arms--not in the sense that she invented anything new relating to this
craft, but that her warriors were more fully and more frequently
equipped with what had been imported from elsewhere. As in the case of
crested helmets, foreign initiative brought about the substitution of
plate or German armour--developed from the chain armour and the coat of
mail--for the earlier sets of disconnected pieces. Possibly, as a
chronicle which describes the Englishmen and Gascons who were present at
the siege of Lerma in 1334 would seem to indicate, it was in consequence
of this direct association with the foreigner that the older form of
Spanish harness yielded to the new. However this may be, plate armour
certainly appeared in Spain at some time in the fourteenth century, and
grew in vogue throughout the fifteenth and the sixteenth centuries.
Suits of armour worn by Spanish pikemen and crossbowmen of this period
may be profitably studied in the Royal Armoury (Plate xl.); and the same
harness is reproduced in the choir-stalls of Toledo cathedral, carved by
Maestre Rodrigo in 1495. It is also useful to consult the prolix
description of the _Passo Honroso_ (1433) of Suero de Quiñones, held at
the bridge of Orbigo, as well as the painting of the battle of La
Higueruela (Plate xli.) in the Sala de las Batallas of the Escorial. We
find from these authoritative sources that Spanish harness then
consisted of the war-hat or _capacete_, with its _barbote_ or piece to
cover the mouth and cheeks, and fringe of mail (_mantillos_) to protect
the neck: the _coracina_ or korazin of tinned steel plates;[115] the
coat of mail; armlets and gauntlets; leg-pieces with closed greaves; and
steel-pointed mail shoes.
[115] The following armourers' marks are stamped on various korazins in
the Royal Armoury, made in Aragon and dating from the fifteenth
century:--
[Illustration]
The Spanish man-at-arms of the sixteenth century is well described by
Martin de Eguiluz, in his book, _Milicia, Discursos, y Regla Militar_.
"The man is mounted and bears a lance. His head is covered with a
visored helmet. He wears a double breastplate, of which the outer piece
is called _volante_. His thighs are guarded by cuisses, his legs by
greaves, and his feet by shoes of mail or iron. His horse's face, neck,
breast, and haunches are covered with iron or with doubled leather.
These coverings are called _bardas_, and the horses protected by them
_bardados_, of which each man-at-arms is called upon to possess two."
[Illustration: XLIV
MOORISH SWORD
(_Casa de los Tiros, Granada_)]
These plainer sets of war-harness for horses were made in Spain. The
costlier bards, whether for war or tournament, were made in Italy and
Germany, and often match the outfit of the rider in the splendour and
luxuriance of their decoration. Striking examples of these bards are in
the Royal Armoury, including one (Plate xlii.) which formerly belonged
to Philip the Third. Probably it is the same referred to in the
manuscript account of Valladolid from which I have already quoted
curious notices of other crafts. Speaking of the Duke of Lerma in 1605,
this narrative says; "He rode a beautiful horse with richly decorated
arms and gold-embroidered bard, fringed, and with medallions in relief.
The trappings, reaching to the ground, were of black velvet covered with
silver plates as large as dinner-plates, and others of a smaller size
that represented arms and war-trophies, all of them gilt, and studded
with precious stones. I heard say that this armour which the Duke now
wore, had once belonged to the Emperor, and is now the King's."[116]
[116] My theory that this harness and the one in the Royal Armoury are
the same is strengthened by the official inventory, which
specifies "a band of gold and silver, striped, and with devices
in relief, studded with lapis lazuli, and yellow gems and luminous
crystals." The Count of Valencia de Don Juan says that this fine
outfit, except the portions which are represented in the plate,
was mutilated and dispersed in later years, and that he has
discovered fragments in the museums of Paris and Vienna, and in
the collection of Baron Nathaniel de Rothschild.
The crossbow was an arm of great importance from about the eleventh
century until the seventeenth, and Spain, throughout the latter of these
centuries, was celebrated for their manufacture. Roquetas, a Catalan,
"master-maker of crossbows," constructed them of steel, so skilfully and
finely that they could be carried concealed inside the sleeve of a coat,
and discharged without awaking the suspicion of the victim. A letter of
René of Anjou, quoted by the Count of Valencia de Don Juan, also refers
to the skill of the Catalans in making crossbows, and mentions one of
these weapons constructed by "Saracen," of Barcelona, "who refuses to
teach his craft to Christians." The letter further states that this arm
was of a curious shape, and that, "despite its small dimensions, it
carries to a greater distance than any other I have yet possessed."
