ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.--WAR OF THE SUCCESSION.--BATTLE OF
TORO.
1474-1476.
Isabella proclaimed Queen.--Settlement of the Crown.--Alfonso of Portugal
supports Joanna.--Invades Castile.--Retreat of the Castilians.--
Appropriation of the Church Plate.--Reorganization of the Army.--Battle of
Toro.--Submission of the whole Kingdom.--Peace with France and Portugal.--
Joanna takes the Veil.--Death of John II., of Aragon.
Most of the contemporary writers are content to derive Isabella's title to
the crown of Castile from the illegitimacy of her rival Joanna. But, as
this fact, whatever probability it may receive from the avowed
licentiousness of the queen, and some other collateral circumstances, was
never established by legal evidence, or even made the subject of legal
inquiry, it cannot reasonably be adduced as affording in itself a
satisfactory basis for the pretensions of Isabella. [1]
These are to be derived from the will of the nation as expressed by its
representatives in cortes. The power of this body to interpret the laws
regulating the succession, and to determine the succession itself, in the
most absolute manner, is incontrovertible, having been established by
repeated precedents from a very ancient period. [2] In the present
instance, the legislature, soon after the birth of Joanna, tendered the
usual oaths of allegiance to her as heir apparent to the monarchy. On a
subsequent occasion, however, the cortes, for reasons deemed sufficient by
itself, and under a conviction that its consent to the preceding measure
had been obtained through an undue influence on the part of the crown,
reversed its former acts, and did homage to Isabella as the only true and
lawful successor. [3] In this disposition the legislature continued so
resolute, that, notwithstanding Henry twice convoked the states for the
express purpose of renewing their allegiance to Joanna, they refused to
comply with the summons; [4] and thus Isabella, at the time of her
brother's death, possessed a title to the crown unimpaired, and derived
from the sole authority which could give it a constitutional validity. It
may be added that the princess was so well aware of the real basis of her
pretensions, that in her several manifestoes, although she adverts to the
popular notion of her rival's illegitimacy, she rests the strength of her
cause on the sanction of the cortes.
On learning Henry's death, Isabella signified to the inhabitants of
Segovia, where she then resided, her desire of being proclaimed queen in
that city, with the solemnities usual on such occasions. [5] Accordingly,
on the following morning, being the 13th of December, 1474, a numerous
assembly, consisting of the nobles, clergy, and public magistrates in
their robes of office, waited on her at the alcazar or castle, and,
receiving her under a canopy of rich brocade, escorted her in solemn
procession to the principal square of the city, where a broad platform or
scaffold had been erected for the performance of the ceremony. Isabella,
royally attired, rode on a Spanish jennet whose bridle was held by two of
the civic functionaries, while an officer of her court preceded her on
horseback, bearing aloft a naked sword, the symbol of sovereignty. On
arriving at the square she alighted from her palfrey, and, ascending the
platform, seated herself on a throne which had been prepared for her. A
herald with a loud voice proclaimed, "Castile, Castile for the king Don
Ferdinand and his consort Doña Isabella, queen proprietor (_reina
proprietaria_) of these kingdoms!" The royal standards were then
unfurled, while the peal of bells and the discharge of ordnance from the
castle publicly announced the accession of the new sovereign. Isabella,
after receiving the homage of her subjects, and swearing to maintain
inviolate the liberties of the realm, descended from the platform, and,
attended by the same _cortège_, moved slowly towards the cathedral
church; where, after Te Deum had been chanted, she prostrated herself
before the principal altar, and, returning thanks to the Almighty for the
protection hitherto vouchsafed her, implored him to enlighten her future
counsels, so that she might discharge the high trust reposed in her, with
equity and wisdom. Such were the simple forms, that attended the
coronation of the monarchs of Castile, previously to the sixteenth
century. [6]
The cities favorable to Isabella's cause, comprehending far the most
populous and wealthy throughout the kingdom, followed the example of
Segovia, and raised the royal standard for their new sovereign. The
principal grandees, as well as most of the inferior nobility, soon
presented themselves from all quarters, in order to tender the customary
oaths of allegiance; and an assembly of the estates, convened for the
ensuing month of February at Segovia, imparted, by a similar ceremony, a
constitutional sanction to these proceedings. [7]
On Ferdinand's arrival from Aragon, where he was staying at the time of
Henry's death, occupied with the war of Roussillon, a disagreeable
discussion took place in regard to the respective authority to be enjoyed
by the husband and wife in the administration of the government.
Ferdinand's relatives, with the admiral Henriquez at their head, contended
that the crown of Castile, and of course the exclusive sovereignty, was
limited to him as the nearest male representative of the house of
Trastamara. Isabella's friends, on the other hand, insisted that these
rights devolved solely on her, as the lawful heir and proprietor of the
kingdom. The affair was finally referred to the arbitration of the
cardinal of Spain and the archbishop of Toledo, who, after careful
examination, established by undoubted precedent, that the exclusion of
females from the succession did not obtain in Castile and Leon, as was the
case in Aragon; [8] that Isabella was consequently sole heir of these
dominions; and that whatever authority Ferdinand might possess, could only
be derived through her. A settlement was then made on the basis of the
original marriage contract. [9] All municipal appointments, and collation
to ecclesiastical benefices, were to be made in the name of both with the
advice and consent of the queen. All fiscal nominations, and issues from
the treasury, were to be subject to her order. The commanders of the
fortified places were to render homage to her alone. Justice was to be
administered by both conjointly, when residing in the same place, and by
each independently, when separate. Proclamations and letters patent were
to be subscribed with the signatures of both; their images were to be
stamped on the public coin, and the united arms of Castile and Aragon
emblazoned on a common seal. [10]
Ferdinand, it is said, was so much dissatisfied with an arrangement which
vested the essential rights of sovereignty in his consort, that he
threatened to return to Aragon; but Isabella reminded him, that this
distribution of power was rather nominal than real; that their interests
were indivisible; that his will would be hers; and that the principle of
the exclusion of females from the succession, if now established, would
operate to the disqualification of their only child, who was a daughter.
By these and similar arguments the queen succeeded in soothing her
offended husband, without compromising the prerogatives of her crown.
