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HISTORY OF THE REIGN
OF
FERDINAND AND ISABELLA,
THE CATHOLIC, OF SPAIN.
jL3L,0\M MoFmiSS(S(0)'ffl'Jlg(^.
i;KGHA\rED BY W. G-RKAISATCH -FROM THE OJaTGIKAL PIC'tUKr
HISTORY OF THE REIG.N
OP
FERDINAND AND ISABELLA,
THE CATHOLIC, OF SPAIN.
BY WILLIAM H. PKE8C0TT.
Quae surgere regna
Couja^o tali ! "Vikgil, .-fitieid, iv. I7.
Crevfire vires, famaque et imperi ?
Porreeta majestas ab Euro
Soils ad Occiduiim cubiie. Uorat. Caroa. iv. lb.
NEW EDITION, REVISED.
IN THREE VOLUMES.— VOL. L
LONDON :
ROUTLEDGE, WARNES, AND ROUTLEDGE,
FARRINGDON STREET.
1859.
THE HOXOURAELE
WILLIAM PRESCOTT, LL.D.
THE GUIDE OF MY YOUTH,
MY BEST FEIEXD IN RIPER YEARS,
€\}t5t rolumcs,
WITH THE WARMEST FEELINGS OF FILIAL AFFECTIOX,
ARE RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
English Tenters have done more for the illustration
of Spanish history than for that of any other, except
theii' 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 guarantee 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
under a common rule ; the kingdom of Naples was
conquered ; America discovered and colonised ; 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 ciiilisation of tlic country, were banished ; and,
TUl PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
in fine, such changes were introduced into the interior
administration of the monarchy, as have left a perma-
nent 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 affau'S; that consummate states-
man, Cardinal Ximenes; in military, the "Great
Captain,^^ Gonsalvo de Cordova ; and in maritime, the
most successful navigator of any age, Christopher
Columbus ; whose entii'e biographies fall within the
limits of this period. Even such portions of it as
have been incidentally touched by English writers,
as the Itahan wars, for example, have been drawn
so exclusively from French and Itahan sources, that
they may be said to be untrodden ground for the
historian of Spain.*
It must be admitted, however, that an account of
this reign could not have been undertaken at any
preceding period with anything like the advantages
at present afforded, owing to the light which recent
* The only histories of this reign by Continental writers, ^\-ith
■which I am acquainted, are the " Histoire des Rois Catholiques
Ferdinand et Isabelle, par I'Abb^ Mignot, Paris, 1766," and the
"Geschichte der Regierung Ferdinand des Kathohschen, von Rupert
Becker, Prag vmd 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 pre-
cluded 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, hing on the surface,
may be found more or less expanded in most general histories.
PREFACE TO TICE FIEST EDITIOX. IX
researches of Spanish scholars, in the greater free-
dom 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 docu-
ments, 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 Clemencin, the late lamented
secretary of the Royal Academy of 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
favoured 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 collect-
ing the most authentic. In accomplishing this, I
must acknowledge the services of my friends, Mr.
Alexander H. Everett, then minister plenipotentiary
from the United States to the court of ^ladrid ;
Mr. Arthur ^Middleton, secretary of the American
legation; and, above all, Mr. O. Rich, now American
X FREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
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 assist-
ance, I flatter myself that I have been enabled to
secure whatever can materially conduce to the illus-
tration of the period in question, whether 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 facihties
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 Hterary criticism
and history, of the library of my friend INIr. 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 reposi-
tory of books relating to our own country I have
derived material aid: and, lastly, I must not omit
to notice the favours 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 labours.
In the plan of the work, I have not limited myself
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITTO'. XI
to a strict chronological narrative of passing events ;
but have occasionally paused, at the expense, per-
haps, 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 hterary 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 caudid 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 anything 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 feeling. I may have
been more open to another fault, — that of too strong
a bias in favour of my principal actors ; for characters,
noble and interesting in themselves, naturally beget
a sort of partiality, akin to friendship, in the
XU PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
historian^s mind, accustomed to the daily contem-
plation of them. AVTiatever 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 embar-
rassments 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 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
* " To compile a history from various authors when they can
only be consulted by other eyes, is not easy, nor possible, but with
more skilful and attentive help than can be commonly obtained."
(Johnson's Life of Milton.) 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 TO THE FIRST EDITION. Xlll
iray throiigli several venerable Castilian qnartos,
until I was satisfied of the practicability of the
undertaking. I next procui'ed the services of one
more competent to aid me in pursuing my historical
inquiries. The process was slow and irksome' enough,
doubtlesSj 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 blind-
fold through the pleasant paths of literature; but
my track stretched, for the most part, across dreary
wastes, where no beauty lurked to arrest the tra-
veller's eye and charm his senses. After persevering
in this course for some years, my eyes, by the blessing
of Providence, recovered sufficient strength to allow
me to use them, with tolerable freedom, in the
prosecution of my labours, and in the revision of all
previously written. I hope I shall not be misunder-
stood, 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 inac-
curacies than I should have been in the ordinary
mode of composition. But, as I reflect on the many
sober houi^s I have passed in wading through black-
letter tomes, and through manuscripts whose doubtful
orthography and defiance of all punctuation were
so many stumbling-blocks to my amanuensis, it
calls up a scene of whimsical distresses, not usually
encountered, on which the good-natured reader may,
XIV PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.
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-Hke progress, I saw what I had fondly looked
upon as my own ground, (having indeed lain unmo-
lested by any other invader for so many ages,)
suddenly entered, and in part occupied, by one of
my countrymen. I aUude to Mr. Ir^dug's " History
of Columbus,^^ and ^^ Chronicle of Granada/^ the
subjects of which, although covering but a small
part of my whole plan, form certainly two of its most
brilUant portions. Now, alas ! if not devoid of inte-
rest, 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
faUen?
I cannot quit the subject which has so long occu-
pied me, without one glance at the present unhappy
condition of Spain ; who, shorn of her ancient splen-
dour, humbled by the loss of empire abroad, and
credit at home, is abandoned to all the e\ils 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 death-like calm, fatal ahke 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
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. iv
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. 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 ^drtue, devoted patriotism,
and generous love of freedom.
" Che I'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 termi-
nation, may carry the nation safe through its present
perils, and secm-e to it the greatest of earthly
blessings, civil and religious liberty.
November, 1337.
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
Since tlie publication of tlie Eirst Edition of tliis
TTork it lias undergone a careful rerision ; and. this,
aided by tbe communications of several intelligent
friends, who liave taken an interest in its success, lias
enabled me to correct several verbal inaccuracies,
and a few typographical errors, which had been pre-
viously 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 knovrledge. 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 independent
conduct in public hfe, have secured for him deservedly
high consideration in the United States, as well as
in his own country.
I must still further acknowledge my obligations
VOL. I 6
rmi PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION.
to Don Pascual de Gavangos, the learned author of
the " Mahommedan Dynasties in Spain/^ recently
published in London^ — a work, -which ironi its
thorough investigation of original sources, and its
fine spirit of criticism, must supply, -what has been
so long felt to be a desideratum with the student, —
the means of forming a perfect 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 coiTCspondence
of Ferdinand and Isabella, and of the principal per-
sons of their court. It formed, probably, part of the
library of Geronimo Zurita, historiographer of Aragon,
under Philip II., who, by virtue of his office, was
intrusted with whatever documents would 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 coiTCspondence, which have passed unnoticed
by him, even when forming the basis of his conclu-
sions. And I have gladly availed myself of the libe-
rality and great kindness of Senor de Gayangos, who
has placed these MSS. at my disposal, transcribing
such as I have selected, for the corroboration and
further illustration of my work. The difficulties
attending this labour of love will be better appro-
PBEFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION. XIX
dated, 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 desernng of that favour from the English
pubHc, which has been so courteously accorded to
the preceding.
March, 1S41.
b '4
CONTE^^TS.
INTRODUCTION.
SECTION I.
VIEW OF THE CASTILIAN MONARCHY BEFORE THE FIFTEENTH
CENTURY.
PAGE
State of Spain at tlie middle of the Fifteenth Century . . 2
Early History and Constitution of Castile 3
The Visigoths 4
Invasion of the Arabs 5
Its Influence on the Condition of the Spaniards ... 8
Causes of their slow re-Conquest of the Country .... 8
Their ultimate Success certain 9
Their Religious Enthusiasm . . . . . . . 10
Influence of their I^Iinstrelsy . . . . . . .12
Their Chai-ity to the Infidel 13
Their Chivalry U
Early Importance of the Castilian Towns 16
Their Privileges 17
Castilian Cortes 19
Its great Powers 21
Its Boldness ........•• 2S
Hermandades of Castile 24
Wealth of the Cities 25
Period of the highest Power of the Commons . . . .27
TheNobihty 28
Their Privileges 29
Their Great Wealth 31
Theu' Turbulent Spirit 32
The Caralhros, or Knights ........ 34
TheClergy 36
SXll CONTENTS.
PAGK
Influence of the Papal Court 37
Corruption of the Clergy 38
Theu" rich Possessions 39
Limited extent of the Royal Prerogative . . . .41
Poverty of the Crown 44
Its Causes 44
Anecdote of Henry III. of Castile 44
Constitution at the beginning of the Fifteenth Century . . 47
Constitutional Writers on Castile 50
!Marina and Sempere . . , 50
SECTION II.
REVIEW OF THE COXSTITUTION OF ARAGON TO THE MIDDLE OF
THE FIFTEENTH CE-NTUEY.
Rise of Aragon .......... 52
Foreign Conquests 53
Code of Soprarbe 55
The Ricos Hombres 56
Their Immunities . . . . . . . . . 56
Their Turbulence 59
Pinvileges of Union ......... 60
Their Abrogation . . . . . . . . .61
The Legislature of Aragon 62
Its Forms of Proceeding . 64
Its Powers 66
The General Privilege 67
Judicial Functions of Cortes . . . . . . . 68
Preponderance of the Commons 70
The Justice of Aragon 71
His great Authority ........ 72
Security against its Abuse ........ 75
Independent Execution of it 76
Valencia and Catalonia ........ 77
Rise and Opulence of Barcelona 78
Her Free Institutions 80
Haughty Spirit of the Catalans 82
Intellectual Culture ......... 84
Poetical Academy of Tortosa 86
Constitutional Writers on Aragon 89
Blancas, Martel, and Capmany 89
CONTEXTS. xxm
PART THE FIRST.
THE PERIOD WHEX THE DIFFERENT KINGDOMS OF SPAIN
S\'ERE FIRST UNITED UNDER ONE MONARCHY, AND A
THOROUGH REFORM WAS INTRODUCED INTO THEIR IN-
TERNAL ADMINISTRATION, OR, THE PERIOD EXHIBITING
MOST FULLY THE DOMESTIC POLICY OF FERDINAND
AND ISABELLA.
CHAPTER I.
STATE OF CASTILE AT THE BIRTH OF ISABELLA, — REIGN OF
JOHN II. OF CASTILE.
rAGK
Revolution of Trastamara &3
Accession of John II. . . . . . . . . . 94
Rise of Alvaro de Luna 94
Jealousy of the Nobles . . . . . . . . 96
Oppression of the Commons 97
Its Consequences ......... 93
Early Literature of Castile . . • . . . .101
Its encouragement under John II 102
Marquis of Villena 102
Marquis of Santillana. . . . . . • . . 105
John de Mena lOG
His influence 10'
Baena's Cancionero . • . . . . . .1015
Castilian Literature vmder John II. . . . . . . 110
Decline of Alvaro de Luna . . . . . .111
HisFaU 112
His Death 113
Lamented by Jolm 114
Death of John II 115
Birth of Isabella 116
CHAriER II.
CONDITION OF ARAGON DURING THE MINORITY OF FERDINAND. —
REIGN OF JOHN II. Or ARAOON.
John of Aragon H 6
Title of his Son Carlos to Navarre 117
He takes Arms against his Father 119
XXIV
COXTE^TTS.
Is defeated ......
Birth of Ferdinand
Carlos retires to Naples
He passes into Sicily ....
John II. succeeds to the Crown of Aragon
Carlos reconciled with his Father
Is imprisoned
Insm-rection of the Catalans
Carlos released .....
His Death
His Character
Tragical Story of Blanche
Ferdinand sworn Heir to the Crown .
Besieged by the Catalans in Gerona
Treaties between France and Aragon .
General Revolt in Catalonia
Successes of John ....
Crown of Catalonia offered to Rene of Anjou
Distress and EmbaiTassments of John
Popularity of the Duke of Lorraine
Death of the Queen of Aragon .
Improvement in John's Affau's
Siege of Barcelona ....
It surrendei"s
CHAPTER III.
REIGX OF HENRY IV. OF CASTILE. — CIVIL WAR.-
FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.
Popularity of Heniy IV.
He disappoints expectations
His dissolute Habits ....
Oppression of the People . ...
Debasement of the Coin ....
Character of Pacheco, Marquis of Villena .
Character of the Archbishop of Toledo
Inter\-iew between Henry IV. and Louis XL
Disgrace of Villena and the Archbishop of Toledo
League of the Nobles
Deposition of Henry at Avila
PACK
120
120
121
122
MARRIAGE OF
CONTENTS. XXr
PAGE
Division of Parties . 159
Intrigues of the Marquis of Viilena 160
Henry disbands his Forces 160
Proposition for the Marriage of Isabella 161
Her early Education . . . . . , . . . 162
Projected Union ■with the Grand Master of Calatrava . . 163
His sudden Death 1 64
Battle of Olniedo 165
Civil Anarchy .......... 167
Death and Character of Alfonso 168
His Reign and Usurj^ation 169
The Cro^-n offered to Isabella 170
She decHnes it : . 1 70
Treaty between Henry and the Confederates . . . .171
Isabella acknowledged heir to the Crown at Toros de Guisando 1 72
Suitors to Isabella 173
Ferdinand of Aragon . . . . . . . . . 174
Support of Joanna Baltranej a 175
Proposal of the King of Portugal rejected by Isabella . . 176
She accepts Ferdinand . . . . . . . .177
Articles of Marriage 177
Critical Situation of Isabella 179
Ferdinand enters Castile . . . . . . . . 183
Private interview between Ferdinand and Isabella . . .185
Their Marriage .......... 186
Quincuagenas of OWedo 187
CHAPTER IV.
FACTIONS IN CASTILE. — WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND ARAGON. —
DEATH OF UENRY IV. OF CASTILE.
Factions in Castile 189
Ferdinand and Isabella . . . . . . . .191
Civil Anarchy . . . . . . . . . . 192
Revolt of Roussillon from Louis XL 194
Gallant Defence of Perpignan . . . . . . . 1 95
Ferdinand raises the Siege . . . . . . .196
Treaty between France and Aragon 107
Isabella's Party gains Strength ]Oli
Interview between Henry IV. and Isabella at Se:^ovia . . . 2*^^
XXVI CONTEXTS.
PAGE
Second French Invasion of Roussillon ..... 203
Ferdinand's summary Execution of Justice . . . . 204
Siege and Reduction of Perpignau ...... 205
Perfidy of Louis XI 205
lUness of Henry IV. of Castile 206
His Death 206
Notice of Alonso de Palencia 207
Influence of Henry's Reign 208
Notice of Euriquez de Castillo ...... 201)
CHAPTER Y.
ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. WAR OF THE
SUCCESSION. — BATTLE OF TORO.
Title ot IsabeUa 212
She is proclaimed Queen 214
Settlement of tlie Cro^s-n 216
Partisans of Joanna 218
Alfonso of Portugal supports her Cause 219
He invades Castile 221
He espouses Joanna . . . . . . . .221
Castilian Army 222
Ferdinand marches against Alfonso 223
He challenges him to personal Combat 223
Disorderly Retreat of the CastiUans 224
Appropriation of the Church Plate 226
Re-organisation of the Army 227
King of Portugal an-ives before Zamora 227
Absurd position ......... 229
He suddenly decamps 229
Overtaken by Ferdinand 230
Battle of Toro 232
The Portuguese routed 233
Isabella's Thanksgiving for the Victory 234
Submission of the whole Kingdom 235
The King of Portugal visits France 236
Returns to Portugal ......... 237
Peace with France 239
Active Measures of Isabella 239
CONTEXTS. XXVll
PAGJi
Treaty of Peace with Poi'tugal 240
Joanna takes the Veil 242
Death of the King of Portugal ...... 243
Death of the King of Aragon 243
CHAPTER VI.
INTERNAL ADJIINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
Scheme of Reform for the Government of Castile . . . 24R
Administration of Justice . . . . . . . . 245
Estabhshment of the Hermandad 247
Code of the Hermandad . . . . . . . . 247
Ineffectual Opposition of the Xobihty . . . . .249
Tumult at Segovia 250
Isabella's Presence of Mind . . . . . . .251
Isabella visits Seville 253
Her splendid Reception there . . . . . . .253
Severe Execution of Justice ....... 254
Marquis of Cadiz and Duke of Medina Sidonia . . . 255
Royal Progress through Andalusia . . . . . . 256
Impartial Execution of the Laws . . . . . .256
Re- organisation of the Tribur-'Js 259
King and Queen preside in Courts of Justice .... 260
Re-estabhshment of Order 261
Reform of the Jurisprudence . . . . . . .261
Code of Ordenan^as Reales 263
Schemes for reducing the Nobility .» 264
Revocation of the Royal Grants 267
Legislative Enactments . . . . . . . .268
The Queen's spirited Conduct to the Nobility . . . . 2G9
Military Orders of Castile 272,
Order of St. Jago 274
Order of Calatrava . . . . . . . .275
Order of Alcantara 277
Grand-masterships annexed to the Cro^^'Il .... 279
Their Reformation 280
Usurpations of the Churrh 230
Resisted by Cortes 201
Difference with the Pope 202
Restoration of Trade 234
XXVlll CONTEXTS.
PAGE
Salutai'y Enactments of Cox'tes 285
Prosperity of the Kingdom ....... 286
Clemencin 290
CHAPTER VII.
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MODERN INQUISITION.
Origin of the Ancient Inquisition 292
Its Introduction into Aragon . . . . . . . 293
Retrospective View of the Jews in Spain .... 296
Under the Arabs 296
Under the Castihans 299
Persecution of the Jews 300
Their State at the Accession of Isabella 202
Charges against them 303
Bigotry of the Age 304
Its influence on Isabella . . . . . . . . 306
Character of her Confessor Torquemada 307
Papal Bull authorising the Inquisition 308
Isabella resorts to milder Measures 308
Enforces the Papal Bull 309
Inquisition at Se\ille 309
Proofs of Judaism 310
The sanguinary Proceedmgs of the Inquisitors . . .311
Conduct of the Papal Court 313
Final Organisation of the Inquisition 314
Forms of Trial 315
Torture 316
Injustice of its Proceedings 317
Autos da Fe' 319
Convictions under Torquemada ....... 323
Perfidious Pohcy of Rome 324
Llorente's History of the Inquisition 326
CHAPTER VIII.
REVIEW OF THE POLITICAL AND INTELLECTUAL CONDITION OF THE
SPANISH ARABS PREVIOUS TO THE WAR OF GRANADA.
Early Successes of Mahometanisni 32lJ
Conquest of Spain ......... 330
Western Caliphate 332
CONTEXTS. XXLX
TAOB
Fonri of Goveniment 333
Character of the Sovereigns 334
limitary Establishment 335
Sumptuous Public Works 335
Great ^Mosque of Cordova . . . . " . . . . 336
Revenues 337
^Mineral Weahh of Spain 338
Husbandry and Manufactures 339
Population 339
Character of Alhakem II. . 341
Intellectual Development 342
Dismemberment of the Cordovan Empii'e .... 343
Kingdom of Granada . . ..... 344
Agriculture and Commerce ....... 346
Kesources of the Crown 347
Luxurious Character of the People 348
Moorish Gallantry 349
Chivalry 351
Unsettled State of Gi-anada ^52
Causes of her Successful Resistance 353
Literature of the Spanish Arabs 354
Circumstances favourable to it . . • . . . . 355
Provisions for Learning ........ 356
The actual Results 357
Averroes 358
Their Historical Merits 359
Useful Discoveries 359
The impulse given by them to Europe 360
Their elegant Literature 361
Poetical Character 363
Influence on the Castilian 363
Circumstances prejudicial to their Reputation . . . 365
Notices of Casiri, Conde, and Cardonne 367
CHAPTER IX.
WAR OF GRANADA.— SURPRISE CF ZAHARA. — CAPTURE OF
ALHAMA.
Zahara surprised by the Moors 371
Description of Alhama 373
The Marrpais of Cadiz 373
XXX CONTEXTS.
PAGE
His Expedition against Alhama ...... 375
Surprise of the Fortress . . . . . . . . 376
Valour of the Citizens 377
Sally upon the Moors 377
Desperate Combat 37fl
Fall of Alhama 379
Consternation of the Moors 380
The Moors besiege Alhama 381
Distress of the Garrison ....... 382
The Duke of Medina Sidonia 384
]Marches to reheve Alhama ....... 385
Eaises the Siege 385
Meeting of the two Armies 386
Tiie Sovereigns at Cordova ....... 387
Alhama invested again by the Moors 387
Isabella's Firmness 387
Ferdinand raises the Siege 388
Vigorous Measures of the Queen 389
CHAPTER X.
WAR OF GRA>'ADA. — UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT ON LOJA. — DEFEAT
IN THE AXARQUIA.
Siege of Loja 390
Castihan Forces 391
Encampment before Loja ....... 392
Skirmish with the Enemy ' . . . . ... 392
Retreat of the Spaniards 394
Revolution in Granada ........ 396
Death of the Archbishop of Toledo 398
Affairs of Italy 400
Of Navarre 401
Resources of the Crown 403
Justice of the Sovereigns . . . . . . .404
Expedition to the Axarquia 406
The military Array 407
Progress of the Army 408
Moorish Preparations 408
Skirmish amon 2 the iMoim tains 410
Retreat of the Spaniards , .410
CONTENTS. XXXI
PAGE
Their disastrous Situation 411
They resolve to force a Passage . . . . . .412
Difficulties of the Ascent 413
Dreadful Slaughter 414
Marquis of Cadiz escapes 415
Losses of the Christians 416
CHAPTER XI.
"W'AR OF GRANADA. GENERAL VIEW OF THE POLICT PURSUED I.V
THE CONDUCT OF THIS WAR.
Abdallah marches against the Christians . . . .419
lU Omens 419
Marches on Lucena ........ 420
Battle of Lucena . . . . . . . . . 421
Capture of Abdallah ........ 422
Losses of the Moors 423
Moorish Embassy to Cordova 423
Debates in the Spanish Council ....... 424
Treaty with Abdallah 424
Interview between the two Kings 425
General Policy of the War 42G
Incessant HostiUties 42G
Devastating Forays . . . . . . . .427
Strength of the Moorish Fortresses . . . . . . 42o
Description of the Pieces of Artillery . . . . . 42t>
Of the Kinds of Ammunition ...... 429
Roads for the Artillery . . . . . . . .431
Defences of the Moors . . . . . . . . 431
Terms to the Vanquished . . . . . . . 4 32
Supplies for the Army . . . . . . . . 4 33
Isabella's Care of the Troops 434
Her perseverance in the War . . . . . . . 434
Policy towards the Nobles . 43G
Composition of the Army . . . . . . . . 437
Swiss Mercenaries 438
The Enghsh Lord Scales 43.''
The Queen's Courtesy . . . . . . . .410
Magnificence of the Nobles 4J0
Theii- Gallantry . 44 1
XXXll CONTENTS.
Isabella visits the Camp 442
Royal Costume 443
Devout Demeanour of tiie Sovereigns 444
Ceremonies on the Occupation of a City 445
Release of Christian Captives ....... 445
Policy in fomenting the Moorish Factions 44 G
Christian Conquests 449
Notice of Fernando del Pulgar ....... 450
Notice of Antonio de Lebrij a 451
HISTORY OF THE EEIGX
FERDINAND AND ISABELLA,
mTRODUCTIOK
SECTIOX I.
VIEW OF THE CASTILUN MONARCHY BEFOKE 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 Town. —
Cortes. — Its Powers. — Its Boldness.— Wealth of the Cities. — The
Nobility. — Their Privileges and Wealth. — Knights. — Clergy. —
Poverty of tho Crown. — Limited Extent of the Prerogative.
PoR several hundred years after the great Saracen
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.
A'OL. I. r,
Z IXTRODUCTIOX.
Its temtorial limits were widely extended by discovery and
conquest. Its domestic institutions, and even its literature,
were moulded into the form, which, to a considerable extent,
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.
By the middle of the fifteenth century, the number of
states into which the country had been divided was reduced
to four : Castile, Aragon, Xavarre, and the Moorish king-
dom 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 labours of a sober, industrious people, under whom agri-
culture 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 Xavarre, embosomed within the
Pyrenees, had often attracted the avarice of neighbouring
and more powerful states. But since theii* 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 institutions, its inhabi-
tants displayed an uncommon share of intellectual and
moral energy. Its long line of coast opened the way to an
extensive and flourishing commerce ; and its enterprising
CASTILE. 3
navj indemuined the nation for the scantiness of its terri-
tory at home, bj the important foreign conquests of Sardinia,
Sicily, Naples, and the Balearic Isles.
The remaining provinces of Leon, Biscay, the Astu-
rias, 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 reviyed after the great Saracen invasion), to be
entitled to a preeminence over the other states of the Pen-
insular. 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 Xavarre, 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 her language the language
of the court and of literature.
It will facilitate our inquiry into the circumstances 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, pre-
vious to the fifteenth century, t
* Aragon was formally released from this homage in 1177, and Por-
tugal in 1264. (Mariana, Historia General de Espafia; Madrid, 1780;
lib. 11, cap. U ; lib. 13, cap. 20.) The King of Granada, Aben Alahmar,
swore fealty to St. Ferdinand in 1245, binding himself to the payment of
an annual rent, to serve nnder him with a stipulated number of his knights
in war, and personally attend Cortes u-hen summoned, — a whimsical stipu-
lation this for a Mahometan prince. Conde, Historia de la Dominacion de
los Arabes en Espana, (Madrid, 1820, 1821,) torn. iiL cap. 30.
+ Navarre was too inconsiderable, and bore too near a resemblance in its
* I-VTRODUCTIOX.
The Yisigotlis, wlio overran the Peninsula in the fifth
century, brought virith. them the same liberal principles of
irovemment which distiufi-uished their Teutonic brethren.
Their crown was declared elective by a formal legislative
act.* 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 juris-
prudence, 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. t In short, their
government to the other Peninsular kingdoms, to require a separate notice ;
for which, indeed, the national writers afford but very scanty materials.
The Moorish empire of Granada, so interesting in itself, and so dissimilar,
in all respects, to Christian Spain, merits particular attention. I have
deferred the consideration of it, however, to that period of the history
which is occupied with its subversion. See Part I. chap. 8.
* See the Canons of the fifth Council of Toledo. Plorez, Espana
Sagrada, (Madrid, 1747—1776,) torn. vi. p. 168.
+ Recesviuto, in order more effectually to bring about the consolidation
of his Gothic and Roman subjects into one nation, abrogated the law pro-
hibiting their intermarriage. The terms in which his enactment is con-
ceived disclose a far moie enlightened policy than that pursued either by
the Franks or Lombards. (See the Fuero Juzgo ; ed. de la Acad.,
Madrid, 1815 ; lib. 3, tit 1, ley 1.) — The Visigothic code, Fuero Juzgo,
(Forum Judicum,) originally compiled in Latin, was translated into
Spanish under St. Ferdinand ; a copy of which version was first printed in
3600, at Madrid. (Los Doctores Asso y Manuel, Instituciones del
Derecho Civil de Castilla; Madrid, 1792; pp. 6, 7.) A second edition,
under the supervision of the Royal Spanish Academy, was published in
1815. This compilation, notwithstanding the apparent rudeness and even
ferocity of some of its features, may be said to have formed the basis of all
the subsequent legislation of Castile. It was, doubtless, the exclusive con-
templation of these features which brought upon these laws the sweeping
condemnation of Montesquieu, as "pueriles, gauches, idiotes, — frivoles
dans le fond et gigantesques dans le style." Esprit des Loix, liv. 28,
chap. J.
CASTILE. D
simple polity exliibited the germ of some of those institutions
which, with other nations, and under happier auspices, have
formed the basis of a well-regulated constitutional liberty,*
But while in other countries the principles of a free
government were slowly and gradually unfolded, their
development was much accelerated in Spain by an event,
which, at the time, seemed to threaten their total extinc-
tion,— the frreat Saracen invasion at the becrinnino* 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 many of the
civil privileges which they possessed under the ancient
monarchy.! 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
* Some of the local usages, afterwards incorpointed. in tbe fueros, or
charters, of the Castilian communities, mav probably be derived from the
time of the Visigoths. The English reader may form a good idea of the
tenor of the legal institutions of this people and their immediate descen-
dants, from an article in the sixty-first Number of the Edinburgh Review,
written with equal learning and vivacity.
*}* The Christians, in all matters exclusively relating to themselves, were
goveiTied by their own laws, (See the Fuero Juzgo, Introd. p. 40,) admi-
nistered by their own judges, subject only in capital cases to an appeal to
the Moorish tribunals. Their churches and monasteries {roscB inter spinas^
says the historian) were scattered over the principal towns, Cordova retain-
ing seven, Toledo six, &c. ; and their clergy were allowed to display the
costume, and celebrate the pompous ceremonial, of the Romish communion.
Florez, Espana Sagrada, torn. x. trat. 33, cap. 7. — ^lorales, Cordnica
General de Espana, (Obras, Madrid, 1791 — 1793,) lib. 12, cap. 78. — Coudc,
Domin^cion de los Arabes, part 1, cap, 15, 22.
b INTRODUCTION.
poverty and toil. These, however, appear to have been
chiefly of the lower order ;* 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.f
Here the broken remnant of the nation endeavoured to
revive the forms at least of the ancient government. But
it may Avell 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 equaHty. The monarch, once master of the whole
Peninsula, now beheld his empire contracted to a few barren
* Morales, Cordnica, lib. 12. cap. 77. — Yet the names of several nobles
resident among the ]\Ioors appeal- in tbe record of those times. (Sec
Salazar de Mendoza, Monarquia de Espana ; Madrid, 1770 ; torn. i. p. 34,
note.) If we could rely on a singular fact, quoted by Zurita, we might
infer that a large proportion of the Goths were content to reside among
their Saracen conquerors. The intermarriages among the two nations had
been so frequent that in 1311 the ambassador of James II., of Aragon,
stated to his Holiness, Pope Clement V., that of 200,000 persons compos-
ing the population of Granada, not more than 500 were of pure Moorish
descent! (Anales de la Corona de Aragon; Zaragoza, 1610; lib. 5,
cap. 93.) As the object of the statement was to obtain certain ecclesias-
tical aids from the pontiff, in the prosecution of the. Moorish war, it appears
very suspicious, notwithstanding the emphasis laid on it by the historian.
•f* Bleda, Cordnica do los Moros de Espafia, (Valencia, 1618,) p. 171. —
This author states that in his time there were several families in Ireland
whose patronymics bore testimony to their descent from these Spanish
exiles. That careful antiquary. Morales, considers the regions of the
Pyrenees lying betwixt Aragon and Navarre, together with the Asturias,
Biscay, Guipuscoa, the northern portion of Galicia and the Alpuxarras, (the
last retreat, too, of the Mooi-s, under the Christian domination,) to have
been untouched by the Saracen invaders. Sec lib. 12, cap. 76.
CASTILE. i^
inhospitaLle rocks. The uoble, instead of the oroad lands
and thronged halls of his ancestors, saw himself at best but
the chief of some -wandering horde, seeking a doubtful sub-
sistence, like himself, bj 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. "^
* The lot of the Visigothic slave was sufficiently hard. The oppres-
sions which this unhappy race endured were such as to lead Sir. Southey,
in his excellent introduction to the " Chronicle of the Cid," to impute to
their co-operation, in part, the easy conquest of the country by the Arabs.
But, although the laws in relation to them, seem to be taken up with de-
termining their incapacities rather than their privileges, it is probable that
they secured to them, on the whole, quite as great a degree of civil conse-
quence as was enjoyed by similar classes in the rest of Europe. By the
Fuero Juzgo, the slave was allowed to acquire propert)- for himself, and
with it to purchase his own redemption. (Lib. 5, tit. 4, ley 16.) A cer-
tain proportion of every man's slaves were also required to bear arms, and
to accompany their master to the field. (Lib. 9, tit. 2, ley 8.) But their
relative rank is better ascertained by the amount of composition (that ac-
curate measurement of civil rights with all the barbarians of the North)
prescribed for any personal violence inflicted on them. Thus, by the Salic
law, the life of a free Roman was estimated at only one-fifth of that of a
Frank, (Lex Salica, tit. 43, sec. 1,8;) while, by the law of the Visigoths,
the life of a slave was valued at half of that of a fi-eeman. (Lib. 6, tit.
4, ley 1.) In the latter code, moreover, the master was prohibited, under
the severe penalties of banishment and sequestration of property, from
either maiming or murdering his own slave, (lib. 6, tit. 5, leyes 12, 13 ;)
while, in other codes of the barbarians, the penalty was confined to similar
trespasses on the slaves of another ; and by the SaUc law no higher mulct
was imposed for killing than for kidnapping a slave. (Lex Salica, tit. 11,
sec. 1, 3.) The legislation of the Visigoths, in those particulars, seems to
have regarded this unhappy race as not merely a distinct species of property ;
8 INTKODUCTION.
A sensible and salutary influence, at the same time, Tvaa
exerted on the moral energies of the nation, which had been
corrupted in the long enjoyment of uninterrupted prosperity.
Indeed, so relaxed vrere the morals of the court, as well as of
the clergy, and so enervated had all classes become, in the
general diflfusion of luxury, that some authors have not scru-
pled 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 sub-
sistence could only be earned by a life of extreme tempe-
rance and toll, 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
more liberal and equitable forms of government than were
known to their ancestors.
At first, their progress was slow and almost imperceptible.
The Saracens', indeed, reposing under the sunny skies of
Andalusia, so congenial with their own, seemed willing to
rehnquish the sterile regions of the north to an enemy whom
they despised. But, when the Spaniards, quitting the
shelter of then* 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 the face of the country, carried oft' 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 Douro, or the chain of the Guadarrama, that they were
enabled, by constructing a line of fortifications along these
primitive bulwarks, to secm-e their conquests, and oppose
it provided for their personal security, instead of limiting itself to the
indemnification of their masters.
CASTILE. 9
an efFectual resistance to the destructive inroads of their
enemies.
Their own dissensions were another cause of their tardy
progress. The numerous pettj 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 Chris-
tian hlood was wasted in these national feuds, than in all
their encounters with the infidel. The soldiers of Fernan
Gongalez, a chieftain of the tenth century, complained that
their master made them lead the life of very devils, keeping
them in the harness day and night, in wars, not against the
Saracens, but one another.*
These circumstances so far. palsied the arm of the Chris-
tians, that a century and a half elapsed after the invasion
before they had penetrated to the Douro,t and nearly thrice
that period before they had advanced the line of conquest
to the Tagus,:j: 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 well adapted to the development
of both physical and moral energy, must ultimately prevail
over a nation oppressed by despotism, and the efteminate
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 can give eflScacy
to human purpose. Pent up in his barren mountains, he
beheld the pleasant valleys and fruitful vineyards of his
ancestors delivered over to the spoiler, the holy places pol-
* Cordnica General, part 3, fol. 54.
t According to Morales, (Cordnica, lib. 13, cap. 57,) this took place
about 850.
:J: Toledo was not reconquered until 1085 ', Lisbon, in 1147.
10 IXTRODUCTIOX.
luted by Iiis abominaLle 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 pubUshed her bulls of crusade, offering liberal
indulgences to those who served, and Paradise to those who
fell in battle against the infidel. The ancient Castilian
was remarkable for his independent resistance of papal
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,
aiTayed in their sacerdotal robes, not unfrequently led the
armies to battle.* They interpreted the will of Heaven as
mysteriously revealed in dreams and visions. ^Miracles
were a famiHar occurrence. The violated tombs of the
saints sent forth thunders and lifchtninors to consume the
invaders ; and, when 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,
was seen hovering in the air to rally their broken squadrons,
and lead them on to victory.! Thus the Spaniard looked
* The Arclibisliops of Toledo, whose revenues and retinues far exceeded
those of the other ecclesiastics, were particularly conspicuous in these holy
wars. Mariana, speaking of one of these belligerent prelates, considers it
worthy of encomium, that " it is not easy to decide whether he was most
conspicuous for his good government in peace, or his conduct and valour in
war." Hist, de Espana, tom. ii. p. 14.
+ The first occasion on which the militaiy apostle condescended to reveal
himself to the Leonese, was the memorable day of Clavijo, A.D. 844, when
70,000 infidels fell on the field. From that time the name of St. Jago
became the battle-cry of the Spaniards. The truth of the story is attested
by a contemporary charter of Ramiro I. to the church of the saint, granting
it an annual tribute of com and wine from the towns in his dominions, and
a knight's portion of the spoils of every victory over the ^lussulmans. Tho
privilegio del voto, as it is called, is given at length by Florez in his Col-
lection, (Espana Sagrada, tom. xix. p. 329,) and is unhesitatingly cited by
most of the Spanish historians, as Gai-ibay, ilariana, Morales, and otliers. —
CASTILE. 11
upon himself as in a peculiar manner the care of Provi-
dence. For him the laws of nature vreie 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 ardour in Spain, as on the plains of Palestine.*
Hence the national character became exalted by a religious
fervour, wliich 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 dis-
tinguished above the other nations of Europe.
The long wars with the Mahometans served to keep alive
in their bosoms the ardent glow of patriotism ; and this was
still further heightened by the body of traditional minstrelsy,
More sharp-sighted critics discover, in its anachromsms and other palpable
blunders, ample eN-idence of its forgery. (Mondejar, Advertencias, a la
Historia de Mariana; Valencia, 1746; no. 157. — Masdeu, Historia Critica
de EspaSa, y de la Cultnra Espanola; Madrid, 1783 — 1805; torn. xri.
supl. 1, 8.) The canons of Compostella, however, seem to have found
their account in it, as the tribute of good cheer, which it imposed, continued
to be paid by some of the Castilian towns, according to Mariana, in his day.
Hist, de Espana, tom. i. p. 416.
* French, Flemish, Italian, and English volunteers, led by men of dis-
tinguished rank, are recorded by the Spanish writers to have been present at
the sieges of Toledo, Lisbon, Algeziras, and various others. More than
sixty, or, as some accounts state, a hundred thousand, joined the army
before the battle of Navas de Tolosa ; a round exaggeration, wliich, how-
ever, implies the great number of such auxiliaries. (Garibay, Compendio
Historial de las Chrdnicas de Eipuna ; Barcelona, 1628 ; lib. 12, cap. 33.)
The crusades in Spain were as rational enterprises as those in the East were
vain and chimerical. Pope Pascal II. acted like a man of sense, when he
sent back certain Spanish adventurers who had embarked in the wars of
Palestine;, telling them, that '• the cause of religion could be much better
served bv them at home."
12
INTRODUCTION.
wliicli commemorated in these wars the heroic deeds of
their ancestors. The influence of such popular composi-
tions on a simple people is undeniable. A sagacious critic
ventures to pronounce the poems of Homer the principal
bond which united the Grecian states.* Such an opinion
may be deemed somewhat extravagant. It cannot be
doubted, however, that a poem like that of the " Cid,"
which appeared as early as the twelfth century,! by calling
• See Heeren, Politics of Ancient Greece, translated by Bancroft, chap. 7.
+ The oldest manuscript extant of this poem, (still preserved at Bivar,
the hero's birth-place.) bears the date of 1207, or at latest 1307, for there
is some obscurity in the writing. Its learned editor, Sanchez, has been
led by the peculiarities of its orthography, metre, and idiom, to refer its
composition to as early a date as 1 153. (Coleccion de Poesias Castellanas
anteriores al Siglo XY.; Madrid, 1779-90 ; torn. i. p. 223.)
Some of the late Spanish antiquaries have manifested a scepticism in
relation to the " Cid," truly alarming. A volume was published at Madrid
in 1 792, by Risco, under the title of " Castillo, o Historia de Rodrigo
Diaz," &c., which the worthj father ushered into the world with much
solemnity, as a transcript of an original manuscript coeval with the time of
the " Cid," and fortunately discovered by him in an obscure corner of some
Leonese monastery. (Prdlogo.) Masdeu, in an analysis of this precious
document, has been led to scrutinise the grounds on which the reputed
achievements of the " Cid" have rested from time immemorial, and con-
cludes with the startling assertion, that " of Rodrigo Diaz, el Campeador,
we absolutely know nothing with any degree of probability, not even his
existence !" (Hist. Crftica, torn. xx. p. 370.) There are, probably, few
of his countrymen that will thus coolly acquiesce in the annihilation of
their favourite hero, whose exploits have been the burden of chronicle, as
well as romance, from the twelfth century down to the present day.
They may find a warrant for their fond credulity in the dispassionate
judgment of one of the greatest of modem historians, John MiiUer, who, so
far from doubting the existence of the Campeador, has succeeded, in his
own opinion at least, in clearing from his history the " mists of fable and
extravagance*" in which it has been shrouded. See his Life of the Cid,
appended to Escobar's " Romancero," edited by the learned and estimable
Dr. Julius, of Berlin. Frankfort, 1828.
CASTILE. 13
up the most inspiring national recollections in connexion with
their favourite hero, must have operated powerfully on th(
moral sensibiUties of the people.
It is pleasing to observe, in the cordial spirit of these
early effusions, little of the ferocious bigotry which sullied
the character of the nation in after ages.* The Mahome-
tans of this period far excelled theu' enemies in general
refinement, and had ciirried some branches of intellectual
culture to a height scarcely surpassed by Europeans in later
times. The Christians, therefore, notwithstandino^ their
political aversion to the Saracens, conceded to them a
degree of respect, which subsided into feelings of a very
different complexion as they themselves rose in the scale of
civilisation. This sentiment of respect tempered the fero-
city of a warfare, which, although sufficiently disastrous in
its details, affords examples of a generous courtesy that
would do honour to the politest ages of Europe.! The
* A modem minstrel inveighs loudly against this charity of his ances-
tors, -who devoted their " cantos de cigarra" to the glorification of this
" Moorish rahble," instead of celebrating the prowess of the Cid, Beraardo,
and other worthies of their ovm nation. His discourtesy, however, is well
rebuked by a more generous brother of the craft.
" No es culpa si de los Moros
los valientes hechos cantan.
pues tanto mas resplandecen
nuestras celebres hazajaas ;
que el encarecer los hechos
del vencido en la batalla.
engrandece al vencedor,
aunque no hablcn de el palabra."
Duran, Romancero de Romances Moriscos, (Madrid, 1828.) p. 227.
+ When the empress queen of Alfonso VII. was besieged in the castle of
Azeca, in 1139, she reproached the Moslem cavaliers for their want of
courtesy and courage in attacking a fortress defended by a female. They
acknowledged the justice of the rebuke, and only requested that she would
condescend to show herself to them from her palace ; when the Moorish
chivalrj', after paying their obeisance to her in the most respectful manner.
14 INTRODUCTION.
Spanish Arabs Avere accomplished in all knightly exercises ;
and their natural fondness for magnificence, which shed a
lustre over the rugged features of chivalry, easily communi-
cated itself to the Chi'istian cavaliers. In the intervals of
peace, these lattev frequented the courts of the Moorish
princes, and mingled with their adversaries in the compara-
tively peaceful pleasures of the tourney, as in war they vied
with them in feats of Quixotic gallantry. "•■■
The nature of this warfare between two nations, inhabit-
ants of the same country, yet so dissimilar in their rehgious
and social institutions as to be almost the natural enemies
of each other, was extremely favourable 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
instantly raised the siege and departed. (Ferreras, Histoire Generale
d'Espagne. traduite par d'Hermilly ; Paris, 1742-51; torn, iii, p. 410.)
It was a frequent occurrence to restore a noble captive to liberty without
ransoni, and even Tvith costly presents. Thus Alfonso XI. sent back to
their father two daughters of a Moorish prince, who formed part of the
spoils of the battle of Tarifa. (Mariana, Hist, de EspaSa, torn. ii. p. 32.)
"When this same Castilian sovereign, after a career of almost iminterrupted
victory over the Moslems, died of the plague before Gibraltar in 1350, the
knights of Granada put on mourning for him, saying, that " he was a noble
prince, and one that knew how to honour his enemies as well as his
friends." Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, tom. iiL p. 149.
* One of the most extraordinary achievements in this way, was that of
the Grand Master of Alcantara in 1394, who, after ineffectually challenging
the King of Granada to meet him in single combat, or with a force double
that of his own, marched boldly up to the gates of his capital, where he wa«
assailed bv such an overwhelming host, that he with all his little band
perished on the field. (Mariana, Hist, de Espaiia, lib. 19, cap. 3.) It was
over this worthy compeer of Don Quixote that the epitaph was inscribed,
" Here lies one who never knew fear," which led Charles V. to remark to
one of his courtiers, that " the good knight could never have tried to snuff
a c<indle with his fineers."
CASTILi:. 1")
its regular military associations, "svho swore to devote their
lives to the service of God and their country in perpetual
war against the infidel."^ The Spanish knight became the
true hero 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 honour of his mis-
tress, and challenging general admiration by his uncommon
personal intrepidity.! This ronjantic spirit lingered in
* This singular fact, of the existence of an Arabic military order, is
recorded bv Conde. (Dominacion de los Arabes, torn. i. p. 619, note.)
The brethren were distinguished for the simplicity of their attire, and their
austere and fiiigal habits. They were stationed on the Moorish marches,
and were bound by a vow of perpetual war against the Christian infidel.
As their existence is traced as far hack as 1030, they may possibly have
suggested the organisation of similar institutions in Christendom, which
they preceded by a century at least. The loyal historians of the Spanish
military orders, it is trae, would carry that of St. Jago as far back as the
time of Ramiro I. in the ninth century ; (Caro de Torres, Historia de las
Ordenes Mili tares de Santiago, Calatrava, y Alcantara; Madrid, 1629;
foL 2. — Rades y Andrada, Chronica de las Tres Ordenes y Cavallerias :
Toledo, 1572; foL 4:) but less prejudiced critics, as Zurita and
Mariana, are content with dating it from the papal bull of Alexander III.,
1175.
i* In one of the Paston letters, we find the notice of a Spanbh knight
appearing at the court of Henry VI. " wyth a Kercheff of Pleasaunce
iwrapped aboute hys arme, the gwych Knight," says the writer, " wyl renne
a cours wyth a sharpe spere for his sou'eyn lady sake." (Fenn, Original
Letters ; 1787 ; vol. i. p. 6.) The practice of using sharp spears, instead
of the guarded and blunted weapons usual in the tournament, seems to
have been affected by the chivalrous nobles of Castile ; many of whom,
says the Chronicle of Juan II., lost their lives from this circumstance, in
the splendid touniey given in honour of the nuptials of Blanche of ZS'avarrc
and Henry, son of John II. (Crdnica de D. Juan II. ; Valencia, 1779;
p. 411.) Monstrelet records the adventures of a Spanish cavalier, who
" travelled all the way to the Court of Burgundy to seek honour and
reverence" by his feats of arms. His antagonist was the Lord of Chargny ;
on the second day they fought with battle-axes, and " the Castiliaa
IG INTRODUCTION.
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 sath*e of Cervantes.
Thus patriotism, religious loyalty, and a proud sense of
independence, founded on the consciousness of owing their
possessions to their personal valour, became characteristic
traits of the Castilians previously to the sixteenth century,
when the oppressive poUcy and fanaticism of the Austrian
dynasty contrived to throw into the shade these generous
virtues. Glimpses of them, however, might long be dis-
cerned 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.*
To the extraordinary position in which the nation was
placed, may also be referred the liberal forms of its political
institutions, as well as a more early development of them
than took place in other countries of Europe. From the
exposure of the Castilian towns to the predatory incur-
sions 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 consti-
tuted the most efiective 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 imputed the early
date, as well as liberal character, of the charters of corn-
attracted general admiration by his uncommon daring in fighting with his
visor up." Chroniques, (Paris, 1595,) torn. ii. p. 109.
* The Venetian Ambassador, Navagiero, speaking of the manners of the
Castilian nobles in Charles V.'s time, remarks somewhat bluntly, that " if
their power were equal to their pride, the whole world would not be able
to withstand them." Viaggio fatto in Spagna ct in Fnmcia, (Vinegia,
1563,) fol. 10.
CASTILE. 17
munity in Castile and Leon.* 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 lavr, subject to
an appeal to the royal tribunal. Xo 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
* The most ancient of these regular charters of incorporation now
extant, "vvas granted by Alfonso V., in 1020, to the city of Leon and its
territory. (Marina rejects those of an earlier date, adduced by Asso and
Manuel and other -WTiters, Ensayo Histdrico-Critico sobre la Antigua
Legislacion de Castilla ; Madrid 1808 ; pp. 80-82.) It preceded, by a
long interval, those granted to the burgesses in other parts of Europe, with
the exception, perhaps, of Italy ; where several of the cities, as Milan,
Pavia, and Pisa, seem tirly in the eleventh centuiy to have exercised some
of the functions of independent states. But the extent of mimicipal
immunities conceded to, or rather assumed by, the Italian cities at this
early period, is verj' equivocal ; for their indefatigable antiquary confesses
that all, or nearly all their archives, previous to the time of Frederic I.
(the latter part of the twelfth century.) had perished amid their frequent
civil convulsions. (See the subject in detail, in Muratori, Dissertazioni
sopra le Antichita Italiane ; Xapoli, 1752; dissert. 45.) Acts of en-
fi-anchisement became frequent in Spain during the eleventh century ;
several of which are preserved, and exhibit, with sufficient precision, the
nature of the privileges accorded to the inhabitants. — Robertson, who
wrote when the constitutional antiquities of Castile had been but slightly
investigated, would seem to have little authority, therefore, for deriving the
^tablishment of communities from Italy, and still less for tracing their
, rogress through France and Germany to Spain. See his History of the
Reign of the Emperor Charles V., (London, 1796.) vol.i. pp. 20, 30.
VOL. I. C
18 INTRODUCTION.
palace should be erected by tbem there ; that such as might
reside within its territory should be subject to its jurisdic-
tion ; aud that any violence offered by them to its inhabit-
ants 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 extent of circumjacent country, embracing frequently
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 commu-
nity, whose province it vras to superintend the collection of
this tribute, to maintain public order, and to be associated
w^ith 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 2)arts of Europe were languishing in feudal servitude,
the members of the Castilian corporations, living under the
protection of their own laws and magistrates in time of
peace, and commanded by their own officers in war, were in
full enjoyment of all the essential rights and privileges of
freemen.*
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
* For this account of the ancient polity of the Castilian cities, the
reader is referred to Sempere, Histoire des Cortes d'Espagne (Bordeaux,
1815,) and itarina's valuable works, Ensayd Historico, Critico sobre la An-
tigua Legislacion de Castilla (Nos. 160-196,) and Tcoria de las Cortes
(Madrid, 1813, part. 2, cap. 21-23,) ivhcrc the meagre outline given
above is filled up with copious illustrations.
CASTILE. 19
after similar immunities in the free cities of other countries,
as Italy for example,'"' had been sacrificed to the violence
of faction or the lust of power, those of the Castilian cities
not only remained unimpaired, but seemed to acquire addi-
tional stability with age. This circumstance is chiefly
imputable to the constancy of the national legislature, which,
until the voice of liberty vras stifled by a military despotism,
,vas ever ready to interpose its protecting arm in defence of
constitutional rights.
The earliest instance on record of popular representation
in Castile Occurred at Burgos, in 1169 ;t 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 ; | though, previously to the fifteenth centmy,
" The independence of the Lombard cities had been sacrificed, according
to the admission of their enthusiastic historian, about the middle of the
thirteenth century. Sismondi, Histoire des Republiques Italienues du
Moyen-Age, (Paris, 1818,) ch. 20.
f Or in 11 60, according to the Coronica General, (part 4. fol. 344, 345.)
where the fact is mentioned. Mariana refers this celebration of cortes to
1170, (Hist, de Espafia, lib. 11, cap. 2 ;) but Ferreras, who often rectifies
the chronological inaccuracies of his predecessor, fixes it in 1169. (Hist.
d'Espagne, torn. iii. p. 484.) Neither of these authors notices the presence
of the commons in this assembly ; althougli the phrase used by the Chro-
nicle, los cibdadanos, is perfectly unequivocal.
:J: Gapmany, Pr;lctica y Estilo de Gelebrar Gortes en Aragon, Gataluiia,
y Valencia, (Madrid, 1821,) pp. 230, 231. — Whether the convocation of
the third estate to the national councils proceeded from politic calculation
in the sovereign, or was in a manner forced on him by the growing power
and importance of the cities, it is now too late to inquire. It is nearly as
diflncult to settle on what principles the selection of cities to be represented
depended. Marina asserts, that every great town and community was
entitled to a seat in the legislature, from the time of receiving itsmunicipa.
charter from the Sovereign, (Teoria, torn. i. p. 138 :) and Sempere agrees.
20 INTRODUCTION.
tliis does not seem to have proceeded from any design of
infringing 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.* They
assembled in the same chamber with the higher orders of
the nobihty and clergy ; but, on questions of moment,
retu'ed to deliberate by themselves.! After the transaction
of other business, their own petitions were presented to the
sovereign, and his assent gave them the validity of laws.
The Castihan commons, by neglecting to make their money
grants depend on corresponding concessions from the crown,
relinquished that powerful check on its operations so bene-
ficially exerted in the British parliament, but in vain con-
tended 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 to the validity of legislative acts ; J
that this right hecame general, fiom the first, to all who chose to avail them-
selves of it. (Histoire des Cortes, p. 56.) The right, probably, was not
much insisted on by the smaller and poorer places, which, from the charges
it involved, felt it often, no doubt, less of a boon than a burden. This, we
know, was the case in England.
* It was an evil of scarcely less magnitude, that contested elections were
settled by the erown. (Capmany, Pr^ctica y Eslilo, p. 231.) The latter
of these practices, and, indeed, the former to a certain extent, are to be
met with in English histor}-.
+ Marina leaves this point in some obscurity. (Teoria, torn. i. cap. 28.)
Indeed, there seems to have been some irregularity in the parliamentary
usages themselves. From minutes of a meeting of cortes at Toledo, in
1538, too soon for any material innovation on the ancient practice, we find
the three estates sitting in separate chambers, from the very commence-
ment to the close of the session. See the account drawn up by the count
of Coruna, apud Capmany, Practica y Estilo, pp. 240 et seq.
X This, however, so contrary to the analog}- of other European govern-
ments, is expressly contradicted by tbe declaration of the nobles, at the
CASTILE. 21
for their presence was not even required in many assem-
blies of the nation which occurred in the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries."^ The extraordinary power thus
committed to the commons was, on the whole, unfavour-
able to their liberties. It deprived them of the sympathy
and co-operation 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.t
But notwithstanding these defects, the popular branch of
the Castilian cortes, very soon after its admission into that
body, assumed functions S,nd 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 ; i. and an express enactment to this
effect was suffered to remain on the statute book, after it
had become a dead letter, as if to remind the nation of the
cortes of Toledo, in 1538. " Oida esta respuesta se dijo, que pues S. M.
habia dicho que no eran Cortes ni habia Brazos, no podian tratar cosa
alguna, que ellos sin procuradores, y los procuradores sin ellos, no seria
vdlido lo que hicieren.^'' Relacion del Conde de Coruiia, apud Capmany,
Practica y Estilo, p. 247.
* Tliis omission of the privileged orders was almost uniform under
Charles V., and his successors. But it would be unfair to seek for con-
stitutional precedent in the usages of a government whose avowed policy
was altogether subversive of the constitution.
+ During the famous war of the Comunidades, under Charles V. For
the preceding paragraph consult Marina, (Teoria, part. 1, cap. 10,20,26
29,) and Capmany, (Practica y Estilo, pp. 220-250.) The municipalities
of Castile seem to have reposed but a very limited confidence in their dele-
gates, whom they furnished with instructions to which they were bound to
conform themselves literally. See Marina, Tcoria, part 1, cap. 23.
J The term, '• fundamental principle' is fully authorized by the existence
of repeated enactments to this effect. Scmpere, who admits the " usage,"
objects to the phrase, " fundamental law," on the ground that these acts
were specific, not general in their character. Histoire des Cortes, p. 25i.
22 IXTRODUCTIOX.
liberties it had lost.* The commons showed a wise solici-
tude 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 ven-
tured more than once to regulate the economy of the royal
household. t 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 maintenlince of troops in time of
war, preserved a salutary check over military operations.^
The nomination of regencies was subject to their approba-
tion, and they defined the nature of the authority to be
* " Los Reyes en nuestros Reynos progenitores establecieron por leycs
y ordenaii9as fechas en Cortes, que no se echassen, ni repartiessen ninguuos
peclios, seruicios, pedidos, ni monedas, ni otros tributos nueuos, especial, ni
generalmente en todos nuestros Reynos, sin que primeramente sean llama-
dos a Cortes los procuradores ck todas las Ciudades, y villas de nuestros
Reynos, y sean otorgodos por los dichos procuradores que d las Cortes
vinieren." (Recopilacion de las Leyes ; Madrid, 1640; torn. ii. fol. 124.)
This law, passed under Alfonso XL, was confirmed by John IL, Henry IIL,
and Charles V.
+ In 1258, they presented a variety of petitions to the king, in relation
to his own personal expenditure, as well as that of his courtiers ; requinng
him to diminish the charges of his table, attire, &c. and, bluntly, to " bring
his appetite within a more reasonable compass :" to all which he readily
gave his assent. (Serapere y Guarinos Histoida del Luxe, y de las Loves
Suntuarias de Espaiia; Madrid, 1788 ; tom. i. pp. 91, 22.) The English
reader is reminded of a very different result which attended a similar inter-
position of the commons in the time of Richard IL, more than a century later.
X Marina claims also the right of the cortes to be consulted on questions
of war and peace, of which he adduces several precedents. (Teoria, part 2,
cap. 19, 20.) Their interference in what is so generally held the peculiar
province of the executive, was perhaps encouraged by the sovereign, witli
the politic design of relieving himself of the responsibility of measures
■whose success must depend eventually on their support. Hallam notices a
CASTILE. 1'3
entrusted to tliem. Their consent was esteemed indispens-
able to the validity of a title to the crown ; and this prero-
gative, or at least the image of it, has continued to survive
the wreck of their ancient liberties.* Finally, they more
than once set aside the testamentary provisions of the
sovereiscns in re2:ard to the succession. t
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 too plainly how often the rights of the people were
invaded by the violence of the privileged orders, or the
more artful and systematic usurpations of the crown. But^
far from being intimidated by such 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 con-
sequent 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.
similar policy of the cro\\Ti under Edward III., in his view of the English
constitution during the middle ages. View of the State of Europe during
the Middle Ages, (London, 1819,) vol. iii. chap. 8.
* The recognition of the title of the heir apparent, by a cortes convoked
for that purpose, has continued to be observed in Castile down to the present
time. Practica y Estilo, p. 229.
+ For the preceding notice of the cortes, see Marina, Teoria, part 2
cap. 13, 19, 20, 21, 31^ 35, 37, 38.
24 INTRODUCTION.
It woiild be improper to pass by witbout notice a:i
anomalous institution peculiar to Castile, which sought to
secure the public tranquillity by means scarcely compatible
themselves with civil subordination. I refer to the cele-
brated Hermandad, or Holy Brotherhood, as the associa-
tion was sometimes called, a name famihar 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 regular
organised police, it then consisted of a confederation of the
principal cities bound together by a 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 enforcino; their measures bv an
armed force. This 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 im-
potence, 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 over-
strained, have received the appellation of " Cortes extra-
ordinary."*
* So at least they are styled bv Marina. See his account of these
institutions ; (Teoria, part 2, cap. 39 :) also Salazar dc Mendoza, (Jlonar-
quia, lib. 3, cap. 15, 16,) and Sempere (Histoire des Cortes, chap. 12, 13.)
One hundred cities associated in the Hermandad of 1315. In that of
1295, were thirty-four. The knights and inferior nobility frequently
made part of the association. The articles of confederation are given
by Risco, in his continuation of Florez, (Espaiia Sagrada; Madrid,
CASTILE. 25
Witli these immunities, tlie cities of Castile attained a
degree of opulence and splendour unrivalled, unless in Italy
during the middle ages. At a very early period, indeed,
their contact with the Arabs had familiarised them with a
better system of agriculture, and a dexterity in the mechanic
arts unknown in other parts of Christendom.* On the
occupation of a conquered town, we find it distributed 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 appoint-
ment. 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.t
The excellent breed of sheep, which early became the sub-
ject of legislative solicitude, furnished them with an im-
portant staple ; which, together with the simpler manufac-
tures, and the various products of a prohfic soil, formed the
materials of a profitable commerce.]: Augmentation of
1775-1826 ; to m. xxxvi. p. 162.) In one of these articles it is declared,
that if any noble shall deprive a member of the association of his property,
and refuse restitution, his house shall be razed to the ground. (Art. 4.)
In another, that if any one, by command of the king, shall attempt to col-
lect an unlawful tax, he shall be put to death on the spot. Art. 9.
* See Sempere, Historia del Luxo, tom. i. p. 97. — Masdeu, Hist.
Critica, tom. xiii. nos. 90, 91. — Gold and silver, curiously -vn-ought into
plate, were exported in considerable quantities from Spain in the tenth and
eleventh centuries. They were much used in the churches. The tiara of
the pope was so richly incnisted with the precious metals, says Masdeu, as
to receive the name of Spanoclista. The familiar use of these metals as
ornaments of dress is attested by the ancient poem of the " Cid." Sec,
in particular, the costume of the Campeador ; vv. 3099 et seq.
+ Zuniga, Annales Eclesi^sticos y Seculares de Sevilla, (Madrid, 1677,)
pp. 74, 75. — Sempere, Historia del Luxo, tom. i. p. 80.
X The historian of Seville describes that city, about the middle of the
fifteenth centurj-, as possessing a flourishing commerce, and a degree of
26 ixirxODucTiox.
v.ealth brought Avitli it tlie usual appetite for expensive
pleasures ; and the popular diffusion of luxury in the foui--
teenth and fifteenth centuries is attested by the fashionable
invective of the satirist, and by the impotence of repeated
opulence unexampled since the conquest. It was filled with an active
population, employed in the various mechanic arts. Its domestic fabrics,
as well as natural products of oil, wine, wool, &c., supplied a trade with
France, Flanders, Italy, and England. (Zuniga, Annales de Sevilla,
p. 341, — See also Sempere, Historia del Luxo, p. 81, nota 2.) The ports
of Biscay, which helonged to the Castilian crown, were the marts of an
extensive trade with the North during the thirteenth and fourteenth cen-
turies. This province entered into repeated treaties of commerce with
France and England ; and her factories were established at Bruges, the
great emporium of commercial intercourse during this period between the
North and South, before those of any other people in Europe, except the
Germans. (Diccionario Geogi-afico-Histdrico de Espana, por la Real
Academia de la Historia ; Madrid, 1802 ; tom. i. p. 333.)
The institution of the mesta is referred, says Laborde, (Itineraire
Descriptif de I'Espagne ; Paris, 1827-1830 ; tom. iv. p. 47,) to the middle
of the fourteenth century, when the great plague, which devastated the
country so sorely, left large depopulated tracts open to pasturage. This
popular opinion is erroneous, since it engaged the attention of government,
and became the subject of legislation as anciently as 1273, under Alfonso
the Wise, (See Asso y Manuel, Instituciones, Introd. p. 56.) Capmany
however, dates the great improvement in the breed of Spanish sheep from
the year 1394, when Catharine of Lancaster brought with her, as a part of
her dowi-y to the heir apparent of Castile, a flock of English merinos dis-
tinguished, at that time, above those of every other country, for the beauty
and delicacy of their fleece. (Memorias Histdricas sobre la Marina
Comercio, y Artes de Barcelona; Madrid, 1779-1792; tom. iii. pp. 336,
337.) This acute writer, after a very careful examination of the subject,
diflFering from those already quoted, considers the raw material for manu-
facture, and the natural productions of the soil, to have constituted almost
the only articles of export from Spain, until after the fifteenth century,
(Ibid. p. 338.) We will remark, in conclusion of this desultory note, that
the term mennos is derived, by Conde, from moedinos, signifying " wan-
dering ;" the name of an Arabian tribe, who shifted their place of residence
with the season. (Hist, de los Arabes en Espaiia, tom. i. p. 488, nota)
The deriration might startle any but a professed etymologist.
CASTILE. 27
sumptuary enactments.* Much of this superfluous vrealth,
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 favourite residence.!
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 gave their
representatives a proportional increase of importance in the
national assembly. The liberties of the people seemed to
take deeper root in the mid.st of those political convulsions,
so frequent in Castile, which unsettled the ancient prero-
gatives 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 pro-
gTess until the accession of Henry the Third, of Trasta-
mara, 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 com-
mons with a deference unknown to his predecessors. "We
find fom- of their number admitted into his privy council,
and six associated in the regency, to which he confided the
* See the original acts cited by Sempere, (Historia del Luso, passim.)
The archpriest of Hita indulges his vein freely against the luxurj-, cupidity,
and other fashionable sins of his age. (See Sanchez, Pocsias Castellanas,
torn, iv.) The influence of Mammon appears to have been as supreme m
the fourteenth century as at any later period.
" Sea un ome nescio, et rudo labrador,
Los dineros le fasen fidalgo e sabidor,
Quanto mas algo tiene, tanto es mas de valor,
El que no ha dineros, non es de si seiior."
Yv. 465 et seq.
f Marina, Ensayo, nos. 199, 297. — Zirniga, Annales de Sevilla, p. 341.
28 INTRODUCTION.
government of the kingdom during his son's minority.* A
remarkable fact, which occm-red in this reign, showing the
important advances made by the commons in pohtical esti-
mation, 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. f There will be occasion to notice,
in the first chapter of this History, some of the circum-
stances which, contributing to undermine the power of the
commons, prepared the way for the eventual subversion of
the constitution.
The pecuUar situation of Castile, which had been so fa-
vourable to popular rights, was eminently so to 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 strongholds or castles, (the great
number of which was originally implied in the name of the
country,) J they were continually enlarging the circuit of
their territories, with no other assistance than that of their
* ^Marina, Teoria, part. 2, cap. 28. — Mariana, Hist, de Espaiia, lib. 18,
cap. 15. — The admission of citizens into the king's council Tvould have
formed a most important epocli for the commons, had they not soon been
replaced by jurisconsults, -whose studies and sentiments inclined them less
to the popular side than to that of prerogative.
t Ibid. lib. 18, cap. 17.
J Castilla. See Salazar de Mendoza, Monarquia, torn. i. p. 108. —
Livy mentions the great number of these towers in Spain in his dav.
" Multas et locis altis positas turres Hispania habet." (Lib. 22, cap. 19.)
— A castle was emblazoned on the escutcheon of Castile, as far back as
the reign of UiTaca, in the beginning of the twelfth century, according to
Salazar de Mendoza, (Monarquia, tom. i. p. 142,) although Garibay
discerns no vestige of these arms on any instrument of a much older date
than the beginning of the thirteenth century. Compendio, lib. 12, cap. 32.
CASTILE. 29
own good swords.* This independent mode of effecting
tlieir conquests would appear unfavourable to tlie introduc-
tion 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.!
The higher nobility, or ricos homhres, were exempted
from general taxation ; and the occasional attempt to in-
fringe on this privilege in seasons of great public emer-
gency, was uniformly repelled by this jealous body. J They
* " Hizo gueira a los Moros,
Ganando sus fortalezas
Y sus viDas.
Y en las lides que vencid
Caballeros y caballos
Se perdieron,
Y en este oficio gand
Las rentas y los vasallos
Que le die'ron."
Coplas de Manrique, copla 31.
+ Asso and Manuel derive the introduction of fiefs into Castile from
Catalonia. (Instituciones, p. 96.) The twenty-sixth title, part. 4, of
Alfonso X.'s code, (Siete Partidas,) treats exclusively of them. (De los
Feudos.) The laws 2, 4, 5, are expressly devoted to a brief exposition oi
the nature of a fief, the ceremonies of investiture, and the reciprocal obliga-
tions of lord and vassal. Those of the latter consisted in keeping his
lord's counsel, maintaining his interest, and aiding him in war. With all
this, there are anomalies in this code, and still more in the usages of the
country, not easy to explain on the usual principles of the feudal relation ;
a circumstance which has led to much discrepancy of opinion on the sub-
ject in political writers, as well as to some inconsistency. Sempere, who
entertains no doubt of the establishment of feudal institutions in Castile,
tells us, that " the nobles, after the Conquest, succeeded in obtaining an
exemption from militarj- service," — one of the most conspicuous and
essential of all the feudal relations. Histoire des Cortes, pp. 30, 72, 249.
;J: Asso y !Manuel, Instituciones, p. 26. — Sempere, Histoire des Cortes,
30 INTRODUCTION.
could not be ImprisoDed 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.* They also claimed the
privilege, when aggrieved, of denaturalising themselves, or,
in other words, of publicly renouncing their allegiance to
their sovereign, and of enlisting under the banners of his
enemy, t The number of petty states, which swarmed over
the Peninsula, afforded ample opportunity for the exercise
of this disorganising prerogative. The Laras are particu-
larly 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. J They assumed the licence
of arraying themselves in armed confederacy against the
monarch on any occasion of popular disgust, and they
solemnised the act by the most imposing ceremonials of
religion. § Their rights of jurisdiction, derived to them,
it would seem, originally from royal grant, || 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
chap. 4. — The incensed nobles quitted the cortes in disgust, and threatened
to vindicate their rights by anus, on one such occasion, 1176. Mariana,
Hist, de Espana, torn. i. p. 644. See also torn. ii. p. 176.
* lidem auctores, ubi supra. — Prieto j Sotelo, Historia del Derecho
Real de Espaiia, (Madrid, 1738,) lib. 2, cap. 23 ; lib. 3, cap. 8.
t Siete Partidas, (ed. de la Real Acad. Madrid, 1807,) part. 4, tit. 2.5,
ley 11. On such occasions they sent him a formal defiance by their king
at arms. Mariana, Hist, de Espaiia, tom. i. pp. 768, 912.
