patriarch of the Indies, councillor of state, general director of the
Royal University of Madrid, and knight of the grand cross of the royal
order of Charles III. He was general inquisitor from 1798 to 1808. In his
time 20 were condemned to public and many to private penances, without
infamy or confiscation of goods. One effigy was burned at Cuenca, but no
one was burned in person, for though sentence was pronounced against the
curate of Esco, the general inquisitor and supreme council refused to
confirm it, in order to prevent its execution. Recapitulation: burned in
person, 31,912; burned in effigy, 17,659; condemned to severe penances,
291,450; total, 341,021.
My design is to calculate the number of victims at the lowest figure
possible, and I am convinced that from the year 1481, when the tribunal
was established, until the end of the reign of Philip II, the numbers
were much more than I have stated, considering the records of the
tribunals of Toledo and Saragossa, which did not notably exceed the rest.
If we were to add the victims punished by the tribunals of Mexico, Lima,
Cartagena de las Indias (Cartagena in Colombia), Sicily, and in the
galleys at sea, the number would be incalculable. Still more so were we
to count the victims which resulted from the attempts to establish the
Inquisition in Naples, Milan, and Flanders, for all these belonged to
Spain, and felt the influence of the Spanish tribunal. How many died in
their beds of illness caused by the infamy which fell upon them through
the condemnation of their relations? No possible calculation could
include all this misery.[k]
EFFECTS AND INFLUENCES OF THE INQUISITION
Geddes,[q] in 1714, made this contemporary observation, and his point
should not be forgotten in an estimate of the far-reaching evils. “By
this list we see what a terrible havoc is made by the Inquisition
in Portugal, and especially among the trading people, to the great
diminution both of its stock in trade and of the number of its current
and expert merchants. For though there were but four persons burned this
year in Lisbon by the Inquisition, there were above threescore undone by
it. Anyone of a family’s being taken up by the Inquisition goes a great
way towards ruining it, filling them with such horrors as drive them into
countries that are out of the reach of the Inquisition.”
A recent writer, a churchman, Dean Kitchin,[ll] has said:
“The hand of the Holy Office was outstretched against all; no lofty
dignity in church or state, no eminence in art or science, no purity
of life, could defend from its attacks. It is said to have threatened
Charles V and Philip II; it persecuted Archbishop Carranza, head of
the church in Spain; destroyed De Dominis, archbishop of Spalatro; it
smote Galileo, murdered Giordano Bruno, attacked Pico di Mirandola,
and even is said to have threatened Cæsar Borgia. With equal vigour,
in combination with the Jesuits, the Inquisition made war on books and
learning, religious or secular alike; we have seen how baleful was its
effect in earlier days on literature and art in Provence, and in the time
of the Catholic sovereigns on the material well-being of Spain. ‘In the
love of Christ and his maid-mother,’ says Queen Isabella, ‘I have caused
great misery, and have depopulated towns and districts, provinces and
kingdoms.’”[ll]
A CATHOLIC VIEW OF THE INQUISITION (C. J. HEFELE)
The word inquisition with the original signification of an ecclesiastical
court of faith, was later applied to a state institution which, on
account of its real or alleged harshness, has become a by-word in Europe
for everything horrible. There is no doubt that, an ecclesiastical court
of inquiry existed among the Christians from the beginning, but it is
equally certain that in the earliest times the penalties for heresy were
only ecclesiastical and clerical without any civil effect. The case was
altered when Emperor Constantine appeared as both the protector and the
secular arm of the church, for which reason he considered it necessary
to exile the heretics, who were threatening the church with danger, in
order to put them out of the way of doing harm. More severe punishments
than exile were first inflicted upon the Catholics by the Arians when
their co-religionists Constantius and Valens occupied the throne. The
former introduced the practice of imprisoning the orthodox, the latter
of drowning them, and Arian princes in the later Germanic kingdoms always
exercised violence towards those of different faiths.
The connection of church and state was made much closer by the great
theocratic idea, emanating from Gregory VII, which aimed at the bringing
together of all peoples of the occident into one theocratic union, the
protector of which was to be the pope, in the name of God; but the
members of which could naturally be only those who belonged to the
church. From this standpoint, heretics necessarily appeared as criminals
of state because, through their wrong teaching, they rebelled against God
as the king of the theocratic union: hence the civil codes of the middle
ages punished heresy with death.
Whereas, after the time of Constantine the Great, the civil punishments
of heretics were inflicted by the secular rulers, the decision as to
whether a person was a heretic or not, was from the very beginning made
by the bishops and synods. Hence, if we wish to get at the fundamental
idea of the Inquisition, that it was a seeking out and a punishing of
heretics, we must say that, in the former sense, it has existed since
the time of the apostles; and, in the latter, since that of Constantine
the Great. The actual Inquisition had its beginning in the great synod
of Toulouse in 1229. Soon after this synod in southern France, we meet
especially appointed inquisitors in Italy. Here also heresy had ravaged
widely and had become so dangerous that even Emperor Frederick II, who
is the last person one could accuse of bigotry, immediately upon his
coronation and repeatedly afterwards uttered the death penalty against
heretics. Gradually the episcopal inquisition became changed into a
Dominican inquisition and was introduced into nearly all the countries
of Europe. In the Pyrenaean peninsula likewise, which is here our main
subject of interest, it came into Castile, Navarre, and Portugal, as well
as into Aragon. Castile was to become the home of the “New Inquisition,”
as Llorente[k] calls it,--more correctly of the Spanish Inquisition, the
direct impulse to which was given by a peculiar condition which existed
nowhere else than in Spain.
Already in the first centuries after the birth of Christ, the Jews in
Spain had become so numerous and powerful that they began to think of
Judaising the whole land. Hence it came about that the synod of Eliberis
(303-313), an old Spanish city in the vicinity of which the later Granada
is said to have been built, passed a resolution that in the future
no Christian landholder was to let his fields be blessed by Jews. On
the other hand there was no lack of attempts on the part of the old
Visigothic kings in Spain to force the Jews to become Christians; but
this was forbidden by the fourth council of Toledo, in its 57th canon,
with the words: “Hereafter no Jew may be made to accept Christianity by
force, but those who are already converted, even though it was by force,
since they have already received the holy sacraments, must keep their
faith and may in no wise blaspheme or despise it.”
Much more dangerous than the real Jews were those who were seemingly
converted to Christianity and whose numbers had increased enormously
after the persecutions at the end of the 14th century. While the former
had seized upon a large part of the national wealth and the Spanish
commerce, the latter threatened both the Spanish nationality and the
Christian religion, since these disguised Jews on the one hand invaded
clerical offices and even occupied episcopal chairs, while on the other
they attained high civil honours, married into all noble families and
used all these connections, together with their wealth, to bring about
the victory of Judaism over Spanish nationality and over the Christian
faith. Many laymen as well as churchmen recognised the danger threatened
by the Jews and were convinced that something must be done by the
government, for which reason repeated requests were made to Ferdinand
and Isabella to take measures against the disguised Jews: it was against
them that the inquisition was directed later, but never against the real
Jews.
Soon after Ferdinand and Isabella had decided to introduce the
Inquisition into Castile, Pope Sixtus IV, on November 1st, 1478, gave the
ecclesiastical permission and allowed the two rulers to appoint two, or
three clerical dignitaries, secular or regular priests, to question and
to punish heretics. Two royal inquisitors were now appointed for Seville
on the strength of the papal bull. In this step we have the beginning
of the New or the Spanish state inquisition which differs principally
from the ecclesiastical institution of the same name in the fact that
the persons intrusted with the examination and the punishment of
heretics--whether they were clericals or laymen--appeared not as servants
of the church but as state officials who received their appointment and
instructions from the ruling princes.
There was a second political reason why the Spanish monarchs in every
way should have favoured an institution which, while appearing to be
ecclesiastical, was almost continually accused and fought by the heads
of the church, by the popes and bishops. With the reign of Ferdinand
and Isabella the transition began from the old state to the new, from
the Germanic to the abstract and absolute. In the old state the central
or royal power was limited by three comparatively free corporations,
the nobility, the clergy, and the municipalities, and this the more so
as these estates were closely connected with powers abroad, the clergy
with Rome, the nobility and municipalities with their foreign peers, so
that the union of the state within itself and therewith the superiority
of the throne was not a little hindered. In both Castile and Aragon
the inquisition was the most effective means of bringing all subjects,
especially the clergy and nobility, under the power of the throne, and of
perfecting the absolute authority of the sovereign.
Hence it was that it was precisely the two higher estates which most
hated the Inquisition and which were persecuted as its enemies more
often than the heretics; it was also principally the prelates who were
soon involved in numerous suits with the new tribunals. The popes also
could not fail to see that the Spanish Inquisition served the political
absolutism much more than it did ecclesiastical purism, and hence they
tried to intercept its growth in the same degree that they had promoted
the old ecclesiastical inquisition.
This state character of the Spanish Inquisition has also been fully
recognised by the more exact historical investigation of modern
times, and even Ranke[mm] has expressed himself to the same effect as
follows: “We have a celebrated book concerning it (the Inquisition) by
Llorente,[k] and if I make so bold as to say anything in disagreement
with such a predecessor let this be an excuse, that that so well informed
author wrote in the interest of the Alfrancesados of the Josephinian
government [i.e. the Gallicising faction supporting King Joseph
Bonaparte]. In their interest he opposes the liberties of the Basque
provinces, although the latter can hardly be denied. In the same interest
he sees in the Inquisition also a usurpation of clerical power over state
authority. If I am not mistaken, however, from the very facts which
he relates it appears that the Inquisition was a royal court, but one
provided with clerical weapons.”
Guizot[nn] agrees with this opinion in the words: “It (the Inquisition)
was at first more political than religious, and destined to maintain
order rather than to defend the faith.”
That the Portuguese Inquisition also was always regarded by the
government itself as a state institution is shown by an ordinance dated
March 20th, 1769, in which King Joseph I says: “It has been reported to
me that whereas all other courts of justice, because they represent my
royal person, have always borne and still bear the title Majesty, the
misuse has arisen in connection with the Holy Office, a tribunal which by
its organisation and its service is most closely and directly connected
with my royal person, of giving it another title of address.”
The Inquisition is often judged according to standards of the 19th
instead of the 15th and 16th centuries, and hence it is judged
incorrectly. Whereas during the past hundred years it has been the
tendency to regard wrong believers and unbelievers of all kinds as the
most educated and the noblest citizens, the Inquisition on the contrary
was based on the mediæval view that erring in religion was high treason
and that only the advocate of the state religion could be a safe and
trustworthy citizen. It is natural that the upholder of one standpoint
cannot possibly judge impartially, events which have arisen from the
other, unless in giving his judgment he is able to transport himself from
his own time into the other and into its views.
This is done by every true historian. But the Inquisition is a subject
which has been most discussed and described by those who give mere
phrases instead of investigations, mere arbitrary statements instead of
critical examinations, mere romantic descriptions instead of objective
judgments, and who try to replace a lack of knowledge by so called
liberally-minded phrases. People of this sort do not remember that the
principle, _cujus est regio, illius et religio_,[206] on which the whole
Inquisition rests, was universally recognised in olden times, and was so
little questioned that Protestants especially upheld it and put it into
execution.
