HumanitiesWeb.org - History Of The Reign Of Ferdinand And Isabella, The Catholic. (Reign Of Henry IV., Of Castile--Civil War.--Marriage Of Ferdinand And
Isabella.
) by William H. Prescott
History Of The Reign Of Ferdinand And Isabella, The Catholic. Reign Of Henry IV., Of Castile--Civil War.--Marriage Of Ferdinand And
Isabella.
by William H. Prescott
1454-1469.
Henry IV. disappoints Expectations.--Oppression of the People.--League of
the Nobles.--Extraordinary Scene at Avila.--Early Education of Isabella.--
Death of her Brother Alfonso.--Intestine Anarchy.--The Crown offered to
Isabella.--She declines it.--Her Suitors.--She accepts Ferdinand of
Aragon.--Marriage Articles.--Critical Situation of Isabella.--Ferdinand
enters Castile.--Their Marriage.
While these stormy events were occurring in Aragon, the Infanta Isabella,
whose birth was mentioned at the close of the first chapter, was passing
her youth amidst scenes scarcely less tumultuous. At the date of her
birth, her prospect of succeeding to the throne of her ancestors was even
more remote than Ferdinand's prospect of inheriting that of his; and it is
interesting to observe through what trials, and by what a series of
remarkable events, Providence was pleased to bring about this result, and
through it the union, so long deferred, of the great Spanish monarchies.
The accession of her elder brother, Henry the Fourth, was welcomed with an
enthusiasm, proportioned to the disgust which had been excited by the
long-protracted and imbecile reign of his predecessor. Some few, indeed,
who looked back to the time when he was arrayed in arms against his
father, distrusted the soundness either of his principles or of his
judgment. But far the larger portion of the nation was disposed to refer
this to inexperience, or the ebullition of youthful spirit, and indulged
the cheering anticipations which are usually entertained of a new reign
and a young monarch. [1] Henry was distinguished by a benign temper, and
by a condescension, which might be called familiarity, in his intercourse
with his inferiors, virtues peculiarly engaging in persons of his elevated
station; and as vices, which wear the gloss of youth, are not only
pardoned, but are oftentimes popular with the vulgar, the reckless
extravagance in which he indulged himself was favorably contrasted with
the severe parsimony of his father in his latter years, and gained him the
surname of "the Liberal." His treasurer having remonstrated with him on
the prodigality of his expenditure, he replied, "Kings, instead of
hoarding treasure like private persons, are bound to dispense it for the
happiness of their subjects. We must give to our enemies to make them
friends, and to our friends to keep them so." He suited the action so well
to the word, that, in a few years, there was scarcely a mara-vedi
remaining in the royal coffers. [2]
[1]
"Nil pudet assuetos sceptris: mitissima sors est
Regnorum sub rege novo." Lucan, Pharsalia, lib. 8.
[2] Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8.--Rodericus
Sanctius, Historia Hispanica, cap. 38, 39.--Pulgar, Claros Varones, tit.
1.--Castillo, Crónica, i. 20.--Guzman, Generaciones, cap. 33.--Although
Henry's lavish expenditure, particularly on works of architecture, gained
him in early life the appellation of "the Liberal," he is better known on
the roll of Castilian sovereigns by the less flattering title of "the
Impotent."
He maintained greater state than was usual with the monarchs of Castile,
keeping in pay a body-guard of thirty-six hundred lances, splendidly
equipped, and officered by the sons of the nobility. He proclaimed a
crusade against the Moors, a measure always popular in Castile; assuming
the pomegranate branch, the device of Granada, on his escutcheon, in token
of his intention to extirpate the Moslems from the Peninsula. He assembled
the chivalry of the remote provinces; and, in the early part of his reign,
scarce a year elapsed without one or more incursions into the hostile
territory, with armies of thirty or forty thousand men. The results did
not correspond with the magnificence of the apparatus; and these brilliant
expeditions too often evaporated in a mere border foray, or in an empty
gasconade under the walls of Granada. Orchards were cut down, harvests
plundered, villages burnt to the ground, and all the other modes of
annoyance peculiar to this barbarous warfare put in practice by the
invading armies as they swept over the face of the country; individual
feats of prowess, too, commemorated in the romantic ballads of the time,
were achieved; but no victory was gained, no important post acquired. The
king in vain excused his hasty retreats and abortive enterprises by
saying, "that he prized the life of one of his soldiers more than those of
a thousand Mussulmans." His troops murmured at this timorous policy, and
the people of the south, on whom the charges of the expeditions fell with
peculiar heaviness, from their neighborhood to the scene of operations,
complained that "the war was carried on against them, not against the
infidel." On one occasion an attempt was made to detain the king's person,
and thus prevent him from disbanding his forces. So soon had the royal
authority fallen into contempt! The king of Granada himself, when summoned
to pay tribute after a series of these ineffectual operations, replied
"that, in the first years of Henry's reign, he would have offered
anything, even his children, to preserve peace to his dominions; but now
he would give nothing." [3]
[3] Zuñiga, Anales Eclesiasticos y Seculares de Sevilla, (Madrid, 1667,)
p. 344.--Castillo, Crónica, cap. 20.--Mariana, Hist. de España, tom. ii.
pp. 415, 419.--Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 1, cap. 14 et
seq.--The surprise of Gibraltar, the unhappy source of feud between the
families of Guzman and Ponce de Leon, did not occur till a later period,
1462.
The contempt, to which the king exposed himself by his public conduct, was
still further heightened by his domestic. With even a greater
indisposition to business, than was manifested by his father, [4] he
possessed none of the cultivated tastes, which were the redeeming
qualities of the latter. Having been addicted from his earliest youth to
debauchery, when he had lost the powers, he retained all the relish, for
the brutish pleasures of a voluptuary. He had repudiated his wife, Blanche
of Aragon, after a union of twelve years, on grounds sufficiently
ridiculous and humiliating. [5] In 1455, he espoused Joanna, a Portuguese
princess, sister of Alfonso the Fifth, the reigning monarch. This lady,
then in the bloom of youth, was possessed of personal graces, and a lively
wit, which, say the historians, made her the delight of the court of
Portugal. She was accompanied by a brilliant train of maidens, and her
entrance into Castile was greeted by the festivities and military
pageants, which belong to an age of chivalry. The light and lively manners
of the young queen, however, which seemed to defy the formal etiquette of
the Castilian court, gave occasion to the grossest suspicions. The tongue
of scandal indicated Beltran de la Cueva, one of the handsomest cavaliers
in the kingdom, and then newly risen in the royal graces, as the person to
whom she most liberally dispensed her favors. This knight defended a
passage of arms, in presence of the court, near Madrid, in which he
maintained the superior beauty of his mistress, against all comers. The
king was so much delighted with his prowess, that he commemorated the
event by the erection of a monastery dedicated to St. Jerome; a whimsical
origin for a religious institution. [6]
[4] Such was his apathy, says Mariana, that he would subscribe his name to
public ordinances, without taking the trouble to acquaint himself with
their contents. Hist. de España, tom. ii. p. 423.
[5] Pulgar, Crónica de los Reyes Católicos, (Valencia, 1780,) cap. 2.--
Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 1, cap. 4.--Aleson, Anales de
Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 519, 520.--The marriage between Blanche and Henry
was publicly declared void by the bishop of Segovia, confirmed by the
archbishop of Toledo, "por impotencia respectiva, owing to some malign
influence"!
[6] La Clède, Hist. de. Portugal, tom. iii. pp. 325, 345.--Florez, Reynas
Cathólicas, tom. ii. pp. 763, 766.--Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS.,
part. 1, cap. 20, 21.--It does not appear, however, whom Beltran de la
Cueva indicated as the lady of his love on this occasion. (See Castillo,
Crónica, cap. 23, 24.) Two anecdotes may he mentioned as characteristic of
the gallantry of the times. The archbishop of Seville concluded a superb
fête, given in honor of the royal nuptials, by introducing on the
table two vases filled with rings garnished with precious stones, to be
distributed among his female guests. At a ball given on another occasion,
the young queen having condescended to dance with the French ambassador,
the latter made a solemn vow, in commemoration of so distinguished an
honor, never to dance with any other woman.
The queen's levity might have sought some justification in the unveiled
licentiousness of her husband. One of the maids of honor, whom she brought
in her train, acquired an ascendency over Henry, which he did not attempt
to disguise; and the palace, after the exhibition of the most disgraceful
scenes, became divided by the factions of the hostile fair ones. The
archbishop of Seville did not blush to espouse the cause of the paramour,
who maintained a magnificence of state, which rivalled that of royalty
itself. The public were still more scandalized by Henry's sacrilegious
intrusion of another of his mistresses into the post of abbess of a
convent in Toledo, after the expulsion of her predecessor, a lady of noble
rank and irreproachable character. [7]
[7] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., cap. 42, 47.--Castillo, Crónica,
cap. 23.