Although the principal body of the nobility, as has been stated, supported
Isabella's cause, there were a few families, and some of them the most
potent in Castile, who seemed determined to abide the fortunes of her
rival. Among these was the marquis of Villena, who, inferior to his father
in talent for intrigue, was of an intrepid spirit, and is commended by one
of the Spanish historians as "the best lance in the kingdom." His immense
estates, stretching from Toledo to Murcia, gave him an extensive influence
over the southern regions of New Castile. The duke of Arevalo possessed a
similar interest in the frontier province of Estremadura. With these were
combined the grand master of Calatrava and his brother, together with the
young marquis of Cadiz, and, as it soon appeared, the archbishop of
Toledo. This latter dignitary, whose heart had long swelled with secret
jealousy at the rising fortunes of the cardinal Mendoza, could no longer
brook the ascendency which that prelate's consummate sagacity and
insinuating address had given him over the counsels of his young
sovereigns. After some awkward excuses, he abruptly withdrew to his own
estates; nor could the most conciliatory advances on the part of the
queen, nor the deprecatory letters of the old king of Aragon, soften his
inflexible temper, or induce him to resume his station at the court; until
it soon became apparent from his correspondence with Isabella's enemies,
that he was busy in undermining the fortunes of the very individual, whom
he had so zealously labored to elevate. [11]
Under the auspices of this coalition, propositions were made to Alfonso
the Fifth, king of Portugal, to vindicate the title of his niece Joanna to
the throne of Castile, and, by espousing her, to secure to himself the
same rich inheritance. An exaggerated estimate was, at the same time,
exhibited of the resources of the confederates, which, when combined with
those of Portugal, would readily enable them to crush the usurpers,
unsupported, as the latter must be, by the co-operation of Aragon, whose
arms already found sufficient occupation with the French.
Alfonso, whose victories over the Barbary Moors had given him the cognomen
of "the African," was precisely of a character to be dazzled by the nature
of this enterprise. The protection of an injured princess, his near
relative, was congenial with the spirit of chivalry; while the conquest of
an opulent territory, adjacent to his own, would not only satisfy his
dreams of glory, but the more solid cravings of avarice. In this
disposition he was confirmed by his son, Prince John, whose hot and
enterprising temper found a nobler scope for ambition in such a war, than
in the conquest of a horde of African savages. [12]
Still, there were a few among Alfonso's counsellors possessed of
sufficient coolness to discern the difficulties of the undertaking. They
reminded him that the Castilian nobles on whom he principally relied were
the very persons who had formerly been most instrumental in defeating the
claims of Joanna, and securing the succession to her rival; that Ferdinand
was connected by blood with the most powerful families of Castile; that
the great body of the people, the middle as well as the lower classes,
were fully penetrated not only with a conviction of the legality of
Isabella's title, but with a deep attachment to her person; while, on the
other hand, their proverbial hatred of Portugal would make them too
impatient of interference from that quarter, to admit the prospect of
permanent success. [13]
These objections, sound as they were, were overruled by John's
impetuosity, and the ambition or avarice of his father. War was
accordingly resolved on; and Alfonso, after a vaunting, and, as may be
supposed, ineffectual summons to the Castilian sovereigns to resign their
crown in favor of Joanna, prepared for the immediate invasion of the
kingdom at the head of an army amounting, according to the Portuguese
historians, to five thousand six hundred horse and fourteen thousand foot.
This force, though numerically not so formidable as might have been
expected, comprised the flower of the Portuguese chivalry, burning with
the hope of reaping similar laurels to those won of old by their fathers
on the plains of Aljubarrotta; while its deficiency in numbers was to be
amply compensated by recruits from the disaffected party in Castile, who
would eagerly flock to its banners, on its advance across the borders. At
the same time negotiations were entered into with the king of France, who
was invited to make a descent upon Biscay, by a promise, somewhat
premature, of a cession of the conquered territory.
Early in May, the king of Portugal put his army in motion, and, entering
Castile by the way of Estremadura, held a northerly course towards
Placencia, where he was met by the duke of Arevalo and the marquis of
Villena, and by the latter nobleman presented to the princess Joanna, his
destined bride. On the 12th of the month he was affianced with all
becoming pomp to this lady, then scarcely thirteen years of age; and a
messenger was despatched to the court of Rome, to solicit a dispensation
for their marriage, rendered necessary by the consanguinity of the
parties. The royal pair were then proclaimed, with the usual solemnities,
sovereigns of Castile; and circulars were transmitted to the different
cities, setting forth Joanna's title and requiring their allegiance. [14]
After some days given to festivity, the army resumed its march, still in a
northerly direction, upon Arevalo, where Alfonso determined to await the
arrival of the reinforcements which he expected from his Castilian allies.
Had he struck at once into the southern districts of Castile, where most
of those friendly to his cause were to be found, and immediately commenced
active operations with the aid of the marquis of Cadiz, who it was
understood was prepared to support him in that quarter, it is difficult to
say what might have been the result. Ferdinand and Isabella were so wholly
unprepared at the time of Alfonso's invasion, that it is said they could
scarcely bring five hundred horse to oppose it. By this opportune delay at
Arevalo, they obtained space for preparation. Both of them were
indefatigable in their efforts. Isabella, we are told, was frequently
engaged through the whole night in dictating despatches to her
secretaries. She visited in person such of the garrisoned towns as
required to be confirmed in their allegiance, performing long and painful
journeys on horseback with surprising celerity, and enduring fatigues,
which, as she was at that time in delicate health, wellnigh proved fatal
to her constitution. [15] On an excursion to Toledo, she determined to
make one effort more to regain the confidence of her ancient minister the
archbishop. She accordingly sent an envoy to inform him of her intention
to wait on him in person at his residence in Alcalá de Henares. But as the
surly prelate, far from being moved by this condescension, returned for
answer, that, "if the queen entered by one door, he would go out at the
other," she did not choose to compromise her dignity by any further
advances.
By Isabella's extraordinary exertions, as well as those of her husband,
the latter found himself, in the beginning of July, at the head of a force
amounting in all to four thousand men-at-arms, eight thousand light horse,
and thirty thousand foot, an ill-disciplined militia, chiefly drawn from
the mountainous districts of the north, which manifested peculiar devotion
to his cause; his partisans in the south being preoccupied with
suppressing domestic revolt, and with incursions on the frontiers of
Portugal. [16]
Meanwhile Alfonso, after an unprofitable detention of nearly two months at
Arevalo, marched on Toro, which, by a preconcerted agreement, was
delivered into his hands by the governor of the city, although the
fortress, under the conduct of a woman, continued to maintain a gallant
defence. While occupied with its reduction, Alfonso was invited to receive
the submission of the adjacent city and castle of Zamora. The defection of
these places, two of the most considerable in the province of Leon, and
peculiarly important to the king of Portugal from their vicinity to his
dominions, was severely felt by Ferdinand, who determined to advance at
once against his rival, and bring their quarrel to the issue of a battle;
in this, acting in opposition to the more cautious counsel of his father,
who recommended the policy, usually judged most prudent for an invaded
country, of acting on the defensive, instead of risking all on the chances
of a single action.
Ferdinand arrived before Toro on the 19th of July, and immediately drew up
his army, before its walls, in order of battle. As the king of Portugal,
however, still kept within his defences, Ferdinand sent a herald into his
camp, to defy him to a fair field of fight with his whole army, or, if he
declined this, to invite him to decide their differences by personal
combat. Alfonso accepted the latter alternative; but, a dispute arising
respecting the guaranty for the performance of the engagements on either
side, the whole affair evaporated, as usual, in an empty vaunt of
chivalry.