+ Ibid. tom. i. pp. 707, 713.
§ The forms of this solemnity may be found in Mariana, Hist, ilc
Espaiia, tom. i, p. 907.
II Marina, Ensayo, p. 128.
CASTILE. 31
of the royal judicatures.'' In virtue of tlieir birth they
monopolised all the higher offices of state, as those of
constable and admiral of Castile, adelantados or governors
of the provinces, cities, &c.t They secured to them-
selves the grand-masterships of the mxilitary orders, which
placed at theu' disposal an immense amount of revenue
of patronage. Finally, they entered into the royal or privy
council, and formed a constituent portion of the national
legislature.
These important prerogatives were of course favourable
to the accumulation of great wealth. Their estates were
scattered over every part of the kingdom, and, unlike the
grandees of Spain at the present day,| they resided on
them in person, maintaining the state of petty sovereigns,
and sun-ounded by a numerous retinue, who served the
purposes of a pageant in time of peace, and an efficient
military 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. § The " good constable " Davalos, in the time
of Henry the Third, could ride through his own estates aU
the way from Seville to Compostella, almost the two ex-
tremities of the kingdom. II Alvaro de Luna, the powerful
favourite of John the Second, could muster twenty thousand
'•■■ Jolm I., in 1 390, authorised appeals from the seignonal tribunals to
those of the crown. Ibid, torn. ii. p. 179.
•j- The nature of these dignities is explained in Salazar de Mendoza,
Monarquia, torn. i. pp. 155, 166, 203.
J From the scai'city of these baronial residences, some fanciful etymolo-
gists have derived the familiar saying of " Chateaux en Espagne." See
BourgoannCj Travels in Spain, torn. ii. chap. 12.
§ Mariana, Hist, de Espaua, torn. i. p. 910.
II Crunica de Don Alvaro de Luna, (cd. de la Acad. Madrid, l?o4.)
Ai)p. p; 465.
32 IXTRODUCTIOX.
vassals.* A contemporary, -who gives a catalogue of tlie
annual rents of the principal Castilian nobility at the close
of the fifteenth or beginning of the foUo^viug century, com-
putes several at fifty and sixty thousand ducats a year,f an
immense income, if we take into consideration the value
of money in that age. The same writer estimates their
united revenues as equal to one-third of those in the whole
kingdom, j:
These ambitious nobles did not consume their fortunes
or their energies in a life of efi'eminate luxury. From their
earliest boyhood, they were accustomed to serve in the
* Guzman, Generaciones y Semblanzas, (Madrid, 1775,) cap. 84. — His
annual revenue is computed by Perez de Guzman at 100,000 doblas of
gold ; a sum equivalent to 856,000 dollars at tbe present day.
+ The former of tliese two sums is equivalent to 438,875 dollars, or
91,474?. sterling: and the latter to 526,650 dollars, or 109,716Z. nearly.
I have been guided by a dissertation of Clemencin, in the sixth volume of
the IMeraorias de la Real Academia de la Historia, (Madrid, 1821, pp. 507
• — 566,) in the reduction of sums in this History. That treatise is very
elaborate and ample, and brings under view all the different coins of
Ferdinand and Isabella's time, settling their specific value with great
accuracy. The calculation is attended with considerable difficulty, owing
to the depreciation of the value of the precious metals, and the repeated
adulteration of the real. In his tables, at the end, be exhibits the com-
mercial value of the diflferent denominations, ascertained by the quantity
of wheat (as sure a standard as any) which they would buy at that day.
Taking the average of values, which varied considerably in different years
of Ferdinand and Isabella, it appears that the ducat, reduced to American
currency, will be equal to about eight dollars and seventy-seven cents, and
the dobla to eight dollars and fifty-six cents.
X The ample revenues of the Spanish grandee of the present time,
instead of being lavished on a band of military retainers, as of yore, are
sometimes dispensed in the more peaceful hospitality of supporting an
almost equally formidable host of needy relations and dependents. Accord-
ing to Bourgoanne (Travels in Spain, vol. i. chap. 4), no less than 3000 of
tbesc gentry were maintained on the estates of the Duke of Arcos, who
died in 1780.
CASTILE. 33
ranks against the infidel,* and their whole subsequent lives
were occupied either with war or with those martial exer-
cises which reflect the imao;e of it. Lookinor back with
pride to their ancient Gothic descent, and to those times
when they had stood forward as the peers, the electors of
tlieir sovereign, they could ill brook the slightest indignity
at his hand.f With these haughty feelings and martial
habits, and this enormous assumption of power, it may
readily be conceived that they would not sufi'er the
anarchical provisions of the constitution, which seemed to
concede an almost unlimited licence of rebellion, to remain
a dead letter. Accordingly, we find them perpetually con-
vulsing the kingdom with their schemes of selfish aggran-
disement. The petitions of the commons are filled with
remonstrances on their various oppressions, and the evils
resulting from their long desolating feuds. So that, not-
withstanding the liberal forms of its constitution, there was
probably no country in Europe, during the middle ages, so
sorely afilicted with the vices of intestine anarchy as Castile.
These were still further aggravated by the impro\ddent
* Mendoza records the circumstance of the head of the family of Ponce
de Leon (a descendant of the celebrated marquis of Cadiz,) carrying his
son, then thirteen years old, -with him into battle ; " an ancient usage,"
he says, " in that noble house," (Guerra de Granada; Valencia, 1776;
p. 318.) The only son of Alfonso VI. was slain, fighting manfully in the
ranks, at the battle of Ucles, in 1109, when only eleven years of age.
Mariana, Hist, de Espana, torn. i. p. 565.
+ The northern provinces, the theatre of this primitive independence,
have always been consecrated by this very circumstance, in the eyes of a
Spaniard. " The proudest lord," says Navagiero, " feels it an honour to
trace his pedigree to this quarter." (Viaggio, fol. 44.) The same feeling
has continued, and the meanest native of Biscay, or the Asturias, at the
present day, claims to be noble ; a pretension which often contrasts lidi-
culously enough with the humble character of his occupation, and has fur-
nished many a pleasant anecdote to travellers.
VOL. I, D
31 INTRODUCTION'.
donations of the monarch to the aristocracy in the vain
hope of conciliating their attachment, hut which swelled
their already overgrown power to such a height, that, by
the middle of the fifteenth century, it not only overshadowed
that of the throne, but threatened to subvert the liberties of
the state.
Their self-confidence, however, proved eventually their
ruin. They disdained a co-operation 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.*
The inferior orders of nobility, the hidalgos (whose
dignity, like that of the ricos homhres, would seem, as their
name imports, to have been originally founded on wealth), f
and the caralleros, or knights, enjoyed many of the immu-
* An elaborate dissertation, by the advocate Don Alonso Carillo, on the
pre-eminence and privileges of the Castilian sendee, is appended to Salazar
de Mendoza's Origen de las Dignidades Seglares de Castilla (Madrid,
1794). The most prized of these appears to be that of keeping the head
covered in the presence of the sovereign ; " prerogatira tan ilustre," says
the writer, " que ella sola imprime el principal caracter de la Grandeza.
Y considerada por sm efectos admirahles, ocupa dignamente el primero
lu-^r." (Discurso 3.) The sentimental citizen Bourgoanne finds it neces-
sary to apologise to bis republican brethren for noticing these " important
trifles." Travels in Spain, vol. i. chap. 4.
+ " Los llamaron fijosdalgo, que muestra a tanto como fijos de bien."
CSn^te Partidas, part. 2, tit. 21.) " Por hidalgos se entienden los hombres
encogidos de buenos lugares e con a/go,* Asso y Manuel, Institucionws,
pp. 33, 54.
I
CASTILE. 35
nities of ihe higher class, especially that of exemption from
taxation.* Knighthood appears to have been regarded
with especial favour bj 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.! Spain was indeed the land of chivalry.
The respect for the sex, which had descended from the
Visigoths, I was mingled with the religious enthusiasm
which had been kindled in the long wars with the infidel.
The apotheosis of chivalry, in the person of their apostle
and patron, St. James, § 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."
* Recop. de las Leves, lib. 6, tit. 1, leyes 2, 9; tit. 2, leyes 3, 4, 10;
tit. 14, leyes 14, 19. — They were obliged to contribute to the repair of for-
tifications and public works, although, as the statute expresses it, " tengan
privilegios para que scan essentos de todos pechos."
■f The knight was to array himself in light and cheerful vestments, and^
in the cities and public places, his person was to be enveloped in a long and
flowing mantle, in order to impose greater reverence on the people. His
good steed was to be distinguished by the beauty and richness of his capa-
risons. He was to live abstemiously, indulging himself in none of the
effeminate delights of couch or banquet. During his repast, his mind was
to be refreshed with the recital, from history, of deeds of ancient heroism ;
and in the fight he was commanded to invoke the name of his mistress,
that it might infuse new ardour into his soul, and preserve him from the
commission of unknightly actions. See Siete Partidas, part 2, tit. 21,
which is taken up with defining the obligations of chivalry.
X See Fuero Juzgo, lib. 3, which is devoted almost exclusively to the
sex. Montesquieu discerns in the jealous surveillance which the Visigoths
maintained over the honour of their women, so close an analogy with
oriental usages, as must have greatly facilitated the conquest of the country
by the Arabians. Esprit des Loix, liv. 14, chap. 14.
§ Warton's expression. See vol. i. p. 214, of the late learned cditioc
of his History of English Poetry (London, 1824).
36 INTRODUCTION.
So that the Spaniard may be said to have put in action
what, in other countries, passed for the extravagances of
the minstreh 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 Suero de Quiiiones, 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, imposed on him by 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 eye-witness, and the reader may fancy
himself perusing the adventures of a Launcelot or an
Amadis.*
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 co-operation
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 condescenued,
in imitation of theii' patron saint, to mingle in the ranks,
and, with the crucifix in their hands, to lead the soldiers on
* See the " Passo Honi'oso" appended to the Crdnica de Alvaro do
Luna,
CASTILE. 37
to battle. Examples of these militant prelates are to be
found in Spain so late as the sixteenth century.*
But, while the native ecclesiastics obtained such com-
plete ascendancy over the popular mind, the Roman See
could boast of less influence in Spain than in any other
country in Europe. The Gothic liturgy was alone received
as canonical until the eleventh century ;t and, until the
twelfth, the sovereign 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 bon'owed 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 efi"ected 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
* The present narrative will introduce the reader to more than one bel-
ligerent prelate, who filled the very highest post in the Spanish, and, I may
say, the Christian church, next the papacy. (See Alvaro Gomez, de Rebus
Gestis a Francisco Ximenio Cisnerio; Compluti, 1569; fol. 110 et seq.)
The practice, indeed, was familiar in other countries, as well as Spain, at
this late period. In the bloody battle of Ravenna, in 1512, two cardinal
legates, one of them the future Leo X., fought on opposite sides. Paolo
Giovio, Vita Leonis X.,apud " Yitae lllustrium Virorum," (Basiliae, 1578,)
lib. 2.
+ The contest for supremacy between the Mozarabic ritual and the
Roman is familiar to the reader, in the curious narratiTC extracted bj
Robertson from Mariana, Hist, de Espaiia, lib. 9, cap. 1 ii.
38 INTRODUCTIOX.
tlieir 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.*
Notwithstanding the immediate dependence thus esta-
blished on the head of the church by the legislation 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 mihtla 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 he 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 repro-
bated by the law of the land, seems anciently to have been
countenanced by it.t This moral insensibility may proba-
bly be referred to the contagious example of their Mahometan
neighbours ; but^. from whatever source derived, the prac-
tice 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 enact-
ments, in which the concubines of the clergy are described
as causing general scandal by their lawless efi"rontery and
ostentatious magnificence of apparel. |
* Siete Partidas, part 1, tit. 6. — Florez, Espaila Sagrada, torn. xx.
p. 16. — The Jesuit Mariana appears to grudge this appropriation of the
" sacred revenues of the Church," to defray the expenses of the holy war
against the Saracen. (Hist, de Espaiia, torn. i. p. 177.) See also the
Ensavo, (Nos. 322 — 364,) where Marina has analysed and discussed the
general import of the first of the Partidas.
+ Marina, Ensayo, ubi supra, and Nos. 220 et seq.
X See the original acts, quoted by Sempere in his Historia del Luxo,
torn. i. pp. 166 et acq.
CA3TILE. 39
Xotwithstandiug this prevalent licentiousness of the
Spanish ecclesiastics, their influence became everyday more
widely extended ; while this ascendancy, for which they
were particularly indebted in that rude age to their superior
learning and capacity, was perpetuated by their enormous
acquisitions of wealth. Scarcely a town was reconquered
from the Moors, without a considerable portion of its terri-
tory 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 well 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 Huelgas, 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 jurisdictiou over fourteen capital towns,
and more than fifty smaller places ; and she was accounted
inferior to the queen only in dignity.*
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
kinedom, and held jurisdiction over fifteen large and popu
lous towns, besides a great number of inferior places. j
* Lucio Afarineo Siculo, Cosas Mcmorablcs de Espafia, (AlcaU de
Henares, 1539,) fol. 16.
+ Navagiero, Viaggio, fol. 9. — L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 12.
40 INTRODUCTION.
These princely funds, when intrusted to pious prelates,
were munificently dispensed in useful public works, and
especially in the foundation of eleemosynary institutions,
with which every great city in Castile was liberally supplied.*
But, in the hands of worldly men, they were perverted from
these noble uses to the gratification of personal vanity, or
the disorganising schemes of faction. The moral percep-
tions of the people, in the mean time, were confused by the
visible demeanour 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 hj 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 religious war, was controlled by public opinion, which
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 difi"erence 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,
— Laborde reckons the rcTcnues of this prelate, in his tables, at 12,000,000
reals, or 600,000 dollars. (Itineraire, torn. vi. p. 9.) The estimate is
grossly exaggerated for the present day. The rents of this see, like those
of every other in the kingdom, have been grievously clipped in the late
political troubles. They are stated by the intelligent author of " A Year
in Spain," on the authority of the clergy of the diocese, at one-third of the
above sum, only ; (p. 217, Boston ed. 1829 ;) an estimate confirmed by
Mr. Inglis, who computes them at 40,000Z. Spain in 1830, vol. i. ch. 11.
* Modern travellers, who condemn without reserve the corruption of
the inferior clergy, bear uniform testimony to the exemplary piety and
munificent charities of the higher dignitaries of the church.
I
CASTILE. 41
even those of intellectual freedom ; when, in fine, the Chris-
tian and the Mussulman, the oppressor and the oppressed,
were to he alike howed down under the strong arm of
ecclesiastical tyranny. The means hy 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 privileges
enjoyed by the different orders of the Castilian monarchy
previous to the fifteenth century, it is evident that the royal
authority must have been circumscribed 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 authorise their
assumption of that state by which it is supported in the
eyes of the vulgar. "^Yhen some more fortunate prince, by
conquest or alliance, had enlarged the circle of his do-
minions, and thus in some measure remedied the evil, it
was sure to recur upon his death, by the subdivision of his
estates among his children. This mischievous practice was
even countenanced by public opinion; for the different dis-
tricts 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 mu-
tual jealousies and local peculiarities which still distinguish
the different sections of the Peninsula, after their consolida-
tion into one monarchy 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
42 INTRODUCTION.
sovereign again convened tbe estates to receive their oath
of allegiance, which they cautiously withheld until he had
first sworn to preserve inviolate the liberties of the consti-
tution. Nor was this a merely nominal privilege, as was
evinced on more than one memorable occasion.*
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 deputation of
the commons was sometimes added.! This body, together
with the king, had cognisance of the most important pubHc
transactions, whether of a civil, military, or diplomatic na-
ture. 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. | His legis-
* ^rarina, Teoria, part 2, cap. 2, 5, 6. — A remarkable instance of this
occurred as late as the accession of Charles T.
+ The earliest example of this permanent committee of the commons,
residing at court, and entering into the king's council, was in the minority
of Ferdinand IV., in 1295. The subject is involved in some obscurity,
Tfhich Marina has not succeeded iu dispelling. He considers the deputa-
tion to have formed a necessary and constituent part of the council, fiom
the time of its first appointment. (Teoria, torn. ii. cap. 27, 28.) Sempere,
on the Other hand, discerns no warrant for this, after its introduction, till
the time of the Austrian dynasty. (Histoire des Cortes, chap. 29.)
jVIarina, who too often mistakes anomaly for practice, is certainly not jus-
tified, even by his own showing, in the sweeping conclusions to which he
arrives. But, if his prejudices lead him to see more than has happened,
on the one hand, those of Sempere, on the other, make him sometimes
high gravel blind.
X The important functions and historv of this body are mvestigated by
Marina. (Teoria, part. 2, cap. 27, 28, 29.) See also Sempere, (Histoire
des Cortes, cap. 16.) and the Informe de don Agustin Riol, (apud Sema-
CASTILE. 43
latlve powers were to be exercised In concurrence with the
cortes;* and, in the judicial department, his authority,
during the latter part of the period under review, seems 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. j*
nario Erudito, torn. iii. pp. 113 et seq.) -wliere, however, its subsequent
condition is chieflv considered.
• Not so exclusively, however, bv anv means, as ilarina pretends.
(Teoria, part. 2, cap. 17, 18.) He borrows a pertinent illustration from
the famous code of Alfonso X., which was not received as law of the land
till it had been formally published in cortes, in 1348, more than seventy
years after its original compilation. In his zeal for popular rights, he
omits to notice, however, the power, so frequently assumed by the sove-
reign, of gran ting /wero^, or municipal charters ; a right, indeed, which the
great lords, spiritual and temporal, exercised in common ^-iih him, subject
to his sanction. See a multitude of these seignorial codes enumerated by
Asso and Manuel. (Instituciones, Introd. pp. 31 et seq.) The monarch
claimed, moreover, though not, by any means, so freely as in later times,
the privilege of issuing pyagmdticas, ordinances of an executive charac-
ter, or for the redress of giievances submitted to him by the national legis-
lature. Within certain limits, this was undoubtedly a constitutional
prerogative. But the history of Castile, like that of most other countiiesin
Europe, shows how easily it was abused in the hands of an arbitrary prince.
+ The civil and criminal business of the kingdom was committed, in the
last resort, to the very ancitnt tribunal of alcaldes de casa y coiie, until,
in 1371, a new one, entitled the royal audience or chanceiy, was consti-
tuted under Henry II., with supreme and ultimate jurisdiction in civil
causes. These, in the first instance, however, might be brought before the
alcaldes de la corte, which continued, and has since continued, the high
court in criminal matters.
The audiencia, or chancery, consisted at first of seven judges, whose
number varied a good deal afterwards. They were appointed br the
crown, in the manner mentioned in the text. Their salaries were such as
to secure their independence, as far as possible, of any undue influence;
and this was still further done by the supervision of cortes, whose acts
show the deep solicitude with which it watched over the concerns and con-
4-i INTRODUCTION.
The scantiness of the king's revenue corresponded 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.*
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.
The long minorities, with which Castile was afflicted
perhaps more than any country in Europe, frequently threw
the government into the hands of the principal nobility,
who perverted to their own emoluments 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 assas-
sination.! A pleasant tale is told by the Spanish historians,
of the more innocent device of Kenry the Third, for the
recovery of the estates extorted from the crown by the ra-
pacious nobles during his minority.
Returning? home late one evening, fatigued and half
famished, from a hunting expedition, he was chagrined to
find no refreshment prepared for him, and still more so to
duct of this important tribunal. For a notice of the original organisation
and subsequent modifications of the Castilian courts, consult Marina,
(Teoria, part. 2, cap. 21 — 25,) Riol, (Infonne, apud Semanario Erudito,
tom. iii, pp. 129 et seq.) and Sempere, (Histoire des Cortes, chap. 15,)
whose loose and desultory remarks show perfect familiarity with the sub-
ject, and presuppose more than is likely to be found in the reader.
* Siete Partidas, part. 2, tit. 26, leyes 5, 6, 7. — Mendoza notices this
custom as recently as Philip II. 's day. Guerra de Granada, p. 170.
+ Maiiana, Hist, de Espaiia, lib. 15, cap. 19, 20.
CASTILE. 45
learn from his steward that he had neither money nor credit
to purchase it. The day's sport, however, fortimately fur-
nished the means of appeasing the royal appetite; and, while
this was in progress, the steward took occasion to contrast
the indjo-ent condition of the kinof with that of his nobles,
who habitually indulged in the most expensive entertain-
ments, and were that very evening feasting with the arch-
bishop of Toledo. The prince, suppressing his indignation,
determined, like the far-famed caHph in the " Arabian
Kights," to inspect the affair in person, and, assuming a
disguise, introduced himself privately into the archbishop's
palace, where he witnessed 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 rumour to be circulated
through the court, that he had fallen suddenly and dan-
gerously 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, enjoying all the rights
and revenues of royalty, while I, stripped of my patrimony,
46 INTKOLCCTION'.
have scarcely vrlierewithal 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 likely to
take, fell on their knees before the monarch, and besought
his forgiveness, promising, in requital, complete restitu-
tion 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 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 revolutions in
Castile, in which the adhesion of a faction was to be pur-
chased 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 four-
teenth century.
* Garibay, Compendio, torn. ii. p. 399. — Mariana, Hist, de Espaiia, torn,
ii. pp. 234, 235. — Pedro Lopez de Ayala, chancellor of Castile, and chro-
nicler of the reigns of four of its successive nionarchs, terminated his
labours abruptly with the sixth year of Henry III., the subsequent period
of whose administration is singularly barren of authentic materials for
history. The editor of Ayala's Chronicle considers the adventure quoted
in the text as fictitious, and probably suggested by a stratagem employed
by Henry for the seizure of the Duke of Benevente, and by his subse-
quent imprisonment at Burgos. See Ayala, Crunica de Castilla^ p. 355,
note (ed. de la Acad. 1780).
CASTILE. 47
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 Henrv the
Fourth, extending over the greater portion of the fifteenth
ccutury, furnish pertinent examples of this. It was not
unusual, indeed, for the cortes, interposing its paternal
authority bj 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 resump-
tion unfair to the actual proprietors. The promise to main-
tain the integrity of the royal demesnes formed an essential
part of the coronation oath of every sovereign ; and the
subject on whom he afterwards conferred them, knew weU
by what a precarious illicit tenure he was to hold them.
From the view which has been presented of the Castihan
constitution at the beginning of the fifteenth century, it is
apparent that the sovereign was possessed of less power,
and the people of greater than in other European monarchies
at that period. It must be owned, however, as before inti-
mated, 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 suscep-
tible of greater compactness and energy in their movements
than could possibly belong to those of more complex bodies,
were 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 aris-
tocracy were indefinite and exorbitant. The licence 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 efferresciug spirit of the age, was
48 INTRODUCTION.
itself obviously repugnant to all principles of civil obedience,
and exposed the state to evils scarcely less disastrous thr.n
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 repre-
sentation of the people in cortes, instead of partially
emanating, as iit England, from an indepen'^eiit body of
landed proprietors, constituting the real strength of the
nation, proceeded exclusively from the cities, whose elec-
tions were much more open to popular caprice and minis-
terial corruption, and whose numerous local jealousies
prevented them from acting in cordial co-operation. 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 monarch,
who, notwithstanding his hmited prerogative, 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.
Notvithstanding the general diligence of the Spanish historians, thev
have done little towards the investigation of the constitutional antiquities
CASTILE. 49
of Castile, until the present centurj-. Dr. Geddes's meagre notice of the
cortes preceded, probably, by a long interval, any native work upon that
subject. Robertson frequently complains of the total deficiency of authentic
sources of information respecting the laws and government of Castile ; a
circumstance that suggests to a candid mind an obvious explanation of
several errors into which he has fallen. Capmany, in the preface to a work
compiled by order of the central junta in Seville, in 1809, on the ancient
organisation of the cortes in the different states of the Peninsula, remarks,
that " no author has appeared, down to the present day, to instruct us in
regard to the origin, constitution, and celebration of the Castilian cortes ;
on all which topics there remains the most profound ignorance." The
melancholy results to which such an investigation must necessarily lead,
from the contrast it suggests of existing institutions to the freer forms of
antiquity, might well have deterred the modem Spaniard from these in-
quiries ; which, moreover, it can hardly be supposed would have received
the countenance of government. The brief interval, however, in the early
part of the present century, when the nation so ineflFectually struggled to
resume its ancient liberties, gave birth to two productions, which have gone
far to supply the desiderata in this department. I allude to the valuable
works of Marina, on the early legislation, and on the cortes of Castile, to
whicli repeated reference has been made in this section. The latter,
especially, presents us with a full exposition of the appropriate functiona
assigned to the several departments of government, and with the parlia-
mentary history of Castile deduced from original, unpublished records.
It is unfortunate that his copious illustrations are arranged in so
unskilful a manner as to give a dry and repulsive air to the whole work.
The original documents, on which it is established, instead of being
reserved for an appendix, and their import only conveyed in the text, stare
at the reader in every page, arrrayed in all the technicalities, periphrases,
and repetitions incident to legal enactments. The course of the investiga-
tion is moreover frequently interrupted by impertinent dissertations on the
constitution of 1012, in which the author has fallen into abundance of
crudities, which he would have escaped, had he but witnessed the practical
operation of those liberal forms of government which he so justly admires.
The sanguine temper of Marina has also betrayed him into the enor of
putting, too uniformly, a favourable construction on the proceedings of the
commons, and of frequently deriving a constitutional precedent from what
c^n only be regarded as an accidental and transient exertion of power in a
season of popular excitement.
The student of this department of Spanish history may consult, in cou-
VOL. T. E
50 INTRODUCTION.
junction xvith Marina, Sempere's little treatise, often quoted, on the His-
tory of the Castilian cortes. It is, indeed, too limited and desultory in its
plan to afford anything like a complete view of the subject. But, as a sen-
sible commentary, by one well skilled in the topics that he discusses, it is
of undoubted value. Since the political principles and bias of the author
•were of an opposite character to ^larina's, they frequently lead him to
oi)posite conclusions in the investigation of the same facts. Making all
allowance for obvious prejudices, Sempere's work, therefore, may be of
much use in correcting tbe erroneous impressions made by the former
•vTriter, whose fabric of liberty too often rests, as exemplified more than
once in the preceding pages, on an ideal basis.
But, with every deduction, Marina's publications must be considered an
important contribution to political science. They exhibit an able analysis
of a constitution, which becomes singularly interesting from its having
furnished, together with that of the sister kingdom of Aragon, the earliest
example of representative government, as well as from the liberal prin-
ciples on which that government was long administered.
51
SECTION II.
■R2VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION OF ARAGON TO THE MIDDLE OF THE
FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
Rise of Aragon. — Ricos Hombres. — Their Immunities. — Their Turbu-
lence.— 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.
The political institutions of Aragon, althougli bearing a
general resemblance to those of Castile, vrere sufficiently
disimilar to stamp a peculiar physiognomy on the character
of the nation, which still continued after it had been
incorporated witli the great mass of the Spanish monarch}-.
It was not until the 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 strugghng 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
monarchies by which it was surrounded, had it not extended
its empire by a fortunate union with Catalonia in the
twelfth, and the conquest of Valencia in the thirteenth
e2
52 INTRODUCTLON.
century.* These new terntorios 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
decree of civilisation than Aragon, and was distinguished
by institutions quite as liberal. The sea-board would seem
to be the natm-al 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 famiharises him
with dangers, and early accustoms him to independence.
Intercourse with various climes opens new and more copious
sources of knowledge ; and increased wealth brinsjs 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
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 theii- 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 ac-
tivity ; 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
• Catalonia was united with Aragon by the marriage of queen Petronilla
with Raymond Berengere, count of Barcelona, in 1150, Valencia was
conquered from the Moors by James I., in 1238.
ARAGOX. 53
only with a limited range of objects, and subjected to the
influence of the same dull, monotonous circumstances.
Among these maritime republics, those of Catalonia were
eminently conspicuous. By the incorporation of this coun-
try 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 them-
selves of its resources for the aggrandisement of their own
dominions. They paid particular attention to the navy, for
the more perfect discipline of which a body of laws was pre-
pared by Peter the Fourth, in 1354, that was designed to
render it invincible. Xo allusion whatever is made in this
stern code to the mode of surrendering to, or retreating
from the enemy. The commander, who declined attacking
any force not exceeding his own by more than one vessel,
was punished with death.* The Catalan navy successfully
disputed the empire 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. t 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 acqui-
sition of Athens, forms one of the most romantic passages
in this stirring and adventurous era.t
* Capmany, Mem. de Barcelona, tom. iii. pp. 4.5 — 47. — T!ie Catalans
were much celebrated during the middle ages for their skill with the cross-
bow ;' for a more perfect instruction in which, the muiiicipality of Barcelona
established games and gymnasiums. Ibid. tom. i. p. 113.
+ Sicily revolted to Peter III., in 12i]2. — Sardinia was conquered by
James II., in 1324, and the Balearic Isles by Peter IV., in 1343-4. Zurita,
Anales, tom. i. fol. 247 ; tom. ii. fol. 60. — Hcrmilly, Histoire du Royaume
dc Majorque, (Maestricht, 1777,) pp. 227 — 268.
J Hence the title of Duke of Athens, assumed by the Spanish sove-
54 IXTRODUCTIOX.
But while the princes of Aragon were thus enlarging the
bounds of their dominion abroad, there was probably not a
sovereign in Eui'ope 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, ina-
lienable and indivisible.* Each of them, however, main-
tained a separate constitution of government, and was
administered by distinct laws. As it would be fi-uitless to
investigate the peculiarities of their respective institutions,
which bear a very 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 illustrated by her
writers.
The national historians refer the origin of their govern-
ment 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 authorised to withdraw
their allegiance, and, in the bold language of the ordinance,
reiens. The bril'iant fortunes of Roger de Flor are related by count
Moncada, (Expedicion de los Catalanes y Aragoneses contra Turcos y
Griegos, Madrid, 1805,) in a style raucli commended by Spanish critics for
its elegance. See Mondejar, Advertencias, p. 114.
* It was confirmed by Alfonso III., in 1328. Zurita, Anales, torn, ii
fol. 00.
ARAGON. 00
'•'to substitute any other ruler in his stead, even a pagan, if
thej listed."* The ^hole of this wears much of a fabulous
aspect, and may remind the reader of the government which
Ulysses met with in Phseacia ; where King Alcinous is
surrounded by his "twelve illustrious peers, or archons,"
subordinate to himself, "who," says he, " iiile over the
people, I myself being the thirteenth, "t But, whether
true or not, this venerable tradition must be admitted to
have been well calcidated 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.!
* See the fragments of the Fuer'o de Soprarbe, cited bv Blancas, Ara-
gonensium Rerum Commentarii, (Caesaraugustae, 1588,) pp. 25 — 29. The
well-known oath of the Aragonese to their sovereign on his accession, " Nos
que valemos tanto como tos," &c. frequently quoted by historians, rests on
the authoritv of Antonio Perez, the unfortunate minister of Philip II., Trho
however good a voucher for the usages of his own time, has made a blunder
in the very sentence preceding this, by confounding the Privilege of Union
with one of the laws of Soprarbe, which shows him to be insuflBcient,
especially as he is the only authority for this ancient ceremony. See
Antonio Perez, Relaciones, (Paris, 1598,) fol. 92.
f Accoe/ftt yap Kara. Srjfioy apnrpcTrees PacnXrjes
'Apxol Kpaivovcri, TpicrKaiSeKaros 5' iyu aurSs.
Odyss. 0. 390.
In like manner Alfonso III. alludes to " the ancient times in Aragon,
when there were as many kings as ricos hombres." See Zurita, Anales.
torn. i. fol. 316.
Ij: The authenticity of the " Fuero de Soprarbe" has been keenly debated
by the Aragonese and Navarrese writers. Moret, in refutation of Blancas,
who espouses it, (See Commentarii, p. 289,) states that, after a diligent
investigation of the archives of that region, he finds no mention of the laws
nor even of the name, of Soprarbe, until the eleventh century-; a startling
circumstance for the antiquaiy. (Investigaciones Histdricas de las Antigue-
dades del Reyno de Navarra ; Pamplona, 17G6 ; tom. vi. lib. 2, cap. 11.)
Indeed, the historians of Aragon admit that the public documents previous
to the fourteenth century suffered so much from various causes as to leave
romparatively few materials for authentic narrative. (Blancas, Commeo-
56 INTRODUCTION.
The great barons of Aragon -were fev7 in number. They
affected to derive their descent from the twelve peers above
mentioned, and were styled ricos homhres de natura, imply-
ing by this epithet that they were not indebted for their
creation to the will of the sovereign. Xo estate could be
leo-ally conferred by the crown, as an Jioiwur (the denomina-
tion 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
source of disquietude.* No baron could be divested of his
fief, unless by pubhc sentence of the Justice and the cortcs.
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, t
The privileges, both honorary and substantial, enjoyed by
the o'lcos Jwmhrcs were very considerable. They filled the
hif^hest posts in the state. They originally appointed judges
in their domains for the cognisance of certain civil causes,
tarii, Pref. — Hisco, Espana Sagrada, torn, ssx, Prulcgo.) Blr.ncas tran-
scribed bis extract of the laws of Soprarbe principally from Prince Cbarles
of Viana's History, -written in tbe fifteentb century. See Coinmentarii,
p. 25.
* Asso y Manuel, Instituciones, pp. 39, 40. — Blancas, Conimentarii,
pp. 333, 334, 340. — Fueros y Observancias del Revno de Aragon, (Zara-
goza, 1667,) torn. i. fol. 130. — Tbe ricos homhres, tbus created by tbe
monarcb, were styled de mesnada, signifying " of tbe bousebold." It was
laM-ful for a rico Jwmhre to bequpatb his honours to whichsoever of his
legitimate children he might prefer, and, in default of issue, to his nearest
of kin. He was bound to distribute tbe bulk of bis estates in fiefs among
his knights, so that a complete system of sub-infeudation was established.
The knights, on restoring their fiefs, might change their suzerains at
pleasure.
t Asso y Manuel, Instituciones, p. 41. — Blancas, Commentarii, pp. 307,
322, 331.
ARAGOX. 57
and over a class of their vassals exercised an unlimited cri-
minal jurisdiction. ThejAvere excused from taxation, except
in specified cases ; 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.*
The king distributed among the great barons the territory
reconquered from the Moors, in proportions determined by
the amount of their respective services. TVe find a stipulation
to this effect from James the Fii-st to his nobles, previous to
his invasion of Majorca. t On a similar principle they claimed
nearly the whole of Valencia.;}: On occupying a city, it was
usual to divide it into harrios, or districts, each of which
was granted byway 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. § We find one of these nobles, Bernard de
Cabrera, in the latter part of the fourteenth century, man-
ning 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. j|
'With, all this, their incomes in general, in this comparatively
* Fueros y Observancias, torn. i. fol. 130. — Mattel, Forma de Celebrar
Cortes en Aragon, (Zarajoza, 1641,) p. S8. — Blancas, Commentarii,
pp. 306, 312-317, 323, 360.— Asso y Manuel, Ir.stituciones, pp. 40-43.
f Zurita, Anales, torn. i. fol. 124.
J Blancas, Commentarii, p. 334.
§ See the partition of Saragossa l)V Alonso the Warrior. Zurita,
Anales, torn. i. fol. 43.
II Mariana, Hist, de Espaiia, torn. ii. p. 193. — Bhncas, Commentarii,
p. 213.
58 INTRODUCTION.
poor countr}', were very inferior to those of the great Castilian
lords.*
The laws conceded certain 23owers to the aristocracy of a
most dangerous character. They were entitled, like the
nohles of the sister kingdom, to defy, and pubhcly renounce
their allegiance to their sovereign, with the whimsical privi-
lege, in addition, of commending their families and estates
to his protection, which he was obliged to accord until they
were again reconciled. t The mischievous right of private
war was repeatedly recognised by statute. It was claimed
and exercised in its full extent, and occasionally with cir-
cumstances 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. J This
remnant of barbarism lingered longer in Aragon than in
any other country in Christendom.
The Aragonese sovereigns, who were many of them pos-
sessed of singular capacity and vigour, § made repeated
* See a register of these at the beginning of the sixteenth century, apud
L. Marineo, Cosas I\Iemorables, fol. 25.
f Zurita, Anales, torn. ii. fol. 127. — Blancas, Commentarii, p. 324. —
*' Adhsec Ricis hominibus ipsis majorum more institutisque conccdebatur,
}it sese possent, dum ipsi vellent, a nostrorum Regum jure et potestate
quasi nodum aliquem, expedire ; neque expedire solum, sed dimisso j^rius,
quo potirentur, Honore, belium ipsis inferrc ; Reges vero Rici hominis sic
expediti uxorem, filios, familiam, res, bona, et fortunas omnes in suam
recipere fidem tenebantur, Neque uUa erat eorum utilitatis facienda
jactura."
X Fueros y Observancias, torn. i. p. 84. — Zurita, Anales, torn. i. fol. 350.
§ Blancas somewhere boasts, that no one of the kings of Aragon has
been stigmatised by a cognomen of infamy, as in most of the other royal
races of Europe. Peter IV., " the Ceremonious," richly deserved one.
ARAGON. 59
efforts to reduce the authority of their noLles within more
temperate limits. Peter the Second, by a bold stretch of
prerogative, stripped them of their most important rights of
iurisdiction.* James the Conqueror artfully endeavoured to
counterbalance their weight by that of the commons and
the ecclesiastics. t But they were too 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 Mmx-ia, 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 con-
vulsed their own country with perpetual revolution. Haughty
from the consciousness of their exclusive privileges, and of
the limited number who monopolised 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 cotmtry
everywhere afforded, they easily bade defiance to his autho-
rity. 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 discrimi-
nated the relative position of the Aragonese and Castihan
nobility, by saying, "it was as difficult to divide the one as
to unite the other."!
These combinations became still more frequent 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 authorised to resort to arms on an infringement of
* Zurita, Anales, torn. i. fol. 102.
+ Zurita, Anales, torn. i. fol. 198. — He recommended this poUcy to his
Eon-in-law, the king of Castile.
J Semperc, Histoire des Cortes, p. 164.
GO 1>-TR0DUCTI0N'.
their liberties.* The lierinandad 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 nobility than of the sovereign ;
it was organised with difficulty, and, compared with the
union of Aragon, was cumbrous and languid in its opera-
tions. "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 ex-
piring 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,
bearinf*- 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.!
The power of the monarch Avas as nothing before this for-
midable array. The Union appointed a council to control all
his movements ; and in fact, 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
* Zurita, Anales, lib. 4, cap. 96. — Abarca dates this event in tbe year
preceding. Reyes ue Aragon, en Anales Histdricos, (Madrid, 1602—1684,)
torn. ii. fol. 8.
t Blancas, Commcntarii, pp. 192, 193.— Zurita, Anales, torn. i. fol.2G6
ct alibi.
ARAGON. 61
this eclipse of regal prerogative, brought the matter to an
issue, bj 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."* 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.f
Instead of abusing his victory, as might have been antici-
pated from his character, Peter adopted a far more magna-
nimous policy. He confirmed the ancient privileges of tbe
realm, and made in addition other wise and salutary conces-
sions. From this period, therefore, is to be dated the pos-
session of constitutional liberty in Aragon ; (for surely the
reicjn of unbridled licence, above described, is not deservins;
that name ;) and this not so much from the acquisition of
* Zurita, Anales, torn. ii. fol. 126 — 130. — Blancas, Commentarii, pp.
195 — 197. — Hence he was styled " Peter of the Dagger;" and a statue of
him, bearing in one hand this weapon, and in the other the Privilege, stood
in the Chamber of Deputation at Saragossa in Phillip II.'s time. See
Antonio Perez, Relaciones, fol. 95.
t See the statute, De Prohibita Unione, &c. Fucros y Obscrvancias,
torn. i. fol. 178. — A copy of the original Privileges was detected by Blancas
among the manuscripts of the Archbishop of Saragossa ; but he declined
publishing it from deference to the prohibition of his ancestors. Commen-
tarii, p. 179.
62 INTRODUCTION.
new immunities, as from the more perfect security aflforded
for the eujojment of the old. The court of the Justicia,
that great harrier interposed hv the constitution between
despotism on the one hand and popular licence on the other,
was more strongly protected, and causes hitherto decided by
arms were referred for adjudication to this tribunal.* 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.
The Aragonese cortes was composed of four branches, or
arms ;t the ricos hombres, or great barons ; the lesser
nobles, comprehending the knights ; the clergy ; and the
commons. The nobility of every denomination were enti-
tled to a seat in the legislature. The ricos hombres 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.]:
* " Haec itaque domestica Regis victoria, quae miserrimum univers-B
Reipublicae interitum videbatur esse allatura, stabilem nobis constituit
pacem, tranquillitatem, et otium. Inde enim Magistratiis Justitiae Ara-
gonum in cam, quam nunc colimus, amplitudinem dignitatis devenit."
Commentarii, p. 197.
■j- Mattel, Forma de Celebrar Cortes, cap. 8. — "Brakes del reino, porque
ahra^an, y tienen en si." — The cortes consisted onlv of tbree arms in Ca-
talonia and Valencia ; both the greater and lesser nobility sitting in the
same chamber. Perguera, Cortes en Catalufia, and Matheu y Sanz, Cou-
stitucion de Valencia, apud Capmany, Practica y Estilo, pp. 65, 183, 184.
Ij: Martel, Forma de Celebrar Cortes, cap. 10, 17, 21, 46. — Blancas,
Modo de Procederen Cortes de Aragon, (Zarogoza, 1641, fol. 17, 18.)
ARAGON. 63
The arm of the ecclesiastics embraced an ample delega-
tion from the inferior as well as higher clergy.* It is
affirmed not to have been a component of the national legis-
lature until more than a century and a half after the admis-
sion of the commons.! Indeed the influence of the church
was much less sensible in Aragon than in the other king-
doms of the Peninsula. Xotwithstandino; the humiliatiufr
concessions of certain of their princes to the papal see, they
were never recognised by the nation, who uniformly as-
serted their independence of the temporal supremacy of
Rome ; and who, as we shall see hereafter, resisted the
introduction of the Inquisition, that last stretch of ecclesias-
tical usm'pation, even to blood.^
The commons enjoyed higher consideration, and civil
privileges than in Castile. For this they were perhaps
somewhat indebted to the example of their Catalan neigh-
bours, the influence of whose democratic institutions natu-
rally 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
* Campany, Pmctica v Estilo, p. 12.
i" Blancas, Modo de Proceder, fol. 14, — and Commentarii, p. 374. —
Zurita, indeed, gives repeated instances of their convocation in the
thirteenth and twelfth centuries, from a date almost coeval ^Nith that
of the commons ; yet Blancas, who made this subject his particular study,
■who -wrote posterior to Zurita, and occasionally refers to him, postpones
the era of their admission into the legislature to the beginning of the
fourteenth century.
:J: One of the monarchs of Aragon, Alfonso the Warrior, according to
Mariana, bequeathed all his dominions to the Templars .ind Hospitallers.
Another, Peter II., agreed to hold his kingdom as a fief of the see of Rome,
and to pay it an annual tribute. (Hist, de Espaua, torn. i. pp. 5.96, 664.)
This so much disgusted the people, that they compelled his successors to
make a public protest against the claims of the church, before their coro-
nation.—See Blancas, Coronaciones de los Serenisimos Reyes de Aragon,
(Zaragoza, 1641,) cap. 2.
04 INTRODUCTION,
taxation ; while the magistrates of others were permitted to
take their seats in the order of hidalgos.* From a very early
period we find them employed in offices of puhlic trust,
and on important missions.! The epoch of their admission
into the national assembly is traced as far back as 1133,
several years earlier than tlie commencement of popular
representation in Castile.}: Each city had the right of
sending two or more deputies selected from persons eligible
to its magistracy ; but with the privilege of only one vote,
whatever might be the number of its deputies. Any place
which had been once represented in cortes, might always
claim to be so.§
By a statute of 1307, the convocation of the states,
which had been annual, was declared biennial. The kings,
however, paid little regard to this provision, rarely summon-
ing them, except for some specific necessity. || The great
officers of the crown, whatever might be their personal rank,
■were jealously excluded from their deliberations. The ses-
sion was opened by an address from the king in person, a
point of which they were very tenacious ; after which the
* Martel, Forma de Celebrar Cortes, cap. 22. — Asso y Manuel, Institu-
ciones, p. 44.
t Zurita, Anales, torn. i. fol. 163, A.D., 1250.
J Ibid. torn, i, fol. 51. — The earliest appearance of popular representa-
tion in Catalonia is jfixed bv Ripoll at 1283 (apud Capmany, Priiotica y
Estilo, p. 135). "What can Capmany mean by postponing the introduction
of the commons into the cortes of Aragou to 1300.' (See p. oG.) Their
presence and names are commemorated by the exact Zurita, several times
before the close of the twelfth century.
§ Practica y Estilo, pp. 14,17, 18, 30.— Martel, Forma de Celebrar
Cortes, cap. 10. — Those who followed a mechanical occupation, ??ic^U(iingf
surgeons and apothecaries, v:eve excluded from a seat in cortes. (Cap. 17.)
The faculty have rarely been treated with so little ceremony.
II Martel, Forma de Celebrar Cortes, cap. 7. — The cortes appear to have
been more frequently convoked in the fourteenth century than in any
other. Blancas refers to no less than twenty-three within that period.
ARAGON. 65
different arms withdrew to their separate apartments.*
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.! The
subjects of dehberation were referred to a committee from
each order, who, after conferring together, reported to their
several departments. Every question, it may be presumed^
underwent a careful 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 oppo3ing to it his veto or dissent, for-
mally 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. Dm-ing the interval of the sessions
averaging nearly one in four years. (Commentarii, Index, voce Comitia.)
In Catalonia and Valencia, the cortes was to be summoned every three
years, Berart, Discurso, Breve sobre la Celebracion de Cortes de Aragon,
(1626,) fol. 12.
* Capmany, Practica y Estilo, p. 15. — Blancas has preserved a specimen
of an address from the throne, in 1398, in which the king, after selecting
some moral apophthegm as a text, rambles for the space of half an hour
through Scripture history, &c. and concludes with announcing the object
of his convening the cortes together in three lines. Commentarii, pp.
376-380.
+ See the ceremonial detailed with sufficient prolixity by Martel, (Forma
de Celebrar Cortes, cap. 52, 53,) and a curious illustration of it in ZuritJ,
Anales, torn. iv. fol. 313.
VOL. i. F
66 INTRODUCTION.
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 ; ^yith
authority to convoke a cortes extraordinary, whenever the
exigency might demand it.*
The cortes exercised the highest functions, whether of a
deliberative, legislative, or judicial nature. It had a right
to be consulted on all matters of importance, especially on
those of peace and war. Xo 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.f It
determined the succession to the crown ; removed obnoxious
ministers ; reformed the household and domestic expendi-
ture 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 liber-
ties of the nation.:;:
The excellent commentators on the constitution of Aragon
have bestowed comparatively little attention on the deve-
lopment of its parliamentary history; confining themselves
too exclusively to mere foi-ms of procedure. The defect has
been greatly obviated by the copiousness of their general
* Capmanv, Pr^ctica y Estilo, pp. 44 et scq. — Martel, Forma de
Celebrar Cortes, cap. 50, €>0 et seq. — Fueros y Observancias, torn. i. foL
229. — Blancas, Modo de Proceder, fol. 2-4. — Zurita, Anales, torn. iii. fol.
321. — Robertson, misinterpreting a passage of Blancas, (Commentarii,
p. 375,) states that a " session of cortes continued forty days." (History
of Charles V., vol. i. p. 140.) It usually lasted months.
+ Fueros y Observancias, fol. 6, tit. Privileg. Gen. — Blancas, Commen
tarii, p. 371. — Capmany, Practica y Estilo, p. 51. — It was anciently the
practice of the legislature to grant supplies of troops, but not of money.
When Peter IV. requested a pecuniary subsidy, the cortes told him, that
*' such things had not been usual ; that his Christian subjects were wont
to serve him with their persons, and it was only for Jews and Moors to
serve him with money." Blancas, IModo de Proceder, cap. 18.
t See examples of them in Zurita, Anales, tom. i. fol. 51, 263; torn.
ii. fol. 301, 394, 424.— Blancas, Modo de Proceder, fol. 93, 106.
ARAGON. Q7
historians. But the statute-book affords the most unequi-
vocal 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 Privi-
lege, the Magna Charta, as it has been well denominated,
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 ascer-
taining 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 nobihtv.
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 communitv.--
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 Privi-
* " There was such a conformity of sentiment among all parties," says
Zurita, " that the privileges of the nohility were no better secured than
those of the commons. For the Aragonese deemed that the existence of
the commonwealth depended not so much on its strength, as on its liber-
ties." (Anales, lib. 4, cap, 38.) In the confirmation of the privilege by
James the Second, in 132.5, torture, then generally recognised by tlic
municipal law of Europe, was expressly prohibited in Aragon, " as unworthy
of freemen." See Zurita, Anales, lib. 6, cap. 61, — and Fucros y Obscr-
vancias, torn. L fol. 9. Declaratio Priv. Gencralis.
r2
68 INTRODUCTION.
lege as the broadest basis of their liberties, repeatedly pro-
cured its confirmation by succeeding sovereigns. ** By so
many and such various precautions," says Blancas, "did
our ancestors estabhsh that freedom which their posterity
have 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."*
The judicial functions of the cortes have not been suffi-
ciently noticed by >vriters. They were extensive in then-
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 dehvered an opinion
conformable to the will of the majority.! The authority,
* The patriotism of Blancas warms as he dwells on the illusory
picture of ancient virtue, and contrasts it with the degeneracy of his own
day. " Et vero prisca haec tarn severitas, desertaque ilia et inculta vita,
quando dies noctesque nostri armati concursabant, ac in hello et Maurorum
sanguine assidui versahantur : vere quidem parsimoniae, fortitudinis, tcm-
perantiae, caeterarumque virtutum omnium magistra fuit. In qua maleficia
ac scelera, quae nunc in otiosa hac nostra umhratili et delicate gignuntur,
gigni non solehant ; quin immo ita tunc aequaliter omnes omni genera
virtutum floruere, ut egregia haec laus vidcatur non hominum solum,
verum illorum etiam temporum fuisse." Commentarii, p. 340. The
repeated confirmation of the General Privilege aflPords another point of
finalogy with Magna Charta, which, together with the Charter of the
Forest, received, according to Lord Coke, the sanction of parliament thirty-
two several times. — Institutes, part ii. Proemc.
t It was more frequently referred, both for the sake of expedition and
ARAGON. C9
indeed, of this magistrate in his own court was fully equal
to providing adequate relief in all these cases.* But for
several reasons this parliamentary tribunal was preferred.
The process was both more expeditious and less expensive
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 incap-
able 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 endm-e con-
tumely 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 then- own grievance, but one of a
universal and permanent application."!
The Aragonese cortes maintained a steady control over
the operations of government, especially after the dissolu-
tion 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
of obtaining a more full investigation, to commissioners nominated con-
jointly by the cortes and the party demanding redress. The nature of the
fjrevjges, or grievances, vrhich might be brought before the legislature, and
the mode of proceeding in relation to them, are circumstantially detailed
by the parliamentar;^ historians of Aragon. See Berart, Discurso sobre la
Celebracion de Cortes, cap. 7. — Capmany, Practica y Estilo, pp. 37-44.
— Blancas, Modo de Proceder, cap. 14, — and Martel, Forma de Celebrar
Cortes, cap. 54-59.
* Blancas, Modo de Proceder, cap. 14.— Yet Peter IV., in his dispute
with the justice Fernandez de Castro, denied this. Zurita, Anales, torn,
ii. fol. 170.
t Blancas, Modo de Proceder, ubi supra.
70 INTnODUCTlON.
favourable to this. The knights and hidalgos, an inter-
mediate order between the great nobility and the people,
■»vhen detached from the former, natm-ally lent additional
support to the latter, with whom, indeed, they had consider-
able affinity. The representatives of certain cities, as well
as a certain class of citizens, were entitled to a seat in this
body ;* so that it approached both in spu-it 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.! In some other particulars the Aragonese com-
mons possessed an advantage over those of Castile. I. By
postponing their money grants to the conclusion of the
session, and regulating them in some degree by the pre-
vious dispositions of the crown, they availed themselves of
an important lever relinquished by the Castilian cortes. j
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 diversity of
interests, as existed in the neighbouring monarchy. Their
representatives, therefore, were enabled to move with a
* As for example the ciudadanos honrados of Saragossa. (Capmany,
Practica y Estilo, p. 14.) A ciudadano konrado in Catalonia, and I
presume the same in Aragon, was a landowner, who lived on his rents
without heing engaged in commerce or trade of any kind, answering to the
French propriitaire. See Capmany, Mem. de Barcelona, torn. ii. Apend.
No. 30.
+ Blancas, Modo de Proceder, fol. 1 02.
ijl Not, however, it must he allowed, without a manly struggle in its
defence, and which in the early part of Charles V.'s reign, in 1525,
wrenched a promise from the crown to answer all petitions definitely
before the rising of cortes. The law still remains on the statute-book,
(Recop. de las Leyes, lib. 6, tit. 7, ley 8,) a sad commentary on the faith
of piinces.
ARAGON. 71
more hearty concert, and on a more consistent line of policy.
3. Lastly, the acknowledged right to a seat in cortes, pos-
sessed by every city which had once been represented there,
and this equally whether summoned or not, if we may credit
Capmany,* 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." t
Xo part of the constitution of Aragon has excited more
interest, or more deservedly, than the oflSce of the Justiciar
or Justice ;J whose extraordinary functions were far from
being limited to judicial matters, although in these his
authority was supreme. The origin of this institution is
affirmed to have been coeval with that of the constitution
or frame of government itself. § 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
* Practica y Estilo, p. 14.
+ " Y nos tenemos a ellos como buenos vassallos v compaueros." — Zu-
rita, Anales, lib. 7, cap. 17.
+ The noun " justicia " was made masculine for tbe accommodation of
this magistrate, who was styled " el justicia." Antonio Perei, Rclacioncs,
fol. 91.
§ Blancas, Commcntarii, p. 25. — Zurita, Anales, tom. i. fol. 9.
72 ■ INTRODUCTION.
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 enumerated.
He was authorised to pronounce on the validity of aU
royal letters and ordinances. He possessed, as has been
said, concurrent jurisdiction Avith 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."* An appeal lay to
his tribunal from those of the territorial and royal judges. t
He could even evoke a cause, while pending before them,
into his own court, and secure the defendant from molesta-
tion on his giving siu-ety 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 two provisions, by which the precipitate
and perhaps intemperate proceedings of subordinate judi-
catures were subjected to the revision of a dignified and
dispassionate tribunal, might seem to afford sufficient security
for personal liberty and property, j
* Molinus, apud Blancas, Commeutarii, pp. 343, 344. — Fueros y Ob-
servancias, torn, i, fol. 21, 25.
t Blancas, Commentarii, p. 536. — The principal of these jurisdictions
ATas the royal audience, ^iu which the king himself presided in person.
Ibid, p. 355.
X Fueros y Observancias, torn. i. fol. 23, 60 et seq. 155, lib. 3, tit. De
Manifestationibus Personarum. — Also fol. 1 37 et seq., tit. 7, De Firmis Juris.
— Blancas, Commentarii, pp. 350, 351. — Zurita, Anales, lib. 10, cap. 37.
— The first of these processes was styled Ji7-ma de derecho, the last nani-
festacion. The Spanish writers are warm in their encomiums of these two
provisions. " Quibus duobus pi-sesidiis," says Blancas, " ita nostrae reipub-
AEAGOX. 73
In addition to these official functions, the Justice of
Aragon was constituted a permanent counsellor of the sove-
reign, and, as such, was required to accompany him where-
ever 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 sittino;, while the monarch, kneelinsj
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.*
It was the avowed purpose of the institution of 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 he thought of their authen-
licae status continetur ut nulla pars communium fortunarum tutela vacua
relinquatur." Both this author and Zurita have amplified the details
respecting them, which the reader may find extracted, and in part translated
by Mr. Hallam, Middle Ages, vol. ii. pp. 75 — 77, notes.
When complex litigation became more frequent, the Justice ■was allowed
one, afterwards two, and at a still later period, in 1528, five lieutenants, as
they were called, who aided him in the discharge of his onerous duties.
Martel Forma de Celebrar Cortes, Xotas de Uztarroz, pp. 92-96. —
Blancas, Commentarii, pp. 361-366.
* Blancas, Commentarii, pp. 343, 346, 347. — Idem, Coronacionea,
pp. 200, 202. — Antonio Perez, Relaciones, fol. 92.
Sempere cites the opinion of an ancient canonist, Canellas, bishop of
Huesca, as conclusive against the existence of the vast powers imputed bj
later commentators to the Justicia. (Histoire des Cortes, chap, 19.) The
vague, rhapsodical tone of the extmct shows it to be altogether undeserving
of the emphasis laid on it ; not to add, that it was written more than a
century before the period when the Justicia possessed the influence or the
legal authority claimed for him by Aragonese writei-s, — by Blancas, in
particular, from whom Sempere borrowed the passage at second hand.
74 IXTRODUCTIOX.
ticitj, are undeniably of very high antiquity.* This part
of his duties is particularly insisted on by the most eminent
'judicial T\-riters of the nation. Whatever estimate, there-
fore, 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. Accord-
ingly 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.! The kings of
Aragon, chafed by this opposition, procured the resignation
or deposition, on more than one occasion, of the obnoxious
magistrate.! 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
* The law alluded to runs thus, " Ne quid autem damni detri-
meutive leges aut libertates nostrse patiantur, judex quidam medius
adesto, ad quem a Rege provocare, si aliquem Iseserit, injuriasque arcere si
quas forsan Reipub. intulerit, jus fasque esto." Blancas, Commentarii,
p. 26.
+ Such instances may be found in Zurita, Anales, torn. ii. fol. 385, 414.
—Blancas, Commentarii, pp. 199, 202-206, 214, 225. — "Wlien Ximenes
Cerdan, the independent Justice of John I., removed certain citizens from
the prison in which they had been unlawfully confined by the king, in
defiance equally of that officer s importunities and menaces, the inhabitants
of Saragossa, says Abarca, came out in a body to receive him on his return
to the city, and greeted him as the defender of their ancient and natural
liberties. (Reyes de Aragon, torn. i. fol. 155.) So openly did the
Ai-agonese support their magistrate in the boldest exercise of his
authority.
:{: This occun-ed onco under Peter III., and twee under Alfonso V.
(Zurita, Anales, tom. iii. fol. 255. — Blancas, Commentarii, pp. 174, 489
499.) The Justice was appomted by the king.
ARAGON. 7C'
in office during life, removable only, on sufficient cause, Lj
the king and the cortes united.-^
Several provisions were enacted, in order to secure the
nation more effectually against the abuse of the high trust
reposed in this officer. He was to be taken from tlie
equestrian order, which, as intermediate between the high
nobihty and the people, was less hkely to be influenced by
undue partiaHty to either. He could not be selected froju
the ricos hombres, since this class Avas exempted from
■corporal punishment, while the Justice was made responsible
to the cortes for the faithful discharge of his duties, under
penalty of death. t As this supervision of the whole legis-
lature 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. J
The Aragonese writers are prodigal of then' encomiums
on the pre-eminence and dignity of this functionary, whose
* Fueros y Observancias, torn. i. fol. 22. + Ibid. torn. i. fol. 25.
J Fueros y Observancias, torn. i. lib. 3, tit. Forum Inquisitionis Officii
Just. Arrag. and torn. ii. fol. 37-41. — Blancas, Commentarii, pp. 391-399.
The examination was conducted in the first instance before a court of
four inquisitors, as they were termed ; who, after a patient hearing of both
sides, reported the result of thcii examination to a council of seventeen,
chosen like them from the cortes, from whose decision there was no appeal.
No lawyer was admitted into this council, lest the law might be distorted
by verbal quibbles, says Blancas. The council, however, was allowed the
advice of two of the profession. They voted by ballot, and the majority
decided. Such, after various modifications, were the regulations ultimately
adopted in 1461, or rather 1467. — Robertson appears to have confounded
the council of seventeen with the court of inquisition. See his History
of Charles v., vol. i. note 31.
76 I>'TRODUCTION.
office might seem, indeed, but 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 steady support of public opinion. Fortunately
the Justice of Aragon 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 licence of the nobility and the people. A series
of learned and independent magistrates, by the weight of
their own character, ga^re additional dignity to the office.
The people, familiarised 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.* While, in the
rest of Europe, the law seemed only the web 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 sterility of their soil."t
* Probably no nation of the period ■would have displayed a temperance
similar to that exhibited by the Aragonese at the beginning of the fifteenth
century, in 1412 ; -vvhen the people, having been split into factious by a
contested succession, agreed to refer the dispute to a committee of judges,
elected equally from the three great provinces of the kingdom ; who, after
an examination, conducted vdth all the forms of law, and on the same
equitable principles as would have guided the determination of a private
suit, delivered an opinion, which was received as obligatory on the whole
nation.
f See Zurita, Anales, lib, 8, cap. 29 — and the admirable sentiments
cited by Blancas from the parliamentary acts in 1451. Commentarii,
p. 350.
From this independent position must be excepted, indeed, the lower
classes of the peasantry, who seem to have been in a more abject state in
ARAGON. I 7
The governments of Valencia and Catalonia, which, as
has been already remarked, were administered independ-
ently of each other after their consolidation into one
monarchy, bore a very near resemblance to that of Ara-
gon.* Xo institution, however, corresponding in its func-
tions with that of the Justicia, seems to have obtained in
either.! Valencia, which had derived a large portion of
its primitive population, after the conquest, from Aragou,
preserved the most intimate relations with the parent king-
dom, and was constantly at its side during the tempestu-
ous season of the Union. The Catalans were peculiarly
jealous of their exclusive privileges, and their civil institu-
tions wore a more democratlcal aspect than those of any
other of the confederated states ; circumstances which led
Aragon than in most other feudal countries. " Era tan absolute su
dominie (of their lords) que podian mater con hambre, sed, y frio a sus
vassallos de servidumbre." (Asso y ^lanuel, Instituciones, p. 40 ; also
Blancas, Commentarii, p. 309.) These serfs extorted, in an insurrection,
the recognition of certain rights from their masters, on condition of paving
a specific tax ; whence the name villanos de parada.
* Although the legislatures of the different states of the crown of
Aragon were never united in one body when convened in the same town,
yet they were so averse to all appearance of incorporation, that the monarch
frequently appointed for the places of meeting three distinct towns, within
their respective territories and contiguous, in order that he might pass the
more expeditiously from one to the other. See Blancas, Modo de Pro-
ceder, cap. 4.
+ It is indeed true, that Peter III., at the request of the Valencian?,
appointed an Aragonese knight Justice of that kingdom, in 1283 (Zurita,
Anales, tom. i. fol. 281). But we find no further mention of this officer,
or of the office. Nor have I met with any notice of it in the details of the
Valencian constitution, compiled by Capmany from various writers.
(Priictica y Estile, pp. 161-208.) An anecdote of Ximcnes Cerdan,
recorded by Blancas, (Commentarii, p. 214,) may lead one to infer, that
the places in Valencia, which received the laws of Aragon, acknowledged
the jurisdiction of its Justicia.
/ is INTRODUCTION
to important results that fall \ritliin the compass of our
narrative.*
The city of Barcelona, which originally gave its name to
the county of which it was the capital, was distinguished
from a very early period by ample munificent privileges. t
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, Barce-
lona 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 from every nation, became a prin-
cipal 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 Euro-
pean continent.! Her consuls, and her commercial factories,
were established in every considerable port in the Mediter-
ranean and in the north of Europe. § The natural products
* Capmanv, Practica y Estilo, pp. 62-214 — Captnany has collected
copious materials, from a variety of authors, for the parliamentary history
of Catalonia and Valencia, forming a striking contrast to the scantiness of
information he was able to glean respecting Castile. The indifference of
the Spanish writers, till very recently, to the constitutional antiquities of
the latter kingdom, so much more important than the other states of the
Peninsula, is altogether inexplicable.
t Corbera, Cataluna Illustrada, (Xiipoles, 1678,) lib. 1, c. 17. Petms
de Marca cites a charter of Raymond Berenger, count of Barcelona, to the
city, as ancient as 1025, confirming its former privileges. See Marca
Hispanica, sive Limes Hispanicus, (Parisiis, 1G88,) Apend. No. 198.
J Navarrete, Discurso Historico, apud Mem. de la Acad, de Hist. torn. v.
pp. 81, 82, 112, 113. — Capmany, Mem. de Barcelona, torn. i. part. 1,
cap. 1, pp. 4,8, 10, 11.
§ Mem. de Barcelona, part. 1, cap. 2, 3. — Capmany has given a regis-
ter of the consuls, and of the numerous stations at which they were esta-
blished throughout Africa and Europe, in the fourteenth and fifteenth cen-
ARAGOy. 79
of her soil, and her yarlons domestic fabrics, supplied her
Avith abundant articles of export. Fine "wool was imported
by her in considerable quantities from England in the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and returned there manu-
factured into cloth ; an exchange of commodities the reverse
of that existing between the two nations at the present
day.* 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 claims the glory, too, of
having compiled the most ancient written code, among the
modems, 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.t
tunes, (torn, ii, Apend. No. 23.) These officers during the middle ages
discharged much more impoi-tant duties than at the present dav, if we
except those few residing with the Barbary powers. Thev settled the
disputes arising between their countrvmen in the ports where they were
established ; they protected the trade of their own nation with these ports ;
and were employed in adjusting commercial relations, treaties, &c. In
short, they filled in some sort the post of a modem ambassador, or resident
minister, at a period when this functionary was only employed on extra-
ordinary occasions.
* Macpherson, Annals of Commerce, (London, 1825,) vol. i. p. 655. —
The woollen manufacture constituted the principal staple of Barcelona
(Capmany, Mem.de Barcelona, torn. i. p. 241). The English soTereigns
encouraged the Catalan traders by considerable immunities to frequent
their ports during the fourteenth century. Macpherson, ubi supra, pp. 502,
551,588.
+ Heeren, Essai sur ITnfluence des Croisades, traduit par Tillers, (Paris,
1808,) p. 37G. — Capmany, Mem. de Barcelona, tom. i. p. 213, also,
pp. 170-180. — Capmany fixes the date of the publication of the Consulado
dd Mar at the middle of the thirteenth century, under James I. He
discusses and refutes the claims of the Pisans to precedence in this codifi-
cation. Sec his Preliminary Discourse to the Costumbres Maritimas de
Barcelona.
80 INTRODUCTION.
The wealtli Trlilch flowed in upon Barcelona as the result
of her activity and enterprise, was evinced by her numerous
pubUc -works, her docks, arsenal, warehouses, exchange, hos-
pitals, 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,
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 into
commercial treaties with foreign powers ; superintended the
defence of the city in time of war ; provided for the secu-
rity 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.!
* Naragiero, Viaggio, fol. 3. — L. Marineo styles it " the most beau-
tiful city he had ever seen, or, to speak more correctly, in the whole
world." (Cosas Memorahles, fol. 18.) Alfonso V., in one of his ordi-
nances, in 1438, calls it " urbs vcnerabilis in egregiis templis, tuta ut in
optimis, pulchra in caitcris aedificiis, &c." Capmany, Mem. de Barcelona,
torn. ii. Apcnd. No. 13.
f Capmany, Mem. de Barcelona, Apend. No. 24. — The senate, or great
council, though styled the " one hundred," seems to have fluctuated at
different times between that number and double its amount.
ARAGON. 81
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 magmficos ; 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 honours, of foreign ambassadors.* These,
it will be recollected, were plebeians, — merchants and
mechanics. Trade never was esteemed a degradation in
Catalonia, as it came to be in Castile.f The professors of
the different arts, as they were called, organised into guilds
or 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 beiDg enrolled among the candidates for them.]:
One cannot but observe in the peculiar organisation 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.
* Corbera, Cataluua Illusti-ada, p. 84. — Capmany, Mem. dc Barcelona,
lorn. ii. Apend. Xo. 29.
t Capmany, Mem. de Barcelona, torn. i. part. 3, p. 40 ; tom. iii. part. 2,
ip. 317, 318.
X Capmany, Mem. de Barcelona, tom. i. part. 2, p. 187; tom. ii.
Apend. 30. — Capmany says pnncipal nobleza ; yet it may be presumed
that much the larger proportion of these noble candidates for ofEcc was
drawn from the inferior class of the privileged orders, the knights and
hidalgos. The great barons of Catalonia, fortified •nith extensive immu-
nities and wealth, lived on their estates in the country, probably little
relishing the levelling spirit of the burghers of Barcelona.
VOL. I. G
82 IXTRODUCTIOX.
Under the influence of these democratic institutions, the
burghers of Barcelona, and indeed of 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 from this quarter of their dominions
than from every other.* Xavagiero, the Venetian ambas-
sador 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 licence."! One ex-
ample, among many, ma}' be given of the tenacity with
which they adhered to their most inconsiderable immunities.
Ferdinand the First, in 1416, being desirous, in conse-
quence 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.
* Barcelona revolted and was twice besieged by the royal arms under
John II.; once under Philip IV., twice under Charles II., and twice under
Philip V. This last siege, 1713-14, in which it held out against the com-
bined forces of France and Spain under Marshal Berwick, is one of the
most memorable events in the eighteenth century. An interesting account
of tlie siege may be found in Coxe's Memoirs of the Kings of Spain of
the House of Bourbon, (London, 1815,) vol. ii. chap. 21. — The late
monarch. Ferdinand VII., also had occasion to feel that the independent
spirit of the Catalans did not become extinct with their ancient consti-
tution, f Viaggio, fol. 3.
ARAGON. 83
The magistrate, having previously advised ^vith his col-
leagues, 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 wilhng so soon to deviate from the good usages of his
predecessors, and plainly told him that he and his comrades
■would never betray the liberties intrusted to them. Fer-
dinand, 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 aflection to his person, from the
little familiarity vntli icliich he had treated them in com-
parison 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 abraptly from the city on the
ensuing day, disgusted at the ill success of his enterprise.*
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.! Notwithstanding the mortifications
which they occasionally experienced from this quarter, there-
* Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, torn. ii. fol. 183. — Zurita, Anales, torn. iii.
lib. 12, cap. 69. — The king turned his haek on the magistrates who came
to pay their respects to him, on learning bis intention of quitting the city.
