King Sancho of Majorca
Sancho, the second son of Jayme II., succeeded as King of Majorca on
June 4, 1311. He was a just and peace-loving sovereign, beloved by his
people, always on excellent terms with his cousins of Aragon, and he
reigned prosperously for thirteen years. Majorca was a feudatory of
Aragon, with the duty of assisting in the wars of the suzerain; and
the King was required to attend the Cortes of the Aragonese kingdom to
arrange the nature and amount of aid to be contributed to the feudal
overlord.
As a boy Sancho had suffered imprisonment with his brothers Felipe and
Fernando, when they were captured by the young tyrant Alfonso III.,
first at Torrella de Monguin, then at Gerona, and finally at Barcelona,
where they were released on Alfonso’s death. The misfortunes of his
boyhood were not continued in after-life. His reign was prosperous. On
his accession he swore to maintain the privileges and freedom of his
people; and the commerce of the island made great progress under his
fostering care.
Sancho married Maria, daughter of the Angevin King of Naples, but had
no children by her. They both adopted the infant son of the chivalrous
younger brother Fernando. The King of Majorca was in a position
calling for much tact and diplomatic skill on the one hand, and for
energetic defensive measures on the other. He had to be well prepared
against attacks of pirates from the coasts of Barbary, to preserve his
Continental dominions from French encroachments, and to maintain a good
understanding with his cousin of Aragon.
A fleet of armed ships was equipped for defence against piratical
attacks, half by the King and half by the Jurados. It consisted of
four galleys, two galleots, and several smaller vessels. Later, the
_atalayas_, or watch-towers, were built along the coasts, which gave
notice of the approach of an enemy by fire-signals. In 1316 King Sancho
proceeded from Perpignan to Avignon for an interview with the Pope
respecting French claims on the Barony of Montpellier. The negotiations
were transferred to Paris, and a satisfactory settlement was arrived
at. With Aragon Sancho continued to maintain the most friendly
relations. When the conquest of Sardinia and Corsica was resolved to be
undertaken, he attended personally at the Cortes held at Gerona in June
1322 as a feudatory of Aragon. The result was that Majorca contributed
twenty new galleys to the expedition, two hundred mounted knights,
besides a contingent of foot soldiers. King Jayme II. of Aragon was so
much pleased with this evidence of good will on the part of his cousin
of Majorca that he expressed his satisfaction by exempting King Sancho
from the duty of personal attendance at the Cortes of Aragon.
King Sancho built a castle for his residence in the lovely ravine of
Valdemosa, in the mountains on the north-west coast, to the west of
Soller. From Palma the way is across the fertile _huerta_, or garden,
for eight miles, when the hilly region is entered. There is terraced
cultivation up the mountain-sides with orange-trees and olives; higher
up, woods of Aleppo pines; and above them the marble cliffs rise
perpendicularly, their irregular outline standing out against the
blue sky. The castle stood across the highest part of the pass, a
picturesque line of masonry rising from the groves of orange and lemon
trees. The first Alcaide, or Castellan, of the castle of Valdemosa was
Martin de Muntaner, a relation of the chronicler. Here King Sancho
held his court, and here he enjoyed hawking and other sports of the
field. He had a special breed of falcons, which was famous all over
Europe, and he introduced partridges into the island. Beyond Valdemosa
the scenery increases in beauty as the sea on the north side of the
island comes in sight. Here was the college founded by Jayme II. at the
request of Raimundo Lulio, but soon abandoned. King Sancho suffered
from asthma, and he found relief in the climate of Miramar, passing
much time in the building which had been erected for an Arabic college.
Far below is the sea, the steep slopes descending to it being covered
with flowering shrubs and Aleppo pines, while behind the marble cliffs
shoot up into peaks and ridges. His infirmity increasing, Sancho was
advised to try the climate of his Continental dominions. The heat was
very great in the summer of 1324, and he retired to the cooler air of
the Pyrenees. There he died in the little village of Santa Maria de
Formiguera, in the county of Cerdaña, on September 4, 1324. The King’s
body was conveyed to Perpignan, where it was interred in the church of
San Juan.
Sancho left a will in the custody of his friend Bernardo Truyolls. In
it he declared his infant nephew Jayme to be his heir, and appointed
his brother, the priest Felipe, to be Regent during the minority. His
widow, daughter of Charles II. of Naples, married secondly Jayme, Lord
of Ezerica, son of another Jayme, the illegitimate son of Jayme I. (the
Conqueror).
Sancho was a wise and just sovereign, and secured a period of peace and
prosperity for the islands and the islanders he loved so well.
There is a very rare gold coin of King Sancho, a two-real piece, and a
_dobler de potin_, the two latter resembling those of Jayme II.