A handsome Moorish crossbow, inlaid with bronze (Plate xliii.), exists
in the provincial museum of Granada. The Royal Armoury has no example of
the rare form of crossbow fitted with wheeled gear, but all the commoner
kinds employed for hunting or for war are represented here, including
those with the _armatoste_ or goat's-foot lever, stirruped crossbows,
and those which have the _torno_ or windlass (French _cranequin_).
Demmin appends the following note to an illustration in his handbook of
a crossbow with a goat's-foot lever fixed to the stock:--"A similar
weapon in ironwood, sixteenth century, belonged to Ferdinand the First,
proved by the inscription on the bow: DOM FERNANDO REI DE ROMANO,
followed by four Golden Fleeces. It bears the name of the Spanish
armourer Juan Deneinas. This valuable crossbow once belonged to M.
Spengel, at Munich, but it is at present in the collection of the Count
of Nieuwerkerke."
There is also in the Royal Armoury a crossbow of the scarcer kind known
in Spanish as _ballestas de palo_, in which the gaffle is not of steel,
but put together from slips of springy woods, including yew. The wings
are tipped with horn, and traces of heraldic and Renaissance decoration,
painted on parchment, yet remain upon the weapon. Other portions are
inlaid. Except for the erasure of the painting, this arm is splendidly
preserved, and still retains its double cord, nut, and pins, together
with the separate lever.
Another interesting crossbow in this armoury belonged to Charles the
Fifth, who used it for the chase. It has a _verja_ or yard of steel
engraved with the letter C four times repeated and surmounted by a
crown, and bears the inscription, PRO · IMPERATORE · SEMPER · AVGVSTO ·
PLVS · VLTRA ·, together with · IV DE LA FVETE ·, for Juan de la
Fuente, the name of a celebrated maker of these parts of a crossbow. The
shaft (_tablero_), ornamented in bone and iron, is from the hand of
another master, Juan Hernandez, whose signature is IO: HRZ. The Count of
Valencia de Don Juan supposed that this was the one crossbow which
Charles took with him to the rustic solitude of Yuste, and which is
mentioned in a document at Simancas as "a crossbow with its gear and
gaffles (it is in His Majesty's possession, but he has not paid for
it)."
[Illustration: XLV
SWORD OF BOABDIL EL CHICO
(_Museum of Artillery, Madrid_)]
Hitherto I have traced the war-equipment of the Spanish Christians only.
In the early period of Mohammedan rule, the conquerors used a simple
dress for war, consisting of the _capacete_ or _almofar_ for the head,
secured by a chain beneath the chin and covered by a piece of cloth
called _schasch_, hanging to just below the shoulders; a wide sleeveless
tunic; a shirt of mail; tight breeches, and leather shoes. Their weapons
were the lance and sword. The foot-soldiery wore the _djobba_, a
tight-sleeved tunic of white wool, bound to the body by a scarf, and
leather shoes, and carried as their arms a _capacete_ of beaten iron,
without a crest or cheek-pieces; a large round shield with its
projecting umbo; and either a lance, or a double-edged and double-handed
sword. Such are the details represented in the _Codex of the
Apocalypse_, preserved in the cathedral of Gerona. As time progressed,
the weapons and defensive armour of these Spanish Moors grew more
luxurious and ornate, being often decorated with enamels, precious
stones, or inlaid metals such as silver, gold, and bronze. Prominent
centres of this industry were Murcia, Zaragoza, and Toledo, which are
even said to have surpassed Damascus. Andalusia, too, was celebrated for
her gold-inlaid cuirasses and coats of mail; while, according to El
Idrisi, the town of Jativa enjoyed a widespread fame for every kind of
decorative armour.[117]
[117] _Historia General del Arte_: García Llansó; _Armas_; pp. 440, 441.