For example in the palatinate, when the Kurfürst Frederick III, who
had been a Lutheran until then, went over to Calvinism in 1563, he
compelled all congregations in his land to take the same step, and exiled
everyone who would not accept the Heidelberg catechism. Thirteen years
later, in 1576, his son Ludwig restored the orthodox Lutheranism, drove
out the Calvinistic preachers and teachers, and forced his dependents
to become Lutheran again. The Religious Peace of the year 1555 gave
every government the power of giving its dependents the alternative of
accepting the religion of the sovereign or of emigrating, upon paying a
certain sum, just as was done in Spain with the Jews and Moors; and it
is a well-known fact that the Reformation owed its spread in Germany in
large measure to this lenient Spanish alternative.
Furthermore, in judging the Inquisition it is often forgotten that the
penal code of that time was much more severe and sanguinary than that of
the 19th century. Many a trespass which is now atoned for by a slight
penalty had at that time to be paid for with blood; and the criminal code
of Charles V of the year 1532 is a most speaking witness for the severe
criminal justice of the period out of which the Spanish Inquisition grew.
Also the _Carolina_, for example, inflicts punishments on body, life, and
limb for blasphemy of God and of the Blessed Virgin (§CVI); and witches
are punished with death (§CXVI).
It must also not be overlooked, in judging the Inquisition, that the
death penalty for heresy was not peculiar to it alone, but was common
at that time to all lands and confessions. The reformer Buzer said of
Michael Servetus, in the public pulpit at Strassburg, that he deserved
the most humiliating death on account of his article against the Trinity.
And that this was not merely a strong figure of speech of the Reformers
is shown two decades later by Calvin, when on October 27th, 1553, he
had that very “heretic” slowly burned to death at Geneva. That there may
remain no doubt that the Protestants of that time wished to punish heresy
with death, the “gentle” Melanchthon wrote on this subject to Calvin,
“I have read thy article, wherein thou hast refuted in detail
the terrible blasphemies of Servetus and therefore I thank the
Son of God who has given thee the victory in this thy struggle.
The church is greatly indebted to thee for it, now and in all
future time. I wholly agree with thy opinion and claim that
your highness (_eure Obrigkeit_) has acted wholly in accordance
with justice in executing a blasphemous person after a regular
examination.”
In addition I will note that Theodore Beza also wrote an article _De
hereticis a magistrau civili puniendis_ and that many others besides
Servetus, as Valentine Gentilis, Bolsec, Carlstadt, Grüet, Castellio,
the councillor Ameaur, and others, could convince themselves through
imprisonment, banishment, and death that in the Protestant church there
was no milder an inquisition than in Spain. This is acknowledged even
by many Protestants, as for example by Prescott[m] in his history of
Ferdinand and Isabella.
But we do not need to go back to the 16th century or even to consider
the terrible mistreatment of the Catholics in England,[207] in order to
discover counterparts to the Spanish Inquisition among the Protestants.
A remarkable case of this kind from the eighteenth century is related by
Pfeilschifter: In the year 1724 at Rendsburg a young soldier, because he
had wished to make a compact with the devil, as an act of royal favour
was merely beheaded. Even more recently, _e.g._ in the year 1844, on the
third of April the painter J. O. Nilson in Sweden was banished on account
of “apostasy from the Lutheran faith and of going over to a mistaken
religion” (the Catholic) and was declared to have forfeited all civil
rights and rights of inheritance; this decision was confirmed by the
highest court of the land in the year 1845. The unfortunate Nilson died
in February 1847 at Copenhagen, in poverty.
I say all this not in reproach but only to show that the Protestants
also have recognised the sanguinary rule: “Deviation from the state
religion is to be punished with death.” If any one had any doubts as to
the justice of this principle in the 16th and 17th centuries, it seems
to me that these doubts should first have arisen in the minds of the
Protestants, because their own apostasy from the church should have
taught them to think more leniently of other apostates.
Among the victims of the Inquisition the so-called witches and sorcerers
held a considerable place, and it would be superfluous to expend many
words in proving that these unfortunates were just as severely persecuted
in Germany as in Spain and in just as sanguinary a fashion by Protestants
as by Catholics. Not only a Torquemada, but also a Benedict Carpzov
two hundred years later, erected a stake for burning witches. Even the
reformer Beza reproached the French parliament for being too lax in
seeking out witches, and Walter Scott acknowledges that the stronger
Calvinism grew in England the more numerous were the processes against
witches. The Jesuit Frederick Spee of Langenfeld overthrew the belief in
witches among the Catholics seventy years earlier than the Protestant
Thomasius, and even in the year 1713 the legal faculty of Tübingen
condemned a witch to death; indeed just a year later than in Spain, was
the last witch burned in the canton of Glarus by a reformed court, in
1782.[208] On the whole, a comparison of the German processes against
witches with the workings of the Spanish Inquisition, could hardly be
made to appear to the advantage of the former.
Moreover it must not be forgotten with all this that the tribunal of the
Inquisition always delivered only the sentence, that the accused was more
or less, wholly or partly, or not at all guilty of heresy, blasphemy and
the like. It itself never condemned to death though its decisions led
to this penalty, in that the one found “guilty of heresy” by the Holy
Office was turned over to the secular arm and by this, namely by the
council of Castile, was led before the highest Spanish court for death or
imprisonment.
The Spanish Inquisition is often declared to be a product of the Roman
doctrinal despotism, without attention being given to the fact that it
was precisely the popes who were least inclined to this institution and
who at nearly all times tried to limit it. Even Llorente,[k] who can be
accused of partiality to the popes no more than of a Jacobite partiality
for the kingdom, shows this in almost innumerable instances and examples.
Stories are told of the cruel torments and tortures which the unfortunate
beings in the dungeons of the Inquisition had to suffer, but even the
most gentle character must not forget that the torture was used in
those days in all secular courts in all countries, that it even existed
legally in many German states in the 19th century and did not go out of
general use until about the middle of the 18th century, in the courts of
inquisition at the same time as in the secular courts. Besides execution
by fire, sword, quartering, the wheel, gallows, and water, the _Carolina_
speaks of burying alive, of tearing with glowing tongs, of cutting off
the tongue and ears, of hacking off fingers and the like. Of all these
ignominious and painful punishments, however, the Inquisition knows
nothing. Moreover, at a time when in all Europe prisons were dark damp
holes and real graves, full of mould, filth, and pest-breeding smells,
the Inquisition brought its prisoners, to use the words of Llorente[k]
into “well arched, light and dry rooms where they could make some
movement.” No more did any prisoner of the Inquisition, as again Llorente
testifies, groan under the weight of chains, hand cuffs, iron neck bands
etc., and Llorente tells of only one on whom fetters were put, in order
to keep him from suicide. The prisoners were asked if the gaoler treated
them well and good care was also taken of the sick. Special buildings, by
the name of “penitence houses,” were erected for the prisoners for life
and these were subject to vistation from time to time.
It has furthermore become customary to think of the Inquisition as an
ever-threatening and never-satisfied catch-and-seize-institution, whose
polyp arms greedily grasped the poor unfortunate at the least sign of
suspicion. But this view, which has such a drastic effect in historical
romances and in romantic histories is wholly wrong and mistaken and must
be entirely abandoned, unless Llorente is to be accused of partiality for
the Inquisition. In the first place, every tribunal of the Inquisition
began its activity by promulgating a time of grace and proclaimed
publicly that: “whoever is conscious of apostasy from the faith but
within the fixed time will voluntarily come forth and do penance, shall
be absolved in grace and protected from severe penalty.” After the
expiration of the term, however, the severity of the law was to be
exercised towards the apostates; but again and again were the times of
grace renewed and lengthened.
Further, the statutes of the Inquisition regarding young heretics deserve
attention. “If sons and daughters of heretics,” so ordained Torquemada,
“who have fallen into error through the teachings of their parents, and
have not reached the age of twenty years, themselves apply to be taken
back into favour, the inquisition shall receive such young people kindly,
even if they should come after the time of reprieve, shall impose lighter
penances upon them than upon grown persons and shall take pains that they
receive instruction in the faith and the sacraments of the Holy Mother,
the church.”
It is said that the least expression, often an innocent one, brought
an unfortunate into the prisons of the Inquisition. But the second
great inquisitor, Deza, who is considered even stricter than Torquemada
himself, issued the order on June 17th, 1500 that “no one may be
arrested for trivial reasons, not even on account of blasphemy which was
uttered in anger.” There was no inclination to take the testimony of any
person who happened to make an accusation before the tribunal of the
Inquisition; on the contrary Llorente himself tells of cases in which
only repeated accusations against a person could move the inquisitors to
action and they were very much inclined to ascribe the mad behaviour of
many heretics to mental aberration.
Wonderful stories are told of the incomes of the inquisitors, who are
said to have condemned many only in order to enrich themselves from the
confiscated goods. It is true that the cause of justice is in a bad
way when condemnation is to bring a pecuniary profit to the judge and
it would have been truly a dangerous and disreputable arrangement if
the income of the inquisitors had depended on the number of those they
condemned. Prescott[m] (I, 287) would really like to make us believe that
such was the case, but we know from Llorente that the confiscated goods
of the condemned fell to the royal treasury, and that the Inquisition
officers of all kinds had a fixed salary which they received quarterly.
Hence it comes that Llorente accused the Spanish king of avarice and not
the inquisitors, in which Ranke[mm] bears him out.
Terrible is the picture which we make to ourselves of an _auto da fé_
(actus fidei, i.e., “an act of faith”) as if it were nothing else than
an enormous fire and a colossal stewing pan, around which the Spaniards
sat like cannibals, in order to enjoy the spectacle of the roasting and
broiling of several hundred unfortunates, four or five times a year. But
let me be allowed to state that in the first place an _auto da fé_ did
not consist of burning and killing but, in part, of the exculpation of
those who had been falsely accused and in part of the reconciliation of
the repentant with the church, and there were even many _autos da fé_ at
which nothing burned but the candles which the penitent carried in their
hands in token of the light of faith rekindled in their hearts.
Furthermore it must not be overlooked that those who were condemned
by the Inquisition were not only heretics, but also such as lived in
polygamy, priests and monks who had married, laymen who exercised
clerical functions, deacons who heard confessions and those who falsely
gave themselves out to be commissioners of the Inquisition, which as we
know from _Gil Blas_ happened not infrequently.
If in the little Protestant city of Nördlingen, as Soldan shows in his
history of the witch processes, out of a total population of 6,000, not
less than 35 witches were burned in the four years from 1590 to 1594;
this ratio, applied to Spain for four years, would give at least 50,000
witches, whereas Llorente himself gives the number of those condemned
to death by the Inquisition during the 330 years of its existence as
only 30,000, including heretics, witches, sorcerers, smugglers and all
the rest; this even if we wish to accept Llorente’s figures as not
exaggerated.
