WAR OF GRANADA.--SIEGE AND SURRENDER OF THE CITY OF GRANADA.
1490-1492.
The Infanta Isabella Affianced to the Prince of Portugal.--Isabella
Deposes Judges at Valladolid.--Encampment before Granada.--The Queen
Surveys the City.--Moslem and Christian Chivalry.--Conflagration of the
Christian Camp.--Erection of Santa Fe.--Capitulation of Granada.--Results
of the War.--Its Moral Influence.--Its Military Influence.--Fate of the
Moors.--Death and Character of the Marquis of Cadiz.
In the spring of 1490, ambassadors arrived from Lisbon for the purpose of
carrying into effect the treaty of marriage, which had been arranged
between Alonso, heir of the Portuguese monarchy, and Isabella, infanta of
Castile. An alliance with this kingdom, which from its contiguity
possessed such ready means of annoyance to Castile, and which had shown
such willingness to employ them in enforcing the pretensions of Joanna
Beltraneja, was an object of importance to Ferdinand and Isabella. No
inferior consideration could have reconciled the queen to a separation
from this beloved daughter, her eldest child, whose gentle and uncommonly
amiable disposition seems to have endeared her beyond their other children
to her parents.
The ceremony of the affiancing took place at Seville, in the month of
April, Don Fernando de Silveira appearing as the representative of the
prince of Portugal; and it was followed by a succession of splendid
_fêtes_ and tourneys. Lists were enclosed, at some distance from the
city on the shores of the Guadalquivir, and surrounded with galleries hung
with silk and cloth of gold, and protected from the noontide heat by
canopies or awnings richly embroidered with the armorial bearings of the
ancient houses of Castile. The spectacle was graced by all the rank and
beauty of the court, with the infanta Isabella in the midst, attended by
seventy noble ladies, and a hundred pages of the royal household. The
cavaliers of Spain, young and old, thronged to the tournament, as eager to
win laurels on the mimic theatre of war, in the presence of so brilliant
an assemblage, as they had shown themselves in the sterner contests with
the Moors. King Ferdinand, who broke several lances on the occasion, was
among the most distinguished of the combatants for personal dexterity and
horsemanship. The martial exercises of the day were relieved by the more
effeminate recreations of dancing and music in the evening; and every one
seemed willing to welcome the season of hilarity, after the long-
protracted fatigues of war. [1]
In the following autumn, the infanta was escorted into Portugal by the
cardinal of Spain, the grand master of St. James, and a numerous and
magnificent retinue. Her dowry exceeded that usually assigned to the
infantas of Castile, by five hundred marks of gold and a thousand of
silver; and her wardrobe was estimated at one hundred and twenty thousand
gold florins. The contemporary chroniclers dwell with much complacency on
these evidences of the stateliness and splendor of the Castilian court.
Unfortunately, these fair auspices were destined to be clouded too soon by
the death of the prince, her husband. [2]
No sooner had the campaign of the preceding year been brought to a close,
than Ferdinand and Isabella sent an embassy to the king of Granada,
requiring a surrender of his capital, conformably to his stipulations at
Loja, which guaranteed this, on the capitulation of Baza, Almeria, and
Guadix. That time had now arrived; King Abdallah, however, excused himself
from obeying the summons of the Spanish sovereigns; replying that he was
no longer his own master, and that, although he had all the inclination to
keep his engagements, he was prevented by the inhabitants of the city, now
swollen much beyond its natural population, who resolutely insisted on its
defence. [3]
It is not probable that the Moorish king did any great violence to his
feelings, in this evasion of a promise extorted from him in captivity. At
least, it would seem so from the hostile movements which immediately
succeeded. The people of Granada resumed all at once their ancient
activity, foraying into the Christian territories, surprising Alhendin and
some other places of less importance, and stirring up the spirit of revolt
in Guadix and other conquered cities. Granada, which had slept through the
heat of the struggle, seemed to revive at the very moment when exertion
became hopeless.
Ferdinand was not slow in retaliating these acts of aggression. In the
spring of 1490, he marched with a strong force into the cultivated plain
of Granada, sweeping off, as usual, the crops and cattle, and rolling the
tide of devastation up to the very walls of the city. In this campaign he
conferred the honor of knighthood on his son, prince John, then only
twelve years of age, whom he had brought with him, after the ancient usage
of the Castilian nobles, of training up their children from very tender
years in the Moorish wars. The ceremony was performed on the banks of the
grand canal, under the battlements almost of the beleaguered city. The
dukes of Cadiz and Medina Sidonia were prince John's sponsors; and, after
the completion of the ceremony, the new knight conferred the honors of
chivalry in like manner on several of his young companions in arms. [4]
In the following autumn, Ferdinand repeated his ravages in the vega, and,
at the same time appearing before the disaffected city of Guadix with a
force large enough to awe it into submission, proposed an immediate
investigation of the conspiracy. He promised to inflict summary justice on
all who had been in any degree concerned in it; at the same time offering
permission to the inhabitants, in the abundance of his clemency, to depart
with all their personal effects wherever they would, provided they should
prefer this to a judicial investigation of their conduct. This politic
proffer had its effect. There were few, if any, of the citizens who had
not been either directly concerned in the conspiracy, or privy to it. With
one accord, therefore, they preferred exile to trusting to the tender
mercies of their judges. In this way, says the Curate of Los Palacios, by
the mystery of our Lord, was the ancient city of Guadix brought again
within the Christian fold; the mosques converted into Christian temples,
filled with the harmonies of Catholic worship, and the pleasant places,
which for nearly eight centuries had been trampled under the foot of the
infidel, were once more restored to the followers of the Cross.
