CONDITION OF ARAGON DURING THE MINORITY OF FERDINAND.--REIGN OF JOHN II.,
OF ARAGON.
1452-1472.
John of Aragon.--Difficulties with his Son Carlos.--Birth of Ferdinand.--
Insurrection of Catalonia.--Death of Carlos.--His Character.--Tragical
Story of Blanche.--Young Ferdinand besieged by the Catalans.--Treaty
between France and Aragon.--Distress and Embarrassments of John.--Siege
and Surrender of Barcelona.
We must now transport the reader to Aragon, in order to take a view of the
extraordinary circumstances, which opened the way for Ferdinand's
succession in that kingdom. The throne, which had become vacant by the
death of Martin, in 1410, was awarded by the committee of judges to whom
the nation had referred the great question of the succession, to
Ferdinand, regent of Castile during the minority of his nephew, John the
Second; and thus the sceptre, after having for more than two centuries
descended in the family of Barcelona, was transferred to the same bastard
branch of Trastamara, that ruled over the Castilian monarchy. [1]
Ferdinand the First was succeeded after a brief reign by his son Alfonso
the Fifth, whose personal history belongs less to Aragon than to Naples,
which kingdom he acquired by his own prowess, and where he established his
residence, attracted, no doubt, by the superior amenity of the climate and
the higher intellectual culture, as well as the pliant temper of the
people, far more grateful to the monarch than the sturdy independence of
his own countrymen.
During his long absence, the government of his hereditary domains devolved
on his brother John, as his lieutenant-general in Aragon. [2] This prince
had married Blanche, widow of Martin, king of Sicily, and daughter of
Charles the Third, of Navarre. By her he had three children; Carlos,
prince of Viana; [3] Blanche, married to and afterwards repudiated by
Henry the Fourth, of Castile; [4] and Eleanor, who espoused a French
noble, Gaston, count of Foix. On the demise of the elder Blanche, the
crown of Navarre rightfully belonged to her son, the prince of Viana,
conformably to a stipulation in her marriage contract, that, on the event
of her death, the eldest heir male, and, in default of sons, female,
should inherit the kingdom, to the exclusion of her husband. [5] This
provision, which had been confirmed by her father, Charles the Third, in
his testament, was also recognized in her own, accompanied however with a
request, that her son Carlos, then twenty-one years of age, would, before
assuming the sovereignty, solicit "the good will and approbation of his
father." [6] Whether this approbation was withheld, or whether it was ever
solicited, does not appear. It seems probable, however, that Carlos,
perceiving no disposition in his father to relinquish the rank and nominal
title of king of Navarre, was willing he should retain them, so long as he
himself should be allowed to exercise the actual rights of sovereignty;
which indeed he did, as lieutenant-general or governor of the kingdom, at
the time of his mother's decease, and for some years after. [7]
In 1447, John of Aragon contracted a second alliance with Joan Henriquez,
of the blood royal of Castile, and daughter of Don Frederic Henriquez,
admiral of that kingdom; [8] a woman considerably younger than himself, of
consummate address, intrepid spirit, and unprincipled ambition. Some years
after this union, John sent his wife into Navarre, with authority to
divide with his son Carlos the administration of the government there.
This encroachment on his rights, for such Carlos reasonably deemed it, was
not mitigated by the deportment of the young queen, who displayed all the
insolence of sudden elevation, and who from the first seems to have
regarded the prince with the malevolent eye of a step-mother.
Navarre was at that time divided by two potent factions, styled, from
their ancient leaders, Beaumonts and Agramonts; whose hostility,
originating in a personal feud, had continued long after its original
cause had become extinct. [9]
The prince of Viana was intimately connected with some of the principal
partisans of the Beaumont faction, who heightened by their suggestions the
indignation to which his naturally gentle temper had been roused by the
usurpation of Joan, and who even called on him to assume openly, and in
defiance of his father, the sovereignty which of right belonged to him.
The emissaries of Castile, too, eagerly seized this occasion of
retaliating on John his interference in the domestic concerns of that
monarchy, by fanning the spark of discord into a flame. The Agramonts, on
the other hand, induced rather by hostility to their political adversaries
than to the prince of Viana, vehemently espoused the cause of the queen.
In this revival of half-buried animosities, fresh causes of disgust were
multiplied, and matters soon came to the worst extremity. The queen, who
had retired to Estella, was besieged there by the forces of the prince.
The king, her husband, on receiving intelligence of this, instantly
marched to her relief; and the father and son confronted each other at the
head of their respective armies near the town of Aybar. [10] The unnatural
position, in which they thus found themselves, seems to have sobered their
minds, and to have opened the way to an accommodation, the terms of which
were actually arranged, when the long-smothered rancor of the ancient
factions of Navarre thus brought in martial array against each other,
refusing all control, precipitated them into an engagement. The royal
forces were inferior in number, but superior in discipline, to those of
the prince, who, after a well contested action, saw his own party entirely
discomfited, and himself a prisoner. [11]
Some months before this event, Queen Joan had been delivered of a son,
afterwards so famous as Ferdinand the Catholic; whose humble prospects, at
the time of his birth, as a younger brother, afforded a striking contrast
with the splendid destiny which eventually awaited him. This auspicious
event occurred in the little town of Sos, in Aragon, on the 10th of March,
1452; and, as it was nearly contemporary with the capture of
Constantinople, is regarded by Garibay to have been providentially
assigned to this period, as affording, in a religious view, an ample
counterpoise to the loss of the capital of Christendom. [12]
The demonstrations of satisfaction, exhibited by John and his court on
this occasion, contrasted strangely with the stern severity with which he
continued to visit the offences of his elder offspring. It was not till
after many months of captivity that the king, in deference to public
opinion rather than the movements of his own heart, was induced to release
his son, on conditions, however, so illiberal (his indisputable claim to
Navarre not being even touched upon) as to afford no reasonable basis of
reconciliation. The young prince accordingly, on his return to Navarre,
became again involved in the factions which desolated that unhappy
kingdom, and, after an ineffectual struggle against his enemies, resolved
to seek an asylum at the court of his uncle Alfonso the Fifth, of Naples,
and to refer to him the final arbitration of his differences with his
father. [13]
On his passage through France and the various courts of Italy, he was
received with the attentions due to his rank, and still more to his
personal character and misfortunes. Nor was he disappointed in the
sympathy and favorable reception, which he had anticipated from his uncle.
