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Af ** HISTORY OF SPAIN, FROM THE FIRST SETTLEMENT OF THE COLONY OF GADES, BY THE PHOENICIANS: TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE UNITED PROVINCES, AND DEATH OF PHILIP II. ***... " f : ; , , - ; º' . * * : . . . . _r - ~ * : º, A sº t * * * < ~~ *:::- , gº # COLLECTED FROM THE MOST AUTHENTIC DOCUMENTS, -º- IN TWO WOLUMES. *Cº- Vol. 1. LONDON: ru BLISHED BY J. GooDWIN, AVE MARIA LAN.E. PRINTED BY WARDLE AND BENTHAM, MANCHESTER, 1814. T H E jºigtorp of §pain, CHAPTER I. Ectent and situation of ancient Spain.—First discovered by the Phanicians.—Colony of Gades.—Invaded by the Carthagini- ans.—Description of the inhabitants.-Success of the Cartha- ginians.—The Romans enter Spain.—Account of their pro- gress, and wars with the natives.—Character of Viriatus.-- His victories over the Romans.— Project of an independent sovereignty in Spain.—He concludes a peace with Rome.— The treaty is broken by the Romans.—Viriatus is assassi- mated in his tent.—The Lusitanians are defeated under Tan- talus, but preserve their independence in their mountains.— Resistance of Numantia.-It is besieged and destroyed by Scipio, the second Africanus.-The Spaniards embrace the party of Sertorius.-Death of that chief.-Spain subdued by Pompey.—Conduct of the Spaniards in the civil wars of the Roman republic.—Account of the wealth of Spain.—Augus- tus plans the entire reduction of it.—He penetrates into the mountains of Cantabria and Asturia.-Submission of the in- habitants.— Revolt of the Cantabrians.—They are conquered by Agrippa-Division of Spain into the provinces of Tarra- conensis, Lusitania, and Bactica. —s ON the western point of Europe, a fertile re- gion extends from the Straits of Gibraltar to the Pyrenean Mountains, above five hundred and R 2 HISTORY OF SPAIN. ninety miles in length, and, from the Mediterra- nean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, five hundred and eighty miles in breadth. The Phoenicians who first discovered this wealthy peninsula, bestowed on it the name of SPAIN; they were attracted to its coasts by the same spirit of nautical adven- ture, that afterwards impelled the Spaniards to explore the southern continent of America; and more than a thousand years before the birth of Christ, beneath their auspices, the city of Gades arose on a promontory of the island of Leon, which was separated by a narrow channel from the an- cient province of Boetica, and soon became the emporium of commerce. A period of eight centuries appears to have elapsed, before the establishment of the colony of Gades seems to have excited the open jealousy of the natives. At the expiration of that term, the Phoenicians found themselves involved in an unsuccessful struggle with the ferocious tribes which inhabited Boetica; and conscious of their declining strength, they called to their assistance the Carthaginians, who, themselves of Phoeni- cian extraction, embraced with alacrity the kin- dred cause. The interest of the latter conspired with the resentment of their allies; and a short time after the conclusion of the first Punic war, Amilcar, the father of Hannibal, disembarked the forces of Carthage on the nearest coast of Spain. A. C. 229. HISTORY OF SPAIN. § He found a warm, but genial climate; the air pure, the soil fruitful, and watered by numerous rivers; the mountains abounded with copper, and with the more precious metals. But the whole country was defended by numerous tribes of Bar- barians, who, although they consented to acknow- ledge the authority of different princes, were united by similar pursuits, and similar tempers. Bold, subtle, and sanguinary, they disdained the arts of peace, and devoted themselves to the toils of war. Their hours were alternately occupied by the care of their arms and their horses; and de- prived of these, the martial Spaniards regarded life with indifference. Their garments were stain- ed with various colours, their bodies painted, and their long hair decked with ornaments of sil- ver and gold. At the distance of above twenty centuries, the same hereditary disposition may be traced: the haughty spirits of the men scorned, or their indolence rendered them averse to, the servile labours of agriculture; and wherever cul- tivation was deemed necessary, the ungrateful duty was abandoned to a female hand. The religion of the barbarians of Spain, was suited to the rude and ignorant state in which they remained at the invasion of the Carthaginians. They acknowledged and adored one Supreme Being, to whom their vows were paid, and their altars erected. Deep and venerable groves were 4. HISTORY OF SPAIN. considered as the chosen residence of the deity, or the places more peculiarly adapted to his worship; and human sacrifice was deemed the most sacred and acceptable offering. The jealousy and hatred which Amilcar bore to Rome, strongly induced him to aspire to the re- duction of Spain. On that theatre he hoped to restore the discipline of the armies, to recruit the exhausted coffers of Carthage, and to enable her successfully to contend with the mistress of Italy. Nor was he disappointed in the bold and laborious enterprise. The riches of the country were the recompense of many a bloody and persevering con- flict. From the shores of the Mediterranean he slowly advanced towards those of the Atlantic. In nine years of incessant warfare he subdued the province of Boetica, which corresponds with mo- dern Grenada and Andalusia; and penetrated into the country of the Lusitanians, which is now the kingdom of Portugal. The Lusitanians supplied their deficiency in arms and discipline by their native craft and courage. Though they were in- capable of preserving their independence, they revenged the loss of it; and on the banks of the Tagus, Amilcar was encompassed, oppressed, and slain. His brother Asdrubal succeeded to the com- mand of his army, and the execution of his de- signs; less able in war, but more refined in nego- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 5 ciation, he conciliated the affections of those states which Amilcar had endeavoured to subdue. Lu- sitania admired his address, and acknowledged his influence. The Callaici, who still perpetuate their origin in Gallicia, the tribes who occupied the modern countries of Leon, the two Castiles, Mur- cia, and Valencia, were prevailed upon to submit to his authority; even the Celtiberians, the most powerful of the barbarians, who possessed the pre- sent province of Arragon, and whose name de- scribes their descent from the Celtae, and their situation on the banks of the Iberus, had consented to receive the Carthaginian yoke, when the pro- gress of Asdrubal was arrested by private resent- ment, and he himself fell a victim to the dagger of a servile assassin. The fetters of Spain were riveted by the hand of Hannibal, the glory and the shame of Car- thage; and who, at the early age of twenty-five years, surpassed in military skill his father Amil- car, and in political address his uncle Asdrubal. Two years were consumed in securing the con- quests of his predecessors, and in the beginning of the third he led his forces to the siege of Sa- guntum, a city which had been founded by the Greeks on the shores of the Mediterranean, and on the borders of Valencia. The Saguntines con- fided in the protection of Hercules, and the al- liance of Rome; but their hopes of divine assist- 6. HISTORY OF SPAIN. ance, and their expectations of mortal succour, were equally vain; and it was by their native va- lour, and the strength of their walls, that they were enabled to baffle, during eight months, the efforts of the besiegers. The fall of a lofty tower at length opened to the Carthaginians the secret avenues of the city; but even then their avarice was disappointed, by the invincible resolution or frantic despair of the inhabitants; and the Sagun- tines setting fire to their houses, involved them- selves, their families, and their effects, in general destruction. Beyond the stream of the Iberus, and between that river and the Pyrenean mountains, the Vas- cones and Ilergetes possessed the same districts as compose at present the kingdom of Navarre, and the province of Catalonia. They had heard of the fate of Saguntum, and their consternation was revealed in their feeble resistance; they submitted to the victor, and Spain transiently acknowledged the dominion of Carthage. The terror of arms was probably improved by negociation; the same qualities which rendered Hannibal the idol of his soldiers, enabled him to reconcile the jarring pas- sions of hostile and rival nations. When he presumed to measure the strength and fortune of the African republic with those of Rome, twenty thousand Spaniards, with alacrity marched beneath his standard, traversed with him the Pyrenean moun- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 7 tains, and the Alps; and claimed their share in the danger and glory of the bloody fields of Tre- bia, of Thrasymene, and of Cannae. It was not solely on the affections of Spain that Hannibal relied for her obedience during his ab- sence. Fifteen thousand Africans were left under the command of his brother Asdrubal, to secure and protect the country from the mouth of the Boetis, to the banks of the Iberus; and ten thou- sand infantry and one thousand horse were entrust- ed to an officer of the name of Hanno, who awed the turbulent hordes between the Iberus and the Pyrenees. This precaution was the matural result of the sagacity of the chief who adopted it. Rome scarce was informed of the design of Hannibal to penetrate into Italy, before she prepared to de- prive him of the resources which he might draw from Spain, by transporting the war into that country. Cneius Scipio, at the head of a formida- ble army, encountered in the country of the Iler- getes the troops of Hanno ; the Carthaginians were defeated ; and from the Pyrenean moun- tains to the Iberus, the tribes and cities of Spain submitted to the authority of Rome. - A. g.º. The forces of Cneius Scipio were * swelled by a junction with the troops of his brother Publius, who with the title of pro- consul was appointed to the conduct of the Spanish s HISTORY OF SPAIN. war. The kindred chiefs extended their enter- prises beyond the stream of the Iberus, restored the walls of Saguntum, and during seven years of martial toils maintained the ascendancy of Rome. The Edetani, who had seized the mo- ment of their absence to revolt, were severely chastised, and their capital, the modern city of Lerida, was abandoned to the rapacity of the Roman soldiers. Within the hilly district of Lu- sitania, Asdrubal eluded the pursuit of his ene- mies; but he was forced to relinquish the open country to their arms; and the Scipios already revolved the total reduction of Spain, when they perished by their own temerity. Elated by a se- ries of victory, they divided their forces to im- prove their advantages more rapidly. It is pro- bable the natives had always regarded their pro- gress with secret discontent; they embraced the moment when their troops were disunited ; to the north of the Iberus, on the frontiers of the Suessetani, Publius was deserted by his allies, and overpowered by the forces of Spain, of Carthage, and of Numidia; and as Cneius returned to avert, or avenge the fate of his brother, the levity or treachery of his barbarian followers involved him in the same destruction. The Celtiberians retired from his standard; and his scanty band of Romans was encountered and overwhelmed by the hosts of their enemies. HISTORY OF SPAIN. 9 The chastisement of the Spaniards, A. c.195. . and the expulsion of the Carthaginians, * were committed to the kindred hand of Cor- nelius, the son of Publius Scipio. That hero, who was afterwards better known by the surname of Africanus, was when only twenty-four years old invested with the proconsular dignity, and ap- pointed to the command which had been held by his father. He found the Romans encamped be- hind the stream of the Iberus, and though, under the conduct of Lucius Martius, they had surprised the Carthaginian camp, their late success had not effaced the remembrance of their former dis- asters. They were taught to contemn the feeble protection of the river, by the example of their new general ; from its banks to the province of Boetica their adventurous valour was respected by the barbarians, and they traversed the extent of Spain without encountering an enemy. On a peninsula which stretches towards the opposite continent of Africa, from the ancient country of the Contestani, and the modern pro- vince of Murcia, New Carthage, whose name sufficiently reveals her founders, had under the influence of commerce and civil administration arisen to opulence and grandeur; and had been established by the Carthaginians as the seat of their government, and the repository of their arms and treasures. While Scipio invested the city by land, VOL. I. C TO HISTORY OF SPAIN. the Roman fleet under Laelius blocked up the mouth of the harbour; on the side towards the sea, the garrison had trusted to that element for their protection, and a low and narrow wall was rather designed to repel the waves than exclude the enemy. The retiring tide left the water ford- able at the foot of the rampart; and Scipio was no sooner apprised of the circumstance, than he prepared to avail himself of it. Five hundred chosen soldiers were animated by the example of their chief; with venturous steps they silently ex- plored their course; scaled the wall; and while the attention of the garrison was diverted by a feigned attack from the land, they were astonished by the tremendous sound of the Roman trumpets in the heart of the city. A martial band, under the command of Mago, in vain endeavoured to maintain the citadel against the ardour of the as- sailants: they were compelled, after a short re- sistance, to surrender at discretion, and the accu- mulated riches of New Carthage became the prize of the victors. # In the reduction of New Carthage, the Spa- niards had admired the enterprising genius and daring valour of Scipio; in the use of victory they were forced to applaud his generosity and mode- ration. Among the captives a beautiful virgin who was betrothed to Allucius, a prince of Celti- beria, was presented by the Roman soldiers to History OF SPAIN. 11 their general, as the most acceptable reward of his martial labours. The gallantry and chastity of Scipio might, in a rude and unpolished age, have instructed the Romans, and must have conciliated the regard of the barbarians. He turned from the alluring charms of the fair, and restored her in safety to her royal lover, whose alliance was the immediate consequence of his honourable for- bearance. The virtues of an invader are probably the most dangerous instruments he can employ against the people whose conquest he meditates. The union of the states of Spain might have prolonged at least the term of their independence; but the ge- nerosity of Scipio had been diffused through the various tribes of the Celtiberians; the greatest part of the country from the Iberus to the Sucro, declared in favour of the Romans; and the native bands of Allucius, under the conduct of their prince, marched beneath the banners, and exulted in the dependent title of the auxiliaries of Rome. Not far from the shores of the Mediterranean, where a branch of the Iberus winds towards the Pyrenean mountains, the Lacetani occupied part of the present province of Catalonia. Turbulent in peace, but bold and ardent in war, they were distinguished by the same features as mark the modern Catalans. Jealousy of Rome, or grati- tude to Carthage, had fixed their prince in 12 HISTORY OF SPAIN. the interests of the African republic; and in the destruction of Publius Scipio the name of In- dibilis had been transmitted to Italy, as the most formidable of the barbarian chieftains of Spain. Steady in his enmity or attachments, he still prop- ped the declining cause of Carthage; and Asdru- bal might be urged by his resolution to await the approach of the Roman army. But the contest was fatal to the hopes of the Lacetanian prince, and the Carthaginian chief: the undisciplined valour of the Spaniards, and the rapidity of the Numidian squadrons, were incapable of discon- certing the steady order of the Roman legions; Indibilis and Asdrubal fled; and the recal of the latter to join the forces of his brother Hannibal in Italy, left Scipio to estabish his ascendancy in Spain. - - The Spaniards in the alliance of Carthage were a second time defeated near the Boetis ; and Au- rinx, a city of lower Boetica, was taken and plun- dered by the victors. But the spirits of the Spa- niards were restored by the intelligence that Sci- pio had passed over into Africa; they had scarce time to resume their arms before they were asto- nished by the rapid return of the Roman general. The city of Illiturgis, which was situated near the modern town of Andujar, was assaulted and stormed by Scipio; and Astuto, which has dwin- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 13 º, died into the insignificant village of Cazlone, was reduced by Lucius Martius. In the country of the Edetani, and probably not far from the city of Lerida, twenty thousand Spanish infantry, and two thousand five hundred cavalry, under the princes Indibilis and Mardo- nius, were assembled to defend their own inde- pendence, or to support the fortunes of Carthage. They were attacked, broken, and slaughtered by the Romans; the fate of Indibilis and Mar- donius is buried in obscurity, but seventeen thou- sand of their followers perished on the disastrous field; the open country submitted to the con- queror; and Scipio impatient to expel the Car- thaginians from Spain, instantly formed the siege of Gades, within the walls of which the remnant of their armies was united. The fortifications of that city yielded to the machines of the besiegers, and the triumphant eagles of the Romans, were displayed from the Pyrenean mountains to the mouth of the Boetis. When the republic of Carthage sunk a beneath the superior strength or fortune of her rival, the peninsula of Spain was yielded by the vanquished party to the victors; and Rome imposed on that country the name and condition of a dependent province. It is the observation of Seneca, that where- soever the Roman conquers, he inhabits; and the . C. 192. 155. 14 HISTORY OF SPAIN. maxim was confirmed by the numerous colonies which soon diffused themselves over the face of Spain. The lofty situation of the city of Tarra- gona protected it from a surprise, and in an age when the art of war was but little known, enabled it to defy the attacks of a numerous army. Its vicinity to the Mediterranean Sea was peculiarly happy for the purposes of commerce in peace; and permitted the Romans, by a short and safe navigation, to pour their forces in war into Spain, without being exposed to a dangerous and tedious march through the hostile and barbarous states of Gaul, and across the rugged and inhospitable heights of the Pyrenees. It soon assumed the splendour of a capital, and became the seat of government for the province of citerior Spain, which occupied the northern part of the peninsula, from the Pyrenees to the mouth of the Durius or Duero. The province of ulterior Spain comprised the rest of the peninsula, which included the modern countries of Portugal, Grenada, and Andalusia. The first, which had scarcely felt the impression of the Roman arms, was distinguished, as we have already observed, by the name of Lusitania; and the two latter were afterwards confounded in the general appellation of Boetica. A. C. 155, It is not to be supposed that a people * fond of independence, and indifferent to HISTORY OF SPAIN. 15 danger, would long endure with patience the yoke of servitude. In hither Spain, Sempronius, who, with the rank of praetor, commanded a Roman army, was suddenly attacked and destroyed, with all his forces; and in further Spain, the flames of revolt blazed forth with more open violence. But the same spirit of disunion continued to render abortive the struggles of the Spaniards. Marcus Porcius, whose surname of Censor, was the fruit of his austerity in that office, landed with two legions at Rhoda, a port of Catalonia, which still subsists under the kindred appellation of Roses, and in a variety of conflicts restored the ascend- ancy of the Roman armies. His successor, Ful- vius Flaccus, reduced the Vaccaei, whose capital is still recognized on the borders of Asturia, by its former name of Palantia. In a bloody battle the Celtiberians paid the penalty of their rashness; and their chastisement seemed for a moment to in- timidate the haughty spirits of the barbarians. A hardy band, collected in the mountains, still preferred the freedom of those barren regions, to the subjection of the fertile plains beneath; but the oppression of the Romans soon summoned . them from their recesses, to avenge the injuries, and assert the liberties of their country. Lucullus, who in the quality of proconsul governed hither Spain, had been received into the town of Pauca, on articles of capitulation; but he basely violated I6 HISTORY OF SPAIN. the conditions he had subscribed; and was no sooner admitted within the gates, than he let loose the rage and avarice of his followers; and of twen- ty thousand citizens, scarce five hundred escaped to accuse his cruel perfidy. In further Spain the praetor, Galba, disgraced the Roman name by a repetition of the same sanguinary fraud: a consi- derable number of the Lusitanians had offered to submit to the authority of Rome; the praetor af- fected to listen with compassion to their distress, and promised them, in a more fertile region, those advantages which their own country denied them; but they were scarcely separated before they had reason to repent their fond confidence in the Ro- man faith; they were attacked, when defenceless and disunited ; and the few who escaped, served only to inflame their countrymen with an implaca- ble detestation of Rome. :: A. C. 143. The love of freedom, and the thirst * of revenge, speedily assembled a nume- rous army of warlike Lusitanians, who retaliated on the Spanish territories of Rome, the injuries that had been inflicted on their countrymen ; but in their march through Turditania, or modern Andalusia, their impatience betrayed them into the midst of a rugged and mountainous country, the defiles of which had been occupied by the Ro- mans. The difficulties which presented them- selves on every side, induced them to treat with HISTORY OF SPAIN. 17 Wetilius, who had succeeded Galba in command, and the Roman leader readily promised, on con- dition that they should acknowledge the sove- reignty of Rome, to assign them lands that would supply a necessary subsistence to their industry. The recent fate of their countrymen could not but inspire them with some distrust; the moment of hesitation was improved by the remonstrances of Viriatus, who, in the obscure station of a private soldier, possessed the talents of a general, and the soul of a hero. “Remember,” exclaimed he, “the perfidy of Lucullus and of Galba; respect “my counsels, and I will engage to deliver you “from the snare in which you are entangled.” The tone of confidence he assumed, awaked new hope in the desponding bosoms of the Lusitanians; they committed themselves to his superior genius, and their obedience was rewarded by immediate safety. While with a thousand horse he opposed an extended line to the Roman legions, and me- naced in appearance a general engagement, he directed the rest in small parties, to pursue separate and unfrequented paths, which he himself had explored in search of game, or of spoil; and to rendezvous under the walls of Tribola. His or- ders were executed with promptitude and success; and no sooner was he assured of the retreat of his infantry, than he followed with his horse their VOL. I. TD 18 HISTORY OF SPAIN. footsteps, with a swiftness and dexterity that eluded all pursuit. * , The Roman historians have lavished on Viria- tus the opprobrious terms of rebel and robber; they have reluctantly confessed his skill and cou- rage; his temperance and chastity in private, his faith and generosity in public life. His youth had been devoted to the toils of the chace; and in an age and country where the limits of justice and property were slightly traced, he might deem it no ignoble deed to despoil by his single strength the Roman of that wealth which he had extorted from the oppressed natives of Spain. If these practices, in a more enlightened and civilized pe- riod, have reflected some dishonour on his charac- ter, they were effaced by the general integrity he observed when possessed of power. The spirit of the hardy hunter, or licentious rover, soon emerged from obscurity and disgrace; by his late services he was established in the command of the army that he had preserved; his superior fame attracted to his standard a crowd of Lisutanians, inured to danger, and enamoured of indepen- dence; his authority was founded on the most solid basis, the free suffrages of his countrymen, and Rome must have acknowledged, that he rose to power by the same qualities that Romulus at- tained it ; a more daring valour, and a more saga- cious mind. HISTORY OF SPAIN. 19 Those qualities were consecrated to vindicate the independence of Spain, and to check the ra- pid progress of Roman dominion; his head and hand equally contributed to his glory. He seems to have possessed the peculiar art of directing successfully the impetuous valour of his country- men against troops not less brave, and better dis- ciplined, than themselves. With him, flight was the frequent prelude to victory; and he was never more formidable than when he appeared to dread or to shun his adversary. The first who felt his arms, and was ensnared by his arts, was Vetilius himself, who, impatient of the triumph that had evaded his grasp in Tur- ditania, pressed forward to seize it under the walls of Tribola; but as he urged his march with inconsiderate ardour through a country em- barassed by woods, and broken by mountains, he was suddenly assailed by the fierce and nume- rous bands of Viriatus. The legions confessed the impressions of surprise and fear, and were confounded by the rapid and desultory attacks of their enemies; they fled; and of ten thou- sand, near one half perished in the action or pur- suit. Vetilius himself fell alive into the hands of the victors; but the barbarians, accustomed only to esteem their captives in proportion to their vigour and activity, regarded with contempt his age and corpulence. Some resentment might be 20 HISTORY OF SPAIN. inspired by the remembrance of the perfidy of Lucullus and Galba; and the sword of a Lusita- nian deprived Viriatus of the glory of detaining in chains a Roman general. Viriatus would have ill deserved the reputation of sagacity, had he in the pride of victory neg- lected the means of improving it. The arms of the legionaries were distributed among the com- panions of his fortune. The renown of his at- chievements allured fresh thousands to his stand- ard; and at the head of a numerous and zealous army, he beheld himself capable of undertaking more important enterprizes. Ten thousand foot, and thirteen hundred horse, had landed in Spain from Italy, under the con- duct of the praetor Caius Plantius, to support the authority of the republic. They were joined by the troops which had survived the defeat of Veti- lius; and by the Spaniards who still owned the influence, or dreaded the arms of Rome. In their march from Tarragona towards the banks of the Tagus, they were harassed by the attacks of Viriatus; and four thousand who had been detached from the main army were surrounded and cut off by the Lusitanian chief. Encouraged by this second proof of the valour of his follow- ers, Viriatus aspired to a more honourable vic- tory: he met, in an open field of battle, the le- gions and allies of Rome. The ardour of the IIISTORY OF SPAIN. 21. latter was probably chilled by the sight of the kindred ensigns of their adversaries; and they might desert without ignominy a field where vic- tory would have only served to have riveted their own shackles. The former were broken, dis- persed, or slaughtered; the remnant sought shel- ter within the walls of the neighbouring cities that were retained in subjection by the strength of their garrisons; but the open country hailed Viriatus as the deliverer of Spain; and his name was the subject of triumph from the Iberus to the Boetis. - In the hour of calamity and defeat, the forti- tude and resources of Rome were most conspi- cuous: Viriatus had scarcely established his tri- umph over Plantius before he was informed of the approach of Claudius Unimanus; yet the fate of Unimanus was the same as that of his predecessor; and vanquished in battle, he escaped with difficulty from the pursuit of the victors. The fortune and renown of Viriatus were re- vealed in the appointment of a chief to oppose him, who was descended and allied to an illus- trious race of heroes. Quintus Fabius AEmilia- mus was the brother of the younger Scipio, and was invested with the dignity of consul when he was named to the conduct of the war in Spain. The virtues of Scipio Africanus were yet fresh in the memories of the barbarians; and the love 22 HISTORY OF SPAIN. of freedom might at least be checked by esteem and gratitude. Several tribes of hither Spain followed willingly a leader whose name was still the object of their veneration. Yet Viriatus was neither daunted by the reputation of his adver- sary, nor dismayed by the levity of his country- men. He frequently defied him to battle ; and the consulate of Æmilianus expired without his being able to obtain any decisive advantage over his antagonist. In the quality of proconsul his military command was prolonged a second year; and although the Roman writers assert that he at last vanquished in battle the Lusitanian chief, yet the strength of the latter appears to have been unimpaired; and he defeated, the two ensuing years, Quinctius and Servilianus, the successors of AEmilianus. - The example and negociations of Viriatus had been extended into hither Spain; and he had projected an extensive confederacy throughout the tribes of the Spanish peninsula, which proba- bly might have prescribed bounds to the am- bition of the Roman republic; but he was sensi- ble that it was alone in the hour of tranquility that he could firmly establish his authority, and recruit the exhausted strength of his country for the arduous designs he meditated: he seized the moment of prosperity to negociate an advanta- geous peace. The fears of Servilianus were im- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 23 proved by the address of the Lusitanian ; and a treaty was signed by the former, and ratified by the senate of Rome; by which Viriatus was acknowledged as the friend and ally of the Ro- man people, and the Lusitanians were confirmed in the independent possession of those regions which at that time they had either actually ac- quired or retained. It is difficult to discern at this distance, what were the limits of the new dominions of Viriatus; yet we may naturally conjecture that they em- braced the greatest part of further Spain. Arsa, which he had fixed on as the future capital of his kingdom, was situated at no great distance from the banks of the Anas, and half way between the mo- dern cities of Cordova and Alcantara; nor is it pro- bable that the prudence or policy of Viriatus would have suffered him to have established the seat of his government on the utmost verge of his territories. While Viriatus was intent on the arts of peace, and the embellishments of Arsa, he heard with astonishment the hostile sound of the Roman trumpet. The haughty spirit of Rome had been wounded by the late treaty she had subscribed ; and her reputation was mortally injured by the perfidy with which she broke it. The govern- ment of whatever remained of the republic in further Spain had been allotted to Quintus Ser- vilius Coepio, who pressed the senate for per- 24 HISTORY OF SPAIN. mission to renew the war against Viriatus. That assembly was less attentive to the honour than the aggrandisement of the republic ; and without any previous intimation of hostilities, Coepio, at the head of a numerous and well-appointed army, rapidly advanced towards Arsa. Surprized, and unequal to resistance, Viriatus, on his approach, abandoned with indignation his capital, which he was incapable of defending, and retired within the mountains of the Carpetani, who inhabited the country which is known at present by the name of New Castile. He was pursued and encompassed by Coepio ; but the same arts which had delivered him from the arms of Vetilius, were again practised with suc- cess against Coepio. His followers dispersed them- selves by unfrequented paths through the woods and mountains; and though the weakness of the barbarians allowed them not to chastise the per- fidy, the skill of their commander enabled them to elude the vengeance of Rome. The asserter of his country's freedom was not indifferent to her happiness; and the lawless rover, whose glory had been established in war, sighed for the tranquil blessings of peace. He nego- ciated; but he negociated in arms; and perhaps Viriatus never appeared more truly great, than when, with a slender band hastily assembled, he observed and harassed the march of the Roman HISTORY OF SPAIN. 