The stream of corruption soon finds its way from the higher to the more
humble walks of life. The middling classes, imitating their superiors,
indulged in an excess of luxury equally demoralizing, and ruinous to their
fortunes. The contagion of example infected even the higher ecclesiastics;
and we find the archbishop of St. James hunted from his see by the
indignant populace in consequence of an outrage attempted on a youthful
bride, as she was returning from church, after the performance of the
nuptial ceremony. The rights of the people could be but little consulted,
or cared for, in a court thus abandoned to unbounded license. Accordingly
we find a repetition of most of the unconstitutional and oppressive acts
which occurred under John the Second, of Castile; attempts at arbitrary
taxation, interference in the freedom of elections, and in the right
exercised by the cities of nominating the commanders of such contingents
of troops as they might contribute to the public defence. Their
territories were repeatedly alienated, and, as well as the immense sums
raised by the sale of papal indulgences for the prosecution of the Moorish
war, were lavished on the royal satellites. [8]
[8] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., cap. 35.--Sempere, Hist. del. Luxo,
tom. i. p. 183.--Idem, Hist. des Cortès, ch. 19.--Marina, Teoría, part. 1,
cap. 20.--part. 2, pp. 390, 391.--Zuñiga, Anales de Sevilla, pp. 346,
349.--The papal bulls of crusade issued on these occasions, says Palencia,
contained among other indulgences an exemption from the pains and
penalties of purgatory, assuring to the soul of the purchaser, after
death, an immediate translation into a state of glory. Some of the more
orthodox casuists doubted the validity of such a bull. But it was decided,
after due examination, that, as the holy father possessed plenary power of
absolution of all offenses committed upon earth, and as purgatory is
situated upon earth, it properly fell within his jurisdiction, (cap. 32.)
Bulls of crusade were sold at the rate of 200 maravedies each; and it is
computed by the same historian, that no less than 4,000,000 maravedies
were amassed by this traffic in Castile, in the space of four years!
But, perhaps, the most crying evil of this period was the shameless
adulteration of the coin. Instead of five royal mints, which formerly
existed, there were now one hundred and fifty in the hands of authorized
individuals, who debased the coin to such a deplorable extent, that the
most common articles of life were enhanced in value three, four, and even
six fold. Those who owed debts eagerly anticipated the season of payment;
and, as the creditors refused to accept it in the depreciated currency, it
became a fruitful source of litigation and tumult, until the whole nation
seemed on the verge of bankruptcy. In this general license, the right of
the strongest was the only one which could make itself heard. The nobles,
converting their castles into dens of robbers, plundered the property of
the traveller, which was afterwards sold publicly in the cities. One of
these robber chieftains, who held an important command on the frontiers of
Murcia, was in the habit of carrying on an infamous traffic with the Moors
by selling to them as slaves the Christian prisoners of either sex whom he
had captured in his marauding expeditions. When subdued by Henry, after a
sturdy resistance, he was again received into favor, and reinstated in his
possessions. The pusillanimous monarch knew neither when to pardon, nor
when to punish. [9]
[9] Saez, Monedas de Enrique IV., (Madrid, 1805,) pp. 2-5.--Alonso de
Palencia, Corónica, MS., cap. 36, 39.--Castillo, Crónica, cap. 19.
But no part of Henry's conduct gave such umbrage to his nobles, as the
facility with which he resigned himself to the control of favorites, whom
he had created as it were from nothing, and whom he advanced over the
heads of the ancient aristocracy of the land. Among those especially
disgusted by this proceeding Were Juan Pacheco, marquis of Villena, and
Alfonso Carillo, archbishop of Toledo. These two personages exercised so
important an influence over the destinies of Henry, as to deserve more
particular notice. The former was of noble Portuguese extraction, and
originally a page in the service of the constable Alvaro de Luna, by whom
he had been introduced into the household of Prince Henry, during the
lifetime of John the Second. His polished and plausible address soon
acquired him a complete ascendency over the feeble mind of his master, who
was guided by his pernicious counsels, in his frequent dissensions with
his father. His invention was ever busy in devising intrigues, which he
recommended by his subtile, insinuating eloquence; and he seemed to prefer
the attainment of his purposes by a crooked rather than by a direct
policy, even when the latter might equally well have answered. He
sustained reverses with imperturbable composure; and, when his schemes
were most successful, he was willing to risk all for the excitement of a
new revolution. Although naturally humane, and without violent or
revengeful passions, his restless spirit was perpetually involving his
country in all the disasters of civil war. He was created marquis of
Villena, by John the Second; and his ample domains, lying on the confines
of Toledo, Murcia, and Valencia, and embracing an immense extent of
populous and well-fortified territory, made him the most powerful vassal
in the kingdom. [10]
[10] Pulgar, Claros Varones, tit. 6.--Castillo, Crónica, cap. 15.--
Mendoza, Monarquía de España, tom. i. p. 328.--The ancient marquisate of
Villena, having been incorporated into the crown of Castile, devolved to
Prince Henry of Aragon, on his marriage with the daughter of John II. It
was subsequently confiscated by that monarch, in consequence of the
repeated rebellions of Prince Henry; and the title, together with a large
proportion of the domains originally attached to it, was conferred on Don
Juan Pacheco, by whom it was transmitted to his son, afterwards raised to
the rank of duke of Escalona, in the reign of Isabella. Salazar de
Mendoza, Dignidades de Castilla y Leon, (Madrid, 1794,) lib. 3, cap. 12,
17.
His uncle, the archbishop of Toledo, was of a sterner character. He was
one of those turbulent prelates, not unfrequent in a rude age, who seem
intended by nature for the camp rather than the church. He was fierce,
haughty, intractable; and he was supported in the execution of his
ambitious enterprises, no less by his undaunted resolution, than by the
extraordinary resources, which he enjoyed as primate of Spain. He was
capable of warm attachments, and of making great personal sacrifices for
his friends, from whom, in return, he exacted the most implicit deference;
and, as he was both easily offended and implacable in his resentments, he
seems to have been almost equally formidable as a friend and as an enemy.
[11]
These early adherents of Henry, little satisfied with seeing their own
consequence eclipsed by the rising glories of the newly-created favorites,
began secretly to stir up cabals and confederacies among the nobles, until
the occurrence of other circumstances obviated the necessity, and indeed
the possibility, of further dissimulation. Henry had been persuaded to
take part in the internal dissensions which then agitated the kingdom of
Aragon, and had supported the Catalans in their opposition to their
sovereign by seasonable supplies of men and money. He had even made some
considerable conquests for himself, when he was induced, by the advice of
the marquis of Villena and the archbishop of Toledo, to refer the
arbitration of his differences with the king of Aragon to Louis the
Eleventh, of France; a monarch whose habitual policy allowed him to refuse
no opportunity of interference in the concerns of his neighbors.
The conferences were conducted at Bayonne, and an interview was
subsequently agreed on between the kings of France and Castile, to be held
near that city, on the banks of the Bidassoa, which divides the dominions
of the respective monarchs. The contrast exhibited by the two princes at
this interview, in their style of dress and equipage, was sufficiently
striking to deserve notice. Louis, who was even worse attired than usual,
according to Comines, wore a coat of coarse woollen cloth cut short, a
fashion then deemed very unsuitable to persons of rank, with a doublet of
fustian, and a weather-beaten hat, surmounted by a little leaden image of
the Virgin. His imitative courtiers adopted a similar costume. The
Castilians, on the other hand, displayed uncommon magnificence. The barge
of the royal favorite, Beltran de la Cueva, was resplendent with sails of
cloth of gold, and his apparel glittered with a profusion of costly
jewels. Henry was escorted by his Moorish guard gorgeously equipped, and
the cavaliers of his train vied with each other in the sumptuous
decorations of dress and equipage. The two nations appear to have been
mutually disgusted with the contrast exhibited by their opposite
affectations. The French sneered at the ostentation of the Spaniards, and
the latter, in their turn, derided the sordid parsimony of their
neighbors; and thus the seeds of a national aversion were implanted,
which, under the influence of more important circumstances, ripened into
open hostility. [12]
[12] At least these are the important consequences imputed to this
interview by the French writers. See Gaillard, Rivalité, tom. iii. pp.
241-243.--Comines, Mémoires, liv. 3, chap. 8.--Also Castillo, Crónica,
cap. 48, 49.--Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 50.
The monarchs seem to have separated with as little esteem for each other
as did their respective courtiers; and Comines profits by the occasion to
inculcate the inexpediency of such interviews between princes, who have
exchanged the careless jollity of youth for the cold and calculating
policy of riper years. The award of Louis dissatisfied all parties; a
tolerable proof of its impartiality. The Castilians, in particular,
complained, that the marquis of Villena and the archbishop of Toledo had
compromised the honor of the nation, by allowing their sovereign to cross
over to the French shore of the Bidassoa, and its interests, by the
cession of the conquered territory to Aragon. They loudly accused them of
being pensioners of Louis, a fact which does not appear improbable,
considering the usual policy of this prince, who, as is well known,
maintained an espionage over the councils of most of his neighbors. Henry
was so far convinced of the truth of these imputations, that he dismissed
the obnoxious ministers from their employments. [13]
[13] Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, tom. ii. p. 122.--Zurita, Anales, lib. 17,
cap. 56.--Castillo, Crónica, cap. 51, 52, 58.--The queen of Aragon, who
was as skilful a diplomatist as her husband, John I., assailed the vanity
of Villena, quite as much as his interest. On one of his missions to her
court, she invited him to dine with her tête-à-tête at her own table,
while during the repast they were served by the ladies of the palace.
Ibid., cap. 40.
The disgraced nobles instantly set about the organization of one of those
formidable confederacies, which had so often shaken the monarchs of
Castile upon their throne, and which, although not authorized by positive
law, as in Aragon, seemed to have derived somewhat of a constitutional
sanction from ancient usage. Some of the members of this coalition were
doubtless influenced exclusively by personal jealousies; but many others
entered into it from disgust at the imbecile and arbitrary proceedings of
the crown.