Assured of protection from so high a quarter, Carlos might now reasonably
flatter himself with the restitution of his legitimate rights, when these
bright prospects were suddenly overcast by the death of Alfonso, who
expired at Naples of a fever in the month of May, 1458, bequeathing his
hereditary dominions of Spain, Sicily, and Sardinia to his brother John,
and his kingdom of Naples to his illegitimate son Ferdinand. [14]
The frank and courteous manners of Carlos had won so powerfully on the
affections of the Neapolitans, who distrusted the dark, ambiguous
character of Ferdinand, Alfonso's heir, that a large party eagerly pressed
the prince to assert his title to the vacant throne, assuring him of a
general support from the people. But Carlos, from motives of prudence or
magnanimity, declined engaging in this new contest, [15] and passed over
to Sicily, whence he resolved to solicit a final reconciliation with his
father. He was received with much kindness by the Sicilians, who,
preserving a grateful recollection of the beneficent sway of his mother
Blanche, when queen of that island, readily transferred to the son their
ancient attachment to the parent. An assembly of the states voted a
liberal supply for his present exigencies, and even urged him, if we are
to credit the Catalan ambassador at the court of Castile, to assume the
sovereignty of the island. [16] Carlos, however, far from entertaining so
rash an ambition, seems to have been willing to seclude himself from
public observation. He passed the greater portion of his time at a convent
of Benedictine friars not far from Messina, where, in the society of
learned men, and with the facilities of an extensive library, he
endeavored to recall the happier hours of youth in the pursuit of his
favorite studies of philosophy and history. [17]
In the mean while, John, now king of Aragon and its dependencies, alarmed
by the reports of his son's popularity in Sicily, became as solicitous for
the security of his authority there, as he had before been for it in
Navarre. He accordingly sought to soothe the mind of the prince by the
fairest professions, and to allure him back to Spain by the prospect of an
effectual reconciliation. Carlos, believing what he most earnestly wished,
in opposition to the advice of his Sicilian counsellors, embarked for
Majorca, and, after some preliminary negotiations, crossed over to the
coast of Barcelona. Postponing, for fear of giving offence to his father,
his entrance into that city, which, indignant at his persecution, had made
the most brilliant preparations for his reception, he proceeded to
Igualada, where an interview took place between him and the king and
queen, in which he conducted himself with unfeigned humility and
penitence, reciprocated on their part by the most consummate
dissimulation. [18]
All parties now confided in the stability of a pacification so anxiously
desired, and effected with such apparent cordiality. It was expected that
John would hasten to acknowledge his son's title as heir apparent to the
crown of Aragon, and convene an assembly of the states to tender him the
customary oath of allegiance. But nothing was further from the monarch's
intention. He indeed summoned the Aragonese cortes at Fraga for the
purpose of receiving their homage to himself; but he expressly refused
their request touching a similar ceremony to the prince of Viana; and he
openly rebuked the Catalans for presuming to address him as the successor
to the crown. [19]
In this unnatural procedure it was easy to discern the influence of the
queen. In addition to her original causes of aversion to Carlos, she
regarded him with hatred as the insuperable obstacle to her own child
Ferdinand's advancement. Even the affection of John seemed to be now
wholly transferred from the offspring of his first to that of his second
marriage; and, as the queen's influence over him was unbounded, she found
it easy by artful suggestions to put a dark construction on every action
of Carlos, and to close up every avenue of returning affection within his
bosom.
Convinced at length of the hopeless alienation of his father, the prince
of Viana turned his attention to other quarters, whence he might obtain
support, and eagerly entered into a negotiation, which had been opened
with him on the part of Henry the Fourth, of Castile, for a union with his
sister the princess Isabella. This was coming in direct collision with the
favorite scheme of his parents. The marriage of Isabella with the young
Ferdinand, which indeed, from the parity of their ages, was a much more
suitable connection than that with Carlos, had long been the darling
object of their policy, and they resolved to effect it in the face of
every obstacle. In conformity with this purpose, John invited the prince
of Viana to attend him at Lerida, where he was then holding the cortes of
Catalonia. The latter fondly, and indeed foolishly, after his manifold
experience to the contrary, confiding in the relenting disposition of his
father, hastened to obey the summons, in expectation of being publicly
acknowledged as his heir in the assembly of the states. After a brief
interview he was arrested, and his person placed in strict confinement.
[20]
The intelligence of this perfidious procedure diffused general
consternation among all classes. They understood too well the artifices of
the queen and the vindictive temper of the king, not to feel the most
serious apprehensions, not only for the liberty, but for the life of their
prisoner. The cortes of Lerida, which, though dissolved on that very day,
had not yet separated, sent an embassy to John, requesting to know the
nature of the crimes imputed to his son. The permanent deputation of
Aragon, and a delegation from the council of Barcelona, waited on him for
a similar purpose, remonstrating at the same time against any violent and
unconstitutional proceeding. To all these John returned a cold, evasive
answer, darkly intimating a suspicion of conspiracy by his son against his
life, and reserving to himself the punishment of the offense. [21]
No sooner was the result of their mission communicated, than the whole
kingdom was thrown into a ferment. The high-spirited Catalans rose in
arms, almost to a man. The royal governor, after a fruitless attempt to
escape, was seized and imprisoned in Barcelona. Troops were levied, and
placed under the command of experienced officers of the highest rank. The
heated populace, outstripping the tardy movement of military operations,
marched forward to Lerida in order to get possession of the royal person.