25 legions, and taught Coepio to respect his genius in the hour of adversity. In every desultory con- flict he maintained his wonted ascendancy; and after every successful action, he renewed his pro- posals for peace. The Roman consul affected to listen with pleasure to the terms that were offered; but beneath the appearance of a treaty, he cherished a dark design, as injurious to his own honour as to that of Rome. Open and magnani- mous, the mind of Viriatus readily ascribed the same virtues to others as he himself was possessed of. If repeated instances of Roman perfidy, might warn him to guard against the artifices of that republic, the consciousness of his own ser- vices allowed him not to adopt the slightest pre- caution against the treachery of his countrymen. But the deputies, whom he had entrusted with the conduct of the negociation, were corrupted by the gold and splendid promises of Coepio ; they agreed to assassinate the defender of their country ; and they performed the engagement with infamous fidelity. Viriatus had deserved, and he confided in the affection and attachment of his followers; the tent of the Lusitanian chief was unprotected by guards or sentinels, and open to access at every hour to the meanest soldier; he was the victim of his honest boldness; and, invincible in arms, he perished by domestic trea- son. At midnight, as in his armour he snatched WOL. I. IE 26 HISTORY OF SPAIN. a short and necessary repose from the toils and cares of his station, he was assailed by the daggers of the conspirators; their weapons were plunged into his throat, the only part exposed; and he instantly expired, most probably ignorant of the ingratitude and treachery of those whom he had loved and trusted. In every age and country the same abhorrence of vice has prevailed, though not to the same de- gree: the treason may be loved, but the traitor must be detested; and when the assassins of Viria- tus presented themselves before Coepio, and de- manded the promised reward of their crime, they were admonished by the answer of the con- sul how little fidelity can exist in the confederacy of guilt: he told them they might retain in safety what they had already received; but insultingly added, it was only from the justice of the Roman senate they must expect any further gratification. The Lusitanians lamented the loss, and ho- noured the memory of their much-loved general. His funeral was solemnized with barbarian mag- nificence; but their weakness allowed them not to fulfil the duty of revenge, which, in their sa- vage state, the tribes of Spain would have deemed the most grateful offering to the shade of the de- ceased hero. Their unanimous sufferages called to supply his place, Tantalus, who possibly was recommended by the same love of independence, HISTORY OF SPAIN. 27 but who certainly possessed not the same ability as his predecessor. He sunk beneath the difficul- ties of his situation. The very ground which had been the theatre of glory to Viriatus, was the scene of disgrace and humiliation to his suc- cessor ; he had rashly undertaken, and hastily abandoned the siege of Saguntum; in their re- treat the Lusitanian army were entangled within the passes of the mountains; and the superior genius of their former general was acknowledged and regretted in their vain efforts to extricate themselves; by a disgraceful capitulation they were stripped of their arms, and were dispersed, by the policy of the victors, to different and dis- tant colonies; the cities on the banks of the Boetis returned again to their obedience; the Roman eagles were displayed in triumph through the western and northen districts of Spain; Ju- nius Brutus passed the Duero, and penetrated to the coast of Gallicia; from the utmost point of Cape Finisterre the Romans cast a look of asto- nishment on the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean; and on their return, Rome might listen with admiration to the fabulous tales of her enter- prising sons, who boldly affirmed they had beheld in those remote regions, the sun yield to the ap- proach of night, and sink into the western main, with a mighty and tremendous noise. The lofty superstructure of dominion which 28 HISTORY OF SPAIN. had been erected by the ambition or patriotism of Viriatus, fell with him who had planned it; and from the death of that chief the Lusitanians beheld their fertile fields laid waste, and their ci- ties reduced to ashes. Yet every want was com- pensated, and every calamity atoned, by the en- thusiastic ardour of freedom. In the distant re- cesses of their mountains they still breathed the pure air of independence; and to the Roman se- nate, which endeavoured to impose on them the ignominious badge of tribute, a high-spirited people, more tenacious of their honour and their liberty than their property, boldly replied, that “ their ancestors had left them steel to defend “ their possessions, instead of gold to redeem “ them.” - . A. C., 142, While the Lusitanians cherished the ** sacred flame of freedom amidst their barren mountains, its fire had been felt and confessed by the Celtiberians, whose situation exposed them, with more facility, to the arms of Rome. Near the source of the Duero, and probably on the confines of hither and further Spain, arose the city of Numantia: and the ac- curate eye of a modern geographer has fixed its situation a little above the present city of Soria. Numantia had listened with attention to the achievements and remonstrances of Viriatus, and while that chief vindicated the independence of HISTORY OF SPAIN. 29 Lusitania, Numantia asserted her native right to the free and equal condition she had known be- fore the intrusion of the Romans; the same cause was embraced by the neighbouring city of Ter- mes, which still preserves her name without her population. Their youth sallied from their gates, repulsed in open fight the disciplined valour of the Romans, and inflamed the spirits of their countrymen by the liberal distribution of the spoil. Intimidated by the approach of Quintus Pompeius at the head of thirty thousand veterans, they condescended to treat of submission; but they rejected with contempt the rigorous and ig- nominious conditions which would have despoil- ed them of their fortifications and their arms. “Brave men,” exclaimed they, “never quit their “arms but with their lives.” Indignation and despair supplied the want of numbers; vanquish- ed in battle, the Roman general was compelled to accept of a treaty, by which they delivered up the Roman prisoners and deserters, and engaged for the payment of thirty talents at different periods. But when Viriatus was no more, and A. c. 142, the imprudence of Tantalus had con- * fined the hopes, or at least the resistance of the Lusitanians, within the limits of their mountains, the cities of Numantia and Termes were exposed to the whole weight of Roman ambition and re- 30 HISTORY OF SPAIN. sentment. The senate had sternly refused to ra- tify the treaty that had been subscribed by Pom- pey, and without restoring the hostages, or re- funding the money, instantly displayed again the signal of hostility. The Numantians beheld from their walls the approach of the Roman army under Popilius Loenas; and disdaining the advantages of their ramparts and situation, they rushed forth to an open encounter. Their happy temerity was rewarded with success; and the remnant of the Roman army that escaped their fury, pre- served during the remainder of the campaign an awful distance. The succeeding spring the Roman ensigns were again displayed within sight of Numantia, and the inhabitants of that city again sallied forth to engage their adversaries ; twenty thou- sand Romans were slaughtered by four thousand Numantians ; and the consul, Hostilius Manci- , nus, with the wretched fugitives from the dis- astrous field, were surrounded by the victors on every side. They were preserved from famine or the sword by a treaty, which was ratified by the most solemn oaths of Mancinus and his prin- cipal officers. The conditions of it have been buried in studied silence by the Roman histo- rians : and the oblivion to which they have con- signed it, and the situation of the vanquished army, strengthen the conjecture, that the indepen- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 31 dence of Numantia was formally expressed, and was the stipulation that ransomed the lives of Man- cinus and his soldiers. The Numantians were again defrauded of the fruits of victory by the perfidy of their adversa- ries, and the treaty concluded by Mancinus was violated by the Roman senate, with the same fa- cility as that which had been subscribed by Pom- pey. Yet they affected to disguise their breach of faith beneath the appearance of rigid justice; and by the authority of that assembly, Mancinus was delivered in chains to the resentment of the Numantians. These, with becoming magnani- mity, rejected the proffered victim. “It is not,” said they, “the sacrifice of a private man that “ can atone for a breach of the public faith.” The avarice of Emilius Lepidus, who had been appointed successor to Mancinus, had prompt- ed him to undertake the siege of Palantia, the ca- pital of the Vaccaei; and he incurred the double disgrace of abandoning in haste an enterprize that had been concerted without justice. His retreat did not escape the vigilant and active re- sentment of the besieged; he was pursued, over- taken, and defeated ; and six thousand legiona- ries expiated with their lives the guilt of their general. - If the Spaniards were elated by success, they were soon convinced, by mournful experience, of 32 HISTORY OF SPAIN, the vicissitudes of war. The city of Palantia was besieged, and compelled to surrender, by Cal- phurn Piso ; that of Termes was probably about the same time obliged to acknowledge the sove- reignty of Rome; the Lusitanians were still con- fined within the fortresses of their mountains; and the Numantians could not hear, without some emotions of fear, that a second Scipio Africanus, who rivalled the martial fame of the first, was ap- pointed to conduct against them the flower of the Roman legions. It is not probable that the pride of Rome suf- fered her to diminish the account of the number of her enemies; and by the confession of her own historians, the Numantians capable of bear- ing arms exceeded not ten thousand. But they were united by the same hopes, and the same danger; and had their adversaries presumed im- mediately to oppose their ardour on the field of battle, the remembrance of former victories might have been the prelude to new ones. But Scipio, though at the head of sixty thousand sol- diers, declined the inauspicious walls of Numan- tia; and suffered a year to elapse in restoring and confirming the discipline of his soldiers, be- fore he ventured to approach that city. His march was retarded by the attacks of the Nu- mantians; but their impetuous valour was com- pelled to yield to the steady courage of the Ro- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 33 mans. When upbraided by their countrymen, that they had fled before those whom they had so frequently vanquished;—“The Romans,” replied they, “are indeed the same sheep, but they have “got a different shepherd.” With a sigh of de- spair and indignation they beheld their fields laid waste by the invaders; and their last retreat with- in the walls of Numantia, was soon followed by the close blockade of that devoted city. The city of Numantia arose on a lofty hill, and its walls, of three miles in circumference, were de- fended by four thousand brave and vigorous citi- zens, whose minds were fortified by the love of liberty, and the contempt of death. Could any honourable terms of peace have satisfied their ene- mies, they would have willingly subscribed them. The intolerant spirit of Rome demanded the sur- render of their arms, their city, and their persons, to be disposed of at the discretion of the senate; and the Numantians preferred a glorious death to a life of servitude. They sallied from their walls, and defied the host of their besiegers to battle. But the prudence of Scipio restrained his soldiers within the lines, and the Numantians, as they re- turned, revolved in anxious horror a lingering fate by famine. One hope remained, to rouse in their defence the martial tribes of Spain. Five aged warriors, each attended by his son, undertook to VOL. I. F. - 34 HISTORY OF SPAIN. penetrate the works of the besiegers; they pierced the Roman lines, hewed down the guard that op- posed them, and escaped before the Numidian horse could be assembled for pursuit. But the at- tempt was more honourable to themselves than serviceable to their countrymen; the emotions of compassion were overwhelmed by those of fear; and of the numerous and powerful states of Spain, one city alone yielded to the noble ardour, and assumed their arms for the relief of Numantia. The walls of Lutia have been levelled by time or policy; and no monuments remain to mark the spot on which they stood. Yet one generous ac- tion has immortalized her fame; and when she embraced the sinking fortunes of the Numantians, she rescued her own name for ever from oblivion. But before her youth could buckle on their ar- mour, they were surprised by the appearance of Scipio at their gates. The Roman general had been apprised of their design, and with a select detachment had pressed forward to vengeance. Lutia was incapable of resistance; and four hun- dred of the noblest youths were the miserable vic- tims to the implacable severity of Scipio. Their right hands were lopped from them; and their mutilated appearance warned the neighbouring nations, how dangerous it was to provoke the wrath of Rome. . In the grief of the Numantians for the fate of HISTORY OF SPAIN. 35 their generous allies, was mingled some concern for their own safety. Each hour diminished the scanty stock of their provisions, and augmented the number of their enemies. Their councils were influenced by famine and despair; and the deputation which issued from their gates, solicited Scipio to secure their future fidelity, by receiving their submission on honourable terms, or to allow them the means of a glorious death in battle. The cold and laconic reply of the proconsul, that they must surrender at discretion, determined the Numantians. Sword in hand they sallied forth on their oppressors, and their bloody despair was gratified by the carnage of their enemies. Their strength was exhausted by the unequal conflict; but their spirits were far from subdued. They that were driven back into the city, set fire to their houses, and with their wives and families rushed on destruction. Fifty alone were with dif- ficulty ravished from the flames, to adorn the tri- umph of the victor; and after defying the power of Rome for fourteen years, Numantia was con- founded in a heap of ashes, by the indignant rage of her citizens. The resistance of Numantia may be A. c. Iss. considered as the last memorable struggle ". of Spain for independence; and though the Can- tabrians and Asturians, in the mountains of mo- dern Biscay and Asturia, long cherished the sa- 36 HISTORY OF SPAIN. cred flame of freedom, and, confident in their native fastnesses, often invaded the fertility of the plains, and braved in their craggy retreats the re- sentment of Rome, yet their enterprises were con- fined to transient and predatory incursions. The greatest part of the peninsula acquiesced under the Roman yoke; and it was only in the civil dis- sensions of the republic, that her name in the course of a hundred years attracts our curiosity. When the party of Marius was over- whelmed in Italy, by the superior genius or fortune of Sylla, the remnant found an asylum in Spain. The name of Sertorius is ranked with that of the most celebrated commanders of anti- quity; and the mildness of his civil administration endeared him to the Spaniards, who had long been accustomed to groan beneath the rapacity of the Roman proconsuls. Yet Sertorius was him- self distinguished by a quick and lively jealousy for the dignity of the republic. He was the en- emy of the usurpation of Sylla, but not of Rome. A. C. 72, 71. He assumed himself the ensigns of a Roman of- ficer; he bestowed on three hundred of his compa- nions the title of senator; and if he condescended to treat with the mountaineers of Lusitania and Cantabria as allies, he scorned to violate the so- vereignty of Rome, or to delude the Spaniards with the hope of independence. Sertorius was the victim of domestic treason; HISTORY OF SPAIN. 37 and the tribes of Spain who had embraced his cause, were exposed to the resentment of Pompey, who commanded the army of the republic. In his return to Rome, that general, in his preten- sions to a triumph, reckoned up eight hundred and seventy-one towns which he had reduced; and though many of these might be little more than walled villages, yet some probability must be allowed to the assertion, since under the reign of Vespasian, Pliny exhibited a list of three hundred and sixty Spanish cities. It is probable that Pompey used his victory with moderation, since in the struggle for dominion between himself and Caesar, Spain appears to have supported with ardour the fortune of the former. The banks of the Segra were the theatre of a long and doubtful contest between the lieutenants of Pompey and Caesar himself. The commanding genius of the latter established his triumph; and Spain professed a reluctant submission to the conqueror. When Pompey was no more, his memory was revered, and his sons were g protected by the gratitude and affection of the tribes of Spain. The standard of opposition was again erected in that province, and the martial natives joined with alacrity the legions which still adhered to the Pompeian party. Their growing numbers, and rapid progress, demanded the pre- A. C. 71, 46. A. C. 46, 40. 38 HISTORY OF SPAIN. sence of Caesar. He landed at Saguntum ; and in the plains of Munda, which, at some distance from Malaga, still preserve their ancient name, encountered a resistance not unworthy the con- queror of Gaul. The day was, however, un- favourable to the sons of Pompey; the flight of the eldest served only to protract a few weeks a miserable and inglorious existence; he was pur- sued, taken, and slain by Quintus Didius, the admiral of Caesar; but the younger gained the shelter of the Celtiberian mountains; and was en- abled, by the fidelity of the fearless inhabitants, to elude the active enmity of the victor. Spain was far from acknowledging in the dis- astrous field of Munda, her own fortune. Quintus Didius, who had disembarked without caution on the coast of Lusitania, was surrounded and killed by the natives; and his death might be considered as an acceptable sacrifice to the shade of the el- der Pompey. The city of Munda endured a long and bloody siege; and was at length taken by as- sault; that of Cordova refused to open her gates but to Caesar himself. Hispalis, which boasted its foundation from Hispal, one of the ancient princes of Spain, and still subsists under the name of Seville, consented to receive a Roman garri- son; but the inhabitants, in the night, admitted a party of Lusitanians; and the Romans were attacked and slaughtered by the citizens, and HISTORY OF SPAIN. 39 their new allies. The walls of the guilty city were instantly assailed by Caesar; the Lusitanians were allured from the safeguard of the ramparts by a fictitious flight of the besiegers; and while they indulged their ardour in the pursuit, they were encompassed, and broken by the Roman cavalry; the citizens, unequal alone to the defence of their fortifications, threw themselves on the clemency of the conqueror. But though Caesar consented to spare the lives of a prostrate people, he rigidly required and exacted the riches they were possessed of; and the attachment of Spain to Pompey was atoned by the heaviest contribu- tions. - From the moment that the Roman eagles had been displayed throughout that peninsula, the Spaniards might justly complain of the insatiate avarice of their new masters; and their assiduous labour in the mines could scarcely answer the in- cessant demands of Rome. The first Africanus, after the expulsion of the Carthaginians, trans- mitted to the treasury of the republic fourteen thousand three hundred and forty pounds of silver; Lucius Lentulus collected forty-four thousand pounds of silver, and two' thousand five hun- dred of gold; Manlius twelve hundred pounds of silver; Cornelius Lentulius, in two years' admi- nistration of hither Spain, amassed fifteen hun- dred pounds of gold, and two thousand pounds 40 HISTORY OF SPAIN, of silver; while the diligence of his colleague extorted from further Spain, in the same space of time, fifty thousand pounds of silver. Within nine years, a sum equal to five hundred thousand pounds sterling, flowed from Spain into the trea- sury of Rome; and it is probable that the wealth which was diverted from the public channel by the avarice of individuals, was not much less. Yet these drains were far from exhausting the country; mention is made by Strabo, of a mine near Carthagena, which yielded every day twenty- five thousand drachms of silver, or about three hundred thousand pounds a year; and according to Pliny, twenty thousand pounds weight of gold was annually received from the provinces of As- turia, Gallicia, and Lusitania. The total reduction and preserva- tion of so wealthy a country could not but excite the attention of the Romans ; and soon after Augustus had extinguished all competition by the battle of Actium, and esta- blished himself the undisputed master of the Roman world, he visited Spain in person, and fixed his residence in the city of Tarragona. The predatory incursions of the Cantabrians and As- turians were the pretence for a war, which pro- bably was first suggested by avarice ; and the Ro- man legions were attracted into the mountainous districts of modern Biscay and Asturia, by the re- A. C. 25, 19. HISTORY OF SPAIN. 41 port of the precious metals with which they abounded. The natives defended their treasures and freedom, with a valour worthy of their an- cient renown. But the contest was too unequal to last long; twenty-three thousand of the Canta- brians were surrounded by the Romans, and com- pelled to surrender. Ten thousand of the most vigorous were incorporated among the legions, and condemned to employ their strength and cou- rage in the subjection of their countrymen; the rest were sold into servitude; but their despair disappointed the avarice of their purchasers; and the greater part embraced with alacrity a volun- tary death. The fate of the Asturians was scarce less terrible; two Roman armies entered from opposite sides their country, explored their retreats with persevering caution, and involved them in a general conflagration. The remnant that had escaped from the fire and the sword implored the clemency of the victors. From the northern ex- tremity of the Pyrenees to Cape Ortegal, the fierce tribes of Cantabria and Asturia consented to re- ceive the Roman yoke; a bridge of stone was thrown over the Iberus, to preserve the more ready communication between the provinces; and the cities of Caesar Augusta and Augusta Emerita, which still subsist under the names of Saragossa and Merida, were founded by Augustus, on the vol. 1. G. * 42 HISTORY OF SPAIN. northern extremity of the country of the Edetani, and on the banks af the river Anas. The sanguinary chastisement of the Canta- brians, had not broken their independent spirits; and five years had scarce elapsed from their late defeat, before they again rose in arms, and at- tempted to throw off the Roman yoke. Their despair summoned to the encounter Agrippa, the celebrated general, and son-in-law of Augustus; without a hope, or even a desire of pardon, the Cantabrians with tumultuous cries rushed to the charge, and the Roman legions shrunk from the first efforts of their rage. They were rallied, and conducted to victory by the example of their chief; and after a long and bloody conflict, the barba- rians yielded to the superior discipline and arms of their adversaries. Yet Agrippa confessed of the many engagements he had commanded in, this had proved the most severe and obstinate; and his victory was purchased by the lives of his bravest legionaries. Though dear, however, it was complete; and the Cantabrians were never again able to face their enemies in the field. Their strong holds were discovered and forced by the industry of the victors; their castles were levelled; they were compelled to descend from their mountains, and cultivate the plain. They were taught to prefer the slow but certain advan- tages of agriculture, to the precarious success of HISTORY OF SPAIN. 43 predatory adventure; and about two hundred years from the first invasion of Spain by the Sci- pios, the arms of Agrippa extinguished the last sparks of independence throughout that great peninsula, and reduced it to the humble condition of a province of Rome. In an age that had been distinguished by a ra- pid succession of the most uncommon revolu- tions, it is not surprising that the prudence of Augustus should divide the power of his lieute- nants, and endeavour to disarm the ambition of an individual from aspiring to empire. It was this jealousy that probably suggested the new ar- rangement of Spain, which was distributed into three provinces, Tarraconensis, Lusitania, and Boetica. Tarraconensis nearly corresponded with hither Spain, and embraced the modern countries of Gallicia and the Asturias, Biscay and Navarre, Leon and the two Castilles, Murcia, Valencia, Catalonia, and Arragon; it occupied all the nor- thern part of the peninsula, from the foot of the Pyrenees to the mouth of the Duero, where Lusi- tania commenced ; from the Duero, the confines of Lusitania were extended beyond those of the kingdom of Portugal, to the mouth of the Anas. From the Anas, Boetica stretched along the wes- tern extremity of Spain, included the city of Gades and the rocky height of Calpe, whose an- cient name is lost in that of Gibraltar; its boun- 44 HISTORY OF SPAIN. daries were marked by the mountains of Orespeda, or Sierra Morena, which envelope the source of the Boetis, and by the city of Urci, on the confines of Tarraconensis. Yet even broken and disjoint- ed, the different provinces of Spain were still ca- pable of relieving the poverty, or of satisfying the avarice of their respective governors; and the ad- ministration of them, for near four hundred years, was deemed by the Romans the most desirable re- ward of their services. CHAPTER II. State of Spain until the reign of Gallienus.-Invasion of the Franks.-Is usurped by Constantine in the reign of Hono- rius.--Is betrayed or abandoned to the Suevi, the Vandals, and the Alani.-Their devastations.—They are attacked by Adolphus.-Death of Adolphus.-Achievments of Wallia.- Ertirpates the Alani.-Vanquishes the Vandals and the Suevi. —Restores Spain to the Romans.—Exploits of the Vandals.- They defeat the Romans.—They plunder Majorca and Mi- norca.-They depart for Africa.-Devastations of the Suevi. —Theodoric, king of the Goths, marches to the relief of Spain.—His victory over the Suevi, who retire into Gallicia. –Euric, the successor of Theodoric, completes the reduction of the greater part of Spain.-He is succeeded by Alaric, who is killed in battle by Clovis. -º- FROM the division of Spain by Augustus, to the accession of Gallienus, during more than two hundred and seventy years, that country, in the humble condition of part of the Roman empire, enjoyed or abused the advantages of wealth and luxury. Twenty-five colonies which had been established by the care or interest of the parent state, soon diffused throughout the most remote 46 HISTORY OF SPAIN. districts of the peninsula, the blessings of agricul- ture, and the monuments of public splendour. The rapacity of a needy or avaricious governor, might transiently interrupt the general happiness; but the wounds which his administration could inflict were soon healed; the internal resources of the Spaniards restored their wonted prosperity; the grape and the olive were transplanted into Spain, and have flourished on the banks of the Tagus and the Boetis ; and the advanced state of Spanish husbandry under the reign of Tiberius, has been elegantly described in the treatise of Colu- mella, who was himself a Spaniard. The aque- duct of Segovia, and the stupendous bridge of Alcantara, which was thrown over the Tagus by the contribution of a few Lusitanian communities, evince the spirit and ability of the provincials to project and execute the most useful and noble undertakings; and the curious eye of the traveller may discover at Tarragona, in the ruins of the palace of Augustus, of the circus, and the am- phitheatre, the ancient magnificence of those structures. Yet it was not only by the works of art and la- bour, that Spain was distinguished above the crowd of Roman provinces; in the elegance and vigour of literary composition, she aspired to rival the parent state. Her pretensions to philosophy were substantiated by the two Senecas, who were born HISTORY OF SPAIN. 