragon, after a union of twelve years, on grounds 3 Zui'iga, Anales Eclesiasticos Guzman and Ponce de Leon, did v Seculares de Sevilla, (Madrid, not occur till a later period, 1462. 1667,) p. 344. - Castillo, Cr6nica, 4 Such was his apathy, says cap. 20. -Mariana, Hist. de Espa- Mariana, that he would subscribe nia, tom. ii. pp. 415, 419.-Alonso his name to public ordinances, de Palencia, Cor6nica, MS., part. without taking the trouble to ac1, cap 14 et seq. - The surprise quaint himself with their contents. of Gibraltar, the unhappy source Hist. de Espaiia, tom. ii. p. 423. of feud between the families of MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 67 sufficiently ridiculous and humiliating.5 In 1455, CIAPTEP he espoused Joanna, a Portuguese princess, sister of Alfonso the Fifth, the reigning monarch. This lady, then in the bloom of youth, was possessed of personal graces and a lively wit, which, say the historians, made her the delight of the court of Portugal. She was accompanied by a brilliant train of maidens, and her entrance into Castile was greeted by the festivities and military pageants, which belong to an age of chivalry. The light and lively manners of the young queen, however, which seemed to defy the formal etiquette of the Castilian court, gave occasion to the grossest suspicions. The tongue of scandal indicated Beltran de la Cueva, one of the handsomest cavaliers in the kingdom, and then newly risen in the royal graces, as the person to whom she most liberally dispensed her favors. This knight defended a passage of arms, in presence of the court, near Madrid, in which he maintained the superior beauty of his mistress, against all comers. The king was so much delighted with his prowess, that he commemorated the event by the erection of a monastery dedicated to St. Jerome; a whimsical origin for a religious institution. 6 5 Pulgar, Crbnica de los Reyes of Tokvaru, " por impotencia respecCat6licos, (Valencia, 1780,) cap. tiva, )wing to some malign influ2.- Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica ence'! MS.,part. 1,cap. 4.-Aleson, An- 6 La Clee, Hist. de Portugal, ales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 519, tom. i'. pp. 325, 345. — Florez, 520. -The marriage between Reynas Cath6licas, tom. ii. pp. 763, Blanche and Henry was publicly 766.- Vlonso de Palencia, Codeclared void by the bishop of Se- r6nica, MS.. part. 1, cap. 20, 21. - urovia, confirmed by the archbishop It does net T.ppear, however, whom 68 CASTILE UNDER HENRY 1V. PART The queen's levity might have sought some justification in the unveiled licentiousness of her husband. One of the maids of honor, whom she brought in her train, acquired an ascendency over Henry, which he did not attempt to disguise; and the palace, after the exhibition of the most disgraceful scenes, became divided by the factions of the hostile fair ones. The archbishop of Seville did not blush to espouse the cause of the paramour, who maintained a magnificence of state, which rivalled that of royalty itself. The public were still more scandalized by Henry's sacrilegious intrusion of another of his mistresses into the post of abbess of a convent in Toledo, after the expulsion of her predecessor, a lady of noble rank and irreproachable character. 7 Oppression The stream of corruption soon finds its way from of the peo-, the higher to the more humble walks of life. The middling classes, imitating their superiors, indulged in an excess of luxury equally demoralizing, and ruinous to their fortunes. The contagion of example infected even the higher ecclesiastics; and we find the archbishop of St. James hunted from his see by the indignant populace, in consequence of an outBeltran dela Cueva indicated as the uted among his female guests. At lady of his love on this occasion. a ball given on another occasion, the (See Castillo, Cronica, cap. 23, 24.) young queen having condescended Two anecdotes may be mentioned to dance with the French ambassaas characteristic of the gallantry of dor, the latter made a solemn vow the times. The archbishop of Se- in commemoration of so distin ville concluded a superb ftle, giv- guished an honor, never to dance en in honor of the royal nuptials, with any other woman. by introducing on the table two 7 Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, vases filled with rings garnished MS., cap. 42,47. -Castillo, Cr6with precious stones, to be distrib- nica, cap. 23. MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 69 rage attempted on a youthful bride, as she was re- CIAPTER turning from church, after the performance of the nuptial ceremony. The rights of the people could be but little consulted, or cared for, in a court thus abandoned to unbounded license. Accordingly we find a repetition of most of the unconstitutional and oppressive acts which occurred under John the Second, of Castile; attempts at arbitrary taxation, interference in the freedom of elections, and in the right exercised by the cities of nominating the commanders of such contingents of troops, as they might contribute to the public defence. Their territories were repeatedly alienated, and, as well as the immense sums raised by the sale of papal indulgences for the prosecution of the Moorish war, were lavished onl the royal satellites. 8 But, perhaps, the most crying evil of this period Debasemnin was the shameless adulteration of the coin. Instead of five royal mints, which formerly existed, there were now one hundred and fifty in the hands of authorized individuals, who debased the coin to such a deplorable extent, that the most common 8 Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, dox casuists doubted the validity of MS., cap. 35.-Sempere, Hist. del such a bull. But it was decided Luxo, tom. i. p. 183.- Idem, Hist. after due examination, that, as the des Cort~s, ch. 19.-Marina, Teo- holy father possessed plenary powrla, part. 1, cap. 20. —part. 2, pp. er of absolution of all offences 390, 391.- Zuiiga, Anales de Se- committed upon earth, and as pur-;villa, pp. 346, 349. —The papal gatory is situated upon earth, it bulls of crusade issued on these properly fell within his jurisdiction. occasions, says Palencia, contained (cap. 32.) Bulls of crusade were among other indulgences an exemp- sold at the rate of 200 maravedies tion from the pains and penalties of each; and it is computed by the purgatory, assuring to the soul of same historian, that no less than the purchaser, after death, an im- 4,000,000 maravedies were amassmediate translation into a state of ed by this traffic in Castile, in the glory. Some of the more ortho- space of four years! 70 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PART articles of life were enhanced in value three, four, and even six fold. Those who owed debts eagerly anticipated the season of payment; and, as the creditors refused to accept it in the depreciated currency, it became a fruitful source of litigation and tumult, until the whole nation seemed on the verge of bankruptcy. In this general license, the right of the strongest was the only one which could make itself heard. The nobles, converting their castles into dens of robbers, plundered the property of the traveller, which was afterwards sold publicly in the cities. One of these robber chieftains, who held an important command on the frontiers of Murcia, was in the habit of carrying on an infamous traffic with the Moors by selling to them as slaves the Christian prisoners of either sex, whom he had captured in his marauding expeditions. When subdued by Henry, after a sturdy resistance, he was again received into favor, and reinstated in his possessions. The pusillanimous monarch knew neither when to pardon, nor when to punish. 9 But no part of Henry's conduct gave such umbrage to his nobles, as the facility with which he resigned himself to the control of favorites, whom he had created as it were from nothing, and whom he advanced over the heads of the ancient aristocCharacterof racy of the land. Among those especially disgustPacheco, malrus of ed by this proceeding, were Juan Pacheco, marquis of Villena, and Alfonso Carillo, archbishop of 9 Saez, Monedas de Enrique IV., de Palencia, Cor6nica, MS., cap. (Madrid, 1805,) pp. 2-5. —Alonso 36, 39. —Castillo, Cr6nica, cap. 19. MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 71 Toledo. These two personages exercised so im- CHAPTEPR portant an influence over the destinies of Henry, as to deserve more particular notice. The former was of noble Portuguese extraction, and originally a page in the service of the constable Alvaro de Luna, by whom he had been introduced into the household of Prince Henry, during the lifetime of John the Second. Iis polished and plausible address soon acquired him a complete ascendency over the feeble mind of his master, who was guided by his pernicious counsels, in his frequent dissensions with his father. His invention was ever busy in devising intrigues, which he recommended by his subtile, insinuating eloquence; and he seemed to prefer the attainment of his purposes by a crooked rather than by a direct policy, even when the latter might equally well have answered. He sustained reverses with imperturbable composure; and, when his schemes were most successful, he was willing to risk all for the excitement of a new revolution. Although naturally humane, and without violent or revengeful passions, his restless spirit was perpetually involving his country in all the disasters of civil war. He was created marquis of Villena, by John the Second; and his ample domains, lying on the confines of Toledo, Murcia, and Valencia, and embracing an immense extent of populous and wellfortified territory, made him the most powerful vassal in the kingdom. 10,o Pulgar, Claros Varones, tit. tom. i. p. 328. -The ancient mar6.-Castillo, Cronica, cap. 15. — quisate of Villena, having been Mendoza, Monarquia de EspaTia, incorporated into the crown of 72 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PART His uncle, the archbishop of Toledo, was of a sterner character. He was one of those turbulent Character of the arch- prelates, not unfrequent in a rude age, who seem bishop of I Toledo. intended by nature for the camp rather than the church. He was fierce, haughty, intractable; and he was supported in the execution of his ambitious enterprises, no less by his undaunted resolution, than by the extraordinary resources, which he enjoyed as primate of Spain. IHe was capable of warm attachments, and of making great personal sacrifices for his friends, from whom, in return, he exacted the most implicit deference; and, as he was both easily offended and implacable in his resentments, he seems to have been almost equally formidable as a friend and as an enemy.1 These early adherents of Henry, little satisfied with seeing their own consequence eclipsed by the rising glories of the newly-created favorites, began secretly to stir up cabals and confederacies among the nobles, until the occurrence of other circumstances obviated the necessity, and indeed the possibility, of further dissimulation. Henry had been persuaded to take part in the internal dissensions which then agitated the kingdom of Aragon, and had supported the Catalans in their opposition to their Castile, devolved to Prince Henry of transmitted to his son, afterwards Aragon, on his marriage with the raised to the rank of duke of Esdaughter of John II. It was sub- calona, in the reign of Isabella. sequently confiscated by that mon- Salazar de Mendoza, Dignidades arch, in consequence of the repeat- de Castilla y Leon, (Madrid, ed rebellions of Prince Henry; and 1794,) lib. 3, cap. 12, 17. the title, together with a large pro- 11 Pulgar, Claros Varones, tit, portion of the domains originally 20.- Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos attached to it, was conferred on MS., cap. 10, 11. Don Juan Pacheco, by whom it was MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 73 sovereign by seasonable supplies of men and money. CHIAPTER He had even made some considerable conquests for - _. himself, when he was induced, by the advice of the marquis of Villena and the archbishop of Toledo, to refer the arbitration of his differences with the king of Aragon to Louis the Eleventh, of France; a monarch whose habitual policy allowed him to refuse no opportunity of interference in the concerns of his neighbours. The conferences were conducted at Bayonne, Interview and an interview was subsequently agreed on be- Henry lV and Louis tween the kings of France and Castile, to be held XI near that city, on the banks of the Bidassoa, which (ivides the dominions of the respective monarchs. Trhe contrast exhibited by the two princes at this interview, in their style of dress and equipage, was sufficiently striking to deserve notice. Louis, who was even worse attired than usual, according to Comines, wore a coat of coarse woollen cloth cut short, a fashion then deemed very unsuitable to persons of rank, with a doublet of fustian, and a weather-beaten hat, surmounted by a little leaden image of the Virgin. His imitative courtiers adopted a similar costume. The Castilians, on the other hand, displayed uncommon magnificence. The barge of the royal favorite, Beltran de la Cueva, was resplendent with sails of cloth of gold, and his apparel glittered with a profiusion of costly jewels. Henry was escorted by his Moorish guard gorgeously equipped, and the cavaliers of his train vied with each other in the sumptuous decorations of VOL. I. 10 74 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PART dress and equipage. The two nations appear to have been mutually disgusted with the contrast exhibited by their opposite affectations. The French sneered at the ostentation of the Spaniards, and the latter, in their turn, derided the sordid parsimony of their neighbours; and thus the seeds of a national aversion were implanted, which, under the influence of more important circumstances, ripened into open hostility. 12 The monarchs seem to have separated with as little esteem for each other as did their respective courtiers; and Comines profits by the occasion to inculcate the inexpediency of such interviews between princes, who have exchanged the careless jollity of youth for the cold and calculating policy of riper years. The award of Louis dissatisfied all parties; a tolerable proof of its impartiality. The Castilians, in particular, complained, that the mar quis of Villena and the archbishop of Toledo had compromised the honor of the nation, by allowing their sovereign to cross over to the French shore of the Bidassoa, and its interests, by the cession of the Dilsgraceoa conquered territory to Aragon. They loudly acthe archbishop ofToledo. cused them of being pensioners of Louis, a fact which does not appear improbable, considering the usual policy of this prince, who, as is well known, maintained an espionage over the councils of most of his neighbours. Henry was so far convinced of 12 At least these are the impor- 241 - 243. - Comines, M6moires, tant consequences imputed to this liv. 3, chap. 8. —Also Castillo interview by the French writers. Cronica, cap. 48, 49. —Zurita See Gaillard, Rivalit6, tom. iii. pp. Anales, lib. 17, cap. 50. MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 7o the truth of these imputations, that he dismissed CHAPTEIR the obnoxious ministers from their employments. 13 The disgraced nobles instantly set about the Leagueof the nobles organization of one of those formidable confederacies, which had so often shaken the monarchs of Castile upon their throne, and which, although not authorized by positive law, as in Aragon, seem to have derived somewhat of a constitutional sanction from ancient usage. Some of the members of this coalition were doubtless influenced exclusively by personal jealousies; but many others entered into it from disgust at the imbecile and arbitrary proceedings of the crown. In 1462, the queen had been delivered of a daughter, who was named like herself Joanna, but who, from her reputed father, Beltran de la Cueva, was better known in the progress of her unfortunate history by the cognomen of Beltraneja. Henry, however, had required the usual oath of allegiance to be tendered to her as presumptive heir to the crown. The confederates, assembled at Burgos, declared this oath of fealty a compulsory act, and that many of them had privately protested against it at the time, from a conviction of the illegitimacy of Joanna. In the bill of grievances, which they now presented to the monarch, they required that he should deliver his brother Alfonso 13 Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, quite as much as his interest. tom. ii. p. 122. - Zurita, Anales, On one of his missions to her court, lib. 17, cap. 56. -Castillo, Cronica, she invited him to dine with her cap. 51, 52, 58.- The queen of ttete-a-tte at her own table, while Aragon, who was as skilful a diplo- during the repast they were served matist as her husband, John I., by the ladies of the palace. Ibid, issailed the vanity of Villena, cap. 40. 76 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PART into their hands, to be publicly acknowledged as his successor; they enumerated the manifold abuses, which pervaded every department of government, which they freely imputed to the unwholesome influence exercised by the favorite, Beltran de la Cueva, over the royal counsels, doubtless the true key to much of their patriotic sensibility; and they entered into a covenant, sanctioned by all the solemnities of religion usual on these occasions, not to reenter the service of their sovereign, or accept any favor from him until he had redressed their wrongs. 14 The king, who by an efficient policy might perhaps have crushed these revolutionary movements in their birth, was naturally averse to violent, or even vigorous measures. He replied to the bishop of Cuenca, his ancient preceptor, who recommended these measures; "You priests, who are not called to engage in the fight, are very liberal of the blood of others." To which the prelate rejoined, with more warmth than breeding, " Since you are not true to your own honor, at a time like this, I shall live to see you the most degraded monarch in Spain; when you will repent too late this unseasonable pusillanimity." 15 Henry, unmoved either by the entreaties or remonstrances of his adherents, resorted to the milder 14 See the memorial presented Gestarum Decades, (apud Granato the king, cited at length in tam,1545,)lib. 1,cap. 1, 2.-AlonMarina, Teoria, tom. iii. Apend. no. so de Palencia, Cor6nica, MS., part. 7.- Castillo, Cronica, cap. 58, 64. 1, cap. 6. —Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6- Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 56. licos, MS., cap. 9. -Lebrija, Hispanarum Rerum Fer- 15 Castillo, Cronica, cap. 65. dinando Rege et Elisabe Regina MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 77 method of negotiation. He consented to an inter- CHAPTER view with the confederates, in which he was induced, by the plausible. arguments of the marquis of Villena, to comply with most of their demands. He delivered his brother Alfonso into their hands, to be recognised as the lawful heir to the crown, on condition of his subsequent union with Joanna; and he agreed to nominate, in conjunction with his opponents, a commission of five, who should deliberate on the state of the kingdom, and provide an effectual reform of abuses. 6 The result of this deliberation, however, proved so prejudicial to the royal authority, that the feeble monarch was easily persuaded to disavow the proceedings of the commissioners, on the ground of their secret collusion with his enemies, and even to attempt the seizure of their persons. The confederates, disgusted with this breach of faith, and in pursuance, perhaps, of their original design, instantly decided on the execution of that bold measure, which some writers denounce as a flagrant act of rebellion, and others vindicate as a just and constitutional proceeding. In an open plain, not far from the city of Avila, Deposition of Henry at they caused a scaffold to be erected, of sufficient Avila elevation to be easily seen from the surrounding 146 country. A chair of state was placed on it, and in this was seated an effigy of King Henry, clad in sable robes and adorned with all the insignia of royalty, a sword at its side, a sceptre in its hand, 16 See copies from the original iii. part. 2, Ap. 6, 8. —Castillo, instruments, which are still pre- Cr6nica, cap. 66, 67. - Alonso de served in the archives of the house Palencia, Cor6nica, MS, part. 1, of Villena, in Marina, Teoria, tom. cap. 57. 78 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PART and a crown upon its head. A manifesto was then read, exhibiting in glowing colors the tyrannical conduct of the king, and the consequent determina tion to depose him; and vindicating the proceeding by several precedents drawn from the history of the monarchy. The archbishop of Toledo, then ascending the platform, tore the diadem from the head of the statue; the marquis of Villena removed the sceptre, the count of Placencia the sword, the grand master of Alcantara and the counts of Benavente and Paredes the rest of the regal insignia; when the image, thus despoiled of its honors, was rolled in the dust, amid the mingled groans and clamors of the spectators. The young prince Alfonso, at that time only eleven years of age, was seated on the vacant throne, and the assembled grandees severally kissed his hand in token of their homage; the trumpets announced the completion of the ceremony, and the populace greeted with joyful acclamations the accession of their new sovereign. 17 Such are the details of this extraordinary transaction, as recorded by the two contemporary historians of the rival factions. The tidings were borne, with the usual celerity of evil news, to the remotest parts of the kingdom. The pulpit and the forum resounded with the debates of disputants, who denied, or defended, the right of the subject to sit in judgment on the conduct of his 17 Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, MS., part. 1, cap. 62.- Castillo Cr6nica, cap. 68, 69, 74. MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 79 sovereign. Every man was compelled to choose CHAPTER his side in this strange division of the kingdom. In' Division of Henry received intelligence of the defection, suc- parties. cessively, of the capital cities of Burgos, Toledo, Cordova, Seville, together with a large part of the southern provinces, where lay the estates of some of the most powerful partisans of the opposite faction. The unfortunate monarch, thus deserted by his subjects, abandoned himself to despair, and expressed the extremity of his anguish in the strong language of Job: "Naked came I from my mother's womb, and naked must I go down to the earth! i Is A large, probably the larger part of the nation, however, disapproved of the tumultuous proceedings of the confederates. However much they contemned the person of the monarch, they were not prepared to see the royal authority thus openly degraded. They indulged, too, some compassion for a prince, whose political vices, at least, were imputable to mental incapacity, and to evil counsellors, rather than to any natural turpitude of heart. Among the nobles who adhered to him, the most conspicuous were "the good count of Haro," and the powerful family of Mendoza, the worthy scions of an illustrious stock. The estates of the marquis of Santillana, the head of this house, lay chiefly in the Asturias, and gave him a considerable influence in the northern provinces, 19 the majority of whose 18 Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, Santillana died in 1458, at the age MS., part. 1, cap. 63, 70. - Cas- of sixty. (Sanchez, Poesias Castillo, Cr6nica, cap. 75, 76. tellanas, tom. i. p. 23.) The title 19 The celebrated marquis of descended to his eldest son, Diepo 80 CASTILE UNDER IHENRY IV. PART inhabitants remained constant in their attachment - to the royal cause. When Henry's summons, therefore, was issued for the attendance of all his loyal subjects capable of bearing arms, it was answered by a formida ble array of numbers, that must have greatly ex ceeded that of his rival, and which is swelled by his biographer to seventy thousand foot and fourteen thousand horse; a much smaller force, under the direction of an efficient leader, would doubtless have sufficed to extinguish the rising spirit of revolt. But Henry's temper led him to adopt a more conciliatory policy, and to try what could be effected by negotiation, before resorting to arms. In Intriguesof the former, however, he was no match for the conthe marquis of Villena federates, or rather the marquis of Villena, their representative on these occasions. This nobleman, who had so zealously cooperated with his party in conferring the title of king on Alfonso, had intend-. ed to reserve the authority to himself. He proba-. bly found more difficulty in controlling the operations of the jealous and aspiring aristocracy, with whom he was associated, than he had imagined; and he was willing to aid the opposite party in maintaining a sufficient degree of strength to form Hurtado de Mendoza, who is repre- Varones, tit. 9.) Ferdinand and sented by his contemporaries to have Isabella created him duke del Infanbeen worthy of his sire. Like him he tado. This domain derives its name was imbued with a love of letters; from its having been once the patrihe was conspicuous for his mag- mony of the infantes of Castile. See nanimity and chivalrous honor, his Salazar de Mendoza, Monarquia, moderation, constancy, and uniform tom. i. p. 219, - and Dignidades de loyalty to his sovereign, virtues of Castilla, lib. 3, cap. 17.- Oviedo, rare worth in those rapacious and Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. turbulent times. (Pulgar, Claros 1, dial. 8. MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.' i a counterpoise to that of the confederates, and CIATE'R thus, while he made his own services the more — _ necessary to the latter, to provide a safe retreat for himself, in case of the shipwreck of their fortunes. 20 In conformity with this dubious policy, he had, soon after the occurrence at Avila, opened a secret correspondence with his former master, and suggested to him the idea of terminating their differences by some amicable adjustment. In consequence of these intimations, Henry consented to enter into a negotiation with the confederates; and it was agreed, that the forces on both sides should be disbanded, and that a suspension of hostilities for six months should take place, during which some definitive and permanent scheme of reconciliation might be devised. Henry, in com- Henry dis bands his pliance with this arrangement, instantly disbanded forces. his levies; they retired overwhelmed with indignation at the conduct of their sovereign, who so readily relinquished the only means of redress that he possessed, and whom they now saw it would be unavailing to assist, since he was so ready to desert himself. 21 It would be an unprofitable task to attempt to unravel all the fine-spun intrigues, by which the marquis of Villena contrived to defeat every attempt at an ultimate accommodation between the parties, 20 Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, 21 Castillo, Cr6nica, cap. 80, 82. MS., part. 1, cap. 64.-Castillo, Cr6nica, cap. 78. VOL. 1. 11 32 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PART until he was very generally execrated as the real source of the disturbances in the kingdom. In the mean while, the singular spectacle was exhibited of two monarchs presiding over one nation, surrounded bly their respective courts, administering the laws, convoking cortes, and in fine assuming the state and exercising all the functions of sovereignty. It was apparent that this state of things could not last long; and that the political ferment, which now agitated the minds of men from one extremity of the kingdom to the other, and which occasionally displayed itself in tumults and acts of violence, would soon burst forth with all the horrors of a cXivil war. Proposition At this juncture, a proposition was made to for the mariage of isa- Henry for detaching the powerful family of Pacheco from the interests of the confederates, by the marriage of his sister Isabella with the brother of the marquis of Villena, Don Pedro Giron, grand master of the order of Calatrava, a nobleman of aspiring views, and one of the most active partisans of his faction. The archbishop of Toledo would naturally follow the fortunes of his nephew, and thus the league, deprived of its principal supports, must soon crumble to pieces. Instead of resenting this proposal as an affront upon his honor, the abject mind of Henry was content to purchase repose even by the most humiliating sacrifice. He acceded to the conditions; application was made to Rome for a dispensation from the vows of celibacy imposed on the grand master as the companion of a religious MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 83 order; and splendid preparations were instantly CHAPTER commenced for the approaching nuptials.22 I. Isabella was then in her sixteenth year. On her Her early education. lather's death, she retired with her mother to the little town of Arevalo, where, in seclusion, and far from the voice of flattery and falsehood, she had been permitted to unfold the natural graces of mind and person, which might have been blighted in the pestilent atmosphere of a court. Here, under the maternal eye, she was carefully instructed in those lessons of practical piety, and in the deep reverence for religion, which distinguished her maturer years. On the birth of the princess Joanna, she was removed, together with her brother Alfonso, by Henry to the royal palace, in order more effectually to discourage the formation of any faction, adverse to the interests of his supposed daughter. In this abode of pleasure, surrounded by all the seductions most dazzling to youth, she did not forget the early lessons, that she had imbibed; and the blameless purity of her conduct shone with additional lustre amid the scenes of levity and licentiousness by which she was surrounded.23 The near connexion of Isabella with the crown, as well as her personal character, invited the application of numerous suitors. Her hand was first solicited for that very Ferdinand, who was destined to be her future husband, though not till after the 22 Rades y Andrada, Chronica 23 L. Marineo, Cosas Memorade Las Tres Ordenes y Cavallerias, bles, tbl. 154. —Florez, Reynas (Toledo, 1572,) fol. 76. - Castillo, Catholicas, tom. ii. p. 789. - CasC:r6nica, cap. 85.-Alonso de Palen- tillo, Cr6nica, cap. 37.,.ia, Coronica, MS., part. 1, cap. 73. g84 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PART intervention of many inauspicious circumstances. She was next betrothed to his elder brother, Carlos; and some years after his decease, when thir teen years of age, was promised by Henry to Alfonfso, of Portugal. Isabella was present with her brother at a personal interview with that monarch in 1464, but neither threats nor entreaties could induce her to accede to a union so unsuitable from the disparity of their years; and with her characteristic discretion, even at this early age, she rested her refusal on the ground, that " the infantas of Castile could not be disposed of in marriage, without the consent of the nobles of the realm."24 Projected When Isabella understood in what manner she nl nion with the grand master of was now to be sacrificed to the selfish policy of her Cklatrava. brother, in the prosecution of which, compulsory measures if necessary were to be employed, she was filled with the liveliest emotions of grief and resentment. The master of Calatrava was well known as a fierce and turbulent leader of faction, and his private life was stained with most of the licentious vices of the age. He was even accused of having invaded the privacy of the queen dowager, Isabella's mother, by proposals of the most degrading nature, an outrage which the king had either not the power, or the inclination, to resent.25 With this person, then, so inferior to her in birth. 24 Aleson, Anales de Navarra, 25 Decad. de Palencia, apud tom. iv. pp. 561, 562. — Zurita, Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., tom Anales, lib. 16, cap. 46, lib. 17, vi. p. 65, nota. cap. 3. -Castillo, Cr6nica, cap. 31, 57.- Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, MS., cap. 55. MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 85 and so much more unworthy of her in every other CHAPTER point of view, Isabella was now to be united. On receiving the intelligence, she confined herself tb lier apartment, abstaining from all nourishment and sleep for a day and night, says a contemporary wrriter, and imploring Heaven, in the most piteous manner, to save her from this dishonor, by her own death or that of her enemy. As she was bewailing her hard fate to her faithful friend, Beatriz de Bobadilla, " God will not permit it," exclaimed the high-spirited lady, " neither will I;" then drawing forth a dagger from her bosom, which she kept there for the purpose, she solemnly vowed to plunge It in the heart of the master of Calatrava, as soon as he appeared! 2 Happily her loyalty was not put to so severe a test No sooner had the grand master received the bull of dispensation from the pope, than, resigning his dignities in his military order, he set about such sumptuous preparations for his wedding, as were due to the rank of his intended bride. When these were completed, he began his journey from his residence at Almagro to Madrid, where the nuptial ceremony was to be performed, attended by a splendid retinue of friends and followers. But, on the very first evening after his de28 Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, who knew her well, describes her MS., cap. 73. - Mariana, Hist. de as " illustrating her generous Espaiia, tom. ii. p. 450. —Garibay, lineage by her conduct, which Compendio, tom. ii. p. 532. was wise, virtuous, and valiant." This lady, Doila Beatriz Fer- (Quincuagenas, MS., dial. de Canandez de Bobadilla, the most in- brera.) The last epithet, rather timate personal friend of Isabella, singular for a female character, will appear often in the course of was not unmerited. our narrative. Gonzalo de Oviedo, 86 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. FART parture, he was attacked by- an acute disorder while 1. at Villarubia, a village not far from Ciudad Real, Ills sudden d1a(h. which terminated his life in four days. He died, 1466, says Palencia, with imprecations on his lips, because his life had not been spared some few weeks longer.27 His death was attributed by many to poison, administered to him by some of the nobles, who were envious of his good fortune. But, notwithstanding the seasonableness of the event, and the familiarity of the crime in that age, no shadow of imputation was ever cast on the pure fame of Isabella.28 Bttle of 01- The death of the grand master dissipated, at a nvmldo. blow, all the fine schemes of the marquis of Villena, as well as every hope of reconciliation between the parties. The passions, which had been only smothered, now burst forth into open hostility; and it was resolved to refer the decision of the question to the issue of a battle. The two armies met on the plains of Olmedo, where, two and twenty years before, John, the father of Henry, had been in like manner 27 Palencia imputes his death to d'Isabelle, mouroient toujours a an attack of the quinsy. Cor6nica, propos pour elle." (Rivalit6, tom MS., cap. 73. iii. pp. 280, 286.) This ingenious 28 Rades y Andrada, Las Tres Or- writer is fond of seasoning his denes, fol. 77.- Caro de Torres, His- style with those piquant sarcasms, toria de las Ordenes Militares de in which oftentimes more is meant Santiago, Calatrava, y Alcantara, than meets the ear, and which (Madrid, 1629,) lib. 2, cap. 59. - Voltaire rendered fashionable in Castillo, Cr6nica, cap. 85. - Alonso history. I doubt, however, if, amid de Palencia, Coronica, MS., cap. 73. all the heats of controversy and - Gaillard remarks on this event, faction, there is a single Spanish "Chacun crut sur cette mort ce writer of that age, or indeed of any qu'il voulut." And again in a few subsequent one, who has ventured pages after, speaking of Isabella, to impute to the contrivance of he says, "On remarqua que tous Isabella any one of the fortunate ceux qui pouvoient faire obstacle coincidences, to which the author a ia satisfaction ou'i la fortune alludes. MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 87 confronted by his insurgent subjects. The royal CHAPTER army was considerably the larger; but the de- II@ ficiency of numbers in the other was amply supplied by the intrepid spirit of its leaders. The archbishop of Toledo appeared at the head of its squadrons, conspicuous by a rich scarlet mantle, embroidered with a white cross, thrown over his armour. The young prince Alfonso, scarcely fourteen years of age, rode by his side, clad like him in complete mail. Before the action commenced, the archbishop sent a message to Beltran de la Cueva, then raised to the title of duke of Albuquerque, cautioning him not to venture in the field, as no less than forty cavaliers had sworn his death. The gallant nobleman, who, on this as on some other occasions, displayed a magnanimity, which in some degree excused the partiality of his master, returned by the envoy a particular description of the dress he intended to wear; a chivalrous defiance, which wellnigh cost him his life. Henry did not care to expose his person in the engagement, and, on receiving erroneous intelligence of the discomfiture of his party, retreated precipitately with some thirty or forty horsemen to the shelter of a neighbouring village. The action lasted three hours, until the combatants were separated by the shades of evening, without either party having decidedly the advantage, although that of Henry retained possession of the field of battle. The archbishop of Toledo and Prince Alfonso were the last to retire; and the former was seen repeatedly to rally his broken squadrons, notwith 88 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV.:ART standing his arm had been pierced through with a lance early in the engagement. The king and the t1467. prelate may be thought to have exchanged characters in this tragedy.29:ivi anr- The battle was attended with no result, except that of inspiring appetites, which had tasted of blood, with a relish for more unlicensed carnage. The most frightful anarchy now prevailed throughout the kingdom, dismembered by factions, which the extreme youth of one monarch and the imbecility of the other made it impossible to control. In vain did the papal legate, who had received a commission to that effect from his master, interpose his mediation, and even fulminate sentence of excommunication against the confederates. The independent barons plainly told him, that " those, who advised the pope that he had a right to interfere in the temporal concerns of Castile, deceived him; and that they had a perfect right to depose their monarch on sufficient grounds, and should exercise it." 30 Every city, nay, almost every family, became now divided within itself. In Seville and in Cordova, the inhabitants of one street carried on open war against those in another. The churches, which were fortified, and occupied with bodies of armed men, were many of them sacked and burnt to the ground. In Toledo no less than four thousand dwellings were' consumed in one general confla29 Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Palencia, Cor6nica, MS., part. 1 Decades,lib. 1, cap. 2.- Zurita, cap. 80. Anales, lib. 18, cap. 10. -Castillo, 30 Alonso de Palencia, Corbnica Cr6nica, cap. 93, 97. —Alonso de MS., cap. 82. MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 89 gration. The ancient family feuds, as those be- CIIAPTER tween the great houses of Guzman and Ponce de Leon in Andalusia, being revived, carried new division into the cities, whose streets literally ran with blood.31 In the country, the nobles and gentry, issuing from their castles, captured the defenceless traveller, who was obliged to redeem his liberty, by the payment of a heavier ransom than was exacted even by the Mahometans. All communication on the high roads was suspended, and no man, says a contemporary, dared move abroad beyond the walls of his city, unless attended by an armled escort. The organization of one of those popular confederacies, known under the name of Hermandad, in 1465, which continued in operation during the remainder of this gloomy period, brought some mitigation to these evils, by the fearlessness, with which it exercised its functions, even against offenders of the highest rank, some of whose castles were razed to the ground by its orders. But this relief was only partial; and the successful opposition, which the Hermandad sometimes encountered on these occasions, served to aggravate the horrors of the scene. Meanwhile, fearful omens, the usual accompaniments of such troubled times, were witnessed; the heated imagination 31 Zuijiga, Anales de Sevilla, " Mezquina Sevilla en la sangre baniada 352.- Carta del Levanta- de los tus fijos, i tus cavalleros, pp. 351, 352. -Carta del Levanta- que fado enemigo te tiene minguada," &co miento de Toledo, apud Castillo, The poem concludes with a sumCr6nica, p. 109. - The historian mones to throw off th a sum-of of Seville has quoted an animated apostrophe addressed to the citi- their oppressors: zens by one of their number in,, Despierta Sevilla e sacude el.mperio, que faze a tus nobles tanto vituperio." this season of discord: See Anales, p. 5O9. VOL. 1. 12 90 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PART interpreted the ordinary operations of natuw e as -- signs of celestial wrath;2 and the minds of men were filled with dismal bodings of some inevitable evil, like that which overwhelmed the monarchy in the days of their Gothic ancestors.33 eath actndof At this crisis, a circumstance occurred, which Alfonso. gave a new face to affairs, and totally disconcerted the operations of the confederates. This was the loss of their young leader, Alfonso; who was found 1468. dead in his bed, on the 5th of July, 1468, at the vJuly illage of Cardeinosa, about two leagues from Avila, which had so recently been the theatre of his glory. His sudden death was imputed, in the usual suspicious temper of that corrupt age, to poison, supposed to have been conveyed to him in a trout, on which he dined the day preceding. Others attributed it to the plague, which had followed in the train of evils, that desolated this unhappy country. Thus at the age of fifteen, and after a brief reign, if reign it may be called, of three years, perished this young prince, who, under happier auspices and in maturer life, might have ruled over his country with a wisdom equal to that of any of its monarchs. Even in the disadvantageous position, in which he had been placed, 32 "Quod in pace fors, seu na- not. -Castillo, Cr6nica, cap. 83, tura, tune fatumrn et ira dei vocaba- 87, et passim. -Mariana, Hist. de tur; " says Tacitus, (Historia, Espaila, tom. ii. p. 451.-Marina, lib. 4, cap. 26,) adverting to a Teoria, tom. ii. p. 487. — Alonso similar state of excitement. de Palencia, Cor6nica, MS., part. 33 Saez quotes a MS. letter of 1, cap. 69.) The active force kept a contemporary, exhibiting a fright- on duty by the Hermandad amountful picture of these disorders. ed to 3000 horse. Ibid., cap. 89,90. (Monedas de Enrique IV., p. 1, MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 91 he gave clear indications of future excellence. A CHAPTER short time before his death, he was heard to remark, on witnessing the oppressive acts of some Df the nobles, "' I must endure this patiently, until I am a little older." On another occasion, being solicited, by the citizens of Toledo, to approve of some act of extortion which they had committed, he replied, " God forbid I should countenance such injustice! " And on being told that the city, inll that case, would probably transfer its allegiance to Henry, he added, "Much as I love power, I am not willing to purchase it at such a price." Noble sentiments, but not at all palatable to the grandees of his party, who saw with alarm that the young lion, when he had reached his strength, would be likely to burst the bonds, with which they had enthralled him.34 It is not easy to consider the reign of Alfonso "is reign a usurpation. in any other light, than that of a usurpation; although some Spanish writers, and among the rest Marina, a competent critic when not blinded by prejudice, regard him as a rightful sovereign, and as such to be enrolled among the monarchs of Castile.35 Marina, indeed, admits the ceremony at Avila to have been originally the work of a faction, and in itself informal and unconstitutional; but he considers it to have received a legitimate sanction from its subsequent recognition by the people. But I do not find, that the deposition of Henry the 34 Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, nica, cap. 94. -Garibay, CompenMS., cap. 87, 92. — Castillo, Cr6- dio, lib. 17, cap. 20. 35 Marina, Teoria, part. 2, cap. 38. 92 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PART Fourth was ever confirmed by an act of cortes. lHe still continued to reign with the consent of a large portion, probably the majority, of his subjects; and it is evident that proceedings, so irregular as those at Avila, could have no pretence to constitutional validity, without a very general expression of approbation on the part of the nation. The crown The leaders of the confederates were thrown offered to Isabella: into consternation by an event, which threatened to dissolve their league, and to leave them exposed to the resentment of an offended sovereign. In this conjuncture, they naturally turned their eyes on Isabella, whose dignified and commanding character might counterbalance the disadvantages arising from the unsuitableness of her sex for so perilous a situation and justify her election in the eyes of the people. She had continued in the family of Henry during the greater part of the civil war; until the occupation of Segovia by the insurgents, after the battle of Olmedo, enabled her to seek the protection of her younger brother Alfonso, to which she was the more inclined by her disgust with the license of a court, where the love of pleasure scorned even the veil of hypocrisy. On the death of her brother, she withdrew to a monastery at Avila, where she was visited by the archbishop of Toledp, who, in behalf of the confederates, requested her to occupy the station lately filled by Alfonso, and allow herself to be proclaimed queen of Castile.36 36 Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum 1, cap. 92. —Florez, Reynas CaDecad., lib. 1, cap. 3.- Alonso th6licas, tom. ii. p. 790 de Palencia, Coronica, MS., part. MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 93 Isabella discerned too clearly, however, the path CHAPTER of duty and probably of interest. She unhesitatShe declineR ingly refused the seductive proffer, and replied, it. that, "while her brother Henry lived, none other had a right to the crown; that the country had been divided long enough under the rule of two contending monarchs; and that the death of Alfonso might perhaps be interpreted into an indication from Heaven of its disapprobation of their cause." She expressed herself desirous of establishing a reconciliation between the parties, and offered heartily to cooperate with her brother in the reformation of existing abuses. Neither the eloquence nor entreaties of the primate could move her from her purpose; and, when a deputation from Seville announced to her that that city, in common with the rest of Andalusia, had unfurled its standards in her name and proclaimed her sovereign of Castile, she still persisted in the same wise and temperate policy.37 The confederates were not prepared for this Treaty be. tween Henry magnanimous act from one so young, and in oppo- federates. sition to the advice of her most venerated counsellors. No alternative remained, however, but that of negotiating an accommodation on the best terms possible with Henry, whose facility of temper and love of repose naturally disposed him to an amicable adjustment of his differences. With these dispositions, a reconciliation was effected between 37 Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum - Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, Decad., lib. 1, cap. 3. - Ferreras, part. 1, cap. 92. -part. 2, cap. 5. Hist. d'Espagne, tom. vii. p. 218. 94 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PART the parties on the following conditions; namely, that a general amnesty should be granted by the king for all past offences; that the queen, whose dissolute conduct was admitted to be matter of notoriety, should be divorced from her husband, and sent back to Portugal; that Isabella should have the principality of the Asturias (the usual demesne of the heir apparent to the crown) settled on her, together with a specific provision suitable to her rank; that she should b( immediately recognised heir to the crowns of Castile and Leon, that a cortes should be convoked within forty days for the purpose of bestowing a legal sanction on her title, as well as of reforming the various abuses of government; and finally, that Isabella should not be constrained to marry in opposition to her own wishes, nor should she do so without the consent of her brother.38 Isanellad In pursuance of these arrangements, an intered heir to the crown view took place between Henry and Isabella, each at Toros de Guisando. attended by a brilliant cortege of cavaliers and 1468. nobles, at a place called Toros de Guisando, Sept. a in New Castile.39 The monarch embraced his sister with the tenderest marks of affection, and then proceeded solemnly to recognise her as his future and rightful heir. An oath of allegiance 38 See a copy of the original tories during the civil war. (Esefcmpact cited at length by Marina, trada, Poblacion General de EspaTeorfa, Apend. no. 11.- Pulgar, nia, (Madrid, 1748,) tom. i. p. 306. Reyes Cat6licos, part. 1, cap. 2. - Galindez de Carbajal, a contem39 So called from four bulls, porary, fixes the date of this consculptured in stone, discovered vention in August. Anales del there, with Latin inscriptions there- Rey Fernando el Cat6lico, MS. on, indicating it to have been the aiio 1468. site of one of Julius Caesar's vic MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 95 was repeated by the attendant nobles, who con- ch rTER eluded the ceremony by kissing the hand of the princess in token of their homage. In due time the representatives of the nation, convened in coktes at Ocaha, unanimously concurred in their approbation of these preliminary proceedings, and thus Isabella was announced to the world as the lawful successor to the crowns of Castile and Leon.40 It can hardly be believed, that Henry was sincere in subscribing conditions so humiliating; nor can his easy and lethargic temper account for his so readily relinquishing the pretensions of the Princess Joanna, whom, notwithstanding the popular imputations on her birth, he seems always to have cherished as his own offspring. He was accused, even while actually signing the treaty, of a secret collusion with the marquis of Villena for the purpose of evading it; an accusation, which derives a plausible coloring from subsequent events. The new and legitimate basis, on which the pre- Isultobeto tensions of Isabella to the throne now rested, drew the attention of neighbouring princes, who con*ended with each other for the honor of her hand. 40 Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, anced by the opposite one of PulMS.,part. 2, cap. 4.- Castillo,CrB- gar, a contemporary writer, like nica, cap. 118.-Mariana, Hist. de himself. (Reyes Cat6licos, cap. Espaiia, tom. ii. pp. 461, 462.- 5.) And as Ferdinand and IsaPulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, part. 1, bella, in a letter addressed, after cap. 2.- Castillo affirms that Hen- their marriage, to Henry IV., tranry~ncensed by his sister's refusal scribed also by Castillo, allude in%o'f he king of Portugal, dissolved cidentally to such a recognition as the:- cortes at Ocaria, before it to a well-known fact, the balance had taken the oath of allegiance of testimony must be admitted to her. (Cr6nica, cap.127.) This to be in favor of it. See Castillo, assertion, however, is counterbal- Cr6nica, cap. 114. 96 CASTILE UNDER HENRY 1V. PART Among these suitors, was a brother of Edward the "U e -Fourth, of England, not improbably Richard, duke of Gloucester, since Clarence was then. engaged in his intrigues with the earl of Warwick, which led a few months later to his marriage with the daughter of that nobleman. Had she listened to his proposals, the duke would in all likelihood have exchanged his residence in England for Castile, where his ambition, satisfied with the certain reversion of a crown, might have been spared the commission of the catalogue of crimes, which blacken his memory. 4' Another suitor was the duke of Guienne, the unfortunate brother of Louis the Eleventh, and at that time the presumptive heir of the French monarchy. Although the ancient intimacy, which subsisted between the royal families of France and Castile, in some measure favored his pretensions, the disadvantages resulting from such a union were too obvious to escape attention. The two countries were too remote from each other,42 and their 41 Isabella, who in a letter to instead to wife a widow of EngHenry IV., dated Oct. 12th, 1469, land." (Vol. iii. p. 274.) The adverts to these proposals of the old chronicler Hall, on the other English prince, as being under hand, mentions, that it was consideration at the time of the currently reported, although he convention of Toros de Guisan- does not appear to credit it, that do, does not specify which of the the earl of Warwick had been brothers of Edward IV. was intend- despatched into Spain in order to ed. (Castillo, Cr6nica, cap. 136.) request the hand of the princess Mr. Turner, in his History of Isabella for his master Edward IV., England during the Middle Ages, in 1463. (See his Chronicle of (London, 1825,) quotes part of the England, (London, 1809,) pp. 263, address delivered by the Spanish 264.) -I find nothing in the Spanenvoy to Richard III., in 1483, in ish accounts of that period, which which the orator speaks of " the throws any light on these obvious unkindness, which his queen Isa- contradictions. bella had conceived for Edward IV., 42 Th%?ritories of France and for his refusal of her, and his taking Castile'j d, indeed, on one MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA 97 inhabitants too dissimilar in character and institu- CIIAPT It tions, to permit the idea of their ever cordially coa- -": lescing as one people under a common sovereign. Should the duke of Guienne fail in the inheritance of the crown, it was argued, he would be every way an unequal match for the heiress of Castile, should he succeed to it, it might be feared, that, in case of a union, the smaller kingdom would be considered only as an appendage, and sacrificed to the interests of the larger.43 The person, on whom Isabella turned the most Ferdinane i favorable eye, was her kinsman Ferdinand of Aragon. The superior advantages of a connexion, which should be the means of uniting the people of,Aragon and Castile into one nation, were indeed manifest. They were the descendants of one common stock, speaking one language, and living under the influence of similar institutions, which had moulded them into a common resemblance of character and manners. From their geographical position, too, they seemed destined by nature to be one nation; and, while separately they were condemned to the rank of petty and subordinate states, they might hope, when consolidated into one monarchy, to rise at once to the first class of European powers. While arguments of this public nature pressed on the mind of Isabella, she was not insensible to those which most powerfully affect the point (Guipuscoa), but were sep- 43 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, cap. arated along the whole remaining 8. —Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, line of frontier by the kingdoms of MS., part. 2, cap. 10. Aragon and Navarre. VOL. I. 13 98 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PARlT female heart. Ferdinand was then in the bloom of life, and distinguished for the comeliness of his person. In the busy scenes, in which he had been engaged from his boyhood, he had displayed a chivalrous valor, combined with maturity of judgment far above his years. Indeed, he was decidedly superior to his rivals in personal merit and attractions.44 But, while private inclinations thus happily coincided with considerations of expediency for inclining her to prefer the Aragonese match, a scheme was devised j1 another quarter for the express purpose of defeating it. Support of A fraction of the royal party, with the family of Joanna Beltraneja. Mendoza at their head, had retired in disgust with the convention of Toros de Guisando, and openly espoused the cause of the princess Joanna. They even instructed her to institute an appeal before the ttribunal of the supreme pontiff, and caused a placard, exhibiting a protest against the validity of the late proceedings, to be nailed secretly in the night to the gate of Isabella's mansion.45 Thus were sown the seeds of new dissensions, before the old 44 Isabella, in order to acquaint Ferdinand, on the other hand, was herself more intimately with the possessed of a comely, symmetripersonal qualities of her respective cal figure, a graceful demeanor, suitors, had privately despatched and a spirit that was up to any her confidential chaplain,Alonso de thing;" mui dispuesto para toda Coca, to the courts of France and cosa que hacer quisiese. It is not of Aragon, and his report on his improbable that the queen of Arareturn was altogether favorable to gon condescended to practise scme Ferdinand. The duke of Guienne of those agreeable arts on she he represented as "a feeble, effem- worthy chaplain, which made so inate prince, with limbs so emacia- sensible an impression on the marted as to be almost deformed, and quis of Villena. with eyes so weak and watery as 45 Alonso de Palencia, Cor'nica. to incapacitate him for the ordina- MS., part. 2, cap. 5. ry exercises of chivalry. While MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 99 we~-e completely eradicated. With this disaffected CHIAPTER party the marquis of Villena, who, since his recon- _. ciliation, had resumed his ancient ascendency over Henry, now associated himself. Nothing, in the opinion of this nobleman, could be more repugnant to his interests, than the projected union between the houses of Castile and Aragon; to the latter of which, as already noticed,46 once belonged the ample domains of his own marquisate, which he imagined would be held by a very precarious tenure should any of this family obtain a footing in Castile. in the hope of counteracting this project, he Propoesa o the king of endeavoured to revive the obsolete pretensions of jPeortugb Alfonso, king'of Portugal; and, the more effectual- abella ly to secure the cooperation of Henry, he connected with his scheme a proposition for marrying his daughter Joanna with the son and heir of the Portuguese monarch; and thus this unfortunate princess might be enabled to assume at once a station suitable to her birth, and at some future opportunity assert with success her claim to the Castilian crown. In furtherance of this complicated intrigue, Alfonso was invited to renew his addresses to Isabella in a more public manner than he had hitherto done; and a pompous embassy, with the 1469. archbishop of Lisbon at its head, appeared at Oca~na, where Isabella was then residing, bearing the proposals of their master. The princess returned, as before, a decided though temperate refusal.47 46 See ante, note 10. Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, 47 Faria y Sousa, Europa Por- MS., part. 2, cap. 7. -Lebrija, luguesa, tom. ii. p. 391. -Cas- Rerum Gestarum Decad., lib. 1, tillo, Cr6nica, cap. 121, 127. - cap. 7. 100 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PART Henry, or rather the marquis of Villena, piqued at -_ this opposition to his wishes, resolved to intimidate her into compliance; and menaced her with imprisonment in the royal fortress at Madrid. Neither her tears nor entreaties would have availed against this tyrannical proceeding; and the marquis was only deterred from putting it in execution by his fear of the inhabitants of Ocala, who openly espoused the cause of Isabella. Indeed, the common people of Castile very generally supported her in her preference of the Aragonese match. Boys paraded the streets, bearing banners emblazoned with the arms of Aragon, and singing verses prophetic of the glories of the auspicious union. They even assembled round the palace gates, and insulted the ears of Henry and his minister by the repetition of satirical stanzas, which contrasted Alfonso's years with the youthful graces of Ferdinand.41 Notwithstanding this popular expression of opinion, however, the constancy of Isabella might at length have yielded to the importunity of her persecutors, had she not been encouraged by hei friend, the archbishop of Toledo, who had warm ly entered into the interests of Aragon, and who promised, should matters come to extremity, to march in person to her relief at the head of a sufficient force to insure it. ite accedpts Isabella, indignant at the oppressive treatment. Ferdinand. which she experienced from her brother, as well as at his notorious infraction of almost every article in 48 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, MS., cap. 7.- Alonso de Palencia, Corbnica, MS., part. 2, cap. 7. MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 101 the treaty of Toros de Guisando, felt herself released CHAPTERI from her corresponding engagements, and determined to conclude the negotiations relative to her marriage, without any further deference to his opinion. Before taking any decisive step, however, she was desirous of obtaining the concurrence of the leading nobles of her party. This was effected without difficulty, through the intervention of the archbishop of Toledo, and of Don Frederic Henriquez, admiral of Castile, and the maternal grandfather of Ferdinand; a person of high consideration, both from his rank and character, and connected by blood with the principal families in the kingdom. 49 Fortified by their approbation, Isabella dismissed the Aragonese envoy with a favorable answer to his master's suit.50 Her reply was received with almost as much satisfaction by the old king of Aragon, John the Second, as by his son. This monarch, who was one of the shrewdest princes of his time, had always been deeply sensible of the importance of consolidating the scattered monarchies of Spain under one head. He had solicited the hand of Isabella for his son, when she possessed only a contingent reversion of the crown. But, when her succession had been settled on a more secure basis, he lost no time in effecting this favorite object of his policy. With the consent of the states, he had transferred to his son the title of king of Sicily, and associated 49 Pulgar, Claros Varones, tit.2. Palencia, Cor6nica, MS., part.'2, 50 L. Marineo, Cosas Memora- cap. 7.- Pulgar, Reyes Cat6libles, fol. 154. - Zurita, Anales, cos, cap. 9. tcm. iv. fu!. 162. - Alonso de 102 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV.,PART him with himself in the government at home, in order to give him greater consequence in the eyes of his mistress. He then despatched a confidential agent into Castile, with instructions to gain over to his interests all who exercised any influence on the mind of the princess; furnishing him for this purpose with cartes blanches, signed by himself and Ferdinand, which he was empowered to fill at his discretion.51 Atrrices of Between parties thus favorably disposed, there was no unnecessary delay. The marriage articles were signed, and sworn to by Ferdinand at Cer1409. vera, on the 7th of January. He promised faithfully to respect the laws and usages of Castile; to fix his residence in that kingdom, and not to quit it without the consent of Isabella; to alienate no property belonging to the crown; to prefer no foreigners to municipal offices, and indeed to make no appointments of a civil or military nature, without her consent and approbation; and to resign to her exclusively the right of nomination to ecclesiastical benefices. All ordinances of a public nature were to be subscribed equally by both. Ferdinand engaged, moreover, to prosecute the war against the Moors; to respect King Henry; to suffer every noble to remain unmolested in the possession of his dignities, and not to demand restitution of the domains formerly owned by his father in Castile. The treaty concluded with a specification of a magnificent dower to be settled on Isabella, far 51 Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 157, 163. MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 10, more ample than that usually assigned to the CHAPTEK queens of Aragon. 52 The circumspection of the ". framers of this instrument is apparent from the various provisions introduced into it solely to calm the apprehensions and to conciliate the good will of the party disaffected to the marriage; while the national partialities of the Castilians in general were gratified by the jealous restrictions imposed on Ferdinand, and the relinquishment of all the essential rights of sovereignty to his consort. While these affairs were in progress, Isabella's crticalSt,.l, situation was becoming extremely critical. She belle. had availed herself of the absence of her brother and the marquis of Villena in the south, whither they had gone for the purpose of suppressing the still lingering spark of insurrection, to transfer her residence from Ocaha to Madrigal, where, under the protection of her mother, she intended to abide the issue of the pending negotiations with Aragon. Far, however, from escaping the vigilant eye of the marquis of Villena by this movement, she laid herself more open to it. She found the bishop of Burgos, the nephew of the marquis, stationed at Madrigal, who now served as an effectual spy upon her actions. Her most confidential servants were corrupted, and conveyed intelligence of her proceedings to her enemy. Alarmed at the actual progress made in the negotiations for her marriage, 52 See the copy of the original de Hist., Apend. no. 1.- Zurita, marriage contract, as it exists in the Anales, lib. 18, cap. 21. - Ferrearchives of Simancas, extracted in ras, Hist. d'Espagne, tom. vii. tom. vi. of Memorias de la Acad. p. 236. 104 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PAR r the marquis was now convinced that he could only. hope to defeat them by resorting to the coercive system, which he had before abandoned. He accordingly instructed the archbishop of Seville to march at once to Madrigal with a sufficient force to secure Isabella's person; and letters were at the same time addressed by Henry to the citizens of that place, menacing them with his resentment, if they should presume to interpose in her behalf. Thd timid inhabitants disclosed the purport of the mandate to Isabella, and besought her to provide for her own safety. This was perhaps the most critical period in her life. Betrayed by her own domestics, deserted even by those friends of her own sex, who might have afforded her sympathy and counsel, but who fled affrighted from the scene of danger, and on the eve of falling into the snares of her enemies, she beheld the sudden extinction of those hopes, which she had so long and so fondly cherished. 53 In this exigency, she contrived to convey a knowledge of her situation to Admiral Henriquez, and the archbishop of Toledo. The active prelate, on receiving the summons, collected a body of horse, and reinforced by the admiral's troops, advanced with such expedition to Madrigal, that he succeeded in anticipating the arrival of the enemy. Isabella received her friends with unfeigned satis53 Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, Beatrice de Bobadilla and Mencla MS., part. 2, cap. 12. - Castillo, de la Torre, the two ladies most in Cronica, cap. 128, 131, 136. - her confidence, had escaped to the Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 162. - neighbouring town of Coca. MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 10U faction; and, bidding adieu to her dismayed guar- CHAPTER dian,,the bishop of Burgos, and his attendants, she was borne off by her little army in a sort of military triumph to the friendly city of Valladolid, where she was welcomed by the citizens with a general burst of enthusiasm.54 In the mean time Gutierre de Cardenas, one of the household of the princess,55 and Alfonso de Palencia, the faithful chronicler of these events, were despatched into Aragon in order to quicken Ferdinand's operations, during the auspicious interval afforded by the absence of Henry in Andalusia. On arriving at the frontier town of Osma, they were dismayed to find that the bishop of that place, together with the duke of Medina Celi, on whose active cooperation they had relied for the safe introduction of Ferdinand into Castile, had been gained over to the interests of the marquis of Villena.56 The envoys, however, adroitly concealing the real object of their mission, were permitted to *pass unmolested to Saragossa, where Ferdinand was then residing. They could not have arrived at a more inopportune season. The old king of Aragon was in the very heat of the war against the 54 Castillo, Cr6nica, cap. 136. the world, qualities with which he — Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, united a steady devotion to the inMS., part. 2, cap. 12. - Carbajal, terests of his mistress. Oviedo, Anales, MS., aiso 69. Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 55 This cavalier, who was of an 2, dial. 1. ancient and honorable family in 56 Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, Castile, was introduced to the prin- MS., cap. 14.- The bishop told cess's service by the archbishop of Palencia, that " if his own servants Toledo. He is represented by deserted him, he would oppose the Gonzalo de Oviedo, as a man of entrance of Ferdinand into the much sagacity and knowledge of kingdom." VOL. 1. 14 106 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PART insurgent Catalans, headed by the victorious John of Anjou. Although so sorely pressed, his forces were on the eve of disbanding for want of the requisite funds to maintain them. His exhausted treasury did not contain more than three hundred enriques.57 In this exigency he was agitated by the most distressing doubts. As he could spare neither the funds nor the force necessary for covering his son's entrance into Castile, he must either send him unprotected into a hostile country, already aware of his intended enterprise and in arms to defeat it, or abandon the long-cherished object of his policy, at the moment when his plans were ripe for execution. Unable to extricate himself from this dilemma, he referred the whole matter to Ferdinand and his council.58 erdisnand It was at length determined, that the prince til should undertake the journey, accompanied by half a dozen attendants only, in the disguise of merchants, by the direct route from Saragossa; while another party, in order to divert the attention of the Castilians, should proceed in a different direction, with all the ostentation of a public embassy from the king of Aragon to Henry the Fourth The distance was not great, which Ferdinand and his suite were to travel before reaching a place of safety; but this intervening country was patrolled by squadrons of cavalry for the purpose of inter cepting their progress; and the whole extent of 57 Zurita, Anales, lib. 18, cap. 26. 58 Zurita, Anales,lib. 18, cap. -i, — The enrique was a gold coin, so - Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, ton. denominated from Henry II. ii. p. 273. MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 107 the frontier, from Almazan to Guadalajara, was de- cHAPTEa fended by a line of fortified castles in the hands of the family of Mendoza.59 The greatest circumspection therefore was necessary. The party jour — neyed chiefly in the night; Ferdinand assumed the disguise of a servant, and, when they halted on the road, took care of the mules, and served his companions at table. In this guise, with no other disaster except that of leaving at an inn the purse which contained the funds for the expedition, they arrived, late on the second night, at a little place called the Burgo, or Borough, of Osma, which the count of Treviio, one of the partisans of Isabella, had occupied with a considerable body of men-atarms. On knocking at the gate, cold and faint with travelling, during which the prince had allowed himself to take no repose, they were saluted by a large stone discharged by a sentinel from the battlements, which, glancing near Ferdinand's head, had wellnigh brought his romantic enterprise to a tragical conclusion; when his voice was recognised by his friends within, and, the trumpets proclaiming his arrival, he was received with great joy and festivity by the count and his followers. The remainder of his journey, which he commenced before dawn, was performed under the convoy of a numerous and well-armed escort; and on the 9th of October he reached Dueinas in the kingdom of Leon, where the Castilian nobles and cavaliers of his par59 Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., tom. vi. p. 78, Ilust. 2. 108 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV PART ty eagerly thronged to render him the homage due to his rank. 60 The intelligence of Ferdinand's arrival diffused universal joy in the little court of Isabella at Valla-' dolid. Her first step was to transmit a letter to her brother Henry, in which she informed him of the presence of the prince in his dominions, and of their intended marriage. She excused the course she had taken by the embarrassments, in which she had been involved by the malice of her enemies. She represented the political advantages of the connexion, and the sanction it had received from the Castilian nobles; and she concluded with soliciting his approbation of it, giving him at the same time affectionate assurances of the most dutiful submission both on the part of Ferdinand and of herself.6' Arrangements were then made for an interview between the royal pair, in which some courtly parasites would fain have persuaded their mistress to require some act of homage from Ferdinand, in token of the inferiority of the crown of Aragon to that of Castile; a proposition which she rejected with her usual discretion.62 Private in- Agreeably to these arrangements, Ferdinand, on terview betweenaFerdi- the evening of the 15th of October, passed privatehand and Ishella. ly from Duehas, accompanied only by four attendants, to the neighbouring city of Valladolid, where he was- received by the archbishop of Toledo, and 60 Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, 12th, is cited at length by Castillo, MS., part. 2, cap. 14. -Zurita, Cronica, cap. 136. Anales, loc. cit. 62 Alonso de Palencia, Corbnica, 61 This letter, dated October MS., part. 2,cap. 15. MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 109 conducted to the apartment of his mistress. 63 Fer- cIArPrER dinand was at this time in the eighteenth year of "' his age. His complexion was fair, though somewhat bronzed by constant exposure to the sun; his eye quick and cheerful; his forehead ample, and approaching to baldness. His muscular and wellproportioned frame was invigorated by the toils of war, and by the chivalrous exercises in which he delighted.'He was one of the best horsemen in his court, and excelled in field sports of every kind. His voice was somewhat sharp, but he possessed a fluent eloquence; and, when he had a point to carry, his address was courteous and even insinuating. He secured his health by extreme temperance in his diet, and by such habits of activity, that it was said he, seemed to find repose in business. 64 Isabella was a year older than her lover. In stature she was somewhat above the middle size. Her complexion was fair; her hair of a bright chestnut color, inclining to red; and her mild blue eye beamed with intelligence and sensibility. She was exceedingly beautiful; " the handsomest lady," says one of her household, "whom I ever beheld, and the most gracious in her manners."65 The 63 Gutierre de Cardenas was the 15.- Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., first who pointed him out to the bat. 1, quinc. 2, dial. 1. princess, exclaiming at the same 64 L. Marineo, Cosas Memoratime, ".Ese es, ese es," "This is bles, fol. 182.- Garibay, Compenhe; " in commemoration of which dio, lib. 18, cap. 1. — " Tan amigo he was permitted to place on his de los negocios," says Mariana, escutcheon the letters SS, whose " que parecia con el trabajo despronulnciation in Spanish resem- cansaba." Hist. de Espaiia, lib. bles that of the exclamation, which 25, cap. 18. he had uttered. Ibid., part. 2, cap. 05 " En hermosura, puestas deo 10 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PART portrait, still existing of her in the royal palace, is conspicuous for an open symmetry of features, indicative of the natural serenity of temper, and that beautiful harmony of intellectual and moral qualities, which most distinguished her. She was dignified in her demeanor, and modest even to a de gree of reserve. She spoke the Castilian language with more than usual elegance; and early imbibed a relish for letters, in which she was superior to Ferdinand, whose education in this particular seems to have been neglected.66 It is not easy to obtain a dispassionate portrait of Isabella. The Spaniards, who revert to her glorious reign, are so smitten with her moral perfections, that even in depicting her personal, they borrow somewhat of the exaggerated coloring of romance. The interview lasted more than two hours, when Ferdinand retired to his quarters at Dueinas, as privately as he came. The preliminaries of the marriage, however, were first adjusted; but so great was the poverty of the parties, that it was found necessary to borrow money to defray the expenses of the ceremony.67 Such were the humiliating circumstances attending the commencement of a union destined to open the way to the highest prosperity and grandeur of the Spanish monarchy! Their nas- The marriage between Ferdinand and Isabella ri age. lante S. A. todas las mugeres que 66 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, yo he visto, ninguna vi tan gracio- MS., cap. 201. —Abarca, Reyes de sa, ni tanto de ver como su perso- Aragon, tom. ii. p. 362. — Garibav, na, ni de tal manera e sanctidad Compendio, lib. 18, cap. 1. honestisima." Oviedo, Quincua- 67 Mariana, Hist. de Esparia, genas, MS. tom. ii. p. 465. MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. I1 1 was publicly celebrated, on the morning of the CHAPTER 19th of October, in the palace of John de Vivero,... the temporary residence of the princess, anid subse- 1469. quently appropriated to the chancery of Valladolid. The nuptials were solemnized in the presence of Ferdinand's grandfather, the admiral of Castile, of the archbishop of Toledo, and a multitude of persons of rank, as well as of inferior condition, amounting in all to no less than two thousand.68 A papal bull of dispensation was produced by the archbishop, relieving the parties from the impediment incurred by their falling within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity. This spurious document was afterwards discovered to have been devised by the old king of Aragon, Ferdinand, and the archbishop, who were deterred from applying to the court of Rome by the zeal with tWhich it openly espoused the interests of Henry, and who knew that Isabella would never consent to a union repugnant to the canons of the establisbed church, and one which involved such heavy ecclesiastical censures. A genuine bull of dispensation was obtained, some years later, from Sixtus the Fourth; but Isabella, whose honest mind abhorred every thing like artifice, was filled with no little uneasiness and mortification at the discovery of the imposition. 