The king, who had seasonable notice of this, displayed his wonted presence
of mind. He ordered supper to be prepared for him at the usual hour, but,
on the approach of night, made his escape on horseback with one or two
attendants only, on the road to Fraga, a town within the territory of
Aragon; while the mob, traversing the streets of Lerida, and finding
little resistance at the gate, burst into the palace and ransacked every
corner of it, piercing, in their fury, even the curtains and beds with
their swords and lances. [22]
The Catalan army, ascertaining the route of the royal fugitive, marched
directly on Fraga, and arrived so promptly that John, with his wife, and
the deputies of the Aragonese cortes assembled there, had barely time to
make their escape on the road to Saragossa, while the insurgents poured
into the city from the opposite quarter. The person of Carlos, in the mean
time, was secured in the inaccessible fortress of Morella, situated in a
mountainous district on the confines of Valencia. John, on halting at
Saragossa, endeavored to assemble an Aragonese force capable of resisting
the Catalan rebels. But the flame of insurrection had spread throughout
Aragon, Valencia, and Navarre, and was speedily communicated to his
transmarine possessions of Sardinia and Sicily. The king of Castile
supported Carlos at the same time by an irruption into Navarre, and his
partisans, the Beaumonts, co-operated with these movements by a descent on
Aragon. [23]
John, alarmed at the tempest which his precipitate conduct had roused, at
length saw the necessity of releasing his prisoner; and, as the queen had
incurred general odium as the chief instigator of his persecution, he
affected to do this in consequence of her interposition. As Carlos with
his mother-in-law traversed the country on their way to Barcelona, he was
everywhere greeted, by the inhabitants of the villages thronging out to
meet him, with the most touching enthusiasm. The queen, however, having
been informed by the magistrates that her presence would not be permitted
in the capital, deemed it prudent to remain at Villa Franca, about twenty
miles distant; while the prince, entering Barcelona, was welcomed with the
triumphant acclamation due to a conqueror returning from a campaign of
victories. [24]
The conditions on which the Catalans proposed to resume their allegiance
to their sovereign were sufficiently humiliating. They insisted not only
on his public acknowledgment of Carlos as his rightful heir and successor,
with the office, conferred on him for life, of lieutenant-general of
Catalonia, but on an obligation on his own part, that he would never enter
the province without their express permission. Such was John's extremity,
that he not only accepted these unpalatable conditions, but did it with
affected cheerfulness.
Fortune seemed now weary of persecution, and Carlos, happy in the
attachment of a brave and powerful people, appeared at length to have
reached a haven of permanent security. But at this crisis he fell ill of a
fever, or, as some historians insinuate, of a disorder occasioned by
poison administered during his imprisonment; a fact, which, although
unsupported by positive evidence, seems, notwithstanding its atrocity, to
be no wise improbable, considering the character of the parties
implicated. He expired on the 23d of September, 1461, in the forty-first
year of his age, bequeathing his title to the crown of Navarre, in
conformity with the original marriage contract of his parents, to his
sister Blanche and her posterity. [25]
Thus in the prime of life, and at the moment when he seemed to have
triumphed over the malice of his enemies, died the prince of Viana, whose
character, conspicuous for many virtues, has become still more so for his
misfortunes. His first act of rebellion, if such, considering his
legitimate pretensions to the crown, it can be called, was severely
requited by his subsequent calamities; while the vindictive and
persecuting temper of his parents excited a very general commiseration in
his behalf, and brought him more effectual support, than could have been
derived from his own merits or the justice of his cause. The character of
Don Carlos has been portrayed by Lucio Marineo, who, as he wrote an
account of these transactions by the command of Ferdinand the Catholic,
cannot be suspected of any undue partiality in favor of the prince of
Viana. "Such," says he, "were his temperance and moderation, such the
excellence of his breeding, the purity of his life, his liberality and
munificence, and such the sweetness of his demeanor, that no one thing
seemed to be wanting in him which belongs to a true and perfect prince."
[26] He is described by another contemporary, as "in person somewhat above
the middle stature, having a thin visage, with a serene and modest
expression of countenance, and withal somewhat inclined to melancholy."
[27] He was a considerable proficient in music, painting, and several
mechanic arts. He frequently amused himself with poetical composition, and
was the intimate friend of some of the most eminent bards of his time. But
he was above all devoted to the study of philosophy and history. He made a
version of Aristotle's Ethics into the vernacular, which was first printed
nearly fifty years after his death, at Saragossa, in 1509. He compiled
also a Chronicle of Navarre from the earliest period to his own times,
which, although suffered to remain in manuscript, has been liberally used
and cited by the Spanish antiquaries, Garibay, Blancas, and others. [28]
His natural taste and his habits fitted him much better for the quiet
enjoyment of letters, than for the tumultuous scenes in which it was his
misfortune to be involved, and in which he was no match for enemies grown
gray in the field and in the intrigues of the cabinet. But, if his
devotion to learning, so rare in his own age, and so very rare among
princes in any age, was unpropitious to his success on the busy theatre on
which he was engaged, it must surely elevate his character in the
estimation of an enlightened posterity.
The tragedy did not terminate with the death of Carlos. His sister
Blanche, notwithstanding the inoffensive gentleness of her demeanor, had
long been involved, by her adhesion to her unfortunate brother, in a
similar proscription with him. The succession to Navarre having now
devolved on her, she became tenfold an object of jealousy both to her
father, the present possessor of that kingdom, and to her sister Eleanor,
countess of Foix, to whom the reversion of it had been promised by John,
on his own decease. The son of this lady, Gaston de Foix, had lately
married a sister of Louis the Eleventh, of France; and, in a treaty
subsequently contracted between that monarch and the king of Aragon, it
was stipulated that Blanche should be delivered into the custody of the
countess of Foix, as surety for the succession of the latter, and of her
posterity, to the crown of Navarre. [29]
Conformably to this provision, John endeavored to persuade the princess
Blanche to accompany him into France, under the pretext of forming an
alliance for her with Louis's brother, the duke of Berri. The unfortunate
lady, comprehending too well her father's real purpose, besought him with
the most piteous entreaties not to deliver her into the hands of her
enemies; but, closing his heart against all natural affection, he caused
her to be torn from her residence at Olit, in the heart of her own
dominions, and forcibly transported across the mountains into those of the
count of Foix. On arriving at St. Jean Pied de Port, a little town on the
French side of the Pyrenees, being convinced that she had nothing further
to hope from human succor, she made a formal renunciation of her right to
Navarre in favor of her cousin and former husband, Henry the Fourth, of
Castile, who had uniformly supported the cause of her brother Carlos.