He seems, however, to have had the magnanimity to forgive, perhaps to
admire, the independent conduct of Fiveller; for at his death, which
occurred very soon after, we find this citizen mentioned as one of his execu-
tors. See Capmany, Mem. de Barcelona, torn. ii. Apend. 29.
+ The taxes were assessed in the ratio of one-sixth on Valencia, two-
sixths on Aragon, and three-sixths on Catalonia. See jNIartel, Forma de
Celebrar Cortes, cap. 71.
g2
84 IXTRODUCTIOX.
fore, they uniformly extended to-^-ards it the most liberal
protection. A register of the various customs paid in the
ports of Catalonia, compiled in 1413, under the above-men-
tioned Ferdinand, exhibits a discriminating legislation, ex-
traordinary in an age when the true principles of financial
pohcy were so little understood.* 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, t
The brisk concussion given to the minds of the Catalans
in the busy career in which they were engaged, seems to
have been favom-able to the development 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 modem Europe. ^Miatever
may be the relative claims of the two countries to precedence
in this respect,! it is certain that under the family of Barce-
lona, the Provencal of the south of France reached its highest
* See the items specified by Capmanj, Mem. de Barcelona, torn. i.
pp. 231, 232.
f Idem, torn. i. pp. 221, 234. — Capmany states, that the statute of
Alfonso Y. prohibited " ali foreign ships from taking cargoes in the ports of
his dominions." (See also Colec. Dipl. tom. ii. No. 187.) The object of
this law, like that of the British Navigation Act, was the encouragement
of the national marine. It deviated far, however, from the sagacious
policy of the latter, which imposed no restriction on the exportation of
domestic produce to foreign countries, except, indeed, its own colonies.
J Andres, Dell' Origine, de' Progressi, e dello Stato Attuale d'Ogni
Letteratura, (Venezia 1783), part, l,cap. 11. — Lampillas, Suggio Storico-
Apologetico della Letteratura Spagnuola, (Genova, 1778,) part. 1, dis. 6,
sec. 7. — Andre conjectures, and Lampillas decides in favour of Catalonia.
Arcades amho; and the latter critic, the worst possible authority on all
q'.icstions of national preference.
ARAGON. So
perfection ; and, wiien the tempest of persecution in the be-
ginning 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.* Their names have descended to us, as well as
those of less illustrious troubadours, whom Petrarch and his
contemporaries did not disdain to imitate ;f but their com-
positions, for the most part, he still buried in those cemeteries
of the intellect so numerous in Spain, and call loudly for the
diligence of some Sainte Palaye or Ptaynouard to disinter
them. J
The languishing condition of the poetic art, at the close
* Velazquez, On'genes de la Poesla Castellana, (Malaga, 1707.) pp.
20-"22. — Andres, Letteratura, part. 1, cap. 11. — Alfonso II., Peter IL,
Peter III,, James I., Peter IV., have all left compositions in the Limousin.
tongue behind them ; the three former in verse ; the two latter in prose,
setting forth the history of their own time. For a particular account of
their respective productions, see Latassa, (Escritores Aragoneses, tom. i.
pp. 175-179, 185-189, 222, 224,242-248 ; tom. ii. p. 28,) also Lanuza.
Historias Ecclesiasticas y Seculares de Aragon; Zaragoza, 1662; tom. i-
p. 553.) The Chronicle of James I. is particularly esteemed for its
fidelity.
f Whether Jordi stole from Petrarch, or Petrarch from Jordi, has beea
matter of hot debate between the Spanish and French litterateurs.
Sanchez, after a careful examination of the evidence, candidly decides
against his countryman. (Poesias Castellanas, tom. i. pp. 81-84.) A
competent critic in the Retrospective Review, (No. 7, art. 2.) who enjoyed
the advantage orer Sanchez of perusing a MS. copy of Jordi's original
poem, makes out a very plausible argument in favour of the originality of
the Yalencian poet. After all, as the amount stolen, or, to speak moro
reverently, borrowed, does not exceed half a dozen lines, it is not of vital
importance to the reputation of either poet.
t The abate Andres lamented, fifty years ago, that the worms and
moths shbuld be allowed to revel among the precious relics of ancient
Castilian literature. (Letteratura, tom. ii. p. 306.) Have their revels
been disturbed vet ?
86 INTRODUCTION.
of tlie fourteenth century, induced John the First, who
mingled somewhat of the ridiculous even with his most
respectahle 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 organised in 1390. The
kings of Aragon endowed it w^ith funds, and with a library
valuable for that day, presiding over its meetings in person,
and distributing 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.*
The marquis, in his treatise on the gaya sckncia, details
with becoming gravity the pompous ceremonial observed in
his academy on the event of a pubhc 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 colours,
richly enamelled with gold and silver, and beautifully illu-
minated," 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 was registered in the academic archives ; and
the fortunate troubadour, greeted with a magnificent prize,
was escorted to the royal palace amid a cortege of min-
strelsy and chivalry ; " thus manifesting to the world," says
* Mayans y Siscar, Origenes de la Lengua Espauola, (Madrid, 1737,)
torn. ii. pp. 323, 324. — Crescimbeni, Istoria della Volgar Poesia, (Venezia
1731,) torn. ii. p. 170. — Mariana, Hist, de Espaua, torn. i. p. 183. —
Velazquez, Poesia Castellana, pp. 23, 24.
ARAGOX. S7
the marquis, " the superioritv vrliicli God and nature have
assigned to genius over dulness."*
The influence of such an institution in awakening a poetic
spirit is at best very questionable. 'Whatever effect an
academy may have in stimulating the researches of science,
the inspirations of genius must come unbidden ;
" Adfiata est numine quando
Jam propiore deL"
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, theologv,
medicine, and the belles-lettres. This institution survived
until the commencement of the last century.!
Dm-ing the first half of the fifteenth century, long after
the genuine race of the troubadours had passed away, the
Provencal or Limousin verse was carried to its highest
excellence by the poets of Valencia. J It would be pre-
sumptuous 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
* Mayans j Siscar, Origenes, torn. ii. pp. 32o-327.
+ Andres, Letteratura, torn. iv. pp. 85, 86. — Capmany, Mem. do Bar-
celona, tom. ii. Apend. No. 16. — There were thirty-two chairs or professor-
ships, founded and maintained at the expense of the city : six of theology ;
six of jurisprudence ; five of medicine; six of philosophy; four of gram-
mar; one of rhetoric; one of surgery; one of anatomy ; one of Hebrew,
and another of Greek. It is singular that none should have existed for
the Latin, so much more currently studied at that time, and of so much
more practical application always than either of the other ancient languages.
Ij: The Valencian, " the sweetest and most graceful of the Limousin
dialects," says Mayitns y Siscar, Origenes, tom. i. p. 58.
bo IXTRODUCTIOX.
■n-hicli necessarily consists in the almost impalpable beauties
of style and expression. The Spaniards however applaud,
in the verses of Ausias March, the same musical combina-
tions of sound, and the same tone of moral melancholy
■which pervade the productions of Petrarch.* In prose,
too, they have (to borrow^ the words of Andres) their Boc-
cacio in Martorell ; whose fiction of " Tirante el Blanco"
is honoured 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 otlier folk, and very unlike most heroes of
romance." The productions of these, and some other of
their distinguished contemporaries, obtained a general cir-
culation very early by means of the recently invented art of
printing, and subsequently passed into repeated editions. f
But their lan^-uao-e has lonn; since ceased to be the lanfjua^e
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 Provencal, once
more rich and melodious than any other idiom in the Penin-
sula, was abandoned as a patois to the lower orders of the
Catalans, who, with the language, may boast that they also
* Nicolas Antonio, Bibliotlieca Hispana Yetus, (Matriti, 1788,) torn. ii.
p. 146. — Andres, Letteratura, torn. iv. p. 87.
f Cervantes, Don Quixote, (ed. de Pellicer, Madrid, 1787,) torn. i.
p. 62. — Mendez, Typogi-aphia Espaiiola, (Madrid, 1796,) pp. 72-75. —
Andres, Letteratura, ubi supra. — Pellicer seems to take IMartorell's word
in good earnest, that bis book is only a version from the Castilian.
The names of some of the most noted troubadours are collected by
Velazquez, Pocsia Castellana, (pp. 20 — 24.) — Capmany, Mem. dc Barce-
lona, (tom. ii. Apend. No. 5.) Some extracts and pertinent criticisms on
their productions may be found by the English reader in the Retrospective
Review. (No. 7, art. 2.) It is to be regretted that the author has not
redeemed his pledge of continuing his notices to the Castilian era of Spanish
poetrj'.
ARAGOX. 89
have inherited the noble principles of freedom wliieh dis-
tinguished their ancestors.
The influence of free institutions in Aragon is perceptible in the fami-
liarity displayed by its vmters with public affairs, and in the freedom with
which they have discussed the organisation and general economy of its
government. The creation of the office of national chronicler, under
Charles V., gave wider scope to the development of historic talent. Among
the most conspicuous of these historiographers was Jerome Blancas, several
of whose productions, as the " Coronaciones de los Reyes," " Modo de
Proceder en Cortes," and " Commentarii Rerum Aragonensium," espe-
cially the last, have been repeatedly quoted in the preceding section. This
work presents a view of the different orders of the state, and particularly
of the office of the Justicia, with their peculiar functions and privileges.
The author, omitting the usual details of history, has devoted himself to
the illustration of the constitutional antiquities of his country, in the exe-
cution of which he has shown a sagacity and erudition equally pi'ofound.
His sentiments breathe a generous love of freedom, which one would
scarcely suppose to have existed, and still less to have been promulgated,
under Phihp TI. His style is distinguished by the purity and even ele-
gance of its Latinity. The first edition, being that which I have used,
appeared in 1588, in folio, at Saragossa, executed with much typographical
beauty. The work was afterwards incorporated into Schottus's " Hispania
Illustrata." — Blancas, after having held his office for ten years, died in
his native city of Saragossa, in 1590.
Jerome Martel, from whose little treatise " Fomiar de Celebrar Cortes,"
I have also liberally cited, was appointed public historiographer in 1597.
His continuation of Zurita's Annals, which he left unpublished at his
decease, was never admitted to the honours of the press, because, says Ixis
biographer Tztarroz, verdades lastiman ; a reason as creditable to the
author as disgraceful to the government.
A third writer, and the one chiefly relied on for the account of Cata-
lonia, is Don Antonio Capmany. His " Memorias Historicas de Barce-
lona," (5 tom. 4to. Madrid, 1779-1792,) may be thought somewhat too
discursive and circumstantial for his subject ; but it is hardly right to quar-
rel with information so rare and painfully collected ; the sin of exuberance
at any rate is much less frequent, and more easily corrected, than that of
sterility. His work is a vast repertory of facts relating to the commerce,
manufactures, general policy, and public prosperity, not only of Barcelona,
90 INTRODUCTION.
but of Catalonia. It is wi-itten witli au independent and liberal spirit,
■nhich may be regarded as affording the best commentary on the genius of
the institutions which he celebrates. — Capmany closed his useful labours at
Madrid in 1810, at the age of fifty-six.
Notwithstanding the interesting character of the Aragonese constitution,
and the amplitude of materials for its history, the subject has been hitherto
neglected, as far as I am aware, by continental writers. Robertson and
Hallam, more especially the latter, have given such a view of its promi-
nent features to the English reader, as must, I fear, deprive the sketch
which I have attempted, in a gi'cat degree, of novelty. To these names
must now be added that of the author of the " History of Spain and Por-
tugal," (Cabinet Cyclopaedia,) whose work, published since the preceding
pages were written, contains much curious and learned disquisition on the
earjy jurisprudence and municipal institutions of both Castile and Aragon.
PART THE 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 administration j or the
period exhibiting most fully the d03iestic policy of
Ferdinand and Isabella.
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93
CHAPTEE I.
ETATE OF CASTILE AT THE BIRTH OF ISABELLA. — REIGN OF JOHV n.
0? CASTILE.
1406 — 145i.
Revolution of Trastamara. — Accession of John II. — Rise of Alvaro de
Luna. — Jealousy of the Nobles. — Oppression <^f 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, wliich preceded the accession 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 descended in the scale ; and, when the claims of the
several competitors for the throne were finally extinguished,
and the tranquillity of the kingdom was secured, by the
union of Henry the Third with Catherine of Lancaster, at
the close of the fourteenth century, the third estate may be
said to have attained to the highest degree of poUtical con-
sequence which it ever reached in Castile.
<J4 REIGN OF JOHN II. OF 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 mur-
derous civil contests. The ancient channels of commerce
were again opened ; various new manufactures were intro-
duced, 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 vigour. All these
fair hopes were blasted by the premature death of Henry the
Third, before he had reached his twenty-eighth year. The
crown devolved on his son John the Second, then a minor,
whose reign was one of the longest and the most disastrous
in the Castilian annals. t As it was that, however, which
gave birth to Isabella, the illustrious subject of our narrative,
it will be necessary to pass its principal features under
review, in order 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 eves
of the vulgar by the pomp and brilliant festivities which
distinguished the court of the young monarch. His indis-
position, 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
favourites.
The most conspicuous of these was Alvaro de Luna,
• Sempere y Guarinos, Historia del Luxo, y de las Leyes Suntuarias de
Espaiia, (Madrid, 1788.) torn. i. p. 171.
+ Crdnica de Enrique III., edicion de la Academia, (Madrid, 1780,)
pr.ssim. — Crunica de Juan II., (Valencia, 1779,) p. 6.
BIRTH OF ISABELLA. 95
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 househould, where he soon distinguished him-
self 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 favour of the monarch, who professed
to be a connoisseur in both. AYith these showy qualities,
Alvaro de Luna united others of a more dangerous com-
plexion. His insinuating address easily conciliated con-
fidence, and enabled him to master the motives of others,
while his own were masked by consummate dissimulation.
He was as fearless in executing his ambitious schemes as
he was cautious 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 bur-
den of government. The king, it ^as 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 per-
verted the great trust confided to him to the acquisition of
the principal posts in the government for himself or his kin-
dred, and at his death is said to have left a larger amount of
treasure than was possessed by the whole nobility of iliQ
kingdom. He aS'ected a magnificence of state correspond-
ing with his elevated rank. The most considerable grandees
in Castile contended for the honour 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 com-
paratively deserted ; so that royalty might be said on all
occasions, whether of business or pleasure, to be eclipsed by
96 KEIGX OF JOHN II. OF CASTILE.
tlie superior splendours of its satellite.* The history of this
man may reniind the English reader of that of Cardinal
"VVolsey, whom he somewhat resembled in character, and
still more in his extraordinary fortunes.
It may easily be believed, that the haughty aristocracy of
Castile would ill brook this exaltation of an individual so
inferior to them in birth, and who withal did not wear his
honours with exemplary meekness. John's blind partiality
for his favourite is the key to all the troubles which agitated
the kingdom during the last thirty years of his reign. The
disgusted nobles organised confederacies for the purpose of
deposing the minister. The whole nation took sides in this
unhappy struggle. The heats of civi] 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 favourite,! But the only witchcraft which he
* Crdnica de Alvaro de Luna, edicion de la Academia, (Madrid, 1784,)
tit. 3, 5, 68, 74. — Guzman, Generaciones y Semblanzas, (Madrid, 1775,)
cap. 33, 34. — Abarca, Reres de Aragon, en Analcs Histdricos, (Madrid,
1682,) torn. i. fol. 227. — Crdnica do Juan II., passim. — He possessed sixty
towns and fortresses, and kept three thousand lances constantly in pay.
Oviedo, Quincungenas, MS.
+ Guzman, Generaciones, cap. 33. — Cronica de Don Juan II., p. 491, et
ilibi. His complaisance for the favourite, indeed, must be admitted, if we
BIRTH OF ISABELLA. 97
used, was the ascendancy of a strong mind over a vreak
one.
During this long-protracted auarcliy, the people lost what-
ever 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 council, or lost all influence in
it. Attempts were made to impose taxes without the
legislative sanction. The municipal territories were ahen-
ated, and lavished on the royal minions. The freedom
of elections was invaded, and delegates to cortes were fre-
quently nominated by the crown ; and, to complete the
iniquitous scheme of oppression, pragmaticas, or royal pro-
clamations, 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.* The commons indeed, when assembled in
cortes, stoutly resisted the assumption of such unconsti-
tutional powers by the cro^NTi, and compelled the prince not
only to revoke his pretensions, but to accompany his revo-
believe Guzman, to have been of a most extraordinary kind. " E lo que
con mayor maravilla se puede decir e oir, que aun en los autos naturales se
dio asi a la ordenanza del condestable, que seyendo el mozo bien com-
plexionado, e teniendo d la reyna su muger moza y hermosa, si el
condestable se lo contradixiese, no iria a dormir a su cama della," Ubi
Bupra.
* Marina, Teoria de las Cortes, (Madrid, 1813.) torn. i. cap. 20 ; torn. ii.
pp. 216, 390, 391 ; torn. iii. part. 2, No. 4. — Capmany, Practica y EstQc
de Celebrar Cortes en Aragon, Cataluiia y Valencia, (Madrid, 1821,)
pp. 234, 235. — Sempere, Histoire des Cortes d'Espagne, (Bordeaux, 1815,)
chap. 18, 24.
VOL. I. n
98 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF CASTILE.
cation witli the most humiliating concessions.* They even
ventured so far, during this reign, as to regulate the ex-
penses of the royal household;! 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 determina-
tion to maintain them.:}:
Alas I 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 co-operation on the part of the higher orders
of the state I A scheme "was devised for bringing the popu-
lar branch of the legislature more effectually within the
control of the crown, by diminishing the number of its con-
stituents. It has been already remarked, in the Introduc-
tion, 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 privilege. Some of
those that were excluded, indignantly, though ineffectually,
remonstrated against this abuse. Others, previously de-
* Several of this prince's laws for redressing tlie alleged grievances are
incorporated in the great code of Phillip II., (Recopilacion de las Leyes ;
Madrid, 1640 ; lib. 6, tit. 7, leyes 5, 7, 2,) which declares in the most
unequivocal language, the right of the commons to be consulted on all
important matters. " Porque en los hechos arduos de nuestros reynos es
necessario consejo de nuestros subditos, y naturales, especialmente de los
procuradores de las miestras ciudades, villas, y lugares de los nuestros
reynos.^'' It was much easier to extort good laws from this monarch than
to enforce them.
+ Mariana, Historia de Espana, (Madrid, 1780,) tom. ii. p. 299.
X Marina, Teoria, ubi supra.
BIRTH OF IS.U3ELLA 99
spoiled of their possessions by the rapacity of the crown, or
impoverished by the disastrous feuds into which the country
liad 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 sove-
reign to defray the charges of their representatives from the
royal treasury; a most ill-advised parsimony, which sug-
gested to the crown a plausible pretext for the new system
of exclusion. In this manner the Castilian cortes, which,
notwithstanding its occasional fluctuations, had exliibited
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.*
The non-represented were required to transmit their in-
structions 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 included within its geographical limits.! The
privilege of a voice in cortes, as it was called, came at length
to be prized so highly by the favoured cities, that when, in
1506, some of those which were excluded solicited the resti-
tution of their ancient rights, their petition was opposed by
the former on the impudent pretence that " the right ot
* Capmany, Practica v Estilo, p. 228. — Sempere, Hist, des Cortes,
chap. 19. — Marina, Teoria, part. 1, cap. 16.— In 1656 the citv of Palencia
was content to repurcliase its ancient right of representation from the crown
at an expense of 80.000 ducats.
t Capmanj-, Practica y Estilo, p. 230. — Sempere, Histoire des Cortes
u'Espagne. chao. 19.
n2
100 REIGN OF JOHN 11. OF CASTILE.
deputation had been reserved by ancient la\v and usage to
only eighteen cities of the realm."* In this short-sighted
and most unhappy policy, we see the operation of those local
jealousies and estrangements to which we have alluded in
the Introduction. But, although the cortes, thus reduced
in numbers, necessarily lost much of its weight, it still main-
tained 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 pro-
ceeding is not improbable, as altogether conformable to their
ordinary policy, and as the natural result of their preliminary
measm*es. But, however true the deputies continued to
themselves and to those who sent them, it is evident that so
limited and partial a selection no longer afforded a repre-
sentation 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
when knowledge was not circulated on the thousand wings
of the press, as in our day, must have left them oftentimes
in painful uncertainty, 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 fre-
quency 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 birth-right 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.
• Marina, Teoria, torn. i. p. 161.
BIRTH OF ISABELLA. lOl
While the reign of John the Second is so deservedly
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 the First in French literature, distin-
guished 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 com-
positions, displaying occasional glimpses of a buoyant fancy,
or of sensibility to external beauty ; to say nothing of those
dehghtful 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 undi-
gested verse, as shows an entire ignorance of the principles
of the art.*
The profession of letters itself was held in little repute
by the higher orders of the nation, who were altogether
untinctured with liberal learning. While the nobles of the
sister kingdom of Aragon, assembled in their poetic courts,
in imitation of their Proven9al 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
* See the ample collections ot Sanclicz., " Poesi'aa CaRiftllaTia^i antpnores
al Siglo XV.'» 4 torn. Madrid, 1779-1790.
102 EEIGN OF JOHN U. OF CASTILE.
this ferocious temper. He was himself sufficiently accom-
plished 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.* What-
ever might be the value of his criticisms, that of his
example cannot be doubted. The courtiers, with the quick
scent of their own interest which distinguishes the tribe in
every country, soon turned their attention to the same
polite studies ;t and thus Castilian poetry received, very
early, the courtly stamp which continued its prominent cha-
racteristic down to the age of its meridian glory.
Among the most eminent of these noble savans, was
Henry, marquis of Villena, descended from the royal houses
of Castile and Aragon,J 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 mnch
* Guzman, Generaciones, cap. 33. — Gomez de Cibdareal, Centon Epis-
tolario, (Madrid, 1775.) epist. 20, 49. — Cibdareal has given us a specimen
of this roval criticism, which Juan de Mena, the subject of it, was courtier
enough to adopt,
f Velazquez, Origenes de la Poesia Castellana, (Malaga, 1797,) p. 45.
— Sanchez, Poesias Castellanas, torn. i. p. 10. — " The Cancioneros Gene-
rales, in print and in manuscript," says Sanchez, " show the great number
of dukes, counts, marquises, and other nobles, who cultivated this art."
X He was the grandson, not, as Sanchez supposes, (torn. i. p. 15,) the
son, of Alonso de Villena, the first marquis as well as constable created in
Castile, descended from James II. of Aragon. (See Dormer, Enmiendas
y Advertencias de Zurita; Zaragoza, 1683; pp. 371-376.) His mother
was an illegitimate daughter of Henry II. of Castile. Guzman, Genera-
ciones, cap. 28. — Salazar de MrTirln:ra, aiunarquia de EspaHa, (Madiid,
IVVU,) tom. i, pp. 203, 339.
BIRTH OF ISABELLA. 103
lauded by his contemporaries,* has come down to us.+ He
translated Dante's " Commedia," into prose, and is said to
have given the first example of a version of the -^neid into
a modern language. | He laboured 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 approxima-
tion, however faint, to an Art of Poetry in the Castilian
tongue. § 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 indifierence to worldly weal,
by seeing himself eventually stripped of his lordly possessions,
* Guzman, Generaciones, cap. 28. — Juan de Mena introduces Villena
into his " Laberinto," in an agreeable stanza, -R-hich has something of the
mamierism of Dante.
" A quel claro padre aquel dulce fuente
aquel que en el castolo monte resuena
es don Enrique Senor de Yillena
honrra de Espana y del siglo presente," &c.
Juan de Mena, Obras, (Alcala, 1566,) fol. 138.
+ The recent Castilian translators of Bouterwek's History of Spanish
Literature have fallen into an error in imputing the beautiful cancion of
the " Querella de Amor " to Yillena. It was composed by the Marquis of
Santillana. Bouterwek, Historia de la Literatura Espauola, traducida por
Cortina y Hugalde y Mollinedo, (Madrid, 1829,) p. 196, and Sanchez,
Poesias Castellanas, tom. i. pp. 38, 143.
The mistake into vrhich Nicolas Antonio had also fallen in supposing
Villena's " Trabajos de Hercules," vrritten in verse, has been subsequently
corrected by his learned commentator Bayer. See Nicolas Antonio, Biblio-
theca Hispana Vetus, (Matriti, 1788,) tom. ii, p. 222, nota.
X Velazquez, Origenes de la Poesia Castellana, p. 45. — Bouterwek,
Literatura Espaiola, trad, de Cortina y Mollinedo, nota S.
§ See an abstract of it in Mayans y Siscar, Origenes de la Lengua
Espauola, (Madrid, 1737,) tom. ii. pp. 321 et seq.
104 REIGN" OF JOHN II. OF CA??TIi:i?.
and reduced at the close of life to extreme poverty.* 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 Bar-
rientos, afterwards bishop of Cuenca, to examine the valuable
library of the deceased; 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. f 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.!
* Zurita, Anales de la Corona de Aragon, (Zaragoza, 1669,) torn. iii.
p. 227. — Guzman, Generaciones, cap. 28.
•f- Centon Epistolario, epist. 66. — The bishop endeavoured to transfer
the blame of the conflagration to the king. There can be little doubt,
however, that the good father infused the suspicions of necromancy into
his master's bosom. " The angels," he says, in one of his -works, " who
guarded Paradise, presented a treatise on magic to one of the posterity of
Adam, from a copy of which Villena derived his science." (See Juan de
Mena, Obras, fol. 139, glosa.) One •would think that such an orthodox
source might have justified Villena in the use of it.
X Comp. Juan de Mena, Obras, copl. 127, 128 ; and Nic. Antonio,
Bibliotheca Vetus,tom. ii. p. 220.
BIRTH OF ISABELLA. 105
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
parts of Europe to see him. Although passionately devoted
to letters, he did not, hke his friend the marquis of Yillena,
neglect his public or domestic duties for them. On the
contrary, he discharged the most important civil and mili-
tary 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.*
His own taste led him to poetry, of which he has left some
elaborate specimens. They are chiefly of a moral and per-
ceptive character ; but, although replete with noble senti-
ment, and finished in a style of literary excellence 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 naturahsed the Italian sonnet in Cas-
tile, which Boscan, many years later, claimed for himself
with no small degree of self-congratulation. t His epistle
on the primitive history of Spanish verse, although contain-
* Pulgar, Claros Varones de Castilla, y Letras, (Madrid, 1755,) tit. 4.
— Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Vetus, lib. 10, cap. 9. — Quincuagenas de
Gonzalo de Oviedo, MS. batalla 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8.
+ (Jarcilasso de la Vega, Obras, ed. de Herrera, (1580,) pp. 75, 76. —
Sancbez, Poesias Castellanas, torn. i. p. 21. — Boscan, Obras, (1543,) fol.
19. — It must be admitted, however, that the attempt was premature, and
that it required a riper stage of the language to give a permanent character
to the innovation.
106 P.EIGN OF JOHN II. OF CASTILE.
ing notices sufficiently curious, from the age and the source
M'hence they proceed, has perhaps done more service to
letters by the vahiable illustrations It has called forth from
its learned editor.'*'
This great man, who found so much leisure for the cul-
tivation of letters amidst the busy strife of pohtics, closed
his career at the age of sixty, in 1458. Though a con-
spicuous actor in the revolutionary scenes of the period, he
maintained a character for honour and purity of motive,
unimpeached even by his enemies. The king, notwith-
standing his devotion to the faction of his son Henry con-
ferred on him the dignities of count of Eeal de Manzanares
and marquis of Santillana ; this being the oldest creation of
a marquis in Castile, with the exception of Villena.t His
eldest son was subsequently made duke of Infantado, by
which title his descendants have continued to be distin-
guished to the present day.
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 chivalry," | as he fondly styles her. Al-
though born in 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
* See Sanchez, Poesias Castellanas, torn. i. pp. 1 — 119. — A copious cata-
logue of the marquis de Santillana's writings is given in the same volume,
(pp. 33 et seq.) Several of his poetical pieces are collected in the Can-
cionero General, (Anvers, 1573,) fol. 34 et seq.
+ Pulgar, Claros Varones, tit. 4. — Salazar de Mendoza, Monarquia, torn. i.
p. 218. — Idem, Origen desks Dignidades Scglares de Castilla y Leon,
(Madrid, 1794,) p. 285. — Oviedo makes the marquis much older, seventy-
five years of age, when he died. He left, besides daughters, six sons, who
all became the founders of noble and powerful houses. See the whole
genealogy, in Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS. bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8.
ij: " Flor de saber y caballeria." El Laberinto, copla 1 14.
BIRTH OF ISABELLA. 1C7
those immortal masters, whose writings had but recentlv
revealed the full capacities of a modern idioDi, 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 patronage of the
great, and, above all, to the friendship of the marquis of
Santillana.* 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 con-
stantly 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, t 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 national critics
to have given a new aspect to Castilian poetry. J His great
work was his " Laberinto," the outlines of whose plan may
faintly remind us of that portion of the '* Divina Commedia"
where Dante resigns himself to the scuidance of Beatrice.
In like manner, the Spanish poet, under the escort of a
beautiful personification of Providence, witnesses the appa-
rition of the most eminent individuals, whether of history or
fable ; and, as they revolve on the wheel of destiny, they
give occasion to some animated portraiture, and much dull,
pedantic disquisition. In these delineations we now and
then meet with a touch of his pencil, which, from its
* Nic. Antonio, Bibliotteca Tetus, torn. ii. pp. 265 et seq^.
i; Cibdareal, Centon Epistolario, epist. 47, 49.
J See Valazquez, Poesia Castellana, p. 49.
108 REIGN OF JOHN II. OF CASTILE.
simplicity and vigour, may be called truly Dantesque.
Indeed the Castilian muse never before ventured on so bold
a flight ; and, notwithstanding the deformity of the general
plan, the obsolete barbarisms of the phraseology, its quaint-
ness 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 graceful
flexibility, too generally denied to his more strained and
elaborate efi'orts.*
It will not be necessary to bring under review the minor
luminaries of this period. Alfonso de Baena, a converted
Jew, secretary of John the Second, compiled the fugitive
pieces of more than fifty of these ancient troubadours into a
cancionero, " for the disport and divertisement of his high-
ness 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. t
The extracts selected from it by Castro, although occasion-
ally exhibiting some fluent graces, with considerable variety
of versification, convey, on the whole, no very high idea of
taste or poetic talent. J
* A collection of them is incorporated in the Cancionero Genera], fol.
41 et seq.
t Castro, Biblioteca Espaiiola, (xMadrid, 1781,) torn. i. pp.266, 267.—
This interesting document, the most primitive of all the Spanish cancioneros,
notwithstanding its local position in the library is specified by Castro with
great precision, eluded the search of the industrious translators of Bouter-
wek, who think it may have disappeared during the French invasion.
Literatura Espaiiola, trad, de Cortinay MoUinedo, p. 205, nota Hh.
X See these collected in Castro, Biblioteca Espaiiola, torn. ii. pp. 265
BIRTH OF ISABELLA. 109
Indeed, tliis 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 vre 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 same sum as an
annual premium for a similar performance.* It is not often
that the productions of a poet laureat have been more
liberally recompensed even by royal bounty. But the gifted
spirits of that day mistook the road to immortality. Dis-
daining 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 succeeded. 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 scandahse even a French lyric. This cheap
display of school-boy erudition, however it may have
appalled their own age, has been a principal cause of their
comparative oblivion with posterity. How far superior is
one touch of nature, as the " Finojossa," or " Querella de
Amor," for example, of the marquis of Santillana, to all
this farrago of metaphor and mythology !
et seq. — The veneration entertained for the poetic art in that dav may be
conceived from. Baena's -whimsical prologue. " Poetry," he says, "or the
gay science, is a very subtile and delightsome composition. It demands
in him who -would hope to excel in it, a curious inventioUj a sane judg-
ment, a various scholarship, familiarity -with courts and public affairs, high
birth and breeding, a temperate, courteous, and liberal disposition, and, ia
fine, honey, sugar, salt, freedom, and hilarity in his discourse." — p. 268.
* Castro, Biblioteca Espanola, torn. i. p. 273.
110 REIGN OF JOHN II., OF CASTILE.
The impulse given to Castilian poetry extended to other
departments of elegant literature. Epistolary and historical
compositions were cultivated with considerable success.
The latter, especially, might admit of advantageous com-
parison with that of any other country in Europe at the
same period ; * and it is remarkable that after such 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 some-
what 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 civilisation.
While a small portion of the higher orders of the nation
was thus endeavouring to forget the public calamities in the
tranquillising pursuit of letters, and a much larger portion
* Perliaps the most conspicuous of these historical compositions for mere
literary execution is the Chronicle of Alvaro de Luna, to which I have had
occasion to refer, edited in 1784, hy Flores, the diligent secretary of the
Royal Academy of History. He justly commends it for the purity and
harmony of its diction. The loyalty of the chronicler seduces him some-
times into a swell of panegyric, which may be thought to favour too strongly
of the current defect of Castilian prose ; hut it more frequently imparts to
his narrative a generous glow of sentiment, raising it far above the lifeless
details of ordinary history, and occasionally even to positive eloquence.
Nic. Antonio, in the tenth book of his great repository, has assembled
the biographical and bibliographical notices of the various Spanish authors
of the fifteenth centun.-, whose labours diffused a glimmering of light over
their own age, which has become faint in the superior illumination of the
succeeding.
BIRTH OF ISABELLA. Ill
in the indulgence of pleasure,* the popular aversion for the
minister 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 ascendancy of the favourite over his master
prevented the latter from disclosing this feeling until it was
lieiirhtened bv an occurrence which sets in a strono- lirrht
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 meantime,
"without even the privity of his master, entered into nego-
tiations for his marriage with the princess Isabella, grand-
daughter of John the First of Portugal : and the monarch,
with an unprecedented degree of complaisance, acquiesced
in an arrangement professedly repugnant to his own incU-
nations.t 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 queen, disgusted with his haughty bearing, and
probably not much gratified with the subordinate situation
to which he had reduced her husband, entered heartily into
the feehngs of the latter, and indeed contrived to extinguish
whatever spark of latent afi'ection for his ancient favourite
* Sempere, in his Historia del Luxo (torn. i. p. 177), has published an
extract from an unprinted manuscript of the celebrated marquis of Villena,
entitled Triunfo de las Donas, in -nhich, adverting to the petits-mattres
of his time, he recapitulates the fashionable arts employed by them for the
embellishment of the person, with a degree of minuteness which might
edify a modem dandy.
f Cronica de Juan II., p. 499. — Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa,
(1679,) tom.ii. pp. 335, 372.
112 REIGN OF JOHN II. OF CASTILE.
lurked within Lis 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 man whom he designed
to ruin ; and he eventually obtained possession of his
person, ordy 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 summary and informal inves-
tigation, pronounced on him the sentence of death, on a
specification of charges either general and indeterminate, or
of the 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." *
The constable had supported his disgrace, from 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.! They
* Crdnica de Alvaro de Luna, tit. 128. — Crdnica de Juan II., pp. 457,
460,572. — Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, torn, ii., fol. 227, 228. — Garibay,
Compendio Historial de las Chrdnicas de Espaiia, (Barcelona, 1628,) torn. ii.
p. 493.
f Cronica de Alvaro de Luna, tit. 128, What a contrast to all this is
afforded by the vivid portrait, sketched by John de Mena, of the consuble
in the noontide of his glory.
" Este caualga sobre la fortuua
y doma su cuello con asperas riendas
y aunque del tenga tan muchas de prcndas
ella non le osa tocar de ninguna," d:c.
Laberinto, coplas 235 et seq.
BIRTH OF ISABELLA. 113
called to mind the numerous instances of liis 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 diflFerent guerdon from what his master had
assigned to him." As he ascended the scaftold, he sur-
veyed the apparatus of death with composm'e, 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 Hermitage of St. Andrew, ap-
propriated as the cemetery for malefactors. (14.53.)*
Such was the tragical end of Alvaro de Luna ; a man
who, for more than thu'ty years, controlled the counsels of
the sovereign, or, to speak more properly, was himself the
sovereign of Castile. His fate furnishes one of the most
memorable lessons in history. It was not lost on his con-
temporaries ; and the marquis of Santillana has made use
of it to point the moral of perhaps the most pleasing of
his didactic compositions.! John did not long survive his
* Cibdareal, Ccnton Epistoiaiio, ep, 103. — Crurxica de Jaan IL, p. 564.
— Crdnica de Alvaro de Luna, tit. 128, and Apcnd. p. 458.
+ Entitled " Doctrinal de Privados.'' See the Cancionero General,
fol. 37 et seq. — In the following stanza, the constable is made to moi-alise
with good effect on the instabilit/ of worldlv grandeur :
TOL. I. I
114 REIGN OF JOHN II. OF CASTILE.
favourite's death, -^hich 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 is-
sued and recalled his orders countermanding the constable'.'!
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.*
So far from deriving a wholesome warning from expe-
rience, J ohn 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 UDprofitable life, and
filled with melancholy presages of the future, the unhappy
" Que se hizo la moneda
que guarde par mis dauos
tantos tiempos tantos alios
plata joyas oro y seda
y de todo no me queda
sino este cadahalso ;
mundo malo mundo falso
no ay quien contigo pueda."
Manrique has the same sentiments in his exquisite *' Coplas." I give
Longfellow's version, as spirited as it is literal.
"Spain's haughty Constable, — the great
And gallant Master, — cruel fate
Stripped him of all.
Breathe not a whisper of his pride, —
He on the gloomy scaffold died,
Ignoble fall !
The countless treasures of his care,
Hamlets and viUas green and fair,
His mighty power, —
What were they all but grief and shame,
Tears and a broken heart, — when came
The parting hour ! " — Stanza 21.
* Cibdareal, Centon Epistolario, ep. 103. — Cr6nica de Alvaro de Luna,
tit. 128.
BIRTH OF ISABELLA, 115
prince lamented to his faithful attendant Cibdareal, on his
deathbed, that "he had not been born the son of a me-
chanic, instead of king of Castile." He 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 on the 22nd of April 1451, at
Madrigal. The king 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.*
* Cronica de Juan II., p. 576. — Cibdareal, Centon Epistolario, epist.
105.
There has been considerable discrepancy, even among contemporary
writers, both as to the place and the epoch of Isabella's birth, amounting,
as regards the latter, to nearly two years. I have adopted the conclusion
of Seilor Clemencin, formed from a careful collation of the various autho-
rities, in the sixth volume of the Meraorias de la Real Academia de His-
toria, (Madrid, 1821,) Illust. 1, pp. 56-60. Isabella was descended both
on the father's and mother's side from the famous John of Gaunt, duke of
Lancaster. See Florez, Memorias de las Reynas Cathulicas, (2nd ed.
Madrid, 1770,) torn. ii. pp. 743, 787.
116
CHAPTEE II.
CO-NDITION OF ARAGON DURING THE MINORITT 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 tlie reader to Aragon, in order
to take a view of the extraordinary circumstances wHch
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
brief reign by his son Alfonso the Fifth, whose personal
history belongs less to Aragon than to Naples, which king-
* The reader ■who may be curious in this matter will find the pedigree,
exhibiting the titles of the several competitors to the crown, given by
Mr. Hallam. (State of Europe during the Middle Ages ; 2nd ed. Lon-
don, 1819 ; vol. ii. p. 60, note.) The claims of Ferdinand were certainly
not derived from the usual laws of descent.
MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 117
dom he acquired bj his own prowess, and where he estab-
lished his residence, attracted, no doubt, bj 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.
During his long absence, the government of his heredi-
tary domains devolved on his brother John, as his lieute-
nant-general in Aragon.* 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 ;t Blanche, married to and after-
wards repudiated by Henry the Fourth, of Castile ; if and
Eleanor, who espoused a French noble, Gaston, count of
Foix. On the demise of the elder Blanche, the crown of
Navarre rightfully belonged to her son, the prince of Viana,
conformably to a stipulation in her marriage contract, that,
on the event of her death, the eldest heir male, and, in de-
fault of sons, female, should inherit the kingdom to the
exclusion of her husband. § (1-442.) This provision, which
had been confirmed by her father, Charles the Third, in his
* The reader of Spanish history often experiences embarrassment from
the identity of names in the various piinces of the Peninsiila. Thus the
John mentioned in the text, afterwards John II., might he easUy con-
founded with his namesake and contemporary, John II., of Castile. The
genealogical table at the beginning of this History will show their rela-
tionship to each other.
i* His grandfather, Charles III., created this title in favour of Carlos,
appropriating it as the designation henceforth of the heir apparent. —
Aleson, Anales del Reyno de Xavarra, contin. de Moret, (Pamplona,
1766,) torn. iv. p. 398. — Salazar de Mendoza, Monarquia, torn. ii. p. 331.
X See part I. chap. 3, of this History.
§ This fact, vaguely and variously reported by Spanish writers, is fully
established by Aleson, who cites the original instrument, contained in the
archives of the counts of Lerin. Anales de Xavarra, torn. ir. pp. 354, 365.
118 REIGN OF JOHN II. OF AKAGON.
testament, was also recognised in her 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, how-
ever, 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 sove-
reignty ; 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. t
In 1447, John of Aragon contracted a second alliance
with Joan Henriquez, of the blood-royal of Castile, and
daughter of Don Frederic Hem-iquez, admiral of that king-
dom ;| a woman considerably younger than himself, of con-
summate address, intrepid spirit, and unprincipled ambition.
Some years after this union, John sent his wife into Navarre,
with authority to divide with his son Carlos the administra-
tion of the government there. This encroachment on his
rights, for such Carlos reasonably deemed it, was not miti-
gated 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 stepmother.
Navarre was at that time divided by two potent factions,
styled, from their ancient leaders, Beaumonts and Agra-
monts ; whose hostility, originating in a personal feud, had
* See the reference to the original document in Aleson (torn. iv. pp. 365,
366). This industrious -writer has established the title of Prince Carlos to
Navarre, so frequently misunderstood or misrepresented by the national
historians, on an incontestable basis.
+ Ibid. torn. iv. p. 467. t See part I. chap. 3.
MIXORITY OF FERDINAND. 119
continued long after its original cause had become extinct.*
The prince of Viana was intimately connected with some
of the principal partisans of the Beaumont faction, who
heightened bj their suggestions the indignation to which
his naturall}' gentle temper had been roused by the usurpa-
tion of Joan, and who even called on him to assume openly,
and in defiance 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 queen. In this revival of half-buried ani-
mosities; 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.t
The unnatural position in which they thus found them-
selves 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 rancour
of the ancient factions of Navarre thus brought in martial
array against each other, refusing all control, precipitated
* Gaillard errs in referring the origin of these factions to this epoch.
(Histoire de la Rivalite de France et de I'Espagne; Paris, 1801 ; torn. iu.
p. 227.) Aleson quotes a proclamation of John in relation to them in the
lifetime of Queen Blanche. Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. p. 494.
+ Zurita, Anales, tom. iii. fol. 278. — Lucio Marineo Siculo, Coronista
de sus Magestades, Las Cosas Memorables de Espana (Alcala de Henares,
1539), fol. 104. — Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 494-498.
120 REIGX OF JOnX II. OF ARAGON.
them into an engagement. The royal forces were inferior
in number, but superior in discipHne, to those of the prince,
who, after a well-contested action, saw his own party en-
tirely discomfited, and himself a prisoner. (1452.)*
Some months before this event, Queen Joan had 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 which eventually awaited him. This auspi-
cious 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 Garibay
to have been providentially assigned to this period, as afford-
ing, in a religious view, an ample counterpoise to the loss of
the capital of Christendom.!
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
* Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, torn. ii. fol. 223. — Alcson, Anales de
Xavarra, torn. iv. pp. 501-503. — L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 105.
t Compendio, torn. iii. p. 419. L. Marineo describes the heavens as
uncommonly serene at the moment of Ferdinand's birth. " The sun,
■which had been obscured with clouds during the whole day, suddenly
broke forth with unwonted splendour. A crown was also beheld in the
skx, composed of various brilliant colours like those of a rainbow. Ail
which appearances were interpreted by the spectatoi-s as an omen, that the
child then born would be the most illustrious among men." (Cosas
Memorables, fol. 153.) Garibay postpones the nativity of Ferdinand to
the vear 1453 ;and L. Marineo, who ascertains with curious precision even
the date of his conception, fixes his birth in 1450 (fol. 153). But Alonso
de Palencia in his History, (Verdadera Cordnica de Don Enrique IV., Rei
de Castilla y Leon, y del Rei Don Alonso su Hcrmano, MS.), and Andres
Bemaldez,CuradelosPalacios, (Historia de los Reyes Catdlicos, MS.c. 8),
both of them contemporaries, refer this event to the period assigned iu
the text ; and, as the same epoch is adopted by the accurate Zurita, (Anales,
torn. iv. fol. 9,) I have given it the preference.
MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 121
offences of liIs elder offspring. It was not tlU after many
months of captivity tliat 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 Xavarre not being even
touched upon) as to afford no reasonable basis of reconcilia-
tion. The young prince accordingly, on his return to
Navarre, became again involved in the factions which deso-
lated that unhappy kingdom, and, after an ineffectual
struggle against his enemies, 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.*
On his passage through France and the various courts of
Italy, he was received with the attentions due to his rank,
and still more to his personal character and misfortunes.
Nor was he disappointed in the sympathy and favourable
reception which he had anticipated from his uncle. Assured
of protection from so high a quarter, Carlos might now rea-
sonably 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, l-ioS, bequeathing his hereditary
dominions of Spain, Sicily, and Sardinia to his brother
John, and his kingdom of Naples to his illegitimate son
Ferdinand.!
The frank and courteous manners of Carlos had won
so powerfully on the affections of the Neapohtans, who dis-
* Zurita, Anaies, torn. iv. fol 3-48. — Aleson, Anales de Navarra, torn,
iv. pp. 508-326. — L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 105.
t Giannone, Istoria Civile del Regno di Napoli, (Milano, 1823j) lib. 2G,
cap. 7. — Ferreras, Histoire Gene'rale d'Espagne, trad, par D'Hermilly,
(Paris, 1751,) torn. vli. p. 60. — L'Histoire du Rovaume de Navarre, par
Tun des Sccie'tairps Interprettes de sa Majeste, (Pari?, 1596,) p. 460.
122 REIGN OF JOHN II. OF ARAGOX.
trusted 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 from the people. But Carlos, from
motives of prudence or magnanimity, declined engaging in
this ne^v contest,* and passed over to Sicily, Tvhence he
resolved to soUcit 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 island.! 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 Bene-
dictine 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 favomite studies of philosophy and history. 1^
* Compare the narrative of the Neapolitan historians, Summonte. (His-
toria della Citt^ e Regno di Napoli ; Napoli, 1675; lib. 5. c. 2,) and
Giaunone, (Istoria Civile, ib. 26, cap. 7. — lib. 27. Introd.) with the oppo-
site statements of L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, (fol. 106), himself a
contemporary, Aleson, (Anales de Navarra, torn. iv. p. 546,) and other
Spanish vniters.
*h Enriquez del Castillo, Cronica de Enrique el Quarto, (Madrid, 1787,)
cap. 43.
Ij: Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 97. — Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Vetus,
tom. ii. p. 282. — L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 106. — Abarca, Reyes
de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 250. — Carlos bargained vrith Pope Pius II. for a
transfer of this library, particularly rich in the ancient classics, to Spain,
vrhich was eventually defeated by his death. Zurita, who visited the
MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 123
In the mean while, John, now king of Aragon and its
dependencies, alarmed by the reports of his son's popu-
larity in Sicily, became as solicitous for the security of his
authority there, as he had before 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 bv
the prospect of an effectual reconciliation. Carlos, believ-
ing 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
humiUty and penitence, reciprocated on their part by the
most consummate dissimulation.*
All parties now confided in the stability of a pacification
so anxiously desired, and effected with such apparent cor-
diahty. It was expected that John would hasten to acknow-
ledge his son's title as heir apparent to the crown of Ara-
gon, 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, summoned the
Aragonese cortes at Fraga, for the purpose of receiving
their homage to himself; but he expressly refused their
request touching a similar ceremony to the prince of Viana;
monastery containing it nearly a century after this period, found its inmates
possessed of many traditionary anecdotes respecting the prince during his
seclusion among them.
* Aleson, Anales do Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 548-554. — Abarca, Reyes
de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 251. — Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 60-69.
124 REIGN OF JOHN II. OF ARAGON.
and he openly rebuked the Catalans for presuming to
address him as the successor to the crown. (1460.)*
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 advance-
ment. 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 aUenation of his
father, the prince of Viana turned his attention to other
quarters, whence he might obtain support, 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
comino- in direct collision with the favourite scheme of his
parents. The marriage of Isabella with the young Ferdi-
nand, which, indeed, from the parity of their ages, was
a much more suitable connexion than that with Carlos, had
long been the darling object of their policy, and they
resolved to effect it in the face of every obstacle. In con-
formity 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, fool-
ishly, after his manifold experience to the contrary, confiding
in the relenting disposition of his father, hastened to obey
* Abarca, Reves de Aragon, uLi supra. — Zurita, .^VnaleSj torn. iv. .'bl.
70-75. — Aleson, Anales de Navarra, torn. iv. p. 556.
MIXORITY OF FERDINAND. 125
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
confinement.*
The intelligence of this perfidious procedure difi\ised
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 mtimating a suspicion of
conspiracy by his son against his life, and reserving to
himself the puuishment of the ofi'ence.t
Xo sooner was the result of their mission communicated,
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 le^'ied,
and placed under the command of experienced officers of
the highest rank. The heated populace, outstripping the
tardy movement of military operations, marched forward to
Lerida in order to get possession of the royal person. The
* L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 108. — Zurita, Anales, lib. 17,
cap. 3. — Aleson, Anales de Navarra, torn. iv. pp. 556, 557. — Castillo,
Cronica, cap. 27.
+ L. Maiineo, Cosas Memorablcs, fol. 108, 109. — Abarca, Reves de
Aragon, torn. ii. fol. 252. — Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 45.— Aleson,
Anales de Navarra, torn. ii. p. 357.
126 REIGX OF JOHN II. OF ARAGOX.
king, wlio 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.*
The Catalan army, ascertaining the route of the royal
fugitive, marched directly on Fraga, and arrived so promptly,
that John, with his wife, and the deputies of the Aragonese
cortes assembled there, had barely time to make their
escape on the road to Saragossa, while the insurgents
poured into the city from the opposite quarter. The persoa
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, co-operated with these move-
ments by a descent on Aragon. t
John, alarmed at the tempest which his precipitate
conduct had aroused, at length saw the necessity of releasing
his prisoner ; and as the queen had incurred general odium
* Aleson, Analcs de Xavarra, torn, ii, p. 358. — Zurita, Anales, lib. 17,
cap. 6. — Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, torn. ii. fol. 253. — L. Marineo, Cosas
Memorables, fol. 111.
t Zurita, An. lib. 17, c. 6. — L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 111.
MINORITY OF FERDIXAXD. 127
as the chief instigator of his persecution, he affected to do
this in consequence of her interposition. As Carlos with
his mother-in-laMT traversed the country on their wav to
Barcelona, lie 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
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.*
The conditions on which the Catalans proposed to resume
their allegiance to their sovereign were sufSciently humi-
liating. 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, notwith-
standing its atrocity, to be nowise improbable, considering
* Castillo, Cr6nica, cap. 28. — Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, fol. 253, 254.
— L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. Ill, 112. — Aleson, Anales de
Nayarra, torn. iv. pp. 559, 560. — The inhabitants of TaiTaca closed their
gates upon the queen, and rung the bells on her approach, the signal of
alarm oQ the appearance of an enemv, or for the pursuit of a malefactor.
128 REIGN OF JOHN II. OF ARAGON.
tlie character of the parties imphcated. He expired on the
23rd of September, 1461, in the fortj-first year of his age,
bequeathing his title to the Crown of Navarre, in conformity
with the original marriage contract of his parents, to his
sister Blanche and her posterity.*
Thus in the prime of life, and at the moment when lie
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 rebelUon, if such, considering his legitimate
l)retensions 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 efi'ectual
support than could have been derived from his own merits
or the justice of his cause.
The character of Don Carlos has been portrayed by
Lucio Marineo, who, as he wrote an account of these trans-
actions by the command of Ferdinand the Catholic, cannot
be suspected of any undue partiality in favour 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 demeanour, that no one thing seemed to be
wanting in him which belongs to a true and perfect prince, "f
* Alonso dc Palencia, Cordnica, MS. part 2, cap. 51. — L. Marineo,
Cosas Memorables, fol. 1 14. — Aleson, Anales dc Navarra, torn. iv. pp.
361-563. — Zurita, Anales, cap. 19, 24.
+ L. Marineo, Cosas Memorablcs, fol. 106. — " Por quanto era la tea:-
plan9a y mesuni de aqucl principc ; tan grande el concierto y su crian^a y
costumbrcs, la limpieza de su vida, su liberalidad y magnificencia, y final-
uiente su dulce conversacion, que ninguna cosa en el faltava dc aquellas
que pertencscen a recta vivir ; y que arman el verdadcro y peifecto prin-
cipc y senor."
MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 129
He is described by anotbcr contemporary as "in person
somewhat above tlie middle stature, having a thin visage,
with a serene and modest expression of countenance, and
withal somewhat inchned to meL'incholy."* He was a con-
siderable proficient in music, painting, and several mechanic
arts. He frequently amused himself with poetical com-
position, and was the intimate friend of some of the most
eminent bards of 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 Chronicle of Navarre from the
earliest period to his own times, which, although suffered to
remain in manuscript, has been hberally used and cited by
the Spanish antiquaries, Garibay, Blancas, and others. f
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 grey in the field
and in the intrigues of the cabinet. But if his devotion to
learnino;, so rare in his own ag-e, and so very rare amono-
princes in any age, was unpropitious to his success on the
busy theatre on which he was engaged, it must surely
elevate his character in the estimation of an enlightened
posterity.
The tragedy did not terminate with the death of Carlos.
His sister Blanche, notwithstanding the inofi"ensive gentle-
ness of her demeanour, had long been involved, by her
adhesion to her unfortunate brother, in a similar proscription
with him. The succession to Navarre having now devolved
* Gundisalvus Garsias, apud Xic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Yetus, torn, ii
p. 281.
+ Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Yetus, torn. ii. pp. 281, 282. — rilariana,
Hist, de Espana, torn, ii, p. 434.
VOL. I. K
130 REIGN OF JOHN II. OF ARAGON.
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 subse-
quently 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 Xavarre.*
Conformably to this provision, John endeavoured to per-
suade the princess Blanche to accompany him into France,
under the pretext of forming an alHance for her with Louis's
brother, the duke of Berri. The unfortunate lady, com-
prehending 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 torn from her residence
at OHt, in the heart of her 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 Xavarre in favour
of her cousin and former husband, Henry the Fourth, of
Castile, who had uniformly supported the cause of her
brother Carlos. Henry, though debased by sensual indul-
gence, was naturally of a gentle disposition, and had never
treated her personally with unkindness. In a letter which
* This treaty -was signed at Olit in Navarre, April 12th, 14C2. —
Zurita, Analcs, lib. 17, cap. 38, 39. — Gaillard, Rivalite, torn. iii. p. 235. —
Gaillard confounds it with the subsequent one made in the month of Mav,
near the town of Salvatiena in Beame.
MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 131
slie 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,* 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.f
On the same day, the last of April, (1462,) 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 two years, she was poisoned
by the command of her sister.]: The retribution of Provi-
dence 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 soUcitude and so many crimes.
Within a fortnight after the decease of Carlos, (Oct. 6,
* Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, torn. vii. p. 110.
t Hist, du Royaume de Navarre, p. 496. — Aleson, Anales de Navarra,
torn. iv. pp. 590-593. — Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, torn. ii. fol. 258, 259.
— Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 38.
ij: Lebrija, De Bello Navariensi, (Granata^, 1545,) lib. 1, cap. 1, fol. 74.
— Aleson, Anales de Navarra, ubi supra. — Zurita, Anales, lib. 17. cap. 38.
— The Spanish historians are not agreed as to the time or even mode of
Blanche's death. All concur, however, in attributing it to assassination,
and most of them, with the learned Antonio Lebrija, a contemporary (loc.
cit.), in imputing it to poison. The fact of her death, which Aleson, on I
know not what authority, refers to the 2d of December, 1464, was not
publicly disclosed till some months after its occurrence, when disclosure
became necessary in consequence of the proposed interposition of the
Navarrese cortes.
132 REIGN OF JOnX II. OF ARAGON.
1461,) the customary oaths of allegiance, so pertinaciously
withheld from that unfortunate prince, were tendered by
the Aragonese deputation, at Calatayud, 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 reputatioJi
of a saint, and his image received the devotional honom-s re-
served for such as have been duly canonised by the church.*
The revolutionary spirit of the Barcelonians, kept alive by
the recollection of past injury, as well as by the apprehen-
sions of future vengeance, should John succeed in re-esta-
blishing 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 cityof Gerona, about fifty miles north of Barcelona.
Hither, however, she was speedily pursued by the Catalan
* Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. part 2, cap. 51. — Zurita, Anales,
torn. iv. foL 98. — Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, torn. ii. fol. 256. — Aleson,
Anales de Navarra, torn. iv. pp. 563 et seq. — L. Marinco, Cosas Memo-
rabies, fol. 114. — According to Lanuza, who wrote nearly two centuries after
•be death of Carlos, the flesh upon his right arm, which had been amputated
for the purpose of a more convenient application to the diseased members
of the pilgrims who visited his shrine, remained in his day in a perfectly
sound and healthful state ! (Historias Ecclesiasticas y Seculares de Aragon ;
Zaragoza, 1622 ; torn. i. p. 553.) Aleson wonders that any should doubt
the truth of miracles attested by the monks of the ver}- monastery in which
Cailos wr.s interred.
MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 133
militia, embodied under the command of their ancient leader
Ptogcr, comit of Pallas, and eager to regain the prize which
thej 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 maintain-
ing a formidable resistance. To oppose this, a wooden for-
tress of the same height was constructed by the assailants,
and planted with lombards and other pieces of artillery then
in use, wliich kept up an unintermitting discharge of stone
bullets on the little garrison.* The Catalans also succeeded
In running a mine beneath the fortress, through which a
considerable body of troops penetrated into it, v.-hen, their
prematui-e 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 daimtless resolu-
tion. Such were the stormy and disastrous scenes in which
* L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 116. — Alonso de Palencia,
Cordnica, M.S. part 2. cap. 51. — Zuiita, Anales, tom.iv. fol. 113.
The Spaniards, deriving the knowledge of artillery from the Arabs, had
become familiar with it before the other nations of Christendom. The
aflSrmation of Zurita, however, that 5000 balls were fired from the battery
of the besiegers at Gerona in one day, is perfectly absurd. So little was
the science of gunner}' advanced in otlier parts of Europe at this period, and
indeed later, that it was usual for a field piece not to be discharged more
than twice in the course of an action, if we may credit Machiavelli, who,
indeed, recommends dispensing with the use of artillery altogether. — Ai"te
della Guerra, lib, 3. (Opere, Genova, 1798.)
134 REIGN OF JOHN II. OF ARAGOX.
the youthful Ferdinand commenced a career, whose subse-
quent prosperity was destined to be chequered by scarcely a
reverse of fortune.*
In the meanwhile, John, having in vain attempted to
penetrate through Catalonia to the relief of his wife, effected
this by the co-operation of his 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 con-
tinue 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 3rd, 21st, and 23rd 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 indemni6ed by the payment of
two hundred thousand gold crowns witliin one year after the
reduction of that city ; as security for which the counties of
Rousillon 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
the aversion of the inhabitants to the dismemberment of their
country from the Aragonese monarchy would baffle every
attempt on the part of the French to occupy it permanently.!
* Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS. part. 2. cap. 51. — L. Marineo,
Cosas Memorables, fol. 116. — Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol, 113. — Abarca,
Reyes de Aragon, torn. ii. fol. 259.
+ Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol. 111. — Another 100,000 crowns were to
MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 135
In pursuance of these arrangements, seven hundred French
lances, with a considerable body of archers and artillery,*
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, estab-
Mshed 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 autho-
rity, as well as natural reason, the doctrine of legitimacy
in the broadest terms, and insisting that the Ai-agonese mo-
narchs, far from being absolute, might be lawfuDy deposed
for an infringement of the liberties of the nation. " The
good of the commonwealth," it was said, " must always be
considered paramount 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 ! f
te paid in case further assistance should he required from the French
monarch after the reduction of Barcelona. This treatv has heen incorrectly
reported by most of the French and all the Spanish historians \Thom I have
consulted, save the accurate Zurita. An abstract from the original docu-
ments, compiled by the Abbe Legrand, has been given by M. Petitot in his
recent edition of the Collection des Memoires relatifs a I'Histoire de
France, (Paris, 1836,) torn. xi. Introd. p. 245.
* A French lance, it may be stated, according to L. Marineo, was accom-
panied by two horsemen ; so that the whole contingent of cavalry to bt
furnished on this occasion amounted to 2100. (Cosas Memorables, fol.
117.) Nothing could be more indeterminate than the complement of a
lance in the middle ages. It is not unusual to find it reckoned at five or
six horsemen.
+ Zurita, Anales, tcm. iv. fol. 113-115. — Alonso de Palencia, Cord-
nica, MS. part. 2, c. 1.
136 REIGN OF JOHN II. OF ARAGON.
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 princi-
pality 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,* the crown was offered to Don Pedro, constable of
Portugal, a descendant of the ancient house of Barcelona,
In the meanwhile, the old king of Aragon, attended by his
youthful son, had made himself master, with his charac-
teristic activity, of considerable acquisitions in the revolted
territory, successively reducing Lerida,f Cervera, Amposta,]:
Tortosa, and the most important places in the south of Cata-
lonia. (1464). Many of these places were strongly fortified,
and most 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 in-
dulged in occasional acts of resentment, his general treat-
ment of those who submitted was as liberal as it was poUtic.
* In conformity with the famous verdict given by Louis XI. at Bayonne,
April 23rd, 1463, previously to the interview between him and Henry IV.
on the shores of the Bidassoa. Sec part I. chap. 3, of this History.
f This was the battle-ground of Julius Caesar in his wars with Pompey.
See his ingenious military manoeuvre as simply narrated in his own Com-
mentaries, (De Bello Civili, tom. i. p. 54,) and by Lucan, (Pharsalia,
lib. 4.) with his usual swell of hyperbole.
J The cold was so intense at the siege of Amposta, that sei-pents of an
enormous magnitude are reported by L. Marineo to have descended from
the mountains, and taken refuge in the camp of the besiegers. Portentous
and supernatural voices Avere frequently heard during the nights. Indeed
the superstition of the soldiers appears to hare been so lively as to have
prepared them for seeing and hearing anything.
MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 137
His competitor, Don Pedro, had brought little foreign aid to
the support of his enterprise ; he had failed altogether in
concihating 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.*
It appeared, however, to present a favourable 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, suspected of defection from the cause, to be pubKcly
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.
The Catalans then proceeded to elect Ptene le Bon, as he
was styled, of Anjou, to the vacant throne, brother of one of
the original competitors for the crown of Aragon on the
demise of Martin ; 'whose cognomen of "Good" is indica-
tive of a sway far more salutary to his subjects than the
more coveted and imposing title of Great.! This titular
* Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, torn. ii. p. 390. — Alonso de Palen-
cia, MS. part. 2. cap. 60, 61.— Castillo, Cronica, pp. 43, 44,46, 49, 50,
54.— Zurita, Anales, torn. ii. fol. 116, 124, 127, 128, 130, 137,147.
M. La Clede states that " Don Pedro no sooner arrived in Catalonia, than
he was poisoned." (Histoire Generale de Portugal; Paris, 1735 ; torn. iii.
p. 245.) It must have been a very slow poison. He arrived January 21st,
1464, and died June 29th, 1466.
t Sir Walter Scott, in his " Anne of Geierstein," has brought into full
relief the ridiculous side of Rene's character. The good king s fondness
138 REIGN OF JOHN II. OF ARAGON.
sovereign of half a dozen empires, in whicli 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.* Crowds of ad-
venturers flocked to the standard of 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
of Catalonia. (1467.)t
for poetry and tlie aits, however, although showing itself occasionally in
puerile eccentricities, may compare advantageously with the coarse appe-
tites and mischievous activity of most of the contemporary princes. After
all, the hest tribute to his worth was the earnest attachment of his people.
His biography has been well and diligently compiled by the viscount of
Villeneuve Bargemont, (Histoire de Ren^ d'Anjou, Paris, 1825,) who has,
however, indulged in greater detail than was perhaps to have been desired
by Rene, or his readers.
* Comines says of him, "A tons alarmes c'estoit le premier homme
arm^, et de toutes pieces, et son cheval tousjours bardd. II portoit un
habillement que ccs conducteurs portent en Italic, et sembloit bien prince
et chef de guerre ; et y avoit d'obeissance autant que monseigneur de
Charolois, et luy obeissoit tout I'oet de meilleur coeur, car a la verite il
estoit digne d'estre honore." — Philippe de Comines, jMemoires, apud Petitot
(Paris, 1826,) Hv. 1, chap. 11.
t Villeneuve Bargemont, Hist, de Rene, torn. ii. pp. 168, 169. — His-
toire de Louys XL, autrement dicte ^ia Chronique Scandaleuse, par un
Greffier de I'Hostel de Villc de Pans, (Paris, 1620,) p. 145.— Zurita,
Anales, torn. iv. fol. 150, 153. — Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS.
MINORITY OF FERDINAND. 139
The king of Aragon could oppose no force capable of
resisting this formidable army. His 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 disgust-ed 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 expe-
dient of loan and exaction, to raise sufficient money to pay
his troops, or to supply his magazines. In addition to this,
he was now involved in a dispute with the count and countess
of Foix, who, eager to anticipate the possession of Navarre,
which had been guaranteed to them on their father's decease,
threatened a similar rebellion, though on much less justi-
fiable pretences to that which he had just experienced from
Don Carlos. To crown the whole of John's calamities, his
eye-sight, which had been impaired by exposure, and pro-
tracted sufferings, during the winter siege of Amposta, now
failed him altogether.*
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. Fer-
dinand's ardour, however, had nearly proved fatal to him ;
as in an accidental encounter with a more numerous party
part. 2, cap. 17. — Palencia swells the numbers of the French in the
service of the duke of Lorraine to 20,000.
*L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 139. — Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol.
148, 149, 158. — Aleson, Anales de Navarra, torn. ir. pp. 611-613. —
Duclos, Hist, de Louis XI., (Amsterdam, 1746,) torn. ii. p. 114. — Mem.
de Gomines, Introd. p. 258, ap. Petitot.
140 REIGX OF JOnX II. OF ARAGON.
of the enemy, bis jaded horse would infallibly have betrayed
bim into tbeir 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.
These ineffectual struggles could not turn the tide of
fortune. The duke of Lorraine succeeded in this and the
two following campaigns in making himself master of all
the rich district of Ampurdeu, north-east of Barcelona.
In the capital itself, his truly princely qualities and his
popular addi'ess 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.*
King John, in the meanwhile, was draining the cup of
bitterness to the dregs. In the winter of 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 mihtary 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. Her
invincible spirit, however, and the resources of her genius,
* Yilleneuve Bargemont, Hist, de Rene, torn. ii. pp. 182, 183. —
L.Marineo,foL 140. — Zurita, Anaks, lom.iv. fol. 153-104. — Abarca, Reves
de Aragon, torn. ii. Rey 29, cap. 7.
MIXORITY OF FERDINAND, 141
supplied him with the best means of surmounting many of
the (iifficuhies in which she had involved him, and her loss
at this crisis seemed to leave him at once without solace
or support.*
At this period he was further embarrassed, as will appear
in the ensuing chapter, bj negotiations for Ferdinand's
marriage, which was to deprive him, in a great measure,
of his son's co-operation in the struggle with his subjects,
and which, as he lamented, while he had scarcely three
hundred enriqiies in his coffers, called on him for addi-
tional disbursements.
As the darkest hour, however, is commonly said to
precede the dawning, so light now seemed to break upon
the affairs of John. A physician in Lerida, of the Hebrew
race, which monopoUsed 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 successfid.
Thus restored to his natural faculties, the octogenarian
cliief, for such he might now almost be called, regained
his wonted elasticity, and prepared to resume offensive
* Aionso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. part. 2, cap. 88. — L. ilariEeo.
Cosas 3Iemorables, fol. 143. — Aleson, Anales de XaYarra, torn. iv. p. 60iJ.
— The queen's death was said to have been caused br a cancer. Accord-
ing to Aleson and some other Spanish -writere, Joan was heard several
times, in her last illness, to exclaim, in allusion, as was supposed, to her
assassination of Carlos, " Alas I Ferdinand, how dear thou hast cost thv
mother ! " I find no notice of this improbable confession in any contem-
porary author.
142 EEIGN OF JOHN II. OF ARAGOX.
operations against the enemy "witli all his accustomed
energy.*
Heaven, too, as if taking compassion on his accumu-
lated misfortune, 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 into the greatest consternation by his death, imputed,
as usual, though without apparent fo'ondation, to poison ;
and their respect for his memory was attested by the
honours, 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. t
As the father of the deceased prince was too old and hi&
children too young, to give effectual aid to 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 they 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
* JIariana, Hist, de Espana, torn. ii. pp. 459, 460. — L. Marineo, Cosas
Memorables, fol. 141. — Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. cap. 88.
t Villeneuve Bargemont, Hist, de Rene, torn. ii. pp. 182, 333, 334. —
L. ilarineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 142. — Alonso de Palencia, Coronica,
part. 2, cap. 39. — Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol. 178. — According to M. de
Villeneuve Bargemont, the princess Isabella's hand had been offered to the
duke of Lorraine ; and the envoy despatched to notify his acceptance of it,
on arriving at the comt of Castile, received from the lips of Henry IV. the
first tidings of his master's death (torn. ii. p. 184). He must have learned
too, -with no less sui-prisc, that Isabella had already been married at that
time more than a year ! See the date of the official marriage recorded ia
Mem. de la Acad, de Hist., torn. vi. Apend. No. 4.
MIXORITT OF FERDINAND. 143
conciliatory advances made them anew bv John. That
monarch, however, having succeeded by extraordinary 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
Barcelona by sea and land. The fortifications were strong,
and the king was unwillmg 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.*
At length reduced to the last extremity, they consented
to enter into negotiations, which were concluded by a
treaty, equally honourable 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 were to be
allowed to depart in safety ; and such 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 I
The king, after the adjustment of the preliminaries,
* Alonso de Palencia, Corunica, IMS. part. 2, cap. 29, 45. — Zurita,
Anales, torn. iv. foL 180-183. — Abarca, Reyes de Aragoc, Rey 29,
csp. 29.