69 The 68 Carbajal, Anales, MS., alto 69 The intricacies of this affair, 1469. — Alonso de Palencia, Cor6- at once the scandal and the stumnica, MS., part. 2, cap. 16. — Zu- blingblock of the Spanish historirita, Anales, lib. 18, cap. 26.- See ans, have been unravelled by Seior a copy of the official record of the Clemencin, with his usual perspimarriage, Mem. de la Acad., tom. cuity. See Mem. de la Acad., vi. Apend. 4. See also the Ilust. 2. tom. vi. pp. 105- 116, Ilust. 2. 112 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PART ensuing week was consumed in the usual festivities of this joyous season; at the expiration of which, the new-married pair attended publicly the celebration of mass, agreeably to the usage of the time, in the collegiate church of Sante Maria. 70 An embassy was despatched by Ferdinand and Isabella to Henry, to acquaint him with their proceedings, and again request his approbation of them. They repeated their assurances of loyal submission, and accompanied'the message with a copious extract from such of the articles of marriage, as, by their import, would be most likely to conciliate his favorable disposition. Henry coldly replied, that " he must advise with his ministers." 71 70 Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, Reminiscences of Spain, (Boston, MS., part. 2, cap. 16. — 4 lively 1833,) vol. i. pp. 225-255. narrative of the adventures of 71 Castillo, Cronica, cap. 137.Prince Ferdinand, detailed in this Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, chapter, may be found in Cushing's MS., part 2, cap. 16. Quincua. Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y native country several times, he genas of Valdes, author of the "Quincua- continued during the remainder Oviedo, genas "frequentlycited in this His- of his long life. The time of his tory, was born at Madrid, in 1478. death is uncertain. He was of noble Asturian descent. Oviedo occupied several imporIndeed, every peasant in the Astu- tant posts under the government, rias claims nobility as his birth- and he was appointed to one of a right. At the age of twelve he literary nature, for which he was was introduced into the royal pal- well qualified by his long residence ace, as one of the pages of Prince abroad; that of historiographer of John. He continued with the the Indies. It was in this capacity court several years, and was pres- that he produced his principal work ent, though a boy, in the closing "Historia General de las Indias,' campaigns of the Moorish war. In in fifty books. Las Casas denoun1514, according to his own state- ces the book as a wholesale fabriment, he embarked for the Indies, cation, " as full of lies, almost, as where, although he revisited his pages." (CEuvres, trad. de Llo MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 1 1S rente, tom. i. p. 382.) But Las and arms, with an inexhaustible CHAPTER Casas entertained too hearty an fund of private anecdote. The III. aversion for the man, whom he author, who was well acquainted -- publicly accused of rapacity and with most of the individuals of cruelty, and was too decidedly op- note in his time, amused himself, posed to his ideas on the govern- during his absence in the New ment of the Indies, to be a fair World, with keeping alive the critic. Oviedo, though somewhat images of home by this minute loose and rambling, possessed ex- record of early reminiscences. In tensive stores of information, by this mass of gossip, there is a good which those who have had occa- deal, indeed. of very little value. sion to follow in his track have It contains, however, much for the liberally profited. illustration of domestic manners, The work with which we are and copious particulars, as I have concerned, is his Quincuagenas. It intimated, respecting the characis entitled "Las Quincuagenas de ters and habits of eminent personlos generosos 6 ilustres 6 no menos ages, which could have been known famosos Reyes, Principes, Duques, only to one familiar with them. Marqueses y Condes et Caballeros, On all topics of descent and herald et Personas notables de Espafia, ry, he is uncommonly full; and que escribi6 el Capitan Gonzalo one would think his services in Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdez, this department alone, might have AlcAide de sus Magestades de la secured him, in a land where these Fortaleza de la Cibdad e Puerto de are so much respected, the honors Sancto Domingo de la Isla Espa- of the press. His book, however, fiola, Coronista de las Indias," &c. still remains in manuscript, apparAt the close of the third volume is ently little known, and less used, this record of the octogenarian au- by Castilian scholars. Besides thor; "Acab6 de escribir de mi the three folio volumes in the mano este famoso tractado de la Royal Library at Madrid, from nobleza de Espaiia, domingo 10 dia which the transcript in my posde PAscua de Pentecostes XXIII. session was obtained, Clemencin, de mayo de 1556 ailos. Laus Deo. whose commendations of this work, Y de mi edad 79 atios." This as illustrative of Isabella's reign, very curious work is in the form are unqualified, (Mem. de la Acad. of dialogues, in which the author de Hist., tom. vi. Ilust. 10.) entlis the chief interlocutor. It con- merates three others, two in the tains a very full, and, indeed, pro- king's private library, and one m lix notice of the principal persons that of the Academy. in Spain, their lineage, revenues, VOL 1. 15 CHAPTER IV. FACTIONS IN CASTILE. -WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND ARAGON.-DEATH OF HENRY IV., OF CASTILE. 1469 -1474. Factions in Castile. -Ferdinand and Isabella. — Gallant Defence of Perpignan against the French. - Ferdinand raises the Siege. - Isabella's Party gains Strength. - Interview between King Henry IV. and Isabella.- The French invade Roussillon.- Ferdinand's summary Justice. - Death of Henry IV., of Castile. - Influence of his Reign. PART THE marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella disconcerted the operations of the marquis of Villena, or Factions in Cstllen. as he should be styled, the grand master of St. James, since he had resigned his marquisate to his elder son, on his appointment to the command of the military order above mentioned, a dignity inferior only to the primacy in importance. It was determined, however, in the councils of Henry to oppose at once the pretensions of the princess Joanna to those of Isabella; and an embassy was gladly received from the king of France, offering to the former lady the hand of his brother the duke of Guienne, the rejected suitor of Isabella. Louis the Eleventh was willing to engage his relative in the DEATH OF HENRY IV. 115 unsettled politics of a distant state, in order to CHAPTER Iv. relieve himself from his pretensions at home.' An interview took place between Henry the 1470 Fourth and the French ambassadors in a little village in the vale of Lozoya, in October, 1470. A proclamation was read, in which Henry declared his sister to have forfeited whatever claims she had derived from the treaty of Toros de Guisando, by marrying contrary to his approbation. He then with his queen swore to the legitimacy of the princess Joanna, and announced her as his true and lawful successor.'The attendant nobles took the usual oaths of allegiance, and the ceremony was concluded by affiancing the princess, then in the ninth year of her age, with the formalities ordinarily practised on such occasions, to the count of Boulogne, the representative of the duke of.Guienne.2 This farce, in which many of the actors were the same persons who performed the principal parts at the convention of Toros de Guisando, had on the whole an unfavorable influence on Isabella's cause. It exhibited her rival to the world as one whose 1 Alonso de Paleneia, Coronica, in 1470 for the convocation of the MS., part. 2, cap. 21.- Gaillard, deputies, to obtain a recognition of Rivalite, tom. iii. p. 284. — Rades the title of Joanna. But without y Andrada, Las Tres Ordenes, fol. effect. In the letters of convoca65.-Caro de Torres, Ordenes tion issued for a third assembly of Militares, fol. 43. the states, in 1471, this purpose 2 Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., was prudently omitted, and thus bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 23.-Castillo, the claims of Joanna failed to reCronica, p. 298. - Alonso de Pa- ceive the countenance of the only lencia, Coronica, MS., part. 2, cap. body which could give them valid24.-Henry, well knowing how ity. See the copies of the original little all this would avail without writs, addressed to the cities of the constitutional sanction of the Toledo and Segovia, cited by Manortes, twice issued his summons rina, Teoria, tom. ii. pp. 87 - 89. 116 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON. PART claims were to be supported by the whole authority of the court of Castile, with the probable cooperation of France. Many of the most considerable families in the kingdom, as the Pachecos,3 the Mendozas in all their extensive ramifications,4 the Zunigas, the Velascos,5 the Pimentels,6 unmindful of the homage so recently rendered to Isabella, now openly testified their adhesion to her niece. Ferdinand Ferdinand and his consort, who held their little and Isabella. court at Duenas,7 were so poor as to be scarcely capable of defraying the ordinary charges of their table. The northern provinces of Biscay and Guipuscoa had, however, loudly declared against the French match; and the populous province of Andalusia, with the house of Medina Sidonia at its head, still maintained its loyalty to Isabella unshaken. But her principal reliance was on the archbishop of Toledo, whose elevated station in the church and ample 3 The grand master of St. James, 5 Alvaro de Zutiiga, count of and his son, the marquis of Villena, Palencia, and created by Henry IV. afterwards duke of Escalona. The duke of Arevalo. - Pedro Fernanrents of the former nobleman, dez de Velasco, count of Haro, was whose avarice was as insatiable, raised to the post of constable of as his influence over the feeble Castile in 1473, and the office conmind of Henry IV. was unlimited, tinued to be hereditary in the exceeded those of any other gran- family from that period. Pulgar, dee in the kingdom. See Pulgar, Claros Varones, tit. 3.- Salazar Claros Varones, tit. 6. de Mendoza, Dignidades, lib. 3, 4 The marquis of Santillana, first cap. 21. duke of Infantado, and his brothers, 6 The Pimentels, counts of Bethe counts of Coruoia, and of Ten- navente, had estates which gave dilla, and above all Pedro Gonzalez them 60,000 ducats a year; a very de Mendoza, afterwards cardinal large income for that period,: and of Spain, and archbishop of Toledo, far exceeding that of any other who was indebted for the highest grandee of similar rank in the kingdignities in the church less to his dom. L. Marineo, Cosas Memobirth than his abilities. See Cla- rables, fol. 25. ros Varones, tit. 4, 9.- Salazar 7 Carbajal, Anales, MS., afio de Mendoza, Dignidades, lib. 3, 70. cap. 17 DEATH OF HENRY IV. 117 revenues gave him perhaps less real influence, than CHAPTER his commanding and resolute character, which had enabled him to triumph over every obstacle devised by his more crafty adversary, the grand master of St. James. The prelate, however, with all his generous self-devotion, was far from being a comfortable ally. He would willingly have raised Isabella to the throne, but he would have her indebted for her elevation exclusively to himself. He looked with a jealous eye on her most intimate friends, and complained that neither she nor her husband deferred sufficiently to his counsel. The princess could not always conceal her disgust at these humors, and Ferdinand, on one occasion, plainly told him that 1" he was not to be put in leading-strings, like so many of the sovereigns of Castile." The old king of Aragon, alarmed at the consequences of a rupture with so indispensable an ally, wrote in the most earnest manner to his son, representing the necessity of propitiating the offended prelate. But Ferdinand, although educated in the school of dissimulation, had not yet acquired that selfcommand, which enabled him in after-life to sacrifice his passions, and sometimes indeed his principles, to his interests.8 The most frightful anarchy at this period pre- Civilanar chy. vailed throughout Castile. While the court was abandoned to corrupt or frivolous pleasure, the administration of justice was neglected, until crimes 8 Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 170. —Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, MS., cap 45. 118 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON. PART were committed with a frequency and on a scale, which menaced the very foundations of society. The nobles conducted their personal feuds with an array of numbers which might compete with those of powerful princes. The duke of Infantado, the head of the house of Mendoza,9 could bring into the field, at four and twenty hours' notice, one thousand lances and ten thousand foot. The battles, far from assuming the character of those waged by the Italian condottieri at this period, were of the most sanguinary and destructive kind. Andalusia was in particular the theatre of this savage warfare. The whole of that extensive district was divided by the factions of the Guzmans and Ponces de Leon. The chiefs of these ancient houses having recently died, the inheritance descended to young men, whose hot blood soon revived the feuds, which had been permitted to cool under the temperate sway of their fathers. One of these fiery cavaliers was Rodrigo Ponce de Leon, so deservedly celebrated afterwards in the wars of Granada as the marquis of Cadiz. He was an illegitimate and younger son of the count of Arcos, but was preferred by his father to his other children in consequence of the extraordinary qualities which he evinced at a very early period. He served his apprenticeship to the art of war in the campaigns 9 This nobleman, Diego Hurta- reign of Isabella, (Quincuagenas, do, " muy gentil caballero y gran MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8.) To senior," as Oviedo calls him, was avoid confusion, however, 1 have at this time only marquis of San- given him the title by which he tillana, and was not raised to the is usually recognised by Castilian title of duke of Infantado till the writers. DEATH OF HENRY IV. 119 against the Moors, displaying on several occasions CHAPTER an uncommon degree of enterprise and personal IV. heroism. On succeeding to his paternal honors, his haughty spirit, impatient of a rival, led him to revive the old feud with the duke of Medina Sidonia, the head of the Guzmans, who, though the most powerful nobleman in Andalusia, was far his inferior in capacity and military science.10 On one occasion the duke of Medina Sidonia mustered an army of twenty thousand men against his antagonist; on another, no less than fifteen hundred houses of the Ponce faction were burnt to the ground in Seville. Such were the potent engines employed by these petty sovereigns in their conflicts with one another, and such the havoc which they brought on the fairest portion of the Peninsula. The husbandman, stripped of his harvest and driven from his fields, abandoned himself to idleness, or sought subsistence by plunder. A scarcity ensued in the years 1472 and 1473, in which the prices of the most necessary commodities rose to such an exorbitant height, as put them beyond the reach of any but the affluent. But it would be wearisome to go into all the loathsome details of wretchedness and crime brought on this unhappy country by an imbecile government and a disputed succession, and which are portrayed with 10 Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, Mendoza, (Toledo, 1625.) pp. 138, MS., cap. 3. - Salazar de Mendo- 150.- Zuiiiga, Anales de Sevilla, za, Cr6nica de el Gran Cardenal de p. 362. Espaila, Don Pedro Gonzalez de 120 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON.'PART lively fidelity in the chronicles, the letters, and the satires of the time. 1 Rtevolt of While Ferdinand's presence was more than ever Pxf.1 Lois necessary to support the drooping spirits of his party in Castile, he was unexpectedly summoned into Aragon to the assistance of his father. No sooner had Barcelona submitted to king John, as mentioned in a preceding chapter,12 than the inhabitants of Roussillon and Cerdagne, which provinces, it will be remembered, were placed in the custody of France, as a guaranty for the king of Aragon's engagements, oppressed by the grievous exactions of their new rulers, determined to break the yoke, and to put themselves again under the protection of their ancient master, provided they could obtain his support. The opportunity was favorable. A large part of the garrisons in the principal cities had been withdrawn by Louis the Eleventh, to cover the frontier on the side of 11 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, and a better sovereign to the couI1MS., cap. 4, 5, 7. — Zuiiiga, Ana- try. This performance, even more les de Sevilla, pp. 363, 364.- interesting to the antiquarian than Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS., to the historian, has been attributed part. 2, cap. 35, 38, 39, 42. - Saez, by some to Pulgar, (see Mariana, Monedas de Enrique IV., pp. 1-5. Hist. de Espafia, tom. ii. p. 475,) - Pulgar, in an epistle addressed, and by others to Rodrigo Cota, in the autumn of 1473, to the bish- (see Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca op of Coria, adverts to several cir- Vetus, tom. ii. p. 264,) but withcumstances which set in a strong out satisfactory evidence in favor light the anarchical state of the of either. Bouterwek is mucn kingdom and the total deficiency mistaken in asserting it to have of police. The celebrated satirical been aimed at the government of eclogue, also, entitled " Mingo John II. The gloss of Pulgar, Revulgo," exposes, with coarse but whose authority as a contemporary cutting sarcasm, the license of the must be considered decisive, plaincourt, the corruption of the clergy, ly proves it to have been directed and the prevalent depravity of the against Henry IV. people. In one of its stanzas it 12 See Chap. Ii. boldly ventures to promise another DEATH OF HENRY IV. 121 Burgundy and Brittany. John, therefore, gladly CHAPTER embraced the proposal; and on a concerted day a simultaneous insurrection took place throughout the provinces, when such of the French, in the principal towns, as had not the good fortune to escape into the citadels, were indiscriminately massacred. Of all the country, Salces, Collioure, and the castle of Perpignan alone remained in the hands of the French. John then threw himself into the lastnamed city with a small body of forces, and instantly set about the construction of works to protect the inhabitants against the fire of the French garrison in the castle, as well as from the army which might soon be expected to besiege them from without. 13 Louis the Eleventh, deeply incensed at the defection of his new subjects, ordered the most formidable preparations for the siege of their capital. John's officers, alarmed at these preparations, besought him not to expose his person at his advanced age to the perils of a siege and of captivity. But the lion-hearted monarch saw the necessity of animating the spirits of the besieged by his own presence; and, assembling the inhabitants in one of the churches of the city, he exhorted them reso lutely to stand to their defence, and made a solemn oath to abide the issue with them to the last. Louis, in the mean while, had convoked the ban 13 Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, rante, Histoire des Dues de BourMS., cap. 56. — Mariana, Hist. de gogne, (Paris, 1825,) tom. ix. pp. Espaiia, tom. ii. p. 481.- Zurita, 101-106. Anales, tom. iv. fol. 191. —BaVOL. I. 16 122 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON. PART and arriere-ban of the contiguous French provinces, and mustered an array of chivalry and feudal militia, amounting, according to the Spanish historians, to Gallantde- thirty thousand men. With these ample forces, his fence of Perpignan. lieutenant-general, the duke of Savoy, closely invested Perpignan; and, as he was provided with a numerous train of battering artillery, instantly opened a heavy fire on the inhabitants. John, thus exposed to the double fire of the fortress and the besiegers, was in a very critical situation. Far from being disheartened, however, he was seen, armed cap-a-pie, on horseback from dawn till evening, rallying the spirits of his troops, and always present at the point of danger. He succeeded perfectly in communicating his own enthusiasm to the soldiers. The French garrison were defeated in several sorties, and their governor taken prisoner; while supplies were introduced into the city in the very face of the blockading army. 1 Ferdinand Ferdinand, on receiving intelligence of his faraises the ""siege. ther's perilous situation, instantly resolved, by IsaDella's advice, to march to his relief. Putting himself at the head of a body of Castilian horse, generously furnished him by the archbishop of Toledo and his friends, he passed into Aragon, where he was speedily joined by the principal nobility of the kingdom, and an army amounting in all to thirteen hundred lances and seven thousand infan14 Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, — Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 19t MS., cap. 70.- Mariana, Hist. de - Anquetil, IHistoire de France Espaiia, tom. ii. p. 482. - L. Ma- (Paris, 1805,) tom. v. pp. 60, 61. rineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 148. DEATH OF HENRY IV. 123 try. With this corps he rapidly descended the CHAPTER Pyrenees, by the way of Manvanara, in the face of IV. a driving tempest, which concealed him for some time from the view of the enemy. The latter, during their protracted operations, for nearly three months, had sustained a serious diminution of numbers in their repeated skirmishes with the besieged, and still more from an epidemic which broke out in their camp. They also began to suffer not a little from want of provisions. At this crisis, the apparition of this new army, thus unexpectedly descending on their rear, filled them with such consternation, that they raised the siege at once, setting fire to their tents, and retreating with such precipitation as to leave most of the sick and wounded a prey to the devouring element. John marched out, with colors flying and music playing, at the head of his little band, to greet his deliverers; and, after an affecting interview in the presence of the two armies, the father and son returned in triumph into Perpignan. 15 The French army, reinforced by command of Treaty between Louis, made a second ineffectual attempt (their Frarnce d,. own writers call it only a feint) upon the city; and 147 3. thA campaign was finally concluded by a treaty between the two monarchs, in which it was arranged, that the king of Aragon should disburse within the year the sum originally stipulated for the services rendered him by Louis in his late war with his 15 Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 106.-TL. Marineo, Cosas Memora196. - Barante, Hist. des Dues bles, fol. 149. —Alonso de Palende Bourgogne, tom. x. pp. 105, cia, Coronica,MS.,cap. 70, 71, 72. I 24 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON. PART Catalan subjects; and that, in case of failure, the provinces of Roussillon and Cerdagne should be permanently ceded to the French crown. The commanders of the fortified places in the contested territory, selected by one monarch from the nominations of the other, were excused during the interim from obedience to the mandates of either; at least so far as they might contravene their reciprocal engagements. 16 There is little reason to believe that this singular compact was subscribed in good faith by either party. John, notwithstanding the temporary succour which he had received from Louis at the commencement of his difficulties with the Catalans, might justly complain of the infraction of his engagements, at a subsequent period of the war; when lie not only withheld the stipulated aid, but indirectly gave every facility in his power to the invasion of the duke of Lorraine. Neither was the king of Aragon in a situation, had he been disposed, to make the requisite disbursements. Louis, on the other hand, as the event soon proved, had no other object in view but to gain time to reorganize his army, and to lull his adversary into security, while he took effectual measures for recovering the prize rxwhich had so unexpectedly eluded him. Isabella's During these occurrences Isabella's prospects party gains strengthn were daily brightening in Castile. The duke of 16 Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. Louis XI., tom. ii. pp. 99, 101. — 200.- Gaillard, Rivalite, tom. iii. Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, p. 266.- See the articles of the MS., cap. 73. treaty cited by Duclos, Hist. de DEATH OF HENRY IV. 126 Guienne, the destined spouse of her rival Joanna, CHAPTER had died in France; but not until he had testified his contempt of his engagements with the Castilian princess by openly soliciting the hand of the heiress of Burgundy.'7 Subsequent negotiations for her marriage with two other princes had entirely failed. The doubts which hung over her birth, and which the public protestations of Henry and his queen, far from dispelling, served only to augment, by the necessity which they implied for such an extraordinary proceeding, were sufficient to deter any one from a connexion, which must involve the party in all the disasters of a civil war.'8 Isabella's own character, moreover, contributed essentially to strengthen her cause. Her sedate conduct, and the decorum maintained in her court, formed a strong contrast with the frivolity and license which disgraced that of Henry and his consort. Thinking men were led to conclude that the sagacious administration of Isabella must eventually secure to her the ascendency over her rival; while all, who sincerely loved their country, could not but prognosticate for it, under her beneficent sway, a degree of prosperity, which it could never 17 Louis XI. is supposed with cousin of Ferdinand, and the king much probability to have assassi- of Portugal. The former, on his nated this brother. M. de Barante entrance into Castile, assumed sums up his examination of the such sovereign state, (giving his evidence with this remark. " Le hand, for instance, to the grandees roi Louis XI. ne fit peut-etre pas to kiss,) as disgusted these haughmourir son frere, mais personne ty nobles, and was eventually the ne pensa qu'il en fut incapable." occasion of breaking off his match. Hist. des Dues de Bourgogne, Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, tom. ix. p. 433. MS., part. 2, cap. 62. — Faria *8 The two princes alluded to y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. were the duke of Segorbe, a ii. p. 392. 126 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON.'PART reach under the rapacious and profligate ministers - who directed the councils of Henry, and most probably would continue to direct those of his daughter. Among the persons whose opinions experienced a decided revolution from these considerations, was Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, archbishop of Seville and cardinal of Spain; a prelate, whose lofty station in the church was supported by talents of the highest order; and whose restless ambition led him, like many of the churchmen of the time, to take an active interest in politics, for which he was admirably adapted by his knowledge of affairs and discernment of character. Without deserting his former master, he privately entered into a correspondence with Isabella; and a service, which Ferdinand, on his return from Aragon, had an opportunity of rendering the duke of Infantado, the head of the Mendozas,"9 secured the attachment of the other members of this powerful family.20 Interview A circumstance occurred at this time, which seembetween Henry IVla ed to promise an accommodation between the adt Segovia. verse factions, or at least between Henry and his sister. The government of Seogovia, whose impregnable citadel had been made the depository of the 19 Oviedo assigns another reason cap. 163. - The influence of for this change; the disgust occa- these new allies, especially of the sioned by Henry IV.'s transferring cardinal, over Isabella's councils, the custody of his daughter from was an additional ground of umthe family of Mendoza to the brage to the archbishop of TolePachecos. Quincuagenas, MS., do, who, in a communication with. bat. 1, quine. 1, dial. 8. the king of Aragon, declared him20 Salazar de Mendoza, Cron. del self, though friendly to their cause, Gran Cardenal, p. 133. — Alonso de to be released from all further obPalencia, Corolica, MS., part. 2, ligations to serve it. See Zurita, cap. 46, 92. - Castillo, Cr6nica, Anales, tom. iv. lib. 46, cap, 19 DEATH OF HENRY IV. 127 loyal treasure, was intrusted to Andres de Cabrera, CHAPTER an officer of the king's household. This cavalier, influenced in part by personal pique to the grand master of St. James, and still more perhaps by the importunities of his wife, Beatriz de Bobadilla, the early friend and companion of Isabella, entered into a correspondence with the princess, and sought to open the way for her permanent reconciliation with her brother. He accordingly invited her to Segovia, where Henry occasionally resided, and, to dispel any suspicions which she might entertain of his sincerity, despatched his wife secretly by night, disguised in the garb of a peasant, to Aranda, where Isabella then held her court. The latter confirmed by the assurances of her friend, did not hesitate to comply with the invitation, and, accompanied by the archbishop of Toledo, proceeded to 1473. Segovia, where an interview took place between her Dec. and Henry the Fourth, in which she vindicated her past conduct, and endeavoured to obtain her brother's sanction to her union with Ferdinand. Henry, who was naturally of a placable temper, received her communication with complacency, and, in order to give public demonstration of the good understanding now subsisting between him and his sister, condescended to walk by her side, holding the bridle of her palfrey, as she rode along the streets of the city. Ferdinand, on his return into Castile, hastened to Segovia, where he was welcomed by the nmonarch with every appearance of satisfaction. A succession of fetes and splendid entertainments, at which both parties assisted, seemed to announce an 128 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON. PART entire oblivion of all past animosities, and the na-. -_ tion welcomed with satisfaction these symptoms of repose after the vexatious struggle by which it had been so long agitated.2 The repose, however, was of no great duration. The slavish mind of Henry gradually relapsed under its ancient bondage; and the grand master of St. James succeeded, in consequence of an illness with which the monarch was suddenly seized after an entertainment given by Cabrera, in infusing into his mind suspicions of an attempt at assassination. Henry was so far incensed or alarmed by the suggestion, that he concerted a scheme for privately seizing the person of his sister, which was defeated by her own prudence and the vigilance of her friends.22- But, if the visit to Segovia failed in its destined purpose of a reconciliation with Henry, it was attended with the important consequence of securing to Isabella a faithful partisan in Cabrera, who, from the control which his situation gave him over the royal coffers, proved a most seasonable ally in her subsequent struggle with Joanna. Not long after this event, Ferdinand received another summons from his father to attend him in Aragon, where the storm of war, which had been 21 Carbajal, Anales, MS., aiios tillo, Cr6nica, cap. 164. —Oviedo 73, 74. — Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, has given a full account of this cava., p. 27.- Castillo, Cr6nica, cap. 164. lier, who was allied to an ancient - Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, Catalan family, but who raised MS., part. 2, cap. 75..-Ovie- himself to such preeminence by do, Quincuagenas, MS.. bat. 1, his own deserts, says that writer, quinc. 1, dial. 23. that he may well be considered the 22 Mendoza, Cr6n. del Gran founder of his house. loc. cit Cardenal, pp. 141, 142.- Cas DEATH OF HENRY IV. 12u for some time gathering in the distance, now burst CHAPTER with pitiless fury. In the beginning of February, 1474, an embassy consisting of two of his principal 1474 nobles, accompanied by a brilliant train of cavaliers and attendants, had been deputed by John to the court of Louis XI., for the ostensible purpose of settling the preliminaries of the marriage, previously agreed on, between the dauphin and the infanta Isabella, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, then little more than three years of age.23 The real object of the mission was to effect some definitive adjustment or compromise of the differences relating to the contested territories of Roussillon and Cerdagne. The king of France, who, notwithstanding his late convention with John, was making active preparations for the forcible occupation of these provinces, determined to gain time by amusing the ambassadors with a show of negotiation, and interposing every obstacle which his ingenuity could devise to their progress through his dominions. He succeeded so well in this latter part of his scheme, that the embassy did not reach Paris until the close of Lent. Louis, who seldom resided in his capital, took good care to be absent at this season. The ambassadors in the interim were entertained with balls,fietes, military reviews, and whatever else might divert them from the real objects of their mission. All communication was cut 23 Carbajal, Anales, MS., also Oct. 1st, 1470; afterwards queen 70. —This was the eldest child of Portugal. of Ferdinand and Isabella, born VOL. 1. 17 S30 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON. PART off with their own government, as their couriers were -_ stopped and their despatches intercepted, so that John knew as little of his envoys or their proceedings, as if they had been in Siberia or Japan. In the mean time, formidable preparations were making in the south of France for a descent on RoussilIon; and when the ambassadors, after a fruitless attempt at negotiation, which evaporated in mutual crimination and recrimination, set out on their return to Aragon, they were twice detained, at Lyons and Montpelier, from an extreme solicitude, as the French government expressed it, to ascertain the safest route through a country intersected by hostile armies; and all this, notwithstanding their repeated protestations against this obliging disposition, which held them prisoners, in opposition to their own will and the law of nations. The prince who descended to such petty trickery passed for the wisest of his time.24 econ in- In the mean while, the Seigneur du Lude had ol of invaded Roussillon at the head of nine hundred French lances and ten thousand infantry, supported by a powerful train of artillery, while a fleet of Genoese transports, laden with supplies, accompanied 1474. the army along the coast. Elna surrendered after a Dec. 5. sturdy resistance; the governor and some of the principal prisoners were shamefully beheaded as traitors; and the French then proceeded to invest Perpignan. The king of Aragon was so much imnpover24 Gaillard, Rivalit6, tom. iii. - Chronique Scandaleuse, ed. Pes pp. 267- 276. - Duclos, Hist. de titot, tom. xiii. pp. 443, 444. Louis XI., tom. ii. pp. 113, 115. DEATH OF HENRY IV. 131 ished by the incessant wars in which he had been CHAPTER engaged, that he was not only unable to recruit his IV. army, but was even obliged to pawn the robe of costly fur, which he wore to defend his person against the inclemencies of the season, in order to defray the expense of transporting his baggage. In this extremity, finding himself disappointed in the cooperation, on which he had reckoned, of his ancient allies the dukes of Burgundy and Brittany, he again summoned Ferdinand to his assistance, who, after a brief interview with his father in Barcelona, proceeded to Saragossa, to solicit aid from the estates of Aragon. An incident occurred on this visit of the prince Ferdinand% summary worth noticing, as strongly characteristic of the executio lawless habits of the age. A citizen of Saragossa, named Ximenes Gordo, of noble family, but who had relinquished the privileges of his rank in order to qualify himself for municipal office, had acquired such ascendency over his townsmen, as to engross the most considerable posts in the city for himself and his creatures. This authority he abused in a shameless manner, making use of it not only for the perversion of justice, but for the perpetration of the most flagrant crimes. Although these facts were notorious, yet such were his power and popularity with the lower classes, that Ferdinand, despairing of bringing him to justice in the ordinary way, determined on a more summary process. As Gordo occasionally visited the palace to pay his respects to the prince, the latter affected to regard him with more than usual favor, showing him such 1 2 TROUBLES IN CASTILE ANI) ARAGON. ARTa courtesy as might dissipate any distrust he had con ceived of him. Gordo, thus assured, was invited at one of those interviews to withdraw into a retired apartment, where the prince wished to confer with him on business of moment. On entering the chamber he was surprised by the sight of the public executioner, the hangman of the city, whose presence together with that of a priest, and the apparatus of death with which the apartment was garnished, revealed at once the dreadful nature of his destiny. He was then charged with the manifold crimes of which he had been guilty, and sentence of death was pronounced on him. In vain did he appeal to Ferdinand, pleading the services which he had rendered on more than one occasion to his father. Ferdinand assured him, that these should be gratefully remembered in the protection of his children, and then, bidding him unburden his conscience to his confessor, consigned him to the hand of the executioner. His body was exposed that very day in the market-place of the city, to the dismay of his friends and adherents, most of whom paid the penalty of their crimes in the ordinary course of justice. This extraordinary proceeding is highly characteristic of the unsettled times in which it occurred; when acts of violence often superseded the regular operation of the law, even in those countries, whose forms of government approached the nearest to a determinate constitution. It will doubtless remind the reader of the similar proceeding imputed to Louis the Eleventh, in the admira DEATH OF HENRY IV. 133 ble sketch given us of that monarch in "' Quentin CHAPTER Durward."5" The supplies furnished by the Aragonese cortes Siege annadeduction of were inadequate to king John's necessities, and he Perpignan. was compelled, while hovering with his little force on the confines of Roussillon, to witness the gradual reduction of its capital, without being able to strike a blow in its defence. The inhabitants, indeed, who fought with a resolution worthy of ancient Numantia or Saguntum, were reduced to the last extremity of famine, supporting life by feeding on the most loathsome offal, on cats, dogs, the corpses of their enemies, and even on such of their own dead as had fallen in battle! And when at length an honorable capitulation was granted them on the 14th of March, 1475, the garrison who evacuated the city, reduced to the number of four hundred, were obliged to march on foot to Barcelona, as they had consumed their horses during the siege.26 The terms of capitulation, which permitted ev- rerfdy of Louis. ery inhabitant to evacuate, or reside unmolested in the city, at his option, were too liberal to satisfy the vindictive temper of the king of France. He instantly wrote to his generals, instructing them to depart from their engagements, to keep the city so short of supplies as to compel an emigration of its original inhabitants, and to confiscate for their own 25 Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, bles, fol. 150. -- Zurita, Anales, MS., part. 2, cap. 83. - Ferreras, tom. iv. lib. 19, cap. 13. - ChroHist. d'Espagne, tom. vii. p. 400.- nique Scandaleuse, ed. Petitot, Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. lib. 19, tom. xiii. p. 456. —Alonso de Pactap. 12. lencia, Cor6nica, MS., part. 2, L. Marineo, Cosas Memora- cap. 91. 134 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON. PART use the estates of the principal nobility; and after delineating in detail the perfidious policy which they were to pursue, he concluded with the assurance, " that, by the blessing of God and our Lady, and Monsieur St. Martin, he would be with them before the winter, in order to aid them in its execution," 77 Such was the miserable medley of hypocrisy and superstition, which characterized the politics of the European courts in this corrupt age, and which dimmed the lustre of names, most conspicuous on the page of history. llenerf of The occupation of Roussillon was followed by a Henry IV., of Casti"e. truce of six months between the belligerent parties. The regular course of the narrative has been somewhat anticipated, in order to conclude that portion of it relating to the war with France, before again reverting to the affairs of Castile, where Henry the Fourth, pining under an incurable malady, was gradually approaching the termination of his disastrous reign. His death. This event, which, from the momentous consequences it involved, was contemplated with the deepest solicitude, not only by those who had an immediate and personal interest at stake, but by the whole nation, took place on the night of the 11th of December, 1474.28 It was precipitated by the death of the grand master of St. James, on whom 27 See copies of the original let. chronicle; tom,. x. pp. 289, 298. ters, as given by M. Barante, 28 Bernaldes, Reyes Cat6licos, in his History of the Dukes MS., cap. 10.- -Carbajal, Anales, of Burgundy, in which the author MS., ailo 74.- Castillo, Cr6nica, has so happily seized the tone and cap. 148. picturesque coloring of the ancient DEATH OF HENRY IV. 135 the feeble mind of Henry had been long accus- CHIPTER tomed to rest for its support, and who was cut off IV. by an acute disorder but a few months previous, in the full prime of his ambitious schemes. The king, notwithstanding the lingering nature of his disease gave him ample time for preparation, expired without a will, or even, as generally asserted, the designation of a successor. This was the more remarkable, not only as being contrary to established usage, but as occurring at a period when the succession had been so long and hotly debated. 29 29 This topic is involved in no the guardians of his daughter Jolittle obscurity, and has been re- anna. Reyes Cat. p. 31.) It seems ported with much discrepancy as not improbable that the existence well as inaccuracy by the modern of this document has been confoundSpanish historians. Among the ed with that of a testament, and ancient, Castillo, the historiogra- that with reference to it, the phrase pher of Henry IV., mentions cer- above quoted of Castillo, as well as tain " testamentary executors," the passage of Bernaldez, is to be without, however, noticing in any interpreted. Carbajal's wild story more direct way the existence of a of the existence of a will, of its will. (Cron. c. 168.) The Curate of secretion for more than thirty Los Palacios refers to a clause re- years, and its final suppression by ported, he says, to have existed in Ferdinand, is too naked of testimothe testament of Henry IV., in ny to deserve the least weight with which he declares Joanna his the historian. (See his Anales, daughter and heir; (Reyes Ca- MS., afio 74.) It should be rememt6licos, MS., cap. 10.) Alonso de bered, however, that most of the Palencia states positively that there abovementioned writers compiled was no such instrument, and that their works after the accession of Henry, on being asked who was to Isabella, and that none, save Cassucceed him, referred to his secre- tillo, were the partisans of her rival. tary Juan Gonzalez for a knowl- It should also be added that in the edge of his intention. (Cron.c.92.) letters addressed by the princess L. Marineo also states that the Joanna to the different cities of the king," with his usual improvi- kingdom, on her assuming the title denuce," left no will. (Cosas Me- of queen of Castile, (bearing date morables, fol. 155.) Pulgar, an- May, 1475,) it is expressly stated other contemporary, expressly de- that Henry IV., on his deathbed, dares that he executed no will, solemnly affirmed her to be his onand quotes the words dictated by ly daughter and lawful heir. These him to his secretary, in which he letters were drafted by John de simply designates two of the gran- Oviedo, (Juan Gonzalez,) the condees as "executors of his soul, " fidential secretary of Henry IV. (albaceas de su anima,) and four See Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. others in conjunction with them as 235 - 239. 136 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON. PART The testaments of the Castilian sovereigns, though never esteemed positively binding, and occasionally, indeed, set aside, when deemed unconstitutional or even inexpedient by the legislature,30 were always allowed to have great weight with the nation. With Henry the Fourth terminated the male line of the house of Trastamara, who had kept possession of the throne for more than a century, and in the course of only four generations had exhibited every gradation of character from the bold and chivalrous enterprise of the first Henry of that name, down to the drivelling imbecility of the last. 30 As was the case with the tes- century, and with that of Peter the taments of Alfonso of Leon and Cruel, in the fourteenth. Alfonso the Wise, in the thirteenth Notice of The historian cannot complain and rhetoric he attended. On his'alencia. of a want of authentic materials return to his native country, he was for the reign of Henry IV. Two raised to the dignity of royal hisof the chroniclers of that period, toriographer by Alfonso, younger Alonso de Palencia and Enriquez brother of Henry IV., and competdel Castillo, were eyewitnesses itor with him for the crown. He and conspicuous actors in the attached himself to the fortunes of scenes which they recorded, and Isabella, after Alfonso's death, and connected with opposite factions. was employed by the archbishop The former of these writers, Alon- of Toledo in many delicate negoso de Palencia, was born, as ap- tiations, particularly in arranging pears from his work, " De Synon- the marriage of the princess with ymis," cited by Pellicer, (Biblio- Ferdinand, for which purpose he theca de Traductores,- p. 7,) in made a secret journey into Aragon. 1423. Nic. Antonio has fallen On the accession of Isabella, he into the error of dating his birth was confirmed in the office of nanine years later. (Bibliotheca Ve- tional chronicler, and passed the tus, tom. ii. p. 331.) At the age of remainder of his life in the composeventeen, he became page to Al- sition of philological and historifonso of Carthagena, bishop of cal works and translations from the Burgos, and, in the family of that ancient classics. The time of his estimable prelate, acquired a taste death is uncertain. He lived to a for letters, which never deserted good old age, however, since it aphim during a busy political career. pears from his own statement, (see He afterwards visited Italy, where Mendez, Typographia Espaiiola, lie became acquainted with Cardi- (Madrid, 1796,) p. 190,) that his nal Bessarion, and through him version of Josephus was not comwith the learned George of Trebi- pleted till the year 1492. zond,whose lectures on philosophy The most popular of Palencia's DEATH OF HENRY IV. 137 The character of Henry the Fourth has been CHAPTER sufficiently delineated in that of his reign. He _ v. Influence of was not without certain amiable qualities, and may his reign. be considered as a weak, rather than a wicked prince. In persons, however, intrusted with the degree of power exercised by sovereigns of even the most limited monarchies of this period, a weak man may be deemed more mischievous to the state over which he presides than a wicked one. The latter, feeling himself responsible in the eyes of the nation for his actions, is more likely to consult appearances, and, where his own passions or interests are not immediately involved, to legislate with reference to the general interests of his subjects. The former, on the contrary, is too often a mere tool writings, are his " Chronicle of pies of negligence and inaccuracy. Henry IV.," and his Latin " De- His Latin " Decades" were probcades," continuing the reign of Is- ably composed with more care, as abella down to the capture of Ba- addressed to a learned class of za, in 1489. His historical style, far readers; and they are lauded by from scholastic pedantry, exhibits Nic. Antonio as an elegant comthe business-like manner of a manll mentary, worthy to be assiduously of the world. His Chronicle, which, studied by all who would acquaint being composed in the Castilian, themselves with the history of was probably intended for popular their country. The art of printing use, is conducted with little arti- has done less perhaps for Spain fice, and indeed with a prolixity than for any other country in Euand minuteness of detail, arising rope; and these two valuable histono doubt from the deep interest ries are still permitted to swell the which as an actor he took in the rich treasure of manuscripts with scenes he describes. His senti- which her libraries are overloaded. ments are expressed with boldness, Enriquez del Castillo, a native Notice of and sometimes with the acerbity of Segovia, was the chaplain and Enriquez del of party feeling. He has been historiographer of King HenryIV., Castillo. much commended by the best and a member of his privy counSpanish writers, such as Zurita, cil. His situation not only made Zuiliga, Marina, Clemencin, for him acquainted with the policy and his veracity. The internal evi- intrigues of the court, but with dence of this is sufficiently strong the personal feelings of the monin his delineation of those scenes arch, who reposed entire confidence in which he was personally en- in him, which Castillo repaid gaged; in his account of others, it with uniform loyalty. He appears will not be difficult to find exam- very early to have commenced his VOL. I 18 138 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON. PART in the hands of favorites, who, finding themselves'___ screened by the interposition of royal authority from the consequences of measures for which they should be justly responsible, sacrifice without remorse the public weal to the advancement of their private fortunes. Thus the state, made to minister to the voracious appetites of many tyrants, suffers incalculably more than it would from one. So fared it with Castile under Henry the Fourth; dismembered by faction, her revenues squandered on worthless parasites, the grossest violations of justice unredressed, public faith become a jest, the treasury bankrupt, the court a brothel, and private morals too loose and audacious to seek even the veil of hypocrisy! Never had the fortunes of the kingdom reached so low an ebb since the great Saracen invasion. Chronicle of Henry's reign. On work is not written in the businessthe occupation of Segovia by the like style of Palencia's. The senyoung Alfonso, after the battle of timents exhibit a moral sensibility Olmedo, in 1467, the chronicler, scarcely to have been expected, together with the portion of his even from a minister of religion, history then compiled, was un- in the corrupt court of Henry IV.; fortunate enough to fall into the and the honest indignation of the enemy's hands. The author was writer, at the abuses which he soon summoned to the presence witnessed, sometimes breaks forth of Alfonso and his counsellors, to in a strain of considerable elo hear and justify, as he could, cer- quence. The spirit of his work tain passages of what they termed notwithstanding its abundant loyhis "false and frivolous narrative." alty, may be also commended for Castillo, hoping little from a de- its candor in relation to the partifence before such a prejudiced tri- sans of Isabella; which has led bunal, resolutely kept his peace; some critics to suppose that it and it might have gone hard with underwent a rifacimento after the him, had it not been for his eccle- accession of that princess to the siastical profession. He subse- throne. quently escaped, but never recov- Castillo's Chronicle, more forered his manuscripts, which were tunate than that of his rival, has probably destroyed; and, in the been published in a handsome Introduction to his Chronicle, he form under the care of Don Jose laments, that he has been obliged Miguel de Flores, Secretary of the to rewrite the first half of his mas- Spanish Academy of History, to ter's reign. whose learned labors in this way Notwithstanding Castillo's fa- Castilian literature is so much inmiliarity with public affairs, his debted. CHAPTER V. ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. -WAR OF THE SECCESSION.- BATTLE OF TORO. 1474 1476. Isabella proclaimed Queen. - Settlement of the Crown. - Alfonso of Portugal supports Joanna. - Invades Castile. - Retreat of the Castilians. - Appropriation of the Church Plate. - Reorganization of the Army. - Battle of Toro. - Submission of the whole Kingdom.Peace with France and Portugal. - Joanna takes the Veil. - Death of John II., of Aragon. MOST of the contemporary writers are content CHAPTER to derive Isabella's title to the crown of Castile -. Title of Isa from the illegitimacy of her rival Joanna. But, as o laR this fact, whatever probability it may receive from the avowed licentiousness of the queen, and some other collateral circumstances, was never established by legal evidence, or even made the subject of legal inquiry, it cannot reasonably be adduced as affording in itself a satisfactory basis for the pretensions of Isabella. 1 1 The popular belief of Joanna's princess Joanna, the only child illegitimacy was founded on the of his second queen, Joanna of following circumstances. 1. King Portugral, was not born until the Henry's first marriage with Blanche eighth year of her marriage, and of Navarre was dissolved, after it long after she had become notohad subsisted twelve years, on the rious for her gallantries. 3. Alpublicly alleged ground of " im- though Henry kept several mispotence in the parties." 2. The tresses, whom he maintained in so 140 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. PART These are to be derived from the will of the nation as expressed by its representatives in cortes. The power of this body to interpret the laws regulating the succession, and to determine the succession itself, in the most absolute manner, is irlcontrovertible, having been established by repeated precedents from a very ancient period.2 In the present instance, the legislature, soon after the birth of Joanna, tendered the usual oaths of allegiance to her as heir apparent to the monarchy. On a subsequent occasion, however, the cortes, for reasons deemed sufficient by itself, and under a conviction that its consent to the preceding measure had been obtained through an undue influence on the part of the crown, reversed its former acts, and did homage to Isabella as the only true and lawful successor.3 In this disposition the legislature ostentatious a manner as to excite almost every contemporary histogeneral scandal, he was never rian, as well as of the official docuknown to have had issue by any ments of that day (see Marina, one of them. - To counterbalance Teoria, tom. iii. part. 2, num. the presumption afforded by these 11.), the stain has been too deeply facts, it should be stated, that fixed by the repeated testimony of Henry appears, to the day of his Castillo, the loyal adherent of her death, to have cherished the prin- own party, to be thus easily effaced. cess Joanna as his own offspring, It is said, however, that the and that Beltran de la Cueva, duke queen died in the odor of sanctity; of Albuquerque, her reputed fa- and Ferdinand and Isabella caused ther, instead of supporting her her to be deposited in a rich mauclaims to the crown on the demise soleum, erected by the ambassador of Henry, as would have been to the court of the Great Tamernatural had he been entitled to the lane for himself, but from which honors of paternity, attached him- his remains were somewhat unself to the adverse faction of Isa- ceremoniously ejected, in order to bella. make room for those of his royal Queen Joanna survived her hus- mistress. band about six months only. Fa- 2 See this subject discussed ir. ther Florez (Reynas Cath6licas, extenso, by Marina, Teoria, part. tom. ii. pp. 760-786) has made 2, cap. 1- 10. - See, also, Introd a flimsy attempt to whitewash her Sect. 1. of this History. character; but, to say nothing of 3 See Part I. Chap. 3. WAR OF THE SUCCESSION, 141 continued so resolute, that, notwithstanding Henry CHArTER twice convoked the states for the express purpose of renewing their allegiance to Joanna, they refused to comply with the summons; 4 and thus Isabella, at the time of her brother's death, possessed a title to the crown unimpaired, and derived from the sole authority which could give it a constitutional validity. It may be added that the princess was so well aware of the real basis of her pretensions, that in her several manifestoes, although she adverts to the popular notion of her rival's illegitimacy, she rests the strength of her cause on the sanction of the cortes. On learning Henry's death, Isabella signified to She is pro claimed the inhabitants of Segovia, where she then resided, queen her desire of being proclaimed queen in that city, with the solemnities usual on such occasions. 5 Accordingly, on the following morning, being the 13th of December, 1474, a numerous assembly, consisting of the nobles, clergy, and public magistrates in their robes of office, waited on her at the alcazar or castle, and, receiving her under a canopy of rich brocade, escorted her in solemn procession to the principal square of the city, where a broad platform or scaffold had been erected for the performance of the ceremony. Isabella, royally attired, rode on a 4 See Part I. Chap. 4, Note 2. juncture was so important, that 5 Fortunately, this strong place, Oviedo does not hesitate to declare, in which the royal treasure was " It lay with him to make Isabella deposited, was in the keeping of or her rival queen, as he listed.' Andres de Cabrera, the husband Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. of Isabella's friend, Beatriz de 1, dial. 23. Bobadilla. His cooperation at this 142 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. PART Spanish jennet whose bridle was held by two of the civic functionaries, while an officer of her court preceded her on horseback, bearing aloft a naked sword, the symbol of sovereignty. On arriving at the square she alighted from her palfrey, and, ascending the platform, seated herself on a throne which had been prepared for her. A herald with a loud voice proclaimed, "Castile, Castile for the king Don Ferdinand and his consort Dona Isabella, queen proprietor (reinaproprietaria) of these kingdoms! " The royal standards were then unfurled, while the peal of bells and the discharge of ordnance from the castle publicly announced the accession of the new sovereign. Isabella, after receiving the homage of her subjects, and swearing to maintain inviolate the liberties of the realm, descended from the platform, and, attended by the same cortege, moved slowly towards the cathedral church; where, after Te Deum had been chanted, she prostrated herself before the principal altar, and, returning thanks to the Almighty for the protection hitherto vouchsafed her, implored him to enlighten her future counsels, so that she might discharge the high trust reposed in her, with equity and wisdom. Such were the simple forms, that attended the coronation of the monarchs of Castile, previously to the sixteenth century. 6 The cities favorable to Isabella's cause, compre6 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, — L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, MS., cap. 10.- Carbajal, Anales, fol. 155. -Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., afio 75. - Alonso de Palen- MS., bat. 1, quinc. 2, dial. 3. cia, Cor6nica, MS., part. 2, cap. 93, WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 143 hending far the most populous and wealthy through- CHAPTER out the kingdom, followed the example of Segovia, V. and raised the royal standard for their new sovereign. The principal grandees, as well as most of the inferior nobility, soon. presented themselves from all quarters, in order to tender the customary oaths of allegiance; and an assembly of the estates, convened for the ensuing month of February at Segovia, imparted, by a similar ceremony, a constitutional sanction to these proceedings. 7 On Ferdinand's arrival from Aragon, where he Settlemei was staying at the time of Henry's death, occupied crown. with the war of Roussillon, a disagreeable discussion took place in regard to the respective authority to be enjoyed by the husband and wife in the administration of the government. Ferdinand's relatives, with the admiral Henriquez at their head, contended that the crown of Castile, and of course the exclusive sovereignty, was limited to him as the nearest male representative of the house of Trastamara. Isabella's friends, on the other hand, insisted that these rights devolved solely on her, as the lawful heir and proprietor of the kingdom. The affair was finally referred to the arbitration of the cardinal 7 Marina, whose peculiar re- Among the nobles, who openly searches and opportunities make testified their adhesion to Isabella, him the best, is my only authori- were no less than four of the six tv for this convention of the cor- individuals, to whom the late king tes. (Teoria, tom. ii. pp. 63, 89.) had intrusted the guardianship of The extracts he makes from,the his daughter Joanna; viz. the writ of summons, however, seem grand cardinal of Spain, the conto imply, that the object was stable of Castile, the duke of Innot the recognition of Ferdinand fantado, and the count of Benaand Isabella, but of their daugh- vente. ter, as successor to the crown. 144 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. PART of Spain and the archbishop of Toledo, who, after ----- - careful examination, established by undoubted precedent, that the exclusion of females from the succession did not obtain in Castile and Leon, as was the case in Aragon;s that Isabella was consequently sole heir of these dominions; and that whatever authority Ferdinand might possess, could only be derived through her. A settlement was then made on the basis of the original marriage contract.9 All municipal appointments, and collation to ecclesiastical benefices, were to be made in the name of both with the advice and consent of the queen. All fiscal nominations, and issues from the treasury, were to be subject to her order. The commanders of the fortified places were to render homage to her alone. Justice was to be administered by both conjointly, when residing in the same place, and by each independently, when separate. Proclamations and letters patent were to be subscribed with the signatures of both; their images were to be stamped on the public coin, and the united arms of Castile and Aragon emblazoned on a common seal.'0 8 A precedent for female inherit- bella TI. will put this much vexed ance, in the latter kingdom, was question at rest for ever. subsequently furnished by the un- 9 See Part I. Chap. 3. - Ferdidisputed succession and long reign nand's powers are not so narrowly of Joanna, daughter of Ferdinand limited, at least not so carefully and Isabella, and mother of Charles defined, in this settlement, as in V. The introduction of the Salic the marriage articles. Indeed, the law, under the Bourbon dynasty, instrument is much more concise opposed a new barrier, indeed; but and general in its whole import. this has been since swept away by 10 Salazar de Mendoza, Cron. the decree of the late monarch, del Gran Cardenal, lib. 1, cap. 40.Ferdinand VII., and the paramount L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. authority of the cortes; and we 155, 156.- Zurita, Anales, tom. may hope, that the successful as- iv. fol. 222 - 224. -Pulgar, Reyes sertion of her lawful rights by Isa- Catolicos, pp. 35, 36. -See the WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 14l5 Ferdinand, it is said, was so much dissatisfied C1,APTER with an arrangement which vested the essential rights of sovereignty in his consort, that he threatened to return to Aragon; but Isabella reminded him, that this distribution of power was rathei nominal than real; that their interests were indivisible; that his will would be hers; and that the principle of the exclusion of females from the succession, if now established, would operate to the disqualification of their only child, who was a daughter. By these and similar arguments the queen succeeded in soothing her offended husband, without compromising the prerogatives of her crown. Although the principal body of the nobility, as artisanso has been stated, supported Isabella's cause, there were a few families, and some of them the most potent in Castile, who seemed determined to abide the fortunes of her rival. Among these was the marquis of Villena, who, inferior to his father in talent for intrigue, was of an intrepid spirit, and is commended by one of the Spanish historians as 4"the best lance in the kingdom." His immense original instrument signed by Fer- other auspices or sanction, than dinand and Isabella, cited at length that of the great nobility and cavain Dormer's Discursos Varios de liers. Marina's eagerness to find Historia, (Zaragoza, 1683,) pp. a precedent for the interference of 295 - 313. - It does not appear the popular branch in all the great that the settlement was ever con- concerns of government, has usualfirmed by, or indeed presented to, ly quickened, but sometimes cloudthe cortes. Marina speaks of it, ed, his optics. In the present inhowever, as emanating from that stance he has undoubtedly conbody. (Teoria, tom. ii. pp. 63, 64.) founded the irregular proceedings From Pulgar's statement, as well of the aristocracy exclusively, with as from the instrument itself, it the deliberate acts of the legisla, seems to have been made under no ture. VOL. I. 19 146 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. PART estates, stretching from Toledo to Murcia, gave him an extensive influence over the southern regions of New Castile. The duke of Arevalo possessed a similar interest in the frontier province of Estremadura. With these were combined the grand master of Calatrava and his brother, together with the young marquis of Cadiz, and, as it soon appeared, the archbishop of Toledo. This latter dignitary, whose heart had long swelled with secret jealousy at the rising fortunes of the cardinal Mendoza, could no longer brook the ascendency, which that prelate's consummate sagacity and insinuating address had given him over the counsels of his young sovereigns. After some awkward excuses, he abruptly withdrew to his own estates; nor could the most conciliatory advances on the part of the queen, nor the deprecatory letters of the old king of Aragon, soften his inflexible temper, or induce him to resume his station at the court; until it soon became apparent from his correspondence with Isabella's enemies, that he was busy in undermining the fortunes of the very individual, whom he had so zeal~ously labored to elevate. 11 Alfonso f Under the auspices of this coalition, propositions Portugal supports her were made to Alfonso the Fifth, king of Portugal, to vindicate the title of his niece Joanna to the throne of Castile, and, by espousing her, to secure to him11 Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, ledo.- The archbishop's jealousy MS., part. 2, cap. 94.- Garibay, of cardinal Mendoza is uniformly Compendio, lib. 18, cap. 3.- Ber- reported by the Spanish writers, naldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS., cap. as the true cause of his defection 10, 11.- Pulgar, Letras, (Madrid, from the queen. 1775,) let. 3, al Arzobispo de To WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 147 self the same rich inheritance. An exaggerated CHAPTEIR estimate was, at the same time, exhibited of the resources of the confederates, which, when combined with those of Portugal, would readily enable them to crush the usurpers, unsupported, as the latter must be, by the cooperation of Aragon, whose arms already found sufficient occupation with the French. Alfonso, whose victories over the Barbary Moors had given him the cognomen of'"the African," was precisely of a character to be dazzled by the nature of this enterprise. The protection of an injured princess, his near relative, was congenial with the spirit of chivalry; while the conquest of an opulent territory, adjacent to his own, would not only satisfy his dreams of glory, but the more solid cravings of avarice. In this disposition he was confirmed by his son, Prince John, whose hot and enterprising temper found a nobler scope for ambilion in such a war, than in the conquest of a horde of African savages. 12 Still there were a few among Alfonso's counsellors, possessed of sufficient coolness to discern the difficulties of the undertaking. They reminded him, that the Castilian nobles, on whom he principally relied, were the very persons who had formerly been most instrumental in defeating the claims of Joanna, and securing the succession to her rival; that Ferdinand was connected by blood with the most powerful families of Castile; that the great 12 Ruy de Pina, Chrbnica d'el Historia Portugueza, (Lisboa, [rey Alfonso V., cap. 173, apud 1790-93,) tom. i. I/olleca6o de Livros Indditos de 148 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. PART body of the people, the middle as well as the lower classes, were fully penetrated not only with a conviction of the legality of Isabella's title, but with a deep attachment to her person; while, on the other hand, their proverbial hatred of Portugal would make them too impatient of interference from that quarLer, to admit the prospect of permanent success. 3 lie invades These objections, sound as they were, were over Castile. ruled by John's impetuosity, and the ambition or avarice of his father. War was accordingly resolved on; and Alfonso, after a vaunting, and, as may be supposed, ineffectual summons to the Castilian sovereigns to resign their crown in favor of Joanna, prepared for the immediate invasion of the kingdom at the head of an army, amounting, according to the Portuguese historians, to five thousand six hundred horse and fourteen thousand foot. This force, though numerically not so formidable as might have been expected, comprised the flower of the Portuguese chivalry, burning with the hope of reaping similar laurels to those won of old by their fathers on the plains of Aljubarrotta; while its deficiency in numbers was to be amply compensated by recruits from the disaffected party in Castile, who 13 The ancient rivalry between Portugal, tom. iii. pp. 357-359.) the two nations was exasperated Pulgar, the secretary of Ferdinand into the most deadly rancor, by the and Isabella, addressed, by their fatal defeat at Aljubarrotta, in 1235, order, a letter of remonstrance to in which fell the flower of the Cas- the king of Portugal, in which he tilian nobility. King John I. wore endeavours, by numerous argumourning, it is said, to the day ments founded on expediency and of his death, in commemoration justice, to dissuade him from of this disaster. (Faria y Sousa, his meditated enterprise. Pulgar, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. Letras, No. 7. 394-39fi- La Cldde, Hist. de WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 149 would eagerly flock to its banners, on its advance CHAPTrER across the borders. At the same time negotiations v. were entered into with the king of France, who was invited to make a descent upon Biscay, by a promise, somewhat premature, of a cession of the conquered territory. Early in May, the king of Portugal put his army I-oe nspous-s in motion, and, entering Castile by the way of Es- 1475, tremadura, held a northerly course towards Placencia, where he was met by the duke of Arevalo and the marquis of Villena, and by the latter nobleman presented to the princess Joanna, his destined bride. On the 12th of the month he was affianced with all becoming pomp to this lady, then scarcely thirteen years of age; and a messenger was despatched to the court of Rome, to solicit a dispensation for their marriage, rendered necessary by the consanguinity of the parties. The royal pair were then proclaimed, with the usual solemnities, sovereigns of Castile; and circulars were transmitted to the different cities, setting forth Joanna's title and requiring their allegiance. 14 After some days given to festivity, the army resumed its march, still in a northerly direction, 14 Ruy de Pina, Chronica d'el ceived his presents and used them Rey Alfonso V., cap. 174-178. in the cause of Isabella. - Faria - Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. MS., cap. 16, 17, 18. - Bernaldez ii. pp. 396-398. —Zurita, Anastates, that Alfonso, previously to les, tom. iv. fol. 230 - 240. — his invasion, caused largesses of La Clde, Hist. de Portugal, tom. plate and money to be distributed iii. pp. 360- 362. — Pulgar, Cr6among the Castilian nobles, whom nica, p. 51.- L. Marineo, Cosas he imagined to be well affected Memorables, fol. 156. —Oviedo, towards him. Some of them, the Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. duke of Alva in particular, re- 2, dial. 3. 1,50 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. PnAr upon Arevalo, where Alfonso determined to await the arrival of the reinforcements which he expected from his Castilian allies. Had he struck at once into the southern districts of Castile, where most of those friendly to his cause were to be found, and immediately commenced active operations with the aid of the marquis of Cadiz, who it was understood was prepared to support him in that quarter, it is difficult to say what might have been the result. Ferdinand and Isabella were so wholly unprepared at the time of Alfonso's invasion, that it is said they could scarcely bring five hundred horse to oppose it. By this opportune delay at Arevalo, they obtained space for preparation. Both of them were indefatigable in their efforts. Isabella, we are told, was frequently engaged through the whole night in dictating despatches to her secretaries. She visited in person such of the garrisoned towns as required to be confirmed in their allegiance, performing long and painful journeys on horseback with surprising celerity, and enduring fatigues, which, as she was at that time in delicate health, wellnigh proved fatal to her constitution. 15 On an excursion to Toledo, she determined to make one effort more to regain the confidence of her ancient minister the archbishop. She accordingly sent an envoy to inform him of her intention to wait on him in person at his residence in Alcal'a de Henares. But as the surly prelate, far from being moved by this conde15 The queen, who was, at that incessant personal exposure. Zutime, in a state of pregnancy, rita, Anales,tom. iv. fol. 234. brought on a miscarriage by her WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 151 scension, returned for answer, that, " if the queen CHAPTER entered by one door, he would go out at the other," Khe did not choose to compromise her dignity by any further advances. By Isabella's extraordinary exertions, as well as castlfaI army. those of her husband, the latter found himself, in the beginning of July, at the head of a force amounting in all to four thousand men-at-arms, eight thousand light horse, and thirty thousand foot, an ill-disciplined militia, chiefly drawn from the mountainous districts of the north, which manifested peculiar devotion to his cause; his partisans in the south being preoccupied with suppressing domestic revolt. and with incursions on the frontiers of Portugal.1 Meanwhile Alfonso, after an unprofitable deten- Ferdin:al. n-lilaches tion of nearly two months at Arevalo, marched foAls"' on Toro, which, by a preconcerted agreement, was delivered into his hands by the governor of the city, although the fortress, under the conduct of a woman, continued to maintain a gallant defence. While occupied with its reduction, Alfonso was invited to receive the submission of the adjacent city and castle of Zamora. The defection of these places, two of the most considerable in the province of Leon, and peculiarly important to the king of Portugal from their vicinity to his dominions, was severely felt by Ferdinand, who determined to advance at once against his rival, and bring their quarrel to the issue of a battle; in this, acting in 16 Carbajal, Anales, MS., ario d'Espagne, tom. vii. p. 411.75. - Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, MS., pp. 45 - 55. - Ferreras, Hist. cap. 23. 