Henry, though debased by sensual indulgence, was naturally of a gentle
disposition, and had never treated her personally with unkindness. In a
letter, which she now addressed to him, and which, says a Spanish
historian, cannot be read, after the lapse of so many years, without
affecting the most insensible heart, [30] she reminded him of the dawn of
happiness which she had enjoyed under his protection, of his early
engagements to her, and of her subsequent calamities; and, anticipating
the gloomy destiny which awaited her, she settled on him her inheritance
of Navarre, to the entire exclusion of her intended assassins, the count
and countess of Foix. [31]
On the same day, the last of April, she was delivered over to one of their
emissaries, who conducted her to the castle of Ortes in Bearne, where,
after languishing in dreadful suspense for nearly two years, she was
poisoned by the command of her sister. [32] The retribution of Providence
not unfrequently overtakes the guilty even in this world. The countess
survived her father to reign in Navarre only three short weeks; while the
crown was ravished from her posterity for ever by that very Ferdinand,
whose elevation had been the object to his parents of so much solicitude
and so many crimes.
Within a fortnight after the decease of Carlos, the customary oaths of
allegiance, so pertinaciously withheld from that unfortunate prince, were
tendered by the Aragonese deputation, at Calatayud, to his brother
Ferdinand, then only ten years of age, as heir apparent of the monarchy;
after which he was conducted by his mother into Catalonia, in order to
receive the more doubtful homage of that province. The extremities of
Catalonia at this time seemed to be in perfect repose, but the capital was
still agitated by secret discontent. The ghost of Carlos was seen stalking
by night through the streets of Barcelona, bewailing in piteous accents
his untimely end, and invoking vengeance on his unnatural murderers. The
manifold miracles wrought at his tomb soon gained him the reputation of a
saint, and his image received the devotional honors reserved for such as
have been duly canonized by the church. [33]
The revolutionary spirit of the Barcelonians, kept alive by the
recollection of past injury, as well as by the apprehensions of future
vengeance, should John succeed in reestablishing his authority over them,
soon became so alarming, that the queen, whose consummate address,
however, had first accomplished the object of her visit, found it
advisable to withdraw from the capital; and she sought refuge, with her
son and such few adherents as still remained faithful to them, in the
fortified city of Gerona, about fifty miles north of Barcelona.
Hither, however, she was speedily pursued by the Catalan militia, embodied
under the command of their ancient leader Roger, count of Pallas, and
eager to regain the prize which they had so inadvertently lost. The city
was quickly entered, but the queen, with her handful of followers, had
retreated to a tower belonging to the principal church in the place,
which, as was very frequent in Spain, in those wild times, was so strongly
fortified as to be capable of maintaining a formidable resistance. To
oppose this, a wooden fortress of the same height was constructed by the
assailants, and planted with lombards and other pieces of artillery then
in use, which kept up an unintermitting discharge of stone bullets on the
little garrison. [34] The Catalans also succeeded in running a mine
beneath the fortress, through which a considerable body of troops
penetrated into it, when, their premature cries of exultation having
discovered them to the besieged, they were repulsed, after a desperate
struggle, with great slaughter. The queen displayed the most intrepid
spirit in the midst of these alarming scenes; unappalled by the sense of
her own danger and that of her child, and by the dismal lamentations of
the females by whom she was surrounded, she visited every part of the
works in person, cheering her defenders by her presence and dauntless
resolution. Such were the stormy and disastrous scenes in which the
youthful Ferdinand commenced a career, whose subsequent prosperity was
destined to be checkered by scarcely a reverse of fortune. [35]
In the mean while, John, having in vain attempted to penetrate through
Catalonia to the relief of his wife, effected this by the co-operation of
his French ally, Louis the Eleventh. That monarch, with his usual
insidious policy, had covertly despatched an envoy to Barcelona on the
death of Carlos, assuring the Catalans of his protection, should they
still continue averse to a reconciliation with their own sovereign. These
offers were but coldly received; and Louis found it more for his interest
to accept the propositions made to him by the king of Aragon himself,
which subsequently led to most important consequences. By three several
treaties, of the 3d, 21st, and 23d of May, 1462, it was stipulated, that
Louis should furnish his ally with seven hundred lances and a
proportionate number of archers and artillery during the war with
Barcelona, to be indemnified by the payment of two hundred thousand gold
crowns within one year after the reduction of that city; as security for
which the counties of Roussillon and Cerdagne were pledged by John, with
the cession of their revenues to the French king, until such time as the
original debt should be redeemed. In this transaction both monarchs
manifested their usual policy; Louis believing that this temporary
mortgage would become a permanent alienation, from John's inability to
discharge it; while the latter anticipated, as the event showed, with more
justice, that the aversion of the inhabitants to the dismemberment of
their country from the Aragonese monarchy would baffle every attempt on
the part of the French to occupy it permanently. [36]
In pursuance of these arrangements, seven hundred French lances with a
considerable body of archers and artillery [37] crossed the mountains,
and, rapidly advancing on Gerona, compelled the insurgent army to raise
the siege, and to decamp with such precipitation as to leave their cannon
in the hands of the royalists. The Catalans now threw aside the thin veil,
with which they had hitherto covered their proceedings. The authorities of
the principality, established in Barcelona, publicly renounced their
allegiance to King John and his son Ferdinand, and proclaimed them enemies
of the republic. Writings at the same time were circulated, denouncing
from scriptural authority, as well as natural reason, the doctrine of
legitimacy in the broadest terms, and insisting that the Aragonese
monarchs, far from being absolute, might be lawfully deposed for an
infringement of the liberties of the nation. "The good of the
commonwealth," it was said, "must always be considered paramount to that
of the prince." Extraordinary doctrines these for the age in which they
were promulged, affording a still more extraordinary contrast with those
which have been since familiar in that unhappy country! [38]
The government then enforced levies of all such as were above the age of
fourteen, and, distrusting the sufficiency of its own resources, offered
the sovereignty of the principality to Henry the Fourth, of Castile. The
court of Aragon, however, had so successfully insinuated its influence
into the council of this imbecile monarch, that he was not permitted to
afford the Catalans any effectual support; and, as he abandoned their
cause altogether before the expiration of the year, [39] the crown was
offered to Don Pedro, constable of Portugal, a descendant of the ancient
house of Barcelona. In the mean while, the old king of Aragon, attended by
his youthful son, had made himself master, with his characteristic
activity, of considerable acquisitions in the revolted territory,
successively reducing Lerida, [40] Cervera, Amposta, [41] Tortosa, and the
most important places in the south of Catalonia. Many of these places were
strongly fortified, and most of them defended with a resolution which cost
the conqueror a prodigious sacrifice of time and money. John, like Philip
of Macedon, made use of gold even more than arms, for the reduction of his
enemies; and, though he indulged in occasional acts of resentment, his
general treatment of those who submitted was as liberal as it was politic.