The military outfit of the Spanish Moors was, therefore, much the same
as that of Christian Spain. Toledo under Muslim rule continued to be
famous for her swords. Moorish Seville, Ronda, and Valencia were also
favourably known for weapons, household knives, and scissors. Cutlery in
the Moorish style is still produced in certain parts of eastern Spain,
and in his _History of the Mohammedan Dynasties_ of this country,
Gayangos tells us of a knife which bore upon one side of the blade the
inscription in Arabic characters, "_With the help of God I will inflict
death upon thy adversary_," and upon the other side, in Castilian, the
words, "_Knife-factory of Antonio Gonzalez. Albacete, 1705._"
The primitive Spanish-Moorish sword was an arm of moderate breadth used
both for cutting and for thrusting. As time went on, this people
gradually adopted swords of Spanish make or pattern, such as the
ponderous _brandimartes_ and _montantes_ made for wielding with both
hands. The Granadino writer Aben Said complains that the adoption of the
arms, and even of the costume of the Spanish Christians, was prevalent
at Granada in the thirteenth century. "Sultans and soldiers alike," he
said, "dress in the manner of the Christians, even to their arms and
armour, crimson cloaks, standards, and saddlery. They wield in battle a
shield and a long lance,[118] which serves them to attack with; nor do
they seem to care for Arab bows or maces, but prefer to use the Frankish
ones."
[118] This weapon can have been no other than the typical Iberian lance.
Nevertheless, the warriors of Granada carried several weapons which were
not of Christian origin. The tribe of the Beni-Merines brought across
from Africa a kind of sword called often in the Christian chronicles the
_espada gineta_, used principally, as we gather from its name, by those
addicted to the Moorish mode of horsemanship, or riding with short
stirrups. The use of it extended later to the Christian Spaniards, and
it is said to have contributed in later times to the victory of the
Spanish army at Pavia. Other swords in use among the Granadinos were the
_alfange_, the _chifarra_, the _chifarote_, and the _nammexi_. The last
of these is described in an old dictionary of the Valencian and
Castilian languages as a kind of scimitar, although Quatremère and
Fleischer believe it to have been a dagger.
[Illustration: XLVI
DAGGER OF BOABDIL EL CHICO
(_Museum of Artillery, Madrid_)]
Another author who describes the arms and armour of the Granadinos is
Al-Jattib, who says in his _Splendour of the New Moon_; "There are in
Granada two kinds of soldiery--those of Al-Andalus and those of Africa.
Their leader is a prince of royal blood, or some exalted personage at
court. Formerly they used the Christian arms; that is, ample coats of
mail, heavy shields, thick iron helmets, lances with broad points, and
insecure saddles.... Now they have discarded that equipment, and are
beginning to use short cuirasses, light helmets, Arab saddles, leather
shields, and thin lances." Of the African troops the same historian
adds; "Their weapons for attacking are spears, either short or long,
which they propel by pressing with the finger. These arms they call
_marasas_; but for daily exercise they use the European bow."
Descriptions of the Spanish-Moorish swords inserted in the chronicles
and poems of the Middle Ages, together with the few examples that have
been preserved until our time, enable us to form an accurate idea of the
shape and decoration of these weapons generally. Those of the sultans
and the Muslim aristocracy were, as a rule, profusely ornamented, either
with precious stones or with enamels, or else with delicate and lavish
damascening, or with the characteristic Oriental _ataujía_-work of gold
and silver inlay. Inscriptions, too, were freely used upon the hilt or
scabbard. Thus we are told that the great Almanzor kept for daily use a
sword which bore the legend; "_Strive in warfare till ye win great
victories. Battle with the infidels till ye win them over to Islam_";
and similar inscriptions may be quoted in great number. But four or five
of these magnificent arms have proved superior to the ravages of time,
and naturally tell us more than any weapons whose renown survives in
written records merely. Among such extant Spanish-Moorish swords are two
attributed respectively to Aliatar and Abindarraez; two others which are
known to have belonged to the last ill-fated monarch of the Moors of
Spain, Boabdil el Chico; and another, considered to have also been
Boabdil's property, now in possession of the Marquises of Campotejar,
owners of the Generalife and of the Casa de los Tiros at Granada.
The "sword of Aliatar," preserved in the Museum of Artillery at Madrid,
is said to have been wrested from the clenched hand of that warrior,
father-in-law of Boabdil and governor of Loja, as his corpse was swept
away down stream after the rout of the Moorish expedition at Lucena.
This arm is richly damascened as well as decorated with the
characteristic _ataujía_. The centre of the hilt is made of ivory, and
the pommel and crossbars--which latter terminate in elephants' heads
with slightly upturned trunks--of damascened and inlaid iron, ornamented
here and there with _ataujía_. Part of the blade--probably about an
eighth--is broken off. The sheath has disappeared.