A similar policy produced similar results in the cities of Almeria and
Baza, whose inhabitants, evacuating their ancient homes, transported
themselves, with such personal effects as they could carry, to the city of
Granada, or the coast of Africa. The space thus opened by the fugitive
population was quickly filled by the rushing tide of Spaniards. [5]
It is impossible at this day to contemplate these events with the
triumphant swell of exultation, with which they are recorded by
contemporary chroniclers. That the Moors were guilty (though not so
generally as pretended) of the alleged conspiracy, is not in itself
improbable, and is corroborated indeed by the Arabic statements. But the
punishment was altogether disproportionate to the offence. Justice might
surely have been satisfied by a selection of the authors and principal
agents of the meditated insurrection;--for no overt act appears to have
occurred. But avarice was too strong for justice; and this act, which is
in perfect conformity to the policy systematically pursued by the Spanish
crown for more than a century afterwards, may be considered as one of the
first links in the long chain of persecution, which terminated in the
expulsion of the Moriscoes.
During the following year, 1491, a circumstance occurred illustrative of
the policy of the present government in reference to ecclesiastical
matters. The chancery of Valladolid having appealed to the pope in a case
coming within its own exclusive jurisdiction, the queen commanded Alonso
de Valdivieso, bishop of Leon, the president of the court, together with
all the auditors, to be removed from their respective offices, which she
delivered to a new board, having the bishop of Oviedo at its head. This is
one among many examples of the constancy with which Isabella,
notwithstanding her reverence for religion, and respect for its ministers,
refused to compromise the national independence by recognizing in any
degree the usurpations of Rome. From this dignified attitude, so often
abandoned by her successors, she never swerved for a moment during the
course of her long reign. [6]
The winter of 1490 was busily occupied with preparations for the closing
campaign against Granada. Ferdinand took command of the army in the month
of April, 1491, with the purpose of sitting down before the Moorish
capital, not to rise until its final surrender. The troops, which mustered
in the Val de Velillos, are computed by most historians at fifty thousand
horse and foot, although Martyr, who served as a volunteer, swells the
number to eighty thousand. They were drawn from the different cities,
chiefly, as usual, from Andalusia, which had been stimulated to truly
gigantic efforts throughout this protracted war, [7] and from the nobility
of every quarter, many of whom, wearied out with the contest, contented
themselves with sending their quotas, while many others, as the marquises
of Cadiz, Villena, the counts of Tendilla, Cabra, Ureña, and Alonso de
Aguilar, appeared in person, eager, as they had borne the brunt of so many
hard campaigns, to share in the closing scene of triumph.
On the 26th of the month, the army encamped near the fountain of Ojos de
Huescar, in the vega, about two leagues distant from Granada. Ferdinand's
first movement was to detach a considerable force, under the marquis of
Villena, which he subsequently supported in person with the remainder of
the army, for the purpose of scouring the fruitful regions of the
Alpuxarras, which served as the granary of the capital. This service was
performed with such unsparing rigor, that no less than twenty-four towns
and hamlets in the mountains were ransacked, and razed to the ground.
After this, Ferdinand returned loaded with spoil to his former position on
the banks of the Xenil, in full view of the Moorish metropolis, which
seemed to stand alone, like some sturdy oak, the last of the forest,
bidding defiance to the storm which had prostrated all its brethren.
Notwithstanding the failure of all external resources, Granada was still
formidable from its local position and its defences. On the east it was
fenced in by a wild mountain barrier, the _Sierra Nevada_, whose snow-clad
summits diffused a grateful coolness over the city through the sultry
heats of summer. The side towards the vega, facing the Christian
encampment, was encircled by walls and towers of massive strength and
solidity. The population, swelled to two hundred thousand by the
immigration from the surrounding country, was likely, indeed, to be a
burden in a protracted siege; but among them were twenty thousand, the
flower of the Moslem chivalry, who had escaped the edge of the Christian
sword. In front of the city, for an extent of nearly ten leagues, lay
unrolled the magnificent vega,
"Fresca y regalada vega,
Dulce recreacion de damas
Y de hombres gloria immensa,"
whose prolific beauties could scarcely be exaggerated in the most florid
strains of the Arabian minstrel, and which still bloomed luxuriant,
notwithstanding the repeated ravages of the preceding season. [8]
The inhabitants of Granada were filled with indignation at the sight of
their enemy, thus encamped under the shadow, as it were, of their
battlements. They sallied forth in small bodies, or singly, challenging
the Spaniards to equal encounter. Numerous were the combats which took
place between the high-mettled cavaliers on both sides, who met on the
level arena, as on a tilting-ground, where they might display their
prowess in the presence of the assembled beauty and chivalry of their
respective nations; for the Spanish camp was graced, as usual, by the
presence of Queen Isabella and the infantas, with the courtly train of
ladies who had accompanied their royal mistress from Alcalá la Real. The
Spanish ballads glow with picturesque details of these knightly tourneys,
forming the most attractive portion of this romantic minstrelsy, which,
celebrating the prowess of Moslem, as well as Christian warriors, sheds a
dying glory round the last hours of Granada. [9]
The festivity, which reigned throughout the camp on the arrival of
Isabella, did not divert her attention from the stern business of war. She
superintended the military preparations, and personally inspected every
part of the encampment. She appeared on the field superbly mounted, and
dressed in complete armor; and, as she visited the different quarters and
reviewed her troops, she administered words of commendation or sympathy,
suited to the condition of the soldier. [10]
On one occasion, she expressed a desire to take a nearer survey of the
city. For this purpose, a house was selected, affording the best point of
view, in the little village of Zubia, at no great distance from Granada.
The king and queen stationed themselves before a window, which commanded
an unbroken prospect of the Alhambra, and the most beautiful quarter of
the town. In the mean while, a considerable force, under the marquis duke
of Cadiz, had been ordered, for the protection of the royal persons, to
take up a position between the village and the city of Granada, with
strict injunctions on no account to engage the enemy, as Isabella was
unwilling to stain the pleasures of the day with unnecessary effusion of
blood.
The people of Granada, however, were too impatient long to endure the
presence, and, as they deemed it, the bravado of their enemy. They burst
forth from the gates of the capital, dragging along with them several
pieces of ordnance, and commenced a brisk assault on the Spanish lines.