His competitor, Don Pedro, had brought little foreign aid to the support
of his enterprise; he had failed altogether in conciliating the attachment
of his new subjects; and, as the operations of the war had been conducted
on his part in the most languid manner, the whole of the principality
seemed destined soon to relapse under the dominion of its ancient master.
At this juncture the Portuguese prince fell ill of a fever, of which he
died on the 29th of June, 1466. This event, which seemed likely to lead to
a termination of the war, proved ultimately the cause of its protraction.
[42]
It appeared, however, to present a favorable opportunity to John for
opening a negotiation with the insurgents. But, so resolute were they in
maintaining their independence, that the council of Barcelona condemned
two of the principal citizens, suspected of defection from the cause, to
be publicly executed; it refused moreover to admit an envoy from the
Aragonese cortes within the city, and caused the despatches, with which he
was intrusted by that body, to be torn in pieces before his face.
The Catalans then proceeded to elect René le Bon, as he was styled, of
Anjou, to the vacant throne, brother of one of the original competitors
for the crown of Aragon on the demise of Martin; whose cognomen of "Good"
is indicative of a sway far more salutary to his subjects than the more
coveted and imposing title of Great. [43] This titular sovereign of half a
dozen empires, in which he did not actually possess a rood of land, was
too far advanced in years to assume this perilous enterprise himself; and
he accordingly intrusted it to his son John, duke of Calabria and
Lorraine, who, in his romantic expeditions in southern Italy, had acquired
a reputation for courtesy and knightly prowess, inferior to none other of
his time. [44] Crowds of adventurers flocked to the standard of a leader,
whose ample inheritance of pretensions had made him familiar with war from
his earliest boyhood; and he soon found himself at the head of eight
thousand effective troops. Louis the Eleventh, although not directly
aiding his enterprise with supplies of men or money, was willing so far to
countenance it, as to open a passage for him through the mountain
fastnesses of Roussillon, then in his keeping, and thus enable him to
descend with his whole army at once on the northern borders of Catalonia.
[45]
The king of Aragon could oppose no force capable of resisting this
formidable army. His exchequer, always low, was completely exhausted by
the extraordinary efforts, which he had made in the late campaigns; and,
as the king of France, either disgusted with the long protraction of the
war, or from secret good-will to the enterprise of his feudal subject,
withheld from King John the stipulated subsidies, the latter monarch found
himself unable, with every expedient of loan and exaction, to raise
sufficient money to pay his troops, or to supply his magazines. In
addition to this, he was now involved in a dispute with the count and
countess of Foix, who, eager to anticipate the possession of Navarre,
which had been guaranteed to them on their father's decease, threatened a
similar rebellion, though on much less justifiable pretences, to that
which he had just experienced from Don Carlos. To crown the whole of
John's calamities, his eyesight, which had been impaired by exposure and
protracted sufferings during the winter siege of Amposta, now failed him
altogether. [46]
In this extremity, his intrepid wife, putting herself at the head of such
forces as she could collect, passed by water to the eastern shores of
Catalonia, besieging Rosas in person, and checking the operations of the
enemy by the capture of several inferior places; while Prince Ferdinand,
effecting a junction with her before Gerona, compelled the duke of
Lorraine to abandon the siege of that important city. Ferdinand's ardor,
however, had nearly proved fatal to him; as, in an accidental encounter
with a more numerous party of the enemy, his jaded horse would infallibly
have betrayed him into their hands, had it not been for the devotion of
his officers, several of whom, throwing themselves between him and his
pursuers, enabled him to escape by the sacrifice of their own liberty.
These ineffectual struggles could not turn the tide of fortune. The duke
of Lorraine succeeded in this and the two following campaigns in making
himself master of all the rich district of Ampurdan, northeast of
Barcelona. In the capital itself, his truly princely qualities and his
popular address secured him the most unbounded influence. Such was the
enthusiasm for his person, that, when he rode abroad, the people thronged
around him, embracing his knees, the trappings of his steed, and even the
animal himself, in their extravagance; while the ladies, it is said,
pawned their rings, necklaces, and other ornaments of their attire, in
order to defray the expenses of the war. [47]
King John, in the mean while, was draining the cup of bitterness to the
dregs. In the winter of 1468, his queen, Joan Henriquez, fell a victim to
a painful disorder, which had been secretly corroding her constitution for
a number of years. In many respects, she was the most remarkable woman of
her time. She took an active part in the politics of her husband, and may
be even said to have given them a direction. She conducted several
important diplomatic negotiations to a happy issue, and, what was more
uncommon in her sex, displayed considerable capacity for military affairs.
Her persecution of her step-son, Carlos, has left a deep stain on her
memory. It was the cause of all her husband's subsequent misfortunes. Her
invincible spirit, however, and the resources of her genius, supplied him
with the best means of surmounting many of the difficulties in which she
had involved him, and her loss at this crisis seemed to leave him at once
without solace or support. [48]
At this period, he was further embarrassed, as will appear in the ensuing
chapter, by negotiations for Ferdinand's marriage, which was to deprive
him, in a great measure, of his son's co-operation in the struggle with
his subjects, and which, as he lamented, while he had scarcely three
hundred _enríques_ in his coffers, called on him for additional
disbursements.
As the darkest hour, however, is commonly said to precede the dawning, so
light now seemed to break upon the affairs of John. A physician in Lerida,
of the Hebrew race, which monopolized at that time almost all the medical
science in Spain, persuaded the king to submit to the then unusual
operation of couching, and succeeded in restoring sight to one of his
eyes. As the Jew, after the fashion of the Arabs, debased his real science
with astrology, he refused to operate on the other eye, since the planets,
he said, wore a malignant aspect. But John's rugged nature was insensible
to the timorous superstitions of his age, and he compelled the physician
to repeat his experiment, which in the end proved perfectly successful.