But I think I may claim and can prove that they are exaggerated. Above
all we must never forget that Llorente’s figures are not taken from
official registers, not even from private records, but originated only
from a system of probable reckonings which in part rests on false
premises. He himself confesses this unreservedly, and often describes the
theory he has used in his conjectural reckoning. Llorente’s arbitrariness
and injustice are most clearly shown in regard to Ximenes. Llorente
states explicitly that this archbishop tried to make the Inquisition
less severe, that he removed bad officials, that he pardoned many of the
accused, etc. Nevertheless, that does not hinder him from supposing just
as many executions annually under Ximenes as under Deza and his helper
Lucero, both of whom he repeatedly accuses of the most boundless cruelty
and severity. That such a reckoning is untrue and unjust needs no proof.
After all these observations we are still far removed from wishing to
justify the Spanish Inquisition; on the contrary we would everywhere
oppose the right of a secular power to interfere with the conscience, but
we wished to prove that the institution of the Inquisition was not the
outrageous monstrosity which party passions and lack of knowledge have
often made it out to be.[oo]
_Another Catholic View_ (Heinrich Brück)
Opinions differ as to the character of the Spanish Inquisition. A
number of scholars (Hefele[oo], Gams[pp] and others) claim that it was
purely a state institution, whereas the Spanish writers emphasize its
ecclesiastical character, without denying the great influence of the
crown upon it. The correct view is probably given by Rodrigo[ii] and
Orti y Lara.[jj] The former says (I, 276): “The tribunals of the Holy
Office had no secular character of themselves. They were ecclesiastical
tribunals in respect to the cases which they judged and in respect to
the authority which created them. In respect to the royal delegation,
however, which was granted to the judges, it may be said that they had a
mixed character.” Orti y Lara expresses himself in like manner. According
to him (p. 27), “the Inquisition united the papal sword of the church and
the secular sword of the king into one single sword.”
The accusation that the Spanish Inquisition was unpopular is just as
false as the statement that it caused the ruin of science and literature
in Spain. As Balmes testifies (_Protestantismus and Katholicismus_, I,
412, _et seq._), the Catholic kings fulfilled the universal wish of
the people by establishing the Inquisition; the people were always in
sympathy with it, whereas it was opposed by the nobility and higher
clergy. The decline of literary activity moreover can not have been
caused by the Inquisition for the reason that the golden age of Spanish
literature coincided with the time when the Inquisition was in full sway.
The greatest theologians, philosophers, and poets, whose works were
approved by the Inquisition, lived at that time. Schools were founded and
classical studies diligently pursued.
One of the chief accusations brought against the Spanish Inquisition is
the alleged extraordinary number of its victims. This accusation is based
chiefly on the statements of Antonio Llorente.[k] But it needs only a
nearer acquaintance with the character of this embittered free mason and
with his proofs, to perceive the incorrectness of his statements. Far
from citing historical documents he builds up his argument upon evident
falsification, arbitrary assumptions which are in wide contrast with the
authorities, and, as the Protestant Peschel[rr] says (page 151), upon a
“frivolous calculation from probabilities,” so that he cannot be trusted
in regard to his data. According to Gams[pp] (III, 274) the number of
those executed for heresy during the whole period of the Inquisition was
about four thousand, a number not equal to that of the victims of the
witch processes in Catholic and Protestant Germany.[ss]
FOOTNOTES
[187] [This brief study, inserted here because Spain and Portugal were
the chief centres of the fury of the Inquisition, will afford glimpses
also of its development in other countries.]
[188] Confusion has been introduced by both friend and foe into the
history of the Waldenses. At first they were confounded with the Cathari
or Albigenses by Catholics in order to represent them as Manichæans; by
reformed writers in order to clear the Albigenses also from the charge
of Manichæism. Further, the origin of the Waldenses is often referred to
an earlier period than that of Peter Waldensis, though it is so clearly
proved by the witness of contemporaries that he is the founder of the
sect.
[189] [This terrible man, in his letter to Innocent III announcing his
victories, relates himself with triumph: “Our troops sparing neither sex
nor age put to the sword nearly twenty thousand; splendid deeds were
accomplished in the overthrow of the enemies, the whole city was sacked
and burned by a divine revenge marvellous fierce.”]
[190] [Some Catholic writers would fain excuse St. Dominic from the
imputation of having founded the Inquisition. It is true he died some
years before the organisation of that tribunal; but he established
the principles on which, and the monkish militia by whom, it was
administered. The Sicilian Paramo,[i] traces it up to a much more remote
antiquity. According to him, God was the first inquisitor, and his
condemnation of Adam and Eve furnished the model of the judicial forms
observed in the trials of the Holy Office. The sentence of Adam was
the type of the inquisitorial “reconciliation,” his subsequent raiment
of the skins of animals was the model of the _san-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, Moses, Nebuchadrezzar, and King David, down to
John the Baptist, and even Christ, in whose precepts and conduct he finds
abundant authority for the tribunal.[m]]
[191] [Among the modern apologists for the Inquisition may be named
Rodrigo[ii] and Orto y Lara.[jj]]
[192] [Thus in Spain, Pope Sixtus IV, in a special bull of November 1st,
1478, quoted by Llorente,[k] conferring on Ferdinand and Isabella the
power to appoint inquisitors, insisted that they be “two or three bishops
or archbishops, or other competent and honest men, secular or regular
priests upwards of forty years of age, of good life and customs, masters
or bachelors of theology, and doctors or licentiates in canon law, by
virtue of a strict examination.”]
[193] [In the _tormento de toca_, a gauze bag was placed in the throat
and water poured in it, forcing the gauze gradually down the œsophagus
into the stomach. Other torments were the gradual pouring of water drop
by drop on one spot of the body, and the great swinging pendulum, or
_péndola_, with the knife affixed, as described in Poe’s haunting story.]
[194] [The _trampazo_ was an iron shoe heated red hot and clamped to the
bare foot.]
[195] [Philip the Fair in the course of his war with Pope Boniface VIII
condemned the Inquisition, though he burned the Templars; or as Dean
Kitchin puts it, the Inquisition “was effectively used by Philip the
Fair to crush the Templars, though that greedy prince quickly interfered
when he found the Inquisition laying hands on his special preserves, the
wealthy Jews.” See the Papacy.]
[196] L. Marineo[bb] diffuses the two thousand 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; while 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 flames. Some miserably perish, bewailing
their errors, 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
imprisonment.”
[197] Bernáldez[cc] states that guards were posted at the gates of
the city of Seville in order to prevent the emigration of the Jewish
inhabitants, which indeed was forbidden under pain of death. The
tribunal, however, had greater terrors for them, and many succeeded in
effecting their escape.
[198] [The Spanish form is _auto de fe_, but the Portuguese form--_auto
da fé_, was the first to obtain English usage.]
[199] So says Puigblanch[ee]: The inquisitors after the celebration of an
_auto da fé_ at Guadaloupe, in 1485, wishing probably to justify these
bloody executions in the eyes of the people, who had 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, according
to Paramo.[i]
[200] Voltaire[dd] remarks (_Essai sur les Mœurs_, Chap. cxl) that
“An Asiatic, arriving at Madrid on the day of an _auto da fé_, 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 had he witnessed an
_auto da fé_?”
[201] The government, at least, cannot be charged with remissness in
promoting this. We find two ordinances in the royal collection of
_pragmáticas_,[ff] 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
vocation of notaries, surgeons, and apothecaries. This was visiting the
sins of the fathers, to an extent unparalleled in modern legislation. The
sovereigns might find a precedent in a law of Sulla.
[202] The Aragonese made a manly though ineffectual resistance, from the
first, to the introduction of the Inquisition among them by Ferdinand. In
Castile, its enormous abuses provoked the spirited interposition of the
legislature at the commencement of the following reign. But it was then
too late.
[203] 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.
Llorente[k] says that, in the immense numbers of processes which he had
occasion to consult, he met with no instance of their attention to the
fate of these unfortunate orphans!
[204] Torquemada waged war upon freedom of thought in every form. In
1490 he caused several Hebrew Bibles to be publicly burned and some
time after, more than six thousand volumes of oriental learning, on
the imputation of Judaism, sorcery, or heresy, at the _autos da fé_
of Salamanca, the very nursery of science. 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 censorship of the press to the judges of the Holy
Office, notwithstanding such occasional assumption of power by the grand
inquisitor.
[205] The prodigious desolation of the land may be inferred from the
estimates, although somewhat discordant, of deserted houses in Andalusia.
Garibay[gg] puts these at three thousand, Pulgar[hh] at four, L.
Marineo[bb] as high as five thousand.
[206] [This may be roughly translated “The man that rules the region,
rules also its religion.”]
[207] [The reader will find full treatment of Protestant excesses in
the histories of Germany, Switzerland, and England. The persecution of
Catholics in England is discussed, in vol. XIX, pp. 148-155, 159-161,
199-200, 354-355, 406-408, 444-453, including an account of tortures used
in England during Elizabeth’s reign, and a comparison of her cruelties
with those of “Bloody Mary.” As part of religious history, one should
also note the persecutions inflicted on dissenters by the Church of
England, in Scotland and Ireland, as discussed in the histories of those
countries.]
[208] [The reader will find in vol. XXIII page 177, a statement that a
man was “swam for a wizard” in England in 1825. He should consult this
same volume, pages 171-177, for an account of the witchcraft persecutions
in the United States, at Salem, in 1692, and pages 177-178 for an account
of the mutilation and execution of Quakers in Massachusetts.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
BRIEF REFERENCE-LIST OF AUTHORITIES BY CHAPTERS
[The letter [a] is reserved for Editorial Matter.]
CHAPTER I. EARLY HISTORY TO JOÃO I
[b] EMILE BÉGIN, _Voyage pittoresque en Espagne et en Portugal_.
[c] H. MORSE STEPHENS, article on “Portugal” in the _Encyclopædia
Britannica_.
[d] “Chronicon Lusitanum” in Flórez, _España Sagrada_.
[e] _Chronicon Complutense._
[f] N. DE LA CLÈDE, _Histoire générale du Portugal_.
[g] DIOGO DE LEMOS, _Historia geral de Portugal_.
[h] S. A. DUNHAM, _The History of Spain and Portugal_.
[i] M. M. BUSK, _The History of Spain and Portugal_.
[j] ALEXANDRE HERCULANO, _Histoire de Portugal_.
[k] ANTONIO ENNES and others, _Historia de Portugal_.
[l] FERNÃO LOPES, _Chronica del Rey Dom Pedro_.
CHAPTER II. THE PERIOD OF GLORY AND DISCOVERY
[b] D. DE LEMOS, _op. cit._
[c] MATTHÆUS DE PISANO, “De Bello Septensi” (in _José de Serras Collecção
de livros inéditos de historia Portugalza_).
[d] GOMES EANES DE AZURARA, “Crónica de Condé Dom Pedro de Menezes” (in
_José de Serras Collecção de livros inéditos de historia Portugalza_).
[e] S. A. DUNHAM, _op. cit._
[f] ANTONIO ENNES, _op. cit._
[g] RICHARD MAJOR, _The Life of Prince Henry the Navigator_.
[h] M. M. BUSK, _op. cit._
[i] RUY DE PINA, “Chrónica do Senhor Rey Dom Alfonso V” in _Academia Real
dos Sciencias_.
[j] AGOSTINHO MANOEL VASCONCELLOS, _Anacephalœoses_.