An idle superstition has attributed the so-called "sword of Abindarraez"
to the hero of the well-known sixteenth-century romance entitled _The
Abencerraje and the Beautiful Jarifa._ This weapon, which for many years
was in possession of the Narvaez family, belongs at present to the
Marquis of La Vega de Armijo. The decoration is not particularly rich,
and part of it is worn away; but the narrow blade is still engraved
with figures or portraits from the story which has given the sword its
name.
The sword (Pl. xliv.) belonging to the Marquises of Campotejar, and
which is preserved in the Casa de los Tiros at Granada, bears some
resemblance to the "sword of Aliatar," and has about the same
dimensions. Although it is commonly believed that Boabdil was the
original owner of this sword, Gómez Moreno considers that more probably
it belonged to one of the Moorish princes of Almería. The handle and
crossbars, as well as the shape of the sheath, are silver-gilt, covered
with minute arabesque ornamentation forming leaves and stems, and
further decorated with enamel. The sheath is of Morocco leather worked
with silver thread. The crossbars, curving abruptly down,[119] terminate
in elephants' trunks boldly upturned towards the pommel. The blade is
stamped with a Toledo mark consisting of Castilian letters and a
pomegranate.
[119] In the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, this characteristically
eastern downward curve of the crossbars grew to be popular even
with the Christian Spaniards, as we observe from the swords of
Ferdinand himself, preserved in the Royal Armoury at Madrid, and
the Chapel Royal of the cathedral of Granada.
But the most important, interesting, and beautiful specimens of
Spanish-Moorish arms preserved to-day are those which were captured from
Boabdil at the battle of Lucena (1482), when the monarch was made
prisoner by the young Alcaide de los Donceles, Don Diego Fernandez de
Cordova. A manuscript _History of the House of Cordova_, quoted by
Eguilaz Yanguas,[120] says that upon the day in question, irretrievably
disastrous to the Moorish cause in Spain, Boabdil carried "a short,
silver-handled sword, a damascened dagger, and a lance and buckler of
great strength" (Plates xlv. and xlvi.). These arms, together with
another and a larger sword (_montante_ or _estoque real_) for wielding
with both hands, and certain articles of Boabdil's clothing, continued
in the captor's family for centuries, and were, some years ago,
presented by the Marquises of Villaseca, his direct descendants, to the
National Museum of Artillery.
[120] _Las Pinturas de la Alhambra_, p. 15.
[Illustration: XLVII
MOORISH SWORD
(_Hilt and upper part of sheath_)]
The smaller or _gineta_ sword[121] is handsomer and more important
than the large _estoque_. The crossbars, as we find so often in weapons
of this character and date, are bent abruptly down, and then curve up in
a design of dragons' heads--the well-known emblem of the Nasrite sultans
of Granada. Part of the handle is of solid gold adorned with crimson,
white, and blue enamel distributed about the top and bottom of the hilt,
the pommel, and the _arriaces_ or crossbars. The centre of the hilt
consists of ivory, richly carved. On either side of it are two octagonal
intersecting figures, bearing upon one side, in semi-Cufic characters,
the words, "_Achieve thy aim_," and on the other, "_in preserving his_
(_i.e._ the owner's) _life_." Round the upper border of the ivory is
carved the sentence; "_In the name of God; the power belongs to Him, and
there is no Divinity but He. Happiness proceeds from God alone_"; and
round the lower border, "_The marvellous belongs to God. Assuredly at
the outset the ignorant do not know their God; seeing that error is
their custom._"
[121] The Count of Valencia de Don Juan states that seven
Hispano-Moresque _gineta_ swords are known to exist to-day: the
one vwhich is here described, and those belonging to the Marquises
of Viana and Pallavicino, Baron de Sangarrén, the Duke of Dino,
Señor Sánchez Toscano, the archæological museum at Madrid, the
museum of Cassel in Germany, and the national library at Paris, A
_gineta_ sword in the Madrid Armoury popularly attributed to
Boabdil can never have belonged to him. The hilt is modern, and
the blade proceeds from Barbary.
Other inscriptions of a sacred character, combined with delicate
_ataujía_-work, are on the pommel and the upper portion of the hilt; but
it has been remarked that, although the entire decoration is amazingly
elaborate and rich, these inscriptions nowhere indicate that the weapon
belonged to a personage of royal blood.