144 REIGN OF JOHN II. OF ARAGON.
*• 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 with
sorrow." He then proceeded to the hall of the great
palace, and, on the 22nd of December, 1472, solemnly
swore there to respect the constitution and laws of
Catalonia.*
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 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.
♦ L. ]\Iarineo, Cosas Memorables^fol. 144, 147. — Zurita, Analcs, torn. iv.
fol. 187, 188. — Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. part. 2, cap. 1.
115
CHAPTER III.
REIGN OF HENRY IV. OP CASTILE. — CIVIL WAR. — MARRIAGE OF
FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.
1454—1^69.
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 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, Provi-
dence 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 Fourth,
was welcomed with an enthusiasm proportioned to the
disgust which had been excited by the long-protracted and
imbecile reign of his predecessor. Some few, indeed, who
looked back to the time when he was arrayed in arms
against his father, distrusted the soundness either of his
YOL. I. L
146 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV.
principles or of bis judgment. But far the larger portion of
the nation was disposed to refer this to inexperience, or the
ebullition of youthful spirit, and indulged the cheering anti-
cipations 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 reckless extravagance in which he indulged himself
was favourably contrasted with the severe parsimony of
his father in his latter years, and gained him the sur-
name of "the Liberal." His treasurer having remon-
strated with him on the prodigality of his expenditure, he
repHed, " 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 maratedi remaining in the royal coffers. t
He maintained greater state than was usual with the
monarchs of Castile, keeping in pay a body-guard of thirty-
six hundred lances, splendidly equipped, and oflScered by
the sons of the nobility. He proclaimed a crusade against
* " Nil pudet assuetos sceptris ; mitissima sors est
Regnorum sub rege novo."
Lucan. Pharsalia, lib. 8.
+ Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS. bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8. — Rodericus
Sanctius, Historia Hispanica, cap. 38, 39. — Pulgar, Clares Varones, tit. 1 . —
Castillo, Crdnica, i. 20. — Guzman, Generaciones, cap. 33. — Although
Henry's lavish expenditure, particularly on works of architecture, gained
him in early life the appellation of " the Liberal," he is better known on
the roll of Castilian sovereigns by the less flattering title of ** the Imp^
tent"
MARRIAGE OF FERDIXAND AND ISABELLA. 147
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 Mos-
lems 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 results did not correspond with the magnificence
of 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 Mussul-
mans." His troops murmured at this timorous policy ; and
the people of the south, on whom the charges of the expedi-
tions fell with peculiar heaviness, from their neighbourhof-d
to the scene of operations, complained that "the war ■v\as
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 I The king of
Granada himself, when summoned to pay tribute after a
series of these inefi"ectual 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 dominions ; but
now he would give nothing."*
• Zuiiiga, Aiiaies Eclesiastkos y Seculares de Serilla, (Madrid, 1 667,;
l2
148 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV.
The contempt, to which the king exposed himself by his
pubhc conduct, was still further heightened by his domestic.
AVith even a greater indisposition to business than was
manifested by his father,* he possessed none of the culti-
vated tastes which were the redeeming qualities of the
latter. Having been addicted from his earUest 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 sufficiently ridiculous and humi-
liating.! In 1455, he espoused Joanna, a Portuguese
princess, sister of Alfonso the Fifth, the reigning monarch.
This lad}-, 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 Portuo;al. 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 hand-
p. 344. — Castillo, Crdnica, cap. 20. — Mariana, Hist, de Espaiia, torn. ii.
pp. 415, 419. — Alonso de Pelencia, Cordnica, MS. part. 1, cap. 14 et
seq. — The surprise of Gibraltar, the unhappy source of feud between the
families of Guzman and Ponce de Leon, did not occur till a later period,
1462.
* Such was his apathy, says Mariana, that he would subscribe his name
to public ordinances, without taking the trouble to acquaint himself with
their contents. — Hist, de Espafia, torn. ii. p. 423.
i* Pulgar, Crdnica de los Reyes Catolicos, (Valencia, 1780,) cap. 2. —
Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. part. 1, cap. 4. — Aleson, Anales de
Navarra, torn. iv. pp. 519, 520. — The marriage between Blanche and
Henry was publicly declared void by the bishop of Segovia, confirmed by
the archbishop of Toledo, " por impotencia respectiva, owing to some
malign influence 1"
MARRIAGE OF fERDIX.VN'D AND ISABELLA. 149
somest cavaliers in the kingdom, and then newly risen in
the royal graces, as the person to whom she most liberally
dispensed her favours. 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.*
The queen's levity might have sought some justification
in the unveiled licentiousness of her husband. One of the
maids of honour, whom she brought in her train, acquired
an ascendancy 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
macrnificence of state which rivalled that of rovaltv itself.
The public were still more scandalised by Henry's sacri-
legious intrusion of another of his mistresses into the post of
abbess of a convent in Toledo, after the expulsion of her pre-
decessor, a lady of noble rank and irreproachable character, t
* La Clede, Hist, de Portugal, torn. iii. pp. 325, 3-45. — Florez, Reynas
Cathdlicas, torn. ii. pp. 763, 766. — Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS.
part 1, cap. 20, 21. — It does not appear, however, whom Beltran de la
Cueva indicatei as the lady of his love on this occasion. (See Castillo,
Crdnica, cap. 23, 24.) Two anecdotes may he mentioned as characteristic
of the gallantry of the times. The archhishop of Seville concluded a
superb /e<€, given in honour of the royal nuptials, by introducing on the
table two vases filled with rings garnished with precious stones, to be distri-
buted among his female guests. At a ball given on another occasion, the
voung queen having condescended to dance with the French ambassador,
the latter made a solemn vow, in commemoration of so distinguished an
honour, never to dance with any other woman.
+ Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. cap. 42, 47.— Castillo, Crdcica,
cap. 23.
150 CASTILE C^'DER HENRY 17.
The stream of corruption soon finds its way from the
higher to the more humble walks of life. The middling
classes, imitating their superiors, indulged in an excess of
luxury equally demoralising, and ruinous to their fortunes.
The contagion of example infected even the higher eccle-
siastics ; and we find the archbishop of St. James hunted
from his see by the indignant populace, in consequence of
an outrage attempted on a youthful bride, as she was
returning 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 licence. 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 simis
raised by the sale of papal indulgences for the prosecution
of the Moorish war, were lavished on the royal satellites.*
* Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. cap. 35. — Sempere, Hist, del
Luxo, torn. i. p. 18.3. — Idem. Hist, des Cortes, chap. 19. — Marina, Teoria,
part. 1, cap. 20; part 2, pp. 390, 391. Zuniga, Anales de Sevilla,
pp. 346, 349. — The papal bulls of crusade issued on these occasions, saya
Palencia contained, among other indulgences, an exemption from the pains
and penalties of purgatory, assuring to the soul of the purchaser, after
death, an immediate translation into a state of glory. Some of the more
orthodox casuists doubted the validity of such a bull. But it was decided,
after due examination, that, as the holy father possessed plenary power of
absolution of all offences committed upon earth, and as purgatorj- is situated
upon earth, it properly fell within his jurisdiction (cap. 32). Bulls of
crusade were sold at the rate of 200 maravedis each ; and it is computed
by the same historian, that no less than 4,000,000 maravedis were
araa55ed by ihis traffic in Castile in the space of four years !
MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 151
But perhaps the most crying evil of this period 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 authorised individuals, who de-
based the coin to such a deplorable extent, that the most
common articles of life were enhanced in value three, four,
and even six fold. Those who owed debts eagerly antici-
pated the season of pa^Tiient ; 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 licence,
the riojht of the strongest was the onlv 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 favour,
and reinstated in his possessions.* The pusillanimous
monarch knew neither when to pardon nor when to punish.
Bnt no part of Henry's conduct gave such umbrage to
his nobles as the faciUty with which he resigned himself to
the control of favourites, whom he had created as it were
from nothing, and whom he advanced over the heads of the
ancient aristocracy of the land. Among those especially
disgusted by this proceeding, were Juan Pacheco, marquis
of Yillena, and Alfonso Carillo, archbishop of Toledo.
These two personages exercised so important an influence
* Saez, Monedas de Enrique lY., (Madrid, 1805,) pp. 2-5. — Alonso de
'Valencia, Coionica, MS. cap. 36, 39. — Castillo, Cronica, cap. 19.
152 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IT.
over the destinies of Henrv, as to deserve more particular
notice. The former was of nohle Portuguese extraction,
and originally a page in the service of the constable Alvaro
de Luna, by whom he had been introduced into the house-
hold of Prince Henry, during the lifetime of John the
Second. His polished and plausible address soon acquired
him a complete ascendancy 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 revo-
lution. Although naturally humane, and without violent or
reveng-eful passions, his restless spirit was perpetually
invoMng his country in all the disasters of civil war. He
was created marquis of Yillena by John the Second ; and
his ample domains, lying on the confines of Toledo, Murcia,
and Valencia, and embracing an immense extent of popu-
lous and well-fortified territory, made him the most powerful
vassal in the kingdom.*
♦ Pulgar, Claros Varones, tit. 6. — Castillo, Crdnica, cap. 15. — Men-
doza, Monarquia de Espafia, torn. i. p. 328, — The ancient marquisate of
Yillena, having been incorporated into the crown of Castile, devolved to
Prince Henry of Aragon, on his marriage with the daughter of John 11.
It was subsequently conBscated by that monarch, in consequence of the
repeated rebellions of Prince Henry ; and the title, together with a large
proportion of the domains originally attached to it, was conferred on Don
Juan Pacheco, by whom it was transmitted to his son, afterwards raised to
the rank of duke of Escalona, in the reign of Isabella. — Salazar de Men-
doza, Dismidades de Castilla y Leon, (Madrid, 1794,) lib. 3, cap. 12, 17.
MARRIAGE OF FERDLVAND AND ISABELLA. 153
His uncle, the archbishop of Toledo, was of a sterner
character. He was one of those turbulent prelates, not
unfrequent in a rude age, who seem intended bj 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 bj his imdaunted resolution,
than by the extraordinary resources which he enjoyed as
primate of Spain. He 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 formid-
able as a friend and as an enemy.*
These early adherents of Henry, little satisfied with
seeing their own consequence eclipsed by the rising glories
of the newly created favourites, began secretly to stir up
cabals and confederacies among the nobles, until the occur-
rence 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 sup-
ported the Catalans in their opposition to their sovereign by
seasonable supplies of men and money. He had even made
some considerable conquests for himself, when he was
induced, by the advice of the marquis of Yillena and the
archbishop of Toledo, to refer the arbitration of his difi'er-
ences 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, and an
interview was subsequently agreed on between the kings of
♦ Pulgar, Claros Varones, tit. 20. — Benialdez, Rejcs C.itoiiccB, MS.
cap. 10, 11.
154 ' CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV.
France and Castile, to be held near that city, on the banks
of the Bidassoa, which divides the dominions of the respec-
tive monarchs. The contrast exhibited by the two princes
at this interview, in their style of dress and equipage, was
suflSciently 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 w^eather-beaten hat, surmounted by a little leaden
image of the Virgin. His imitative courtiers adopted a
similar costume. The Castilians, on the other hand, dis-
played uncommon magnificence. The barge of the royal
favourite, Beltran de la Cueva, was resplendent with sails
of cloth of gold, and his apparel glittered with a profusion
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 dress and equi-
page. The two nations appear to have been mutually dis-
gusted with the contrast exhibited by their opposite
afi'ectations. 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.*
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
* At least these are the important consequences imputed to this inter-
view by the French writers. — See Gaillard, Ris-alite, torn. iii. pp. 241-243.
— Comiues, Me'moires, liv. 3, chap. 8. — Also Castillo, Crdnica, cap. 48,
49. — Zuriu, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 50.
MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 155
policy of riper years. The award of Louis dissatisfied all
parties ; a tolerable proof of its impartiality. The Castilians,
in particular, complained that the marquis of Villena and
the archbishop of Toledo had compromised the honour 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 conquered territory to Aragon. They loudly
accused 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 the truth of these imputations, that he dis-
missed the obnoxious ministers from their employments.*
The disgraced nobles instantly set about the organisation
of one of those formidable confederacies which had so often
shaken the monarchs of Castile upon their throne, and
which, although not authorised by positive law, as in
Aragon, seem to have derived somewhat of a constitutional
sanction from ancient usage. Some of the members of this
coahtion 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
Beltran ej a. Henry, however, had required the usual oath
* Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, torn. ii. p. 122. — Zxinta, Anales, lib. 17,
cap. 56.— Castillo, Cronica, cap. 51, 52, 58, — Tbe queen of Aragon, who
was as skilful a diplomatist as her husband John I., assailed the vanity of
Villena quite as much as his interest. On one of his missions to her
court, she invited him to dine -vrith her tete-a-tete at her own table, while
during the repast they were served by the ladies of the palace. — Ibid.
cap. 40.
156 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV.
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 con-
viction 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 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 favourite, Beltran
de la Cueva, over the royal councils, 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 oceasions, not to re-enter the service of their
sovereign, or accept any favour from him, until he had
redressed their wrongs.*
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 Cuenga, 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 honour 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."!
* See the memorial presented to the king, cited at length in Marina,
Teoria, torn. iii. Ap. No. 7. — Castillo, Crdnica, cap. 58, 64. — Zurita,
Anales lib. 17, cap. 56. — Lebrija, Hispanarum Rerum Ferdinand© Rege
et Elisabe Regina Gestarum Decades, (apud Granatam, 1545,) lib. 1, cap.
1, 2. — Alonso de Palencia, Corduica, MS. part. 1, cap. 6. — Bemaldez,
Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 9. t Castillo, Crdnica, cap. 65,
MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. [57
Henry, unmoved either by the entreaties or remonstrances
of his adherents, resorted to the milder method of negotia-
tion. He consented to an interview 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.* 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, per-
haps, 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, they
caused a scaffold to be erected, of sufficient elevation to be
easily seen from the surrounding 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, and a
crown upon its head. A manifesto was then read, exhibit-
ing in glowing colours the tyrannical conduct of the king,
and the consequent determination to depose him ; and
* See copies from the original instruments, ■\vhicli are still preserved in
the archives of the house of Vniena, in Marina, Teorfa, torn. iii. part. 2,
Ap. 6, 8. — CastQlo, Cr6nica, cap. 66, 67. — Alonso de Palencia, Corduica,
MS, part, 1, cap. 37.
158 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IT.
vindicating the proceeding bj 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 Yillena 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
honours, was rolled in the dust, amid the mingled groans
and clamours of the spectators. The youug 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 sove-
reign.* (1465.)
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 dis-
putants, who denied, or defended, the right of the subject
to sit in judgment on the conduct of his sovereign. Every
man was compelled to choose his side in this strange division
of the kingdom. Henry received intelligence of the defec-
tion, successively, 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 power-
ful 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: "Kaked came 1 from
* Alonso de Valencia, Corunica, MS. part. 1, cap. 62. — Castillo, Crd-
nica, cap. 68, 69, 74.
MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 159
mj mother's womb, aud naked must I go down to the
earth."*
A large, probably the larger part of the nation, however,
disapproved of the tumultuous proceedings of the con-
federates. 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,! the majority of whose 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 formidable array of numbers, that
must have greatly exceeded that of his rival, and which is
* Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. part. 1, cap. 63, 70. — Castillo,
Crdnica, cap. 75, 76.
+ The celebrated marquis of Santillana died in 1458, at the age of sixty.
(Sanchez, Poesias Castellanas, torn, i p. 23.) The title descended to his
eldest son, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, who is represented by his contem-
poraries to have been worthy of his sire. Like him he was imbued with
a love of letters ; he was conspicuous for his magnanimity and chivalrous
honour, his moderation, constancy, and uniform loyalty to his sovereign,
virtues of rare worth in those rapacious and turbulent times. (Pulgar,
Claros Varones, tit. 9.) Ferdinand and Isabella created him duke del
Infantado. This domain derives its name from its having been once the
patrimony of the infantes of Castile. — See Salazar de Mendoza, Monarquia,
tom. i. p. 219, — and Dignidades de Castilla, lib. 3, cap. 17. — Oviedo,
Qaincuagcnas, MS. bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8.
160 CASTILE UNDER IIEXRY IV.
swelled by his biographer to seventy thousand foot and
fourteen thousand horse ; a much smaller force, under the
direction of an eflBcient 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 the former, however, he was no match for the
confederates, or rather the marquis of Villena, their repre-
sentative on these occasions. This nobleman, who had so
zealously co-operated with his party in conferring the title
of king on Alfonso, had intended to reserve the authority to
himself. He probably found more difficulty in controlling
the operations of the jealous and aspiring ai'istocracy, with
whom he was associated, than he had imagined ; and he
was willing to aid the opposite party in maintaining a suffi-
cient degree of strength to form a counterpoise to that of the
confederates, and 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.*
In conformity with this dubious pohcy, 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-
pHance with this arrangement, instantly disbanded his
levies ; they retired overwhelmed with indignation at the
* Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. part. 1, cap. 64. — Castillo,
Crdnica, cap. 78.
MARRUGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. IGI
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*
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 accommo-
dation between the parties, until he was very generally
execrated as the real source of the disturbances in the
kingdom. In the meanwhile, the singular spectacle was
exhibited of two monarchs presiding over one nation, sur-
rounded by their respective courts, administering the laws,
convoking cortes, and in fine assuming the state and exer-
cising 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 occa-
sionally displayed itself in tumults and acts of violence,
would scon burst forth with all the horrors of a civil war.
At this juncture, a proposition was made to 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 Yillena, 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
tf its principal supports, must soon crumble to pieces.
Instead of resenting this proposal as an affront upon his
honour, 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
* Coatillo. Cior.ica, cap. CO, 82.
VOL. I. tl
1G2 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV.
dispensation from the vows of celibacy imposed on the
grand master as the companion of a religious order ; and
splendid preparations were instantly commenced for the
approaching nuptials.*
Isabella was then in her sixteenth year. On her father'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. Ilere,
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 pleasm-e, 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 siu-rounded.f
The near connection 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 intervention of many inauspicious circumstances.
She was next betrothed to his elder brother, Carlos ; and
some years after his decease, when thirteen years of age,
* Radcs y Aiulrada, Chr6nica de Las Tres Ordcncs y Cavallerias,
(Toledo, 1572,) fol. 76. — Castillo, Crdnica, cap. 85. — Alonso dc Palencia,
Cordnica, !MS. part. 1, cap. 73.
f L. IMarineo, Cosas Memorablcs, fol. 154. — Florcz, Reynas Catholicas,
tom. ii. p. 7f>9. — Ciistillo, Cro'nica, cap. 37.
MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 163
was promised by Heniy to Alfonso of Portugal. Isabella
was present with her brother at a personal interview with
that monarch in 1464, but neither threats nor intreaties
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 groimd, that " the infantas of Castile could not be dis-
posed of in marriage without the consent of the nobles of
the realm." *
"VMien Isabella understood in what manner she was now
to be sacrificed to the selfish policy of her brother, in the
prosecution of which compulsory measures if necessary were
to be employed, she was filled with the Uveliest emotions of
grief and resentment. The master of Calatrara was well
known as a fierce and turbulent leader of faction, and his
private Hfe was stained with most of the licentious vices of
the aofe. He was even accused of haviuo- invaded the
privacy of the queen dowager, Isabella's mother, by pro-
posals of the most degrading nature ; an outrage which the
king had either not the power, or the inclination, to resent. f
With this person, then, so inferior to her in birth, and so
much more unworthy of her in every other point of view,
Isabella was now to be united. On receiving the intelli-
gence, she confined herself to her apartment, abstaining
from all nourishment and sleep for a day and night, says
a contemporary writer, and imploring Heaven in the most
piteous manner to save her from this dishonour by her own
death or that of her enemy. As she was bewaiHng her
hard fate to her faithful friend Beatriz de Eobadilla, "God
* Aleson, Anales de Navarra, torn. iv. pp. 561, 562. — Zurita, Anales,
lib, 16, cap. 46, lib. 17, cap. 3. — Castillo, Crdnica de Enrique el Quarto,
cap. 31, 57. — Alonzo de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. cap. 55.
f Decad. de Palencia, apud Mem. de la Acad, de Hist. torn. \i. p. Qo,
nota.
164 CASTILE rXDER HENRY IT.
^vill 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 pm-pose, she solemnly
vowed to plunge it in the heart of the master of Calatrava
as soon as he appeared I*
Happily her loyalty was not put to so severe a test. No
sooner had the grand master received the bull of dispensa-
tion 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
bribe. "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 departure, he was attacked by an acute
disorder while at Yillarubia, a village not far from Ciudad
Real, which terminated his life in four days. He died, says
Palencia, with imprecations on his lips, because his life had
not been spared some few weeks longer.! 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. | (1466.)
* Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS. cap. 73. — Mariana, Hist, de
Espana, torn. ii. p. 450. — Ganbay, Compendio, torn. ii. p. 532.
This lady, Doiia Bcatriz Fernandez de Bobadilla, the most intimate
personal friend of Isabella, \rill appear often in the course of our narrative.
Gonzalo de Oriedo, vrho knew her -well, describes her as " illustrating her
generous lineage by her conduct, which was wise, virtuous, and valiant."
(Quincuagenas, MS. dial, de Cabrera.) The last epithet, rather singular
for a female character, was not unmerited.
■f Palencia imputes his death to an attack of the quinsy. — Corunica,
MS. cap. 73.
t Rades y Andrada, Las Trcs Ordencs, fol. 77. — Caro de Torres
MARRIAGE OF FERDINA>'D AND ISABELLA. 165
The death of the grand master dissipated, at a blow, all
the fine schemes of the marquis of Villena, as well as every
hope of reconcihation between the parties. The passions,
which had been only smothered, now burst forth into open
hostihty; 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 con-
fronted by his insurgent subjects. The royal army was
considerably the larger ; but the deficiency 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 gal-
lant nobleman, who on this, as on some other occasions,
Historia de las Ordenes Militares de Santiago, Calatrava, y Alcantara,
(Madrid, 1629,) lib. 2, cap. 59. — Castillo, Crdnica, cap. 85. — Alonso de
Palencia, Coronica, MS. cap. 73. — Gaillard remarks on this event,
"Chacun crut sur cette mort ce qu'il voulut." And again, in a few pages
after, speaking of Isabella, he says, '* On remarqua que tons ceux qui
pouvoient faire obstacle a la satisfaction ou a la fortune d'Isabelle, mou-
roient toujours a propos pour elle." (Rivalite, torn. iii. pp. 280, 286.)
This iDgenious writer is fond of seasoning his style Avith those piquant
sarcasms in which oftentimes more is meant than meets the ear, and which
Voltaire rendered fashionable in history. I doubt, however, if amid all
the heats of controversy and faction, there is a single Spanish writer of that
age, or indeed of any subsequent one, who has ventured to impute to the
contrivance of Isabella any one of the fortunate coincidences to which the
author alludes.
16G CASTILE UNDER HENRY IT.
disjilayed a magnanimity ■v\'hicli in some degree excused the
partiality of liis master, returned by the envoy a particular
description of the dress he intended to wear ; a chivalrous
defiance which well nigh cost him his life. Henry did not
care to expose his person in the engagement, and, on
receiving erroneous intelhgence of the discomfiture of his
party, retreated precipitately with some thirty or forty
horsemen to the shelter of a neighLouring village. The
action lasted three hours, until the combatants were sepa-
rated 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-
standing his arm had been pierced through with a lance early
in the engagement. The king and the prelate may be thought
to have exchanged characters in this tragedy.* (1467.)
The battle was attended with no result, except that of
inspiring appetites, which had tasted of blood, with a rehsh
for more unHcensed 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 eflfect 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." t
* Lebrija, Rerum Gestaruin Decad. lib. 1, cap. 2. — Zurita, Anales, lib. 10,
cap. 10. — Castillo, Crdnica, cap. 03, 07. — Alonso de Palencia, Corouica,
MS. part 1, cap. 80. + Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, MS. cap. 82.
M.UIRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 1G7
Every city, nay, almost every family, became now divided
witliin itself. In Seville and in Cordova, tlie inhabitants of
one street carried on open war against those in another.
The churches, which were fortified, and occupied vrith 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 conflagration. The ancient
family feuds, as those between the great houses of Guzman
and Ponc9 de Leon in Andalusia, being revived, carried new
division into the cities, whose streets literally ran with
blood.* 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. AU
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 armed escort. The
organisation 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
* Zuniga, Anales de Sevilla, pp. 351, 352. — Carta del Levantaniiento
de Toledo, apud Castillo, Crdnica, p. 109. — The historian of Se^"ille has
quoted an animated apostrophe addressed to the citizens by one of their
number in this season of discord :
" Mezquina Sevilla en la san^e baiiada
de los tus fijos, i tus cavalleros,
que fado enemigo te tiene minguada," &c.
The poem concludes -with a summons to throw off the yoke of their
oppressors :
" Despierta SeviUa e sacude el imperio,
que faze a tus nobles tanto vituperio."
See Anales, p. 359.
168 CASTILE T3DER HENIlT IV.
|rround by its orders. But this relief was only partial ; and
the successful opposition which the Ilermandad 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 interpreted the ordinary operations of
nature as signs of celestial wrath ;* and the minds of men
were filled with dismal bodings of some inevitable evil, liko
that which overwhelmed the monarchy in the days of their
Gothic ancestors.!
At this crisis, a circumstance occurred, which 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 dead in his bed, on the 5th of
July, 1468, at the village of Cardeiiosa, about two leagues
from A^'ila, which had so recently been the theatre of his
glory. His sudden death was imputed in the usual sus-
picious 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
* " Quod in pace fors, seu natura, tunc fatum et ira dei vocabatur ;"
says Tacitus, (Historiae, lib. 4, cap. 26,) adverting to a similar state of
excitement.
f Sacz quotes a MS. letter of a contemporary, exhibiting a frightful
picture of these disorders. (Moncdas de Enrique IV., p. 1, note. — Cas-
tillo, Crdnica, cap. 83, 87, et passim. — Mariana, Hist, de Espaila, torn, ii.,
p. 451. — Marina, Teoria, tom. ii., p. 487. — Alonso de Palencia, Coronica,
MS. part 1, cap. 69.) The active force kept on duty by the Hermandad
amounted to three thousand horse. — Ibid. cap. 89, 90.
MARRLVGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 169
wisdom equal to that of any of its monarchs. Even in the
disadvantageous position in which he had been placed, he
gave clear indications of future excellence. A short time
before his death, he was heard to remark, on witnessing the
oppressive acts of some of the nobles, *' I must endm*e 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 I" And on being
told that the city, in 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." Xoble senti-
ments, 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.*
It is not easy to consider the reign of Alfonso 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
sovereicm, and as such to be enrolled amons: the monarchs of
Castile. t 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 recog-
nition by the people. But I do not find that the deposition of
Henry the Fourth was ever confirmed by an act of cortes.
He still continued to reign with the consent of a large por-
tion, probably the majority, of his subjects; and it is evident
that proceedings so irregular as those at Avila could have
* Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. cap. 87, 92. — Castillo, Crunica,
cap. 94, — Garibay, Compendio, lib. 17, cap. 20.
+ Marina, Teoria, part 2, cap. 38.
170 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV.
no pretence to constitutional validity, without a very general
expression of approbation on the part of the nation.
The leaders of the confederates were thrown into con-
sternation by an event which thi*eatened to dissolve their
league, and to leave them exposed to the resentment of an
oifended sovereign. In this conjuncture, they naturally
turned their eyes on Isabella, whose dignified and com-
mandinir character mii^ht counterbalance the disadvanta^-es
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 licence
of a court, where the love of pleasm-e scorned even the veil
of hypocrisy. On the death of her brother, she withdrew
to a monasteiy at Avila, where she was visited by the
archbishop of Toledo, 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.*
Isabella discerned too clearly, however, the path of duty,
and probably of interest. She imhesitatingly refused the
seductive profi'er, and replied that, "while her brother Henry
lived, none other had a right to the crown ; that tlie country
had been divided long enough under the rule of two con-
tending 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 co-operate with her brother in the
* Lcbrija, Rerum Gestarum Decad. lib. 1, cap. 3. — Alonso de Palencia,
Coronica, MS. part 1, cap. 92. — Florcz. Reyaas Catholicas, torn. ii. p. 790.
ifAnraAGE of rZEDINAyD A^■D ISABZLL-A^ 171
reformation of existing abuses. Neither the eloquence nor
entreaties of the primate could move her from her pm*pose ;
and when a deputation from Seville announced to her that
that city, in common with the rest of Andalusia, had un-
furled its standards in her name and proclaimed her sove-
reign of Castile, she stiU persisted in the same wise and
temperate policy.*
The confederates were not prepared for this magnani-
mous act from one so young, and in opposition to the advice
of her most venerated counsellors. Xo 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
reconcihation was effected between the parties on the fol-
lowing 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 be immediately recog-
nised heir to the crowns of Castile and Leon ; that a cortes
should be convoked within forty days for the pui-pose of bestow-
ing 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.!
* Lebrija, Renim Gestarum Decad. lib. 1, cap. 3. — Ferreras, Hist.
d'Espagne, torn. vii. p. 218. — Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, part 1, cap.
92 ; part 2, cap. 5.
+ See a copy of the original compact cited at length by Marina, Teom,
Ap. No. 11. — Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, part 1, cap. 2.
172 CASTILE O'DER HENRY lY.
In pursuance of these arrangements, an interYiew took
place between Henry and IsabeUa, each attended by a bril-
liant cortege of cavaUers and nobles, at a place called Toros
de Guisando, in Xew Castile (Sept. 9, 1468).* 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 was repeated by
the attendant nobles, who concluded the ceremony by kiss-
ing the hand of the princess in token of their homage. In
due time the representatives of the nation, convened in
cortes at Ocaha, unanimously concurred in their approba-
tion of these preliminary proceedings, and thus Isabella was
announced to the world as the lawful successor to the
cro^-ns of Castile and Leon.t
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
* So called from four bulls, sculptured in stone, discovered there, with
Latin inscriptions thereon, indicating it to have been the site of one of
Julius Ca;sar*s victories during the civil war. (Estrada, Poblacion Gene-
ral de Espaiia ; Madrid, 1748 ; torn. i. p. 306.) — Galindez de Carbajal, a
contemporar}-, fixes the date of this convention in August. — Anales del Rey
Fernando el Catdlico, MS. ano 1468.
+ Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS. pait 2, cap. 4. — Castillo, Crdnica,
cap. 118. — Mariana, Hist, de Espaiia, torn. ii. pp. 461, 462. — Pulgar,
Reyes Catdlicos, part 1, cap. 2. — Castillo affirms that Henry, incensed by
his sister's refusal of the king of Portugal, dissolved the cortes at Ocafia,
before it had taken the oath of allegiance to her. (Cronica, cap. 127.)
This assertion, however, is counterbalanced by the opposite on.e of Pulgar,
a contemporary writer like himself. (Reyes Catdlicos, cap. 5.) And as
Ferdinand and Isabella, in a letter addressed, after their marriage to Henry
IV., transcribed also by Castillo, allude incidentally to such a recognition
as to a well-known fact, the balance of testimony must be admitted to be
in favour of it. — See Castillo, Crdnica, cap. 114.
MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 173
have cherished as his own offspring. lie was accused, even
while actually signiug the treaty, of a secret collusion with
the marquis of Yillena for the purpose of evading it ; an
accusation which derives a plausible colouring from subse-
quent events. *
The new and legitmiate basis on which the pretensions
of Isabella to the throne now rested, drew the attention of
neighboui-ing princes, who contended with each other for
the honour of her hand. Among these suitors was a brother
of Edward the Fourth, of England, not improbably ruchard,
duke of Gloucester, since Clarence was then engaged in his
intrigues with the earl of Warwick, which led a few months
later to his marriao;e with the dausrhter of that noblemau.
Had she listened to his proposals, the duke would in all
likelihood have exchanged his residence in England for Cas-
tile, 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.*
Another suitor was the duke of Guienne, the unfortunate
brother of Louis the Eleventh, and at that time the pre-
* Isabella, -wlio in a leiter to Henry IT., dated Oct. 12th, 1469, adverts
to these proposals of the Ei:glish prince, as being under consideration at the
time of the convention of Toros de Guisando, does not specify which of the
brothers of Edward lY. was intended. (Castillo, Crdnica, cap. 136.)
Mr. Turner, in his History of England during the middle ages,
(London, 182.5,) quotes part of the address delivered hj the Spanish envoy
to Richard IH., in l-t83, in which tte orator speaks of " the unkindness
which his queen Isabella had conceived for Edward lY., for Iiis refusal of
her, and his taking instead to wife a widow of England," (Yol. iiL p. 274.)
The old chronicler, Hall, on the other hand, mentions that it was currently
reported, although he does not appear to credit it, that the earl of Warwick
had been despatched into Spain in order to request tlie hand of the princess
Isabella for his master Edward lY, in 1463. (See his Chronicle of
England; London, 1809; pp. 263,264.) I find nothing in the Spanish
accounts of that period wMch throws anv light on these obvious contra-
dictions.
174 CASTILE UNDER EEXRY IV.
sumptive lieir of the French monarchy. Although the
ancient intimacy which subsisted between the royal families
of France and Castile in some measure favoured his preten-
sions, the disadvantages resulting from such a miion were
too obvious to escape attention. The two countries were
too remote from each other,* and their inhabitants too
dissimilar in character and institutions, to permit the idea
of their ever cordially coalescing as one people under a
common sovereign. Should the duke of Guienne fail in the
inheritance of the crown, it was argued he woidd 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 appen-
dage, and sacrificed to the interests of the larger.f
The person on whom Isabella turned the most favourable
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, wliich 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 mo-
narchy, to rise at once to the first class of European powers.
^)Vhile arguments of this public nature pressed on the mind
of Isabella, she was not insensible to those which most
* The territories of France and Castile touched, indeed, on one point
(Guipuscoa), hut were separated along the whole remaining line of frontier
hj- the kingdoms of Aragon and Navarre.
+ Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, cap. 8. — Alonso de Palencia, Cordaica, MS.
part 2, cap. 1 0.
JIARRIAGE OF rERDIN.VXD AND ISABELLA. i7j
powerfully affect the 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, ho had displayed a chivalrous
valour, combined v>'ith maturity of judgment far above his
years. Indeed, he was decidedly superior to his rivals in
personal merit and attractions.* But, while private in-
clinations thus happily coincided with considerations of
expediency for inclining her to prefer the Aragonese match,
a scheme was doATsed in another quarter for the express
purpose of defeating it.
A fraction of the royal party, with the family of Mendoza
at their head, had retired in disgust with the convention of
Toros de Guisando, and openlj espoused the cause of the
princess Joanna. They even instructed her to institute an
appeal before the tribunal 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. f Thus were sown the seeds
of new dissensions, before the old were completely eradi-
cated. With this disaffected party the marquis of Yillena,
* Isabella, in order to acquaint herself more intimatelvwith the personal
qualities of her respective suitors, had privately despatched her confidential
chaplain, Alonso de Coca, to the courts of France and of Aragon, and his
report on his return was altogether favourable to Ferdinand. The Duke
of Guienne he represented as " a feehle, effeminate prince, ■with limbs so
emaciated as to he almost deformed, and -with eyes so vreak and waterv as
to incapacitate him for the ordinary exercises of chivalry. While Ferdinand,
on the other hand, was possessed of a comely, symmetrical figure, a graceful
demeanour, and a spirit that was up to any thing ; " mui dispuesto para
toda cosa que hacer quisiese. It is not improbable that the queen of
Aragon condescended to practise some of those agreeable arts on the
worthy chaplain which made so sensible an impression on the marquis of
Tillena.
+ Alonso de Palencia. Cordnica, [MS. part 2, cap. 5.
176 CASTILE UNDER HEXRT IT.
wLo, since bis reconciliation, had resumed his ancient as-
cendancy 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,* 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 endeavoured
to revive the obsolete pretensions of Alfonso, king of Por-
tugal ; and the more effectually to secure the co-operation
of Henry, he connected with his scheme a proposition for
marrying his daughter Joanna with the son and heir of tlie
Portuguese monarch ; and thus this unfortunate princess
might be enabled to assume at once a station suitable to
lier birth, and at some future opportunity assert with suc-
cess 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 arch-
bishop of Lisbon at its head, appeared at Oeana, where
Isabella was then residing, bearing the proposals of their
master. The princess returned, as before, a decided,
though temperate refusal. t 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 tyran-
* See ante, p. 152 note.*
+ Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, torn. ii. p. 391. — Castillo, Crunica,
cap. 121, 127. — Alonso de Palencia, Crunica, MS. part 2, cap. 7. — Lebrija,
Rerum Gcstarum Decades, lib. 1, cap, 7.
MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 177
nical proceeding ; and the marquis was only deterred from
putting it in execution bj his fear of the inhabitants of
Ocafia, 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.* Xotwith-
standing this popular expression of opinion, however, the
constancy of Isabella might at length have yielded to tlie
importunity of her persecutors, had she not been encouraged
by her friend, the archbishop of Toledo, who had warmly
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.
(1469.)
Isabella, indignant at the oppressive treatment which she
experienced from her brother, as well as at his notorious
infraction of almost every article in the treaty of Toros dc
Guisando, felt herself released 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 Ilenriquez, admiral of Castile, and the
maternal grandfather of Ferdinand ; a person of high
* Bemaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 7. — Alonso de Palencia,
Cordnica, MS. part 2, cap. 7.
VOL. I. N
178 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV.
consideration, both from his rank and character, and
connected by blood with the principal families in the king-
dom.* Fortified by their approbation, Isabella dismissed
the Aragonese envoy with a favourable answer to his
master's siiit.t
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 consohdating the scattered monarchies of Spain under
one head. He had sohcited 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 favourite
object of his policy. With the consent of the states he
had transfen-ed to his son the title of king of Sicily, and
associated 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 ;
fm-nishing him for this pui-pose with cartes hlanches, signed
by himself and Ferdinand, which he was empowered to fill
at his discretion.
Between parties thus favourably disposed there was no
unnecessary delay. The marriage articles were signed,
and sworn to by Ferdinand at Cervcra, on the 7th of
January, 1469. He promised faithfully to respect the laws
and usages of Castile ; to fix his residence in that kingdom,
* Pulgar, Claros Yarones, tit. 2,
■f L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 154. — Zurita, Ajiales, torn, iv
fol. 162. — Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. part 2, cap. 7. — Pulgar
Beyes Catdlicos, cap. 9.
J Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol. 157, 163.
MARRIAGE OF FERDEN'AND AND IS.VBELLA. 179
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 nr
appointments of a civil or military nature without her con-
sent and approbation ; and to resign to her exclusively the
right of nomination to ecclesiastical benefices. All ordi-
nances 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 con-
cluded with a specification of a magnificent dower to be
settled on Isabella, far more ample than that usually
assigned to the queens of Aragon.* The circumspection
of the framers of this instrument is apparent from the various
provisions introduced into it solely to calm the apprehen-
sions and to conciliate the good-will of the party dis-
affected to the marriage ; while the national partiahties of
the Castilians in general Avere gratified by the jealous
restrictions imposed on Ferdinand, and the relinquish-
ment of all the essential rights of sovereignty to his
consort.
While these affairs were in progress, Isabella's situation
was becoming exceedingly critical. She 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 Ocaiia to Madrigal, where,
under the protection of her mother, she intended to abide
* See the copy of the original marriage contract, as it exists in the
archives of Simancas, extracted in torn. vi. of Memorias de la Acad, de
Hist., Ap. No. 1.— Zurita, Anales, lib. 18, cap. 21.— Ferrcras, Hist.
d'Elsps^e, torn. vii. p. 236.
jf 2
ISO CASTILE unli:r IIENRY IV.
the issue of tlie pending negotiations witli Aragon. Far,
however, from escaping the vigilant eye of the marquis of
Villena hy 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
sipy 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, the marquis was now con-
vinced 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. The 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.*
In this exigency, she contrived to convey a knowledge
of her situation to admiral Henri quez, and the archuisliop
of Toledo.' The active prelate, on receiving the summons,
* Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, ]\IS. part. 2, cap. 12.— Castillo, Crd-
i:ica, cap. 128, 131, 136.— Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol. 162.— Beatrice <lc
Bobadilla and Mencia de la Torre, the two ladies mcst in her confidence,
bad escaped to the neighbouring town of Cora.
MARRIAGE OF FERDIXAXD AND ISABELLA. ISl
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 enemv.
Isabella received her friends with unfeigned satisfaction ;
and, bidding adieu to her dismayed guardian, 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 citi-
zens with a general burst of enthusiasm.*
In the mean time, Gutierre de Cardenas, one of the
household of the princess,! and Alonso 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 Ceii, on whose active
co-operation they had relied for the safe introduction of
Ferdinand into Castile, had been gained over to the interests
of the marquis of Villena.| The envoys, however,
adroitly concealing the real object of their mission, were
permitted to pass unmolested to Saragossa, whore Ferdi-
nand was then residing. They could not have arrived at
* Castillo, Crdnica, cap. 13G. — Alonso de Palencio, Coidnica, MS.
part. 2, cap. 12. — Carbajal, Anales, MS. auo 69.
"t* This cavalier, who was of an ancient and honourable family in Castile,
was introduced to the princess's service by the archbishop of Toledo. He
is represented by Gonzalo de Obicdo as a man of much sagacity and know-
ledge of the world, qualities with which he united a steady devotion to
the interests of his mistress. — Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS. baL 1, quinc. 2,
dial. 1.
t Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, ^IS. cap. 14. — The bishop told
Palencia, that " if his o^vn servants deserted him, he would oppose the
entrance of Ferdinand into the kincdom."
182 CASTILE UNDER HEXRT IV.
a more inopportune season. The old king of Aragon was in
tlie very heat of the vrar against the insurgent Catalans,
headed by the victorious John of Anjou. Although so
sorely pressed, his forces -were on the eve of disbanding
for Tvant of the requisite funds to maintain them. His
exhausted treasury did not contain more than three hundred
enriques.^ 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 avrare 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, t
It was at length determined that the prince should under-
take 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 coun-
try was patrolled by squadi'ons of cavalry for the purpose of
intercepting their progress ; and the whole extent of the
frontier, from Almazan to Guadalajara, was defended by a
line of foi-tified castles in the hands of the family of Men-
* Zurita, Ac ales, lib. 18, cap. 26. — The enriqiLC was a gold coin, so
denominated from Henry II.
+ Zurita, Anales, lib. 18, cap. 26. — Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii_
p. 273.
MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 1S3
doza.* The greatest circumspection therefore -was neces-
sary. The party joui-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 Bm-go, or Borough, of Osma, which
the count of Treviho, one of the partisans of Isabella, had
occupied with a considerable body of men-at-arms. 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
well-nigh brought his romantic enterprise to a tragical con-
clusion ; 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 com-
menced before dawn, was performed under the convoy of a
numerous and well-armed escort ; and on the 9tli of October
he reached Duerias in the kingdom of Leon, where the Cas-
tilian nobles and cavaliers of his party eagerly thronged to
render him the homage due to his rank.t
The intelligence of Ferdinand's arrival diffused universal
joy in the little court of Isabella at Valladolid. 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 domi-
nions, 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
* Mem. de la Acad, de Hist., torn. vi. p. 70. Ilust. 2.
t Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. part. ii. cap. 14. — Zurita, Anales,
loc. cit.
184 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV.
represented the political advantages of the connexion, and
the sanction it had received from the Castilian nohles ; and
she concluded with sohciting 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 her-
self.* Arrangements were then made for an interview be-
tween the royal pair, in which some com'tly 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.!
Agreeably to these arrangements, Ferdinand, on the even-
ing of the 15th of October, passed privately from Duenas,
accompanied only by four attendants, to the neighbouring
city of Valladolid, where he was received by the archbishop
of Toledo, and conducted to the apartment of his mistress. J
Ferdinand was at this time in the eighteenth year of his age^
His complexion was fair, though somewhat bronzed by con-
stant exposure to the sun ; his eye quick and cheeiful ; his
forehead ample, and approaching to baldness. His muscular
and well-proportioned frame was invigorated by the toils of
war, and by the chivah'ous 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
sl.arp, but he possessed a fluent eloquence ; and when he
* This letter, dated October r2th, is cited at length by Castillo,
Crdnica, cap. 136.
+ Alouso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. part. 2, cap. 15.
X Gutierre de Cardenas was the first who pointed him out to the prin-
CC5S, exclaiming at the same time, " Ese es, cse esf' "This is he !" in
commemoration of which he was permitted to place on his escutcheon the
letters SS, whose pronunciation in Spanish resembles that of the exclama-
tion which he had uttered. — Ibid, part 2, cap. 15. — Oviedo, Quincuagenas,
MS. bat. 1, quinc 2, dial. 1.
MARRIAGE OF FERDINA^TD AND ISABELLA. 10-5
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.* 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 chesnut coloui*, inclining to red ; and her mild blue
eye beamed with intelligence and sensibility. She was ex-
ceedingly beautiful; "the handsomest lady," says one of
her household, '* whom I ever beheld, and the most gracious
in her manners." f The portrait, still existing of her in the
royal palace, is conspicuous for an open symmetry of fea-
tures 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 demeanour,
and modest even to a degree 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 particidar seems to (3
have been neglected. t It is not easy to obtain a dispas-
sionate 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 colouring of romance.
The inten'iew lasted more than two hours, when Fer-
dinand retired to his quarters at Duenas as privately as he
* L. Marieno, Cosas Memorable?, fol. 182. — Garibay, Compcudio, lib.
18, cap. 1. — "Tan amigo de los negocios," savs Mariana, "que pcrecia,
con el trabajo descansaba." — Hist, de Elspaua, lib. 25, cap. 18.
+ " En hcrmosura, puestas delante S. A todas las mugcrcs que to he
visto, ninguna vi tan graciosa, ni tan to de vcr como su persona, ni de tal
manera e sanctidad honestisima." — Onedo, Qiiincuagcnas, MS.
t Bcmaldcz, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 201. — Abarca, Reyes de Aragon
trim. ii. p. 362. — Garibay, Compendio, lib. 18, cap. 1.
1S6 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV.
came. The preliminaries of the marriage, however, were
jBrst 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.* Such were the humiliating
circumstances attending the commencement of a union des-
tined to open the way to the highest prosperity and grandeur
of the Spanish monarchy !
The marriage between Ferdinand and Isabella was
publicly celebrated, on the morning of the 19th of October,
1469, in the palace of John de Yivero, the temporary
residence of the princess, and subsequently appropriated to
the chancery of Valladolid. The nuptials were solemnised
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.! 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 Ptome by
the zeal with which it openly espoused the interest of Henry,
and who knew that Isabella would never consent to a union
repugnant to the canons of the established church, and one
Avhicli 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 Httle
* Mariana, Hist, de Espaua, torn. ii. p. 465.
+ Carbajal, Anales, MS. afio 1469. — Alonso dc Palencia, Cor6nica,
MS. part. 2, cap. 16.— Zurita, Anales, lib. 18, cap. 26. — See a copy of the
ofEcial record of the marriage, Mem. de la Acad., torn. vi. Apend. 4. See
also the Ilust. 2.
DEATH OF HENRY IT. 187
uneasiness and mortification at the discovery of tlie imposi-
tion.* The ensuing ^veek was consumed in the usual
festivities of this joyous season ; at the expiration of which
the new-married pair attended pubhcly the celebration of
mass, a!xreeablv to the usa^re of the time, in the colles;iate
church of Santa Maria. t
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 mes-
sage with a copious extract from such of the articles of
marriage as, by their import, would be most likely to con-
ciliate his favourable disposition. Henry coldly replied,
**that he must advise with his ministers."!
Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Taldes, author of the " Quincuagenas"
frequently cited in this History, vras bom at Madrid, in 1478. He was of
noble Asturian descent. Indeed, every peasant in the Asturias claims
nobility as his birthright. At the age of twelve he was introduced into
the royal palace, as one of the pages of prince John. He continued with
the court several years, and was present, though a boy, in the closing cam-
paigns of the Moorish war. In 1514, according to his own statement, he
embarked for the Indies, where, although he revisited his native country
several times, he continued during the remainder of his long life. The
time of his death is uncertain.
Oviedo occupied several important posts under the government, and he
was appointed to one of a literary nature, for which he was well qualified
* The intricacies of this affair, at once the scandal and the stumbling-
block of the Spanish historians, have been unravelled by Seiior Clemcncin
with his usual perspicuity. See Mem. de la Acad., torn. vi. pp. 105-116.
Ilust. 2.
f Alonso de Palencia, Cortjnica, ^IS. part. 2. cap. 16. — A lively narra-
tive of the adventures of prince Ferdinand, detailed in this chapter, may
be found in Cushing's Reminiscences of Spain, (Boston, 1833,) vol. i.
pp. 225-255.
t Castillo, Cr6nica, cap. 137- — Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, ilSS.
port 2, cap. 16.
ISS CASTILE UNDER HEXRY IT.
by bis lowy residence abroad ; tliat of historiograplicr of the Indies. It
was in tliis capacity that he produced his principal work, " Historia General
de las Indias," in fifty books. Las Casas denounces the book as a whole-
sale fabrication, " as full of lies, almost, as pages.'' ((Eu\Tes, trad, de
Lloreute, torn. i. p. 382.) But Las Casas entertained too hearty an aver-
sion for the man, whom be publicly accused of rapacity and cruelty, and
was too decidedly opposed to his ideas on the government of the Indies, to
be a fair critic. Oviedo, thougb somewhat loose and rambling, possessed
extensive stores of information, by which those who have bad occasion to
follow in his track have liberally profited.
The work with which^ we are concerned, is his Quincuagenas. It is
entitled " Las Quincuagenas de los generosos e ilustres e no menos famosos
Reyes, Principes, Duques, Marqueses y Condes et • Caballeros, et
Personas notables de Espaua, que escribio el Capitan Gonzalo Fernandez
de Oviedo y Valdez, Alcaide de sus Magestades de la Fortaleza de la
Cibdad e Puerto de Sancto Domingo de la Isla Espanola, Coronista de las
Indias," Sec. At the close of the third volume is this record of the octo-
genarian author : " Acabe de escribir de mi mano este famoso tractado de la
nobleza de Espaiia, domingo 1° dia de Pascua de Pentecostes XXIIL de
mayo de 1556 aiios. Laus Deo. Y de mi edad 79 anos." This very
ciirious work is in tbe form of dialogues, in which the author is the chief
interlocutor. It contains a very full, and, indeed, prolix notice of the
principal persons in Spain, their lineage, revenues, and arms, with an inex-
haustible fund of private anecdote. The author, who was well acquainted
with most of the individuals of note in his time, amused himself, during
his absence in tbe New World, with keeping alive the images of home by tliis
minute record of early reminiscences. In this mass of gossip, there is a
good deal, indeed, of very little value. It contains, however, much for
the illustration of domestic manners, and copious particulai-s, as I have inti-
mated, respecting the characters and habits of eminent personages, which
could have been known only to one familiar with them. On all topics of
descent and heraldry, he is uncommonly full ; and one would think his
services in this department alone might have secured him, in a land where
these are so much respected, the honours of the press. His book, however,
still remains in manuscript, apparently little known, and less used, by
Castilian scholars. Besides the three folio volumes in tbe Royal Library
at Madrid, from which the transcript in my possession was obtained,
Clemencin, whose commendations of this work, as illustrative of Isabella's
reign, are unqualified, (Mem. de la Acad, de Hist., torn. vi. Ilust. 10.) enu-
merates three others, two in the king s private library, and one in that of
tbe Academy.
1S9
CHAPTER lY.
FACTIONS IN CASTILE. — WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND ARAGON. — DEATH
OF HENRY IV. OF CASTILE.
UG9— 1474.
Factions in Castile — Ferdinand and Isabella. — Gallant defence of Per-
pignan against the French. — Ferdinand raises the siege. — Isabella's
party gains strength. — Interview between king Henry lY. and
Isabella. — The French invade Roussillon. — Ferdinand's summary
justice. — Death of Henry IV. of Castile. — Influence of his Reign.
The mamage of Ferdinand and Isabella disconcerted the
operations of the marquis of Yillena, or, as he should be
styled, the grand master of St. James, since he had rc-
&lgned his marquisate to his elder son, on his appointment
to the command of the military order above mentioned, a
dignity inferior only to tnc 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
ting 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 willinor to enerasre his relative in the
unsettled politics of a distant state, in order to relieve him-
self from his pretensions at home.*
An interview took place between Henry the Fourth and
the French ambassadors in a little village in the vale of
* Alonso de Palencia, Corunica, MS. part. 2, cap. 21. — Gaillard, Riva-
lit^, torn. iii. p. 284. — Rades y Andrada, Las Tres Ordene?, fol. 65. — C:»jo
de Torres, Ordenes Militares, fol. 43.
190 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGOX.
Lozoya, in October 1470. A proclamation "vvas read, in
%vliicli Henry declared his sister to Lave 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
amiounced 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 formaUties ordi-
narily practised on such occasions, to the count of Boulogne,
the representative of the duke of Guienne.*
The 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 unfavourable
influence on Isabella's cause. It exhibited her rival to the
world as one whose claims were to be supported by the
whole authority of the court of Castile, with the probable
co-operation of France. Many of the most considerable
families in the kingdom, as the Pachecos,f the Mendozas
in all their extensive ramifications, J the Zunigas, the Velas-
* Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS. bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 23. — Castillo, Crd-
nica, p. 298. — Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. part. 2, cap. 24. — Henry,
well knowing liow little all this would avail without the constitutional sanc-
tion of the cortes, twice issued his summons in 1470, for the convocation
of the deputies, to obtain a recognition of the title of Joanna. But without
effect. In the letters of convocation issued for a third assembly of the
states, in 1471, this purpose was prudently omitted, and thus the claims of
Joanna failed to receive the countenance of the only body which could give
them validity. See the copies of the original writs addressed to the cities
of Toledo and Segovia, cited by Marina, Teoria, torn. ii. pp. 87-89.
■f- The grand master of St. James, and his son, the marquis of Villena,
afterwards duke of Escalona. The rents of the former nobleman, whose
avarice was as insatiable as his influence over the feeble mind of Henry IV.
was unlimited, exceeded those of any other grandee in the kingdom. See
Pulgar, Claros Tarones, tit. 6.
^ The marq^uis of SantiUana, first duke of Infantado, and his brothers,
DEATH OF HENRr TV. 191
COS,* the Pimentelsjt unmindful of the homage so recently
rendered to Isabella, now openly testified their adhesion to
her niece.
Ferdinand and his consort, who held their little com*t at
DuenasJ, were so poor as to be scarcely capable of defray-
ing the ordinary charges of their table. The northern
provinces of Biscay and Guipuscoa had, however, loudly
declared against the French match ; and the populous pro-
vince of Andalusia, with the house of Medina Sidouia at its
head, still maintained its loyalty to Isabella unshahen. But
her principal reliance was on the archbishop of Toledo,
whose elevated station in the church and ample revenues
gave him perhaps less real influence than 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 eleva-
tion exclusively to himself. He looked with a jealous eye
on her most intimate friends, and complained that neither
the counts of Conma and of Tendilla, and above all Pedro Gonzalez de
Mendoza, afterwards cardinal of Spain and archbishop of Toledo, who was
indebted for the highest dignities in the church less to his birth than his
abilities. — See Claros Varoncs, tit. 4, 9. — Salazarde Mendoza, Dignidades,
lib. 3, cap. 17.
* Alvaro de Zuiiiga, count of Palencia, and created by Henry IV. duke
of Arevalo. — Pedro Fernandez de Yclasco, count of Haro, was raised to the
post of constable of Castile in 1473, and the oflBce continued to be heredi-
tary- in the family from that period. Pulgar, Claros Varones, tit. 3. —
Salazar de Mendoza, Dignidades, lib. 3, cap. 21.
+ The Pimentels, counts of Benavente,had estates which gave them 60,000
ducats a year ; a very large income for that period, and far exceeding that
of any other grandee of cimilar rank in the kingdom. — L. Marinco, Cosas
Memorablos, fol. 25. ^ Carbajal, Anales, MS. aiio 70.
192 THOUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON.
blie nor her husband deferred sufficiently to his counsel.
The princess could not always conceal her disgust at these
humours ; and Ferdinand, on one occasion, plainly told him
that " 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 indis-
pensable 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 self-command
which enabled him in after-life to sacrifice his passions, and
sometimes, indeed, his principles, to his interests.*
The most frightful anarchy at this period prevailed
throughout Castile. While the court was abandoned to
corrupt or frivolous pleasuj*e, the administration of justice
was neo'lected, until crimes were committed with a fre-
quency and on a scale which menaced the very foundation of
society. The nobles conducted their personal feuds with an
array of numbers which might compeie with those of power-
ful princes. The duke of Infantado, the head of the house
of Mendoza,! 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 Itahan condottieri at this period, were of the most
sanguinary and destructive kind. Andalusia was in par-
ticular the theatre of this savage warfare. The whole of
* Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol. 170. — Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS.
cap. 45.
+ This nobleman, Diego Hurtado, '•' muy gcntil caballero y gran senor,'
as Oviedo calls bim, was at tliis time only marquis of Santillana, and was
not raised to the title of duke of Infantado till the reign of Isabella
(Quincuagenas, MS. bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8). To avoid confusion, bow-
ever, I bave given bim the title by wbicb he is usually recognised by
Castilian writers.
DEATH OF HENRY IV. 193
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
joung men, \yhose hot blood soon revived the feuds which
had been permitted to cool under the temperate sway of their
fathers. One of these fiery cavahers 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 extra-
ordinary qualities which he evinced at a very early period.
He served liis apprenticeship to the art of war in the cam-
paigns against the Moors, displaying on several occasions an
uncommon degree of enterprise and personal heroism. On
succeeding to his paternal honours, his haughty spirit, im-
patient 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 militaiy science.*
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 hus-
bandman, stripped of his harvest and driven from his fields,
abandoned himself to idleness, or sought subsistence by
plunder. A scarcity ensued in the years 1-172 and 1473,
in which the prices of the most necessary commodities rose
to such an exorbitant height as put them beyond the reach
• Beraaldez, Reyes CatcSlicos, IMS. cap. 3.— Salazar do Mcndoza, Cro-
nica del Gran Cardenal de Espniia, Don Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza
(Toledo, 1625,) pp. 138, 150.— Zuiiiga, Anales de Scvilla, p. 362.
VOL. I. 0
194 TROUBLES IX CASTILE AND ARAGON.
of any but tlie affluent. But it Avoiild be wearisome to go
into all the loathsome details of wretchedness and crime
brought on this unhappy country by an imbecile govern-
ment and a disputed succession, and which are portrayed
with lively fidelity in the chronicles, the letters, and the
satires of the time.*
While Ferdinand's presence was more than ever necessary
to support the dtooping spirits of his party in Castile, he
was imexpectedly summoned into Aragon to the assistance
of his father. Xo sooner had Barcelona submitted to king
John, as mentioned in a preceding chapter,f than the
inhabitants of Roussillon and Cerdagne, which provinces
it will be remembered were placed in the custody of France
as a guarantee 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 favourable.
* Bemaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, 318. cap. 4, 5, 7. — Zuuiga, Anales de
Sevilla, pp. 363, 364. — Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, MS. part. 2, cap.
35, 38, 39, 42. — Saez, Monedas de Enrique IV. pp. 1-5. — Pulgar, in aa
epistle addressed, in the autumn of 1473, to the bishop of Coria, adverts to
several circumstances which set in a strong light the anarchical state of the
kingdom and the total deficiency of police. The celebrated satirical
eclogue, also, entitled " iMingo Revulgo," exposes, with coarse but cutting
sarcasm, the licence of the court, the corruption of the clerg}-, and the pre-
valent depravity of the people. In one of its stanzas it boldly ventures to
promise another and a better sovereign to the country. This performance,
even more interesting to the antiquary than to the historian, has been attri-
buted by some to Pulgar, (see Mariana, Hist, de Espaua, torn, ii. p. 475,)
and by others to Rodrigo Cota, (see Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Vetus, tom.
ii. p. 264,) but without satisfactory evidence in favour of either. Bouter-
wek is much mistaken in asserting it to have been aimed at the government
of John II. The gloss of Pulgar, whose authority as a contemporary must
be considered decisive, plainly proves it to have been directed against
Henry IV. f See chap. II.
DEATH OF HENRY IV. 195
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 Burgundy and Brittany. John, therefore,
gladly embraced the proposal ; and on a concerted day a
simultaneous insurrection took place throughout the pro-
vinces, when such of the French in the principal towns as
had not th^ 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 last-named city with a small body of forces, and instantly
set about the construction of works to protect the inha-
bitants 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.*
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, alamied 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 animat-
ing the spirits of the besieged by his own presence ; and,
assembling the inhabitants in one of the churches of the
city, he exhorted them resolutely to stand to their defence,
and made a solemn oath to abide the issue with them to
the last.
Louis, in the meanwhile, had convoked the ban and
arriere-ban of the contig-uous French provinces, and mus-
tered an arrav of chivalry and feudal mlHtia, amountinir.
according to the Spanish liistorians, to thirty thousand men.
• Alonso de Palcncia, Cordnica, MS. cap. 5G. — Mariana, Hist, de
Espana, torn. ii. p. 481. — Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol. 191. — Barante,
Hiitoire des "Dues de Bourgogne, (Paris, 1G25,) toni. i.v. pp. 101-106.
196 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON.
With these ample forces, his lieutenant-general, the duke
of Savoy, closely invested Perpignan ; and, as he was pro-
vided with a numerous train of battering artillery, instantly
opened a heavy fire on the inhabitants. John, thus exposed
to the double fii*e of the fortress and besiegers, was in a
very critical situation. Far from being disheartened, how-
ever, 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 suppHes were introduced
into the city in the very face of the blockading army.*
Ferdinand, on receiving intelligence of his father's perilous
situation, instantly resolved, by Isabella's advice, to march to
his relief. Putting himself at the head of a body of Cas-
tiUan horse, generously furnished him by the archbishop of
Toledo and his friends, he passed into Aragon, where he
was speedily joined by the principal nobihty of the kingdom,
and an army amounting in all to thirteen hundred lances,
and seven thousand infantry. With this corps he rapidly
descended the Pyrenees, by the way of Man9anara, in the
face of 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 sufi"er not a
little from want of provisions. At this crisis, the apparition
of this new army, thus unexpectedly descending on their
* Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. cap. 70. — Mariana, Hist, de
Espaiia, torn. ii. p. 482. — L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 148. —
Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol. 195. — Anquetil, Histoire de France, (Paris,
1805,) torn. V. pp. 60, 61.
DEATH OF HEXRT IT, 197
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 colours flying and music playing, at the head of
his Httle band, to greet his deliverers ; and after an afi'ecting
interview in the presence of the two armies, the father and
son returned in triumph into Perpignan.*.
The French army, reinforced by command of Louis,
made a second inefi"ectual attempt (their own writers call it
only a feint) upon the city ; and the campaign was finally
concluded by a treaty between the two monarchs, in which
it was arranged that the ting of Aragon should disburse
within the year the sum originally stipulated for the services
rendered him by Louis in his late war with his 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.!
(Sept. 1473.)
There is little reason to believe that this singular com-
pact 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
* Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol. 196. — Baranto, Hist, dcs Dues de
Bourgogne, torn. x. pp. 105, lOG. — L. Marineo, Cosas Memorablcs,
fol. 149.— Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. cap. 70, 71, 72.
t Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol. 200. — Gaillard, Rivalite, torn. iii. p. 266.
— See the articles of the treaty cited by Duclos, Hist, de Louis XI. torn. iL
pp. 99, 101. — Alonso de Palencia, Cordnict, MS. cap. 73.
198 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ABAGON.
his engagements, at a subsequent period of the war ; when
he 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 reorganise his
army, and to lull his adversary into security, while he took
effectual measures for recovering the prize which had so
unexpectedly eluded him.
During these occurrences, Isabella's prospects were daily
brightening in Castile. The duke of Guienne, the destined
spouse of her rival Joanna, 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.* 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 Heni-y 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 connection which must involve the
party in all the disasters of a civil war.f
Isabella's own character, moreover, contributed essen-
* Louis XI. is supposed ■svitli much probability to have assassinated his
brother. M. de Barante sums up his examination of the evidence with
this remark. " Le roi Louis XL ne fit peutetre pas mourir son frere, mais
personne ne pensa qu'il en fut incapable." Hist, des Dues de Bourgogne,
tom, ix. p. 433.
f The two princes alluded to were the duke of Segorbe, a cousin of
Ferdinand, and the king of Portugal. The former, on his entrance into
Castile, assumed such sovereign state, (giving his hand, for instance, to the
grandees to kiss,) as disgusted these haughty nobles, and was eventually the
occasion of breaking off his match. Alouso de Palencia, Coronica, MS.
part. 2, cap. 62. — Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 392.
DEATH OF HENRY IV. 199
tially to strengthen her cause. Her sedate conduct, and
the decorum maintained in her court, formed a strong con-
trast with the frivolity and license which disgraced that of
Ilenrj and his consort. Thinking men were led to conclude
that the sagacious administration of Isabella must eventually
secure to her the ascendancy over her rival ; Avhile all who
sincerely loved their country could not but procjnosticate
for it, under her beneficent sway, a degree of prosperit}'
which it could never reach under the rapacious and pro-
fligate 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 Gonzales
dc 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 Avas admirably
adapted by his knowledge of affairs and discernment of
character. "Without deserting his former master, he pri-
vately entered into a correspondence with Isabella ; and a
service, which Ferdinand, on his return from Aragon, had
an opportmiity of rendering the duke of Infantado, the head
of the Mendozas,* secured the attachment of the other
members of this powerful family. f
* Oviedo assigns another reason for this change ; the disgust occasioned
hy Henry IV.'s transferring the custody of his daughter from the family
of Mendoza to the Pachecos. — Quincuagenas, MS. bat. I, quiuc. 1,
dial. 8.
+ Salazar de Mendoza, Cron. del Gran Cardonal, p. 133. — Alonso dc
Palcncia, Cor6nica, MS. part. 2, cap. 46, 92, — Castillo Cronica, cap. 163.
— The influence of these new allies, especially of the cardinal, over Isabella's
councils, was an additional ground of umbrage to the archbishop of Toledo,
200 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON.
A circumstance occurred at tins time, which seemed to
promise an accommodation between the adverse factions, or
at least between Henry and his sister. The government of
Segovia, whose impregnable citadel had been made the
depository of the royal treasure, was intrusted to Andres de
Cabrera, 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, Beatrice de Bobadilla, the early friend and com-
panion of Isabella, entered into a correspondence with the
princess, and sought to open the way for her permanent
reconcihation 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, confii-med by the assurances of her friend, did
not hesitate to comply with the invitation, and, accompanied
by the archbishop of Toledo, proceeded to Segovia, where
an interview took place betsveen her and Henry the Fourth,
in which she vindicated her past conduct, and endeavoured to
obtain her brother's sanction to her union with Ferdinand.
(Dec. 1473.) 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 monarch with every appear-
ance of satisfaction. A succession of fetes and splendid
■svhc, in a communication -witli the king of Aragon, declared himself, though
friendly to their cause, to be released from all further obligations to servo
it. — See Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. lib. 46, cap. 19.
DEATH OF HEXRY IT. 201
entertainments, at which both parties assisted, seemed to
announce an entire oblivion of all past animosities, and the
nation welcomed with satisfaction these symptoms of repose
after the vexatious struggle by which it had been so long
agitated.*
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 assassi-
nation. 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.! — But, if the
visit to Segovia failed in its destined purpose of a recon-
ciliation 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.
2sot long after this event, Ferdinand received another
summons from his father to attend him in Aragon, where
the storm of war, which had been for some time gathering
in the distance, now burst with pitiless fury. In the begin-
ning of February, 1474, an embassy, consisting of two of his
* Carbajal, Andes, MS. aiios 73, 74. — Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, p. 27.
— Castillo, Crdnica, cap. 164. — Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. part 2,
cap. 75. — Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS. baU 1, quinc. 1, dial. 23.
+ Mendoza, Cron, del Gran Cardcnal,pp. 141, 142. — Castillo, Crdnica,
cap. 164. — Oviedo has given a full account of this cavalier, who was allied
to an ancient Catalan family, but who raised himself to such pre-eminence
by his own deserts, says that writer, that he may well be considered the
founder of his house. Loc. cit.
202 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON.
principal nobles, accompanied by a brilliant train of cavaliers
and attendants, had been deputed bj John to the court of
Louis the Eleventh, 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.*
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 Cerdac;ne. The kinir
of France, who, notwithstanding his late convention with
John, was making active preparations for the forcible oc-
cupation 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, fetes, military reviews, and whatever else might
divert them from the real objects of their mission. All
communication was cut off with their own government, as
their couriers were stoj^ped and their despatches inter-
cepted, so that John knew as little of his envoys or their
proceedings as if they had been in Siberia or Japan. In
the meantime, formidable preparations were making in the
south of France for a descent on Roussillon ; 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
* Carbajal, Anales, MS. ano 70. — This was the eldest child of Ferdi-
r.and and Isabella, born Oct. 1st. 1470; afterwards queen of Portugal.
DEATH OF KEXRY IV. 203
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 op-
position to their own will and the law of nations. The
prince who descended to such petty trickery passed for the
wisest of his time.*
In the meanwhile, the Seigneur du Lude had 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 the army along the coast. Elna sur-
rendered after a 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 impoverished by the incessant
wars in which he had been engaged, that he was not only
unable to recruit his army, but was even obliged to pa"wn
the robe of costly fur Avhich 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 co-operation, on which
he had reckoned, of liis ancient allies the dukes of Bur-
gundy 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 worth
noticing, as strongly characteristic of the lawless habits of
the age. A citizen of Saragossa, named Ximencs Gordo,
* G.iillard, Rivalite, toni. iii. pp. 267-276. — Duclos, Hist.de Louis XL
torn. ii. pp. 113, 115. — Chronique Scandaleuse, ed. Pctitot, torn. xiii. pp.