In 1462, the queen had been delivered of a daughter, who was named like
herself Joanna, but who, from her reputed father, Beltran de la Cueva, was
better known in the progress of her unfortunate history by the cognomen of
Beltraneja. Henry, however, had required the usual oath of allegiance to
be tendered to her as presumptive heir to the crown. The confederates,
assembled at Burgos, declared this oath of fealty a compulsory act, and
that many of them had privately protested against it at the time, from a
conviction of the illegitimacy of Joanna. In the bill of grievances, which
they now presented to the monarch, they required that he should deliver
his brother Alfonso into their hands, to be publicly acknowledged as his
successor; they enumerated the manifold abuses, which pervaded every
department of government, which they freely imputed to the unwholesome
influence exercised by the favorite, Beltran de la Cueva, over the royal
counsels, doubtless the true key to much of their patriotic sensibility;
and they entered into a covenant, sanctioned by all the solemnities of
religion usual on these occasions, not to re-enter the service of their
sovereign, or accept any favor from him until he had redressed their
wrongs. [14]
[14] See the memorial presented to the king, cited at length in Marina,
Teoría, tom. iii. Apend. no. 7.--Castillo, Crónica, cap. 58, 64.--Zurita,
Anales, lib. 17, cap. 56.--Lebrija, Hispanarum Rerum Ferdinando Rege et
Elisabe Reginâ Gestarum Decades, (apud Granatam, 1545,) lib. 1, cap. 1,
2.--Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 1, cap. 6.--Bernaldez, Reyes
Católicos, MS., cap. 9.
The king, who by an efficient policy might perhaps have crushed these
revolutionary movements in their birth, was naturally averse to violent,
or even vigorous measures. He replied to the bishop of Cuença, his ancient
preceptor, who recommended these measures; "You priests, who are not
called to engage in the fight, are very liberal of the blood of others."
To which the prelate rejoined, with more warmth than breeding, "Since you
are not true to your own honor, at a time like this, I shall live to see
you the most degraded monarch in Spain; when you will repent too late this
unseasonable pusillanimity." [15]
[15] Castillo, Crónica, cap. 65.
Henry, unmoved either by the entreaties or remonstrances of his adherents,
resorted to the milder method of negotiation. He consented to an interview
with the confederates, in which he was induced, by the plausible arguments
of the marquis of Villena, to comply with most of their demands. He
delivered his brother Alfonso into their hands, to be recognized as the
lawful heir to the crown, on condition of his subsequent union with
Joanna; and he agreed to nominate, in conjunction with his opponents, a
commission of five, who should deliberate on the state of the kingdom, and
provide an effectual reform of abuses. [16] The result of this
deliberation, however, proved so prejudicial to the royal authority, that
the feeble monarch was easily persuaded to disavow the proceedings of the
commissioners, on the ground of their secret collusion with his enemies,
and even to attempt the seizure of their persons. The confederates,
disgusted with this breach of faith, and in pursuance, perhaps, of their
original design, instantly decided on the execution of that bold measure,
which some writers denounce as a flagrant act of rebellion, and others
vindicate as a just and constitutional proceeding.
[16] See copies from the original instruments, which are still preserved
in the archives of the house of Villena, in Marina, Teoría, tom. iii.
part. 2, Ap. 6, 8.--Castillo, Crónica, cap. 66, 67.--Alonso de Palencia,
Corónica, MS., part. 1, cap. 57.
In an open plain, not far from the city of Avila, they caused a scaffold
to be erected, of sufficient elevation to be easily seen from the
surrounding country. A chair of state was placed on it, and in this was
seated an effigy of King Henry, clad in sable robes and adorned with all
the insignia of royalty, a sword at its side, a sceptre in its hand, and a
crown upon its head. A manifesto was then read, exhibiting in glowing
colors the tyrannical conduct of the king, and the consequent
determination to depose him; and vindicating the proceeding by several
precedents drawn from the history of the monarchy. The archbishop of
Toledo, then ascending the platform, tore the diadem from the head of the
statue; the marquis of Villena removed the sceptre, the count of Placencia
the sword, the grand master of Alcantara and the counts of Benavente and
Paredes the rest of the regal insignia; when the image, thus despoiled of
its honors, was rolled in the dust, amid the mingled groans and clamors of
the spectators. The young prince Alfonso, at that time only eleven years
of age, was seated on the vacant throne, and the assembled grandees
severally kissed his hand in token of their homage; the trumpets announced
the completion of the ceremony, and the populace greeted with joyful
acclamations the accession of their new sovereign. [17]
[17] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 1, cap. 62.--Castillo,
Crónica, cap. 68, 69, 74.
Such are the details of this extraordinary transaction, as recorded by the
two contemporary historians of the rival factions. The tidings were borne,
with the usual celerity of evil news, to the remotest parts of the
kingdom. The pulpit and the forum resounded with the debates of
disputants, who denied, or defended, the right of the subject to sit in
judgment on the conduct of his sovereign. Every man was compelled to
choose his side in this strange division of the kingdom. Henry received
intelligence of the defection, successively, of the capital cities of
Burgos, Toledo, Cordova, Seville, together with a large part of the
southern provinces, where lay the estates of some of the most powerful
partisans of the opposite faction. The unfortunate monarch, thus deserted
by his subjects, abandoned himself to despair, and expressed the extremity
of his anguish in the strong language of Job: "Naked came I from my
mother's womb, and naked must I go down to the earth!" [18]
[18] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 1, cap. 63, 70.--Castillo,
Crónica, cap. 75, 76.
A large, probably the larger part of the nation, however, disapproved of
the tumultuous proceedings of the confederates. However much they
contemned the person of the monarch, they were not prepared to see the
royal authority thus openly degraded. They indulged, too, some compassion
for a prince, whose political vices, at least, were imputable to mental
incapacity, and to evil counsellors, rather than to any natural turpitude
of heart. Among the nobles who adhered to him, the most conspicuous were
"the good count of Haro," and the powerful family of Mendoza, the worthy
scions of an illustrious stock. The estates of the marquis of Santillana,
the head of this house, lay chiefly in the Asturias, and gave him a
considerable influence in the northern provinces, [19] the majority of
whose inhabitants remained constant in their attachment to the royal
cause.
[19] The celebrated marquis of Santillana died in 1458, at the age of
sixty. (Sanchez, Poesías Castellanas, tom. i. p. 23.) The title descended
to his eldest son, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, who is represented by his
contemporaries to have been worthy of his sire. Like him, he was imbued
with a love of letters; he was conspicuous for his magnanimity and
chivalrous honor, his moderation, constancy, and uniform loyalty to his
sovereign, virtues of rare worth in those rapacious and turbulent times.
(Pulgar, Claros Varones, tit. 9.) Ferdinand and Isabella created him duke
del Infantado. This domain derives its name from its having been once the
patrimony of the infantes of Castile. See Salazar de Mendoza, Monarquía,
tom. i. p. 219,--and Dignidades de Castilla, lib. 3, cap. 17.--Oviedo,
Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8.
When Henry's summons, therefore, was issued for the attendance of all his
loyal subjects capable of bearing arms, it was answered by a formidable
array of numbers, that must have greatly exceeded that of his rival, and
which is swelled by his biographer to seventy thousand foot and fourteen
thousand horse; a much smaller force, under the direction of an efficient
leader, would doubtless have sufficed to extinguish the rising spirit of
revolt. But Henry's temper led him to adopt a more conciliatory policy,
and to try what could be effected by negotiation, before resorting to
arms. In the former, however, he was no match for the confederates, or
rather the marquis of Villena, their representative on these occasions.
This nobleman, who had so zealously co-operated with his party in
conferring the title of king on Alfonso, had intended to reserve the
authority to himself. He probably found more difficulty in controlling the
operations of the jealous and aspiring aristocracy, with whom he was
associated, than he had imagined; and he was willing to aid the opposite
party in maintaining a sufficient degree of strength to form a
counterpoise to that of the confederates, and thus, while he made his own
services the more necessary to the latter, to provide a safe retreat for
himself, in case of the shipwreck of their fortunes. [20]
[20] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 1, cap. 64.--Castillo,
Crónica, cap. 78.
In conformity with this dubious policy, he had, soon after the occurrence
at Avila, opened a secret correspondence with his former master, and
suggested to him the idea of terminating their differences by some
amicable adjustment. In consequence of these intimations, Henry consented
to enter into a negotiation with the confederates; and it was agreed, that
the forces on both sides should be disbanded, and that a suspension of
hostilities for six months should take place, during which some definitive
and permanent scheme of reconciliation might be devised. Henry, in
compliance with this arrangement, instantly disbanded his levies; they
retired overwhelmed with indignation at the conduct of their sovereign,
who so readily relinquished the only means of redress that he possessed,
and whom they now saw it would be unavailing to assist, since he was so
ready to desert himself. [21]
[21] Castillo, Crónica, cap. 80, 82.
It would be an unprofitable task to attempt to unravel all the fine-spun
intrigues, by which the marquis of Villena contrived to defeat every
attempt at an ultimate accommodation between the parties, until he was
very generally execrated as the real source of the disturbances in the
kingdom. In the mean while, the singular spectacle was exhibited of two
monarchs presiding over one nation, surrounded by their respective courts,
administering the laws, convoking cortes, and in fine assuming the state
and exercising all the functions of sovereignty. It was apparent that this
state of things could not last long; and that the political ferment, which
now agitated the minds of men from one extremity of the kingdom to the
other, and which occasionally displayed itself in tumults and acts of
violence, would soon burst forth with all the horrors of a civil war.