152 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. vART opposition to the more cautious counsel of his father, who recommended the policy, usually judged most prudent for an invaded country, of acting on the defensive, instead of risking all on the chances of a single action. lie challen- Ferdinand arrived before Toro on the 19th of ges him to ersonal July, and immediately drew up his army, before its walls, in order of battle. As the king of Portugal, however, still kept within his defences, Ferdinand sent a herald into his camp, to defy him to a fair field of fight with his whole army, or, if he declined this, to invite him to decide their differences by personal combat. Alfonso accepted the latter alternative; but, a dispute arising respecting the guaranty for the performance of the engagements on either side, the whole affair evaporated, as usual, in an empty vaunt of chivalry. Disorderly The Castilian army, from the haste with which retreat of the Castil: it had beein mustered, was wholly deficient in batians. tering artillery, and in other means for annoying a fortified city; and, as its communications were cut off, in consequence of the neighbouring fortresses being in possession of the enemy, it soon became straitened for provisions. It was accordingly decided in a council of war to retreat without further delay. No sooner was this determination known, than it excited general dissatisfaction throughout the camp. The soldiers loudly complained that the king was betrayed by his nobles; and a party of over-loyal Biscayans, inflamed by the suspicions of a conspiracy against his person, actually broke into the church where Ferdinand was conferring with WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 153 his officers, and bore him off in their arms from CHAPTER the midst of them to his own tent, notwithstanding - -- his reiterated explanations and remonstrances. The ensuing retreat was conducted in so disorderly a manner by the mutinous soldiery, that Alfonso, says a contemporary, had he but sallied with two thousand horse, might have routed and perhaps annihilated the whole army. Some of the troops were detached to reinforce the garrisons of the loyal cities, but most of them dispersed again among their native mountains. The citadel of Toro soon afterwards capitulated. The archbishop of Toledo, considering these events as decisive of the fortunes of the war, now openly joined the king of Portugal at the head of five hundred lances, boasting at the same time, that "' he had raised Isabella from the distaff, and would soon send her back to it again.' 17 So disastrous an introduction to the campaign might indeed well fill Isabella's bosom with anxiety. The revolutionary movements, which had so long agitated Castile, had so far unsettled every man's political principles, and the allegiance of even the most loyal hung so loosely about them, that it was difficult to estimate how far it might be shaken by such a blow occurring at this crisis.'8 Fortunately, Alfonso was in no condition to profit 17 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, 18 " Pues no os maravilleis de MS., cap. 18. — Faria y Sousa, eso," says Oviedo, in relation to Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. these troubles, " que n6 solo entre 398-400. —Pulgar, Cronica, pp. hermanos suele haber esas dife55 -60.- Ruy de Pina, Chr6n. d' rencias, mas entre padre 6 hijo lo el Rey Alfonso V., cap). 179. —La vimos ayer, como suelen decir." Clde, Hist. de Portugal, tom. iii. Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. p. 366.- Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. 2, dial. 3. fol. 240 - 243. VOL. I. 20 154 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. PART by his success. His Castilian allies had experi_ enced the greatest difficulty in enlisting their vassals in the Portuguese cause; and, far from furnishing him with the contingents which he had expected, found sufficient occupation in the defence of their own territories against the loyal partisans of Isabella. At the same time, numerous squadrons of light cavalry from Estremadura and Andalusia, penetrating into Portugal, carried the most terrible desolation over the whole extent of its unprotected borders. The Portuguese knights loudly murmured at being cooped up in Toro, while their own country was made the theatre of war; and Alfonso saw himself under the necessity of detaching so considerable a portion of his army for the defence of his frontier, as entirely to cripple his future operations. So deeply, indeed, was he impressed, by these circumstances, with the difficulty of his enterprise, that, in a negotiation with the Castilian sovereigns at this time, he expressed a willingness to resign his claims to their crown in consideration of the cession of Galicia, together with the cities of Toro and Zamora, and a considerable sum of money. Ferdinand and his ministers, it is reported, would have accepted the proposal; but Isabella, although acquiescing in the stipulated money payment, would not consent to the dismemberment of a single inch of the Castilian territory. In the mean time both the queen and her husband, undismayed by past reverses, were making every exertion for the reorganization of an army on WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. I &B a more efficient footing. To accomplish this object, CHAPTER an additional supply of funds became necessary, v since the treasure of King Henry, delivered into their hands by Andres de Cabrera, at Segovia, had been exhausted by the preceding operations.l9 The old king of Aragon advised them to imitate their ancestor Henry the Second, of glorious memory, by making liberal grants and alienations in favor of their subjects, which they might, when more firmly seated on the throne, resume at pleasure. Isabella, however, chose rather to trust to the patriotism of her people, than have recourse to so unworthy a stratagem. She accordingly convened an assembly 147.5 of the states, in the month of August, at Medina del Campo. As the nation had been too far impoverished under the late reign to admit of fresh exactions, a most extraordinary expedient was devised for meeting the stipulated requisitions. It was proposed to deliver into the royal treasury half Approprih the amount of plate belonging to the churches church throughout the kingdom, to be redeemed in the term of three years, for the sum of thirty cuentos, or millions, of maravedies. The clergy, who were very generally attached to Isabella's interests, far from discouraging this startling proposal, endeav oured to vanquish the queen's repugnance to it, by 19 The royal coffers were found govia. She subsequently gave a to contain about 10,000 marks of more solid testimony of' her gratisilver. (Pulgar, ReyesCat61. p. 54.) tude, by raising him to the rank Isabella presented Cabrera with of marquis of Moya, with the a golden goblet from her table, grant of an estate suitable to his engaging that a similar present new dignity. - Oviedo, Quincuashould be regularly made to him genas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial and his successors on the anni- 23. versary of his surrender of Se 156 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND iSABELLA. PART arguments and pertinent illustrations drawn from Scripture. This transaction certainly exhibits a degree of disinterestedness, on the part of this body, most unusual in that age and country, as well as a generous confidence in the good faith of Isabella, of which she proved herself worthy by the punctuality with which she redeemed it. 20 Reorganzhae Thus provided with the necessary funds, the sovereigns set about enforcing new levies and bringing them under better discipline, as well as providing for their equipment in a manner more suitable to the exigencies of the service, than was done for the preceding army. The remainder of the summer and the ensuing autumn were con sumed in these preparations, as well as in placing their fortified towns in a proper posture of defence, and in the reduction of such places as held out against them. The king of Portugal, all this while, lay with his diminished forces in Toro, making a sally on one occasion only, for the relief of his friends, which was frustrated by the sleepless vigilance of Isabella. Early in December, Ferdinand passed from the siege of Burgos, in Old Castile, to Zamora, whose inhabitants expressed a desire to return to their 20 The indignation of Dr. Sala- ii. p. 400. - Rades y Andrada, zar de Mendoza is roused by this Las Tres Ordenes, part. 1, fol. misapplication of the church's 67. - Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. money, which he avers "no neces- fol. 243.- Bernaldez, Reyes Casity whatever could justify." This tolicos, MS., cap. 18, 20.) Zuriiga worthy canon flourished in the gives some additional particulars seventeenth century. (Cr6n. del respecting the grant of the cortes, Gran Cardenal, p. 147.- Pulgar, which I do not find verified by any ReyesCat6l. pp.60,-62. —Faria y contemporary author Annales de Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. Sevilla, p. 372. WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 157 ancient allegiance; and, with the coBperation of CITAPTER the citizens, supported by a large detachment from v. his main army, he prepared to invest its citadel. As the possession of this post would effectually intercept Alfonso's communications with his own country, he determined to relieve it at every hazard, and for this purpose despatched a messenger into Portugal requiring his son, Prince John, to reinforce him with such levies as he could speedily raise. All parties now looked'forward with eagerness to a general battle, as to a termination of the evils of this long-protracted war. The Portuguese prince, having with difficulty assembled a corps amounting to two thousand lances and eight thousand infantry, took a northerly circuit round Galicia, and effected a junction with his father in Toro, on the 14th of February, 1476. 1476. Alfonso, thus reinforced, transmitted a pompous circular to the pope, the king of France, his own dominions, and those well affected to him in Castile, proclaiming his immediate intention of taking the usurper, or of driving him from the kingdom. On the night of the 17th, having first provided for the security of the city by leaving in it a powerful reserve, Alfonso drew off the residu e of his army, probably not much exceeding three thousand five hundred horse and five thousand foot, well provided with artillery and with arquebuses, which latter engine was still of so clumsy and unwieldy construction, as not to have entirely superseded the ancient weapons of European warfare. The Por- King of Pot tugal arrives tuguese army, traversing the bridge of Toro, pur- beor~e Za. ]58 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. PART sued their march along the southern side of the Douro, and reached Zamora, distant only a few leagues, before the dawn.2l At break of day, the Castilians were surprised by the array of floating banners, and martial panoply glittering in the sun, from the opposite side of the river, while the discharges of artillery still more unequivocally announced the presence of the enemy. Ferdinand could scarcely believe that the Portuguese monarch, whose avowed object had Absurdposi- been the relief of the castle of Zamora, should tion. have selected a position so obviously unsuitable for this purpose. The intervention of the river, between him and the fortress situated at the northern extremity of the town, prevented him from relieving it, either by throwing succours into it, or by annoying the Castilian troops, who, intrenched in comparative security within the walls and houses of the city, were enabled by means of certain elevated positions, well garnished with artillery, to inflict much heavier injury on their opponents, than they could possibly receive from them. Still Ferdinand's men, exposed to the double fire of the fortress and the besiegers, would willingly have come to an engagement with the latter; but the river, swollen by winter torrents, was not fordable, and the bridge, the only direct avenue to the city, 21 Carbajal, Anales, MS., aiios fol. 156. - Faria y Sousa, Europa 75, 76.- Ruy de Pina, Chron. d' Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 401, 404. el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 187, 189. - Several of the contemporary - Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, Castilian historians compute the MS., cap. 20, 22. - Pulgar, Portuguese army at double the Reyes Catolicos, pp. 63-78.- amount given in the text. L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 159 was enfiladed by the enemy's cannon, so as to CHAPTER render a sally in that direction altogether impracti- - cable. During this time, Isabella's squadrons of light cavalry, hovering on the skirts of the Portuguese camp, effectually cut off its supplies, and soon reduced it to great straits for subsistence. This circumstance, together with the tidings of the rapid advance of additional forces to the support of Ferdinand, determined Alfonso, contrary to all expectation, on an immediate retreat; and accordingly on the morning of the 1st of March, being little HesLdaelf,ly decampls. less than a fortnight from the time in which he commenced this empty gasconade, the Portuguese army quitted its position before Zamora, with the same silence and celerity with which it had occupied it. Ferdinand's troops would instantly have pushed after the fugitives, but the latter had demolished the southern extremity of the bridge before their departure; so that, although some few effected an immediate passage in boats, the great body of the army was necessarily detained until the repairs were completed, which occupied more than three hours. With all the expedition they could use, therefore, and leaving their artillery behind them, they did not succeed in coming up with the enemy until nearly four o'clock in the afternoon, as the latter was defiling through a narrow pass formed by a Overtaken by Ferdicrest of precipitous hills on the one side, and the nand. Douro on the other, at the distance of about five miles from the city of Toro.2" 22 Pulgar, Reyes Catolices, pp. fol. 252, 253. —Faria y Sousa, 82- 85. -Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 160 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. PART A council of war was then called, to decide on the expediency of an immediate assault. It was objected, that the strong position of Toro would effectually cover the retreat of the Portuguese in case of their discomfiture; that they would speedily be reinforced by fresh recruits from that city, which would make them more than a match for Ferdinand's army, exhausted by a toilsome march, as well as by its long fast, which it had not broken since the morning; and that the celerity, with which it had moved, had compelled it, not only to abandon its artillery, but to leave a considerable portion of the heavy-armed infantry in the rear. Notwithstanding the weight of these objections, such were the high spirit of the troops and their eagerness to come to action, sharpened by the view of the quarry, which after a wearisome chase seemed ready to fall into their hands, that they were thought more than sufficient to counterbalance every physical disadvantage; and the question of battle was decided. in the affirmative. Battle of As the Castilian army emerged from the defile Toro into a wide and open plain, they found that the enemy had halted, and was already forming in order of battle. The king of Portugal led the centre, with the archbishop of Toledo on his right wing, its extremity resting on the Douro; while the left, comprehending the arquebusiers and the strength of the cavalry, was placed under the command of his son, Prince John. The numerical force of the 404, 405. - Bernaldez, Reyes Ca- Pina, Chr6n. d'el Rey Alfonso V,. t6licos, MS., cap. 23. —Ruy de cap. 190. WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 16 l two armies, although in favor of the Portuguese, CITAPrTE was nearly equal, amounting probably in each to less than ten thousand men, about one third being cavalry. Ferdinand took his station in the centre, opposite his rival, having the admiral and the duke of Alba on his left; while his right wing, distributed into six battles or divisions, under their several commanders, was supported by a detachment of men-at-arms from the provinces of Leon and Galicia. The action commenced in this quarter. The Castilians, raising the war-cry of " St. James and St. Lazarus," advanced on the enemy's left under Prince John, but were saluted with such a brisk and well-directed fire from his arquebusiers, that their ranks were disconcerted. The Portuguese men-atarms, charging them at the same time, augmented their confusion, and compelled them to fall back precipitately on the narrow pass in their rear, where, being supported by some fresh detachments from the reserve, they were with difficulty rallied by their officers, and again brought into the field. In the mean while, Ferdinand closed with the enemy's centre, and the action soon became general along the whole line. The battle raged with redoubled fierceness in the quarter where the presence of the two monarchs infused new ardor into their soldiers, who fought as if conscious that this struggle was to decide the fate of their masters. The lances were shivered at the first encounter, and, as the ranks of the two armies mingled with each other, the men VOL. I. 21 162 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. PART fought hand to hand with their swords, with a fury sharpened by the ancient rivalry of the two nations, making the whole a contest of physical strength rather than skill. 3 The royal standard of Portugal was torn to shreds in the attempt to seize it on the one side and to preserve it on the other, while its gallant bearer, Edward de Almeyda, after losing first his right arm, and then his left, in its defence, held it firmly with his teeth until he was cut down by the assailants. The armour of this knight was to be seen as late as Mariana's time, in the cathedral church of Toledo, where it was preserved as a trophy of this desperate act of heroism, which brings to mind a similar feat recorded in Grecian story. The old' archbishop of Toledo, and the cardinal Mendoza, who, like his reverend rival, had exchanged the crosier for the corslet, were to be seen,on that day in the thickest of the -me'lee. The holy wars with the infidel perpetuated the unbe-,coming spectacle of militant ecclesiastics among the Spaniards, to a still later period, and long after it had disappeared from the rest of civilized Eu_rope. The Portu- At length, after an obstinate struggle of more gueme routed than three hours, the valor of the Castilian troops prevailed, and the Portuguese were seen to give 23Carbajal, Anales, MS., aiio ii. pp. 404, 405. —Bernaldez, 76. —L. Marineo, Cosas Memo- Reyes Cat6licos, MS., cap. 23.tables, fol. 158. —PulIgar, Reyes La Clde, Hist. de Portugal, tom. Catl1icos', pp. 85- 89. — Faria y iii. pp. 378 -383. - Zurita, AnaSousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom les, tom. iv. fol. 252 - 255. WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 16' way in all directions. The duke of Alva, by suc- cnrAP eit V. ceeding in turning their flank, while they were v. thus vigorously pressed in front, completed their disorder, and soon converted: their retreat into a rout. Some, attempting to cross the Douro, were drowned, and many, who endeavoured to effect an entrance into Toro, were entangled in the narrow defile of the bridge, and fell by the sword of their pursuers, or miserably perished in the river, which, bearing along their mutilated corpses, brought tidings of the fatal victory to Zamora. Such were the heat and fury of the pursuit, that the intervening night, rendered darker than usual by a driving rain storm, alone saved the scattered remains of the army from destruction. Several Portuguese companies, under favor of this obscurity, contrived to elude their foes by shouting the Castilian battlecry. Prince John, retiring with; a fragment of his broken squadrons to a neighbouring eminence, succeeded, by lighting fires and sounding his trumpets, in rallying round him a number of fugitives; and, as the position he occupied was too strong to be readily forced, and the Castilian troops were too weary, and well satisfied with their victory, to attempt it, he retained pos'ePssion of it till morning, when he made good his reutf,- t into Toro. The king of Portugal, who was missing. was supposed to have perished in the battle, until, by advices received from him late on the following day, it was ascertained that he had escaped without personal injury, and with three or four attendants only, to the Iortified castle of Castro Nufo, some leagues distant 164 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. PART from the field of action. Numbers of his troops, attempting to escape across the neighbouring frontiers into their own country, were maimed or massacred by the Spanish peasants, in retaliation of the excesses wantonly committed by them in their invasion of Castile. Ferdinand, shocked at this barbarity, issued orders for the protection of their persons, and freely gave safe-conducts to such as desired to return into Portugal. He even, with a degree of humanity more honorable, as well as more rare, than military success, distributed clothes and money to several prisoners brought into Zamora in a state of utter destitution, and enabled them to return in safety to their own country. 24 The Castilian monarch remained on the field of battle till after midnight, when he returned to Zamora, being followed in the morning by the cardinal of Spain and the admiral Henriquez, at the head of the victorious legions. Eight standards with the greater part of the baggage were taken in the engagement, and more than two thousand of the enemy slain or made prisoners. Queen.sabella's Isabella, on receiving tidings of the event at Torhanksgiving or~ the vic- desillas, where she then was, ordered a procession ory. 24 Faria y Sousa claims the Cat6licos, pp. 85-90.- L. Marihonors of the victory for the Por- neo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 158. tuguese, because Prince John kept - Carbajal, Anales, MS., alio 76. the field till morning. Even M. La - Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, Clede, with all his deference to the MS., cap. 23. Ruy de Pina, Portuguese historian, cannot swal- Chron. d' el Rey Alfonso V., cap. low this. Faria y Sousa, Ellropa 191. - Ferdinand, in allusion to Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 405-410. Prince John, wrote to his wife - Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., that "if it had not been for the bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8. - Salazar chicken, the old cock would have de Mendoza, Cron. delGran Carde- been taken." GaribLy, Compen nal, lib. 1, cap. 46.- Pulgar, Reyes dio, lib. 18, cap. 8. WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 165 to the church of St. Paul in the suburbs, in which cHAPrTE she herselfjoined, walking barefoot with all humili- V ty, and offered up a devout thanksgiving to the God of battles for the victory with which he had crowned her arms. 25 It was indeed a most auspicious victory, not so Sbonisslo of the owlhote much from the immediate loss inflicted on the en- kingdom emy, as from its moral influence on the Castilian nation. Such as had before vacillated in their faith, who, in the expressive language of Bernaldez, " estaban aviva quien vence," - who were prepared to take sides with the strongest, now openly proclaimed their allegiance to Ferdinand and Isabella; while most of those, who had been arrayed in arms, or had manifested by any other overt act their hostility to the government, vied with each other in demonstrations of the most loyal submissioA, and sought to make the best terms for themselves which they could. Among these latter, the duke of Arevalo, who indeed had made overtures to this effect some time previous through the agency of his son, together with the grand master of Calatrava, and the count of Uruela, his brother, experienced the lenity of government, and were confirmed in the entire possession of their estates.'Fhe two principal delinquents, the marquis of Villena and the archbishop of Toledo, made a show of resistance- for some time longer; but, after 25 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, p. do, with the title of San Juan de 90. - The sovereigns, in compli- los Reyes, in commemoration of ance with a previous vow, caused their victory over the Portuguese. a superb monastery, dedicated to This edifice was still to be seen in St. Francis, to be erected in Tole- Mariana's time. 166 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. PART witnessing the demolition of their castles, the capture of their towns, the desertion of their vassals, and the sequestration of their revenues, were fain to purchase a pardon at the price of the most humble concessions, and the forfeiture of an ample portion of domain. The castle of Zamora, expecting no further succours from Portugal, speedily surrendered, and this event was soon followed by the reduction of Madrid, Baeza, Toro, and other principal cities; so that, in little more than six months from the date of the battle, the whole kingdom, with the exception of a few insignificant posts still garrisoned by the enemy, had acknowledged the supremacy of Ferdinand and Isabella.26 Soon after the victory of Toro, Ferdinand was enabled to concentrate a force amounting to fifty thousand men, for the purpose of repelling the French from Guipuscoa, from which they had already twice been driven by the intrepid natives, and whence they again retired with precipitation on receiving news of the king's approach.27 The Kigvof Alfonso, finding his authority in Castile thus Portugal vidi itsFce. rapidly melting away before the rising influence of Ferdinand and Isabella, withdrew with his virgin bride into Portugal, where he formed the resolution 26 Rades y Andrada, Las Tres dez, Reyes Cat6licos, MS., cap. 10. Ordenes, tom. ii. fol. 79, 80.- Pul- -Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. gar, Reyes Cat6licos, cap. 48- 50, 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8. 55, 60. — Zurita, Anales, lib. 19, 27 Gaillard, Rivalit6, tom. iii cap. 46, 48, 54, 58. - Ferreras, pp. 290 - 292. — Carbajal, Anales, Hist. d'Espagne, tom. vii. pp. 476 MS., ailo 76. -478, 517- 519, 546. -Bernal WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 167 of visiting France in person, and soliciting succour cHAPTEr from his ancient ally, Louis the Eleventh. In spite of every remonstrance, he put this extraordinary scheme into execution. He reached France, with a retinue of two hundred followers, in the month of September. He experienced everywhere the honors due to his exalted rank, and to the signal mark of confidence, which he thus exhibited towards the French king. The keys of the cities were delivered into his hands, the prisoners were released from their dungeons, and his progress was attended by a general jubilee. His brother monarch, however, excused himself from affording more substantial proofs of his regard, until he should have closed the war then pending between him and Burgundy, and until Alfonso should have fortified his title to the Castilian crown, by obtaining from the pope a dispensation for his marriage with Joanna. The defeat and death of the duke of Burgundy, whose camp, before Nanci, Alfonso visited in the depth of winter, with the chimerical purpose of effecting a reconciliation between him and Louis, removed the former of these impediments; as, in good time, the compliance of the pope did the latter. But the king of Portugal found himself no nearer the object of his negotiations; and, after waiting a whole year a needy supplicant at the court of Louis, he at length ascertained that his insidious host was concerting an arrangement with his mortal foes, Ferdinand and Isabella. Alfonso, whose character always had a spice of Quixotism 168 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. PART in it, seems to have completely lost his wits at this last reverse of fortune. Overwhelmed with shame at his own credulity, he felt himself unable to encounter the ridicule which awaited his return to Portugal, and secretly withdrew, with two or three domestics only, to an obscure village in Normandy, whence he transmitted an epistle to Prince John, his son, declaring, " that, as all earthly vanities were dead within his bosom, he resolved to lay up an imperishable crown by performing a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and devoting himself to the service of God, in some retired monastery; " and he concluded with requesting his son " to assume the sovereignty, at once, in the same manner as if he had heard of his father's death." 28 Returns to Fortunately Alfonso's retreat was detected before he had time to put his extravagant project in execution, and his trusty followers succeeded, though with considerable difficulty, in diverting him from it; while the king of France, willing to be rid of his importunate guest, and unwilling perhaps to incur the odium of having driven him to so desperate an extremity as that of his projected pilgrimage, provided a fleet of ships to transport him back to his own dominions, where, to complete 1478. the farce, he arrived just five days after the cereNov 15. mony of his son's coronation as king of Portugal. Nor was it destined that the luckless monarch 28 Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, 20, cap. 10.- Ruy de Pina, Chron. MS.,cap. 27. —Pulgar, ReyesCa- d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 194t6licos, cap. 56, 57. - Gaillard, Ri- 202.- Faria y Sousa, Europa Por. valit*, tom. iii. pp. 290-292. — tuguesa, tom. ii. pp.412-415. — Zurita, Anales, lib. 19, cap. 56, lib. Comines, Memoires, liv. 5, chap. 7. WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 169 should solace himself, as he had hoped, in the arms CIIAPTER of his youthful bride; since the pliant pontiff, Sixtus the Fourth, was ultimately persuaded by the court of Castile to issue a new bull overruling the dispensation formerly conceded, on the ground that it had been obtained by a misrepresentation of facts. Prince John, whether influenced by filial piety, or prudence, resigned the crown of Portugal to his father, soon after his return; 9 and the old monarch was no sooner reinstated in his authority, than, burning with a thirst for vengeance, which made him insensible to every remonstrance, he again prepared to throw his country into combustion by reviving his enterprise against Castile.30 While these hostile movements were in progress, Peace-t", Ferdinand, leaving his consort in possession of a 1478. sufficient force for the protection of the frontiers, made a journey into Biscay for the purpose of an interview with his father, the king of Aragon, to concert measures for the pacification of Navarre, which still continued to be rent with those sanguinary feuds, that were bequeathed like a precious 29 According to Faria y Sousa, pered to the duke of Braganza, " I John was walking along the shores will take good care that that stone of the Tagus, with the duke of does not rebound on me." Soon Braganza, and the cardinal, arch- after, he left Portugal for Rome, bishop of Lisbon, when he received where he fixed his residence. The the unexpected tidings of his fa- duke lost his life on the scaffold ther's return to Portugal. On his for imputed treason, soon after inquiring of his attendants, how he John's accession. -Europa Portushould receive him, "t How but as guesa, tom. ii. p. 416. your king and father! " was the 30 Comines, Mkmoires, liv. 5, reply; at which John, knitting his chap. 7. - Faria y Sousa, Europa brows together, skimmed a stone, Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 116. - Zuwhich he held in his hand, with rita, Anales, lib. 20, cap. 25.much violence across the water. Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, MS., The cardinal, observing this, whis- cap. 27. VOL. I. 22 170 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. PART legacy from one generation to another.3' In the autumn of the same year a treaty of peace was definitively adjusted between the plenipotentiaries of Castile and France, at St. Jean de Luz, in which it was stipulated as a principal article, that Louis the Eleventh should disconnect himself from his alliance with Portugal, and give no further support to the pretensions of Joanna.32 Active fIea- Thus released from apprehension in this quarter, bella. the sovereigns were enabled to give their undivided attention to the defence of the western borders. Isabella, accordingly, early in the ensuing winter, passed into Estremadura for the purpose of repelling the Portuguese, and still more of suppressing the insurrectionary movements of certain of her own subjects, who, encouraged by the vicinity of Portugal, carried on from their private fortresses a most desolating and predatory warfare over the circumjacent territory. Private mansions and farmhouses were pillaged and burnt to the ground, the cattle and crops swept away in their forays, the highways beset, so that all travelling was at an end, all communication cut off, and a rich and populous 31 This was the first meeting ground that Ferdinand, as king between father and son since the of Castile, represented the elder elevation of the latter to the Cas- branch of Trastamara, while he tilian throne. King John would represented only the younger. It not allow Ferdinand to kiss his will not be easy to meet with an hand; he chose to walk on his instance of more punctilious etileft; he attended him to his quar- quette, even in Spanish history. - ters, and, in short, during the Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, cap. 75. whole twenty days of their con- 32 Salazar de Mendoza, Cr6n. ference, manifested towards his del Gran Cardenal, p. 162.- ZLson all the deference, which, as a rita, Anales, lib. 20, cap. 25.parent, he was entitled to receive Carbajal, Anales, MS., ailo 79. from him. This he did on the WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. I ] I district converted at once into a desert. Isabella, CHAPTER supported by a body of regular troops and a detach- -- ment of the Holy Brotherhood, took her station at Truxillo, as a central position, whence she might operate on the various points with greatest facility. HIer counsellors remonstrated against this exposure of her person in the very heart of the disaffected country; but she replied -that " it was not for her to calculate perils or fatigues in her own cause, nor by an unseasonable timidity to dishearten her friends, with whom she was now resolved to remain until she had brought the war to a conclusion." She then gave immediate orders for laying siege at the same time to the fortified towns of Medellin, Merida, and Deleytosa. At this juncture the infanta Doha Beatriz of Treatyof peace with Portugal, sister-in-law of king Alfonso, and mater-'Portu"g nal aunt of Isabella, touched with grief at the calamities, in which she saw her country involved by the chimerical ambition of her brother, offered herself as the mediator of peace between the belligerent nations. Agreeably to her proposal, an interview took place between her and queen Isabella at the frontier town of Alcantara. As the conferences of the fair negotiators experienced none of the embarrassments usually incident to such deliberations, growing out of jealousy, distrust, and a mutual design to overreach, but were conducted in perfect good faith, and a sincere desire, on both sides, of establishing a cordial reconciliation, they resulted, after eight days' discussion, in a treaty of peace, with which the Portuguese infanta returned into 172 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. PART her own country, in order to obtain the sanction...- of her royal brother. The articles contained in it, however, were too unpalatable to receive an immediate assent; and it was not until the expiration of six months, during which Isabella, far from relaxing, persevered with increased energy in her 1 4 7 9. original plan of operations, that the treaty was forepot. 24. mally ratified by the court of Lisbon.33 It was stipulated in this compact, that Alfonso should relinquish the title and armorial bearings, which he had assumed as king of Castile; that he should resign his claims to the hand of Joanna, and no longer maintain her pretensions to the Castilian throne; that that lady should make the election within six months, either to quit Portugal for ever, or to remain there on the condition of wedding Don John, the infant son of Ferdinand and Isabella,34 so soon as he should attain a marriageable age, or to retire into a convent, and take the veil; that a general amnesty should be granted to all such Castilians as had supported Joanna's cause; and, finally, that the concord between the two nations should be cemented by the union of Alonso, son of the prince of Portugal, with the infanta Isabella, of Castile. 35 33 Ruy de Pina, Chr6n. d'el Rey 34 Born the preceding year, June Alfonso V., cap. 206.-L. Marineo, 28th, 1478. Carbajal, Anales, MS., Cosas Memorables, fol. 166, 167. anno eodem. — Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, cap. 35 L. Marineo, Cosas Memora85, 89, 90. - Faria y Sousa, Eu- bles, fol. 168. - Pulgar, Reyes ropa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 420, Cat6licos, cap. 91.- Faria y Sou421.- Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, sa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. tom. vii. p. 538. - Carbajal, Ana- 420, 421. - Ruy de Pina, Chr6n les, MS., afio 79. - Bernaldez, d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 206. Reyes Catolicos, MS., cap. 28, 36, 37. WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 173 Thus terminated, after a duration of four years CHAPTER and a half, the War of the Succession. It had Vfallen with peculiar fury on the border provinces of Leon and Estremadura, which, from their local position, had necessarily been kept in constant collision with the enemy. Its baneful effects were long visible there, not only in the general devastation and distress of the country, but in the moral disorganization, which the licentious and predatory habits of soldiers necessarily introduced among a simple peasantry. In a personal view, however, the war had terminated most triumphantly for Isabella, whose wise and vigorous administration, seconded by her husband's vigilance, had dispelled the storm, which threatened to overwhelm her from abroad, and established her in undisturbed possession of the throne of her ancestors. Joanna's interests were alone compromised, or Joanna tMsae rather sacrificed, by the treaty. She readily discerned in the provision for her marriage with an infant still in the cradle, only a flimsy veil intended to disguise the king of Portugal's desertion of her cause. Disgusted with a world, in which she had hitherto experienced nothing but misfortune herself, and been the innocent cause of so much to others, she determined to renounce it for ever, and seek a shelter in the peaceful shades of the cloister. She accordingly entered the convent of Santa Clara at Coimbra, where, in the following year, she pronounced the irrevocable vows, which divorce the unhappy subject of them for ever from her species. Two envoys from Castile, Ferdinand de Talavera, 174 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. PART Isabella's confessor, and Dr. Diaz de Madrigal, one of her council, assisted at this affecting ceremony; and the reverend father, in a copious exhortation addressed to the youthful novice, assured her "that she had chosen the better part approved in the Evangelists; that, as spouse of the church, her chastity would be prolific of all spiritual delights; her subjection, liberty, — the only true liberty, partaking more of Heaven than of earth. No kinsman," continued the disinterested preacher, ":no true friend, or faithful counsellor, would divert you from so holy a purpose." 36 kath of the Not long after this event, I(ing Alfonso, penetratking of Portugal. ed- with grief at the loss of his destined bride,the "excellent lady," as the Portuguese continue to call her, - resolved to imitate her example, and exchange his royal robes for the humble habit of a Franciscan friar. He consequently made preparation for resigning his crown anew, and retiring to 36 Ruy de Pina, Chr6n. d'el between the courts of Castile and Rey Alfonso V., cap. 20.- Faria Portugal, and to have been a priny Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. cipal cause of those frequent interii. p. 421. - Pulgar, Reyes Ca- marriages between the royal fami tolicos, cap. 92. - L. Marineo lies of the two countries, by which speaks of the Se&ora muy e.celen- Ferdinand and Isabella hoped to ts, as an inmate of the cloister at detach the Portuguese crown from the period in which he was writ- her interests. Joanna affected a ing, 1522. (fol. 168.) Notwith- royal style and magnificence, and standing her "irrevocable vows," subscribed herself " I the Queen," however, Joanna several times to the last. She died in the palace quitted the monastery, and main- at Lisbon, in 1530, in the 69th year tained a royal state under the of her age, having survived most protection of the Portuguese tmon- of her ancient friends, suitors, and archs, who occasionally threat- competitors. - Joanna's history, ened to revive her dormant claims subsequent to her talking the veil. to: the prejudice of the Castilian has been collected,: with his usual sovereigns. She may be said, precision, by Selleor Clemencin, consequently, to have formed the Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., tom pivot, on which turned, during her vi., Ilust. 19. whole life, thetdiplomatic relations WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 175 the monastery of Varatojo, on a bleak eminence CHAPTER near the Atlantic ocean, when he suddenly fell ill,'2 at Cintra, of a disorder which terminated his existence, on the 28th of August, 1481. Alfonso's fiery character, in which all the: elements of love, chivalry, and religion were blended together, reserhbled that of some paladin of romance; as the chimerical enterprises, in which he was perpetually engaged, seem rather to belong to the age of knighterrantry, than to the fifteenth century. 37 In the beginning of the same year in which the Deeah of pacification with Portugal secured to the, sovereigns Aragon. the undisputed possession of Castile, another crown devolved on Ferdinand by the death of his father, the king of Aragon, who, expired at Barcelona, on the 20th of January, 1479, in the eighty-third year of his age. 38 Such was his admirable constitution, that he retained not only his intellectual, but his bodily vigor, unimpaired to the last. His long life was consumed in civil faction or foreign wars; and dis restless spirit seemed to take delight in these tumultuous scenes, as best fitted to develope its various energies. He combined, however, with this intrepid and even ferocious temper, an address in the management of affairs, which led him to rely, for the accomplishment of his purposes, much more on negotiation than on positive force. He may be said to have been one of the first monarchs, 37 Faria y Sousa, Europa Por- 79. — Bernaldez, Reves Cat6licos, tuguesa, tom. ii.p 423. —Ruyde MS., cap. 42.- Mariana, Hist. Pina, Chr6n. d' el Rey Alfonso V., de Espaiia, (ed. Valencia,) tom. cap. 212. viii. p. 204, not. -Abarca, Reyes 38 Carbajal, Anales, MS., ailo de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 2935. 176 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. rART who brought into vogue that refined science of the cabinet, which was so profoundly studied by statesmen at the close of the fifteenth century, and on which his own son Ferdinand furnished the most practical commentary. The crown of Navarre, which he had so shamelessly usurped, devolved, on his decease, on his guilty daughter Leonora, countess of Foix, who, as we have before noticed, survived to enjoy it only three short weeks. Aragon, with its extensive dependencies, descended to Ferdinand. Thus the two crowns of Aragon and Castile, after a separation of more than four centuries, became indissolubly united, and the foundations were laid of the magnificent empire, which was destined to overshadow every other European monarchy. CHAPTER VI. INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 1475- 1482. Schemes of Reform. - Holy Brotherhood.- Tumult at Segovia. — The Queen's Presence of Mind.- Sexere Execution of Justice. - Royal Progress through Andalusia. - Reorganization of the Tribunals. - Castilian Jurisprudence. - Plans for reducing the Nobles.Revocation of Grants. - Military Orders of Castile. - Masterships annexed to the Crown. - Ecclesiastical Usurpations resisted. - Restoration of Trade. -Prosperity of the Kingdom. I HAVE deferred to the present chapter a consid- CHAPTER eration of the important changes introduced into the interior administration of Castile, after the accession of Isabella, in order to present a connected and comprehensive view of them to the reader, without interrupting the progress of the military narrative. The subject may afford an agreeable relief to the dreary details of blood and battle, with which we have been so long occupied, and which were rapidly converting the garden of Europe into a wilderness. Such details indeed seem to have the deepest interest for contemporary writers; but the eye of posterity, unclouded by personal interest or passion, turns with satisfaction from them to those cultivated arts, which can make the wilderness to blossom as the rose. VOL. 1. 23 178 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART If there be any being on earth, that may be per2___ mitted to remind us of the Deity himself, it is the ruler of a mighty empire, who employs the high powers intrusted to him exclusively for the benefit of his people; who, endowed with intellectual gifts corresponding with his station, in an age of comparative barbarism, endeavours to impart to his land the light of civilization which illumines his own bosom, and to create from the elements of discord the beautiful fabric of social order. Such was Isabella; and such the age in which she lived. And fortunate was it for Spain that her sceptre, at this crisis, was swayed by a sovereign possessed of sufficient wisdom to devise, and energy to execute, the most salutary schemes of reform, and thus to infuse a new principle of vitality into a government, fast sinking into premature decrepitude. Scheme of The whole plan of reform introduced into the reform for hentofas- government by Ferdinand and Isabella, or more tile. properly by the latter, to whom the internal administration of Castile was principally referred, was not fully unfolded until the completion of her reign. But the most important modifications were adopted previously to the war of Granada in 1482. These may be embraced under the following heads. I. The efficient administration of justice. II. The codification of the laws. III. The depression of the nobles. IV. The vindication of ecclesiastical rights belonging to the crown from the usurpation of the papal see. V. The regulation of trade VI. The preeminence of royal authority. imtinistra- I. The administration of justice. In the dismal lira. ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 1I 7 anarchy, which prevailed in Henry the Fourth's cHAPTER reign, the authority of the monarch and of the royal judges had fallen into such contempt, that the law was entirely without force. The cities afforded no better protection than the open country. Every man's hand seemed to be lifted against his neighbour. Property was plundered; persons were violated; the most holy sanctuaries profaned; and the numerous fortresses scattered throughout the country, instead of sheltering the weak, converted into dens of robbers.' Isabella saw no better way of checking this unbounded license, than to direct against it that popular engine, the Santa Herman- Establish dad, or Holy Brotherhood, which had more than Hermad.d once shaken the Castilian monarchs on their throne. The project for the reorganization of this institution was introduced into the cortes held, the year after Isabella's accession at Madrigal, in 1476. It was carried into effect by the junta of deputies from the different cities of the kingdom, convened at Duenias in the same year. The new institution differed essentially from the ancient hermandades, since, instead of being partial in its extent, it was designed to embrace the whole kingdom; and, instead of being directed, as had often been the case, 1 Among other examples, Pul- tribute, (black mail,) to protect gar mentions that of the alcayde of their territories from his rapacity. Castro-Nilllo, Pedro de Merdana, His successful example was imiwho from the strong-holds in his tated by many other knightly freepossession, committed such griev- booters of the period. (Reyes ous devastations throughout the Cat6licos, part. 2, cap. 66.) — See country, that. the cities of Burgos, also extracts cited by Saez from Avila, Salamanca, Segovia, Valla- manuscript notices by contemporadolid, AMedina, and others in that ries of Henry IV. Moned&s de,luarter, were fain to pay him a Enrique IV., pp. 1, 2. 180 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART against the crown itself, it was set in motion at the suggestion of the latter, and limited in its operation to the maintenance of public order. The crimes, reserved for its jurisdiction, were all violence or theft committed on the highways or in the open country, and in cities by such offenders as escaped into the country; house-breaking; rape; and resistance of justice. The specification of these crimes shows their frequency; and the reason for designating the open country, as the particular theatre for the operations of the hermandad, was the facility which criminals possessed there for eluding the pursuit of justice, especially under shelter of the strong-holds or fortresses, with which it was plentifully studded. An annual contribution of eighteen thousand maravedles was assessed on every hundred vecinos or householders, for the equipment and maintenance of a horseman, whose duty it was to arrest offenders, and enforce the sentence of the law. On the flight of a criminal, the tocsins of the villages, through which he was supposed to have passed, were sounded, and the quadrilleros or officers of the brotherhood, stationed on the different points, took up the pursuit with such promptness as left little chance of escape. A court of two alcaldes was established in every town containing thirty families, for the trial of all crimes within the jurisdiction of the hermandad; and an appeal lay from them in specified cases to a supreme council. A general junta, composed of deputies from the cities throughout the kingdom, was annually con ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 181 vened for the regulation of affairs, and their in- CHAPTER1 VI. structions were transmitted to provincial juntas, who superintended the execution of them. The Cofde to h!. laws, enacted at different times in these assemblies, were compiled into a code under the sanction of the junta general at Tordelaguna, in 1485.2 The penalties for theft, which are literally written in blood, are specified in this code with singular precision. The most petty larceny was punished with stripes, the loss of a member, or of life itself; and the law was administered with an unsparing rigor, which nothing but the extreme necessity of the case could justify. Capital executions were conducted by shooting the criminal with arrows. The enactment, relating to this, provides, that " the convict shall receive the sacrament like a Catholic Christian, and after that be executed as speedily as possible, in order that his soul may pass the more securely."s Notwithstanding the popular constitution of the nffctw,, opposition hermandad, and the obvious advantages attending of the I.oits introduction at this juncture, it experienced so decided an opposition from the nobility, who dis2 The Quaderno of the laws of ed. 1539. - Mem. de la Acad. de the Herimandad has now become Hist., tom. vi., Ilust. 4. - Carvery rare. That in my possession bajal, Anales, MS., aiio 76. - Lewas printed at Burgos, in 1527. brija, Rerum Gestarum Decades, It has since been incorporated with fol. 36. - By one of the laws, the considerable extension into the inhabitants of such seignorial Recopilacion of Philip II. towns as refused to pay the contri 3 Quaderno de las Leyes Nue- butions of the Hermandad were vas de la Hermandad, (Burgos, excluded from its benefits, as well 1527,) leyes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 16, as from traffic with, and even the 20, 36, 37. -Pulgar, Reyes Ca- power of recovering their debts t6licos, part. 2, cap. 51. -L. Ma- from other natives of the kingdom. rineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 160, Ley 33. 182 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART cerned the check it was likely to impose on their Ui. L authority, that it required all the queen's address and perseverance to effect its general adoption. The constable de Haro, however, a nobleman of great weight from his personal character, and the most extensive landed proprietor in the north, was at length prevailed on to introduce it among his vassals. His example was gradually followed by others of the same rank; and, when the city of Seville, and the great lords of Andalusia, had consented to receive it, it speedily became established throughout the kingdom. Thus a standing body of troops, two thousand ill number, thoroughly equipped and mounted, was placed at the disposal of the crown, to enforce the law, and suppress domestic insurrection. The supreme junta, which regulated the counsels of the hermandad, constituted moreover a sort of inferior cortes, relieving the exigencies of government, as we shall see hereafter, on more than one occasion, by important supplies of men and money. By the activity of this new military police, the country was, in the course of a few years, cleared of its swarms of banditti, as well as of the robber chieftains, whose strength had enabled them to defy the law. The ministers of justice found a sure protection in the independent discharge of their duties; and the blessings of personal security and social order, so long estranged from the nation, were again restored to it. The important benefits, resulting from the institution of the hermandad, secured its confirmation by successive cortes, for the period of twenty ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 183 two years, in spite of the repeated opposition of CIHAPTER the aristocracy. At length, in 1498, the objects -Vfor which it was established having been completely obtained, it was deemed advisable to relieve the nation from the heavy charges which its maintenance imposed. The great salaried officers were dismissed; a few subordinate functionaries were r'etained for the administration of justice, over whom the regular courts of criminal law possessed appellate jurisdiction; and the magnificent apparatus of the Santa Hermandad, stripped of all but the terrors of its name, dwindled into an ordinary police, such as it has existed, with various modifications of form, down to the present century. 4 Isabella was so intent on the prosecution of her.'uMnut ot Segovia. schemes of reform, that, even in the minuter details, she frequently superintended the execution of them herself. For this she was admirably fitted by her pIersonal address, and presence of mind in danger, and by the influence which a conviction of her integrity gave her over the minds of the people. A remarkable exemplification of this occurred, the year but one after her coronation, at Segovia. The inhabitants, secretly instigated by the bishop of that place, and some of the principal citizens, rose against Cabrera, marquis of Moya, to whom the government of the city had been intrusted, and 4 Recopilacion de las Leyes, — Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum De(Madrid, 1640,) lib. 8, tit. 13, ley cad., fol. 37, 38. —Las Pragmt44. - Zuiriga, Annales de Sevilla, ticas del Reyno, (Sevilla, 1520,) p. 379. — Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, fol. 85. - L. Marineo, Cosas part. 2, cap. 51. - Mem. de la Memorables, fol. 160. Acad. fie Hist., tom. vi. Ilust. 6 184 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART who had made himself generally unpopular by his strict discipline. They even proceeded so far as to obtain possession of the outworks of the citadel, and to compel the deputy of the alcayde, who was himself absent, to take shelter, together with the princess Isabella, then the only daughter of the sovereigns, in the interior defences, where they were rigorously blockaded. Isabella's The queen, on receiving tidings of the event mind. at Tordesillas, mounted her horse and proceeded with all possible despatch towards Segovia, attended by Cardinal Mendoza, the count of Benavente, and a few others of her court. At some distance from the city, she was met by a deputation of the inhabitants, requesting her to leave behind the count of Benavente and the marchioness of Moya, (the former of whom as the intimate friend, and the latter as the wife of the alcayde, were peculiarly obnoxious to the citizens,) or they could not answer for the consequences. Isabella haughtily replied, that " she was queen of Castile; that the city was hers, moreover, by right of inheritance; and that she was not used to receive conditions from rebellious subjects." Then pressing forward: with her little retinue, through one of the gates, which remained in the hands of her friends, she effected her entrance into the citadel. The populace, in the mean while, assembling in greater numbers than before, continued to show the most hostile dispositions, calling out, "' Death to the alcayde! Attack the castle! " Isabella's attend ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 185 ants, terrified at the tumult, and at the preparations CrTAP'ER which the people were making to put their menaces into execution, besought their mistress to cause the gates to be secured more strongly, as the only mode of defence against the infuriated mob. But, instead of listening to their counsel, she bade them remain quietly in the apartment, and descended herself into the court-yard, where she ordered the portals to be thrown open for the admission of the people. She stationed herself at the further extremity of the area, and, as the populace poured in, calmly demanded the cause of the insurrection. " Tell me," said she, "what are your grievances, and I will do all in my power to redress them; for I am sure that what is for your interest, must be also for mine, and for that of the whole city." The insurgents, abashed by the unexpected presence of their sovereign, as well as by her cool and dignified demeanor, replied, that all they desired was the removal of Cabrera from the government of the city. " He is deposed already," answered the queen, "and you have my authority to turn out such of his officers as are still in the castle, which I shall intrust to one of my own servants, on whom I can rely." The people, pacified by these assurances, shouted, " Long live the queen!" and eagerly hastened to obey her mandates. After thus turning aside the edge of popular fury, Isabella proceeded with her retinue to the royal residence in the city, attended by the fickle multitude, whom she again addressed on arriving VOL. I. 24 186. ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE PART there, admonishing them to return to their vocations, as this was no time for calm inquiry; and promising, that, if they would send three or four of their number to her on the morrow to report the extent of their grievances, she would examine into the affair, and render justice to all parties. The mob accordingly dispersed, and the queen, after a candid examination, having ascertained the groundlessness or gross exaggeration of the misdemeanors imputed to Cabrera, and traced the source of the conspiracy to the jealousy of the bishop of Segovia and his associates, reinstated the deposed alcayde in the full possession of his dignities, which his enemies, either convinced of the altered dispositions of the people, or believing that the favorable moment for resistance had escaped, made no further attempts to disturb. Thus by a happy presence of mind, an affair, which threatened, at its outset, disastrous consequences, was settled without bloodshed, or compromise of the royal dignity.5 Isabella viso sSevillise. In the summer of the following year, 1477, Isabella resolved to pay a visit to Estremadura and Andalusia, for the purpose of composing the dissensions, and introducing a more efficient police, in 5 Carbajal, Anales, MS., aiio ment, and his solicitude for his 76. - Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, vassals, whom he inspired with part. 2, cap. 59.- Ferreras, Hist. the deepest attachment." (Quind'Espagne, tom. viii. p. 477. - cuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decad., dial. 23.) The best panegyric on fol. 41, 42.- Gonzalo de Oviedo his character, is the unshaken conlavishes many encomiums on Ca- fidence, which his royal mistress brera, for " his generous qualities, reposed in him, to the day of her his singular prudence in govern- death. ADMINISTRATIjN OF CASTILE. 187 these unhappy provinces; which, from their prox- CHAPTER imity to the stormy frontier of Portugal, as well as'iom the feuds between the great houses of Guzman and Ponce de Leon, were plunged in the most frightful anarchy. Cardinal Mendoza and her other ministers remonstrated against this imprudent exposure of her person, where it was so little likely to be respected. But she replied, "it was true there were dangers and inconveniences to be encountered; but her fate was in God's hands, and she felt a confidence that he would guide to a prosperous issue such designs as were righteous in themselves and resolutely conducted." Isabella experienced the most loyal and magni- Her splendid reception ficent reception from the inhabitants of Seville, there, where she established her head-quarters. The first days of her residence there were consumed in fetes, tourneys, tilts of reeds, and other exercises of the Castilian chivalry. After this she devoted her whole time to the great purpose of her visit, the reformation of abuses. She held her court in the saloon of the alcazar, or royal castle, where she revived the ancient practice of the Castilian sovereigns, of presiding in person over the administration of justice. Every Friday, she took her seat in her chair of state, on an elevated platform covered with cloth of gold, and surrounded by her council, together with the subordinate functionaries, and the insignia of a court of justice. The members of her privy council, and of the high court of criminal law, sat in their official capacity every day in the week; and the queen herself received such suits as 188 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART were referred to her adjudication, saving the parties the usual expense and procrastination of justice. tvere exe- By the extraordinary despatch of the queen and 3I "'s' her ministers, during the two months that she resided in the city, a vast number of civil and criminal causes were disposed of, a large amount of plundered property was restored to its lawful owners, and so many offenders were brought to condign punishment, that no less than four thousand suspected persons, it is computed, terrified by the prospect of speedy retribution for their crimes, escaped into the neighbouring kingdoms of Portugal and Granada. The worthy burghers of Seville, alarmed at this rapid depopulation of the city, sent a deputation to the queen, to deprecate her anger, and to represent that faction had been so busy of late years in their unhappy town, that there was scarcely a family to be found in it, some of whose members were not more or less involved in the guilt. Isabella, who was naturally of a benign disposition, considering that enough had probably been done to strike a salutary terror into the remaining delinquents, was willing to temper justice with mercy, and accordingly granted an amnesty for all past offences, save heresy, on the condition, however, of a general restitution of such property as had been unlawfully seized and retained during the period of anarchy. 6 6 Zuniga, Annales de Sevilla, p. 77. -- L. Marineo, Cosas Meniora381. - Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, bles, fol. 162.; who says, no less part. 2, cap. 65, 70, 71. - Bernal- than 8,000 guilty fled from Seville dez, Reyes Catolicos, MS., cap. and Cordova. 29. - Carbaixl, Anales, MS., alio ADMINISTRATION -OF CASTILE. 189 But Isabella became convinced that all arrange- CHAPTERI ments for establishing permanent tranquillity in -L Marquis of Seville would be ineffectual, so long as the feud Cadiz and duke of Me-,.-ontinued between the great families of Guzman dinaSidonia. and Ponce de Leon. The duke of Medina Sidonia and the marquis of Cadiz, the heads of these houses, had possessed themselves of the royal towns and fortresses, as well as of those which, belonging to the city, were scattered over its circumjacent territory, where, as has been previously stated, they carried on war against each other, like independent potentates. The former of these grandees had been the loyal supporter of Isabella in the War of the Succession. The marquis of Cadiz, on the other hand, connected by marriage with the house of Pacheco, had cautiously withheld his allegiance, although he had not testified his hostility by any overt act. While the queen was hesitating as to the course she should pursue in reference to the marquis, who still kept himself aloof in his fortified castle of Xerez, he suddenly presented himself by night at her residence in Seville, accompanied only by two or three attendants. He took this step, doubtless, from the conviction that the Portuguese faction had nothing further to hope in a kingdom, where Isabella reigned not only by the fortune of war, but by the affections of the people; and he now eagerly proffered his allegiance to her, excusing his previous conduct as he best could. The queen was too well satisfied with the submission, however tardy, of this formidable vassal, to call him to severe account for past delinquencies. 190 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART She exacted from him, however, the full restitution of such domains and fortresses as he had filched from the crown and from the city of Seville, on condition of similar concessions by his rival, the duke of Medina Sidonia. She next attempted to establish a reconciliation between these belligerent grandees; but, aware that, however pacific might be their demonstrations for the present, there could be little hope of permanently allaying the inherited feuds of a century, whilst the neighbourhood of the parties to each other must necessarily multiply fresh causes of disgust, she caused them to withdraw from Seville to their estates in the country, and by this expedient succeeded in extinguishing the flame of discord. 7 proyalss In the following year, 1478, Isabella accompahdouagh, nied her husband in a tour through Andalusia, for the immediate purpose of reconnoitring the coast. In the course of this progress, they were splendidly entertained by the duke and marquis at their patrimonial estates. They afterwards proceeded to Cordova, where they adopted a similar policy with that pursued at Seville, compelling the count de Cabra, connected with the blood royal, and Alonso de Aguilar, lord of Montilla, whose factions had long desolated this fair city, to withdraw into the country, and restore the immense possessions, 7 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, Rerum Gestarum Decades, lib, MS., cap. 29. - Zurita, Anales, 7. -L. Marineo, Cosas Memotom. iv. fol. 283. - Zuliiga, An- rables, ubi supra. Garibay, Com nales de Sevilla, p. 382.- Lebrija, pendio, lib. 18, cap. 11. ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 191 which they had usurped both from the municipality CHAPTER and the crown.8 l One example among others may be mentioned, Impartial of the rectitude and severe impartiality, with which the aws. Isabella administered justice, that occurred in the case of a wealthy Galician knight, named Alvaro Yahez de Lugo. This person, being convicted of a capital offence, attended with the most aggravating circumstances, sought to obtain a commutation of his punishment, by the payment of forty thousand doblas of gold to the'queen, a sum exceeding at that time the annual rents of the crown. Some of Isabella's counsellors would have persuaded her to accept the donative, and appropriate it to the pious purposes of the Moorish war. But, far from being blinded by their sophistry, she suffered the law to take its course, and, in order to place her conduct above every suspicion of a mercenary motive, allowed his estates, which might legally have been confiscated to the crown, to descend to his natural heirs. Nothing contributed more to reestablish the supremacy of law in this reign, than the certainty of its execution, without respect to wealth or rank; for the insubordination, prevalent throughout Castile, was chiefly imputable to persons of this description, who, if they failed to defeat justice by force, were sure of doing so by the corruption of its ministers.9 s Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, Pulgar, " a facer justicia, tanto MS., cap. 30. - Pulgar, Reyes que le era imputado seguir mas la Cat6licos, part. 2, cap. 78. via de rigor que de la piedad ~ y 9," Era muy inclinada," says esto facia por remediar a la gran 192 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART Ferdinand and Isabella employed the same vigorous measures in the other parts of their dominions, which had proved so successful in Andalusia, for the extirpation of the hordes of banditti, and of the robber-knights, who differed in no respect from the former, but in their superior power. In Galicia alone, fifty fortresses, the strong-holds of tyranny, were razed to the ground, and fifteen hundred malefactors, it was computed, were compelled to fly the kingdom. "The wretched inhabitants of the mountains," sa)ys a writer of that age, " who had long since despaired of justice, blessed God for their deliverance, as it were, from a deplorable captivity.' 10 Rergif tha- While the sovereigns were thus personally occutribunals. pied with the suppression of domestic discord, and the establishment of an efficient police, they were not inattentive to the higher tribunals, to whose keeping, chiefly, were intrusted the personal rights and property of the subject. They reorganized the royal or privy council, whose powers, although, as has been noticed in the Introduction, principally of an administrative nature, had been gradually encroaching on those of the superior courts of law. During the last century, this body had consisted of prelates, knights, and lawyers, whose numbers and relative proportions had varied in different times. The right of the great ecclesiastics and nobles to a seat in it was, indeed, recognised, but the transac corrupcion de crimtnines que fall6 en 10 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, part el Reyno quando subcedi6 en 1e." 2, cap. 97, 98. - L. Marineo, CoReyes Catolicos, p. 37. sas Memorables, fol. 162. ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 193 tion of business was reserved for the counsellors CIrAPT'ER specially appointed.' Much the larger proportion v. of these, by the new arrangement, was made up of Jurists, whose professional education and experience eminently qualified them for the station. The specific duties and interior management of the council were prescribed with sufficient accuracy. Its authority as a court of justice was carefully limited; but, as it was charged with the principal ex ecutive duties of government, it was consulted in all important transactions by the sovereigns, who paid great deference to its opinions, and very frequently assisted at its deliberations. 12 No change was made in the high criminal court of alcaldes de corte, except in its forms of proceed11 OrdenanQas Reales de Casti- and Santiago Agustin Riol, InIla, (Burgos, 1528,) lib. 2, tit. 3, forme, apud Semanario Erudito, eIy 31. (Madrid, 1788,) tom. iii. p. 114, This constitutional, though, as it who is mistaken in stating the would seem, impotent right of the number of jurists in the council, at nobility, is noticed by Sempere. this time, at sixteen; a change, (Hist. des Cort(s, pp. 123, 129.) which did not take place till Philip It should not have escaped Marina. II.'s reign. (Recop. de las Leyes, 1' Lib. 2, tit. 3, of the Ordenan- lib. 2, tit. 4, ley 1.) Gas Reales is devoted to the royal Marina denies that the council council. The number of the mem- could constitutionally exercise any bers was limited to one prelate, as judicial authority, at least, in suits president, three knights, and eight between private parties, and quotes or nine jurists. (Prologo.) The a passage from Pulgar, showing sessions were to be held every day, that its usurpations in this way in the palace. (Leyes 1, 2.) They were restrained by Ferdinand and were instructed to refer to the Isabella. (Teoria, part. 2, cap. 29.) other tribunals all matters not Powers of this nature, however, to strictly coming within their own a considerable extent, appear to jurisdiction. (Ley4.) Their acts, have been conceded to it by more in all cases except those specially than one statute under this reign. reserved, were to have the force See Recop. de las Leyes, (lib. of law without the royal signature. 2, tit. 4, leyes 20, 22, and tit. (Leyes 23, 24.) See also Los Doc- 5, ley 12,) and the unqualified tores Asso v Manuel, Instituciones testimony of Riol, Informe, apud del Derecho Civil de Castilla, Semanario Erudito, ubi supra. (Madrid, 1792,) Introd. p. 111; VOL. I. 25 194 ADMINISTRATION OF CAST1LE. PART ing. But the royal audience, or chancery, the supreme and final court of appeal in civil causes, was entirely remodelled. The place of its sittings, before indeterminate, and consequently occasioning much trouble and cost to the litigants, was fixed at Valladolid. Laws were passed to protect the tribunal from the interference of the crown, and the queen was careful to fill the bench with magistrates, whose wisdom and integrity would afford the best guaranty for a faithful interpretation of the law.'3 In the cortes of Madrigal (1476), and still more in the celebrated one of Toledo (1480), many excellent provisions were made for the equitable administration of justice, as well as for regulating the tribunals. The judges were to ascertain every week, either by personal inspection, or report, the condition of the prisons, the number of the prisoners, and the nature of the offences, for which they were confined. They were required to bring them to a speedy trial, and afford every facility for their defence. An attorney was provided at the public expense, under the title of " advocate for the poor," whose duty it was to defend the suits of such as were unable to maintain them at their own 13 Ordenan as Reales, lib. 2, tit. traced the remissness and corrup4. -Marina, Teoria de las Cortes, tion, too frequent of late in the part. 2, cap. 25. court, to the circumstance that its By one of the statutes, (ley 4,) decisions were not liable to be rethe commission of the judges, viewed during life. ('Peoria, ubi which before extended to life, or a supra.) The legislature probably long period, was abridged to one mistook the true cause of the evil. year. This important innovation Few will doubt, at any rate, that was made at the earnest and re- the remedy proposed must have peated remonstrance of cortes, who been fraught with far greater. ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 19.5 cost. Severe penalties were enacted against venal- cIIAPTER ity in the judges, a gross evil under the preceding reigns, as well as against such counsel as took exorbitant fees, or even maintained actions that were manifestly unjust. Finally, commissioners were appointed to inspect and make report of the proceedings of municipal and other inferior courts throughout the kingdom. 14 The sovereigns testified their respect for the law King and queen proby reviving the ancient, but obsolete practice ofside in courts oi presiding personally in the tribunals, at least once justice a week. "I well remember," says one of their court, " to have seen the queen, together with the Catholic king, her husband, sitting in judgment in the alcazar of Madrid, every Friday, dispensing justice to all such, great and small, as came to demand it. This was indeed the golden age of justice," continues the enthusiastic writer, " and since our sainted mistress has been taken fromn us, it has been more difficult, and far more costly, to transact business with a stripling of a secretary, than it was with the queen and all her ministers.'""5 By the modifications then introduced, the basis Reestablisbment of or was laid of the judiciary system, such as it has der been perpetuated to the present age. The law acquired an authority, which, in the language of a 14 Ordenanqas Reales, lib. 2, tit. cortes of Toledo, in 1480, the king 1, 3, 4, 15, 16, 17, 19; lib. 3, tit. 2. was required to take his seat in the - Recop. de las Leyes, lib. 2, tit. council every Friday. (Ordenan4, 5, 16. -Pulgar, Reyes Cat6li- tas Reales, lib. 2, tit. 3, ley 32.) cos, part. 2, cap. 94. It was not so new for the Castil15 Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS. ians to have good laws, as for their -By one of the statutes of the monarchs to observe them. 196 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART Spanish writer, "caused a decree, signed by two - or three judges, to be more respected since that time, than an army before.'