204 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON.
of noble family, but who had relinquished the privileges
of his rank in order to qualify himself for municipal office,
had acquired such ascendancy 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 favour, showing him such courtesy as might dissipate
any distrust he had conceived 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 with
which he had been guilty, and sentence of death was pro-
nounced on him. In vain did he appeal to Ferdinand, plead-
ino- the services which he had rendered on more than one
o
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 execu-
tioner. His body was exposed that very day in the market-
place of the city, to the dismay of his friends and ad-
herents, most of whom paid the penalty of their crime
DEATH OF HENRY IV. 205
in the ordinary course of justice. This extraordinary pro-
ceeding 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 douhtless remind the
reader of the similar proceeding imputed to Louis the
Eleventh, in the admirable sketch given us of that monarch
in " Quentin Durward." *
The supplies furnished by the Aragonese cortes were
inadequate to King John's necessities, and he was compelled,
while hovering with his little force on the confines of Rous-
sillon, 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 loath-
some 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 honourable capitulation was granted
them on the 1-ith of ]\Iarch, 1475, the garrison, who eva-
cuated 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. f
The terms of capitulation, which permitted every inhabit-
ant 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
* Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. part. 2, cap. 83. — Fcrrcras, Hist.
d'Espagnc, torn, vii, p. 400. — Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. bb. 10, cop. 12.
+ L. Marineo, Cosa3 Memorablcs, fol. 150. — Zurita, Anales, torn, iv,
lib. 19, cap. 13. — Chronique Scandaleuse, ed. Petitot, torn. siii. p. 456. —
flJonso de Palencia, Cor6iiica, MS. part. 2, cap. 91.
206 TROUBLES IX CASTILE AND ARAGON.
the city so short of supplies as to compel an emigratioa of
its original inhabitants, and to confiscate for their own
use the estates of the principal nobility ; and, after delineat-
ing in detail the perfidious polic}" which they were to pursue,
he concluded with the assurance, '* that, by the blessing of
God and our Lady, and Z»Ionsieur St. Martin, he would be
"with them before the winter, in order to aid them in its
execution."* Such was the miserable medley of hypocrisy
and superstition which characterised the politics of the
European courts in this corrupt age, and which dimmed
the lustre of names most conspicuous on the page of
history.
The occupation of Roussillon was followed by a 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.
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. t It was precipitated by the
death of the gi-and master of St. James, on whom the
feeble mind of Henry had been long accustomed to rest for
its support, and who was cut off by an acute disorder but
* See copies of the original letters, as given by IM. Barante, in his
History of the Dukes of Burgundy, in which the author has so happily
seized the tone and picturesque colouring of the ancient chronicle ; torn. x.
p. 289, 298.
+ Bemaldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS. cap. 1 0 — Carhajal, Anales, MS. aiio
74. — Castillo, Crdnica, cap. 148.
DEATH OF nEXRY IV. 207
a fe^v 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 designa-
tion of a successor. This was the more remarkable, not
only as being contrary to established udage, but as occur-
ing at a period when the succession had been so long and
hotly debated.* The testaments of the Castilian sovereigns,
though never esteemed positively binding, and oceasionrJly,
* This topic is involved in no little obscurity, and has been reported
with much discrepancy as well as inaccuracy by the modem Spanish
historians. Among the ancient, Castillo, the historiographer of Henry IV.,
mentions certain " testamentary executors," without, however, noticing in
any more direct way the existence of a will. (Crdn. c. 168.) The curate
of Los Palacios refers to a clause, reported, he says, to have existed in the
testament of Henry IV., in which he declares Joanna his daughter and heir.
(Reyes Cat61icos, MS. cap. 10.) Alonso de Palencia states positively that
there was no such instrument ; and that Henry, on being asked who was
to succeed him, referred to his secretary Juan Gonzalez for a knowledge of
his intention. (Crdn. c. 92.) L. Marineo also states that the king, " with
his usual improvidence," left no will. (Cosas Memorables, fol. 155.)
Pulgar, another contemporary, expressly declares that he executed no will,
and quotes the words dictated by him to his secretary, in which he simply
designates two of the gi-andees as " executors of his soul," {alhaceaa de su
anima,) and four others in conjunction with them as the guardians of his
daughter Joanna. (Reyes Cat. p. 31.) It seems not improbable that the
existence of this document has been confounded with that of a testament,
and that with reference to it, the phrase above quoted of Castillo, as well
as the passage of Bernaldez, is to be interpreted. Carbajal's wild story of
the existence of a will, of its secretion for more than thirty years, and its
final suppression by Ferdinand, is too naked of testimony to deserve the
least weight -with the historian. (See his Analcs, MS. alio 74.) It should
be remembered, however, that most of the above-mentioned \vriters com-
piled their works after the accession of Isabella, and that none, save
Castillo, were the partisans of her rival. It should also be added that in
the letters addressed by the princess Joanna to the different cities of the
kingdom, on her assuming the title of queen of Castile, (bearing date May
1475,) it is expressly stated that Henry IV., on his death-bed, solemnly
208 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON.
indeed, set aside,* when deemed unconstitutional or even
inexpedient by the legislature, 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 gene-
rations 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.
The character of Henry the Fourth has been sufficiently
delineated in that of his reign. He was not without certain
amiable qualities, and may 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 in the hands of favourites, 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,
affirmed her to be his only daughter and lawful heir. These letters were
drafted by John de Oviedo, (Juan Gonzalez,) the confidential secretary of
Henry IV. See Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol. 235-239.
* As was the case with the testaments of Alfonso of Leon and Alfonso
the Wise, in the thirteenth century, and with that of Peter the Cruel, in
the fourteenth.
DEATH OF HENRY IV. 209
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, pubhc faith be-
come 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.
The historian cannot complain of a want of authentic materials for the
reign of Henry IV. Two of the chroniclers of that period, Alonso de
Palencia and Enriquez del Castillo, were eye-witnesses and conspicuous
actors in the scenes which they recorded, and connected with opposite
factions. The former of these writers, Alonso de Palencia, was bom, as
appears from his work, " De S^Tionymis," cited by PeUicer, (Bibliotheca
de Traductores, p. 7,) in 1423. Nic. Antonio has fallen into the error of
dating his birth nine years later. (Bibliotheca Vetus, torn. ii. p. 331)
At the age of seventeen, he became page to Alfonso of Carthagena, Bishop
of Burgos, and, in the family of that estimable prelate, acquired a taste for
letters, which never deserted him during a busy political career. He
afterwards visited Italy, where he became acquainted with Cardinal Bes-
Barion, and through him with the learned Greek Trapezuntius, whose
lectures on philosophy and rhetoric he attended. On his return to his
native country, he was raised to the dignity of royal historiogi-apher bv
Alfonso, younger brother of Henry IV,, and competitor with him for the
crown. He attached himself to the fortunes of Isabella, after Alfonso's
death, and was employed by the Archbishop of Toledo in many delicate
negotiations, particularly in arranging the marriage of the princess with
Ferdinand, for which purpose he made a secret journey into Aragon. On
the accession of Isabella, he was confirmed in the office of national
chronicler, and passed the remainder of his life in the composition of
philological and historical works and translations from the ancient classics.
The time of his death is uncertain. He lived to a good old age, however,
since it appears from his own statement (see Mendez, Typographia Espaiiola ;
Madrid, 1796; p. 190) that his version of Josephus was not completed till
the year 1492.
The most popular of Palencia's writings are his " Chronicle of Henry IV.,"
and his Latin " Decades," continuing the reign of Isabella down to the
VOL. h P
210 TROUBLES IN CASTILE AND ARAGON.
capture of Baza, in 1489. His historical style, far from scholastic pedantry,
exhibits the business-like manner of a man of the ■world. His Chroniclejwhich,
being composed in the Castilian, was probably intended for popular use, is
conducted with little artifice, and indeed with a prolixity and minuteness
of detail arising no doubt from the deep interest which as an actor he took
in the scenes he describes. His sentiments are expressed with boldness,
and sometimes with the acerbity of party feeling. He has been much
commended by the best Spanish writers, such as Zurita, Zuiiiga, Marina,
Clemencin. for his reracity. The internal evidence of this is sufficiently
strong in his delineation of those scenes in which he was personally engaged;
in his account of others, it will not be difficult to find examples of negli-
gence and inaccuracy. His Latin " Decades" were probably composed
with more care, as addressed to a learned class of readers ; and they are
lauded by Nic. Antonio as an elegant commentary, worthy to be assiduously
studied by all who would acquaint themselves with the history of their
countr}'. The art of printing has done less perhaps for Spain than for any
other country in Europe ; and these two valuable histories are still per-
mitted to swell the rich treasure of manuscripts with which her libraries
are overloaded.
Enriquez del Castillo, a native of Segovia, was the chaplain and histo-
riographer of King Henry IV., and a member of his privy councU. His
situation not only made him acquainted with the policy and intrigues of
the court, but with the personal feelings of the monarch, who reposed
entire confidence in him, which Castillo repaid with uniform loyalty. He
appears very early to have commenced his Chronicle of Henry's reign.
On the occupation of Segovia by the young Alfonso, after the battle of
Olmedo, in 1467, the chronicler, together with the portion of his history
then compiled, was unfortunate enough to fall into the enemy's hands.
The author was soon summoned to the presence of Alfonso and his
counsellors, to hear and justify, as he could, certain passages of what they
termed his " false and frivolous narrative." Castillo, hoping little from a
defence before such a prejudiced tribunal, resolutely kept his peace ; and it
might have gone hard with him, had it not been for his ecclesiastical pro-
fession. He subsequently escaped, but never recovered his manuscripts,
which were probably destroyed; and, in the introduction to his Chronicle,
he laments that he has been obliged to rewrite the first half of his master's
reign.
Notwithstanding Castillo's familiarity with public aflfairs, his work is not
written in the business-like style of Palencia's. The sentiments exhibit a
moral sensibility scarcely to have been expected, even from a minister of
DEATH OF EENRr IT. 211
religion, in the corrupt court of Henry IV. ; and the honest indignation of
the writer, at the abuses which he witnessed, sometimes breaks fort in a
strain of considerable eloquence. The spirit of his work, notwithstanding
its abundant loyalty, may be also commended for its ^candour in relation
to the partisans of Isabella; which has led some critics to suppose
that it underwent a rifacimento after the accession of that princess to
the throne.
Castillo's Chronicle, more fortunate than that of his rival, has been
published in a handsome form under the care of Don Jose Miguel de
Flores, Secretary of the Spanish Academy of History, to whose learned
labours in this way Castilian literature is so much indebted.
ri;
212
CHAPTER V.
ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. — WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. —
BATTLE OF TORO.
1474—1476.
Isabella proclaimed Queen. — Settlement of the Crown. — Alfonso of Por-
tugal supports Joanna. — Invades Castile. — Retreat of the Castilians.
— Appropriation of the Church Plate. — Reorganisation 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 contemporarj writers are content to derive
Isabella's title to the crown of Castile from the illegitimacy
of her rival Joanna. But, as this fact, whatever probability
it may receive from the avowed licentiousness of the queen,
and some other collateral circumstances, was never estab-
lished 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.*
* The popular belief of Joanna's illegitimacy was founded on the fol-
lowing circumstances : — 1. King Henry's first marriage with Blanche of
Navarre was dissolved, after it had subsisted twelve years, on the publicly
alleged ground of " impotence in the parties." 2. The Princess Joanna,
the only child of his second queen, Joanna of Portugal, was not born until
the eighth year of her marriage, and long after she had become notorious
for her gallantries. 3. Although Henry kept several mistresses, whom
he maintained in so ostentatious a manner as to excite general scandal, he
was never known to have had issue by any one of them. — To counter-
balance the presumption afforded by these facts, it should be stated, that
WAR OF THE SUCCESSION-. 213
These are to be derived from the will of the natiou as
expressed bj 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 incontrovertible, having been established by
repeated precedents from a very ancient period.* 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 suflBcient 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.!
In this disposition the legislature continued so resolute,
Henry appears, to the day of his death, to have cherished the princess
Joanna as his own oflFspring, and that Beltran de la Cueva, duke of Albu-
querque, her reputed father, instead of supporting her claims to the crown
on the demise of Henry, as would have been natural had he been entitled
to the honours of paternity, attached himself to the adverse faction of
Isabella.
Queen Joanna survived her husband about sis months only. Father
Florez (Reynas Cathdlicas, torn. ii. pp. 760-786) has made a flimsy attempt
to whitewash her character ; but, to say nothing of almost every contem-
porary historian, as well as of the oflScial documents of that day, (see
Marina, Teoria, tom. iii. part 2, No. 11,) the stain has been too deeply
fixed by the repeated testimony of Castillo, the loyal adherent of her own
parly, to be thus easily effiaced.
It is said, however, that the queen died in the odour of sanctity ; and
Ferdinand and Isabella caused her to be deposited in a rich mausoleum,
erected by the ambassador to the court of the Great Tamerlane for him-
self, but from which his remains were somewhat unceremoniously ejected,
in order to make room for those of his royal mistress.
* See this subject discussed in extenso, by Marina, Teoria, part. 5,
cap. 1-10.— See, also, Introd. sect. I. of this History.
t See part I. chap. 3.
214 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.
that, notwithstanding Henry twice convoked the states for
the express purpose of renewing their allegiance to Joanna,
they refused to comply with the summons ; * 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 the
inhabitants of Segovia, where she then resided, her desire
of being proclaimed queen in that city, with the solemnities
usual on such occasions.! Accordingly, on the following
mornino;, beins; the 13th of December 1474, a numerous
assembly, consisting of the nobles, clergy, and pubhc magis-
trates 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 scafi"old had been erected
for the performance of the ceremony. Isabella, royally
attired, rode on a 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,
* See part I. chap. 4, note 2.
+ Fortunately, this strong place, in -which the royal treasure was depo-
sited, was in the keeping of Andres de Cabrera, the husband of Isabella's
friend, Beatrice de Bobadilla. His co-operation at this juncture was so im-
portant, that Oviedo does not hesitate to declare, " It lay with him to
make Isabella or her rival queen, as he listed." — Quincuagenas, MS. bat. 1,
quinc. 1, dial. 23.
TVAR or THE SUCCESSION. 215
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 {reina proprieturia) of these kingdoms I"
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 protec-
tion hitherto vouchsafed her, implored him to enhghten 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.*
The cities favourable to Isabella's cause, comprehending
far the most populous and wealthy throughout the kingdom,
followed the example of Segovia, and raised the royal stand-
ard for their new sovereign. The principal grandees, as
well as most of the inferior nobility, soon presented them-
selves from all quarters, in order to tender the customary
oaths of allegiance ; and an assembly of the estates, con-
vened for the ensuing month of February at Segovia, im-
parted, by a similar ceremony, a constitutional sanction to
these proceedings.t
* Bernaldez, Reyes Cat61icos, MS. cap. 10. — Carbajal, Anales, MS.
ano 75. — Alonso de Palencia, Cor6nica, MS. part 2, cap. 93. — L. Marinee,
Cosas Memorables, fol. 155. — Oviedo, Quincuagcnas, MS, bat. 1, quinc. 2.
dial. 3.
•f Marina, vrliose peculiar researches and opportunities make him the
best, is my only authority for this convention of the cortes. (TcoriX
216 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND IS.iBELLA.
On Ferdinand's arrival from Aragon, where he was
staying at the time of Henry's death, occupied 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 govern-
ment. 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 pro-
prietor of the kingdom. The affair was finally referred
to the arbitration of the cardinal of Spain and the arch-
bishop of Toledo, who, after careful examination, estab-
lished by undoubted precedent that the exclusion of
females from the succession did not obtain in Castile and
Leon, as was the case in Aragon ;* that Isabella was
consequently sole heir of these dominions ; and that what-
ever authority Ferdinand might possess could only be
derived through her. A settlement was then made on
torn. ii. pp. 63, 89.) The extracts he makes fiom the writ of summons,
however, seem to imply that the object -was not the recognition of
Ferdinand and Isabella, but of their daughter, as successor to the crown.
Among the nobles, "who openly testified their adhesion to Isabella, were no
less than four of the six individuals to whom the late king had intrusted
the guardianship of his daughter Joanna ; \-iz. the grand cardinal of Spain,
the constable of CastUe, the duke of Infantado, and the count of Benevente.
* A precedent for female inheritance, in the latter kingdom, was sub-
sequently furnished by the undisputed succession and long reign of Joanna,
daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, and mother of Charles Y. The intro-
duction of the Salic law, under the Bourbon dynasty, opposed a new barrier,
indeed ; but this has been since swept away by the decree of the late
monarch, Ferdinand YII., and the paramount authority of the cortes ; and
we may hope that the successful assertion of her lawful rights by Isabella II.
will put this much vexed question at rest for ever.
WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 217
the basis of the original marriage contract.* All muni-
cipal appointments, and collation to ecclesiastical bene-
fices, were to be made in the name of both with the
advice and consent of the queen. AU 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 adminis-
tered 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.!
Ferdinand, it is said, was so much dissatisfied 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
* See part I. cbap. 3. — Ferdinand's powers are not so narrowly
limited, at least not so carefully defined, in this settlement as in the mar-
riage articles. Indeed, the instrument is much more concise and general in
its whole import.
+ Salazar de Mendoza, Crdn, del Gran Cardenal, lib. 1, cap. 40. —
L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 155, 156. — Zurita, Anales, tom. iv.
fol. 222-224. — Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, pp. 35, 36. — See the original
instrument signed by Ferdinand and Isabella, cited at length in Dormer's
Discursos Varios de Historia, (Zaragoza, 1683,) pp. 295-313. — It does not
appear that the settlement was ever confirmed by, or indeed presented to,
the cortes. Marina speaks of it, however, as emanating from that body.
(Teoria, tom. ii. pp. 63, 64.) From Pulgar's statement, as well as from,
the instrument itself y it seems to have been made under no other auspices
or sanction than that of the great nobility and cavaliers. Marina's eager-
ness to find a precedent for the interference of the popular branch, in all
the great concerns of government, has usually quickened, but sometimes
clouded, his optics. In the present instance he has undoubtedly con-
founded the irregular proceedings of the aristocracy exclusively, with the
deliberate acts of the legislature.
218 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.
rather nominal than real ; that their interests were indivi-
sible ; 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 ofi'ended
husband, without compromising the prerogatives of her
crown.
Although the principal body of the nobility, as has been
stated, supported Isabella's cause, there were a few fami-
lies, 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
" the best lance in the kingdom." His immense 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 Estramadura. V/ith 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
ascendancy which that prelate's consummate sagacity and
insinuatinor address had fj-iven 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 corre-
spondence with Isabella's enemies, that he was busy in
TTAR OF TIIE SUCCESSION. 219
undermining the fortunes of the very individual whom he
had so zealously laboured to elevate.*
Under the auspices of this coalition, propositions 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 himself the same rich
inheritance. An exaggerated estimate was, at the same
time, exhibited of the resources of the confederates, which,
when combined ^Yith those of Portugal, would readily
enable them to crush the usurpers, unsupported as the latter
must be by the co-operation 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 ambition in such a war, than in the con-
quest of a horde of African savages. t
Still there were a few among Alfonso's counsellors, pos-
sessed of sufficient coolness to discern the difficulties of the
undertaking. They reminded him, that the Castilian nobles,
* Alonso de Palencia, Cordnica, MS. part 2, c<ap. 94. — Garibay, Com-
pendio, lib. 18, cap. 8. — Bcrnaldcz, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 10, 11. —
Pulgar, Letras, (Madrid, 1775,) let. 3, al Arzobispo do Toledo. — The
archbishop's jealousy of Cardinal Mendoza is uniformly reported by the
Spanish writers as the true cause of his defection from the queen.
+ Ruy de Pina, Chronica d'el Rev Alfonso V,, cap. 173, apud Col-
lcc9ao de Livros Ine'ditos de Historia Portugucza, (Lisboa, 1790-93,)
torn. i.
220 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA
on whom he principally relied, were the very persons who
had formerly been most instrumental in defeating the claims
of Joanna, and secm-ing the succession to her rival ; that
Ferdinand was connected by blood with the most powerful
families of Castile ; that the great 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 quarter to
admit the prospect of permanent success.*
These objections, sound as they were, were overruled 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, ineflfectual sum-
mons to the Castilian sovereigns to resign their crown in
favour 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 de-
ficiency in numbers was to be amply compensated by
#♦ * The ancient rivalry between the two nations was exasperated into the
most deadly rancour by the fatal defeat at Aljubarrotta, in 1235, in which
fell the flower of the Castilian nobility. King John I. wore mourning, it
is said, to the day of his death, in commemoration of this disaster. (Faria
y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 394-396. — La Clede, Hist, de
Portugal, tom. iii. pp. 357-359.) Pulgar, the secretary of Ferdinand and
Isabella, addressed, by their order, a letter of remonstrance to the King of
Portugal, in which he endeavours, by numerous arguments founded on
expediency and justice, to dissuade him from his meditated enterprise.
— Pulgar, Letras, No. 7.
WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 221
recruits from the disaflfected party in Castile, who would
eagerly flock to its banners on its adyanee across the
borders. At the same time negotiations were entered into
with the king of France, who was invited to make a descent
upon Biscay, by a promise, somewhat premature, of a ces-
sion of the conquered territory.
Early in May, (1475,) the king of Portugal put his army
in motion, and, entering Castile by the way of Estramadura
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
aflfianced 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 mar-
riage, rendered necessary by the consanguinity of the par-
ties. The royal pair were then proclaimed, with the usual
solemnities, sovereigns of Castile ; and circulars were trans-
mitted to the different cities, setting forth Joanna's title
and requiring their allegiance.*
After some days given to festivity, the army resumed its
march, still in a northerly direction, upon Arevalo, where
Alfonso determined to await the arrival of the reinforcements
which he expected from his Castihan allies. Had he struck
at once into the southern districts of Castile, where most of
*Ruy de Pina, Chronica d'el Rev Alfonso Y., cap. 174-178. — Bcmal-
dez, Reyes Catolicos, >IS. cap. 16, 17, 18. — Bcrnaldez state?, that Alfonso,
previously to his invasion, caused largesses of plate and money to be distri-
buted among the Castilian nobles, whom he imagined to be well affected
towards him. Some of them, the duke of Alva in particular, received
his presents and used them in the cause of Isabella. — Faria y Sousa,
Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 396-398.— ZuriU, Anales, tom. iv. fol.
230-240.— La Clede, Hist, de Portugal, tom. iu. p. 360-362.— Pulgar,
Crdnica, p. 51. — L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 156. — Oviedo,
Quincuageoas, MS. bat. 1, quinc. 2, dial. 3.
222 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.
those friendly to bis cause were to be found, and immediately
commenced active operations witli tbe 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 unpre-
pared 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 garrison
towns as required to be confirmed in their allegiance, per-
forming long and painful journeys on horseback with sur-
prising celerity, and enduring fatigues which, as she was at
that time in dehcate health, wellnigh proved fatal to her
constitution.* 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 per-
son at his residence in Alcala de Henares. But as the
surly prelate, far from being moved by this condescension,
returned for answer, that, *' if the queen entered by one
door, he would go out at the other," she did not choose to
compromise her dignity by any further advances.
By Isabella's extraordinary exertions, as well as 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-disciphned miHtia, chiefly drawn
from the mountainous districts of the north, which mani-
* The queen, who was at that time in a state of pregnancy, brought on a
miscarriage by her incessant personal exposure. — Zurita, Anales, torn, iv
fol. 234.
WAR OF THE SUCCESSION.
9--)'
fested peculiar devotion to his cause ; his partisans in the
south being pre- occupied with suppressing domestic revolt,
and with incursions on the frontiers of Portugal.*
Meanwhile Alfonso, after an unprofitable detention of
nearly two months at Arevalo, marched 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. "WTiile 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 pecuHarly
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 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.
Ferdinand arrived before Toro on the 19th of 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 ditferences by
personal combat. Alfonso accepted the latter alternative ;
but, a dispute arising respecting the guarantee for the per-
formance of the engagements on either side, the whole aflfair
evaporated, as usual, in an empty vaunt of chivalry.
* Carbajal, Anales, MS. ailo 75. — Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, pp. 45-55,
— Ferrcras, Hist. d'Espagnc, tom.vii. p. 411. — Bernaldcz, Reyes Catdlicos,
MS. cap. 23.
224 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.
The Castilian army, from the haste with which it had
been mustered, was wholly deficient in battering artillery
and in other means for annoying a fortified city ; and, as
its communications were cut ofi", 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 suspi-
cions of a conspiracy against his person, actually broke
into the church where Ferdinand was conferring with his
officers, and bore him off in their arms from 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 moun-
tains. 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, boast-
ing at the same time, that " he had raised Isabella from
the distaff, and would soon send her back to it again."*
So disastrous an introduction to the campaign might
* Bernaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 1 8. — Faria y Sousa, Europa
Portuguesa, torn. ii. pp. 398-400, — Pulgar, Crdnica, pp. 55-60. — Ruy de
Pina, Chrdn. d'el Rev Alfonso V., cap. 179. — La Clede, Hist, de Portugal,
torn. iii. p. 366.— Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol. 240-243.
■V7AR OF THE SUCCESSION'. 225
indeed well fill Isabella's bosom -with anxiety. The revolu-
tionary movements, which had so long agitated Castile, had
so far unsettled ever}^ 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.* Fortu-
nately, Alfonso was in no condition to profit by his success.
His Castilian alHes had experienced 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
Estramadura and Andalusia, penetrating into Portugal,
can-ied the most terrible desolation over the whole extent
of its unprotected borders. The Portuguese knights loudly
murmured at being cooped up in Toro, wliile 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 Castihan sove-
reigns 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 pay-
* "Pues no 03 maravilleis de eso," says Onedo, in relation to these
troubles, " que nd solo entre hermanos suelc haber esas diferencias, maa
cntre padre 6 hijo lo %-imos aver, como suclen decir." — Quincuagenas, MS.
bat. 1, quinc. 2, dial. 3
VOL, I. q
225 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.
ment, -would not consent to the dismemberment of a single
inch of the Castilian territory.
In the meantime both the queen and her husband, un-
dismayed by past reverses, were making every exertion for
the re-organisation of an army on a more efficient footing.
To accotophsh this object, an additional supply of funds be-
came necessary, since the treasure of king Henry, delivered
into their hands by Andres de Cabrera, at Segovia, had
been exhausted by the preceding operations.* The old
king of Aragon advised them to imitate their ancestor
Henry the Second, of glorious memory, by making liberal
grants and alienations in favour 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 un-
worthy a stratagem. She accordingly convened an assembly
of the states, in the month of August, (1475,) 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 stipu-
lated requisitions. It was proposed to deliver into the
royal treasury half the amount of plate belonging to the
churches throuprhout the kino-dom, to be redeemed in the
term of three years, for the sum of thirty cuentos, or mil-
lions, of maravedis. The clergy, who were very generally
attached to Isabella's interest, far from discom-aging this
* The roral coffers were found to contain about 10,000 marks of silver.
(Pulgar, Reves Catdl. p. 54.) Isabella presented Cabrera vrith a golden
goblet from her table, engaging that a similar present should be segularly
made to him and his successors on the anniversary of his surrender ot
Segovia. She subsequently gave a more solid testimony of her gratitude-
by raising him to the rank of marquis of Moya, with the grant of an estate
Euitable to his new dignity. — Oviedo, Qiiincuagenas, MS, bat. 1, quinc "•
dial. 23.
VTAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 227
startling proposal, endeavoured to vanquish the queen's re-
pugnance to it, bj 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.*
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 sernce,
than was done for the preceding army. The remainder of
the summer and the ensuing autumn were consumed 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 ex-
pressed a desire to return to their ancient allegiance ; and,
with the co-operation of the citizens, supported by a large
* The indignation of Dr. Salazar de Mendoza is roused hj this misap-
plication of the church's money, which he avers "no necessity -whatever
could justify." This worthy canon flourished in the 17th century. (Crdn.
del Gran Cardenal, p. 147. — Pulgar, Reyes Catdl. pp. 60-62. — Faria y
Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 400. — Rades y Andrada, Las Tres
Ordcncs, part. 1, fol. 67. — Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 243. — Bemaldez,
Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 18, 20.) Zuniga gives some additional particu-
lars respecting the grant of the cortes, which I do not find verified by znj
contemporary author. — Annales de Sevilla, p. 372.
228 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.
detachment from his main army, lie prepared to invest its
citadel. As the possession of this post would effectually
intercept Alfonso's communications with his own country, he
determined to reUeve it at every hazard ; and for this pur-
pose 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
eao-erness to a general hattle, as to a termination of the
evils of this long-protracted war.
The Portuguese prince, having with difficidty assembled
a corps amounting to two thousand lances and eight thou-
sand infantry, took a northerly circuit round Galicia, and
effected a junction with his father in Toro, on the 14th of
February, 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, pro-
claiming 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 residue 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 war-
fare. The Portuguese army, traversing the bridge of Toro,
pursued their march along the southern side of the Douro,
and reached Zamora, distant only a few leagues, before the
dawn.*
* Carbajab Anale?, MS. anos 75, 76. — Ruy de Piiia, Chrdu. d'el Rcy
Alfonso v., cap. 187, 189.— Beraaldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS. cap. 20, 22.
— Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, pp. G3-78. — L. !Marinco, Cosas Memorablcs,
fol. 156. — Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, torn. ii. pp. 401, 404. —
WAR or THE SUCCESSION. 229
At break of day, tlie Castilians yvere surprised by the
array of floating banners, and martial panoply glittering in
the sun from the opposite side of the river, while the dis-
charges of artillery still more unequivocally announced the
presence of the enemy. Ferdinand could scarcely believo
that the Portuguese monarch, whose avowed object had been
the relief of the castle of Zamora, should have selected a
position so obviously unsuitable for this purpose. The
intei-vention 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 com-
parative 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 aii
engagement with the latter ; but the river, swollen by
winter torrents, was not fordable ; and the bridge, the only
direct avenue to the city, was enfiladed by the enemy's
cannon, so as to render a sally in that direction altogether
impracticable. During this time, Isabella's squadrons of
light cavalry, hovering on the skirts of the Portuguese camp,
efiectually 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 less than a fortnight from
the time in which he commenced this empty gasconade, the
Several of the contemporan- Castilian historians compute the Portuguese
army at douhle the amount criven in the text.
230 ACCESSION OF FERDIXAND AND ISABELLA.
Portuguese army quitted its position before Zamora, with tlie
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 eSected 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, there-
fore, and leaving their artillery behind them, they did not
succeed in coming up with the enemy until neai-ly four
o'clock in the afternoon, as the latter was defilino; throuo-h a
narrow pass formed by a crest of precipitous hills on the
one side, and the Douro on the other, at the distance of
about five miles from the city of Toro.*
A council of war was then called to decide on the ex-
pediency 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 discomfitm-e ; 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
* Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, pp. 82-85. — Zurita, Anales, torn, iv. foL
252, 253. — Fariay Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, torn. ii. pp. 404, 405. —
Eemaldez, Reyes Catulicos, :MS. cap. 23.— Ruv de Pina, Chrdn. d'el Rey
Alfonso v., cap. 190.
WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 2ol
their bands, that they were thought more than sumcient to
counterbalance every physical disadvantage, and the question
of battle was decided in the affirmative.
As the CastiUan army emerged from the defile 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 two armies,
although in favour of the Portuguese, 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 Alva 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 Lton and Gahcia.
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 Jolm, but were
saluted with such a brisk and well-directed fire from his
arquebusiers, that their ranks were disconcerted. The
Portuguese men-at-arms, 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 resen-e,
they were with difficulty rallied by their officers, and again
brought into the field. In the meanwhile, Ferdinand
closed with the enemy's centre, and the action soon became
general along the whole line. The battle raged with re-
doubled fierceness in the quarter where the presence of the
two monarchs infused new ardour into their soldiers, who
lo'Z ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.
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 fought hand to hand with their
swords, with a fury sharpened bv the ancient rivalry of the
two nations, making the whole a contest of physical strength
rather than skill.*
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^he crosier for
the corslet, were to be seen on that day in the thickest of
the melee. The holy wars with the infidels perpetuated the
unbecoming spectacle of military ecclesiastics among the
Spaniards to a still later period, and long after it had dis-
appeared from the rest of civilised Europe.
At length, after an obstinate struggle of more than three
hours, the valour of the Castilian troops prevailed, and the
Portuguese were seen to give way in all directions. The
duke of Alva, by succeeding in turning their flank, while
they svere thus vigorously pressed in front, completed their
* Carbajal, Anales, ^IS. aiio 76. — L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol.
158. — Pulgar, Rejes Catolicos, pp. 85-89. — Faria y Soasa, Europa
Portuguesa, torn. ii. pp. 404, 405. — Bernaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap.
23. — La Clede, Hist, de Portugal, torn. iii. pp. 378-383.— Zurita, Anales,
torn. iv. fol. 252-255.
WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 233
disorder, and soon converted their retreat into a rout.
Some, attempting to cross the Douro, were drowned : and
many, who endeavoured to eflfect an entrance into Toro,
were entanojled in the narrow defile of the bridore, and fell
by the sword of their pursuers, or miserahlv 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, imder favour of this obscurity, con-
trived to elude their foes by shouting the Castilian battle-
cry. Prince John, retiring with a fragment of his broken
squadrons to a neighbouring eminence, succeeded, by hght-
ing fires and sounding his trumpets, in rallying round him
a niunber 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 possession of it till morning, when he made
good his retreat 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 per-
sonal injury, and with three or four attendants only, to the
fortified castle of Castro-Xuuo, some leagues distant from
the field of action. Numbers of his troops, attempting to
escape across the neighbouring frontiers into their own
countr}', were maimed or massacred by the Spanish pea-
sants, 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 hu-
manity more honourable, as well as more rare, than mihtary
234 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.
success, distributed clothes and money to several prisoners,
brought into Zaraora in a state of utter destitution, and
enabled them to retm-n in safety to their o^n country.*
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 Isabella, on
recei\'ing tidings of the event at Tordesiilas, where she
then was, ordered a procession to the church of St. Paul
in the suburbs, in which she herself joined, walking bare-
foot with all humility, and offered up a devout thanksgiving
to the God of battles for the ^-ictory with which he had
crowned her arms.t
It was indeed a most auspicious victory, not so much
from the immediate loss inflicted on the enemy, as from
its moral influence on the Castilian nation. Such as had
before vacillated in their faith, who, in the expressive lan-
* Faria y Sousa claims the honours of the victory for the Portuguese,
because Prince John kept the field till morning. Even M. La Clede,
\rith all his deference to the Portuguese historian, cannot swallow this.
Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 405-410. — Oviedo, Quin-
cuagenas, MS. bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8. — Salazar de Mendoza, Crdn. del
Gran Cardenal, lib. 1, cap. 46. — Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, pp. 85-90. — L.
Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 158. — Carbajal, Analcs, MS. ano 76. —
Bemaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 23. — Ruy de Pina, Chrdn. d'el Rey
Alfonso v., cap. 191. Ferdinand, in allusion to Prince John, wrote to his
wife, that, if it had not been for the chicken, the old cock would have been
taken." — Garibay, Compendio, lib. 18, cap. 8.
t Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, p. 90. — The sovereigns, in compliance with
a previous vow, caused a superb monastery, dedicated to St. Francis, to be
erected in Toledo, with the title of San Juan de los Reyes, in com-
memoration of their victory over the Portuguese. This edifice was still
to be seen in Mariana's time.
VTAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 235
guage of Bernaldez, " estaban a\-iva 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 mani-
fested by any other overt act their hostility to the govern-
ment, vied with each other in demonstrations of the most
loyal submission, and sought to make the best terms for
themselves, which they could. Among the 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
Urueiia, his brother, experienced the lenity of government,
and were confirmed in the entire possession of their estates.
The two principal delinquents, the marquis of Villena and
the archbishop of Toledo, made a show of resistance for
some time longer; but, after 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 ^^ladrid, 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 garri-
soned by the enemy, had acknowledged the supremacy of
Ferdinand and Isabella.*
* Rades y Andrada, Las Tres Ordenes, torn. ii. fol. 79, 80. — Pulgar,
Reyes Catdlicos, cap. 48-50, 55, 60. — Zurita, Anales, lib. 19, cap. 46, 48,
54, 58> — Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, torn. vii. pp. 476-478, 517-519, 546.
— Bemaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 10. — Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS.
bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8.
236 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.
Soon after the victory of Toro, Ferdinand was enabled to
eoncentrate a force amounting to fifty thousand men, for the
purpose of repelling the French from Guipuscoa, from wliich
they had abeady twice been driven by the intrepid natives,
and whence they again retired with precipitation on receiv-
ing news of the king's approach.*
Alfonso, finding his authority in Castile thus rapidly melt-
ing away before the rising influence of Ferdinand and Isa-
bella, withdrew with his virgin bride into Portugal, where
he formed the resolution of visiting France in person, and
sohciting succom^ 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 hmidred followers, in the month of September. He
experienced everywhere the honours 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 de-
livered 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 afi"ording 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 >vith 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 efifecting a reconciliation be-
tween him and Louis, removed the former of these impedi-
ments ; as, in good time, the compliance of the pope did the
latter. But the king of Portugal found himself no nearer
* Gaillard, RivaUte, torn. iii. pp. 290-292. — Carbajal, Anales, MS.
alio 76.
WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. 237
the object of bis negotiations ; and, after waiting a whole
year a needy suppliant at the court of Louis, he at length
ascertained that his insidious host was concerting an ar-
rangement with his mortal foes, Ferdinand and Isabella.
Alfonso, whose character always had a spice of Quixotism
in it, seems to have completely lost his wits at this last
reverse of fortune. Overwhelmed with shame at his own
creduhty, 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 knperishable
crown by performing a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and
devoting himself to the service of God in some retired monas-
tery ;" and he concluded with requestmg his son " to assume
the sovereignty at once, in the same manner as if he had
heard of his father's death."*
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 diffi-
culty, 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 despe-
rate an extremity as that of his projected pilgrimage, pro-
vided a fleet of ships to transport him back to his own
dominions, where, to complete the farce, he arrived just five
days after the ceremony of his son's coronation as king of
Portugal (Xov. 15, 1478). Xor was it destined that the
* Bernaldez, Reyes Catulicos, MS. cap. 27. — Pulgar, Reves Catdlico?,
cap. 56, 57. — Gaillard, Rivalit^, torn. iii. pp. 290-292. — Zurita, Anale?,
lib. 19, cap. 56; lib. 20, cap. 10.— Ruy do Pina, Chrun. d'el Riy
Alfonso v., cap. 194-202. — Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, toui. ii.
pp. 412-415. — Gomines, M(Jmoire?, li-r. 5, cbac. 7
238 ACCESSION OF FERDIXAND AND ISABELLA.
luckless monarcli should solace himself, as he had hoped, in
the arms of his youthful hride ; since the pliant pontiff,
Sixtus the Fourth, was ultimately persuaded by the court of
Castile to issue a new bull overruling the dispensation for-
merly conceded, on the ground that it had been obtained by
a misrepresentation of facts.
Prince John, whether influenced by filial piety or pru-
dence, resigned the crown of Portugal to his father soon
after his return ;* and the old monarch was no sooner re-
instated in his authority, than, burning with a thirst for ven-
geance, which made him insensible to every remonstrance, he
again prepared to throw his country into combustion by
reviving his enterprise against Castile. t
While these hostile movements were in progress, (1478.)
Ferdinand, leaving his consort in possession of a 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 san-
guinary feuds that were bequeathed like a precious legacy
from one generation to another. J In the autumn of the
* According to Faria y Sou8a, John was walking along the shores of
the Tagus, with the duke of Braganza, and the cardinal archhishop of
Lishon, when he received the unexpected tidings of his father's return to
Portugal. On his inquiring of his attendants how he should receive him,
"How but as your king and father.'" was the reply; at which John,
knitting his brows together, skimmed a stone, which he held in his hand,
with much violence across the water. The cardinal, observing this, whis-
pered to the duke of Braganza, " I will take good care that that stone
does not rebound on me." Soon after, he left Portugal for Rome, where
he fixed his residence. The duke lost his life on the scaffold for imputed
treason, soon after John's accession. — Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 416.
+ Comines, Memoires, liv. 5, chap. 7. — Faria y Sousa, Europa Portu-
guesa, tom. ii. p. 116. — Zurita, Anales, lib. 20, cap. 25. — Bemaldez,
Reyes Cat61icos, MS. cap. 27.
J This was the first meeting between father and son since the elevation
WAR OF TILE SUCCESSION. 239
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 giye no further support to the
pretensions of Joanna.*
Thus released from apprehension in this quarter, the
sovereigns were enabled to give their imdivided attention
to the defence of the western borders. Isabella, accordingly,
early in the ensuing winter, passed into Estramadura 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 farm-houses 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
district converted at once into a desert, Isabella, supported
by a body of regular troops and a detachment of the Holy
Brotherhood, took her station at Truxillo, as a central posi-
tion, whence she might operate on the various points with the
greatest facility. Her counsellors remonstrated against this
of the latter to the Castilian throne. King John would not allow Ferdi-
nand to kiss his hand ; he chose to walk on his left ; he attended him to
his quarters, and, in short, during the whole twenty davs of their conference,
manifested towards his son all the deference which, as a parent, he was
entitled to receive from him. This he did on the ground that Ferdinand,
as king of Castile, represented the elder branch of Trastamara, while he
represented only the younger. It will not be easy to meet with an
instance of more punctilious etiquette, eren in Spanish history. — Pulgar,
Reyes Catdlicos, cap. 75.
* Salazar de Mendoza, Crdn. del Gran Cardenal, p. 162.— Zurita,
Anales, lib. 20, cap. 25.— Carbajal, Anales, MS. a£o 79.
2-iO ■ ACCESSION OF FERDIXAXD AND ISABELLA.
exposure of her person in the very heart of the disaf-
fected 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
MedelHn, Merida, and Deleytosa.
At this juncture the infanta Doiia Beatriz of Portugal,
sister-in-law of king Alfonso, and maternal 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 belli-
gerent 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 nego-
tiators experienced none of the embaiTassments usually
incident to such deliberations, growing out of jealousy, dis-
trust, 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 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, perse-
vered with increased energy in her original plan of opera-
tions, that the treaty was formally ratified by the court of
Lisbon.* (Sept.24, 1479.)
It was stipulated in this compact, that Alfonso should
* Ruy de Pina, Chrdn. d'el Roy Alfonso V., cap. 206. — L. Marineo,
Cosas Memorables, fol. 166, 167.— Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, cap. 85, 89,
90. — Faria y Sonsa, Europa Portuguesa, torn. ii. pp. 420, 421. — Feireras,
WAR OF THE SUCCESSION. Jil
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 Castihan 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,* 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, t
Thus terminated, after a duration of four years and a half,
the War of the Succession. It had fallen with pecuhar
fury on the border provinces of Leon and Estramadura,
which, from their local position, had necessarily been kept in
constant collision with the enemy. Its baneful effects were
long visible there, not only ia the general devastation and
distress of the country, but in the moral disorganisation
which the hcentious and predatory habits of soldiers neces-
sarily introduced among a simple peasantry. In a personal
view, however, the war had terminated most triumphantly
for Isabella, whosG wise and vigorous administration,
seconded by her husband's vigilance, had dispelled the
storm which threatened to overwhelm her from abroad, and
Hist. d'Espagne, torn. vii. p. 538. — Carbajal, Anales, MS. aiio 79. — Ber-
naldez, Reves Catdlicos, MS. cap. 28, 36, 37.
* Bom the preceding year, June ■28th, 1478. — Carbajal, Anales, MS.
anno eodem.
+ L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 168. — Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos
cap. 91. — Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, torn. ii. pp. 420, 421. — Ru^
de Pina, Chrun. d'el Rev Alfonso Y., cap. 206.
TOL. I. B
242 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.
established her in undisturbed possession of the throne of
her ancestors.
Joanna's interests were alone compromised, or rather
sacrificed by the treaty. She readily discerned in the pro-
vision 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 deter-
mined to renounce it for ever, and seek a shelter in the
peaceful shades of tlie cloister. She accordingly entered
the convent of Santa Clara at Coimbra, where, in the follow-
ing 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, 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 sub-
jection, liberty, — the only true liberty, — partaking more of
Heaven than of earth. No kinsman," continued the disin-
terested preacher, — " no true friend or faithful counsellor,
would divert you from so holy a purpose."*
* Ruy de Pina, Chrdn. d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 20. — Faria y Sousa,
Europa Portuguesa, torn. ii. p. 421. — Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, cap. 92. —
L. Marineo speaks of the Senora muy excelente as an inmate of the cloister
at the period in -which he -svas \vriting, 1522, (fol. 168.) Notwithstanding
her "irrevocahle vows," however, Joanna several times quitted the
monastery, and maintained a royal state under the protection of the
Portuguese monarchs, who occasionally threatened to revive her dormant
claims to the prejudice of the Castilian sovereigns. She may be said, con-
Bcquently, to have formed the pivot on which turned, during her whole
TVAE OF THE SUCCESSION. 243
Not long after this event, king Alfonso, penetrated with
grief at the loss of his destined bride, — the " excellent
lady," as the Portuguese continued 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
the monastery of Yaratojo, on a bleak eminence near the
Atlantic ocean, when he suddenly fell ill, at Cintra, of a
disorder which terminated his existence on the 2Sth of
August, 1481. Alfonso's fiery character, in which all the
elements of love, chivalry, and religion were blended to-
gether, resembled that of some paladin of romance ; as the
chimerical enterprises, in which he was perpetually engaged,
seem rather to belong to the age of knight-errantry than to
the fifteenth century.*
In the beginning of the same year in which the pacifica-
tion with Portugal secured to the sovereigns 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.f Such was his admirable consti-
life, the diplomatic relations between the courts of Castile and Portugal,
and to have been a principal cause of those frequent intermarriages be-
tween the royal families of the two countries, by which Ferdinand and
Isabella hoped to detach the Portuguese crown from her interests. Joanna
affected a royal style and magnificence, and subscribed herself, " I, the
Queen," to the last. She died in the palace at Lisbon, in 1530, in the
69th year of her age, having survived most of her ancient friends, suitors,
and competitors. — Joanna's history, subsequent to her taking the veil, has
been collected, with his usual precision, by Senor Clemencin. (Mem. de
la Acad, de Hist., torn. vi. Ilust. 19.)
* Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, torn, ii. p. 423. — Ruy de Pina,
Chron. d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 212.
f CarbajaJ, Anales, MS. ano 79. — Bemaldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS.
cap. 42. — Mariana, Hist, de Espana, (ed. Valencia,) torn. viii. p. 204, not
— Abarca, Reves de Ara^on, torn. ii. fol. 295.
r2
244 ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND IS.^JBELLA.
tution, that he retained not only his intellectual, but his
bodily vigour unimpaired to the last. His long life was
consumed in civil faction or foreign wars ; and his 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 afi'airs, which led him to
rely, for the accomphshment of his purposes, much more on
negotiation than on positive force. He may be said to
have been one of the first monarchs 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 Xavarre, which he had so shamelessly
usurped, devolved, on his decease, on liis 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 indlssolubly united,
and the foundations were laid of the magnificent empire
which was destined to overshadow every other European
monarchy.
245
CHAPTEE YI.
II1TERNAL ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
1475—1482.
Schemes of Reform. — Holy Brotherhood. — Tumult at Segovia. — The
Queen's Presence of mind. — Severe execution of Justice. — Rojal
Progress through Andalusia. — Reorganisation of the Tribunals. —
Castilian Jurisprudence. — Plans for reducing the Nobles. — Revoca-
tion of Grants. — Military Orders of Castile. — Masterships annexed to
the Crown. — Ecclesiastical Usurpations resisted. — Restoration of
Trade. — Prosperity of the Kingdom.
I HATE deferred to the present chapter a consf deration of
the important changes introduced into the interior admini-
stration 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.
If there be any being on earth that may be permitted to
remind us of the Deity himself, it is the ruler of a mighty
empire who employs the high powers intrusted to him
246 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
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 civilisation 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.
The whole plan of reform introduced into the government
by Ferdinand and Isabella, or more properly by the latter,
to whom the internal administration of Castile was princi-
pally 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 usiu-pation of the papal see. V. The
regulation of trade. VI. The pre-eminence of royal
authority.
I. The administration of justice. — In the dismal anarchy
which prevailed in Henry the Fourth's 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 afiforded 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
ADMIXISTKATION OF CASTILE. 247
weak, converted into dens of roLbers.* Isabella savr no
better "way of checlimg this unbounded licence, than to
direct against it that popular engine, the Santa Hermandad,
or Holy Brotherhood, which had more than once shaken the
Castihan monarchs on their throne.
The project for the re-organisation 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 Dueiias in the same year. The new
institution differed essentially from the ancient hcrman-
dades, 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, 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 fre-
quency ; and the reasons for designating the open country
as the particular theatre for the operations of the her-
mandad, was the facility which criminals possessed there
for eluding the pursuit of justice, especially under shelter
* Among other examples, Pulgar mentions that of the alcayde of
Castro-Nuno, Pedro de Mendana, -who, from the strong-holds in his pos-
session, committed such grievous devastations throughout the country,
that the cities of Burgos, Avila, Salamanca, Segovia, Yalladolid, Medina,
and others in that quarter, were fain to pay him a tribute, (hlaek mail,) to
protect their territories from his rapacity. His successful example was
imitated by many other knightly freebooters of the period. (Reyes Catd-
licos, part. 2, cap. 66.) — See also extracts cited by Saez from manuscrip-
notices by contemporaries of Henry IV. — Jlonedas de Enrique IV.
pp. 1, 2.
248 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
of the strongholds or fortresses with which it was plentifully
studded.
An annual contribution of eighteen thousand maravedis
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 oflicers of the brotherhood, sta-
tioned 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 speci-
fied cases to a supreme council. A general junta, com-
posed of deputies from the cities throughout the kingdom,
was annually convened for the regulation of affairs ; and
their instructions were transmitted to provincial juntas, who
superintended the execution of them. The laws, enacted at
different times in these assemblies, were compiled into a
code under the sanction of the junta general at Tordela-
guna, in 1485.* 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 rigour, 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 Cathohc Christian,
* The Quademo of the laws of the Hermandad has now become very
rare. That in mj possession was printed at Burgos, in 1527. It has
since been incorporated with considerable extension into the Recopilacion
of Philip II.
ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 2-19
and after that be executed as speedily as possible, in order
that his soul may pass the more securely,*
Notwithstanding the popiUar constitution of the herman-
dad, and the obvious advantages attending its introduction
at this juncture, it experienced so decided an opposition
from the nobility, who discerned the check it was likely to
impose on their 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 in 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 councils 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 militar}^ police, the country was, in the
course of a few years, cleared of its swarms of banditti, as
* Quademo de las Leyes Xuevas de la Hermandad, (Burgos, 1527,)
leyes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 16, 20, 36, 37.— Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, part. 2,
cap. 51. — L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 160, ed. 1539. — Mem. de
la Acad, de Hist., tom. vi. Ilust. 4. — Carbajal, Anales, MS. ailo 76. —
Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decad. fol. 36. — By one of the laws, the inha-
bitants of such seignorial towns as refused to pay the contributions of the
Hermandad were excluded from its benefits, as well as from traffic with,
and even the power of recovering their debts from, other natives of the
Kingdom. — Ley 33.
250 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
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-two years, in spite of the
repeated opposition of the aristocracy. At length, in 1498,
the objects for which it was established having been com-
pletely obtained, it was deemed advisable to relieve the
nation from the heavy charges which its maintenance im-
posed. The great salaried officers were dismissed ; a few
subordinate functionaries were retained for the administra-
tion 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.*
Isabella was so intent on the prosecution of her 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 personal 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 tliis occurred, the year but
one after her coronation, at Segovia. The inhabitants,
secretly instigated by the bishop of that place, and some of
* Recopilacion de las Leyes, (Madrid, 1640,) lib. 8, tit. 13, ley 44.—
ZuiLiga, Annales de Sevilla, p. 379. — Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, part, 2,
cap. 51. — Mem. de la Acad, de Hist., torn. vi. Ilust. 6. — Lebrija, Rerum
Gestarum Decad, fol. 37, 38. — Las Pragm^ticas del Reyno, (Sevilla
1j'20,) fol. 85. — L. Maiineo, Cosas Memorable s, fol. 160.
ADiONISTRATION OF CASTILE. 251
the principal citizens, rose against Cabrera, marquis of
Moya, to Tvhom the government of the city had been
intrusted, and who had made himself generally mipopnlar
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.
The queen, on receiving tidings of the event 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 rebel-
hous subjects." Then pressing forward with her httle
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 meanwhile, assembling in greater
numbers than before, continued to show the most hostile
dispositions, calling out, " Death to the alcayde ! Attack
the castle ! " Isabella's attendants, terrified at the tumult,
and at the preparations which the people were making to
put their menaces into execution, besought their mistress to
cause the gates to be secm-ed more strongly, as the only
mode of defence against the infmiated mob. But, instead
of listening to their counsel, she bade them remain quietly
252 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
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 unex-
pected presence of their sovereign, as well as by her cool
and dignified demeanour, replied, that all they desired was
the removal of Cabrera from the government of the city.
" He is deposed alread3%" 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
addi'essed on arriving 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 misdemean-
ors imputed to Cabrera, and traced the source of the con-
spiracy to the jealousy of the bishop of Segovia and his
associates, reinstated the deposed alcayde in the full posses-
sion of his dignities, which his enemies, either convinced of
the altered dispositions of the people, or beheving that the
ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 253
favourable moment for resistance had escaped, made no
further attempts to disturb. Thus, by a happy presence, cf
mind, an affair, which threatened at its outset disastrous
consequences, was settled without bloodshed, or compromise
of the royal dignity.*
In the summer of the following year, 1477, Isabella
resolved to pay a visit to Estramadura and Andalusia, for
the purpose of composing the dissensions, and introducing a
more efficient police, in these unhappy provinces ; which
from their proximity to the stormy frontier of Portugal, as
well as from 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 remon-
strated 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 encoun-
tered ; but her fate was in God's hands, and she felt a confi-
dence that he woidd guide to a prosperous issue such designs
as were righteous in themselves and resolutely conducted."
Isabella experienced the most loyal and magnificent recep-
tion from the inhabitants of Seville, where she established
her head-quarters. The first days of her resid^ence there
were consumed in fetes, touraeys, 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 refor-
mation of abuses. She held her court in the saloon ot the
* Carbajal, Anales, MS. alio 76. — Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, part. 2, cap.
59. — Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, torn. viii. p. 477. — Lebrija, Rerum Ges-
tarum Decad. fol. 41, 42. — Gonzalo de Oviedo lavishes many encomiums
on Cabrera for " bis generous qualities, his singular prudence in govern-
ment, and his solicitude for his vassals, whom he inspired with the deepest
attachment." (Quincuagenas, MS. bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 23.) The best
panegyric on his character is the unshaken confidence which his royal mis-
tress reposed in him to the day of her death.
254 ADMIXISTRATION OF CASTILE.
alcazar, or royal castle, where she revived the ancient prac-
tice of the Castihan 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 coui't of criminal law sat in their official capacity
every day in the week ; and the queen herself received such
suits as were referred to her adjudication, saving the parties
the usual expense and procrastination of justice.
By the extraordinary despatch of the queen and her
ministers, during the two months that she resided in the
city, a vast number of civil and criminal causes were dis-
posed 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 sus-
pected persons, it is computed, terrified by the prospect of
speedy retribution for their crimes, escaped into the neigh-
bouring 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 wilhng 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.*
* ZuiligJij Annalesde Sevilla, p. 381. — Pulgar, Reyes Catulicos, part. 2,
ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 25D
But Isabella became convinced that all arrangements
for establishing permanent tranquillity in SeyUle would be
ineftectual, so long as the feud continued between the
great families of Guzman 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 weU 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
Pa<3heco, 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 stiU 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 profi"ered 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 for-
midable vassal, to call him to severe account for past
delinquencies. 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
cap. 65, 70, 71. — Beraaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, MS, cap. 29. — Carbajal,
AnaleSjMS. alio 77. — L. Marineo, Cosas MemoraLles, fol. 162 ; -who says,
CO less than 8,000 guilty fled from Seville and Cordova.
256 ADMIXISTRATIOX OF CASTILE.
Sidouia. She next attempted to establish a reconciliation
between these belligereut grandees ; but aware that, how-
ever pacific might be their demonstrations for the present,
there could be little hope of permanently allaying the in-
herited 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 suc-
ceeded in extinguishiug the flame of discord.*
In the following year, 1478, Isabella accompanied her
husband in a tour through Andalusia, for the immediate
purpose of reconnoitring the coast. In the course of this
progi'ess, they were splendidly entertained by the duke and
marquis at their patrimonial estates. They afterwards pro-
ceeded 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 pos-
sessions which they had usurped both from the municipality
and the crown. t
One example among others may be mentioned, of the
rectitude and severe impartiality with which Isabella ad-
ministered justice, that occurred in the case of a wealthy
Galician knight, named Alvaro Yanez 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
* Bernaldez, Reyes Cat(51icos, MS. cap. 29. — Zurita, Anales, torn, iv
fol. 283. — Zuiiiga, Annales de Sevilla,p. 382. — Lebrija, Rerum Gcstarum
Decad. lib. 7. — L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, ubi supra. — Garibay, Com-
pcndio, lib. 18, cap. 11.
+ Bernaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 30. — Pulgar, Reyes Cati5iico8.
part. 2, cap. 78.
ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 257
thousand dohlas 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 Avar.
But, far from being blinded by their sophistry, she suffered
the law to take its course, and, in order to place her con-
duct above every suspicion of a mercenary motive, allowed
his estates, Avhich might legally have been confiscated to
the crown, to descend to his natural heirs. Xothing con-
tributed more to re-establish 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.*
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," says a writer of
that age, " who had long since despaired of justice, blessed
God for their deliverance, as it were, from a deplorable
captivity."!
* " Era muy inclinada," savs Pulgar, " a facer justicia, tanto que le era
imputado seguir mas la via de rigor que de la piedad ; y esto facia por
remediar a la gran corrupcion de crimines que fallo en el Revno quandi>
subcedid en el." — Reyes Catdlicos, p. 37.
t Pulgar, Reves Catolicos, part. 2, cap. 97, 98. — L. ?,Iaviueo, Cosas
Memorables, fol. 162.
TOL. I. S
258 ■ ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
While the sovereigns were thus personally occupied 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 entrusted the per-
sonal rights and property of the subject. They re-organised
the royal or privy council, whose powers, although, as has
been noticed in the Introduction, principally of an administra-
tive nature, had been gradually encroaching on those of the
superior courts of law. During the last century, this body
had consistedof prelates, knights, and lawyers, whose num-
bers 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 transaction of business
was reserved for the counsellors specially appointed.*
Much the larger proportion of these, by the new arrange-
ment, 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 executive duties of govern-
ment, it was consulted in all important transactions by
the sovereigns, who paid great deference to its opinions,
and very frequently assisted at its deliberations.!
* Ordenan9as Realesde Castilla, (Burgos, 1528,) lib. 2, tit. 3, ley 31.
This constitutional, though, as it -would seem, impotent right of the
nobility, is noticed by Sempere. (Hist, des Cortes, pp. 123, 129.) It
should not have escaped ^larina.
f Lib, 2, tit. 3, of the Oidenan9as Rcales is devoted to the royal
council. The number of the members was limited to one prelate as pre-
sident, three knights, and eight or nine jurists. (Prdlogo.) The sessions were
to be held every day in the palace. (Leyes 1,2.) They Avere instructed to
refer to the other tribunals all matters not strictly coming within their own
jurisdiction. (Ley 4.) Their acts, in oil cases except those specially re-
served, were to have the force of law without the royal signature. (Leyes
ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 25^
No change was made in the high criminal court o^ alcaldes
de corte, except in its forms of proceeding. 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 guarantee for a faithful
interpretation of the law.*
In the cortes of Madrigal (1476), and still more in the
celebrated one of Toledo (14S0), many excellent provisions
23, 24.) See also Los Doctoies Asso y Manuel, lustituciones del Derecho
Civil de Castilla, (Madrid, 1792,) Introd, p. Ill ; and Santiago Agustin
Riol, Informe, apud Semanaiio Erudito, (Madrid, 1788,) torn. iii. p. 114,
who is mistaken in stating the numher of jurists in the council, at this
time, at sixteen ; a change which did not take place till Philip IL's reign.
(Recop. de las Leves, lib. 2, tit. 4, ley 1.)
Marina denies that the council could constitutionally exercise anv
judicial authority, at least in suits hetween private parties ; and quotes a
passage from Pulgar, showing that its usurpations in this way were restrained
hy Ferdinand and Isabella. (Teoria, part. 2, cap. 29.) Powers of this
nature, however, to a considerable extent, appear to have been conceded to
it by more than one statute under this reign. See Recop. de las Leyes
(lib. 2, tit. 4, leyes 20, 22, and tit. 5, ley 12) ; and the unqualified testi-
mony of Riol, Informe, apud Semanario Erudito, ubi supra.
* Ordenan^as Realcs, lib. 2, tit. 4. — Marina, Teoria de las Cortes,
part 2, cap. 25. ^
By one of the statutes, (ley 4,) the commission of the judges, which
before extended to life, or a long period, was abridged to one year. This
important innovation was made at the earnest and repeated remonstrance of
cortes, who traced the remissness and corruption, too frequent of late in the
court, to the cu-cumstance that its decisions were not liable to be reviewed
during life. (Teoria, ubi supra.) The legislature probably mistook the
true cause of the evil. Few will doubt, at any rate, that the remedy pro-
posed must have been fraught with far greater.
s2
260 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
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 cost. Severe penalties were enacted
against venality 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 mani-
festly unjust. Finally, commissioners were appointed to
inspect and make report of the proceedings of municipal
and other inferior courts throughout the kingdom.*
The sovereigns testified their respect for the law by
reviving the ancient but obsolete practice of presiding per-
sonally in the tribunals, at least once a week. " I well
remember," says one of their court, *'to have seen the
queen, together with the Catholic king, her Imsband,
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 jus-
tice," continues the enthusiastic writer; "and since our
sainted mistress has been taken from us, it has been more
diffcult, and far more costly, to transact business with a
stripling of a secretary, than it was with the queen and all
her ministers." f
* Or(lcnan9as Reales, lib. 2, tit. 1, 3, 4, 15, 16, 17, 19 ; lib. 3, tit. 2.—
Recop. de las Leyes, lib. 2, tit. 4, 5, 16. — Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, part. 2,
cap. 94.
f Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS. — By one of the statutes of the cortes of
ADMIXISTKATION OF CASTILE. 261
Bj the modifications then introduced, the basis was laid
of the judiciary system, such as it has been perpetuated to
the present age. The la^\' acquired an authority which, in
the language of a Spanish writer, " caused a decree, signed
by two or three judges, to be more respected since that
time, than an army before."* But perhaps the results of
this improved administration cannot be better conveyed
than in the words of an eyewitness. "Whereas," says
Pulgar, " the kingdom was prenously 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 labourer, 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."t
II. Codification of the laws. — AVhatever reforms 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
Toledo, in 1480, the king was required to take Ins seat in the council
every Friday. (Ordenancas Reales, lib. 2, tit. 3, ley 32.) It was not so
new for the Castilians to have good laws, as for their monarchs to observe
them.
* Sempere, Hist, des Cortes, p. 263.
-^ Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, p. 167. — See the strong language, also, of
Peter ilartyr, another contemporary witness of the beneficial changes in the
government. Opus Epistolarum, (Amstelodami, 1670,) ep. 31.
262 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
Visigothic code, as the basis ; the fueros of the CastiHan
princes, as far back as the eleventh century ; and the
" Siete Partidas," the famous compilation of Alfonso the
Tenth, digested chiefly from maxims of the civil law.* The
deficiencies of these ancient codes had been gradually sup-
plied by such an accumulation of statutes and ordinances, as
rendered the legislation of Castile in the highest degree
complex, and often contradictory. The embarrassment re-
sulting from this occasioned, as n^ay be imagined, much
tardiness, as well as uncertainty, in the decisions of the
courts, who, despairing of reconciling the discrepancies in
their own law, governed themselves almost exclusiveh' by
the Roman, so much less accommodated, as it was, than
their own, to the genius of the national institutions, as avcII
as to the principles of freedom.!
* Prieto y Sotelo, Historia del Derccho Real de Espaua, ( Madrid, 1738,)
lib. 3, cap. 16-21. — Marina has made an elaborate commentary on
Alfonso's celebrated code, in his Ensayo Histdrico-Critico sobre la Antigua
Legislacion de Castilla, (Madrid, 1008,) pp. 2C9 ct scq. The English
reader \rill find a more succinct analysis in Dr. Dunham's Historj' of Spain
and Portugal, (London, 1832,) in Lardner's Cyclopaedia, vol. iv. pp. 121-
150. The latter has given a more exact, and, at the same time, extended
view of the early Castilian legislation, probably than is to be found, in the
same compass, in any of the Peninsular writers.
f Marina (in his Ensayo Hist6rico-Critico, p. 388,) quotes a popular
satire of the fifteenth century, directed with considerable humour against
these abuses, which lead the writer in the last stanza to envy even the
summary style of Mahometan justice.
" En tierra de Moros un solo alcalde
Libra lo cevil e lo creminal,
E todo el dia se esta de valde
Por la justicia andar muy igual :
Alii non es Azo, nin es Decretal,
Nin es Roberto, nin la Clementina,
Salvo discrecion e buena doctrina.
La qual lAuestra a todos vevir communal," — P. 339,
ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 263
The nation Lad long felt the pressure of these evils, and
made attempts to redress them in repeated cortes. But
every effort proved unavailing during the stormy or imbecile
reigns of the princes of Trastamara. At length, the sub-
ject having been resumed in the cortes of Toledo, in 1480,
Dr. Alfonso 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 appUcation throughout the kingdom.
This laborious undertaking was accomplished in little
more than four years ; and his work, which subsequently
bore the title of Ordcnan'^as Realcs, was published, or, as
the privilege expresses it, " written with types," ejrcrzfo de
letra de molde, at Huete, in the beginning of 1485. It
was one of the first works, therefore, which received the
honours of the press in Spain ; and surely none could have
been found, at that period, more desernng of them. It
went through repeated editions in the course of that> and
the commencement of the following century.* It was ad-
mitted as paramount authority throughout Castile ; and
although the many innovations, which were introduced in
that age of reform, required the addition of tvro subsidiary
codes in the latter years of Isabella, the " Ordenancas" of
Montalvo 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 com-
prehensive compilation, " Xueva Recopilacion," which has
since formed the law of the Spanish monarchy.!
* Mendez enumerates no less than five editions of this code, by 1500 ;
a sufficient evidence of its authority, and general reception, throughout
Castile. — Typographia Espaiiola, pp. 203, 261, 270.
+ Ordenan9a3 Reales, Prdlogo. — !Mem. de la Acad, de Hist., torn, vi.
lUust. 9. — Marina, Ensavo Historico-Cntico, pp. 390 et seq. — ^ilendez,
2Q4: ADMINISTRATION' OF CASTILE.
III. Depression of the nobles. — In the course of the
preceding chapters, we have seen the extent of the privi-
leges constitutionally enjoyed by the aristocracy, as well as
the enormous height to which they had swollen under the
profuse reigns of 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 deso-
lated 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 co-operation
of the nation.
The first measure, which may be said to have clearly
developed their policy, was the organisation of the her-
mandad, which, although ostensibly directed against oflendors
of a more humble description, was made to bear indirectly
upon the nobility, whom it kept in awe by the number and
Tjrpograpliia Espaiiola, p. 261. — The authors of the three last-mentioned
works abundantly disprove Asso y Manuel's insinuation, that Montalvo's
code was the fruit of his private study, without any commission for it, and
that it gradually usurped an authority which it had not in its origin. (Dis-
curso Preliminar al Ord. do Alcala.) The injustice of the last remark,
indeed, is apparent from the positive declaration of Bcrnaldcz. " Los Reyes
mandaron tener en todas las ciudades, villas e' lugarcs cl libro de Montalvo,
i por il determinar todas las cosas de justicia para cortar los pleitos,
Reyes Cat(51icos, ^IS. cap. 42.
ADMIN fSTRATION' OF CASTILE. 265
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 seignorlal tribunals. It was accord-
ingly 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 de-
pression of the nobihty, was making official preferment
depend less exclusively on rank, and much more on per-
sonal merit than before. '•' Since the hope of guerdon,"
says one of the statutes enacted at Toledo, " is the spur to
just and honourable 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."* The sovereigns, instead of confining
themselves to the grandees, frequently advanced persons of
humble origin, and especially those learned in the la';^', to
the most responsible stations ; consulting them, and paying
great deference to their opinions, on all matters of import-
ance. The nobles, finding that rank was no longer the
sole, or indeed the necessary avenue to promotion, sought
to secure it by attention 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.t
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 reforma-
* Ordenan9as Reales, lib. 7, tit. 2, ley 1,3.
t Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS. bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 44. — Sempere
notices this feature of the royal policy. Hist, des Cortes, chap. 24.
266 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
cion y remedio de las desordenes pasadas."* The first
object of its atteution was the condition of the exchequer,
which Henry t!ie Fourth had so exhausted by his reckless
prodigality, that the clear annual revenue amounted to no
more than thirty thousand ducats, a sura 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 liighways." Such had been the royal necessi-
ties, 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 in its resources ; and they resolved to meet the
difficulty by advising at once a resumption of the grants
unconstitutionally made during the latter half of Henry the
Fourth's reign, and the commencement of the present. t
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 Avas concerned;
since such alienation of the public revenue was in itself
illegal, and contrary to the coronation oath of the sove-
reign ; and those who accepted his obligations, held them
subject to the liability of their revocation which had fre-
quently occurred under the preceding reigns.
As the intended measure involved the interests of most of
* Carbajal, Analcs, MS. afio 80.
+ See tLe emphatic language, on this and other grievances, of the
Castilian commons in their memorial to the sovereigns, Apeudice, No. 10,
of Clemencin's valuable compilation. The commons had pressed the
measure, as one of the last necessity to the crown, as early as the cortes
of Madrigal, in 1476. The reader will find the whole petition extracted
by Marina Teoria, torn. ii. cap. 5.
ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 267
tbeconsiderableproprietors inthe 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 retrench-
ment might be most equitably made with reference to credi-
tors, whose claims rested on a great variety of grounds. The
plan suggested by cardinal Mendoza seems to have been
partially adopted. It was decided that all, whose pensions
had been conferred without any corresponding seiwices on
their part, should forfeit them entirely ; that those who had
purchased annuities should return their certificates on
a reimbursement of the price paid lor 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.*
By this important reduction, the final adjustment and
execution of whicli were intrusted to Fernando de Talavcra.
the queen's confessor, a man of austere probity, the gross
amount of thirty millions of maravedis, 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 confi-
dential servants of the queen, and the relatives of her hus-
* Salazar de Jlendoza, Cion. del Gran Cardenal, cap. 51. — Mem. de la
Acad, de Hist., torn. vi. Ilust. v. — Pulgar, Reves Catdlicos, part. 2,
cap. 95. — Ordenan9as Reales, lib. 6, tit. 4, lev 26; — incorporated also into
the Recopilacion of Philip II. lib. 5, tit. 10, cap. 17. See also leves 3
and 15.