The sheath of this most sumptuous arm is also lavishly adorned with
silver and enamel on a purple leather ground. The blade is of a later
date than either sheath or hilt, and bears the letter S, believed to be
the mark of Alonso Sahagun the elder, of Toledo. The total length of
this weapon is thirty-nine inches; and Gayangos declares that it was
worn suspended by a belt between the shoulders.[122]
[122] A number of Moorish swords are mentioned in the inventory,
compiled in 1560, of the Dukes of Alburquerque. One is
particularly interesting. It is described as "a Moorish _gineta_
sword which belongs to the Count of Monteagudo, and is pawned for
six thousand _maravedis_. The sheath is of bay leather, worked in
gold thread. The chape and fittings are of silver, decorated with
green, blue, purple, and white enamel. There are two serpents'
heads upon the fitting, together with the figure of a monster
worked in gold thread on a little plate, and two large scarlet
tassels: the little plate has three ends of the same enamel and a
silver-gilt buckle." A note at the margin adds; "The chape is
wanting, and is owed us by the Marquis of Comares, who lost it at
the cane-play at Madrid."
The two serpents' heads formed part of the arms of the Alahmar
sultans of Granada; so that from this and from the richness of
this weapon we may infer that it had once belonged to Mussulman
royalty. The same inventory describes "a Moorish scimitar with
gilded hilt; the cross and pommel, and a great part of the
scimitar itself, being of gilded _ataujía_ work. The sheath is
green inside, and black and gilt upon the face; and hanging from
the hilt is a gold and purple cord with a button and a black
tassel."
The large _montante_ which belonged to the same ill-fated monarch has a
cylindrical hilt, narrower in the centre of the handle than at either
end. This hilt is made of steel inlaid with _lacería_ or network
ornament in ivory. In a small shield within the decoration of the
pommel, appear the words "_To God_"; and in the centre of the handle,
the familiar motto of the Nasrite sultans of Granada; "_The only
Conqueror is God._"
Part of the blade is broken off. That which is left is broad and
straight, with two grooves (one of which extends about three inches
only) on each side, and bears an oriental mark consisting of five
half-moons. The sheath is of brown Morocco decorated with a small gilt
pattern forming shells and flowers. The mouth and chape are silver-gilt.
In beautiful and skilful craftsmanship Boabdil's dagger or _gumía_
matches with his swords. The handle is of steel inlaid in ivory with
floral patterns, and terminates in a large sphere, similarly decorated.
The blade has a single edge, and is exquisitely damascened in gold
designs which cover more than half of all its surface. Along one side we
read the inscription; "_Health, permanent glory, lasting felicity,
permanent glory, lasting felicity, and lasting and permanent glory
belong to God_"; and on the other side, "_It was made by Reduan._"
The sheath of this little arm is made of crimson velvet richly
embroidered with gold thread, and hanging from it is a large tassel of
gold cord and crimson silk. The chape and mouth are silver-gilt,
profusely decorated, and the latter of these pieces is embellished with
circular devices of a lightish green enamel, in addition to the chasing.
The small, plain knife, also preserved among the spoil, was carried in
this sheath, together with the dagger.[123]
[123] To-day the craft of finely decorating arms is not forgotten in
Morocco. "A silversmith advanced to show a half-completed
silver-sheathed and hafted dagger, engraved with pious sentences,
as, "God is our sufficiency and our best bulwark here on earth,"
and running in and out between the texts a pattern of a rope with
one of the strands left out, which pattern also ran round the
cornice of the room we sat in, and round the door, as it runs
round the doors in the Alhambra and the Alcazar, and in thousands
of houses built by the Moors, and standing still, in Spain. The
dagger and the sheath were handed to me for my inspection, and on
my saying that they were beautifully worked, the Caid said keep
them, but I declined, not having anything of equal value to give
in return."--Cunninghame Graham; _Mogreb-El-Acksa_, p. 234.
[Illustration: XLVIII
WAR HARNESS OF CHARLES THE FIFTH
(_Royal Armoury, Madrid_)]
The Royal Armoury at Madrid is often thought by foreigners[124] to
contain a representative collection of the arms, offensive and
defensive, used by the Spanish people through all their mediæval and
post-mediæval history. This is not so. Although it is the choicest and
the richest gallery in Europe, the Armería Real was formed almost
entirely from the _cámaras de armas_ or private armouries of Charles the
Fifth and of his son, and is, as Mélida describes it, "a splendid
gallery of royal arms," dating, with very few exceptions, from the
sixteenth century.