The Castilian army, from the haste with which it had been mustered, was
wholly deficient in battering artillery, and in other means for annoying a
fortified city; and, as its communications were cut off, in consequence of
the neighboring fortresses being in possession of the enemy, it soon
became straitened for provisions. It was accordingly decided in a council
of war to retreat without further delay. No sooner was this determination
known, than it excited general dissatisfaction throughout the camp. The
soldiers loudly complained that the king was betrayed by his nobles; and a
party of over-loyal Biscayans, inflamed by the suspicions of a conspiracy
against his person, actually broke into the church where Ferdinand was
conferring with his officers, and bore him off in their arms from the
midst of them to his own tent, notwithstanding his reiterated explanations
and remonstrances. The ensuing retreat was conducted in so disorderly a
manner by the mutinous soldiery, that Alfonso, says a contemporary, had he
but sallied with two thousand horse, might have routed and perhaps
annihilated the whole army. Some of the troops were detached to reinforce
the garrisons of the loyal cities, but most of them dispersed again among
their native mountains. The citadel of Toro soon afterwards capitulated.
The archbishop of Toledo, considering these events as decisive of the
fortunes of the war, now openly joined the king of Portugal at the head of
five hundred lances, boasting at the same time, that "he had raised
Isabella from the distaff, and would soon send her back to it again." [17]
So disastrous an introduction to the campaign might indeed well fill
Isabella's bosom with anxiety. The revolutionary movements, which had so
long agitated Castile, had so far unsettled every man's political
principles, and the allegiance of even the most loyal hung so loosely
about them, that it was difficult to estimate how far it might be shaken
by such a blow occurring at this crisis. [18] Fortunately, Alfonso was in
no condition to profit by his success. His Castilian allies had
experienced the greatest difficulty in enlisting their vassals in the
Portuguese cause; and, far from furnishing him with the contingents which
he had expected, found sufficient occupation in the defence of their own
territories against the loyal partisans of Isabella. At the same time,
numerous squadrons of light cavalry from Estremadura and Andalusia,
penetrating into Portugal, carried the most terrible desolation over the
whole extent of its unprotected borders. The Portuguese knights loudly
murmured at being cooped up in Toro, while their own country was made the
theatre of war; and Alfonso saw himself under the necessity of detaching
so considerable a portion of his army for the defence of his frontier, as
entirely to cripple his future operations. So deeply, indeed, was he
impressed, by these circumstances, with the difficulty of his enterprise,
that, in a negotiation with the Castilian sovereigns at this time, he
expressed a willingness to resign his claims to their crown in
consideration of the cession of Galicia, together with the cities of Toro
and Zamora, and a considerable sum of money. Ferdinand and his ministers,
it is reported, would have accepted the proposal; but Isabella, although
acquiescing in the stipulated money payment, would not consent to the
dismemberment of a single inch of the Castilian territory.
In the mean time both the queen and her husband, undismayed by past
reverses, were making every exertion for the reorganization of an army on
a more efficient footing. To accomplish this object, an additional supply
of funds became necessary, since the treasure of King Henry, delivered
into their hands by Andres de Cabrera, at Segovia, had been exhausted by
the preceding operations. [19] The old king of Aragon advised them to
imitate their ancestor Henry the Second, of glorious memory, by making
liberal grants and alienations in favor of their subjects, which they
might, when more firmly seated on the throne, resume at pleasure.
Isabella, however, chose rather to trust to the patriotism of her people,
than have recourse to so unworthy a stratagem. She accordingly convened an
assembly of the states, in the month of August, at Medina del Campo. As
the nation had been too far impoverished under the late reign to admit of
fresh exactions, a most extraordinary expedient was devised for meeting
the stipulated requisitions. It was proposed to deliver into the royal
treasury half the amount of plate belonging to the churches throughout the
kingdom, to be redeemed in the term of three years, for the sum of thirty
_cuentos_, or millions, of maravedies. The clergy, who were very
generally attached to Isabella's interests, far from discouraging this
startling proposal, endeavored to vanquish the queen's repugnance to it by
arguments and pertinent illustrations drawn from Scripture. This
transaction certainly exhibits a degree of disinterestedness, on the part
of this body, most unusual in that age and country, as well as a generous
confidence in the good faith of Isabella, of which she proved herself
worthy by the punctuality with which she redeemed it. [20]
Thus provided with the necessary funds, the sovereigns set about enforcing
new levies and bringing them under better discipline, as well as providing
for their equipment in a manner more suitable to the exigencies of the
service, than was done for the preceding army. The remainder of the summer
and the ensuing autumn were consumed in these preparations, as well as in
placing their fortified towns in a proper posture of defence, and in the
reduction of such places as held out against them. The king of Portugal,
all this while, lay with his diminished forces in Toro, making a sally on
one occasion only, for the relief of his friends, which was frustrated by
the sleepless vigilance of Isabella.
Early in December, Ferdinand passed from the siege of Burgos, in Old
Castile, to Zamora, whose inhabitants expressed a desire to return to
their ancient allegiance; and, with the co-operation of the citizens,
supported by a large detachment from his main army, he prepared to invest
its citadel. As the possession of this post would effectually intercept
Alfonso's communications with his own country, he determined to relieve it
at every hazard, and for this purpose despatched a messenger into Portugal
requiring his son, Prince John, to reinforce him with such levies as he
could speedily raise. All parties now looked forward with eagerness to a
general battle, as to a termination of the evils of this long-protracted
war.
The Portuguese prince, having with difficulty assembled a corps amounting
to two thousand lances and eight thousand infantry, took a northerly
circuit round Galicia, and effected a junction with his father in Toro, on
the 14th of February, 1476. Alfonso, thus reinforced, transmitted a
pompous circular to the pope, the king of France, his own dominions, and
those well affected to him in Castile, proclaiming his immediate intention
of taking the usurper, or of driving him from the kingdom. On the night of
the 17th, having first provided for the security of the city by leaving in
it a powerful reserve, Alfonso drew off the residue of his army, probably
not much exceeding three thousand five hundred horse and five thousand
foot, well provided with artillery and with arquebuses, which latter
engine was still of so clumsy and unwieldy construction, as not to have
entirely superseded the ancient weapons of European warfare. The
Portuguese army, traversing the bridge of Toro, pursued their march along
the southern side of the Douro, and reached Zamora, distant only a few
leagues, before the dawn. [21]
At break of day, the Castilians were surprised by the array of floating
banners, and martial panoply glittering in the sun, from the opposite side
of the river, while the discharges of artillery still more unequivocally
announced the presence of the enemy. Ferdinand could scarcely believe that
the Portuguese monarch, whose avowed object had been the relief of the
castle of Zamora, should have selected a position so obviously unsuitable
for this purpose. The intervention of the river, between him and the
fortress situated at the northern extremity of the town, prevented him
from relieving it, either by throwing succors into it, or by annoying the
Castilian troops, who, intrenched in comparative security within the walls
and houses of the city, were enabled by means of certain elevated
positions, well garnished with artillery, to inflict much heavier injury
on their opponents, than they could possibly receive from them. Still,
Ferdinand's men, exposed to the double fire of the fortress and the
besiegers, would willingly have come to an engagement with the latter; but
the river, swollen by winter torrents, was not fordable, and the bridge,
the only direct avenue to the city, was enfiladed by the enemy's cannon,
so as to render a sally in that direction altogether impracticable. During
this time, Isabella's squadrons of light cavalry, hovering on the skirts
of the Portuguese camp, effectually cut off its supplies, and soon reduced
it to great straits for subsistence. This circumstance, together with the
tidings of the rapid advance of additional forces to the support of
Ferdinand, determined Alfonso, contrary to all expectation, on an
immediate retreat; and accordingly on the morning of the 1st of March,
being little less than a fortnight from the time in which he commenced
this empty gasconade, the Portuguese army quitted its position before
Zamora, with the same silence and celerity with which it had occupied it.