At this juncture, a proposition was made to Henry for detaching the
powerful family of Pacheco from the interests of the confederates, by the
marriage of his sister Isabella with the brother of the marquis of
Villena, Don Pedro Giron, grand master of the order of Calatrava, a
nobleman of aspiring views, and one of the most active partisans of his
faction. The archbishop of Toledo would naturally follow the fortunes of
his nephew, and thus the league, deprived of its principal supports, must
soon crumble to pieces. Instead of resenting this proposal as an affront
upon his honor, the abject mind of Henry was content to purchase repose
even by the most humiliating sacrifice. He acceded to the conditions;
application was made to Rome for a dispensation from the vows of celibacy
imposed on the grand master as the companion of a religious order; and
splendid preparations were instantly commenced for the approaching
nuptials. [22]
[22] Rades y Andrada, Chrónica de Las Tres Ordenes y Cavallerías, (Toledo,
1572,) fol. 76.
Isabella was then in her sixteenth year. On her father's death, she
retired with her mother to the little town of Arevalo, where, in
seclusion, and far from the voice of flattery and falsehood, she had been
permitted to unfold the natural graces of mind and person, which might
have been blighted in the pestilent atmosphere of a court. Here, under the
maternal eye, she was carefully instructed in those lessons of practical
piety, and in the deep reverence for religion, which distinguished her
maturer years. On the birth of the princess Joanna, she was removed,
together with her brother Alfonso, by Henry to the royal palace, in order
more effectually to discourage the formation of any faction adverse to the
interests of his supposed daughter. In this abode of pleasure, surrounded
by all the seductions most dazzling to youth, she did not forget the early
lessons that she had imbibed; and the blameless purity of her conduct
shone with additional lustre amid the scenes of levity and licentiousness
by which she was surrounded. [23]
[23]L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 154.-Florez, Reynas Cathólicas,
tom. ii. p. 789.-Castillo, Crónica, cap. 37.
The near connection of Isabella with the crown, as well as her personal
character, invited the application of numerous suitors. Her hand was first
solicited for that very Ferdinand, who was destined to be her future
husband, though not till after the intervention of many inauspicious
circumstances. She was next betrothed to his elder brother, Carlos; and
some years after his decease, when thirteen years of age, was promised by
Henry to Alfonso, of Portugal. Isabella was present with her brother at a
personal interview with that monarch in 1464, but neither threats nor
entreaties could induce her to accede to a union so unsuitable from the
disparity of their years; and with her characteristic discretion, even at
this early age, she rested her refusal on the ground, that "the infantas
of Castile could not be disposed of in marriage, without the consent of
the nobles of the realm." [25]
[25] Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 561, 562.--Zurita, Anales,
lib. 16, cap. 46, lib. 17, cap. 3.--Castillo, Crónica, cap. 31, 57.--
Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., cap. 55.
When Isabella understood in what manner she was now to be sacrificed to
the selfish policy of her brother, in the prosecution of which, compulsory
measures if necessary were to be employed, she was filled with the
liveliest emotions of grief and resentment. The master of Calatrava was
well known as a fierce and turbulent leader of faction, and his private
life was stained with most of the licentious vices of the age. He was even
accused of having invaded the privacy of the queen dowager, Isabella's
mother, by proposals of the most degrading nature, an outrage which the
king had either not the power, or the inclination, to resent. [26] With
this person, then, so inferior to her in birth, and so much more unworthy
of her in every other point of view, Isabella was now to be united. On
receiving the intelligence, she confined herself to her apartment,
abstaining from all nourishment and sleep for a day and night, says a
contemporary writer, and imploring Heaven, in the most piteous manner, to
save her from this dishonor, by her own death or that of her enemy. As she
was bewailing her hard fate to her faithful friend, Beatriz de Bobadilla,
"God will not permit it," exclaimed the high-spirited lady, "neither will
I;" then drawing forth a dagger from her bosom, which she kept there for
the purpose, she solemnly vowed to plunge it in the heart of the master of
Calatrava, as soon as he appeared! [27]
[26] Decad. de Palencia, apud Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., tom. vi. p. 65,
nota.
[27] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., cap. 73.--Mariana, Hist. de
España, tom. ii. p. 450.--Garibay, Compendio, tom. ii. p. 532.
This lady, Doña Beatriz Fernandez de Bobadilla, the most intimate personal
friend of Isabella, will appear often in the course of our narrative.
Gonzalo de Oviedo, who knew her well, describes her as "illustrating her
generous lineage by her conduct, which was wise, virtuous, and valiant."
(Quincuagenas, MS., dial. de Cabrera.) The last epithet, rather singular
for a female character, was not unmerited.
Happily her loyalty was not put to so severe a test. No sooner had the
grand master received the bull of dispensation from the pope, than,
resigning his dignities in his military order, he set about such sumptuous
preparations for his wedding, as were due to the rank of his intended
bride. When these were completed, he began his journey from his residence
at Almagro to Madrid, where the nuptial ceremony was to be performed,
attended by a splendid retinue of friends and followers. But, on the very
first evening after his departure, he was attacked by an acute disorder
while at Villarubia, a village not far from Ciudad Real, which terminated
his life in four days. He died, says Palencia, with imprecations on his
lips, because his life had not been spared some few weeks longer. [28] His
death was attributed by many to poison, administered to him by some of the
nobles, who were envious of his good fortune. But, notwithstanding the
seasonableness of the event, and the familiarity of the crime in that age,
no shadow of imputation was ever cast on the pure fame of Isabella. [29]
[28] Palencia imputes his death to an attack of the quinsy. Corónica, MS.,
cap. 73.
[29] Rades y Andrada, Las Tres Ordenes, fol. 77.--Caro de Torres, Historia
de las Ordenes Militares de Santiago, Calatrava, y Alcantara, (Madrid,
1629,) lib. 2, cap. 59.--Castillo, Crónica, cap. 85.--Alonso de Palencia,
Corónica, MS., cap. 73.--Gaillard remarks on this event, "Chacun crut sur
cette mort ce qu'il voulut." And again in a few pages after, speaking of
Isabella, he says, "On remarqua que tons ceux qui pouvoient faire obstacle
à la satisfaction ou à la fortune d'Isabelle, mouroient toujours à propos
pour elle." (Rivalité, tom. iii. pp. 280, 286.) This ingenious writer is
fond of seasoning his style with those piquant sarcasms, in which
oftentimes more is meant than meets the ear, and which Voltaire rendered
fashionable in history. I doubt, however, if, amid all the heats of
controversy and faction, there is a single Spanish writer of that age, or
indeed of any subsequent one, who has ventured to impute to the
contrivance of Isabella any one of the fortunate coincidences, to which
the author alludes.
The death of the grand master dissipated, at a blow, all the fine schemes
of the marquis of Villena, as well as every hope of reconciliation between
the parties. The passions, which had been only smothered, now burst forth
into open hostility; and it was resolved to refer the decision of the
question to the issue of a battle. The two armies met on the plains of
Olmedo, where, two and twenty years before, John, the father of Henry, had
been in like manner confronted by his insurgent subjects. The royal army
was considerably the larger; but the deficiency of numbers in the other
was amply supplied by the intrepid spirit of its leaders. The archbishop
of Toledo appeared at the head of its squadrons, conspicuous by a rich
scarlet mantle, embroidered with a white cross, thrown over his armor. The
young prince Alfonso, scarcely fourteen years of age, rode by his side,
clad like him in complete mail. Before the action commenced, the
archbishop sent a message to Beltran de la Cueva, then raised to the title
of duke of Albuquerque, cautioning him not to venture in the field, as no
less than forty cavaliers had sworn his death. The gallant nobleman, who,
on this as on some other occasions, displayed a magnanimity which in some
degree excused the partiality of his master, returned by the envoy a
particular description of the dress he intended to wear; a chivalrous
defiance, which wellnigh cost him his life. Henry did not care to expose
his person in the engagement, and, on receiving erroneous intelligence of
the discomfiture of his party, retreated precipitately with some thirty or
forty horsemen to the shelter of a neighboring village. The action lasted
three hours, until the combatants were separated by the shades of evening,
without either party having decidedly the advantage, although that of
Henry retained possession of the field of battle. The archbishop of Toledo
and Prince Alfonso were the last to retire; and the former was seen
repeatedly to rally his broken squadrons, notwithstanding his arm had been
pierced through with a lance early in the engagement. The king and the
prelate may be thought to have exchanged characters in this tragedy. [30]
[30] Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decades, lib. 1, cap. 2--Zurita, Anales, lib.
18, cap. 10--Castillo, Cronies, cap. 93, 97.--Alonso de Palencia,
Corónica, MS., part. 1, cap 80.
The battle was attended with no result, except that of inspiring
appetites, which had tasted of blood, with a relish for more unlicensed
carnage. The most frightful anarchy now prevailed throughout the kingdom,
dismembered by factions, which the extreme youth of one monarch and the
imbecility of the other made it impossible to control. In vain did the
papal legate, who had received a commission to that effect from his
master, interpose his mediation, and even fulminate sentence of
excommunication against the confederates. The independent barons plainly
told him, that "those who advised the pope that he had a right to
interfere in the temporal concerns of Castile deceived him; and that they
had a perfect right to depose their monarch on sufficient grounds, and
should exercise it." [31]
[31] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica MS., cap. 82.