The latter sustained the shock with firmness, till the marquis of Cadiz,
seeing them thrown into some disorder, found it necessary to assume the
offensive, and, mustering his followers around him, made one of those
desperate charges, which had so often broken the enemy. The Moorish
cavalry faltered; but might have disputed the ground, had it not been for
the infantry, which, composed of the rabble population of the city, was
easily thrown into confusion, and hurried the horse along with it. The
rout now became general. The Spanish cavaliers, whose blood was up,
pursued to the very gates of Granada, "and not a lance," says Bernaldez,
"that day, but was dyed in the blood of the infidel." Two thousand of the
enemy were slain and taken in the engagement, which lasted only a short
time; and the slaughter was stopped only by the escape of the fugitives
within the walls of the city. [11]
About the middle of July, an accident occurred in the camp, which had like
to have been attended with fatal consequences. The queen was lodged in a
superb pavilion, belonging to the marquis of Cadiz, and always used by him
in the Moorish war. By the carelessness of one of her attendants, a lamp
was placed in such a situation, that, during the night, perhaps owing to a
gust of wind, it set fire to the drapery or loose hangings of the
pavilion, which was instantly in a blaze. The flame communicated with
fearful rapidity to the neighboring tents, made of light, combustible
materials, and the camp was menaced with general conflagration. This
occurred at the dead of night, when all but the sentinels were buried in
sleep. The queen and her children, whose apartments were near hers, were
in great peril, and escaped with difficulty, though fortunately without
injury. The alarm soon spread. The trumpets sounded to arms, for it was
supposed to be some night attack of the enemy. Ferdinand, snatching up his
arms hastily, put himself at the head of his troops; but, soon
ascertaining the nature of the disaster, contented himself with posting
the marquis of Cadiz, with a strong body of horse, over against the city,
in order to repel any sally from that quarter. None, however, was
attempted, and the fire was at length extinguished without personal
injury, though not without loss of much valuable property, in jewels,
plate, brocade, and other costly decorations of the tents of the nobility.
[12]
In order to guard against a similar disaster, as well as to provide
comfortable winter quarters for the army, should the siege be so long
protracted as to require it, it was resolved to build a town of
substantial edifices on the place of the present encampment. The plan was
immediately put in execution. The work was distributed in due proportions
among the troops of the several cities and of the great nobility; the
soldier was on a sudden converted into an artisan, and, instead of war,
the camp echoed with the sounds of peaceful labor.
In less than three months, this stupendous task was accomplished. The spot
so recently occupied by light, fluttering pavilions, was thickly covered
with solid structures of stone and mortar, comprehending, besides
dwelling-houses, stables for a thousand horses. The town was thrown into a
quadrangular form, traversed by two spacious avenues, intersecting each
other at right angles in the centre, in the form of a cross, with stately
portals at each of the four extremities. Inscriptions on blocks of marble
in the various quarters, recorded the respective shares of the several
cities in the execution of the work. When it was completed, the whole army
was desirous that the new city should bear the name of their illustrious
queen, but Isabella modestly declined this tribute, and bestowed on the
place the title of _Santa Fe_, in token of the unshaken trust, manifested
by her people throughout this war, in Divine Providence. With this name it
still stands as it was erected in 1491, a monument of the constancy and
enduring patience of the Spaniards, "the only city in Spain," in the words
of a Castilian writer, "that has never been contaminated by the Moslem
heresy." [13]
The erection of Santa Fe by the Spaniards struck a greater damp into the
people of Granada, than the most successful military achievement could
have done. They beheld the enemy setting foot on their soil, with a
resolution never more to resign it. They already began to suffer from the
rigorous blockade, which effectually excluded supplies from their own
territories, while all communication with Africa was jealously
intercepted. Symptoms of insubordination had begun to show themselves
among the overgrown population of the city, as it felt more and more the
pressure of famine. In this crisis, the unfortunate Abdallah and his
principal counsellors became convinced, that the place could not be
maintained much longer; and at length, in the month of October,
propositions were made through the vizier Abul Cazim Abdelmalic, to open a
negotiation for the surrender of the place. The affair was to be conducted
with the utmost caution; since the people of Granada, notwithstanding
their precarious condition, and their disquietude, were buoyed up by
indefinite expectations of relief from Africa, or some other quarter.
The Spanish sovereigns intrusted the negotiation to their secretary
Fernando de Zafra, and to Gonsalvo de Cordova, the latter of whom was
selected for this delicate business, from his uncommon address, and his
familiarity with the Moorish habits and language. Thus the capitulation of
Granada was referred to the man, who acquired in her long wars the
military science, which enabled him, at a later period, to foil the most
distinguished generals of Europe.
The conferences were conducted by night with the utmost secrecy, sometimes
within the walls of Granada, and at others, in the little hamlet of
Churriana, about a league distant from it. At length, after large
discussion on both sides, the terms of capitulation were definitively
settled, and ratified by the respective monarchs on the 25th of November,
1491. [14]
The conditions were of similar, though somewhat more liberal import, than
those granted to Baza. The inhabitants of Granada were to retain
possession of their mosques, with the free exercise of their religion,
with all its peculiar rites and ceremonies; they were to be judged by
their own laws, under their own cadis or magistrates, subject to the
general control of the Castilian governor; they were to be unmolested in
their ancient usages, manners, language, and dress; to be protected in the
full enjoyment of their property, with the right of disposing of it on
their own account, and of migrating when and where they would; and to be
furnished with vessels for the conveyance of such as chose within three
years to pass into Africa. No heavier taxes were to be imposed than those
customarily paid to their Arabian sovereigns, and none whatever before the
expiration of three years. King Abdallah was to reign over a specified
territory in the Alpuxarras, for which he was to do homage to the
Castilian crown. The artillery and the fortifications were to be delivered
into the hands of the Christians, and the city was to be surrendered in
sixty days from the date of the capitulation. Such were the principal
terms of the surrender of Granada, as authenticated by the most accredited
Castilian and Arabian authorities; which I have stated the more precisely,
as affording the best data for estimating the extent of Spanish perfidy in
later times. [15]
The conferences could not be conducted so secretly, but that some report
of them got air among the populace of the city, who now regarded Abdallah
with an evil eye for his connection with the Christians. When the fact of
the capitulation became known, the agitation speedily mounted into an open
insurrection, which menaced the safety of the city, as well as of
Abdallah's person. In this alarming state of things, it was thought best
by that monarch's counsellors, to anticipate the appointed day of
surrender; and the 2d of January, 1492, was accordingly fixed on for that
purpose.