-l But perhaps the results of this improved administration cannot be better conveyed than in the words of an eyewit ness. " Whereas," says Pulgar, "the kingdom was previously filled with banditti and malefactors of every description, who committed the most diabolical excesses, in open contempt of law, there was now such terror impressed on the hearts of all, that no one dared to lift his arm against another, or even to assail him with contumelious or discourteous language. The knight and the squire, who had before oppressed the laborer, were intimidated by the fear of that justice, which was sure to be executed on them; the roads were swept of the banditti; the fortresses, the strong-holds of violence, were thrown open, and the whole nation, restored to tranquillity and order, sought no other redress, than that afforded by the operation of the law. ) 17 Rleform o II. Codification of the laws. Whatever reforms the jurisprudence. might have been introduced into the Castilian judicatures, they would have been of little avail, without a corresponding improvement in the system of jurisprudence by which their decisions were to be regulated. This was made up of the Visigothic code, as the basis, the fueros of the Castilian prin 16 Sempere, Hist. des Cortes, p. temporary witness of the beneficial 263. changes in the government. Opus 17 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, p. Epistolarum, (Amstelodamni, 1670,) 167. — See the strong language, ep. 31. also, of Peter Martyr, another con ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 197 ces, as far back as the eleventh century, and the CIIAPTEF' Siete Partidas," the famous compilation of Alfon- _V. so the Tenth, digested chiefly from maxims of the civil law. 8 The deficiencies of these ancient codes had been gradually supplied by such an accumulation of statutes and ordinances, as rendered the legislation of Castile in the highest degree complex, and often contradictory. The embarrassment, resulting from this, occasioned, as may be imagined, much tardiness, as well as uncertainty, in the decisions of the courts, who, despairing of reconciling the discrepances in their own law, governed themselves almost exclusively by the Roman, so much less accommodated, as it was, than their ow'n, to the genius of the national institutions, as well as to the principles of freedom. 19 The nation had long felt the pressure of these evils, and made attempts to redress them in repeated cortes. But every Affort proved unavailing, during the stormy or imbecile reigns of the princes of Trastamara. At length, the subject having been 18 Prieto y Sotelo, Historia del is to be found, in the same comDerecho Real de Espalla, (Madrid, pass, in any of the Peginsular 1738,) lib. 3, cap. 16-21. — Ma- writers. rina has made an elaborate com- 19 Marina (in his Ensayo Histmentary on Alfonso's celebrated rico-Critico, p. 388,) quotes a popcode, in his Ensayo Hist6rico- ular satire of the fifteenth century, Critico sobre la Antigua Legisla- directed, with considerable humor, cion de Castilla, (Madrid, 1808,) against these abuses, which lead pp.263oetseg. TheEnglishreader the writer in the last stanza to will find a more succinct analysis envy even the summary style of in Dr. Dunham's History of Spain Mahometan justice. and Portugal, (London, 1832,) in "En tierrade Moros un solo alcade Lardner's,Cyclopedia, vol. iv. X *X Libra lo cevil e lo creminal,.ardner's Cyclopaedia, vol. iv. pp. E todo el dia se esta de valde 121 - 150. The latter has given Por lajusticia andar my igual: a more exact, and, at the same Alli non es Azo, nin es Decretal, Nin es Roberto, nin ]a Clementina, time, extended view of the early Salvo discrecion e buena doctrina, Castilian legislation, probably, than La qual muestra a todos vevir communaL" p. 389. 198 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART resumed in the cortes of'Toledo, in 1480, Dr. Al-'L fonso Diaz de Montalvo, whose professional science had been matured under the reigns of three successive sovereigns, was charged with the commission of revising the laws of Castile, and of compiling a code, which should be of general application throughout the kingdom. Co~e of Or- This laborious undertaking was accomplished in denanas Rabe, little more than four years; and his work, which subsequently bore the title of Ordenancas Reales, was published, or, as the privilege expresses it, " written with types," excrito de letra de molde, at Huete, in the beginning of 1485. It was one of the first works, therefore, which received the honors of the press in Spain; and surely none could have been found, at that period, more deserving of them. It went through repeated editions in the course of that, and the commencement Qf the following century. 20 It was admitted as paramount authority throughout Castile; and, although the many innovations, which were introducedin that age of reform, required the addition of two subsidiary codes in the latter years of Isabella, the " Ordenan(as " of Nfontalvo continued to be the guide of the tribunals down to the time of Philip the Second; and may be said to have suggested the idea, as indeed it was the basis of the comprehensive compilation, " Nueva Recopilacion," which has since formed the law of the Spanish monarchy. 21 20' Mendez enumerates no less throughout Castile. Typographia than five editions of this code, by Espariola, pp. 203, 261, 270. 1500; a sufficient evidence of its 21 Ordenanmas Reales, Prologo, authority, and general reception — Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., tom ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 199 III. Depression of the nobles. In the course of CItAATE VI. the preceding chapters, we have seen the extent Schemes for of the privileges constitutionally enjoyed by the reduci r aristocracy, as well as the enormous height to which they had swollen under the profuse reigns ot John the Second, and Henry the Fourth. This was such, at the accession of Ferdinand and Isabella, as to disturb the balance of the constitution, and to give serious cause of apprehension both to the monarch and the people. They had introduced themselves into every great post of profit or authority. They had ravished from the crown the estates, on which it depended for its maintenance, as well as dignity. They coined money in their own mints, like sovereign princes; and they covered the country with their fortified castles, whence they defied the law, and desolated the unhappy land with interminable feuds. It was obviously necessary for the new sovereigns to proceed with the greatest caution against this powerful and jealous body, and, above all, to attempt no measure of importance, in which they would not be supported by the hearty cooperation of the nation. The first measure, which may be said to have clearly developed their policy, was the organization vi. Ilust. 9.- Marina, Ensayo His- curso Preliminar al Ord. de Alcal'.) t6rico-Critico, pp. 390 et seq. - The injustice of the last remark, inMendez, Typographia Espaijola, p. deed, is apparent from the positive 201. -The authors of the three declaration of Bernaldez. " Los last-mentioned works abundantly Reyes mandaror tener en todaslas disprove Asso y Manuel's insinua- ciudades, villas e lugares el libro tion, that Montalvo's code was the de Montalvo, e por el determinar fruit of his private study, without lodas las cosas dejusticia para corany commission for it, and that tar los plitos." Reyes Cat61licos, it gradually usurped an authority MS., cap. 42. which it had not in its origin. (Dis 200 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART of the hermandad, which, although ostensibly directed against offenders of a more humble description, was made to bear indirectly upon the nobility, whom it kept in awe by the number and discipline of its forces, and the promptness with which it could assemble them on the most remote points of the kingdom; while its rights of jurisdiction tended materially to abridge those of the seignorial tribunals. It was accordingly resisted with the greatest pertinacity by the aristocracy; although, as we have seen, the resolution of the queen, supported by the constancy of the commons, enabled her to triumph over all opposition, until the great objects of the institution were accomplished. Another measure, which insensibly operated to the depression of the nobility, was making official preferment depend less exclusively on rank, and much more on personal merit, than before. " Since the hope of guerdon," says one of the statutes enacted at Toledo, " is the spur to just and honorable actions, when men perceive that offices of trust are not to descend by inheritance, but to be conferred on merit, they will strive to excel in virtue, that they may attain its reward." 22 The sovereigns, instead of confining themselves to the grandees, frequently advanced persons of humble origin, and especially those learned in the law, to the most responsible stations, consulting them, and paying great deference to their opinions, on all matters of importance. The nobles, finding that 22 Ordenangas Reales, lib. 7, tit. 2, ley 13. ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 201 rank was no longer the sole, or indeed the necessa-.CII.PTE:R ry avenue to promotion, sought to secure it by at- VI tention to more liberal studies, in which they were greatly encouraged by Isabella, who admitted their children into her palace, where they were reared under her own eye. 23 But the boldest assaults on the power of the aristocracy were made in the famous cortes of Toledo, in 1480, which Carbajal enthusiastically styles " cosa divina para reformacion y remedio de las des6rdenes pasadas."24 The first object of its attention was the condition of the exchequer, which Henry the Fourth had so exhausted by his reckless prodigality, that the clear annual revenue amounted to no more than thirty thousand ducats, a sum much inferior to that enjoyed by many private individuals; so that, stripped of his patrimony, it at last came to be said, he was " king only of the highways.'' Such had been the royal necessities, that blank certificates of annuities assigned on the public rents were hawked about the market, and sold at such a depreciated rate, that the price of an annuity did not exceed the amount of one year's income. The commons saw with alarm the weight of the burdens which must devolve on them for the maintenance of the crown thus impoverished Roevcation in its resources; and they resolved to meet the grants. difficulty by advising at once a resumption of the 23 Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., royal policy. Hist. des Cortes, bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 44. - Sem- chap. 24. pere notices this feature of the 24 Carbajal, Anales, MS., ano 80. VOL. I. 26 202 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE r.AnT grants unconstitutionally made during the latter half of Henry the Fourth's reign, and the commencement of the present. 25 This measure, however violent, and repugnant to good faith, it may appear at the present time, seems then to have admitted of justification, as far as the nation was concerned; since such alienation of the public revenue was in itself illegal, and contrary to the coronation oath of the sovereign; and those who accepted his obligations, held them subject to the liability of their revocation, which had frequently occurred under the preceding reigns. As the intended measure involved the interests of most of the considerable proprietors in the kingdom, who had thriven on the necessities of the crown, it was deemed proper to require the attendance of the nobility and great ecclesiastics in cortes by a special summons, which it seems had been previously omitted. Thus convened, the legislature appears, with great unanimity, and much to the credit of those most deeply affected by it, to have acquiesced in the proposed resumption of the grants, as a measure of absolute necessity. The only difficulty was to settle the principles on which the retrenchment might be most equitably made, with reference to creditors, whose claims rested on a great variety of grounds. The plan suggested by cardinal Mendoza 25 See the emphatic language, had pressed the measure, as one ot on this and other grievances, of the last necessity to the crown, as the Castilian commons, in their early as the cortes of Madrigal, in memorial to the sovereigns, Apen- 1476. The reader will find the dice, No. 10, of Clemencin's valu- whole petition extracted by Mariable compilation. The commons na, Teoria, tom. ii. cap. 5. ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 20,t3 seems to have been partially adopted. It was de- CI.APTIR cided, that all, whose pensions had been conferred VI. without any corresponding services on their part, should forfeit them entirely; that those, who had purchased annuities, should return their certificates on a reimbursement of the price paid for them; and that the remaining creditors, who composed the largest class, should retain such a proportion only of their pensions, as might be judged commensurate with their services to the state. 26 By this important reduction, the final adjustment and execution of which were intrusted to Fernando de Talavera, the queen's confessor, a man of austere probity, the gross amount of thirty millions of maravedies, a sum equal to three'fourths of the whole revenue on Isabella's accession, was annually saved to the crown. The retrenchment was conducted with such strict impartiality, that the most confidential servants of the queen, and the relatives of her husband, were among those who suffered the most severely. 27 It is worthy of remark that no diminution whatever was made of the stipends settled on literary and charitable establish26 Salazar de Mendoza, Cr6n. Duke of Medina Sidonia, 180,000. del Gran Cardenal, cap. 51. - - The loyal familyof the MendoMem. de la Acad. de Hist., tom. zas were also great losers, but none vi. Ilust. 5. - Pulgar, Reyes Ca- forfeited so much as the overt6licos, part. 2, cap. 95. - Orde- grown favorite of Henry IV., Belnangas Reales, lib. 6, tit. 4, ley tran de la Cueva, duke of Al26; - incorporated also into the buquerque, who had uniformly Recopilacion of Philip II., lib. 5, supported the royal cause, and tit. 10, cap. 17. See also leyes 3 whose retrenchment amounted to and 15. 1,400,000 maravedies of yearly 27 Admiral Enriquez, for in- rent. See the scale of reduction stance, resigned 240,000 marave- given at length by Seiior Clemendies of his annual income;- the cin, in Mem. de la Acad., tom. Duke of Alva, 575,000;- the vi. loc. cit. 204 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART ments. It may be also added, that Isabella appropriated the first fruits of this measure, by distributing the sum of twenty millions of maravedies among the widows and orphans of those loyalists, who had fallen in the War of the Succession.28 This resumption of the grants may be considered as the basis of those economical reforms, which, without oppression to the subject, augmented the public revenue more than twelve fold during this auspicious reign. 9 sealslatve, Several other acts were passed by the same cortes, which had a more exclusive bearing on the nobility. They were prohibited from quartering the royal arms on their escutcheons, from being attended by a mace-bearer and a body-guard, from imitating the regal style of address in their written correspondence, and other insignia of royalty which they had arrogantly assumed. They were forbidden to erect new fortresses, and we have already seen the activity of the queen in procuring the demolition or restitution of the old. They were expressly restrained from duels, an inveterate source of mischief, for engaging in which the parties, both principals and seconds, were subjected to the penalties of treason. Isabella evinced her deter mination of enforcing this law on the highest offen ders, by imprisoning, soon after its enactment, the counts of Luna and Valencia for exchanging a 28"' No monarch," said the high- friends, and of making himsell minded queen, " should consent to feared by his enemies." Pulgar, alienate his demesnes; since the Reyes Cat6licos, part. 1, cap. 4. loss of revenue necessarily de- 29 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, ubi prives him of the best means of supra.-Mem. de la Acad. de rewarding the attachment of his Hist., tom. vi. loc. cit. ADMLNISTRATION OF CASTILE. 205 cartel of defiance, until the point at issue should be CHAPTrE;, settled by the regular course of justice.30 It is true the haughty nobility of Castile winced 14 74. more than once at finding themselves so tightly curbed by their new masters. On one occasion, a number of the principal grandees, with the duke of Infantado at their head, addressed a letter of remonstrance to the king and queen, requiring them to abolish the hermandad, as an institution burdensome on the nation, deprecating the slight degree of confidence which their highnesses reposed in their order, and requesting that four of their number might be selected to form a council for the general direction of affairs of state, by whose advice the king and queen should be governed in all matters of importance, as in the time of Henry the Fourth. Ferdinand and Isabella received this unseasonable remonstrance with great indignation, and returned an answer couched in the haughtiest terms. 1" The hermandad,"' they said, " is an institution most salutary to the nation, and is approved by it as such. It is our province to determine who are best entitled to preferment, and to make merit the standard of it. You may follow the court, or retire 30 Ordenaneas Reales, lib. 2, tit. Leon, agreed to fight on horse1, ley 2; lib. 4, tit. 9, ley 11. back, with sharp spears (puntas — Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, part. de diamantes), in doublet and hose, 2, cap. 96, 101. - Recop. de las without defensive armour of any Leyes, lib. 8, tit. 8, ley 10 et al. kind. The place appointed for the — These affairs were conducted combat was a narrow bridge across in the true spirit of knight-errantry. the Xarama, three leagues from ()viedo mentions one, in which Madrid. Quincuagenas, MS., bat. two young men of the noble 1, quint. 1, dial. 23. houses of Velasco and Ponce de '06 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART to your estates, as you think best; but, so long as I Heaven permits us to retain the rank with which we have been intrusted, we shall take care not to imitate the example of Henry the Fourth, in becoming a tool in the hands of our nobility." The discontented lords, who had carried so high a hand under the preceding imbecile reign, feeling the weight of an authority which rested on the affections of the people, were so disconcerted by the rebuke, that they made no attempt to rally, but condescended to make their peace separately as they could, by the most ample acknowledgments.s3 The queen's An example of the impartiality as well as spirit, ouidnubi to with which Isabella asserted the dignity of the the nobility. crown, is worth recording. During her husband's absence in Aragon in the spring of 1481, a quarrel occurred, in the ante-chamber of the palace at Valladolid, between two young noblemen, Ramiro Nuiez de Guzman, lord of Toral, and Frederic Henriquez, son of the admiral of Castile, king Ferdinand's uncle. The queen, on receiving intelligence of it, granted a safe-conduct to the Idrd of Toral, as the weaker party, until the affair should be adjusted between them. Don Frederic, however, disregarding this protection, caused his enemy to be waylaid by three of his followers, armed with bludgeons, and sorely beaten one evening in the streets of Valladolid. Isabella was no sooner informed of this outrage on one whom she had taken under the royal pro31 Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, tom. vii. pp. 487, 488. ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 207 tectlon, than, burning with indignation, she imme- CHAPTER diately mounted her horse, though in the midst of VI. a heavy storm of rain, and proceeded alone towards the castle of Simancas, then in possession of the admiral, the father of the offender, where she supposed him to have taken refuge, travelling all the while with such rapidity, that she was not overtaken by the officers of her guard, until she had gained the fortress. She instantly summoned the admiral to deliver up his son to justice; and, on his replying that " Don Frederic was not there, and that he was ignorant where he was," she commanded him to surrender the keys of the castle, and, after a fruitless search, again returned to Valladolid. The next day Isabella was confined to her bed by an illness occasioned as much by chagrin, as by the excessive fatigue which she had undergone. "Mybody is lame," said she, " with the blows given by Don Frederic in contempt of my safe-conduct." The admiral, perceiving how deeply he and his family had incurred the displeasure of the queen, took counsel with his friends, who were led by their knowledge of Isabella's character to believe that he would have more to hope from the surrender of his son, than from further attempts at concealment. The young,nan was accordingly conducted to the palace by his uncle, the constable de Haro, who deprecated the queen's resentment by representing the age of his nephew, scarcely amounting to twenty years. Isabella, however, thought proper to punish the youthful delinquent, by ordering him to be publicly conducted as a 208 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. P'ART prisoner, by one of the alcaldes of her court, L~ _- through the great square of Valladolid to the fortress of Arevalo, where he was detained in strict confinement, all privilege of access being denied to him; and, when at length, moved by the consideration of his consanguinity with the king, she consented to his release, she banished him to Sicily, until he should receive the royal permission to return to his own country.32 Notwithstanding the strict impartiality as well as vigor of the administration, it could never have maintained itself by its own resources alone, in its offensive operations against the high-spirited aristocracy of Castile. Its most direct approaches, however, were made, as we have seen, under cover of the cortes. The sovereigns, showed great defer ence, especially in this early period of their reign, to the popular branch of this body; and, so far from pursuing the odious policy of preceding princes in diminishing the amount of represented cities, they never failed to direct their writs to all those, which, at their accession, retained the right of representation, and subsequently enlarged the number by the conquest of Granada; iwhile they exercised the anomalous privilege, noticed in the Introduction to this History, of omitting altogether, or issuing only a partial summons to the nobility.33 32 CaThajal, Anales, MS., afio were summoned, except those in 80. — PAlgar, Reyes Cat6licos, immediate attendance on the court, part. 2, cap. 100. until the measure for the resump33 For example, at the great tion of the grants, which so nearly cortes of Toledo, in 1480, it does affected that body, was brought not appear that any of the nobility before the legislature. ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 209 By making merit the standard of preferment, they cHlrTrEn opened the path of honor to every class of the community. They uniformly manifested the greatest tenderness for the rights of the commons in reference to taxation; and, as their patriotic policy was obviously directed to secure the personal rights and general prosperity of the people, it insured the cooperation of an ally, whose weight, combined with that of the crown, enabled them eventually to restore the equilibrium which had been disturbed by the undue preponderance of the aristocracy. It may be well to state here the policy pursued Military o ders of Cas by Ferdinand and Isabella in reference to the Mili- tiletary Orders of Castile, since, although not fully developed until a much later period, it was first conceived, and indeed partly executed, in that now under discussion. The uninterrupted warfare, which the Spaniards were compelled to maintain for the recovery of their native land from the infidel, nourished in their bosoms a flame of enthusiasm, similar to that kindled by the crusades for the recovery of Palestine, partaking in an almost equal degree of a religious and a military character. This similarity of sentiment gave birth also to similar institutions of chivalry. Whether the military orders of Castile were suggested by those of Palestine, or whether they go back to a remoter period, as is contended by their chroniclers, or whether, in fine, as Conde intimates, they were imitated from corresponding associations, known to have existed among the VO L. I. 27 2 1( ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART Spanish Arabs,34 there can be no doubt that the forms, under which they were permanently organized, were derived, in the latter part of the twelfth century, from the monastic orders established foi the protection of the Holy Land. The Hospitallers, and especially the Templars, obtained more exten sive acquisitions in Spain, than in any, perhaps every, other country in Christendom; and it was partly from the ruins of their empire, that were constructed the magnificent fortunts of the Spanish orders. 35 Order of St. The most eminent of these was the order of St. Jago, or St. James, of Compostella. The miraculous revelation of the body of the Apostle, after the lapse of eight centuries from the date of his interment, and his frequent apparition in the ranks of the Christian armies, in their desperate struggles with the infidel, had given so wide a celebrity to 34 Conde gives the following services to Christendom; for both account of these chivalric associa- the institutions were established on tions among the Spanish Arabs, similar principles." Conde, Hiswhich, as far as I know, have hith- toria de la Dominacion de los erto escaped the notice of Euro- Arabes en Espalla, (Madrid, 1820,) pean historians. "The Moslem tom. i. p. 619, not. Jronteros professed great austerity 35 See the details, given by Main their lives, which they conse- riana, of the overgrown possessions crated to perpetual war, and bound of the Templars in Castile at the themselves by a solemn vow to de- period of their extinction, in the fend the frontier against the incur- beginning of the fourteenth centusions of the Christians. They ry. (Hist. de Espaiia, lib. 15, cap. were choice cavaliers, possessed 10.) The knights of the Temple of consummate patience, and en- and the Hospitallers seem to have during fatigue, and always pre- acquired still greater power in Arapared to die rather than desert gon, where one of the monarchs their posts. It appears highly was so infatuated as to bequeath probable that the Moorish fraterni- them his whole dominions, - a ties suggested the idea of those bequest, which it may well be bemilitary orders so renowned for lieved was set aside by his hightheir valor in Spain and in Pales- spirited subjects. Zurita, Anales, tine, which rendered such essential lib. 1, cap. 52 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 211 the obscure town of Compostella in Galicia, which CHAPTER contained the sainted relics,36 that it became the VI. resort of pilgrims from every part of Christendom, during the middle ages; and the escalop shell, the device of St. James, was adopted as the universal badge of the palmer. Inns. for the refreshment and security of the pious itinerants were scattered along the whole line of the route from France; but, as they were exposed to perpetual annoyance from the predatory incursions of the Arabs, a number of knights and gentlemen associated themselves, for their protection, with the monks of St. Lojo, or Eloy, adopting the rule of St. Augustine, and thus laid the foundation of the chivalric order of St. James, about the middle of the twelfth century. The cavaliers of the fraternity, which received its papal bull of approbation five years later, in 1175, were distinguished by a white mantle embroidered with a red cross, in fashion of a sword, with the escalop shell below the guard, in imitation of the 36 The apparition of certain pre- nineness of the body, as well as ternatural lights in a forest, dis- the visit of the Apostle, but like a covered to a Galician peasant, in good Jesuit concludes, "It is not the beginning of the ninth century, expedient to disturb with such disthe spot, in which was deposited a putes the devotion of the people, marble sepulchre containing the so firmly settled as it is." (Lib. 7, ashes of St. James. The miracle cap. 10.) The tutelar saint of is reported with sufficient circum- Spain continued to support his stantiality by Florez, (Historia people by taking part with them in Compostellana, lib. 1, cap. 2, apud battle against the infidel down to a Espaila Sagrada, tom. xx.) and very late period. Caro de Torres Ambrosio de Mcrales, (Cor6nica, mentions two engagements in which General de Espalla, (QbOhms, Ma- he cheered on the squadrons of dri'd, 1791-3,) lib. 9, cap. 7,) who Cortes and Pizarro, " with his establishes, to his own satisfaction, sword flashing lightning in the the advent of St. James into Spain. eyes of the Indians." Ordenes Mariana, with more skepticism Militares, fol. 5. than his brethren, doubts the gen 212 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART device which glittered on the banner of their tute_. " lar saint, when he condescended to take part ill their engagements with the Moors. The red color denoted, according to an ancient commentator, " that it was stained with the blood of the infidel.' The rules of the new order imposed on its members the usual obligations of obedience, community of property, and of conjugal chastity, instead of celibacy. They were, moreover, required to relieve the poor, defend the traveller, and maintain perpetual war upon the Mussulman.37 orer of ca- The institution of the Knights of Calatrava was somewhat more romantic in its origin. That town, from its situation on the frontiers of the Moorish territory of Andalusia, where it commanded the passes into Castile, became of vital importance to the latter kingdom. Its defence had accordingly been intrusted to the valiant order of the Templars, who, unable to keep their ground against the pertinacious assaults of the Moslems, abandoned it, at the expiration of eight years, as untenable. This occurred about the middle of the twelfth century; and the Castilian monarch, Sancho the Beloved, as the last resort, offered it to whatever good knights would undertake its defence. The emprise was eagerly sought by a monk of a distant convent in Navarre, who had once been a soldier, and whose military ardor seems to have been exalted, instead of being extinguished, in the 37 Rades y Andrada, Las Tres 2- 8. - Garibay, Compendio, tom. Ordenes, fol. 3-15. —Caro de ii. pp. 116- 118. Torres, Ordenes Militares, fol. ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 2'1 solitude of the cloister. The monk, supported by ci.p'rt:u VI. his conventual brethren, and a throng of cavaliers and more humble followers, who sought redemption under the banner of the church, was enabled to make good his word. From the confederation of these knights and ecclesiastics, sprung the military fraternity of Calatrava, which received the confirmation of the pontiff, Alexander the Third, in 1164. The rules which it adopted were those of St. Benedict, and its discipline was in the highest degree austere. The cavaliers were sworn to perpetual celibacy, from which they were not released till so late as the sixteenth century. Their diet was of the plainest kind. They were allowed meat only thrice a week, and then only one dish. They were to maintain unbroken silence at the table, in the chapel, and the dormitory; and they were enjoined both to sleep and to worship with the sword girt on their side, in token of readiness for action. In the earlier days of the institution, the spiritual, as well as the military brethren, were allowed to make part of the martial array against the infidel, until this was prohibited, as indecorous, by the Holy See. From this order, branched off that of Montesa, in Valencia, which was instituted at the commencement of the fourteenth century, and continued dependent on the parent stock. 38 The third great order of religious chivalry in Ordero A cantara. 38 Rades y Andrada, Las Tres res, fol. 49, 50.- Garibay, Com)rdenes, part. 2, fol. 3-9, 49.- pendio, tom. ii. pp. 100- 104. Caro de Torres, Ordenes Milita 214 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART Castile was that of Alcantara, which also received its confirmation from Pope Alexander the Third, in 1177. It was long held in nominal subordination to the knights of Calatrava, from which it was relieved by Julius the Second, and eventually rose to an importance little inferior to that of its rival. 39 The internal economy of these three fraternities was regulated by the same general principles. The direction of affairs was intrusted to a council, consisting of the grand master and a number of the commanders (comendadores), among whom the extensive territories of the order were distributed. This council, conjointly with the grand master, or the latter exclusively, as in the fraternity of Calatrava, supplied the vacancies. The master himself was elected by a general chapter of these military functionaries alone, or combined with the conventual clergy, as in the order of Calatrava, which seems to have recognised the supremacy of the military over the spiritual division of the community, more unreservedly than that of St. James. These institutions appear to have completely answered the objects of their creation. In the earlier history of the Peninsula, we find the Christian chivalry always ready to bear the brunt of battle against the Moors. Set apart for this peculiar duty, their services in the sanctuary only tended to prepare them for their sterner duties in the field of battle, where the zeal of the Christian soldier may 39 Rades y Andrada, Las Tres white mantle, embroidered with a Ordenes, part. 3, fol. 1- 6.- green cross. The knights of Alcantara wore a ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 215 be supposed to have been somewhat sharpened CHAPTER VI. by the prospect of the rich temporal acquisitions, — which the success of his arms was sure to secure to his fraternity. For the superstitious princes of those times, in addition to the wealth lavished so liberally on all monastic institutions, granted the military orders almost unlimited rights over the conquests achieved by their own valor. In the sixteenth century, we find the order of St. James, which had shot up to a preeminence above the rest, lpossessed of eighty-four commanderies, and two hundred inferior benefices. This same order could bring into the field, according to Garibay, four hundred belted knights, and one thousand lances. which, with the usual complement of a lance in that day, formed a very considerable force. The rents of the mastership of St. James amounted, in the time of Ferdinand and Isabella, to sixty thousand ducats, those of Alcantara to forty-five thousand, and those of Calatrava to forty thousand. There was scarcely a district of the Peninsula which was not covered with their castles, towns, and convents. Their rich comrnanderies gradually became objects of cupidity to men of the highest rank, and more especially the grand-masterships, which, from their extensive patronage, and the authority they conferred over an organized militia pledged to implicit obedience, and knit together by the strong tie of common interest, raised their possessors almost to the level of royalty itself. Hence the elections to these important dignities came to be a fruitful source of intrigue, and fre 216 ADMINISTRATION OF' CASTILE. PART quently of violent collision. The monarchs, who had anciently reserved the right of testifying their approbation of an election, by presenting the standard of the order to the new dignitary, began personally to interfere in the deliberations of the chapter. While the pope, to whom a contested point was not unfrequently referred, assumed at length the prerogative of granting the masterships in administration on a vacancy, and even that of nomination itself, which, if disputed, he enforced by his spiritual thunders. 40 Owing to these circumstances, there was probably no one cause, among the many which occurred in Castile during the fifteenth century, more prolific of intestine discord, than the election to these posts, far too important to be intrusted to any subject, and the succession to which was sure to be Grand-mas contested by a host of competitors. Isabella seems terships andcro h to have settled in her mind the course of policy to be adopted in this matter, at a very early period of her reign. On occasion of a vacancy in the grandmastership of St. James, by the death of the incumbent, in 1476, she made a rapid journey on horseback, her usual mode of travelling, from Valladolid to the town of' Ucles, where a chapter of the order was deliberating on the election of a new principal. The queen, presenting herself be40 Rades y Andrada, Las Tres sas Memorables, fol. 33.- GariOrdenes, part. 1, fol. 12 - 15, 43, bay, Compendio, lib. 11, cap. 13 54, 61, 64, 66, 67; part. 2, fol. — Zurita, Anales, tom. v. lib. 1, 11, 51; part. 3, fol. 42, 49, 50. cap. 19.-Oviedo, Quincuagenas, — Caro de Torres, Ordenes Mi- MS., bat. 1, quint. 2, dial. 1. litares, passim. - L. Marineo, Co ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 21 7 tore this body, represented with so much energy the CIAPTER inconvenience of devolving powers of such magni-.Y tude on any private individual, and its utter incompatibility with public order, that she prevailed on them, smarting, as they were, under the evils of a disputed succession, to solicit the administration for the king, her husband. That monarch, indeed, consented to wave this privilege in favor of Alonso de Cardenas, one of the competitors for the office, and a loyal servant of the crown; but, at his decease in 1499, the sovereigns retained the possession of the vacant mastership, conformably to a papal decree, which granted them its administration for life, in the same manner as had been done with that of Calatrava in 1487, and of Alcantara, in 1494. 41 The sovereigns were no sooner vested with the Their reformat ion. control of the military orders, than they began with their characteristic promptness to reform ihe various corruptions, which had impaired their ancient discipline. They erected a council for the general superintendence of affairs relating to the orders, and invested it with extensive powers both of civil and criminal jurisdiction. They supplied the vacant benefices with persons of acknowledged worth,,exercising an impartiality, which could never be 41 Caro de Torres, Ordenes sovereigns gave great offence to Militares, fol. 46, 74, 83.- Pul- the jealous grandees who were gar, Reyes Cat6licos, part. 2, cap. competitors for the mastership of 64. -Rades y Andrada, Las Tres St. James, by conferring that digOrdenes, part. 1, fol. 69, 70; part. nitv on Alonso de Cardenas, with 2, fol. 82, 83; part. 3, fol. 54. their usual policy of making merit - Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., rather than birth the standard of bat. 1, quinc. 2, dial. 1.- The preferment. VOL. I. 28 218 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART maintained by any private individual, necessarily exposed to the influence of personal interests and affections. By this harmonious distribution, the honors, which had before been held up to the highest bidder, or made the subject of a furious canvass, became the incentive and sure recompense of desert. 42 In the following reign, the grand-masterships of these fraternities were annexed in perpetuity to the crown of Castile by a bull of Pope Adrian the Sixth; while their subordinate dignities, having survived the object of their original creation, the subjugation of the Moors, degenerated into the empty decorations, the stars and garters, of an order of nobility. 43 Usurpations IV. Vindication of ecclesiastical rights belongchurch. ing to the crown from papal usurpation. In the earlier stages of the Castilian monarchy, the sovereigns appear to have held a supremacy in spiritual, very similar to that exercised by them in temporal matters. It was comparatively late that the nation submitted its neck to the papal yoke, so closely riveted at a subsequent period; and even the Romish ritual was not admitted into its churches till long after it had been adopted in the rest of Europe. 44 But, when the code of the Partidas was 4J Caro de Torres, Ordenes Mi- existing in the present century in lhares, fol. 84. - Riol has given a Spain, in Laborde, Itin6raire Defull account of the constitution of scriptif de l'Espagne, (2d edition, this council, Informe, apud Semana- Paris, 1827- 30,) tom. v. pp. 102 rioErudito, tom. iii. pp. 164 et seq. -117. 43 The reader will find a view 44 Most readers are acquainted of the condition and general re- with the curious story, related by sources of the military orders as Robertson, of the ordeal to which ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 219 promulgated in the thirteenth century, the maxims CHAPTER of the canon law came to be permanently established. The ecclesiastical encroached on the lay tribunals. Appeals were perpetually carried up to the Roman court; and the popes, pretending to regulate the minutest details of church economy, not only disposed of inferior benefices, but gradually converted the right of confirming elections to the episcopal and higher ecclesiastical dignities, into that of appointment.45 These usurpations of the church had been re- Resisteao cortes peatedly the subject of grave remonstrance in cortes. Several remedial enactments had passed that body, during the present reign, especially in relation to the papal provision of foreigners to benefices; an evil of much greater magnitude in Spain than in other countries of Europe, since the episcopal demesnes, frequently covering the Moorish frontier, became an important line of national defence, obviously improper to be intrusted to the keeping of foreigners and absentees. Notwithstanding.the efforts of cortes, no effectual remedy was devised for this latter grievance, until it became the subject of actual collision between the the Romish and Muzarabic rituals vices, which have continued to be were subjected, in the reign of retained there to the present time. Alfonso VI., and the ascendency, Fl6chier, Histoire du Cardinal Xiwhich the combination of king- mines, (Paris, 1693,) p. 142.craft and priest-craft succeeded in Bourgoanne, Travels in Spain, securing to the former in opposi- Eng. trans., vol. iii. chap. 1. tion to the will of the nation. Car- 45 Marina, Ensayo Hist6ricodinal Ximenes afterwards estab- Critico, nos. 322, 334, 341. —Riol, lished a magnificent chapel in the Informe, apud Semanario Erudito, cathedral church of Toledo for the pp. 92 et seq. performance of the Muzarabic ser 220 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART crown and the pontiff, in reference to the see of Taraqona, and afterwards of Cuenca.46 Deifference Sixtus the Fourth, had conferred the latter benefice, on its becoming vacant in 1482, on his nephew, Cardinal San Giorgio, a Genoese, in direct opposition to the wishes of the queen, who would have bestowed it on her chaplain, Alfonso de Burgos, in exchange for the bishopric of Cordova. An ambassador was accordingly despatched by the Castilian sovereigns to Rome, to remonstrate on the papal appointment; but without effect, as Sixtus replied, with a degree of presumption, which might better have become his predecessors of the twelfth century, that " he was head of the church, and, as such, possessed of unlimited power in the distribution of benefices, and that he was not bound to consult the inclination of any potentate on earth, any farther than might subserve the interests of religion." The sovereigns, highly dissatisfied with this response, ordered their subjects ecclesiastical, as well as lay, to quit the papal dominions; an injunction, which the former, fearful of the sequestration of their temporalities in Castile, obeyed with as much promptness as the latter. At the same time, Ferdinand and Isabella proclaimed their intention of inviting the princes of Christendom to unite'46 Marina, Ensayo Historico- the latter part of Henry IV.'s Critico, nos. 335 - 337. - Orde- reign, a papal bull had been grant. nancas Reales, lib. 1, tit. 3, leyes ed against the provision of foreign 19, 20; lib. 2, tit. 7, ley 2; lib. 3, ers to benefices. Mariana, Hist. tit. 1, ley 6. -Riol,Informe, apud de Espaiia, tom. vii. p. 196, ed Semanario Erudito, loc. cit. —In Valencia. AD)MINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 221 with them in convoking a general council for the CHAPTERF reformation of the manifold abuses, which dishonored the church. No sound could have grated more unpleasantly on the pontifical ear, than the menace of a general council, particularly at this period, when ecclesiastical corruptions had reached a height which could but ill endure its scrutiny. The pope became convinced that he had ventured too far, and that Henry the Fourth was no longer monarch of Castile. He accordingly despatched a legate to Spain, fully empowered to arrange the matter on an amicable basis. The legate, who was a layman, by name Domingo Centurion, no sooner arrived in Castile, than he caused the sovereigns to be informed of his presence there, and the purpose of his mission; but he received orders instantly to quit the kingdom, Without attempting so much as to disclose the nature of his instructions, since they could not but be derogatory to the dignity of the crown. A safeconduct was granted for himself and his suite; but, at the same time, great surprise was expressed that any one should venture to appear, as envoy from his Holiness, at the court of Castile, after it had been treated by him with such unmerited indignity. Far from resenting this ungracious reception, the legate affected the deepest humility; professing himself willing to wave whatever immunities he might claim as papal ambassador, and to submit to the jurisdiction of the sovereigns as one of their own subjects, so that he might obtain an audience. '2202 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART Cardinal Mendoza, whose influence in the cabinet had gained him the title of " third king of Spain," apprehensive of the consequences of a protracted rupture with the church, interposed in behalf of the envoy, whose conciliatory deportment at length so far mitigated the resentment of the sovereigns, that they consented to open negotiations with the court of Rome. The result was the publication of a bull by Sixtus the Fourth, in which his Holiness engaged to provide such natives to the higher dignities of the church in Castile, as should be nominated by the monarchs of that kingdom; and Alfonso de Burgos was accordingly translated to the see of Cuenca.47 Isabella, on whom the duties of ecclesiastical preferment devolved, by- the act of settlement, availed herself of the rights, thus wrested from the grasp of Rome, to exalt to the vacant sees persons of exemplary piety and learning, hold, ing light, in comparison with the faithful discharge of this duty, every minor consideration of interest, and even the solicitations of her husband, as we shall see hereafter.48 And the chronicler of her reign dwells with complacency on those good old times, when churchmen were to be found of such 47 Riol, in his account of this dignidades de la Iglesia hombres celebrated concordat, refers to the capazes 6 idoneos para la buena original instrument, as existing in administracion del servicio del culhis time in the archives of Siman- to divino, 6'a la buena enseiianza cas, Semanario Erudito, tom. iii. 6 utilidad de los Christianos sus p. 95. vasallos; y entre todos los varones 48,, Lo que es pfiblico hoy en Es- de sus Reynos asi por largo conospaila E notorio," says Gonzalo de cimiento como per larga rcecreta Oviedo, " nunca los Reyes Catho- informacion acordaron encojer e licos desearon ni procuraron sino elegir," &c. Quincuagenas, MS. que proveer 6 presentar para las dial. de Talavera. ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 223 singular modesty, as to require to be urged to ac- cHIAPTER cept the dignities to which their merits entitled- vthem. 49 V. The regulation of trade. It will be readily Rctoratioo conceived that trade, agriculture, and every branch of industry must have languished under the misrule of preceding reigns. For what purpose, indeed, strive to accumulate wealth, when it would only serve to sharpen the appetite of the spoiler? For what purpose cultivate the earth, when the fruits were sure to be swept away, even before harvest time, in some ruthless foray? The frequent famines and pestilences, which occurred in the latter part of Henry's reign and the commencement of his successor's, show too plainly the squalid condition of the people, and their utter destitution of all useful arts. We are assured by the Curate of Los Palacios, that the plague broke out in the southern districts of the kingdom, carrying off eight, or nine, or even fifteen thousand inhabitants from the various cities; while the prices of the ordinary aliments of life rose to a height, which put them above the reach of the poorer classes of the community. In addition to these physical evils, a fatal shock was given to commercial credit by the adulteration of the coin. Under Henry the Fourth, it is computed that there were no less than one hundred and fifty 49 Salazar de Mendoza, Cr6n. similar independent conduct purdel Gran Cardenal, lib. 1, cap. 52. sued by Ferdinand, three years -Idem, Dignidades de Castilla, p. previous, with reference to the see 374.- Pulgar Reyes Catdlicos, of Taragona, related by Zurita part. 2, cap. 104.- See also the Anales, tom. iv. fol. 304. 224 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART mints openly licensed by the crown, in addition to many others erected by individuals without any legal authority. The abuse came to such a height, that people at length refused to receive in payment of their debts the debased coin, whose value depreciated more and more every day; and the little trade, which remained in Castile, was carried on by barter, as in the primitive stages of society.'5 Salutary The magnitude of the evil was such as to claim enactments of cortes. the earliest attention of the cortes under the new monarchs. Acts were passed fixing the standard and legal value of the different denominations of coin. A new coinage was subsequently made. Five royal mints were alone authorized, afterwards augmented to seven, and severe penalties denounced against the fabrication of money elsewhere. The reform of the currency gradually infused new life into commerce, as the return of the circulations, which have been interrupted for a while, quickens the animal body. This was furthered by salutary laws for the encouragement of domestic industry. Internal communication was facilitated by the construction of roads and bridges. Absurd restrictions on change of residence, as well as the onerous duties which had been imposed on'commercial intercourse between Castile and Aragon, were repealed. Several judicious laws were enacted for the protection of foreign trade; and the flourishing condition 50 Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, 3.- Also the coarse satire (com MS., cap. 44.-See a letter from posed in Henry's reign) of Minge one of Henry's subjects, cited by Revulgo, especially coplas 24-27 Saez, Monedas de Enrique IV., p. ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 225 if the mercantile marine may be inferred from that cI.rATER. If the military, which enabled the sovereigns to fit VI. out an armament of seventy sail in 1482, from the ports of Biscay and Andalusia, for the defence of Naples. against the Turks. Some of their regulations, indeed, as those prohibiting the exportation of the precious metals, savour too strongly of the ignorance of the true principles of commercial legislation, which has distinguished the Spaniards o the present day. But others, again, as that for relieving the importation of foreign books from all duties, "because,' says the statute, "they bring both honor and profit to the kingdom, by the facilities which they afford for making men learned," are not only in advance of that age, but may sustain an advantageous cqmparison with provisions on corresponding subjects iii Spain at the present time. Public credit was reestablished by the punctuality with which the government redeemed the debt contracted during the Portuguese war; and, notwithstanding the repeal of various arbitrary imposts, which enriched the exchequer under Henry the Fourth, such was the advance of the country under the wise economy of the present reign, that the revenue was augmented nearly six fold between the years 1477 and 1482. 51 Thus released from the heavy burdens imposed Prosperity (T the kicgon it, the spring of enterprise recovered its former d;'' 51 Pragmaticas del Reyno, fol. ley 13. —See also other whole64.-0Ordenan as Reales, Jib. 4, some laws fbr the encouragement tit. 4, ley 22; fib. 5, tit. 8, ley 2; of commerce and general security Jib. 6, tit. 9, ley 49; lib. 6, tit. 10, of property, as that respecting VOL. 1. 29 226 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. rART elasticity. The productive capital of the country was made to flow through the various channeis of domestic industry. The hills and the valleys again rejoiced in the labor of the husbandman; and the cities were embellished with stately edifices, both public and private, which attracted the gaze and commendation of foreigners. 52 The writers of that day are unbounded in their plaudits of Isabella, to whom they principally ascribe this auspicious revolution in the condition of the country and its inhabitants,53 which seems almost as magical as one of those transformations in romance wrought by the hands of some benevolent fairy. 54 VI. The preeminence of the royal authority. contracts, (lib. 5. tit. 8. ley 5,) of twelve folio volumes in manu-fraudulent tradesmen, (lib. 5, script, is deposited in the archives tit. 8, ley 5,) - purveyance. of Simancas. (lib. 6, tit. 11,Jey 2 et al. - Re- 52 One of the statutes passed at,eopilacion de las Leyes, lib. 5, tit. Toledo expressly provides for the Qt0, 21, 22; lib. 6, tit. 18, ley 1. erection of spacious and hand-Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, part. some edifices (casas grandes y bzen 2, cap. 99. -Zurita, Anales, tom. fechas) for the transaction of muniiv. fol. 312.- Mem. de la Acad. cipal affairs, in all the principal de Hist., tom. vi. Ilust. 11.) — towns and cities in the kingdom. The revenue, it appears, in 1477, Ordenan~as Reales, lib. 7, tit. 1, amounted to 27,415,228 marave- ley 1. - See also L. Marineo, dies; and in the year 1482, we find Cosas Memorables, passim, et it inc.reased to 150,695,288 marave- al. auct. dies. (Ibid., Ilust. 5.)-A survey of 53 "' Cosa fue por cierto maravithe kingdom was made between llosa," exclaims Pulgar, in his the years 1477 and 1479, for the pur- Glosa on the Mingo Revulgo, pose of ascertaining the value of the " que lo que muchos hombres, y royal rents, which formed the basis grandes seriores no se acordaron a ofthe economical regulations adopt- hacer en muchos aiios, sola una ed by the cortes of Toledo. Al- muger, con su trabajo, y gobernathough this survey was conducted cion lo hizo en poco tiempo." on no uniform plan, yet, according Copla 21. to Sefior Clemencin, it exhibits 54 The beautiful lines of Virgil such a variety of important de- so often misapplied, tails respecting the resonrces and "Jam redit et Virgo * redeunt Saturnia population of the country, that it regna; must materially contribute towards Jam nova progenies," &c. an exact history of this period. seem to admit here of a pertinent The compilation, which consists application. ADMINISTRATION' OF CASTILE. 227 This, which, as we have seen, appears to have CII.AP'E been the natural result of the policy of Ferdinand and Isabella, was derived quite as much from the influence of their private characters, as from their public measures. Their acknowledged talents were supported by a dignified demeanor, which formed a striking contrast with the meanness in mind and manners, that had distinguished their predecessor. They both exhibited a practical wisdom in their own personal relations, which always commands respect, and which, however it may have savoured of worldly policy in Ferdinand, was, in his consort, founded on the purest and most exalted principle. Under such a sovereign, the court, which had been little better than a brothel under the preceding reign, became the nursery of virtue and generous ambition. Isabella watched assiduously over the nurture of the high-born damsels of her court, whom she received into the royal palace, causing them to be educated under her own eye, and endowing them with liberal portions on their marriage. 55 By these and similar acts of affectionate solicitude, she endeared herself to the higher classes of her subjects, while the patriotic tendency of her public conduct established her in the hearts of the people. She possessed, in combination with 55Carro de las Doiias, apud Mem. nangas Reales, lib. 2, tit. 14, ley de la Acad. de Hist., tom. vi. Ilust. 31; lib. 8, tit. 10, ley 7.) L. Mari21.- As one example of the moral neo, according to whom, " hell discipline introduced by Isabella in is full of gamblers," highly comher court, we may cite the enact- mends the sovereigns for their ments against gaming, which had efforts to discountenance this vice. heen carried to great excess under Cosas Memorables, fol. 165. I:e preceding reigns. (See Orde 228 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. PART the feminine qualities which beget love, a mascu line energy of character, which struck terror into the guilty. She enforced the execution of her own plans, oftentimes even at great personal hazard, with a resolution surpassing that of her husband. Both were singularly temperate, indeed, frugal, in their dress, equipage, and general style of living; seeking to affect others less by external pomp, than by the silent though more potent influence of personal qualities. On all such occasions as demanded it, however, they displayed a princely magnificence, which dazzled the multitude, and is blazoned with great solemnity in the garrulous chronicles of the day. 56 The tendencies of the present administration were undoubtedly to strengthen the power of the crown. This was the point, to which most of the feudal governments of Europe at this epoch were tending. But Isabella was far from being actuated by the selfish aim or unscrupulous policy of many contemporary princes, who, like Louis the Eleventh sought to govern by the arts of dissimula56 See, for example, the splendid rate of Los Palacios devotes the ceremony of Prince John's bap- 32d and 33d chapters of his Histism, to which the gossiping Cu- tory. f1s~mencin...The sixth volume of the Mem- of her personal character, and of oirs of the Royal Spanish Acade- the condition of science under her my of History, published in 1821, government. These essays exis devoted altogether to the reign hibit much curious research, being of Isabella. It is distributed into derived from unquestionable conIllustrations, as they are termed, temporary documents, printed and of the various branches of the ad- manuscript, and from the public ministrative policy of the queen, archives. They are compiled with ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 2%9, tin,. and to establish their own authority by fo- cA PTErra VI. UnR nting the divisions of their powerful vassals. On the contrary, she endeavoured to bind together the disjointed fragments of the state, to assign to each of its great divisions its constitutional limits, and, by depressing the aristocracy to its proper level and elevating the commons, to consolidate the whole under the lawful supremacy of the crown. At least, such was the tendency of her administration up to the present period of our history. These laudable objects were gradually achieved without fraud or violence, by a course of measures equally laudable; and the various orders of the monarchy, brought into harmonious action with each other, were enabled to turn the forces, which had before been wasted in civil conflict, to the glorious career of discovery and conquest, which it was destined to run during the remainder of the century. much discernment; and, as they vived the wreck of scholarship in throw light on some of the most Spain, and who with the erudirecondite transactions of this reign, tion, which has frequently distinare of inestimable service to the guished his countrymen, combined historian. The author of the vol- the liberal and enlarged opinions, ume is the late lamented secretary which would do honor to any counof the Academy, Don Diego Cle- try. mencin; one of the few who sur CHAPTER VII. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MODERN INQUISITION. Origin of the Ancient Inquisition. — Retrospective View of the Jews in Spain. - Their Wealth and Civilization. - Big6try of the Age. - Its Influence on Isabella. - Her Confessor, Torquemada. - Bull authorizing the Inquisition. - Tribunal at Seville. - Forms of Trial. Torture.- Autos da Fe.- Number of Convictions. - Perfidious Policy of Rome. IT is painful, after having dwelt so long on the important benefits resulting to Castile from the comprehensive policy of Isabella, to be compelled to turn to the darker side of the picture, and to exhibit her as accommodating herself to the illiberal spirit of the age in which she lived, so far as to sanction one of the grossest abuses that ever disgraced humanity. The present chapter will be devoted to the establishment and early progress of the Modern Inquisition; an institution, which has probably contributed more than any other cause to depress the lofty character of the ancient Spaniard, and which has thrown the gloom of fanaticism over those lovely regions which seem to be the natural abode of festivity and pleasure. In the present liberal state of knowledge, we look with disgust at the pretensions of any human THE INQUISITION. 23 1 being, tiowever exalted, to invade the sacred rights C1lAPTER of conscience, inalienably possessed by every man.... We feel that the spiritual concerns of an individual may be safely left to himself, as most interested in them, except so far as they can be affected by argument or friendly monition; that the idea of compelling belief in particular doctrines is a solecism, as absurd as wicked; and, so far from condemning to the stake, or the gibbet, men who pertinaciously adhere to their conscientious opinions in contempt of personal interests and in the face of danger, we should rather feel disposed to imitate the spirit of antiquity in raising altars and statues to their memory, as having displayed the highest efforts of human virtue. But, although these truths are now so obvious as rather to deserve the name of truisms, the world has been slow, very slow in arriving at them, after many centuries of unspeakable oppression and misery. Acts of intolerance are to be discerned from the Originofrtu, Ancient In earliest period in which Christianity became the quisition. established religion of the Roman empire. But they do not seem to have flowed from any systematized plan of persecution, until the papal authority had swollen to a considerable height. The popes, who claimed the spiritual allegiance of all Christendom, regarded heresy as treason against themselves, and, as such, deserving all the penalties, which sovereigns have uniformly visited on this, in their eyes, unpardonable offence. The crusades, which, in the early part of the thirteenth century, swept so fiercely over the southern provinces of -32 THE INQUISITION. PART France, exterminating their inhabitants, and blasting the fair buds of civilization which had put forth after the long feudal winter, opened the way to the inquisition; and it was on the ruins of this once happy land, that were first erected the bloody altars of that tribunal.' After various modifications, the province of detecting and punishing heresy was exclusively committed to the hands of the Dominican friars; and in 1233, in the reign of St. Louis, and under the pontificate of Gregory the Ninth, a code for the regulation of their proceedings was finally digested. The tribunal, after having been successively adopted in Italy and Germany, was introduced into Its introduc- a tion into Ar Aragon, where, in 1242, additional provisions were 1 Mosheim, Ecclesiastical His- quarto, (De Origine et Progressu tory, translated by Maclaine, Officii Sanctae Inquisitionis, Matri(Charlestown, 1810,) cent. 13, ti, 1598,) traces it up to a much P. 2, chap. 5.- Sismondi, Histoire more remote antiquity, which, to a des Frangais, (Paris, 1821,) tom. Protestant ear at least, savours not vi. chap. 24 - 28; tom. vii. chap. 2, a little of blasphemy. According 3. — Idem, De la Litterature du to him, God was the first inquisiMidi de l'Europe, (Paris, 1813,) tor, and his condemnation of Adam tom. i. chap. 6. -In the former and Eve furnished the model of the of these works M. Sismondi has judicial forms observed in the tridescribed the physical ravages of als of the Holy Office. The senthe crusades in southern France, tence of Adam was the type of the with the same spirit and eloquence, inquisitorial reconcz:iation; his subwith which he has exhibited their sequent raiment of the skins of desolating moral influence in the animals was the model of the latter. san-benito, and his expulsion from Some Catholic writers would Paradise the precedent for the confain excuse St. Dominic from the fiscation of the goods of heretics. imputation of having founded the This learned personage deduces a Inquisition. It is true he died succession of inquisitors through some years before the perfect or- the patriarchs, Moses, Nebuchadganization of that tribunal; but, as nezzar, and King David, down to he established the principles on John the Baptist, and even our which, and the monkish militia, by Saviour, in whose precepts and whom, it was administered, it is conduct he finds abundant authoriloing him no injustice to regard ty for the tribunal! Paramo, )e him as its real author. — The Si- Origine Inquisitionis, lib. 1, tit. 1, cilian Paramo, indeed, in his heavy 2, 3. THE INQUISITION. 23L3 framed by the council of Tarragona, on the basis of CHAPTER Vn1. those of 1233, which may properly be considered as the primitive instructions of the Holy Office in Spain. 2 This Ancient Inquisition, as it is termed, bore the same odious peculiarities in its leading features as the Modern; the same impenetrable secrecy in its proceedings, the same insidious modes of accusation, a similar use of torture, and similar penalties for the offender. A sort of manual, drawn up by Eymerich, an Aragonese inquisitor of the fourteenth century, for the instruction of the judges of the Holy Office, prescribes all those ambiguous forms of interrogation, by which the unwary, and perhaps innocent victim might be circumvented.3 The 2 Sismondi, Hist. des Franpais, shall manage so as to introduce to tom. vii. chap. 3. — Limborch, the conversation of the prisoner History of the Inquisition, trans- some one of his accomplices, or lated by Chandler, (London, 1731,) any other converted heretic, who book 1, chap. 24. - Llorente, His- shall feign that he still persists in toire Critique de l'Inquisition d'Es- his heresy, telling him that he had pagne, (Paris, 1818,) tom. i. p. abjured for the sole purpose of i10. - Before this time we find a escaping punishment, by deceiving constitution of Peter I. of Aragon the inquisitors. Having thus gainagainst heretics, prescribing in cer- ed his confidence, he shall go into tain cases the burning of heretics his cell some day after dinner, and, and the confiscation of their estates, keeping up the conversation till in 1197. Marca, Marca Hispanica, night, shall remain with him under sive Limes Hispanicus, (Parisiis, pretext of its being too late for him 1688,) p. 1384. to return home. He shall then 3 Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Ve- urge the prisoner to tell him all tus, tom. ii. p. 186.- Llorente, the particulars of his past life, havHist de l'Inquisition, tom. i. pp. ing first told him the whole of his 110- 124. -Puigblanch cites some own; and in the mean time spies of the instructions from Eymerich's shall be kept in hearing at the wM rk, whose authority in the courts door, as well as a notary, in order of the Inquisition he compares to to certify what may be said withthat of Gratian's Decretals in other in." Puigblanch, Inquisition Unecclesiastical judicatures. One of masked, translated by Walton. these may suffice to show the spirit (London, 1816,) vol. i. pp. 238, of the whole. " When the in- 239. quisitor has an opportunity, he voI,. I..s0 234 THE INQUISITION. PART principles, on which the ancient Inquisition was established, are no less repugnant to justice, than those which regulated the modern; although the former, it is true, was much less extensive in its operation. The arm of persecution, however, fell with sufficient heaviness, especially during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, on the unfortunate Albigenses, who from the proximity and political relations of Aragon and Provence, had become numerous in the former kingdom. The persecution appears, however, to have been chiefly confined to this unfortunate sect, and there is no evidence that the Holy Office, notwithstanding papal briefs to that effect, was fully organized in Castile, before the reign of Isabella. This is perhaps imputable to the paucity of heretics in that kingdom. It cannot, at any rate, be charged to any lukewarmness in its sovereigns; since they, from the time of St. Ferdinand, who heaped the fagots on the blazing pile with his own hands, down to that of John the Second, Isabella's father, who hunted the unhappy heretics of Biscay, like so many wild beasts, among the mountains, had ever evinced a lively zeal for the orthodox faith.4 4 Mariana, Hist. de Espafla, lib. clothes and beaten with rods by a 12, cap. 11; lib. 21, cap. 17. - priest, three Sundays in succession, Llorente, Hist. de l'Inquisition, from the gate of the city to the door of tom. i. chap. 3. —The nature of the church; not to eat any kind of the penance imposed on reconciled animal food during his whole life; heretics by the ancient Inquisition to keep three Lents a year, without was much more severe than that even eating fish; to abstain from of later times. Llorente cites an fish, oil, and wine three days in act of St. Dominic respecting a the week during life, except in person of this description, named case of sickness or excessive labor; Ponce Roger. The penitent was to wear a religious dress with a commanded to be "stripped of his small cross embroidered on each THE INQUISITION. 235 By the middle of the fifteenth century, the Albi- cIAPTER gensian heresy had become nearly extirpated by -- the Inquisition of Aragon; so that this infernal engine might have been suffered to sleep undisturbed from want of sufficient fuel to keep it in motion, when new and ample materials were discovered in the unfortunate race of Israel, on whom the sins of their fathers have been so unsparingly visited by every nation in Christendom, among whom they have sojourned, almost to the present century. As this remarkable people, who seem to have preserved their unity of character unbroken, amid the thousand fragments into which they have been scattered, attained perhaps to greater consideration in Spain than in any other part of Europe, and as the efforts of the Inquisition were directed principally against them during the present reign, it may be well to take a brief review of their preceding history in the Peninsula. Under the Visigothic empire the Jews multiplied Retropective view o exceedingly in the country, and were permitted to hile Jew in acquire considerable power and wealth. But no sooner had their Arian masters embraced the orthodox faith, than they began to testify their zeal by pouring on the Jews the most pitiless storm of persecution. One of their laws alone condemned the whole race to slavery; and Montesquieu remarks, side of the breast; to attend mass ing, and twenty times at midnil t"! every day, if he had the means of (Ibid. chap. 4.) If the said Roger doing so, and vespers on Sundays failed in any of the above requisiand festivals; to recite the service tions, he was to be burnt as a for the day and the night, and to relapsed heretic! This was the repeat the pater noster seven times encouragement held out by St. in the day, ten times in the even- Dominic to penitence. 236 THE INQUISITION. rART without much exaggeration, that to the Gothic code may be traced all the maxims of the modern Inquisition, the monks of the fifteenth century only copying, in reference to the Israelites, the bishops of the seventh.5 Under the After the Saracenic invasion, which the Jews, perhaps with reason, are accused of having facilitated, they resided in the conquered cities, and were permitted to mingle with the Arabs on nearly equa. terms. Their common Oriental origin produced a similarity of tastes, to a certain extent, not unfavorable to such a coalition. At any rate, the early Spanish Arabs were characterized by a spirit of toleration towards both Jews and Christians, " the people of the book," as they were called, which has scarcely been found among later Moslems.c The Jews, accordingly, under these favorable auspices, not only accumulated wealth with their usual diligence, but gradually rose to the highest civil dignities, and made great advances in various departments of letters. The schools of Cordova, Toledo, Barcelona, and Granada were crowded with numerous disciples, who emulated the Arabians in keeping alive the flame of learning, during he deep darkness of the middle ages. 7 Whatever 5 Montesquieu, Esprit des Loix, 6 The Koran grants protection liv. 28, chap. 1. —See the canon to the Jews on payment of tribute. of the 17th council of Toledo, See the Koran, translated by Sale, condemning the Israelitish race to (London, 1825,) chap. 9. bondage, in Florez, Espalia Sa- 7 The first academy founded by grada, (Madrid, 1747- 75,) tom. the learned Jews in Spain was vi. p. 229. - Fuero Juzgo (ed. de that of Cordova, A. D. 948. Casla Acad. (Madrid, 1815,) lib. 12, tro, Biblioteca Espaiiola, tom. i tit. 2 and 3,) is composed of the p. 2. —Basnage, History of the most inhuman ordinances against Jews, translated by Taylor, (Lonthis unfortunate people. don, 1708,) book 7, chap. 5. THE INQUISITION. 237 may be thought of their success in speculative phi- cHAPTER losophy, 8 they cannot reasonably be denied to have vii. contributed largely to practical and experimental science. They were diligent travellers in all parts of the known world, compiling itineraries which have proved of extensive use in later times, and bringing home hoards of foreign specimens and Oriental drugs, that furnished important contributions to the domestic pharmacopoeias. 9 In the practice of medicine, indeed, they became so expert, as in a manner to monopolize that profession. They made great proficiency in mathematics and particularly in astronomy; while, in the cultivation of elegant letters, they revived the ancient glories of the Hebrew muse.10 This was indeed the 8 In addition to their Talmudic ment isoles, alors mdme qu'ils lore and Cabalistic mysteries, the communiquaient avec tous les peuSpanish Jews were well read in ples, et parcouraient toutes les the philosophy of Aristotle. They contr6es. Aussi nous cherchons en pretended that the Stagirite was a vain, dans ceux de leurs 6crits qui convert to Judaism and had bor- nous sont connus, non seulement rowed his science from the xvri — de vraies d6couvertes, mais meme tings of Solomon. (Brucker, His- des idtees r6ellement originales." toria Critica Philosophie, (Lipsiae, Histoire Comparee des Systemes 1766,) tom. ii. p. 853.) M. Dege- de Philosophie, (Paris, 1822,) tom. rando, adopting similar conclusions iv. p. 299. with Brucker, in regard to the 9 Castro, Biblioteca Espaiiola, value of the philosophical specu- tom. i. pp. 21, 33, et alibi. - Benlations of the Jews, passes the jamin of Tudela's celebrated Itinfollowing severe sentence upon the erary, having been translated intr intellectual, and indeed moral char- the various languages of Europu, acter of the nation. "Ce peu- passed into sixteen editions before ple, par son caract6re, ses mceurs, the middle of the last century. ses institutions, semblait 6tre des- Ibid., tom. i. pp. 79, 80. tin ta rester stationnaire. Un at- 10 The beautiful lament, which tachement excessif a leurs propres the royal psalmist has put into the traditions dominait chez les Juifs mouths of his countrymen, when tous les penchans de l'esprit: ils commanded to sing the songs of restaient presque Strangers aux Sion in a strange land, cannot be progr6s de la civilisation, aun mouve- applied to the Spanish Jews, who, ment g6n6ral de la soci~tet; ils far from hanging their harps upon 6taient en quelque sorte morale- the willows, poured forth their lays ?38 THE INQUISITION. PAIRT golden age of modern Jewish literature, which, under the Spanish caliphs, experienced a protection so benign, although occasionally chequered by the caprices of despotism, that it was enabled to attain higher beauty and a more perfect developement in the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth centu ries, than it'has reached in any other part of Chris tendom.' Under the The ancient Castilians of the same period, very Castilians. different from their Gothic ancestors, seem to have conceded to the Israelites somewhat of the feelings of respect, which were extorted fiom them by the superior civilization of the Spanish Arabs. We find eminent Jews residing in the courts of the Christian princes, directing their studies, attending them as physicians, or more frequently administering their finances. For this last vocation they seem to have had a natural aptitude; and, indeed, the correspondence which they maintained with the different countries of Europe by means of their own countrymen, who acted as the brokers of almost every people among whom they were scattered during the middle ages, afforded them peculiar facilities both in politics and commerce. We meet with a freedom and vivacity, which fore did for the Arabic literature may be thought to savour more of of Spain, by giving notices of such the modern troubadour, than of the works as have survived the ravages ancient Hebrew minstrel. Castro of time and superstition. The first has collected, under Siglo XV., volume of his Biblioteca Espajiola a few gleanings of such, as by contains an analysis accompanied their incorporation into a Christian with extracts from more than seven Cancionero, escaped the fury of hundred different works, with biothe Inquisition. Biblioteca Espa- graphical sketches of their authors; fiola, tom. i. pp. 265-364. the whole bearing most honorable 11 Castro has done for the He- testimony to the talent and variou2 brew, what Casiri a few years be- erudition of the Spanish Jews. T''HE INQUISITION. 239 with Jewish scholars and statesmen attached to the cIIAPTEa courts of Alfonso the Tenth, Alfonso the Eleventh, V11I Peter the Cruel, Henry the Second, and other princes. Their astronomical science recommended them in a special manner to Alfonso the Wise, who employed them in the construction of his celebrated Tables. James the First of Aragon condescended to receive instruction from them in ethics; and, in the fifteenth century, we notice John the Second, of Castile, employing a Jewish secretary in the compilation of a national Cancionero.'2 But all this royal patronage proved incompetent Pfsecu:f,, to protect the Jews, when their flourishing fortunes had risen to a sufficient height to excite popular envy, augmented, as it was, by that profuse ostentation of equipage and apparel, for which this singular people, notwithstanding their avarice, have usually shown a predilection. 