[k] F. DE FONSECA BENEVIDES, _Rainhas de Portugal_.
[l] H. MORSE STEPHENS, _The Story of Portugal_.
[m] JOÃO P. OLIVEIRA-MARTINS, _Historia de Portugal_.
[n] DAMIÃO DE GOES, _Crónica do Senhor Rey Dom Manoel_.
CHAPTER III. THE FALL, THE CAPTIVITY, AND THE REVOLUTION
[b] A. HERCULANO, _op. cit._
[c] S. A. DUNHAM, _op. cit._
[d] M. M. BUSK, _op. cit._
[e] H. M. STEPHENS, _op. cit._
[f] A. ENNES, _op. cit._
[g] N. DE LA CLÈDE, _op. cit._
[h] ANTONIO DE HERRERA, _Crónica de las Indias occidentales_.
[i] PINHEIRO CHAGAS, _Historia de Portugal_.
[j] DIOGO DO CONTO, _Dialogos do soldado practico_.
[k] LUIS DE MENEZES, _Historia de Portugal restaurado_.
[l] AUBERT DE VERTOT, _Histoire de la conjuration de Portugal_.
CHAPTER IV. JOÃO IV TO JOÃO VI
[b] M. M. BUSK, _op. cit._
[c] H. M. STEPHENS, article on “Portugal” in the _Encyclopædia
Britannica_.
[d] H. M. STEPHENS, _The Story of Portugal_.
[e] S. A. DUNHAM, _op. cit._
[f] AUGUSTE BUCHOT, _Histoire du Portugal_.
[g] FERDINAND DENIS, “Portugal,” in _L’Universe Pittoresque_.
[h] FRIEDRICH C. SCHLOSSER, _History of the Eighteenth Century_
(translated by D. Davison).
[i] SIR NATHANIEL W. WRAXALL, _Historical Memoirs of my own Times_.
[j] LORD MAHON, _History of England_.
[k] CHARLES F. DUMOURIEZ, _Mémoires_.
[l] JAMES C. MURPHY, _Travels in Portugal in the Years 1789-1890_.
CHAPTER V. THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
[b] F. C. SCHLOSSER, _Weltgeschichte_.
[c] JULES LE LASTEYRIE, _Le Portugal depuis la Révolution de 1820_.
[d] WILLIAM BOLLAERT, _The Wars of Succession of Portugal and Spain from
1820-1840_.
[e] A. BUCHOT, _op. cit._
[f] H. M. STEPHENS, _op. cit._
[g] CESARE CANTU, _Gli ultimi trenta anni_.
[h] E. SILVERCRUYS, _Le Portugal_.
APPENDIX A. THE INQUISITION
[b] PHILIPPUS VAN LIMBORCH, _Historia Inquisitionis_.
[c] GOSSELIN, _The Power of the Pope during the Middle Ages_.
[d] J. C. L. GIESELER, _Compendium of Ecclesiastical History_.
[e] J. L. VON MOSHEIM, _Institutes of Ecclesiastical History_.
[f] VON EIN, Editor of Mosheim.
[g] H. MILMAN, _History of Latin Christianity_.
[h] AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS, _History of Rome_.
[i] LUDORICUS A PARAMO, _De Origine et Progressie officii sanctæ
Inquisitionis_.
[j] JOHN FOXE, _Actes and Monuments_.
[k] J. A. LLORENTE, _The History of the Inquisition_.
[l] SPRENGER, _Mallens Maleficarum_.
[m] W. H. PRESCOTT, _Ferdinand and Isabella_.
[n] HENRY C. LEA, _A History of the Inquisition of the Middle Ages_.
[o] REGINALDUS GONSALVIUS MONTANUS, _Sanctæ Inquisitionis Hispanicæ artes
alujot detectæ_.
[p] NICHOLAUS EYMERICHUS, _Directorium Inquisitorum_.
[q] MICHAEL GEDDES, _Tracts against Popery_, 1714.
[r] ARISTOTLE, _Rhetoric_.
[s] BACON, _Novum Organum_.
[t] B. V. MACKENNA, _Francisco Moyen, or the Inquisition in South
America_.
[u] JOANNES A ROYAS, _De hæreticis corumquli impia intentione et
credulitate_.
[v] JULIUS CLARUS, _Practica Crimina Finalis, 1637_.
[w] WM. LITHGOW, _Travels_, 1632.
[x] PABLO GARCIA, _Orden de Processar en el Santo Oficio_, 1628.
[y] W. H. RULE, _History of the Inquisition_.
[z] CHR. G. NEUDECKE, article on “Inquisition” in Philip Schaff’s
_Religious Encyclopædia_ based on Herzog’s _Real-Encyclopædia_.
[aa] MONTESQUIEU, _Esprit des Lois_.
[bb] L. MARINEO, _Cosas memorables_.
[cc] ANDRÉS BERNÁLDEZ, _Reyes Católicos_.
[dd] VOLTAIRE, _Essai sur les mœurs_.
[ee] PUIGBLANCH, _The Inquisition Unmasked_.
[ff] _Pragmaticas del Reyno._
[gg] GARIBAY, _Compendii_.
[hh] PULGAR, _Reyes Católicos_.
[ii] J. G. RODRIGO, _Historia verdadera de la Inquisicion_.
[jj] J. M. ORTI Y LARA, _La Inquisition_.
[ll] DEAN KITCHIN’S article on the Inquisition in the _Encyclopædia
Britannica_.
[mm] LEOPOLD VON RANKE, _History of the Popes_.
[nn] F. GUIGOT, _Histoire de la Civilisation en Europe_.
[oo] CARL JOSEPH HEFELE, _Der Cardinal Ximenes und die kirchlichen
Zustände Spaniens_.
[pp] P. B. GAMS, _Kirchengeschichte Spaniens_.
[qq] JAIME L. BALMES, _Protestantismus und Katholicismus_.
[rr] OSKAR PESCHEL, _Das Zeitalter der Entdeckung_.
[ss] HEINRICH BRÜCK in Wetzer und Welte’s _Kirchenlexikon_, begun by
JOSEPH, CARDINAL HERGENRÖTHER, continued by DR. FRANZ KAULEN.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
A BRIEF RÉSUMÉ OF SPANISH HISTORY (711-1902 A.D.)
THE KINGDOM OF ASTURIAS; AFTERWARDS CALLED OF OVIEDO, AND THEN OF LEON
(711-1037 A.D.)
711 Battle of the Guadalete and downfall of the Visigothic
kingdom in Spain. The Moors spread over the peninsula.
718 =Pelayo (Pelagius)= elected king by Spanish fugitives
who had taken refuge in the mountains of Asturias. The Moors
invade the district but are defeated at the cave of Covadonga
and driven back. The Christians are left in peace to found the
kingdom of Asturias.
722 Leon taken by Pelayo.
737 =Favila=, son of Pelayo, succeeds him.
739 =Alfonso I=, the Catholic, son-in-law of Pelayo, greatly
extends his territory; acquires towns in Galicia, Lusitania,
Leon, and Castile, and rules over Biscay and Navarre.
757 =Fruela I= makes Oviedo his capital. The harshness of his
rule rouses his subjects to revolt and they put him to death.
768 =Aurelio= or =Aurelius=, nephew of Alfonso I, succeeds, and
is followed by
774 =Silo=, his brother, who removes his court to Pravia.
778 Battle of Roncesvalles, in which the Spaniards ascribe the
defeat of Charlemagne to Bernardo del Carpio, nephew of Alfonso
II.
784 =Mauregato the Usurper=, to whom was ascribed the promise
to pay the Moors a tribute of one hundred damsels.
788 =Bermudo (Veremundo) I the Deacon= is persuaded to accept
the crown, but after three years resigns it.
791 =Alfonso (II) the Chaste= establishes his court at Oviedo,
and firmly establishes his kingdom. The stories of the exploits
of his nephew, Bernardo del Carpio, are probably mere fables
with a slight foundation of truth.
842 =Ramiro I.= Revolts of the counts Nepotiano and Aldrete
suppressed. The Northmen land at Corunna and ravage the
district. Ramiro defeats them and burns seventy of their ships.
844 Supposed battle of Clavigo or Clavijo, in which Ramiro was
said to have defeated the Moors with great slaughter by the aid
of Santiago, who appeared in person on a white horse.
850 =Ordoño I= fortifies his frontier cities and defeats
the Moors in several conflicts, notably at Albelda, and
successfully asserts his authority over his own nobles.
Northmen defeated in Galicia.
866 =Alfonso (III) the Great.= The beginning of his reign is
disturbed by pretenders and other rebels.
873 Navarre, which had maintained towards Asturias a fitful
allegiance constantly disturbed by Frankish intrigue, is
conferred on Count Sancho Iñigo. Mohammedans frequently
defeated by Alfonso, who advances his borders to the Guadiana.
Leon becomes the capital. Battle of Zamora and defeat of the
Mohammedans.
907 Rebellion of Alfonso’s son Garcia Nuño Fernandez, count of
Castile, and other nobles. The prince is imprisoned. Revolt
in his favour. Alfonso abdicates and divides his territories
amongst his three sons, Ordoño receiving Galicia, Fruela
Oviedo, and
910 =Garcia= the kingdom of Asturias. Alfonso successfully
invades Mohammedan territory. He dies soon after. Garcia makes
Leon his capital and assumes the title of king of Leon.
914 =Ordoño II= reunites Galicia with Leon.
917 Alhange stormed and the garrison massacred by Ordoño.
Merida purchases peace. Further victories won by Ordoño over
the Mohammedans.
918 Abd ar-Rahman III defeated at San Pedro de Gormaz.
921 Battle of Val de Junquera. Ordoño and his Navarrese allies
are defeated by Abd ar-Rahman, owing to the defection of the
counts of Castile. They are seized and put to death. Ordoño
suppresses the rebellion to avenge them and defeats the Moors
at Rioja.
923 =Fruela II=, brother of Ordoño, elected to the throne.
925 =Alfonso IV.=
930 Abdication of Alfonso. He retires to a monastery.
931 Attempting soon after to recover the throne, he is taken
and blinded by his brother, =Ramiro II=.
939 Battle of Simancas. Ramiro defeats Abd ar-Rahman III.
Fernan Gonsalez and Diego Nuñez, counts of Castile, revolt.
They are subdued and imprisoned, but then restored to office.
Fernan’s daughter Urracais married to Ramiro’s son, who
succeeds his father as
950 =Ordoño III.= His brother Sancho and Fernan Gonsalez
revolt, and are aided by the Navarrese. Ordoño triumphs over
them and quells a Galician revolt.
955 =Ordoño IV= makes himself king by gaining over the troops of
956 =Sancho (I) the Fat=, who recovers his rights with the help
of Cordovan troops.
967 =Ramiro III.=
968 The Northmen under Gundered invade and waste Galicia and
great part of Leon during two years, till they are finally
overthrown and destroyed by the count of Galicia and their
vessels are burned.