47 at Cordova; the same city might, in the birth of Lucan, boast an epic poet, deemed by the too fond partiality of his admirers, not inferior to Virgil; Florus was the offspring, and has been styled the ornament of Spain; and Bilbilis, the native city of Martial, has gradually been cor- rupted into the name of Banbola; but still serves to mark, on the banks of the Xalon, the spot where that writer first indulged the sportive sallies of his pointed wit. To obtain the palm in science and literature was no ignoble ambition ; yet, in every age, the prejudices of mankind have preferred the trophies of the warrior, to the silent but more useful la- bours of the scholar. The toils and dangers of a military life can only be compensated or con- temned by the hope of immortal fame. The generous passion was felt and displayed by Spain. Her sons urged in arms their pretensions to, and obtained the honours of the triumph. Their names were inscribed among the most illustrious of the consular senators; and Rome ratified with transport, the adoption of her emperor Nerva, when he chose from Spain a son and successor. Trajan was born at Italica, which at present sub- sists in the name of Old Seville; and his country- men might exult in a sovereign, whose virtues have been deemed not inferior to those of the Scipios. The native place of Adrian was the 48 HISTORY OF SPAIN. same as that of Trajan. The younger Antonine was also of Spanish extraction; and Spain might justly claim some glory from the lustre and happi- ness which, during their various administrations, her sons diffused over the wide extent of the Roman world. But when the gathering clouds of the north burst on the Roman empire, Spain was shaken by the violence of the tempest, and involved in the general night of darkness and calamity. The union and close confederacy of the modern kingdoms of France and Spain, a few years since, were considered as dangerous to the independence of Europe; but the name of the ancient Franks, was first revealed to the Spaniards by their hostile and destructive invasion. From the banks of the Rhine, they penetrated through the rugged passes of the Pyrenees; Tarragona, the flourishing capital of a peaceful province, was sacked, and almost destroyed; during twelve years they extended their devastations over the opulent and defenceless peninsula; nor did they abandon it, until it was no longer able to supply their pro- digal rapacity. The vessels which commerce had collected in the ports of New Carthage and Cadiz, served to transport them into Mauritania. But the traces of their blind fury, and devouring pro- gress, were long after their retreat to be discern- ed; at the beginning of the fifth century of the A. D. 260, HISTORY OF SPAIN. 49 Christian aera, Ilerda and Lerida still remained in ruins; a few wretched peasants, the sole inha- bitants of those once magnificent cities, reared their cottages amongst the fragments of palaces; and, amidst the broken columns of Roman sculp- ture, might justly accuse the wanton rage of the barbarians. Though bent by the storm, yet the grandeur of Spain was far from extinguished. The cities of Merida, Corduba, Seville, and Tarragona, still maintained their stations amongst the most illus- trious of the Roman world; and though a hundred and fifty years of peace had not totally obliterated the footsteps of the Franks, yet her natural pro- ductions had been improved by ingenuity and in- dustry; her ports were again filled by innumerable vessels; her fertility and trade attracted the ad- miration and envy of the most distant nations; and even that martial spirit, which had enabled her so long to resist the arms of Rome, seemed transiently to revive, and a hardy and faithful mi- litia, guarded with native valour and vigilance, the important passes of the Pyrenees, and repelled the frequent attempts of the Germans. When the feeble sway of Honorius. encouraged the ambition of his generals and lieutenants to usurp the imperial purple, and their rival claims consumed, in civil dissensions, that strength which might have been success- H A. D. 409, 50 HISTORY OF SPAIN. fully opposed to the fierce myriads of the north, Constantine, who had been acknowledged by the armies of Gaul and Britain, achieved also the conquest, or received the submission of Spain. The only resistance he encountered was from the private zeal of the family of Theodosius. The four brothers, after an unsuccessful effort to main- tain their ground, at the head of the stationary troops of Lusitania, retired to their estates, where they levied and armed, at their own expence, a considerable body of slaves and dependants, and occupied the strong passes of the Pyrenean moun- tains. They were encompassed, cut off, and des- troyed by the promiscuous band of Scots, of Moors, and Marcomanni, who had been allured into his service by the liberality of Constantine. Yet the reign of the usurper was short; and before his death he was mortified by the revolt of Spain, which, at the influence of his general, Gerontius, invested Maximus with the imperial purple. The same fate involved Constantine, Maximus, and Gerontius; and they were overwhelmed by the superior fortune or genius of Constantius, the general, and afterwards the brother-in-law of Honorius. The mercenary troops of Constantine, who had been intrusted with the defence of the passes of the Pyrenees, were, on the death of that usurper, induced, either by the conscious- A. D. 413. HISTORY OF SPAIN. 51 ness of their guilt, or by the hopes of rapine, to abandon their station; and about ten months be- fore the sack of Rome by the Goths, the Suevi, the Vandals, and the Alani, poured through the straits of the mountains. It is doubtful whether they were invited by treachery, or attracted by negligence; but their irruption was followed by the most dreadful calamities: the barbarians ex- ercised their indiscriminate cruelty on the fortunes of the Romans and the Spaniards; and ravaged, with equal fury, the cities and the open country. The progress of famine reduced the miserable in- habitants to the dreadful necessity of feeding on the flesh of their fellow creatures; and even the wild beasts, who multiplied without controul in the desert, were exasperated by the taste of blood, and the impatience of hunger, boldly to attack and devour their human prey. Pestilence soon appeared, the inseparable companion of famine; a large proportion of the people was swept away; and so lamentable was their condition, that the groans of the dying excited only the envy of their surviving friends. At length the barbarians, sa- tiated with carnage and rapine, and afflicted by the contagious evils which they themselves had introduced, fixed their permanent seats in the de- populated country. The ancient Gallicia, whose limits include the kingdom of Castile, was di- vided between the Suevi and the Wandals; the 52 HISTORY OF SPAIN. Alani were scattered over the provinces of Cartha- gena and Lusitania, from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean; and the fruitful territory of Boetica was allotted to the Silingi, another branch of the Vandalic nation. After regulating this par- tition, the conquerors contracted with their new subjects some reciprocal engagements of protection and obedience; the lands were again cultivated; and the towns and villages were again occupied by a captive people. The greater part of the Spa- niards were even disposed to prefer their new con- dition of poverty and barbarism, to the severe op- pressions of the Roman government. Yet there were many who still asserted their native freedom; and who refused, more especially in the moun- tains of Gallicia, to submit to the barbarian yoke. Such, according to an eloquent historian of that country, was the miserable state of Spain, when the same means were employed to restore her to the subjection of Rome, as had been ex- erted to wrest her from it. Adolphus, the brother- in-law of the renowned Alaric, had been unani- mously chosen to succeed to the vacant throne of the Goths. He professed his intention to em- ploy his sword not to subvert, but to re-establish and maintain the prosperity of the Roman em- pire; and he was confirmed in his attachment to the cause of the republic, by the ascendancy which a Roman princess had acquired over his HISTORY OF SPAIN. 53 heart and understanding. He admired his cap- tive Placidia, the daughter of the great Theodo- sius, and the sister of the emperor Honorius. Placidia yielded without reluctance to the desires of a conqueror young and valiant; and her mar- riage with the Gothic king was celebrated in the presence of Italy. Adolphus marched against the tyrants beyond the Alps; and Honorius ac- cepted from his hand, the grateful present of the heads of the brothers Jovinus and Sebastian, who had assumed in Gaul the imperial purple. It is probable that the Roman empe- a. p. 411. ror regarded with jealousy the mili- * tary services of his brother-in-law; and the pru- dence of his counsellors was displayed in the re- moval of Adolphus from the peaceful plenty of Italy. The Gothic king was persuaded to turn his victorious arms against the barbarians in Spain; and to undertake the conquest of that peninsula, as the ally of Honorius. From Gaul he passed the Pyrenees; and surprised, in the name of the emperor, the city of Barcelona. But he had scarce time to exult in his success, before he fell the victim of domestic treason: he had im- prudently received into his service one of the followers of Sarus, a barbarian chief, who had been sacrificed by Adolphus, to a long and he- reditary enmity ; the death of Sarus was avenged by that of Adolphus, who perished in his pa- 54 HISTORY OF SPAIN. lace of Barcelona by the hand of the daring as- sassin; and Singeric, the brother of Sarus, in the moment of consternation usurped the Gothic throne, put to death the children of his predecessor, and compelled Placidia to attend on foot, through the streets of Barcelona, the triumph of her con- sort's murderer. A. D. 415, The cruelty of Singeric probably * hastened his destruction; seven days af. ter his usurpation, he also in his turn perished by the resentment of an individual; and the Gothic sceptre was, by the choice of the nation, commit- ted to Wallia. From Barcelona, the new monarch marched in arms through the modern provinces of Valencia, Murcia, and Grenada; and from the rock, that is now covered by the fortress of Gib- raltar, he revolved the invasion of the opposite coast of Africa. He was diverted from the en- terprise by a violent tempest, and by the remon- strances of the imperial court; and immediately after, in a solemn treaty, Wallia engaged to imi- tate the example of Adolphus, and to draw his sword in the service of Honorius. The barbarian princes of Spain were animated by the same pas- sions, and were excited by the same pretensions; the flames of war blazed forth from the foot of the Pyrenees to the mouth of the Boetis. The con- tending chiefs are said to have addressed their let- ters, their ambassadors, and their hostages, to the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 55 throne of the western emperor, exhorting him to remain a tranquil spectator of their contest, the events of which must be favourable to the Romans, by the slaughter of their common enemies. The superior genius and fortune of Wallia established his triumph; yet it was not until the valour of his Gothic followers had been approved in three ob- stinate and bloody campaigns, that his competi- tors acknowledged his claims to conquest. The province of Boetica, which had been the scene of devastation to, became the grave of the Silingi. Lusitania was strewed with the slaughtered Alani, whose king perished on the fatal field. The rem- nant of the Scythian wanderers, who escaped from the sword of the Goths, ranged themselves under the standard of the Vandals and the Suevi; yet neither the kindred strength of the Wandals, nor the more desperate courage of the Suevi, could avail them against the martial ardour of Wallia. After a variety of unsuccessful engagements, the promiscuous herd of the barbarians were driven into the mountains of Gallicia. A broken and in- tractable country opposed the pursuit of the vic- tor; and within a narrow compass, it might be reasonably expected, that the mutual jealousy of the rival warriors would precipitate their destruc- tion. The most wealthy cities of Spain recom- pensed the toils of the warlike Goths; and it is probable that Wallia indulged his followers in 56 HISTORY OF SPAIN. an ample privilege of rapine, before he fulfilled his engagements, and restored his Spanish con- quests to the obedience of Rome; even then the natives regretted the fidelity with which he execut- ed the conditions he had subscribed; and they asserted, that the violence of their barbarian con- querors, was to be preferred to the steady and in- defatigable extortion of their Roman governors. A, D. 428. Honorius had in person triumphed * for the advantages that had been ob- tained by the conduct or courage of Wallia; yet but a short time elapsed between his celebration of the conquest, and his final loss of the kingdom of Spain. The Vandals, on the retreat of the Goths, had emerged from their fastnesses in the mountains of Gallicia. The Suevi who had pre- sumed to oppose, were the early sacrifice to their valour and renown ; they quitted the ungrateful country between Leon and Oviedo, to revel in the plenty of the plains of Boetica; the ap- proach of Castinus, with a numerous army of Goths and Romans, excited their ardour, rather than awakened their fears; the degenerated Ro- mans probably fled; and if the Goths asserted their former reputation, their obstinacy only serv- ed to swell the slaughter. The presumptuous Cas- tinus found shelter in the walls of Tarragona; and it is most likely that he soon passed over into Italy. Seville and Carthagena opened their gates to the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 57 victorious Vandals; and the vessels, which the northern warriors found collected in the port of the latter, tempted them to undertake a new, and not less profitable enterprise. The name of the Baleares, was limited to the two islands of the Mediterranean, opposite to the shore of Valencia, which, from their different ex- tent, obtained, and have preserved the expressive appellation of Majorca and Minorca. They had been early occupied by the Phoenicians; had, from the time of Scipio Africanus, been conquered and possessed by the Romans; and during the irrup- tion and bloody contest of the barbarians, had be- come the asylum to the most opulent Spaniards, who had retreated thither, from the tempest of war, with their families and most valuable effects. The thirst of plunder allured the Vandals to sur- mount their native aversion, and to commit them- selves to the perils of the sea. They probably availed themselves of a favourable wind; and, with a steady breeze, they might in twelve hours accomplish a navigation of scarce four-score miles. The wretched fugitives, who trusted to the pro- tection of the elements instead of arms, were stripped of the remnant of their former opulence; and the Vandal fleet, laden with spoil, steered back its successful course into the ports of Spain. The barbarians renewed their depredations; but their active rapacity had already exhausted the WOL. I. I 58 HISTORY OF SPAIN. country; and they listened with pleasure to the invitation of the governor of Africa, whose per- sonal resentment solicited them to the invasion of that province. The vessels to transport them across the straits of Gibraltar were furnished by the Spaniards, who anxiously wished for their de- parture, and by the African general, who impa- tiently awaited their arrival; yet before he quitted the coast, Genseric, the king of the Vandals, ad- monished Spain, by one instance of tremendous vengeance, how dangerous it was to provoke his resentment. Hermanric, the king of the Suevi, had descended from the mountains of Gallicia, and presumed to ravage the Spanish territories, which the Vandalic monarch was resolved to aban- don. Impatient of the insult, Genseric pursued the hasty retreat of the Suevi as far as Merida, precipitated the king and his army into the river Anas, and calmly returned to the sea-shore, to embark his victorious troops. The retreat of the Vandals was far from achieving the deliverance, or esta- blishing the tranquillity of Spain. The Suevi deplored their monarch, and the bravest of their warriors, overwhelmed in the waters of the Anas; but they reviewed, with pleasure, the numbers which still survived in the mountains of Gallicia. They gradually issued from their dark recesses, and indulged in the plenty of the plains. About A. D. 456. IHISTORY OF SPAIN. 59 thirty years from the departure of Genseric, their increasing strength, under their king Rechiarius, afflicted the provinces of Carthagena and Tarra- gona, and threatened to extinguish the feeble re- mains of the Roman dominions in Spain. The emperor of the west was moved by the cries of the oppressed Spaniards; but the effeminate Ro- mans would not have presumed to have met in arms the hardy emigrants from beyond the stream of the Elbe. The chastisement of the latter was intrusted to a stronger hand. The sister of Theodoric, the king of the Goths, had been mar- ried to the king of the Suevi; but the Gothic prince preferred the ties of public, to those of private connexion: as the ally of Avitus he de- clared, unless his brother-in-law immediately re- tired from the imperial territories in Spain, he would arm in support of the pretensions of Rome. His menaces were derided by the fierce Rechia- rius: “Tell him,” replied the haughty king of the Suevi, “that I despise his friendship, and his “arms; and that I shall soon try whether he will “dare to expect my arrival under the walls of “Thoulouse,” The martial impatience of Theo- doric allowed him not to wait the promised at- tack of his adversary; and his policy might sug- gest to him to keep Rechiarius involved in all the disadvantages of a defensive war. But though he undertook the expedition, as the obedient sol- 60 HISTORY OF SPAIN. dier of the emperor of the west, he was not in- different to the motives of interest or ambition; and he privately stipulated for himself and his successors, the absolute possession of his Spanish conquests. At the head of a promiscuous army of Visigoths, Franks, and Burgundians, Theo- doric passed the Pyrenees; and on the banks of the river Urbicus, about twelve miles from As- torga, he was encountered by Rechiarius; but the fortune or the numbers of the Suevi were un- equal to the contest; a people whose dexterity and valour had challenged the admiration of the first Caesar, and whose arms the immortal gods themselves had been deemed incapable of resist- ing, scorned readily to yield; and such were the bloody consequences of their resolution, that their name and kingdom appeared for a while extirpated by the victory of the Goths. Braga, their metropolis, was compelled to open her gates to the victor; and though the lives of her citi- zens, and the chastity of her virgins were re- spected, the moderation which fettered his cruel- ty and lust was incapable of restraining avarice. The greater part of the clergy and people were sold into servitude; and the churches and the al- tars were confounded in the general pillage. From the former renown, and the subsequent conduct of Rechiarius, it is not to be supposed that he quitted ingloriously the disastrous field : HISTORY OF SPAIN. 6 | and his flight to one of the ports of the ocean, might be stimulated by the hopes of returning from the store-house of the north, with new swarms of martial adventurers, to avenge the fate of his slaughtered subjects; but the unfavourableness of the winds opposed his escape, and he was delivered to his implacable rival. In the moment of tri- umph Theodoric either forgot, or was indifferent to the domestic peace of his sister, in the execu- tion of Rechiarius; and the latter, without mur- muring, submitted to the mortal stroke, with a firmness worthy of the nation he had ruled over. The Suvei had been vanquished in battle, and confined again in obscurity to the mountains of Gallicia; and the natives of Spain neither hoped, nor endeavoured to stop the progress of the con- queror. Without meeting with any resistance, he penetrated as far as Lerida, the principal town of Lusitania; but he was diverted from the en- tire conquest of Spain, by the intelligence of a new revolution in Italy; Avitus was no longer emperor; and the interest and honour of Theo- doric were deeply wounded by the deposition of his friend and ally. He directed his march again towards the Pyrenees; and in his retreat were displayed the marks of his disappointment. The city of Astorga was doomed again to feel his pre- sence; the Goths gleaned with industry what had escaped them in their former pillage; and 62 HISTORY OF SPAIN. they reaped a new and plentiful harvest in the spoil of the wealthy city of Palentia. A. p. g. The conquest that had eluded the * grasp of Theodoric, was seized by the hand of his brother Euric. He was stained with fratricide; but in an age of violence, his martial spirit atoned for his want of moral virtues. He wielded the Gothic sceptre with vigour and suc- cess; and Spain was first doomed to feel the weight of his arm. He passed the Pyrenees, at the head of a numerous host; and occupied by force or fraud the powerful cities of Pampeluna and Sara- gossa. But the warlike nobles of the province of Tarraconensis refused tamely to yeld to the inva- der; and in a field of battle they presumed to maintain, with bloody obstinacy, their independ- ence. They were vanquished, rather by the su- perior numbers, than the valour of their adversa- ries; and Euric, animated by victory, penetrated into the heart of Lusitania; but he still respected, in the mountains of Gallicia, the hardy warriors of Saxony; Rosimund, who reigned over the Suevi, had married the daughter of Theodoric; the ties of blood might prompt him to avenge the murder of his father-in-law; but the more powerful dic- tates of policy and interest, warned him to decline the contest with the Gothic king. A mutual league of amity was projected and subscribed; and the Suevi were suffered to remain in the pos- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 63 session of Gallicia, whilst the rest of the extensive peninsula of Spain acknowledged the independent authority of Euric. A country which forms one of the A. p.m., most considerable states of modern Eu- * rope, was incapable of satisfying the ambition of Euric; he disdained to fix the seat of his sove- reignty in Spain; he repassed the Pyrenees; and the southern provinces of Gaul were the reward of his address and valour. When Odoacer, sur- named the Mercenary, usurped the kingdom of Italy, he resigned to Euric all the Roman con- quests beyond the Alps, as far as the Rhine and the ocean. The prodigal donation was confirmed, without any loss of power or revenue, by the senate; and under their new sovereign, the Gothic king might aspire to the dominion of Spain and Gaul. His court was established in the modern city of Bourdeaux; and the crowd of ambassadors and suppliants who waited before the gates of his palace, attested his influence and renown. The Heruli, of the distant ocean, who painted their naked bodies with its cerulean colour, implored his protection; and the Saxons respected the mari- time provinces of a prince who was destitute of auy naval force; the Burgundians submitted to his authority; and the Franks, who had provoked his enmity, received from him the conditions of peace; the Wandals of Africa sought his friend- 64 HISTORY OF SPAIN. ship; and it supported the Ostrogoths of Pan- nonia against the oppression of the neighbouring Huns. His nod excited or appeased the savage tribes of the north; the great king of Persia had recourse to the wisdom of his counsels, or the weight of his mediation; Rome, so late the mis- tress of the world, was anxious to conciliate his favour; and the effeminate Italians who dwelt on the shores of the Tyber, were defended by the king of the Goths, who reigned on the banks of the Garonne. . In the full possession of power and prosperity, Euric expired; and the throne of the Visigoths was inadequately filled by the feeble youth of his son Alaric. The Franks, beneath their monarch Clovis, from the neighbourhood of the Meuse and the Scheld, the Moselle and the Rhine, had ex- tended their conquests to the southern banks of the Seine. Syagrius, a noble Roman, who ruled with the authority at least, if not with the title of king, over the city and diocese of Soissons, with Rheims and Troyes, Beauvais and Amiens, had been van- quished by them in battle, his dominions seized, and himself compelled to seek refuge in the court of Alaric. The timid counsellors of that prince yielded to the menaces of Clovis, and their own fears, and Syagrius was basely delivered up to the implacable victor. The unworthy concession, instead of conciliat- HISTORY OF SPAIN. G5 ing the friendship, served only to inflame the ambition of the king of the Franks. The Visi- goths had embraced the doctrines of Arius, who, in the mysterious and abstruse question of the Trinity, reverenced the Son, but denied him to be equal to the Father. The Franks had been influenced by the example of their sovereign, had been purified in the baptismal font from the errors of Paganism, and endeavoured to atone for their tardy conversion by their zeal for orthodoxy. The guilt of Arianism in Alaric was heightened by his possession of the most fertile provinces of Gaul; no ties nor treaties, however sacred, could bind a prince whose ambition was sanctioned by the name of religion; and in the moment of peace and alli- ance, Clovis rushed forwards to surprise and op- press the king of the Visigoths. Though Alaric was destitute of mi- a. p. go. litary experience, in personal courage he was not inferior to his aspiring rival. The Visi- goths, long disused to war, resumed their arms, and ranged themselves round the standard of their youthful king; but their valour was in vain. opposed to the discipline and veteran intrepidity of the Franks. The decisive battle was fought on the banks of the Clain, about ten miles to the south of Portiers; the Goths were totally routed, and pursued with cruel slaughter. Alaric, dis- daining to fly, rushed against his royal antagonist, K 66 HISTORY OF SPAIN. and obtained an honourable death from the hand of Clovis. Aquitain submitted to the victor; his winter quarters were established at Bourdeaux; in the ensuing spring Thoulouse surrendered; and the siege of Arles was formed and closely pressed by the Franks. The kingdom of the Visigoths in Gaul was shaken to its foundations; and its total overthrow was solely averted by the policy or gene- rous pity of Theodoric, the Ostrogoth; who, with the concurrence of the Roman emperor of the east, had delivered Italy from the usurpation of Odoacer the Mercenary, and erected in it the seat of his own independent sovereignty. The Ostrogoths marched with alacrity to rescue from destruction the kindred warriors encompassed in Arles; with the loss of thirty thousand men, Clovis was com- pelled to retire from the walls of that city. Theo- doric declared himself the protector and guardian of the infant son of Alaric; the weighty media- tion was respected by Clovis; yet he still retained the greatest part of his late acquisitions; and from the Garonne to the Loire, the ample province of Aquitain was indissolubly united to the French monarchy. CHAP. III. --sºm- Reign of Amalaric.—Administration and reign of Theudes.— The Visigoths elect Theodigele.—He is assassinated.—Civil war in Spain.—Athanegilde, with the assistance of the Ro- mans, obtains the crown.—He is succeeded by Liuva and Leovigild.—Leovigild carries on a successful war with the Romans in Spain.--His sons Hermenigild and Recared are declared princes of the Goths.--Submission of the Cantabri- ans, &c.—Marriage and conversion of Hermenigild.—He rebels against his father.—Is vanquished and imprisoned.— Escapes from imprisonment.—Civil war.— Hermenigild is again made captive.—He negociates with the Romans.—He is put to death.-Extinction of the kingdom of the Suevi in Spain.—Character and death of Leovigild. -º- AMIDs.T the tempest which had agi- A. D. 509. tated Gaul, Spain had enjoyed a tran- 512. sient suspension from hostility; but her peace was wounded by the unhappy fate of Alaric, and after the siege of Arles, the chiefs of the Visigoths con- veyed with faithful care their infant monarch Ama- laric across the Pyrenees, and established his court in Spain. But the authority of Amalaric was dis- puted by the ambition and mature years of his bastard brother Gesalaic. It was in Gaul that 68 HISTORY OF SPAIN. Gesalaic first erected the standard of opposition; but being defeated and expelled by the Burgundians, he explored the passes of the Pyrenees, with a martial band of barbarians, whom his personal qua- lities or splendid promises had attached to his cause, and occupied the city of Barcelona. He was dri- ven thence by the general of Theodoric, who had followed on his steps to defend the throne of Ama- laric. Vanquished in battle, he escaped with dif- ficulty to Carthagena; and with a few adherents passed over into Africa. He was enabled, by the liberality of the Vandals, again to penetrate into Spain; and within four miles of Barcelona, a bat- tle was fought which finally extinguished his hopes and life. His death on the field, or in the pursuit, left Amalaric without a rival; but his feeble years were incapable of sustaining the weight of govern- ment; and the virtues of Theudes, a noble Ostro- goth, were confessed by the Visigoths themselves, who committed to him the protection of their youthful king, and the administration of Spain. A. º.