3 Stories were circulated of their contempt for the Catholic worship, their desecration of its most holy symbols, and of their crucifixion, or other sacrifice, of Christian 12 Basnage, History of the Jews, his portraits of Rebecca and Isaac book 7, chap. 5, 15, 16. -Castro, in Ivanhoe, in which he seems to Biblioteca Espaiiola, tom. i. pp. have contrasted the lights and 116, 265, 267. -Mariana, Hist. shadows of the Jewish character. de Espaiia, tom. i. p. 906; - tom. The humiliating state of the Jews, ii. pp. 63, 147, 459. —Samuel however, exhibited in this roLevi, treasurer of Peter the Cru- mance, affords no analogy to their el, who was sacrificed to the cu- social condition in Spain; as is pidity of his master, is reported evinced not merely by their wealth, by Mariana to have left behind which was also conspicuous in the him the incredible sum of 400,000 English Jews, but by the high ducats to swell the royal coffers. degree of civilization, and even Tom. ii. p. 82. political consequence, which, not13 Sir Walter Scott, with his withstanding the occasional ebulusual discernment, has availed litions of popular prejudice, they himself of these opposite traits in were permitted to reach there. 240 THE INQUISITION. PART children, at the celebration of their own passover. 1 With these foolish calumnies, the more probable charge of usury and extortion was industriously preferred against them, till at length, towards the close of the fourteenth century, the fanatical populace, stimulated in many instances by the no less fanatical clergy, and perhaps encouraged by the numerous class of debtors to the Jews, who found this a convenient mode of settling their accounts, made a fierce assault on this unfortunate people in Castile and Aragon, breaking into their houses, violating their most private sanctuaries, scattering their costly collections and furniture, and consigning the wretched proprietors to indiscriminate massacre, without regard to sex or age. 15 In this crisis, the only remedy left to the Jews was a real or feigned conversion to Christianity St. Vincent Ferrier, a Dominican of Valencia, performed such a quantity of miracles, in furtherance of this purpose, as might have excited the envy of any saint in the Calendar; and these; aided by his eloquence, are said to have changed the hearts of no less than thirty-five thousand of-the 14 Calumnies of this kind were in Percy's " Reliques of Ancient current all over Europe. The Poetry." English reader will call to mind 15 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, the monkish fiction of the little MS., cap. 43. -Mariana, Hist. de Christian, Espalla, tern. ii. pp. 186, 187. - " lain with cursed Jewes, as it is In 1391, 5,000 Jews were sacrificed notable," to the popular fury, and according singing most devoutly after his to Mariana, no less than 10,000 throat was cut from ear to ear, in perished from the same cause in Chaucer's Prioresse's Tale. See Navarre about sixty years before. another instance in the old Scottish See tom. i. p. 912. oallad of the " Jew's Daughter" THE INQUISITION. 241 race of Israel, which doubtless must be reckoned cArPTEn the greatest miracle of all. 6 VI The legislative enactments of this period, and still more under John the Second, during the first half of the fifteenth century, were uncommonly severe upon the Jews. While they were prohibit ed from mingling freely with the Christians, and from exercising the professions for which they were best qualified,'7 their residence was restricted within certain prescribed limits of the cities which they inhabited; and they were not only debarred from their usual luxury of ornament in dress, but were held up to public scorn, as it were, by some peculiar badge or emblem embroidered on their garments. 18 16 According to Mariana, the been canonized, rather than the restoration of sight to the blind, preacher." p. 87, note. feet to the lame, even life to the 17 They were interdicted from dead, were miracles of ordinary the callings of vintners, grocers, occurrence with St. Vincent. (Hist. taverners, especially of apothecade Espafia, tom. ii. pp. 229, 230.) ries, and of physicians, and nurThe age of miracles had probably ses. Ordenangas Reales, lib. 8, ceased by Isabella's time, or the tit. 3, leyes 11, 15, 18. Inquisition might have been spar- 18 No law was more frequented. Nic. Antonio in his notice of ly reiterated than that prohibiting the life and labors of this Domini- the Jews from acting as stewcan, (Bibliotheca Vetus, tom. ii. ards of the nobility, or farmers pp. 205, 207,) states that he and collectors of the public rents. preached his inspired sermons in The repetition of this law shows his vernacular Valencian dialect to to what extent that people had audiences of French, English, and engrossed what little was known Italians, indiscriminately, who all of financial science in that day. understood him perfectly well; For the multiplied enactments in " a circumstance," says Dr. Mc- Castile against them, see OrdenanCrie, in his valuable " History cas Reales, (jib. 8, tit. 3.) For of the Progress and Suppression the regulations respecting the Jews of the Reformation in Spain," in Aragon, many of them oppres(Edinburgh, 1829,) " which, if it sive, particularly at the commenceprove any thing, proves that the ment of the fifteenth century, see hearers of St. Vincent possessed Fueros y Observancias del Reyno more miraculous powers than him- de Aragon,(Zaragoza, 1667,) tom. self, and that they should have i. fol. 6 -Marca Hispanica, pp. VOL. I. 31 242 THE INQUISITION. VARTr Such was the condition of the Spanish Jews at Iv the accession of Ferdinand and Isabella. The new Their state at the acees Christians, or converts, as those who had renounced sion of Isa b el la the faith of their fathers were denominated, were occasionally preferred to high ecclesiastical dignities, which they illustrated by their integrity and learning. They were intrusted with municipal offices in the various cities of Castile; and, as their wealth furnished an obvious resource for repairing, by way of marriage, the decayed fortunes of the nobility, there was scarcely a family of rank in the land, whose blood had not been contaminated at some period or other, by mixture with the mala sangre, as it came afterwards to be termed, of the house of Judah; an ignominious stain, which no time has been deemed sufficient wholly to purge away.:9 Notwithstanding the show of prosperity enjoyed.by the converted Jews, their situation was far from secure. Their proselytism had been too sudden to ibe generally sincere; and, as the task of dissimulation was too irksome to be permanently endured, they gradually became less circumspect, and exhibited the scandalous spectacle of apostates returning 1416, 1433. - Zurita, Anales, ed with those of the Inquisition tom. iii. lib. 12, cap. 45. have not been wholly able to sup19 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, press. Copies of it, however, are MS., cap. 43. — Llorente, Hist. now rarely to be met with. (Dode l'Inquisition, prf p. 26. - blado, LettersfromSpain, (London, A manuscript entitled Tizon de 1822,) let. 2.) Clemencin notices Espaiia, (Brand of Spain,) tracing two works with this title, one as up many a noble pedigree to a ancient as Ferdinand and Isabella's Jewish or Mahometan root, obtain- time, and both written by bishops ed a circulation, to the great sean- Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., tom. dal of the country, which the vi. p. 125. efforts of the government, combin THE INQUISITION. 2.43 to wallow in the ancient mire of Judaism. The CHAPrTEl VII. clergy, especially the Dominicans, who seem to have inherited the quick scent for heresy which distinguished their frantic founder, were not slow in sounding the alarm; and the superstitious populace, easily roused to acts of violence in the name of religion, began to exhibit the most tumultuous movements, and actually massacred the constable of Castile in an attempt to suppress them at Jaen, the year preceding the accession of Isabella. After this period, the complaints against the Jewish 147s. heresy became still more clamorous, and the throne was repeatedly beset with petitions to devise some effectual means for its extirpation.20 A chapter of the Chronicle of the Curate of Los Carges against themn Palacios, who lived at this time in Andalusia where the Jews seem to have most abounded, throws considerable light on the real, as well as pretended motives of the subsequent persecution. "'rhis accursed race," he says, speaking of the Israelites, "were either unwilling to bring their children to be baptized, or, if they did, they washed away the stain on returning home. They dressed their stews and other dishes with oil, instead of lard; abstained from pork; kept the passover; ate meat in lent; and sent oil to replenish the lamps of their synagogues; with many other abominable ceremonies of their religion. They entertained no respect: for monastic life, and frequently profaned O0 Mariana, Hist. de Espana, tom. ii. p. 479 - Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, part. 2, cap. 77. 9244A THE INQUISITION. PART the sanctity of religious houses by the violation or seduction of their inmates. They were an exceedingly politic and ambitious people, engrossing the most lucrative municipal offices; and preferred to gain their livelihood by traffic, in which they made exorbitant gains, rather than by manual labor or mechanical arts. They considered themselves in the hands of the Egyptians, whom it was a merit to deceive and plunder. By their wicked contrivances they amassed great wealth, and thus were often able to ally themselves by marriage with noble Christian families.'' It is easy to discern, in this medley of credulity and superstition, the secret envy, entertained by the Castilians, of the superior skill and industry of their Hebrew brethren, and of the superior riches which these qualities secured to them; and it is im possible not to suspect, that the zeal of the most orthodox was considerably sharpened by worldly motives. Be that as it may, the cry against the Jewish abominations now became general. Among those most active in raising it, were Alfonso de Ojeda, a Dominican, prior of the monastery of St. Paul in Seville, and Diego de Merlo, assistant of that city, who should not be defrauded of the meed of glory to which they are justly entitled by their exertions for the establishment of the modern Inquisition. These persons, after urging on the sovereigns the alarming extent to which the Jewish leprosy pre21 Reyes Cat6licos, MS., cap. 43. THE INQUISITION. 24cA vailed in Andalusia, loudly called for the introduc- CArPTER VII. tion of the Holy Office, as the only effectual means of healing it. In this they were vigorously supported by Niccol6 Franco, the papal nuncio then residing at the court of Castile. Ferdinand listened with complacency to a scheme, which promised an ample source of revenue in the confiscations it involved. But it was not so easy to vanquish Isabella's aversion to measures so repugnant to the natural benevolence and magnanimity of her character. Her scruples, indeed, were rather founded on sentiment than reason, the exercise of which was little countenanced in matters of faith, in that day, when the dangerous maxim, that the end justifies the means, was universally received, and learned theologians seriously disputed whether it were permitted to make peace with the infidel, and even whether promises made to them were obligatory on Christians. 2 The policy of the Roman church, at that time, Bigotry r( was not only shown in its perversion of some of the most obvious principles of morality, but in the 22 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, fut d'abord plus politique que reubi supra. -Pulgar, Reyes Cato- ligieuse, et destinge a maintenir licos, part. 2, cap. 77. -Zuiiiga, l'ordre plut6tqu'a dfendre la foi." Annales de Sevilla, p. 386. — (Cours d'Histoire Modcrne, (Paris, Merm. de la Acad. de Hist., tom. 1828-30,) tom. v. lee. 11.) This vi. p. 44. —Llorente, tom. i. pp. statement is inaccurate in refer143, 145. ence to Castile, where the facts do Some writers are inclined to not warrant us in imputing any view the Spanish Inquisition, in its other motive for its adoption than origin, as little else than a political religious zeal. The general charengine. Guizot remarks of the acter of Ferdinand, as well as the tribunal, in one of his lectures, circumstances under which it was "Elle contenait en germe ce qu' introduced into Aragon, may justielle est devenue; mais elle ne fy the inference of a more worldly l'6tait pas en commenuant: elle policy in its establishment there. A*I6 THE lNQUISITION. PART discouragement of all free inquiry in its disciples, whom it instructed to rely implicitly in matters of conscience on their spiritual advisers. The artful institution of the tribunal of confession, established with this view, brought, as it were, the whole Christian world at th& feet of the clergy, who, far from being always animated by the meek spirit of the Gospel, almost justified the reproach of Voltaire, that confessors have been the source of most of the violent measures pursued by princes of the Catholic faith.23 in belluce Isabella's serious temper, as well as early education, naturally disposed her to religious influences. Notwithstanding the independence exhibited by her in all secular affairs, in her own spiritual concerns she uniformly testified the deepest humility, and deferred too implicitly to what she deemed the superior sagacity, or sanctity, of her ghostly counsellors. An instance of this humility may be worth recording. When Fray Fernando de Talavera, afterwards archbishop of Granada, who had been appointed confessor to the queen, attended her for the first time in that capacity, he continued seated, after she had knelt down to make her confession, which drew from her the remark, " that it was usual for both parties to kneel." " No," replied the priest, " this is God's tribunal; I act here as his minister, and it is fitting that I should keep my seat, while your Highness kneels before me." Isabella, far from taking umbrage at the ecclesiastic's arrogant de23 Essai sur les Mceurs et l'Esprit des Nations, chap. 176. THE INQUISITION. 247 meanor, complied with all humility, and was after- CIlAPTEI wards heard to say, " This is the confessor that I v-,. wanted." 24 Well had it been for the land, if the queen's con- Char.ctereC her confesscience had always been intrusted to the keeping sdorlo..eof persons of such exemplary piety as Talavera. Unfortunately, in her early days, during the lifetime of her brother Henry, that charge was committed to a Dominican monk, Thomas de Torquemada, a native of old Castile, subsequently raised to the.ank of prior of Santa Cruz in Segovia, and condemned to infamous immortality by the signal part which he performed in the tragedy of the Inquisition. This man, who concealed more pride under his monastic weeds than might have furnished forth a convent of his order, was one of that class, with whom zeal passes for religion, and who testify their zeal by a fiery persecution of those whose creed differs from their own; who compensate for their abstinence from sensual indulgence, by giving scope to those deadlier vices of the heart, pride, bigotry, and intolerance, which are no less opposed to virtue, and are far more extensively mischievous to society. This personage had earnestly labored to infuse into Isabella's young mind, to which his situation as her confessor gave him such ready access, the same spirit of fanaticism that glowed in his own. For24 Sigilenza, Historia de la Or- virtues raised him from the humden de S-n Geronimo, apud Mem. blest condition to the highest posts de la Acad. de Hist., tom. vi. in the church, and gained him, to Ilust. 13.- This anecdote is more quote that writer's words, the apcharacteristic of the order than the pellation of " El sancto, 6 el huen individual. Oviedo has given a arzobispo en toda Espaiia." Quinbrief notice of this prelate, whose cuagenas, MS., dial. de Talavera. 248 THE INQUISITION. PART tunately this was greatly counteracted by her sound. understanding and natural kindness of heart. Torquemada urged her, or indeed, as is stated by some, extorted a promise, that,'" should she ever come to the throne, she would devote herself to the extirpation of heresy, for the glory of God, and the exaltation of the Catholic faith." 25 The time was now arrived when this fatal promise was to be discharged. It is due to Isabella's fame to state thus much in palliation of the unfortunate error into which she was led by her misguided zeal; an error so grave, that, like a vein in some noble piece of statuary, it gives a sinister expression to her otherwise unblem-.apal bull ished character. 26 It was not until the queen had a u thorizineg thellIlisij- endured the repeated importunities of the clergy, particularly of those reverend persons in whom she most confided, seconded by the arguments of Ferdinand, that she consented to solicit from the pope a bull for the introduction of the Holy Office into Castile. Sixtus the Fourth, who at that time filled the pontifical chair, easily discerning the sources of wealth and influence, which this measure opened to the court of Rome, readily complied with the petition of the sovereigns, and expedited a bull bearing date November 1st, 1478, authorizing them 25 Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. honorable testimony to the unsus323. pected integrity of her motives. 26 The uniform tenderness with Even in relation to the Inquisition, which the most liberal Spanish her countrymen would seem wil writers of the present comparative- ling to draw a veil over her errors, ly enlightened age, as Marina, or to excuse her by charging them Ylorente, Clemencin, &c., regard on the age in which she lived. the memory of Isabella, affords an THE INQUISITION. 249 to appoint two or three ecclesiastics, inquisitors for CHIAPTERI the detection and suppression of heresy throughout VI. their dominions. 7 The queen, however, still averse to violent mea- Isabella resorts sures, suspended the operation of the ordinance, mer until a more lenient policy had been first tried. By her command, accordingly, the archbishop of Seville, cardinal Mendoza, drew up a catechism exhibiting the different points of the Catholic faith, and instructed the clergy throughout his diocese to spare no pains in illuminating the benighted Israelites, by means of friendly exhortation and a candid exposition of the true principles of Christianity.28 How far the spirit of these injunctions was complied with, amid the excitement then prevailing, may be reasonably doubted. There could be little doubt, however, that a report, made two years later, by a commission of ecclesiastics with Alfonso de Ojeda at its head, respecting the progress of the reformation, would be necessarily unfavorable to the Jews. 29 27 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, part. tive agency in the establishment of 2, cap. 77. - Bernaldez, Reyes the Inquisition, as is claimed for Catolicos, MS., cap. 43.- Llo- him by later writers, and especially rente, Hist. de l'Inquisition, tom. his kinsman and biographer, the i. pp. 143 - 145. - Much discrep- canon Salazar de Mendoza. (Cron. ancy exists in the narratives of del Gran Cardenal, lib. 1, cap. 49. Pulgar, Bernaldez, and other con- -Monarquia, tom. i. p. 336.) The temporary writers, in reference to conduct of this eminent minister in the era of the establishment of the this affaii seems, on the contrary, modern Inquisition. I have fol- to have been equally politic and lowed Llorente, whose chronologi- humane. The imputation of bigotcal a;curacy, here and elsewhere, ry was not cast upon it, until the rests on the most authentic docu- age when bigotry was esteemed a ments. virtue. 8 Bernaldez, Reyes Cattolicos, 29 In the interim, a caustic pubMS., ubi supra. - Pulgar, Reyes lication by a Jew appeared, conCat6licos, part. 2, cap. 77. - I find taininog strictures on the conduct of no contemporary authority for im- the administration, and even on the puting to cardinal Mendoza an ac- Christian religion, which was conVOL. I. 32 250 THE INQUISITION PART In consequence of this report the papal provisions nf were enforced by the nomination, on the 17th of Papal bull. September, 1480, of two Dominican monks as in14 80. quisitors, with two other ecclesiastics, the one as Sept. 17. assessor, and the other as procurator fiscal, with instructions to proceed at once to Seville, and enter on the duties of their office. Orders were also issued to the authorities of the city to support the inquisitors by all the aid in their power. But the new institution, which has since become the miserable boast of the Castilians, proved so distasteful to them in its origin, that they refused any cooperation with its ministers, and indeed opposed such delays and embarrassments, that, during the first years, it can scarcely be said to have obtained a footing in any other places in Andalusia, than those belonging to the crown.30 Inquisition On the 2d of January, 1481, the court comat Seville. menced operations by the publication of an edict, followed by several others, requiring all persons to aid in apprehending and accusing all such as they might know, or suspect to be guilty of heresy,3' troverted at length by Talavera, 31 This ordinance, in which Lloafter-wards archbishop of Granada. rente discerns the first regular enThe scandal occasioned by this ill- croachment of the new tribunal on timed production undoubtedly con- the civil jurisdiction, was aimed tributed to exacerbate tle popular partly at the Andalusian nobility, odium against the Israelites. who afforded a shelter to the Jew30 It is worthy of remark, that ish fugitives. Llorente has fallen the famous cortes of Toledo, as- into the error, more than once, of sembled but a short time previous speaking of the count of Arcos, to the abovementioned ordinances, and marquis of Cadiz, as separate and which enacted several oppres- persons. The possessor of both sive laws in relation to the Jews, titles was Rodrigo Ponce de Leon, made no allusion whatever to the who inherited the former of them proposed establishment of a tribu- from his father. The latter (which nal, which was to be armed with he afterwards made so illustrious such terrific powers. in the Moorish wars) was confer THE INQUISITION. 251 and' holding out the illusory promise of absolution to cHIArT,,t such as should confess their errors within a limited v1I* period. As every mode of accusation, even anonymous, was invited, the number of victims multiplied so fast, that the tribunal found it convenient to remove its sittings from the convent of St. Paul, within the city, to the spacious fortress of Triana, in the suburbs. 3 The presumptive proofs, by which the charge of Proofs ot Judaism was established against the accused are so curious, that a few of them may deserve notice. It was considered good evidence of the fact, if the prisoner wore better clothes or cleaner linen on the Jewish sabbath than on other days of the week; if he had no fire in his house the preceding evening; if he sat at table with Jews, or ate the meat of animals slaughtered by their hands, or drank a certain beverage held in much estimation by them; if he washed a corpse in warm water, or when dying turned his face to the wall; or, finally, if he gave Hebrew names to his children; a provision most whimsically cruel, since, by a law of Henry the Second, he was prohibited under severe penalties from giving them Christian names. He must have found it difficult to extricate himself from the horns of this dilemma. 33 Such are a few of the circumred on him by Henry IV., being Deity is one that the persecuted derived from the city of that name, might join in, as heartily as their which had been usurped from the oppressors. "Exurge Domine; crown. judica causam tuam; capite nobis 32 The historian of Seville quotes vulpes." Zuiiiga, Annales de Sethe Latin inscription on the portal villa, p. 389. of the edifice in which the sittings 3 Ordenanpas Reales, lib. 8, tit. of the dread tribunal were held. 3, ley 26. Its concluding apostrophe to the 25!2 THE INQUISITION. PART stances, some of them purely accidental in their nature, others the result of early habit, which might well have continued after a sincere conversion to Christianity, and all of them trivial, on which capital accusations were to be alleged, and even satisfactorily established. 34 The sanguin- The inquisitors, adopting the wily and tortuous ary proceed~tiosofthe policy of the ancient tribunal, proceeded with a despatch, which shows that they could have paid little deference even to this affectation of legal form. On the sixth day of January, six convicts suffered at the stake. Seventeen more were executed in March, and a still greater number in the month following; and by the 4th of November in the same year, no less than two hundred and ninety-eight individuals had been sacrificed in the autos dafe of Seville. Besides these, the mouldering remains of many, who had been tried and convicted after their death, were torn up from their graves, with a hyena-like ferocity, which has disgraced no other court, Christian or Pagan, and condemned to the common funeral pile. This was prepared on a spacious stone scaffold, erected in the suburbs of the city, with the statues of four prophets attached to the corners, to which the unhappy sufferers were bound for the sacrifice, and which the worthy Curate of Los Palacios celebrates with much complacency as the spot, " where heretics were burnt, and ought to burn as long as any can be found." s5 34 Llorente, Hist. de l'Inquisi- MS., cap. 44. -Llorente, Hist. de tion, tom. i. pp. 153- 159. I'Inquisition, tom. i. p. 160. -L. 35 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol THE INQUISITION. 253 Many of the convicts were persons estimable for CHAPTER learning and probity; and, among these, three clergymen are named, together with other individuals filling judicial or high municipal stations. The sword of justice was observed, in particular, to strike at the wealthy, the least pardonable offenders in times of proscription. The plague which desolated Seville this year, sweeping off fifteen thousand inhabitants, as if in token of the wrath of Heaven at these enormities, did not palsy for a moment the arm of the Inquisition, which, adjourning to Aracena, continued as indefatigable as before. A similar persecution went forward in other parts of the province of Andalusia; so that within the same year, 1481, the number of the sufferers was computed at two thousand burnt alive, a still greater number in effigy, and seventeen thousand reconciled; a term which must not be understood by the reader to signify any thing like a pardon or amnesty, but only the commutation of a capital sentence for inferior penalties, as fines, civil incapacity, very generally total confiscation of property, and not unfrequently imprisonment for life. 36 164. - The language of Bernaldez ment of fanaticism continued to as applied to the four statues of the disgrace Seville till 1810, when it quemadero, "en quelos quemavan," was removed in order to make is so equivocal, that it has led to room for the construction of a some doubts whether he meant to battery against the French. assert that the persons to be burnt 36 L. Marineo, Cosas Memorawere enclosed in the statues, or bles, fol. 164. -Bernaldez, Reyes fastened to them. Llorente's sub- Cat6licos, MS., cap. 44.-Mariana sequent examination has led him lib. 24, cap. 17.- Llorente, Hist. to discard the first horrible suppo- de l'Inquisition, ubi supra. -L. sition, which realized the fabled Marineo diffuses the 2,000 capital cruelty of Phalaris. — This monu- executions over several years. Ho 2.54 THE INQUISITION. PART The Jews were astounded by the bolt, which'_ 1had fallen so unexpectedly upon them. Some succeeded in making their escape to Granada, others to France, Germany, or Italy, where they appealed from the decisions of the Holy Office to the soveConduct of reign pontiff.37 Sixtus the Fourth appears for a the papal Court. moment to have been touched with something like compunction; for he rebuked the intemperate zeal of the inquisitors, and even menaced them with deprivation. But these feelings, it would seem, were but transient; for, in 1483, we find the same pontiff quieting the scruples of Isabella respecting the appropriation of the confiscated property, and encouraging both sovereigns to proceed in the great work of purification, by an audacious reference to the example of Jesus Christ, who, says he, consolidated his kingdom on earth by the destruction of idolatry; and he concludes with imputing their successes in the Moorish war, upon which they had then entered, to their zeal for the faith, and promising them the like in future. In the course of the sums up the various -severities of again, who sincerely repent, she, the Holy Office in the following notwithstanding the heinousness gentle terms. " The church, who of their transgressions, merely senis the mother of mercy and the tences to perpetual imprisonment!" fountain of charity, content with Such were the tender mercies of the imposition of penances, gen- the Spanish Inquisition. erously accords life to many who 37 Bernaldez states, that guards do not deserve it. While those were posted at the gates of the who persist obstinately in their er- city of Seville in order to prevent rors, after being imprisoned on the the emigration of the Jewish intestimony of trust-worthy witness- habitants, which indeed was forbides, she causes to be put to the den under pain of death. The tritorture, and condemned to the bunal, however, had greater terflames; some miserably perish, be- rors for them, and many succeeded wailing their errors, and invoking in effecting their escape. Reves the name of Christ, while others Cat6licos, MS., cap. 44. call upon that of Moses. Many THE INQUISITION. 25b same year, he expedited two briefs, appointing CHAPTER Thomas de Torquemada inquisitor-general of Cas- -_ Final organtile and Aragon, and clothing him with full powers iationof.the Inquisition. to frame a new constitution for the Holy Office. 1483. Aug. 2, and This was the origin of that terrible tribunal, the oct. l. Spanish or Modern Inquisition, familiar to most - readers, whether of history or romance; which, for three centuries, has extended its iron sway over the dominions of Spain and Portugal.38 Without going into details respecting the organization of its various courts, which gradually swelled to thirteen during the present reign, I shall endeavour to exhibit the principles which regulated their proceedings, as deduced in part from the code digested under Torquemada, and partly from the practice which obtained during his supremacy.39 Edicts were ordered to be published annually, Forms o on the first two Sundays in lent, throughout the churches, enjoining it as a sacred duty on all, who knew or suspected another to be guilty of heresy, 38 L. Marineo, Cosas Memora- ation was to -secure the interest of bles, fol. 164. -Zuiiiga, Annales the crown in the confiscated propde Sevilla, p. 396 — Pulgar, Reyes erty, and to guard against the enCatolicos, part. 2, cap. 77. - Ga- croachment of the Inquisition on ribay, Compendio, tom. ii. lib. 18, secular jurisdiction. The expedicap. 17. — Paramo, De Origine ent, however, wholly failed, beInquisitionis, lib. 2, tit. 2, cap. 2. cause most of the questions brought -Llorente, Hist. de l'Inquisition, before this court were determined tom. i. pp. 163- 173. by the principles of the canon law, 39 Over these subordinate tribu- of which the grand inquisitor was nals Ferdinand erected a court of to be sole interpreter, the others supervision, with appellate juris- having.only, as it was termed, a diction, under the name of Coun- "consultative voice." Llorente, cil of the Supreme, consisting of tom. i. pp. 173, 174. — Zurita, the grand inquisitor, as presi- Anales, tom. iv. fol. 324. —Riol, dent, and three other eeclesiastics, Informe, apud Semanario Erudito, two of them doctors of law. The tom. iii. pp. 156 et seq. principal purpose of this new cre 256 THE INQUISITION. PART to lodge information against him before the Holy s' Office; and the ministers of religion were instructed to refuse absolution to such as hesitated to comply with this, although the suspected person might stand in the relation of parent, child, husband, or wife. All accusations, anonymous as well as signed, were admitted; it being only necessary to specify the names of the witnesses, whose testimony was taken down in writing by a secretary, and afterwards read to them, which, unless the inaccuracies were so gross as to force themselves upon their attention, they seldom failed to confirm.40 The accused, in the mean time, whose mysterious disappearance was perhaps the only public evidence of his arrest, was conveyed to the secret chambers of the Inquisition, where he was jealously excluded from intercourse with all, save a priest of the Romish church and his jailer, both of whom might be regarded as the spies of the tribunal. In this desolate condition, the unfortunate man, cut off from external communication and all cheering sympathy or support, was kept for some time in ignorance even of the nature of the charges preferred against him, and at length, instead of the 40 Puigblanch, Inquisition Un- the interests of the tribunal." masked, vol. i. chap. 4. - Llorente, Their answers often opened a new Hist. de l'Inquisition, tom. i. chap. scent to the judges, and thus, 6, art. 1; chap. 9, art. 1, 2. -The in the language of Montanus, witnesses were questioned in such " brought more fishes into the ingeneral terms, that they were even quisitors' holy angle." See Monkept in ignorance of the particular tanus, Discovery and Playne Decmatter respecting which they were laration of sundry subtill Practises expected to testify. Thus, they of the Holy Inquisition of Spayne, were asked "if they knew any Eng. trans. (London, 1569,) fol thing which had been said or done 14. contrary to the Catholic faith, and THE INQUISITION. 257 original, ocess, was favored only with extracts cIHPTER VII. from the depositions of the witnesses, so garbled as to conceal every possible clue to their name and quality. With still greater unfairness, no mention whatever was made of such testimony, as had arisen in the course of the examination, in his own favor. Counsel was indeed allowed from a list presented by his judges. But this privilege availed little, since the parties were not permitted to confer together, and the advocate was furnished with no other sources of information than what had been granted to his client. To add to the injustice of these proceedings, every discrepancy in the statements of the witnesses was converted into a separate charge against the prisoner, who thus, instead of one crime, stood accused of several. This, taken in connexion with the concealment of time, place, and circumstance in the accusations, created such embarrassment, that, unless the accused was possessed of unusual acuteness and presence of mind, it was sure to involve him, in his attempts to explain, in inextricable contradiction. 41 If the prisoner refused to confess his guilt, or, Torture. as was usual, was suspected of evasion, or an attempt to conceal the truth, he was subjected to the torture. This, which was administered in the deepest vaults of the Inquisition, where the cries of the victim could fall on no ear save that of his tormentors, is admitted by the secretary of the Holy 41 Limborch, Inquisition, book chap. 6, art. 1; chap. 9, art. 4-9. 4, chap. 20. —Montanus, Inquisi- Puigblanch, Inquisition Unmasktion of Spayne, fol. 6- 15. - Llo- ed, vol. i. chap. 4. xente, Hist. de l'Inquisition, tom. i. VOL. I..33 2o8 THE INQUISITION PART Office, who has furnished the most authentic report "___ of its transactions, not to have been exaggerated in any of the numerous narratives which have dragged these subterranean horrors into light. If the intensity of pain extorted a confession from the sufferer, he was expected, if he survived, which did not always happen, to confirm it on the next day. Should he refuse to do this, his mutilated members were condemned to a repetition of the same sufferings, until his obstinacy (it should rather have been termed his heroism) might be vanquished. 42 Should the rack, however, prove ineffectual to force a confession of his guilt, he was so far from being considered as having established his innocence, that, with a barbarity unknown to any tribunal where the torture has been admitted, and which of itself proves its utter incompetency to the ends it proposes, he was not unfrequently convicted on the depositions of the witnesses. At the conclusion of his mock trial, the prisoner was again returned to his dungeon, where, without the blaze of a single fagot to dispel the cold, or illuminate the darkness of the long winter night, he was left in unbroken silence to await the doom which was to consign him to an ignominious death, or a life scarcely less ignominious. 43 42 Llorente, HIist. de l'Inquisi- pretending after each new infliction, tom. i. chap. 9, art. 7. - tion of punishment, that they had By a subsequent regulation of only suspended, and not terminatPhilip II., the repetition of torture ed the torture! in the same process was strictly 43 Montanus, Inquisition of prohibited to the inquisitors. But Spayne, fol. 24 etseq. —Limborch, they, making use of a sophism Inquisition, vol. ii. chap. 29. -- worthy of the arch-fiend himself, Puighblanch, Inquisition Unmasked contrived to evade this law, by vol. i. chap. 4 -Llorente, Hist THE INQUISITION. 259 The proceedings of the tribunal, as I have stated CHAPTER them, were plainly characterized throughout by the Injustice of most flagrant injustice and inhumanity to the ac- its proceed'cused. Instead of presuming his innocence, until his guilt had been established, it acted on exactly the opposite principle. Instead of affording him the protection accorded by every other judicature, and especially demanded in his forlorn situation, it used the most insidious arts to circumvent and to crush him. He had no remedy against malice or misapprehension on the part of his accusers, or the witnesses against him, who might be his bitterest enemies; since they were never revealed to, nor confronted with the prisoner, nor subjected to a cross-examination, which can best expose error or wilful collusion in the evidence.44 Even the poor forms of justice, recognised in this court, might be readily dispensed with; as its proceedings were impenetrably shrouded from the public eye, by the appalling oath of secrecy imposed on all, whether functionaries, witnesses, or prisoners, who entered de l'Inquisition, ubi supra. - I Inquisition at Madrid, and his Esshall spare the reader the descrip- cape in 1817- 18." tion of the various modes of tor- 44 The prisoner had indeed the ture, the rack, fire, and pulley, right of challenging any witness practised by the inquisitors, which on the ground of personal enmity. have been so often detailed in the (Llorente, Hist. de l'Inquisition, doleful narratives of such as have tom. i. chap. 9, art.,0.) But as had the fortune to escape with life he was kept in ignorance of the from the fangs of the tribunal. If names of the witnesses employed we are to believe Llorente, these against him, and as even, if he barbarities have not been decreed conjectured right, the degree of for a long time. Yet some recent enmity, competent to set aside tesstatements are at variance with timony, was to be determined by this assertion. See, among oth- his judges, it is evident that his ers, the celebrated adventurer Van privilege of challenge was wholly Halen's " Narrative of his Impris- nugatory. onnlent in the Dungeons of the ~60 THE INQUISITION. PART within its precincts. The last, and not the least -- odious feature of the whole, was the connexion established between the condemnation of the ac cased and the interests of his judges; since the confiscations, which were the uniform penalties of heresy,45 were not permitted to flow into the royal exchequer, until they had first discharged the expenses, whether in the shape of salaries or otherwise, incident to the Holy Office. 46 Auto afe. The last scene in this dismal tragedy was the act of faith, (auto da fe,) the most imposing spectacle probably, which has been witnessed since the ancient Roman triumph, and which, as intimated by a Spanish writer, was intended, somewhat profanely, to represent the terrors of the Day of Judgment.47 The proudest grandees of the land, on 45 Confiscation had long been to the tyranny of the confessional, decreed as the punishment of con- aimed at establishing the same juvicted heretics by the statutes of risdiction over thoughts, which Castile. (Ordenancas Reales, lib. secular tribunals have wisely con8, tit. 4.) The avarice of the fined to actions. Time, instead of present system, however, is exem- softening, gave increased harshplified by the fact, that those, who ness to the features of the new confessed and sought absolution system. The most humane prowithin the brief' term of grace al- visions were constantly evaded in lowed by the inquisitors from the practice; and the toils for ensnarpublication of their edict, were ing the victim were so ingeniously liable to arbitrary fines; and those multiplied, that few, very few, who confessed after that period, were permitted to escape without escaped with nothing short of con- some censure. Not more than one fiscation. Llorente, Hist. de l'In- person, says Llorente, in one or quisition, tom. i. pp. 176, 177. perhaps two thousand processes, 46 Ibid., tom. i. p. 216. —Zu- previous to the time of Philip III., rita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 324. received entire absolution. So — Salazar de Mendoza, Monar- that it came to be proverbial that quia, tom. i. fol. 337. - It is easy all who were not roasted, were at to discern in every part of the least singed. odious scheme of the Inquisition, "Devant l'lnquisition, quand on vient i, the contrivance of the monks, a jube, class, of men, cut off by their pro- si l'on ne sort r8ti, lion sort au moins fession from the usual sympathies famb," of social life, and who, accustomed 47' Montanus, Inquisition of THE INQUISITION. 261 this occasion, putting on the sable livery of famil- CHAPTER iars of the Holy Office and bearing aloft its banners, - condescended to act as the escort of its ministers; while the ceremony was not unfrequently countenanced by the royal presence. It should be stated, however, that neither of these acts of condescension, or more properly, humiliation, were witnessed until a period posterior to the present reign. The effect was further heightened by the concourse of ecclesiastics in their sacerdotal robes, and the pompous ceremonial, which the church of Rome knows so well how to display on fitting occasions; and which was intended to consecrate, as it were, this bloody sacrifice by the authority of a religion, which has expressly declared that it desires mercy and [not sacrifice. 4 Spayne, fol. 46. - Puigblanch, quisitionis, lib. 1, tit. 3, cap. 5.) Inquisition Unmasked, vol. i. chap. The worthy father omits to add 4. - Every reader of Tacitus and the impressive rebuke of our SavJuvenal will remember how early iour to his over-zealous disciples. the Christians were condemned to " Ye know not what manner of endure the penalty of fire. Per- spirit ye are of. The son of man haps the earliest instance of burn- is not come to destroy men's lives, ing to death for heresy in modern but to save them." times occurred under the reign of 48 Puigblanch, vol. i. chap. 4.Robert of France, in the early part The inquisitors after the celebraof the eleventh century. (Sismon- tion of an auto da fe atGuadaloupe, di, Hist. des Francais, tom. iv. in 1485, wishing probably to justify chap. 4.) Paramo, as usual, finds these bloody executions in the eyes authority for inquisitorial autos da of the people, who had not yet befe, where one would least expect come familiar with them, solicited it, in the New Testament. Among a sign from the Virgin (whose other examples, he quotes the re- shrine in that place is noted all mark of James and John, who, over Spain) in testimony of her when the village of Samaria re- approbation of the Holy'Office fused to admit Christ within its Their petition was answered by walls, would have called down fire such a profusion of miracles, that from heaven to consume its inhab- Dr. Francis Sanctius de la Fuente, itants. "Lo," saysParamo, "fire, who acted as scribe on the occathe punishment of heretics; for the sion, became out of breath, and Samaritans were the heretics of after recording sixty, gave up in those times." (De Origine In- despair, unable to keep pace with 262 THE INQUISITION. PART The most important actors in the scene were the unfortunate convicts, who were now disgorged for the first time from the dungeons of the tribunal. They were clad in coarse woollen garments, styled san benitos, brought close round the neck. and descending like a frock, down to the knees.49 These were of a yellow color, embroidered with a scarlet cross, and xvell garnished with figures of devils and flames of fire, which, typical of the heretic's destiny hereafter, served to make him more odious in the eyes of the superstitious multitude.50 The greater part of the sufferers were condemned to be reconciled, the manifold meanings of which soft phrase have been already explained. Those who were to be relaxed, as it was called, were delivered over, as impenitent heretics, to the secular arm, in order to expiate their offence by the most painful of deaths, with the consciousness, still more painful, that they were to leave behind them names branded with infamy, and families involved in irretrievable ruin. 51 their marvellous rapidity. Para- rifice, or massacre; —it is all of no, De Origine Inquisitionis, lib. them. They reproach Montezuma 2, tit. 2, cap. 3. with sacrificing human captives to 49 San benito, according to Ilo- the Gods. - What would he have rente (tom. i. p. 127.), is a cor- said, had he witnessed an auto da ruption of saco bendito, being the fe?" name given to the dresses worn 51 The government, at least, by penitents previously to the cannot be charged with remissness thirteenth century. in promoting this. I find two or50 Llorente, Hist. de l'Inquisi- dinances in the royal collection of tion, tom. i. chap. 9, art. 16.- pragmrnticas, dated in September, Puigblanch, Inquisition Unmasked, 1501, (there must be some error in vol. i. chap. 4. -Voltaire remarks the date of one of them,) inhibit(Essai sur les Mceurs, chap. 140.) ing, under pain of confiscation of that, " An Asiatic, arriving at property, such as had been reconMadrid on the day of an auto da cited, and their children by the fe, would doubt whether it were a mother's side, and grandchildren festival, religious celebration, sac- by the father's, from holding an) THE INQUISITION. 263 It is remarkable, that a scheme so monstrous as CHAPTER that of the Inquisition, presenting the most effect- vu. ual barrier, probably, that was ever opposed to the progress of knowledge, should have been revived at the close of the fifteenth century, when the light of civilization was rapidly advancing over every part of Europe. It is more remarkable, that it should have occurred in Spain, at this time under a government, which had displayed great religious independence on more than one occasion, and which had paid uniform regard to the rights of its subjects, and pursued a generous policy in reference to their intellectual culture. Where, we are tempted to ask, when we behold the persecution of an innocent, industrious people for the crime of adhesion to the faith of their ancestors, where was the charity, which led the old Castilian to reverence valor and virtue in an infidel, though an enemy? Where the chivalrous self-devotion, which led an Aragonese monarch, three centuries before, to give away his life, in defence of the persecuted sectaries of Provence? Where the independent spirit, which prompted the Castilian nobles, during the very last reign, to reject with scorn the purposed interference of the pope himoffice in the privy council, courts find a precedent in a law of Sylla, of justice, or in the municipalities, excluding the children of the proor any other place of trust or honor. scribed Romans from political honThey were also excluded from the ors; thus indignantly noticed by vocations of notaries, surgeons, and Sallust. " Quin solus omnium, apothecaries. (PraamAticas del post memoriam hominum, supplicia Reyno, fol. 5, 6.) This was visit- in post futuros composuit; quit intg the sins of the fathers, to an prius injuria qu-m vita certa esset." extent unparalleled in modern le- Hist. Fragmenta, lib. 1. gislation. The sovereigns might '264 THE INQUISITION. PART self in their concerns, that they wet r, ow reduced to bow their necks to a few franti,' priests, the members of an order, which, in Spain at least, was quite as conspicuous for ignorance as intolerance? True indeed the Castilians, and the Aragonese subsequently still more, gave such evidence of their aversion to the institution, that it can hardly be believed the clergy would have succeeded in fastening it upon them, had they not availed themselves of the popular prejudices against the Jews.52 Providence, however, permitted that the sufferings, thus heaped on the heads of this unfortunate people, should be requited in full measure to the nation that inflicted them. The fires of the Inquisition, which were lighted exclusively for the Jews, were destined eventually to consume their oppressors. They were still more deeply avenged in the moral influence of this tribunal, which, eating like a pestilent canker into the heart of the monarchy, at the very time when it was exhibiting a most goodly promise, left it at length a bare and sapless trunk. Convictions Notwithstanding the persecutions under Toruemada. quemada were confined almost wholly to the Jews, his activity was such as to furnish abundant precedent, in regard to forms of proceeding, for his successors; if, indeed, the word forms may be applied to the conduct of trials so summary, that the 52 The Aragonese, as we shall In Castile, its enormous abuses see hereafter, made amanly, thoufh provoked the spirited interposiineffectual resistance, from the first, tion of the legislature at the com to the introduction of the Inqui- mene.Pment of:'ie following reign sition among them by Ferdinand. But it was then too late. VrI INqUISITION,. n265 tribunal of Toledo alone, under the superintend- CHAPTER ence of two inquisitors, disposed of three thousand VIL three hundred and twenty-seven processes in little more than a year.53 The number of convicts was greatly swelled by the blunders of the Dominican monks, who acted as qualificators, or interpreters of what constituted heresy, and whose ignorance led them frequently to condemn as heterodox, propositions actually derived from the fathers of the church. The prisoners for life, alone, becamle so numerous, that it was necessary to assign them their own houses as the places of their incarceration. The data for an accurate calculation of the number of victims sacrificed by the Inquisition during this reign are not very satisfactory. From such as exist. however, Llorente has been led to the most frightful results. He computes, that, during the eighteen years of Torquemada's ministry, there were no less than 10,220 burnt, 6,860 condemned, and burnt in effigy as absent or dead, and 97,321 reconciled by various other penances; affording an average of more than 6,000 convicted persons annually. 54 In this enormous sum of human misery 53 1485 - 3. (Llorente, Hist. de Cuenqa being comprehended in that l'Inqaisiti.-r, tom. i. p. 239.)-In of Murcia. (Tom. iv. p. 252.) ZuSeville, with probably no greater rita says, that, by 1520, the Inquisiapparatus, in 1482, 21,000 pro- tion of Seville had sentenced more ccesses were disposed of. These than 4,000 persons to be burnt, and were the first fruits of the Jewish 30,000 to other punishments. Anheresy, when Torquemada, al- other author whom he quotes, carthough an inquisitor, had not the ries up the estimate of the total supreme control of the tribunal. condemned by this single tribunal, 54 Llorente afterwards reduces within the same term of time, to this estimate to 8,800 burnt, 96,504 100,000. Anales, tom. iv. fol. 324. otherwise punished; the diocese of VOL. I. 34 '266 THE INQUISITION. PART is not included the multitude of orphans, who, from _ I -- _ the confiscation of their paternal inheritance, were turned over to indigence and vice. 55 Many of the reconciled were afterwards sentenced as relapsed; and the Curate of Los Palacios expresses the charitable wish, that " the whole accursed race of Jews, male and female, of twenty years of age and upwards, might be purified with fire and fagot! 56 The vast apparatus of the Inquisition involved so heavy an expenditure, that a very small sum, comparatively, found its way into the exchequer, to counterbalance the great detriment resulting to the state from the sacrifice of the most active and skilful part of its population. All temporal interests, however, were held light in comparison with the purgation of the land from heresy; and such augmentations as the revenue did receive, we are assured, were conscientiously devoted to pious purposes, and the Moorish war! 57 55 By an article of the primitive ing, on the imputation of Judaism, instructions, the inquisitors were sorcery, or heresy, at the autos da required to set apart a small por- fe of Salamanca, the very nurtion of the confiscated estates for sery of science. (Llorente, Hist. de the education and Christian nur- l'Inquisition, tom. i. chap. 8, art. ture of minors, children of the 5.) This may remind one of the condemned. Llorente says, that, similar sentence passed by Lope in the immense number of proces- de Barrientos, another Dominises, which he had occasion to con- can, about fifty years before, upon suit, he met with no instance the books of the marquis of Vilof their attention to the fate of lena. Fortunately for the dawnthese unfortunate orphans! Hist. ing literature of Spain, Isabella de l'Inquisition, tom. i. chap. 8. did not, as was done by her suc56 Reyes Cat6licos, MS., cap. cessors, commit the censorship of 44. - Torquemada waged war the press to the judges of the Holy upon freedom of thought, in every Office, notwithstanding such occaform. In 1490, he caused several sional assumption of power by the Hebrew bibles to be publicly burnt, grand inquisitor. and some time after, more than 57 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, part. 6,000 volumes of Oriental learn- 2, cap. 77. -. Marineo, Cosas THE INQUISITION. 267 The Roman see, during all this time, conducting CIfAPrTE itself with its usual duplicity, contrived to make a Perfidious gainfill traffic by the sale of dispensations from the policy of penalties incurred by such as fell under the ban of the Inquisition, provided they were rich enough to pay for them, and afterwards revoking them, at the instance of the Castilian court. Meanwhile, the odium, excited by the unsparing rigor of Torquemada, raised up so many accusations against him, that he was thrice compelled to send an agent to Rome to defend his cause before the poniiff; until, at length, Alexander the Sixth, in 1494, moved by these reiterated complaints, appointed four coadjutors, out of a pretended regard to the infirmities of his age, to share with him the burdens of his office. 58 This personage, who is entitled to so high a rank among those who have been the authors of unmixed evil to their species, was permitted to reach a very old age, and to die quietly in his bed. Yet he lived in such constant apprehension of assassination, that he is said to have kept a reputed unicorn's horn always on his table, which was imagined to have the power of detecting and neutralizing poisons; while, for the more conplete protection of his person, he was allowed an escort of fifty horse Memoraoles, Lf, 164. — The pro- (leyes Catolicos, part. 2, cap. digious desolation of the land may 77,) at four, L. Marineo (Cosas be inferred from the estimates, Mem6rables, fol. 164,) as high as although somewhat discordant, of five thousand. deserted houses in Andalusia. 53 Llorente, Hist. de l'InquisiGaribay (Compendio, lib. 18, cap. tion, tom. i. chap. 7, art. 8; chap. 17,) puts these at three, Pulgar 8, art. 6. 268 THE INQUISITION. PART' and two hundred foot in his progresses through the kingdom. 59 This man's zeal was of such an extravagant character, that it may almost shelter itself under the name of insanity. His history may be thought to prove, that, of all human infirmities, or rather vices, there is none productive of more extensive mischief to society than fanaticism. The opposite principle of atheism, which refuses to recognise the most important sanctions to virtue, does not necessarily imply any destitution of just moral perceptions, that is, of' a power of discriminating between right and wrong, in its disciples. But fanaticism is so far subversive of the most established principles of morality, that, under the dangerous maxim, " For the advancement of the faith, all means are lawful," which Tasso has rightly, though perhaps undesignedly derived from the spirits of hell, 60 it 59 Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Ye- 60 "Per la f — il tutto lice." tus, tom. ii. p. 340. - Llorente, Gerusalemme Liberata, cant. 4, Hist. de l'Inquisition, tom. i. chap. stanza 26. 8, art. 6. LUorente's Don Juan Antonio,liorente is functionaries, as have at different history oni the only writer who has succe,'d times pretended to give itstranstlon. in completely lifting the veil from actions to the world, have confin-:tle dread mysteries of the Inquisi- ed themselves to an historical outtion. It is obvious how very few line, with meagre notices of such could be competent to this task, parts of its internal discipline as since the proceedings of the Holy might be safely disclosed to the Office were shrouded in such im- public. penetrable secrecy, that even the Llorente was secretary to the prisoners who were arraigned be- tribunal of Madrid from 1790 to fore it, as has been already stated, 1792. His official station consewere kept in ignorance of their quently afforded him every faciliown processes. Even such of its ty for an acquaintance with the THE INQUISITION. 269 not only excuses, but enjoins the commission of the cHAPTER VIL most revolting crimes, as a sacred duty. The more repugnant, indeed, such crimes may be to natural feeling, or public sentiment, the greater their merit, from the sacrifice which the commission of them involves. Many a bloody page of history attests the fact, that fanaticism, armed with power, is the sorest evil which can befall a nation. most recondite affairs of the Inqui- retrenchment. With all its subsition; and, on its suppression at ordinate defects, however, it is enthe close of 1808, he devoted sever- titled to the credit of being the most, al years to a careful investigation indeed the only, authentic history of the registers of the tribunals, of the Modern Inquisition; exhibboth of the capital and the pro- iting its minutest forms of pracvinces, as well as of such other tice, and the insidious policy, by original documents contained with- which they were directed, from in their archives, as had not hith- the origin of the institution down erto been opened to the light of to its temporary abolition. It well day. In the progress of his work deserves to be studied, as the reche has anatomized the most odi- ord of the most humiliating trious features of the institution umph, which fanaticism has ever with unsparing severity; and his been able to obtain over human reflections are warmed with a reason, and that too, during the generous and enlightened spirit, most civilized periods, and in the certainly not to have been expect- most civilized portion of the world. ed in an ex-inquisitor. The ar- The persecutions, endured by the rangement of his immense mass unfortunate author of the work, of materials is indeed somewhat prove, that the embers of this fafaulty, and the work might be re- naticism may be rekindled too easicast in a more popular form, es- ly, even in the present century. pecially by means of a copious CHAPTER VIII. REVIEW OF THE POLITICAL AND INTELLECTUAL CONDITION OF THE SPANISH ARABS PREVIOUS TO THE WAR OF GRANADA. Uonquest of Spain by the Arabs. - Cordovan Empire. — High Civilization and Prosperity. - Its Dismemberment. — Kingdom of Granada. - Luxurious and Chivalrous Character. -Literature of the Spanish Arabs.- Progress in Science. — Historical Merits. - Useful Discoveries.- Poetry and Romance. — Influence on the Spaniards. PART WE have now arrived at the commencement of the famous war of Granada, which terminated in the subversion of the Arabian empire in Spain, after it had subsisted for nearly eight centuries, and with the consequent restoration to the Castilian crown of the fairest portion of its ancient domain. In order to a better understanding of the character of the Spanish Arabs, or Moors, who exercised an important influence on that of their Christian neighbours, the present chapter will be devoted to a consideration of their previous history in the Peninsula, where they probably reached a higher degree of civilization than in any other part of the world. 1 earlys'c- It is not necessary to dwell upon the causes of cesses of Mahomet- the brilliant successes of Mahometanism at its out1 See Introduction, Section 1, Note 2, of this History. THE SPANISH ARABS.7 2 set, — the dexterity with which, unlike all other CHAPTER religions, it was raised upon, not against the prin- _I. ciples and prejudices of preceding sects; the military spirit and discipline, which it established among all classes, so that the multifarious nations who embraced it, assumed the appearance of one vast, well-ordered camp 2 the union of ecclesiastical with civil authority intrusted to the caliphs, which enabled them to control opinions, as absolutely as the Roman pontiffs in their most despotic hour; or lastly, the peculiar adaptation of the doctrines of Mahomet to the character of the wild tribes among whom they were preached. 4 It is 2 The Koran, in addition to the spiritual and temporal authority. repeated assurances of Paradise to Their office involved almost equalthe martyr who falls in battle, con- ly ecclesiastical and military functains the regulations of a precise tions. It was their duty to lead military code. Military service in the army in battle, and on the pilsome shape or other is exacted grimage to Mecca. They were to from all. The terms to be pre- preach a sermon, and offer up pubscribed tothe enemy and the van- lie prayers in the mosques every quished, the division of the spoil, Friday. Many of their prerogathe seasons of lawful truce, the tives resemble those assumed anconditions on which the compara- ciently by the popes. They contively small number of exempts ferred investitures on the Moslem are permitted to remain at home, princes by the symbol of a ring, a are accurately defined. (Sale's sword, or a standard. They comKoran, chap. 2, 8, 9, et alibi.) plimented them with the titles of When the algihed, or Mahometan " defender of the faith," " column crusade, which, in its general de- of religion," and the like. The sign and immunities, bore a close proudest potentate held the bridle resemblance to the Christian, was of their mules, and paid his homage preached in the mosque, every true by touching their threshold with believer was hound to repair to the his forehead. The authority of standard of his chief. "The holy the caliphs was in this manner war," says one of the early Sara- founded on opinion no less than cen generals, " is the ladder of on power; and their ordinances, Paradise. The Apostle of God however frivolous or iniquitous in styled himself the son of the sword. themselves, being enforced, as it He loved to repose in the shadow were, by a divine sanction, became of banners and on the field of bat- laws which it was sacrilege to tile." disobey. See D'Herbelot, Bib3 The successors, caliphs or lioth~que Orientale, (La Haye, vicars, as they were styled, of 1777 - 9,) voce Khalifah. Mahomet, represented both his 4 The character of the Arabs, 272 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART sufficient to say, that these latter, within a century after the coming of their apostle, having succeeded in establishing their religion over vast regions in Asia, and on the northern shores of Africa, arrived before the Straits of Gibraltar, which, though a temporary, were destined to prove an ineffectual bulwark for Christendom. Conquesait The causes which have been currently assigned for the invasion and conquest of Spain, even by the most credible modern historians, have scarcely any foundation in contemporary records. The true causes are to be found in the rich spoils offered by the Gothic monarchy, and in the thirst of enterprise in the Saracens, which their long uninterrupted career of victory seems to have sharpened, rather than satisfied.5 The fatal battle, which before the introduction of Islam, secution, or of the treason, of the like that of most rude nations, is two sons of Witiza is to be met to be gathered from their national with in any Spanish writer, as far songs and romances. The poems as I know, until nearly two censuspended at Mecca, familiar to turies after the conquest; none us in the elegant version of Sir earlier than this, of the defection William Jones, and still more, the of archbishop Oppas, during the recent translation of " Antar," a fatal conflict near Xerez; and composition indeed of the age of none, of the tragical amours of Al Raschid, but wholly devoted Roderic and the revenge of count to the primitive Bedouins, present Julian, before the writers of the us with a lively picture of their thirteenth century. Nothing inpeculiar habits, which, notwith- deed can be more jejune than the standing the influence of a tern- original narratives of the invasion. porary civilization, may be thought The continuation of the Chronicon to bear great resemblance to those del Biclarense, and the Chronicon of their descendants at the present de Isidoro Pacense or de Beja, day. which are contained in the volu5 Startling as it may be, there minous collection of Florez, (Esis scarcely a vestige of any of the palla Sagrada, tom. vi. and viii.) particulars, circumstantially nar- afford the only histories contemrated by the national historians porary with the event. Conde is (Mariana, Zurita, Abarca, Moret, mistaken in his assertion (Domi&c.) as the immediate causes of nacion de los Arabes, Prol. p. vii.), the subversion of Spain, to be that the work of Isidore de Beja found in the chronicles of the was the only narrative written period. No intimation of the per- during that period. Spain had THE SPANISH ARABS. 27t terminated with the slaughter of King Roderic and CHAPTER VIII. the flower of his noLility, was fought in the summer of 711, on a plain washed by the Guadalete sear Xerez, about two leagues distant from Cadiz.6 The Goths appear never to have afterwards rallied under one head, but their broken detachments made many a gallant stand in such strong positions as were afforded throughout the kingdom; so that nearly three years elapsed before the final achievement of the conquest. The policy of the conquerors, after making the requisite allowance for the evils necessarily attending such an invasion, not the pen of a Bede or an Egin- 1783- 1805,) contains an accurate hart to describe the memorable table, by which the minutest dates catastrophe. But the few and of the Mahometan lunar year are meagre touches of the contemporary adjusted by those of the Christian chroniclers have left ample scope era. The fall of Roderic on the for conjectural history, which has field of battle is attested by both been most industriously improved. the domestic chroniclers of that The reports, according to Con- period, as well as by the Saracens. de, (Dominacion de los Arabes, (Incerti Auctoris Additio ad Joantom. i. p. 36,) greedily circulated nem Biclarensem, apud Florez, among the Saracens, of the mag- Espaiia Sagrada, tom. vi. p. 430. nificence and general prosperity — Isidori Pacensis Episcopi Chroof the Gothic monarchy, may suf- nicon, apud Florez, Espaiia Sagraficiently account for its invasion da, tom. viii. p. 290.) The tales by an enemy flushed with unin- of the ivory and marble chariot, of terrupted conquests, and whose the gallant steed Orelia and magfanatical ambition was well illus- nificent vestments of Roderic, distrated by one of their own gen- covered after the fight on the banks erals, who, on reaching the west- of the Guadalete, of his probable ern extremity of Africa, plunged escape and subsequent seclusion his horse into the Atlantic, and among the mountains of Portugal, sighed for other shores on which which have been thought worthy to plant the banners of Islam. See of Spanish history, have found a Cardonne, Histoire de l'Afrique much more appropriate place in et de l'Espagne sous la Domina- their romantic national ballads, as tion des Arabes, (Paris, 1765,) well as in the more elaborate protom. i. p. 37. ductions of Scott and Southey. 6 The laborious diligence of 7 " Whatever curses," says an Masdeu may be thought to have eyewitness, whose meagre diction settled the epoch, about which so is quickened on this occasion into much learned dust has been raised. something like sublimity, " whatThe fourteenth volume of his ever curses were denounced by "Historia Critica de Espaiia y the prophets of old against Jerude la Cultura Espaiiola (Madrid, salem, whatever fell upon ancient VOL. I. 35 274 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART may be considered liberal. Such of the Christians, as chose, were permitted to remain in the conquered territory in undisturbed possession of their property. They were allowed to worship in their own way; to be governed, within prescribed limits, by their own laws; to fill certain civil offices, and serve in the army; their women were invited to intermarry with the conquerors; 8 and, in short, they were condemned to no other legal badge of servitude than the payment of somewhat heavier imposts than those exacted from their Mahometan brethren. It is true the Christians were occasionally exposed to suffering from the caprices of despotism, and, it may be added, of popular fanaticism.9 But, on the whole, their condition may sustain an advantageous comparison with that of any Christian people under the Mussulman dominion of later times, and affords a striking contrast with that of our Saxon ancestors after the Norman conquest, which suggests an obvious parallel in many of its circumstances to the Saracen. 1o Babylon, whatever miseries Rome more than 500 of pure Moorish inflicted upon the glorious com- descent. Anales, tom. iv. fol. 314. pany of the martyrs, all these 9 The famous persecutions of were visited upon the once happy Cordova under the reigns of Aband prosperous, but now desolated derrahman II. and his son, which, Spain." Pacensis Chronicon apud to judge from the tone of Castilian Florez, Espaila Sagrada, tom. viii. writers, might vie with those of p. 292. Nero and Diocletian, are admitted 8 The frequency of this alliance by Morales (Obras, tom. x. p. 74,) may be inferred from an extra- to have occasioned the destruction ordinary, though, doubtless, ex- of only forty individuals. Most travagant statement cited by Zu- of these unhappy fanatics solicited rita. The ambassadors of James the crown of martyrdom by an II.,of Aragon, in 1311, represented open violation of the Mahometar to the sovereign pontiff, Clement laws and usages. The details are V., that, of the 200,000 souls, given by Florez, in the tenth volwhich then composed the popula- ume of his collection. tion of Granada, there were not 10 Bleda, Coronica de los Moros THE SPANISH ARABS. 2775 After the further progress of the Arabs in Europe CHAPTER VIII. had been checked by the memorable defeat at Western Tours, their energies, no longer allowed to expand Caliphate. in the career of conquest, recoiled on themselves, and speedily produced the dismemberment of their overgrown empire. Spain was the first of the provinces, which fell off. The family of Omeya, under whom this revolution was effected, continued to occupy her throne as independent princes, from the middle of the eighth to the close of the eleventh century, a period which forms the most honorable portion of her Arabian annals. The new government was modelled on the east- Form government. ern caliphate. Freedom shows itself under a vari ety of forms; while despotism, at least in the institutions founded on the Koran, seems to wear but one. The sovereign was the depositary of all power, the fountain of honor, the sole arbiter of life and fortune. He styled himself " Commander of the Faithful," and, like the caliphs of the east, assumed an entire spiritual as well as temporal supremacy. The country was distributed into six'apitanzas, or provinces, each under the adminisLration of a wali, or governor, with subordinate officers, to whom was intrusted a more immediate jurisdiction over the principal cities. The immense authority and pretensions of these petty satraps de Esparia, (Valencia, 1618,) lib. — Morales, Obras, tom. vi. pp. 2, cap. 16, 17. — Cardonne, Hist. 407-417; tom. vii. pp. 262 -264. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, tom. i. -Florez, Espaia Sagrada, tom. pp. 83 et seq. 179. —Conde, Do- x. pp. 23.7-270. - Fuero Juzgo, minacion de los Arabes, Prol., p. Int. p. 40. vii and tom. i. pp. 29- 54, 75, 87. 276 THE SPANISH ARABS. PAIT became a fruitful source of rebellion in later times. The caliph administered the government with the advice of his mexuar, or council of state, composed of his principal cadis and hlagibs, or secretaries. The office of prime minister, or chief hagib, corresponded, in the nature and variety of its functions, with that of a Turkish grand vizier. The caliph reserved to himself the right of selecting his successor from among his numerous progeny; and this adoption was immediately ratified by an oath of allegiance to the heir apparent from the principal officers of state." lharacter The princes of the blood, instead of being conof the sove'gns. demned, as in Turkey, to waste their youth in the seclusion of the harem, were intrusted to the care of learned men, to be instructed in the duties befitting their station. They were encouraged to visit the academies, which were particularly celebrated in Cordova, where they mingled in disputation, and frequently carried away the prizes of poetry and eloquence. Their riper years exhibited such fruits as were to be expected from their early education. The race of the Omeyades need not shrink from a comparison with any other dynasty of equal length in modern Europe. Many of them amused their leisure with poetical composition, of which numerous examples are preserved in Conde's History; and some left elaborate works of learning, which have maintained a permanent reputation with Arabian scholars. Their long reigns, the first ten of 11 Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, part. 2, cap. 1-46. THE SPANISH ARABS. 277 which embrace a period of two centuries and a CHAPTER half, their peaceful deaths, and unbroken line of -V succession in the same family for so many years, show that their authority must have been founded in the affections of their subjects. Indeed, they seem, with one or two exceptions, to have ruled over them with a truly patriarchal sway; and, on the event of their deaths, the people, bathed in tears, are described as accompanying their relics to the tomb, where the ceremony was concluded with a public eulogy on the virtues of the deceased, by his son and successor. This pleasing moral picture affords a strong contrast to the sanguinary scenes which so often attend the transmission of the sceptre from one generation to another, among the nations of the east.12 The Spanish caliphs supported a large military Mitliry force, frequently keeping two or three armies in ment. the field at the same time. The flower of these forces was a body guard, gradually raised to twelve thousand men, one third of them Christians, superbly equipped, and officered by members of the royal family. Their feuds with the eastern caliphs and the Barbary pirates required them also to maintain a respectable navy, which was fitted out from the numerous dock-yards, that lined the coast from Cadiz to Tarragona. The munificence of the Omeyades was most Sumptuous publit ostentatiously displayed in their public edifices, works. palaces, mosques, hospitals, and in the construe12 Tbid. ubi supra. - Masdeu, Historia Critica, tom. xiii. pp. 178, 187. 278 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART tion of commodious quays, fountains, bridges, and aqueducts, which, penetrating the sides of the mountains, or sweeping on lofty arches across the valleys, rivalled in their proportions the monuments of ancient Rome. These works, which were scattered more or less over all the provinces, contributed especially to the embellishment of Cordova, the capital of the empire. The delightful situation of this city in the midst of a cultivated plain washed by the waters of the Guadalquivir, made it very early the favorite residence of the Arabs, who loved to surround their houses, even in the cities, with groves and refreshing fountains, so delightful to the imagination of a wanderer of the desert." The public squares and private court-yards sparkled with jets d'eau, fed by copious streams from the Sierra Morena, which, besides supplying nine hundred public baths, were conducted into the interior of the edifices, where they diffused a grateful coolness over the sleeping-apartments of their luxurious inhabitants. 14 Grosue of Without adverting to that magnificent freak of Cordova. the caliphs, the construction of the palace of Azahra, of which not a vestige now exists, we 13 The same taste is noticed at du silence et des mosqukes aux the present day, by a traveller, lagers minarets, s'6levant? chaque whose pictures glow with the warm pas du sein d'une terre pieuse." colors of the east. " Aussi des Lamartine, Voyage en Orient, tome que vous approchez, en Europe ou i. p. 172. en Asie, d'une terre poss~d6e par 14 Conde, Dominacion de los les Musulmans, vous la reconnais- Arabes, tom. i. pp. 199, 265, 284, sez de loin au riche et sombre voile 285, 417, 446, 447, et alibi. - Carde verdure qui flotte gracieusement donne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Essur elle: —des arbres pour s'as- pagne, tom. i. pp. 227-230 et seoir a leur ombre, des fontaines seq. jaillissantes pour rover't leur bruit, THE SPANISH ARABS. 