Every preparation was made by the Spaniards for performing this last act
of the drama with suitable pomp and effect. The mourning which the court
had put on for the death of Prince Alonso of Portugal, occasioned by a
fall from his horse a few months after his marriage with the infanta
Isabella, was exchanged for gay and magnificent apparel. On the morning of
the 2d, the whole Christian camp exhibited a scene of the most animating
bustle. The grand cardinal Mendoza was sent forward at the head of a large
detachment, comprehending his household troops, and the veteran infantry
grown grey in the Moorish wars, to occupy the Alhambra preparatory to the
entrance of the sovereigns. [16] Ferdinand stationed himself at some
distance in the rear, near an Arabian mosque, since consecrated as the
hermitage of St. Sebastian. He was surrounded by his courtiers, with their
stately retinues, glittering in gorgeous panoply, and proudly displaying
the armorial bearings of their ancient houses. The queen halted still
farther in the rear, at the village of Armilla. [17]
As the column under the grand cardinal advanced up the Hill of Martyrs,
over which a road had been constructed for the passage of the artillery,
he was met by the Moorish prince Abdallah, attended by fifty cavaliers,
who, descending the hill, rode up to the position occupied by Ferdinand on
the banks of the Xenil. As the Moor approached the Spanish king, he would
have thrown himself from his horse, and saluted his hand in token of
homage, but Ferdinand hastily prevented him, embracing him with every mark
of sympathy and regard. Abdallah then delivered up the keys of the
Alhambra to his conqueror, saying, "They are thine, O king, since Allah so
decrees it; use thy success with clemency and moderation." Ferdinand would
have uttered some words of consolation to the unfortunate prince, but he
moved forward with dejected air to the spot occupied by Isabella, and,
after similar acts of obeisance, passed on to join his family, who had
preceded him with his most valuable effects on the route to the
Alpuxarras. [18]
The sovereigns during this time waited with impatience the signal of the
occupation of the city by the cardinal's troops, which, winding slowly
along the outer circuit of the walls, as previously arranged, in order to
spare the feelings of the citizens as far as possible, entered by what is
now called the gate of Los Molinos. In a short time, the large silver
cross, borne by Ferdinand throughout the crusade, was seen sparkling in
the sunbeams, while the standards of Castile and St. Jago waved
triumphantly from the red towers of the Alhambra. At this glorious
spectacle, the choir of the royal chapel broke forth into the solemn
anthem of the Te Deum, and the whole army, penetrated with deep emotion,
prostrated themselves on their knees in adoration of the Lord of hosts,
who had at length granted the consummation of their wishes, in this last
and glorious triumph of the Cross. [19] The grandees who surrounded
Ferdinand then advanced towards the queen, and kneeling down saluted her
hand in token of homage to her as sovereign of Granada. The procession
took up its march towards the city, "the king and queen moving in the
midst," says an historian, "emblazoned with royal magnificence; and, as
they were in the prime of life, and had now achieved the completion of
this glorious conquest, they seemed to represent even more than their
wonted majesty. Equal with each other, they were raised far above the rest
of the world. They appeared, indeed, more than mortal, and as if sent by
Heaven for the salvation of Spain." [20]
In the mean while the Moorish king, traversing the route of the
Alpuxarras, reached a rocky eminence which commanded a last view of
Granada. He checked his horse, and, as his eye for the last time wandered
over the scenes of his departed greatness, his heart swelled, and he burst
into tears. "You do well," said his more masculine mother, "to weep like a
woman, for what you could not defend like a man!" "Alas!" exclaimed the
unhappy exile, "when were woes ever equal to mine!" The scene of this
event is still pointed out to the traveller by the people of the district;
and the rocky height, from which the Moorish chief took his sad farewell
of the princely abodes of his youth, is commemorated by the poetical title
of _El Ultimo Sospiro del Moro_, "The Last Sigh of the Moor."
The sequel of Abdallah's history is soon told. Like his uncle, El Zagal,
he pined away in his barren domain of the Alpuxarras, under the shadow, as
it were, of his ancient palaces. In the following year, he passed over to
Fez with his family, having commuted his petty sovereignty for a
considerable sum of money paid him by Ferdinand and Isabella, and soon
after fell in battle in the service of an African prince, his kinsman.
"Wretched man," exclaims a caustic chronicler of his nation, "who could
lose his life in another's cause, though he did not dare to die in his
own. Such," continues the Arabian, with characteristic resignation, "was
the immutable decree of destiny. Blessed be Allah, who exalteth and
debaseth the kings of the earth, according to his divine will, in whose
fulfilment consists that eternal justice, which regulates all human
affairs." The portal, through which King Abdallah for the last time issued
from his capital, was at his request walled up, that none other might
again pass through it. In this condition it remains to this day, a
memorial of the sad destiny of the last of the kings of Granada. [21]
The fall of Granada excited general sensation throughout Christendom,
where it was received as counterbalancing, in a manner, the loss of
Constantinople, nearly half a century before. At Rome, the event was
commemorated by a solemn procession of the pope and cardinals to St.
Peter's, where high mass was celebrated, and the public rejoicing
continued for several days. [22] The intelligence was welcomed with no
less satisfaction in England, where Henry the Seventh was seated on the
throne. The circumstances attending it, as related by Lord Bacon, will not
be devoid of interest for the reader. [23]
Thus ended the war of Granada, which is often compared by the Castilian
chroniclers to that of Troy in its duration, and which certainly fully
equalled the latter in variety of picturesque and romantic incidents, and
in circumstances of poetical interest. With the surrender of its capital,
terminated the Arabian empire in the Peninsula, after an existence of
seven hundred and forty-one years from the date of the original conquest.
The consequences of this closing war were of the highest moment to Spain.