º. During the time that the reins of go- vernment were held by the hand of Theu- des, the prosperity of Spain attested his justice and ability; but no sooner had Amalarie at- tained to manhood, than Theudes retired from the high station he had occupied, probably not without a sigh, but certainly without a struggle. The marriage of Amalaric with Clotilda, the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 69 daughter of Clovis, seemed to secure the amity, but soon provoked the hostilities of the Franks and Visigoths. The orthodox Clotilda despised her Arian consort; and her intemperate piety summoned her brother to the invasion of her husband's dominions in Gaul. The Visigoths who had attempted to stem the torrent of the Franks, were overwhelmed by its fury; and de- feated in battle, Amalaric himself escaped with difficulty to the city of Narbonne. It is doubt- ful whether he perished by the cruelty of the victors, or, on his return to Barcelona, the con- tempt of his subjects prompted his assassination; but his death finally closed the line of the first and great Alaric. The throne of the Visigoths in Spain, which hitherto had been considered as hereditary, must hereafter be regarded as elective; and a people who had already experienced the illustrious qualities of Theudes, were impatient to avail themselves again of his justice and mo- deration; and, by their unanimous suffrages, pro- claimed him their sovereign. Even the wisdom and firmness of , p. 530 Theudes were unequal to the difficulties º' and dangers that arose on every side. The sons of Clovis had pursued their victorious career from the banks of the Garonne to the foot of the Pyre- nees; those mountains which separate Spain from Gaul, were incapable of protecting the former; 70 HISTORY OF SPAIN. the passes were either forced or betrayed; and the Franks penetrated to the walls of Saragossa. The inhabitants of that city ransomed their lives with their wealth; and the invaders, encumbered with spoil, slowly pointed their march back to- wards the Pyrenees. The prudence of Theudes had resisted the ardour of his subjects; and he had refused to commit to the chance of battle the independence of Spain; but he watched and im- proved the moment of retreat : his squadrons hung upon, and repeatedly assailed the rear of the Franks; and it was only by the sacrifice of the greatest part of their plunder, that the sons of Clovis were permitted to repass in safety the Pyrenean mountains, - While Theudes was occupied in repelling the invasion of the Franks, a revolution, as sudden as extraordinary, had overthrown the kingdom of the Vandals in Africa, and restored that opulent province to the obedience of the Roman emperor. The king of the Vandals had in vain solicited the assistance of Spain, against an enemy whose pretensions might extend to all that once was comprised under the name of the Roman world; and the refusal of Theudes, which has been as- cribed to supineness, may be accounted for by the hostile enterprise of the Franks. But no sooner was Spain delivered from the Gallic inun- dation, than the eyes of Theudes were turned on HISTORY OF SPAIN. 71 Africa. On the opposite point to Gibraltar, the fortress of Ceuta, in the kingdom of Fez, is still maintained by modern Spain. In the time of Justinian, it had either been acquired by treaty or by force by the Visigoths; but when the Ro- man genius prevailed over that of the Vandals, it had been reduced by Belisarius, the renowned general of Justinian, and whose victories have en- titled him to the appellation of the third Africanus. The recovery of Ceuta was the object of the pre- parations of Theudes; a narrow strait of about twelve miles, through which the Atlantic flows into the Mediterranean Sea, divides alone the continent of Africa from the peninsula of Spain; the expedition was conducted by the king in person; and Ceuta was invested by the joint for- ces of the Spaniards and Visigoths. But though an Arian, the piety of Theudes was displayed in the strict observance of the sabbath, as a day of rest and devotion; the besieged, less scrupulous, availed themselves of the holy forbearance of their adversaries ; they sallied from their walls, and spread terror and slaughter through the camp, which was engaged in fervent prayer. The loss of the Goths must have been considerable, since it induced Theudes to raise the siege and return into Spain; he did not long survive his disgrace; he was stabbed in his own palace by an assassin, whose motives have eluded the diligence of his- 72 HISTORY OF SPAIN. tory ; he languished a few days after he received the wound; and maintained in his last moments, the character of Christian resignation and forgive- ness, by freely subscribing the pardon of the guilty author of his death. • * A. D. 548, The Visigoths, on his decease, again * asserted their right of free election; and their suffrages filled the vacant throne with Theo- digild, who had distinguished his valour in the invasion of the Franks ; but the renown of the soldier was stained by the lust of the tyrant; and the wives and daughters of his most illustrious subjects were violated by his brutal passion. He fell a victim to a conspiracy of jealous husbands, after having exercised or abused the regal autho- rity about a year and five months. - A. D. 550, The conspirators, in a tumultuous *'' assembly, raised to the throne Agila, who was probably associated in their injuries and resentment; but great part of Spain refused to ratify their choice. The city of Cordova was the first to arm against the partial election; and her inhabitants sallying from their gates, attacked and defeated Agila, who, at the head of a nume- rous army, had advanced to besiege them. The flame of discontent was fanned by the breath of Athanagilde, a noble Goth, who improved to his own advantage the rising disaffection. But his haste to wrest the sceptre from the hand of his HISTORY OF SPAIN. 73 rival, betrayed him into a measure unworthy of his own fame, and injurious to the interest of his country; he solicited the assistance of Justinian ; and engaged, in return for his support, to cede to him several cities on the shores of the ocean and the Mediterranean; the Roman troops that were dispatched to his aid, enabled him to tri- umph in battle over Agila; the latter had sought refuge after his defeat, within the fortifications of Merida; but he soon experienced the fate of unfortunate princes; and the citizens of Merida secured the pardon and favour of Athanagilde, by presenting to him the head of Agila. In the city of Toledo, Athanagilde fixed the seat of the royal residence; and, by a just and le- nient administration, reigned in the hearts of his subjects. But the tranquillity of his government was interrupted by the rapacity of those he had invited to his protection. The Romans, from their fortresses, oppressed the country round; and the cries of his people summoned Athanagilde to arms. It is probable that he prepared with reluc- tance, to march against an enemy to whose va- lour he was indebted for his crown; yet no sooner was the war commenced, than he acted in it with vigour and ability; he wrested several of their fastnesses from the Romans; but the latter were fortified in many of their impregnable stations, by perpetual supplies from Africa. Opposite to that WOL. I. I, s 74 HISTORY OF SPAIN. continent they still maintained their ground, and waited an opportunity to inflame the civil and religious factions of the barbarians. Seventy years elapsed before this painful thorn could be extirpated from the bosom of the monarchy; and as long as the emperors retained any share of these remote possessions, their vanity might num- ber Spain in the list of their provinces. Two daughters, Brunchant and Goisvintha, who were married to the princes of Austrasia and Soissons, and became famous for their vices or misfortunes, were the only issue of the nuptial bed of Athanagilde; his reign had continued eigh- teen years, when in his palace of Toledo he breathed his last; and the zealous wishes of the orthodox writers of that age have asserted, that before his death he abjured the errors of Arian- ism, and embraced the pure doctrines of the Ca- tholic church. - A. p. 587. Five months of anarchy succeeded his * death, and served to endear to the natives of Spain the advantages of a temperate monarchy; the eyes of the nobility, in the choice of a succes- sor to Athanagilde, were directed across the Pyre- nees. Some remains of the Gothic kingdom in Gaul had yet eluded, or withstood, the ambitious enterprises of the Franks; and Luiva, to whose government they were entrusted, must, in the arduous station, have discovered no common abili- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 75 ties, since at a distance, and without intrigue, they recommended him to the throne of Spain. The moderation with which he received the intel- ligence of his election, was the best proof that he deserved it; he still remained to watch over the safety of the provinces of Gaul; and he pro- posed, and obtained the consent of his subjects, to associate in the royal dignity his brother Leovigild. Fraternal affection might first have prompted his choice; but Spain confessed that the virtues of Leovigild deserved a crown; and after Luiva was no more, the whole dominions of the Visigoths were united under the sway of a prince, who in peace merited the love of his peo- ple, and in war extorted the admiration of his enemies. The moment of enterprise had been seized and improved by the Romans; and during the sus- pense and confusion of an interregnum, their arms had advanced from the shores of the sea into the inland country. Their banners were displayed on the walls of Medina Sidonia, in the province of Andalusia, and from the towers of Cordova, which overshadow the stream of the Boetis. But their pride was soon broken by the vigour of Leo- vigild. After an obstinate resistance, he entered Medina Sidonia as a conqueror, and the slaughter of the rebellious inhabitants struck terror through- out the principal cities of Spain. Yet Cordova, t 76 HISTORY OF SPAIN. confident in the strength of her walls, and the valour of her citizens, ventured to brave the re- sentment of her sovereign; and it was not until after a long siege, and that the dexterous intro- duction of gold had cooled the ardour, and dis- tracted the inclinations of her inhabitants, that the gates were opened to Leovigild. But the surren- der of Cordova determined the submission of the other cities; the imperial garrisons were expelled, and the Romans were again confined to their for- tresses on the coasts of the sea. It was the natural desire of Leovigild to per- petuate the crown in his own family. To fortify his title, he had espoused Goisvintha, the widow of Athanigilde; but his hopes were reposed on Hermenigild and Recared, his two sons by a for- mer marriage. He intimated the necessity of providing against the same anarchy as Spain had experienced after the death of Athanigilde; his wishes were understood and gratified; and Her- menigild and Recared were called to the certain succession of the throne, by the title of Princes of the Goths. - - In the hilly country of Biscay, and in the mountains of Orospeda, which, with the modern name of Sierra Morena, envelope the sources of the Boetis, a hardy race of freebooters, the de- scendants of the Cantabrians, still preserved the manners and tone of independence. They were. HISTORY OF SPAIN. 77 however, reclaimed to civil life and obedience by the persevering courage of Leovigild; and the Suevi, who had presumed to arm in their support, were compelled to appease the resentment of the victor by their immediate submission. But the satisfaction which Leovigild derived from the success of his military labours, was im- bittered by female passion and religious rancour. His eldest son, Hermenigild, who, with the royal diadem, had been invested by his father with the principality of Boetica, had contracted an honour- able and orthodox alliance with a Merovingian princess, the daughter of Sigebert, king of Aus- trasia, and of the famous Brunchant. The beau- teous Ingundis, who was no more than sixteen years of age, was received with respect, but was soon exposed to the persecution of the Arian court of Toledo. Her grandmother, Goisvintha, who, by her second marriage with Leovigild, was doubly bound to her protection, became her most implacable enemy. The Gothic queen is repre- sented as deformed in her person, blind of one eye, fierce, vindictive, and inexorable; and to her aversion to the religious principles of Ingundis, might be added her envy of a young and charming princess, whose features and person were the ob- jects of universal admiration. Ingundis refused to sacrifice the faith she had been educated in to the menaces of Goisvintha; who, incensed by her 78 HISTORY OF SPAIN. resistance, seized her by the hair, inhumanly dashed her against the ground, kicked her till she was covered with blood, and at last gave orders that she should be stripped and thrown into a bason, or fish-pond. Love and honour might ex- cite Hermenigild to resent this injurious treat- ment of his bride; and he was gradually persuaded that Ingundis suffered for the cause of divine truth. Her tender complaints, and the weighty arguments of Leander, archbishop of Seville, accomplished his conversion; and the heir of the Gothic monar- chy was initiated in the Nicene faith by the solemn rites of confirmation. The bigoted spirit of Goisvintha allowed not Hermenigild to hope that he might cultivate the new doctrines he had espoused in humble security; and it is probable that the zeal of the Catholics of Spain urged him to violate the duties of a son and a subject. He drew the sword against his sove- reign and his father; and his rebellion was sup- ported by the powerful and orthodox nation of the Vascones, who inhabited the modern kingdom of Navarre. Yet Hermenigild was persuaded soon after to submit, by the remonstrances of his brother Recared; he was sent a prisoner to Tole- do; and Leovigild entered in arms the country of the Vascones. His success is attested by the city of Victoria, which he founded; and his severity may be conjectured from the numbers of the inha- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 79 bitants who quitted their native seats; the country was indeed recovered by Leovigild; but the peo- ple still refused to submit to his government; they passed the Pyrenees; possessed themselves of, and multiplied in, part of Aquitain; and, with some little corruption, still preserve their origin in the appellation of Gascons. While the martial Vascones occupied the at- tention of Leovigild, his son Hermenigild had eluded the vigilance of his guards, and escaped from Toledo. He had perhaps flattered himself, when he surrendered to his father, that he should have been soon restored to his confidence and af- fection; but he found himself a prisoner in the midst of a city which he might regard as his future capital; and exposed to the insults, and deadly machinations of his mother-in-law, Gois- vintha. He had no sooner regained his freedom, than he prepared to defend it by the sword. Not- withstanding the emigration of the Vascones, the Catholics of Spain were yet numerous; the cities of Merida, Cordova, and Seville, strenuously es- poused the party of Hermenigild; and he invited - to his assistance the orthodox barbarians, the Suevi, and the Franks; but the formidable con- federacy was broken by the active vigour of Leo- vigild; the passes of the Pyrenees were strictly guarded against the Franks; the march of the Suevi was intercepted by the Gothic king in per- 80. HISTORY OF SPAIN. son; and they were constrained to retire within their own limits. The sieges of Merida, Seville, and Cordova, were successively formed, and press- ed with ardour. Their obstinacy long protracted the civil war; and it was not until they had ex- perienced the extreme misery of famine, that they consented to open their gates. The walls of Cor- dova had been the last resource of Hermenigild; and when that city surrendered, he became the captive of an exasperated father. Leovigild was still mindful of that sacred character; the life of his son was spared, and he was conveyed in chains to Tarragona. From the place of his imprisonment, Hermen- igild contrived to keep up a dangerous correspon- dence with the court of Constantinople: his am- bassador was the archbishop Leander, who had been the instrument of his conversion; he solicited the Romans, who possessed Africa, and a part of the Spanish coast, to the conquest of his native land; his negociation reached the ears of Leovi- gild; and the restless prince was removed from Tarragona, to a strong tower in the city of Se- ville; an Arian bishop was sent to him, to per- suade him to embrace once more his former faith; but the constancy of Hermenigild was inflexible; and he refused to accept the Arian communion as the price of safety and freedom. In his declining years, Leovigild might be jealous of the future HISTORY OF SPAIN. 81 spiritual welfare of his people; his holy fears might be improved by the address of Goisvintha, and he commanded the execution of his Catholic son. If his rigour was fatal to the life, it was favourable to the fame of Hermenigild; and the stubborn rebel, and undutiful son, was, by the admiration of the orthodox clergy of his age, translated into a martyr and a saint. The tardy repentance of the parent was soon drowned by the sound of the trumpet. The Suevi had often provoked and appeased his resentment; but the hour of clemency was passed, and the monarch who had sternly resisted the emotions of nature, was not likely to yield to the sugges- tions of pity. Policy and ambition fortified Leo- vigild against all the submissive professions of the Suevi ; and the latter, distracted by domestic fac- tion, were incapable of withstanding the torrent of the Goths. Their hereditary prince, Eboric, had been deposed by the enterprising genius of Andaca; and the usurper Andaca was, in his turn, overthrown by the stronger arm of Leovigild. His head was shaved; and that restless spirit, which could not be satisfied in the condition of a subject, was for ever confined within the walls of a monastery. The power of the Suevi in Spain was finally broken and extinguished; Braga, their capital, averted the horrors of an assault by a timely capitulation; and, with the exception of a VOL. I. M 82. HISTORY OF SPAIN. few fortresses on the coast, which were held by the Romans, the whole Spanish peninsula was united under the dominion of Leovigild. The conquest of the Suevi of Spain, was the last of the military labours of Leovigild. But it was not in war only, that his administration was entitled to praise; in the hour of peace also, his subjects confessed and dreaded his severe and equal justice. He revised the laws that had been neglected from the death of Alaric; repealed such as had become useless; and promulgated new ones, adapted to the temper and genius of his people. He introduced discipline into his armies, and re- gularity into his finances ; and watched with jea- lous care over the regal dignity. He endeavoured to subdue the bold and free imagination of his subjects, by a studied ostentation; and Leovigild was the first of the Visigoth kings, who was dis- tinguished by the splendour and magnificence of his robes; but whatever state he might assume in public, in private he maintained his wonted sim- plicity; and his frugality and temperance were the sources of his wealth, and his vigour in old age. A short time before his death, Leovigild is said to have reconciled himself to the Catholic church; and Leander, archbishop of Seville, who had been so instrumental in the conversion of the son, is reported to have influenced that of the fa- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 83 ther. The rumour was readily embraced by the policy of Recared; but the improbable tale has been rejected by the most judicious historians. The rebel ambassador to the court of Constanti- nople, would scarcely have been chosen by the sovereign of the Goths, as his spiritual director; nor is there sufficient reason to doubt, but that Leovigild, in the eighteenth year of a prosperous reign, expired of disease, in his capital of To- ledo, in the firm and steady persuasion of the truth of Arianism. CHAP. IV. --ºn- Reign of Recared—The Catholic church is established.—His victory over the Franks.-Councils of Toledo.—Death of Recared.—Reigns of Liuva, Witteric, and Gondemar.—Ac- cession of Sisebut.—He persecutes the Jews.-He is succeeded by his son, Recared the second.—Death of Recared, and succession of his brother Suintilla.-He expels the Imperial- ists.--He is dethroned by Sisenand.—Election of Chintila to the throne.—Persecution against the Jews renewed—Reigns of Tulga, Chindesuintho, and Recisuintho.—Wamba is cho- sen king.—His exploits.-He regulates the national coun. cils.-Triumph over the Saracens by sea.—Singular manner of his deposition.—Usurpation of Ergiva-He resigns the sceptre to his son-in-law Egiza.--New code of laws promul, gated by the Visigoths. A. D. 585. THE prudent arrangements of Leo- 610. vigild, had smoothed the way to great- ness for Recared. The Gothic nation respected their former obligation, and ratified it by acknow- ledging their new monarch; but the edifice of Arianism, which the deceased king had cemented by the blood of Hermenigild, was overthrown by his favourite son and successor, and on its ruins the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 85 Catholic Church was firmly established through- out Spain. More cautious or more scrupulous than his bro- ther, Recared had in silence concealed the ortho- dox faith he had imbibed; and instead of revolting against his father, he patiently expected the hour of his death; instead of condemning his memory, he piously supposed that the dying monarch had abjured the errors of Arianism, and recommended to his son the conversion of the Gothic nation. An invasion of the Franks delayed the execution of the design; but no sooner had he repelled the foreign enemies of the state, than he turned his thoughts to the care and regulation of its religion. To accomplish that salutary end, Recared con- vened an assembly of the Arian clergy and nobles, declared himself a Catholic, and exhorted them to imitate the example of their prince. The la- borious interpretations of doubtful texts, or the curious pursuit of metaphysical arguments, would have excited an endless controversy; and the mo- narch discreetly proposed to his illiterate audience two substantial and visible proofs, the testimony of earth, and of heaven. The earth had submitted to the Nicene synod; the Romans, the Barbarians, and the inhabitants of Spain, unanimously profes- sed the same orthodox creed; and the Visigoths resisted, almost alone, the consent of the Christian world. A superstitious age was prepared to rever- 86 HISTORY OF SPAIN. ence, as the testimony of Heaven, the preterna- tural cures, which were performed by the skill or virtue of the Catholic clergy; and they viewed with astonishment the baptismal fonts of Ossat, situated on the northern banks of the Boetis, oppo- site to Seville, which were spontaneously repleni- shed each year on the vigil of Christ; and the mi- raculous shrine of St. Martin, of Tours, which had already converted the Suevic prince, and the people of Gallacia. These proofs of Recared were probably supported by an obedient and Ca- tholic army; the Arian clergy appeared convinced; and the general establishment of the Catholic reli- gion in Spain was applauded and decreed. Yet the prejudices of mankind are not easily eradicated; and those of religion have been found by experience more deeply rooted than any other. The Arians in secret lamented the fall of their faith; their indignation was probably increased by the insulting triumph of the victorious Catholics; and an open insurrection, and secret conspiracy, were the immediate consequences of their discon- tent; the first was broken by the vigour of Re- cared and his generals; the last was disconcerted by the timidity or treachery of the conspirators. Yet the Arians soon after resumed their projects of revenge and dominion; and they were supported by the riches, and animated by the exhortations HISTORY OF SPAIN. 87 of Goisvintha, the widow of Athanagilde, and Leovigild. The persecution of Hermenigild might have recoiled on the head of Goisvintha, had not Re- cared been influenced more by generosity than resentment; but the Gothic king respected the widow of his two immediate predecessors; be bu- ried every hostile or jealous emotion in the assi- duous duty of a son-in-law, and his behaviour to- wards Goisvintha was not only the admiration of his own subjects, but was the theme of praise among the neighbouring nations. Could the heart of the Arian princess have been susceptible of gratitude, it must have been penetrated by the kindness of Recared; but she had been accustom- ed only to indulge the sterner passions of hatred and revenge; and every gift seemed polluted by the hand of the Catholic donor. She had con- sented to embrace in appearance the orthodox faith; and she was readily persuaded by Ubila, an Arian bishop, and the associate of her treasonable designs, that her guilty compliance could only be effaced by the destruction of him who had extorted it. The confederates seized the moment when the irruption of the Franks into the provinces of the Visigoths on the other side the Pyrenees, embar- rassed the counsels of the court of Toledo. But the intention of Goisvintha and Ubila were revealed by the remorse or perfidy of one of her associates, 88 HISTORY OF SPAIN. and rage or despair at the detection of her crime, extinguished the feeble remains of the life of the Gothic queen. Yet the subsequent conduct of Recared proves that she still might have hoped for pardon ; he remembered, with respect, the holy character of Ubila; and the Arian bishop, in the mild sentence of exile, must have lamented his own guilt, and applauded the clemency of his sovereign, - From the detection of domestic treason, the attention of the Gothic king was recalled to check the progress of foreign invasion. Sixty thousand Franks deluged the dominions of the Visigoths in Gaul, and had displayed their hostile banners in the neighbourhood of Carcassone, at a small dis- tance from Narbonne. A sthey indulged in secu- rity and intemperance, they were suddenly at- tacked and routed by a martial band of Visigoths; and by three hundred of these six thousand Franks are said to have been slaughtered. Such indeed are the partial and exaggerated accounts of seve- ral of the Spanish historians: it is possible the van- guard of the army of Recared might amount to no more, and the honour of the victory might be as- cribed to those who led the attack. But we learn from the testimony of a more accurate writer, that the Franks were deluded by a feigned flight, to pursue with inconsiderate ardour; and that, in the moment of tumultuous triumph, they were sud- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 89 denly assailed by the fresh troops of their adversa- ries, and were incapable of rallying, or retrieving the effects of their imprudence. - Instead of being elated with his victory, and aspiring to new conquests in Gaul, the king of the Visigoths, in the hour of his success consented to negociate an honourable and equal treaty with the Franks. The internal regulation of his kingdom still claimed his unremitting attention; and the firm establishment of the Catholic church was the constant object of his peaceful labours. While the laurels of Carcassone were still fresh in the eyes of his subjects, he summoned a general coun- cil at Toledo; the five metropolitans of Toledo, Seville, Merida, Braga, and Tarragona, presiding in it, according to their respective seniority. The assembly was composed of their suffragan bishops, who appeared in person, or by their proxies, and a place was assigned to the most holy, or most opulent of the Spanish abbots. The stability of the Catholic church was secured by new canons or decrees, and the moderation and wisdom of the assembly, gradually recommended it to the su- preme influence in the administration of Spain. From the reign of Recared to the irruption of the Moors, sixteen national councils were successively convened; and the regular discipline of the church introduced peace and order into the government of the state. During the three first days of the WOL. I. - N 90 HISTORY OF SPAIN. convocation, as long as they agitated the ecclesi- astical questions of doctrine and subjection, the laity were wholly excluded from their debates, which were conducted however with decent so- 1emnity. But on the morning of the fourth day, the doors were thrown open for the entrance of the great officers of the palace, the dukes and counts of the provinces, the judges of the cities, and the Gothic nobles, and the decrees of their pastors were ratified by the consent of the people. The same rules were observed in the provincial assemblies, the annual synods which were empow- ered to hear complaints, and to redress grievan- ces; and a legal government was supported by the prevailing influence of the Spanish clergy. The bishops might labour to exalt the mitre above the crown; yet the national councils of Toledo, in which the free spirit of the Barbarians was tem- pered and guided by episcopal policy, established some prudent laws for the common benefit of the king and the people. - The vacancy of the throne was supplied by the choice of the bishop and the palatines; and, after the failure of the line of Alaric, the regal dignity was still limited to the pure and noble blood of the Goths. The clergy, who anointed their haw- ful prince, always recommended, and sometimes practised, the duty of allegiance; and the spiritual censures were denounced on the heads of the im- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 91 pious subjects who should presume to resist his authority, conspire against his life, or violate, by an indecent union, the chastity of his widow. But the monarch himself, when he ascended the throne, was bound by a reciprocal oath to God and his people, that he would faithfully execute his impor- tant trust. The real or imaginary faults of his administration were subject to the controul of a powerful aristocracy; and the bishops and pala- tines were guarded by a fundamental privilege that they should not be degraded, imprisoned, tortured, nor punished with death, exile, or confiscation, unless by the free and public judgment of their peers. - Notwithstanding the conversion of Recared had removed the prejudices of the Catholics, yet the coasts, both of the ocean and Mediterranean, being still possessed by the eastern emperor, he secretly excited the people to reject the yoke of the Barbarians, and to assert the name and dignity of Roman citizens. Their intrigues provoked the resentment of Recared; and they were taught, by the arm of a warrior, to respect in future the sanc- tity of their treaties. But the moderation of the Gothic king was satisfied with protecting his do- minions from insult, without aspiring to extend them by conquest. He stopped in the middle of his career of victory; he solicited Gregory the Great, who had been raised, both by his liberality, 92 HISTORY OF SPAIN. and his rude but pathetic eloquence, with the holy title of Pope, to the independent administration of the desolated city of Rome, to negociate a new treaty between the Greeks of Constantinople and the Goths of Spain. The same conditions which had existed between Justinian and Athanagilde were the basis of the alliance between Maurice and Recared; and if the cautious Spaniards might applaud the prudence of their sovereign, who de- livered his country from the calamities of war, the more daring spirit of the Visigoths accused the patience of their prince, whose forbearance suffer- ed them still to be insulted by the sight of the rival banners of imperial power. Yet however Recared might be desirous of peace, when it was no longer to be maintained on just and honourable terms, he invariably asserted the qualities of fortitude and vigour in war. The Gascons might remember with secret indignation the persecution they had sustained under the ad- ministration of Leovigild. But the accession of a Catholic king must have extinguished their re- ligious enmity; and it was the desire of reclaiming their fertile fields, on the southern banks of the Ebro, which impelled them across the Pyrenees to the invasion of Spain. They were encounter- ed and defeated by Recared; but the mercy of the victor was again displayed; and the Gascons who had escaped the sword on the field of battle, HISTORY OF SPAIN. 