279 may form a sufficient notion of the taste and mag- -CHAPTER nificence of this era from the remains of the farfamed mosque, now the cathedral of Cordova. This building, which still covers more ground than any other church in Christendom, was esteemed the third in sanctity by the Mahometan world, being inferior only to the Alaksa of Jerusalem and the temple of Mecca. Most of its ancient glories have indeed long since departed. The rich bronze which embossed its gates, the myriads of lamps which illuminated its aisles, have disappeared; and its interior roof of odoriferous and curiously carved wood has been cut up into guitars and snuff-boxes. But its thousand columns of variegated marble still remain; and its general dimensions, notwithstanding some loose assertions to the contrary, seem to be much the same as they were in the time of the Saracens. European critics, however, condemn its most elaborate beauties as " heavy and barbarous." Its celebrated portals are pronounced " diminutive, and in very bad taste." Its throng of pillars gives it the air of "'a park rather than a temple," and the whole is made still more incongruous by the unequal length of their shafts, being grotesquely compensated by a proportionate variation of size in their bases and capitals, rudely fashioned after the Corinthian order. 5 But if all this gives us a contemptible idea of the Revenuas 15 Conde, Dominacion de los -Xerif Aledris, conocido por El Arabes, tom. i. pp. 211, 212, 226. Nubiense, Descripcion de Espalia, - Swinburne, Travels through con Traduccion y Notas de Conde, Spain, (London, 1787,) let. 35. (Madrid, 1799,) pp. 161, 162. — 280 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART taste of the Saracens at this period, which indeed, in architecture, seems to have been far inferior to that of the later princes of Granada, we cannot but be astonished at the adequacy of their resources to carry such magnificent designs into execution. Their revenue, we are told in explanation, amounted to eight millions of mitcales of gold, or nearly six millions sterling; a sum fifteen-fold greater than that which William the Conqueror, in the subsequent century, was able to extort from his subjects, with all the ingenuity of feudal exaction. The tone of exaggeration, which distinguishes the Asiatic writers, entitles them perhaps to little confidence in their numerical estimates. This immense wealth, however, is predicated of other Mahometan princes of that age; and their vast superiority over the Christian states of the north, in arts and effective industry, may well account for a corresponding superiority in their resources. The revenue of the Cordovan sovereigns was derived from the fifth of the spoil taken in battle, an important item in an age of unintermitting war and rapine; from the enormous exaction of one tenth of the produce of commerce, husbandry, flocks, and mines; from a capitation tax on Jews and Christians; and from certain tolls on the transportation of goods. They engaged in commerce on their own account, and drew from mines, which Morales, Obras, tom. x. p. 61.- l'Empire de Maroc, (Paris, 1787, Chenier, Recherches Historiques tom. ii. p. 312. — Laborde, Itingsur les Maures, et Histoire de raire, tome iii. p. 226. THE SPANISH ARABS. 281 belonged to the crown, a conspicuous part of their CHAPTER VLII. income. 1 - Before the discovery of America, Spain was to Mineral the rest of Europe, what her colonies have since Spain. become, the great source of mineral wealth. The Carthaginians, and the Romans afterwards, regularly drew from her large masses of the precious metals. Pliny, who resided some time in the country, relates that three of her provinces were said to have annually yielded the incredible quantity of sixty thousand pounds of gold.17 The Arabs with their usual activity penetrated into these arcana of wealth. Abundant traces of their labors are still to be met with along the barren ridge of mountains that covers the north of Andalusia; and the diligent Bowles has enumerated no less than five thousand of their excavations in the kingdom or district of Jaen. 18 But the best mine of the caliphs was in the Husbanary and manuindustry and sobriety of their subjects. The Ara- facture bian colonies have been properly classed among the agricultural. Their acquaintance with the science of husbandry is shown in their voluminous treatises 16 Conde, Dominacion de los ately repeated by historians, if any Arabes, tom. i. pp. 214, 228, 270, argument were necessary to prove 611. — Masdeu, Historia Critica, it, becomes sufficiently manifest tom. xiii. p. 118.- Cardonne, from the fact, that the instrument Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, is dated in the 142d year of the Hetom. i. pp. 338-343.- Casiri gira, beingf a little more than fifty quotes from an Arabic historian years after the conquest. See the conditions on which Abderrah- Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana Esman I. proffered his alliance to the curialensis, (Matriti, 1760,) tom. Christian princes of Spain, viz. ii. p. 104. the annual tribute of 10,000 ounces 17 Hist. Naturalis, lib. 33, cap. 4. of gold, 10,000 pounds of silver, 1s Introduction a l'Histoire Na10,000 horses, &c. &c. The ab- turelle de l'Espagne, traduite par surdity of this story, inconsider- Flavigny, (Paris, 1776,) p. 411. VOL. I. 36 282 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART on the subject, and in the monuments which they have everywhere left of their peculiar culture. The system of irrigation, which has so long fertilized the south of Spain, was derived from them. They introduced into the Peninsula various tropical plants and vegetables, whose cultivation has departed with them. Sugar, which the modern Spaniards have been obliged to import from foreign nations in large quantities annually for their domestic consumption, until within the last half century that they have been supplied by their island of Cuba, constituted one of the principal exports of the Spanish Arabs. The silk manufacture was carried on by them extensively. The Nubian geographer, in the beginning of the twelfth century, enumerates six hundred villages in Jaen as engaged in it, at a time when it was known to the Europeans only from their circuitous traffic with the Greek empire. This, together with fine fabrics of cotton and woollen, formed the staple of an active commerce with the Levant, and especially with Constantinople, whence they were again diffused, by means of the caravans of the north, over the comparatively barbarous countries of Christendom. Povalation The population kept pace with this general prosperity of the country. It would appear from a census instituted at Cordova, at the close of the tenth century, that there were at that time in it six hundred temples and two hundred thousand dwelling-houses; many of these latter being, probably, mere huts or cabins, and occupied by separ THE SPANISH ARABS. 283 ate families. Without placing too much reliance CHAPTER VIII. on any numerical statements, however, we may give due weight to the inference of an intelligent writer, who remarks that their minute cultivation of the soil, the cheapness of their labor, their particular attention to the most nutritious esculents, many of them such as would be rejected by Europeans at this day, are indicative of a crowded population, like that, perhaps, which swarms over Japan or China, where the same economy is neces sarily resorted to for the mere sustenance of life. 19 Whatever consequence a nation may derive, in its own age, from physical resources, its intellectual developement will form the subject of deepest interest to posterity. The most flourishing periods of both not unfrequently coincide. Thus the reigns of Abderrahman the Third, Alhakem the Second, and the regency of Almanzor, embracing the latter half of the tenth century, during which the Spanish Arabs reached their highest political importance, may be regarded as the period of their highest 19 See a sensible essay by the 338,) " the banks of the GuadalAbbW Correa da Serra on the hus- quivir were lined with no less than bandry of the Spanish Arabs, con- twelve thousand villages and hamtained in tom. i. of Archives Lit- lets." The length of the river, t~raires de 1'Europe, (Paris, 1804.) not exceeding three hundred miles, - Masdeu, Historia Critica, tom. would scarcely afford room for the xiii. pp. 115, 117, 127, 131.- same number of farm-houses. ConConde, Dominacion de los Arabes, de's version of the Arabic passage tom. i. cap. 44.- Casiri, Biblio- represents twelve thousand hamtheca Escurialensis, tom. i. p. 338. lets, farms, and castles, to have An absurd story has been tran- " been scattered over the regions scribed from Cardonne, with little watered by the Guadalquivir"; hesitation, by almost every suc- indicating by this indefinite stateceeding writer upon this subject. ment nothing more than the exAccording to him, (Hist. d'Af- treme populousness of the province rique et d'Espagne, tom. i. p. of Andalusia. 284 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART civilization under the Omeyades; although the impulse then given carried them forward to still further advances, in the turbulent times which followed. This beneficent impulse is, above all, imputable to Character of Alhakem. He was one of those rare beings, who have employed the awful engine of despotism in promoting the happiness and intelligence of his species. In his elegant tastes, appetite for knowledge, and munificent patronage, he may be compared with the best of the Medici. He assembled the eminent scholars of his time, both natives and foreigners, at his court, where he employed them in the most confidential offices. He converted his palace into an academy, making it the familiar resort of men of letters, at whose conferences he personally assisted in his intervals of leisure from public duty. He selected the most suitable persons for the composition of works on civil and natural history, requiring the prefects of his provinces and cities to furnish, as far as possible, the necessary intelligence. He was a diligent student, and left many of the volumes which he read, enriched with his commentaries. Above all, he was intent upon the acquisition of an extensive library. He invited illustrious foreigners to send him their works, and munificently recompensed them. No donative was so grateful to him as a book. He employed agents in Egypt, Syria, Irak, and Persia, for collecting and transcribing the rarest manuscripts; and his vessels returned freighted with cargoes more precious than the spices of the east. In this way he amassed a magnificent collection, which was THE SPANISH ARABS. 285 distributed, according to the subjects, in various CHAPTERt VIII. apartments of his palace; and which, if we may credit the Arabian historians, amounted to six hundred thousand volumes.2~ If all this be thought to savour too much of east- Intellect,. developeern hyperbole, still it cannot be doubted that an,nt. amazing number of writers swarmed over the Peninsula at this period. Casiri's multifarious catalogue bears ample testimony to the emulation, with which not only men, but even women of the highest rank, devoted themselves to letters; the latter contending publicly for the prizes, not merely in eloquence and poetry, but in those recondite studies which have usually been reserved for the other sex. The prefects of the provinces, emulating their master, converted their courts into academies, and dispensed premiums to poets and philosophers. The stream of royal bounty awakened life in the remotest districts. But its effects were especially visible in the capital. Eighty free schools were opened in Cordova. The circle of letters and science was publicly expounded by professors, whose reputation for wisdom attracted not only the scholars of Christian Spain, but of France, Italy, Germany, and the British Isles. For this period of brilliant illumination with the Saracens corresponds precisely with that of the deepest barbarism of Europe; when a library of three or four hundred volumes was a magnificent endowment for the richest monastery, 20 Casiri, Bibliotheca Escuria- de, Dominacion de los Arabes, lensis tom. ii. pp. 38, 202. - Con- part. 2, cap. 88. 286 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART when scarcely a "priest south of the Thames," in the words of Alfred, " could translate Latin into his mother tongue "; when not a single philoso pher, according to Tiraboschi, was to be met with in Italy, save only the French Pope Sylvester the Second, who drew his knowledge from the schools of the Spanish Arabs, and was esteemed a necromancer for his pains. 21 Such is the glowing picture presented to us of Arabian scholarship, in the tenth and succeeding centuries, under a despotic government and a sensual religion; and, whatever judgment may be passed on the real value of all their boasted literature, it cannot be denied, that the nation exhibited a wonderful activity of intellect, and an apparatus for learning (if we are to admit their own statements) unrivalled in the best ages of antiquity. Dismember. The Mahometan governments of that period restment of the Cordovrean ed on so unsound a basis, that the season of their greatest prosperity was often followed by precipitate decay. This had been the case with the eastern caliphate, and was now so with the western. During the life of Alhakem's successor, the empire of the Omeyades was broken up into a hundred 21 Storia della Letteratura Itali- bes, part. 2, cap. 93. - Among the ana, (Roma, 1782-97,) tom. iii. accomplished women of this perip. 231. - Turner, History of the od, Valadata, the daughter of the Anglo-Saxons, (London, 1820,) caliph Mahomet, is celebrated as vol. iii. p. 137.-Andres, Dell' having frequently carried away the Origine, de' Progressi e dello Stato palm of eloquence in her discusAttuale d' Ogni Letteratura, (Ve- sions with the most learned acade nezia, 1783,) part. 1, cap. 8, 9.- micians. Others again, with an inCasiri, Bibliotheca Escurialensis, trepidity that might shame the detom. ii. p. 149. - Masdeu, Histo- generacy of a modern blue, plunged ria Critica, tom. xiii. pp. 165, 171. boldly into the studies of philoso- Conde, Dominacion de los Ara- phy, history, and jurisprudence. THE SPANISH ARABS. 287 petty- principalities; and their magnificent capital of CHAPTER Cordova, dwindling into a second-rate city, retained -ino other distinction than that of being the Mecca of Spain. These little states soon became a prey to all the evils arising out of a vicious constitution of government and religion. Almost every acces sion to the throne was contested by numerous com petitors of the same family; and a succession of sovereigns, wearing on their brows but the semblance of a crown, came and departed, like the shadows of Macbeth. The motley tribes of Asiatics, of whom the Spanish Arabian population, was composed, regarded each other with ill-disguised jealousy. The lawless, predatory habits, which no discipline could effectually control in an Arab, made them ever ready for revolt. The Moslem states, thus reduced in size and crippled by faction, were unable to resist the Christian forces, which were pressing on them from the north. By the middle of the ninth century, the Spaniards had reached the Douro and the Ebro. By the close of the eleventh, they had advanced their line of conquest, under the victorious banner of the Cid, to the Tagus. The swarms of Africans who invaded the Peninsula, during the two following centuries, gave substantial support to their Mahometan brethren; and the cause of Christian Spain trembled in the balance for a moment on the memorable day of Navas de Tolosa. But the fortunate issue of that battle, in 1212. which, according to the lying letter of Alfonso the Ninth, " one hundred and eighty-five thousand infidels perished, and only five and twenty Spaniards," 288 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART gave a permanent ascendency to the Christian arms. The vigorous campaigns of James the First, of Aragon, and of St. Ferdinand, of Castile, gradually stripped away the remaining territories of Valencia, Murcia, and Andalusia; so that, by the middle of the thirteenth century, th" constantly contracting circle of the Moorish dominion had shrunk into the narrow limits of the province of Granada. Yet on this comparatively small point of their ancient domain, the Saracens erected a new kingdom of sufficient strength to resist, for more than two centuries, the united forces of the Spanish monarchies. Kingdom (f The Moorish territory of Granada contained, Granada. within a circuit of about one hundred and eighty leagues, all the physical resources of a great empire. Its broad valleys were intersected hy mountains rich in mineral wealth, whose hardy population supplied the state with husbandmen and soldiers. Its pastures were fed by abundant fountains, and its coasts studded with commodious ports, the principal marts in the Mediterranean. In the midst, and crowning the whole, as with a diadem, rose the beautiful city of Granada. In the days of the Moors it was encompassed by a wall, flanked by a thousand and thirty towers, with seven portals.22 Its population, according to a contemporary, at the beginning of the fourteenth century, amounted to two hundred thousand souls;"3 and various 22 Garibay, Compendio, lib. 39, 23 Zurita, Anales, lib. 20, cap. cap. 3. 42. THE SPANISH ARABS. authors agree in attesting, that, at a later period, cIrAIiR;;; it could send forth fifty thousand warriors from its'ilI gates. This statement will not appear exaggerated, if we consider that the native population of the city was greatly swelled by the influx of the ancient'inhabitants of the districts lately conquered by the Spaniards. On the summit of one of the hills of the city was erected the royal fortress or palace of the Alhambra, which was capable of containing within its circuit forty thousand men. 24 The light and elegant architecture of this edifice, whose magnificent ruins still form the most interesting monument in Spain for the contemplation of the traveller, shows the great advancement of the art since the construction of the celebrated mosque of Cordova. Its graceful porticoes and colonnades, its domes and ceilings, glowing with tints, which, in that transparent atmosphere, have lost nothing of their original brilliancy, its airy halls, so constructed as to admit the perfume of surrounding gardens and agreeable ventilations of the air, and its fountains, which still shed their coolness over its deserted courts, manifest at once the taste, opulence, and Sybarite luxury of its proprietors. The streets are represented to have been narrow, many of the houses lofty, with turrets of curiously wrought larch or marble, and with cornices of shining metal, " that glittered like stars through the dark foliage of the orange groves"; and the whole is compared to " an enamelled vase, 24 L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 169. VOL. I. 37 :290 THE SPANISH ARABS. 4IltT sparkling with hyacinths and emeralds."25 Such -- are the florid strains in which the Arabic writers fondly descant on the glories of Granada. Agicuiture At the foot of this fabric of the genii lay the and Comm''ee. cultivated vega, or plain, so celebrated as the arena, for more than two centuries, of Moorish and Christian chivalry, every inch of whose soil may be said to have been fertilized with human blood. The Arabs exhausted on it all their powers of elaborate cultivation. They distributed the waters of the Xenil, which flowed through it, into a thousand channels for its more perfect irrigation. A constant succession of fruits and crops was obtained throughout the year. The products of the most opposite latitudes were transplanted there with success; and the hemp of the north grew luxuriant under the shadow of the vine and the olive. Silk furnished the principal staple of a traffic that was carried on through the ports of Almeria and Malaga. The Italian cities, then rising into opulence, derived their principal skill in this elegant manufacture from the Spanish Arabs. Florence, in particular, imported large quantities of the raw material from them as late 25 Conde, Dominacion de los to the large quantity of grain in Arabes, tom. ii. p. 147. —Casiri, which its vega abounded; others Bibliotheca Escurialensis, tom. ii. again to the resemblance which pp. 248 et seq. — Pedraza, Anti- the city, divided into two hills guedad y Excelencias de Granada, thickly sprinkled with houses, (Madrid, 1608,) lib. 1. —Pedraza bore to a half-opened pomegranhas collected the various etymolo- ate. (Lib. 2, cap. 17.) The arms gies of the term Granada, which of the city, which were in part some writers have traced to the composed of a pomegranate, would fact of the city having been the seem to favor the derivation of its spot where the pomegranate was name from that of the fruit first introduced from Africa; others THE SPANISH ARABS. 291 as the fifteenth century. The Genoese are men- CItAPTERi tioned as having mercantile establishments in Gra- vL_ nada; and treaties of commerce were entered into with this nation, as well as with the crown of Aragon. Their ports swarmed with a motley contribution from " Europe, Africa, and the Levant," so that " Granada," in the words of the historian, " became the common city of all nations." " The reputation of the citizens for trust-worthiness," says a Spanish writer, " was such, that their bare word was more relied on, than a written contract is now among us;" and he quotes the saying of a Catholic bishop, that " Moorish works and Spanish faith were all that were necessary to make a good Christian. A 26 The revenue, which was computed at twelve Resources of hundred thousand ducats, was derived from similar, but, in some respects, heavier impositions than those of the caliphs of Cordova. The crown, besides being possessed of valuable plantations ill the vega, imposed the onerous tax of one seventh on all the agricultural produce of the kingdom. The precious metals were also obtained in considerable'26 Pedraza, Antiguedad de Gra- on liis passage:to the court of nada, fol. 101. -Denina, Delle Ri- Lisbon in the middle of the fifvoluzioni d'Italia, (Venezia, 1816,) teenth century, contrasts the suCapmany y Montpalau, Memorias perior cultivation, as-well as genHistoricas sobre la Marina, Co- eral civilization, of Granada at this mercio, y Artes de Barcelona, period with that of the other coun(Madrid, 1779-92,) tom. iii. p. tries of Europe through which he 218; tom. iv. pp. 67 et seq.- had travelled. Sismondi, Histoire Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, des RWpubliques Italiennes du Moytom. iii. cap. 26. —The ambassa- en-Age, (Paris, 1818,) tom. ix. p. dor of the emperor Frederic III., 405. 292 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART quantities, and the royal mint was noted for the I purity and elegance of its coin. 27 Luxuriouso The sovereigns of Granada were for the most character of the people. part distinguished bv liberal tastes. They freely dispensed their revenues in the protection of letters, the construction of sumptuous public works, and, above all, in the display of a courtly pomp, unrivalled by any of the princes of that period. Each day presented a succession of fetes and tourneys, in which the knight seemed less ambitious of the hardy prowess of Christian chivalry, than of displaying his inimitable horsemanship, and his dexterity in the elegant pastimes peculiar to his nation. The people of Granada, like those of ancient Rome, seem to have demanded a perpetual spectacle. Life was with them one long carnival, and the season of revelry was prolonged until the enemy was at the gate. During the interval, which had elapsed since the decay of the Omeyades, the Spaniards had been gradually rising in civilization to the level of their Saracen enemies; and, while their increased consequence secured them from the contempt, with which they had formerly been regarded by the Mussulmans, the latter, in their turn, had not so far sunk in the scale, as to have become the objects of the bigoted aversion, which was, in after days, so heartily visited on them by the Spaniards. At this 27 Casiri, Bibliotheca Escurial- tains an erudite essay by Conde on ensis, tom. ii. pp. 250 -258. - Arabic money, principally with The fifth volume of the royal reference to that coined in Spain' Spanish Academy of History con- pp. 225- 315. THE SPANISH ARABS. 29-: period, therefore, the two nations viewed each CHAPTER other with more liberality probably, than at any previous or succeeding time. Their respective monarchs conducted their mutual negotiations on a footing of perfect equality. We find several examples of Arabian sovereigns visiting in person the court of Castile. These civilities were reciprocated by the Christian princes. As late as 1463, Henry the Fourth had a personal interview with the king of Granada, in the dominions of the latter. The two monarchs held their conference under a splendid pavilion erected in the vega, before the gates of the city; and, after an exchange of presents, the Spanish sovereign was escorted to the frontiers by a body of Moorish cavaliers. These acts of courtesy relieve in some measure the ruder features of an almost uninterrupted warfare, that was necessarily kept up between the rival nations. 28 The Moorish and Christian knights were also in the habit of exchanging visits at the courts of their respective masters. The latter were wont to repair 28 A specit~ation of a royal don- of royalty appears to have been ative in that day may serve to deemed peculiarly appropriate to show the martial spirit of the age. the kings of Leon. Ferreras inIn one of these, made by the king forms us that the ambassadors of Granada to the Castilian sove- from France at the Castilian court, reign, we find twenty noble steeds in 1434. were received by John of the royal stud, reared on the II., with a full grown domesticatbanks of the Xenil, with superb ed lion crouching at his feet. (Hist. caparisons, and the same number d'Espagne, tom. vi. p. 401.) The of scimitars richly garnished with same taste appears still to exist in gold and jewels; and, in anoth- Turkey. Dr. Clarke, in his visit er, mixed up with perfilmes and to Constantinople, met with one cloth of gold, we meet with a litter of these terrific pets, who used to of tame lions. (Conde, Domina- follow his master, Hassan Pacha, cion de los Arabes, tom. iii. pp. about like a dog. 163, 183 ) This latter symbol 2994 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART to Granada to settle their affairs of honor, by personal rencounter, in the presence of its sovereign. The disaffected nobles of Castile, among whom Mariana especially notices the Velas and the Castros, often sought an asylum there, and served under the Moslem banner. With this interchange of social courtesy between the two nations, it could not but happen that each should contract somewhat of the peculiarities natural to the other. The Spaniard acquired something of the gravity and magnificence of demeanor proper to the Arabian; and the latter relaxed his habitual reserve, and above all, the jealousy and gross sensuality, which'Characterize the nations of the east.29 Moorish gal- Indeed, if we were to rely on the pictures pre-.antry. sented to us in the Spanish ballads or romances, we should admit as unreserved an intercourse between the sexes to have existed among the Spanish Arabs, as with any other people of Europe. The Moorish lady is represented there as an undisguised spectator of the public festivals; while her knight, bearing an embroidered mantle or scarf, or some other token of her favor, contends openly in her presence for the prize of valor, mingles with her in the gra'eful dance of the Zambra, or sighs away his soul in moonlight serenades under her balcony.30 29 Conde, Dominacion de los Aguilar, failing to keep his enArabes, tornm. iii. cap. 28. -Henri- gagement, the other rode round quez del Castillo (Cronica, cap. the lists in triumph, with his ad1:38,) gives an account of an in- versary's portrait contemptuously tended duel between two Castilian fastened to the tail of his horse. nobles, in the presence of the king 30 It must be admitted, that these of Granada, as late as 1470. One ballads, as far as facts are conof the parties, Don Alfonso de, cerned, are too inexact to furnish THE SPANISH ARABS. 295 Other circumstances, especially the frescoes still ClHAPTER Vill extant on the walls of the Alhambra, may be cited as corroborative of the conclusions afforded by the romances, implying a latitude in the privileges accorded to the sex, similar to that in Christian countries, and altogether alien from the genius of Mahometanism.3,'rhe chivalrous character ascribed Chivalry. other than a very slippery founda- ing the great number of Saracens tion for history. The most beau- residing in Aragon even in the tiful portion perhaps of the Moor- thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, ish ballads, for example, is taken the most flourishing period of the up with the feuds of the Abencer- Granadian empire,) had enabled rages in the latter days of Granada. many of them confessedly to speak Yet this family, whose romantic and write the Spanish language story is still repeated to the travel- with purity and elegance. Some ler amid the ruins of the Alhambra, of the graceful little songs, which is scarcely noticed, as far as I am are still chanted, by the peasantry aware, by contemporary writers, of Spain in their dances, to the foreign or domestic, and would accompaniment of the castanet, seem to owe its chief celebrity to are referred by a competent critic the apocryphal version of Ginds (Conde, De la Poesia Oriental, Perez de Hyta, whose " Milesian MS.) to an Arabian origin. There tales," according to the severe can be little hazard, therefore, in sentence of Nic. Antonio, " are fit imputing much of this peculiar only to amuse the lazy and the minstrelsy to the Arabians themlistless." (Bibliotheca Nova, tom. selves, the contemporaries, and i. p. 536.) perhaps the eyewitnesses of the But, although the Spanish bal- events they celebrate. lads are not entitled to the credit 31 Casiri (Bibliotheca Escuriaof strict historical documents, they lensis, tom. ii. p. 259,) has tranmay yet perhaps be received in scribed a passage from an Arabian evidence of the prevailing charac- author of the fourteenth century, ter of the social relations of the inveighing bitterly against the luxage; a remark indeed predicable ury of the Moorish ladies, their of most works of fiction, written gorgeous apparel and habits of by authors contemporary with the expense, " amounting almost to events they describe, and more insanity," in a tone which may reespecially so of that popular milln- mind one of the similar philippic strelsy, which, emanating from a by his contemporary Dante, against simple, uncorrupted class, is less his fair countrywomen of Florence. likely to swerve from truth, than -Two ordinances of a king of more ostentatious works of art. Granada, cited by Conde in his The long cohabitation of the Sar- History, prescribe the separation of acens with the Christians, (full the women from the men in the evidence of which is afforded by mosques; and prohibit their atCapma.ny, (Mem. de Barcelona, tendance on certain festivals, withtom. iv. Apend. no. 11,) who out the protection of their husbands quotes a document from the pub- or some near relative. - Their lie archives of Catalonia, show- femmes savantes, as we have seen, -296 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART to the Spanish Moslems appears, moreover, in pel- fect conformity to this. Thus some of their sovereigns, we are told, after the fatigues of the tournament, were wont to recreate their spirits with " elegant poetry, and florid discourses of amorous and knightly history." The ten qualities, enumerated as essential to a true knight, were " piety, valor, courtesy, prowess, the gifts of poetry and eloquence, and dexterity in the management of the horse, the sword, lance, and bow."32 The history of the Spanish Arabs, especially in the latter wars of Granada, furnishes repeated examples, not merely of the heroism, which distinguished the European chivalry of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, but occasionally of a polished courtesy, that might have graced a Bayard or a Sidney. This combination of oriental magnificence and knightly prowess shed a ray of glory over the closing days of the Arabian empire in Spain, and served to conceal, though it could- not correct, the vices which it possessed in common with all Mahometan institutions. nlettleo d The government of Granada was not adminis8tate of'nadi'. tered with the same tranquillity as that of Cordova. Revolutions were perpetually occurring, which may be traced sometimes to the tyranny of the prince, but more frequently to the factions of the seraglio, the soldiery, or the licentious populace of were in the habit of conferring the tournaments, and the fortunate freely with men of letters, and of knight receiving the palm of vicassisting in person at the academi- tory from their hands. cal seances. - And lastly, the fres- 32 Conde, Dominacion de los coes alluded to in the text repre- Arabes, tom. i. p. 340; tom. iii. p. sent the presence of females at 119. THE SPANISH ARABS. 297 the capital. The latter, indeed, more volatile than CHAPTER VIII. the sands of the deserts from which they originally sprung, were driven by every gust of passion into the most frightful excesses, deposing and even assassinating their monarchs, violating their palaces, and scattering abroad their-beautiful collections and libraries; while the kingdom, unlike that of Cordova, was so contracted in its extent, that every convulsion of the capital was felt to its farthest extremities. Still, however, it held out, almost miraculously, against the Christian arms, and the storms that beat upon it incessantly, for more than two centuries, scarcely wore away any thing from its original limits. Several circumstances may be pointed out as Causesof her successenabling Granada to maintain this protracted resist- ful resistance. Its concentrated population furnished such abundant supplies of soldiers, that its sovereigns could bring into the field an army of a hundred thousand men. 33 Many of these were drawn from the regions of the Alpuxarras, whose rugged inhabitants had not been corrupted by the soft effeminacy of the plains. The ranks were occasionally recruited, moreover, from the warlike tribes of Africa. The Moors of Granada are praised by their enemies for their skill with the cross-bow, to the use of which they were trained from childhood. 34 But their strength lay chiefly in their cavalry. Their spacious vegas afforded an ample field for the 33 Casiri, on Arabian authority, 34 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, p. computes it at 200,000 men. Biblio- 250. theca Escurialensis, tom. i. p. 338. VOL. I. 38 298 THE: SPANISH ARABS. PnRT display of their matchless horsemanship; while the...' face of the country, intersetted by mountains and intricate defiles, gave a manifest advantage to the Arabian light-horse over the steel-clad cavalry of the Christians, and was particularly suited to the wild guerrilla warfare, in which the Moors so much excelled. During the long hostilities of the country, almost every city had been converted into a fortress. The number of these fortified places in the territory of Granada was ten times as great as is now to be found throughout the whole Peninsula. 35 Lastly, in addition to these means of defence, may be mentioned their early acquaintance with gunpowder, which, like the Greek fire of Constantinople, contributed perhaps in some degree to prolong their precarious existence beyond its natural term. But after all, the strength of Granada, like that of Constantinople, lay less in its own resources than in the weakness of its enemies, who, distracted by the feuds of a turbulent aristocracy, especially during the long minorities with which Castile was afflicted, perhaps more than any other nation in Europe, seemed to be more remote from the conquest of Granada at the death of Henry the Fourth, than at that of St. Ferdinand in the thirteenth century. Before entering on the achievement of this conquest by Ferdinand and Isabella, it may not be amiss to notice the probable influence. 35Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., the banks of the Guadayra and tom. vi. p. 169.- These ruined Guadalquivir, retains its battlefortifications still thickly stud the mented tower, which served for the border territories of Granada; and defence of its inmates against the many an Andalusian mill, along forays of the enemy. THE SPANISH ARA BS. 299 exerted by the Spanish Arabs on European civil.- CHAPTER ization. VII. Notwithstanding the high advances made by the Literature of the SpanArabians in almost every branch of learning, and ish_ rabs. the liberal import of certain sayings. ascribed to Mahomet, the spirit of his religion was eminently unfavorable to letters. The Koran, whatever be the merit of its literary execution, does not, we believe, contain a single precept in favor of general science. 36 Indeed during the first century after its promulgation, almost as little attention was bestowed upon this by the Saracens, as in their " days of ignorance," as the period is stigmatized which preceded the advent of their apostle. 37 But, after the nation had reposed from its tumultuous military career, the taste for elegant pleasures, which naturally results from opulence and leisure, began to flow in upon it. It entered upon this new field with all its characteristic enthusiasm, and seemed ambitious of attaining the same preeminence in science, that it had already reached in arms. It was at the commencement of this period of intellectual fermentation, that the last of the 36 D'Herbelot, (Bib. Orientale, rejected as apocryphal by the tom. i. p. 630,) among other au- Persians and the whole sect of the thentic traditions of Mahomet, Shiites, and are entitled to little quotes one as indicating his encour- weight with a European. agement of letters, viz. " That 37 When the caliph Al Mamon the ink of the doctors and the encouraged, byhis example aswell blood of the martyrs are of equal as patronage, a more enlightened price." M. CElsner (Des Ef- policy, he was accused by the fets de la Religion de Mohammed, more orthodox Mussulmans of atParis, 1810,) has cited several tempting to subvert the principles others of the same liberal import. of their religion. See Pococke, But such traditions cannot be re- Spec. Hist. Arabum, (Oxon. 1650,) ceived in evidence of the original p. 166. doctrine of the prophet. They are 300 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART Omeyades, escaping into Spain, established there the kingdom of Cordova, and imported along with him the fondness for luxury and letters, that had begun to display itself in the capitals of the east. His munificent spirit descended upon his successors; and, on the breaking up of the empire, the various capitals, Seville, Murcia, Malaga, Granada, and others, which rose upon its ruins, became the centres of so many intellectual systems, that continued to emit a steady lustre through the clouds and darkness of succeeding centuries. The period of this literary civilization, reached far into the fourteenth century, and thus, embracing an interval of six hundred years, may be said to have exceeded in duration that of any other literature ancient or modern. Circum- There were several auspicious circumstances in.tances favorabletoit. the condition of the Spanish Arabs, which distinguished them from their Mahometan brethren. The temperate climate of Spain was far more propitious to robustness and elasticity of intellect than the sultry regions of Arabia and Africa. Its long line of coast and convenient havens opened to it an enlarged commerce. Its number of rival states encouraged a generous emulation, like that which glowed in ancient Greece and modern Italy; and was infinitely more favorable to the developement of the mental powers than the far-extended and sluggish empires of Asia. Lastly, a familiar intercourse with the Europeans served to mitigate in the Spanish Arabs some of the more degrading superstitions incident to their religion, and to im THE SPANISH ARABS..301 part to them nobler ideas of the independence and CHAPTER moral dignity of man, than are to be found in the v". slaves of eastern despotism. Under these favorable circumstances, provisions Provisons, for education were liberally multiplied, colleges, academies, and gymnasiums springing up spontaneously, as it were, not merely in the principal cities but in the most obscure villages of the country. No less than fifty of these colleges or schools could be discerned scattered over the suburbs and populous plain of Granada. Seventy public libraries, if we may credit the report, were counted within the narrow limits of the Moslem territory. Every place of note seems to have furnished materials for a literary history. The copious catalogues of writers, still extant in the Escurial, show how extensively the cultivation of science was pursued, even through its minutest subdivisions; while a biographical notice of blind men, eminent for their scholarship in Spain, proves how far the general avidity for knowledge triumphed over the most discouraging obstacles of nature.38 The Spanish Arabs emulated their countrymen of the east in their devotion to natural and mathematical science. They penetrated into the remotest regions of Africa and Asia, transmitting an exact account of their proceedings to the national academies. They contributed to astronomical knowledge by the number and accuracy of their observations, and by the improvement of 38 Andres, Letteratura, part. 1, Escurialensis, tom. ii. pp. 71, 251, cap. 8, 10. - Casiri, Bibliotheca et passimn. 302 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART instruments and the erection of observatories, ot - which the noble tower of Seville is one of the earliest examples. They furnished their full proportion in the department of history, which, according to an Arabian author cited by D'Herbelot, could boast of thirteen hundred writers. The treatises on logic and metaphysics amount to one ninth of the surviving treasures of the Escurial; and, to conclude this summary of naked details, some of their scholars appear to have entered upon as vari ous a field of philosophical inquiry, as would be crowded into a modern encyclopaedia.39 Theactual The results, it must be confessed, do not appear results. to have corresponded with this magnificent apparatus and unrivalled activity of research. The mind of the Arabians was distinguished by the most opposite characteristics, which sometimes, indeed, served to neutralize each other. An acute and subtile:perception was often clouded by mysticism and abstraction. They combined a habit of classification and generalization, with a marvellous fondness for detail; a vivacious fancy with a patience of application, that a German of our day might envy; and, while in fiction they launched boldly into originality, indeed extravagance, they were content in philosophy to tread servilely in the track of their ancient masters. They derived their science 39 Casiri mentions one of these p. 370; tom. ii. p. 71 et alibi. - universal geniuses, who published Zuliiga, Annales de Sevilla, p. 22. no less than a thousand and fifty — D'Herbelot, Bib. Orientale, voce treatises on the various topics of Tarikh. - Masdeu, Historia CrltlEthics, History, Law, Medicine, ca, tom. xiii. pp. 203, 205.- An &c.! Bibliotheca Escurialensis, dres, Letteratura, part. 1, cap. 8. tom. ii. p. 107. - See also tom. i. THE SPANISH ARABS. 303 from versions of the Greek philosophers; but, as CHAPTER VIII. their previous discipline had not prepared them for its reception, they were oppressed rather than stimulated by the weight of the inheritance. They possessed an indefinite power of accumulation, but they rarely ascended to general principles, or struck out new and important truths; at least, this is certain in regard to their metaphysical labors. Hence Aristotle, who taught them to arrange Averroes what they had already acquired, rather than to advance to new discoveries, became the god of their idolatry. They piled commentary on commentary, and, in their blind admiration of his system, may be almost said to have been more of Peripatetics than the Stagirite himself. The Cordovan Averroes was the most eminent of his Arabian commentators, and undoubtedly contributed more than any other individual to establish the authority of Aristotie over the reason of mankind for so many ages. Yet his various illustrations have served, in the opinion of European critics, to darken rather than dissipate the-ambiguities of his original, and have even led to the confident assertion that he was wholly unacquainted with the Greek language. 40 40 Consult the sensible, though text. (Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca perhaps severe, remarks of Dege- Vetus, tom. ii. p. 394.) Averroes rando on Arabian science. (Hist. translated some of the philosophde la Philosophie, tom. iv. cap. 24.) ical works of Aristotle from the - The reader may also peruse Greek into Arabic; a Latin verwith advantage a disquisition on sion of which translation was afterArabian metaphysics in Turner's wards made. Though D'Ilerbelot History of England, (vol. iv. pp. is mistaken (Bib. Orientale, art. 405-449. - Brucker, Hist. Phi- Roschd,) in saying that Averroes losophiMa, tom. iii. p. 105.) - Lu- was the first, who translated Ardovicus Vives seems to have been istotle into Arabic; as this had the author of the imputation in the been done two centuries before, at 304 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART The Saracens gave an entirely new face to pharmacy and chemistry. They introduced a great variety of salutary medicaments into Europe. The Spanish Arabs, in particular, are commended by Sprengel above their brethren for their observations on the practice of medicine.4' But whatever real knowledge they possessed was corrupted by their inveterate propensity for mystical and occult science. They too often exhausted both health and fortune in fiuitless researches after the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone. Their medical prescriptions were regulated by the aspect of the stars. Their physics were debased by magic, their chemistry degenerated into alchemy, their astronomy into astrology. Their histor- In the fruitful field of history, their success was ical merits. even more equivocal. They seem to have been wholly destitute of the philosophical spirit, which gives life to this kind of composition. They were the disciples of fatalism and the subjects of a despotic government. Man appeared to them only in the contrasted aspects of slave and master. What could they know of the finer moral relations, or of the higher energies of the soul, which are developed only under free and beneficent institutions? Even could they have formed conceptions of these, how would they have dared to express them? least, by Honain and others in the alleged period. See art. Aver ninth century, (see Casiri, Bibli- roes. otheca Escurialensis, tom. i. p. 41 Sprengel, Histoire de la M6d304,) and Bayle has shown that a ecine, traduite par Jourdan, (Paris Latin version of the Stagirite was 1815,) tom. ii. pp. 263 et seq. used by the Europeans before the THE SPANISH ARABS. 305 Hence their histories are too often mere barren CIIArPTE chronological details, or fulsome panegyrics on their _ princes, unenlivened by a single spark of philosophy or criticism. Although the Spanish Arabs are not entitled to Use,' dis co eries the credit of having wrought any important revolution in intellectual or moral science, they are commended by a severe critic, as exhibiting in their wvritings " the germs of many theories, which have been reproduced as discoveries in later ages,"42 and they silently perfected several of those useful arts, which have had a sensible influence on the happiness and improvement of mankind. Algebra, and the higher mathematics, were taught in their schools, and thence diffused over Europe. The manufacture of paper, which, since the invention of printing, has contributed so essentially to the rapid circulation of knowledge, was derived through them. Casiri has discovered several manuscripts of cotton paper in the Escurial as early as 1009, and of linen paper of the date of 1106;43 the origin of which latter fabric Tiraboschi has ascribed to an Italian of Trevigi, in the middle of the fourteenth century. 44 Lastly, the application of gunpowder to military science, which has wrought an equally important revolution, though of a more doubtful complexion, in the condition of society, was derived through the same channel. 45 42 Degerando, Hist. de la Philo- 44 Letteratura Italiana, tom. v. sophie, toin. iv. ubi supra. p. 87. 43 Bibliothtca Escurialensis. tom. 45 The battle of Crecy furnishes ii. p. 9. - Andres, Letteratura, the earliest instance on record of part. 1, cap. 10. the use of artillery by the EuroVOL. I. 39 306 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART The influence of the Spanish Arabs, however, is _ - _ discernible not so much in the amount of knowlThe impulse hiven by edge, as in the impulse, which they communicated them to Europe. to the long dormant energies of Europe. Their invasion was coeval with the commencement of that night of darkness, which divides the modern from the ancient world. The soil had been impoverished by long, assiduous cultivation. The Arabians came like a torrent, sweeping down and obliterating even the land-marks of former civiliza tion, but bringing with it a fertilizing principle, which, as the waters receded, gave new life and loveliness to the landscape. The writings of the Saracens were translated and diffused throughout Europe. Their schools were visited by disciples, who, roused from their lethargy, caught somewhat of the generous enthusiasm of their masters; and a healthful action was given to the European intellect, which, however ill directed at first, was thus prepared for the more judicious and successful efforts of later times. Their le-r It is comparatively easy to determine the value gant litera-.Ure. pean Christians; although Du It is distinctly noticed in an AraCange, among several examples bian treatise as ancient as 1249; which he enumerates, has traced and, finally, Casiri quotes a pasa distinct notice of its existence sage from a Spanish author at as far back as 1338. (Glossarium the close of the eleventh century, ad Scriptores Mediaw et Infimae (whose MS., according to Nic. Latinitatis, (Paris, 1739,) and Sup- Antonio, though familiar to scholplement, (Paris, 1766,) voce Born- ars, lies still entombed in the dust barda.) The history of the Spanish of libraries,) which describes the Arabs carries it to a much earlier use of artillery in a naval engageperiod. It was employed by the ment of that period between the Moorish king of Granada at the Moors of Tunis and of Seville. siege of Baza, in 1312 and 1325. Casiri, Bibliotheca Escurialensis (Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, tom. ii. p. 8. - Nic. Antonio, Bib tom. iii. cap. 18.- Casiri, Biblio- liotheca Vetus, tom. ii. p. 12. theca Escurialensis, tom. ii. p. 7.) THE SPANISH ARABS. 0'o' of the scientific labors of a people, for truth is the CHAPI'Elt same in all languages; but the laws of taste differ so widely in different nations, that it requires a nicer discrimination to pronounce fairly upon such works as are regulated by them. Nothing is more common than to see the poetry of the east condemned as tumid, over-refined, infected with meretricious ornament and conceits, and, in short, as every way contravening the principles of good taste. Few of the critics, who thus peremptorily condemn, are capable of reading a line of the original. The merit of poetry, however, consists so much in its literary execution, that a person, to pronounce upon it, should be intimately acquainted with the whole import of the idiom in which it is written. The style of poetry, indeed of all ornamental writing, whether prose or verse, in order to produce a proper effect, must be raised or relieved, as it were, upon the prevailing style of social intercourse. Even where this is highly figurative and impassioned, as with the Arabians, whose ordinary language is made up of metaphor, that of the poet must be still more so. Hence the tone of elegant literature varies so widely in different countries, even in those of Europe, which approach the nearest to each other in their principles of taste, that it would be found extremely difficult to effect a close translation of the most admired specimens of eloquence from the language of one nation into that of any other. A page of Boccaccio or Bembo, for instance, done into literal English, would have an air of intolerable artifice and verbiage. The choicest 308 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART morsels of Massillon, Bossuet, or the rhetorical Thomas, would savour marvellously of bombast; and how could we in any degree keep pace with the magnificent march of the Castilian! Yet surely we are not to impugn the taste of all these nations, who attach much more importance, and have paid (at least this is true of the French and Italian) much greater attention to the mere beauties of literary finish, than English writers. Whatever may be the sins of the Arabians on this head, they are certainly not those of negligence. The Spanish Arabs, in particular, were noted for the purity and elegance of their idiom; insomuch that Casiri affects to determine the locality of an author by the superior refinement of his style. Their copious philological and rhetorical treatises, their arts of poetry, grammars, and rhyming dictionaries, show to what an excessive refinement they elaborated the art of composition. Academies, far more numerous than those of Italy, to which they subsequently served for a model, invited by their premiums frequent competitions Poetical in poetry and eloquence. To poetry, indeed, escharacter pecially of the tender kind, the Spanish Arabs seem to have been as indiscriminately addicted as the Italians in the time of Petrarch; and there was scarcely a doctor in church or state, but at some time or other offered up his amorous incense on the altar of the muse.46 46 Petrarch complains in one of and he was afraid the very cattle his letters from the country, that might begin to low in verse;" apud " jurisconsults and divines, nay his De Sade, Memoires pour La Vie own valet, had taken to rhyming; de PNtrarque, tom. iii. p. 243 THE SPANISH ARABS 309 With all this poetic feeling, however, the Arabs (IAPTER never availed themselves of the treasures of Gre- vinl cian eloquence, which lay open before them. Not a poet or orator of any eminence in that language seems to have been translated by them.47 The temperate tone of Attic composition appeared tame to the fervid conceptions of the east. Neither did they venture upon what in Europe are considered the higher walks of the art, the drama and the epic. 4 None of their writers in prose or verse show much attention to the developement or dissection of character. Their inspiration exhaled in lyrical effusions, in elegies, epigrams, and idyls. They sometimes, moreover, like the Italians, employed verse as the vehicle of instruction in the grave and recondite sciences. The general character of their poetry is bold, florid, impassioned, richly colored with imagery, sparkling with conceits and metaphors, and occasionally breathing a deep tone of moral sensibility, as in some of the plaintive effusions ascribed by Conde to the royal poets of Cordova. The compositions of the golden age of the Abassides, and of the preceding period, do not seem to have been infected with the taint of exaggeration, 47 Andres, Letteratura, part. 1, Sismondi says that Sir W. Jones cap. 11.- Yet this popular asser- is mistaken in citing the history of tion is contradicted by Reinesius, Timour by Ebn Arabschah, as an who states, that both Homer and Arabic epic. (Litterature du MiPindar were translated into Arabic di, tom. i. p. 57.) It IS Sismondi by the middle of the eighth centu- who is mistaken, since the English ry. See Fabricius, Bibliotheca Grm- critic states that the Arabs have ca, (Hamb. 1712- 38,) torn. xii. p. no heroic poem, and that this poet753. ical prose history is not accounted 48 Sir Wvilliam Jones, Trait' such even by the Arabs themsur la Poesie Orientale, sec. 2. - selves. r3 10]) THE SPANISH ARABS. tiRll so offensive to a European, which distinguishes the K later productions in the decay of the empire. Ic.uenceon Whatever be thought of the influence of the Ianl. Arabic on European literature in general, there can be no reasonable doubt that it has been considerable on the Provencal and the Castilian. In the latter especially, so far from being confined to the vocabulary, or to external forms of composition, it seems to have penetrated deep into its spirit, and is plainly discernible in that affectation of stateliness and oriental hyperbole, which characterizes Spanish writers even at the present day; in the subtilties and conceits with which the ancient Castilian verse is so liberally bespangled; and in the relish for proverbs and prudential maxims, which is so general that it may be considered national.49 J' It would require much more upon it. Be this as it may, its;earning than I am fortified with, influence on the Castilian cannot to enter into the merits of the ques- reasonably be disputed. This has tion, which has been raised re- been briefly traced by Conde in an specting the probable influence of " Essay on Oriental Poetry," Poesia the Arabian on the literature of Oriental, whose publication he anEurope. A. W. Schlegel, in a ticipates in the Preface to his "Hiswork of little bulk, but much value, tory of the Spanish Arabs," but in refilting with his usual vivacity which still remains in manuscript. the extravagant theory of Andres, (The copy I have used is in the has been led to conclusions of an library of Mr. George Ticknor.) opposite nature, which may be He professes in this work to disthought perhaps scarcely less ex- cern in the earlier Castilian poetry, travagant. (Observations sur la in the Cid, the Alexander, in BerLangue et la Littdrature Proven- ceo's, the arch-priest of Hita's, and tales, p. 64.) It must indeed seem others of similar antiquity, most of highly improbable, that the Sara- the peculiarities and varieties of cens, who, during the middle ages, Arabian verse; the same cadences were so far superior in science and and number of syllables, the same literary culture to the Europeans, intermixture of assonances and could have resided so long in im- consonances, the double hemistich mediate contact with them, and in and prolonged repetition of the those very countries indeed which final rhyme. From the same source gave birth to the most cultivated he derives much of the earlier rural poetry of that period, without ex- minstrelsy of Spain, as well as the ert'ng some perceptible influence measures of its romances and se THE SPANISH ARABS. 311 A decided effect has been produced on the cHAsPrE romantic literature of Europe by those tales of fairy -_ enchantment, so characteristic of oriental genius, and in which it seems to have revelled with uncontrolled delight. These tales, which furnished the principal diversion of the East, were imported by the Saracens into Spain; and we find the monarchs of Cordova solacing their leisure hours with listening to their rawis, or novelists, who sang to them " Of ladye-love and war, romance, and knightly worth." 50 The same spirit, penetrating into France, stimulated the more sluggish inventions of the trouve're, and, at a later and more polished period, called forth the imperishable creations of the Italian muse. 51 It is unfortunate for the Arabians, that their liter- Circumstances prpature should be locked up in a character and idiom judicial to so difficult of access to European scholars. Their tio.. guidillas; and in the Preface to his 51 Sismondi, in his Litterature History, he has ventured on the du Midi (tom. i. pp. 267 et seq.), bold assertion, that the Castilian and more fully in his RWpubliques owes so much of its vocabulary to Italiennes (tom. xvi. pp. 448 et the Arabic, that it may be almost seq.), derives the jealousy of the accounted a dialect of the latter. sex, the ideas of honor, and the Conde's criticisms, however, must deadly spirit of revenge, which disbe quoted with reserve. His habit- tinguished the southern nations of ual studies had given him such a Europe in the fifteenth and sixkeen relish for oriental literature, teenth centuries, from the Arathat he was, in a manner, denatu- bians. Whatever be thought of ralized friom his own. the jealousy of the sex, it might 50 Byron's beautiful line may have been supposed, that the prinseem almost a version of Conde's ciples of honor and the spirit of Spanish text, " sucesos de armas revenge might, without seeking y de amores con muy estraiios further, find abundant precedent in lances y en elegante estilo."- the feudal habits and institutions Dominacion de los Arabes, tom. i. of our European ancestors. p. 457. 312 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART wild, imaginative poetry, scarcely capable of transfusion into a foreign tongue, is made known to us only through the medium of bald prose translation while their scientific treatises have been done into Latin with an inaccuracy, which, to make use of a pun of Casiri's, merits the name of perversions rather than versions of the originals.52 How obviously inadequate, then, are our means of forming any just estimate of their literary merits! It is unfortunate for them, moreover, that the Turks, the only nation, which, from an identity of religion and government with the Arabs, as well as from its political consequence, would seem to represent them on the theatre of modern Europe, should be a 52,, Quas perversiones potius, Bibliotheca Escurialensis, tom. i. quam versiones merit6 dixeris." p. 266. Notices of Notwithstanding the history of tained, the Spanish government, de, and ICardonne. nected with that of the Spaniards, would appear, for its past supinethat it may be justly said to form ness, caused a copious catalogue Lhe reverse side of it, and not- of the surviving volumes, to the withstanding the amplitude of au- number of 1850, to be compiled by thentic documents in the Arabic the learned Casiri; and the result tongue to be found in the pub- was his celebrated work, " Bibliolic libraries, the Castilian writers, theca Arabico-Hispana Escuriaeven the most eminent, until the lensis," which appeared in the latter half of the last century, years 1760-70, and which would with an insensibility which can be reflect credit from the splendor of imputed to nothing else but a its typographical execution on any spirit of religious bigotry, have press of the present day. This been content to derive their nar- work, although censured by some ratives exclusively from national later orientalists as hasty and suauthorities. A fire, which occur- perficial, must ever be highly valred in the Escurial in 1671, having ued as affording the only complete consumed more than three quarters index to the rich repertory of Araof the magnificent collection of bian manuscripts in the Escueastern manuscripts which it con- rial, and for the ample evidence THE SPANISH ARABS. 3 13 race so degraded; one which, during the five cen- CHAPTER turies, that it has been in possession of the finest climate and monuments of antiquity, has so seldom been quickened into a display of genius, or added so little of positive value to the literary treasures descended from its ancient masters. Yet this people, so sensual and sluggish, we are apt to confound in imagination with the sprightly, intellectual Arab. Both indeed have been subjected to the influence of the same degrading political and religious institutions, which on the Turks have produced the results naturally to have been expected; while the Arabians, on the other hand, exhibit the extraordinary phenomenon of a nation, under all these embarrassments, rising to a high degree of elegance and intellectual culture. The empire, which once embraced more than half of the ancient world, has now shrunk within its original limits; and the Bedouin wanders over which it exhibits of the science his work entitled " Historia de la and mental culture of the Span- Dominacion de los Arabes en Esish Arabs. Several other native paiia." The first volume appeared scholars, among whom Andres in 1820. But unhappily the death and Masdeu may be particularly of its author, occurring in the aunoticed, have made extensive re- turnn of the same year, prevented searches into the literary history the completion of his design. The of this people. Still their political two remaining volumes, however, nistory, so essential to a correct were printed in the course of that knowledge of the Spanish, was and the following year from his comparatively neglected, until Se- own manuscripts; and, although iior Conde, the late learned libra- their comparative meagreness and rian of the Academy, who had confused chronology betray the given ample evidence of his ori- want of the same paternal hand, ental learning in his version and they contain much interesting inforillustrations of the Nubian Geogra- mation. The relation of the conpher, and a Dissertation on Ara- quest of Granada, especially, with bic Coins published in the fifth vol- which the work concludes, exhibume of the Memoirs of the Roy- its some important particulars in al Academy of History, compiled a totally different point of *view VOL. I. 40 31z4 THE SPANISH ARABS. rART his native desert as free, and almost as uncivilized, as before the coming of his apostle. The language, which was once spoken along the southern shores of the Mediterranean and the whole extent of the Indian ocean, is broken up into a variety of discordant dialects. Darkness has again settled over those regions of Africa, which were illumined by the light of learning. The elegant dialect of the Koran is studied as a dead language, even in the birth-place of the prophet. Not a printing-press at this day is to be found throughout the whole Arabian Peninsula. Even in Spain, in Christian Spain, alas! the contrast is scarcely less degrading. A death-like torpor has succeeded to her former intellectual activity. Her cities are emptied of the population with which they teemed in the days of the Saracens. Her climate is as fair, but her fields no longer bloom with the same rich and variegated husbandry. Her most interesting monuments art from that in which they had been ities, indiscriminately, no part o. presented by the principal Spanish his book can be cited as a genuine historians. Arabic version, except indeed the The first voluime, which may last sixty pages, comprising the be considered as having receiv- conquest of Granada, which Cared the last touches of its author, donne professes in his Preface to embraces a circumstantial narra- have drawn exclusively from an tive of the great Saracen invasion, Arabian manuscript. Conde, on of the subsequent condition of the other hand, professes to have Spain under the viceroys, and of adhered to his originals with such the empire of the Omeyades; un- scrupulous fidelity, that " the Eudoubtedly the most splendid por- ropean reader may feel that he tion of Arabian annals, but the is perusing an Arabian author "; one, unluckily, which has been most and certainly very strong internal copiously illustrated in the popu- evidence is afforded of the truth of lar work compiled by Cardonne this assertion, in the peculiar nafrom the oriental manuscripts in tional and religious siriit which the Royal Library at Paris. But pervades the work, and in a ceras this author has followed the tain florid gasconade of style, comSpanish and the oriental author- mon with the oriental writers. It THE SPANISH ARABS. 315 those constructed by the Arabs; and the traveller, CIAPTER as he wanders amid their desolate, but beautiful Vi. ruins, ponders on the destinies of a people, whose very existence seemns now to have been almost as fanciful as the magical creations in one of their DWfn fairy tales: ~ this fidelity that constitutes the clear view of the intricate conflictpeculiar value of Conde's narra- ing relations of the petty princitive. It is the first time that the palities, which swarmed over the Arabians, at least those of Spain, Peninsula; and to furnish abunthe part of the nation which reach- dant evidence of a wide-spread ined the highest degree of refine- tellectual improvement amid all the ment, have been allowed to speak horrors of anarchy and a ferocious for themselves. The history, or despotism. The work has alrearather tissue of histories, embodi- dy been translated or rather paraed in the t' nslation, is certainly phrased into French. The necessiconceived il no very philosophical ty of an English version will doubtspirit, and contains, as might be less be in a great degree superexpected from an Asiatic pen, lit- seded by the History of the Spanish tie for the edification of a Eu- Arabs, preparing for the Cabinet ropean reader on subjects of poli- Cyclopaedia, by Mr. Southey, -a cy and government. The narra- writer, with whom few Castilian tive is, moreover, encumbered with scholars will be willing to comfrivolous details and a barren mus- pete, even on their own ground; ter-roll of names and titles, which and who is, happily, not exposed would better become a genealogr- to the national or religious preical table than a history. i But, judices, which ca-n interfere with with every deduction, it must be his rendering perfect justice to his allowed to exhibit a sufficiently subject. CHAPTER IX. WAR OF GRANADA. —SURPRISE OF ZAHARA.-CAPTURE OF ALHAMA. 1481 -1482. Zahara surprised by the Moors. - Marquis of Cadiz. - His Expedition against Alhama. - Valor of the Citizens. - Desperate Struggle. - Fall of Alhama. - Consternation of the Moors. - Vigorous Measures of the Queen. PART No sooner had Ferdinand and Isabella restored internal tranquillity to their dominions, and made the strength effective, which had been acquired by their union under one government, than they turned their eyes to those fair regions of the Peninsula, over which the Moslem crescent had reigned triumphant for nearly eight centuries. Fortunately an act of aggression on the part of the Moors furnished a pretext for entering on their plan of conquest, at the moment when it was ripe for execution. Aben Ismail, who had ruled in Granada during the latter part of John the Second's reign, and the commencement of Henry the Fourth's, had been partly indebted for his throne to the former monarch; and sentiments of gratitude, combined with a naturally amiable disposition, had led him to foster as amicable relations with the Christian SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. 317 prince>, as the jealousy of two nations, that might CHAPTER be considered the natural enemies of each other, would permit; so that, notwithstanding an occasional border foray, or the capture of a frontier fortress, such a correspondence was maintained between the two kingdoms, that the nobles of Castile frequently resorted to the court of Granada, where, forgetting their ancient feuds, they mingled with the Moorish cavaliers in the generous pastimes of chivalry. Muley Abul Hacen, who succeeded his father in 1466, was of a very different temperament. His fiery character prompted him, when very young, to violate the truce by an unprovoked inroad into Andalusia; and, although after his accession domestic troubles occupied him too closely to allow leisure for foreign war, he still cherished in secret the same feelings of animosity against the Christians. When, in 1476, the Spanish sovereigns required as the con dition of a renewal of the truce, which he solicitea, the payment of the annual tribute imposed on his predecessors, he proudly replied that " the mints of Granada coined no longer gold, but steel." His subsequent conduct did not belie the spirit of this Spartan an.wer.' At length, towards the close of the year 1481, rihaedabsyu the storm which had been so long gathering burst Moors upon Zahara, a small fortified town on the frontier of Andalusia, crowning a lofty eminence, washed at 1 Cardonne, Hist. d'Afrique et — Conde, Dominacion de los Arad'Espagne, tom. iii. pp. 467-469. bes, tom. iii. cap. 32, 34. 1 8 WAR OF GRANADA. PART its base by the river Guadalete, which from its po..... I sition seemed almost inaccessible. The garrison, trusting to these natural defences, suffered itself to be surprised on the night of the 26th of December, by the Moorish monarch; who, scaling the walls under favor of a furious tempest, which prevented his approach from being readily heard, put to the sword such of the guard as offered resistance, and swept away the whole population of the place, men, women, and children, in slavery to Granada. The intelligence of this disaster caused deep mortification to the Spanish sovereigns, especially to Ferdinand, by whose grandfather Zahara had been recovered from the Moors. Measures were accordingly taken for strengthening the whole line of frontier, and the utmost vigilance was exerted to detect some vulnerable point of the enemy, on which retaliation might be successfully inflicted. Neither were the tidings of their own successes welcomed, with the joy that might have been expected, by the people of Granada. The prognostics, it was said, afforded by the appearance of the heavens, boded no good. More sure prognostics were afforded in the judgments of thinking men, who deprecated the temerity of awakening the wrath of a vindictive and powerful enemy. " Woe is me! I" exclaimed an ancient Alfaki, on quitting the hall of audience, "The ruins of Zahara will fall on our own heads; the days of the Moslem empire in Spain are now numbered!! 2 2 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, cion de los Arabes, tom. iii. cap. AMS., cap. 51. -Conde, Domina- 34. - Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, p. SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. 319 It was not long before the desired opportunity CHIAPTER for retaliation presented itself to the Spaniards. X. One Juan de Ortega, a captain of escaladores, or Desoriptif n scalers, so denominated from the peculiar service in which they were employed in besieging cities, who had acquired some reputation under John the Second, in the wars of Roussillon, reported to Diego de Merlo, assistant of Seville, that the fortress of Alhama, situated in the heart of the Moorish territories, was so negligently guarded, that it might be easily carried by an enemy, whc had skill enough to approach it. The fortress, as'well as the city of the same name, which it commanded, was built, like many others in that turbulent period, along the crest of a rocky eminence, encompassed by a river at its base, and, from its natural advantages, might be deemed impregnable. This strength of position, by rendering a11 other precautions apparently superfluous, lulled its defenders into a security like that which had proved so fatal to Zahara. Alhama, as this Arabic name implies, was famous for its baths, whose annual rents are said to have amounted to five hundred thousand ducats. The monarchs of Granada, indulging the taste common to the people of the east, used to frequent this place, with their court, 180. -L. Marineo, Cosas Memo- of gold ducats, and that it kept in rabies, fol. 171. —Marmol, Histo- pay 7,000 horsemen on its peace ria del Rebelion y Castigo de los establishment, and could send forth MAoriscos, (Madrid, 1797,) lib. 1, 21,000 warriors from its gates. cap. 12. The last of these estimates would Lebrija states, that the revenues not seem to be exaggerated. Reof Granada, at the commencement rum Gestarum Decades, ii. lib. 1, of this war, amounted to a million cap. 1. 320 WAR OF GRANADA. PART to refresh themselves with its delicious waters, so that Alhama became embellished with all the magnificence of a royal residence. The place was still further enriched by its being the dpo6t of the public taxes on land, which constituted a principal branch of the revenue, and by its various manufactures of cloth, for which its inhabitants were celebrated throughout the kingdom of Granada 3 Diego de Merlo, although struck with the advantages of this conquest, was not insensible to the difficulties with which it would be attended; since Alhama was sheltered under the very wings of Granada, from which it lay scarcely eight leagues distant, and could be reached only by traversing the most populous portion of the Moorish territory, or by surmounting a precipitous sierra, or chain of mountains, which screened it on the north. Without delay, however, he communicated the information which he had received to Don Rodrigo Ponce de Leon, marquis of Cadiz, as the person best fitted by his capacity and courage for such all TheMarquis enterprise. This nobleman, who had succeeded of Cadiz. his father, the count of Arcos, in 1469, as head of tihe great house of Police de Leon, was at this period about thirty-nine years of age. Although a younger and illegitimate son, he had been preferred to the succession in consequence of the extraordinary promise whicn his early youth exhibited. When scarcely seventeen years old, he 3 Estrada, Poblacion de Espafia, 222, nota. - Pulgar, Reyes Cat6li tom. ii. pp. 247, 248. —El Nubi- cos, p. 181. —Marmol, Rebelion ense, Descripcion de Espafla, p. de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. 12. SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. 32 achieved a victory over the Moors, accompanied CHAPrER with a signal display of personal prowess. 