979 Almansor, regent of Cordova, collects an army against Leon
and defeats
981 Ramiro at Zamora and Simancas.
982 Indecisive battle of Monterroso between Ramiro and the
pretender Bermudo who, on the death of Ramiro, succeeds as
=Bermudo= or =Veremundo (II) the Gouty=. His reign is occupied
by continuous rebellions under Rodrigo Velasquez, Conancio,
Gonzalo Bermudez, and others, while Almansor constantly
increases his territory, taking city after city, including
Coimbra, which he destroyed, Leon, whose fortifications he
razed, Compostella, whence he carried off the gates and bells
of the shrine of St. James.
999 =Alfonso V= (under the regency of Gonsalvo).
1002 Death of Almansor after his defeat at the perhaps fabulous
battle of Calatanazar. Order restored in the kingdom of Leon.
The capital is rebuilt. Beneficial laws proclaimed. Sancho
Garces, count of Castile, rebels.
1021 Garcia succeeds Sancho as count of Castile.
1026 Murder of Garcia at his marriage with the princess of
Leon. The northern part of Castile annexed to Navarre. Alfonso
invades Portugal and is killed at the siege of Viseu.
1027 =Bermudo III.= Sancho the Great of Navarre conquers part
of Leon. Bermudo wins several fortresses from the Mohammedans.
1037 Battle of Carrion. Bermudo slain in battle with =Ferdinand
I=, king of Castile, who is recognised as king of Leon,
Galicia, and Asturias, in right of his wife, Bermudo’s sister.
RISE OF CASTILE (739-1037 A.D.)
739-757 Alfonso I of Leon erects fortresses (_castella_) in the
ancient province of Cantabria, called in the eighth century
Bardulia, and then Castile.
860 =Rodrigo=, count of Castile.
866 =Diego Rodriguez, Porcellos=, count.
882 Burgos founded.
=Gonzalo Fernandez.=
=Nuño Fernandez.=
932 =Fernan Gonsalez= revolts against Ramiro II of Leon and is
defeated and captured by him, but is restored to office. His
daughter Urraca marries Ramiro’s son Ordoño (III).
950 Revolt of Fernan against Ordoño III with whose brother
Sancho he invades Leon, but is repulsed. Ordoño repudiates
Urraca. She marries the son of Alfonso IV of Leon, afterwards
Ordoño IV. Fernan Gonsalez is credited by the older writers
with great achievements in the struggle with the Moors.
970 =Garcia Fernandez=, count. His son Sancho Garces rebels
against him. The story of the infantes De Lara, their betrayal
to the Moors, their murder and the vengeance taken by their
half-brother Mudarra, belongs to this reign.
995 The Cordovans defeat and capture Garcia. He dies of his
wounds. =Sancho Garces=, count.
1021 =Garcia=, count.
1026 Birth of Ruy, or Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar, called el Cid
Campeador (the Lord Champion). Garcia betrothed to the
daughter of Alfonso V of Leon with the promise of the title
of king. Garcia murdered at the wedding. Sancho the Great of
Navarre annexes the northern part of Castile and assumes the
sovereignty of the whole in right of his wife, Muña Elvira,
Garcia’s sister; and on his death his son
1035 =Ferdinand (I) the Great= becomes king of Castile with
the district between the Pisuerga and the Cea, which had been
conquered from Leon by Sancho the Great and which Bermudo III
attempts to recover, but is slain in the
1037 Battle of Carrion. Ferdinand, as the husband of Bermudo’s
sister, succeeds to the kingdom of Leon, after a slight
resistance from the population.
KINGDOMS OF CASTILE AND LEON (1037-1156 A.D.)
1037 =Ferdinand (I) the Great=, king of Leon and Castile. He
establishes his capital at Leon; confirms and adds to the laws
of Alfonso V; subdues the rebellious barons, and engages in a
war with his brother Garcia III of Navarre, who at the
1054 battle of Atapuerca is defeated and slain.
1055 Ferdinand takes Cea and other fortresses from the
Mohammedans. Viseu and Lamego taken (1057), and
1064 Coimbra. The king of Toledo becomes a vassal of Leon.
Valencia and Andalusia invaded by Ferdinand. On his death
1065 =Sancho II= becomes king of Castile. Alfonso VI king of
Leon and Garcia king of Galicia. Ferdinand’s daughters, Urraca
and Elvira, receive Zamora and Toro.
1068 Battle of Golpejara on the Pisuerga. Alfonso defeats
Sancho, but on the arrival of the Cid is in his turn defeated
by Sancho.
1071 At the battle of Valpellage Sancho defeats Alfonso VI and
imprisons him in a monastery, whence he escapes to Toledo.
Garcia then seizes the lands of Urraca,
1072 but is attacked at Santarem by Sancho, who is at first
defeated and taken prisoner, but afterwards released by the
Cid. The Castilians in their turn defeat and capture Garcia,
who is either held prisoner or made tributary. Sancho now
besieges his sister Urraca in Zamora, but is assassinated
before the walls.
1073 =Alfonso VI= returns, is elected at Burgos, and
acknowledged by Leonnese, Castilians, and Galicians, but an
oath is exacted of his innocence of Sancho’s death. The oath is
administered by the Cid, who incurs Alfonso’s lasting enmity.
Garcia kept prisoner.
1074 Expedition of Alfonso to aid the king of Toledo in
resisting the king of Cordova. Alfonso invades Portugal, and
makes several Mohammedan governors tributary. Marriage of the
Cid and Ximena.
1077 The Council of Burgos declines to accept the Roman ritual,
but the supremacy of Rome is acknowledged by Alfonso.
1081 The Cid banished for waging independent war against the
king of Granada. He takes service with the Mohammedan ruler of
Saragossa.
1084 Toledo is taken by Alfonso from Yahya ben Ismail after a
siege of two years, and becomes the capital of the kingdom.
Alfonso in return for its surrender promised to maintain Yahya
in possession of Valencia, but failed to do so.
1086 Battle of Zallaka. Yusuf, king of the Almoravids, comes
to the aid of the Spanish Moors, and defeats the forces of
Castile, Aragon, and Barcelona. Alfonso resumes the offensive.
The Cid is said to have been active in all these wars: after
being banished by Alfonso he carried on hostilities on his own
account, and after his restoration to favour was foremost in
the great siege of Toledo, after which he again waged war on
his own account, subduing many Moorish chiefs, including the
kings of Saragossa and Valencia. The latter being deposed and
slain by a rival,
1094 the Cid laid siege to the city and took it after a long
and famous siege. He was in
1100 his turn twice besieged there, and after his death (1099)
the Moors regained possession.
1108 Yusuf’s successor Ali inflicted a severe defeat on Alfonso
in the battle of Ucles or Urcesia.
1109 =Urraca=, daughter of Alfonso VI, succeeds to Castile and
Leon. Her second husband Alfonso I of Aragon, el Batallador, is
recognised as Alfonso VII of Castile and Leon, and assumes the
title of emperor of Spain. Alfonso Raymond, Urraca’s son by
her first marriage, inherits Galicia. Domestic quarrels and war
between Urraca and her husband. A party declares for Alfonso
Raymond, and after a long period of civil war and anarchy he is
recognised on Urraca’s death as
1126 =Alfonso (VII) Raymond= (also called Alfonso VIII). Peace
arranged between him and his stepfather.
1134 On the latter’s death at Fraga the king of Castile
protects Aragon from the Moors, and occupies several Aragonese
fortresses, which he only restores to Aragon as fiefs.
1135 The rulers of Navarre, Barcelona, and Toulouse do Alfonso
homage. He assumes the title of emperor of all Spain. War with
Navarre and the count of Portugal.
1140 Tourney of Valdevez. The Castilian knights defeated by the
Portuguese. Alfonso Henriques of Portugal assumes the title of
king. Alliance between Castile and Aragon for the partition of
Navarre fails.
1143 A formal treaty between Alfonso Raymond and Alfonso
Henriques of Portugal recognises the latter as king of Portugal.
1146 Castile and Aragon come to the aid of the Almoravids
against the Almohads and
1147 aided by the fleets of Pisa and Genoa take Almeria. The
Christian frontiers are advanced to the Sierra Morena.
1156 The knightly order of San Julian del Pereyro, afterwards
called of Alcantara, founded to resist the Moors.
TEMPORARY SEPARATION OF CASTILE AND LEON (1157-1230 A.D.)
1157 =Sancho III= inherits Castile, and =Ferdinand II= Leon.
1158 =Alfonso (VIII)= (III of Castile) =the Noble= succeeds
Sancho III at the age of three. His minority is occupied by
quarrels for the regency leading to civil war between the noble
houses of Lara and Castro. Ferdinand of Leon also claims the
chief power and invades the country, while the Navarrese seize
several border fortresses.
1169 Cortes of Burgos. The cities send representatives.
1170 Anarchy finally ended by Alfonso’s assuming the government
himself when he concludes an alliance with Raymond, regent of
Aragon, and marries Eleanor, daughter of Henry II of England.
1175 Order of the knights of Santiago founded.
1188 =Alfonso IX= of Leon succeeds Ferdinand II. Disputes and
hostilities between him and the king of Castile.
1195 The two Alfonsos make an alliance against the Moors, but
are severely defeated at Alarcon, whereupon they make war on
each other.
1197 Peace between Leon and Castile consolidated by the
marriage of Berengaria, daughter of Alfonso of Castile,
to Alfonso of Leon. Pope Innocent III, who had already
dissolved the king of Leon’s marriage with Teresa of Portugal,
excommunicates the sovereign of Leon, and lays the kingdom
under an interdict. After a struggle of six years the king
and queen separate, but their children are recognised as
legitimate. War between the two Alfonsos.
1212 Innocent III, aided by Alfonso of Castile, brings about
an alliance of the Christian states in the peninsula and,
in the great battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, they unite and
inflict a crushing defeat on the Mohammedans. On this occasion
the Spanish Christians were reinforced by large numbers of
crusaders from abroad.
1214 =Henry I=, a minor, succeeds Alfonso VIII of Castile.
Berengaria is appointed regent, but Alvaro Nuñez de Lara
contrives to supplant her, and rules in tyrannical fashion
till the death of Henry in 1217, when Berengaria succeeds, but
immediately abdicates in favour of her son, the heir of Leon.
1217 =Ferdinand (III) the Saint.= His father, Alfonso of Leon,
supported by Alvaro Nuñez, invades Castile. The nobles rally
round Ferdinand; Alvaro is taken, and peace made with Alfonso.
CASTILE AND LEON FROM THEIR PERMANENT REUNION TO THE ACCESSION OF
FERDINAND THE CATHOLIC (1230-1479 A.D.)
1230 Murcia is invaded by Ferdinand, who is besieging Jaen
when he hears of his father’s death. Berengaria persuades his
half-sisters to waive their pretensions, and Ferdinand reunites
the kingdoms of Castile and Leon. He continues his victorious
career against the Moors, takes Cordova, occupies Murcia and
part of Andalusia (1235), and
1248 takes Seville.
1252 =Alfonso (X) el Sabio= (the Learned). Xeres de la
Frontera, Medina Sidonia, and Cadiz pass into his hands.
1254 Eleanor, the king’s daughter, marries Prince Edward
(Edward I) of England.
1257 The king claims the duchy of Swabia, and having wasted
large sums in fruitless endeavours to secure election to the
German Empire, he replenishes his coffers by debasing the
coinage, persecuting the Jews, and other arbitrary measures.