Thus restored to his natural faculties, the octogenarian chief, for such
he might now almost be called, regained his wonted elasticity, and
prepared to resume offensive operations against the enemy with all his
accustomed energy. [49] Heaven, too, as if taking compassion on his
accumulated misfortunes, now removed the principal obstacle to his success
by the death of the duke of Lorraine, who was summoned from the theatre of
his short-lived triumphs on the 16th of December, 1469. The Barcelonians
were thrown into the greatest consternation by his death, imputed, as
usual, though without apparent foundation, to poison; and their respect
for his memory was attested by the honors no less than royal, which they
paid to his remains. His body, sumptuously attired, with his victorious
sword by his side, was paraded in solemn procession through the
illuminated streets of the city, and, after lying nine days in state, was
deposited amid the lamentations of the people in the sepulchre of the
sovereigns of Catalonia. [50]
As the father of the deceased prince was too old, and his children too
young, to give effectual aid to their cause, the Catalans might be now
said to be again without a leader. But their spirit was unbroken, and with
the same resolution in which they refused submission more than two
centuries after, in 1714, when the combined forces of France and Spain
were at the gates of the capital, they rejected the conciliatory advances
made them anew by John. That monarch, however, having succeeded by
extraordinary efforts in assembling a competent force, was proceeding with
his usual alacrity in the reduction of such places in the eastern quarter
of Catalonia as had revolted to the enemy, while at the same time he
instituted a rigorous blockade of Barcelona by sea and land. The
fortifications were strong, and the king was unwilling to expose so fair a
city to the devastating horrors of a storm. The inhabitants made one
vigorous effort in a sally against the royal forces; but the civic militia
were soon broken, and the loss of four thousand men, killed and prisoners,
admonished them of their inability to cope with the veterans of Aragon.
[51]
At length, reduced to the last extremity, they consented to enter into
negotiations, which were concluded by a treaty equally honorable to both
parties. It was stipulated, that Barcelona should retain all its ancient
privileges and rights of jurisdiction, and, with some exceptions, its
large territorial possessions. A general amnesty was to be granted for
offences. The foreign mercenaries were to be allowed to depart in safety;
and such of the natives, as should refuse to renew their allegiance to
their ancient sovereign within a year, might have the liberty of removing
with their effects wherever they would. One provision may be thought
somewhat singular, after what had occurred; it was agreed that the king
should cause the Barcelonians to be publicly proclaimed, throughout all
his dominions, good, faithful, and loyal subjects; which was accordingly
done!
The king, after the adjustment of the preliminaries, "declining," says a
contemporary, "the triumphal car which had been prepared for him, made his
entrance into the city by the gate of St. Anthony, mounted on a white
charger; and, as he rode along the principal streets, the sight of so many
pallid countenances and emaciated figures, bespeaking the extremity of
famine, smote his heart with sorrow." He then proceeded to the hall of the
great palace, and on the 22d of December, 1472, solemnly swore there to
respect the constitution and laws of Catalonia. [52]
Thus ended this long, disastrous civil war, the fruit of parental
injustice and oppression, which had nearly cost the king of Aragon the
fairest portion of his dominions; which devoted to disquietude and
disappointment more than ten years of life, at a period when repose is
most grateful; and which opened the way to foreign wars, that continued to
hang like a dark cloud over the evening of his days. It was attended,
however, with one important result; that of establishing Ferdinand's
succession over the whole of the domains of his ancestors.
FOOTNOTES
[1] The reader who may be curious in this matter will find the pedigree
exhibiting the titles of the several competitors to the crown given by Mr.
Hallam. (State of Europe during the Middle Ages, (2d ed. London, 1819,)
vol. ii. p. 60, note.) The claims of Ferdinand were certainly not derived
from the usual laws of descent.
[2] The reader of Spanish history often experiences embarrassment from the
identity of names in the various princes of the Peninsula. Thus the John,
mentioned in the text, afterwards John II., might be easily confounded
with his namesake and contemporary, John II., of Castile. The genealogical
table, at the beginning of this History, will show their relationship to
each other.
[3] His grandfather, Charles III., created this title in favor of Carlos,
appropriating it as the designation henceforth of the heir apparent.--
Aleson, Anales del Reyno de Navarra, contin. de Moret, (Pamplona, 1766,)
tom. iv. p. 398.--Salazar de Mendoza, Monarquia, tom. ii. p. 331.
[4] See Part I. Chap. 3, Note 5, of this History.
[5] This fact, vaguely and variously reported by Spanish writers, is fully
established by Aleson, who cites the original instrument, contained in the
archives of the counts of Lerin. Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 354, 365.
[6] See the reference to the original document in Aleson. (Tom. iv. pp.
365, 366.) This industrious writer has established the title of Prince
Carlos to Navarre, so frequently misunderstood or misrepresented by the
national historians, on an incontestable basis.
[7] Ibid., tom. iv. p. 467.
[8] See Part I. Chap. 3, of this work.
[9] Gaillard errs in referring the origin of these factions to this epoch.
(Histoire de la Rivalité de France et de l'Espagne, (Paris, 1801,) tom.
iii. p. 227.) Aleson quotes a proclamation of John in relation to them in
the lifetime of Queen Blanche. Annales de Navarra, tom. iv. p. 494.
[10] Zurita, Anales, tom. iii. fol. 278.--Lucio Marineo Siculo, Coronista
de sus Magestades, Las Cosas Memorables de España, (Alcalà de Henares,
1539,) fol. 104.--Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 494-498.
[11] Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 223.--Aleson, Anales de
Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 501-503.--L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 105.