Ferdinand's troops would instantly have pushed after the fugitives, but
the latter had demolished the southern extremity of the bridge before
their departure; so that, although some few effected an immediate passage
in boats, the great body of the army was necessarily detained until the
repairs were completed, which occupied more than three hours. With all the
expedition they could use, therefore, and leaving their artillery behind
them, they did not succeed in coming up with the enemy until nearly four
o'clock in the afternoon, as the latter was defiling through a narrow pass
formed by a crest of precipitous hills on the one side, and the Douro on
the other, at the distance of about five miles from the city of Toro. [22]
A council of war was then called, to decide on the expediency of an
immediate assault. It was objected, that the strong position of Toro would
effectually cover the retreat of the Portuguese in case of their
discomfiture; that they would speedily be reinforced by fresh recruits
from that city, which would make them more than a match for Ferdinand's
army, exhausted by a toilsome march, as well as by its long fast, which it
had not broken since the morning; and that the celerity, with which it had
moved, had compelled it, not only to abandon its artillery, but to leave a
considerable portion of the heavy-armed infantry in the rear.
Notwithstanding the weight of these objections, such were the high spirit
of the troops and their eagerness to come to action, sharpened by the view
of the quarry, which after a wearisome chase seemed ready to fall into
their hands, that they were thought more than sufficient to counterbalance
every physical disadvantage; and the question of battle was decided in the
affirmative.
As the Castilian army emerged from the defile into a wide and open plain,
they found that the enemy had halted, and was already forming in order of
battle. The king of Portugal led the centre, with the archbishop of Toledo
on his right wing, its extremity resting on the Douro; while the left,
comprehending the arquebusiers and the strength of the cavalry, was placed
under the command of his son, Prince John. The numerical force of the two
armies, although in favor of the Portuguese, was nearly equal, amounting
probably in each to less than ten thousand men, about one-third being
cavalry. Ferdinand took his station in the centre, opposite his rival,
having the admiral and the duke of Alva on his left; while his right wing,
distributed into six battles or divisions, under their several commanders,
was supported by a detachment of men-at-arms from the provinces of Leon
and Galicia.
The action commenced in this quarter. The Castilians, raising the war-cry
of "St. James and St. Lazarus," advanced on the enemy's left under Prince
John, but were saluted with such a brisk and well-directed fire from his
arquebusiers, that their ranks were disconcerted. The Portuguese men-at-
arms, charging them at the same time, augmented their confusion, and
compelled them to fall back precipitately on the narrow pass in their
rear, where, being supported by some fresh detachments from the reserve,
they were with difficulty rallied by their officers, and again brought
into the field. In the mean while, Ferdinand closed with the enemy's
centre, and the action soon became general along the whole line. The
battle raged with redoubled fierceness in the quarter where the presence
of the two monarchs infused new ardor into their soldiers, who fought as
if conscious that this struggle was to decide the fate of their masters.
The lances were shivered at the first encounter, and, as the ranks of the
two armies mingled with each other, the men fought hand to hand with their
swords, with a fury sharpened by the ancient rivalry of the two nations,
making the whole a contest of physical strength rather than skill. [23]
The royal standard of Portugal was torn to shreds in the attempt to seize
it on the one side and to preserve it on the other, while its gallant
bearer, Edward de Almeyda, after losing first his right arm, and then his
left, in its defence, held it firmly with his teeth until he was cut down
by the assailants. The armor of this knight was to be seen as late as
Mariana's time, in the cathedral church of Toledo, where it was preserved
as a trophy of this desperate act of heroism, which brings to mind a
similar feat recorded in Grecian story.
The old archbishop of Toledo, and the cardinal Mendoza, who, like his
reverend rival, had exchanged the crosier for the corslet, were to be seen
on that day in the thickest of the _mêlée_. The holy wars with the infidel
perpetuated the unbecoming spectacle of militant ecclesiastics among the
Spaniards, to a still later period, and long after it had disappeared from
the rest of civilized Europe.
At length, after an obstinate struggle of more than three hours, the valor
of the Castilian troops prevailed, and the Portuguese were seen to give
way in all directions. The duke of Alva, by succeeding in turning their
flank, while they were thus vigorously pressed in front, completed their
disorder, and soon converted their retreat into a rout. Some, attempting
to cross the Douro, were drowned, and many, who endeavored to effect an
entrance into Toro, were entangled in the narrow defile of the bridge, and
fell by the sword of their pursuers, or miserably perished in the river,
which, bearing along their mutilated corpses, brought tidings of the fatal
victory to Zamora. Such were the heat and fury of the pursuit, that the
intervening night, rendered darker than usual by a driving rain storm,
alone saved the scattered remains of the army from destruction. Several
Portuguese companies, under favor of this obscurity, contrived to elude
their foes by shouting the Castilian battle-cry. Prince John, retiring
with a fragment of his broken squadrons to a neighboring eminence,
succeeded, by lighting fires and sounding his trumpets, in rallying round
him a number of fugitives; and, as the position he occupied was too strong
to be readily forced, and the Castilian troops were too weary, and well
satisfied with their victory, to attempt it, he retained possession of it
till morning, when he made good his retreat into Toro. The king of
Portugal, who was missing, was supposed to have perished in the battle,
until, by advices received from him late on the following day, it was
ascertained that he had escaped without personal injury, and with three or
four attendants only, to the fortified castle of Castro Nuño, some leagues
distant from the field of action. Numbers of his troops, attempting to
escape across the neighboring frontiers into their own country, were
maimed or massacred by the Spanish peasants, in retaliation of the
excesses wantonly committed by them in their invasion of Castile.