93 were permitted to repass in safety the Pyrenean mountains. The reign of Recared, though characterized by justice, by wisdom, and firmness, was gloomy and tempestuous. The Arian clergy neither desired to forget nor to forgive the humiliation of their sect; and the name of Argimond, who was cham- berlain to the king, stamps the third conspiracy against Recared. The clemency of the monarch was unequal to these repeated instances of revolt and ingratitude; he might feel as a man, but he punished as a sovereign; the head of the traitor Argimond was shaved, a mark of the deepest in- famy among the Visigoths and Barbarians; he was publicly whipped, his right hand cut off, and on a mule he was exposed to the derision of the city of Toledo; his sufferings were terminated by his execution; and the associates of his designs were condemned to expiate their guilt by death. This last act of necessary severity closed the administration and life of Re- cared; three sons, by different and doubtful mo- thers, were the issue of his marriage or his amours. The pretensions of primogeniture were acknow- ledged by the rest in the election of Luiva; but his subjects had scarce time to contemplate with pleasure the opening virtues of their new monarch, before he was despoiled of his crown, his liberty, and his life. The particulars of the conspiracy A. D, 610, 612. 94 HISTORY OF SPAIN. are involved in obscurity; but the author of it was Witeric, a Gothic nobleman, whose treasonable ambition had been pardoned by the father, and was now fatal to the son. The murderer usurped the throne; but he was permitted only to enjoy a short time the harvest of his guilt. The indigna- tion of his Catholic subjects was inflamed by the suspicion that he had privately embraced, and in- tended to restore the heresy of Arianism; he was suddenly attacked and assassinated in his palace; and his mangled body, after having been exposed to the insults of the populace, was thrown amongst those of the common malefactors. Of the Gothic chiefs, whom resentment for the fate of Luiva, or concern for the Catholic church had excited to the punishment of Witeric, the name of Gondemar was most distinguished. His pious zeal was confessed in a national assembly by the orthodox clergy; and the crown was the tri- bute of their gratitude. His virtues sanctioned their choice. The imperialists, who had attempt- ed to avail themselves of the late revolution, and to extend their narrow territories, were broken by his valour, and driven within their former boun- daries; but whilst his age and abilities promised a long and prosperous reign to his people, he was seized and carried off by an epidemic distemper, the second year after his elevation to royalty. HISTORY OF SPAIN. 95 The suffrages of the Goths were united A. p. 612, by the merits of Sisebut, and the sceptre * was again placed in the hands of a hero. He resumed or surpassed the designs of his predeces- sor; and aspired to the glory of expelling the Greeks of Constantinople from Spain. After hav- ing quelled some domestic commotions in Asturia, he marched in person to the contest; in two de- cisive engagements the forces of the imperialists were routed, and almost destroyed. Amidst the carnage of the field, the generous and compassion- ate mind of Sisebut lamented the consequences of his own victory. The impassioned exclamation, “Unhappy man that I am, to see so much blood “spilt through my means!” will be the subject of more just admiration than his martial achievements, however splendid, though they may be considered as restoring the independence of his country. The throne of Constantinople was shaken by the for- midable hosts of the Persians and the Avars; and Heraclius, oppressed by the great king and the chagan, was incapable of affording any succour to his subjects in Spain. He readily subscribed a peace that was dictated by Sisebut; the imperial forts and territories on the coasts of the Mediter- ranean were re-united under the authority of the Visigoths; and on the side of the Atlantic ocean the pretensions of the eastern empire were com- pressed within the modern province of Algarve. 96 HISTORY OF SPAIN. The triumph of Sisebut over the enemies of his country had been chastened by pity, but his heart was fortified by superstition against the cries and lamentations of the Jews. If we may cre- dit the assertions of that miserable people, they had been first introduced into Spain by the fleets of Solomon, and the arms of Nebuchadnezzar. They had been multiplied in that country by the policy of Adrian, who is reported to have trans- ported thither forty thousand families of the tribe of Judah, and ten thousand of the tribe of Benja- min. The wealth which they accumulated by trade, and the management of the finances, invit- ed the avarice of their masters; and they might be oppressed without danger, as they had lost the use, and even the remembrance of arms; yet the ge- neral character of Sisebut allows us to suppose, that he was rather influenced in his persecution by religious than by avaricious motives. Ninety thousand Jews, to preserve their wealth or lives, consented to receive the sacrament of baptism; the fortunes of the most obdurate infidels were con- fiscated, their bodies tortured, and it seems doubt- ful whether they were permitted to abandon their native country. The excessive zeal of the Ca- tholic king was moderated, even by the clergy of Spain, who, on this occasion, solemnly pronounc- ed an inconsistent sentence;—that the sacraments should not be forcibly imposed; but that the Jews HISTORY OF SPAIN. 97 who had been baptized, should be constrained, for the honour of the church, to persevere in the ex- ternal practice of a religion which they disbelieved and detested. The persecution of the Jews is the only error which tarnishes the glory of the reign of Sisebut. Though he might detest the calamities of war, the glory or interests of his nation prompted him to carry his arms beyond the natural confines of his kingdom. He passed the straits of Gibraltar, and reduced the fortress of Ceuta, and the city of Tangier. He had scarce returned to Spain before he was seized by a mortal disease. And the Visigoth writers of a superstitious age, who have passed with indifference, or dwelt with satis- faction, on the massacre of so many thousand Jews, have ascribed his death to the judgment of heaven, for his having presumed to depose the pro- fligate but orthodox bishop of Barcelona. The renown of Sisebut secured the A. p. g. tranquil succession of his son Recared "* the Second; but the young prince, who is sup- posed to have resembled his father, had scarcely received the crown before he expired, and the national council was summoned to a new election. In an assembly which consisted of Catholic clergy, the memory of Recared the First was still revered; and their pious gratitude was displayed in raising to the vacant throne Suintilla, the second son of VOL. I. O 98 HISTORY OF SPAIN. that monarch. The valour of Suintilla, as a sub- ject, had been approved against the rebellious Asturians; and in the condition of a king, it was not suffered to languish in the luxury of the pa- lace. A few months had hardly been devoted to the works of peace, and the revisal of the laws, before the formidable irruption of the Gascons summoned the new monarch to arms. The pro- vince of Biscay and the kingdom of Navarre seem- ed blasted by their presence; and their hostile pro- gress to the stream of the Ebro was marked by devastation. On the banks of that river they were astonished and awed by the presence of the Gothic king, who, at the head of a numerous and disciplined army, had perssed forwards to the re- lief of his people. Dismayed by his activity and vigour the Gascons endeavoured to retreat; in a tumultuous march they reached the foot of the Pyrenees; but the passes of those mountains were already occupied by the forces of Spain, which had assembled in their rear. Their camp was assailed by famine, and clouded by despair; their deputies prostrated themselves at the feet of Suintilla, con- fessed their temerity, and implored his clemency. The compassion of the king might induce him to spare the effusion of blood; and his prudence must have suggested the uncertainty of battle, and the vicissitudes of war. A safe retreat was allowed to the Gascons; but it was purchased by the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 99 restoration of the spoil they had acquired; their march across the Pyrenees was gently pressed by the squadrons of Spain; and a strong fortress was erected by the caution of Suintilla, to prevent their return. The ground on which it arose is variously supposed to be covered by the modern town of Fontarabia, and the city of Walladolid; but the situation of the former on the coast of the sea, and the edge of the Pyrenees, marks the spot which nature neglected, and which art has constructed as the barrier of Spain against the ambition of France. Within the narrow limits of the province or kingdom of Algarve, the imperialists had lamented their decreasing influence and waining strength; yet even the sense of the danger which impended over them, could not suspend their domestic dis- sensions. Their little territory was divided be- tween two governors, whose jealous and rival sway distracted their own councils, and invited the arms of their enemies. If the hostile ensigns of Suintilla enforced their tardy union, their rashness precipi- tated their destruction. They ventured to quit their fortifications, and to encounter the superior numbers of the Goths in an open field of battle; a bloody defeat was the consequence of their pre- sumption; and Suintilla improved the advantage with ardour and dexterity. Most of the imperial fortresses were surprised, or submitted. A new 100 HISTORY OF SPAIN. governor, who was dispatched by Heraclius to re- trieve the errors of his predecessors, found scarce any thing left to defend. Yet the Grecian band that he commanded, might have remembered in the hour of battle, that they once had been distin- guished by the name of Romans. The effects of military pride or despair were eluded by the ad- dress of Suintilla. He proclaimed his unwilling- ness to destroy so many gallant men, whose valour still might be useful to their country. He offered them a safe retreat, and vessels to transport them to Constantinople; in the interval of negociation the ardour of the soldiers evaporated; the love of life again revived in their bosoms; and their general probably participated in their emotions, or yielded to their wishes ; he subscribed the treaty, em- barked his followers, and the peninsula of Spain was united under the sole authority of Suintilla. A grateful nation listened with alacrity to the request of their victorious monarch. The son of Suintilla was, by the suffrages of the Gothic nobles, associated in the royal dignity of his father. But the very measure which promised to establish more firmly the throne of Suintilla, and to transmit it to his posterity, was the cause of its rapid subver- sion. Success had either changed or revealed his matural disposition; and the counsels of his consort and his brother Gailan united to inflame his pride, and stimulate his rapacity. Haughty, voluptuous, HISTORY OF SPAIN. 101 and avaricious, from the protector he became the scourge of his people; the renown of his former achievements was still remembered with terror; and he might long have trampled on the patience of a prostrate nation, had not compassion or ambi- tion excited Sisenand, who was intrusted with the government of the Gothic territories in Gaul, to erect the standard of revolt. Those territories could furnish but a slender band of warriors for the relief or invasion of Spain; but the liberal promises of Sisenand prevailed on Dagobert, the king of France, to contribute his aid to the over- throw of the tyrant. At the head of a promis- cuous army of Goths and Franks, Sisenand crossed the Pyrenees; and Suintilla, with the approach of danger resuming his wonted vigour, advanced to engage him in the neighbourhood of Saragossa. But he was deserted by his troops, his courtiers, and his brother Gailan; he heard the name of Sisenand proclaimed in his camp; and abandoning all hopes of resistance, by a hasty flight he en- deavoured to preserve his life. With liberal gifts and a promise to A. p. s. fulfil the conditions he had subscribed, * Sisenand dismissed the Franks, who repassed the Pyrenees; and strong in the affections of his coun- trymen, pursued his peaceful progress to the royal city of Toledo. He was there solemnly acknow- ledged, and anointed as king; but the life of 102 HISTORY OF SPAIN. Suintilla was guarded by the memory of his for- mer services; and the arm of resentment was checked by gratitude. The succour of Dagobert had been purchased by the promise of a fountain of massy gold, the gift of the patrician AEtius to Torrismond, the king of the Visigoths, when the valour of the latter wrested the victory from the Scythian host and their celebrated monarch Attila, in the bloody plains of Chalons. It had acquired a double value with the Goths, as the sacred testimony of their glory; but Sisenand had hardly seated him- self in the throne, before the golden fountain was demanded by the ambassadors of Dagobert; the menaces of the king of France prevailed over the murmurs of his own subjects, and the costly me- morial of Gothic fame was delivered to the French envoys. The indignation of the Goths was not confined to vain complaints; the ambassadors were way-laid, attacked in their return, and com- pelled to surrender the precious object of their mission. A long negociation ensued; and the re- sentment of Dagobert was at length appeased, and the wishes of the Goths gratified, by the payment of a sum of money equal in value to the monument of the courage of their ancestors. It was not until three years after Sisenand had exercised the regal authority, that, in a national council at Toledo, the deposition of Suintilla was HISTORY OF SPAIN. 103 formally confirmed, and his posterity, with that of the perfidious Gailan, deemed incapable of ever ascending the Gothic throne. Two years after- wards, the death of Sisenand himself summoned the Gothic clergy and nobles to exert their judg- ment in the choice of a new sovereign. The name of Chintila is first revealed A.p.s. by his promotion to the throne; and his * reign, of six years, is only marked by his edict for the total expulsion of the Jews from Spain. It is not easy to discern, at this distance, what event provoked the fury of the king and the people against that unhappy race. But it is probable, that the usurious advantage which they might de- rive from their wealth, exposed them to general hatred. The royal decree of Chintila, which com- manded all his subjects to profess the Christian faith, was the signal of persecution and exile to the Jews. Yet the Goths were unwilling wholly to deprive themselves of such industrious slaves, over whom they might exercise a lucrative oppres- sion; and the Jews still continued in Spain, under the weight of the civil and ecclesiastical laws, which in the same country have been faithfully transcribed in the code of the inquisition. The Gothic kings and bishops at length discovered, that injuries will produce hatred, and that hatred will find the opportunity of revenge. A nation, the secret or professed enemies of Christianity, still 104 HISTORY OF SPAIN. multiplied in servitude and distress; and the in- trigues of the Jews promoted the rapid success of the Arabian conquerors. A. D. 639, Yet however one sect might complain * of the severity of Chintila, we may sup- pose, from the vows of his subjects for his life and prosperity, that the general tenor of his adminis- tration was mild and beneficial. Even when he was dead, and the voice of flattery could no longer be heard, they acknowledged his virtues, in filling the vacant throne with his son Tulga. The feeble youth appears to have been incapable of sustaining the weight of royalty; his character presents a blameless void, unmarked by vice or virtue: but the bold and restless Goths required the sway of a more firm and nervous arm, and, by a confe- deracy of the principal nobles, the sceptre was transferred from the hand of Tulga to that of Chindisuintho; the life of the former was respect- ed, but the ceremony of shaving his head precluded him, according to the custom of the Barbarians, from re-ascending the throne; and an obscure and tranquil existence was permitted him, within the walls of a monastery. * Age had not chilled the ambition or vigour of Chindisuintho; and the new monarch vindi- cated in arms his pretentions to the crown. The chiefs who presumed to oppose his election were crushed in the field, or executed on the scaf- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 105 fold; his authority was recognized in a gene- ral council at Toledo; his son Recisuintho, was received as the partner of, and the successor to, his power; and after a reign of eleven years, distinguished equally by the praise of the warlike, the learned, and the pious, the death of Chin- disuintho placed the reigns of government in the hands of his son. During the life of his father, the abilities of Recisuintho had been displayed in quelling a domestic insurrection, and in chastising the Gas- cons, who had again passed the Pyrenees; and on his accession to the undivided administration of Spain, those who had been intimidated by the va- lour of the prince, were conciliated by the address and clemency of the king. Twenty-four years his subjects felt and applauded his wisdom, his justice, and his moderation; and his decease, at the expiration of that term, summoned them to the melancholy and arduous task of providing a suc- cessor, who might not suffer from the remem- brance of Recisuintho's virtues. The superior talents and qualities of A.p.g.a. Wamba united in his favour the suf- 680. frages of his Gothic peers; but the power which was the ambitious hope of many, was slighted by the only person who appeared worthy of it. Wam- ba long refused to accede to the wishes of the as- sembly; and his subsequent conduct attests the sin- WOL. I. Tº 106 HISTORY OF SPAIN. cerity of his reluctance. He yielded to the pa- triotic reproach, that he preferred his own peace to the interest of his country; but when he consent- ed to wear the crown, he desired the council to re- collect, that he complied with their, and not his own, inclinations. He had scarce received it be- fore he was sensible of the cares to which it expo- sed him. The turbulent inhabitants of Navarre and Asturia refused their contributions, and arm- ed against the state; and across the Pyrenees, Hilderic, Count of Nismes, assumed the ensigns of royalty, and aspired with the title of king, to the independent government of the Gothic provin- ces of Gaul. While Wamba prepared to march against the rebels of Navarre and Asturia, he di- rected Paul, a veteran and skilful general, to pass the Pyrenean mountains and reduce the revolted Hilderic. The abilities of Paul were worthy of, but his fidelity was unequal to, the important trust. In a secret council of the chiefs of Catalonia, his ambition was inflamed by the assurances of their support. The timid Hilderic shrunk at his ap- proach, and consented to rank himself among his dependents; the city of Narbonne received him as her sovereign ; and his usurpation was protected by the formidable alliance and succours of the •Franks. It was on the frontiers of Navarre that Wamba was informed of the perfidy of Paul, and the revolt HISTORY OF SPAIN. 107 of Catalonia. His officers advised him to return to Toledo, and assemble the strength of the Gothic nation. But he rejected their dilatory counsels; and his reluctance in ascending the throne was not more signal than his resolution in the possession of it. Depending less on the number of his forces than the celerity of his motions, he penetrated into and laid waste the rebellious countries of Asturia and Navarre. His rapid and destructive progress struck the inhabitants with terror; they implored his clemency; and their pardon was sealed by a solemn oath to arm their martial youth in his de- fence. Strong in this reinforcement, Wamba has- tily traversed Arragon, entered Catalonia, presen- ted himself before, and was received into Barcelo- na, and halted before the walls of Gironne. Paul might either have confided in his own activity, or have been unwilling to expose that city to the ca- lamities of a siege, when he instructed the bishop to acknowledge of the competitors the first who appeared before the gates. Three days repose re- cruited the strength of the followers of Wamba; and in four divisions his army attempted and for- ced the passes of the Pyrenees, and united under the walls of Narbonne. The garrison of Narbon- ne were animated by the presence of Witimir, the friend and favourite general of Paul ; and in the cause of rebellion they displayed a valour the most obstinate; the gates were at length burst open, I08 HISTORY OF SPAIN. and the walls thrown down by the impetuous assail- ants; a church was the last retreat of Witimir; but he entered it as a warrior and not as a sup- pliant; yet he was incapable of obtaining the honourable death he sought; he was stunned by the fragment of a beam ; was taken alive, and publicly scourged through the streets; but the ig- nominious punishment was the immediate effects of the resentment of the lieutenants of Wamba, who, however he might himself secretly approve, was far from publicly authorizing their conduct. Within the walls of Nismes, Paul anticipated the consequences of unsuccessful rebellion. But instead of consuming the hours in vain lamenta- tions, he employed them in preparations for a vigorous defence. The fortifications were repair- ed, the magazines replenished, and the spirits of his followers revived by assurances that a numer- ous host of Franks and Germans were ready to march to their relief. But if such were really the hopes of Paul, they were disappointed by the ar- dour of the generals of Wamba. The machines which had lately overthrown the walls of Narbon- ne, battered with incessant fury those of Nismes; the French mercenaries who had been allured into the service of Paul, consulted their safety rather than their honour; they urged the impossibility of further resistance; and their impatience kindled a civil war within the distracted city. The besieg- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 109 ers improved the opportunity; scaled the ram- parts; and displayed throughout the streets the royal banner. The ample space of an ancient am- phitheatre received the most desperate or the most faithful of the adherents of Paul, and resisted for some time the tide of conquest. The interval was improved by negociation; and Wamba to the holy mediation of Argaband, arch-bishop of Narbonne, granted the lives of the nameless crowd, and only excepted from his promised mercy, Paul, and the most guilty leaders of the rebellion. The feelings of an injured monarch might have justified the instant execution of the perfidious rebel. But on every occasion the resentment of Wamba was restricted by his regard for justice. In the presence of the army he demanded of Paul whether he had experienced from him any mark of oppression or contempt; the reply of the captive acknowledged that the favour and confidence of his sovereign had been ever extended to him, and ac- cused his own ingratitude. The judges were cal- led upon to pronounce the sentence of the law against traitors, and Paul and his associates were condemned to death. The decision was softened by the clemency of Wamba; and the rebels were permitted to lament their fortune, or implore the forgiveness of their crime in the perpetual seclu- sion of a monastery. - After visiting and confirming the tranquillity 1 10 HISTORY OF SPAIN. of the Gothic provinces of Gaul, Wamba repassed the Pyrenees, and entered in triumph the city of Toledo. The minds of the vulgar had been daz- zled by his success in war, but the judgment of the more sagacious stamped the merit of his regula- tions in peace. The luxury of the clergy, the fre- quent, perhaps the invidious, complaint of every age and climate, excited the attention of the Go- thic king ; and in a general assembly at Toledo, new canons were promulgated to restore the ancient simplicity of the church. It is not probable that the meetings of the unpolished conquerors of Spain were conducted with the greatest regard to deco- rum; and the first law of the assembly of Toledo was calculated to repress the tumultuous clamours, or licentious harangues which too frequently dis- graced it; the words are remarkable:– “Such as are members of this, or any other “council, shall behave with the utmost modesty, “ and speak with the greatest decency, observing “at other times a perfect silence, and, by a strict “attention, testifying their respect of the place “they are in. Whenever they are called upon “for their opinions, they shall deliver themselves “with much circumspection, without any va- “riation from truth, without any sarcasms, with- “out needless repetitions that create confusion, “ and without indulging an unseasonable wit “amidst serious and important business.” The HISTORY OF SPAIN. I 11 regulation may have originated among an uncivi- lized people, and in a period of barbarism ; but the polite legislators of modern France and Britain, must confess it neither unworthy of, nor unneces- sary in, their own times. • The authority of Wamba had been vindicated from a powerful and perfidious rebel, and the glory of his country was asserted against a formidable and infidel enemy. In the rapid growth of less than a century, the faith of Mahomet from the dis- tant region of Arabia had overshadowed the pro- vinces of the east; had penetrated into and sub- dued the greatest part of Africa; and from the ports of that continent their piratical squadrons had menaced or ravaged the coast of Andalusia. Their progress had alarmed the declining age of Recisuintho; and it excited the jealousy and war- like preparations of Wamba. To protect the re- pose of Spain, and to chastise the pride of the fe- rocious Saracens, a numerous fleet was diligently prepared by the Gothic king; and though the Wi- sigoths, accustomed only to combat at land, might at first regard the new theatre of action with ter- ror, they soon vanquished their fears, and from a variety of desultory conflicts, returned home with spoil and victory. The bold and persevering dis- position of the Saracens allowed them not readily to renounce the hopes of plunder and conquest; their squadrons were collected; and when they 112 HISTORY OF SPAIN. reviewed the prodigious number of their vessels, they might justly advance in the full confidence of certain success, From the coast of Andalusia might be beheld the hostile ensigns of Christ and Mahomet; from the former renown and subse- quent achievements of the Mahometans, we may be assured that the Christians did not exult in a bloodless victory; but the proof of it was as deci- sive as glorious. Two hundred and seventy vessels of the Saracens were towed in triumph into the ports of Spain. The musselman pride was hum- bled; their naval strength broken; the conquest of Spain was for some time abandoned; and had the successors of Wamba imitated the vigour and vigilance of that prince, their country, secure in its natural situation, might have braved the host of the faithful, and never have been bowed beneath the Mahometan yoke. But the kingdom of the Visigoths was rent by the kindred passions of jealousy, of resentment, and ambition. The reign of Wamba had been distinguished by a series of great and illustrious actions; it had been acknowledged as the aera of wisdom and justice. Yet amidst the affection of his subjects, and the admiration of his neighbours, the king of the Visigoths was deprived of the crown his virtues had adorned. It might naturally have been expected that the reign of the conquer- or of Paul and the Saracens could only have ex- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 113 pired with his life; that he either perished by the dagger of an assassin, or was overwhelmed by an hostile confederacy of rival sovereigns. Yet the fate of Wamba is not related without hesitation, and the concurrence of various historians; nor can it be read without exciting a smile. A strong opiate was administered to him by the treachery of a domestic, and as he laboured beneath the effects of the stupifying potion, the opportunity was improved by Erviga, an ambitious Goth, who boast- ed his descent from Athanegilde; his long and sil- ver locks, the symbol of his dignity, were severed by the daring hand of Erviga; his head was shav- ed; and Wamba, for he was a king no more, awoke to the full sense of his injury. He dissem- bled his surprise; assumed the language of volun- tary retirement; and stifled the emotions of re- venge to promote the tranquillity of Spain. He recommended as his successor the traitor who had defrauded him of royalty; and within the holy walls of a monastery heard, without exulting in, the abdication of Erviga. In that peaceful retreat he could reflect without remorse or regret on the measures he had pursued, and the station he had occupied; the last years of his life were certainly the most happy, though not the most splendid; and the indifference with which he bore the loss of a crown, proved how truly he was worthy to pos- sess it. WOL. I. Q 1 14 HISTORY OF SPAIN. A. D. 680, The testimony of Wamba, united * the suffrages of the national council of Toledo, in favour of Erviga; and a kingdom that had been obtained by treachery, was govern- ed with justice and wisdom. Some suspicions had escaped of his treason towards Wamba; but the murmurs of the people were appeased by the ad- dress of their sovereign, who, to extinguish the embers of faction, neglected the pretensions of his own sons; and with the hand of his daughter, Cixilona, called the nephew and heir of Wamba to the certain succession of the throne. In the dark and confused legends of the Spanish histo- rians, some words are dropped of domestic insur- rection; and a victory of Erviga is variously sup- posed to have been over the Gascons who invaded Spain, or the Visigoths who revolted in Gaul. But this appears to have been the only instance of fo- reign or civil war; and during the eight years that he held the sceptre of Spain, that country was pre- served in peace and security by his vigour and prudence. At the expiration of that term he was seized with a dangerous indisposition; and during the suspension of disease he scrupulously observed the solemn vow that he had made, to quit the robes of royalty for the habit of a penitent. He declared, or prevailed on the Gothic nobles to receive Egiza as his successor; and in return for the crown he bestowed, he exacted an oath from HISTORY OF SPAIN. 