1263 The Castilian rights over Algarve ceded to Portugal on
the marriage of the Portuguese king with Beatrice, daughter of
Alfonso el Sabio. Certain Castilian nobles make this an excuse
to revolt, and demand redress of grievances and extraordinary
privileges, which Alfonso weakly concedes.
1275 Death of the king’s eldest son, the infante Ferdinand de
la Cerda. The cortes declare Ferdinand’s brother Sancho the
next heir, to the exclusion of Ferdinand’s sons, the infantes
de la Cerda, whose cause is espoused by their uncle, the king
of France.
1281 War between Alfonso and Sancho. The nobles rally round
Sancho, who makes alliance with the kings of Aragon and
Portugal, and declares himself king. The war is only concluded
by the defeat of Sancho a few months before Alfonso’s death.
Alfonso is best known for the encouragement he gave to
learning, and the important literary productions which bear his
name--some of his own work, and others compiled by his order.
They include the code of laws called _Las Siete Partidas_
(promulgated in 1258); the astronomical work called the
_Alfonsine Tables_ (drawn up in 1253); the _Crónica General de
España_, a translation of the Holy Bible, and some poems.
1284 =Sancho the Great and the Brave= (or =Bravo=). The reign
is disturbed by the constant rebellions of the Laras and the
king’s brother Don Juan, and the infantes de la Cerda, aided by
Aragon, and supported by France.
1292 Alonzo Perez de Guzman the Good takes Tarifa from the
Moors, and maintains it against the emperor of Morocco and Don
Juan, refusing to surrender even to save his son whom Juan
murders before the walls.
1295 The accession of =Ferdinand (IV) el Emplazado= (the
Summoned) at the age of nine, gives fresh impulse to anarchy.
The Hermandad or brotherhood of citizens is formed to resist
the lawless depredations of the nobles. The queen-mother, Maria
de Molina, recognizes it, and opposes a bold resistance to
rival pretenders and domestic and foreign enemies.
1301 She obtains the papal recognition of her marriage, and of
the legitimacy of Ferdinand IV, but nevertheless the struggles
with turbulent barons continue during the remainder of the
reign.
1305 Treaty of Campillo puts an end to the struggle for the
succession. Ferdinand begins to reign in his own name.
1310 Trial of the Templars at Salamanca. Their solemn acquittal
does not prevent the suppression of their order in Castile as
elsewhere.
1312 Mysterious death of Ferdinand, as was said, by the
judgment of God. =Alfonso XI=, an infant, succeeds. Return of
anarchy in the struggle for the regency.
1315 The regency divided between the infantes Pedro and Juan,
the king’s uncles.
1319 Both regents slain in battle with the Moors.
1320 Don Juan Manuel assumes the regency. Civil wars with rival
claimants.
1324 The king assumes the government, but fails to restore
order. He murders his cousin, Juan el Tuerto, and by
repudiating his own wife, daughter of Don Juan Manuel, provokes
the latter to rebellion.
1328 Right of the cortes to a voice in important affairs of
state recognised by the king. He undertakes for himself and
successors to impose no tax without the consent of the cortes.
1339 Abul Hakam, emir of Fez, arrives in Spain with a large
army. Alfonso aided by troops from Aragon and Portugal defeats
him in the great
1340 Battle of Salado. Abul Hakam flees to Africa.
1344 Algeciras taken by Alfonso after a long siege.
1350 Death of Alfonso by the Black Death at the siege of
Gibraltar. It was to pay for this war that the _alcavala_,
a tax of one-twentieth on all sales of real property, was
first granted. Alfonso XI patronised letters, and ordered the
continuation of the _Crónica_ of Alfonso X which was intrusted
to a royal chronicler. The code of Alfonso X was also brought
into use in this reign. =Pedro the Cruel.= Leonora de Guzman,
the late king’s mistress, imprisoned and her sons driven into
exile.
1351 Murder of Leonora de Guzman and of Garcilasso de la Vega,
adelantado of Castile.
1352 Henry of Trastamara and Don Tello, Leonora’s sons, revolt
and form a league against
1353 Pedro. The king marries Blanche de Bourbon, a French
princess, but immediately forsakes her for Maria de Padilla,
retaining Blanche a prisoner.
1354 Ferdinand Perez de Castro revolts in revenge for the
king’s false marriage with his sister Juana. The citizens of
Toledo take arms for Blanche. Meeting at Toro between Pedro and
his barons. Pedro consents to reinstate Blanche.
1355 Pedro takes Toledo, imprisons Blanche at Siguenza,
executes several rebels, and massacres the Jewish merchants.
The kingdom laid under an interdict.
1356 Toro taken by Pedro from his mother. He massacres her
partisans before her eyes. Pedro engages in a war with
Portugal, in which many Castilian nobles join the foreigner.
1358 Don Fadrique, grand-master of Santiago and son of Leonora
de Guzman, slain by Pedro’s own hand and his partisans
murdered. Murder of Don Juan, infante of Aragon.
1361 Portuguese refugees delivered up to Pedro I of Portugal in
exchange for Castilians who had fled to Portugal, and execution
of the persons surrendered. Blanche de Bourbon poisoned.
1362 Maria de Padilla dies. Pedro declares her son his
lawful heir. Abu Saïd, king of Granada, comes to ask Pedro’s
assistance and is robbed and murdered by him.
1363 The Black Prince (of Wales) concludes an alliance with
Pedro the Cruel to meet a threatened invasion of Castile from
France. The French, under Du Guesclin, unite with the party of
Henry of Trastamara, who, supported by Aragon, claims Pedro’s
throne.
1366 Battle of Borja. Sir Hugh Calverley, commanding the
English Free Company under Du Guesclin, defeats the Castilians,
and Henry is proclaimed at Calahorra. Flight of Pedro. Henry
takes peaceful possession of Burgos and is crowned. Edward the
Black Prince receives Pedro at Bordeaux and makes a treaty
with him which includes Charles the Bad of Navarre. Edward
engages to restore Pedro in return for the surrender of certain
seaports. Charles promises the army a free passage through
Navarre. The English advance guard cut to pieces at Ariñez.
1367 Battle of Navarrete, or Najera, and complete triumph of
the English. Henry escapes to Aragon. Pedro celebrates his
restoration by a series of murders. He evades his engagements
with the Black Prince, and the latter withdraws his troops much
reduced by famine and disease.
1369 Henry returns, is welcomed by some cities and reduces
others. Pedro makes alliance with Muhammed V of Granada. The
united troops fail to retake Cordova, and Muhammed retreats.
Pedro on his way to relieve Toledo is invested in Montiel by
Henry. In an interview between the brothers, a struggle ensues
in which Henry stabs Pedro to death. =Henry II.= The king of
Portugal claims the throne of Castile, which is also threatened
by Navarre, Aragon, and Granada.
1371 A new _Ordinance concerning the Administration of Justice_
regulates criminal procedure. John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster,
claims the throne in right of his wife, Constanza, daughter of
Pedro the Cruel.
1372 Battle off La Rochelle. Henry wins a naval victory over
the English.
1373 Lisbon besieged by Henry, and the king of Portugal forced
to make peace.
1379 =Juan I= makes alliance with France.
1380 The Castilians sail up the Thames and destroy the English
shipping. Ferdinand of Portugal offers John of Gaunt his
alliance.
1381 The earl of Cambridge arrives in Portugal with a few
followers, but after some fighting in Castile returns to
England.
1382 Beatrice, heiress of Portugal, marries Juan of Castile,
but on the death of her father Ferdinand, her uncle João I
usurps the Portuguese throne
1385 and defeats Juan of Castile in a great battle at
Aljubarrota, where the Castilians lose ten thousand men.
1386 John of Gaunt lands in Galicia, is proclaimed king at
Santiago, and with the
1387 help of the king of Portugal takes several fortresses,
but is driven to retreat by an outbreak of plague in his army.
John of Gaunt resigns his claims in return for fiefs and money
and the marriage of his daughter with Juan’s eldest son, who
receives the title of prince of Asturias, now first assigned to
the heir of Castile.
1390 =Henry (III) the Sickly= succeeds at the age of eleven.
Disputes for the regency.
1392 Persecution of the Jews.
1393 Henry assumes the government himself. He has some success
in restoring order, and ranges himself on the side of the
people against the nobles.
1401 The cortes of Tordesillas passes measures for reform of
the judicial system. Embassy to Tamerlane or Timur.
1404 Conquest of the Canaries by Jean de Bethencourt, a Norman
adventurer, with assistance from Henry, who grants him the
title of king.
1406 =Juan II=, one year old, succeeds under the guardianship
of his uncle Ferdinand the Just. Ferdinand restrains the
turbulence of the nobles.
1408 Alvaro de Luna comes to court as a page and begins to
exercise his influence over Juan.
1412 Ferdinand accepts the crown of Aragon, but maintains his
influence in Castile till his death (1416).
1420 Henry, brother of Alfonso V of Aragon and Juan II of
Navarre, desiring to marry Juan’s sister Catalina, seizes the
king and keeps him prisoner till he consents to the marriage.
1425 Alvaro de Luna, the king’s favourite, made constable of
Castile.
1427 The nobles, jealous of his unbounded influence, league
against him. He is exiled, but soon recalled.
1429 New league against Alvaro. The kings of Navarre and Aragon
invade Castile.
1431 Battle of Higueruela and the defeat of the Moors by De
Luna. His vigorous rule brings prosperity to Castile.
1439 New league against De Luna, and civil war in which the
kings of Aragon and Navarre join,
1445 but are defeated by Juan in the battle of Olmedo.
1453 The king, prompted by his second wife Isabella of
Portugal, resolves on De Luna’s death. He is seized, tried, and
executed.
1454 =Henry (IV) the Impotent.= His extravagance and neglect
provoke the barons to unite against him and, after several
unsuccessful attempts, compel him to set aside the infanta
Juana, called La Beltraneja, and recognise his brother Alfonso
as his heir.
1465 Not content with this, at a solemn ceremony on the plain
of Avila, they declare Henry deposed and set up Alfonso as king.
1468 A destructive civil war continues till Alfonso’s death
(1468), when his sister Isabella (the Catholic) refuses to take
his place, and contents herself with recognition as Henry’s
heiress.
1469 Isabella refuses to marry the heir of Portugal, and
marries Ferdinand prince of Aragon. Henry’s endeavours to
secure Juana’s succession produce further bloodshed. He
bequeaths Castile to her in his will.
1474 Henry IV dies, and =Isabella (I) the Catholic= has herself
proclaimed queen of Castile. Ferdinand endeavours to assert his
own claims as representative of the male line, but is induced
to accept a carefully defined share in the government. The
cause of Juana la Beltraneja is espoused by many Castilian
nobles and by her uncle Alfonso V of Portugal, who proposes to
marry her and invades Castile.
1476 Battle of Toro and complete victory of Ferdinand and
Isabella. The rebels submit.
1479 Treaty with Portugal. Alfonso renounces Juana and she
retires to a convent. Death of Juan II of Aragon. Ferdinand
succeeds him as Ferdinand II.
THE KINGDOM OF NAVARRE (711-1515 A.D.)