[12] Compendio, tom. iii. p. 419.--L. Marineo describes the heavens as
uncommonly serene at the moment of Ferdinand's birth. "The sun, which had
been obscured with clouds during the whole day, suddenly broke forth with
unwonted splendor. A crown was also beheld in the sky, composed of various
brilliant colors like those of a rainbow. All which appearances were
interpreted by the spectators as an omen, that the child then born would
be the most illustrious among men." (Cosas Memorables, fol. 153.) Garibay
postpones the nativity of Ferdinand to the year 1453, and L. Marineo, who
ascertains with curious precision even the date of his conception, fixes
his birth in 1450, (fol. 153.) But Alonso de Palencia in his History,
(Verdadera Corónica de Don Enrique IV., Rei de Castilla y Leon, y del Rei
Don Alonso su Hermano, MS.) and Andrés Bernaldez, Cura de Los Palacios,
(Historia de los Reyes Católicos, MS., c. 8,) both of them contemporaries,
refer this event to the period assigned in the text; and, as the same
epoch is adopted by the accurate Zurita, (Anales, tom. iv. fol. 9,) I have
given it the preference.
[13] Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 3-48.--Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom.
iv. pp. 508-526.--L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 105.
[14] Giannone, Istoria Civile del Regno di Napoli, (Milano, 1823,) lib.
26, c. 7.--Ferreras, Histoire Générale d'Espagne, trad. par D'Hermilly,
(Paris, 1751,) tom. vii. p. 60.--L'Histoire du Royaume de Navarre, par
l'un des Secrétaires Interprettes de sa Majesté, (Paris, 1596,) p. 468.
[15] Compare the narrative of the Neapolitan historians, Summonte
(Historia della Città e Regno di Napoli, (Napoli, 1675,) lib. 5, c. 2) and
Giannone, (Istoria Civile, lib. 26, c. 7.--lib. 27. Introd.) with the
opposite statements of L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, (fol. 106,) himself a
contemporary, Aleson, (Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. p. 546,) and other
Spanish writers.
[16] Enriquez del Castillo, Crónica de Enrique el Quarto, (Madrid, 1787,)
cap. 43.
[17] Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 97.--Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Vetus,
tom. ii. p. 282.--L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 106.--Abarca, Reyes
de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 250.--Carlos bargained with Pope Pius II. for a
transfer of this library, particularly rich in the ancient classics, to
Spain, which was eventually defeated by his death. Zurita, who visited the
monastery containing it nearly a century after this period, found its
inmates possessed of many traditionary anecdotes respecting the prince
during his seclusion among them.
[18] Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 548-554.--Abarca, Reyes de
Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 251.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 60-69.
[19] Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, ubi supra.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol.
70-75.--Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. p. 556.
[20] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 108.--Zurita, Anales, lib. 17,
cap. 3.--Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 556, 557.--Castillo,
Crónica, cap. 27.
[21] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 108, 109.--Abarca, Reyes de
Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 252.--Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 45.--Aleson,
Anales de Navarra, tom. ii. p. 357.
[22] Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. ii. p. 358.--Zurita, Anales, lib. 17,
cap. 6.--Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 253.--L. Marineo, Cosas
Memorables, fol. 111.
[23] Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 6.--L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol.
111.
[24] Castillo, Crónica, cap. 28.--Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, fol. 253, 254.
--L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 111, 112.--Aleson, Anales de Navarra,
tom. iv. pp. 559, 560.--The inhabitants of Tarraca closed their gates upon
the queen, and rung the bells on her approach, the signal of alarm on the
appearance of an enemy, or for the pursuit of a malefactor.
[25] Alonso de Palencia, Crónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 51.--L. Marineo,
Cosas Memorables, fol. 114.--Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 561-
563.--Zurita, Anales, cap. 19, 24.
[26] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 106.--"Por quanto era la templança
y mesura de aquel principe; tan grande el concierto y su criança y
costumbres, la limpieza de su vida, su liberalidad y magnificencia, y
finalmente su dulce conversacion, que ninguna cosa en el faltava de
aquellas que pertenescen a recta vivir; y que arman el verdadero y
perfecto principe y señor."
[27] Gundisalvus Garsias, apud Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Vetus, tom. ii.
p. 281.
[28] Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Vetus, tom. ii. pp. 281, 282.--Mariana,
Hist. de España, tom. ii. p. 434.
[29] This treaty was signed at Olit in Navarre, April 12th, 1462.--Zurita,
Anales, lib. 17, cap. 38, 39.--Gaillard, Rivalité, tom. iii. p. 235.--
Gaillard confounds it with the subsequent one made in the month of May,
near the town of Salvatierra in Bearne.
[30] Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, tom., vii. p. 110.
[31] Hist. du Royaume de Navarre, p. 496.--Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom.
iv. pp. 590-593.--Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 258, 259.--
Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 38.
[32] Lebrija, De Bello Navariensi, (Granatae, 1545,) lib. 1, cap. 1, fol.
74.--Aleson, Anales de Navarra, ubi supra.--Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap.
38.--The Spanish historians are not agreed as to the time or even mode of
Blanche's death. All concur, however, in attributing it to assassination,
and most of them, with the learned Antonio Lebrija, a contemporary, (loc.
cit.,) in imputing it to poison. The fact of her death, which Aleson, on I
know not what authority, refers to the 2d of December, 1464, was not
publicly disclosed till some months after its occurrence, when disclosure
became necessary in consequence of the proposed interposition of the
Navarrese cortes.
[33] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 51.--Zurita, Anales,
tom. iv. fol. 98.--Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 256.--Aleson,
Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 563 et seq.--L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables,
fol. 114.--According to Lanuza, who wrote nearly two centuries after the
death of Carlos, the flesh upon his right arm, which had been amputated
for the purpose of a more convenient application to the diseased members
of the pilgrims who visited his shrine, remained in his day in a perfectly
sound and healthful state! (Historias Ecclesiásticas y Seculares de
Aragon, (Zaragoza, 1622,) tom. i. p. 553.) Aleson wonders that any should
doubt the truth of miracles, attested by the monks of the very monastery
in which Carlos was interred.
[34] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 116.--Alonso de Palencia,
Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 51.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 113. The
Spaniards, deriving the knowledge of artillery from the Arabs, had become
familiar with it before the other nations of Christendom. The affirmation
of Zurita, however, that 5000 balls were fired from the battery of the
besiegers at Gerona in one day, is perfectly absurd. So little was the
science of gunnery advanced in other parts of Europe at this period, and
indeed later, that it was usual for a field-piece not to be discharged
more than twice in the course of an action, if we may credit Machiavelli,
who, indeed, recommends dispensing with the use of artillery altogether.