115 Egiza to repair any wrongs that he himself had inadvertently occasioned. Satisfied with this sti- pulation, his head was shaved, and he assumed the garb of a monk; but he was not long suffered to edify his subjects by the example of repentance; and he breathed his last a few days after he resign- ed the sceptre. In the possession of a throne the peace of Egiza was invaded by a pious scruple. He had sworn to repair the injustice of Erviga, and he had bound himself by a solemn oath to protect his widow and children; yet Luivagotona, the consort of Erviga, had availed herself of her influence over that prince to usurp the demesnes of several of his subjects; and justice demanded the restitution. In a coun- cil of the clergy Egiza stated the irreconcileable obligations he had accepted; his doubts were solved by the answer of that assembly; policy or interest recommended them to release Egiza from his first oath; and to recommend the resumption of the demesnes that Luivagotona had usurped. It was in one of the legislative assemblies of Toledo, during the reign of Egiza, that the code of laws which had been compiled by a succession of Gothic kings, from the fierce Euric to the sa- gacious Erviga, was examined and ratified. As long as the Visigoths themselves were satisfied with the rude customs of their ancestors, they in- dulged the subjects of Gaul and Spain in the enjoy- 116 IIISTORY OF SPAIN. ment of the Roman law. Their gradual improve- ment in arts, in policy, and at length in religion, encouraged them to imitate, and to supersede those foreign institutions; and to compose a code of civil and criminal jurisprudence, for the use of a great and united people. The same obligations, and the same privileges, were communicated to the na- tions of the Spanish monarchy: and the conquer- ors, insensibly renouncing the Teutonic idiom, submitted to the restraints of equity, and exalted the Romans to the participation of freedom. The code of the Visigoths has been treated by the pre- sident de Montesquieu with excessive severity. He has lavished on it the epithets of puerile and ridiculous; he has declared it to have been in- capable of attaining its end; to have been frivolous in substance, and turgid in style. The language it is conveyed in, may indeed justly have deserved his censure; and the superstition that pervades it may subject it to reproach; yet according to the testimony of a more modern, and much esteemed writer's judgment, it possessed the merit of im- partial policy, and deserved the praise of wisdom and moderation. It softened, at least, the condition of the sub- jected : and while throughout the spacious realms of Gaul and Italy, the vanquished native sunk into the abject slave of the conqueror, the Spaniard was permitted to ransom his freedom, and not un- HISTORY OF SPAIN. II 7 frequently to redeem his property, by the payment of a small fine or annual rent ; the feudal system, which has been so often, and by an historian of our own country so elegantly described, prevailed in- deed from the straits of Gibraltar to the mountains of the Pyrenees; but the harshness of its features were meliorated by prudence or humanity; and although in war the vassal was obliged to follow the standard, in peace he might with confidence appeal from the arrogance and oppression of his lord. CHAP. W. --ºn- Conspiracy of the Jews with the Mahometans of Africa.--War with the Franks and Gascons.—Death of Egiza, and acces- sion of Witiza.-The Pope's claim of supremacy is rejected in the council of Toledo.—Tyranny of Witiza-Revolt and elevation of Roderic.—Treachery of €ount Julian.-Inva- sion of the Saracens.—Battle of Xeres.—Flight and death of Roderic.—Exploits of Tarik.-Of Musa,—Of Abdalaziz.- The greatest part of Spain conquered.—Recall of Musa,— Government of Abdalaziz. –His marriage with the widow of Roderic.—He is assassinated.—Rival factions of the Abbas- sides and Ommiades.—Abdalrahman appears on the coast of Spain.—His victory over the Abbassides.—He establishes his independent throne at Cordova.-The are of Arabian splend- our in Spain.—Reign of the third Abdalrahman.—His wealth and magnificence.—Town and palace of 2:ebra.-His re- venue.—Trade and natural productions of Spain.—Character of Alkalem the Second.—His justice.—He is succeeded by his infant son Hassem.—Renown of Almanzor, the vizir of Hassem.—Overthrow of the house of the Ommiades.—Dege- neracy and dissensions of the Moors of Spain. -º- A.D. 588 tº 769.” IN the generous policy of an equal and impartial code of laws, Egiza might justly have hoped that the reign of the Gothic princes in Spain HISTORY OF SPAIN. 119 would have been prolonged through successive cen- turies by the union of their Christian subjects. Yet he was not long permitted to indulge the pleas- ing illusion; his mind was distracted by the ra- pid progress of the Saracens on the opposite coast of Africa; he dreaded the enthusiastic valour and rapacious myriads of the general enemies of Chris- tianity; and his apprehensions were kept awake by the resentment of a sect, whom he had perse- cuted and despised. The decree which had commanded the expul- sion of the Jews from Spain had been eluded by avarice ; and that wretched people, by the con- nivance of the governors of the provinces, and of the successors of Chintila, had been permitted to pursue and improve the arts of trade and com- merce. But without a legal establishment, the fruits of their ingenuity or labour, and even their lives, were exposed to the caprice or covetousness of their rulers. They might sometimes complain of wanton cruelty; but they could always, and with justice, accuse the insatiate demands of the hungry Visigoths; they were suffered to accumu- late only to swell the coffers of their masters; the thirst of revenge became more strong in propor- tion as it was necessary to cherish it in silence; they exulted in the victories of the Mahometans; they continued a dangerous and hostile correspon- dence with their brethren, who under the adminis- 120 HISTORY OF SPAIN. tration of Chintila had sheltered themselves from persecution in Africa; and on their assurances of support, and with the secret hope of more effec- tual succour from the Saracens, they fixed the day to erect the standard of revolt. Before the appointed time arrived, their pre- parations had alarmed, or their intentions had been betrayed to Egiza. In a national council the Gothic king unfolded the conspiracy, and ratified the punishment of the Jews. The public exercise of their religion was prohibited under the most se- were penalties; their children under seven years of age were directed to be taken from them, and to be educated in the Christian faith; and those who presumed to conspire against their sovereign, or who, after having been purified in the baptismal font, returned to their ancient heresy, were depri- ved of their property and liberty. The premature discovery of the conspiracy of the Jews, might disconcert, but did not deter the Saracens, from aspiring to the conquest of Spain. Their numerous squadrons issued from the ports of Africa, and menaced again the coasts of Anda- lusia. But their pride was chastised by a second naval defeat; and the victory which dispelled the immediate apprehensions of the Visigoths, was as- cribed to the valour and conduct of the youthful Theodomir, the son-in-law of Egiza. - A short but bloody war with the Franks or HISTORY OF SPAIN. I 21 Gascons was terminated by the mutual weakness and losses of both nations; and Egiza in the mo- ment of tranquillity might, in establishing the suc- cession to the crown, equally consider the happi- ness of his people, and the aggrandisement of his family. In a national assembly at Toledo his son was associated with him in the regal dignity; and soon after the death of Egiza, devolved on Witiza the undivided administration of Spain. During the first months of his reign, Witiza might be considered as the protector and father of his people; during the last years he was the scourge and tyrant of his subjects. The advantages which his country derived from a short affectation of vir- tue, were few and transient; the evils with which she was afflicted from the indulgence of his pas- sions and vices, were numerous and lasting. Yet one instance of firmness marks his accession; with the title of Pope, and as the successor of St. Peter, the patriarch of Rome, claimed an absolute domi- nion over the Christian states of Europe; but in the eighteenth council of Toledo, a spirit of eccle- siastical freedom was kindled by the eloquence of the metropolitan Gundaric. He vindicated the independance of the church of Spain : his piety and blameless manners gave weight to his argu- ments; and the extravagant pretensions of the see of Rome were encountered with decent and manly opposition. - WOL. I. IR 122 HISTORY OF SPAIN. If justice or virtue had taken root within the bosom of Witiza, they were soon eradicated by the flattering language of a licentious train of courtiers, who successfully insinuated that youth was the sea- son for pleasure and enjoyment, and that the sove- reign was to be distinguished from his subjects by his more ample privilege of luxury and prodigality. The pleasing doctrine was readily preferred to the distasteful admonitions of the holy Gundaric; the court of Witiza was disgraced by scenes of shame- less excess and debauchery; and the wives and daughters of the most illustrious of the Gothic no- bles were violated by his lusts. To a vicious tyrant, virtue must ever become the object of hatred and jealousy; to intemperance succeeded cruelty; and those whose qualities and descent from the most honoured of his predecessors recom- mended them to popular favour, were, as distrust or caprice prevailed, sentenced to banishment or death. x. - Yet the detestation of the tyrant has been in- dulged by the historians of his reign beyond the bounds of truth or probability. We may safely reject the law that he is reported to have framed, and which gratified the amorous inclinations of his subjects, by unlimited polygamy. We may dis- trust the regulation which enjoined the destruction of all offensive weapons, throughout Spain; and the invasion of the Moors, and the sieges they en- HISTORY OF SPAIN. I 23 countered, convince us how falsely he is accused of dismantling, with the exception of Toledo, Tuy, and Astorga, all the cities throughout his dominions. However exaggerated or perverted may be the chronicles of those times, it may be pronounced with certainty, that the follies and vices of Witiza were glaring and numerous, since they at length provoked the open indignation of his subjects, and consummated his destruction. Among the noble sufferers from his jealousy was Theodofred, who is described as the brother, but who most likely was the nephew of Recisuintho; he was deprived of his sight, and sent a prisoner to Cor- dova; but the hours of darkness and captivity were beguiled by the filial affection of his son Roderic; in their free converse their murmurs against their oppressor were gradually inflamed to an hope and project of revenge, His father's wrongs, and the memory of Recisuintho pleaded powerfully for Roderic; he erected the standard of revolt; and the thousands who in themselves or their connexions had either felt or dreaded the lust or cruelty of the tyrant, joined him with alacrity; a civil war was kindled and raged for some time with doubtful violence; but was at length termi- nated by the deposition or death of Witiza, and the elevation of Roderic to the throne of the Visi- goths, I24 HISTORY OF SPAIN. By the fall of Witiza, and his own accession to royalty, Roderic had gratified the emotions of re- venge and ambition; but he was not long in pos- session of the crown of Spain before he was in- structed that his ascent to greatness was equally dangerous to himself and his country. Across the narrow channel which divides Europe from Africa, the fortress of Ceuta had been defended by the valour and skill of count Julian against the host of the Saracens; and while Musa, the leader of the faithful, revolved his disappointment with indig- nation, his hopes were awakened, not only to the entire reduction of Africa, but to the conquest of Spain, by the proffered alliance of the chief, and the surrender of the fortress from which he had so lately retired with disgrace. In extenuating or accounting for the treachery of Julian, the Spanish historians repeat the popu- lar story of his daughter Cava, violated by the guil- ty passion of Röderic ; but the tale, romantic in itself, is ill supported by external evidence. Some doubts have occurred whether it was the wife or daughter of the Gothic general whose honour was profaned. It has even been insinuated that the injury was offered by Witiza, and not by Roderic; nor are there wanting critics who have totally re- jected the suspicious narrative. A more probable reason for the revolt of Julian has been assigned by the luminous historian of the Decline and Fall of History of SPAIN. 12.5 the Roman Empire, who has described, with ele- gance and conciseness, the invasion of Spain by the Saracens, and whose account of that memorable revolution is preserved in the succeeding pages. The voice of the nation had indeed placed the sceptre in the hand of Roderic; but the sons of Witiza, impatient of a private station, waited the moment to assert their hereditary pretensions in arms. Their followers were excited by the re- membrance of favours and the promise of a revo- lution; and their uncle Oppas, the archbishop of Seville, possessed an equal influence in the church and state. It is probable Julian had little to hope and much to fear from the new reign; his merit and popularity rendered him an useful or formidable subject; his estates were ample, his adherents numerous and bold; and it was too fatally shewn, that by his Andalusian and Mauri- tanian commands, he held in his hands the keys of the Spanish monarchy. Too feeble however to meet his sovereign in arms, he sought the aid of a foreign power; and his rash invitation of the Moors and Arabs, produced the calamities of eight hun- dred years. In his epistles, or in a personal inter- view, he revealed the wealth and nakedness of his country; the weakness of a disputed throne; the degeneracy of an effeminate people. The Goths were no longer the victorious Barbarians who hum- bled the pride of Rome, despoiled the queen of na- | 26 HISTORY OF SPAIN. tions, and penetrated from the Danube to the At- lantic ocean. Secluded from the world by the Py- renean mountains, the successors of Alaric had slumbered in a long peace. The walls of the cities were mouldered into dust; the youth had abandoned the exercise of arms; and the presumption of their ancient renown would expose them in a field of battle to the first assault of the invaders, The ambitious Saracen was fired by the ease and importance of the attempt; but the execution was delayed until he had consulted the commander of the faithful; and his messenger returned with the permission of Walid, to annex the unknown kingdoms of the west to the religion and throne of the Caliphs. In his residence of Tangier, Musa, with secrecy and caution, continued his correspon- dence and hastened his preparations. But the re- morse of the conspirators was soothed by the falla- cious assurance that he should content himself with the glory and the spoil, without aspiring to establish the Moslems beyond the sea that separates Africa from Europe. In two successive attempts the naval A. p. no, force of the Saracens had been broken ". by the Gothic fleet; but Roderic, either distracted by civil war and intent on revenge, or confiding in the vigilance and fidelity of Julian, neglected the natural means of defence; the unguarded coast invited the descent of the Moslems. Yet before HISTORY OF SPAIN. 127 Musa would trust an army of the faithful to the dangers of a foreign and Christian land, he made a less dangerous trial of their strength and vera- city. In the year seven hundred and ten after the birth of Christ, one hundred Arabs, and four hundred Africans, passed over in four vessels from Tangier or Ceuta; the place of their disembarka- tion on the opposite shore of the strait is marked by the name of Tarif, their chief; from their first station, they marched eighteen miles through a hilly country to the castle and town of Julian; the appellation of the green island, which from a ver- dant cape that advances into the sea, they bestowed upon it, is still perpetuated by a corruption from the Arabic, in the name of Algezira. Their hos- pitable entertainment, the Christian vassals of Julian, who joined their standard, their inroad in- to a fertile and unguarded province, the richness of their spoil, and the safety of their return, an- nounced to their brethren the most favourable omens of victory. In the ensuing spring five thousand veterans and volunteers were embarked under the command of Tarik, a dauntless and skil- ful soldier, who surpassed the expectations of his chief. The necessary transports were provided by the industry of their too faithful ally. The Sara- cens landed at the pillar or point of Europe; the corrupt and familiar appellation of Gibraltar (Ga- bal al Tarik) describes the mountain of Tarik; 128 HISTORY OF SPAIN. and the intrenchments of his camp were the first outlines of those fortifications which in the hands of Great Britain have resisted the art and power of the united house of Bourbon. - Roderic had slumbered over the preparations and first attempt of the Saracens, he was awakened by the magnitude of their second invasion; yet in- stead of collecting his whole force and advancing in person to crush the rash intruders, he contented himself with dispatching his lieutenant Edeco, at the head of some select troops, to arrest their pro- gress. The Visigoths, enervated by luxury, were incapable of withstanding the martial enthusi- asm of the Moslem fanatics; and the flight of Edeco revealed to Roderic the approach of the enemy, and his own danger. The Visigoths were still capable of great and formidable efforts; the standard of their sovereign was unfurled ; and at the royal summons, the dukes and counts, the bishops and nobles of the Gothic monarchy assembled at the head of their followers. The host that marched under the con- duct of Roderic consisted of ninety or an hundred thousand men, and must have insured victory, had their discipline and fidelity been adequate to their numbers. But the Visigoths, long unaccustomed to, were oppressed by the weight of, armour; and the sons of Witiza, who consented to range them- selves under the royal banner, remembered the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 129 condition and fate of a father and a kinsman, and their own ambitious hopes blasted by the promo- tion of Roderic. Yet even the fanaticism of the Moslems could not be insensible to the preparations of the Goths. The promise of Paradise was weighed against the danger of the unequal field; and the prudence of Tarik was displayed in his timely retreat, while he solicited and obtained the assistance of his African brethren. By the diligence of Musa, the Saracens were augmented to twelve thousand ; and to these were joined a promiscuous crowd of Christian malecontents, who were attracted by the influence of Julian, and of Africans greedy to taste the temporal blessings of the Koran. About two leagues from Cadiz, the town of Xeres, has been illustrated by the encounter which determined the fate of the kingdom ; the stream of the Guadalato, which falls into the bay, divided the two camps, and marked the advancing and re- treating skirmishes of three successive and bloody days. On the fourth day the two armies joined a more serious and decisive issue; but in the moment when they were most necessary, Roderic seems to have been deprived of the qualities which had raised him to a throne ; Alaric would have blushed at the sight of his unworthy successor, sustaining on his head a diadem of pearls, incum- bered with a flowing robe of gold and silken em- WOL. I. S 1:30 HISTORY OF SPAIN. broidery, and reclining on a litter, or car of ivory, drawn by two white mules. Notwithstanding the valour of the Saracens, they fainted under the weight of multitudes; and the plain of Xeres was overspread with their dead bodies. “My bre- “ thren,” said Tarik to his surviving companions, “ the enemy is before you, the sea is behind; “whither would ye fly? follow your general : I “am resolved either to lose my life, or to trample “ on the prostrate king of the Visigoths.” Be- sides the resource of despair, he confided in the secret correspondence, and nocturnal interviews of count Julian, with the sons and brother of Witiza. The two princes and the archbishop of Seville, occupied the most important post; their well-timed defection broke the ranks of the Chris- tians ; each warrior was prompted by fear or suspicion, to consult his personal safety; and the greatest part of the Gothic army were scattered or destroyed in the flight and pursuit of the three following days. Amidst the general disorder, Roderic started from his car, and mounted Orelia, the fleetest of his horses. Some credulous Spa- niards believed that in a hermit's cell he con- cealed his disgrace, and eluded the search of his enemies; but it is more probable that he escaped a soldier's death to perish ignobly in the waters of the Boetis or Guadalquivir. His diadem, his robes, and his courser were found on the bank; HISTORY OF SPAIN. I3} but as the body of the Gothic prince was buried in the waves, the pride and ignorance of the Ca- liph must have been gratified with some meaner head, which was exposed in triumph before the palace of Damascus. “And such,” continues a valiant historian of the Arabs, “is the fate of “those kings who withdraw themselves from a “ field of battle.” The fortifications of Eciga, a strong town si- tuated on a branch of the Guadalquivir, and not far from the theatre of their defeat, afforded a temporary asylum to the fugitive Visigoths. But the walls were soon encompassed and assaulted by the victorious Saracens: and if the besieged were confirmed in their resistance by despair, the be- siegers were animated in their attacks by the double hope of plunder and of Paradise. After a short but bloody struggle, the standard of Ma- homet was displayed on the ramparts; the gar- rison was overpowered; and the defenceless inha- bitants were involved in the promiscuous slaughter by the inexorable victors. Count Julian had plunged so deep in guilt and infamy, that his only hope was in the ruin of his country. After the battle of Xeres, and the capture of Eciga, he recommended the most ef- fectual measures to the Moslem invaders. “The “king of the Goths is slain; their princes are “fled before you; the army is routed; the na- 132 HISTORY OF SPAIN. “tion is astonished. Secure with sufficient de- “tachments the cities of Boetica ; but in per- “son, and without delay, march to the royal “city of Toledo, and allow not the distracted “Christians either time or tranquillity for the “election of a new monarch.” Tarik listened to his advice. A Roman captive and proselyte who had been enfranchised by the Caliph himself, assaulted Cordova with seven hundred horse. He swam the river, surprised the town, and drove the Christians into the great church, where they defended themselves above three months. An- other detachment reduced the sea coast of Boe- tica, which in the last period of the Moorish power, has comprised in a narrow space the po- pulous kingdom of Greneda. The march of Ta- rik from the Boetis to the Tagus might consist of near two hundred miles, and was directed through the Sierra Morena, that separates Andalusia and Castille, till he appeared in arms under the walls of Toledo. The most zealous of the Catholics had escaped with the relics of their saints; and if the gates were shut, it was only till the victor had subscribed a fair and reasonable capitulation. The voluntary exiles were allowed to depart with their effects; seven churches were appropriated to the Christian worship; the archbishop and his clergy were at liberty to exercise their functions, the monks to practice or neglect their penance; HISTORY OF SPAIN. 133 and the Goths and Romans were left in all civil and criminal cases to the subordinate jurisdiction of their own laws and magistrates. But if the justice of Tarik protected the Chris- tians, his gratitude and policy rewarded the Jews, to whose secret or open aid he was indebted for his most important acquisitions. Persecuted by the kings and synods of Spain, who had often pressed the alternative of banishment or baptism, that out- cast nation embraced the moment of revenge. The comparison of their past and present state was the pledge of their fidelity; and the alliance be- tween the disciples of Moses and of Mahomet, was maintained till the final aera of their common ex- pulsion. From the reduction or submission of Toledo, the sons and brother of Witiza found themselves no longer necessary to the victors; they had con- sented to be considered as the confederates, and they suñk into the dependents of the enemies of their country and religion. From the royal seat of Toledo, the Arabian leader spread his conquests to the north, over the modern realms of Castille and Leon. The prostrate cities opened their gates and surrendered their treasures on his approach. The celebrated table of one single piece of solid emerald, encircled with three rows of fine pearls, supported by three hundred and sixty-five feet of gems and massy gold, and estimated at the price 134 HISTORY OF SPAIN. of five hundred thousand pieces of gold, acquired by the Goths among the spoils of Rome, was pre- sented by the Arabs to the throne of Damascus. Beyond the Asturian mountains the maritime town of Gijon bounded the progress of the lieutenant of Musa, who had performed his victorious march of seven hundred miles from the rock of Gibraltar to the Bay of Biscay. Spain, which in a more savage and disorderly state had resisted two hun- dred years the arms of the Romans, was over-run in a few months by those of the Saracens; and such was the eagerness of submission and treaty, that the Governor of Cordova is recorded as the only chief who fell, without conditions, a prisoner into their hands. The cause of the Goths had been irrevocably judged in the field of Xeres; and, in the national dismay, each part of the monarchy declined a contest with the antagonist who had vanquished the united strength of the whole. That strength had been wasted by two successive years of pestilence and famine; and the governors who were impatient to surrender, might exaggerate the difficulties of collecting the provisions necessary to sustain a siege. To disarm the Christians, super- stition likewise contributed her terrors; the subtle Arab encouraged the report of dreams, omens, and prophecies; in the palace of Toledo, an ancient tower had been regarded as the structure of magic; and the tradition, that whenever it was opened the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 135 Gothic monarchy should be extinguished, had been respected by the successors of Alaric. The mind of Roderic was inflamed by the hope of an immense treasure, and his avarice impelled him to tempt the charm. The gates were unlocked or burst open ; and a massy chest in an inward apartment was the object of his eager curiosity. Instead of gold and silver, it was found to contain on a long roll of linen the ferocious features of the Saracens, with an inscription that such was destined to be the conquerors of Spain. The historian who has preserved the tale, has apologised for his insertion of it; but if it was eagerly received by the Goths and Spaniards, the belief of it contributed to pro- duce the consequences it was supposed to have pre- dicted; and an army already impressed with the presage of defeat, could but faintly aspire to the glory of victory. From Gijon, Tarik had been recalled to To- ledo, to excuse his presumption of conquering a kingdom in the absence of his general. The in- telligence of his rapid success had converted the applause of Musa into envy ; and he began, not to complain, but to fear that Tarik would leave him nothing to subdue. At the head of ten thou- sand Arabs and eight thousand Africans he passed over in person from Mauritania to Spain. The first of his companions were descended from the most noble tribe of Arabia; his eldest son was 136 HISTORY OF SPAIN. left to command in Africa; the three younger brethren were of an age and spirit to second the boldest enterprises of their father. At his land- ing at Algezire he was respectfully entertained by count Julian, who stifled his inward remorse, and testified both in words and actions, that the victory of the Arabs had not impaired his attach- ment to the cause. Some enemies yet remained for the sword of Musa. The tardy repentance of the Goths had compared their own numbers and those of the invaders; the cities from which the march of Tarik had declined, considered them- selves as impregnable; and the bravest patriots defended the fortifications of Seville and Merida. They were successively besieged, and reduced by the labour of Musa, who transported his camp from the Boetis or Guadalquivir, to the Anas or Guadiana. When he beheld the works of Ro- man magnificence, the bridge, the aqueducts, the triumphal arches, and the theatre of the ancient metropolis of Lusitania, “I should imagine,” exclaimed he, “that the human race must have “united their heart and power in the foundation of “this city; happy is the man who shall become “ its master.” He aspired to that happiness, but the Emeritans sustained on this occasion the ho- nour of their descent from the veteran legionaries of Augustus. Disdaining the confinement of their walls, they gave battle to the Arabs on HISTORY OF SPAIN. 