=Garcia Ximenes=, first legendary king. Elected after the
battle of Guadalete (711) to defend the country against the
Moors, from whom he recovers considerable territory. From him
the Navarrese writers derive a series of kings who reigned
during the eighth and ninth centuries, but they seem, like
Garcia Ximenes himself, to be purely fictitious personages.
During this period the district seems to have been subjected
either to Asturias or the Frankish empire, probably the latter.
778 Charlemagne invades Navarre and seizes Pamplona. On his
return to France, after failing before Saragossa, his rearguard
under Roland is attacked by troops from Spanish Gascony,
including Navarre and other Spanish states, both Christian and
Moor, and totally destroyed in the pass of Roncesvalles.
806 Pepin, son of Charlemagne, receives the submission of the
Navarrese and organises the government of the country.
836 =Sancho Iñigo=, count (called by some, king) of Navarre.
885 =Garcia I.=
891 Moorish invasion. Garcia I is slain. =Fortuño Garces= rules
during the minority of Garcia’s son, Sancho Garces Abarca.
905 =Sancho (I) Garces Abarca.=
907 Pamplona besieged by the Moors during Sancho’s absence in
Gascony. Sancho relieves it after a rapid winter march across
the Pyrenees and wins a great victory. Many victories won by
Sancho over the Moors and the kingdom extended southwards.
920 Sancho retires to a monastery.
921 Abd ar-Rahman III invades Navarre and routs the combined
forces of Navarre and Leon at the Val-de-Junquera. The
Navarrese under Sancho defeat Abd ar-Rahman’s forces on their
return from a raid into Gascony.
925 =Garcia (II), El Tembloso= (the Trembler).
951 The king of Navarre in alliance with Fernan Gonsalez, count
of Castile, unsuccessfully supports Sancho, prince of Leon,
against the latter’s brother, Ordoño III of Leon.
956 Castile invaded by Garcia, and Fernan taken prisoner.
970 =Sancho (II), El Mayor= (The Great). This king was the most
powerful sovereign of Christian Spain at this period. Besides
being master of Navarre, Sobrarbe, and
1026 Aragon he conquered Castile after the murder of his
brother-in-law, the Count Garcia
1034 and won the eastern portion of Leon as far as the river
Cea from Bermudo III. His second son Ferdinand married
Bermudo’s sister and heiress, and eventually became sovereign
of Leon and Castile (1037). The lordship of Ribagorza was also
among Sancho’s acquisitions.
1035 =Garcia III= inherits Navarre and a small district on the
south bank of the Ebro, while the rest of the dominions of
Sancho the Great are divided among the latter’s other sons.
Ramiro, to whom Aragon had fallen, invades Navarre as Garcia is
on a pilgrimage to Rome, but is driven back. Garcia then aids
Ferdinand, who has succeeded
1037 to Castile, to triumph over Bermudo III of Leon. But when
the latter’s defeat and death give Ferdinand the kingdom of
Leon, Garcia turns against his brother and allies himself with
the emirs of Saragossa and Tudela.
1054 Battle of Atapuerca. Garcia and his allies defeated
and Garcia slain by Ferdinand, who annexes the Navarrese
possessions south of the Ebro. =Sancho III.=
1076 Murder of Sancho by his brother Raymond and his sister
Ermesinda. The murderers expelled from the kingdom. The kings
of Aragon and Leon dispute for the crown of Navarre. The king
of Leon annexes Rioja. The king of Aragon becomes king of
Navarre under the name of =Sancho (IV) Ramirez=.
1094 =Pedro= (Pedro I of Aragon).
1104 =Alfonso= (Alfonso I of Aragon). On his death without
issue the Navarrese refuse to recognise his will bequeathing
his kingdom to the knightly orders of St. John and the Temple,
and elect
1134 =Garcia (IV) Ramirez=, a member of the old royal house of
Navarre, while the Aragonese prefer Alfonso’s brother, Ramiro
(I) the Monk. Alfonso (VII) Raymond of Castile and Leon, who
assumes the title of emperor of all Spain, receives the homage
of Garcia and Ramiro. Garcia becomes a feudatory of Ramiro.
Alliance between Garcia and Alfonso, count of Portugal, against
Alfonso Raymond. Alfonso Raymond invades Navarre. Garcia
acknowledges his supremacy.
1140 Alfonso Raymond makes alliance with Aragon for the
partition of Navarre and again invades it, while Garcia invades
Aragon. After both have won successes, Alfonso and Garcia make
peace.
1150 =Sancho (V) the Wise.= This king’s reign is occupied with
obscure and frequent hostilities with the neighbouring states
of Aragon, Barcelona, and Castile.
1176 The kings of Castile and Navarre refer their differences
to Henry II of England. His
1179 decision is not acted upon, but a later peace between them
embraces the same terms.
1191 Berengaria, daughter of Sancho V, marries Richard I of
England.
1194 =Sancho (VI) the Infirm.= He makes alliance with Castile
and Leon against the Moors.
1195 Battle of Alarcon. Alfonso VIII of Castile defeated by
Yakub Al-mansur. Quarrels amongst the allies. Sancho concludes
an alliance with the Almohads. Alfonso of Leon takes Guipuzcoa,
Alava, and Biscay. Alliance of Navarre, Leon, Aragon, Castile,
and Portugal against the Moors, which leads to the defeat of a
Moorish army under Muhammed an-Nasir in the
1212 Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa.
1234 =Thibaut I= (Theobald or Teobaldo), count of Champagne,
elected king.
1239 Seventh Crusade led by Thibaut to Syria. On the defeat of
a portion of the army he and the other French princes desert
their comrades and return to Spain.
1253 =Thibaut II.=
1270 Eighth Crusade. Thibaut accompanies St. Louis to the Holy
Land and dies on his way home. =Henry Crassus.=
1274 =Joan= or =Jeanne I= succeeds at the age of four. The
country reduced to anarchy by disputes between native factions
and foreign princes respecting the disposal of her hand.
1284 Joan marries Philip IV of France.
1305 =Louis Hutin= (Louis X of France) succeeds Joan.
1316 =Philip I= (V of France) succeeds, to the prejudice of the
daughter of Louis Hutin.
1322 =Charles I= (IV of France), brother of Philip I. The
Navarrese protest against this reassertion of the Salic law and
on Charles’ death the crown passes to Louis Hutin’s daughter,
1328 =Joan II=, with her husband, =Philip II= (count of
Évreux), who at their coronation sign a convention securing the
independence of Navarre. Massacre of the Jews.
1334 War with Castile.
1343 Philip joins Alfonso XI of Castile in besieging Algeciras
and dies during the siege.
1349 =Charles (II) the Bad.= His endeavours to recover the
lordships of Brie and Champagne and his murder of the constable
of France lead to his imprisonment by the French king. He
escapes and is subsequently pardoned.
1361 Return of Charles to Navarre. He promises to aid Pedro the
Cruel of Castile against Aragon.
1366 Alliance of Charles with Edward the Black Prince of Wales
to restore Pedro the Cruel. Charles plays fast and loose with
the rival kings of Castile and seizes Salvatierra and Logroño
for himself.
1370 On the accession of Henry II Charles invades Castile.
1371 Claims of Navarre to Champagne, Brie, etc., ceded to
France in exchange for Montpellier. Charles makes peace with
Henry II.
1377 Charles accused of plotting to acquire domains in Gascony.
His French possessions declared forfeited. The Castilians
invade Navarre and besiege Pamplona. Charles makes alliance
with the English and on their approach the Castilians retreat.
1385 Charles accused of plotting to poison the French royal
family. The last remains of his French possessions are seized.
1387 =Charles (III) the Noble.=
1403 Dukedom of Nemours granted to the king of Navarre.
1425 =Blanche=, daughter of Charles the Noble, succeeds with
her husband =Juan of Aragon=. He interferes constantly in the
internal troubles of Castile, while Blanche governs peaceably
during his absence.
1432 Juan appointed regent of Aragon in the absence of Alfonso
V.
1442 =Charles of Viana= succeeds to Navarre as regent on the
death of his mother Blanche. The kingdom is distracted by
two parties, the Beaumonts, partisans of Charles, and the
Agramonts, partisans of his father Juan.
1447 Juan marries Juana Henriquez and appoints his wife
co-regent of Navarre. She quarrels with Charles.
1452 Revolt of Charles. Birth of his half-brother Ferdinand
(the Catholic). Battle of Aybar. Juan defeats and captures
Charles. Charles is released and returns to Navarre, but
finding his enemies too strong for him he withdraws to Naples.
1458 Juan succeeds to the throne of Aragon as Juan II.
Misunderstanding between father and son continues till
1460 Charles negotiates for the hand of Isabella of Castile
which was desired for his half-brother Ferdinand of Aragon.
Charles is arrested by his father when Catalonia revolts in his
favour, and Juan is obliged to
1461 recognise him as his heir. The prince dies immediately
afterwards.
1464 Blanche, Charles’ eldest sister, dies, probably poisoned
at the instigation of her father by her sister Eleanor,
countess of Foix. The country continues to be distracted by the
wars of the Beaumonts and Agramonts.
1479 =Eleanor de Foix= becomes queen on the death of Juan and
dying immediately afterwards is succeeded by her grandson,
=Francis Phœbus de Foix=.
1483 =Catherine de Foix.= Ferdinand and Isabella endeavour
to secure her hand and kingdom for their eldest son, but she
marries =Jean d’Albret=.
1512 Ferdinand the Catholic demands the cession of six
Navarrese fortresses and a free passage through Navarre to
facilitate his invasion of Guienne. Treaty of alliance between
France and Navarre signed at Blois. Ferdinand’s general, the
duke of Alva, takes Pamplona and occupies the whole of upper
Navarre. Ferdinand’s English allies refuse to co-operate with
him for the reduction of the rest of the country, and on their
withdrawal Jean d’Albret with a French army besieges Alva in
Pamplona, but for lack of provisions is compelled to retreat.
1513 Treaty between Ferdinand and Louis XII of France by which
the latter abandons Navarre. Ferdinand restores order and
conciliates the Navarrese towns by confirming their privileges.
1515 The cortes of Burgos formally incorporates Navarre into
the kingdom of Castile.
CATALONIA (470-1150 A.D.)
470 Gothalania (Catalonia) was the name bestowed on the
northeastern section of Hispania Tarraconensis in consequence
of its occupation by the Goths and Alans (470).
712 Berbers take possession of the whole Catalonian territory.
At the end of the eighth century Charlemagne’s troops, under
command of Louis le Débonnaire, invade Catalonia, and conquer
a district including Barcelona, Lerida, Tarragona, and Tortosa
which they call the Marca Hispanica or Spanish Mark. =Bera=,
a native of Gothic Gaul, becomes count of Barcelona and the
Mark, and tyrannises over the country. Counts of Rosello,
Ampurias, Besalu, Cerdagne, Pallars, and Urgel appointed.
Frequent conflicts with the Moors in which the Frankish armies
join and waste the southern districts.
814 Death of Charlemagne. Septimania becomes united with the
Spanish Mark.
826 Bera, being deposed for treasonable dealings with Al Hakim
of Cordova, is succeeded as duke of Septimania, by =Bernhard=,
son of William of Toulouse, who plays an important rôle in
Frankish history.