The most obvious, was the recovery of an extensive territory, hitherto
held by a people, whose difference of religion, language, and general
habits, made them not only incapable of assimilating with their Christian
neighbors, but almost their natural enemies; while their local position
was a matter of just concern, as interposed between the great divisions of
the Spanish monarchy, and opening an obvious avenue to invasion from
Africa. By the new conquest, moreover, the Spaniards gained a large extent
of country, possessing the highest capacities for production, in its
natural fruitfulness of soil, temperature of climate, and in the state of
cultivation to which it had been brought by its ancient occupants; while
its shores were lined with commodious havens, that afforded every facility
for commerce. The scattered fragments of the ancient Visigothic empire
were now again, with the exception of the little state of Navarre,
combined into one great monarchy, as originally destined by nature; and
Christian Spain gradually rose by means of her new acquisitions from a
subordinate situation, to the level of a first-rate European power.
The moral influence of the Moorish war, its influence on the Spanish
character, was highly important. The inhabitants of the great divisions of
the country, as in most countries during the feudal ages, had been brought
too frequently into collision with each other to allow the existence of a
pervading national feeling. This was particularly the case in Spain, where
independent states insensibly grew out of the detached fragments of
territory recovered at different times from the Moorish monarchy. The war
of Granada subjected all the various sections of the country to one common
action, under the influence of common motives of the most exciting
interest; while it brought them in conflict with a race, the extreme
repugnance of whose institutions and character to their own, served
greatly to nourish the nationality of sentiment. In this way, the spark of
patriotism was kindled throughout the whole nation, and the most distant
provinces of the Peninsula were knit together by a bond of union, which
has remained indissoluble.
The consequences of these wars in a military aspect are also worthy of
notice. Up to this period, war had been carried on by irregular levies,
extremely limited in numerical amount and in period of service; under
little subordination, except to their own immediate chiefs, and wholly
unprovided with the apparatus required for extended operations. The
Spaniards were even lower than most of the European nations in military
science, as is apparent from the infinite pains of Isabella to avail
herself of all foreign resources for their improvement. In the war of
Granada, masses of men were brought together, far greater than had
hitherto been known in modern warfare. They were kept in the field not
only through long campaigns, but far into the winter; a thing altogether
unprecedented. They were made to act in concert, and the numerous petty
chiefs brought in complete subjection to one common head, whose personal
character enforced the authority of station. Lastly, they were supplied
with all the requisite munitions, through the providence of Isabella, who
introduced into the service the most skilful engineers from other
countries, and kept in pay bodies of mercenaries, as the Swiss for
example, reputed the best disciplined troops of that day. In this
admirable school, the Spanish soldier was gradually trained to patient
endurance, fortitude, and thorough subordination; and those celebrated
captains were formed, with that invincible infantry, which in the
beginning of the sixteenth century spread the military fame of their
country over all Christendom.
But, with all our sympathy for the conquerors, it is impossible, without a
deep feeling of regret, to contemplate the decay and final extinction of a
race, who had made such high advances in civilization as the Spanish
Arabs; to see them driven from the stately palaces reared by their own
hands, wandering as exiles over the lands, which still blossomed with the
fruits of their industry, and wasting away under persecution, until their
very name as a nation was blotted out from the map of history. [24] It
must be admitted, however, that they had long since reached their utmost
limit of advancement as a people. The light shed over their history shines
from distant ages; for, during the later period of their existence, they
appear to have reposed in a state of torpid, luxurious indulgence, which
would seem to argue, that, when causes of external excitement were
withdrawn, the inherent vices of their social institutions had
incapacitated them for the further production of excellence. In this
impotent condition, it was wisely ordered, that their territory should be
occupied by a people, whose religion and more liberal form of government,
however frequently misunderstood or perverted, qualified them for
advancing still higher the interests of humanity.
It will not be amiss to terminate the narrative of the war of Granada with
some notice of the fate of Rodrigo Ponce de Leon, marquis duke of Cadiz;
for he may be regarded in a peculiar manner as the hero of it, having
struck the first stroke by the surprise of Alhama, and witnessed every
campaign till the surrender of Granada. A circumstantial account of his
last moments is afforded by the pen of his worthy countryman, the
Andalusian Curate of Los Palacios. The gallant marquis survived the close
of the war only a short time, terminating his days at his mansion in
Seville, on the 28th of August, 1492, with a disorder brought on by
fatigue and incessant exposure. He had reached the forty-ninth year of his
age, and, although twice married, left no legitimate issue. In his person,
he was of about the middle stature, of a compact, symmetrical frame, a
fair complexion, with light hair inclining to red. He was an excellent
horseman, and well skilled indeed in most of the exercises of chivalry. He
had the rare merit of combining sagacity with intrepidity in action.
Though somewhat impatient, and slow to forgive, he was frank and generous,
a warm friend, and a kind master to his vassals. [25]
He was strict in his observance of the Catholic worship, punctilious in
keeping all the church festivals and in enforcing their observance
throughout his domains; and, in war, he was a most devout champion of the
Virgin. He was ambitious of acquisitions, but lavish of expenditure,
especially in the embellishment and fortification of his towns and
castles; spending on Alcalá de Guadaira, Xerez, and Alanis, the enormous
sum of seventeen million maravedies. To the ladies he was courteous, as
became a true knight. At his death, the king and queen with the whole
court went into mourning; "for he was a much-loved cavalier," says the
Curate, "and was esteemed, like the Cid, both by friend and foe; and no
Moor durst abide in that quarter of the field where his banner was
displayed."