4 Later Ix' in life, he formed a connexion with the daughter of the marquis of Villena, the factious minister of Henry the Fourth, through whose influence he was raised to the dignity of marquis of Cadiz. This alliance attached him to the fortunes of Henry, in his disputes with his brother Alfonso, and subsequently with Isabella, on whose accession, of course, Don Rodrigo looked with no friendly eye. Ile did not, however, engage in any overt act of resistance, but occupied himself with prosecuting an hereditary feud, which he had revived with the duke of Medina Sidonia, the head of the Guzmans; a family, which from ancient times had divided with his own the great interests of Andalusia. The pertinacity with which this feud was conducted, and the desolation which it carried not only into Seville, but into every quarter of the province, have been noticed in the preceding pages. The vigorous administration of Isabella repressed these disorders, and, after abridging the overgrown 4 Zuriiga, Annales de Sevilla, no children born in wedlock, but a pp. 349, 362. numerous progeny by his concuThis occurred in the fight of Ma- bines. Among these latter, was droilo, when Don Rodrigo stooping Dolia Leonora Nuiiez de Prado, to adjust his buckler, which had the mother of Don Rodrigo. The been unlaced, was suddenly sur- brilliant and attractive qualities of rounded by a party of Moors. He this youth so far won the affections snatched a sling from one of them, of his father, that the latter obtainand made such brisk use of it, that, ed the royal sanction (a circumnafter disabling several, he succeed- stance not infrequent in an age, ed in putting them to flight; for when the laws of descent were which feat, says Zuiiiga, the king very unsettled,) to bequeath him complimented him with the title of his titles and estates, to the preju"the youthful David." dice of more legitimate heirs. Don Juan, count of Arcos, had VOL. I. 41 32~2 WAR OF GRANADA. PART power of the two nobles, effected an apparent (it was only apparent) reconciliation between them. The fiery spirit of the marquis of Cadiz, no longer allowed to escape in domestic broil, urged him to seek distinction in more honorable warfare; and at this moment he lay in his castle at Arcos, looking with a watchful eye over the borders, and waiting, like a lion in ambush, the moment when he could spring upon his victim. His expedi- Without hesitation, therefore, he assumed the tion against. Alhama. enterprise proposed by Diego de Merlo, imparting his purpose to Don Pedro Henriquez, adelantado of Andalusia, a relative of Ferdinand, and to the alcaydes of two or three neighbouring fortresses. With the assistance of these friends he assembled a force, which, including those who marched undei the banner of Seville, amounted to two thousand five hundred horse and three thousand foot. His own town of Marchena was appointed as the place of rendezvous. The proposed route lay by the wav of Antequera, across the wild sierras of Alzerifa. The mountain passes, sufficiently difficult at a season when their numerous ravines were choked up by the winter torrents, were rendered still more formidable by being traversed in the darkness of night; for the party, in order to conceal their movements, lay by during the day. Leaving their baggage on the banks of the Yeguas, that they might move forward with greater celerity, the whole body at length arrived, after a rapid and most painful march, on the third night from their departure, in a deep valley about half a league from Alhama. SURPRISE OF ALHAAMA 323 Here the marquis first revealed the real object of CHAPTER the expedition to his soldiers, who, little dreaming. of any thing beyond a mere border inroad, were transported with joy at the prospect of the rich booty so nearly within their grasp.5 The next morning, being the 28th of February, Surprise o a small party was detached, about two hours before dawn, under the command of John de Ortega for the purpose of scaling the citadel, while the main body moved forward more leisurely under the marquis of Cadiz, in order to support them. The night was dark and tempestuous, circumstances which favored their approach in the same manner as with the Moors at Zahara. After ascending the rocky heights which were crowned by the citadel, the ladders were silently placed against the walls, and Ortega, followed by about thirty others, succeeded in gaining the battlements unobserved. A sentinel, who was found sleeping on his post, they at once despatched, and, proceeding cautiously forward to the guard-room, put the whole of the little garrison to the sword, after the short and ineffectual resistance that could be opposed by men suddenly roused from slumber. The city in the mean time was alarmed, but it was too late; the citadel was taken; and the outer gates, which opened into the country, being thrown open, the marquis of Cadiz entered with trumpet sounding and banner 5 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, at 3,000 horse and 4,000 foot. MS., cap. 52. -L. Marineo, Co- Reyes Catolics, p. 181. - Conde, sas Memorables, fol. 171. —Pul- Dominacion de los Arabes, tomrn Tar computes the marquis's army iii. cap. 34. 324 WAR OF GRANADA. PART flying, at the head of his army, and took possession of the fortress. 6 Valor of the After allowing the refreshment necessary to the utizes. exhausted spirits of his soldiers, the marquis resolved to sally forth at once upon the town, before its inhabitants could muster in sufficient force to oppose him. But the citizens of Alhama, showing a resolution rather to have been expected from men trained in a camp, than from peaceful burghers of a manufacturing town, had sprung to arms at the first alarm, and, gathering in the narrow street on which the portal of the castle- opened, so completely commanded it with their arquebuses and crossbows, that the Spaniards, after an ineffectual attempt to force a passage, were compelled to recoil upon their defences, amid showers of bolts and balls which occasioned the loss, among others, of two of their principal alcaydes. ally upon A council of war was then called, in which it the Moore. was even advised by some, that the fortress, after having been dismantled, should be abandoned. as incapable of defence against the citizens on the one hand, and the succours which might be expected speedily to arrive from. Granada, on the other. But this counsel was rejected with indignation by the marquis of Cadiz, whose fiery spirit rose with the occasion; indeed, it was not very palatable to most of his: followers, whose cupidity was more than- ever 6 Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum De- cap. 52.-Zurita, Anales, tom. cades, ii. lib. 1, cap. 2.- Carba- iv. fel. 31;5.- Cardonne, Histi jal, Anales, MS., alio 1482.- d'Afrique et d'Espagne, tom, iii Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, MS., pp. 252, 253. SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. 32; Inflamed by the sight of the rich spoil, which, after CHAPTER so many fatigues, now lay at their feet. It was accordingly resolved to demolish part of the fortifications which looked towards the town, and at all hazards to force a passage into it. This resolution was at once put into execution; and the marquis, throwing himself into the breach thus made, at the head of his men-at-arms, and shouting his war-cry of " St. James and the Virgin," precipitated himself into the thickest of the enemy. Others of the Spaniards, running along the out-works contiguous to the buildings of the city, leaped into the street, and joined their companions there, while others again sallied from the gates, now opened for the second time.7 The Moors, unshaken by the fury of this assault, Desperate combat. received the assailants with brisk and well-directed volleys of shot and arrows; while the women and children, thronging the roofs and balconies of the houses, discharged on their heads boiling oil, pitch, and missiles of every description. But the weapons of the Moors glanced comparatively harmless fiorn the mailed armour of the Spaniards, while their own bodies, loosely arrayed in such habiliments as they could throw over them in the confusion of the night, presented a fatal mark to their enemies. Still they continued to maintain a stout resistance, checking the progress of the Spaniards by barricades of timber hastily thrown across the streets; 7 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, IL. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, MS., ubi supra.-Conde, Domi- fol. 172. nacion de los Arabes, cap. 34. 326 WAR OF GRANADA. PART and, as their intrenchments were forced one after another, they disputed every inch of ground with the desperation of men who fought for life, fortune, liberty, all that was most dear to them. The contest hardly slackened till the close of day, while the kennels literally ran with blood, and every avenue was choked up with the bodies of the slain. At length, however, Spanish valor proved triumphant in every quarter, except where a small and desperate remnant of the Moors, having gathered their wives and children around them, retreated as a last resort into a large mosque near the walls of the city, from which they kept up a galling fire on the close ranks of the Christians. The latter, after enduring some loss, succeeded in sheltering themselves so effectually under a roof or canopy constructed of their own shields, in the manner practised in war previous to the exclusive use of firearms, that they were enabled to approach so near the mosque, as to set fire to its doors; when its tenants, menaced with suffocation, made a desperate sally, in which many perished, and the remainder surrendered at discretion. The prisoners thus made were all massacred on the spot, without distinction of sex or age, according to the Saracen accounts. But the Castilian writers make no mention of this; and, as the appetites of the Spaniards were not yet stimulated by that love of carnage, which they afterwards displayed in their American wars, and which was repugnant to the chivalrous spirit with which their contests with the Moslems SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. 32 t were usually conducted, we may be justified in re- CIAPTER. garding it as an invention of the enemy.8 Alhama was now delivered up to the sack of FallofAl hama the soldiery, and rich indeed was the booty which fell into their hands, - gold and silver plate, pearls, jewels, fine silks and cloths, curious and costly furniture, and all the various appurtenances of a thriving, luxurious city. In addition to which, the magazines were found well stored with the more substantial, and at the present juncture, more serviceable supplies of grain, oil, and other provisions. Nearly a quarter of the population is said to have perished in the various conflicts of the day, and the remainder, according to the usage of the time, became the prize of the victors. A considerable number of Christian captives, who were found immured in the public prisons, were restored to freedom, and swelled the general jubilee with their grateful acclamations. The contemporary Castilian chroniclers record also, with no less satisfaction, the detection of a Christian renegade, notorious for his depredations on his countrymen, whose misdeeds the marquis of Cadiz requited by causing him to be hung up over the battlements of the castle, in the face of the whole city. Thus fell the ancient city of Alhama, the first conquest, and achieved with a gallantry and daring unsurpassed by any other during this memorable war. 9 8 Conde, Dominacion de los Ara- 9 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, bes, ubi sup.- Pulgar, Reyes Ca- MS., cap. 52. -Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, pp. 182, 183. — Mariana, t6licos, ubi sup. - Cardonne, lTist. Hist. de Espaiia, tom. ii. pp. 545, d'Afrique et d'Espagne, tom. iii. 546. p. 254. 328 WAR OF GRANADA. PART The report of this disaster fell like the knell ol their own doom on the ears of the inhabitants of Consternationofe Granada. It seemed as if the hand of Providence Moors. itself must have been stretched forth to smite the stately city, which, reposing as it were under the shadow of their own walls, and in the bosom of a peaceful and populous country, was thus suddenly laid low in blood and ashes. Men now read the fillfilment of the disastrous omens and predictions which ushered in the capture of Zahara. The melancholy romance or ballad, with the burden of Ay de mi Alhama, "Woe is me, Alhama," composed probably by some one of the nation not long after this event, shows how deep was the dejection which settled on the spirits of the people. The old king, Abul Hacen, however, far from resigning himself to useless lamentation, sought to retrieve his loss by the most vigorous measures. A body of a thousand horse was sent forward to reconnoitre the city, while lhe prepared to follow with as powerful levies, as he could enforce, of the militia of Granada. 10 10 " Passeavase el Rey Moro Ilora el Rey como fembra, Por la ciudad de Granada, Qu' es mucho lo qie perdia. Desde las puertas de Elvira Ay de mi Alhama! " Hasta las de Bivarambla. Ay de mi Alhama! The romance, according to Hyta, (not the best voucher for a fact,) e Cartlhae fiera ongavenidas caused such general lamentation, que Alhama era ganida. Las cartas echo en el fuego, that it was not allowed to be sung Y al mensagero matava. by the Moors after the conquest. Ay de mi Alhama! (Guerras Civiles de Granada, tom. i. p. 350.) Lord Byron, as the LIoran tan grande perdida. reader recollects, has done this Lloravan todas las damas ballad into English. The version Quantas en Granada avia. has the merit of fidelity. It is not Ay de mi Alhama! nhis fault if his Muse appears to Por las calles y ventanas little advantage in the plebeian Mucho luto parecia; dress of the Moorish minstrel SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. 329 The intelligence of the conquest of Alhama CHAPTER diffused general satisfaction throughout Castile,. and was especially grateful to the sovereigns, who welcomed it as an auspicious omen of the ultimate success of their designs upon the Moors. They were attending mass in their royal palace of Medina del Campo, when they received despatches from the marquis of Cadiz, informing them of the issue of his enterprise. " During all the while he sat at dinner," says a precise chronicler of the period, " the prudent Ferdinand was revolving in his mind the course best to be adopted." He reflected that the Castilians would soon be beleaguered by an overwhelming force from Granada, and he determined at all hazards to support them. He accordingly gave orders to make instant preparation for departure; but, first, accompanied the queen, attended by a solemn procession of the court and clergy, to the cathedral church of St. James; where Te Deum was chanted, and a humble thanksgiving offered up to the Lord of hosts for the success with which he had crowned their arms. Towards evening, the king set forward on his journey to the south, escorted by such nobles and cavaliers as were in attendance on his person, leaving the queen to follow more leisurely; after having provided reinforcements and supplies requisite for the prosecution of the war. " 11 L. Marineo, Cosas Memora- 34.- Carbajal, Anales, MS., ano bles, fo4. 17'2. —Conde, Domina- 1482. - Mariana, Hist. de Espana, cion de los Arabes, tom. iii. cap. tom. ii. pp. 545, 546. VOL. 1. 42 330 WAR OF GRANADA. PART On the 5th of March, the king of Granada appeared before the walls of Alhama, with an army The Moors besiege Al- which amounted to three thousand horse and fifty hama. thousand foot. The first object which encountered his eyes, was the mangled remains of his unfortunate subjects, which the Christians, who would have been scandalized by an attempt to give them the rites of sepulture, had from dread of infection thrown over the walls, where they now lay halfdevoured by birds of prey and the ravenous dogs of the city. The Moslem troops, transported with horror and indignation at this hideous spectacle, called loudly to be led to the attack. They had marched from Granada with so much precipitation, that they were wholly unprovided with artillery, in the use of which they were expert for that period; and which was now the more necessary, as the Spaniards had diligently employed the few days which intervened since their occupation of the place, in repairing the breaches in the fortifications, and in putting them in a posture of defence. But the Moorish ranks were filled with the flower of their chivalry; and their immense superiority of numbers enabled them to make their attacks simultaneously on the most distant quarters of the town, with such unintermitted vivacity, that the little garrison, scarcely allowed a moment for repose, was wellnigh exhausted with fatigue.l2 12 Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, able estimate of the Arabian au MS., cap. 52. —Bernaldez swells thors. Conde,Dorminacion de los the Moslem army to 5,500 horse, Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 34.- Puland 80,000 foot, but I have pre- gar, Reyes Catolicos, loc. cit. ferred the more moderate and ptob SURPRISE O01 ALHAMA. 3 At length, however, Abul Hacen, after the loss CHAPTER of more than two thousand of his bravest troops in these precipitate assaults, became convinced of the impracticability of forcing a position, whose natural strength was so ably seconded by the valor of its defenders, and he determined to reduce the place by the more tardy but certain method of blockade. In this he was favored by one or two circumstances. The town, having but a single well Distress within its walls, was almost wholly indebted for its supplies of water to the river which flowed at its base. The Moors, by dint of great labor, succeeded in diverting the stream so effectually, that the only communication with it, which remained open to the besieged, was by a subterraneous gallery or mine, that had probably been contrived with reference to some such emergency by the original inhabitants. The mouth of this passage was commanded in such a manner by the Moorish archers, that no egress could be obtained without a regular skirmish, so that every drop of water might be said to be purchased with the blood of Christians; who, " if they had not possessed the courage of Spaniards," says a Castilian writer, " would have been reduced to the last extremity." In addition to this calamity, the garrison began to be menaced with scarcity of provisions, owing to the improvident waste of the soldiers, who supposed that the city, after being plundered, was to be razed to the ground and abandoned. 3 13 Garibay, Compendio, tom. ii. lib. 18, cap. 23. — Pulgar, Reyes Catblicos, pp. 183, 184. 332 WAR OF GRANADA. PART At this crisis they received the unwelcome tidings of the failure of an expedition destined for their relief by Alonso de Aguilar. This cavalier, the chief of an illustrious house since rendered immortal by the renown of his younger brother, Gonsalvo de Cordova, had assembled a considerable body of troops, on learning the capture of Alhama, for the purpose of supporting his friend and companion in arms, the marquis of Cadiz. On reaching the shores of the Yeguas, he received, for the first time, advices of the formidable host which lay between him and the city, rendering hopeless any attempt to penetrate into the latter with his inadequate force. Contenting himself, therefore, with recovering the baggage, which the marquis's army in its rapid march, as has been already noticed, had left on the banks of the river, he returned to Antequera. 14 Under these depressing circumstances, the indomitable spirit of the marquis of Cadiz seemed to infuse itself into the hearts of his soldiers. He was ever in the front of danger, and shared the privations of the meanest of his followers; encouraging them to rely with undoubting confidence on the sympathies which their cause must awaken in the breasts of their countrymen. The event proved, that he did not miscalculate. Soon after the occupation of Alhama, the marquis, foreseeing the difficulties of his situation, had despatched missives, requesting the support of the principal lords and 14 Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS., cap. 52. SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. 333 cities of Andalusia. In this summons he had omit- CHAPTER ted the duke of Medina Sidonia, as one who had'I good reason to take umbrage at being excluded from a. share in the original enterprise. Henrique The Duke ot Medina 8ide Guzman, duke of Medina Sidonia, possessed a donia. degree of power more considerable than any other chieftain in the south. His yearly rents amounted to nearly sixty thousand ducats, and he could bring into the field, it was said, from his own resources an army little inferior to what might be raised by a sovereign prince. He had succeeded to his inheritance in 1468, and had very early given his support to the pretensions of Isabella. Notwithstanding his deadly feud with the marquis of Cadiz, he had the generosity, on the breaking out of the present war, to march to the relief of the marchioness when beleaguered, during her husband's absence, by a party of Moors from Ronda, in her own castle of Arcos. He now showed a similar alacrity in sacrificing all personal jealousy at the call of patriotism. 15 No sooner did he learn the perilous condition of Maire"to his countrymen in Alhama, than he mustered the hama. whole array of his household troops and retainers, which, when combined with those of the marquis de Villena, of the count de Cabra, and those firom Seville, in which city the family of the Guzmans had long, exercised a sort of hereditary influence, swelled to the number of five thousand horse and 15 Zuiiiga, Annales de Sevilla, Rerum Gestarum Decades, lib. I, p. 360. -L. Marineo, Cosas Me- cap. 3. morables, fol. 24, 172. - Lebrija, 334 WAR OF GRANADA PART forty thousand foot. The duke of Medina Sidonia, -' _ putting himself at the head of this powerful body, set forward without delay on his expedition. nraies the When king Ferdinand in his progress to the south had reached the little town of Adamuz, about five leagues from Cordova, he was informed of the advance of the Andalusian chivalry, and instantly sent instructions to the duke to delay his march, as he intended to come in person and assume the command. But the latter, returning a respectful apology for his disobedience, represented to his master the extremities to which the besieged were already reduced, and without waiting for a reply pushed on with the utmost vigor for Alhama. The Moorish monarch, alarmed at the approach of so powerful a reinforcement, saw himself in danger of being hemmed in between the garrison on the one side, and these new enemies on the other. Without waiting their appearance on the crest of the eminence which separated him from them, he hastily broke up his encampment, on the 29th of March, after a siege of more than three weeks, and retreated on his capital. 16 Meeting cf The garrison of Alhama viewed with astonishthe two armies. ment the sudden departure of their enemies; but their wonder was converted into joy, when they beheld the bright arms and banners of their countrymen, gleaming along the declivities of the moun tains. They rushed out with tumultuous transport 16 Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, pp. - Zuiiiga, Annales de Sevilla, 183, 184. Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6- pp. 392, 393.- Cardonne, Hist. licos, MS., cap. 53. — Ferreras, d'Afrique et d'Espagne, tom. it. Hist. d'Espagne, tom. vii. p. 572. p. 257. SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. 335 to receive them, and pour forth their grateful ac- CHAPTER knowledgments, while the two commanders, embracing each other in the presence of their united armies, pledged themselves to a mutual oblivion of all past grievances; thus affording to the nation the best possible earnest of future successes, in the voluntary extinction of a feud, which had desolated it for so many generations. Notwithstanding the kindly feelings excited between the two armies, a dispute had wellnigh arisen respecting the division of the spoil, in which the duke's army claimed a share, as having contributed to secure the conquest which their more fortunate countrymen had effected. But these discontents were appeased, though with some difficulty, by their noble leader, who besought his men not to tarnish the laurels already won, by mingling a sordid avarice with the generous motives which had prompted them to the expedition. After the necessary time devoted to repose and refreshment, the combined armies proceeded to evacuate Alhama, and having left in garrison Don Diego Merlo, with a corps of troops of the hermandad, returned into their own territories. 17 King Ferdinand, after receiving the reply of the The sovduke of Medina Sidonia, had pressed forward his Cordova march by the way of Cordova, as far as Lucena, with the intention of throwing himself at all hazards into Alhama. He was not without much difficulty dissuaded from this by his nobles, who represented 17 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, pp. 183 - 186. -Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quine. 1, dial. 28. 336 WAR OF GRANADA. PART the temerity of the enterprise, and its incompetency to any good result, even should he succeed, with the small force of which he was master. On re ceiving intelligence that the siege was raised, he returned to Cordova, where he was joined by the queen towards the latter part of April. Isabella had been employed in making vigorous preparation for carrying on the war, by enforcing the requisite supplies, and summoning the crown vassals, and the principal nobility of the north, to hold themselves in readiness to join the royal standard in Andalusia. After this, she proceeded by rapid stages to Cordova, notwithstanding the state of pregnancy, in which she was then far advanced. ted agamin- Here the sovereigns received the unwelcome invested again Mothr. formation, that the king of Granada, on the retreat of the Spaniards, had again sat down before Alhama; having brought with him artillery, from the want of which he had suffered so much in the preceding siege. This news struck a damp into the hearts of the Castilians, many of whom recommended the total evacuation of a place, " which I they said, " was so near the capital that it must be perpetually exposed to sudden and dangerous assaults; while, from the difficulty of reaching it, it would cost the Castilians an incalculable waste of blood and treasure in its defence. It was experience of these evils, which had led to its abandonment in former days, when it had been recovered by the Spanish arms firom the Saracens." sabella'ss Isabella was far from being shaken by these arguments. " Glory, " she said, " was not to be SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. 337 won without danger. The present war was one CHAPTER of peculiar difficulties and danger, and these had I. been well calculated before entering upon it. The strong and central position of Alhamna made it of the last importance, since it might be regarded as the key of the enemy's country. This was the first blow struck during the war, and honor and policy alike forbade them to adopt a measure, which could not fail to damp the ardor of the nation." This opinion of the queen, thus decisively expressed, determined the question, and kindled a spark of her own enthusiasm in the breasts of the most desponding.18 It was settled that the king should march to the Ferdinuan relief of the besieged, taking with him the most siege. ample supplies of forage and provisions, at the head of a force strong enough to compel the retreat of the Moorish monarch. This was effected without delay; and, Abul Hacen once more breaking up his camp on the rumor of Ferdinand's approach, the latter took possession of the city without opposition, on the 14th of May. The king was attended by a splendid train of his prelates and principal nobility; and he prepared with their aid to dedicate his new conquest to the service of the cross, with all the formalities of the Romish church. 18 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, as Bernaldez, whom I have followMIS., cap. 53, 54. — Pulgar states ed, lived in Andalusia, the theatre that Ferdinand took the more of action, he may be supposed to southern route ofAntequera, where have had more accurate means of he received the tidings of the Moor- information. - Pulgar, Reyes Caish king's retreat. The discrepan- t6licos, pp. 187, 188. cy is of no great consequence; but VOL. 1. 43 338 WAR OF GRANADA. PART After the ceremony of purification, the three principal mosques of the city were consecrated by the cardinal of Spain, as temples of Christian worship. Bells, crosses, a sumptuous service of plate, and other sacred utensils, were liberally furnished I)y the queen; and the principal church of Santa Maria de la Encarnacion long exhibited a covering of the altar, richly embroidered by her own hands. Isabella lost no opportunity of manifesting, that she had entered into the war, less from motives of ambition, than of zeal for the exaltation of the true faith. After the completion of these ceremonies, Ferdinand, having strengthened the garrison with new recruits under the command of Portocarrero lord of Palma, and victualled it with three months provisions, prepared for a foray into the vega of Granada. This he executed in the true spirit of that merciless warfare, so repugnant to the more civilized usage of later times, not only by sweeping away the green, unripened crops, but by cutting down the trees, and eradicating the vines; and then, without so much as having broken a lance in the expedition, returned in triumph to Cordova.'9 19 Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., walls of the city in the night, and bat. 1, quine. 1, dial. 28. —Ber- had nearly reached the gates with naldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS., cap. the intention of throwing them 54, 55.- Lebrija, Rerrlm Gesta- open to their countrymen, when rum Decades, lib. 1, cap. 6.- they were overpowered, after a Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, desperate resistance, by the Chriscap. 34. - Salazar de Mendoza, tians, who acquired a rich booty, Crdn. del Gran Cardenal, pp. 180, as many of them were persons of 181. —Marmol, Rebelion de Mo- rank. There is considerable variriscos, lib. 1, cap. 12. ation in the authorities, in regard During this second siege, a body to the date of Ferdinand's occupaof Moorish knights to the number tion of Alhama. I have been guidof forty, succeeded in scaling the ed, as before, by Bernaldez. SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. 339 Isabella in the mean while was engaged in active CHAPTER measures for prosecuting the war. She issued orVigorous ders to the various cities of Castile and Leon, as measuresof the queen far as the borders of Biscay and Guipuscoa, prescribing the repartimiento, or subsidy of provisions and the quota of troops, to be furnished by each district respectively, together with an adequate supply of ammunition and artillery. The whole were to be in readiness before Loja, by the 1st of July; when Ferdinand was to take the field in person at the head of his chivalry, and besiege that strong post. As advices were received, that the Moors of Granada were making efforts to obtain the cooperation of their African brethren in support of the Mahometan empire in Spain, the queen caused a fleet to be manned under the command of her two best admirals, with instructions to sweep the Mediterranean as far as the Straits of Gibraltar, and thus effectually cut off all communication with the Bar bary coast.20 20 Pvlgar, Reyes Catblicos, pp. 188, 189. CHAPTER X. WAR OF GRANADA. -UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT ON LOJA.DEFEAT IN THE AXARQUIA. 1482- 1483. Unsuccessful Attempt on Loja. - Revolution in Granada. - Expedition to the Axarquia. - Military A rray. - Moorish Preparations. - Bloody Conflict among the Mountains. - The Spaniards force a Passage.The Marquis of Cadiz escapes. rART LOJA stands not many leagues from Alhama, on the banks of the Xenil, which rolls its clear current Siege of Loja. through a valley luxuriant with vineyards and olivegardens; but the city is deeply intrenched among hills of so rugged an aspect, that it has been led not inappropriately to assume as the motto on its arms, 1" A flower among thorns." Under the Moors, it was defended by a strong fortress, while the Xenil, circumscribing it like a deep moat upon the south, formed an excellent protection against the approaches of a besieging army; since the river was fordable only in one place, and traversed by a single bridge, which might be easily commanded by the city. In addition to these advantages, the king of Granada, taking warning from the fate of Alha ma, had strengthened its garrison with three thou sand of his choicest troops, under the command ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 1341 ot a skilful and experienced warrior, named Ali CHAPTER Atar. x. In the mean while, the efforts of the Spanish castilian sovereigns to procure supplies adequate to the undertaking against Loja, had not been crowned with success. The cities and districts, of which the requisitions had been made, had discovered the tardiness usual in such unwieldy bodies, and their interest, moreover, was considerably impaired by their distance from the theatre of action. Ferdinand on mustering his army, towards the latter part of June, found that it did not exceed four thousand horse and twelve thousand, or indeed, according to some accounts, eight thousand foot; most of them raw militia, who, poorly provided with military stores and artillery, formed a force obviously inadequate to the magnitude of his en terprise. Some of his counsellors would have persuaded him, from these considerations, to turn his arms against some weaker and more assailable point than Loja. But Ferdinand burned with a desire for distinction in the new war, and suffered his ardor for once to get the better of his prudence. The distrust felt by the leaders seems to have infected the lower ranks, who drew the most unfavorable prognostics from the dejected mien of those who bore the royal standard to the cathedral of Cordova, in order to receive the benediction of the church before entering on the expedition. 2 1 Estrada, Poblacion de Espaia, donne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Estom. ii. pp. 242, 243. —Zurita, pagne, tom. iii. p. 261. Anales, tom. iv. fol. 317. — Car- 2 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, 542 WAR OF GRANADA. PART Ferdinand, crossing the Xenil at Ecija, arrived again on its banks before Loja, on the 1st of July. Encampment before The army encamped among the hills, whose deep Loja. ravines obstructed communication between its different quarters; while the level plains below were intersected by numerous canals, equally unfavorable to the manoeuvres of the men-at-arms. The duke of Villa Hermosa, the king's brother, and captaingeneral of the hermandad, an officer of large experience, would have persuaded Ferdinand to attempt, by throwing bridges across the river lower down the stream, to approach the city on the other side. But his counsel was overruled by the Castilian officers, to whom the location of the camp had been intrusted, and who neglected, according to Zurita, to advise with the Andalusian chiefs, although far better instructed than themselves in Moorish warfare. 3 kkirmish A large detachment of the army was ordered to with the SMemy. occupy a lofty eminence, at some distance, called the Heights of Albohacen, and to fortify it with such few pieces of ordnance as they had, with the view of annoying the city. This commission was intrusted to the marquises of Cadiz and Villena, and the grand master of Calatrava; which last nobleman had brought to the field about four hundred horse and a large body of infantry from the places belonging to his order in Andalusia. Before MS., cap. 58. —Mariana, Hist. 3 L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, de Espana, tom. ii. pp. 249, 250. fol. 173. —Pulgar, Reyes Cat6li-_ Cardonne, lHist. d'Afrique et cos,p. 187. - Zurita, Anales, tom d'Espagne, tore;iii. nn 259. 260. iv. fol. 31.i, 317. ROUT IN' THE AXARQUIA. 343 the intrenchment could be fully completed, Ali CHAPTER Atar, discerning the importance of this command- x ing station, made a sortie from the town, for the purpose of dislodging his enemies. The latter poured out from their works to encounter him; but the Moslem general, scarcely waiting to receive the shock, wheeled his squadrons round, and began a precipitate retreat. The Spaniards eagerly pursued; but, when they had been drawn to a sufficient distance from the redoubt, a party of Moorish ginetes, or light cavalry, who had crossed the river unobserved during the night and lain in ambush, after the wily fashion of Arabian tactics, darted from their place of concealment, and galloping into the deserted camp, plundered it of its contents, including the lombards, or small pieces of artillery, with which it was garnished. The Castilians, too late perceiving their error, halted from the pursuit, and returned with as much speed as possible to the defence of their camp. Ali Atar, turning also, hung close on their rear, so that, when the Christians arrived at the summit of the hill, they found themselves hemmed in between the two divisions of the Moorish army. A brisk action now ensued, and lasted nearly an hour; when the advance of reinforcements from the main body of the Spanish army, which had been delayed by distance and impediments on the road, compelled the Moors to a prompt but orderly retreat into their own city. The Christians sustained a heavy loss, particularly in the death of Rodrigo Tellez Giron, grand master of Calatrava. He was hit by two arrows, the last 3:1- WAR OF GRANADA PART of which, penetrating the joints of his harness'-_ beneath his sword-arm, as he was in the act of raising it, inflicted on him a mortal wound, of which he expired in a few hours, says an old chronicler, after having confessed, and performed the last duties of a good and faithful Christian. Although scarcely twenty-four years of age, this cavalier had given proofs of such signal prowess, that he was esteemed one of the best knights of Castile; and his death threw a general gloom over the army.4 Ferdinand now became convinced of the unsuitableness of a position, which neither admitted of easy communication between the different quarters of his own camp, nor enabled him to intercept the supplies daily passing into that of his enemy. Other inconveniences also pressed on him. His men were so badly provided with the necessary utensils for dressing their food, that they were obliged either to devour it raw, or only half cooked. Most of them being new recruits, unaccustomed to the privations of war, and many exhausted by a wearisome length of march before joining the army, they began openly to murmur, and even to desert in great numbers. Ferdinand therefore resolved to fall back as far as Rio Frio, and await there patiently the arrival of such fresh reinforcements as might put him in condition to enforce a more rigorous blockade. 4 Rades y Andrada, Las Tres ii. lib. 1, cap. 7.-Conde, Doml Ordenes, fol. 80, 81. - L. Marineo, nacion de los Arabes, tom. iii. p. Cosas Memorables, fol. 173. - Le- 214. -Carbajal, Anales, MS., aio brija, Rerum Gestarum Decades, 1482. ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 345 Orders were accordingly issued to the cavaliers CHAPTER occupying the Heights of Albohacen to break up x.Reea o their camp, and fall back on the main body threSpan of the army. This was executed on the following morning before dawn, being the 4th of July. No sooner did the Moors of Loja perceive their enemy abandoning his strong position, than they sallied forth in considerable force to take possession of it. Ferdinand's men, who had not been advised of the proposed manoeuvre, no sooner beheld the Moorish array brightening the crest of the mountain, and their own countrymen rapidly descending, than they imagined that these latter had been surprised in their intrenchments during the night, and were now flying before the enemy. An alarm instantly spread through the whole camp. Instead of standing to their defence, each one thought only of saving himself by as speedy a flight as possible. In vain did Ferdinand, riding along their broken files, endeavour to reanimate their spirits and restore order. He might as easily have calmed the winds, as the disorder of a panic-struck mob, unschooled by discipline or experience. Ali Atar's practised eye speed:ly discerned the confusion which prevailed through the Christian camp. Without delay, he rushed forth impetuously at the head of his whole array from the gates of Loja, and converted into a real danger, what had before been only an imaginary one. 5 5 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, p. pp. 214- 217.- Cardonne, 189- 191. -Bernaldez, Reyes Ca- Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, tom. t6licos, MS., cap. 58. - Conde, iii. pp. 260, 261. Dominacion de los Arabes, tom. VOL. I. 44 34 6 WAR OF GRANADA. PART At this perilous moment, nothing but Ferdt-...lnand's coolness could have saved the army from total destruction. Putting himself at the head of the royal guard, and accompanied by a gallant band of cavaliers, who held honor dearer than life, he made such a determined stand against the Moorish advance, that Ali Atar was compelled to pause in his career. A furious struggle ensued betwixt this devoted little band and the whole strength of the Moslem army. Ferdinand was repeatedly exposed to imminent peril. On one occasion he was indebted for his safety to the marquis of Cadiz, who, charging at the head of about sixty lances, broke the deep ranks of the Moorish column, and compelling it to recoil, succeeded in rescuing his sovereign. In this adventure, he narrowly escaped with his own life, his horse being shot under him, at the very moment when he had lost his lance in the body of a Moor. Never did the Spanish chivalry shed its blood more freely. The constable, count de Haro, received three wounds in the face. The duke of Medina Celi was unhorsed and brought to the ground, and saved with difficulty by his own men; and the count of Tendilla, whose encampment lay nearest the city, received several severe blows, and would have fallen into the hands of the enemy, had it not been for the timely aid of his friend, the young count of Zuniga. The Moors, finding it so difficult to make an impression on this iron band of warriors, began at length to slacken their efforts, and finally allowed Ferdinand to draw off the remnant of his forces ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 347 without further opposition. The king continued CHAPTRE his retreat without halting, as far as the romantic X. site of the Peia de los Enamorados, about seven leagues distant from Loja; and, abandoning all thoughts of offensive operations for the present, soon after returned to Cordova. Muley Abul Hacen arrived the following day with a powerful reinforcement from Granada, and swept the country as far as Rio Frio. Had he come but a few hours sooner, there would have been few Spaniards left to tell the tale of the rout of Loja. 6 The loss of the Christians must have been very considerable, including the greater part of the baggage and the artillery. It occasioned deep mortification to the queen; but, though a severe, it proved a salutary lesson. It showed the importance of more extensive preparations for a war, which must of necessity be a war of posts; and 6 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, rises between Archidona and AnMS., cap. 58. —Conde, Domina- tequera. The unfortunate fugicion de los Arabes, tom. iii. pp. tives, who had scrambled to the 214 -217. -Pulgar, Reyes Cat6li- summit of the rocks, finding all cos, ubi supra. — Lebrija, Rerum further escape impracticable, after Gestarum Decades, ii. lib. 1, cap. tenderly embracing each other, 7. -The Pena de los Enamorados threw themselves headlong from received its name from a tragical the dizzy heights, preferring this incident in Moorish history. A dreadful death to falling into the Christian slave succeeded in inspir- hands of their vindictive pursuers. ing the daughter of his master, a The spot consecrated as the scene wealthy Mussulman of Granada, of this tragic incident has received with a passion for himself. The the name of Rock of the Lovers. two lovers, after some time, fearful The legend is prettily told by Ma)f the detection of their intrigue, riana, (Hist. de EspaFia, tom. ii. resolved to make their escape into pp. 253, 254,) who concludes with the Spanish territory. Before they the pithy reflection, that" such concould effect their purpose, however, stancy would have been truly adthey were hotly pursued by the mirable, had it been shown in dedamsel's father at the head of a fence of the true faith, rather than party of Moorish horsemen, and in the gratification of lawless appeavertaken near a precipice which tite." 548 WAR OF GRANADA. PART it taught the nation to entertain greater respect xI__ for an enemy, who, whatever might be his natural strength, must become formidable when armed with the energy of despair. nevoluton At this juncture, a division among the Moors themselves did more for the Christians, than any successes of their own. This division grew out of the vicious system of polygamy, which sows the seeds of discord among those, whom nature and our own happier institutions unite most closely. The old king of Granada had become so deeply enamoured of a Greek slave, that the Sultana Zoraya, jealous lest the offspring of her rival should supplant her own in the succession, secretly contrived to stir up a spirit of discontent with her husband's government.'The king, becoming acquainted with her intrigues, caused her to be imprisoned in the fortress of the Alhambra. But the sultana, binding together the scarfs and veils belonging to herself and attendants, succeeded, by means of this perilous conveyance, in making her escape, together with her children, from the upper apartments of the tower in which she was lodged. She was received with joy by her own faction. The insurrection soon spread among the populace, who, yielding to the impulses of nature, are readily roused by a tale of oppression; and the number was still further swelled by many of higher rank, who had various causes of disgust with the oppressive government of Abul Hacen. 7 The strong 7 Conde, Dominacion de ios Cardonne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Es Arabes, tom. iii. pp. 214-217. - pagne, tom. iii. pp. 262, 263. - ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 349 fortress of the Alhambra, however, remained faith- CHAIPTER ful to him. A war now burst forth in the capital which deluged its streets with the blood of its citizens. At length the sultana triumphed; Abul Hacen was expelled from Granada, and sought a refuge in Malaga, which, with Baza, Guadix, and some other places of importance, still adhered to him; while Granada, and by far the larger portion of the kingdom proclaimed the authority of his elder son, Abu Abdallah, or Boabdil, as he is usually called by the Castilian writers. The Spanish sovereigns viewed with no small interest these proceedings of the Moors, who were thus wantonly fighting the battles of their enemies. All proffers of assistance on their part, however, being warily rejected by both factions, notwithstanding the mutual hatred of each other, they could only await with patience the termination of a struggle, which, whatever might be its results in other respects, could not fail to open the way for the success of their own arms. 8 Marmol, Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. Boabdil was surnamed " el Chi1, cap. 12. — Bernaldez states that co," the Little, by the Spanish great umbrage was taken at the writers, to distinguish him from an influence which the king of Gra- uncle of the same name; and " el nada allowed a person of Christian Zogoybi," the Unfortunate, by the lineage, named Venegas, to exer- Moors, indicating that he was the cise over him. Pulgar hints at the last of his race destined to wear the bloody massacre of the Abencer- diadem of Granada. The- Arabs, rages, which, without any better with great felicity, frequently seauthority that I know of, forms the lect names significant of some qualburden of many an ancient ballad, ity in the objects they represent. and has lost nothing of its roman- Examples of this may be readily tic coloring under the hand of Gi- found in the southern regions of nes. Perez de Hyta. the Peninsula, where the Moors 8 Cardonne, Hist. d'Afrique et lingered the longest. The etymod'Espagne, ubi supra. - Conde, logy of Gibraltar, Gebal Tarik, I)ominacion de los Arabes, ubi sup. Mount of Tarik, is well known. 350 WAR OF GRANADA. PART No military operations worthy of notice occurred ---- during the remainder of the campaign, except occasional cavalgadas or inroads, on both sides, which, after the usual unsparing devastation, swept away whole herds of cattle, and human beings, the wretched cultivators of the soil. The quantity of booty frequently carried off on such occasions, amounting, according to the testimony of both Christian and Moorish writers, to twenty, thirty, and even fifty thousand head of cattle, shows the fruitfulness and abundant pasturage in the southern regions of the Peninsula. The loss inflicted by these terrible forays fell, eventually, most heavily on Granada, in consequence of her scanty territory and insulated position, which cut her off from all foreign resources. Towards the latter end of October, the court passed from Cordova to Madrid, with the intention of remaining there the ensuing winter. Madrid, it may be observed, however, was so far from being recognised as the capital of the monarchy at this time, that it was inferior to several other cities, in wealth and population, and was even less frequented than some others, as Valladolid for example, as a royal residence. Thus, Algeziras comes from an Guadalquivir, great rzver, GuadiaArabic word which signifies an na, narrow or little river, Guada island; Alpuxarras comes from a lete, &c. In the same manner the term signifying herbage or pastur- term Medina, Arabice " city," has age; Arrecife from another, signi- been retained as a prefix to the fying causeway or high road, etc. names of many of the Spanish The Arabic word wad stands for towns, as Medina Celi, Medina del river. This without much violence Campo, &c. See Conde's notes has been changed into guad, and to El Nubiense, Descripcion de enters into the names of many of Espafia, passim. the southern streams; for example, ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 35 1 On the 1st of July, while the court was at Cor- CHAPTER dova, died Alfonso de Carillo, the factious arch- x. Death of the bishop of Toledo, who contributed more than any archbishop other to raise Isabella to the throne, and who, with the same arm, had wellnigh hurled her from it. He passed the close of his life in retirement and disgrace at his town of Alcala de Henares, where he devoted himself to science, especially to alchymy; in which illusory pursuit he is said to have squandered his princely revenues with such prodigality, as to leave them encumbered with a heavy debt. He was succeeded in the primacy by his ancient rival, Don Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, cardinal of Spain; a prelate whose enlarged and sagacious views gained him deserved ascendency in the councils of his sovereigns.9 the importance of their domestic concerns did not prevent Ferdinand and Isabella from giving a vigilant attention to what was passing abroad. The conflicting relations growing out of the feudal system occupied most princes, till the close of the fifteenth century, too closely at home to allow them Dften to turn their eyes beyond the borders of their awn territories. This system was, indeed, now rapidly melting away. But Louis the Eleventh may perhaps be regarded as the first monarch, who showed any thing like an extended interest in European politics. He informed himself of the interior proceedings of most of the neighbouring courts, 9 Salazar de Mendoza, Cron. — Aleson, Annales de Navarra, del Gran Cardenal, p. 181. - Pul- tom. v. p. 11, ed. 1766.- Peter gar, Claros Varones, tit. 20. - Martyr, Opus Epist., epist. 158. (arbajal, Anales, MS., aiio 1483. 352 WAR OF GRANADA. PART by means of secret agents whom he pensiGled - there. Ferdinand obtained a similar result by the more honorable expedient of resident embassies, a practice, which he is said to have introduced,10 and which, while it has greatly facilitated commercial intercourse, has served to perpetuate friendly rela tions between different countries, by accustoming them to settle their differences by negotiation rather than the sword. oairs of The position of the Italian states, at this period, whose petty feuds seemed to blind them to the invasion which menaced them from the Ottoman emn pire, was such as to excite a lively interest throughout Christendom, and especially in Ferdinand, as sovereign of Sicily. He succeeded, by means of his ambassadors at the papal court, in opening a negotiation between the belligerents, and in finally adjusting the terms of a general pacification, signed December 12th, 1482. The Spanish court, in consequence of its friendly mediation on this occasion, received three several embassies with suitable acknowledgments, on the part of the pope Sixtus the Fourth, the college of cardinals, and the city of Rome; and certain marks of distinction were conferred by his Holiness on the Castilian envoys, not enjoyed by those of any other potentate. This event is worthy of notice as the first instance of Ferdinand's interference in the politics of Italy, 10 Fred. Marslaar, De Leg. 2, Spanish word embzar, "to send." 11.-M. de Wicquefort derives See Rights of Embassadors, transu the word ambassadeur (anciently lated by Digby, (London, 1740,\ in English embassador) from the book 1, chap. 1. ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 353 in which at a later period he was destined to act CHAPTER so prominent a part. 11 x The affairs of Navarre at this time, were such as of Nave:re to engage still more deeply the attention of the Spanish sovereigns. The crown of that kingdom had devolved, on the death of Leonora, the guilty sister of' Ferdinand, on her grandchild, Francis Phoebus, whose mother, Magdeleine of France, held the reins of government during her son's minority.12 The near relationship of this princess to Louis the Eleventh, gave that monarch an absolute influence in the councils of Navarre. He made use of this to bring about a marriage between the young king, Francis Phoebus, and Joanna Beltraneja, Isabella's former competitor for the crowr< of Castile, notwithstanding this princess had long since taken the veil in the convent of Santa Clara at Coimbra. It is not easy to unravel the tortuous politics of King Louis. The Spanish writers impute to him the design of enabling Joanna by this alliance to establish her pretensions to the Castilian throne, or at least to give such employment to its present proprietors, as should effectually prevent 11 Sismondi, RWpubliques Ital- of whom in turn succeeded to the iennes, tom. xi. cap. 88.- Pulgar, crown of Navarre. Francis PhleReyes Catblicos, pp. 195- 198.- bus ascended the throne on the Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 218. demise of his grandmother Leono12 Aleson, Annales de Navarra, ra, in 1479. He was distinguishlib. 34, cap. l. — Histoire du Roy- ed by his personal graces and aume de Navarre, p. 558. beauty, and especially by the goldLeonora's son, Gaston de Foix, en lustre of his hair from which, prince of Viana, was slain by an according to Aleson, he derived accidental wound from alance, at a his cognomen of Phoebus. As it tourney at Lisbon, in 1469. By the was an ancestral name, however, princess Magdeleine, his wife, sis- such an etymology may be thought ter of Louis XI., he left two chil- somewhat fanciful. dren, a son and daughter, each VOL. I. 45 354 VWAR OF GRANADA. PART them from disturbing him in the possession of Roussillon. However this may be, his intrigues with Portugal were disclosed to Ferdinand by certain nobles of that court, with whom he was in secret correspondence. The Spanish sovereigns, in order to counteract this scheme, offered the hand of their own daughter Joanna, afterwards mother of Charles 1483. the Fifth, to the king of Navarre. But all negoan. 30 tiations relative to this matter were eventually defeated by the sudden death of this young prince, not without strong suspicions of poison. He was succeeded on the throne by his sister Catharine. Propositions were then made by Ferdinand and Isabella, for the marriage of this princess, then thirteen years of age, with their infant son John, heir apparent of their united monarchies. 13 Such an alliance, which would bring under one government nations corresponding in origin, language, general habits, and local interests, presented great:and obvious advantages. It was however evaded "by the queen dowager, who still acted as regent, ion the pretext of disparity of age in the parties Information being soon after received that Louis the Eleventh was taking measures to make himself master of the strong places in Navarre, Isabella transferred her residence to the frontier town of Logronie, prepared to resist by arms, if necessary. the occupation of that country by her insidious and 13 Ferdinand and Isabella had at to the succession, and the infantas this time four children; the infant Isabella, Joanna, and Maria; the Don John, four years and a half last, born at Cordova during the old, but who did not live to come summer of 1482. ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 356 powerful neighbour. The death of the king of CHAPTER France, which occurred not long after, fortunately x_ relieved the sovereigns from apprehensions of any immediate annoyance on that quarter. 14 Amid their manifold concerns, Ferdinand and Isabella kept their thoughts anxiously bent on their great enterprise, the conquest of Granada. At a congress general of the deputies of the hermandad, held at Pinto, at the commencement of the present year, 1483, with the view of reforming certain abuses in that institution, a liberal grant was made of eight thousand men, and sixteen thousand beasts of burden, for the purpose of conveying supplies to the garrison in Alhama. But the sovereigns expe- Rhesource: rienced great embarrassment from the want of funds. There is probably no period in which the princes of Europe felt so sensibly their own penury, as at the close of the fifteenth century; when, the demesnes of the crown having been very generally wasted by the lavishness or imbecility of its proprietors, no substitute had as yet been found in that searching and well-arranged system of taxation, which prevails at the present day. The Spanish sovereigns, notwithstanding the economy which they had introduced into the finances, felt the pressure of these embarrassments, peculiarly, at the present juncture. The maintenance of the royal guard and of the vast national police of the 14 Aleson, Annales de Navarra, de Portugal, tom. iii. pp. 438lib. 34, cap. 2; lib. 35, cap. 1.- 441.-Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, [Histoire du Royaume de Navarre, p. 199.- Mariana, Hist. de Espapp. 578. 579.- La Cldde, Hist. fa, tom. ii. p. 551. 3566 WAR OF GRANADA. PART hermandad, the incessant military operations of the late campaign, together with the equipment of a navy, not merely for war, but for maritime dis covery, were so many copious drains of the ex chequer. 5 Under these circumstances, they obtained from the pope a grant of one hundred thousand ducats, to be raised out of the ecclesiastical revenues in Castile and Aragon. A bull of crusade was also published by his Holiness, containing numerous indulgences for such as should bear arms against the infidel, as well as those who should prefer to commute their military service for the payment of a sum of money. In addition to these resources, the government was enabled on its own credit, justified by the punctuality with which it had redeemed its past engagements, to negotiate considerable loans with several wealthy individuals."6 With these funds the sovereigns entered into extensive arrangements for the ensuing campaign; causing cannon, after the rude construction of that age, to be fabricated at Huesca, and a large quantity of stone balls, then principally used, to be manufactured in the Sierra de Constantina; while the magazines were carefully provided with ammunition and military stores. Justiceof An event not unworthy of notice is recorded by the sove15 Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum De- Coleccion de Cedulas y Otros Docades, ii. lib. 2, cap. 1. cumentos, (Madrid, 1829,) tom. iii. Besides the armada in the Med- no. 25. iterranean, a fleet under Pedro de For this important collection, a Vera was prosecuting a voyage of few copies of which, only, were discovery and conquest to the Ca- printed for distribution, at the exnaries at this time. pense of the Spanish government, 16 Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, p. I am indebted to the politeness of 199.- Mariana, tom. ii. p. 551. — Don A. Calderon de la Barca. ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 357 Pulgar, as happening about this time. A common cHAPTER soldier, named John de Corral, contrived under X false pretences, to obtain from the king of Granada a number of Christian captives, together with a large sum of money, with which he escaped into Andalusia. The man was apprehended by the warden of the frontier of Jaen; and, the transaction being reported to the sovereigns, they compelled an entire restitution of the money, and consented to such a ransom for the liberated Christians as the king of Granada should demand. This act of justice, it should be remembered, occurred in an age when the church itself stood ready to sanction any breach of faith, however glaring, towards heretics and infidels. 17 While the court was detained in the north, ti- Expedition to the Axasdings were received of a reverse sustained by the qui' Spanish arms, which plunged the nation in sorrow far deeper than that occasioned by the rout at Loja. Don Alonso de Cardenas, grand master of St. James, an old and confidential servant of the crown, had *been intrusted with the defence of the 17 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, higher rank, Don Juan de Vera. MS., cap. 58. - Pulgar, Reyes This knight, while conversing Catolicos, p. 202. with certain Moorish cavaliers in Juan de Corral imposed on the the Alhambra, was so much scanking of Granada by means of cer- dalized by the freedom with which tain credentials, which he had ob- one of them treated the immacutained from the Spanish sovereigns late conception, that he gave the without any privity on their part to circumcised dog the lie, and smote nis fraudulent intentions. The him a sharp blow on the head story is told in a very blind manner with his sword. Ferdinand, says by Pulgar. Bernaldez, who tells the story, It may not be amiss to mention was much gratified with the exhere a doughty feat performed by ploit, and recompensed the good another Castilian envoy, of much knight with many honors. 358 WAR OF GRANADA. PART frontier of Ecija. While on this station, he was strongly urged to make a descent on the environs of Malaga, by his adalides or scouts, men who, being for the most part Moorish deserters or renegadoes, were employed by the border chiefs to reconnoitre the enemy's country, or to guide them in their marauding expeditions. 18 The district around Malaga was famous under the Saracens for its silk manufactures, of which it annually made large exports to other parts of Europe. It was to be approached by traversing a savage sierra, or chain of mountains, called the Axarquia, whose margin occasionally afforded good pasturage, and was sprinkled over with Moorish villages. After threading its defiles, it was proposed to return by an open road that turned the southern extremity of the sierra along the sea-shore. There was little to be apprehended, it was stated, from pursuit, since Malaga was almost wholly unprovided with cavalry.19 18 The adalid was a guide, or nexion. When he is spoken of as scout, whose business it was to a captain, or leader, as he somemake himself acquainted with the times is in these and other ancient enemy's country, and to guide the records, his authority, I suspect, is invaders into it. Much dispute has intended to be limited to the perarisen respecting the authority and sons, who aided him in the execufunctions of this officer. Some tion of his peculiar office. —It was writers regard him as an indepen- common for the great chiefs, who dent leader, or commander; and lived on the borders, to maintain in the Dictionary of the Academy de- their pay a number of these adalifines the term adalid by these very des, to inform them of the fitting words. The Siete Partidas, how- time and place for making a foray. ever, explains at length the pecu- The post, as may well be believed, liar duties of this officer, conforma- was one of great trust and personal bly to the account I have given. hazard. (Ed. de la Real Acad. (Madrid, 19 Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, p. 1807,) part. 2, tit. 2, leyes 1-4.) 203. —L. Marineo, Cosas MemoBernaldez, Pulgar, and the other rables, fol. 173.- Zurita, Anales chroniclers of the Granadine war, tom. iv. fol. 320. repeatedly not' ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 359 The grand master, falling in with the proposi- CHAPTER tion, communicated it to the principal chiefs on the _ _ borders; among others, to Don Pedro Henriquez, adelantado of Andalusia, Don Juan de Silva, count of Cifuentes, Don Alonzo de Aguilar, and the marquis of Cadiz. These noblemen, collecting their retainers repaired to Antequera, where the ranks were quickly swelled by recruits from Cordova, Seville, Xerez, and other cities of Andalusia, whose chivalry always readily answered the summons to an expedition over the border.20 In the mean while, however, the marquis of Cadiz had received such intelligence from his own adalides, as led him to doubt the expediency of a march through intricate defiles, inhabited by a poor and hardy peasantry; and he strongly advised to direct the expedition against the neighbouring town of Almojia. But in this he was overruled by the grand master and the other partners of his enterprise; many of whom, with the rash confidence of youth, were excited rather than intimidated by the prospect of danger. 20 Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., province or district in which he oat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 36. —Lebri- presided, and in war was invested ja, Rerum Gestarum Decades, ii. with supreme military command. lib. 2, cap. 2. His functions, however, as well as The title of adelantado implies the territories over which he ruled,.n its etymology one preferred or have varied at different periods. placed before others. The office An adelantado seems to have beer is of great antiquity; some have generally established over a borde, derived it from the reign of St. province, as Andalusia for examFerdinand in the thirteenth centu- pie. Marina discusses the civil aury, but Mendoza proves its exist- thority of this officer, in his Teoria, ence at a far earlier period. The tom. ii. cap. 23. See also Salazar adelantado was possessed of very de Mendoza, Dignidades, lib. 2, extensive judicial authority in the cap. 15. 360 WAR OF GRANADA. PART On Wednesday, the 19th of March, this gallant'I__ little army marched forth from the gates of Ante1483..quera. The van was intrusted to the adelantado The military array. Henriquez and Don Alonso de Aguilar. The centre divisions were led by the marquis of Cadiz and the count of Cifuentes, and the rear-guard, by the grand master of St. James. The number of foot, which is uncertain, appears to have been considerably less than that of the horse, which amounted to about three thousand, containing the flower of Andalusian knighthood, together with the array of St. James, the most opulent and powerful of the Spanish military orders. Never, says an Aragonese historian, had there been seen in these times a more splendid body of chivalry; and such was their confidence, he adds, that they deemed themselves invincible by any force which the Moslems could bring against them. The leaders took care not to encumber the movements of the army with artillery, camp equipage, or even much forage and provisions, for which they trusted to the invaded territory. A number of persons, however, followed in the train, who, influenced by desire rather of gain than of glory, had come provided with money, as well as commissions from their friends, for the purchase of rich spoil, whether of slaves, stuffs, or jewels, which they expected would be won by the good swords of their comrades, a; in AlLama. 21 21 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6lies, - Lebri;a, RP'um Gest*'rum DeMS., cap. 60.- Rades y Andrada, cadle, ii. lUb. 2. can.. - O()viedo, Las Tres Ordenes, fol 71.- Zurita Quincllagenas, MS., b;i.. 1, qa'. Anales, tom. iv. fol. 320. - Zuiil 1, dial. 36. ga, Annales de Sevilla, fol. 395. ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 361 After travelling with little intermission through CHAPTER the night, the army entered the winding defiles of x. Progress of the Axarquia; where their progress was necessarily the army. so much impeded by the character of the ground, that most of the inhabitants of the villages, through which they passed, had opportunity to escape with the greater part of their effects to the inaccessible fastnesses of the mountains. The Spaniards, after plundering the deserted hamlets of whatever remained, as well as of the few stragglers, whether men or cattle, found still lingering about them, set them on fire. In this way they advanced, marking their line of march with the usual devastation that accompanied these ferocious forays, until the columns of smoke and fire, which rose above the hill-tops, announced to the people of Malaga the near approach of an enemy. The old king Muley Abul Hacen, who lay at Moorish this time in the city, with a numerous and well- tions. appointed body of horse, contrary to the reports of the adalides, would have rushed forth at once at their head, had he not been dissuaded from it by his younger brother Abdallah, who is better known in history by the name of El Zagal, or " the Valiant "; an Arabic epithet, given him by his countrymen to distinguish him from his nephew, the ruling king of Granada. To this prince Abul Hacen intrusted the command of the corps of picked cavalry, with instructions to penetrate at once into the lower level of the sierra, and encounter the Christians entangled in its passes; while another division, consisting chiefly of arqueVOl,. I. 46 5 i2 WAR OF GRANADA. PART busiers and archers, should turn the enemy's flank by gaining the heights under which he was de filing. This last corps was placed under the direction of Reduan Benegas, a chief of Christian lineage, according to Bernaldez, and who may perhaps be identified with the Reduan, that, in the later Moorish ballads, seems to be shadowed forth as the personification of love and heroism. 22 Skirmish The Castilian army in the mean time went for among the mountains. ward with a buoyant and reckless confidence, and with very little subordination. The divisions occupying the advance and centre, disappointed in their expectations of booty, had quitted the line of march, and dispersed in small parties in search of plunder over the adjacent country; and some of the high-mettled young cavaliers had the audacity to ride up in defiance to the very walls of Malaga. The grand master of St. James was the only leader who kept his columns unbroken, and marched forward in order of battle. Things were in this state, when the Moorish cavalry under El Zagal, suddenly emerging from one of the mountain passes, appeared before the astonished rearguard of the Christians. The Moors spurred on to the assault, but the well disciplined chivalry of St. James remained unshaken. In the fierce struggle which ensued, the Andalusians became embarrassed by the narrowness of the ground on which they were engaged, which afforded no scope for the z2 Conde, Dominacion de los pagne, tom. iii. pp. 264-267. — Arabes, tom. iii. p. 217. —C r- Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS donne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Es- cap. 60. ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 368 manceuvres of cavalry; while the Moors, trained CHAPTER to the wild tactics of mountain warfare, went - through their usual evolutions, retreating and re-?urning to the charge, with a celerity,, that sorely listressed their opponents and at length threw them into some disorder. The grand master in consequence, despatched a message to the marquis of Cadiz, requesting his support. The latter, putting himself at the head of such of his scattered forces as he could hastily muster, readily obeyed the summons. Discerning on his approach the real source of the grand master's embarrassment, he succeeded in changing the field of action by drawing off the Moors to an open reach of the valley, which allowed free play to the movements of the Andalusian horse, when the combined squadrons pressed so hard on the Moslems, that they were soon compelled to take refuge within the depths of their own mountains. 23 In the mean while, the scattered troops of the Retreatot the Span advance, alarmed by the report of the action, grad- iards ually assembled under their respective banners, and fell back upon the rear. A council of war was then called. All further progress seemed to be effectually intercepted. The country was everywhere in arms. The most that could now be hoped, was, that they might be suffered to retire unmolested with such plunder as they had already acquired. Two rbutes lay open for this purpose 23 Conde, Dominacion de los y Andrada, Las Tres Ordenes, fo', Arabes, tom. iii. p. 217. — Pulgar, 71, 72. Reyes Cat6licos, p. 204. - Rades Y364 WAR OF GRANADA. PART The one winding along the sea-shore, wide and level, but circuitous, and swept through the whole range of its narrow entrance by the fortress of Malaga. This determined them unhappily to prefer the other route, being that by which they had penetrated the Axarquia, or rather a shorter cut, by which the adalides undertook to conduct them through its mazes. 24 Trheir itua- The little army commenced its retrograde movet"ion. ment with undiminished spirit. But it was now embarrassed with the transportation of its plunder, and by the increasing difficulties of the sierra, which, as they ascended its sides, was matted over with impenetrable thickets, and broken up by formidable ravines or channels, cut deep into the soil by the mountain torrents. The Moors were now seen mustering in considerable numbers along the heights, and, as they were expert marksmen, being trained by early and assiduous practice, the shots from their arquebuses and cross-bows frequently found some assailable point in the harness of the Spanish men-at-arms. At length, the army, through the treachery or ignorance of the guides, was suddenly brought to a halt by arriving in a deep glen or enclosure, whose rocky sides rose with such boldness as to be scarcely practicable for infantry, much less for horse. To add to their distresses, daylight, without which they could scarcely hope to extricate themselves, was fast fading away. 25 24 Mariana, Hist. de Esparia, 25 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, p. tom. ii. pp. 552, 553. —Pulgar, 205. -Garibay, Compendio, tom. Reyes Catolicos, p. 205. - Zurita, ii. p. 636. Anales, tom. iv. fol. 321. ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 365 In this extremity no other alternative seemed to CHAPTER X. remain, than to attempt to regain the route from which they had departed. As all other considerations were now subordinate to those of personal safety, it was agreed to abandon the spoil acquired at so much hazard, which greatly retarded their movements. As they painfully retraced their steps, the darkness of the night was partially dispelled by numerous fires, which blazed along the hill-tops, and which showed the figures of their enemies flitting to and fro like so many spectres. It seemed, says Bernaldez, as if ten thousand torches were glancing along the mountains. At length, the whole body, faint with fatigue and hunger, reached the borders of a little stream, which flowed through a valley, whose' avenues, as well as the rugged heights by which it was commanded, were already occupied by the enemy, who poured down mingled volleys of shot, stones, and arrows on the heads of the Christians. The compact mass presented by the latter afforded a sure mark to the artillery of the Moors; while they, from their scattered position, as well as from the defences afforded by the nature of the ground, were exposed to little annoyance in return. In addition to lighter missiles, the Moors occasionally dislodged large fragments of rock, which, rolling with tremendous violence down- the declivities of the hills, spread frightful desolation through the Christian ranks. 26 26 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, tom. MS., cap. 60. — Pulgar, Reyes iii. pp. 264-267. Cat6licos, ubi supra. — Cardonne, 366 WAR OF GRANADA. PART The dismay occasioned by these scenes, occur ring amidst the darkness of night, and heightened They resolve to by the shrill war-cries of the Moors, which rose passage. around them on every quarter, seems to have completely bewildered the Spaniards, even their leaders. It was the misfortune of the expedition, that there was but little concert between the several commanders, or, at least, that there was no one so preeminent above the rest as to assume authority at this awful moment. So far, it would seem, from attempting escape, they continued in their perilous position, uncertain what course to take, until midnight; when at length, after having seen their best and bravest followers fall thick around them, they determined at all hazards to force a passage across the sierra in the face of the enemy. " Better lose our lives," said the grand master of St. James, addressing his men, " in cutting a way through the foe, than be butchered without resistance, like cattle in the shambles." 27 The marquis of Cadiz, guided by a trusty ad alid, and accompanied by sixty or seventy lances, was fortunate enough to gain a circuitous route less vigilantly guarded by the enemy, whose attention was drawn to the movements of the main body of the Castilian army. By means of this path, the marquis with his little band succeeded, after a painful march, in which his good steed sunk under him oppressed with wounds and fatigue, in reaching a 27 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, p. 206. - Rades y Andrada, Las Tres Ordenes, fol. 71, 72. ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 367 valley at some distance from the scene of action, CHAPTER where he determined to wait the coming up of his x. friends, who he confidently expected would follow on his track. 28 But the grand master and his associates, missing Diffihulties this track in the darkness of the night, or perhaps cent. preferring another, breasted the sierra in a part where it proved extremely difficult of ascent. At every step the loosened earth gave way under the pressure of the foot, and, the infantry endeavouring to support themselves by clinging to the tails and manes of the horses, the jaded animals, borne down with the weight, rolled headlong with their riders on the ranks below, or were precipitated down the sides of the numerous ravines. The Moors, all the while, avoiding a close encounter, contented themselves with discharging on the heads of their opponents an unintermitted shower of missiles of every description. 