832 Bernhard aids Pepin, king of Aquitaine, in rebellion
against Louis le Débonnaire and is deprived of his dignities.
836 Bernhard reinstated in his duchy.
840 Charles the Bald succeeds to Catalonia on the death of
Louis le Débonnaire. Bernhard at first refuses and then offers
his allegiance; but afterwards aiming at independence is
murdered by Charles. William, Bernhard’s son, seeks refuge with
Abd ar-Rahman.
846 =Aledran= made count of Barcelona by Charles. William wages
successful war against him, but is finally murdered. Frankish
dominion restored. Narbonensian Gaul is taken from the Spanish
Mark and added to Toulouse.
852 Barcelona retaken by the Moors. They retain possession
during twelve years.
858 =Wilfrid I= (Wilfredo or Hunfrido I) count of Barcelona.
He takes possession of Toulouse, etc. Summoned to Narbonne
to justify himself, he is there slain in a petty fray and is
succeeded by
872 =Salomon=, who is murdered in revenge for Wilfrid’s death
by the latter’s son.
874 =Wilfred (II) the Hairy=, who successfully repels the
Moors, makes himself independent of France and leaves his
territory to his son
907 =Miro=, who bequeaths it to his three sons, =Seniofredo=,
=Oliva=, and =Miro=, under the regency of their uncle Suniario,
count of Urgel.
950 =Seniofredo.=
967 =Borello=, son of Suniario.
984 Almansor takes Barcelona, slaughters the inhabitants, and
burns a great part of the city. Borello recovers Barcelona and
expels the invaders.
993 =Raymond I= repels a Moorish invasion and wins a battle
against Suleiman of Cordova
1009 which places the usurper Muhammed I on the throne. The
Catalans take the lead in an unsuccessful crusade against the
Moorish pirates of the Balearic Islands.
1017 =Berengar I= organises the country and grants privileges
to Barcelona and other towns.
1035 =Raymond II= wins victories over the Moors of Saragossa
and becomes sovereign of all Catalonia. He abolishes the old
Gothic laws, substituting the
1068 _Usages of Catalonia_, and institutes the Peace of God in
an assembly of the Estates which is the earliest occasion in
European history on which deputies are summoned from the towns.
By marriage and purchase he acquires Conflans, Carcassonne,
Narbonne, Toulouse, and other French possessions. Bequeaths his
dominions to his two sons as joint rulers.
1076 =Raymond (III) the Hairy= quarrels with his brother
=Berengar=. The nobles effect a settlement whereby each is to
reign alternately for six months. Raymond is murdered, probably
at Berengar’s instigation. Berengar governs alone as guardian
for Raymond III’s son.
1082 =Raymond IV.= Bernard Atto, vicomte de Béziers, usurps
the lordship of Carcassonne. The people appeal to Raymond from
his oppressions. He becomes a vassal of Raymond. By marriage
and inheritance Raymond acquires Besalu (1111), Provence, and
Cerdagne (1117), and conquers Majorca. Provence passes on his
death to his son Berengar.
1131 =Raymond V.=
1137 On Raymond’s betrothal to Petronilla, daughter of Ramiro
the Monk, king of Aragon, he is declared heir to the throne of
Aragon and assumes the administration of that kingdom.
1150 Marriage of Raymond and Petronilla confirms union of
Catalonia and Aragon.
KINGDOM OF ARAGON FROM ITS RISE TILL ITS UNION WITH CASTILE (1035-1479
A.D.)
1035 On the death of Sancho el Mayor of Navarre his territories
are divided among his sons, and =Ramiro I= succeeds to a small
Pyrenean district called Aragon in the northwestern corner of
the modern province in the territory of the ancient Vascones.
Ramiro by his wars with the Moors extends his borders,
absorbing Sobrarbe and Ribagorza, and reducing several Moorish
governors to the condition of tributaries. He consents to adopt
the Roman ritual and to send tribute to the pope.
1067 =Sancho Ramirez.=
1076 On the murder of Sancho III of Navarre, Sancho Ramirez and
Alfonso VI of Castile invade Navarre, and Sancho becomes king
of Navarre as Sancho IV. He conquers several cities from the
Moors, commences a war with the emir of Saragossa, and dies
while besieging Huesca.
1094 =Pedro I.=
1096 Battle of Alcoraz. Pedro wins a decisive victory over the
Moors of Saragossa and their Castilian allies, and takes Huesca.
1104 =Alfonso (I), el Batallador= (the Fighter), and =the
Emperor=.
1109 Death of Alfonso VI of Castile. His daughter Urraca, the
wife of Alfonso I, el Batallador, succeeds, and her husband is
acknowledged as Alfonso VII of Leon and Castile. He quarrels
with his wife, and constant civil war is the result to Castile.
1118 Saragossa taken by el Batallador after a five years’
siege. It becomes the capital of Aragon.
1120 Battle of Daroca. El Batallador defeats an Almoravid army,
takes Tarragona and Calatayud, and invades Andalusia.
1126 Death of Urraca. Castile is definitely separated from
Aragon under Alfonso VII (Raymond) of Castile and Leon,
Urraca’s son by her first husband.
1130 Bordeaux besieged and taken by Alfonso I. He resumes his
war against the Moors.
1133 Representatives of the cities summoned to the cortes.
1134 Alfonso is defeated at Fraga and dies soon after,
bequeathing his dominions to the knights of the Temple and
St. John. His subjects refuse to recognise his will and his
brother, =Ramiro (II) the Monk=, is persuaded to leave his
monastery and accept the crown of Aragon, while the Navarrese
choose Garcia (IV) Ramirez as king.
1137 =Petronilla=, Ramiro’s infant daughter, betrothed to
=Raymond=, count of Catalonia, who is appointed regent of
Aragon. Catalonia thus becomes absorbed in Aragon, and Ramiro
retires to a cloister.
1140 Navarre invaded by Raymond in conjunction with Alfonso
VII of Castile, but without success, and on the conclusion of
peace the three sovereigns make alliance against the Moors and
capture various cities, Raymond acquiring Fraga, Lerida, and
Tortosa.
1150 Marriage of Raymond and Petronilla.
1162 Death of Raymond. Petronilla abdicates in favour of her
son =Alfonso II=, who acquires Roussillon by inheritance and
wins Teruel and other fortresses from the Moors. In this reign
cortes were held and attended by the four estates of the realm
(1163, 1164).
1196 =Pedro II.=
1203 Coronation of Pedro by the pope. Aragon is constituted a
papal fief, and Pedro promises to pay tribute to the holy see,
but
1205 the estates of Saragossa repudiate the transaction.
1208 The Albigensian crusade. Pedro refuses to declare for
either party, but turns his arms against the Moors and shares
the glory at the great Christian victory of
1212 Las Navas de Tolosa.
1213 He endeavours to mediate between the Albigensians and the
crusaders, but fails and lays siege to the latter’s city of
Muret, when he is slain in a battle with Simon de Montfort.
=James (I) the Conqueror=, known as Don Jayme of Aragon (in
Catalonian En Jacme, lo Conqueridor), succeeds at the age of
six. The usual civil wars occupy his minority, but finally he
triumphs over all rebels.
1228 Balearic Islands, the haunt of Moorish pirates, attacked
and subdued after a four years’ war.
1232 Valencia invaded.
1238 Conquest of Valencia completed. The Moors are guaranteed
security and religious liberty.
1264-1266 Murcia reconquered by James for his son-in-law,
Alfonso X of Castile.
1268 By the execution of Conradin, the last of the
Hohenstaufen, Constanza, wife of James’ son, Pedro (III), and
daughter of Manfred, king of Sicily, becomes heiress of Sicily,
now in the hands of the usurper, Charles of Anjou.
1269 Preparations for a crusade to the Holy Land headed by
James. The king is turned back by a storm, but his son,
Fernan Sanchez, proceeds to Acre. Like Alfonso X of Castile,
James left a chronicle or commentary of his reign (afterwards
continued by Raymond Muntaner), as well as a book of aphorisms
called the _Libre de Saviesa_, both written in the Catalan
language.
1276 =Pedro (III) the Great.= The Balearic Islands with
Roussillon. Montpellier, etc., are converted by the will of
James I into a separate kingdom of Majorca for his younger son,
James I of Majorca. Pedro prepares to invade Sicily.
1282 The Sicilian Vespers, in which the native population
massacre twenty-eight thousand Frenchmen. Charles of Anjou lays
siege to Messina. Pedro of Aragon comes to its relief and is
proclaimed king of Sicily. Roger de Lauria, Pedro’s admiral,
with a few ships destroys the French fleet.
1283 The Aragonese cortes protest against the king’s wars and
exact the _General Privilege_, the Magna Charta of Aragon,
confirming their liberties. The pope excommunicates
1284 Pedro. De Lauria takes Malta and destroys the fleet in the
Bay of Naples. The pope, Martin IV, proclaims a crusade against
Aragon and bestows the kingdom on the French prince, Charles of
Valois. The Aragonese are reluctant to oppose Rome.
1285 The crusaders invade the kingdom, but after taking and
sacking several cities the army breaks up. Charles of Anjou
dies, leaving his claims to his son Charles II. Pedro dies,
leaving Sicily to his younger son James and Aragon to =Alfonso
III=. Majorca subdued by Alfonso.
1287 The “Privilege of Union” granted, authorising armed
rebellion against the sovereign who shall infringe his
subjects’ liberties.
1291 As a result of negotiations conducted by Edward I of
England, Alfonso is reconciled to the pope and Sicily is
abandoned by James, who immediately after, on the death of
Alfonso, succeeds to Aragon as =James II=. He makes his brother
Frederick (Fadrique) his lieutenant in Sicily.
1295 Alliance between James and Charles of Anjou.
1296 The pope invests James with Sardinia and Corsica, occupied
at the time by the Genoese and Pisans. The deserted Sicilians
give the crown to Frederick. The king of Aragon assists Charles
in his attempts to recover Sicily, but abandons the enterprise
after several successes.
1302 Peace between Frederick and Charles by which the former
retains Sicily, the latter Naples.
1303 The Catalan Grand Company is formed by Roger di Flor from
the disbanded mercenaries (chiefly Aragonese and Catalan) of
Frederick and takes service with the Greek emperor Andronicus
II.
1319 Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia declared inseparable.
1324 Sardinia invaded by James. With the aid of the grand
justice of Arborea, Marian IV, the Pisans are expelled. The
grand justice turns his arms against the Aragonese and the war
is continued under
1327 =Alfonso IV=, when the Genoese assist the islanders and
ravage the coasts of Catalonia.
1336 =Pedro IV= refuses to recognise the claims of his
stepmother, Leonora of Castile, and her sons, Juan and
Ferdinand, to the appanages assigned them under Alfonso’s will,
and thus involves himself in civil disputes and a war with
Castile. He offends the clergy by crowning himself instead of
being crowned by the archbishop of Saragossa.
1343 Invasion of Majorca by Pedro. The islanders welcome him,
deserting James II of Majorca. Pedro conquers James’ French
possessions.
1344 Balearic Islands formally annexed to Aragon.