Arte della Guerra, lib. 3. (Opere, Genova, 1798.)
[35] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, c. 51.--L. Marineo, Cosas
Memorables, fol. 116.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 113.--Abarca, Reyes
de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 259.
[36] Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 111.--Another 100,000 crowns were to be
paid in case further assistance should be required from the French monarch
after the reduction of Barcelona. This treaty has been incorrectly
reported by most of the French and all the Spanish historians whom I have
consulted, save the accurate Zurita. An abstract from the original
documents, compiled by the Abbé Legrand, has been given by M. Petitot in
his recent edition of the Collection des Mémoires relatifs à l'Histoire de
France, (Paris, 1836,) tom. xi. Introd. p. 245.
[37] A French lance, it may be stated, of that day, according to L.
Marineo, was accompanied by two horsemen; so that the whole contingent of
cavalry to be furnished on this occasion amounted to 2100. (Cosas
Memorables, fol. 117.) Nothing could be more indeterminate than the
complement of a lance in the Middle Ages. It is not unusual to find it
reckoned at five or six horsemen.
[38] Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 113-115.--Alonso de Palencia, Corónica,
MS., part. 2, cap. 1.
[39] In conformity with the famous verdict given by Louis XI. at Bayonne,
April 23d, 1463, previously to the interview between him and Henry IV. on
the shores of the Bidassoa. See Part I. Chap. 3, of this History.
[40] This was the battle-ground of Julius Caesar in his wars with Pompey.
See his ingenious military manoeuvre as simply narrated in his own
Commentaries, (De Bello Civili, tom. i. p. 54,) and by Lucan, (Pharsalia,
lib. 4,) with his usual swell of hyperbole.
[41] The cold was so intense at the siege of Amposta, that serpents of an
enormous magnitude are reported by L. Marineo to have descended from the
mountains, and taken refuge in the camp of the besiegers. Portentous and
supernatural voices were frequently heard during the nights. Indeed, the
superstition of the soldiers appears to have been so lively as to have
prepared them for seeing and hearing anything.
[42] Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 390.--Alonso de
Palencia, MS., part. 2, cap. 60, 61--Castillo, Crónica, pp. 43, 44, 46,
49, 50, 54.--Zurita, Anales, tom. ii. fol. 116, 124, 127, 128, 130, 137,
147.--M. La Clède states, that "Don Pedro no sooner arrived in Catalonia,
than he was poisoned."(Histoire Générale de Portugal, (Paris, 1735,) tom.
iii. p. 245.) It must have been a very slow poison. He arrived January
21st, 1464, and died June 29th, 1466.
[43] Sir Walter Scott, in his "Anne of Geierstein," has brought into full
relief the ridiculous side of René's character. The good king's fondness
for poetry and the arts, however, although showing itself occasionally in
puerile eccentricities, may compare advantageously with the coarse
appetites and mischievous activity of most of the contemporary princes.
After all, the best tribute to his worth was the earnest attachment of his
people. His biography has been well and diligently compiled by the
viscount of Villeneuve Bargemont, (Histoire de René d'Anjou, Paris, 1825,)
who has, however, indulged in greater detail than was perhaps to have been
desired by René, or his readers.
[44] Comines says of him, "A tous alarmes c'estoit le premier homme armé,
et de toutes pièces, et son cheval tousjours bardé. Il portoit un
habillement que ces conducteurs portent en Italie, et sembloit bien prince
et chef de guerre; et y avoit d'obéissance autant que monseigneur de
Charolois, et luy obéissoit tout l'ost de meilleur coeur, car à la vérité
il estoit digne d'estre honoré." Philippe de Comines, Mémoires, apud
Petitot; (Paris, 1826,) liv. 1, chap. 11.
[45] Villeneuve Bargemont, Hist. de René, tom. ii. pp. 168, 169.--Histoire
de Louys XI., autrement dicte La Chronique Scandaleuse, par un Greffier de
l'Hostel de Ville de Paris, (Paris, 1620,) p. 145.--Zurita, Anales, tom.
iv. fol. 150, 153.--Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 17.--
Palencia swells the numbers of the French in the service of the duke of
Lorraine to 20,000.
[46] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 139.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv.
fol. 148, 149, 158.--Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 611-613.--
Duclos, Hist. de Louis XI., (Amsterdam, 1746,) tom. ii. p. 114.--Mém. de
Comines, Introd., p. 258, apud Petitot.
[47] Villeneuve Bargemont, Hist. de René, tom. ii. pp. 182, 183.--L.
Marineo, fol. 140.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 153-164.--Abarca, Reyes
de Aragon, tom. ii. rey 29, cap. 7.
[48] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 88.--L. Marineo,
Cosas Memorables, fol. 143.--Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. p. 609.--
The queen's death was said to have been caused by a cancer. According to
Aleson and some other Spanish writers, Joan was heard several times, in
her last illness, to exclaim, in allusion, as was supposed, to her
assassination of Carlos, "Alas! Ferdinand, how dear thou hast cost thy
mother!" I find no notice of this improbable confession in any
contemporary author.
[49] Mariana, Hist. de España, tom. ii. pp. 459, 460.--L. Marineo, Cosas
Memorables, fol. 151.--Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., cap. 88.
[50] Villeneuve Bargemont, Hist. de René, tom. ii. pp. 182,333, 334.--L.
Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 142.--Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, part.
2, cap. 39.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 178.--According to M. de
Villeneuve Bargemont, the princess Isabella's hand had been offered to the
duke of Lorraine, and the envoy despatched to notify his acceptance of it,
on arriving at the court of Castile, received from the lips of Henry IV.
the first tidings of his master's death, (tom. ii. p. 184.) He must have
learned too with no less surprise that Isabella had already been married
at that time more than a year! See the date of the official marriage
recorded in Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., tom. vi. Apend. no. 4.
[51] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 29, 45.--Zurita,
Anales, tom. iv. fol. 180-183.-Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, rey 29, cap. 29.
[52] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 144, 147.--Zurita, Anales, tom.
iv. fol. 187, 188.--Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 1.