Every city, nay, almost every family, became now divided within itself. In
Seville and in Cordova, the inhabitants of one street carried on open war
against those in another. The churches, which were fortified, and occupied
with bodies of armed men, were many of them sacked and burnt to the
ground. In Toledo no less than four thousand dwellings were consumed in
one general conflagration. The ancient family feuds, as those between the
great houses of Guzman and Ponce de Leon in Andalusia, being revived,
carried new division into the cities, whose streets literally ran with
blood. [32] In the country, the nobles and gentry, issuing from their
castles, captured the defenceless traveller, who was obliged to redeem his
liberty by the payment of a heavier ransom than was exacted even by the
Mahometans. All communication on the high roads was suspended, and no man,
says a contemporary, dared move abroad beyond the walls of his city,
unless attended by an armed escort. The organization of one of those
popular confederacies, known under the name of Hermandad, in 1465,
which continued in operation during the remainder of this gloomy period,
brought some mitigation to these evils by the fearlessness with which it
exercised its functions, even against offenders of the highest rank, some
of whose castles were razed to the ground by its orders. But this relief
was only partial; and the successful opposition, which the Hermandad
sometimes encountered on these occasions, served to aggravate the horrors
of the scene. Meanwhile, fearful omens, the usual accompaniments of such
troubled times, were witnessed; the heated imagination interpreted the
ordinary operations of nature as signs of celestial wrath; [33] and the
minds of men were filled with dismal bodings of some inevitable evil, like
that which overwhelmed the monarchy in the days of their Gothic ancestors.
[34]
[32] Zuñiga, Anales de Sevilla, pp. 851, 352.--Carta del Levantamiento de
Toledo, apud Castillo, Crónica, p. 109.--The historian of Seville has
quoted an animated apostrophe addressed to the citizens by one of their
number in this season of discord:
"Mezquina Sevilla en la sangre bañada
de los tus fijos, i tus cavalleros,
que fado enemigo te tiene minguada," etc.
The poem concludes with a summons to throw off the yoke of their
oppressors:
"Despierta Sevilla e sacude el imperio,
que faze a tus nobles tanto vituperio."
See Anales, p. 359.
[33] "Quod in pace fore, sen natura, tune fatum et ira dei vocabatur;"
says Tacitus, (Historiae, lib. 4, cap. 26,) adverting to a similar state
of excitement.
[34] Saez quotes a MS. letter of a contemporary, exhibiting a frightful
picture of these disorders. (Monedas de Enrique IV., p. 1, not.--Castillo,
Crónica, cap. 83, 87, et passim.--Mariana, Hist. de España, tom. ii. p.
451.--Marina, Teoría, tom. ii. p. 487.--Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS.,
part. 1, cap. 69.) The active force kept on duty by the Hermandad amounted
to 3000 horse. Ibid., cap. 89, 90.
At this crisis, a circumstance occurred, which gave a new face to affairs,
and totally disconcerted the operations of the confederates. This was the
loss of their young leader, Alfonso; who was found dead in his bed, on the
5th of July, 1468, at the village of Cardeñosa, about two leagues from
Avila, which had so recently been the theatre of his glory. His sudden
death was imputed, in the usual suspicious temper of that corrupt age, to
poison, supposed to have been conveyed to him in a trout, on which he
dined the day preceding. Others attributed it to the plague, which had
followed in the train of evils, that desolated this unhappy country. Thus
at the age of fifteen, and after a brief reign, if reign it may be called,
of three years, perished this young prince, who, under happier auspices
and in maturer life, might have ruled over his country with a wisdom equal
to that of any of its monarchs. Even in the disadvantageous position, in
which he had been placed, he gave clear indications of future excellence.
A short time before his death, he was heard to remark, on witnessing the
oppressive acts of some of the nobles, "I must endure this patiently,
until I am a little older." On another occasion, being solicited by the
citizens of Toledo to approve of some act of extortion which they had
committed, he replied, "God forbid I should countenance such injustice!"
And on being told that the city in that case would probably transfer its
allegiance to Henry, he added, "Much as I love power, I am not willing to
purchase it at such a price." Noble sentiments, but not at all palatable
to the grandees of his party, who saw with alarm that the young lion, when
he had reached his strength, would be likely to burst the bonds with which
they had enthralled him. [35]
[35] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., cap. 87, 92.--Castillo, Crónica,
cap. 94.--Garibay, Compendio, lib. 17, cap. 20.
It is not easy to consider the reign of Alfonso in any other light, than
that of a usurpation; although some Spanish writers, and among the rest
Marina, a competent critic when not blinded by prejudice, regard him as a
rightful sovereign, and as such to be enrolled among the monarchs of
Castile. [36] Marina, indeed, admits the ceremony at Avila to have been
originally the work of a faction, and in itself informal and
unconstitutional; but he considers it to have received a legitimate
sanction from its subsequent recognition by the people. But I do not find,
that the deposition of Henry the Fourth was ever confirmed by an act of
cortes. He still continued to reign with the consent of a large portion,
probably the majority, of his subjects; and it is evident that
proceedings, so irregular as those at Avila, could have no pretence to
constitutional validity, without a very general expression of approbation
on the part of the nation.
[36] Marina, Teoría, part. 2, cap. 88.
The leaders of the confederates were thrown into consternation by an
event, which threatened to dissolve their league, and to leave them
exposed to the resentment of an offended sovereign. In this conjuncture,
they naturally turned their eyes on Isabella, whose dignified and
commanding character might counterbalance the disadvantages arising from
the unsuitableness of her sex for so perilous a situation, and justify her
election in the eyes of the people. She had continued in the family of
Henry during the greater part of the civil war; until the occupation of
Segovia by the insurgents, after the battle of Olmedo, enabled her to seek
the protection of her younger brother Alfonso, to which she was the more
inclined by her disgust with the license of a court, where the love of
pleasure scorned even the veil of hypocrisy. On the death of her brother,
she withdrew to a monastery at Avila, where she was visited by the
archbishop of Toledo, who, in behalf of the confederates, requested her to
occupy the station lately filled by Alfonso, and allow herself to be
proclaimed queen of Castile. [37]
[37] Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decad., lib. 1, cap. 3.--Alonso de Palencia,
Corónica, MS., part. 1, cap. 92.--Florez, Reynas Cathólicas, tom. ii. p.
790.
Isabella discerned too clearly, however, the path of duty and probably of
interest. She unhesitatingly refused the seductive proffer, and replied,
that, "while her brother Henry lived, none other had a right to the crown;
that the country had been divided long enough under the rule of two
contending monarchs; and that the death of Alfonso might perhaps be
interpreted into an indication from Heaven of its disapprobation of their
cause." She expressed herself desirous of establishing a reconciliation
between the parties, and offered heartily to co-operate with her brother
in the reformation of existing abuses. Neither the eloquence nor
entreaties of the primate could move her from her purpose; and, when a
deputation from Seville announced to her that that city, in common with
the rest of Andalusia, had unfurled its standards in her name and
proclaimed her sovereign of Castile, she still persisted in the same wise
and temperate policy. [38]
[38] Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decad., lib. 1, cap. 3.--Ferreras, Hist.
d'Espagne, tom. vii. p. 218.-Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, part. 1, cap.
92.--part. 2, cap. 5.
The confederates were not prepared for this magnanimous act from one so
young, and in opposition to the advice of her most venerated counsellors.
No alternative remained, however, but that of negotiating an accommodation
on the best terms possible with Henry, whose facility of temper and love
of repose naturally disposed him to an amicable adjustment of his
differences. With these dispositions, a reconciliation was effected
between the parties on the following conditions; namely, that a general
amnesty should be granted by the king for all past offences; that the
queen, whose dissolute conduct was admitted to be matter of notoriety,
should be divorced from her husband, and sent back to Portugal; that
Isabella should have the principality of the Asturias (the usual demesne
of the heir apparent to the crown) settled on her, together with a
specific provision suitable to her rank; that she should be immediately
recognized heir to the crowns of Castile and Leon; that a cortes should be
convoked within forty days for the purpose of bestowing a legal sanction
on her title, as well as of reforming the various abuses of government;
and finally, that Isabella should not be constrained to marry in
opposition to her own wishes, nor should she do so without the consent of
her brother. [39]
[39] See a copy of the original compact cited at length by Marina, Teoría,
Apend. no. 11.--Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, part. 1, cap. 2.
In pursuance of these arrangements, an interview took place between Henry
and Isabella, each attended by a brilliant cortège of cavaliers and
nobles, at a place called Toros de Guisando, in New Castile. [40] The
monarch embraced his sister with the tenderest marks of affection, and
then proceeded solemnly to recognize her as his future and rightful heir.
An oath of allegiance was repeated by the attendant nobles, who concluded
the ceremony by kissing the hand of the princess in token of their homage.
In due time the representatives of the nation, convened in cortes at
Ocaña, unanimously concurred in their approbation of these preliminary
proceedings, and thus Isabella was announced to the world as the lawful
successor to the crowns of Castile and Leon. [41]
[40] So called from four bulls, sculptured in stone, discovered there,
with Latin inscriptions thereon, indicating it to have been the site of
one of Julius Caesar's victories during the civil war. (Estrada, Poblacion
General de España, (Madrid, 1748,) tom. i. p. 306.)--Galindez de Carbaja,
a contemporary, fixes the date of this convention in August. Apales del Rey
Fernando el Católico, MS., año 1468.