Ferdinand, shocked at this barbarity, issued orders for the protection of
their persons, and freely gave safe-conducts to such as desired to return
into Portugal. He even, with a degree of humanity more honorable, as well
as more rare, than military success, distributed clothes and money to
several prisoners brought into Zamora in a state of utter destitution, and
enabled them to return in safety to their own country. [24]
The Castilian monarch remained on the field of battle till after midnight,
when he returned to Zamora, being followed in the morning by the cardinal
of Spain and the admiral Henriquez, at the head of the victorious legions.
Eight standards with the greater part of the baggage were taken in the
engagement, and more than two thousand of the enemy slain or made
prisoners. Queen Isabella, on receiving tidings of the event at
Tordesillas, where she then was, ordered a procession to the church of St.
Paul in the suburbs, in which she herself joined, walking barefoot with
all humility, and offered up a devout thanksgiving to the God of battles
for the victory with which he had crowned her arms. [25]
It was indeed a most auspicious victory, not so much from the immediate
loss inflicted on the enemy, as from its moral influence on the Castilian
nation. Such as had before vacillated in their faith,--who, in the
expressive language of Bernaldez, "estaban aviva quien vence,"--who were
prepared to take sides with the strongest, now openly proclaimed their
allegiance to Ferdinand and Isabella; while most of those, who had been
arrayed in arms or had manifested by any other overt act their hostility
to the government, vied with each other in demonstrations of the most
loyal submission, and sought to make the best terms for themselves which
they could. Among these latter, the duke of Arevalo, who indeed had made
overtures to this effect some time previous through the agency of his son,
together with the grand master of Calatrava, and the count of Urueña, his
brother, experienced the lenity of government, and were confirmed in the
entire possession of their estates. The two principal delinquents, the
marquis of Villena and the archbishop of Toledo, made a show of resistance
for some time longer; but, after witnessing the demolition of their
castles, the capture of their towns, the desertion of their vassals, and
the sequestration of their revenues, were fain to purchase a pardon at the
price of the most humble concessions, and the forfeiture of an ample
portion of domain.
The castle of Zamora, expecting no further succors from Portugal, speedily
surrendered, and this event was soon followed by the reduction of Madrid,
Baeza, Toro, and other principal cities; so that, in little more than six
months from the date of the battle, the whole kingdom, with the exception
of a few insignificant posts still garrisoned by the enemy, had
acknowledged the supremacy of Ferdinand and Isabella. [26]
Soon after the victory of Toro, Ferdinand was enabled to concentrate a
force amounting to fifty thousand men, for the purpose of repelling the
French from Guipuscoa, from which they had already twice been driven by
the intrepid natives, and whence they again retired with precipitation on
receiving news of the king's approach. [27]
Alfonso, finding his authority in Castile thus rapidly melting away before
the rising influence of Ferdinand and Isabella, withdrew with his virgin
bride into Portugal, where he formed the resolution of visiting France in
person, and soliciting succor from his ancient ally, Louis the Eleventh.
In spite of every remonstrance, he put this extraordinary scheme into
execution. He reached France, with a retinue of two hundred followers, in
the month of September. He experienced everywhere the honors due to his
exalted rank, and to the signal mark of confidence, which he thus
exhibited towards the French king. The keys of the cities were delivered
into his hands, the prisoners were released from their dungeons, and his
progress was attended by a general jubilee. His brother monarch, however,
excused himself from affording more substantial proofs of his regard,
until he should have closed the war then pending between him and Burgundy,
and until Alfonso should have fortified his title to the Castilian crown,
by obtaining from the pope a dispensation for his marriage with Joanna.
The defeat and death of the duke of Burgundy, whose camp, before Nanci,
Alfonso visited in the depth of winter, with the chimerical purpose of
effecting a reconciliation between him and Louis, removed the former of
these impediments; as, in good time, the compliance of the pope did the
latter. But the king of Portugal found himself no nearer the object of his
negotiations; and, after waiting a whole year a needy supplicant at the
court of Louis, he at length ascertained that his insidious host was
concerting an arrangement with his mortal foes, Ferdinand and Isabella.
Alfonso, whose character always had a spice of Quixotism in it, seems to
have completely lost his wits at this last reverse of fortune. Overwhelmed
with shame at his own credulity, he felt himself unable to encounter the
ridicule which awaited his return to Portugal, and secretly withdrew, with
two or three domestics only, to an obscure village in Normandy, whence he
transmitted an epistle to Prince John, his son, declaring, "that, as all
earthly vanities were dead within his bosom, he resolved to lay up an
imperishable crown by performing a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and
devoting himself to the service of God, in some retired monastery;" and he
concluded with requesting his son "to assume the sovereignty, at once, in
the same manner as if he had heard of his father's death." [28]
Fortunately Alfonso's retreat was detected before he had time to put his
extravagant project in execution, and his trusty followers succeeded,
though with considerable difficulty, in diverting him from it; while the
king of France, willing to be rid of his importunate guest, and unwilling
perhaps to incur the odium of having driven him to so desperate an
extremity as that of his projected pilgrimage, provided a fleet of ships
to transport him back to his own dominions, where, to complete the farce,
he arrived just five days after the ceremony of his son's coronation as
king of Portugal. Nor was it destined that the luckless monarch should
solace himself, as he had hoped, in the arms of his youthful bride; since
the pliant pontiff, Sixtus the Fourth, was ultimately persuaded by the
court of Castile to issue a new bull overruling the dispensation formerly
conceded, on the ground that it had been obtained by a misrepresentation
of facts.
Prince John, whether influenced by filial piety, or prudence, resigned the
crown of Portugal to his father, soon after his return; [29] and the old
monarch was no sooner reinstated in his authority, than, burning with a
thirst for vengeance, which made him insensible to every remonstrance, he
again prepared to throw his country into combustion by reviving his
enterprise against Castile. [30]
While these hostile movements were in progress, Ferdinand, leaving his
consort in possession of a sufficient force for the protection of the
frontiers, made a journey into Biscay for the purpose of an interview with
his father, the king of Aragon, to concert measures for the pacification
of Navarre, which still continued to be rent with those sanguinary feuds,
that were bequeathed like a precious legacy from one generation to
another. [31] In the autumn of the same year a treaty of peace was
definitively adjusted between the plenipotentiaries of Castile and France,
at St. Jean de Luz, in which it was stipulated as a principle article,
that Louis the Eleventh should disconnect himself from his alliance with
Portugal, and give no further support to the pretensions of Joanna. [32]
Thus released from apprehension in this quarter, the sovereigns were
enabled to give their undivided attention to the defence of the western
borders. Isabella, accordingly, early in the ensuing winter, passed into
Estremadura for the purpose of repelling the Portuguese, and still more of
suppressing the insurrectionary movements of certain of her own subjects,
who, encouraged by the vicinity of Portugal, carried on from their private
fortresses a most desolating and predatory warfare over the circumjacent
territory. Private mansions and farm-houses were pillaged and burnt to the
ground, the cattle and crops swept away in their forays, the highways
beset, so that all travelling was at an end, all communication cut off,
and a rich and populous district converted at once into a desert.