137 the plain; but an ambuscade rising from the shelter of a quarry or a ruin, chastised their in- discretion, and intercepted their return. The wooden turrets of assault were rolled forward to the foot of the ramparts; but the defence of Merida was obstinate and long ; and the castle of the martyrs was a perpetual testimony of the losses of the Moslems. The constancy of the besieged was at length subdued by famine and despair; and the prudent victor disguised his impatience under the names of clemency and esteem. The alter- native of exile or tribute was allowed; the churches were divided between the two religions, and the wealth of those who had fallen in the siege, or re- tired to Gallicia, was confiscated as the reward of the faithful. > - The adventurous spirit of Tarik had first ex- plored in Spain the road to conquest; yet in an interview between Musa and his lieutenant, a rigid account was demanded from the latter of the spoils of victory. His character was exposed to sus- picion and obloquy ; he was imprisoned, reviled, and ignominiously scourged by the hand, or the command of Musa. Yet so strict was the discip- line, so pure the zeal of the primitive Moslems, that after this public indignity, Tarik could serve and be trusted in the reduction of the Tarrogonese province. The gates and treasures of Saragossa were delivered up to Musa ; and by the pious VOL. I. T 1:38 HISTORY OF SPAIN. liberality of his companions a mosch was erected within the walls of that city; the port of Barce- lona was opened to the vessels of Syria; but the flight of the Goths beyond the Pyrenean mountains was most probably respected by the Saracen ge- neral ; and the best historians postpone the inva- sion of Gaul by the Moskºms, to above twenty years after that of Spain. - - While Musa pursued his victorious career to the foot of the Pyrenean mountains, his son Ab- delaziz chastised the insurgents of Seville; and penetrated along the sea coast of the Mediterranean from Malaga to Valentia. In the districts of Mur- cia and Carthagena, whose plains are fertilized by the waters of the Segura, he was opposed by an adversary worthy of the arms of the Moslems. Theodomir was the son-in-law of Egiza, and had in the reign of that monarch, rendered his name terrible to the Saracens, by the defeat and almost the destruction of their fleet. Under the admi- nistration of Roderic his counsels were neglected, and his valour probably unemployed. But when that prince was no more, he started from obscu- rity ; and his former renown collected to his standard, a band of martial Christians; at their head he waged with success a desultory war; and even the enthusiastic valour of the Saracens seems to have sunk before his genius; Abdelaziz com- municated his difficulties to, and invoked the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 139 assistance of his father; the rapid squadrons of Arabia rushed to his relief. Theodomir was sur- rounded on every side; and the pious enmity of the Moslems might have been gratified by the slaughter of several thousand Christians, had not the sanguinary counsels of the former been tem- pered by the prudence or generosity of Abdelaziz; his original treaty with Theodomir will represent the manners and policy of the times. The condi- tions of peace agreed and snºorn between Abdelaziz, the son of Musa, the son of Nassir, and Theodomir, prince of the Goths. “In the name of the most “merciful God, Abdelaziz makes peace on these “conditions ; that Theodomir shall not be dis- “turbed in his principality; nor any injury be “offered to the life or property, the wives and “children, the religion and temples of the Chris- “tians; that Theodomir shall freely deliver his “seven cities, Orithwell, Valentola, Alicant, “Mola, Vacasora, Bigerra, non Begar, Ora or “Opta, and Lorca; that he shall not assist or “entertain the enemies of the Caliph, but shall “faithfully communicate his knowledge of their “hostile designs; that himself, and each of the “Gothic nobles, shall annually pay one piece of “gold, four measures of wheat, as many of barley, “with a certain proportion of honey, oil, and “vinegar; and that each of their vassals shall “be taxed at one moiety of the said imposition. 140 HISTORY OF SPAIN. “Given the fourth of Regab, in the year of the “Hegira, ninety-four, and subscribed with the “ names of four mussulmen witnesses.” In the conditions of peace, Theodomir and his subjects. must have confessed the lenity of their conquerors; the articles were strictly observed; and four hun- dred years after the death of Theodomir, his ter- ritories of Murcia and Carthagena, according to the Nubian geographer Edrifi, preserved the re- membrance of his administration and his name in the corrupt appellation of Tadmir. - It was not only the natives of Murcia and Car- thagena, who were compelled to acknowledge the moderation of their Mahometan masters. Many partial calamities were doubtless inflicted by the carnal or religious passions of the enthusiasts; some churches were profaned by the new worship; some relics or images were confounded with idols; the rebels were put to the sword; and one town, an obscure place between Cordova and Seville, was razed to its foundations; : yet in general the footsteps of the Saracens were far from being mark- ed with blood or devastation; they exacted the rights of conquest, but they exacted them with temperance; and the rate of the tribute which they imposed appears to have fluctuated from a tenth to a fifth, according to the submission or obstinacy of the Christians. The possession of Spain was considered by HISTORY OF SPAIN. 141. Musa only as the first step to the monarchy of Europe. With a powerful armament by sea and land he was preparing to transfer the war beyond the Pyrenees, to extinguish in Gaul and Italy the kingdoms of the Franks and Lombards, and to preach the doctrines of Mahomet on the altar of the Vatican. From thence subduing the Barbarians of Germany, he proposed to follow the course of the Danube from its source to the Euxine sea, to everthrow the Greek or Roman empire of Constan- tinople, and returning from Europe to Asia, to unite his acquisitions with Antioch and the pro- vinces of Syria. But he was only permitted to revolve the vast enterprise; and the visionary con- queror was soon reminded of his dependence and servitude. The friends of Tarik had effectually stated his services and wrongs at the court of Da- mascus, the proceedings of Musa were blamed, his intensions suspected, and his delay in comply- ing with the first invitation was chastized by a harsher and more peremptory summons. An in- trepid messenger of the Caliph entered his camp at Lugo in Gallicia, and in the presence of the Saracens and Christians arrested the bridle of his horse. His own loyalty, or that of his troops, inculcated the duty of obedience; and his dis- grace was alleviated by the recal of his rival, and the permission of investing with the government of Spain his son Abdelaziz. His long triumph I 42 HISTORY OF SPAIN. from Ceuta to Damascus, displayed the spoils of Africa and the treasures of Spain. Four hundred Gothic nobles, with gold coronets and girdles, were distinguished in his train; and the number of male and female captives, selected for their birth or beauty, was computed at eighteen, or even at thirty thousand persons. As soon as he reach- ed Tiberias in Palestine, he was apprised of the sickness and danger of the Caliph, by a private messenger from Soliman his brother and presump- tive heir, who wished to reserve for his own reign the spectacle of victory. Had Walid re- covered, the delay of Musa would have been cri- minal; he pursued his march, and found an enemy on the throne. In his trial before a partial judge, against a popular antagonist, he was con- victed of vanity and falsehood; and a fine of two hundred thousand pieces of gold, either ex- hausted his property, or proved his rapaciousness. The unworthy treatment of Tarik was avenged by a similar indignity ; and the veteran com- mander, after a public whipping, stood a whole day in the sun before the palace gate, till he ob- tained a decent exile, under the pious name of a pilgrimage to Mecca. The punishment of Musa may accuse the jus- tice of the Caliph ; yet where the personal resent- ment of Soliman interfered not, he appears to have been sensible of equity and capable of humanity. HISTORY OF SPAIN. 143 Among the few Visigoths who accompanied, with- out wearing the chains of Musa, Theodomir was the most distinguished for his merit, the sons of Witiza were most conspicuous for their birth; the former was received with respect by the com- mander of the faithful; his treaty with Abdelaziz was ratified; and his return in safety instructed his countrymen that they might repose with con- fidence on the faith of the Moslems. The sons of Witiza were reinstated in the private patri- mony of their father; but on the decease of Eba, the elder, his daughter was unjustly despoiled of her portion by the violence of her uncle Sisebut. The Gothic maid pleaded her cause be- fore the Caliph Hasham, and obtained the resti- tution of her inheritance; she was given in mar- riage to a noble Arabian, and their two sons, Isaac and Ibrahim, were received in Spain with the consideration that was due to their origin and riches. The guilt of Julian, if we may credit the doubt- ful historians of that age, was expiated by an end more deservedly wretched. After betraying the cause of his country and his religion, he could not expect to share the confidence of the infidel victors. His counsels were slighted, his services coldly acknowledged or tardily rewarded; and a hasty murmur of discontent that escaped him was greedily received, and improved into the 144 HISTORY OF SPAIN. project of a new revolution; his vast estates were confiscated ; he was thrown into a deep dungeon ; and the contempt of his masters suffered him to languish out the wretched remnant of his life in chains and darkness. The calamities his ambition or resentment had inflicted on his country, re- coiled on his own head; yet it was not from the hands of the Saracens that he merited his unhappy destiny; and his fate reveals the jealousy or in- gratitude of Abdelaziz. The son of Musa was himself soon destined to experience the vicissitudes of fortune; the admi- nistration of Spain had been delegated to him by his father, and in the arduous station, above the condition of a subject, and below that of a sove- reign, his active vigilance had challenged the praise of the victors and the vanquished. But the happy effect of his abilities and his virtues were effaced by one injudicious and ill-fated passion. His heart was sensible to the charms of Egilona, the widow of Rodoric, and his marriage with her offended the prejudices both of the Christians and Moslems. His new consort might first have in- flamed him with the desire of independent sover- eignty; and the injurious treatment of his father must have fortified him in the design of erecting his throne at Cordova. But the minds of the Mos- lems were not yet ripe for rebellion; they still re- vered in the Caliph the holy successor of Mahomet; HISTORY OF SPAIN. 145 and no sooner was a suspicion of the intensions of Abdelaziz diffused, than a powerful conspiracy was cemented against him. The destruction of the son of Musa could not, it was justly supposed, prove unacceptable to the court of Damascus. But the manner of his death was a reproach to the sanctity of the Moslems. As at the hour of prayer, with the primitive simplicity of the Arabs, he repaired alone to the mosch of Cordova, he was attacked and murdered by the conspirators. His death was heard with indifference by the Goths and Saracens; his head was transmitted to the Caliph; and by a refinement in cruelty, was presented to the father with the insulting question, whether he acknowledged the features of the rebel P. “I know his features,” he ex- claimed, with indignation; “I assert his inno- “cence; and I imprecate the same, a juster fate “against the authors of his death.” But the age and despair of Musa raised him above the power of kings, and he expired at Mecca of the anguish of a broken heart. On the assassination of Abdelaziz, Ayub, the most guilty, or the most zealous of the conspi- rators, assumed the administration of Spain; he was soon removed by the superior favour or merit of Alahor; and the new lieutenant of the Caliph, after severely chastising the rapacity, prepared to exercise the valour of the Moslems, by leading an VOL. I. Uſ 146 HISTORY OF SPAIN. army of the faithful across the Pyrenees. The dissension of the Franks and the weakness of the Visigoths, facilitated the enterprise; the remnant of the Gothic monarchy beyond those mountains, was overwhelmed by the torrent of the Saracens. The standards of Mahomet were displayed along the gulf of Lyons, beyond the stream of the Ga- romne; the cities of Carcassone, Narbonne, Beziers, and Nismes, opened their gates, or were carried by assault. But the invaders seem to have been im- pelled by the thirst of glory and of spoil; and sa- tiate with slaughter and plunder, they abandoned their conquests, and repassed the Pyrenees. Yet the possession of Spain often tempted the Saracens to aspire to the total conquest of the West; their defeat under the walls of Thoulouse, inflamed in- stead of chilling their ardour; the south of France was blasted by their presence ; and under Ab- derame, one of the successors of Alahor, they pitched their camp in the fruitful plains between Poitiers and Tours. They had been suffered to advance, they neither wished, nor would have been permitted to retreat. The warriors of the West were united under the command of Charles, the illegitimate son of Pepin ; who, with the title of mayor, governed France with absolute power, under the sanction of the Merovingian name. The banks of the Loire was the theatre of a con- flict as memorable for its consequences, as for the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 147 number and renown of the combatants. During the six first days of desultory action, the horse- men and archers of the East, maintained their wonted superiority; but on the seventh, the host of the Saracens was in a close engagement broken, by the robust stature and nervous courage of their adversaries. On that immortal day, the weighty strokes of Charles first, acquired him the surname of Martel, the Hammer; the bloody field was strewed by Abderame himself, and, if we credit the monkish writers, three hundred and seventy- five thousand Mahometans. But though this number is doubtless exaggerated, the victory was complete. The chiefs of the Saracens, amidst the terror of the night, provided each for his separate safety; a second irruption into Provence served only to expose them to a second defeat; and they were instructed by experience, to restrain their ardour within the limits of the Pyrenees, and to guard, instead of passing, the strong posts of those mountains. - - A province is assimilated to the victorious state, by the introduction of strangers, and the imitative spirit of the natives; and Spain, which had been successively tinctured with Punic, with Roman, and with Gothic blood, imbibed, in a few generations, the name and manners of the Arabs. The first conquerors, and the twenty successive lieutenants of the Caliphs, were at- 148 HISTORY OF SPAIN. tended by a numerous train of civil and military followers, who preferred a distant fortune to a narrow home. The private and public interest was promoted by the establishment of faithful co- lonies; and the cities of Spain were proud to commemorate the tribe or country of their Eastern progenitors. The victorious though motley bands of Tarik and Musa asserted, by the name of Spa- niards, their original claim of conquest; yet they allowed their brethren of Egypt, to share their establishments of Murcia and Lisbon. The royal legion of Damascus was planted at Cordova; that of Emesa at Seville; that of Chalcis at Jaen; that of Palestine at Algezire, and Medina Sidonia. The natives of Arabia, Felix and Persia, were scattered round Toledo, and the inland country; and the fertile seats of Grenada were bestowed on ten thousand horsemen of Syria and Irak, the children of the purest and most noble of the Ara- bian tribes. - - > A spirit of emulation, sometimes beneficial, more frequently dangerous, was nourished by these hereditary factions. The patient and submissive spirit of the Moslems which has been so well deli- neated in the example of Tarik, had evaporated in the gradual acquisition of wealth and influence. The rival houses of Ommijah, and of Abbas the uncle of Mahomet, convulsed the East by their pretensions from the Indus to the Euphrates. On HISTORY OF SPAIN. 149 the banks of the Zeb the important contest was decided; Mervan the fourteenth, and last Caliph of the house of Ommijah, animated his army by his presence and his example; but he was forced to yield to the enthusiasm of the Abbassides, con- ducted by Abdallah, the uncle of his competitor. The vanquished Caliph crossed the Euphrates; and, without halting in Palestine, pitched his last camp on the banks of the Nile; he was pursued and attacked by Abdallah; and the lance of an Abbasside terminated the reign and life of Mervan. At a distance from the scene of action, and se- cured by seas and mountains, the Moslems of Spain had listened to the revolution which had agitated the East. Their zeal soon involved them in the consequences of it. In the proscription of the Ommiades a royal youth of the name of Ab- dalrahman alone escaped from the rage of his ene- mies, and gained the shelter of the vallies of mount Altas. His presence in the neighbourhood of Spain revived through that peninsula the hopes of the party who had deplored the ruin of his house. They invited and received him on the coast of Andalusia with open arms. The white standard, the distinction of his faction, was unfurled; and the chiefs who reverenced the memory of the im- mediate successors of Mahomet, drew their sabres in his support. The defeat of the Zeb was avenged on the banks of the Guadalquivir; that river was 150 HISTORY OF SPAIN. swelled with the bodies of the slaughtered Abbas- sides; and the throne of the victorious Abdal- rahman was established at Cordova. It was then arose the age of Arabian gallantry and magnificence, which ex- alted the Moors of Spain above their contempo- raries, and rendered Cordova the seat of the rival arts, and arms. Near thirty years the reign of Abdalrahman was prolonged amidst the acclama- tions of his people; and a hero who was indebted for the sceptre to his sword, as a sovereign en- couraged and extended the mild influence of agri- culture and commerce. He had solicited against the fleet and army of the Caliph Almansor, the aid of the Christians; and after victory, in his edict of pacification, he was not forgetful of their assistance; the modest imposition of ten thousand ounces of gold, ten thousand pounds of silver, ten thousand horses, as many mules, one thousand cuirasses, with an equal number of helmets and lances, rather asserted his sovereignty, than mark- ed the ability of his subjects. The country, from a scene of desolation, rapidly assumed under his impartial government the features of wealth and prosperity. Cordova became the centre of indus- try, of politeness, and of genius. The bold and noble strove in tilts and tournaments; the prize of address and valour was disputed in the capital of the Ommiades by the most illustrious knights A. D. 755, 912. HISTORY OF SPAIN. 151 from every part of Europe; and Spain was the only kingdom of the West where the influence of music was felt, and the studies of geometry, as- tronomy, and physic, were promoted and regu- larly practised. Hassam, the son and successor of Abdalrahman, was not inferior to his father in his thirst of glory and his passion for architecture. He applied the plunder of the southern provinces of France to the holy purpose of completing the mosch which had been begun by his predecessor. He was not only a patron of, but a proficient in the arts; and the bridge which he planned, and threw over the Guadalquivir, remains a lasting monument of his skill. Beneath the second Abdalrahman, new struc- tures supplied the wants of the citizens, and aug- mented the magnificence of Cordova; a perpetual supply of pure water was conducted through pipes and aqueducts into the heart of the city; and the erections of numerous moschs admonished the in- habitants where their gratitude was due for the prosperity they enjoyed. The protection of learn- ing and the learned illustrates the reign of Alka- ham the second. The university of Cordova was founded and endowed by his munificence. The birth-place of the Senecas and the Lucans asserted again its pretensions to literary fame; and might boast a library of six hundred thousand volumes, i52 HISTORY OF SPAIN. forty-four of which were employed in the mere catalogue. A. D. 912. Yet these may be considered as faint * and imperfect sketches of the wealth, the power, and the magnificence of the Caliphs of Spain; and the pomp and profusion of the third Abdalrahman, who reigned about a century and a half after his house was first established at Cordova, must have excited the wonder and envy of his contemporaries, and has almost surpas- sed the belief of posterity. His seraglio, with his wives, his concubines, and black eunuchs, amounted to six thousand three hundred persons; and he was attended to the field by a guard of twelve thousand horse, whose belts and scimitars were studded with gold. The presents that were laid at his feet by his favourite Aboumalik, when preferred to the post of grand vizir, consisted of four hundred pounds of virgin gold, ingots of silver, to the value of four hundred and twenty thousand sequins, five hundred ounces of amber- gris, three hundred ounces of camphire, thirty pieces of gold tissue, so rich as to be worn alone by a Caliph, ten suits of khorasan sables, and one hundred suits of less valuable fur; forty-eight sets of gold and silk trappings for horses, four thou- sand pounds of silk, fifteen coursers of the purest breed of Arabia, and caparisoned worthy of the master that was to mount them; a promiscuous HISTORY OF SPAIN. 153 heap of Persian carpets and coats of mail, of aloes, of shields, and lances; and the long and splendid procession was closed by forty youths, and twenty girls of exquisite beauty, whose collars and brace- lets sparkled with gems of inestimable value. Yet to Abdalrahman the most precious gift of his mi- nister, was the poem which celebrated, and per- haps justly, his virtues; he listened with attention; claimed at least the praise of liberality; and re- warded the merit and artful flattery of the bard, with a pension of one hundred pieces of gold, or upwards of forty thousand pounds sterling. The monarch who could thus acknowledge the influence of verse, was not likely to be insensible to the power of beauty; and Abdalrahman it must be confessed, loved at least with magnificence. Three miles from Čordova, the city, the palace, and the gardens of Zehra, or Arizapha, were constructed in honour of, and designed to perpe- tuate the name of his favourite sultana. The most celebrated architect of Constantinople was invited to draw the plan; the most skilful sculptors and artists of the age, were attracted by the munifi- cence of the Caliph to execute it. The edifice was supported by near twelve hundred columns of Spanish and African, of Italian and Greek marble; the latter were the pledges of alliance and friend- ship from the emperor of Constantinople. The richness of the hall of audience exceeded the V OL. I. X 154 HISTORY OF SPAIN. bounds of credibility. The walls were incrusted with gold and pearls; in the centre, was a bason with curious and costly figures of birds and qua- drupeds; above it hung a pearl of inestimable price, the tribute of the fears or the gratitude of the emperor Leo. Twenty five years, and above three millions sterling, were consumed in con- structing and adorning the favourite residence. Within, and sequestered from view, were the apartments of the envied females who shared, or were reserved for the embraces of Abdalrah- man. The charms of Zehra shone above the nameless multitude, and might defy the eye of malignant criticism; over the principal entrance to the palace, her statue extorted the admiration of the crowd; yet while the enraptured Moslems gazed with ardour on the symmetry of her form, their piety was wounded by the boldness of their sovereign, whose amorous passion had presumed to violate the express mandate of the prophet, which provided against the danger of idolatry by the interdiction of images. Their murmurs pro- bably never reached the ears of Abdalrahman, who when satiated with the delights of love, or fatigued with the toils of the chace, reposed in a lofty pavilion, situated in the midst of a garden, which was adorned with a fountain replenished, not with water, but with the purest quicksilver. In our imperfect estimation of the lot of human HISTORY OF SPAIN. 155 life, there are few who would not willingly accept the cares, with the comforts of royalty. Yet the name of Abdalrahman may be added to the list of those, who from the time of Solomon to the pre- sent age, have complained that the possession of a throne could never afford any lasting satisfaction. An authentic memorial, which ought to temper the ardour of ambition, was found in the closet of the Caliph, after his decease; was transcribed, and carefully preserved, as an instructive lesson to posterity. “I have now reigned above fifty “years, in victory or peace; beloved by my sub- “jects, dreaded by my enemies, and respected “by my allies. Riches and honours, power and “pleasure, have waited on my call, nor does any “earthly blessing appear to have been wanting to “my felicity; in this situation I have diligently “ numbered the days of pure and genuine happiness “ which have fallen to my lot: they amount to “fourteen : O man place not thy confidence in “this present world.” The admonition was pro- bably read, admired, and neglected; the succes- sors of Mahomet seem to have forgotten the spiri- tual rewards that had been promised by the pro- phet; they disdained the abstinence and frugality of the first Caliphs, and aspired to emulate the magnificence, and condescended to indulge in the luxury of the Persian kings. - The vanity of regal splendour may exercise . 156 HISTORY OF SPAIN. the fancy of the moralist, the means which sup- ply it, are the objects of the historian's enquiry. Besides the structures of private pleasure and public utility, a formidable army and regular na- val establishment awed the enemies, and secured the prosperity of the faithful. The master of the / richest provinces of Spain, reaped the harvest of a wise and equitable administration. The royal city of Cordova contained six hundred moschs, nine hundred baths, and two hundred thousand houses; eighty large cities, and three hundred of the second order confessed the authority of the Caliph; the banks of the Boetis, which under the Moors assumed the name of Guadalquivir, were embellished by twelve thousand villages; every hour presented to the traveller a new hamlet; and in the course of a day's journey he might number three or four considerable towns; these were in- habited by an industrious race occupied in agricul- ture and manufactures. The soil which was un- grateful to the plough teemed with the most val- uable minerals; copper, quicksilver, and iron, were exported from the ports of Spain to Barbary, Egypt, and the East. Ambergris, sulphur, saf- fron, ginger, and myrrh, were classed among her natural productions; the coast of Andalusia was celebrated for coral, and that of Catalonia for pearls; the rubies of Malaga and Bajar, and the amethysts of Carthagena were highly esteemed; HISTORY OF SPAIN. 157 the admirable temper of the Spanish steel recom- mended it to a warlike age; and the Moslems of Africa eagerly purchased their curiasses, their hel- mets, and their scimetars from their brethren of Spain. The silk manufactures of Grenada, and the woollen cloths of Murcia, were sought after with avidity, and were sold at an immense profit in the ports of Alexandria and Constantinople. The policy of the Ommiades was displayed in an amicable intercourse with the Byzantine court, which they regarded as their strongest barrier against the enmity of their rivals the Abbassides, and as the most ready market for the industry of their subjects. All the havens of the Grecian dominions were open to the Spanish traders, who imported rich cargoes of merchandize adapted to the capital of opulence and luxury, and in the advantageous commerce attracted to Spain the treasures which had been accumulated by a long series of conquest. But it is probable that the chief source of the wealth of Abdalrahman was derived from the mines of gold and silver with which the country abounded; the value of these it is impossible to appreciate; but the tribute which he exacted from his people has been preserved by an Arabian historian, and amounted annually, ex- clusive of the imposts which were paid in kind, to twelve million nine hundred and forty-five thou- sand dinars, or near six millions sterling ; a sum 158 HISTORY OF SPAIN. which, in the tenth century, most probably sur- passed the united revenues of the Christian mo- narchs; and when the difference of the value of silver between that age and the present is compu- ted, certainly exceeds in a six-fold proportion the revenue of modern Spain; though the neglect of her mines in Europe may have been replaced by the produce of those of America. - In the full possession of wealth and power, Ab- dalrahman had been disappointed of happiness; but he might indulge a natural hope that his mag- nificence would be perpetuated in the splendour of his edifices; and that a throne which was pro- tected by powerful armies, and opulent provinces, might long be filled by his descendants; yet the glories of Zehra have long crumbled into dust; not a trace remains to mark the spot where stood the palace erected with such a waste of treasure; and in less than fifty years from his decease, the kingdom of Cordova was dissolved, and the house of Ommijah overwhelmed. A. D. 961, The name of his son and successor, * Alkaham the second, is still dear to learn- ing; in the luxury of building, he resembled and rivalled his father ; and his foundation of the university of Cordova, and the immense library he collected, are honourable proofs of his taste and liberality; but he was not only known by the works of art, and in the exercise of virtue, HISTORY OF SPAIN. 