268 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
band, were among tliose who suffered the most severely.*
It is worthy of remark that no diminution whatever was
made of the stipends settled on literary and charitable
establishments. It may be also added, that Isabella appro-
priated the first fruits of this measure, by distributing the
sum of twenty millions of maravedis among the widows and
orphans of those loyalists who had fallen in the War of the
Succession.! This resumption of the grants may be con-
sidered as the basis of those economical reforms which,
without oppression to the subject, augmented the public
revenue more than twelvefold during this auspicious reign. |
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 escut-
cheons, 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
* Admiral Enriquez, for instance, resigned 240,000 maravedis of his
annual income ; — the duke of Alva, 575,000 ; — the duke of ^Medina
Sidonia, 180,000. — The loyal family of the Mendozas were also great
losers ; hut none forfeited so much as the overgrown favourite of Henry
IV., Beltran de la Cueva, duke of Albuquerque, who had uniformly sup-
ported the royal cause, and whoso retrenchment amounted to 1,400,000
maravedis of yearly rent. See the scale of reduction given at length by
Seiior Clemencin, in JMem. de la Acad., tom. vi. loc. cit. '
■j- " No monarch," said the high-minded queen, " should consent to
alienate his demesnes ; since the loss of revenue necessarily deprives
him of the best means of rewarding the attachment of his friends, and
of making himself feared by his enemies." — Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos,
part. 1, cap. 4.
Ij: Pulgar, Reyes Catulicos, ubi supra. — Mem. de la Acad, de Hist.,
tom. ^'i. loc. cit.
ADAIINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 269
source of mischief ; for engaging- in %Yliich, the parties, both
principals and seconds, were subjected to the penahies of
treason. Isabella evinced her deternaination of enforcing
this law on the highest offenders, bj imprisoning, soon after
its enactment, the counts of Luna and Valencia for exchang-
ing a cartel of defiance, until the point at issue should be
settled by the regular course of justice.*
It is true the haughty nobility of Castile winced 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 niimber 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 re-
monstrance with great indignation, and returned an answer
couched in the haughtiest terms. " 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 com-t, or retire to
* Ordenancas Rcales, lib. 2, tit. 1, ley 2 ; lib. 4, tit. 9, ley 11. —
Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, part. 2, cap. 96, 101. — Recop. de las Leyes, lib.
8, tit. 8, ley 10 et al. — These affaii-s were conducted in the true spirit of
knight errantry-. Oviedo mentions one, in which two young men of the
noble houses of Yelasco and Ponce de Leon agreed to fight on horseback,
Avith sharp spears (puntas de diamante^,) in doublet and hose, without
defensive armour of any kind. The place appointed for the combat was a
narrow bridge across the Xarama, three leagues from Madrid. — Quincu^
genas, MS. bat. 1, quinc. l,dial. 23.
270 ADMIKISTRATIOX OF CASTILE.
joui* estates, as you think best ; but, so long as 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
nobilitv." The discontented lords, who had carried so hijxh 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 acknowledg-
ments.*
An example of the impartiality as well as spirit with
which Isabella asserted the dignity of the crown is worth
recording. During her husband's absence in Aragon, in
the spring of 14S1, a quarrel occurred in the ante-chamber
of the palace at Valladolid, between two young noblemen,
Kamiro Xufiez 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 lord 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 protection, than
bm-ning with indignation, she immediately mounted her
horse, though in the midst of a heavy storm of rain, and
proceeded alone towards the castle of Simancas, then in
the possession of the admiral, the father of the offender,
where she supposed him to have taken refuge, travelling all
* Fcrrcras, Hist. d'E^pagne, torn. vii. pp. 487, 488.
ADMIXISTRA7I0X OF CASTILE. 2/1
the wliile "^itli 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 com-
manded 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 ilhiess occasioned
as much by chagrin as by the excessive fatigue which she
had undergone. "My body 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 conceal-
ment. The young man 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 prisoner, by
one of the alcaldes of her court, through the great
square of A'alladolid 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 con-
sented to his release, she banished him to Sicily, until
he should receive the royal permission to return to his own
country.*
Notwithstanding the strict impartiality as well as vigour
* Carbajal, Anales, MS. aiio 80. — Pulgar, Reves Catolicos, part. 2j
cap. 100.
372 ADMIXISTRATIOX OF CASTILE.
of tlie administration, it could never have maintained itself
by its ovrn 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 ; while they exercised the anoma-
lous privilege, noticed in the Introduction to this history, of
omitting altofrether, or issuing only a partial summons to,
the nobility.* By making merit the standard of prefer-
ment, they opened the path of honour to every class of the
community. They uniformly manifested the greatest tender-
ness 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 co-operation 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 by Fer-
dinand and Isabella in reference to the MiHtary Orders of
Castile, since, although not fully developed until a much
later period, it was first conceived, and indeed partly exe-
cuted, in that now under discussion.
* For example, at the great cortes of Toledo, in 1480, it does not
appear that any of the nobility -nere summoned, except those in imme-
diate attendance on the court, until the measure for the resumption of the
grants, which so nearly affected that body, was brought before the legis-
lature.
ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. I/O
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 en-
thusiasm 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 corre-
sponding associations known to have existed among the
Spanish Arabs,* there can be no doubt that the forms under
which they were permanently organised were derived, in
the latter part of the twelfth century, from the monastic
orders established for the protection of the Holy Land. The
Hospitallers, and especially the Templars, obtained more
extensive acquisitions in Spain than in any, perhaps every,
other country in Christendom ; and it was partly from the
ruins of their empu-e that were constructed the magnificent
fortunes of the Spanish orders, t
* Conde gives the following account of these chivalric associations
among the Spanish Arabs, -which, as far as I know, has hitherto escaped the
notice of European historians. " The Moslem fronteros professed great
austerity in their lives, which they consecrated to perpetual war, and bound
themselves by a solemn vow to defend the frontier against the incursions
of the Christians. They were choice cavaliers, possessed of consummate
patience, and enduring fatigue, and always prepared to die rather than
desert their posts. It appears highly probable that the Moorish fraternities
suggested the idea of those military orders so renowned for their valour in
Spain and in Palestine, which rendered such essential services to Christen-
dom; for both the institutions were established on similar principles." —
Conde, Historia de la Dominacion de los Arabes en Espana, (Madrid, 1820,)
torn. i. p. 619, not.
+ See the details, giren by ^lariana, of the overgrown possessions of the
TOL. I. T
2/4 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
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
the obscure town of Compostella in Galicia, which contained
the sainted relics,* that it became the resort of pilgrims
from every part of Chi'istendom 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 refresh-
Templars in Castile at the period of their extinction, in the begin-
ning of the fourteenth century. (Hist, de Espaiia, lib. 15, cap. 10.)
The knights of the Temple and the Hospitallers seem to have acquired
still greater power in Aragon, where one of the monarchs was so in-
fatuated as to bequeath them his whole dominions, — a bequest, which it
may well be believed was set aside by his high-spirited subjects. — Zurita,
Anales, lib. i. cap. 52.
* The apparition of certain preternatural lights in a forest, discovered to
a Galician peasant, in the beginning of the ninth centurj', the spot in
which was deposited a marble sepulchre containing the ashes of St. James.
The miracle is reported with sufficient circumstantiality by Florez, (Historia
Compostellana, lib. 1, cap. 2, apud Espaiia Sagrada, torn, xx.,) and
Ambrosio de Morales, (Cordnica General de Espaiia; Obi-as, Madrid,
1791-3; lib. 9, cap. 7 ;) who establishes, to his omi satisfaction, the
advent of St. James into Spain. Mariana, with more scepticism than his
brethren, doubts the genuineness of the body, as well as the visit of the
Apostle, but like a good Jesuit concludes, " It is not expedient to disturb
with such disputes the devotion of the people, so firmly settled as it is."
(Lib. 7, cap. 10.) The tutelar saint of Spain continued to support his
people by taking part with them in battle against the infidel down to a
very late period. Caro de Torres mentions two engagements in which he
cheered on the squadrons of Cortes and Pizarro, " with his sword flashing
lightning in the eyes of the Indians." — Ordenes Militares, fol. 5. Also
Acosta, a better authority, from having resided in ^Mexico many years
himself. — Historia Natural y Moral de las Indias, (Sevilla, 1590,) lib. 7,
cap. 27.
ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 275
ment 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 pre-
datory 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 imita-
tion of the device which glittered on the banner of their
tutelar saint when he condescended to take part in their
engagements with the Moors. The red colour 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 obhgations 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.*
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 im-
portance to the latter kingdom. Its defence bad accord-
ingly 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
* Rades y Andrada, Las Tres Ordenes, fol. 3-15. — Caro de Torres,
Ordenes Militares, fol. 2-8. — Garibay, Compendio, torn. ii. pp. 116-118.
27G ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
of the t\velftli century ; and the Castilian monarch, Sancho
the Beloved, as the last resort, offered it to whatever good
knights would undertake its defence.
The empire was eagerly sought by a monk of a distant
convent in Xavarre, who had once been a soldier, and whose
military ardom- seems to have been exalted, instead of being
extinguished, in the sohtude of the cloister. The monk,
supported by his conventual brethren, and a throng of cava-
liers 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 116-i. The rules which it adopted were those
of St. Benedict, and its disciphne 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 earliest days of the
institution, the spiritual as well as the mihtary 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.*
* Rades y Andrada, Las Tres Ordenes, part. 2, fol. 3-9, 49. Caro de
Torres, Ordenes Militares, fol. 49, 50. — Garibay, Compendio, torn. ii.
pp. 100-104.
ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. lij
The third great order of religious chivalry in Castile ^vas
that of Alcantara, "^vhich 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. -^
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 icomendadores),
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 conventional 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 early history of the
Peninsula, we find the Christian chivalry always ready to
bear the brunt of battle against the Moors. Set apart
for this pecuHar 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 be sup-
posed to have been somewhat sharpened 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 mihtary
* Rades y Andrada, Las Tres Ordenes, part 3, fol. 1-6.— The knights of
Alcautara wore a -white mantle, embroidered -vvi'-h a green cross.
H/O ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
orders almost unlimited rights over the conquests achieved
by their own valour. In the sixteenth century, we find
the order of St. James, which had shot up to a pre-eminence
above the rest, possessed of eighty-four commanderies, and
two hundred inferior benefices. The same order could brine:
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 conside-
rable 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 com-
manderies 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 organised 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 frequently 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.*
* Rades y Andrada, Las Trcs Ordcnes, part. 1, fol. 12-15, 43, 54, 61,
64, 66, 67; part. 2, fol. 11, 51 ; part. 3, fol. 42, 49,50.— Caro de Torres,
Ordeues Militares, passim. — L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 33. —
A.DMINISTRATiOX OF CASTILE. 272
Owing to these circumstances, there v.-as prouablj no one
cause, among the many which occurred in Castile during
the fifteenth century, more proHfic 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
contested by a host of competitors. Isabella seems to have
settled in her mind the course of policy to bo adopted in
this matter, at a very early period of her reign. On
occasion of a vacancy in the grand-mastership 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 before this body, represented
with so much energy the inconvenience of devolving
powers of such magnitude on any private individual, and its
utter incompatibility with pubhc 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 waive this
privilege in favour of Alonso de Cardenas, one of the com-
petitors 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.*
Garibav, Compendio, lib. 11, cap. 13. — Zurita, Anales, torn. v. lib. 1,
cap. 19. — Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS. bat. 1, quinc. 2, dial. 1.
* Caro de Torres, Ordenes Militares, fol. 46, 74, 83. — Pulgar, Reyes
Cat61icos, part. 2, cap. 64. — Rades y Andrada, Las Tres Ordenes, part. 1,
fol. 69, 70 ; part, 2, fol. 82, 83 ; part. 3, fol. 54. — Oviedo, Quincuagenas,
MS. bat. 1, quinc. 2, dial. 1. — The sovereigns gave great offence to the
jealous grandees who were competitors for the mastership of St. James, hy
280 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
The sovereigns were no sooner vested with the control of
the military orders, than they hegan with their character-
istic promptness to reform the various corruptions which had
impaired their ancient disciphne. 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 impar-
tiality which could never he maintained by any private
individual, necessarily exposed to the influence of personal
interests and affections. By this harmonious distribution,
the honours, which had before been held up to the highest
bidder, or made the subject of a furious canvas, became
the incentive and sure recompense of desert.*
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.f
IV. Vindication of ecclesiastical rights belonging 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
conferring that dignity on Alonso de Cardenas, vitli llieir usual policy of
making merit rather than birth the standard of preferment.
* Caro de Torres, Ordenes Militares, fol. 84. — Riol has given a full
account of the constitution of this council. — Informe, apud Scmanario
Enidito, tom. iii. pp. 164 et seq.
•f* The reader will find a view of the condition and general resources of
the militarj- orders as existing in the present centurj' in Spain, in Laborde,
Itineraire Descriptif de I'Espagne, (2d edition, Paris, 1827-30,) tom. v.
pp. 102-117.
ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 281
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.* But, when the code
of the Partidas was promulgated in the thirteenth century,
the maxims of the canon law came to be permanently estab-
lished. 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. f
These usurpations of the church had been repeatedly 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 im-
portant line of national defence, obviously improper to be
intrusted to the keeping of foreigners and absentees. Xot-
* Most readers are acquainted with the curious story, related by Robert-
son, of the ordeal to which the Romish and Muzarabic rituals were sub-
jected in the reign of Alfonso VI., and the ascendancy which the combi-
nation of kingcraft and priestcraft succeeded in securing to the former in
opposition to the will of the nation. Cardinal Ximenes afterwards estab-
lished a magnificent chapel in the cathedral chiirch of Toledo for the per-
formance of the Muzarabic services, which have continued to be retained
there to the present time. — Flechier, Histoire du Cardinal Ximenes, (Paris,
1693,) p. 142. — Bourgoanne, Travels in Spain, Eng. Trans, vol. iii,,
chap. 1.
+ Marina, Ensayo Histdrico-Critico, Xos. 322, 334, 341 .— Riol, Informe
apud Semanario Erudito, pp. 92 et seq.
282 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
■withstanding the efforts of cortcs, no effectual remedy was
devised for this latter grievance, until it became the subject
of actual collision between the crown and the pontiff, in re-
ference to the see of Taracona, and afterwards of Cuenga.*
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 appoint-
ment ; but without effect, as Sixtus replied, with a degree
of presumption which might better have become his prede-
cessors 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 con-
sult 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 with them in convoking
a general council for the reformation of the manifold abuses
which dishonoured the church. Xo sound could have grated
more unpleasantly on the pontifical ear than the menace of
* Marina, Ensayo Historico-Critico, Nos. 335-337. — Ordenan^as
Reales, lib. 1, tit. 3, leyes 19, 20; lib. 2, tit. 7, ley 2 ; lib. 3, tit. 1,
ley 6. — Riol, Informe, apud Semanario Erudito, loc. cit. — In the latter
part of Henry IV.'s reign, a papal bull had been granted against the pro-
vision of foreigners to benefices. — Mariana, Hist, de Espana, torn. vii.
p. 196, ed. Valencia.
ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 283
a general council, particularly at this jieriod, when eccle-
siastical corruptions had reached a height which could hut
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 Cen-
turion, no sooner arrived in Castile, than he caused tlie
sovereigns to be informed of his 2:)resence there, and the
purpose of his mission ; but he received orders instantly to
quit the kingdom, without attempting so much as to dis-
close the nature of his instructions, since they could not
but be derogatory to the dignity of the crown. A safe-
conduct 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
waive whatever immunities he might claim as papal ambas-
sador, and to submit to the jurisdiction of the sovereigns as
one of their own subjects, so that he might obtain an
audience. 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
concihatory 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
* Riol, in his account of this celebrated concordat, refers to the original
instrument as existing in his time in the archives of Simancas. — Semanario
Erudito, tom. iii. p. 95.
284 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
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 Cuenga. 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 : holding light, in
comparison with the faithful discharge of this duty, every
minor consideration of interest, and even the soHcitations of
her husband, as we shall see hereafter.* And the chroni-
cler of her reign dwells with complacency on those good old
times, when churchmen were to be found of such singular
modesty as to require to be urged to accept the dignities to
which their merits entitled them.t
V. The regulation of trade. — It will be readily 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 the harvest
* " Lo que es publico hoy en Espano e notorio," says Gonzalo de
Oviedo, "nunca los Reyes Cathdlicos desearon ni procuraron sine que
proveer e presentar para las dignidades de la Iglesia hombres capazes d
idoneos para la buena administracion del servicio del culto divino, d a la
bucna enseiianza e utilidad de los Christianos sus vasallos ; y entre todos
los varones de sus Reynos asi por largo conoscimiento como per larga 6
secreta informacion accordaron encojer e elegir," &:c. — Quincuagenas, MS.
dial, de Talavera.
+ Salazar de Mendoza, Cron. del Gran Cardenal, lib. i. cap. 52. — Idem,
Dignidades de Castilla, p. 374. — Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, part 2, cap. 104.
See also the similar independent conduct pursued by Ferdinand, three
years previous, with reference to the see of Tara9ona, related by Zurita,
Anales, torn. iv. fol. 304.
ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 285
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 mints openly licensed by the crown, in addition to
many others erected by individuals without any legal autho-
rity. 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.*
The magnitude of the evil was such as to claim 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
authorised, afterwards augmented to seven, and severe
penalties denounced against the fabrication of money
elsewhere. The reform of the currency gradually infused
* Bemaldes, Reyes Catolicos, MS. cap. 44.— See a letter from one of
Henry's subjects, cited by Saez, Monedas do Enrique IV., p. 3. — Also the
coarse satire (composed in Henry's reign) of " Mingo Revulgo," espec;.i.lly
coplaa 24-27.
286 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
new life into commerce, as the return of the circulations,
Tvbieh have been interrupted for a while, quickens the
animal body. This was furthered by salutary laws for the
encouragement of domestic industry. Internal communica-
tion 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 inter-
course between Castile and Aragon, were repealed. Several
judicious laws were enacted for the protection of foreign
trade ; and the flourishing condition of the mercantile
marine may be inferred from that of the military, which
enabled the sovereigns to fit out an armament of seventy sail
in 1482, from the ports of Biscay and Andalusia, for the
defence of Xaples against the Turks. Some of their regu-
lations, indeed, as those prohibiting the exportations of the
precious metals, savour too strongly of the ignorance of the
true principles of commercial legislation, which has distin-
guished the Spaniards to 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 honour and profit to the kingdom, by the facilities
which they afi'ord for making men learned," are not only in
advance of that age, but may sustain an advantageous
comparison with provisions on corresponding subjects in
Spain at the present time. Public credit was re-established
by the punctuality with which the government redeemed the
debt contracted during the Portuguese war ; and, notwith-
standino- 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.*
* Pragmaticas del Reyno, fol. 64.— Ordenan(^as Reales, lib. 4, tit. 4,
ADMIXISTRATIOX OF CASTILE. 2S7
Thus released from the heavy burdens imposed on it, the
spring of enterprise recovered its former elasticity. The
productive capital of the country was made to flow through
the various channels of domestic industry. The hills and
the valleys again rejoiced in the labour of the husbandman ;
and the cities were embellished with stately edifices, both
public and private, which attracted the gaze and com-
mendation of foreigners,* The writers of that day are
imbounded in their plaudits of Isabella, to whom they prin-
cipally ascribe this auspicious revolution in the condition of
the country and its inhabitants,! which seems almost as
ley 22; lib. o, tit. 8, ley 2 ; lib. 6, tit. 9, ley 49; lib. 6, tit. 10, ley 13.
Col. de Cedulas, torn. v. Xo. 182. — See also other ■wholesome laws for the
encouragement of commerce and general security of property, as that
respecting contracts, (lib. 5, tit. 8, ley 5,) — fraudulent tradesmen, (lib. 5,
tit. 8, ley 5,) — purveyance, (lib. 6, tit. |11, ley 2 et al.) — Recopilacion de
las Leyes, lib. 5, tit. 20, 21, 22 ; lib. 6, tit. 18, ley 1.— Pulgar, Reyes
Catdlicos, part. 2, cap. 99. — Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol. 312. — Mem. de la
Acad, de Hist., torn. vi. Ilust. 11. — The revenue it appears, in 1477,
amounted to 27,415,228 maravedis ; and in the year 1482, we find it
increased to 150,695,288 maravedis. (Ibid. Ilust. 5.) — A survey of the
kingdom was made between the years 1477 and 1479, for the purpose ot
ascertaining the value of the royal rents, which formed the basis of the
economical regulations adopted by the cortes of Toledo. Although this
survey was conducted on no uniform plan, yet, according to Seiior
Clemencin, it exhibits such a variety of important details respecting the
resources and population of the country, that it must materially contribute
towards an exact history of this period. The compilation, which consists
of twelve folio volumes in manuscript, is deposited in the archives ot
Simancas.
* One of the statutes passed at Toledo expressly pro^-ides for the erection
of spacious and handsome edifices (casas grandes y hienfechas) for the
transaction of municipal affairs in all the principal towns and cities in the
kingdom. — Ordenancas Reales, lib. 7, tit. 1, ley 1. — See also L. Marineo,
Cosas Memorables, passim, et al. auct.
+ " Cosa fue por cierto maravillosa," exclaims Pulgar, in his Glosa on
the Mingo Revulgo, " que lo que muchos hombres, y grandes senores no se
288 ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE.
magical as one of those transformations in romance wrought
by the hands of some benevolent fairy.*
YI. The pre-eminence of the royal authority. — This,
which, as we have seen, appears to have 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 talent.'*
were supported by a dignified demeanoiu', which formed a
strikinor contrast with the meanness in mind and man-
ners 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 prin-
ciple. 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 mar-
riage.f By these and similar acts of affectionate solicitude,
acordaron a hacer en muchos anos, sola una muger, con su trabajo y
gobernacion lo hizo en poco tiempo." Copla 21 .
• The beautiful lines of Virgil, so often misapplied,
" Jam redit et Virgo ; redeunt Satumia regna ;
Jam nova progenies," &c.,
seem to admit here of a pertinent application.
'{• Carro de las Donas, apud Mem. de la Acad, de Hist., tom. vi. Rust. 21.
— As one example of the moral discipline introduced by Isabella in her
court, ■we may cite the enactments against gaming, which had been carried
to great excess under the preceding reigns. — See Ordenancas Reales, (lib. 2,
tit. 14, ley 31 ; lib. 8, tit. 10, ley 7.) L. Marineo, according to -whom
" hell is full of gamblers," highly commends the sovereigns for their efforts
to discountenance this vice. — Cosas Memorable*, fol. 165.
ADMINISTRATION OF CASTILE. 289
she endeared herself to the higher classes of her subjects,
while the patriotic tendency of her public conduct estab-
lished her in the hearts of the people. She possessed, in
combination "with the feminine qualities which beget love,
a masculine 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 magnifi-
cence, which dazzled the multitude, and is blazoned with
great solemnity in the garralous chronicles of the da v.*
The tendencies of the present administration were un-
doubtedly 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 dissimulation,
and to establish their own authority by fomenting the divi-
sions 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 con-
stitutional limits, and, by depressing the aristocracy to its
proper level and elevating the commons, to consohdate the
whole under the lawful supremacy of the crown. At least,
such was the tendency of her administration up to the pre-
sent period of our history. These laudable objects were
* See, for example, the splendid ceremony of Prince John's baptism, to
■which the gossiping curate of Los Palacios devotes the 32nd and 33rd
chapters of his History.
VOL. I. U
290 ADMLVISTRATIOX OF CASTILE.
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 centurv.
The sixth volume of the Memoirs of the Royal Spanish Academy of
Histoiy, published in 1821, is devoted altogether to the reign of Isabella.
It is distributed into Illustrations, as they are termed, of the various
branches of the administrative policy of the queen, of her personal character,
and of the condition of science under her government. These essays
exhibit much curious research, being derived from unquestionable con-
temporarj- documents, printed and manuscript, and from the public archives.
They are compiled -with much discernment ; and as they throw light on
some of the most recondite transactions of this reign, are of inestimable
service to the historian. The author of the volume is the late lamented
secretary of the Academy, Don Diego Clemencin ; one of the few who
survived the wreck of scholarship in Spain, and who, with the erudition
■which lias frequently distinguished his countrymen, combined the liberal
and enlarged opinions which would do honour to any country.
291
CHAPTER TIL
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE MODERN INQUISITION.
Origin of the ancient Inquisition. — Retrospective view of tlie Jews m
Spain. — Their wealth and civilisation. — Bigotry of the age. — Its
influence on Isabella. — Her confessor, Torquemada. — Bull autho-
rising the Inquisition. — Tribunal at Seville. — Forms of trial. — Tor-
ture.— Autos da Fe. — Number of Convictions. — Perfidious policy of
Rome.
It is painful, after having d^velt 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 gi'ossest abuses that ever disgraced
humanity. The present chapter will be devoted to the
establishment and early progress of the Modem 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 being, however
exalted, to invade the sacred rights of conscience, inalien-
ably possessed by every man. We feel that the spiritual
concerns of an indiWdual 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
u2
292 THE INQUISITION.
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
conscieutions 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 earliest
period in which Christianity became the established religion
of the Roman empire. But they do not seem to have
flowed from any systematised plan of persecution, until the
papal authority had swollen to a considerable height. The
popes, who claimed the spiritual allegiance of aU Christen-
dom, 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
France, exterminating their inhabitants, and blasting the
fair buds of civilisation 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.*
* Mosheim, Ecclesiastical History, translated by Maclaine, (Charles-
town, 1810,) cent. 13, p. 2, chap. 5. — Sismondi, Histoire des Fran^aisc,
(Paris, 1821,) torn. vi. chap. 24-28 ; torn. vii. chap. 2, 3.— Idem, De la
Litteratiire du Midi de TEurope, (Paris, 1813.) torn. i. chap. 6. — In the
former of these works JI. Sismondi has described the physical ravages of
the crusades in southern France, with the same spirit and eloquence with
which he has exhibited their desolating moral influence in the latter.
Some Catholic writers would fain excuse St. Dominic from the imputa-
TSE IXQUISITION-. 293
After various modifications, the province of detecting and
punisliing 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 Aragon,
where, in 1242, additional provisions were framed by the
council of Tarragona, on the basis of those of 1233, which
may properly he considered as the primitive instructions of
the Holy Office in Spain.*
This Ancient Inquisition, as it is termed, bore the same
odious peculiarities in its leading features as the Modern ;
tion of ha^ing founded the Inquisition. It is true lie died some vears before
the perfect organisation of that tribunal ; but, as he established the prin-
ciples on which, and the monkish militia by whom, it was administered, it
is doing him no injustice to regard him as its real author. — The Sicilian
Paramo, indeed, in his heavy quarto, (De Origine et Progressu Ofincii
Sanctae Inquisitionis, Matriti, 1598,) tracee it up to a much more remo:e
antiquity, which, to a Protestant ear, at least, savours not a little of blas-
phemy. According to him, God was the first inquisitor, and his condem-
nation of Adam and Eve furnished the model of the judicial forms observed
in the trials of the Holy Oflace. The sentence of Adam was the type of
the inquisitorial reconciliation; his subsequent raiment of the skins of
animals was the model of the sa7i-benito ; and his expulsion from Paradise
the precedent for the confiscation of the goods of heretics. This learned
personage deduces a succession of inquisitors through, the patriarchs, Mose;,
Nebuchadnezzar, and king David, down to John the Baptist, and even our
Saviour, in whose precepts and conduct he finds abundant authority for the
tribunal! — Paramo, De Origine Inquisitionis, lib. 1, tit. 1, 2, 3.
*Sismondi, Hist, des Fran9ais, tom. vii. chap. 3. — Limborch, History
of the Inquisition, translated by Chandler, (Lond. 1731,) book 1, chap. 2-4.
— Llorente, Histoire Critique de rinquisition d'Espagne, (Paris, 1818,)
tom. i. p. 110. — Before this time we find a constitution of Peter I., of
Aragon against heretics, prescribing in certain cases the burning of heretics
and the confiscation of their estates, in 1197. — Marca Hispanica, sive
Limes Hispanicus, (Paiisiis, 1688,) p. 1384.
294 TIIE INQUISITION.
the same impenetrable secrecy in its proceedings, tlie 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,
j)rescribes all those ambiguous forms of interrogation, by
Avliich the unwary and perhaps innocent victim might be
circumvented.* The principles on which the ancient
Inquisition was estabhshed 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 perse-
cution 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
* Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Yetus, torn. ii. p. 186. — Llorente, Hist, de
rinquisition, torn. i. pp. 110-124. Puigblanch cites some of the instruc-
tions from Eymerich's work, whose authority in tlie courts of the Inquisition
lie compares to that of Gratian's Decretals in other ecclesiastical judica-
tures. One of these may suffice to show the spirit of the whole, " When
the inquisitor has an opportunity, lie shall manage so as to introduce to the
conversation of the prisoner some one of his accomplices, or any other
converted heretic, who shall feign that he still persists in his heresy, telling
him that he had abjured for the sole purpose of escaping punishment,
by deceiving the inquisitors. Hanng thus gained his confidence, he shall
go into his cell some day after dinner, and keeping up the conversation till
night, shall remain with him under pretext of its being too late for him to
return home. He shall then urge the prisoner to tell him all the particu-
lars of his past life, having first told him the whole of bis own ; and in the
mean time spies shall be kept in hearing at the door, as well as a notary, in
order to certify what may be said within." — Puigblanch, Inquisition
rnmaskcd, translated by Walton, (London, 1816,) vol. i. pp.238, 239.
THE INQUISITION. 295
fully organised 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 luke-
wannness in its sovereigns ; since they, from the time of
St. Ferdinand, who heaped the faggots 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.*
By the middle of the fifteenth century, the Albigensian
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 dis-
covered 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,
* Mariana, Hist, de Espana, lib. 12, cap. 11 ; lib. 21, cap. 17. — Llorente,
Hist, de rinquisition, torn. i. chap. 3. The nature of the penance imposed
on reconciled heretics br the ancient Inquisition was much more severe
than that of later times. Llorente cites an act of St. Dominic respecting a
person of this description, named Ponce Roger. The penitent vras com-
manded to be " strip_ped of his clothes and beaten with rods ly a priest,
three Sundays in smcession, from the gate of the city to the door of the
church; not to eat any kind of animal food during his whole life; to keep
three Lents a vear, without even eating fish ; to abstain from fish, oil, and
\Tlne three days in the week, during life, except in case of sickness or exces-
sive labour ; to wear a religious dress with a small cross embroidered on
each side of the breast ; to attend mass every day if he had the means of
doing 80, and vespers on Sundays and festivals ; to recite tlie service for
the day and the night, and to repeat the pater noster seven times in the
day, ten times in the evening, and twenty times at midnight T^ (Ibid,
chap. 4.) If the said Roger failed in any of the above requisitions, he was
to be burnt as a relapsed heretic I This was the encouratrcment held ou:
by St. Dominic to penitence.
296 THE INQUISITION.
who seem to have preserved theh* unity of character
unbroken amid the thousand fragments into which they
have been scattered, attained perhaps to greater considera-
tion in Spain than in any other part of Em-ope, and as the
efforts of the Inquisition were directed principally against
them during the present reign, it may be Avell to take a
brief review of their preceding history in the Peninsula.
Under the Visigothic empire the Jews multiplied exceed-
ingly in the country, and were permitted to acquire con-
siderable 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,
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.*
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 equal terms. Their common Oriental
origin produced a similarity of txistes, to a certain extent,
not unfavom-able to such a coalition. At any rate, the
eai'ly Spanish Arabs Avere characterised 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.! The Jews, accordingly,
* Montesquieu, Esprit des Loix, liv. 28, chap. 1. — See the canon of the
17th council of Toledo, condemning the Israelitish race to bondage, in
Florez, Espaiia Sagrada, (Madrid, ] 745-47,) torn. vi. p. 229. — Fuero Juzgo
(ed. de la Acad.; Madrid, 1815 ; lib. 12, tit. 2, and 3,) is composed of
the most inhuman ordinances against this unfortunate people.
+ The Koran grants protection to the Jews on payment of tribute. See
THE INQUISITION. 297
under these favourable 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 the deep darkness of the middle
ages.* AYhatever may be thought of their success in
speculative philosophy,! they cannot reasonably be denied
to have contributed largely to practical and experimental
the Koran, translated by Sale, (London, 1825,) chap. 9. Still there is
ground enough (though less among the Spanish Arabs than the other
Moslems) for the following caustic remark of the author above quoted.
" La religion Juive est un vicux tronc qui a produit deux branches qui ont
convert toute la terre ; je veux dire, le Mahometisme et le Christianisme :
ou plutot c'est une mere qui a engendre deux filles qui Font accablee de
raille plaies ; car, en fait de religion, les plus proches sont les plus gi-andes
ennemies." — Montesquieu, Lettres Persanes, let. 60.
* The first academy founded by the learned Jews in Spain was that of
Cordova, A. D. 948. Castro, Biblioteca Espaiiola, tom. i. p. 2. — Basnage,
History of the Jews, translated by Taylor, (London, 1708,) book 7,
chap. 5
-t* In addition to their Talmudic lore and Cabalistic mysteries, the
Spanish Jews were well read in the philosophy of Aristotle. They pre-
tended that the Stagirite was a convert to Judaism, and had borrowed his
science from the writings of Solomon. (Brucker, Historia Critica Philoso-
phiae ; Lipsise, 1766 ; tom. ii. p. 853.) M. Degerando, adopting similar con-
clusions ^vlth Brucker, in regard to the value of the philosophical specula-
tions of the Jews, passes the following severe sentence upon the intellectual,
and indeed moral character of the nation. " Ce peuple, par son caractere,
ses moeurs, ses institutions, semblait etre destine a rester stationnaire.
Un attachement excessif ii leurs propres traditions dominait chez les Juifs
tons les penchans de I'esprit : ils restaient presque etrangers aux progres de
la civilisation, au mouvement gene'ral de la societe ; ils e'taient en quelque
sorte moralement isoles, alors meme qu'ils communiquaient avec tons les
peuples, et parcouraient toutcs les contrees. Aussi nous cherchons en vain,
dans ceux de leure e'crits qui nous sont connus, non seulement de %Taies
298 THE INQUISITION.
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 hordes of
foreign specimens and Oriental drugs, that furnished im-
portant contributions to the domestic pharmacopoeias.* In
the practice of medicine, indeed, they became so expert, as
in a manner to monopolise that profession. They made
great proficiency in mathematics, and particularly in astro-
nomy ; while, in the cultivation of elegant letters, they
revived the ancient glories of the Hebrew muse.f This
was indeed the 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 development in the tenth, eleventh,
twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, than it has reached in any
other part of Christendom. J
ilecouvertes, mais meme des idees reellement originales." — Histoire Com-
paree des Systemes de Pbilosophie, (Paris, 1 822,) torn. iv. p. 299,
* Castro, Biblioteca Espanola, torn. i. pp. 21, 33, et alibi. — Benjamin
of Tudela's celebrated Itinerary, having been translated into the various
languages of Europe, passed into sixteen editions before the middle of the
last century. — Ibid. tom. i. pp. 79, 80.
•f The beautiful lament which the royal psalmist has put into the
mouths of his countrymen when commanded to sing the songs of Sion in a
strange land, cannot be applied to the Spanish Jews, who, far from lianging
their harps upon the willows, poured forth their lays with a freedom and
vivacitv which may be thought to savour more of the modern troubadour
than of the ancient Hebrew minstrel. Castro has collected, under
Siglo XV. a few gleanings of such as, by their incorporation into a
Christian Cancionero, escaped the fury of the Inquisition. — Biblioteca
Espaiiola, tom, i. pp. 265-364.
J Castro has done for the Hebrew what Casiri a few years before did
for the Arabic literature of Spain, by giving notices of such works as have
survived the ravages of time and supei-stition. The first volume of his
Biblioteca Espaiiola contains an analysis accompanied with extracts from
THE IXQUISITION. 299
The ancient Castilians of the same period, very different
from their Gothic ancestors, seem to have conceded to the
Israehtes somewhat of the feehngs of respect which were
extorted from them bv the superior civilisation of the Spanish
Arabs. We find eminent Jews residing in the com'ts 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 ; asd, indeed, the correspondence wliich they main-
tained with the different countries of Europe by means of
their own countrymen, who acted as the brokers of almost
ever}' people among whom they were scattered during the
middle ages, afforded them peculiar facilities both in politics
and commerce. We meet with Jewish scholars and states-
men attached to the courts of Alfonso the Tenth, Alfonso
the Eleventh, 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.*
But all this royal patronage proved incompetent to protect
the Jews when their flourishing fortunes had risen to a suf-
ficient height to excite popular envy, augmented, as it was,
by that profuse ostentation of equipage and apparel for
which this lingular people, notwithstanding their avarice,
more than seven hundred different works, with biographical sketches of
their authors ; the -whole bearing most honourable testimony to the talent
and various erudition of the Spanish Jews.
* Basnage, History of the Jews, book 7, chap. 5, 15, 16. — Castro,
Biblioteca Espanola, torn. i. pp. 11 fi, 265, 267. — Mariana, Hist, de
Espana, torn. i. p. 906 ; torn. ii. pp. 62, 147, 450. — Samuel Levijtrer.surer
300 THE IXQUISITIO>\
have usually sll0^vn a predilection.* 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 children at the celebration of their
own passover.f 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 assaidt 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 indis-
criminate massacre, without regard to sex or age. J
of Peter the Cruel, -who was sacrificed to the cupidity of his master, is
reported hy Mariana to hare left behind him the incredible sum of 400,000
ducats to swell the royal coffers. — See tom. ii. p. 82.
* Sir Walter Scott, with his usual discernment, has availed himself of
those opposite traits in his portraits of Rebecca and Isaac in Ivanhoe, in
which he seems to have contrasted the lights and shadows of the Jewish
character. The humiliating state of the Jews, however, exhibited in this
romance, affords no analogy to their social condition in Spain ; as is
evinced not merely by their wealth, which was also conspicuous in the
English Jews, but by the high degree of civilisation, and even political
consequence, which, notwithstanding the occasional ebullitions of popular
prejudice, they were permitted to reach there.
f Calumnies of this kind were current all over Europe^s The English
reader will call to mind the monkish fiction of the little Christian,
" Slain with cursed Jewes, as it is notable,"
siusring most devoutly after his throat was cut from ear to car, in Chaucer's
Prioresse's Tale. See another instance in the old Scottish ballad of tho
" Jew's Daughter," in Percy's " Reliques of Ancient Poetry."
J Bernaldez, Reyes Catoiicas, MS. cap. 43. — Mariana, Hist, de Espaiia,
torn. ii. pp. 186, 187. — In 1391, o,000 Jews were sacrificed to the popular
THE INQUISITION. 301
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 race of Israel,
which doubtless must be reckoned the greatest miracle
of all.*
The legislative enactments of this period, and stiU more
under John the Second, during the first half of the fifteenth
century, were uncommonly severe upon the Jews. ^Vhile
they were prohibited from mingling freely with the Chris-
tians, and from exercising the professions for which they
were best qualified, t 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
fury, and, according to Mariana, no less than 10,000 perislied from the
same cause in Navarre about sixty years before. — See torn. i. p. 912.
* According to Mariana, tbe restoration of sight to the blind, feet to
the lame, even life to the dead, were miracles of ordinary occurrence with
St. Vincent. (Hist, de Espana, torn, it pp. 229, 230.) The age of
miracles had probably ceased by Isabella's time, or the Inquisition might
have been spared. Nic. Antonio in his notice of the life and labours of this
Dominican, (Bibliotheca Vetus, tom. ii. pp. 205, 207.) states that he
preached his inspired sermons in his vernacular Valencian dialect to audiences
of French, English, and Italians indiscriminately, ■who all imderstood him
perfectly well ; '' a circumstance," says Dr. McCrie, in his valuable
" Historj- of the Progress and Suppression of the Reformation in Spain,"
(Edinburgh, 1829,) "which if it prove anything, proves that the hearers
of St. Vincent possessed more miraculous powers than himself, and that
they should have been canonised, rather than the preacher." — P. 87, note.
+ They were interdicted from the callings of vintners, grocers, taverners,
especially of apothecaries, and of physicians and nurses. — Ordenan9as Reales^
lib. 8, tit. 3, leves 11, 15, 18.
302 THE IXQCISITION.
were, by some peculiar badge or emblem embroidered on
their garments.*
Such was the condition of the Spanish Jews at the acces-
sion of Ferdinand and Isabella. The new Christians, or
conterts, as those who had renounced the faith of their
fathers were denominated, were occasionally preferred to
high ecclesiastical dignities, which they illustrated by their
integrity and learning. They Avere intrusted with muni-
cipal 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.f
* No law was more frequently reitemted than that prohibiting the Jews
from acting as stewards of the nobility, or farmers and collectors of the
public rents. The repetition of this law shows to what extent that people
had engrossed what little was known of financial science in that day. For
the multiplied enactments in Castile against them, see Ordenan9as Reales
(lib. 8, tit. 3). For the regulations respecting the Jews in Aragon, many
of them oppressiye, particularly at the commencement of the fifteenth
centurv, see Fueros y Obscrs-ancias del Reyno de Aragon, (Zaragoza, 1667,)
torn, i, fol. 6. — Marca Hispanica, pp. 1416, 1433. — Zurita, Analcs, torn,
iii. lib. 12, cap. 45.
t Eernaldez, Reyes Catulicos, MS. cap. 43.— Llorentc, Hist, de I'ln-
quisition, pref. p. 26. — A manuscript, entitlsd Ttzon de Espana, (Brand of
Spain,) tracing up many a noble pedigree to a Jewish or Mahometan root,
obtained a circulation to the great scandal of the country, which the eflTorts
of the government, combined with those of the Inquisition, have not been
wholly able to suppress. Copies of it, however, are now rarely to be met
with. (Doblado, Letters from Spain; London, 1822; let. 2.) Clemen-
rin notices two works with this title, one as ancient as Ferdinand and
Isabella's time, and both written by bishops. — Mem. de la Acad, de Hist.,
torn. vi. p. 125.
THE INQUISITION-. 303
Notwithstanding the show of prosperity enjoyed by the
converted Jews, tlieir situation was far from secure. Their
proselytism had been too sudden to be generally sincere ;
and, as the task of dissimulation was too irksome to be
permanently endured, they gradually became less circum-
spect, and exhibited the scandalous spectacle of apostates
returning to wallow in the ancient mire of Judaism. The
clergy, especially the Dominicans, who seem to have in-
herited 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 tumul-
tuous 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 heresy became still more
clamorous, and the throne was repeatedly beset with peti-
tions to devise some effectual means for its extii'pation.-'-
(1478).
A chapter of the Chronicle of the curate of Los 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 per-
secution. " This accursed race," he saj's, speaking of the
Israelites, " were either unwilling to bring their children
to be baptised, 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 ; eat 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
* Mariana, Hist, de Espaiia, torn. ii. p. 479. — Puh r, Reves Cat61icos_.
part. 2, cap. 77.
304 THE INQUISITION.
for monastic life, and frequently profaned 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 labom* or
mechanical arts. They considered themselves in the hands
of the Egyptians, whom it was a merit to deceive and
pilfer. By their wicked contrivances they amassed great
wealth, and thus were often able to ally themselves by
marriage with noble Christian famihes." *
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 impossible 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 abomina-
tions 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 prevailed in Andalusia,
loudly called for the introduction of the Holy Office, as the
only effectual means of healing it. In this they were vigo-
rously supported by Niccolo Franco, the papal nuncio then
residing at the court of Castile. Ferdinand listened with
complacency to a scheme which promised an ample source
* Reyes Catulicos, I^IS. cap. 43.
THE IXQUISITIOX. o\jD
of revenue in the confiscations it involved. But it was not
so easy to vanr|uish Isabella's aversion to measures so
repugnant to the natural benevolence and magnanimity of
]ier 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 dis-
puted whether it were permitted to make peace with the
infidel, and even whether promises made to them were
obligatory on Christians.*
The policy of the Roman church, at that time, was not
only shown in its perversion of some of the most obvious
principles of morality, but in the 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 the 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
* Bernaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, ubi supra. — Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos,
part. 2, cap. 77. — Zuniga, Anuales de Sevilla, p. 386. — Mem. de la Acad.
de Hist., torn, vi, p. 44. — Llorentc, torn. i. pp. 143, 145.
Some \vriters are inclined to view the Spanisli Inquisition, in its origin,
as little else than a political engine. Guizot remarks of the tribimal, in
one of his lectures, " Elle contenait en germc ce qu'elle est devenue ; mais
die ne I'etait pas en commen9ant : elle fut d'abord plus politique que
religicuse, et destinee a maintenir lordre plutot qu'a de'fendre la fuL"
(Cours d'Histoire Modemc; Paris, 1828-30 ; torn. v. Ice 11.) This i^tate-
ment is inaccurate in reference to Castile, where the facts do not wairant
us in imputing any other motive for its adoption than religious zeal. The
eeneral character of Ferdinand, as well as the circumstances under which
it was introduced into Aragon, may justify the inference of a more worldly
policy in its establishment there.
YOL. I. X
306 THE IXQUISITIOX.
Eource of most of the violent measures pursued by princes of
the Catholic faith.*
Isabella's serious temper, as well as early education,
naturally disposed her to religious influences. Notwith-
standing 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 demeanour, complied with all
humility, and was afterwards heard to say, *' This is the
oonfessor that I wanted."!
Well had it been for the land, if the queen's conscience
had always been entrusted to the keeping of persons of such
exemplary piety as Talavera. Unfortunately, in her early
days, during the life-time of her brother Henry, that charge
was committed to a Dominican monk, Thomas de Torque-
* Essai sur Ics Moeurs ct TEsprit dps Nations, chap. 176.
■f Sigiienza Historia de la Orden de San Gcrdnimo, apud Mom. de la
Acad, do Ilist., torn. vi. Ilust. 13. — This anecdote is more characteristic of
the order than the individual. Ovicdo has given a brief notice of tliis
prelate, whose virtues raised him from the humblest condition to the
highest post in the church, and gained him, to quote that w-riter's \Yords,
the appellation of " El sancto, d el buen arzobispo en toda Espana."
— Quincuagcnas MS. dial, de Talavera.
THE INQUISITIOX. 307
mada, a uative of old Castile, subsequently raised to the
rank of prior of Santa Cruz in Segovia, and condemned to
infamous immortality by the signal part wliich 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 aeadlier vices
of the heart, pride, bigotry, and intolerance, which are no
less opposed to virtue, and are far more extensively mis-
chievous to society. This personage had earnestly laboured
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. Fortunately
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
Jierself to the extirpation of heresy, for the glory of God,
and the exaltation of the Catholic faith."* 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 pallia-
tion 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 unblemished character.! It was not until
* Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol. 323.
+ The unifonn tenderness witli which the most liberal Spanish \Yr iters
of the present comparatively enlightened age, as Marina, Lloreutc, Cle-
mencin, &c., regard the memory of Isabella, affords an honourable testimony
to the unsuspected integrity of her motives. Even in relation to the
Inquisition, her countrymen would seem willing to draw a veil over her
errors, or to excuse her by charging them on the age in which she lived.
308 TIIE INQUISITIOX.
the queen had 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, ^vho 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 Ist, 1478, authorising them to appoint two
or three ecclesiastics inquisitors for the detection and sup-
pression of heresy throughout their dominions.*
The queen, however, still averse to violent measures, sus-
pended the operation of the ordinance 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 difi'erent points of the cathoHc
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. t How far the spirit of these
* PulcTiir, Reyes Catolicos, part. 2, cap. 77- — Bemaldez, Reyes Catd-
licos, MS. cap. 43. — Llorcnte, Hist, de rinqui&ition, torn. i. pp. 143-145.
— Much discrepancy exists in the narratives of Pulgar, Bernaldez, and other
contemporary writers, in reference to the era of the establishment of the
modem Inquisition. I have followed Llorente, whose chronological
accuracy, here and elsewhere, rests on the most authentic documents.
-j' Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS. ubi supra. — Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos,
part. 2, cap. 77. — I find no contemporary authority for imputing to cardinal
Mendoza an active agency in the establishment of the Inquisition, as is
claimed for him by later write rs, and especially his kinsman and biographer,
the canon Salazar de Mendoza, (Crdn. del Gran CarJenal, lib, 1, cap. 49.
— Monarquia, tom. i. p. 33G.) The conduct of this eminent minister in
this affair seems, on the contrary-, to have been equally politic and humane.
The imputation of bigotry was not cast upon it until the age when bigotry
was esteemed a virtue.
THE IXQUISITIOX. 309
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 unfavom-able to the Jews."^ In consequence
of this report, the papal provisions were enforced by the
nomination, on the 17th of September, l-iSO, of two Domi-
nican monks as inquisitors, with two other ecclesiastics, the
one as 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 autho-
rities of the city to support the inquisitors by all the aid in
their power. But the new institution, v/hich has since
become the miserable boast of the Castilians, proved so dis-
tasteful to them in its origin, that they refused any co-opera-
tion 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. t
On the 2nd of January, l-iSl, the court commenced ope-
rations by the publication of an edict, followed by several
others, requiring all persor-s to aid in apprehending and
accusing all such as they might know or suspect to be guilty
* In the interim, a caustic publication by a Jew appeared, containing
strictures on the conduct of the administration, and even on the Christian
religion, which was controverted at length by Talavera, afterwards arch-
bishop of Granada. The scandal occasioned by this ill-timed production
undoubtedly contributed to exacerbate the popular odium against the
Israelites.
+ It is worthy of remark, that the famous cortes of Toledo, assembled
but a short time previous to the above-mentioned ordinances, and which
enacted several oppressive laws in relation to the Jews, made no allusion
whatever to the proposed establishment of a tribunal which was to be
armed with such terrific powers.
310 THE INQUISITION.
of lieresy,* and lioUling out the illusory promise of absolu-
tion to such as should confess their errors within a limited
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.!
The presumptive proofs by which the charge of 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, b}^ a law of Henry
the Second, he was prohibited under severe penalties from
giving them Christian names. lie must have found it
* This ordin.incc, in ^Yliich Llorcnte discerns the first regular encroach-
ment of the new tribunal on the civil jurisdiction, was aimed partly at the
Andalusian noLility, who afforded a shelter to the Jewisli fugitives.
Llorente has fallen into the error, more than once, of speaking of the
count of Arcos, and marquis of Cadiz, as separate pci-sons. The possessor
of both titles was Rodrigo Ponce de Leon, wlio inherited the former of
them from his father. The latter (which he afterwards made so illustrious
in the Moorish wars) was conferred on him by Henry IV., being derived
from the city of tliat name, which had been usui*pcd from the crown.
f The historian of Seville quotes the Latin inscription on the portal of
the edifice in which the sittings of the dread tribunal were held. Its con-
cluding apostrophe to the Deity is one that the persecuted might join in as
heartily as their oppressors. " Exurge Domine ; judica causam tuam ;
capitc nobis vulpes." — Zuniga, Annalcs de Scvilla, p. 3o0.
TIIE INQUISITION. 311
difficult to extricate himself from the horns of this dilemma.*
Such are a fe^v of the circumstauccs, some of them purely
accidental iu their nature, others the result of early habit,
%vhich might "well have continued after a sincere conversion
to Christianity, and all of them trivial, on which capital
accusations were to he alleged, and even satisfactorily
established.!
The inquisitors, adopting the wily and tortuous 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 4:th of November in the same year
no less than two hundred and ninety-eight individuals had
been sacrificed in the autos da fe of Seville. Besides
these, the mouldering remains of many, who had been tried
and convicted after their deatli, wei-c 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. "^
* Ordenan9as Realcs, lib. 8, tit. 3, ley 26.
+ Llo rente, Hist, do I'lnquisition, torn. i. pp. 153-159.
X Bernaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 44. — Llorentc, Hist, de I'lnqui-
sition, torn. i. p. 160. — L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 164. — The
Janguage of Bernaldez, as applied to the four statues of the quemadero, " en
que los quemavan," is so equivocal, that it has led to some doubts whether
he meant to assert that the persons to be burnt were enclosed in the
312 THE INQUISITION.
Many of the convicts vrere persons estimaLle for learning
and probity ; and among these three clergymen are named,
together with other individuals filling judicial or high mu-
nicipal 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 adjoui-ning 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
gi'eater number in effigy, and seventeen thousand recon-
ciled ; a term which must not be understood by the reader
to signify anything 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.*
ttatues, or fastened to them. Lloreiite's subsequent examination Las led
him to discard the first homble supposition, which realised the fabled
cruelty of Phalaris, — This monument of fanaticism continued to disgrace
Seville till 1810, when it was removed in order to make room for tlie
consti-uction of a battery against the French.
» L. Marineo, Cosas Memorablcs, fol. 164. — Bemaldez, Reyes Catd-
licos, MS, cap. 44. — Mariana, lib. 24, cap. 17. — Llorente, Hist, do Tln-
quisition, ubi supra. — L. Marineo diffuses the 2,000 capital executions
over several years. He sums up the various severities of the Holy Office
in the following gentle terms. " The church, who is the mother of
mercy, and the fountain of charity, content with the imposition of
penances, generously accords life to many who do not deserve it. Whilst
those who persist obstinately in their errors, after being imprisoned on the
testimony of trustworthy witnesses, she causes to be put to the torture, and
condemned to the fiames ; some miserably perish, bewailing their errors.
THE INQUISITION. 313
The Jews were astounded hy the belt which had failcn
so unexpectedly upon them. Some succeeded in niaking their
escape to Granada, others to France, Germany, or Italy,
where they appealed from the decisions of the Holy Office
to the sovereign pontiff.^ Sixtus the Fourth appears for a
moment to have been touched with something like com-
punction ; for he rebuked the intemperate zeal of the inqui-
sitors, 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 ho
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 same year he expedited two briefs, appointing Thomas
de Torquemada inquisitor-general of Castile and Aragon,
and clothing him with fuU powers to frame a new constitu-
tion for the Holy Office. (Aug. 2, and Oct. 17, 1-183.)
This was the origin of that terrible tribunal, tlio Spanish or
Modern Inquisition, familiar to most readers whether of his-
tory or romance, which for three centuries has extended its
iron sway over the dominions of Spain and Portugal. t
and invoking the name of Christ, while others call upon that of Moses.
Many, again, -who sincerely repent, she, notwithstanding the heinousness
of their transgressions, merely sentences to perpetual irapiisonment ! "
Such were the tender mercies of the Spanish Inquisition.
* Bemaldez states, that guardo were posted at the gates of the city of
Seville, in order to prevent the emigration of the Jewish iahahitants,
which indeed was forbidden under pain of death. The tribunal, however,
had greater terrors for them, and many succeeded in effecting their escape.
— Reyes Catolicos, MS. cap. 44.
+ L. ^larineoj Cosas Memorables, fol. 164. — Zuiiiga, Annales de Se villa,
314 THE INQUI5ITI0X.
Withoat going iuto details respecting the organisation
of its various coui-ts, 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 dui*ing his supremacy.*
Edicts were ordered to be published annually, 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, to lodge information against him before
the Iloly 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.!
p. 396. — Piilgar, Reyes Catdlicos, part. 2, cap. 77. — Garibay, Conipendio,
torn. ii. lib. 18, cap. 17. — Panimo, De Origine Inquisitionis, lib. 2, tit. 2,
cap. 2. — Llorente, Hist, de I'Inqaisition, torn. i. pp. 163-173.
* Over these subordinate tribunals Ferdinand erected a court of super-
vision, with appellate jurisdiction, under the name of Council of the
Supreme, consis'.ing of the grand inquisitor as president, and three other
ecclesiastics, two of them doctoi-s of law. The principal pirrposc of this
new creation was to secure the interest of the crown in the confiscated
property, and to guard against the encroachment of the Inquisition on
secular jurisdiction. The expedition howe%-cr wholly failed, because most
of the questions brought before this court were determined by the principles
of the canon law, of which the grand inquisitor was to be sole interpreter,
the others having only, as it was termed, a " consultative voice." — Llorente,
tom. i. pp. 173, 1/4. — Zurita, Analcs, torn. iv. fol. 324, — Riol, Informc,
apud Semanario Erudito, tom. iii. pp. 156 et seq.
t Puigblanch, Inquisition Unmasked, vol. i. chap. 4. — Llorente, Hist.
THE INQUISITION. 315
The accused, in the meantime, Avhoie mysterious disap-
pearance 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 sup-
port, was kept for some time in ignorance even of the nature
of the charges preferred against him ; and at length, instead
of the original process, was favoured only with extracts
from the depositions of the witnesses, so garbled as to con-
ceal 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 examina-
tion, in his own favour. 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, v^ho thus, instead of
one crime, stood accused of severiil. This, taken in con-
nexion with the concealment of time, place, and circumstance
dc rinquisition, torn. L chap. 6, art. 1 ; chap". 9, art. 1, 2. — The wit-
nesses were questioned in such general terms, that thcv were even kept in
ignorance of the particular matter respecting which they were expected to
testify. Thus, they were asked, " if they knew anything which had been
said or done contrary to the Catholic faith, and the interests of the tribunal."
Their answers often opened a new scent to the judges, and thus, in the
language of Montanu?, " brought more fishes into the inquisitors' holy
anele." See Montanus, Discovery and Playne Declaration of sundry
Suhtill Practices cf tlic Holy Inquisition of Spaync, Eug. trans. (London,
1560,) fol. 11.
316 THE INQUISITION.
in the accusations, created such emharrassment, 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.*
If the prisoner refused to confess his guilt, or, 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 Office,
who has furnished the most authentic report of its transac-
tions, 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 van-
quished.t Should the rack, however, prove ineffectual to
force a confession of his guilt, he was so far from being con-
sidered 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 incompe-
tency to the ends it proposes, he was not uufrequently con-
* Limborcli, Inquisition, book 4, chap. 20. — Moutanus, Inquisition of
Spayne, fol. 6-15. — Llorente, Hist, de I'liiquisition, torn. i. chap. 6, art. 1 ;
chap. 9, art. 4-9. — Puigblanch, Inquisition Unmasked, vol. i. chap. 4.
*f- Llorente, Hist, de rinquisition, torn. i. chap. 9, art. 7. — By a subse-
quent regulation of Philip II., the repetition of torture in the same process
was strictly prohibited to the inquisitors. But they, making use of a
sophism worthy of the arch-fiend himself, contrived to evade tliis law, by
pretending, after each new inflictiou of punishment, that they had only
suspended, and not terminated, the torture.
THE ixQuisiTioy. 317
victcd on the depositions of the witnesses. At the conehi-
siou of his mock trial, the prisoner was again returned to his
dungeon, where, without the bLize of a single faggot 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.*
The proceedings of the tribunal, as I have stated them,
were plainly characterised throughout by the most flagrant
injustice and inhumanity to the accused. Instead of pre-
suming his innocence until his guilt had been established,
it acted on exactly the opposite principle. Instead of
aftording him the protection accorded by every other judi-
cature, 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.! Even the poor forms of
justice recognised in this court might be readily dispensed
* Montanus, Inquisition of Spayne, fol. 24, et seq. — Liaiborch, luquisi-
tion, vol. ii. chap. 29. — Puigblanch, Inquisition Unmaslced, vol. i. chap. 4.
— Llorente, Hist, de I'lnquisition, ubi supra. — I shall spare the reader the
description of the various modes of torture, the rack, fire, and pulley,
practised by the inquisitors, which have been so often detailed in the
doleful narratives of such as have had the fortune to escape with life from
the fangs of the tribunal. If we are to believe Llorente, these barbarities
have not been decreed for a long time. Yet some recent statements rae
at variance with this assertion. Sec, among others, the celebrated adven-
turer Van Halen's " Narrative of his Imprisonment in the Dungeons of the
Inquisition at Madrid, and his Escape in 1817-1818."
! . The prisoner had indeed the right of challenging any witness on the
ground of personal enmity. (Llorente, Hist, de I'lnquisiiion, torn. i. chap. 9,
art. 10.) But as he was kept in ignorance cf the names of the witnesses
318 Tire INQUISITION.
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 within its precincts. The last, and not the least
odious feature of tlie whole, was the connexion established
between the condemnation of the accused and the interests
of his judges ; since the confiscations, which were the
uniform penalties of heresy,* were not permitted to flow
into the royal exchequer, until tliey had first discharged the
expenses, whether in the shape of salaries or otherwise,
incident to the Holy Office.!
The last scene in this dismal tragedy was the act of faith ,
employed against Tiirn, and as even, if he conjectured right, the degree of
enmity competent to set aside testimony -was to he determined hy his
judges, it is evident tliat his privilege of challenge Mas wholly nugatoiy.
* Confiscation had long heen decreed as the punishment of convicted
heretics by the statutes of Castile. (Ordenan^iis Reales, lih. 8, tit. 4.)
The avarice of the present system, however, is exemplified by the fact, that
those who confessed and sought absolution within the brief term of grace
allowedby the inquisitors from the publication of their edict, were liable toarbi-
trary fines ; and those who confessed after that period, escaped with nothing
short of confiscation. — Llorente, Hist, de Tlnquisition, tom. i. pp. 176, 177.
+ Ibid. tom. i. p. 216. — Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 324. — Salazar dc
Jlendoza, Monarquia, tom. i. fol. 337. — It is easy to discern, in everj- part
of the odious scheme of the Inquisition, the contrivance of the monks, a
class of men cut off by their profession from the usual sympathies of social
life, and "who, accustomed to the tyranny of the confessional, aimed at
establishing the same jurisdiction over tlioughts which secular tribunals
Lave wisely confined to actions. Time, instead of softening, gave increased
harshness to the features of the new system. The most humane provisions
•were constantly evaded in practice ; and the toils for ensnaring the virlim
were so ingeniously multiplied, tliat few, very few, were permitted to
escape without some censure. Not more than one person, says Llorente,
in one or perhaps two thousand processes, previous to the time of Pliilip III.
received entire absolution. So that it came to be proverbial that all who
were not roasted, were at least singed.
" Devant I'lnquisition, quand on vicnt a jube',
Si I'on ne sort roti. Ton sort .tu moins fiambe."
THE INQUISITION'. 319
(auto da fo,) the most imposing spectaclo, probalily, wliicli
has been witnessed since the ancient Roman triumph, and
■which, as intimated by a Spanish ■write:', "was intended,
some"what profanely, to represent the terrors of the Day of
Judgment.* The proudest grandees of the hmd, on this
occasion, putting on the sable livery of familiars 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 b}' the royal presence.
It should be stated, however, that neither of these acts of
condescension, or, more properly, humiliation, were wit-
nessed until a period posterior to the present reign. The
effect was further heightened by the concourse of eccle-
siastics in their sacerdotal robes, and the pompous ceremo-
nial which the church of Rome hno\ys so Avell how to
display on fitting occasions, and which vras 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. t
* Montanus, Inquisition of Spavne, fol. 46. — Puigblancli, Inquisition
Unmasked, toI. i. chap. 4. — Every reader of Tacitus and Juvenal will
remember how early the Christians were condemned to endure the penalty
of fire. Perhaps the earliest instance of burning to death for heresy in
modem times occurred under the reign of Robert of France, in the early
part of the eleventh century. (Sismondi, Hist, des Fran9ais, torn. iv.
chap. 4.) Paramo, as usual, finds authority for inquisitorial autos da fe,
where one would least expect it, in the New Testament. Among other
examples, he quotes the remark of James and John, who, when the village
of Samaria refused to admit Christ within its walls, would have called
down fire from heaven to consume its inhabitants. " Lo !" says Paramo,
" fire, the punishment of heretics, for the Samaritans were the heretics of
those times." (De Origine Inquisitionis, lib. 1, tit. 3, cap. 5.) The
worthy father omits to add the impressive rebuke of our Saviour to his
over-zealous disciples. " Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
The son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."
f Puigblanch, vol. i. chap. 4. — The inquisitors, after the celebration of
320 THE IXQUISITIOlN.
The most important actors in the scene were the unfor-
tunate convicts, who were now disgorged for the first time
from the dungeons of the tribunal. They were clad in
coarse woollen garments, styled san-hcnitos, brought close
round the neck, and descending like a frock down to the
knees.* These were of a yellow colour, embroidered with
a scarlet cross, and well garnished with figures of devils and
flames of fire, which, typical of the heretic's destiny here-
after, served to make him more odious in the eyes of the
superstitious multitude.! The greater part of the sufi*erers
were condemned to be reconciled, the manifold meanings of
which soft phrase have been already explained. Those who
were to be rela.xed, as it was called, were delivered over,
as impenitent heretics, to the secular arm, in order to expiate
theii- offence by the most painful of deaths, with the con-
sciousness still more painful, that they were to leave behind
an auto da fe at Guadaloupe in 1485, wishing probably to justify these
bloody executions in the eyes of the people, who bad not yet become
familiar with them, solicited a sign from the Virgin (whose shrine in that
place is noted all over Spain) in testimony of her approbation of the Holy
Office. Their petition was answered by such a profusion of miracles, that
Dr. Francis Sanctius de la Fuente, who acted as scribe on the occasion,
became out of breath, and, after recording sixty, gave up in despair, unable
to keep pace with their marvellous rapidity. — Paramo, De Origine Inqui-
sitionis, lib. 2, tit. 2, cap. 3.
* San henito, according to Llorente, (tom. i. p. 127,) is a corruption of
saco hendito, being the name given to the dresses woni by penitents
previously to the thirteenth century.
+ Llorente, Hist, de I'Inquisition, tom. i. chap. 9, art. 16. — Puig-
blanch, Inquisition Unmasked, vol. i. chap. 4. — Voltaire remarks, (Essai
sur les Mceurs, chap. 140,) that " An Asiatic, arriving at Madrid on the
day of an auto da fe, would doubt whether it were a festival, religious
celebration, sacrifice, or massacre ; — it is all of them. They reproach
Montezuma with sacrificing human captives to the gods. — "What would he
have said, bad he witnessed an auto da fe ?'''
THE INQUISITION. S21
them names bramlcJ with infamy, and families involved in
irretrievable ruin.*
It is remarkable, that a scheme so monstrous as that of
the Inquisition, presenting the most effectual barrier, pro-
bably, that was ever opposed to the progress of knowledge,
should have been revived at the close of the fifteenth cen-
tury, when the light of civilisation was rapidly advancing
over every part of Europe. It Is more remarkable, that it
should have occurred in Spain, at this time under a govern-
ment 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 inno-
cent industrious people for the crime of adhesion to the faith
of their ancestors, where was the charity which led the old
Castilian to reverence valour 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 ?
^Miere the independent spirit which prompted the Castilian
* The government, at least, cannot be cliarged with remissness in pro-
moting this. 1 find t-wo ordinances in the royal collection oi pragmAticaSf
dated in September, 1501, (there must be some error in the date of one
of them,) inhibiting, under pain of confiscation of property, such as had
been reconciled ^ and their children by the mother's side, and grandchildren
by the father's, from holding any office in the privy council, courts of
justice, or in the municipalities, or any other place of trust or honour.
They were also excluded from the vocations of notaries, surgeons, and
apothecaries. (Pragmaticas del Reyno, fol. 5, 6.) This was visiting the
sins of the fathers, to an extent unparalleled in modem legislation. The
sovereigns might find a precedent in a law of Sylla, excluding the childreu
of the proscribed Romans from political honours, thus indignantly noticed
by Sallust : " Quin solus omnium, post memoriam hominum, supplicia in
post futures composuit; quis priv^ injuria quara vita ceria essct.^'' — Hist.
Fragmenta, lib. 1 .
VOL. I. T
322 THE i:;quisition'.
nobles, during the very last reign, to reject with scorn the
pui'posed iuterfereuce of the pope himself in their concerns,
that they were now reduced to how their necks to a few
frantic 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 subse-
quently 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.* 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
leugth a bare and sapless trunk.
Notwithstanding the persecutions under Torquemada were
confined almost wholly to the Jews, his activity was such as
to furnish abundant precedent, in regard to forms of pro-
ceeding, for his successors ; if, indeed, the forms may be
applied to the conduct of trials so summary, that the
tribunal of Toledo alone, under the superintendence of two
inquisitors, disposed of three thousand three hundred and
twenty-seven processes in httle more than a year.f The
• The Aragonese, as we shall see hereafter, made a manly though
ineffectual resistance, from the first, to the introduction of the Inquisition
among them bv Ferdinand. In Castile, its enormous abuses proToked the
spirited interposition of the legislature at the commencement of the follow-
ijQg reign. But it was then too late.
t 1485-6. (Llorente, Hist, de I'lnquisiticn, tom. i. p. 239.) — In
THE INQUISITION*. 323
number of convicts was greatly swelled by the blunders of
the Dominican monks, who acted as qualificators, or in-
terpreters 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, became 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 con-
demned, 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.* In this
enormous sum of human miseiy is not included the mul-
titude of orphans, who, from the confiscation of their
paternal inheritance, were turned over to indigence and
vice.f Many of the reconciled were afterwards sentenced
Seville, with probably no greater apparatus, in 1842, 21,000 processes
•were disposed of. These were the first fruits of the Jewish heresy, when
Torquemada, although an inquisitor, had not the supreme control of tho
tnhunal.
* Llorente afterwards reduces this estimate to 8,800 burnt, 96,504
otherwise punished ; the diocese of Cuen^a being comprehended in that
of Murcia. (Tom. iv. p. 252.) Zurita says, that, by 1520, the Inquisi-
tion of Seville had sentenced more than 4,000 persons to be burnt, and
30,000 to other punishments. Another author, whom he quotes, carries
up the estimate of the total condemned by this single tribunal, within the
same term of time, to 100,000. — Anales, torn. iv. fol. 324.
+ By an article of the primitive instructions, the inquisitors were
required to set apart a small portion of the confiscated estates for the
education and Christian nurture of minors, children of the condemned.
y2
324 THE INQUISITION.
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 faggot !"*
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 tem-
poral 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 ! t
The Roman see, durino; all this time, conductino^ itself
Llorente says, that, in the immense number of processes which he had
occasion to consult, he met with no instance of their attention to the fate
of these unfortunate orphans ! — Hist, de I'lnquisition, tom. i. chap. 8.
* Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 44. — Torquemada waged war upon free-
dom of thought in every form. In 1490 he caused several Hebrew
bibles to be publicly burnt, and, some time after, more than 6,000
volumes of Oriental learning, on the imputation of Judaism, sorcery, or
heresy, at the autos da fe of Salamanca, the very nursery of science,
(Llorente, Hist, de Tlnquisition, tom. i. chap. 8, art. 5.) This may
remind one of the similar sentence passed by Lope de Barrientos, another
Dominican, about fifty years before, upon the books of the Marquis of
Villena. Fortunately for the dawning literature of Spain, Isabella did
not, as was done by her successors, commit the censoi-ship of the press to
the judges of the Holy Office, notwithstanding such occasional assumption
of power by the grand inquisitor.
f Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, part. 2, cap. 77. — L. Mariueo, Cosaa
Mcmorables, fol. 164. — The prodigious desolation of the land may be
inferred from the estimates, although somewhat discordant, of deserted
houses in Andalusia. Garibay (Compendio, lib. ] 8, cap. 1 7,) puts these
at three, Pulgar (Reyes Catdlicos, part. 2, cap. 77,) at four, L. Marineo
(Cosas Memoi-ables, fol. 164,) as high as five thousand.
THE INQUISITIOX. 325
^vitli it3 usual duplicity, contrived to make a gainful traffic
by the sale of dispensations from the penalties incurred bj
such as fell under the ban of the Inquisition, provided thev
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 rigour 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 pontiff ; 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.*
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
c[uietly in his bed. Yet he lived in such constant apprehen-
siou 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 neutralising poisons ;
while, for the more complete protection of his person, he
was allowed an escort of fifty horse and two hundred foot in
liis progresses through the kingdom.!
This man's zeal was of such an extravagant character,
tliat 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
♦ Llorente, Hist, de i'lnq. torn. i. chap. 7. art. 8 ; chap. 8, ait. 6.
f Nic. Antonio, Bibl. Vetus, torn. ii. p. 340. — Llorente, Hist, de
I'Inq. torn. i. chap. 8. art. 6.
326 THE INQUISITICN.
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,* it not only excuses, but
enjoins the commission of the 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.
Don Juan Antonio Llorente is the only ^T^ite^ -who has succeeded in
completely lifting the veil from the dread mysteries of the Inquisition. It
is obvious how very few could be competent to this task, since the proceed-
ings of the Holy Office were shrouded in such impenetmble secrecy, that
even the prisoners who were arraigned before it, as has been already stated,
were kept in ignorance of their own processes. Even such of its func-
tionaries as have at different times pretended to give its transactions to the
world, have confined themselves to an historical outline, wiih meagre
notices of such parts of its internal discipline as might be safely disclosed
to the public.
Llorente was secretary to the tribunal of Madrid from 1790 to 1792.
His official station consequently afforded him every facility for an acquaint-
ance with the most recondite affairs of the Inquisition ; and, on its sup-
pression at the close of 1808, he devoted several years to a careful investi-
gation of the registers of the tribunals both of the capital and the pro-
vinces, as well as of such other original documents contained within their
archives as had not hitherto been opened to the light of day. In the pro-
gress of his work he has anatomised the most odious features of the ineti-
tution with unsparing severity ; and his reflections are warmed with a
* " Per la fe — il tut to lice." Gerusalcmmc Liberata, cant. 4
stanza 26.
THE INQUISITION-, 327
generous and enlightened spirit, certainlv not to have been expected in an
ex-inquisitor. The arrangement of his immense mass of materials is
indeed somewhat faulty, and the work might be re-cast in a more popular
form, especially by means of a copious retrenchment. With all its sub-
ordinate defects, however, it is entitled to the credit of being the most
indeed the only, authentic history of the Modem Inquisition ; exhibiting
its minutest forms of practice, and the insidious policy by -which they were
directed, from the origin of the institution down to its temporary abolition.
It well deserves to be studied, as the record of the most humiliating
triumph which fanaticism has ever been able to obtain over human reason,
and that too during the most civilised periods, and in the most civilised por-
tion of the world. The persecutions endured by the unfortunate author of
the work, prove that the tmbers of this fanaticism may be rekindled too
easily, even in the present century.
328
CHAPTEE Till.
REVIEW OF THE POLITICAL AND INTELLECTUAL CONDITION OF THE
SPANISH ARABS PREVIOUS TO THE WAR OF GRANADA.
Conquest of Spain by the Arabs. — Cordovan Empire. — High Civilisation
and Prosperity. — Its Dismemberment. — Kingdom of Granada. —
Luxurious and Chivalrous Character. — Literature of the Spanish
Arabs. — Progress in Science. — Historical Merits. — Useful Disco-
veries.— Poetry and Romance. — Influence on the Spaniards.
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
Castihan 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 influ-
ence 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 civilisation than in any other part of the
world.*
It is not necessary to dwell upon the causes of the bril-
liant successes of Mahometanism at its outset, — the dexterity
with which, unlike all other religions, it was raised upon,
not against, the principles and prejudices of preceding sects;
the military spirit and discipline which it established among
all classes, so that the multifarious nations who embraced
* See Introduction, Section I. note 2, of this History,
THE SPANISH ARABS. 329
it assumed the appearance of one vast well-ordered camp ; *
the union of ecclesiastical with civil authority intrusted to
the caliphs, which enabled them to control opinions as ab-
solutely as the Roman pontiffs, in their despotic hour ; t
or lastly, the peculiar adaptation of the doctrines of Mahomet
to the character of the wild tribes among whom they were
preached. J It is sufficient to say, that these latter, within
* The Koran, in addition to the repeated assurances of Paradise to the
martjT who falls in battle, contains the regulations of a precise military
code. Military service in some shape or other is exacted from all. The
terms to be prescribed to the enemy and the vanquished, the division cf
the spoil, the seasons of lawful truce, the conditions on ■which the com-
paratively small number of exempts are permitted to remain at home, are
accurately defined. (Sale's Koran, chap. 2, 8, 9, et alibi.) When the
algihedf or Mahometan Crusade, which in its general design and immu-
nities bore a close resemblance to the Christian, was preached in the
mosque, every true believer was bound to repair to the standard of his
chief. " The holy war," says one of the early Saracen generals, "is the
ladder of Paradise, The Apostle of God styled himself the son of the
sword. He loved the repose in the shadow of banners and on the field of
battle."
+ The successors, caliphs or vicars, as they were styled, of Mahomet,
represented both his spiritual and temporal authority. Their office involved
almost equally ecclesiastical and military functions. It was their duty to
lead the army in battle, and on the pilgrimage to Mecca. They were to
preach a sermon, and offer up public prayers in the mosques every Friday.
Many of their prerogatives resemble those assumed anciently by the popes.
They conferred investitures on the Moslem princes by the symbol of a ring,
a sword, or a standard. They complimented them with the titles of
" defender of the faith," " column of religion," and the like. The proudest
potentate held the bridle of their mules, and paid his homage by touching
their threshold with his forehead. The authority of the caliphs was in this
manner founded on opinion no less than on power ; and their ordinances,
however frivolous or iniquitous in themselves, being enforced, as it were,
by a divine sanction, became laws which it was sacrilege to disobey. See
D'Herbelot, Biblioth^que Orientale, (La Have, 1777-9) voce Ehalifafc.
J The character of the Arabs, before the introduction of Islam like that
of most rude nations, is to be gathered from their national songs and
330 THE SPANISH ARABS.
a century after the coming of their apostle, having suc-
ceeded in establishing their reli^on over vast reojions 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.
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 con-
temporary 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.* The fatal battle which terminated with the
romances. The poems suspended at Mecca, familiar to us in the elegant
version of Sir William Jones, and still more the recent translation of
" Antar," a composition indeed of the age of Al Raschid, but wholly
devoted to the primitive Bedouins, present us vrith a lively picture of their
peculiar habits, ■which, notwithstanding the influence of a temporary civili-
sation, may be thought to bear great resemblance to those of their
descendants at the present day.
* Startling as it may be, there is scarcely a vestige of any of the par-
ticulars, circumstantially narrated by the national historians (Mariana,
Zurita, Abarca, Moret, &c.) as the immediate causes of the subversion of
Spain, to be found in the chronicles of the period. No intimation of the
persecution, or of the treason, of the two sons of Witiza is to be met with
in any Spanish writer, as far as I know, until nearly two centuries after the
conquest ; none earlier than this, of the defection of Archbishop Oppas,
during the fatal conflict near Xerez ; and none, of the tragical amours of
Roderic and the revenge of Count Julian, before the writers of the thir-
teenth century. Nothing indeed can be more jejune than the original nar-
ratives of the invasion. The continuation of the Chronicon del Bicla-
rense, and the Chronicon de Isidore Pacense or de Bcja, which are con-
tained in the voluminous collection of Florez, (Espaiia Sagrada, tom. vi.
and viii.) aflford the only histories contemporary with the event. Conde it
mistaken in his assertion (Dominacion de los Arabes, Prol. p. vii.) that the
work of Isidore de Beja was the only narrative written during that period.
Spain had not the pen of a Bede or an Eginhart to describe the memorable
THE SPANISH ARABS. 331
slaughter of King Roderic and the flower of his nobihtv,
was fought in the summer of 711, on a plain washed by the
Guadalete near Xerez, about two leagues distant from
Cadiz.* 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
catastrophe. But the few and meagre touches of contemporary chroniclers
have left ample scope for conjectural hiitorr, which haa been most indus-
triously improved.
The reports, according to Conde, (Dominacion de los Arabes, torn i
p. 36,) greedily circulated among the Saracens, of the majnificence and
general prosperity of the Gothic monarchy, may suflSciently account for its
invasion by an enemy flushed with uninterrupted conquests, and whose
fanatical ambition was well illustrated by one of their own generals, who
on reaching the western extremity of Africa, plunged his horse into the
Atlantic, and sighed for other shores on which to plant the banners of
Islam. — See Cardonne, Histoire de TAfrique et de I'Espagne sous la
Domination des Arabes, (Paris, 1765,) tom. i. p. 37.
* The laborious diligence of Masdeu may be thought to have settled the
epoch, about which so much learned dust has been raised. The fourteenth
volume of his " Historia Critica de Espana y de la Cultura Espanola "
(Madrid, 1783-1805,) contains an accurate table, by which the minutest
dates of the Mahometan lunar year are adjusted by those of the Christian
era. The fall of Roderic on the field of battle is attested by both the
domestic chroniclers of that period, as well as by the Saracens. (Incerti
Auctoris Additio ad Joannem Biclarensem, apud Florez, Espana Sagrada,
tom. vi. p. 430. — Isidori Pacensis Episcopi Chronicon, apud Florez, Espana
Sagrada, tom, viii. p. 290.) The tales of the ivory and marble chariot, of
the gallant steed Orelia and magnificent vestments of Roderic discovered
after the fight on the banks of the Guadalete, of his probable escape and
subsequent seclusion among the mountains of Portugal, which have been
thought worthy of Spanish history, have found a much more appropriate
place in their romantic national ballads, as well as in the more elaborate
productions of Scott and Southey.
332 THE SPANISH ARABS.
requisite allowance for the evils necessarily attending sucli
an invasion,* 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 ; t and, in short, they were condemned to no
other legal badge of servitude than the payment of some-
what heavier imposts than those exacted from their
Mahometan brethren. It is true the Christians were
occasionally exposed to sufi'ering from the caprices of
despotism, and, it may be added, of popular fanaticism. J
But, on the whole, their condition may sustain an advan-
tageous comparison with that of any Christian people
* " Whatever curses," says an eyewitness, ■whose meagre diction is
quickened on this occasion into something like sublimity, ** whatever
curses, were denounced by the prophets of old against Jerusalem, whatever
fell upon ancient Babylon, whatever miseries Rome inflicted upon the
glorious company of the martyrs, all these were visited upon the once
happy and prosperous, but now desolated Spain." — Pacensis Chronicon
apud Florez, Espaua Sagrada, tom. viii. p. 292,
f The frequency of this alliance may be inferred from an extraordinary,
though, doubtless, extravagant statement cited by Zurita. The ambassa-
dors of James II. of Aragon, in 1311, represented to the sovereign pontiff,
Clement V., that of the 200,000 souls, which then composed the popula-
tion of Granada, there were not more than 500 of pure Moorish descent.
• — Anales, tom. iv. fol. 314.
+ The famous persecutions of Cordova under the reigns of Abderrahman
II. and his son, which, to judge from the tone of Castilian wiiters, might
vie with those of Nero and Diocletian, are admitted by Morales (Obras,
tom. X. p. 74,) to have occasioned the destruction of only forty individuals.
Most of these unhappy fanatics solicited the crown of martyrdom by an
open violation of the Mahometan laws and usages. The details are given
by Florez in the tenth volume of his collection.
TEE SPANISH ARABS. 333
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 Saracens.*
After the further progress of the Arabs in Europe had
been checked by the memorable defeat at Tours, their
energies, no longer allowed to expand 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 honourable portion of her Arabian annals.
The new government was modelled on the eastern
caliphate. Freedom shows itself under a variety of
forms ; while despotism, at least in the institutions founded
on the Koran, seems to wear but one. The sovereio-n
was the depository of all power, the fountain of honour,
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 tem-
poral supremacy. The country was distributed into six
capitanias, or provinces, each under the administration
of a icali, or governor, with subordinate officers, to whom
was intrusted a more immediate jurisdiction over the
cities. The immense authority and pretensions of these
petty satraps became a fruitful source of rebellion in later
* Bleda, Cordnica de los Moros de Espana, (Valencia, 1^18,) lib. 2,
cap. 16, 17. — Cardonne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, torn. i. pp. 83 et
eeq. 179. — Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, Prdl. p. vii. and torn. i. pp.
29-o4j 75, 87. — Morales, Obras, torn. vi. pp. 407-417 ; torn. vii. pp. 262-
264. — Florez, Espana Sagrada, tona. x. pp. 237-270. — Fuero Juzgo, Int.
p. 40.
334 THE SPANISH ARABS.
times. The caliph administered the government with the
advice of his mexuar, or council of state, composed of
his principal cadis and hagihs, 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 fi'om among his numerous progeny ;
and this adoption was immediately ratified by an oath of alle-
giance to the heir apparent from the principal officers of state.*
The princes of the blood, instead of being condemned, 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 which embrace a period
of two centuries and a half, their peaceful deaths, and
imbroken line of succession in the same family for so many
years, show that their authority must have been founded in
the afi'ections 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
* Conde, Dominacion de los Arabts, part. 2, ciip. 1-46.
THE SPANISH ARABS. 335
their relics to the tomb, ^here the ceremony was coucluded
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.f
The Spanish caliphs supported a large mihtary force,
frequently keeping two or three armies in the field at the
same time. The flower of these forces was a body oruard,
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 cahphs and
the Barbary pirates required them also to maintain a
respectable wox^, which was fitted out from the numerous
dock-yards that lined the coast from Cadiz to Tarragona.
The munificence of the Omeyades was most ostentatiously
displayed in their public edifices, palaces, mosques, hospitals,
and in the construction 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 embel-
lishment 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 favourite residence of the Arabs, who loved
to surround their houses, even in the cities, with groves and
* Diodorus Siculus, noticing a similar usage at the funerals of tte
Egyptian kings, remarks on the disinterested and honest nature of the
homage, when the object of it is beyond the reach of flatterv. — Died. I.
70 et seq.
•f" Conde, Dominacion, ubi supra. — Masdeu, Historia Critica, torn. xii.
pp. 178, 187.
336 THE SPANISH ARABS.
refresliing 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 pubhc baths, were conducted into the interior of
the edifices, where they difi'used a grateful coolness over the
sleeping apartments of their luxurious inhabitants.!
Without adverting to that magnificent freak of the caliphs,
the construction of the palace of Azahra, of which not a
vestige now remains, we may form a sufficient notion of the
taste and magnificence of this era from the remains of the
far-famed 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 snufi"- 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
* The same taste is noticed at the present day, by a traveller whose
pictures glow vnth the warm colours of the east. *' Aussi des que vous
approchez, en Europe ou en Asie, d'une terra poss^dee par les Musulmans,
vous la reconnaissez de loin au riche et sombre voile de verdure qui flotte
gracieusement sur elle ; — des arbrcs pour s'asseoir a leur ombre, des fon-
taines jaillifsantes pour rever a leur bruit, du silence et des mosqu^es aux
legers minarets, s'elevant a chaque pas du sein d'une tene pieuse," — Lamar-
tine, Voyage en Orient, torn. i. p. 172.
f Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, tom. i. pp. 199,265, 284, 285,
417, 446, 447, et alibi.— Cardonne, Hist. d'-t\fnque et d'Espagne, tom. i.
pp. 227-230 et seq.
THE SPANISH ARABS. 337
Saracens. European critics, however, condemn its most
elaborate beauties as " heavy and barbarous." Its cele-
brated 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 sizo
in their bases and capitals, rudely fashioned after the
Corinthian order.*
But if all this gives a contemptible idea of the taste ol
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 miUions 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 exao-o-eration which dis-
tinguishes 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
* Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, torn. i. pp. 211, 212, 226. —
Swinburne, Travels througb Spain, (London, 1787,) let. 35. — Xerif Aledris,
conocido por El Nubieuse, Descripcion de Espaiia, con Traduccion y Notas
de Conde, (Madrid, 1790,) pp. IGl, 162.— Morales, Obras, torn. x.p. 61.—
Chenier, Recberches Historiques sur les Maures, ct Histoire de TEmpire de
Maroc, (Paris, 1787,) torn. ii.p. 312. — I<aborde, Itineraire, torn, iii. p. 226.
VOL. I, Z
S3S THE SPANISH ARABS.
an age of unlntermitting war and rapine ; from the enor.
mous 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 trans-
portation of goods. They engaged in commerce on their
own account, and drew from mines, which belonged to the
crown, a conspicuous part of their incomes.*
Before the discovery of America, Spain was to the rest
of Europe what her colonies have since 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.f The Arabs, with their usual
activity, penetrated into these arcana of wealth. Abundant
traces of their labours are still to be met with along the
barren ridge of mountains that covers the north of Anda-
lusia ; and the diligent Bowles has enumerated no less than
five thousand of their excavations in the kingdom or district
of Jaen.J
* Conde, Dominacion dc los Arabes, torn. i. pp. 214, 228, 270, Gil. —
Masdeu, Historia Critica, torn. xiii. p. 118. — Cardonne, Hist. d'Afnque et
d'Espagne, torn. i. pp. 338-343. — Casiri quotes from an Arabic historian
the conditions on which Abderrahman I. proffered his alliance to the
Christian princes of Spain, viz. the annual tribute of 10,000 ounces of
gold, 10,000 pounds of silver, 10,000 horses, &c. &c. The absurdity of
this story, inconsiderately repeated by historians, if any argument were
necessary to prove it, becomes sufficiently manifest from the fact, that the
instrument is dated in the 142nd year of the Ilcgira, being a little more
than fifty years after the conquest. See Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana Escu-
rialensis, (Matriti, 1760,) torn. ii. p. 104.
t Hist. Nat. lib. 33, cap. 4.
J Introduction a THistoire Naturelle de TEsoagne, traduite par Fla-
Yigny, (Paris, 1776,) p. 411.
THE SPANISH ARABS. o39
But tho best mine of the caliphs was in the industry
and sobriety of their subjects. The Arabian colonies have
been properly classed among the agricultural. Their
acquaintance "with tlie science of husbandry is shown in
their voluminous treatises on the subject, and in the monu-
ments which they have everywhere left of their peculiar
culture. The system of irrigation which has so long fer-
tilised the south of Spain was derived from them. They
introduced into the Peninsula various tropical pjlants 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, imtil within the last half cen-
tury 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 ex-
tensively. The Xubian geographer, in the beginning of
the twelftb 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 Christen-
dom.
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 lat-
ter being, probably, mere huts or cabins, and occupied
by separate families. "Without placing too much re-
liance on any numerical statements, however, we may
z2
340 THE SPANISH ARABS.
give due weight to the inference of an intelligent Trriter,
who remarks that their minute cultivation of the soil, the
cheapness of their labour, 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 necessarily
resorted to for the mere sustenance of hfe.*
Whatever consequence a nation may derive, in its own
age, from physical resources, its intellectual development
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 civilisation 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 Alhakem.
* See a sensible essav by the Abbe Correa da Serra on the husbandry
of the Spanish Arabs, contained in torn. i. of Archives Litt^raires do
I'Europe, (Paiis, 1804.) — Masdeu, Historia Critira, torn. xii. pp. 115, 117,
127, 131. — Condc, Dominacion da los Arabes, torn. i. cap. 44. — Casiri,
Bibliotheca Escurialensis, torn. i. p. 338.
An absurd story has been transcribed from Cardonne, with little hesita-
tion, by almost ever}- succeeding vrriter upon this subject. According to
him, (Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, tom. i. p. 338,) " the banks of the
Guadalquivir were lined with no less than twelve thousand villages and
hamlets." The length of the river, not exceeding three hundred miles,
would scarcely afford room for the same number of farm-houses. Conde's
version of the Arabic passage represents twelve thousand hamlets, farms,
and castles, to have "been scattered over the regions watered by the
Guadalquivir ;" indicating by this indefinite statement nothing more than
the extreme populousness of the province of Andalusia.
I
THE SrAN'ISn ARABS. 341
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 com-
pared 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 confi-
dential offices. He converted his palace into an academy,
making it the famihar 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. Xo 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 distributed,
according to the subjects, in various apartments of his
palace; and which, if we may credit the Arabian historians,
amounted to six hundred thousand volumes.*
* Casiri, Bibliotheca Esourialensis, torn, ii, pp. 38, 202. — Conde, Do-
minacion de los Arabes, part. 2, cap. 88. — This number will appear less
startling if -we consider that it was the ancient usage to make a separate
volume of each book into which a work was divided ; that only one side of
the leaf was usually written on, and that writing always covers much greater
space than printing. The correct grounds on which the estimates of these
ancient libraries are to be formed are exhibited by the learned and ingenious
342 THE SPANISH ARABS.
If all this be thought to savour too much of eastern hyper-
bole, still it cannot be doubted that an amazing number of
writers swarmed over the Peninsula at this period. Casiri's
multifarious catalogue bears ample testimony to the emula-
tion with which not only men, but even women of the
highest rank, devoted themselves to letters; the latter con-
tending 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 pro-
vinces, emulating their master, converted their courts into
academies, and dispensed premiums to poets and philoso-
phers. 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 pubhcly expounded by
professors, whose reputation for wisdom attracted not only
the scholars of Christian Spain, but of France, Italy, Ger-
many, and the British Isles. For this period of brilliant
illumination with the Saracens corresponds precisely with
that of the deepest barbarism of Em-ope ; when a hbrary of
three or four hundred volumes was a magnificent endowment
for the richest monastery; when scarcely a "priest south of
the Thames," in the words of Alfred, "could translate
Latin into his mother tongue ;" when not a single philo-
sopher, 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.*
Balbi, in his recent work, " Essai Statistiquc sur les Bibliotheques de
Vienne." (Yienne, 1835.)
* Storia (lella Letteratura Italiana, (Roma, 1782-97,) torn. iii. p. 231.
— Turner, History of the Anglo-Saxons, (London, 1820,) vol. iiL p. 137.
— Andres DclP Originc, dc' Progress!, c dello Stato Attuale d' Ogni
THE SPANISH ARABS. 343
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 ex-
hibited a wonderful activity of intellect, and an apparatus
for learning (if we are to admit their own statements) un-
rivalled in the best ages of antiquity.
The Mahometan governments of that period rested 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 petty
principalities ; and their magnificent capital of Cordova,
dwindling into a second-rate city, retained no other distinc-
tion 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 accession to the throne was contested by numerous
competitors of the same family ; and a succession of sove-
reicrns, wearins; 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
Letteratura, (Yenezia, 1783,) part. 1, cap. 8, 9. — Casiri, Bibliotlieca Escu-
rialensis, torn. ii. p. 149. — Masdeu, Historia Critica, torn, xiii, pp. 165, 171.
— Conde, Dominacion de los Ai'abes, part. 2, cap. 93. — Among the accom-
plished women of this period, Yaladata, the daughter of the caliph Mahomet,
is celebrated as having frequently carried away the palm of eloquence in
her discussions with the most learned academicians. Others again, with
an intrepidity that might shame the degeneracy of a modem blue, plunged
boldly into the studies of philosophy, history, and jurisprudence.
344 THE SPANISH ARABS.
no discipline could effectually control in an Arab, made
tbem ever ready for revolt. The Moslem states, thus re-
duced 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 centiuies, 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 Xavas de Tolosa. (1212.) But the fortunate issue of
that battle, in which, according to the lying letter of Al-
fonso the Ninth, "one hundred and eighty-five thousand
infidels perished, and only five-and-twenty Spaniards," gave
a permanent ascendancy to the Christian aims. The vigor-
ous 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, the constantly con-
tracting circle of the Moorish dominion had shrunk into the
narrow limits of the province of Granada. Yet on this
comparatively small point of the 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.
The Moorish territory of Granada contained, within a
circuit of about one hundred and eighty leagues, all the
physical resources of a great empire. Its broad valleys
were intersected by 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
THE SPANISH ARABS. oiO
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.* Its population, according to a contemporary, at
the beginning of the fom-teenth century amounted to two
hundred thousand souls ; t and yarious authors agree in
attesting, that, at a later period, it could send forth fifty
thousand warriors from its gates. This statement wiU not
appear exaggerated, if we consider that the native popula-
tion 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 hiUs of the city
was erected the royal fortress or palace of the Alhambra,
which was capable of containing within its circuit forty
thousand men.j The light and elegant architecture of this
edifice, whose magnificent ruins still form the most interest-
ing monument in Spain, for the contemplation of the tra-
veller, shows the gi-eat advancement of the art since the
construction of the celebrated mosque of Cordova. Its
graceful porticos and colonnades, its domes and ceilings
glowing with tints which in that transparent atmo5j)here
have lost nothing of their original brilliancy, its airy haUs 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 luxm-y 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 ghttered like stars through the dark foliage of the
* Garibay, Comp. lib. 39, cap. 3. + Zurita, Anales, lib. 20, cap. 42.
J L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, foL 169.
346 THE SPANISH ARABS.
orauge groves ;" aud the whole is compared to " an
enamelled vase, sparkling with h3'acinths, and emeralds."*
Such arc the florid strains in which the Arabic writers
fondlj descant on the glories of Granada.
At the foot of this fabric of the genii lay the cultivated
nega, 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 fertiUsed 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 Xorth 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 as the fifteenth century. The Genoese
are mentioned as having mercantile establishments in Gra-
nada ; and treaties of commerce were entered into with this
* Conde, Dominacion dc los Arabes, torn. ii,p. 147. — Casiri, Bibliotbcca
Escurialensis, torn, ii, pp. 248 et seq. — Pedraza, Antiguedad y Excelencias
de Granada, (Madrid, 1608,) lib. 1. — Pedraza has collected the various
etymologies of the term Granada, which some writers have traced to the
fact of the city having been the spot where the pomegranate was first
introduced from Africa; others to the large quantity of ^ra/;i in which its
vega abounded ; others again to the resemblance which the city, divided
into two 'hills thickly sprinkled with houses, bore to a half opened pome-
granate. (Lib. 2, cap. 17.) The arms of the citj', which were in part com-
posed of a pomegranate, would seem to favour the derivation of its name
from that of the fruit.
THE SPANISH ARABS. 347
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 trustworthiness," 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."*
The revenue, which was computed at twelve 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 in 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
quantities, and the royal mint was noted for the purity and
elegance of its coin.t
The sovereigns of Granada were for the most part dis-
tinguished by liberal tastes. They freely dispensed their
* Pedraza, Antiguedad de Granada, fol. 101. — Denina, Delle Rivoluzioni
d'ltalia. (Venezia, 1816.) — Capmany y Montplau, jNIemorias Historicas
sobre la Marina, Comercio, y Artes de Barcelona, (Madrid, 1779-92.) torn,
iii, p. 218 ; torn. iv. pp. 67 et seq. — Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, torn.
iii, cap. 26. — The ambassador of the emperor Frederic III, on bis passage
to the court of Lisbon, in the middle of the fifteenth century, contrasts the
superior cultivation as well as general civilisation of Granada at this period
with that of the other countries of Europe through which he had travelled.
— Sismondi, Histoire des Republiques Italiennes du Moyen-Age, (Paris,
1818,) torn. Is. p. 405.
f Casiri, Bibliotheca Escurialensis, tom. ii, pp. 250-258. — The fifth
volume of the royal Spanish Academy of History contains an erudite essay
by Conde on Arabic money, principally with reference to that coined in
Spain; pp. 225-315.
348 THE SPANISH ARABS.
revenues in the protection of letters, the construction of
sumptuous pubHc 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 fHes 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 pei-pe-
tual spectacle. Life Avas 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 civilisation to the level of their Saracen enemies ; and,
while theu' increased consequence secured them from the
contempt with which they had formerly been regarded by
the Mussulmans, the latter, in their tm-n, 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 period, therefore, the
two nations viewed each other wiih more Hberality, 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 inter\-iew
with the king of Granada, in the dominions of the latter.
The two monarchs held their confereoce 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
THE SPANISH ARABS. 349
features of an almost uninterrupted warfare, that was neces-
sarily kept up between the rival nations.*
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 to Granada to settle their
affairs of honour, 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 mag-
nificence of demeanour proper to the Arabian ; and the
latter relaxed his habitual reserve, and, above all, the
jealousy and gi'oss sensuality which characterise the nations
of the East.t
* A specification of a roval donative in that dav mar serve to show the
martial spirit of the age. In one of these, made bv the king of Granada
to the Castilian sovereign, we find twenty noble steeds of the royal stud
reared on the banks of the Xenil, with superb caparisons, and the same
number of scimitars richly garnished with gold and jewels ; and iu another
mixed up with perfumes and cloth of gold, we meet with a litter of tame
lions. (Condc. Dominacion de los Arabes, tom. iii. pp. 163, 183.) This
latter symbol of royalty appears to have been deemed peculiarly appropriate
to the kings of Leon. Ferreras informs us that the ambassadors from
France at the Castilian court, in 1434, were received by John II. with a
full-grown domesticated lion crouching at his feet. (Hist. d'Espagne, tom. vi,
p. 401.) The same taste appears still to exist in Turkey. Dr. Clarke,
in his visit to Constantinople, met with one of these terrific pets, who used
to foUow his master, Hassan Pacha, about like a dog.
t Conde, Dominacion dc los Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 28. — Henriquez del
Castillo (Crdnica, cap. 1 38,) gives an account of an intended duel between
two Castilian nobles, in the presence of the king of Granada, as late as
1470. One of the parties, Doq Alfonso de Aguilar, failing to keep his
350 THE SPANISH ARABS.
Indeed, if avc were to rely on the pictures presented 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 favour, contends openly in her presence
for the prize of valour, mingles with her in the graceful
dance of the Zambra, or sighs away his soul in moonlight
serenades under her balcony.*
engagement, the other rode round the lists in triumph, -with his adversarj-'s
portrait contemptuously fastened to the tail of his horse.
* It must be admitted, that these ballads, as far as facts are concerned,
are too inexact to furnish other than a very slippery foundation for history.
The most beautiful portion perhaps of the Moorish ballads, for example, is
taken up with the feuds of the Abencerrages, in the latter days of Granada.
Yet this family, whose romantic story is still repeated to the traveller amid
the ruins of the Alhambra, is scarcely noticed, as far as I am aware, by con-
temporary writers, foreign or domestic, and would seem to owe its chief
celebrity to the apocryphal version of Gines Perez de Hyta, whose " Mile-
sian tales," according to the severe sentence of Nic. Antonio, "are fit only
to amuse the lazy and the listless." (Bibliotheca Nova, torn. i. p. 536.)
But, although the Spanish ballads are not entitled to the credit of strict
historical documents, they may yet perhaps be received in evidence of the
prevailing character of the social relations of the age ; a remark indeed
predicable of most works of fiction written by authors contemporary with
the events they describe, and more especially so of that popular minstrelsy,
which, emanating from a simple, uncorruptcd class, is less likely to swerve
from truth than more ostentatious v.orks of art. The long cohabitation o
the Saracens with the Christians, (full evidence of which is afforded by
Capmany, Mem. de Barcelona, tom. iv. Apend. No. 1 1 ; who quotes a
document from the public archives of Catalonia, showing the great number
of Saracens residing in Aragon even in the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries, the most flourishing period of the Granadian empire,) had
enabled many of them confessedly to speak and write the Spanish language
with purity and elegance. Some of the gi-accful little songs, which arc
THE SPANISH ARABS. 351
Other circumstances, especially the frescos still extant
on the walls of the Alhambra, may be cited as corroborative
of the conclusions afforded by the romances, implying a lati-
tude in the privileges accorded to the sex, similar to that in
Christian countries, and altogether alien from the genius of
Mahometanism.* The chivalrous character ascribed to the
Spanish Moslems appears, moreover, in perfect 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, valour, courtesy,
prowess, the gifts of poetry and eloquence, and dexterity in
the management of the horse, the sword, lance, and bow."t
still chanted by the peasantry of Spain in their dances to the accompani-
ment of the Castanet, are referred by a competent critic (Conde, de la Poesia
Oriental, MS.) to an Arabian origin. There can be little hazard, therefore,
in imputing much of this peculiar minstrelsy to the Arabians themselves,
the contemporaries, and perhaps the eyewitnesses, of the events they
celebrate.
* Casiri (Bibliotheca Escurialensis, tom. ii. p. 259,) has transcribed a
passage from an Arabian author of the fourteenth century, inveighing
bitterly against the luxury of the Moorish ladies, their gorgeous apparel
and habits of expense, " amounting almost to insanity," in a tone which
may remind one of the similar philippic by his contemporary Dante, against
his fair countn-women of Florence. — Two ordinances of a king of Granada,
cited by Conde in his History, prescribe the separation of the women from
the men in the mosques, and prohibit their attendance on certain festivals,
-without the protection of their husbands or some near relative. — Theii-
feinmes savanfes, as we have seen, were in the habit of conferring freely
with men of letters, and of assisting in person at the academical seances. —
And lastly, the frescos alluded to in the text represent the presence of
females at the tournaments, and the fortunate knight receiving the palm of
victory from their hands.
+ Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, tom. i. p. 340 ; tom. iii, p. 119. —
The reader may compare these essentials of a good Moslem cavalier witi
352 THE SPANISH ARAES.
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, hut occasionally of a
pohshed 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.
The government of Granada was not administered 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 fac-
tions of the seraglio, the soldiery, or the licentious populace
of the capital. The latter, indeed, more volatile than 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 convul-
sion of the capital was felt to its farthest extremities. Still,
however, it held out, almost miraculously, against the Chris-
tian 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 enabhng
Granada to maintain this protracted resistance. Its con-
centrated population furnished such abundant suppHes of
those enumerated by old Froissart of a good and true Christian knight of
his o-wn day : " Le gentil chevalier a toutes ces nobles vcrtus que un
chevalier doit avoir : il fut lie, loyal, amoureux, sage, secret, large, pieux,
hardi, entreprenant, et chevaleurcux."' — Chroniqucs, liv. 2, chap. 118.
THE SPANISH ARABS. 6o6
soldier.3, that its sovereigns could bring into the field an
army of a hundred thousand men.* Many of these were
drawn from the regions of Alpuxarras, whose rugged in-
habitants had not been corrupted by the soft effeminacy of
the plains. The ranks were occasionally recruited, more-
over, 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.! But their strength lay chiefly in their cavalry.
Their spacious vegas afforded an ample field for the display
of their matchless horsemanship ; while the face of the
country, intersected 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 guerilla 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. J Lastly, iu 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 pre-
carious existence l>eyond its natural term.
But, after all, the strength of Granada, like that of Con-
stantinople, lay less in its own resources than in the weakness
* Casiri, on Arabian authority, computes it at 200,000 men, Bibl.
Escurial. tom. i. p. 338.
+ Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, p. 250.
X Mem. de la Acad, de Hist., tom. vi. p. 169. — These ruined fortifica-
tions still thickly stud the border territories of Granada ; and many an
Andalusian mill, along the banks of the Guadayra and Guadalquivir,
retains its battlemented tower, which served for the defence of its inmates
against the forays of the enemy.
VOL. I. A A
354 THE SPANISH ARABS.
of its euemles, 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 Isa-
bella, it may not be amiss to notice the probable influence
exerted by the Spanish Arabs on European civilisation.
Xotwithstandiug the high advances made by the Arabians
in almost every branch of learning, and the liberal import of
certain sayings ascribed to Mahomet, the spirit of his religion
was eminently unfavourable to letters. The Koran, what-
ever be the merit of its literary execution, does not, we be-
lieve, contain a single precept in favour of general science.*
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 stigmatised which preceded the advent of their apostle. t
But, after the nation had reposed from its tumultuous mili-
tary career, the taste for elegant pleasures, which naturally
results from opulence and leisure, began to flow in upon it.
* D'lleibelot, (Bib. Orientale, torn. i. p. 630,) among other authentic
traditions of Mahomet, quotes one as indicating his encouragement of letters,
viz. " That the ink of the doctors and the blood of the martyrs are of
equal price." 31. CElsner (Des Effets de la Religion de Mohammed, Paris,
1810,) has cited several others of the same liberal import. But such
traditions cannot be received in evidence of the original doctrine of the
prophet. They are rejected as apocr\-phal by the Persians and the whole
sect of the Shiites, and are entitled to little weight with a European.
+ "When the caliph Al Mamon encouraged, by his example as well as
patronage, a more enlightened policy, he was accused by the more orthodox
^lussulmans of attempting to subvert the principles of their religion. — Sec
Pococke, Spec. Hist. Arabum, (Oson. 1G50,) p. 166.
THE SPANISH ARABS. 355
It entered upon this new field with all its characteristic
enthusiasm, and seemed ambitious of attaining the same
pre-eminence 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 Omeyades, escaping into
Spain, established there the kingdom of Cordova, and im-
ported 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 civilisation 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.
There were several auspicious circiunstances in the con-
dition of the Spanish Arabs, which distinguished them from
their Mahometan brethren. The temperate cUmate of Spain
"was far more propitious to robustness and elasticity of intel-
lect 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 gener-
ous emulation, like that which glowed in ancient Greece and
modern Italy ; and was infinitely more favourable to the
development 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 impart to them nobler ideas of the indepen-
dence and moral dignity of man than are to be found in the
slaves of eastern despotism.
A A 2
356 THE SPANISH ARABS.
Under these favourable circuiiistances, provisions 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. 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.*
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 observa-
tions, and by the improvement of instruments and the
erection of observatories, of Avhich 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'llerbelot, could
boast of thirteen hundred writers. The treatises on logic
* Andres, Letteratura, part. 1, cap. 8-10. — Casiri, Bibliotheca Escuria-
Icnsis, torn. ii. pp. 71-251, et passim. — I had stated in the early editions,
on the authority of Casiri, that seventy public libraries existed in Spain at
the beginning of the fourteenth century. A sagacious critic, in the Edin-
burgh Review for January, 1839, in a stricture well deserved on this
passage, remarks that after a careful examination of the manuscript in the
Escurial to which Casiri refers for his account, he could find no warrant for
the assertion. It must be confessed to savour rather strongly of the
gigantesque.
THE SPANISH AR.\ES. oOt
and metaphysics amount to one ninth of the sm-viving
treasures of the Escurial ; and, to conclude this summary of
naked details, some of their scholars appear to have entered
upon as various a field of philosophical inquiry as would be
crowded into a modern encyclopaedia.*
The results, it must be confessed, do not appear to have
corresponded with this magnificent apparatus and unrivalled
activity of research. The mind of the Arabians was distin-
guished by the most opposite characteristics, which some-
times, indeed, served to neutrahse each other. An acute
and subtile perception was often clouded by mysticism and
abstraction. They combined a habit of classification and
generaUsation, with a marvellous fondness for detail ; a
vivacious fancy with a patience of apphcation that a German
of our day might envy ; and, while in fiction they launched
boldly into originality, indeed extravagance, they were con-
tent in philosophy to tread servilely in the track of their
ancient masters. They derived their science from versions
of the Greek philosophers ; but as 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 labours.
Hence Aristotle, who taught them to arrange what they
had already acquii-ed, rather than to advance to new dis-
* Casiri mentions one of these universal geniuses, who published no less
than a thousand and fifty treatises on the various topics of Ethics, Historv,
Law, Medicine, &c. — Bibliotheca Esc.urialensis, torn. ii. p. 107. — See also
torn. i. p. 370 ; torn, ii, p. 71 et alibi. — Zimiga, Annales de Sevilla, p. 22.
— D'Herbelot, Bib. Orientaie, voce Tarikh. — Masdeu, Historia Critica,
tom. xiii. pp. 203, 205. — Andres, Letteratura, part. 1, cap. 8.
358 THE SPANISH ARABS.
coverles, became the god of tbeir 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 com-
mentators, and undoubtedly contributed more than any
other individual to establish the authority of Aristotle 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.*
The Saracens gave an entirely new face to pharmacy
and chemistry. They introduced a great variety of salu-
tary medicaments into Europe. The Spanish Arabs, in
particular, are commended by Sprengel above their brethren
for their observations on the practice of medicine. f But
whatever real knowledge they possessed was corrupted by
* Consult the sensible, tbougli perhaps severe, remarks of Degerando
on Arabian science. (Hist, de Philosophic, torn. iv. cap. 24.) — The
reader may also peruse with advantage a disquisition on Arabian meta-
physics in Turner's History of England, vol. iv. pp. 405-449. — Brucker,
Hist. Philosophise, torn. iii. p. 105. — Ludovicus Vives seems to have been
the author of the imputation in the text (Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Vetus,
tom. ii. p. 394.) Averroes translated some of the philosophical works of
Aristotle from the Greek into Arabic ; a Latin version of which trans-
lation was afterwards made. Though D'Herbelot is mistaken (Bib.
Orientalc, art. Iloschd,) in saying that Averroes was the first who translated
Aristotle into Arabic ; as this had been done two centuries before, at least,
by Honain and others in the ninth century, (see Casiri, Bibliotheca Es-
curialensis, tom. i. p. 304,) and Bayle has shown that a Latin version of
the Stagirite was used by the Europeans before the alleged period. — Sci-
art. Averroes.
+ Sprengel, Histoire de la Me'decinc, traduitc par Jourdan, (Pari?
1815,) tom. ii. pp. 263 et seq.
THE SPANISH ARABS. 6o\j
their inyeterate propensity for mystical and occult science.
They too often exhausted both health and fortune in fruit-
less researches after the elixir of life and the philosopher's
stone. Their medical prescriptions ■were regulated by tlio
aspect of the stars. Their physics were debased by magic,
their chemistry degenerated into alchemy, their astronomy
into astrology.
In the fruitful field of history, their success was 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 under free and
beneficent institutions ? Even could they have formed con-
ceptions of these, how would they have dared to express
them ? Hence their histories are too often mere barren
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 the credit
of having wrought any important revolution in intellectual
or moral science, they are commended by a severe critic, as
exhibiting in their writings " the germs of many theories
which have been reproduced as discoveries in later ages,"*
and they silently perfected several of those useful arts which
have had a sensible influence on the happiness and improve-
ment of mankind. Alo-ebra, and the hisfher mathematics,
were taught in their schools, and thence diffused over
Europe. The manufacture of paper, which, since the inven-
tion of printing, has contributed so essentially to the rapid
circulation of knowledge, was derived through them. M. Casiri
* Degcrando, Hist, de Pbilosophie, torn. iv. ubi supra.
360 THE SPANISH ARABS.
Las discovered several manuscripts of cotton paper in the
Escurial as early as 1009, and of linen paper of the date of
1106 ;* the origin of which latter fabric Tiraboschi has
ascribed to an Italian of Trevigi, in the middle of the
fom-teenth century, t 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.^
The influence of the Spanish Arabs, however, is dis-
cernible, not so much in the amount of knowledge, as in
the impulse which they communicated 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 civilisation, but bringing with it
*Bibliotheca Escurialensis, torn. ii.p. 9, — Andres, Letteratura, part. 1,
cap. 10.
+ Letteratura Italiana, torn. v. p. 87.
J The battle of Crecy furnishes the earliest instance on record of the use
of artillery by the European Christians ; although Du Cange, among
several examples which he enumerates, has traced a distinct notice of its
existence as far back as 1338. (Glossarium adScriptores Mediae et Infima;
Latinitatis, Paris, 1739; and Supplement, Paris, 1766 ; voce Bomharda.)
The history of the Spanish Arabs carries it to a much earlier period. It
was employed by the Moorish king of Granada at the siege of Baza, in 1312
and 1325. (Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, torn. iii. cap. 18. — Casiri,
Bibliotheca Escurialensis, torn. ii. p. 7.) It is distinctly noticed in an
Arabian treatise as ancient as 1249 ; and finally, Casiri quotes a passage
from a Spanish author at the close of the eleventh centurj', (whose MS.
according to Nic. Antonio, though familiar to scholars, lies still entombed
in the dust of libraries,) which describes the use of artillery in a naval
engagement of that period between the Moors of Tunis and of Se'vnlle.
— Casiri, Bibliotheca Escurialensis, torn. ii. p. 8. — Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca
Vetus, torn. ii. p. 12.
THE SPANISH ARABS, 3G1
a fertilismg 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 suc-
cessful efforts of later times.
It is comparatively easy to determine the value of the
scientific labours of a people, for truth is the 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 con-
demned as tumid, over-refined, infected with meretricious
ornaments and conceits, and, in short, as every way contra-
vening the principles of good taste. Eew of the critics,
who thus peremptorily condemn, are capable of reading a
line of the original. The merit of poetry, however, consists
80 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
m different countries, even in those of Europe, wliicli
approach the nearest to each other in their principles of
taste, that it would be found difi:cult, if not impossible,
to effect a translation of the most admired specimens of
362 THE SPANISH ARABS.
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 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.
^^^latever 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 in poetry
and eloquence. To poetiy, indeed, especially of the
tender kind, the Spanish Arabs seem to have been as indis-
criminately 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.*
With all this poetic feeling, however, the Arabs never
availed themselves of the treasures of Grecian eloquence
* Petrarch complains in one of his letters from the countn-, that "juris-
consults and divines, nay, his ovm valet, had taken to rhyming ; and he
was afraid the very cattle might hegin to low in verse ; " apud De Sade,
Memoires pour La Vie de Petrarquc, torn. iii. p. 243.
THE SPANISH AKASS. 36S
■which lay open before them. Xot a poet or orator of anv
eminence in that language seems to have been translated
by them.* The temperate tone of Attic composition ap-
peared tame to the fervid conceptions of the East. Neither
did they ventm-e upon what in Europe are considered the
higher walks of the art, the drama and the epic.f None
of their vrriters in prose or verse show much attention to
the development or dissection of character. Their inspira-
tion exhaled in lyi-ical effusions, in elegies, epigrams, and
idyls. They sometimes, moreover, like the Italians, em-
ployed verse as the vehicle of instruction in the grave and
recondite sciences. The general character of their poetry
is bold, florid, impassioned, richly coloured 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, so offensive to
a European, which distinguishes the later productions in the
decay of the empire.
"Whatever be thought of the influence of the Arabic on
European literature in general, there can be no reasonable
doubt that it has been considerable on the Provencale and
the Castihan. In the latter, especially, so far from being
* AndreSj Letteratura, part. 1, cap. 11. — Yet this popular assertion is
contradicted by Reinesius, ■who states, that both Homer and Pindar were
translated into Arabic by the middle of the eighth century. — See Fabricus,
Bibliotheca Graeca, (Hamb. 1712-38,) torn. xii. p. 753.
+ Sir William Jones, Traite sur la Poesie Orientale, sec. 2. — Sismondi
says that Sir W. Jones is mistaken in citing the history of Timour by Ebn
Arabschah, as an Arabic epic. (Litterature du Midi, torn. i. p. 57.) It is
Sismondi who is mistaken, since the English critic states that the Arabs
haye> no heroic poem, and that this poetical prose history is not accountird
such even by the Arabs themselyes.
364 THE SPANISH ARABS.
confined to tlic vocabulaiy, or to external forms of com-
position, it seems to have penetrated deep into its spirit,
and is plainly discernible in that affectation of stateliness
and oriental hyperbole, which characterises 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.*
* It would require much more learning than I am fortified with to enter
into the merits of the question which has heen raised respecting the pro-
bahle influence of the Arabian on the literature of Europe. A. W. Schlegel,
in a work of little bulk, but much value, in refuting with his usual vivacity
the extravagant theory of Andres, has been led to conclusions of an oppo-
site nature, which may be thought perhaps scarcely less extravagant.
(Observations sur la Langue et la Litterature Proven9ales, p. 64.) It must
indeed seem highly improbable that the Saracens, who, during the middle
ages, were so far superior in science and literary culture to the Europeans,
could have resided so long in immediate contact with them, and in those
very countries indeed which gave birth to the most cultivated poetry of
that period, without exerting some perceptible influence upon it. Be this
as it maj', its influence on the Castilian cannot reasonably be disputed.
This has been briefly traced by Conde in an *' Essay on Oriental Poetry,"
Poesia Oriental, whose publication he anticipates in the preface to his
" History of the Spanish Arabs," but which still remains in manuscript.
(The copy I have used is in the Library of Mr. George Ticknor.) He
professes in this work to discern in the earlier Castilian poetry, in the Cid,
the Alexander, in Berceo's the arch-priest of Hita's, and others of similar
antiquity, most of the peculiarities and varieties of Arabian verse ; the
same cadences and number of syllables, the same intermixture of asso-
nances and consonances, the double hemistich and prolonged repetition of
the final rhyme. From the same source he derives much of the earlier
rural minstrelsy of Spain, as well as the measures of its romances and
seguitlillas ; and in the Preface to his History, he has ventured on the bold
assertion, that the Castilian owes so much of its vocabulary to the Arabic,
that it may be almost accounted a dialect of the latter. Conde's criticisms,
however, must be quoted with reserve. His habitual studies had given
him such a keen relish for oriental literature, that he was, in a manner,
denaturalised from his own.
THE SPANISH AR.U3S. 365
A decided effect has been produced on the romantic
literature of Europe hj those tales of fairj 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 mouarchs of
Cordova solacing their leisure hours with listening to their
raids, or novehsts, who sang to them
** Of ladye-love and -war, romance, and kniglitlv worth." *
The same spirit, penetrating into France, stimulated the
more sluggish inventions of the trouvere, and, at a later and
more polished period, called forth the imperishable creations
of the Itahan muse.t
It is unfortunate for the Arabians that their literature
should be locked up in a character and idiom so difficult of
access to European scholars. Their 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 inaccm*acy which, to make use of a pun
of Casiri's, merits the name of perversions rather than
versions of the originals. J How obviously inadequate, then,
* Byron's beautiful line may seem almost a version of Conde's SpaniGli
text, "sucesos de armas y de amores con muy estranos lances y en elegante
estilo." — Dominacion de los Arabes, tom. i. p. 457.
-j- Sismondi, in bis Litte'rature du Midi (tom. i. pp. 267 et seq.), and
more fuUy in his Republiques Italiennes (tom. xvi. pp. 448 et seq.),
derives the jealousy of the sex, the ideas of honour, and the deadly spirit
of revenge, -which distinguished the southern nations of Europe in the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, from the Arabians. Whatever be thought
of the jealousy of the sex, it might liave been supposed that the principles
of honour and the spirit of revenge might, without seeking further, find
abundant precedent in the feudal habits and institutions of our European
ancestors.
J " Quas perversiones potius, quam vei'dones merito dlxeris." — Biblio-
theca Escurialensis, tom. i. p. 266.
OUO THE SPAXISn ARABS.
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 modem Europe, should be a race so degraded ; one
vrhich, during the five centuries that it has been in posses-
sion 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 sub-
jected 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 his native desert as free, and
almost as uncivilised, 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 tor|)or has succeeded to her former intellectual activity.
THE SPANISH ARABS. 3G7
Her cities are emptied of the population with which tliey
teemed in the days of the Saracens. Her climate is
as fair, hut her fields no longer bloom with the same
rich and variegated husbandry. Her most interesting
monuments are those constructed by the Arabs ; and the
traveller, as he wanders amid their desolate, but beautiful
ruins, ponders on the destinies of a people whose very
existence seems now to have been almost as fanciful as the
magical creations in one of their own fairy tales.
Notwithstanding the history of the Arahs is so intimately connected vr.th
that of the Spaniai'ds, that it may he justly said to form the reverse side of
it, and notwithstanding the amplitude of authentic documents iu the
Arabic tongue to be found in the public libraries, the Castilian writers,
even the most eminent, until the latter half of the last century, with an
insensibility which can be imputed to nothing else but a spirit of religious
bigotry, have been content to derive their narratives exclusively from
national authorities. A fire, which occurred in the Escurial in 1671,
having consumed more than three quarters of the magnificent collection of
eastern manuscripts which it contained, the Spanish government, taking
some shame to itself, as it would appear, for its past supineness, caused a
copious catalogue of the surviving volumes, to the number of 1 850, to be
compiled by the learned Casiri ; and the result was his celebrated work,
*' Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana Escurialensis," which appeared in the years
1760-70, and which would reflect credit from the splendour of its typo-
graphical execution on any press of the present day. This work, althougii
censured by some later orientalists as hasty and superficial, must ever be
highly valued as aff'ording the only complete index to the rich repertory of
Arabian manuscripts in the Escurial, and for the ample evidence which it
exhibits of the science and mental culture of the Spanish Arabs. Sevei-al
other native scholars, among whom Andres and Masdeu may be particu-
larly noticed, have made extensive researches into the literary historj- of
this people. Still their political history, so essential to a correct know-
ledge of the Spanish, was comparatively neglected, until Seiior Conde, the
late learned librarian of the Academy, who had given ample evidence of
lus oriental learning in his version and illustrations of the Nubian Geo-
grapher, and a Dissertation on Arabic Coins, published in the fifth volume
of the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of History, compiled his work
368 THE SPANISH ARABS.
entitled " Historia de la Doruinacion de los Arabes en Espaiia." The
first volume appeared in 1820; but unhappily the death of its author,
occurring in the autumn of the same year, prevented the completion of his
design. The two remaining volumes, however, were printed in the course
cf that and the following year from his own manuscripts ; and, although
their comparative meagreness and confused chronology betray the want of
the same paternal hand, they contain much interesting information. The
relation of the conquest of Granada, especially, with which the work con-
cludes, exhibits some important particulars in a totally different point of
view from that in which they had been presented by the principal Spanish
historians.
The first volume, which may be considered as having received the last
touches of its author, embraces a circumstantial narrative of the great
Saracen invasion, of the subsequent condition of Spain under the viceroys,
and of the empire of the Omeyades ; undoubtedly the most splendid
portion of the Arabian annals, but the one, unlackily, which has been
most copiously illustrated in the popular work compiled by Cardonne from
the oriental manuscripts in the Royal Library at Paris; As this author,
however, has followed the Spanish and the latter authorities indiscrimi-
nately, no part of his book can be cited as a genuine Arabic version,
except, indeed, the last sixty pages, comprising the conquest of Granada,
which Cardonne professes in his preface to have drawn exclusively from an
Arabian manuscript. Conde, on the other hand, professes to have adhered
to his originals with such scrupulous fidelity, that " the European reader
may feel that he is perusing an Arabian author ;" and certainly very
strong internal evidence is afforded of the truth of this assertion, in the
peculiar national and religious spirit which pervades the Avork, and in a
certain florid gasconade of style common with the oriental writci-s. It is
this fidelity that constitutes the peculiar value of Conde's narrative. It is
the first time that the Arabians, at least those of Spain, the part of the
nation which reached the highest degree of refinement, have been allowed
to speak for themselves. The history, or rather tissue of histories, em-
bodied in the translation, is certainly conceived in ho very philosophical
spirit, and coutams, as might be expected from an Asiatic pen, little for
the edification of a European reader on subjects of policy and government.
The narrative is, moreover, encumbered with frivolous details and a barren
muster-roll of names and titles, which would better become a genealogical
table than a history. But, with every deduction, it must be allowed to
exhibit a sufficiently clear view of the intricate conflicting relations of the
petty principalities which swarmed over the Peninsula; and to furnish
THE SPANISH ARABS. 369
abundant evidence of a •wide-spread intellectual improvement amid all the
honors of anarchv and a ferocious despotism. The Mork has already been
translated or rather paraphrased into French. The necessity of an English
version will doubtless be in a great degree superseded by the History cf
the Spanish Arabs, preparing for the Cabinet Cyclopaedia by ilr. Southey,
• — a writer vrith. whom few Castilian scholars will be willing to compete,
even on their own ground ; and who is, happily, not exposed to the
national or religious prejudices which can interfere with his reuderiug
perfect justice to his subject.
^•OL 1. fi ^
CHAPTEE IX.
WAR 0? GRANADA. — SURPRISE OF ZAHARA. — CAPTURE OF ALUAMA.
14:S1— US2.
Zahara surprised by the Moors. — Marquis of Cadiz. — His expedition
against Alhama. — Yalour of the citizens. — Desperate Struggle. — Fall
of Alhama. — Consternation of the !Moors. — Vigorous measures of
the Queen.
Xo 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 triimiphant 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 princes, as
the jealousy of two nations, that might 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
SCxHPRISE OF ALH.YMA. 371
their ancient feuds, they mingled with the Moorish cavaUers
in the generous pastimes of chivahy.
Muley Abul Hacen, who succeeded his father in 1466,
was of a very diiferent 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 stiU cherished in
secret the same feelings of animosity against the Christians.
When, in 1476, the Spanish sovereigns required, as the
condition of a renewal of the truce which he solicited, 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
belle the spirit of this Spartan answer.*
At length, towards the close of the year 1-iSl, the storm
which had been so long gathering, burst upon Zahara, a
small fortified town on the frontier of Andalusia, crowning a
lofty eminence, washed at its base by the river Guadalete,
which from its position 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 favour
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
* Cardonne, Hist. d'Afiique et d'Espajne, torn. iii. pp. 467-i69. — ■
Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, torn. iii. c.ip. 32, 34.
372 WAIl OF GRANADA.
the Tvliole line of frontier, and the utmost vigilance was
exerted to detect some vuluerahle point of the enemy, on
^Yhich retaliation might be successfully inflicted. Neither
were the tidings of their o^m 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 think-
ing 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 ! ' '*
It was not long before the desired opportunity for
retaliation presented itself to the Spaniards. One Juan
de Ortega, a captain of escaladores, or scalers, so denomi-
nated from the peculiar service in which they were
employed in besieging cities, who had acquired some repu-
tation imder 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 who had skill enough to ap-
proach it. The fortress, as well as the city of the same
name, which it commanded, was built, Hke many others in
* Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS. cap. 51. — Condc, Dominacion de los
Arabes, torn. iii. cap. 34. — Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, p. 180. — L. Marineo,
Cosas Memorables, fol. 171. — Marmol, Historia del Rebelion y Castigo
de los Moriscos, (Madrid, 1797,) lib. 1, cap. 12.
Lebrija states that the revenues of Granada, at the commencement of
this -war, amounted to a million of gold ducats, and that it kept in pay
7,000 horsemen on its peace establishment, and could send forth 21,000
warriors from its gates. The last of these estimates would not seem to be
exaggerated. — Rerum Gestanim Decades,, ii. lib, 1, cap. 1.
SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. 373
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 all other precautions apparently
superfluous, lulled its defenders into a security like that
which had proved so fatal to Zahara. Albania, 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, to refresh themselves with its
delicious waters, so that Albania became embellished with
all the magnificence of a royal residence. The place was
still further enriched by its being the cUrpot of the pubhc
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.*
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 tra-
versing the most populous portion of the Moorish territory,
or by surmounting a precipitous sierra, or chain of moun-
tains, 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 an enterprise. This nobleman, who had succeeded
* Estrada, PoLlacion de Espafia, torn. ii. pp. 247, 248. — El Nubiense,
Descripcion de Espana, p. 222, nota. — Pulgar, Reves Gatdlicos, p. 181. —
Idannol, Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. 12.
374 VTAR OF GRAXADA.
his father, the count of Arcos, in 1469, as head of the great
house of Ponce de Leon, was at this period about thirty-nine
years of age. Although a younger and illegiiiraate son, he
had been preferred to the succession in consequence of the
extraordinary promise which his early youth exhibited.
When scarcely seventeen years old, he achieved a victory
over the Moors, accompanied with a sigTial display of per-
sonal prowess.* Later 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. He
did not, however, eno-ao-e 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
* Zuiiiga, Annales de Sevilla, pp. 349, 362.
This occurred in the fight of Madrono, when Don Rodn'go stooping to
adjust his buckler, which had been unlaced, was suddenly suiTounded by a
party of Moors. He snatched a sling from one of them, and made such
brisk use of it, that, after disabling several, he succeeded in putting them
to flight; for which feat, says Zuiiiga, the king complimented him with the
title of" the youthful David."
Don Juan, count of Arcos, had no children bom in wedlock, but a
numerous progeny by his concubines. Among these latter was Dona
Leonora Nunez de Pi-ado, the mother of Don Rodrigo. The brilliant and
attractive qualities of this youth so far won the affections of his father, that
the latter obtained the royal sanction (a circumstance not unfrequent in an
age when the laws of descent were verj' unsettled) to bequcnth him his
titles and estates, to the prejudice of more legitimate heirs.
SUIIPRISE OF ALHAMA. 37-5
even' quarter of the province, have been noticed in the
preceding pages. The vigorous administration of Isahella
repressed these disorders, and, after abridging the over-
grown power of the two nobles, effected an apparent (it was
only apparent) reconcihation between them. The fierv
spirit of the marquis of Cadiz, no longer allowed to escape in
domestic broil, urged him to seek distinction in more
honourable 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.
Without hesitation, therefore, he assumed the 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 neighbour-
ing fortresses. With the assistance of these friends he
assembled a force, which, including those who marched
under 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 way 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. Here
the marquis first revealed the real object of the expe-
dition to his soldiers, who, little dreaming of any thing
beyond a mere border inroad, were transported with joy
376 -VVAH OF GRANADA.
at the prospect of the rich booty so nearly within their
grasp. *
The next morning, being the 28th of February, 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 Avas dark and tempestuous, circumstances
which favoured their approach in the same manner as Avitli
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 unob-
served. 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 ineflfectual resistance that could
be opposed by men suddenly roused from slumber. The
city, in the meantime, was alarmed, but it was too late ;
the citadel was taken ; and the outer gates, Avhich opened
into the country, being thrown open, the marquis of Cadiz
entered with trumpet sounding and banner flying, at the
head of his army, and took possession of the fortress, f
After allowing the refreshment necessary to the exhausted
spirits of his soldiers, the marquis resolved to sally forth at
once upon the town, before its inhabitants could muster in
* Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS. cap. 52. — L. Marinco, Cosas !Memo-
rables, fol. 171. — Pulgar computes the marquis's army at 3,000 horse and
4,000 foot. — Reyes Catolicos, p. 181. — Condc, Dominacion de los Arabesj
torn. iii. cap. 34.
+ Lebrija, Rerum Gcstarum Decades, ii. lib. 1, cap. 2. — Carbajal,
Analcs, MS. ano 1482. — Bemaldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS. cap. 52. —
Zurita, Anales, torn, iv. fol. 315. — Cardonne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne,
torn. iii. pp. 252, 253.
SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. 377
siiificient force to oppose him. But the citizens of Alhama,
showing a resokition rather to have been expected from
men trained in a camp than from the 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 theii*
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 alciiydes.
A council of war was then called, in which it 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 coimsel 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 inflamed by
the sight of the rich spoil, which, after 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, nmning along the out-
works contiguous to the buildings of the city, leaped into the
street, and joined their companions there ; while others again
salUed from the gates, now opened for the second time *
* Bemaldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS. ubi supra. — Coude, Dominacion de
los Arabes, cap. 34. — L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 172.
378 "WAR OF GRANADA.
The Moors, imsliakcn by tlie fury of this assault, received
the assailants with Lrisk 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, jjitch, and missiles of every description. But
the weapons of the Moors glanced comparatively harmless
from 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 encix^ics. Still they continued to maintain a stout
resistance, cliecking the progress of the Spaniards by barri-
cades of timber hastily thrown across the streets ; and, as
their intrenchments were forced one after another, they dis-
puted 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 ever^- avenue
was choked up with the bodies of the slain. At length,
however, Spanish valour proved triuniphant 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
fire-arms, 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
SURPKISE OF ALHAMA. 379
tne appetites of the Spaniards Avere not yet stimulated by
that love of carnage v,-hich they afterwards displayed in their
American wars, and which was repugnant to the chivalrous
spirit with which their contests with the Moslems were
usually conducted, we may he justified in regarding it as an
invention of the enemy.*
Alhama was now delivered up to the sack of 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 appurte-
nances of a thriving, luxurious city. In addition to which,
the magazines were found well stored with the more sub-
stantial, and, at the present juncture, more serviceable sup-
plies of grain, oil, and other provisions. Nearly a quarter
of the population is said to have perished in the various con-
flicts of the day ; and the remainder, according to the usage
of the time, became the prize of the victors. xV 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 con-
quest, and achieved with a gallantry and daring unsurpassed
by any other during this memorable war.f
The report of this disaster fell like the knell of their own
doom on the ears of the inhabitants of Granada. It seemed
* Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, uLi sup. — Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos,
. 182, 183. — Mariana, Hist, de Espaiia, torn. ii. pp. 545, 5i6.
* Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, ubi sup. — Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos,
I. 182, 183. — Mariana, Hist, de Espaiia, torn. ii. pp. 545, 546.
+ Bemaldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS. cap. 52. — Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos,
)i sup. — Cardonnc, Hist. d'Afriquc et d'Espagne, torn. iii. p. 254.
pp,
ubi sup.-
380 WAR OF GRANADA.
as if the hand of Providence 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 fulfilment of the
disastrous omens and predictions which ushered in the
capture of Zaliara. The melancholy romance or ballad,
with the burden of Ay dc mi Alhama I " Woe is me,
Alhama I " 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 Ilacen, 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 he prepared to follow
with as powerful levies as he could enforce of the militia of
Granada.*
'■■ " Passeavase el Rcy Moro
Por la ciudad de Granada,
Desde las puertas de Elvii-a
Hasta las de Bivarambla.
Ay de mi Alhama !
" Cartas le fueron venidas
Que Alhama era ganada.
Las cartas echo en el fuego,
Y al nicnsagero matava.
Ay de mi Alhama I
'•' Hombres, niiios y mugercf,
Lloran taa grande pcrdida.
Lloravan todas las damas
Quantas cu Granada avia.
Ay de mi Alhama !
" Por las calks y ventanas
Slucho Into parccia ;
Llora el Rey como femhra,
Qu' es mucho lo que perdia.
Ay de mi Alhama ! "'
SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. 381
The intelligence of the conquest of Alhama diffused
general satisfaction throughout Castile, and was especially
grateful to the sovereigns, who welcomed it as an auspi-
cious 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 accom-
j)anied 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. *
On the 5th of March, the king of Granada appeared
before the walls of Alhama, with an army which amounted
The romance, according to Hyta, (not the best voucher for a fact,) caused
such general lamentation, that it was not allowed to be sung bv the Moors
after the conquest. — (Guerras Civiles de Granada, torn. i. p, 350.) Lord
Byron, as the reader recollects, has done this ballad into English. The
version has the merit of fidelity. It is not his fault if his Muse appears to
little advantage in the plebeian dress of the Moorish minstrel.
* L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 172, — Conde, Dominacion de los
Arabes, torn. iii. cap. 34.— Carbajal, Anales, MS. aiio 1482. — Mariana,
Hist, de Espaua, torn. ii. pp. 545, 546.
382 WAU OF GRANADA.
to three thousand horse and fifty thousand foot. The first
object which encountered his eyes, was the mangled remains
of his unfortunate subjects, which the Christians, who would
have been scandalised by an attempt to give them the rites
of sepulture, had from dread of infection thrown over the
■walls, where they now lay half-devoured 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 occupa-
tion of the place, in repairing the breaches in the fortifica-
tions, and in putting them in a posture of defence. But
the Moorish ranks were filled with the fiower of their
chivalry ; and their immense superiority of numbers enabled
them to make their attacks simultaneously on the most dis-
tant quarters of the town, with such unintermitted vivacity,
that the little garrison, scarcely allowed a moment for
repose, was well-nigh exhausted with fatigue.*
At length, however, Abul Hacen, after the loss 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 valour of its defenders, and he determined to reduce the
place by the more tardy but certain method of blockade.
In this he was favoured by one or two circumstances. Tlie
* Bemaldcz, Reyes Cato'licos, MS. cap. 52. — Bernaldcz swells
the Moslem army to 5,500 horse, and 80,000 foot, but I have preferred
the more moderate and probable estimate of the Arabian authors.
Condc, Dominacion de los Arabcs, torn. iii. cap. 34. — Pulgar, Reyes
Catdlicos, loc. cit.
SURPRISE OF ALIIAMA. 383
town, having but a single ■well within its walls, was almost
wholly indebted for its supplies of water to the river which
Sowed at its base. The Moors, bj dint of great labour,
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 emer-
gency 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," snys a Castihan
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 improvi-
dent waste of the soldiers, who supposed that the city,
after being plundered, was to be razed to the gi'ound and
abandoned.*
xVt 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 baga:age
* Garibay, Compendio, torn. iii. lib. 18, cap. 23. — Pulgar, Reyes
Catoiicos, pp. 183,184.
384 WAR OF GHANADA.
which the marquis's amiy in its rapid march, as has been
ah-eady noticed, had left on the banks of the river, he
returned to Aiiicquera.*
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 cities of Andalusia. In this summons he had
omitted the duke of Medina Sidonia, as one who had good
reason to take umbrage at being excluded from a share in
the original enterprise. Henrique de Guzman, duke of
Medina Sidonia, possessed a degree of power more consider-
able 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 Iluuda, in her own castle of Arcos. He now
showed a similar alacrity in sacrificing all personal jealousy
at the call of patriotism.!
* BernaWcz, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 52.
+ Zufiiga, Annalcs de Sevilla, p. 360. — L. Marinco, Cosas ^lemorablcs,
ful. 24, 172. — Lebrija, Rcnira Gestarum Decades, lib. 1, cap. 3.
SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. obO
No sooner did he learn the perilous condition of his
countrymen in Alhama, than he mustered the whole array
of his household troops and retainers, -svhich, when com-
bined with those of the marquis de Yillena, of the count de
Cabra, and those from 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 forty
thousand foot. The duke of Medina Sidonia, putting him-
self at the head of this powerful body, set forward without
delay on his expedition.
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 extremi-
ties to which the besieged were already reduced, and with-
out waiting for a reply pushed on with the utmost vigour 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.*
The garrison of Alhama viewed with astonishment the
sudden departure of their enemies ; but their wonder was
* Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, pp. 183, 184. — Bemaldez, Reves Catdlicos,
MS. cap. 53. — Feneras, Hist. d'Espagne, torn. vii. p. 572. — Zuiiiga, An-
nales de Sevilla, pp. 392, 393. — Cardonne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne,
torn. iii. p. 257.
VOL. I. C C
386 WAR OF GRANADA.
converted into joy when they beheld the blight arms and
banners of their countrymen gleaming along the declivities
of the mountains. They rushed out with tumultuous trans-
port to receive them, and pour forth their grateful acknow-
ledfyments, wnile the two commanders, embracing each
other in the presence of their united armies, pledged them-
selves 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
haring left in garrison Don Diego Merlo, with a corps of
troops of the hermandad, returned into their own territories.*
King Ferdinand, after receiving the reply of the duke of
Medina Sidonia, had pressed forward his 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 repre-
sented 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 receiving intelligence
* Pulgar, Reres Catdlicos, pp. 183-186. — Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS.
bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 28.
SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. 387
that the siege was raised, he returned to Cordova, where he
was joined bj 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 preg-
nancy in which she was then far advanced.
Here the sovereigns received the imwelcome information,
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 recom-
mended the total evacuation of a place, *' which," they said,
•' was so near the capital that it must be pei'petually 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 experi-
ence of these evils which had led to its abandonment in
former days, when it had been recovered by the Spanish
arms from the Saracens."
Isabella was far from beincf shaken bv these aro-uments.
** Glory," she said, *' was not to be won without danger.
The present war was one of peculiar difficulties and danger,
and these had been well calculated before entering upon it.
The strong and central position of Alhama 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 h<»nour and policy alike forbade them to
adopt a measure which could not fail to damp the ardour
of the nation." The opinion of the queen, thus decisively
expressed, determined the question, and kindled a spark
c c 2
388 WAR OF GRANADA.
of lier own enthusiasm in the breasts of the most
desponding.*
It was settled that the king should march to the relief of
the besieged, taking with him the most ample supplies of
forage and provisions, at the head of a force strong enougli
to compel the retreat of the Moorish monarch. This was
effected without delay ; and Abul Hacen once more break-
ing up his camp on the rumour 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 pre-
pared, with their aid, to dedicate his new conquest to the
service of the cross, with all the formalities of the Romish
church. After the ceremony of purification, the three prin-
cipal 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 by 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
* Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS. cap. 53, 54. — Pulgar states that
Ferdinand took the more southern route of Antequera, where he received
the tidings of the Moorish king's retreat. The discrepancy is of no great
consequence ; but as Bernaldez, whom I have followed, lived in Andalusia,
the theatre of action, he may be supposed to have had more accurate
means of information. — Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, pp. 187, 188.
SURPRISE OF ALHAMA. 389
repugnant to the more civilised usage of later times, not
only bj sweeping away the green, unripened crops, but bv
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.*
Isabella in the meanwhile was engaged in active mea-
sures for prosecuting the -war. She issued orders to the
various cities of Castile and Leon, as far as the borders of
Biscay and Guipuscoa, prescribing the repartimiento , or
subsidy of provisions, and the quota of troops, to be fur-
nished by each district respectively, together with an ade-
quate 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 co-operation 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 Barbary coast. t
* Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS. bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 28, — Bernaldez,
Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 54, 55. — Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decades,
lib. 1, cap, 6, — Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, cap, 34. — Salazar de
Mendoza, Crdn. del Gran Cardenal, pp. 180, 181. — Marmol, Rebelion de
Moriscos, lib. 1, cap, 12,
Duriug this second siege, a body of Moorish knights to the number of
forty, succeeded in scaling the walls of the city in the night, and bad
nearly reached the gates vrith the intention of throwing them open to
their countrymen, when they were overpowered, after a desperate resist-
ance, by the Christians, who acquired a rich booty, as many of them were
persons of rank. There is considerable variation in the authorities, in
regard to the date of Ferdinand's occupation of Alhama, I have been
gmded, aa before, by Bernaldez.
t Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, pp. 188, 189.
390
CHAPTER X.
WAR OF GRANADA. UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT ON LCJA. — DEFEAT IN
THE AXARQUIA.
148:2—1483.
Unsuccessful attempt on Loja. — Revolution in Granada. — Expedition to
the Axarquia. — Military Array. — Moorish preparations. — Bloody Con-
flict among the Mountains. — The Spaniards force a passage. — The
Marquis of Cadiz escapes.
Loja stands not many leagues from Albania, on the
banks of the Xenil, -which rolls its clear current through
a valley luxuriant with vineyards and olive gardens ; 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, *' 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 Alhama, had strengthened
its garrison with three thousand of his choicest troops, under
the command of a skilful and experienced warrior, named
Ali Atar.*
* Estrada, Poblacion de Esp.iua, torn. ii. pp. 242, 243. — Zurita,
Anales, torn. iv. fol. 31 7. — Cardonne, Hist. d'Afirique et d'Espagne,
torn. iii. p. 261.
ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 391
In the meanwhile, the efforts of the Spanish sovereigns to
procure supplies adequate to the undertaking against Loja,
had not been crowned with success. The cities and dis-
tricts, of which the requisitions had been made, had dis-
covered the tardiness usual in such unwieldy bodies ; and
their interest, moreover, was considerably impaired by their
distance from the theatre of action. Ferdinand, on mus-
tering 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 enterprise. Some of his counsellors
would have persuaded him, irom these considerations, to
turn his arms against some weaker and more assailable
point than Loja. But Ferdimind burned with a desire for
distinction in the new war, and suffered his ardour 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 unfavourable prognostics from the dejected
mien of those who bore the royal standard to tlie catlxeJral
of Cordova, in order to receive the benediction of the church
before entering on the expedition.*
Ferdinand, crossing the Xenil at Ecija, arrived again
on its banks before Loja, on the 1st of July. The army
encamped among the hills, whose deep ravines obstructed
communication between its different quarters ; while the
level plains below were intersected by numerous canals,
equally unfavourable to the manoeuvres of the men-at-arms.
The duke of Villa Hermosa, the king's brother, and captain-
general of the hermandad, an officer of large experience,
« Bemaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 58. — Mariana, Hist, de Espana,
torn. ii. pp. 249, 250. — Cardonue, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, torn. iii.
pp. 259, 260.
OyJ WAR OF GRANADA.
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 Castiliau 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.*
A large detachment of the army was ordered to occupy a
lofty eminence, at some distance, called the Heights of
Albohacen, and to fortify it with such few pieces of ord-
nance 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 horae
and a large body of infantry from the places belonging to
his order in Andalusia. Before the intrenchment could be
fully completed, Ali Atar, discerning the importance of this
commanding 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 suffi-
cient distance from the redoubt, a party of Moorish glnetes,
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 per-
ceiving their error, halted from the pursuit, and returned
with as much speed as possible to the defence of their camp.
* L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 173. — Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos,
p. 187. — Zurita, Aaales, toln. iv. fol. 316, 317.
ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 303
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 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 knio-hts
of Castile ; and his death threw a general gloom over the
whole army.*
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 upon 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 beiuo- new
recruits, unaccustomed to the privations of war, and manv
exhausted by a wearisome length of march before joining
* Rades y Andrada, Las Tres Ordenes, fol. 80, 81. — L. ^Nlarineo,
Cosaa Memorables, fol. 173. — Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decades, ii.
lib. 1, cap. 7. — Conde, Doininacion de los Arabes, torn. iii. p. 214, —
Carbajal, Anales, MS. aiio 1482.
394 WAR OF GRANADA.
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.
Orders were accordingly issued to the cavaliers occupying
the Heights of Albohacen to break up their camp, and fall
back on the main body 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 speedily 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.*
At this perilous moment, nothing but Ferdinand's coolness
* Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, pp. 189-191. — Bernaldez, Reyes Catd
licos, MS. ap. 58. — Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, torn, iii, pp. 214
2i7. — Cardonne, Hist. d'Afiique ct d'Espagne, torn. iii. pp. 260, 261.
ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 395
could have saved the army from total destruction. Putting
himself at the head of the royal guard, and accompanied
by a gallant hand of cavaliers, who held honour 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 hand 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, com-
pelling 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 chivalrj"- shed its blood more freely. The constable,
count de Haro, received three wounds in the face. The
duke Medina Cell was unhorsed and brought to the
ground, and saved with diflBculty 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 efi^orts, and finally allowed Ferdinand to draw ofi" the
remnant off his forces without further opposition. The
kins: continued his retreat without haltino;, as far as the
romantic site of the Pena de los Enamorados, about seven
leagues distant from Loja ; and, abandoning all thoughts of
offensive operations for the present, soon after returned to
Cordova. ^luley 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
396 WAR OF GRANADA.
sooner, there would have been few Spaniards left to tell the
tale of the rout of Loja.*
The loss of the Christians must have been very consider-
able, 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 it taught
the nation to entertain greater respect for an enemy, who,
whatever might be his natural strength, must become
formidable when armed with the energy of despair.
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
* Bernaldez, Reves Oatdlicos, MS. cap, 58. — Conde, Dominacion de
los Arabes, torn. iii. pp. 214-217. — Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, ubi supra. —
— Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decades, ii. lib. 1, cap. 7. — The Ptna de los
Enamorados received its name from a tragical iucident in Moorish history.
A Christian slave succeeded in inspiring the daughter of his master, a
wealthy Mussulman of Granada, -with a passion for himself. The two
lovers, after some time, fearful of the detection of their intrigue, resolved
to make their escape into the Spanish territorj'. Before they could effect
their purpose, however, they were hody pursued by the damsel's father at
the head of a party of Moorish horsemen, and overtaken near a precipice
which rises between Archidona and Antequcra. The unfortunate fugitives,
who had scrambled to the summit of the rocks, finding all further escape
impracticable, after tenderly embracing each other, threw themselves
headlong from the dizzy heights, preferring this dreadful death to falling
into the hands of their vindictive pursuers. The spot consecrated as the
scene of this tragic incident has received the name of Roch of the Lovers.
The legend is prettily told by Mariana, (tlist. de Espaiia, tom. ii. pp. 253,
254,) who concludes with the pithy reflection, that "such constancv would
have been truly admirable, had it been shown in defence of the true faith,
rather than in the gratification of lawless appetite."
ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA, 397
old king of Granada had become so deeply enamom-ed of a
Greek slave, that the sultana Zoraya, jealous lest the off-
spring 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
vrith 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 oppres-
sion ; and the number was still further swelled by many of
hioher rank, who had various causes of diso^ust with the
oppressive government of Abul Hacen.* The strong fortress
of the Alhambra, however, remained faithful 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 autho-
rity of his elder son, Abu Abdallah, or Boabdll, as he is
usually called by the Castilian writers. The Spanish sovc-
* Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, torn. iii. pp. 214-217.— Cardonne,
Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, torn. iii. pp. 262, 263. — Marmol, Rebelion
de Moriscos, lib, 1, cap. 12. — Bernaldez states that great umbrage was taken
at the influence Avhich the king of Granada allowed a person of Christian
lineage, named Venegas, to exercise over him, Pulgar hints at the
bloody massacre of the Abencerrages, which, without anj better authority
that I know of, forms the burden of many an ancient ballad, and has lost
nothing of its romantic colouring under the hand of Giue's Perez de Hyta,
398 WAR OF GRANADA.
reigns 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 factious, notwith-
standing 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.*
Xo military operations worthy of notice occurred during
the remainder of the campaign, except occasional caval-
gadas 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 occa-
sions, amounting, according to the testimony of both
Christian and Moorish writers, to twenty, thirty, and even
* Cardonne, Hist. d'Afri^ue et d'Espagne, ubi supra. — Conde, Domi-
nacion de los Arabes, ubi supra.
Boabdil was sumamed " el Chico," the Little, by the Spanish writers, to
distinguish him from an uncle of the same name : aud " el Zogoybi," the
Unfortunate, by the Moors, indicating that he was the last of his race
destined to wear the diadem of Granada. The Arabs, with great feh'city,
frequently select names significant of some quality in the objects they
represent. Examples of this may be readily found in the southern regions
of the Peninsula, where the Moors lingered the longest. The etymology
of Gibraltar, Gebal Tank, Mount of Tank, is well known. Thus,
Algeziras comes from an Arabic word which signifies an island ; Al-
puxan'as comes from a term signifying herbage or pasturage ; Arrecife
from another, signifying causeway or high road, &c. The Aitibic word
tcad stands for river. This, without much violence, has been changed
into guad, aud enters into the names of many of the southern streams ;
for example, Guadalquivir, great river, Guadiana, narrow or little river y
Guadelete, &c. In the same manner the term ^Icdina, J^raiice "city,"
has been retained as a prefix to the names of many of the Spanish towns,
as Medina Cell, Medina del Campo, &c. See Conde's notes to el
Nubiense, Descripcion de Espafia, passim.
ROUT IX THE AXARQUIA. 399
fifty tliousand head of cattle, shows the fruitfulness and
abundant pasturage in the southern regions of the Penin-
sula. The loss afflicted by these terrible forays fell, eventu-
ally, 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 ValladoliJ, for
example, as a royal residence.
On the first of July, while the court was at Cordova,
died Alfonso de Carillo, the factious archbishop of Toledo,
who contributed more than any 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 Men-
doza, cardinal of Spain ; a prelate whose enlarged and
sagacious views gained him deserved ascendancy in the
councils of his sovereigns.*
The importance of their domestic concerns did Lot pre-
* Salazar de Mendoza, Cr6ii. del Gran Cardenal p. 181. — Pulgar,
Claros Varones, tit. 20. — Carbajal, Anales MS. aiio 1483. — AJeson,
Annalesde Navarra, torn. v. p. 11, ed. 1766. — eter Martrr, Opus Epist.
ep. 138.
400 WAR OF GRANADA.
vent 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 often to turn their eyes beyond the borders
of their own 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 neigh-
bouring courts, by means of secret agents whom he
pensioned there. Ferdinand obtained a similar result by
the more honourable expedient of resident embassies ; a
practice which he is said to have introduced,* and which,
while it has greatly facilitated commercial intercourse, has
served to perpetuate friendly relations between different
countries, by accustoming them to settle their differences
by negotiation rather than the sword.
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 empire, was such as to
excite a lively interest throughout Christendom, and espe-
cially 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 ad-
justing 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
pope Sixtus the Fourth, the college of cardinals, and the
* Fred. Marslruir, De Leg. 2, 11. — M. de Wicquefort deiives the word
ambassadeur (anciently in English embassador) from the Spanish word
emliar, " to send." See Rights of Ambassatlors, translated by Digby,
(London, 1740,) book 1, chap. 1.
ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 401
city of Rome ; and certain marks of distinction were con-
ferred 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, in which at a later period he was destined
to act so prominent a part.*
The aflfairs of Navarre at this time were such as to enfrafje
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 Phcebus, whose mother Magdeleine of France held
the reins of government during her son's minority.! The
near relationship of this princess to Louis the Eleventh gave
that monarch an absolute influence in the councils of Xa-
varre. He made use of this to brino- about a marriag-e
between the young king, Francis Phcebus, and Joanna
Beltraneja, Isabella's former competitor for the crown 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
* Sismondi, Republiques Italiennes, torn. si. cap. 88. — Pulsar, Reves
Catolicos, pp. 195-198. — Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol. 218.
f Aleson, Annales de Navarra, lib. 34, cap. 1. — Histoirc du Rovaume
de Navarre, p. 558.
Leonora's son, Gaston de Foix, prince of Viaua, vras slain bv an ac-
cidental -wound from a lance, at a toumer at Lisbon, in 1469. By the
princess Magdeleine, his wife, sister of Louis XL, he left two children,
a son and daughter, each of whom in turn succeeded to the crown of
Navarre. Francis Phoebus ascended the throne on the demise of his
grandmother Leonora, in 1479. He was distinguished by his personal
graces and beauty, and especially by the golden lustre of his hair, from
which, according to Aleson, he derived his cognomen of Pha-bus. As it
was an ancestral name, however, such an etymology may be thought
somewhat fanciful.
VOL. I. D D
402 WAR OF GRANADA.
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 them from
disturbing him in the possession of Roussillon. However this
may be, his intrigues with Portugal were disclosed to Fer-
dinand 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 the Fifth,
to the king of Xavarre. But all negotiations 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.* 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, on the pretext of dis-
parity 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, Isa-
bella transferred her residence to the frontier town of
Logroiio, prepared to resist by arms, if necessary, the
occupation of that country by her insidious and powerful
neighbour. The death of the king of France, which
occurred not long after, fortunately relieved the sovereigns
* Ferdinand and Isabella had at this time four children ; the infant
l)on John, four rears and a half old, but ■who did not live to come to the
succession, and the infantas Isabella, Joanna, and Maria ; the last, bom at
Cordova during the summer of 1482.
ROUT IN THE AXARQCIA. 403
from apprehensions of any immediate annoyance on that
quarter.*
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 commence-
ment 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 experienced great embar-
rassment 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 hermandad, the incessant military operations
of the late campaign, together with the equipment of a navy,
not merely for war, but for maritime discovery, were so
many copious drains of the exchequer.! Under these cir-
* Aleson, Annales de Xavarraj lib. 34, cap. 2 ; lib. 35, cap. 1. —
Histoire du Royaume de Xavarra, pp. 578, 579. — La Clede, Hist, de
Portugal, torn. iii. pp. 438-441. — Pulgar, Reyes Catulicos, p. 199. —
Mariana, Hist, de Espana, torn. ii. p. 551.
t Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decades, ii. lib. 2, cap. 1.
Besides the armada in tlie Mediterranean, a fleet under Pedro de Vera
"was prosecuting a voyage of discovery and conquest to the Canaries, ■which
will be the subject of more particular notice hereafter.
D D 2
'104 WAR OF GRANADA.
cumstances, they obtained from the pope a grant of one
hundred thousand ducats, to be raised out of the ecclesi-
astical 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 mihtary
serv^ice 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.*
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 ammu-
nition and military stores.
An event not unworthy of notice is recorded by Pulgar
as happening about this time. A common soldier, named
John de Corral, contrived, under 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
* Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, p. 199. — Mariana, torn. ii. p. 551. — Colec-
cion de Cedulas y Otros Documentos, (Madrid, 1829,) torn, iii, No. 25.
For this important collection, a few copies of which only were printed
for distribution, at the expense of the Spanish government, I am indebted
to the politeness of Don A. Caldcron de la Barca.
ROUT IX THE AXARQUIA. 405
when the church itself stood ready to sanction any breach of
faith, however glaring, towards heretics and infidels.*
"While the court was detained in the north, tidings were
received of a reverse sustained by the 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 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 de-
serters or renegadoes, were employed by the border chiefs
to reconnoitre the enemy's country, or to guide them in
their marauding expeditions. f The district around Malaga
* Bernaldez, Reyes Catulicos, MS. cap. 58. — Pulgar, Reves Catdlicos,
p. 202.
Juan de Corral imposed on the king of Granada by means of certain
credentials, •which he had obtained from the Spanish sovereigns without any
privity on their part to his fraudulent intentions. The story is told in a
very bUnd manner by Pulgar.
It may not be amiss to mention here a doughty feat performed by
another Castilian envoy, of much higher rank, Don Juan de Vera. This
knight, while conversing with certain Moorish cavaliers in the Alhambra,
■was so much scandalised by the freedom with which one of them treated
the immaculate conception, that he gave the circumcised dog the lie, and
smote him a sharp blow on the head with his sword. Ferdinand, says
Bernaldez, who tells the story, was much gratified with the exploit, and
recompensed the good knight with many honours.
+ The adalid was a guide, or scout, whose business it was to make
himself acquainted with the enemy's countrj', and to guide the invaders
into it. Much dispute has arisen respecting the authority and functions of
this oflBcer. Some writers regard him as an independent leader, or com-
mander ; and the Dictionary of the Academy de6nes the tenn adalid by
these very words. The Siete Partidas, however, explains at length the
peculiar duties of this oflBcer, conformably to the account I have given (Ed.
de la Real Acad.; Madrid, 1807; part. 2, tit. 2, leyes 1-4.) Bernaldez,
Pulgar, and the other chroniclers of the Granadine war, repeatedly notice
406 WAR OF GRANADA.
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 mar-
gin 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 improvided with cavalry.*
The grand master, falling in with the proposition, com-
municated 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 Alonso 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. t
him in this connexion. When he is spoken of as a captain, or leader, as he
sometimes is in these and other ancient records, his authority, I suspect, is
intended to he limited to the persons who aided him in the execution of
his peculiar oflSce. — It was common for the great chiefs, who lived on the
horders, to maintain in their pay a numher of these adalides, to inform
them of the fitting time and place for making a foray. The post, as may
well be believed, was one of great trust and personal hazard.
* Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, p. 203. — L. Mariueo, Cosas Memorables, fol.
173._Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 320.
*t" Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS. bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 36. — Lebrija,
Rerum Gestarum Decades, ii. lib. 2, cap. 2.
The title of adelantado implies in its etymology one preferred or placed
before others. The office is of great antiquity ; some have derived it from
the reign of St. Ferdinai^d in the thirteenth century, but Mendoza proves
its existence at a far earlier period. The adelantado was possessed of very
HOUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 407
In the meanwhile, 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 Alraojia. 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.
On Wednesday, the 19th of March, this gallant little
ai*my marched forth from the gates of Antequera. The
Tan was intrusted to the adelantado Henriquez and Don
Alonso de Aguilar. The centre divisions were led by
the marquis of Cadiz and the count of Cifuentes, and the
rear-gard by the grand master of St. James. The number
of foot, which is uncertain, appears to have been con-
siderably 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
extensive judicial authority in the pro\rince or district in wliicli he presided,
and in war was invested with supreme militarv command. His functions,
however, as well as the territories over which he ruled, have varied at
different periods. An adelantado seems to have been generallv established
over a border province, as Andalusia for example. Marina discusses tho
civil authority of this officer, in his Teoria, torn. iL cap. 23. — See alio
Salazar de Mendoza, Dignidades, lib. 2, cap. 1 5.
408 WAR OF GRANADA.
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 commis-
sions 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, as in
Alhama.*
After travelling with little intermission through the night,
the army entered the winding defiles of the Axarquia, where
their progress was necessarily 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 inacces-
sible 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 this time in
the cit}-- with a numerous and well-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 Yajiant ;" an
Arabic epithet, given him by his countrymen to distinguish
him from his nephew, the ruling king of Granada. To this
• Bernaldez, Reyes Catcjlicos, MS. cap. 60. — Rades y Andrada, Las Trcs
Ordenes, fol. 71. — Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. fol. 320. — Zuiiiga, Annalcs de
Sevilla, fol. 395. — Lcbrija, Rerum Gestarum Decades, ii. lib. 2, cap. 2. —
Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS. bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 36.
ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 409
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 arquebusiers and archers, should turn the enemy's
flank by gaining the heights under which he was defiling.
This last corps was placed under the dh-ection of Reduan
Benegas, a chief of Christian lineage, according to Ber-
naldez, 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.*
The Castihan army in the mean time went forward 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 Hne 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 rear-guard of the
Christians. The Moors spurred on to the assault, but the
well-disciphned chivalry of St. James remained unshaken.
In the fierce stnaggle which ensued, the Andalusians be-
came embarrassed by the narrowness of the ground on
which they were engaged, which afi'orded no scope for the
manoeuvres of cavalry ; while the Moors, trained to the wild
tactics of mountain warfare, went through their usual evolu-
* Conde, Dominaciou de los Arabes, torn. iii. p. 217. — Cai-donne, Hist.
d'Afrique et d' Espagne, torn. iii. pp. 264-267.— BernaiJez, Reyes Ca-
tolicos, MS. cap. 60.
410 "WAR OF GRANADA.
tions, retreating and returning to the charge with a celerity
that sorely distressed 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 oheyed 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.*
In the meanwhile the scattered troops of the advance,
alarmed by the report of the action, gradually 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 routes lay
open for this purpose. 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.
Tliis 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. t
The little army commenced its retrograde movement
* Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, torn. iii. p. 217. — Pulgar, Reyes
Catdlicos, p. 204. — Rades y Andraua, Las Tres Ordcnes, fol. 71, 72.
•f Mariana, Hist, de Espana, torn. ii. pp. 552, 553. — Pulgar, Reyes
Catolicos, p. 205. — Zurita, Analcs, torn. iv. fol. 321.
ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 411
with undiminished spirit. But it was now embarrassed with
the transportation of its plunder, and bj the increasing diffi-
culties of the sierra, which, as thej ascended its sides, was
matted over with impenetrable thickets, and broken up by
formidable ravines or channels, cut deep into the soil bj the
mountain torrents. The Moors were now seen musteriag
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.*
In this extremity no other alternative seemed to remain
than to attempt to regain the route from which they had
departed. As aU 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, said Bernaldez, as if ten
thousand torches were glancing along the mountains. At
length, the whole body, faint with fatigue and huno-er,
reached the borders of a little stream, which flowed throuo-h
o
a valley, whose avenues, as well as the rugged heights by
* Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, p. 205. — Garibav, Compendio, torn. ii.
f. 636.
4V2 WAR OF GRAXADA.
which it was commanded, were ah-eadv occupied by the
enemy, who poured down mingled volleys of shots, 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 dis-
lodged large fragments of rock, which, rolling with tremen-
dous violence down the declivities of the hills, spread fright-
ful desolation through the Christian ranks.*
The dismay occasioned by these scenes, occurring amidst
the darkness of night, and heightened by the shrill war-
cries of the Moors, which rose round 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 pre-eminent 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."!
The marquis of Cadiz, guided by a trusty adahd, and
• Bemaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 60. — Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos,
uVi supra. — Cardonne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, torn, iii. pp. 264-267.
t Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, p. 206.— Rades y Andrada, Las Tres
Ordenes, fol. 71, 72.
ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 413
accompanied by sixty or seventy lances, was fortunate
enough to gain a circuitous route less vigilantly guarded bv
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 valley at
some distance from the scene of action, where he determined
to wait the coming up of his friends, who he confidently
expected would follow on his track.*
But the grand master and his associates, missing this
track in the darkness of the night, or perhaps 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 uniiitermitted shower of
missiles of every description.!
It was not until the following morning that the Cas-
tilians, 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
* Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, loc. cit. — Bernaldez, Rejes Catolicos, MS.
cap. 60.
+ Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, p. 206.
Mr. Irving, in his " Conquest of Granada," states that the scene of
the greatest slaughter in this rout is still known to the inhabitants of the
Axarquia by the name of La Ctmta de la Matanza, or " The Hill of the
Mas.sacre."
41 4r WAR OF GRANADA.
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
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 Ante-
quera ! 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
tlie 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, and Don Alonso de Aguilar, eftectcd their escape
by scaling so perilous a part of the sierra that their pursuers
cared not to follow. The count de Cifuentes was less fortu-
ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 415
nate.* 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 suiTounded by six Moorish
cavaliers, against whom he was defending himself with des-
perate courage, when their leader, Reduan Benegas, struck
with the inequahty of the combat, broke in, exclaiming,
"Hold! this is unworthy of good knights." The assail-
ants 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. f
The marquis of Cadiz had better fortune. After waiting
till dawn for the coming up of his friends, he concluded
that they had extricated themselves by a different route.
He i-esolved to provide for his own safety and that of his
followers ; and, being supplied with a fresh horse, accom-
plished 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
* Oviedo, who devotes one of his dialogues to this nobleman, savs of
him, *^ Fue una de las buenas lanzas de nuestra Espaiia en su tiempo ; y
muy sabio y prudente caballero. Hallose en grandes cargos y negocios de
paz y de guerra." — Quiucuagenas, MS. bat. 1, quino. 1, dial. 36.
+ Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, torn. iii. p. 218. — Zurita, Anales,
tom. iv. fol. 321. — Carbajal, Anales, MS. aiio 1483. — Pulgar, Reyes
Catdlicos, ubi supra. — Bemoldez, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 60. — Cardonne,
Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, torn, iii pp. 266, 267. — The count, according
to Oviedo, remained & long while a prisoner in Granada, until he was
ransomed by the pa^Tnent of several thousand doblas of gold. — Quincua-
genas, MS. bat. i, quino. 1, dial. 36,
416 WAR OF GRANADA.
were cut down bj his side, and a third brother, with a
nephew, fell into the hands of the enemy.*
The amount of slain in the two days' action 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, appear 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 exaggerated.
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 quahty, with thirty
commanders of the military fraternity of St. James. t 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, as to whether they
had fallen in the field, or were stiU wandering in the
wilderness, or were pining away existence in the dungeons
of Malaga and Granada.
Some imputed the failure of the expedition to treachery
in the adalides, some to want of concert among the com-
manders. 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
* Bernaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 60. — Marmol says tliat three
brothers and two nephews of the marquis, whose names he gives, -were all
slain. — Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. 12.
f Zuniga, Annales de Sevilla, fol. 395. — Bernaldez, Reyes Catdlicos,
MS. ubi supra. — Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, p. 206. — Onedo, Quincuagenas,
MS. bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 36. — Marmol, Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. 1,
cap. 12.
ROUT IN THE AXARQUIA. 417
defeat on the Christians. It was, indeed, clearly mu-aculous,
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 bear arms in
defence of the Holy Catholic Faith, acknowledged that they
did not bring with them suitable dispositions, but, with Httle
regard to God's service, were influenced by covetousness and
love of ungodly gain."*
* Reves Catdlicos, MS. cap. 60.
Pulgar has devoted a large space to the unfortunate expedition to the
Axarquia. His intimacy with the principal persons of the court enahled
him, no doubt, to verify most of the particulars which he records. The
curate of Los Palacios, from the proximity of his residence to the theatre
of action, mav be supposed also to have had ample means for obtaining the
requisite information. Yet their several accounts, although not strictly
contradictory, it is not always easy to reconcile with one another. The
narrative of complex military operations are not likely to be simplified
under the hands of monkish bookmen. I have endeavoured to make out
a connected tissue from a comparison of the Moslem -with the Castilian
authorities. But here the meagreness of the Moslem annals compels us to
lament the premature death of Conde. It can hardly be expected, indeed,
that the Moors should have dwelt with much amplification on this humi-
liatins period. But there can be little doubt, that far more copious
memorials of theirs than any now published, exist in the Spanish libraries :
and it were much to be wished, that some oriental scholar would supply
Conde's deficiency by exploring these authentic records of what may be
deemed, as far as Chiistian Spain is concerned the most glorious portion of
her history.
SS
418
CHAPTEE XI.
WAR OF GRANADA.— GENERAL TIEW OF THE POLICY PURSUED IN TUE
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. — Isa-
bella'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 youDg monarcli Abu Abdallah, was probably the
only person in Granada who did not receive with unmingled
satisfaction the tidings of the rout in the Axarquia. He
beheld with secret uneasiness the laurels thus acquired by
the old king his father, or rather by his ambitious uncle
Ei Zagal, whose name now resounded from every quarter as
the successful champion of the Moslems. He saw the ne-
cessity of some dazzling enterprise, if he would maintain an
ascendancy 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 thousand foot, and seven
hundred horse, the flower of Granada's chivalry. He
strengthened his army stiU 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
MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 419
plebeian blood had been permitted to mingle >vitb that of
royalty, by the marriage of his daughter with the young
king Abdallah.
With this gallant array, the Moorish monarch sallied
forth from Granada. As he led the Tray through the avenue
■which still bears the name of the gate of Elvira,* 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 aban-
don, or at least postpone, an enterprise of such ill augury.
* *' Por esa puerte de Elvira
sale muy gran cabalgada :
cudnto del hidalgo moro,
cuanto de la vegua baya.
*****
*• Cuanta pluma y gentileza,
cuinto capellar de grana,
cuanto bayo borceguf,
cuanto raso que se esmalta,
" Cuanto de espuela de oro,
cuanto estribera de plata !
Toda es gente valerosa,
y esperta para batalla.
" En medio de todos ellos
va el rey Chico de Granada,
mirando las damas moras
de las torres del Alhambra.
" La reina mora su madre
de esta manera le babla :
* Ala te guarde, mi bijo,
Maboma vaya en tu guarda.' "
Hvta, Guerras de Granada, torn. i. p. 232.
EE 2
420 WAR OF GRANADA.
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.*
The advance of the party was not conducted so cau-
tiously, but that it reached the ear of Don Diego Fernandez
de Cordova, alcayde cU los donzeles, 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 Baeua, requesting his support. He used
all diligence in repairing the fortifications of the city, which,
although extensive and originally strong, had fallen some-
what 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, t
The Moorish army, after crossing the borders, 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 campiha
of Cordova, as far as the walls of Aguilar ; whence it
returned, glutted with spoil, to lay siege to Lucena about
the21stof Aprih
'^ Condc, Dominacion de los Arabes, torn. iii. cap. 36. — Cardonnc, Hist.
d'Afriquc et d'Espagne, torn. iii. pp. 267-271. — Bcmaldez, Reyes Catolicos,
MS. cap. 60. — Pedraza, Antiguedad de Granada, fol. 10. — Marmol, Rebelion
de Moriscos, lib. 1. cap. 12.
*f- Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, part. 3, cap. 20.
The do7izeles, of which Diego de Cordova was alcayde, or captain, •were
a body of yonng cavaliers, originally brought up as pages in the royal
Lousehold, and organised as a separate corps of the militia. — Salazar de
Mendoza, Dignidades, p. 259. — See also Jlorales, Obras, torn. xiv. p. 80.
MILITARr POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 421
The count of Cabra, in the meanwhile, who had lost no
time in mustering his levies, set forward at the head of a small
but well-appointed force, consisting of both horse and foot,
to the relief of his nephew. He advanced with such celerity
that he had well-nigh surprised the beleaguering armv. 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,
reverberatincr amonor the hills, exao-cjerated their real mao-ni-
tude 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 awaited for the encounter, before they began a
dastardly retreat, and left the battle to the cavah-y. The
latter, composed, as has been said, of the strength of the
Moorish cavaby, 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 All
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
honourable death the melancholy spectacle of his country's
humihation.*
The enemy, disheartened by this loss, soon began to give
ground. But, though hard pressed by the Spaniards, they
retreated in some order, until they reached the borders of
the Xenil, which were thronged with the infantry, vainly
* Conde, Dominacion de los Arabe?, torn. iii. cap. 36. — Abarca, Reyes
de Aragon, torn. ii. fol. 302. — Carbajal, Anales, MS. ano 1483. —
Bemaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 61. — Pulgar, Cronica, cap. 20. — -
Mannol, Rebehon de Moriscos, Hb. 1, cap. 12.
422 WAR OF GRANADA.
attempting a passage across the stream, swollen by excessive
rains to a height much above its ordinary level. The con-
fusion now became universal, horse and foot mingling toge-
ther ; 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 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 royal 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, how-
ever, he was discovered by a common soldier named Martin
Hurtado, who, without recognising his person, instantly at-
tacked him. The prince defended himself with his scimitar,
imtil Hurtado, being joined by two of his countrymen, suc-
ceeded in making him prisoner. The men, overjoyed at
their prize (for Abdallah had revealed his rank, in order to
secure his person from violence,) 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,
afibrds 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 dehcate and courtly hospitality.*
* Garibay, Compcndio, torn. ii. p. G37. — Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, ubi
supra. — Bernaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 61. — Conde, Dominacion
de los Arabes, torn. iii. c^p. 36. — Cardonue, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagnc,
torn. iii. pp. 271-274.
MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 42-3
Nearly the whole of the Moslem cavalry were 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
Christains 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, encirled by
a golden coronet, with a chain of the same metal around
the neck.*
Great was the consteraation occasioned by tlie 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 pri-
soner 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 temper to
waste time in useless lamentation. She was 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
The various details, even to the site of the battle, are told in the usual
confused and contradictory manner by the garrulous chroniclers of the
period. All authorities, however, both Christian and Moorish, agree as to
its general results.
* Mendoza, Dignidades, p. 382. — Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS. bat. 1,
quinc. 4, dial. 9.
42^ WAR OF GRAXADA.
liberation as a despot only could offer, and few despots could
have the authority to enforce.*
King Ferdinand, who was at Vitoria with the queen,
when he received tidings of the victory of 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 of their natural leader, would find it
diflScult 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 sub-
mitted to the queen, who still held her court in the north,
and who decided for the release of Abdallah, as a measure
best reconciling somid policy with generosity to the van-
quished, t
The terms of the treaty, although sufficiently 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 Abdal-
* Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, torn. iii. cap. 2G. — Cardonne,
Hist. d'AfriqUe et d'Espagne, pp. 271-274.
"j- Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, cap. 23. — Marmol, Rebelion de Moriscos,
lib. 1, cap. 12.
Charles V. does not seem to have partaken of his grandfather's delicacy
in regard to an interview with his royal captive, or indeed to any part of
his deportment towards him.
MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 425
lah, 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 terri-
tories, for the purpose of carrying on the war against that
portion of the kingdom which still adhered to his father.
Abdallah moreover boimd himself to appear when summoned
by Ferdinand, and to surrender his own son, witli the
children of his principal nobility, as sureties for his fulfil-
ment of the treaty. Thus did the unhappy prince barter
away his honour and his country's freedom for the posses-
sion of immediate, but most precarious sovereignty ; a
sovereignty which could scarcely be expected to sur-vive the
period when he coidd be useful to the master whose breath
had made him.*
The terms of the treaty being thus definitively settled,
an interview was arranged to take place between the two
monarehs at Cordova. The Castilian courtiers would have
persuaded their master to ofi'er liis hand for Abdallah to
salute, in token of his feudal supremacy ; but Ferdinand
replied, *' Were the king of Granada in his own domi-
nions, 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 de-
monstration of respect. An Arabic interpreter, who acted
* Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, ubi supra, — Conde, Dominacion de los
Arabes, cap. 36.
426 WAR OF GRANADA.
as orator, then expatiated, in florid hyperbole, on the mag-
nanimity and princely qualities of the Spanish king, and
the loyalty and good faith of his own master. But Ferdi-
nand interrupted his eloquence with the assm-ance that " his
panegyric was superfluous, and that he had perfect confi-
dence 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 Anda-
lusian horse to the frontier, and loaded with costly presents
by the Spanish king, and the general contempt of his court.*
Notwithstanding the importance of the results in the war
of Granada, a detail of the successive steps by which they
were achieved would be most tedious and trifliufr. No sieo:e
or single military achievement of great moment occurred
until nearly 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 terri-
tory, 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.
The Moorish wars under preceding monarchs had con-
sisted of little else than cavaJgadas, or inroads into the
enemy's territory,! which, pouring like a torrent over the
land, swept away whatever was upon the surface, but left
it in its essential resources wholly unimpaired. The bounty
* Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, loc. cit. — Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes,
cap. 36.
t The term cavalgada seems to be used indifferently by the ancient
Spanish writers to represent a marauding party, the foray itself, or the
booty taken in it.
MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 427
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 much greater
scale than had ever before been witnessed. 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 favoured region. This merci-
less 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. Sueh and so general was the
scarcity occasioned by this system, that the Moors were glad
to exchange their Christian captives for provisions, imtil
such ransom was interdicted by the sovereigns, as tending
to defeat their own measures.*
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 luxm-ious people, were patient of
* Pulgar, Reyes Catdlicos, cap. 22. — Mem. de la Acad, de Hist,
torn. vi. Ilust. 6.
428 WAR OF GRANADA.
sufiFering, and capable of enduriDg great privation. Other
measures, therefore, of a still more formidable character,
became necessary, in conjunction with this rigorous system
of blockade.
The Moorish towns were for the most part 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 Penin-
sula. They stood along the crest of some precipice, or bold
sien-a, whose natural strength w^as augmented by the solid
masonry with which they were surrounded, and which,
however insuflScient to hold out against modern artillery,
bade defiance to all the enginery of battering warfare
known previously to the fifteenth century. It was this
strenorth of fortification, combined with that of their local
position, which frequently enabled a slender garrison in these
places to laugh to scorn all the efi'orts of the proudest
Castilian armies.
The Spanish sovereigns were convinced that they must
look to their artillery as the only effectual 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 Avere established over the various
departments, with instructions to provide whatever might be
necessary for the operatives ; and the whole was entrusted
to the supervision of Don Francisco Ramirez, an hidalgo of
MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 4-29
Madrid, a, person of much experience, and extensive militarj
science, for the 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.*
Still the clumsy construction of the ordnance 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 market-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 con-
struction which led Machiavelli, some thirty years after,
to doubt the expediency of bringing cannon into field
engagements ; 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, t
The balls thrown from these engines were sometimes 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 hun-
dred 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
* Pulgar, Reyes Cat61icos, cap. 32, 41. — Zurita, Anales, torn. iv. lib. 20,
t&p. 59. — Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decades, ii. lib. 3, c. 5.
.f Machiavelli, Arte della Guerra, lib. 3.
430 WAR OF GRANADA.
before the exact proportions requisite for obtaining the
o-reatest effective force could bo ascertained.*
o
The awkwardness with which their artillery was served
corresponded with the rudeness of its manufacture. It is
noticed as a remarkable circumstance by the chronicler,
that two batteries, at the siege of Albahar, discharged one
hundred and forty balls in the course of a day.t Besides
this more usual kind of ammunition, the Spaniards threw
from their engines large globular masses, composed of
certain inflammable ingredients mixed with gunposvder,
''which, scattering long trains of light," says an eye-wit-
ness, " in their passage through the air, filled the beholders
with dismay, and, descending on the roofs of the edifices,
frequently occasioned extensive conflagration." |
The transportation of their bulky engines was not the
* Mem. de la Acad, de Hist., torn. vi. Ilust. 6.
According to Gibbon, the cannon ur-ed by Mahomet in the siege of
Constantinople, about thirty years before tWs time, threw stone balls
which weighed above 600 pounds. The measure of the bore was twelve
palms. — Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap. 68.
+ Mem. de la Acad, de Hist., tom., vi. Ilust. 6.
We get a more precise notion of the awkwardness with which the
artillery was served in the infancy of the science, from a fact recorded in
the chronicle of John H., that, at the siege of Setenil, in 1407, five
lombards were able to discharge only forty shot in the course of a day.
"We have witnessed an invention in our time, that of our ingenious
countryman Jacob Perkins, by which a gun, with the aid of that miracle-
worker, steam, is enabled to throw a thousand bullets in a single minute.
J L. Marine©, Cosas ^lemorables, fol. 174. — Pulgar, Reyes Cat61ico3
cap. 44.
Some writers, as the Abbd Mignot, (Histoire des Rois Catholiques
Ferdinand et Isabelle; Paris, 1766; tom. i. p. 273,) have referred the
invention of bombs to the siege of Ronda. I find no authority for this.
Pulgar's words are, " They made many iron balls, large and small, some
of which they cast in a mould, having reduced the iron to a state of fusion
60 that it would run like anv other metal."
MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOTEEKIGXS. 431
least of the diflSeulties which the Spaniards had to encounter
in this war. The Moorish fortresses were frequently in-
trenched in the depths of some mountain labyrinth, whose
rugged passes were scarcely accessible to cavalry. An
immense body of pioneers, therefore, was constantly em-
ployed in constructing roads for the artillery across tliese
sierras, by levelling the mountains, filling up the interven-
ing valleys with rocks, or with cork-trees and other timber,
that grew prolific in the wilderness, and throwing bridges
across the torrents and precipitous harrancos. Pulgar had
the curiosity to examine one of the causeways thus con-
structed 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 beHeved prac-
ticable by human indu5tr}%*
The Moorish garrisons, perched on their mountain fast-
nesses, 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 wero
deficient in heavy ordnance. The weapons on which they
chiefly relied for annoying the enemy at a distance were the
arquebus and crossbow, with the last of which they were
unerring marksmen, being trained to it from infancy.
They adopted a custom, rarely met with in civilised nations
* Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, cap, 51. — Bemaldez, Rejes Catolicos, MS.
cap. 82.
432 WAR OF GRANADA.
of any age, of poisoning tlieir arrows ; distilling for this
purpose the juice of aconite, or wolfsbane, Avhieli grew rife
in tlie Sierra Nevada, or Snowy Mountains, near Granada.
A piece of linen or cotton cloth, steeped in this decoction,
was wrapped round the point of the weapon, and the wound
inflicted by it, however trivial its appearance, was sure to be
mortal. Indeed, a Spanish writer, not content with this,
imputes such mahgnity to the virus, that a drop of it, as he
asserts, mingUng with the blood oozing from a wound,
would ascend the stream into the vein, and diffuse its
fatal influence over the whole system.*
Ferdinand, who appeared at the head of his armies
throughout the whole of this war, pursued a sagacious
poHcy in reference to the beleaguered cities. He was ever
ready to meet the first overtures to sun-ender, in the most
liberal spirit : granting protection of persons, and suet
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 theu*
sickle into the new crop of heresy, whose seeds were thus
sown 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 en-
* Mendoza, Gucm de Gmnada, (Valencia, 1776,) pp. 73, 74. — Zurita,
Analcs, torn, ir. lib. 20, cap. 59. — !Mem. do la Acad, de Hist., torn. \i.
p. 168.
According to Mendoza, a decoction of tbc quince furnished the most
effectual antidote known against this poison.
MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOTEREIGNS. 433
gagements during the war, by the punishment of the least
infraction of them by his own people, that many, par-
ticularly 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
rigour which merits the reproach of cruelty. Such was the
military execution inflicted on the rebellious town of Bene-
maquez, 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 favourable effect on his enemies,
who were exasperated rather than intimidated, by this
ferocious act of vengeance.*
The magnitude of the other preparations corresponded
with those for the ordnance department. The amount of
forces assembled at Cordova we find variously stated at ten
or twelve thousand horse, and twenty and even forty thou-
sand foot, exclusive of foragers. On one occasion, tlie
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
* Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, torn. ii. fol. 304. — Lebrija, Renim Gesta-
rum Decades, ii. lib. 4, cap. 2. — Beraaldez, Reves CatolicoSj MS. cap. 76.
— Marmol, Rebelion de Moriseos, lib. 1, cap. 12.
Pulgar, who is by no means bigoted for the age, seems to think the
liberal terms srranted by Ferdinand to the enemies of the faith stand in
need of perpetual apology. — See Reyes Catdlicos, cap. 44 et passim.
VOL. I. F F
434. WAR OF GRANADA.
midst of a desolated couutrj. The queen, who took this
department under her special cognisance, moved along the
frontier, stationing herself at points most contiguous to the
scene of operations. There, hy means of posts regularly
established, she received hourly intelligence of the war. At
the same time she transmitted the requisite munitions to
the troops, by means of convoys sufficiently strong to secure
them against the irruptions of the wily enemy.*
Isabella, solicitous for every thing that concerned the
welfare of her people, sometimes visited the 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
the requisite attendants and medicine, at her own charge.
This is considered the earliest attempt at the formation of a
regular camp hospital, on record. f
Isabella may be regarded as the soul of this war. She
engaged in it with the most exalted ^-iews, less to acquire
territory, than to re-establish 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 inef-
fectual, she left her husband in Aragon, and repaired t(
• Bernaldcz, Reyes Catolicos, MS. cap. 75. — Pulgar, Reyes Caldlicos,
cap. 21, 33, 42. — Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decades, ii. lib. 8, cap. 6. —
Marmol, Rcbelion de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. 13.
+ Mem. de la Acad, de Hist., tora. vi. Ilust. 6.
IIILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 435
Cordova, where she placed the cardinal of Spain at the
head of the army, and prepared to open the campaio-n in
the usual vigorous manner. Here, however, she was soon
joined hj 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 retu-e
earlier than usual, the queen, dissatisfied with the proceed-
ing, addressed a letter to her husband, in which, after
representing the disproportion of the results to the prepara-
tions, she besought him to keep the field as long as the
season should serve. "The grandees," says Lebrija, " mor-
tified 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."*
A circumstance, which had frequently frustrated the most
magnificent military enterprises under former reigns, was
the factions of these potent vassals, who, independent of
each other, and almost of the crown, could rarely be broua'ht
to act in efficient concert for a length of time, and broke up
the camp on the shghtest personal jealousy. Ferdinand
experienced something of this temper in the duke of Medina
Cell, 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
liere to serve him at the head of my household troops, and
they go nowhere without me as their leader." The sove-
reigns managed this fiery spirit with the greatest address,
and, instead of curbing it, endeavoured to direct it in tlie
* Lebrija, Reram Gestarum Decades, ii. lib. 3, cap. 6. — Pulgar, Roves
<-atolicos, cap. 31
FF 2
436 "^VAR OF GRANADA.
path of honourable emulation. The queen, who, as their
hereditary sovereign, received a more deferential homage
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 inten-
tions ; thus cheering the hearts of all, says the chronicler,
and stimulating them to deeds of heroism. On the most
deserving she freely lavished those honours which cost little
to the sovereign, but are most grateful to the subject. The
marquis of Cadiz, who was pre-eminent above every other
captain in this war for sagacity and conduct, was rewarded,
after his brilliant sui-prise of Zahara, with the gift of that
city, and the titles of marquis of Zahara and duke of
Cadiz. The warrior, however, was miwiUing to resign the
ancient title under which he had won his laurels, and ever
after subscribed himself. Marquis Duke of Cadiz.* Still
more emphatic honours 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
lip 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
kinscs should sit with kino-s." These honours were followed
by the more substantial gratuity of a hundred thousand
maravedis annual rent; "a fat donative," says an old
chronicler, " for so lean a treasury." The young alcayde
* After auothcr daring achievement, tbe sovereigns granted him and his
heirs the royal suit worn by the monarchs of Castile on Lady-day ; a pre-
sent, says Abarca, not to be estimated by its cost. — Reyes de Aragon, torn,
ii. fol. 303.
MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 437
de los donzeles experienced a similar reception on the
ensuing day, Such acts of royal condescension were espe-
cially grateful to the nobility of a court, circumscribed
beyond every other in Europe by stately and ceremonious
etiquette.
The duration of the war of Granada was such as to raise
the militia throughout the kingdom nearly to a level with
regular troops. M any of these levies, indeed, at the
breaking out of the war, might pretend to this character.
Such were those furnished by the Andalusian cities, which
had been long accustomed to skirmishes with their Moslem
neighbours. Such, too, was the well-appointed chivalry of
the military orders, and the organised militia of the her-
mandad, which we find sometimes supplying a body of ten
thousand men for the service. To these may be added the
splendid throng of cavahers 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 heavily on
Andalusia, from its contiguity to the scene of action, yet
recruits were drawn in abundance from the most remote
provinces, as Galicia, Biscay, and the Astm-ias, from
Aragou, and even the transmarine dominions of Sicily.
The sovereigns did not disdain to swell their ranks with
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
* Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, ubi supra. — Peter Martyr, Opus Epist. lib.
1, epist. 41. — Bemaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 68. — Zurita, Anales,
torn. iv. cap. 50.
438 WAR OF GRANADA.
of their serving in the Moorish war. Throughout this
motley host the strictest disciphne and decorum were main-
tained. The Spaniards have never been disposed to intem-
perance ; 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.*
The brilliant successes of the Spanish sovereigns 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 mer-
cenaries, 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 abhoiTcd rapine as a great sin."t The Swiss
had recently established their military renown by the dis-
comfiture of Charles the Bold, when they first proved the
superiority of infantry 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 Christendom for more than half a
century.
Among the foreigners was one from the distant isle of
Britain, the Earl of Rivers, or conde de Escalas, as he is
* Pulgar, Reyes Cat^licos, cap, 31, 67, 69. — Lcbrija, Rerum Gestaruu;
Decades, ii. lib. 2, cap. 10. f Reyes Cat61icos, cap. 21.
MILITAia' rOLICT OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 431)
called from his patronymic, Scales, by the Spaiiisli writers.
*' There came from Britain," says Peter Martyr, " a cavalier,
youug, 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 14S6. After having asked
leave to fight after the manner of his country, says the
Andalusian chronicler, he dismounted from his good steed,
and putting himself at the head of his followers, armed like
himself en hlanco, 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 removed to his tent, where he lay some
time under medical treatment ; and, when he had suffi-
ciently 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.*
The queen, not long after, testified her sense of the earl's
services by a magnificent largess, consisting, among other
* Peter Martyr, Opus Epist. lib. 1, ep. 62. — Eeraaldez, Eejes
Catdlicos, MS. cap. 78.
440 WAR OF GRAXADA.
things, of twelve Andalusian 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 hrave knight seems to have heen
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.*
The pomp with which the military movements 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, appealing both to principles of
religion and patriotism, was well calculated to inflame the
imaginations of the young Spanish cavaliers ; and they
j)Oured into the field, eager to display themselves under the
eye of their illustrious queen, who, as she rode through the
ranks mounted on her war-horse, 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-coloured pennons, and emblazoned with the armorial
bearings of their ancient houses, shone with a splendour
which a CastiHan writer likens to that of the city of Seville.!
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,
* Guilkume de laligny, Histoire de Charles YIII., (Paris, 1617,)
pp. 90-94.
+ Bcrnaldez, Reyes Catdlicos, MS. cap. 7o. — This citj, eyen before the
New World had poured its treasures into its lap, wis conspicuous for its
magnificence, as the ancient proverb testifies. — Zuiiga, Annales de Sevilla,
p. 183.
MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGN'S. tii
equipage, and plate, and in the variety and delicacy of the
dainties -^vith which their tables were covered.*
Ferdinand and Isabella saw with regret this lavish
ostentation, and privately remonstrated with some of the
principal grandees on its evil tendency, especially in seduc-
ing the inferior and poorer nobility into expenditures
beyond their means. This Sybarite indulgence, however,
does not seem to have impaired the martial spirit of the
nobles. On 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. At the siege of
Illora, 1486, he obtained permission to 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
heart ? Let us not, in God's name, be laughed at as mere
holiday soldiers ! " His vassals, stung by this rebuke,
rallied, and, penetrating the breach, carried the place by
the fury of their assault. t
* Pulgar, Reyes Catulicos, cap. 41.
+ Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, cap. 59. — This nobleman, whose name was
Inigo Lopez de Mendoza, -was son of the first duke, Diego Hurtado, who
supported Isabella's claims to the crown. Oviedo was present at the siege
of lUora, and gives a minute description of his appearance there. " He
came,'^ says that wiiter, " attended, bj a numerous body of cavaliers and
gentlemen, as befitted 20 great a lord. He displayed all the luxuries whicli
belong to a time of peace ; and his tables, which were carefully served,
were loaded with rich and curiously wrought plate, of which he had a
greater profusion than any other grandee in the kingdom." In another
place he says, " The duke liligo was a perfect Alexander for his liberality,
in all his actions princely, maintaining unbounded hospitality among his
numerous vassals and dependents, and beloved throughout Spain. His
442 "WAR OF GRAXADA.
Notwithstanding the remonstrances of the sovereigns
against this ostentation of luxury, they were not wanting
in the display of royal state and magnificence on all suitable
occasions. The curate of 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
sohcited 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 cit}', 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, the infanta
Isabella, and a courtly train of damsels, mounted on mules
palaces v.ere garnished witli the most costly tapestries, jewels, and rich
stuffs of gold and silver. His chapel was filled with accomplished singers
and musicians ; his falcons, hounds, and his whole hunting establishment,
including a magnificent stud of horses, not to be matched by any other
nobleman in the kingdom. Of the truth of all which," concludes Ouedo,
" I myself have been an eye-witness, and enough others ran testify." — Sec
Ovicdo, (Quincuagenas, MS. bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8,) who has given the
genealogy of the Mendozaa and Mendozinos, in all its endless ramifi-
cations.
MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 443
richly caparisoned. The queen herself rode a chesnut mule,
seated on a saddle-chair embossed with gold and silver.
The housings vrere of a crimson colour ; 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 ; and a black hat trimmed
with gold embroidery. The king rode forv\-ard at the head
of his nobles to receive her. He was dressed in a crimson
doublet, with chaiisses, or breeches, of yellow satin. Over
his shoulders was thrown a cassock or mantle of rich bro-
cade, 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
head-dress of the finest stufi".
Ferdinand was mounted on a noble war-horse of a bright
chesnut colour. In the splendid train of chivalry which
attended him, Bernaldez dwells with much satisfaction on
the Enghsh 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 kiug and queen, as they drew near, bowed thiice
with formal reverence to each other. The queen, at the
same time raising her hat, remained in her coif or head-dress,
with her face uncovered ; Ferdinand, riding up, kissed her
afi'ectionately on the cheek, and then, according to the pre-
cise chronicler, bestowed a similar mark of tenderness on his
daughter Isabella, after giving her his paternal benediction.
The roval party were then escorted to the camp, where
44-i WAR OF GRANADA.
suitable accommodations bad been provided for tbc queen
and ber fair retinue.*
It may readily be believed, tbat tbe sovereigns did not
neglect, in a war like tbe present, an appeal to tbe religious
principle so deeply seated in tbe Spanisb cbaracter. All
tbeir public acts ostentatiously proclaimed tbe pious nature
of tbe work in wbicb tbey were engaged. Tbey were
attended in tbeir expeditions by cburcbmen of tbe bigbest
rank, who not only mingled in tbe councils of tbe camp, but
like tbe bold bisbop of Jaen, or tbe grand cardinal Mendoza,
buckled on barness over rocbet and bood, and led tbeir
squadi'ons to tbe field, f Tbe queen at Cordova celebrated
tbe tidings of every new success over tbe infidel, by solemn
procession and tbauksgiving with ber whole household, as
well as tbe 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 solemn pomp beneath a rich canopy of state
to the cathedral church, where he prostrated himself in
fjrateful adoration to the Lord of hosts. Intellifijence of
* Bernaldez, Reyes Catulicos, MS. cap. 80. — The lively author of " A
rear in Spain " describes, among other suits of armour still to be seen in
the museum of the armory at Madrid, those worn by Ferdinand .ind his
illustrious consort. " In one of the most conspicuous stations is the suit of
armour usually worn by Ferdinand the Catholic. He seems snugly seated
upon his war-horse, with a pair of red velvet breeches, after the manner of
the Moors, with lifted lance and closed visor. There are several suits of
Ferdinand and of his queen Isabella, -who was no stranger to the dangers
of a battle. By the comparative heights of the armour, Isabella would
seem to be the bigger of the two, as she certainly was the better. — A Year
in Spain, by a young American, (Boston, 1829.) p. 116.
+ Cardinal Mendoza, in the campaign of 1485, offered the queen to raise
a body of 3000 horse, and march at its head to the relief of All lama, and at
the same time to supply her with such sums of money as might be neces-
saiy in the present exigency. — Pulgar, Reyes Cdtdlicos, cap. 50.
MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOTEREIGXS. 445
their triumpliant progress in the war was constantly trans-
mitted to the pope, who returned his benediction, accom-
panied by more substantial marks of favour, in bulls of
crusade, and taxes on ecclesiastical rents. *
The ceremonials observed on the occupation 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 om- salvation, on the
summit of the principal fortress ; and all who beheld it
j)rostrated themselves on their knees in silent worship of the
Almighty, while the priests chaunted the glorious anthem,
Te JDeum laudamiis. The ensign or pennon of St. James,
the chivalric patron of Spain, was then unfolded, and all
invoked his 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 pope Sixtus the
Pourth to Ferdinand, in whose tent it was always carried
throughout these campaigns. An ample supply of bells,
vases, missals, plate, and other sacred furniture, was also
borne along with the camp, being provided by the queen
for the purified mosques, t
The most touching part of the incidents usually occurring
at the smTender of a Moorish city, was the liberation of the
Christian captives immured in its dungeons. On the cap-
ture of Eonda, in 1485, more than four hundred of these
* In 148G, -sve find Ferdinand and Isabella performing a pilgrimage to
the shrine of St. James of Compostella. — Carbajal, Anales, MS/aiio 86.
*}- L. Marineo, Cosas MemoraUes, fol. 173. — Bcrnald?z,RcvcsCatulico9,
MS. lap. 8-2, 87.
445 WAR or GRANADA.
unfortunate persons, several oftliem cavaliers of rank, some
of whom had been taken in the fatal expedition of the
Axarquia, ^vere restored to the light of heaven. On being
brought before Ferdinand, thev 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 spec-
tator. 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."*
Ever since the victory of Lucena, the sovereigns had
made it a capital point of their policy to foment the dissen-
sions of their enemies. The young king Abdallah, after
his humiliating treaty with Ferdinand, lost whatever con-
sideration 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 colours of
ambition and cruelty ; but the Moslem writers afibrd no
* Pulgar, Reyes Catdlico?, cap. 47. — Bcraaldcz, Reyes Cat61icos, MS,
cap. 75.
MILITARY rOLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 447
Bucli Intimation, and Lis 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 piece?
a body of Calatrava knights from Alhama, and signahsod
his entrance into his new capital by bearing along the
bloody trophies of heads dangliag from his saddlebow, after
the barbarous fashion long practised in these wars.* It
was observed that the old kinsc Abul Hacen did not lon'i^
survive his brother's accession.! The young Idng Abdallah
sought the protection of the Castilian sovereigns in Seville,
who, true to their policy, sent him back into liis own domi-
nions with the means of making headway against his rival.
The alfakies and other considerable persons of Granada,
* Conde, Dominacion de los Arates, torn. iii. cap. 37- — Cardonuc, Hist.
d'Afrique et d'Espagne, torn. iii. pp. 276, 281, 282. — ALarca, .Reves ds
Aragon, torn. ii. fol. 304.
" El enjaeza el caballo
De las cabezas de fama,"
says one of the old ^Moorish ballads. A garland of Cliristian head? seems
to have been deemed no unsuitable present from a Moslem knight to his
lady love. Thus one of the Zegries triumphantly asks,
" Que Cristianos habeis muerto,
O escalado que murallas ?
O que cabezas famosas
Aveis presentado a d-imas ? "
This sort of trophy was also borne by the Christian cavaliers. Examples
of this may be found even as late as the siege of Granada. See, among
others, the ballad, beginning
" A vista de los dos Reyes."
+ The Arabic historian alludes to the vulgar report of the old king's
assassination by his brother, but leaves us in the dark in regard to his own
opinion of its credibility. " Algunos dicen que le procuro la muerte su her-
inan« ei Rey Zagal ; pero Dios lo sabe, que es el unico e'emo e inmutablc."
— Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 38,
448 WAR OF GRANADA.
scandalised at tliese 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 pur-
poses 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.*
Notwithstanding these auxiliary circumstances, the pro-
gress 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 wilHng 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 Malasfa closed its o-ates a^^ainst the fuc^itives
from Alora, after its surrender, and even massacred some
of them in cold blood. The eagle eye of El Zagal seemed
* Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, torn. iii. cap. 38. — Cardonne
Hist, de Afrique et d'Espagne, pp. 291, 292. — Mariana, Hist, de Espaiia,
lib. 25, cap. 9. — Marmol, Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. i. cap. 12.
*' Muy revuelta anda Granada
en annas y fuego ardiendo,
y los ciudadanos de ella
duras muertes padccieudo ;
" Por tres reyes que hay esquivos,
cada UDO pretendiendo
tl mando, cetro y corona
de Granada y su gobicrno," &c.
See this oM romance, mixing up fact with fiction, with more of thr
former than usual, in Hyta, Guerras de Granada, torn. i. p. 292.
MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 449
to take ill 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 retahating by
a devastating inroad on the borders.*
No effectual and permanent resistance, however, could
be opposed to the tremendous enginery of the Christians.
Tower and town fell before it. Besides the principal towns
of Cartama, Coin, Setenil, Rouda, 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 Marbella. Thus the Spaniards ad-
vanced their line of conquest more than twenty leagues
beyond the western frontier of Granada. This extensive
tract they strongly fortified and peopled, partly with Chris-
tian 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.f
Thus the strong posts, which may be regarded as the
exterior defences of the city of Granada, 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 could not
entirely intercept. On this point, therefore, it was deter-
* Among other achievements, Zagal surprised and beat the count of
Cabra in a night attack upon Moclin, and wellnigh retaliated on that noble-
man his capture of the Moorish king Abdallah. — Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos,
cap. 48.
+ Bernaldez, Reves Catolicos, MS. cap. 75. — Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos,
cap. 48. — Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decades, ii. lib. 3, cap. 5, 7 ; lib, 4,
cap. 2, 3. — Marmol, Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. 12.
VOL. I. G G .
450 "WAR OF GRAJn-ADA.
miued to conceutrate all the strength of the monarchy, by
sea and land, m the ensuing campaign of 1487.
Two of tte most important authorities for the war of Granada are
Fernando del Pulgar, and Antonio de Lebrija, or Nebrissensis, as he ie
called from the Latin Nebrissa.
Few particulars have been preserved respecting the biography of the
former. He was probably a native of Pulgar, near Toledo. The Cas-
tilian writers recognise certain provincialisms in his style belonging to that
district He was secretary to Henrj- IV., and was charged with various
confidential functions by him. He seems to have retained bis place on
the accession of Isabella, by whom he was appointed national historio-
grapher in 1482, when, from certain remarks in his letters, it would appear
he was already advanced in years. This oflBce, in the fifteenth centurj-,
comprehended, in addition to the more ob"vious duties of an historian, the
intimate and confidential relations of a private secretaiy. " It was the
business of the chronicler," says Bemaldez, *' to carry on foreign corre-
spondence in the service of his master, acquainting himself with whatever
was passing in other courts and countries, and, by the discreet and con-
ciliatory tenor of his epistles, to allay such feuds as might arise between
the king and his nobility, and establish harmony between them." From
tliis period Pulgar remained near the royal person, accompanying the queen
in her various progresses through the kingdom, as well as in her military
expeditions into the Moorish territory. He was consequently an eye-
witness of many of the warlike scenes which he describes, and from his
situation at the court, had access to the most ample and accredited sources
of information. It is probable he did not survive the capture of Granada,
as his history falls somewhat short of that event. Pulgar's Chronicle, in
the portion containing a retrospective survey of events previous to 1482,
may be charged with gross inaccuracy ; but, in all the subsequent period,
it may be received as perfectly authentic, and has all the air of impar-
tiality. Every circumstance relating to the conduct of the war is developed
with equal fulness and precision. His manner of narration, though prolix,
is perspicuous, and may compare favourably with that of contemporary
writers. His sentiments may compare still more advantageously, in point
of liberality, with those of the Castilian historians of a later age.
Pulgar left some other works, of which his commentary on the ancient
satire of " Mingo Revulgo," his " Letters," and his " Claros Varunes," or
sketches of illustrious men, have alone been published. The last contains
notices of the most distinguished md'viduala cf the court of Henry IV,
MILITARY POLICY OF THE SOVEREIGNS. 451
•which, although too indiscriminately encomiastic, are valuable subsidiaries
to an accurate acquaintance with the prominent actors of the period. The
last and most elegant edition of Pulgar's Chronicle -was published at
Valencia in 1780, from the press of Benito Montfort, in large folio.
Antonio de Lebrija was one of the most active and erudite scholars
cf this period. He was bom in the province of Andalusia, in 1444.
After the usual discipline at Salamanca, he went at the age of nineteen to
Italr, where he completed his education in the xmiversity of Bologna.
He returned to Spain ten years after, richly stored with classical learning
and the liberal arts that were then taught in the flourishing schools of
Italy. He lost no lime in dispensing to his countrymen his various
acquisitions. He was appointed to the two chairs of grammar and pwetry
(a thing unprecedented) in the university of Salamanca, and lectured at
the same time in these distinct departments. He was subsequently pre-
ferred by Cardinal Ximenes to a professorship in his university of Alcala
de Henares, where his services were liberally requited, and where he
gnjoyed the entire confidence of his distinguished patron, who consulted
him on all matters affecting the interests of the institution. Here he
continued delivering his lectures and expounding the ancient classics to
crowded audiences, to the advanced age of seventy-eight, when he was
carried off by an attack of apoplexy.
Lebrija, besides his oral tuition, composed works on a great variety of
subjects, philological, historical, theological, &c. His emendation of the
sacred text was visited with the censure of the Inquisition, a circumstance
which wUl not operate to his prejudice with posterity. Lebrija was far
from being circumscribed by the narrow sentiments of his age. He was
warmed with a generous enthusiasm for letters, which kindled a correspond-
ing flame in the bosoms of his disciples, among whom may be reckoned
some of the brightest names in the literary annals of the period. His
instruction effected for classical literature in Spain, what the labours of the
great Italian scholar of the fifteenth century did for it in their country ;
and he was rewarded with the substantial graritude of his own age, and
such empty honours as could be rendered by posterity. For very many
years, the anniversary of his death was commemorated by public services,
and a funeral panegyric, in the university of Alcala.
The circumstances attending the composition of his Latin Chronicle, so
often quoted in this history, are very curious. Carbajal says that he
delivered Pulgar's Chronicle, after that writer's death, into Lebrija's hands
for the purpose of being translated into Latin. The latter proceeded in his
task as far as the year 1486. His history, however, can scarcely be termed
452 ^AR OF GRENADA,
a translation ; since, although it takes up the samo thread of incident, it is
diversified by many new ideas and particular facts. This unfinished per-
formance was found among Lebrija's papers, after hia decease, ■with a
preface containing not a word of acknowledgment to Pulgar. It was
accordingly published for the first time, in 1545, (the edition referred to in
ihis history,) by his son Sancho, as an original production of his father.
Twenty years after, the first edition of Pulgar's original Chronicle was pub-
lished at Valladolid, from the copy which belonged to Lebrija, by his
gi-andson Antonio. This work appeared also as Lebrija's. Copies, how-
ever, of Pulgar's Chronicle were preserved in several private libi-aries ; and
two years later, 1567, his just claims were vindicated by an edition at
Saragossa, inscribed with his name as its author.
Lebrija's reputation has sustained some injury from this transaction,
though most undeservedly. It seems probable that he adopted Pulgar's
text as the basis of his own, intending to continue the narrative to a later
period. His unfinished manuscript being found among his papers after his
death, without reference to any authority, was naturally enough given to
the world as entirely his production. It is more strange, that Pulgar's
own Chronicle, subsequently printed as Lebrija's, should have contained no
allusion to its real author. The history,~although composed as far as it
goes with sufficient elaboration and pomp of style, is one that adds, on the
whole, but little to the fame of Lebrija. It was at best but adding a leaf
to the laurel on his brow, and was certainly not worth a plagiarism.
END OF VOL. I.
LONDON :
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