Isabella, supported by a body of regular troops and a detachment of the
Holy Brotherhood, took her station at Truxillo, as a central position,
whence she might operate on the various points with greatest facility. Her
counsellors remonstrated against this exposure of her person in the very
heart of the disaffected country; but she replied that "it was not for her
to calculate perils or fatigues in her own cause, nor by an unseasonable
timidity to dishearten her friends, with whom she was now resolved to
remain until she had brought the war to a conclusion." She then gave
immediate orders for laying siege at the same time to the fortified towns
of Medellin, Merida, and Deleytosa.
At this juncture the infanta Doña Beatriz of Portugal, sister-in-law of
King Alfonso, and maternal aunt of Isabella, touched with grief at the
calamities, in which she saw her country involved by the chimerical
ambition of her brother, offered herself as the mediator of peace between
the belligerent nations. Agreeably to her proposal, an interview took
place between her and Queen Isabella at the frontier town of Alcantara. As
the conferences of the fair negotiators experienced none of the
embarrassments usually incident to such deliberations, growing out of
jealousy, distrust, and a mutual design to overreach, but were conducted
in perfect good faith, and a sincere desire, on both sides, of
establishing a cordial reconciliation, they resulted, after eight days'
discussion, in a treaty of peace, with which the Portuguese infanta
returned into her own country, in order to obtain the sanction of her
royal brother. The articles contained in it, however, were too unpalatable
to receive an immediate assent; and it was not until the expiration of six
months, during which Isabella, far from relaxing, persevered with
increased energy in her original plan of operations, that the treaty was
formally ratified by the court of Lisbon. [33]
It was stipulated in this compact, that Alfonso should relinquish the
title and armorial bearings, which he had assumed as king of Castile; that
he should resign his claims to the hand of Joanna, and no longer maintain
her pretensions to the Castilian throne; that that lady should make the
election within six months, either to quit Portugal for ever, or to remain
there on the condition of wedding Don John, the infant son of Ferdinand
and Isabella, [34] so soon as he should attain a marriageable age, or to
retire into a convent, and take the veil; that a general amnesty should be
granted to all such Castilians as had supported Joanna's cause; and,
finally, that the concord between the two nations should be cemented by
the union of Alonso, son of the prince of Portugal, with the infanta
Isabella, of Castile. [35]
Thus terminated, after a duration of four years and a half, the War of the
Succession. It had fallen with peculiar fury on the border provinces of
Leon and Estremadura, which, from their local position, had necessarily
been kept in constant collision with the enemy. Its baneful effects were
long visible there, not only in the general devastation and distress of
the country, but in the moral disorganization, which the licentious and
predatory habits of soldiers necessarily introduced among a simple
peasantry. In a personal view, however, the war had terminated most
triumphantly for Isabella, whose wise and vigorous administration,
seconded by her husband's vigilance, had dispelled the storm, which
threatened to overwhelm her from abroad, and established her in
undisturbed possession of the throne of her ancestors.
Joanna's interests were alone compromised, or rather sacrificed, by the
treaty. She readily discerned in the provision for her marriage with an
infant still in the cradle, only a flimsy veil intended to disguise the
king of Portugal's desertion of her cause. Disgusted with a world, in
which she had hitherto experienced nothing but misfortune herself, and
been the innocent cause of so much to others, she determined to renounce
it for ever, and seek a shelter in the peaceful shades of the cloister.
She accordingly entered the convent of Santa Clara at Coimbra, where, in
the following year, she pronounced the irrevocable vows, which divorce the
unhappy subject of them for ever from her species. Two envoys from
Castile, Ferdinand de Talavera, Isabella's confessor, and Dr. Diaz de
Madrigal, one of her council, assisted at this affecting ceremony; and the
reverend father, in a copious exhortation addressed to the youthful
novice, assured her "that she had chosen the better part approved in the
Evangelists; that, as spouse of the church, her chastity would be prolific
of all spiritual delights; her subjection, liberty,--the only true
liberty, partaking more of Heaven than of earth. No kinsman," continued
the disinterested preacher, "no true friend, or faithful counsellor, would
divert you from so holy a purpose." [36]
Not long after this event, King Alfonso, penetrated with grief at the loss
of his destined bride,--the "excellent lady," as the Portuguese continue
to call her,--resolved to imitate her example, and exchange his royal
robes for the humble habit of a Franciscan friar. He consequently made
preparation for resigning his crown anew, and retiring to the monastery of
Varatojo, on a bleak eminence near the Atlantic Ocean, when he suddenly
fell ill, at Cintra, of a disorder which terminated his existence, on the
28th of August, 1481. Alfonso's fiery character, in which all the elements
of love, chivalry, and religion were blended together, resembled that of
some paladin of romance; as the chimerical enterprises, in which he was
perpetually engaged, seem rather to belong to the age of knight-errantry,
than to the fifteenth century. [37]
In the beginning of the same year in which the pacification with Portugal
secured to the sovereigns the undisputed possession of Castile, another
crown devolved on Ferdinand by the death of his father, the king of
Aragon, who expired at Barcelona, on the 20th of January, 1479, in the
eighty-third year of his age. [38] Such was his admirable constitution
that he retained not only his intellectual, but his bodily vigor,
unimpaired to the last. His long life was consumed in civil faction or
foreign wars; and his restless spirit seemed to take delight in these
tumultuous scenes, as best fitted to develop its various energies. He
combined, however, with this intrepid and even ferocious temper, an
address in the management of affairs, which led him to rely, for the
accomplishment of his purposes, much more on negotiation than on positive
force. He may be said to have been one of the first monarchs who brought
into vogue that refined science of the cabinet, which was so profoundly
studied by statesmen at the close of the fifteenth century, and on which
his own son Ferdinand furnished the most practical commentary.
The crown of Navarre, which he had so shamelessly usurped, devolved, on
his decease, on his guilty daughter Leonora, countess of Foix, who, as we
have before noticed, survived to enjoy it only three short weeks. Aragon,
with its extensive dependencies, descended to Ferdinand. Thus the two
crowns of Aragon and Castile, after a separation of more than four
centuries, became indissolubly united, and the foundations were laid of
the magnificent empire which was destined to overshadow every other
European monarchy.
FOOTNOTES
[1] The popular belief of Joanna's illegitimacy was founded on the
following circumstances. 1. King Henry's first marriage with Blanche of
Navarre was dissolved, after it had subsisted twelve years, on the
publicly alleged ground of "impotence in the parties." 2. The princess
Joanna, the only child of his second queen, Joanna of Portugal, was not
born until the eighth year of her marriage, and long after she had become
notorious for her gallantries. 3. Although Henry kept several mistresses,
whom he maintained in so ostentatious a manner as to excite general
scandal, he was never known to have had issue by any one of them.--To
counterbalance the presumption afforded by these facts, it should be
stated, that Henry appears, to the day of his death, to have cherished the
princess Joanna as his own offspring, and that Beltran de la Cueva, duke
of Albuquerque, her reputed father, instead of supporting her claims to
the crown on the demise of Henry, as would have been natural had he been
entitled to the honors of paternity, attached himself to the adverse
faction of Isabella.