His body, after lying in state for several days in his palace at Seville,
with his trusty sword by his side, with which he had fought all his
battles, was borne in solemn procession by night through the streets of
the city, which was everywhere filled with the deepest lamentation; and
was finally deposited in the great chapel of the Augustine church, in the
tomb of his ancestors. Ten Moorish banners, which he had taken in battle
with the infidel, before the war of Granada, were borne along at his
funeral, "and still wave over his sepulchre," says Bernaldez, "keeping
alive the memory of his exploits, as undying as his soul." The banners
have long since mouldered into dust; the very tomb which contained his
ashes has been sacrilegiously demolished; but the fame of the hero will
survive as long as anything like respect for valor, courtesy, unblemished
honor, or any other attribute of chivalry, shall be found in Spain. [26]
* * * * *
One of the chief authorities on which the account of the Moorish war
rests, is Andres Bernaldez, Curate of Los Palacios. He was a native of
Fuente in Leon, and appears to have received his early education under the
care of his grandfather, a notary of that place, whose commendations of a
juvenile essay in historical writing led him later in life, according to
his own account, to record the events of his time in the extended and
regular form of a chronicle. After admission to orders, he was made
chaplain to Deza, archbishop of Seville, and curate of Los Palacios, an
Andalusian town not far from Seville, where he discharged his
ecclesiastical functions with credit, from 1488 to 1513, at which time, as
we find no later mention of him, he probably closed his life with his
labors. Bernaldez had ample opportunities for accurate information
relative to the Moorish war, since he lived, as it were, in the theatre of
action, and was personally intimate with the most considerable men of
Andalusia, especially the marquis of Cadiz, whom he has made the Achilles
of his epic, assigning him a much more important part in the principal
transactions, than is always warranted by other authorities. His Chronicle
is just such as might have been anticipated from a person of lively
imagination, and competent scholarship for the time, deeply dyed with the
bigotry and superstition of the Spanish clergy in that century. There is
no great discrimination apparent in the work of the worthy curate, who
dwells with goggle-eyed credulity on the most absurd marvels, and expends
more pages on an empty court show, than on the most important schemes of
policy. But if he is no philosopher, he has, perhaps for that very reason,
succeeded in making us completely master of the popular feelings and
prejudices of the time; while he gives a most vivid portraiture of the
principal scenes and actors in this stirring war, with all their
chivalrous exploit, and rich theatrical accompaniment. His credulity and
fanaticism, moreover, are well compensated by a simplicity and loyalty of
purpose, which secure much more credit to his narrative than attaches to
those of more ambitious writers, whose judgment is perpetually swayed by
personal or party interests. The chronicle descends as late as 1513,
although, as might be expected from the author's character, it is entitled
to much less confidence in the discussion of events which fell without the
scope of his personal observation. Notwithstanding its historical value is
fully recognized by the Castilian critics, it has never been admitted to
the press, but still remains ingulfed in the ocean of manuscripts, with
which the Spanish libraries are deluged.
It is remarkable that the war of Granada, which is so admirably suited in
all its circumstances to poetical purposes, should not have been more
frequently commemorated by the epic muse. The only successful attempt in
this way, with which I am acquainted, is the "Conquisto di Granata," by
the Florentine Girolamo Gratiani, Modena, 1650. The author has taken the
license, independently of his machinery, of deviating very freely from the
historic track; among other things, introducing Columbus and the Great
Captain as principal actors in the drama, in which they played at most but
a very subordinate part. The poem, which swells into twenty-six cantos, is
in such repute with the Italian critics, that Quadrio does not hesitate to
rank it "among the best epical productions of the age." A translation of
this work has recently appeared at Nuremberg, from the pen of C. M.
Winterling, which is much commended by the German critics.
Mr. Irving's late publication, the "Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada,"
has superseded all further necessity for poetry, and, unfortunately for
me, for history. He has fully availed himself of all the picturesque and
animating movements of this romantic era; and the reader who will take the
trouble to compare his Chronicle with the present more prosaic and literal
narrative, will see how little he has been seduced from historic accuracy
by the poetical aspect of his subject. The fictitious and romantic dress
of his work has enabled him to make it the medium for reflecting more
vividly the floating opinions and chimerical fancies of the age, while he
has illuminated the picture with the dramatic brilliancy of coloring
denied to sober history.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 1490.--Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS.,
cap. 95.--Zuñiga, Annales de Sevilla, pp. 404, 405.--Pulgar, Reyes
Católicos, part. 3, cap. 127.--La Clède, Hist. de Portugal, tom. iv. p.
19.--Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 452.
[2] Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 452-456.--Florez,
Reynas Cathólicas, p. 845.--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, cap. 129.--Oviedo,
Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 2, dial. 3.
[3] Conde, Domination de los Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 41.--Bernaldez, Reyes
Católicos, MS., cap. 90.
Neither the Arabic nor Castilian authorities impeach the justice of the
summons made by the Spanish sovereigns. I do not, however, find any other
foundation for the obligation imputed to Abdallah in them, than that
monarch's agreement during his captivity at Loja, in 1486, to surrender
his capital in exchange for Guadix, provided the latter should be
conquered within six months. Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, p. 275.--Garibay,
Compendio, tom. iv. p. 418.
[4] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 176.--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, cap.
130.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. cap. 85.--Cardonne, Hist. d'Afrique et
d'Espagne, tom. iii. p. 309.
[5] Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, cap. 131, 132.--Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos,
MS., cap. 97.--Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 41.--Peter
Martyr, Opus Epist., lib. 3, epist. 84.--Garibay, Compendio, tom. iv. p.
424.--Cardonne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, tom. iii. pp. 309, 310.
[6] Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 1491.
[7] According to Zuñiga, the quota furnished by Seville this season
amounted to 6000 foot and 500 horse, who were recruited by fresh
reinforcements no less than five times during the campaign. Annales de
Sevilla, p. 406.--See also Col. de Cédulas, tom. iii. no. 3.
[8] Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 42.--Bernaldez, Reyes
Católicos, MS., cap. 100.--Peter Martyr, Opus Epist., lib. 3, epist. 89.--
Marmol, Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. 18.--L. Marineo, Cosas
Memorables, fol. 177.
Martyr remarks, that the Genoese merchants, "voyagers to every clime,
declare this to be the largest fortified city in the world." Casiri has
collected a body of interesting particulars respecting the wealth,
population, and social habits of Granada, from various Arabic authorities.
Bibliotheca Escurialensis, tom. ii. pp. 247-260.
The French work of Laborde, Voyage Pittoresque, (Paris, 1807,) and the
English one of Murphy, Engravings of Arabian Antiquities of Spain,
(London, 1816,) do ample justice in their finished designs to the general
topography and architectural magnificence of Granada.