[41] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 4.--Castillo,
Crónica, cap. 18.--Mariana, Hist. de España, tom. ii. pp. 461, 462.--
Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, part. 1, cap. 2.--Castillo affirms that Henry,
incensed by his sister's refusal of the king of Portugal, dissolved the
cortes at Ocaña, before it had taken the oath of allegiance to her.
(Crónica, cap. 127.) This assertion, however, is counterbalanced by the
opposite one of Pulgar, a contemporary writer, like himself. (Reyes
Católicos, cap. 5.) And as Ferdinand and Isabella, in a letter addressed,
after their marriage, to Henry IV., transcribed also by Castillo, allude
incidentally to such a recognition as to a well-known fact, the balance of
testimony must be admitted to be in favor of it. See Castillo, Crónica,
cap. 114.
It can hardly be believed, that Henry was sincere in subscribing
conditions so humiliating; nor can his easy and lethargic temper account
for his so readily relinquishing the pretensions of the Princess Joanna,
whom, notwithstanding the popular imputations on her birth, he seems
always to have cherished as his own offspring. He was accused, even while
actually signing the treaty, of a secret collusion with the marquis of
Villena for the purpose of evading it; an accusation, which derives a
plausible coloring from subsequent events.
The new and legitimate basis, on which the pretensions of Isabella to the
throne now rested, drew the attention of neighboring princes, who
contended with each other for the honor of her hand. Among these suitors,
was a brother of Edward the Fourth, of England, not improbably Richard,
duke of Gloucester, since Clarence was then engaged in his intrigues with
the earl of Warwick, which led a few months later to his marriage with the
daughter of that nobleman. Had she listened to his proposals, the duke
would in all likelihood have exchanged his residence in England for
Castile, where his ambition, satisfied with the certain reversion of a
crown, might have been spared the commission of the catalogue of crimes
which blacken his memory. [42]
[42] Isabella, who in a letter to Henry IV., dated Oct. 12th, 1469,
adverts to these proposals of the English prince, as being under
consideration at the time of the convention of Toros de Guisando, does not
specify which of the brothers of Edward IV. was intended. (Castillo,
Crónica, cap. 136.)
Mr. Turner, in his History of England during the Middle Ages, (London,
1825,) quotes part of the address delivered by the Spanish envoy to
Richard III., in 1483, in which the orator speaks of "the unkindness,
which his queen Isabella had conceived for Edward IV., for his refusal of
her, and his taking instead to wife a widow of England." (Vol. iii. p.
274.) The old chronicler Hall, on the other hand, mentions, that it was
currently reported, although he does not appear to credit it, that the
earl of Warwick had been despatched into Spain in order to request the
hand of the princess Isabella for his master Edward IV., in 1463. (See his
Chronicle of England, (London, 1809,) pp. 263, 264.)--I find nothing in
the Spanish accounts of that period, which throws any light on these
obvious contradictions.
Another suitor was the duke of Guienne, the unfortunate brother of Louis
the Eleventh, and at that time the presumptive heir of the French
monarchy. Although the ancient intimacy, which subsisted between the royal
families of France and Castile, in some measure favored his pretensions,
the disadvantages resulting from such a union were too obvious to escape
attention. The two countries were too remote from each other, [43] and
their inhabitants too dissimiliar in character and institutions, to permit
the idea of their ever cordially coalescing as one people under a common
sovereign. Should the duke of Guienne fail in the inheritance of the
crown, it was argued, he would be every way an unequal match for the
heiress of Castile; should he succeed to it, it might be feared, that, in
case of a union, the smaller kingdom would be considered only as an
appendage, and sacrificed to the interests of the larger. [44]
[43] The territories of France and Castile touched, indeed, on one point
(Guipuscoa), but were separated along the whole remaining line of frontier
by the kingdoms of Aragon and Navarre.
The person on whom Isabella turned the most favorable eye was her kinsman
Ferdinand of Aragon. The superior advantages of a connection, which should
be the means of uniting the people of Aragon and Castile into one nation,
were indeed manifest. They were the descendants of one common stock,
speaking one language, and living under the influence of similar
institutions, which had moulded them into a common resemblance of
character and manners. From their geographical position, too, they seemed
destined by nature to be one nation; and, while separately they were
condemned to the rank of petty and subordinate states, they might hope,
when consolidated into one monarchy, to rise at once to the first class of
European powers. While arguments of this public nature pressed on the mind
of Isabella, she was not insensible to those which most powerfully affect
the female heart. Ferdinand was then in the bloom of life, and
distinguished for the comeliness of his person. In the busy scenes, in
which he had been engaged from his boyhood, he had displayed a chivalrous
valor, combined with maturity of judgment far above his years. Indeed, he
was decidedly superior to his rivals in personal merit and attractions.
[45] But, while private inclinations thus happily coincided with
considerations of expediency for inclining her to prefer the Aragonese
match, a scheme was devised in another quarter for the express purpose of
defeating it.
[45] Isabella, in order to acquaint herself more intimately with the
personal qualities of her respective suitors, had privately despatched her
confidential chaplain, Alonso de Coca, to the courts of France and of
Aragon, and his report on his return was altogether favorable to
Ferdinand. The duke of Guienne he represented as "a feeble, effeminate
prince, with limbs so emaciated as to be almost deformed, and with eyes so
weak and watery as to incapacitate him for the ordinary exercises of
chivalry. While Ferdinand, on the other hand, was possessed of a comely,
symmetrical figure, a graceful demeanor, and a spirit that was up to
anything;" mui dispuesto para toda coga que hacer ginsiese. It is
not improbable that the queen of Aragon condescended to practise some of
those agreeable arts on the worthy chaplain, which made so sensible an
impression on the marquis of Villena.
A fraction of the royal party, with the family of Mendoza at their head,
had retired in disgust with the convention of Toros de Guisando, and
openly espoused the cause of the princess Joanna. They even instructed her
to institute an appeal before the tribunal of the supreme pontiff, and
caused a placard, exhibiting a protest against the validity of the late
proceedings, to be nailed secretly in the night to the gate of Isabella's
mansion. [46] Thus were sown the seeds of new dissensions, before the old
were completely eradicated. With this disaffected party the marquis of
Villena, who, since his reconciliation, had resumed his ancient ascendency
over Henry, now associated himself. Nothing, in the opinion of this
nobleman, could be more repugnant to his interests, than the projected
union between the houses of Castile and Aragon; to the latter of which, as
already noticed, [47] once belonged the ample domains of his own
marquisate, which he imagined would be held by a very precarious tenure
should any of this family obtain a footing in Castile.
[46] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 5.
[47] See ante, note 10.
In the hope of counteracting this project, he endeavored to revive the
obsolete pretensions of Alfonso, king of Portugal; and, the more
effectually to secure the co-operation of Henry, he connected with his
scheme a proposition for marrying his daughter Joanna with the son and
heir of the Portuguese monarch; and thus this unfortunate princess might
be enabled to assume at once a station suitable to her birth, and at some
future opportunity assert with success her claim to the Castilian crown.
In furtherance of this complicated intrigue, Alfonso was invited to renew
his addresses to Isabella in a more public manner than he had hitherto
done; and a pompous embassy, with the archbishop of Lisbon at its head,
appeared at Ocaña, where Isabella was then residing, bearing the proposals
of their master. The princess returned, as before, a decided though
temperate refusal. [48] Henry, or rather the marquis of Villena, piqued at
this opposition to his wishes, resolved to intimidate her into compliance;
and menaced her with imprisonment in the royal fortress at Madrid. Neither
her tears nor entreaties would have availed against this tyrannical
proceeding; and the marquis was only deterred from putting it in execution
by his fear of the inhabitants of Ocaña, who openly espoused the cause of
Isabella. Indeed, the common people of Castile very generally supported
her in her preference of the Aragonese match. Boys paraded the streets,
bearing banners emblazoned with the arms of Aragon, and singing verses
prophetic of the glories of the auspicious union. They even assembled
round the palace gates, and insulted the ears of Henry and his minister by
the repetition of satirical stanzas, which contrasted Alfonso's years with
the youthful graces of Ferdinand. [49] Notwithstanding this popular
expression of opinion, however, the constancy of Isabella might at length
have yielded to the importunity of her persecutors, had she not been
encouraged by her friend, the archbishop of Toledo, who had warmly entered
into the interests of Aragon, and who promised, should matters come to
extremity, to march in person to her relief at the head of a sufficient
force to insure it.
[48] Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 391.--Castillo,
Crónica, cap. 121, 127.--Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap.
7.--Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum Decad., lib. 1, cap. 7.
Isabella, indignant at the oppressive treatment, which she experienced
from her brother, as well as at his notorious infraction of almost every
article in the treaty of Toros de Guisando, felt herself released from her
corresponding engagements, and determined to conclude the negotiations
relative to her marriage, without any further deference to his opinion.
Before taking any decisive step, however, she was desirous of obtaining
the concurrence of the leading nobles of her party. This was effected
without difficulty, through the intervention of the archbishop of Toledo,
and of Don Frederic Henriquez, admiral of Castile, and the maternal
grandfather of Ferdinand; a person of high consideration, both from his
rank and character, and connected by blood with the principal families in
the kingdom. [50] Fortified by their approbation, Isabella dismissed the
Aragonese envoy with a favorable answer to his master's suit. [51]
[50] Pulgar, Claros Varones, tit. 2.