Queen Joanna survived her husband about six months only. Father Florez
(Reynas Cathólicas, tom. ii. pp. 760-786) has made a flimsy attempt to
whitewash her character; but, to say nothing of almost every contemporary
historian, as well as of the official documents of that day (see Marina,
Teoría, tom. iii. part. 2, num. 11), the stain has been too deeply fixed
by the repeated testimony of Castillo, the loyal adherent of her own
party, to be thus easily effaced.
It is said, however, that the queen died in the odor of sanctity; and
Ferdinand and Isabella caused her to be deposited in a rich mausoleum,
erected by the ambassador to the court of the Great Tamerlane for himself,
but from which his remains were somewhat unceremoniously ejected, in order
to make room for those of his royal mistress.
[2] See this subject discussed _in extenso_, by Marina, Teoría, part. 2,
cap. 1-10.--See, also, Introd. Sect. I. of this History.
[3] See Part I. Chap. 3.
[4] See Part I. Chap. 4, Note 2.
[5] Fortunately, this strong place, in which the royal treasure was
deposited, was in the keeping of Andres de Cabrera, the husband of
Isabella's friend, Beatriz de Bobadilla. His co-operation at this juncture
was so important, that Oviedo does not hesitate to declare, "It lay with
him to make Isabella or her rival queen, as he listed." Quincuagenas, MS.,
bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 23.
[6] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 10.--Carbajal, Anales, MS., año
75.--Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 93.--L. Marineo,
Cosas Memorables, fol. 155.--Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 2,
dial. 3.
[7] Marina, whose peculiar researches and opportunities make him the best,
is my only authority for this convention of the cortes. (Teoría, tom. ii.
pp. 63, 89.) The extracts he makes from the writ of summons, however, seem
to imply, that the object was not the recognition of Ferdinand and
Isabella, but of their daughter, as successor to the crown. Among the
nobles, who openly testified their adhesion to Isabella, were no less than
four of the six individuals, to whom the late king had intrusted the
guardianship of his daughter Joanna; viz. the grand cardinal of Spain, the
constable of Castile, the duke of Infantado, and the count of Benavente.
[8] A precedent for female inheritance, in the latter kingdom, was
subsequently furnished by the undisputed succession and long reign of
Joanna, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, and mother of Charles V. The
introduction of the Salic law, under the Bourbon dynasty, opposed a new
barrier, indeed; but this has been since swept away by the decree of the
late monarch, Ferdinand VII., and the paramount authority of the cortes;
and we may hope that the successful assertion of her lawful rights by
Isabella II. will put this much vexed question at rest for ever.
[9] See Part I. Chap. 3.--Ferdinand's powers are not so narrowly limited,
at least not so carefully defined, in this settlement, as in the marriage
articles. Indeed, the instrument is much more concise and general in its
whole import.
[10] Salazar de Mendoza, Crón. del Gran Cardenal, lib. 1, cap. 40.--L.
Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 155, 156.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol.
222-224.--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, pp. 35, 36.--See the original
instrument signed by Ferdinand and Isabella, cited at length in Dormer's
Discursos Varios de Historia, (Zaragoza, 1683,) pp. 295-313.--It does not
appear that the settlement was ever confirmed by, or indeed presented to,
the cortes. Marina speaks of it, however, as emanating from that body.
(Teoría, tom. ii. pp. 63, 64.) From Pulgar's statement, as well as from
the instrument itself, it seems to have been made under no other auspices
or sanction, than that of the great nobility and cavaliers. Marina's
eagerness to find a precedent for the interference of the popular branch
in all the great concerns of government, has usually quickened, but
sometimes clouded, his optics. In the present instance he has undoubtedly
confounded the irregular proceedings of the aristocracy exclusively, with
the deliberate acts of the legislature.
[11] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 94.--Garibay,
Compendio, lib. 18, cap. 3.--Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 10,
11.--Pulgar, Letras, (Madrid, 1775,) let. 3, al Arzobispo de Toledo.--The
archbishop's jealousy of cardinal Mendoza is uniformly reported by the
Spanish writers as the true cause of his defection from the queen.
[12] Ruy de Pina, Chrónica d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 173, apud Collecçaö
de Livros Inéditos de Historia Portugueza, (Lisboa, 1790-93,) tom. i.
[13] The ancient rivalry between the two nations was exasperated into the
most deadly rancor, by the fatal defeat at Aljubarrotta, in 1235, in which
fell the flower of the Castilian nobility. King John I. wore mourning, it
is said, to the day of his death, in commemoration of this disaster.
(Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 394-396.--La Clède, Hist.
de Portugal, tom. iii. pp. 357-359.) Pulgar, the secretary of Ferdinand
and Isabella, addressed, by their order, a letter of remonstrance to the
king of Portugal, in which he endeavors, by numerous arguments founded on
expediency and justice, to dissuade him from his meditated enterprise.
Pulgar, Letras, No. 7.
[14] Ruy de Pina, Chrónica d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 174-178.--Bernaldez,
Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 16, 17, 18.--Bernaldez states, that Alfonso,
previously to his invasion, caused largesses of plate and money to be
distributed among the Castilian nobles, whom he imagined to be well
affected towards him. Some of them, the duke of Alva in particular,
received his presents and used them in the cause of Isabella.--Faria y
Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 396-398.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv.
fol. 230-240.--La Clède, Hist. de Portugal, tom. iii. pp. 360-362.-Pulgar,
Crónica, p. 51.--L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 156.--Oviedo,
Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 2, dial. 3.
[15] The queen, who was, at that time, in a state of pregnancy, brought on
a miscarriage by her incessant personal exposure. Zurita, Anales, tom. iv.
fol. 234.
[16] Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 75.--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, pp. 45-55.--
Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, tom. vii. p. 411.--Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos,
MS., cap. 23.
[17] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 18.--Faria y Sousa, Europa
Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 398-400.--Pulgar, Crónica, pp. 55-60.--Ruy de
Pina, Chrón. d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 179.--La Clède, Hist. de Portugal,
tom. iii. p. 366.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 240-243.
[18] "Pues no os maravilleis de eso," says Oviedo, in relation to these
troubles, "que nó solo entre hermanos suele haber esas diferencias, mas
entre padre é hijo lo vimos ayer, como suelen decir." Quincuagenas, MS.,
bat. 1, quinc. 2, dial. 3.
[19] The royal coffers were found to contain about 10,000 marks of silver.
(Pulgar, Reyes Catól. p. 54.) Isabella presented Cabrera with a golden
goblet from her table, engaging that a similar present should be regularly
made to him and his successors on the anniversary of his surrender of
Segovia. She subsequently gave a more solid testimony of her gratitude, by
raising him to the rank of marquis of Moya, with the grant of an estate
suitable to his new dignity.--Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1,
dial. 23.