29 It was not until the following morning, that the Dreadful Castilians, having surmounted the crest of the eminence, began the descent into the opposite valley, which they had the mortification to observe was commanded on every point by their vigilant adversary, who seemed now in their eyes to possess the powers of ubiquity. As the light broke upon the troops, it revealed the whole extent of their 28 Pukgar, Reyes Cat6licos, loc. Granada," states that the scene of cit. - Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, the greatest slaughter in this rout MS., cap. 60. is still known to the inhabitants of 29 Pulgar, Reyes Cat61licos, p. the Axarquia by the name of La 206t. Cuesta de la Matanza, or "The Mr. Irving, in his," Conquest of Hill of the Massacre." 368 WAR OF GRANADA. PART melancholy condition. How different from the magnificent array which, but two days previous, marched forth with such high and confident hopes from the gates of Antequera! their ranks thinned, their bright arms defaced and broken, their banners rent in pieces, or lost, -as had been that of St. James, together with its gallant alferez, Diego Becerra, in the terrible passage of the preceding night, - their countenances aghast with terror, fatigue, and famine. Despair now was in every eye, all subordination was at an end. No one, says Pulgar, heeded any longer the call of the trumpet, or the wave of the banner. Each sought only his own safety, without regard to his comrade. Some threw away their arms; hoping by this means to facilitate their escape, while in fact it only left them more defenceless against the shafts of their enemies. Some, oppressed with fatigue and terror, fell down and died without so much as receiving a wound. The panic was such, that, in more than one instance, two or three Moorish soldiers were known to capture thrice their own number of Spaniards. Some, losing their way, strayed back to Malaga and were made prisoners by females of the city, who overtook them in the fields. Others escaped to Alhama or other distant places, after wandering seven or eight days among the mountains, sustaining life on such wild herbs and berries as they could find, and lying close during the day. A greater number succeeded in reaching Antequera, and, among these, most of the leaders of the expedition. The grand master of St. James, the adelantado Henriquez, ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 369 and Don Alonso de Aguilar effected their escape by CHAPTER scaling so perilous a part of the sierra that their pursuers cared not to follow. The count de Cifuentes was less fortunate.30 That nobleman's division was said to have suffered more severely than any other. On the morning after the bloody passage of the mountain, he found himself suddenly cut off from his followers, and surrounded by six Moorish cavaliers, against whom he was defending himself with desperate courage, when their leader, Reduan Benegas, struck with the inequality of the combat, broke in, exclaiming, " Hold, this is unworthy of good knights." The assailants sunk back abashed by the rebuke, and left the count to their commander. A close encounter then took place between the two chiefs; but the strength of the Spaniard was no longer equal to his spirit, and, after a brief resistance, he was forced to surrender to his generous enemy. 31 The marquis of Cadiz had better fortune. After Marquis, o Cadiz eswaiting till dawn for the coming up of his friends, capes. he concluded that they had extricated themselves by a different route. He resolved to provide for his own safety and that of his followers, and, being 30 Oviedo, who devotes one of bajal, Anales, MS., aiio 1483.his dialogues to this nobleman, Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, ubi susays of him, " Fue una de las bue- pra. - Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, nas lanzas de nuestra Espalia en MS., cap. 60. —Cardonne, Hist. su tiempo; y muy sabio y pruden- d'Afrique et d'Espagne, tom. iii. te caballero. Hallose en grandes pp. 266, 267. - The count, accordcargos y negocios de paz y de ing to Oviedo, remained a long guerra." Quincuagenas, MS., bat. while a prisoner in Granada, until 1, quinc. 1, dial. 36. he was ransomed by the payment 31 Conde, Dominacion de los of several thousand doblas of gold. Arabes, tom. iii. p. 218. - Zurita, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. Anales, torn. iv. fol. 321. — Car- 1, dial 36. VOLT. 1. 47 3-70 WAR OF GRANADA. PART supplied with a fresh horse, accomplished his escape, after traversing the wildest passages of the Axarquia for the distance of four leagues, and got into Antequera with but little interruption from the enemy. But, although he secured his personal safety, the misfortunes of the day fell heavily on his house; for two of his brothers were cut down by his side, and a third brother, with a nephew, fell into the hands of the enemy. 32 Lossesofhe The amount of slain in the two days' actions, is admitted by the Spanish writers to have exceeded eight hundred, with double that number of prisoners. The Moorish force is said to have been small, and its loss comparatively trifling. The numerical estimates of the Spanish historians, as usual, appeal extremely loose; and the narrative of their enemies is too meagre in this portion of their annals, to allow any opportunity of verification. There is no reason, however, to believe them in any degree ex. aggerated. The best blood of Andalusia was shed on this occasion. Among the slain, Bernaldez reckons two hundred and fifty, and Pulgar four hundred persons of quality, with thirty commanders of the military fraternity of St. James. There was scarcely a family in the south, but had to mourn the loss of some one of its members by death or captivity; and the distress was not a little aggravated by the uncertainty which hung over the fate of the absent, 32 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, of the marquis, whose names he MS., cap. 60. - Marmol says that gives, were all slain. Rebelioi three brothers and two nephews de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. 12. ROUT IN THE AXARQU.A. 371 as to whether they had fallen in the field, or were CIIAPTEI x. still wandering in the wilderness, or were pining away existence in the dungeons of Malaga and Granada.33 Some imputed the failure of the expedition to treachery in the adalides, some to want of concert among the commanders. The worthy Curate of Los Palacios concludes his narrative of the disaster in the following manner. "The number of the Moors was small, who inflicted this grievous defeat on the Christians. It was, indeed, clearly miraculous, and we may discern in it the special interposition of Providence, justly offended with the greater part of those that engaged in the expedition; who, instead of confessing, partaking the sacrament, and making their testaments, as becomes good Christians, and men that are to beai arms in defence of the Holy Catholic Faith, acknowledged that they did not bring with them suitable dispositions, but, with little regard to God's service, were influenced by covetousness and love of ungodly gain."34 33 Zuniga, Annales de Sevilla, of Los Palacios, from the proximfol. 395. - Bernaldez, Reyes Ca- ity of his residence to the theatre t6licos, MS., ubi supra. — Pulgar, of action, may be supposed also to Reyes Cat6licos, p. 206. -Oviedo, have had ample means for obtainQuincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quine. ing the requisite information. Yet 1, dial. 36. - Marmol, Rebelion their several accounts, although de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. 12. not strictly contradictory, it is not 34 Reyes Catolicos, MS., cap. always easy to reconcile with one 60. another. The narratives of comPulgar has devoted a large plex military operations are not space to the unfortunate expedi- likely to be simplified under the tion to the Axarquia. His intima- hands of monkish bookmen. I cy with the principal persons of have endeavoured to make out a the court, enabled him, no doubt, connected tissue from a comparito verify most of the particulars son of the Moslem with the Caswhich he records. The Curate tilian authorities. But here the 372 WAR OF GRANADA. PART meagreness of the Moslem an- published, exist in the Spanish 1. nals compels us to lament the pre- libraries; and it were much to be mature death of Conde. It can wished that some oriental scholar hardly be expected, indeed, that would supply Conde's deficiency, the Moors should have dwelt with by exploring these authentic remuch amplification on this humili- cords of what may be deemed, as ating period. But there can be far as Christian Spain is concern: little doubt, that far more copious ed, the most glorious portion of memorials of theirs than any now her history. CHAPTER XI. WAR OF GRANADA. -GENERAL VIEW OF THE POLICY PURSUED IN THE CONDUCT OF THIS WAR. 1483- 1487. Defeat and Capture of Abdallah. - Policy of the Sovereigns. - Large Trains of Artillery. - Description of the Pieces. - Stupendous Roads. - Isabella's Care of the Troops. - Her Perseverance. - Discipline of the Army. - Swiss Mercenaries. - English Lord Scales. - Magnificence of the Nobles. - Isabella visits the Camp. Ceremonies on the Occupation of a City. THE young monarch, Abu Abdallah, was proba- CHAPTER bly the only person in Granada, who did not receive Abdallah with unmingled satisfaction the tidings of the rouL t..instshein the Axarquia. He beheld with secret uneasi- Christians. ness the laurels thus acquired by the old king hi; father, or rather by his ambitious uncle El Zagal, whose name now resounded from every quarter as the successful champion of the Moslems. He saw the necessity of some dazzling enterprise, if he would maintain an ascendency even over the faction which had seated him on the throne. He accordingly projected an excursion, which, instead of terminating in a mere border foray, should lead to the achievement of some permanent conquest. He found no difficulty, while the spirits of his people were roused, in raising a force of nine thou :374 WAR OF GRANADA. PART sand foot, and seven hundred horse, the flower of Granada's chivalry. He strengthened his army still further by the presence of Ali Atar, the defender of Loja, the veteran of a hundred battles, whose military prowess had raised him from the common file up to the highest post in the army; and whose plebeian blood had been permitted to mingle with that of royalty, by the marriage of his daughter with the young king Abdallah. III omens. With this gallant array, the Moorish monarch sallied forth from Granada. As he led the way through the avenue which still bears the name of the gate of Elvira, 1 the point of his lance came in contact with the arch, and was broken. This sinister omen was followed by another more alarming. A fox, which crossed the path of the army, was seen to run through the ranks, and, notwithstanding the showers of missiles discharged at him, to make his escape unhurt. Abdallah's counsellors would have persuaded him to abandon, or at least postpone, an enterprise of such ill augury. But the king, less superstitious, or from the obstinacy with which feeble minds, when once resolved, frequently persist in their projects, rejected their advice, and pressed forward on his march.2 1 " Por esa puerte de Elvira " En medio de todos ellos sale muy gran cabalgada: va el rev Chico de Granada, cuanto del hidalgo moro, mirando las damas moras cuhnto de la yegua baya. de las torres del Alhambra. "CuAnta pluma y gentileza, "La reina mora su madre cuinto capellar de grana, de esta manera le habla: cuAnto bayo borceguf, AIa te guarde, mi hijo, cuanto raso que se esmalta, Mahoma vaya en tu guarda."T de espuela de oro, yta, Guerras de Granada, cuanta estribera de plata tom... 232. Toda es gente valerosa, y esperta para batalla. 2 Conde, Dominacion de los MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 375 The advance of the party was not conducted so CIIAPTER cautiously, but that it reached the ear of Don Diego Fernandez de Cordova, alcayde de los don, zeles, or captain of the royal pages, who commanded in the town of Lucena, which he rightly judged was to be the principal object of attack He transmitted the intelligence to his uncle the count of Cabra, a nobleman of the same name with himself, who was posted at his own town of Baena, requesting his support. He used all diligence in repairing the fortifications of the city, which, although extensive and originally strong, had fallen somewhat into decay; and, having caused such of the population as were rendered helpless by age or infirmity to withdraw into the interior defences of the place, he coolly waited the approach of the enemy.3 The Moorish army, after crossing the borders, Miarche began to mark its career through the Christian territory with the usual traces of devastation, and, sweeping across the environs of Lucena, poured a marauding foray into the rich campin-a of Cordova, as far as the walls of Aguilar; whence it returned, glutted with spoil, to lay siege to Lucena about the 21st of April. Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 36. - Car- The donzeles, of which Diego de donne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Es- Cordova was alcayde, or captain, pagne, tom. iii. pp. 267-271.- were a body of young cavaliers, Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, MS., originally brought up as pages in cap. 60. - Pedraza, Antiguedad the royal household, and organized de Granada, fol. 10.- Marmol, as a separate corps of the militia. Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. Salazar de Mendoza, Dignidades, 12. p. 259. - See also Morales, Obras, 3 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, part. tom. xiv. p. 80. 3, cap, 20. 376 WAR OF GRANADA. PART The count of Cabra, in the mean while, who had lost no time il mustering his levies, set forBattleof ward at the head of a small but well-appointed Lucena, force, consisting of both horse and foot, to the relief of his nephew. He advanced with such celerity that he had wellnigh surprised the beleaguering army. As he traversed the sierra, which covered the Moorish flank, his numbers were partially concealed by the inequalities of the ground; while the clash of arms and the shrill music, reverberating among the hills, exaggerated their real magnitude in the apprehension of the enemy. At the same time the alcayde de los donzeles supported his uncle's advance by a vigorous sally from the city. The Granadine infantry, anxious only for the preservation of their valuable booty, scarcely waited for the encounter, before they began a dastardly retreat, and left the battle to the cavalry. The latter, composed, as has been said, of the strength of the Moorish chivalry, men accustomed in many a border foray to cross lances with the best knights of Andalusia, kept their ground with their wonted gallantry. The conflict, so well disputed, remained doubtful for some time, until it was determined by the death of the veteran chieftain Ali Atar, "the best lance,'" as a Castilian writer has styled him, " of all Morisma," who was brought to the ground after receiving two wounds,.and thus escaped by an honorable death the melancholy spectacle of his country's humiliation. 4 4 Conde, Dominacion de los Ar- Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. abes, tom. iii. cap. 36. — Abarca, 302. - Carbajal, Anales, MS., MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 377 The enemy, disheartened by this loss, soon be- CHAPTER gan to give ground. But, though hard pressed by x. the Spaniards, they retreated in some order, until they reached the borders of the Xenil, which were thronged with the infantry, vainly attempting a passage across the stream, swollen by excessive rains to a height much above its ordinary level. The confusion now became universal, horse and foot mingling together; each one, heedful only of life, no longer thought of his booty. Many, attempting to swim the stream, were borne down, steed and rider, promiscuously in its waters. Many more, scarcely making show of resistance, were cut down on the banks by the pitiless Spaniards. The young capture of Abdallah. king Abdallah, who had been conspicuous during that day in the hottest of the fight, mounted on a milk-white charger richly caparisoned, saw fifty of his loyal guard fall around him. Finding his steed too much jaded to stem the current of the river, he quietly dismounted and sought a shelter among the reedy thickets that fringed its margin, until the storm of battle should have passed over. In this lurking place, however, he was discovered by a common soldier named Martin Hurtado, who, without recognising his person, instantly attacked him. The prince defended himself with his scimitar, until Hurtado, being joined by two of his countrymen, succeeded in making him prisoner. The men, overjoyed at their prize (for Abdallah had revealed his rank, in order to secure his person from violence), aro 1483. - Berra]dez, Reyes Cr6nica, cap. 20. —Marmol, ReCat6licos, MS., cap. 61. —Pulgar, belion de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. 12. VOL,. I. 48 378 WAR OF GRANADA.'P.rAT conducted him to their general, the count of Cabra. The latter received the royal captive with a generous courtesy, the best sign of noble breeding, and which, recognised as a feature of chivalry, affords a pleasing contrast to the ferocious spirit of ancient warfare. The good count administered to the unfortunate prince all the consolations which his state would admit; and subsequently lodged him in his castle of Baena, where he was entertained with the most delicate and courtly hospitality. 5 iosses ofthe Nearly the whole, of the Moslem cavalry were Moors. cut up, or captured, in this fatal action. Many of them were persons of rank, commanding high ransoms. The loss inflicted on the infantry was also severe, including the whole of their dear-bought plunder. Nine, or indeed, according to some accounts, two and twenty banners fell into the hands of the Christians in this action; in commemoration of which the Spanish sovereigns granted to the count of Cabra, and his nephew, the alcayde de los donzeles, the privilege of bearing the same number of banners on their escutcheon, together with the head of a Moorish king, encircled by a golden coronet, with a chain of the same metal around the neck. 6 5 Garibav, Compendio, tom. ii. usual confused and contradictory p. 637. - Pulgar, Reyes Catoli- manner by the garrulous chronicos, ubi supra. — Bernaldez, Reyes clers of the period. All authoriCat6licos, MS., cap. 61. -Conde, ties, however, both Christian and Dominacion de los Arabes, tom. Moorish, agree as to its general iii. cap. 36. - Cardonne, Hist. results. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, tom. iii. 6 Mendoza, Dignidades, p. 382. pp. 271-274. - Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., The various details, even to the bat. 1, quinc. 4, dial. 9. site of the battle, are told in the MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 379 Great was the consternation occasioned by the CHAPTER return of the Moorish fugitives to Granada, and loud was the lament through its populous streets; for the pride of many a noble house was laid low on that day, and their king (a thing unprecedented in the annals of the monarchy) was a prisoner in the land of the Christians. " The hostile star of Islam," exclaims an Arabian writer, "now scattered its malignant influences over Spain, and the downfall of the Mussulman empire was decreed." The sultana Zoraya, however, was not of a tem- Moorish em bassy to per to waste time in useless lamentation. She was Cordova. aware that a captive king, who held his title by so precarious a tenure as did her son Abdallah, must soon cease to be a king even in name. She accordingly despatched a numerous embassy to Cordova, with proffers of such a ransom for the prince's liberation, as a despot only could offer, and few despots could have the authority to enforce. 7 King Ferdinand, who was at Vitoria with the Deltei the Spanish queen, when he received tidings of the victory of Council Lucena, hastened to the south to determine on the destination of his royal captive. With some show of magnanimity, he declined an interview with Abdallah, until he should have consented to his liberation. A debate of some warmth occurred in the royal council at Cordova, respecting the policy to be pursued; some contending that the Moorish monarch was too valuable a prize to be so readily relinquished, and that the enemy, broken by the loss 7 Conde, Dominacion de los Ara- Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, pp. bes, tom. iii. cap. 36. —Cardonne, 271-274. 380 WAR OF GRANADA. PART of their natural leader, would find it difficult to rally under one common head, or to concert any effective movement. Others, and especially the marquis of Cadiz, urged his release, and even the support of his pretensions against his competitor, the old king of Granada; insisting that the Moorish empire would be more effectually shaken by internal divisions, than by any pressure of its enemies from without. The various arguments were submitted to the queen, who still held her court in the north, and who decided for the release of Abdallah, as a measure best reconciling sound policy with gen erosity to the vanquished. 8 Treaty with The terms of the treaty, although sufficiently Abdallah. humiliating to the Moslem prince, were not materially different from those proposed by the sultana Zoraya. It was agreed that a truce of two years should be extended to Abdallah, and to such places in Granada as acknowledged his authority. In consideration of which, he stipulated to surrender four hundred Christian captives without ransom, to pay twelve thousand doblas of gold annually to the Spanish sovereigns, and to permit a free passage, as well as furnish supplies, to their troops passing through his territories, for the purpose of carrying on the war against that portion of the kingdom which still adhered to his father. Abdallah moreover bound himself to appear when summoned by 8 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, cap. delicacy in regard to an interview 23. —Marmol, Rebelion de Mor- with his royal captive, or indeed iscos, lib. 1, cap. 12. to any part of his deportment toCharles V. does not seem to wards him. have partaken of his grandfather's MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 38 Ferdinand, and to surrender his own son, with the CHAPTE. children of his principal nobility, as sureties for his X. fulfilment of the treaty. Thus did the unhappy prince barter away his honor and his country's freedom for the possession of immediate, but most precarious sovereignty; a sovereignty, which could scarcely be expected to survive the period when he could be useful to the master whose breath had made him. 9 The terms of the treaty being thus definitively Interview tbetweea settled, an interview was arranged to take place khingwo between the two monarchs at Cordova. The Castilian courtiers would have persuaded their master to offer his hand for Abdallah to salute, in token of his feudal supremacy; but Ferdinand replied, " Were the king of Granada in his own dominions, I might do this; but not while he is a prisoner in mine." The Moorish prince entered Cordova with an escort of his own knights, and a splendid throng of Spanish chivalry, who had marched out of the city to receive him. When Abdallah entered the royal presence, he would have prostrated himself on his knees; but Ferdinand, hastening to prevent him, embraced him with every demonstration of respect. An Arabic interpreter, who acted as orator, then expatiated, in florid hyperbole, on the magnanimity and princely qualities of the Spanish king, and the loyalty and good faith of his own master. But Ferdinand interrupted his 9 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, ubi supra. - Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, cap. 36. 382 WAR OF GRANADA. PART eloquence, with the assurance that "his panegyric was superfluous, and that he had perfect confidence that the sovereign of Granada would keep his faith as became a true knight and a king." After ceremonies so humiliating to the Moorish prince, notwithstanding the veil of decorum studiously thrown over them, he set out with his attendants for his capital, escorted by a body of Andalusian horse to the frontier, and loaded with costly presents by the Spanish king, and the general contempt of his court. 10 General poli- Notwithstanding the importance of the results cy of the WWa. in the war of Granada, a detail of the successive steps by which they were achieved would be most tedious and trifling. No siege or single military achievement of great moment occurred until near ly four years from this period, in 1487; although, in the intervening time, a large number of fortresses and petty towns, together with a very extensive tract of territory, were recovered from the enemy. Without pursuing the chronological order of events, it is probable that the end of history will be best attained by presenting a concise view of the general policy pursued by the sovereigns in the conduct of the war. Incessant The Moorish wars under preceding monarchs had consisted of little else than cavalgadas, or inroads into the enemy's territory, " which, pouring like a torrent over the land, swept away whatever was 10 Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, loc. be used indifferently by the ancient cit. —Conde, Dominacion de los Spanish writers to represent a Arabes. cap. 36. marauding party, the foray itself, 11 The term cavalgada seems to or the booty taken in it. MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 383 upon the surface, but left it in its essential resources CHAPTER wholly unimpaired. The bounty of nature soon repaired the ravages of man, and the ensuing harvest seemed to shoot up more abundantly from the soil, enriched by the blood of the husbandman. A more vigorous system of spoliation was now introduced. Instead of one campaign, the army took the field in spring and autumn, intermitting its efforts only during the intolerable heats of summer, so that the green crop had no time to ripen, ere it was trodden down under the iron heel of war. The apparatus for devastation was also on a Devastatl,, forays. much greater scale than had ever before been wit-' nessed. From the second year of the war, thirty thousand foragers were reserved for this service, which they effected by demolishing farm-houses, granaries, and mills, (which last were exceedingly numerous in a land watered by many small streams,) by eradicating the vines, and laying waste the olive-gardens and plantations of oranges, almonds, mulberries, and all the rich varieties that grew luxuriant in this highly favored region. This merciless devastation extended for more than two leagues on either side of the line of march. At the same time, the Mediterranean fleet cut off all supplies from the Barbary coast, so that the whole kingdom might be said to be in a state of perpetual blockade. Such and so general was the scarcity occasioned by this system, that the Moors were glad to exchange their Christian captives for provisions, until such ransom was interdicted by the 384 WAR OF GRANADA. PART sovereigns, as tending to defeat their own measures. 12 Still there was many a green and sheltered valley in Granada, which yielded its returns unmolested to the Moorish husbandman; while his granaries were occasionally enriched with the produce of a border foray. The Moors too, although naturally a luxurious people, were patient of suffering, and capable of enduring great privation. Other measures, therefore, of a still more formidable char acter, became necessary in conjunction with this rigorous system of blockade. Strength of The Moorish towns were for the most part the Moorish fortresses'strongly defended, presenting within the limits of Granada, as has been said, more than ten times the number of fortified places that are now scattered over the whole extent of the Peninsula. They stood along the crest of some precipice, or bold sierra, whose natural strength was augmented by the solid masonry with which they were surrounded, and which, however insufficient to hold out against modern artillery, bade defiance to all the enginery of battering warfare known previously to the fifteenth century. It was this strength of fortification, combined with that of their local position, which frequently enabled a slender garrison in these places to laugh to scorn all the efforts of the proudest Castilian armies. The Spanish sovereigns were convinced, that 12 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, cap. 22.- Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., tom. vi. Ilust. 6. MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 385 they must look to their artillery as the only effectu- CHAPTER al means for the reduction of these strong-holds. In this, they as well as the Moors were extremely deficient, although Spain appears to have furnished earlier examples of its use than any other country in Europe. Isabella, who seems to have had the particular control of this department, caused the most skilful engineers and artisans to be invited into the kingdom from France, Germany, and Italy Forges were constructed in the camp, and all the requisite materials prepared for the manufacture of cannon, balls, and powder. Large quantities of the last were also imported from Sicily, Flanders, and Portugal. Commissaries were established over the various departments, with instructions to provide whatever might be necessary for the operatives; and the whole was intrusted to the supervision of Don Francisco Ramirez, an hidalgo of Madrid, a person of much experience, and extensive military science, for that day. By these efforts, unremittingly pursued during the whole of the war, Isabella assembled a train of artillery, such as was probably not possessed at that time by any other European potentate. 13 Still the clumsy construction of the ordnance Description of'the pieces betrayed the infancy of the art. More than twenty pieces of artillery used at the siege of Baza, during this war, are still to be seen in that city, where they long served as columns in the public market13 Pulgar. Reyes Catblicos, cap. lib. 20, cap. 59. -Lebrija, Rerum 32, 41.- Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. Gestarum Decades, ii. lib. 3, cap. 5. VOL. I. 49 386 WAR OF GRANADA. PART place. The largest of the lombards, as the heavy ordnance was called, are about twelve feet in length, consisting of iron bars two inches in breadth, held together by bolts and rings of the same metal. These were firmly attached to their carriages, incapable either of horizontal or vertical movement. It was this clumsiness of construction, which led Machiavelli, some thirty years after, to doubt the expediency of bringing cannon into field engage ments; and he particularly recommends in his treatise on the Art of War, that the enemy's fire should be evaded, by intervals in the ranks being left open opposite to his cannon. 14 Of th kinds The balls thrown from these engines were some-'"ammunitiml times of iron, but more usually of marble. Several hundred of the latter have been picked up in the fields around Baza, many of which are fourteen inches in diameter, and weigh a hundred and seventy-five pounds. Yet this bulk, enormous as it appears, shows a considerable advance in the art since the beginning of the century, when the stone balls discharged, according to Zurita, at the siege of Balaguer, weighed not less than five hundred and fifty pounds. It was very long before the exact proportions requisite for obtaining the greatest effective force could be ascertained. 15 The awkwardness with which their artillery was 14 Machiavelli, Arte della Guer- Constantinople, about thirty years ra, lib. 3. before this time, threw stone balls, 15 Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., which weighed above 600 pounds. tom. vi. Ilust. 6. The measure of the bore was According to Gibbon, the cannon twelve palms. Decline and Fall nsed by Mahomet in the siege of of the Roman Empire, chap. 68. MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 387 served, corresponded with the rudeness of its manu- CI.APT:R facture. It is noticed as a remarkable circumstance xi by the chronicler, that two batteries, at the siege of Albahar, discharged one hundred and forty balls in the course of a day. 16 Besides this more usual kind of ammunition, the Spaniards threw from their engines large globular masses, composed of certain inflammable ingredients mixed with gunpowder, " which, scattering long trains of light," says an eyewitness, "in their passage through the air, filled the beholders with dismay, and, descending on the roofs of the edifices, frequently occasioned extensive conflagration. 17 The transportation of their bulky engines was Roads for the artillery not the least of the difficulties which the Spaniards had to encounter in this war. The Moorish for tresses were frequently intrenched in the depths of some mountain labyrinth, whose rugged passes were scarcely accessible to cavalry. An immense body of pioneers, therefore, was constantly employed in constructing roads for the artillery across 16 Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., 17 L. Marineo, Cosas Memoratom. vi. Ilust. 6. bles, fol. 174.- Pulgar, Reyes We get a more precise notion of Cat6licos, cap. 44. the awkwardness with which the Some writers, as the Abbe Miartillery was served in the infancy gnot, (Histoire des Rois Catholiof the science, from a fact recorded ques Ferdinand et Isabelle, (Paris, in the Chronicle of John II., that, 1766,) tom. i. p. 273,) have reat thre siege of Setenil, in 1407, five ferred the invention of bombs to lombards were able to discharge the siege of Ronda. I find no only forty shot in the course of a authority for this. Pulgar's words day. We have witnessed an in- are, " hey made many iron balls, vention, in o.ur time, that of our large and small, some of which ingenious countryman, Jacob Per- they cast in a mould, having rekins, by which a gun, with the duced the iron to a state of fusion, aid of that miracle-worker, steam, so that it would run like any other is enabled to throw a thousand metal." bullets in a single mlnut;. '388 ~WAR OF GRANADA. PrRT these sierras, by levelling the mountains, filling up the intervening valleys with rocks, or with cork trees and other timber that grew prolific in the wilderness, and throwing bridges across the torrents and precipitous barrancos. Pulgar had the curiosity to examine one of the causeways thus constructed, preparatory to the siege of Cambil, which, although six thousand pioneers were constantly employed in the work, was attended with such difficulty, that it advanced only three leagues in twelve days. It required, says the historian, the entire demolition of one of the most rugged parts of the sierra, which no one could have believed practicable by human industry. 18 cences of The Moorish garrisons, perched on their moun he Moors. tain fastnesses, which, like the eyry of some bird of prey, seemed almost inaccessible to man, beheld with astonishment the heavy trains of artillery, emerging from the passes, where the foot of the hunter had scarcely been known to venture. The walls which encompassed their cities, although lofty, were not of sufficient thickness to withstand long the assaults of these formidable engines. The Moors were deficient in heavy ordnance. The weapons on which they chiefly relied for annoying the enemy at a distance were the arquebus and cross-bow, with the last of which they were unerring marksmen, being trained to it from infancy. They adopted a custom, rarely met with in civilized 18 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, cap. 51. —Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, MS., cap. 82. MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 389 nations of any age, of poisoning their arrows; dis- CHAPTER tilling for this purpose the juice of aconite, or wolfsbane, which they found in the Sierra Nevada, or Snowy Mountains, near Granada. A piece of linen or cottoIn cloth steeped in this decoction was wrapped round the point of the weapon, and the wound inflicted by it, however trivial in appearance, was sure to be mortal. Indeed a Spanish writer, not content with this, imputes such malignity to the virus, that a drop of it, as he asserts, mingling with the blood oozing from a wound, would ascend the stream into the vein, and diffuse its fatal influence over the whole system! 19 Ferdinand, who appeared at the head of his Terms totae armies throughout the whole of this war, pursued a sagacious policy in reference to the beleaguered cities. He was ever ready to meet the first overtures to surrender, in the most liberal spirit; granting protection of person, and such property as the besieged could transport with them, and assigning them a residence, if they preferred it, in his own dominions. Many, in consequence of this, migrated to Seville and other cities of Andalusia, where they were settled on estates which had been confiscated by the inquisitors; who looked forward, no doubt, with satisfaction to the time, when they should be permitted to thrust their sickle into the new crop of heresy, whose seeds were thus sown 19 Mendoza, Guerra de Granada, According to Mendoza, a de(Valencia, 1776,) pp. 73, 74.- coction of the quince furnished Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. lib. 20, the most effectual antidote known cap. 59.- Mem. de la Acad. de against this poison. Hist., tom. vi. p. 168. 390 WAR OF GRANADA. PART amid the ashes of the old one. Those who preferred to remain in the conquered Moorish territory, as Castilian subjects, were permitted the free enjoyment of personal rights and property, as well -as of their religion; and, such was the fidelity with which Ferdinand redeemed his engagements during the war, by the punishment of the least infraction of them by his own people, that many, particularly of the Moorish peasantry, preferred abiding in their early homes to removing to Granada, or other places of the Moslem dominion. It was, perhaps a counterpart of the same policy, which led Ferdinand to chastise any attempt at revolt, on the part of his new Moorish subjects, the Mudejares, as they were called, with an unsparing rigor, which merits the reproach of cruelty. Such was the military execution inflicted on the rebellious town of Benemaquez, where he commanded one hundred and ten of the principal inhabitants to be hung above the walls, and, after consigning the rest of the population, men, women, and children, to slavery, caused the place to be razed to the ground. The humane policy, usually pursued by Ferdinand, seems to have had a more favorable effect on his enemies, who were exasperated, rather than intimidated, by this ferocious act of vengeance.20 s'uppiierfor The magnitude of the other preparations correthe army. 2o Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, bigoted for the age, seems to think tom. ii. fol. 304. - Lebrija, Rerum the liberal terms granted by Ferdi Gestarum Decades, ii. lib. 4, cap. nand to the enemies of the faith 2. -Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, stand in need of perpetual apology. MS., cap. 76.- Marmol, Rebelion See Reyes Catolicos, cap 44 en de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. 12. passim. Pulgar, who is by no means MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 391 sponded with those for the ordnance department. CHAPTER The amount of forces assembled at Cordova, we...... find variously stated at ten or twelve thousand horse, and twenty, and even forty thousand foot, exclusive of foragers. On one occasion, the whole number, including men for the artillery service and the followers of the camp, is reckoned at eighty thousand. The same number of beasts of burden were employed in transporting the supplies required for this immense host, as well as for provisioning the conquered cities standing in the midst of a desolated country. The queen, who took this department under her special cognizance, moved along the frontier, stationing herself at points most contiguous to the scene of operations. There, by means of posts regularly established, she received hourly intelligence of the war. At the same time she transmitted the requisite munitions for the troops, by means of convoys sufficiently strong to secure them against the irruptions of the wily ene my. 21 Isabella, solicitous for every thing that concerned i8abelia' care of the the welfare of her people, sometimes visited the troops. camp in person, encouraging the soldiers to endure the hardships of war, and relieving their necessities by liberal donations of clothes and money. She caused also a number of large tents, known as " the queen's hospitals," to be always reserved for the sick and wounded, and furnished them with 21 Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, brija, Rerum Gestarum Decades, MS., cap. 75 — l'ular, Reyes ii. lib. 8, cap. 6. —Marmol, ReCat6liculs, cap.'V'l., 3S, 4.- Le- belion de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. 13. 392 WAR OF GRANADA. PART the requisite attendants and medicines, at her own _2 ] charge. This is considered the earliest attempt at the formation of a regular camp hospital, on record. 22 [[erperse- Isabella may be regarded as the soul of this war. verance in th,, 8 She engaged in it with the most exalted views, less to acquire territory, than to reestablish the empire of the Cross over the ancient domain of Christendom. On this point, she concentrated all the energies of her powerful mind, never suffering herself to be diverted by any subordinate interest from this one great and glorious object. When the king, in 1484, would have paused a while from the Granadine war, in order to prosecute his claims to Roussillon against the French, on the demise of Louis the Eleventh, Isabella strongly objected to it; but, finding her remonstrance ineffectual, she left her husband in Aragon, and repaired to Cordova, where she placed the cardinal of Spain at the head of the army, and prepared to open the campaign in the usual vigorous manner. Here, however, she was soon joined by Ferdinand, who, on a cooler revision of the subject, deemed it prudent to postpone his projected enterprise. On another occasion, in the same year, when the nobles, fatigued with the service, had persuaded the king to retire earlier than usual, the queen, dissatisfied with the proceeding, addressed a letter to her husband, in which, after representing the disproportion of the results to the preparations, she 22 Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., tom. vi. Ilust. 6, MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 393 besought him to keep the field as long as the season CHAPTER should serve. The grandees, says Lebrija, morti- x fied at being surpassed in zeal for the holy war by a woman, eagerly collected their forces, which had been partly disbanded, and returned across the borders to renew hostilities. 23 A circumstance, which had frequently firustrated Policy owards the the most magnificent military enterprises under nobles former reigns, was the factions of these potent vassals, who, independent of each other, and almost of the crown, could rarely be brought to act in efficient concert for a length of time, and broke up the camp on the slightest personal jealousy. Ferdinand experienced something of this temper in the duke of Medina Celi, who, when he had received orders to detach a corps of his troops to the support of the count of Benavente, refused, replying to the messenger, " Tell your master, that I came here to serve him at the head of my household troops, and they go nowhere without me as their leader." The sovereigns managed this fiery spirit with the greatest address, and, instead of curbing it, endeavoured to direct it in the path of honorable emulation. The queen, who as their hereditary sovereign received a more deferential hlomage from her Castilian subjects than Ferdinand, frequently wrote to her nobles in the camp, complimenting some on their achievements, and others less fortunate on their intentions, thus cheering the hearts of all, says the chronicler, and stimulating 23 Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decades, ii. lib. 3, cap. 6. - Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, cap. 31. VOL. I. 50 394 WAR OF GRANADA. PART them to deeds of heroism. On the most deserving she freely lavished those honors which cost little to the sovereign, but are most grateful to the subject. The marquis of Cadiz, who was preeminent above every other captain in this war for sagacity and conduct, was rewarded after his brilliant surprise of Zahara, with the gift of that city, and the titles of Marquis of Zahara and Duke of Cadiz. The warrior, however, was unwilling to resign the ancient title under which he had won his laurels, and ever aftei subscribed himself, Marquis Duke of Cadiz.24 Still more emphatic honors were conferred on the count de Cabra, after the capture of the king of Granada When he presented himself before the sovereigns, who were at Vitoria, the clergy and cavaliers of the city marched out to receive him, and he entered in solemn procession on the right hand of the grand cardinal of Spain. As he advanced up the hall of audience in the royal palace, the king and queen came forward to welcome him, and then seated him by themselves at table, declaring that " the conqueror of kings should sit with kings." These honors were followed by the more substantial gratuity of a hundred thousand maravedies annual rent; " a fat donative," says an old chronicler,' for so lean a treasury." The young alcayde de los donzeles experienced a similar reception on the ensuing day. Such acts of royal condescension were especially 24 After another daring achieve- Ladyday; a present, says Abarea, ment, the sovereigns granted him not to be estimated by its cost. and his heirs the royal suit worn Reyes de Aragon, +om. ii fol. 303, by the monarchs of Castile on MIL1TARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 395 grateful to the nobility of a court, circumscribed CHAPTER beyond every other in Europe by stately and ceremonious etiquette. 25 The duration of the war of Granada was such as,o raise the militia throughout the kingdom nearly.o a level with regular troops. Many of these evies, indeed, at the breaking out of the war, might )retend to this character. Such were those furl1shed by the Andalusian cities, which had been ong accustomed to skirmishes with their Moslem:eighbours. Such too was the well-appointed chivilry of the military orders, and the organized militia of the hermandad, which we find sometimes supplying a body of ten thousand men for the service. To these may be added the splendid throng of cavaliers and hidalgos, who swelled the retinues of the sovereigns and the great nobility. The king was attended in battle by a body-guard of a thousand knights, one half light, and the other half heavy armed, all superbly equipped and mounted, and trained to arms from childhood, under the royal eye. Although the burden of the war bore most Compoefheavily on Andalusia, from its contiguity to the army. scene of action, yet recruits were drawn in abundance from the most remote provinces, as Galicia, Biscay, and the Asturias, from Aragon, and even the transmarine dominions of Sicily. The sovereigns did not disdain to swell their ranks with 25 Abarca, Reyes de Aragon., dez, Reyes Catolicos, MS., cap. ub; supra. - Peter Martyr, Opus 68. - Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. cap. Epist. lib. 1, epist. 41. -Bernal- 58. _396 WAR OF GRANADA. PART levies of a humbler description, by promising an entire amnesty to those malefactors, who had left the country in great numbers of late years to escape justice, on condition of their serving in the Moorish war. Throughout this motley host the strictest discipline and decorum were maintained. The Spaniards have never been disposed to intemperance; but the passion for gaming, especially with dice, to which they seem to have been immoderately addicted at that day, was restrained by the severest penalties.26 Swis.mer- The brilliant successes of the Spanish sovereigns cenaries. diffused general satisfaction throughout Christendom, and volunteers flocked to the camp from France, England, and other parts of Europe, eager to participate in the glorious triumphs of the Cross. Among these was a corps of Swiss mercenaries, who are thus simply described by Pulgar. "There joined the royal standard a body of men from Switzerland, a country in upper Germany. These men were bold of heart, and fought on foot. As they were resolved never to turn their backs upon the enemy, they wore no defensive armour, except in front; by which means they were less encumbered in fight. They made a trade of war, letting themselves out as mercenaries; but they espoused only a just quarrel, for they were devout and loyal Christians, and above all abhorred rapine as a great sin." 27 The Swiss had recently established their 26 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, cap. tarum Decades, ii. lib. 2, cap. 10 31, 67, 69.- Lebrija, Rerum Ges- 27 Reyes Cat6licos, cap. 21 MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 397 military renown by the discomfiture of Charles the CHAPTER Bold, when they first proved the superiority of in- x. fantry over the best appointed chivalry of Europe. Their example no doubt contributed to the formation of that invincible Spanish infantry, which, under the Great Captain and his successors, may be said to have decided the fate of Europe for more than half a century. Among the foreigners was one from the distant lThe Ejnglis isle of Britain, the earl of Rivers, or conde de Escalas, as he is called from his patronymic, Scales, by the Spanish writers. " There came from Britain," says Peter Martyr, "a cavalier, young, wealthy, and high-born. He was allied to the blood royal of England. He was attended by a beautiful train of household troops three hundred in number, armed after the fashion of their land with long-bow and battle-axe." This nobleman particularly distinguished himself by his gallantry in the second siege of Loja, in 1486. Having asked leave to fight after the manner of his country, savs the Andalusian chronicler, he dismounted from his good steed, and putting himself at the head of his followers, armed like himself en blanco, with their swords at their thighs, and battle-axes in their hands, he dealt such terrible blows around him as filled even the hardy mountaineers of the north with astonishment. Unfortunately, just as the suburbs were carried, the good knight, as he was mounting a scaling-ladder, received a blow from a stone, which dashed out two of his teeth, and stretched him senseless on the ground. He was 39 WAR OF GRANADA. PART removed to his tent, where he lay some time unaer medical treatment; and, when he had sufficiently recovered, he received a visit from the king and queen, who complimented him on his prowess, and testified their sympathy for his misfortune. "It is little," replied he, " to lose a few teeth in the service of him, who has given me all. Our Lord," he added " who reared this fabric, has only opened a window, in order to discern the more readily what passes within." A facetious response, says Peter Martyr, which gave uncommon satisfaction to the sovereigns. 28 Thequeyen's The queen not long after, testified her sense ot the earl's services, by a magnificent largess, consisting among other things, of twelve Andalusiani horses, two couches with richly wrought hangings and coverings of cloth of gold, with a quantity of fine linen, and sumptuous pavilions for himself and suite. The brave knight seems to have been satisfied with this taste of the Moorish wars; for he soon after returned to England, and in 1488 passed over to France, where his hot spirit prompted him to take part in the feudal factions of that country, in which he lost his life, fighting for the duke of Brittany. 29 Magnifi. The pomp with which the military movements cence of the nobles. were conducted in these campaigns, gave the scene rather the air of a court pageant, than that of the stern array of war. The war was one, which, 28 Peter Martyr, Opus Epist., 29 Guillaume de laligny, His lib. 1, epist. 62. —Bernaldez, Re- toire de Charles VII., (Paris, yes Cat6licos, MS., cap. 78. 1617,) pp. 90-94. MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 399 appealing both to principles of religion and patri- CHAPTER otism, was well calculated to inflame the imaginations of the young Spanish cavaliers; and they poured into the field, eager to display themselves under the eye of their illustrious queen, who, as she rode through the ranks mounted: on her warhorse, and clad in complete mail, afforded no bad personification of the genius of chivalry. The potent and wealthy barons exhibited in the camp all the magnificence of princes. The pavilions decorated with various-colored pennons, and emblazoned with the armorial bearings of their ancient houses, shone with a splendor, which a Castilian writer likens to that of the city of Seville. 30 They always appeared surrounded by a throng of pages in gorgeous liveries and at night were preceded by a multitude of torches, which shed a radiance like that of day. They vied with each other in the costliness of their apparel, equipage, and plate, and in the variety and delicacy of the dainties with which their tables were covered. 31 Ferdinand and Isabella saw with regret this lavish ostentation, and privately remonstrated with some of the principal grandees on its evil tendency, especially in seducing the inferior and poorer nobility into expenditures beyonld their means. This Their gal Sybarite indulgence, however, does not seem to have impaired the martial spirit of the nobles. On 30 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, the ancient proverb testifies. ZuMS., cap. 75. - This city, even iiira, Annales de Sevilla, p. 183. before the New World had poured'1 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, cap. its treasures into its lap, was con- 41. spi-uous for its magnificence, as 400 WAR OF GRANADA. PAPRT all occasions, they contended with each other for the post of danger. The duke del Infantado, the head of the powerful house of Mendoza, was conspicuous above all for the magnificence of his train. A; the siege of Illora, 1486, he obtained permission,'e lead the storming party. As his followers pressed onwards to the breach, they were received with such a shower of missiles as made them falter for a moment. "What, my men," cried he, "do you fail me at this hour? Shall we be taunted with bearing more finery on our backs than courage in our hearts? Let us not, in God's name, be laughed at as mere holyday soldiers! " His vassals, stung by this rebuke, rallied, and, penetrating the breach, carried the place by the fury of their assault.32 ftbellavis- Notwithstanding the remonstrances of the soveits the camp. reigns against this ostentation of luxury, they were 32 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, cap. actions princely, maintaining un59.- This nobleman, whose name bounded hospitality among his nuwas Ifiigo Lopez de Mendoza, was merous vassals and dependents, and son of the first duke, Diego Hurta- beloved throughout Spain. His do, who supported Isabella's claims palaces were garnished with the to the crown. Oviedo was present most costly tapestries, jewels, and at the siege of Illora, and gives a rich stuffs of gold and silver. His minute description of his appear- chapel was filled with accomplishancethere. "Hecame," says that ed singers and musicians; his writer, "attended by a numerous falcons, hounds, and his whole body of cavaliers and gentlemen, hunting establishment, including a as befitted so great a lord. He magnificent stud of horses, not to displayed all the luxuries which be matched by any other nobleman belong to a time of peace; and his in the kingdom. Of the truth of all tables, which were carefillly served, which," concludes Oviedo, " I mywere loaded with rich and curi- self have been an eyewitness, and ously wrought plate, of which he enough others can testify." See had a greater profusion than any Oviedo, (Quincuagenas, MS., bat. other grandee in the kingdom." 1, quine. 1, dial. 8.) who has given In another place he says, "The the genealogy of the Mendozas duke Ihiigo was a perfect Alexan- and Mendozinos, in all its endless der for his liberality, in all his ramifications. MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 401 not wanting in the display of royal state and mag- CHAPTER nificence on all suitable occasions. The Curate of Xi. Los Palacios has expatiated with elaborate minuteness on the circumstances of an interview between Ferdinand and Isabella in the camp before Moclin, in 1486, where the queen's presence was solicited for the purpose of devising a plan of future operations. A few of the particulars may be transcribed, though at the hazard of appearing trivial to readers, who take little interest in such details. On the borders of the Yeguas, the queen was met by an advanced corps, under the command of the marquis duke of Cadiz, and, at the distance of a league and a half from Moclin, by the duke del Infantado, with the principal nobility and their vassals, splendidly accoutred. On the left of the road was drawn up in battle array the militia of Seville, and the queen, making her obeisance to the banner of that illustrious city, ordered it to pass to her right. The successive battalions saluted the queen as she advanced, by lowering their standards, and the joyous multitude announced with tumultuous acclamations her approach to the conquered city. The queen was accompanied by her daughter, Royal co the infanta Isabella, and a courtly train of damsels, mounted on mules richly caparisoned. The queen herself rode a chestnut mule, seated on a saddlechair embossed with gold and silver. The housings were of a crimson color, and the bridle was of satin, curiously wrought with letters of gold. The infanta wore a skirt of fine velvet, over others of brocade; a scarlet mantilla of the Moorish fashion; VOL. I. 51 i102 WAR OF GRANADA. PART and a black hat trimmed with gold embroidery. The king rode forward at the head of his nobles to receive her. He was dressed in a crimson double. with chausses, or breeches, of yellow satin. Over his shoulders was thrown a cassock or mantle of rich brocade, and a sopravest of the same materials concealed his cuirass. By his side, close girt, he wore a Moorish scimitar, and beneath his bonnet his hair was confined by a cap or headdress of the finest stuff. Ferdinand was mounted on a noble war-horse of a bright chestnut color. In the splendid train of chivalry which attended him, Bernaldez dwells with much satisfaction on the English lord Scales. He was followed by a retinue of five pages arrayed in costly liveries. He was sheathed in complete mail, over which was thrown a French surcoat of dark silk brocade. A buckler was attached by golden clasps to his arm, and on his head he wore a white French hat with plumes. The caparisons of his steed were azure silk, lined with violet and sprinkled over with stars of gold, and swept the ground, as he managed his fiery courser with an easy horsemanship that excited general admiration. The king and queen as they drew near, bowed thrice with formal reverence to each other. The queen at the same time raising her hat, remained in her coif or headdress, with her face uncovered; Ferdinand, riding up, kissed her affectionately on the zheek, and then, according to the precise chronic ler, bestowed a similar mark of tenderness on his laughter jsabella, after giving her his paternal MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 403 benediction. The royal party were then escorted cxraPTr:to the camp, where suitable accommodations had been provided for the queen and her fair retinue. 33 It may readily be believed that the sovereigns Devoutd.meanor of did not neglect, in a war like the present, an ap- ignovepeal to the religious principle so deeply seated in the Spanish character. All their public acts ostentatiously proclaimed the pious nature of the work in which they were engaged. They were attended in their expeditions by churchmen of the highest rank, who not only mingled in the councils of the camp, but, like the bold bishop of Jaen, or the grand cardinal Mendoza, buckled on harness over rochet and hood, and led their squadrons to the field. 34 The queen at Cordova celebrated the tidings of every new success over the infidel, by solemn procession and thanksgiving, with her whole household, as well as the nobility, foreign ambassadors, and municipal functionaries. In like manner, Ferdinand, on the return from his campaigns, was received at the gates of the city, and escorted in 33 Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, stranger to the dangers of a battle. MS., cap. 80.- The lively author By the comparative heights of the of " A Year in Spain " describes armour, Isabella would seem to be among other suits of armour still the bigger of the two, as she certo be seen in the museum of the tainly was the better." A Year armory at Madrid, those worn by in Spain, by a young American, Ferdinand and his illustrious con- (Boston, 1829,) p. 116. sort. "In one of the most con- 34 Cardinal Mendoza, in the camspicuous stations is the suit of paign of 1485, offered the queen to armour usually worn by Ferdinand raise a body of 3000 horse, and the Catholic. He seems snugly march at its head to the relief of seated upon his war-horse, with a Alhama, and at the same time to pair of red velvet breeches, after supply her with such sums of the manner of the Moors, with lift- money as might be necessary in ed lance and closed visor. There the present exigency. Pulgar, -re several suits of Ferdinand and Reyes Cat6licos, cap. 50. )f his queen Isabella, who was no E~40,'-[t WAR OF GRANADA. PART solemn pomp beneath a rich canopy of state to tnf cathedral church, where he prostrated himself in grateful adoration of the Lord of hosts. Intelli gence of their triumphant progress in the war was constantly transmitted to the pope, who returned his benediction, accompanied by more substantial marks of favor, in bulls of crusade, and taxes on ecclesiastical rents. 35 erethlioes The ceremonials observed on the occupation of o)) tilhe occupati(. of a new conquest were such as to affect the heart no less than the imagination. "The royal alferez," says Marineo, "raised the standard of the Cross, the sign of our salvation, on the summit of the principal fortress; and all who beheld it pros trated themselves on their knees in silent worship of the Almighty, while the priests chanted the glorious anthem, Te Deum laudamus. The ensign or pennon of St. James, the chivalric patron of Spain, was then unfolded, and all invoked hiv blessed name. Lastly, was displayed the banner of the sovereigns, emblazoned with the royal arms; at which the whole army shouted forth, as if with one voice,' Castile, Castile!' After these solemnities, a bishop led the way to the principal mosque, which, after the rites of purification, he consecrated to the service of the true faith." The standard of the Cross above referred to was of massive silver, and was a present from pop( Sixtus the Fourth to Ferdinand, in whose tent i 35 In 1486, we find Ferdinand of Compostella. Carbajal, Anales, and Isabella performing a pilgrim- MS., afio 86. age to the shrine of St. James MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 47105 was always carried throughout these campaigns. cHaTr-,a An ample supply of bells, vases, missals, plate, and _L other sacred furniture, was also borne along with the camp, being provided by the queen for the purified mosques. 36 The most touching part of the incidents usually Rase oif occurring at the surrender of a Moorish city, was captives the liberation of the Christian captives immured in its dungeons. On the capture of Ronda, in 1485, more than four hundred of these unfortunate persons, several of them cavaliers of rank, some of whom had been taken in the fatal expedition of the Axarquia, were restored to the light of heaven. On being brought before Ferdinand, they prostrated themselves on the ground, bathing his feet with tears, while their wan and wasted figures, their dishevelled locks, their beards reaching down to their girdles, and their limbs loaded with heavy manacles, brought tears into the eye of every spectator. They were then commanded to present themselves before the queen at Cordova, who liberally relieved their necessities, and, after the celebration of public thanksgiving, caused them to be conveyed to their own homes. The fetters of the liberated captives were suspended in the churches, where they continued to be revered by succeeding generations as the trophies of Christian warfare. 7 Ever since the victory of Lucena, the sovereigns Policy ill, menting the had made it a capital point of their policy to Moo~,rish 1,3 36 L. Marineo, Cosas Memora- 37 Pulgar, Reyes Cat6licos, cap. bles, fol. 173. - Bernaldez, Reyes 47. - Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, Cat6licos, MS., cap. 82, 87 MS., cap. 75. 406 WAR OF GRANADA. PART foment the dissensions of their enemies. The X_ _ young king Abdallah, after his humiliating treaty with Ferdinand, lost whatever consideration he had previously possessed. Although the sultana Zoraya, by her personal address, and the lavish distribution of the royal treasures, contrived to maintain a faction for her son, the better classes of his countrymen despised him as a renegade, and a vassal of the Christian king. As their old monarch had become incompetent, from increasing age and blindness, to the duties of his station in these perilous times, they turned their eyes on his brother Abdallah, surnamed El Zagal, or "The Valiant," who had borne so conspicuous a part in the rout of the Axarquia. The Castilians depict this chief in the darkest colors of ambition and cruelty; but the Moslem writers afford no such intimation, and his advancement to the throne at that crisis seems to be in some measure justified by his eminent talents as a military leader. On his way to Granada, he encountered and cut to pieces a body of Calatrava knights from Alhama, and signalized his entrance into his new capital by bearing along the bloody trophies of heads dangling from his saddlebow, after the barbarous fashion long practised in these wars.38 It 38 Conde, Dominacion de los A garland of Christian heads seems Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 37. - Car- to have been deemed no unsuitable donne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Es- present from a Moslem knight to pagne, tom. iii. pp. 276, 281, 282. his lady love. Thus one of the - Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. Zegries triumphantly asks, ii. fol. 304. "El enjaeza el caballo " d Que Cristianos habeis muerto, IDe las cabezas de fama," 0 esenlado que mtrallas? I 0 que cabezas famosas says one of the old Moorish ballads. Aveis presentado a damas?" MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 40 i was observed that the old king Abul Hacen did not CHAPTER long survive his brother's accession. 9 The young x. king Abdallah sought the protection of the Castilian sovereigns in Seville, who, true to their policy, sent him back into his own dominions with the means of making headway against his rival. The alfakies and other considerate persons of Granada, scandalized at these fatal feuds, effected a reconciliation, on the basis of a division of the kingdom between the parties. But wounds so deep could not be permanently healed. The site of the Moorish capital was most propitious to the purposes of faction. It covered two swelling eminences, divided from each other by the deep waters of the Darro. The two factions possessed themselves respectively of these opposite quarters. Abdallah was not ashamed to strengthen himself by the aid of Christian mercenaries; and a dreadful conflict was carried on for fifty days and nights, within the city, which swam with the blood, that should have been shed only in its defence. 40 This sort of trophy was also borne 40 Conde, Dominacion de lot by the Christian cavaliers. Exam- Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 38. —Carples of this may be found even as donne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Eslate as the siege of Granada. See, pagne, pp. 291, 292. — Mariana, among others, the ballad, begin- Hist. de Espaiia, lib. 25, cap. 9.ning Marmol, Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. " A vista de los dos Reyes." 1, cap. 12. 39 The Arabic historian alludes "Muyrevuelta ndaGranada to the vulgar report of the old en armas y fuego ardiendo, king's assassination by his brother, y los ciudadanos de ella but leaves us in the dark in regard duras muertes padeciendo; Por tres reyes que hay esquivos, to his own opinion of its credibility. cada uno pretendiendo "Algunos dicen que le procuro la el mando, cetro y corona muerte su herrnano el Rey Zagal; de Granada y su gobierno," &c. pero Dios lo sabe, que es el unico See this old romance, mixing up eterno e inmutable." -Conde, Do- fact and fiction, with more of the minacion de los Arabes, tom. iii. former than usual, in Hyta, Guer cap. 38. ras de Granada, tom. i. p. 292. 408 WAR OF GRANADA. PART Notwithstanding these auxiliary circumstances, the progress of the Christians was comparatively slow. Every cliff seemed to be crowned with a fortress; and every fortress was defended with the desperation of men willing to bury themselves under its ruins. The old men, women, and children, on occasion of a siege, were frequently despatched to Granada. Such was the resolution, or rather ferocity of the Moors, that Malaga closed its gates against the fugitives from Alora, after its surrender, and even massacred some of them in cold blood. The eagle eye of El Zagal seemed to take in at a glance the whole extent of his little territory, and to detect every vulnerable point in his antagonist, whom he encountered where he least expected it; cutting off his convoys, surprising his foraging parties, and retaliating by a devastating inroad on the borders.4" U'hristian No effectual and permanent resistance, however, eonquests. could be opposed to the tremendous enginery of the Christians. Tower and town fell before it. Besides the principal towns of Cartama, Coin, Setenil, Ronda, Marbella, Illora, termed by the Moors " the right eye," Moclin, "the shield "' of Granada, and Loja, after a second and desperate siege in the spring of 1486, Bernaldez enumerates more than seventy subordinate places in the Val de Cartama, and thirteen others after the fall of 41 Among other achievements, that nobleman his capture of the Zagal surprised and beat the count Moorish king Abdallah. Pulgar, of Cabra in a night attack upon Reyes Catolicos, cap. 48. Moclin, and wellnigh retaliated on MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 2409 Marbella. Thus the Spaniards advanced their line cnAPTER of conquest more than twenty leagues beyond the xi western frontier of Granada. This extensive tract they strongly fortified and peopled, partly with Christian subjects, and partly with Moorish, the original occupants of the soil, who were secured in the possession of their ancient lands, under their own law.42 Thus the strong posts, which may be regarded as the exterior defences of the city of Granada, 42 Bernaldez, Reyes Cat6licos, cap. 5, 7; lib. 4, cap. 2, 3. —MarMS., cap. 75.-Pulgar, Reyes mo], Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. 1, Cat6licos, cap. 48. —Lebrija, Re- cap. 12. rum Gestarum Decades, ii. lib. 3, Two of the most important au- chronicler," says Bernaldez, " to Notice o thorities for the war of Granada carry on foreign correspondence in Fernando are Fernando del Pulgar, and An- the service of his master, acquainttonio de Lebrija, or Nebrissensis, ing himself with whatever was as he is called from the Latin Ne- passing in other courts and counbrissa. tries, and, by the discreet and conFew particulars have been pre- ciliatory tenor of his epistles, to served respecting the biography allay such feuds as might arise beof the former. He was probably tween the king and his nobility, a native of Pulgar, near Toledo. and establish harmony between The Castilian writers recognise them." From this period Pulgar certain provincialisms in his style remained near the royal person, belonging to that district. He was accompanying the queen in her vasecretary to Henry IV., and was rious progresses through the kingcharged with various confidential doin, as well as in her military exfunctions by him. He seems to peditions into the Moorish territohave retained his place on the ac- ry. He was consequently an eyecession of Isabella, by whom he witness of many of the warlike was appointed national historio- scenes which he describes, and, grapher in 1482, when, from cer- from his situation at the court, had tain remarks in his letters, it would access to the most ample and acappear he was already advanced in credited sources of information. It years. This office, in the fifteenth is probable he did not survive the century, comprehended, in addition capture of Granada, as his history to the more obvious duties of an falls somewhat short of that event. historian, the intimate and confi- Pulgar's Chronicle, in the portion dential relations of a private secre- containing a retrospective survey tary. " It was the business of the of events previous to 1482, may be VOL. 1. 52 L41 0 WAR OF GRANADA. PART were successively carried. A few positions alone remained of sufficient strength to keep the enemy at bay. The most considerable of these was Malaga, which from its maritime situation afforded facilities for a communication with the Barbary Moors, that the vigilance of the Castilian cruisers charged with gross inaccuracy. stored with classical learning and But, in all the subsequent period, it the liberal arts that were then may be received as perfectly au- taught in the flourishing schools of thentic, and has all the air of im- Italy. He lost no time in dispenspartiality. Every circumstance re- ing to his countrymen his various lating to the conduct of the war, acquisitions. He was appointed is developed with equal fulness and to the two chairs of grammar and precision. His manner of narra- poetry (a thing unprecedented) in tion, though prolix, is perspicuous, the university of Salamanca, and and may compare favorably with lectured at the same time in these that of contemporary writers. His distinct departments. He was subsentiments may compare still more sequently preferred by cardinal advantageously in point of liberal- Ximenes to a professorship in his ity, with those of the Castilian university of Alcala de Henares, historians of a later age. where his services were liberally Pulgar left some other works, requited, and where he enjoyed of which his commentary on the the entire confidence of his distinancient satire of "'Mingo Revul- guished patron, who consulted him go," his" Letters," and his "Cla- on all matters affecting the interros Varones," or sketches of il- ests of the institution. Here he lustrious men, have alone been continued, delivering his lectures published. The last contains noti- and expounding the ancient clasces of the most distinguished indi- sics to crowded audiences, to the viduals of the court of Henry IV., advanced age of seventy-eight, which, although too indiscriminate- when he was carried off by an at ly encomiastic, are valuable subsidi- tack of apoplexy. aries to an accurate acquaintance Lebrija, besides his oral tuition, with the prominent actors of the composed works on a great variety period. The last and most elegant of subjects, philological, historical, edition of Pulgar's Chronicle, was theological, &c. His emendation published at Valencia in 1780, from of the sacred text was visited with the press of Benito Montfort, in the censure of the Inquisition, a large folio. circumstance which will not operNotice of Antonio de Lebrija was one of ate to his prejudice with posterity. ertoni.o de the most active and erudite schol- Lebrija was far from being circumars of this period. He was born scribed by the narrow sentiments in the province of Andalusia, in of his age. He was warmed with 1444. After the usual discipline a generous enthusiasm for letters, at Salamanca, he went at the age which kindled a corresponding of nineteen to Italy, where he flame in the bosoms of his discicompleted his education in the uni- ples, among whom may be reckversity of Bologna. He returned oned some of the brightest names to Spain ten years after, richly in the literary annals of the pe MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 411 could not entirely intercept. On this point, there- CHAPTER fore, it was determined to concentrate all the XI. strength of the monarchy, by sea and land, in the ensuing campaign of 1487. riod. His instruction effected for Twenty years after, the first ediclassical literature in Spain, what tion of Pulgar's original Chronicle the labors of the great Italian was published at Valladolid, from scholars of the fifteenth century the copy which belonged to Lebridid for it in their country; and he ja, by his grandson Antonio. This was rewarded with the substantial work appeared also as Lebrija gratitude of his own age, and such Copies however of Pulgar's Chro: empty honors as could be render- icle were preserved in several pr_ ed by posterity. For very many vate libraries; and two years lateyears, the anniversary of his death 1567, his just claims were vindiwas commemorated by public ser- cated by an edition at Saragossa vices, and a funeral panegyric, in inscribed with his name as its au the university of AlcalA. thor. The circumstances attending the Lebrija's reputation has sustainr. composition of his Latin Chroni- ed some injury from this transac. cle, so often quoted in this history, tion, though most undeservedly. It are very curious. Carbajal says, seems probable, that he adopted that he delivered Pulgar's Chron- Pulgar's text as the basis of his icle, after that writer's death, into own, intending to continue the narLebrija's hands for the purpose of rative to a later period. His unbeing translated into Latin. The finished manuscript being found latter proceeded in his task, as far among his papers after his death, as the year 1486. His history, without reference to any authority, however, can scarcely be termed was naturally enough given to the a translation, since, although it world, as entirely his production. takes up the same thread of inci- It is more strange, that Pulgar's dent, it is diversified by many new own Chronicle, subsequently printideas and particular facts. This ed as Lebrija's, should have conunfinished performance was found tained no allusion to its real author. among Lebrija's papers, after his The History, although composed as decease, with a preface containing far as it goes with sufficient elabonot a word of acknowledgment to ration and pomp of style, is one Pulgar. It was accordingly pub- that adds, on the whole, but little lished for the first time, in 1545 to the fame of Lebrija. It was at (the edition referred to in this his- best but adding a leaf to the laurel tory), by his son Sancho, as an on his brow, and was certainly not original production of his father. worth a plagiarism. END OF VOL. 6.