[9] On one occasion, a Christian knight having discomfited with a handful
of men a much superior body of Moslem chivalry, King Abdallah testified
his admiration of his prowess by sending him on the following day a
magnificent present, together with his own sword superbly mounted. (Mem.
de la Acad. de Hist., tom. vi. p. 178.) The Moorish ballad beginning
"Al Rey Chico de Granada"
describes the panic occasioned in the city by the Christian encampment on
the Xenil.
"For ese fresco Genil
un campo viene marchando,
todo de lucida gente,
las armas van relumbrando.
"Las vanderas traen tendidas,
y un estandarte dorado;
el General de esta gente
es el invicto Fernando.
Y tambien viene la Reyna,
Muger del Hey don Fernando,
la qual tiene tanto esfuerzo
que anima a qualquier soldado."
[10] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 101.
[11] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 101.--Conde, Dominacion de los
Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 42.--Peter Martyr, Opus Epist., lib. 4, epist. 90.
--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, cap. 133.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. cap. 88.
Isabella afterwards caused a Franciscan monastery to be built in
commemoration of this event at Zubia, where, according to Mr. Irving, the
house from which she witnessed the action is to be seen at the present
day. See Conquest of Granada, chap. 90, note.
[12] Peter Martyr, Opus Epist., lib. 4, epist. 91.--Bernaldez, Reyes
Católicos, MS., cap. 101.--Garibay, Compendio, tom. ii. p. 673.--Bleda,
Corónica, p. 619.--Marmol, Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. 18.
[13] Estrada, Poblacion de España, tom. ii. pp. 344, 348.--Peter Martyr,
Opus Epist., lib. 4, epist. 91.--Marmol, Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. 1,
cap. 18.
Hyta, who embellishes his florid prose with occasional extracts from the
beautiful ballad poetry of Spain, gives one commemorating the erection of
Santa Fe.
"Cercada esta Santa Fe
con mucho lienzo encerado
al rededor muchas tiendas
de seda, oro, y brocado.
"Donde estan Duques, y Condes,
Señores de gran estado," etc.
Guerras de Granada, p. 515.
[14] Pedraza, Antiguedad de Granada, fol. 74.--Giovio, De Vita Gonsalvi,
apud Vitae Illust. Virorum, pp. 211, 212.--Salazar de Mendoza, Crón. del
Gran Cardenal, p. 236.--Cardonne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, tom. iii.
pp. 316, 317.--Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 42.--L.
Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 178.--Marmol, however, assigns the date in
the text to a separate capitulation respecting Abdallah, dating that made
in behalf of the city three days later. (Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. 1,
cap. 19.) This author has given the articles of the treaty with greater
fulness and precision than any other Spanish historian.
[15] Marmol, Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. 19.--Conde, Dominacion de
los Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 42.--Zurita, Anales, tom. ii. cap. 90.--
Cardonne, Hist. d'Afrique et d'Espagne, tom. iii. pp. 317, 318.--Oviedo,
Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 28. Martyr adds, that the
principal Moorish nobility were to remove from the city. (Opus Epist.,
lib. 4, epist. 92.) Pedraza, who has devoted a volume to the history of
Granada, does not seem to think the capitulations worth specifying. Most
of the modern Castilians pass very lightly over them. They furnish too
bitter a comment on the conduct of subsequent Spanish monarchs. Marmol and
the judicious Zurita agree in every substantial particular with Conde, and
this coincidence may be considered as establishing the actual terms of the
treaty.
[16] Oviedo, whose narrative exhibits many discrepancies with those of
other contemporaries, assigns this part to the count of Tendilla, the
first captain-general of Granada. Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1,
dial. 28. But, as this writer, though an eye-witness, was but thirteen or
fourteen years of age at the time of the capture, and wrote some sixty
years later from his early recollections, his authority cannot be
considered of equal weight with that of persons who, like Martyr,
described events as they were passing before them.
[17] Pedraza, Antiguedad de Granada, fol. 75.--Salazar de Mendoza, Crón.
del Gran Cardenal, p. 238.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. cap. 90.--Peter
Martyr, Opus Epist., lib. 4, epist. 92.--Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii.
fol. 309.--Marmol, Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. 20.
[18] Marmol, Rebelion de Moriscos, ubi supra.--Conde, Dominacion de los
Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 43.--Pedraza, Antiguedad de Granada, fol. 76.--
Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 102.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. cap.
90.--Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 28.
[19] Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., ubi supra.--One is reminded of Tasso's
description of the somewhat similar feelings exhibited by the crusaders on
their entrance into Jerusalem.
"Ecco apparir Gerusalem si vede,
Ecco additar Gerusalem si scorge;
Ecco da mille voci unitamente
Gerusalemme salutar si sente.
* * * * *
"Al gran placer che quella prima vista
Dolcemente spirò nell' altruì petto,
Alta contrizion successe, mista
Di timoroso e riverente affetto,
Osano appena d'innalzar la vista
Ver la città."
Gerusalemme Liberata,--Cant. iii. st. 3, 5.
[20] Mariana, Hist. de España tom. ii. p. 597.--Pedraza, Antiguedad de
Granada, fol. 76.--Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 1492.--Conde, Dominacion de
los Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 43.--Bleda, Corónica, pp. 621, 622.--Zurita,
Anales, tom. iv. cap. 90.--Marmol, Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. i. cap. 20.
--L. Marineo, and indeed most of the Spanish authorities, represent the
sovereigns as having postponed their entrance into the city until the 5th
or 6th of January. A letter transcribed by Pedraza, addressed by the queen
to the prior of Guadalupe, one of her council, dated from the city of
Granada on the 2d of January, 1492, shows the inaccuracy of this
statement. See folio 76.
In Mr. Lockhart's picturesque version of the Moorish ballads, the reader
may find an animated description of the triumphant entry of the Christian
army into Granada.
"There was crying in Granada when the sun was going down,
Some calling on the Trinity, some calling on Mahoun;
Here passed away the Koran, there in the cross was borne,
And here was heard the Christian bell, and there the Moorish horn;
_Te Deum laudamus_ was up the Alcala sung,
Down from the Alhambra's minarets were all the crescents flung;
The arms thereon of Aragon and Castile they display;
One king comes in in triumph, one weeping goes away."