[20] The indignation of Dr. Salazar de Mendoza is roused by this
misapplication of the church's money, which he avers "no necessity
whatever could justify." This worthy canon flourished in the seventeenth
century. Crón. del Gran Cardenal, p. 147.--Pulgar, Reyes Catól. pp. 60-
62.--Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 400.--Rades y Andrada,
Las Tres Ordenes, part. 1, fol. 67.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 243.--
Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 18, 20. Zuñiga gives some additional
particulars respecting the grant of the cortes, which I do not find
verified by any contemporary author. Annales de Sevilla, p. 372.
[21] Carbajal, Anales, MS., años 75, 76.--Ruy de Pina, Chrón. del Rey
Alfonso V., cap. 187, 189.--Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 20, 22.
--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, pp. 63-78.--L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol.
156.--Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 401, 404.--Several of
the contemporary Castilian historians compute the Portuguese army at
double the amount given in the text.
[22] Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, pp. 82-85.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol.
252, 253.--Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 404, 405.--
Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos. MS., cap. 23.--Ruy de Pina, Chrón. d'el Rey
Alfonso V., cap. 190.
[23] Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 76.--L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol.
158.--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, pp. 85-89.--Faria y Sousa, Europa
Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 404, 405.--Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap.
23.--La Clède, Hist. de Portugal, tom. iii. pp. 378-383.--Zurita, Anales,
tom. iv. fol. 252-255.
[24] Faria y Sousa claims the honors of the victory for the Portuguese,
because Prince John kept the field till morning. Even M. La Clède, with
all his deference to the Portuguese historian, cannot swallow this. Faria
y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 405-410.--Oviedo, Quincuagenas,
MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8.--Salazar de Mendoza, Crón. del Gran
Cardenal, lib. 1, cap. 46--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, pp. 85-90.--L.
Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 158.--Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 76.--
Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 23.--Ruy de Pina, Chrón. d'el Rey
Alfonso V., cap. 191.--Ferdinand, in allusion to Prince John, wrote to his
wife, that "if it had not been for the chicken, the old cock would have
been taken." Garibay, Compendio, lib. 18, cap. 8.
[25] Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, p. 90.--The sovereigns, in compliance with a
previous vow, caused a superb monastery, dedicated to St. Francis, to be
erected in Toledo, with the title of San Juan de los Reyes, in
commemoration of their victory over the Portuguese. This edifice was still
to be seen in Mariana's time.
[26] Rades y Andrada, Las Tres Ordenes, tom. ii. fol. 79, 80.--Pulgar,
Reyes Católicos, cap. 48-50, 55, 60.--Zurita, Anales, lib. 19, cap. 46,
48, 54, 58.--Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, tom. vii. pp. 476-478, 517-519,
546.--Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 10.--Oviedo, Quincuagenas,
MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8.
[27] Gaillard, Rivalité, tom. iii. pp. 290, 292.--Carbajal, Anales, MS.,
año 76.
[28] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 27.--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos,
cap. 56, 57.--Gaillard, Rivalité, tom. iii. pp. 290-292.--Zurita, Anales,
lib. 19, cap. 56, lib. 20, cap. 10.--Ruy de Pina, Chrón. d'el Rey Alfonso
V., cap. 194-202.--Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 412-
415.--Comines, Mémoires, liv. 5, chap. 7.
[29] According to Faria y Sousa, John was walking along the shores of the
Tagus, with the duke of Braganza, and the cardinal archbishop of Lisbon,
when he received the unexpected tidings of his father's return to
Portugal. On his inquiring of his attendants how he should receive him,
"How but as your king and father!" was the reply; at which John, knitting
his brows together, skimmed a stone, which he held in his hand, with much
violence across the water. The cardinal, observing this, whispered to the
duke of Braganza, "I will take good care that that stone does not rebound
on me." Soon after, he left Portugal for Rome, where he fixed his
residence. The duke lost his life on the scaffold for imputed treason soon
after John's accession.--Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 416.
[30] Comines, Mémoires, liv. 5, chap. 7.--Faria y Sousa, Europa
Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 116.--Zurita, Anales, lib. 20, cap. 25.--
Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 27.
[31] This was the first meeting between father and son since the elevation
of the latter to the Castilian throne. King John would not allow Ferdinand
to kiss his hand; he chose to walk on his left; he attended him to his
quarters, and, in short, during the whole twenty days of their conference
manifested towards his son all the deference, which, as a parent, he was
entitled to receive from him. This he did on the ground that Ferdinand, as
king of Castile, represented the elder branch of Trastamara, while he
represented only the younger. It will not be easy to meet with an instance
of more punctilious etiquette, even in Spanish history.--Pulgar, Reyes
Católicos, cap. 75.
[32] Salazar de Mendoza, Crón. del Gran Cardenal, p. 162.--Zurita, Anales,
lib. 20, cap. 25.--Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 79.
[33] Ruy de Pina, Chrón. d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 206.--L. Marineo, Cosas
Memorables, fol. 166, 167.--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, cap. 85, 89, 90.--
Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 420, 421.--Ferreras, Hist.
d'Espagne, tom. vii. p. 538.--Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 79.--Bernaldez,
Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 28, 36, 37.
[34] Born the preceding year, June 28th, 1478. Carbajal, Anales, MS., anno
eodem.
[35] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 168.--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos,
cap. 91.--Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 420, 421.--Ruy de
Pina, Chrón. d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 206.
[36] Ruy de Pina, Chrón. d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 20.--Faria y Sousa,
Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 421.--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, cap. 92.--L.
Marineo speaks of the _Señora muy excelente_, as an inmate of the cloister
at the period in which he was writing, 1522, (fol. 168.) Notwithstanding
her "irrevocable vows," however, Joanna several times quitted the
monastery, and maintained a royal state under the protection of the
Portuguese monarchs, who occasionally threatened to revive her dormant
claims to the prejudice of the Castilian sovereigns. She may be said,
consequently, to have formed the pivot, on which turned, during her
whole life, the diplomatic relations between the courts of Castile and
Portugal, and to have been a principal cause of those frequent
intermarriages between the royal families of the two countries, by which
Ferdinand and Isabella hoped to detach the Portuguese crown from her
interests. Joanna affected a royal style and magnificence, and subscribed
herself "I the Queen," to the last. She died in the palace at Lisbon, in
1530, in the 69th year of her age, having survived most of her ancient
friends, suitors, and competitors.--Joanna's history, subsequent to her
taking the veil, has been collected, with his usual precision, by Señor
Clemencin, Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., tom. vi. Ilust. 19.
[37] Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 423.--Ruy de Pina,
Chrón. d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 212.
[38] Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 79.--Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap.
42.--Mariana, Hist. de España, (ed Valencia,) tom. viii. p. 204, not.--
Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 295.