[51] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 154.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv.
fol. 162.--Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 7.--Pulgar,
Reyes Católicos, cap. 9.
Her reply was received with almost as much satisfaction by the old king of
Aragon, John the Second, as by his son. This monarch, who was one of the
shrewdest princes of his time, had always been deeply sensible of the
importance of consolidating the scattered monarchies of Spain under one
head. He had solicited the hand of Isabella for his son, when she
possessed only a contingent reversion of the crown. But, when her
succession had been settled on a more secure basis, he lost no time in
effecting this favorite object of his policy. With the consent of the
states, he had transferred to his son the title of king of Sicily, and
associated him with himself in the government at home, in order to give
him greater consequence in the eyes of his mistress. He then despatched a
confidential agent into Castile, with instructions to gain over to his
interests all who exercised any influence on the mind of the princess;
furnishing him for this purpose with cartes blanches, signed by
himself and Ferdinand, which he was empowered to fill at his discretion.
[52]
[52] Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 157, 163.
Between parties thus favorably disposed, there was no unnecessary delay.
The marriage articles were signed, and sworn to by Ferdinand at Cervera,
on the 7th of January. He promised faithfully to respect the laws and
usages of Castile; to fix his residence in that kingdom, and not to quit
it without the consent of Isabella; to alienate no property belonging to
the crown; to prefer no foreigners to municipal offices, and indeed to
make no appointments of a civil or military nature, without her consent
and approbation; and to resign to her exclusively the right of nomination
to ecclesiastical benefices. All ordinances of a public nature were to be
subscribed equally by both. Ferdinand engaged, moreover, to prosecute the
war against the Moors; to respect King Henry; to suffer every noble to
remain unmolested in the possession of his dignities, and not to demand
restitution of the domains formerly owned by his father in Castile. The
treaty concluded with a specification of a magnificent dower to be settled
on Isabella, far more ample than that usually assigned to the queens of
Aragon. [53] The circumspection of the framers of this instrument is
apparent from the various provisions introduced into it solely to calm the
apprehensions and to conciliate the good will of the party disaffected to
the marriage; while the national partialities of the Castilians in general
were gratified by the jealous restrictions imposed on Ferdinand, and the
relinquishment of all the essential rights of sovereignty to his consort.
[53] See the copy of the original marriage contract, as it exists in the
archives of Simancas, extracted in tom. vi. of Memorias de la Acad. de
Hist., Apend. no. 1.--Zurita, Anales, lib. 18, cap. 21.--Ferreras, Hist.
d'Espagne, tom. vii. p. 236.
While these affairs were in progress, Isabella's situation was becoming
extremely critical. She had availed herself of the absence of her brother
and the marquis of Villena in the south, whither they had gone for the
purpose of suppressing the still lingering spark of insurrection, to
transfer her residence from Ocaña to Madrigal, where, under the protection
of her mother, she intended to abide the issue of the pending negotiations
with Aragon. Far, however, from escaping the vigilant eye of the marquis
of Villena by this movement, she laid herself more open to it. She found
the bishop of Burgos, the nephew of the marquis, stationed at Madrigal,
who now served as an effectual spy upon her actions. Her most confidential
servants were corrupted, and conveyed intelligence of her proceedings to
her enemy. Alarmed at the actual progress made in the negotiations for her
marriage, the marquis was now convinced that he could only hope to defeat
them by resorting to the coercive system, which he had before abandoned.
He accordingly instructed the archbishop of Seville to march at once to
Madrigal with a sufficient force to secure Isabella's person; and letters
were at the same time addressed by Henry to the citizens of that place,
menacing them with his resentment, if they should presume to interpose in
her behalf. The timid inhabitants disclosed the purport of the mandate to
Isabella, and besought her to provide for her own safety. This was perhaps
the most critical period in her life. Betrayed by her own domestics,
deserted even by those friends of her own sex who might have afforded her
sympathy and counsel, but who fled affrighted from the scene of danger,
and on the eve of falling into the snares of her enemies, she beheld the
sudden extinction of those hopes, which she had so long and so fondly
cherished. [54]
[54] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 12.--Castillo,
Crónica, cap. 128, 131, 136.--Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 162.--Beatrice
de Bobadilla and Mencia de la Torre, the two ladies most in her
confidence, had escaped to the neighboring town of Coca.
In this exigency, she contrived to convey a knowledge of her situation to
Admiral Henriquez, and the archbishop of Toledo. The active prelate, on
receiving the summons, collected a body of horse, and, reinforced by the
admiral's troops, advanced with such expedition to Madrigal, that he
succeeded in anticipating the arrival of the enemy. Isabella received her
friends with unfeigned satisfaction; and, bidding adieu to her dismayed
guardian, the bishop of Burgos, and his attendants, she was borne off by
her little army in a sort of military triumph to the friendly city of
Valladolid, where she was welcomed by the citizens with a general burst of
enthusiasm. [55]
[55] Castillo, Crónica, cap. 136.--Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS.,
part. 2, cap. 12.--Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 69.
In the mean time Gutierre de Cardenas, one of the household of the
princess, [56] and Alfonso de Palencia, the faithful chronicler of these
events, were despatched into Aragon in order to quicken Ferdinand's
operations, during the auspicious interval afforded by the absence of
Henry in Andalusia. On arriving at the frontier town of Osma, they were
dismayed to find that the bishop of that place, together with the duke of
Medina Celi, on whose active co-operation they had relied for the safe
introduction of Ferdinand into Castile, had been gained over to the
interests of the marquis of Villena. [57] The envoys, however, adroitly
concealing the real object of their mission, were permitted to pass
unmolested to Saragossa, where Ferdinand was then residing. They could not
have arrived at a more inopportune season. The old king of Aragon was in
the very heat of the war against the insurgent Catalans, headed by the
victorious John of Anjou. Although so sorely pressed, his forces were on
the eve of disbanding for want of the requisite funds to maintain them.
His exhausted treasury did not contain more than three hundred enriques.
[58] In this exigency he was agitated by the most distressing doubts. As
he could spare neither the funds nor the force necessary for covering his
son's entrance into Castile, he must either send him unprotected into a
hostile country, already aware of his intended enterprise and in arms to
defeat it, or abandon the long-cherished object of his policy, at the
moment when his plans were ripe for execution. Unable to extricate himself
from this dilemma, he referred the whole matter to Ferdinand and his
council. [59]
[56] This cavalier, who was of an ancient and honorable family in Castile,
was introduced to the princess's service by the archbishop of Toledo. He
is represented by Gonzalo de Oviedo as a man of much sagacity and
knowledge of the world, qualities with which he united a steady devotion
to the interests of his mistress. Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1,
quinc. 2, dial. 1.
[57] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., cap. 14.-The bishop told Palencia,
that "if his own servants deserted him, he would oppose the entrance of
Ferdinand into the kingdom."
[58] Zurita, Anales, lib. 18, cap. 26.--The enrique was a gold coin, so
denominated from Henry II.
[59] Zurita, Anales, lib. 18, cap. 26.--Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii.
p. 273.
It was at length determined, that the prince should undertake the journey,
accompanied by half a dozen attendants only, in the disguise of merchants,
by the direct route from Saragossa; while another party, in order to
divert the attention of the Castilians, should proceed in a different
direction, with all the ostentation of a public embassy from the king of
Aragon to Henry the Fourth. The distance was not great, which Ferdinand
and his suite were to travel before reaching a place of safety; but this
intervening country was patrolled by squadrons of cavalry for the purpose
of intercepting their progress; and the whole extent of the frontier, from
Almazan to Guadalajara, was defended by a line of fortified castles in the
hands of the family of Mendoza. [60] The greatest circumspection therefore
was necessary. The party journeyed chiefly in the night; Ferdinand assumed
the disguise of a servant, and, when they halted on the road, took care of
the mules, and served his companions at table. In this guise, with no
other disaster except that of leaving at an inn the purse which contained
the funds for the expedition, they arrived, late on the second night, at a
little place called the Burgo or Borough, of Osma, which the count of
Treviño, one of the partisans of Isabella, had occupied with a
considerable body of men-at-arms. On knocking at the gate, cold and faint
with travelling, during which the prince had allowed himself to take no
repose, they were saluted by a large stone discharged by a sentinel from
the battlements, which, glancing near Ferdinand's head, had wellnigh
brought his romantic enterprise to a tragical conclusion; when his voice
was recognized by his friends within, and, the trumpets proclaiming his
arrival, he was received with great joy and festivity by the count and his
followers. The remainder of his journey, which he commenced before dawn,
was performed under the convoy of a numerous and well-armed escort; and on
the 9th of October he reached Dueñas in the kingdom of Leon, where the
Castilian nobles and cavaliers of his party eagerly thronged to render him
the homage due to his rank. [61]
[60] Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., tom. vi. p. 78, Ilust. 2.
[61] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 14.--Zurita, Anales,
loc. cit.