[21] Conde, Dominacion de los Arabes, tom. iii. cap. 90.--Cardonne, Hist.
d'Afrique et d'Espagne, tom. ii. pp. 319, 320.--Garibay, Compendio, tom.
iv. lib. 40, cap. 42.--Marmol, Rebelion de Moriscos, lib. 1, cap. 20.
Mr. Irving, in his beautiful Spanish Sketch-book, "The Alhambra," devotes
a chapter to mementos of Boabdil, in which he traces minutely the route of
the deposed monarch after quitting the gates of his capital. The same
author, in the Appendix to his Chronicle of Granada, concludes a notice of
Abdallah's fate with the following description of his person. "A portrait
of Boabdil el Chico is to be seen in the picture gallery of the
Generalife. He is represented with a mild, handsome face, a fair
complexion, and yellow hair. His dress is of yellow brocade, relieved with
black velvet; and he has a black velvet cap, surmounted with a crown. In
the armory of Madrid are two suits of armor said to have belonged to him,
one of solid steel, with very little ornament; the morion closed. From the
proportions of these suits of armor, he must have been of full stature and
vigorous form." Note, p. 398.
[22] Senarega, Commentarii de Rebus Genuensibus, apud Muratori, Rerum
Italicarum Scriptores, (Mediolani, 1723-51,) tom. xxiv. p. 531.--It formed
the subject of a theatrical representation before the court at Naples, in
the same year. This drama, or _Farsa_, as it is called by its
distinguished author, Sannazaro, is an allegorical medley, in which Faith,
Joy, and the false prophet Mahomet play the principal parts. The
difficulty of a precise classification of this piece, has given rise to
warmer discussion among Italian critics, than the subject may be thought
to warrant. See Signorelli, Vicende della Coltura nelle due Sicilie,
(Napoli, 1810,) tom. iii. pp. 543 et seq.
[23] "Somewhat about this time, came letters from Ferdinando and Isabella,
king and queen of Spain; signifying the final conquest of Granada from the
Moors; which action, in itself so worthy, King Ferdinando, whose manner
was, never to lose any virtue for the showing, had expressed and displayed
in his letters, at large, with all the particularities and religious
punctos and ceremonies, that were observed in the reception of that city
and kingdom; showing amongst other things, that the king would not by any
means in person enter the city until he had first aloof seen the Cross set
up upon the greater tower of Granada, whereby it became Christian ground.
That likewise, before he would enter, he did homage to God above,
pronouncing by an herald from the height of that tower, that he did
acknowledge to have recovered that kingdom by the help of God Almighty,
and the glorious Virgin, and the virtuous apostle St. James, and the holy
father Innocent VIII., together with the aids and services of his
prelates, nobles, and commons. That yet he stirred not from his camp, till
he had seen a little army of martyrs, to the number of seven hundred and
more Christians, that had lived in bonds and servitude, as slaves to the
Moors, pass before his eyes, singing a psalm for their redemption; and
that he had given tribute unto God, by alms and relief extended to them
all, for his admission into the city. These things were in the letters,
with many more ceremonies of a kind of holy ostentation.
"The king, ever willing to put himself into the consort or quire of all
religious actions, and naturally affecting much the king of Spain, as far
as one king can affect another, partly for his virtues, and partly for a
counterpoise to France; upon the receipt of these letters, sent all his
nobles and prelates that were about the court, together with the mayor and
aldermen of London, in great solemnity to the church of Paul; there to
hear a declaration from the lord chancellor, now cardinal. When they were
assembled, the cardinal, standing upon the uppermost step, or halfpace,
before the quire, and all the nobles, prelates, and governors of the city
at the foot of the stairs, made a speech to them; letting them know that
they were assembled in that consecrated place to sing unto God a new song.
For that, said he, these many years the Christians have not gained new
ground or territory upon the infidels, nor enlarged and set farther the
bounds of the Christian world. But this is now done by the prowess and
devotion of Ferdinando and Isabella, kings of Spain; who have, to their
immortal honor, recovered the great and rich kingdom of Granada, and the
populous and mighty city of the same name from the Moors, having been in
possession thereof by the space of seven hundred years, and more; for
which this assembly and all Christians are to render laud and thanks to
God, and to celebrate this noble act of the king of Spain; who in this is
not only victorious but apostolical, in the gaining of new provinces to
the Christian faith. And the rather for that this victory and conquest is
obtained without much effusion of blood. Whereby it is to be hoped, that
there shall be gained not only new territory, but infinite souls to the
Church of Christ, whom the Almighty, as it seems, would have live to be
converted. Herewithal he did relate some of the most memorable particulars
of the war and victory. And, after his speech ended, the whole assembly
went solemnly in procession, and Te Deum was sung." Lord Bacon, History of
the Reign of King Henry VII., in his Works, (ed. London, 1819,) vol. v.
pp. 85, 86.--See also Hall, Chronicle, p. 453.
[24] The African descendants of the Spanish Moors, unable wholly to
relinquish the hope of restoration to the delicious abodes of their
ancestors, continued for many generations, and perhaps still continue, to
put up a petition to that effect in their mosques every Friday. Pedraza,
Antiguedad de Granada, fol. 7.
[25] Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 1492.
Don Henrique de Guzman, duke of Medina Sidonia, the ancient enemy, and,
since the commencement of the Moorish war, the firm friend of the marquis
of Cadiz, died the 28th of August, on the same day with the latter.
[26] Zuñiga, Annales de Sevilla, p. 411.--Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS.,
cap. 104.
The marquis left three illegitimate daughters by a noble Spanish lady, who
all formed high connections. He was succeeded in his titles and estates,
by the permission of Ferdinand and Isabella, by Don Rodrigo Ponce de Leon,
the son of his eldest daughter, who had married with one of her kinsmen.
Cadiz was subsequently annexed by the Spanish sovereigns to the crown,
from which it had been detached in Henry IV.'s time, and considerable
estates were given as an equivalent, together with the title of Duke of
Arcos, to the family of Ponce de Leon.