The intelligence of Ferdinand's arrival diffused universal joy in the
little court of Isabella at Valladolid. Her first step was to transmit a
letter to her brother Henry, in which she informed him of the presence of
the prince in his dominions, and of their intended marriage. She excused
the course she had taken by the embarrassments, in which she had been
involved by the malice of her enemies. She represented the political
advantages of the connection, and the sanction it had received from the
Castilian nobles; and she concluded with soliciting his approbation of it,
giving him at the same time affectionate assurances of the most dutiful
submission both on the part of Ferdinand and of herself. [62] Arrangements
were then made for an interview between the royal pair, in which some
courtly parasites would fain have persuaded their mistress to require some
act of homage from Ferdinand; in token of the inferiority of the crown of
Aragon to that of Castile; a proposition which she rejected with her usual
discretion. [63]
[62] This letter, dated October 12th, is cited at length by Castillo,
Crónica, cap. 136.
[63] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 15.
Agreeably to these arrangements, Ferdinand, on the evening of the 15th of
October, passed privately from Dueñas, accompanied only by four
attendants, to the neighboring city of Valladolid, where he was received
by the archbishop of Toledo, and conducted to the apartment of his
mistress. [64] Ferdinand was at this time in the eighteenth year of his
age. His complexion was fair, though somewhat bronzed by constant exposure
to the sun; his eye quick and cheerful; his forehead ample, and
approaching to baldness. His muscular and well-proportioned frame was
invigorated by the toils of war, and by the chivalrous exercises in which
he delighted. He was one of the best horsemen in his court, and excelled
in field sports of every kind. His voice was somewhat sharp, but he
possessed a fluent eloquence; and, when he had a point to carry, his
address was courteous and even insinuating. He secured his health by
extreme temperance in his diet, and by such habits of activity, that it
was said he seemed to find repose in business. [65] Isabella was a year
older than her lover. In stature she was somewhat above the middle size.
Her complexion was fair; her hair of a bright chestnut color, inclining to
red; and her mild blue eye beamed with intelligence and sensibility. She
was exceedingly beautiful; "the handsomest lady," says one of her
household, "whom I ever beheld, and the most gracious in her manners."
[66] The portrait still existing of her in the royal palace, is
conspicuous for an open symmetry of features, indicative of the natural
serenity of temper, and that beautiful harmony of intellectual and moral
qualities, which most distinguished her. She was dignified in her
demeanor, and modest even to a degree of reserve. She spoke the Castilian
language with more than usual elegance; and early imbibed a relish for
letters, in which she was superior to Ferdinand, whose education in this
particular seems to have been neglected. [67] It is not easy to obtain a
dispassionate portrait of Isabella. The Spaniards, who revert to her
glorious reign, are so smitten with her moral perfections, that even in
depicting her personal, they borrow somewhat of the exaggerated coloring
of romance.
[64] Gutierre de Cardenas was the first who pointed him out to the
princess, exclaiming at the same time, "Ese es, ese es," "This is he;"
in commemoration of which he was permitted to place on his escutcheon
the letters SS, whose pronunciation in Spanish resembles that of the
exclamation which he had uttered. Ibid., part. 2, cap. 15.--Oviedo,
Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 2, dial. 1.
[65] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 182.--Garibay, Compendio, lib. 18,
cap. 1.--"Tan amigo de los negocios," says Mariana, "que parecia con el
trabajo descansaba." Hist. de España, lib. 25, cap. 18.
[66] "En hermosura, puestas delante S. A. todas las mugeres que yo he
visto, ninguna vi tan graciosa, ni tanto de ver corao su persona, ni de
tal manera e sanctidad honestísíma." Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS.
[67] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 201.--Abarca, Reyes de Aragon,
tom. ii. p. 362.--Garibay, Compendío, lib. 18, cap. 1.
The interview lasted more than two hours, when Ferdinand retired to his
quarters at Dueñas, as privately as he came. The preliminaries of the
marriage, however, were first adjusted; but so great was the poverty of
the parties, that it was found necessary to borrow money to defray the
expenses of the ceremony. [68] Such were the humiliating circumstances
attending the commencement of a union destined to open the way to the
highest prosperity and grandeur of the Spanish monarchy!
[68] Mariana, Hist. de España, tom. ii. p. 465.
The marriage between Ferdinand and Isabella was publicly celebrated, on
the morning of the 19th of October, in the palace of John de Vivero, the
temporary residence of the princess, and subsequently appropriated to the
chancery of Valladolid. The nuptials were solemnized in the presence of
Ferdinand's grandfather, the admiral of Castile, of the archbishop of
Toledo, and a multitude of persons of rank, as well as of inferior
condition, amounting in all to no less than two thousand. [69] A papal
bull of dispensation was produced by the archbishop, relieving the parties
from the impediment incurred by their falling within the prohibited
degrees of consanguinity. This spurious document was afterwards discovered
to have been devised by the old king of Aragon, Ferdinand, and the
archbishop, who were deterred from applying to the court of Rome by the
zeal with which it openly espoused the interests of Henry, and who knew
that Isabella would never consent to a union repugnant to the canons of
the established church, and one which involved such heavy ecclesiastical
censures. A genuine bull of dispensation was obtained, some years later,
from Sixtus the Fourth; but Isabella, whose honest mind abhorred
everything like artifice, was filled with no little uneasiness and
mortification at the discovery of the imposition. [70] The ensuing week
was consumed in the usual festivities of this joyous season; at the
expiration of which, the new-married pair attended publicly the
celebration of mass, agreeably to the usage of the time, in the collegiate
church of Sante Maria. [71]
[69] Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 1469.--Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS.,
part. 2, cap. 16.--Zurita, Anales, lib. 18, cap. 26.--See a copy of the
official record of the marriage, Mem. de la Acad., tom. vi. Apend. 4. See
also the Ilust. 2.
[70] The intricacies of this affair, at once the scandal and the
stumbling-block of the Spanish historians, have been unravelled by Señor
Clemencin, with his usual perspicuity. See Mem. de la Acad., tom. vi. pp.
105-116, Ilust. 2.
[71] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 16.--A lively
narrative of the adventures of Prince Ferdinand, detailed in this chapter,
may be found in Cushing's Reminiscences of Spain, (Boston, 1833,) vol. i.
pp. 225-255.
An embassy was despatched by Ferdinand and Isabella to Henry, to acquaint
him with their proceedings, and again request his approbation of them.
They repeated their assurances of loyal submission, and accompanied the
message with a copious extract from such of the articles of marriage, as,
by their import, would be most likely to conciliate his favorable
disposition. Henry coldly replied, that "he must advise with his
ministers." [72]
Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdés, author of the "Quincuagenas"
frequently cited in this History, was born at Madrid, in 1478. He was of
noble Asturian descent. Indeed, every peasant in the Asturias claims
nobility as his birthright. At the age of twelve he was introduced into
the royal palace, as one of the pages of Prince John. He continued with
the court several years, and was present, though a boy, in the closing
campaigns of the Moorish war. In 1514, according to his own statement, he
embarked for the Indies, where, although he revisited his native country
several times, he continued during the remainder of his long life. The
time of his death is uncertain.
Oviedo occupied several important posts under the government, and he was
appointed to one of a literary nature, for which he was well qualified by
his long residence abroad; that of historiographer of the Indies. It was
in this capacity that he produced his principal work, "Historia General de
las Indias," in fifty books. Las Casas denounces the book as a wholesale
fabrication, "as full of lies, almost, as pages." (Oeuvres, trad. de
Llorente, tom. i. p. 382.) But Las Casas entertained too hearty an
aversion for the man, whom he publicly accused of rapacity and cruelty,
and was too decidedly opposed to his ideas on the government of the
Indies, to be a fair critic. Oviedo, though somewhat loose and rambling,
possessed extensive stores of information, by which those who have had
occasion to follow in his track have liberally profited.
The work with which we are concerned is his Quincuagenas. It is entitled
"Las Quincuagenas de los generosos é ilustres é no menos famosos Reyes,
Príncipes, Duques, Marqueses y Condes et Caballeros, et Personas notables
de España, que escribió el Capitan Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdez,
Alcáide de sus Magestades de la Fortaleza de la Cibdad é Puerto de Sancto
Domingo de la Isla Españiola, Coronista de las Indias," etc. At the close
of the third volume is this record of the octogenarian author; "Acabé de
escribir de mi mano este famoso tractado de la nobleza de España, domingo
1730; dia de Páscua de Pentecostes XXIII. de mayo de 1556 años. Laus
Deo. Y de mi edad 79 años." This very curious work is in the form of
dialogues, in which the author is the chief interlocutor. It contains a
very full, and, indeed, prolix notice of the principal persons in Spain,
their lineage, revenues, and arms, with an inexhaustible fund of private
anecdote. The author, who was well acquainted with most of the individuals
of note in his time, amused himself, during his absence in the New World,
with keeping alive the images of home by this minute record of early
reminiscences. In this mass of gossip, there is a good deal, indeed, of
very little value. It contains, however, much for the illustration of
domestic manners, and copious particulars, as I have intimated, respecting
the characters and habits of eminent personages, which could have been
known only to one familiar with them. On all topics of descent and
heraldry, he is uncommonly full; and one would think his services in this
department alone might have secured him, in a land where these are so much
respected, the honors of the press. His book, however, still remains in
manuscript, apparently little known, and less used, by Castilian scholars.
Besides the three folio volumes in the Royal Library at Madrid, from which
the transcript in my possession was obtained, Clemencin, whose
commendations of this work, as illustrative of Isabella's reign, are
unqualified. (Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., tom. vi. Ilust. 10,) enumerates
three others, two in the king's private library, and one in that of the
Academy.