159 and the distribution of justice, he sought, and ac- quired the esteem of his people. A simple story attests his character open to reproof, and paints beyond laboured pages, the manners of the times. A poor woman at Zehra, possessed a small spot of ground, contiguous to the royal palace; the Caliph, desirous of extending his gardens, had in vain tempted her to part with the land for a sum of money; a regard for the patrimony which had been rendered sacred by the birth of her ances- tors, induced her to reject every proposal; and the head gardener abused the authority of his master, and seized by force what she refused to yield for gain. The woman in an agony of despair flew to Cordova to implore the protection of Ibu Be- kir, the chief cadi of the city. This magistrate immediately mounted on his ass, taking with him a sack of an extraordinary size, and presented himself before Alkaham, who was then sitting in a magnificent pavilion on the very ground in question; the arrival of the cadi, and the appear- ance of the wallet, surprised the prince ; Bekir having prostrated himself, intreated Alkaham to allow him to fill his sack with some of the earth they were then upon. This request granted, and the sack filled, the cadi desired him to help him to lift it upon his ass. The last demand appeared still more extraordinary than the preceding ; the Caliph however consented; but upon putting his 16() HISTORY OF SPAIN. shoulder to it, could not help complaining of the excessive weight of the load. “Sir,” replied the cadi, “this sack, which you find so heavy, con- “tains but a small portion of the earth which “you have unjustly taken from a poor woman; “how then do you expect to be able at the day “ of judgment, to support the weight of the whole “field, you have had so little scruple in usurp- “ing.” Far from being incensed at the bold rebuke, the Caliph generously acknowledged his fault, and ordered the land to be restored to the proprietor, with every thing he had caused to be erected upon it; and the tale is an incontestable evidence, that though the generality of the con- querors of Spain had felt the influence of a luxu- rious and degenerate age, some still cherished the simple virtues of the primitive Moslems. A feeble infant of the name of Has- sem was the son and successor of Alka- ham ; but the reins of administration were intrus- ted to the hand of the celebrated vizir Mahomet Abenamir, who from his valour and vigilance de- served and acquired the surname of Almanzor, or the Defender. He successfully struggled against the tempest of civil and foreign commotion; and fix campaigns that he successively took the field, he returned crowned with victory and covered with glory; the character of invincible, was wrested from him in an obstinate and bloody conflict with A. D. 976. 1492. HISTORY OF SPAIN. 161 the Christians; and from a doubtful or disastrous field, he retired to Medina Coeli ; his haughty spirit allowed him not to brook disgrace; the de- struction of one hundred thousand of the faithful, was imbittered by the reflection that they fell by the swords of the enemies of their religion; Al- manzor deplored or envied their fate, and ashamed to survive, or impatient to join them in paradise, he plunged a dagger in his bosom. The renown of Almanzor was respected in his descendants; the office of vizir became hereditary in his family; and his sons ruled with power as absolute as that of the Caliphs ; but their usurp- ation urged the ambition of other chiefs and emirs; the exclusive pretensions of the house of Ommijah were no longer regarded ; and we may discern through the gloom of history, that the grandson of the great Abdalrahman, was plunged into a dungeon, by his rebellious Moslem subjects, and was released and restored to his throne by a Chris- tian ally; the victorious Saracens, in little more than two centuries, run the same career as the Visigoths they had vanquished; they abused their prosperity, abandoned themselves to luxury, and exhausted in domestic dissensions, that strength which might have enabled them to have resisted, or to have overwhelmed the common enemy. Their ancient glory was overshadowed by a long might of darkness; the limits of their dominions VOL. I. Y 162 HISTORY OF SPAEN. gradually receded ; and were at length confined within the boundaries of Grenada. On that ground the Moors however still displayed the traces of that warlike spirit, which had shone conspicuous in the field of Xeres; and according to the Spanish historians, near eight centuries of almost uninterrupted war elapsed, and three thou- sand seven hundred battles were fought, before the last of the Moorish kingdoms in Spain sub- mitted to the Christian arms. - C H A. P. VI. -**Cº- The Goths maintain their independence in the Asturian moun- tains.—Reign and achievements of Pelagius.--Death of his son and successor Favilla.-Election of Alfonso, surnamed the Catholic.—Reign of Froila.-He regulates the Catholic church.--His victories over Abdalrahman.—IIts severity.— IIis assassination.—Succession of Aurelio, and Silo.—Usur- pation of Mauregato.—Election of Bermudo.—He resigns the crown to Alfonso, the Chaste.—Glorious administration of Alfonso.-He is succeeded by his son Ramiro.—Reign of Ordogno.—Of Alfonso, surnamed the Great.—Of Garcias. —Of Ordogno the Second.—Of Froila the Second.—Of Al- fonso the Fourth.-Of Ramiro.—He wrests the city of To- ledo from the Moslems.—Administration of Abdalrahman the Third.—Prudence of Ramiro.—His victory over the Moors. —He is succeeded by his son Ordogno the Third.—Reign of Sancho.—He is deposed.—Accession of Ordogno the Fourth. —Restoration of Sancho.—He is poisoned.—Election of Ramiro the Third.—Of Bermudo the Second.—Of Alfonso the Fifth.-Of Bermudo the Third.—His death unites in his brother-in-law Ferdinand the crowns of Leon and Castille. -º-º- º s † tº & A. D. 718 IN our admiration of the rapid victories “º.” of the Mahometans, the scanty remnant of Chris- T64 HISTORY OF SPAIN. tians who still rejected their yoke are almost lost to our sight; after the disastrous field of Xeres, and the reduction of Seville and Merida, an illus- trious band of fugitives cherished the flame of liberty in the Asturian vallies. In a life of poverty and freedom their former virtues revived; their nerves were braced by the keen air of indepen- dence; in many a bloody encounter they asserted against the fanatics of Arabia their descent from the hardy warriors of the North; and in the severe school of adversity they courted and deserved the return of prosperity. Amidst their trackless retreats the Christian Spaniards preserved with care and affection their ancient laws and customs; the noble birth, distin- guished courage, and acknowledged ability of Pelagius recommended him as their leader; yet it was not until six years after the defeat of Xeres that in a national assembly of his countrymen he received the title of king; the narrow territory that he was elected to reign over was confined within the district of Liebana, and extended about nine leagues in length, and about four in breadth; but it was broken by steep and frequent moun- tains; and was inhabited by an undaunted race, who might justly aspire to conquer, since they feared not to die. Descending from their craggy abodes, these iron mountaineers presumed again to try their HISTORY OF SPAIN. 165 valour in the open country; their bold incursions were planned with judgment and executed with success; and their election of Pelagius awakened the Moors from the illusion, that all resistance to their dominion in Spain was extinguished. Across the Pyrenees, amidst his career of victory, the exultation of Alahor was checked by the intel- ligence of their achievements; at his command, an army of the faithful was drawn from the gar- risons of Seville, Toledo, and Merida; they were joined by a select detachment from the Arabian forces in Gaul; and under the command of the valiant Alahaman, and the treacherous Oppas, they directed their march to the Asturian moun- tains, to trample out the last spark of liberty. At the head of his brave associates, fortified by the love of freedom and the contempt of death, Pelagius heard without dismay, the approach of the numerous host of the invaders; he suffered them to traverse the rough and lofty mountains of Auseba, and to descend into the valley beneath. But with the eye of a general he marked that narrow spot for the scene of his own glory and their destruction. While they triumphed in the full assurance of success, they were suddenly assailed from the neighbouring heights with stones, with arrows, and with javelins. Their numbers only served to increase their confusion, and to swell the tide of slaughter : they were incapable of 166 HISTORY OF SPAIN. avoiding the ponderous fragments of rocks which were precipitated from above on their heads; an ambuscade of Christians started from the hollow caverns of the mountains ; and their swords com- pleted the bloody labour which had been begun by the missile weapons of their brethren. Oppas in chains was reserved to meet the just reward of his perfidy; Alahaman sought and obtained a soldier's death ; the vale is said to have been heaped with the bodies of one hundred thousand Moslems; and though we may distrust the num- ber, we may safely assert that where religion and revenge combined to edge the sword of the vic- tors, the slaughter was urged with cruel diligence and without mercy. The remnant that escaped from battle traversed with fearful steps the moun- tain Auseba, and on the banks of the Deva halted from the pursuit of the conquerors, and hoped they had reached the term of their misfortunes; but a less glorious fate impended over them; as they at- tempted to pass the stream of the Deva, a neigh- bouring mountain was overthrown by an earth- quake; the river was agitated by the concussion and swelled by the massy fragments; the greatest part of the fugitive Moslems were overwhelmed in its waters; the convulsion of nature in a superstitious age was attributed to the preternatural interference of providence; and the courage of the pious Chris- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 167 tians was confirmed by the belief that heaven war- red on their side. One defeat had not effaced in the minds of the Moslems a long series of victory and plunder; on the intelligence of the national calamity, Mumuza, the Moorish governor of Gijon, marched forth with his garrison to check the pride and chastise the temerity of the Christians. In the valley of Olalles, about three leagues below the modern city of Oviedo, his presumption was reproved by the martial followers of Pelagius. Two thirds of the Moors perished in the action or pursuit; the strong town of Gijon capitulated, or was reduced by force ; vanquished in two trials, the Moors tacitly relinquished for some time the unprofitable contest. More intent on spoil than on propagating the faith of their prophet, they turned from a wild and barren country overshadowed with woods and mountains, defended by a fearless race, whose swords and freedom were almost their sole posses- sions, to breathe the genial climate, and to revel in the plenty of the southern provinces of Gaul; their success across the Pyrenees was productive of a double advantage to the independent Spaniards; it allowed them a short repose from war to esta- blish order in their new government; and in the abuse of prosperity and the indulgence of luxury, it relaxed the nerves, and gradually softened the ferocious spirit of their enemies. 168 HISTORY OF SPAIN. Nineteen years Pelagius swayed with success the sceptre he had formed; and a territory above forty leagues in length acknowledged his authority; in that space he exercised the virtues which had raised him to sovereignty; his subjects were taught to revere his justice, and his neighbours to respect his valour; his end is involved in obscurity; but it is more than probable amidst a turbulent and san- guinary age, a peaceful death was the reward of his merits. - . A. D. 737. The gratitude of Spain, and of Chris- * tianity, have embalmed the memory of Pelagius, and elevated to the vacant throne his son Favilla; two years of royalty were not sufficient to display the ambiguous character of Favilla; and he is variously represented by the Spanish historians as indolent and luxurious, as active and enter- prising; his subjects soon deplored or exulted in his premature fate; and as he eagerly pursued the chace in the mountains of Asturia, he was thrown to the ground, and mortally wounded by a bear, before his attendants could interpose in his defence. A. D. 789. His brother-in-law, Alfonso, was by * the suffrages of a free people called to the succession; the surname of the Catholic was the tribute to his zeal for religion; and the esteem of his subjects was the reward of his valour and wisdom. New churches arose on the ruins of the moschs of the infidels, and new boundaries HISTORY OF SPAIN. 169 were prescribed to the ambition or usurpation of the Saracens. The Moslems, exhausted by do- mestic factions and the rival pretensions of the houses of Ommijah and Abbas, were inattentive to, or incapable of opposing his progress. He penetrated into Gallicia ; reduced Lugo, which had beheld the glory and disgrace of Musa; and turning to the north, pitched his camp in the plains of Leon and Castille; the gates of Astorga, Saldagna, and Victoria, were burst open by his arms, or were unbarred by the secret inclinations of the inhabitants; he presented himself on the borders of the modern kingdom of Portugal, and he pursued his victorious march through old Cas- tille, to the range of mountains which divides it from the men. Yet his enterprises, though con- ducted with vigour, were tempered with prudence; at the conclusion of each campaign, he retired within the craggy district of Asturia; his retreat was marked by devastation; he prudently inter- posed a wide and desert frontier between his nar- row territories and the populous dominion of the Moors; but the fame of his exploits and the liberal distribution of his spoil, attracted from every quarter of Spain, a crowd of bold or hungry Christians, who had long borne with indignation the yoke of the Mahometans; the latter were ex- hausted by famine and civil commotion ; yet it was not until the evening of his reign that Alfonso Z 170 HISTORY OF SPAIN. ventured to quit his native fastnesses, and to re- build the walls of, and to occupy the cities of Leon and Astorga. A. D. 758, His son Froila succeeded to his crown * and his abilities in war, but he possessed not his generosity and magnanimity in peace. His disposition was stern and sanguinary; and he commanded the obedience, without deigning to conciliate the affections of his subjects. His first reform has been applauded by the writers of a monkish age; the clergy had availed themselves of the general distraction after the death of Ro- deric, to gratify the impulse of nature, and several had contracted themselves in marriage with the objects of their honourable passion; but the laity, who had regarded with indifference their promis- cuous amours, were scandalized in their violation of the canons of the church by the forms of a legal union. The austerity of the sovereign happily agcorded with the wishes of his subjects; the authority of the Catholic church was vindicated by Froila; and throughout Spain, its ministers were confined to celibacy without being restored to chastity. The victory of Abdalrahman on the banks of the Guadalquivir, had established in Spain the house of the Ommiades; and a prince who had triumphed over the kindred valour of the Moslems, endured not without indignation the hostile pro- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 17 | gress of the Christians; the expectation of spoil, and the promise of paradise, assembled between the Duero and Tagus a numerous host of the Sa- racens; they passed the confines of Portugal, and the name of Pontumo marks the spot in Gallicia, where they descried the ensigns of the Christians. The inferiority of numbers was supplied by the skill and valiant example of Froila ; fifty-four thousand Moslems were extended lifeless on the field; their general was amongst the slain ; the moment of success was improved by the address of Froila ; and the city of Oviedo, which he des- tined for his new capital, was, with the spoils of the vanquished, erected at a small distance from Gijon, on the banks of the Aste, which is formed from the confluence of the waters of the Ova and Deva. A second attempt of Abdalrahman to retrieve his honour, served only to augment his disgrace; another army of the Moslems was lost in the moun- tainous districts of old Castille; and the Caliph in an honourable truce confessed his dread of his Christian adversary. But Froila was not less the terror of his enemies than of his subjects. In the last invasion of Abdalrahman, the natives of Gal- licia had neglected or refused to join the standard of their sovereign; and no sooner had he concluded peace with the Saracens, than at the head of an obedient army he entered Gallicia, and by the 172 HISTORY OF SPAIN. execution of the most illustrious or most rebellious of the inhabitants, taught them to dread the resent- ment of an offended monarch. The neighbouring provinces beheld with dismay and discontent the tremendous example; the guilt and danger of dis- obedience were forgotten in the excess of the punishment; and Froila, who had never possessed the love, was now exposed to the hatred of his people; his mind was probably irritated by the ingratitude of the multitude and consciousness of his services; and his brother, except himself the only legitimate son of Alfonso, was the victim of his jealousy. Bimarano inherited, or was suppo- sed to inherit, the popular qualities of his father; the esteem of his countrymen was the signal for his death; and in a perfidious conference he was stab- bed by the hand of Froila. The safety of the ty- rant, for such is the name that he hereafter de- serves, was undermined by his own crime; his nobles repressed their abhorrence of his unnatural deed; and patiently waited for the moment of re- taliation. The dagger of an assassin was whetted against the life of Froila; and he fell without being lamented by the people whom he had defended. A. D. 768, The feeble claims of an infant son, the ” only fruits of the marriage of Froila with his beautiful captive Monina, were lost in the de- testation of the father, or were deferred from the debility of his years; and Alfonso, who afterwards HISTORY OF SPAIN. 173 arose the father and the glory of his country, was set aside for Aurelio, the cousin of, and probably one of the conspirators against the late king; a confederacy of the Moorish slaves to avenge their sufferings in the blood of their Christian masters, but which was early detected and quelled, marks alone the reign of Aurelio; his brother Bermudo had entered into the pale of the church, and seem- ed precluded from the cares and comforts of roy- alty; and Aurelio, destitute of offspring, sought a successor amongst the most illustrious nobles of his court. The address or virtues of Silo secured him the preference; he received the hand of Adosinda, the kinswoman of his sovereign; was intrusted with a considerable share in the administration ; and on the death of Aurelio, was declared his suc- cessor by the suffrages of the nobility and with the approbation of the people. The judgment of Aurelio was ap- A. p. proved in the measures of Silo; during a reign of nine years an obscure rebellion in Gal- licia alone interrupted the public tranquillity. The new monarch promoted with ability the happiness of his people, and watched with honourable care over the education of the youthful Alfonso. On his death that prince was, with the consent of several of the nobility, and under the protection of the dowager queen Adosinda, declared king; but 774. 174 HISTORY OF SPAIN. the sceptre was ravished from his hand by a mature and unexpected competitor. A. D. 783. The piety of Alfonso, the Catholic, had * not fortified him against the frailty of human nature; a Moorish captive had shared his embraces ; and the issue of their illicit intercourse had obtained from the mother the name of Maure- gato. In the humble condition of a subject, he remembered the rank of his father; and his am- bition suggested to him the means of ascending to the same station. He was not ignorant of the se- cret dread lest Alfonso should inherit the austerity of Froila ; he improved the fears of the multitude by dark and subtle rumours; and at length openly assumed the crown. It is probable Alfonso in a field of battle might have substantiated his previous election; but a civil war might have proved fatal to the infant strength of the Christians; and the son of Froila proved himself worthy of a throne by refusing to hazard his country's welfare in the de- fence of it. He retired to his patrimonial estate in Biscay; that popularity which had been denied him in the palace, accompanied him to his retreat; and whatever might be the secret wishes of Maure- gato, he engaged to respect, and he feared to vio- late the safety of his magnanimous rival; but he disgraced by weakness the crown he had obtained by perfidy; to support his title he introduced into his dominions the enemies of his country and his HISTORY OF SPAIN. 17.5 religion; an army of Moors awed the rising dis- contents of his subjects ; but while they protected him from the indignation of the Christians, they held him in dependence on the will of the Mos- lems. The invidious tale of his furnishing to the seraglio of the Caliph the annual tribute of an hundred virgins, has been rejected by the most impartial critics; yet it is certain he was exposed both to the suspicion and hatred of his people; and his death, after an unpopular reign of six years, was considered as a national deliverance. On his decease, it might naturally A. p. ss. have been expected that the former for- * bearance of Alfonso would have united in his favour the voice of the nation; yet we read with surprise, that Bermudo, the brother of Aurelio, was drawn from the cloister to exchange his cowl for a crown. The election of Bermudo cannot be suspected of intrigue; and the goodness of his heart was evin- ced in the first measure of his reign; he sent for Alfonso, introduced him into his councils, and as soon as the public prejudice was subsided, intrusted him with the principal military command. The ambition or fanaticism of the Moors had again im- pelled them to invade the Christian territories; and Bermudo, accompanied by Alfonso, marched to oppose the infidel host. Buraba, a small town in the neighbourhood of Burgos, was the scene of their bloody encounter; and the stream of the 176 HISTORY OF SPAIN. river Aranzon was purpled with the blood of the combatants. The Moors were broken and defeat- ed; and amidst the tumult of the day the valour of Alfonso was conspicuous above that of his country- men. The generous Bermudo seized the moment of admiration and gratitude; he resigned the crown ; and Alfonso the second, who from the purity of his life and manners was surnamed the Chaste, was elected in his place. A. D. 791. The grateful affection of Alfonso suf- * fered not Bermudo to escape to retirement; though he had resigned the title, he was still re- garded by his successor as a king, and lodged with every mark of respect in the palace. But while Alfonso divided the honours, he supported alone the cares of sovereignty. Gallicia was deluged by a second inundation of the Moslems, and their destructive progress claimed the presence of the new monarch. He marched at the head of the companions of his former victory; and near Lodos attacked the infidels, who by their own temerity, or the treachery of their guides, had been betrayed into a morass. Sixty thousand of the Moslems were either slaughtered by the Christians or lost in the bog. The domestic dissensions of the Moors suspended for a short time their hostile enterprizes; and Alfonso neglected not to avail himself of the favourable opportunity; he repaired the walls, and re-peopled the city of Braga, on the banks of HISTORY OF SPAIN. 177 the Cavado; he penetrated in arms through the heart of Portugal to the mouth of the Tagus; he reduced the city of Lisbon, whose ancient name of Olisippo, was in an age of fable supposed to have been derived from Ulysses; and with the spoil he enriched the new citizens of Braga. The advantages which Alfonso had gained in arms, he endeavoured to preserve by negociation; Charlemagne, the potent emperor of the West, had during the dissensions of the Moors, been in- vited into Spain by a powerful emir of the name of Ibinala, and who appears to have abused the inde- pendent authority he had exercised over the city of Saragossa. Driven thence by the general indig- nation of the inhabitants, in the diet of Paderborn he implored the assistance of Charlemagne; the influence of the exiled Arabian was re-established by the arms of the Christian monarch, who carried by assault Pampeluna, traversed the Ebro, and successfully invested the city of Saragossa. The rebellious followers of Christ and Mahomet were impartially crushed by the protector of insulted sovereignty, but in the fidelity of an ally, Charle- magne neglected not his own aggrandizement; he occupied in his own name the countries he pene- trated through ; and the march of Spain which he instituted, extended from the river Ebro beyond the Pyrenees, and included the country of Roussil- lon. Barcelona was the residence of a French VOL. I. 2 A. 178 HISTORY OF SPAIN. governor, whose jurisdiction was confessed through the province of Catalonia, and the kingdoms of Navarre and Arragon. But in his retreat the rear-guard of Charlemagne was exposed to dis- grace and loss; and it is this action which has been so much celebrated in romance for the death of the famous Roland. The situation and religious communion of Charlemagne pointed him out to Alfonso as his natural ally. In a splendid embassy the king of Oviedo sought and obtained the friendship of the powerful emperor of the West; the Moors dread- ed, and were cautious of provoking the resentment of the latter; but they still hoped to overwhelm the former. A new host of infidels laid waste the country round Burgos, and pursued their disorderly march through the mountainous district of Biscay; as they advanced, incumbered with spoil, and care- less of discipline, they were attacked and cut to pieces by Alfonso. So many illustrious exploits ought to have rendered the king of Oviedo the idol of his subjects; yet it is with astonishment we find that in the moment of victory he was seized, dethroned, and imprisoned, by a formidable fac- tion; the whole transaction is involved in obscu- rity; but if we may credit the Spanish historians, the army which he led against the Moors, was composed chiefly of malecontents, who remem- bered the severity of Froila, and waited to avenge HISTORY OF SPAIN. 179 it on his son ; they betrayed the confidence that had been reposed in them; suddenly surrounded his tent, and though they violated the dignity, they respected the life, of Alfonso ; the monastery of Abalia became his prison; but his disgrace was of short duration; the ingratitude he had experi- enced was resented by the majority of his people; the name of Theudes is preserved as the illustrious chief who first animated the multitude to arms in defence of their injured sovereign; the rebels were compelled to yield to the torrent of loyalty; and from Abalia Alfonso was conducted in triumph to Oviedo. By his clemency he extinguished the embers of faction; and the conspirators who were pardoned by his magnanimity, ever afterwards served him with zeal and fidelity. In three successive actions the renown of Alfon- so was confirmed, and the superiority of the Chris- tians established over the infidels; but on a throne the son of Froila, was not suffered to taste repose: and the perfidy of a Moorish chief whom he had protected against Abdalrahman the second, and intrusted with the defence of the frontiers of Gal- licia, summoned him again to arms; Mahomet, for such was the name of the traitor, to purchase the pardon of the court of Cordova, consented to betray his trust; and Gallicia was suddenly deso- lated by the Moslems; the aged limbs of Alfonso were once more clothed in steel; and at Lugo the 180 HISTORY OF SPAIN. adversaries of his faith and country were taught that years, though they had impaired his strength, had not chilled his ardour; the field was strewed with fifty thousand lifeless infidels; and the head of the perfidious Mahomet was presented to the victor. The last moments of the reign of Alfonso were gilded by victory; but his infirmities warned him of his approaching end; a disposition naturally serious might, between the cares of royalty and the grave, wish to employ some short interval in pious meditation; the king of Oviedo might be desirous of placing his glory beyond the reach of fortune, or of committing the protection of his subjects to a more vigorous arm. In the choice of a successor he is asserted to have been influenced by the power and splendid reputation of Charle- magne; and it has been supposed that he only yielded to the unwillingness of his subjects to ex- clude from the throne the house of Pelagius; the idea which has been hastily adopted and adorned by the lively pen of the Abbe Vertot, is effaced by a reference to the dates of the most accurate histo- rians; the emperor of the West had expired near thirty years before the king of Oviedo abdicated the throne; the ties of gratitude and consangui- nity more powerfully pleaded for Ramiro, the eldest son of Bermudo; the young prince had al- ready signalized his valour in the victory of Lugo; HISTORY OF SPAIN. I 81 and to his hand, with the approbation of his peo- ple, Alfonso resigned the sceptre of Oviedo. Fifty years of foreign war and domestic commo- tion were succeeded by four of private tranquillity; divested of the authority, he still displayed the magnificence of a monarch; the numerous churches he erected were the monuments of his piety; and in the seventy-eighth year of his age, he breathed his last amidst the lamentations of his subjects. His death exposed his kingdom again A. p. sis. to the storms of civil discord; the absence 851. of Ramiro, on the frontiers of Navarre, encourag- ed the presumption of Nepotian, whose birth or situation is marked by the title of count; at the head of a powerful army he advanced towards Biscay, and compelled the new monarch to vindi- cate his title in arms; but before the encounter, the minds of the followers of Nepotian were van- quished by fear or remorse; they delivered their leader in chains to their king; his life was spared; but he was deprived of his eye-sight, and he was confined ever after within the walls of a mo- nastery. The administration of Ramiro was short, stormy, but glorious; a second rebel, whose rank of count of the palace reveals his ingratitude, succeeded to the hopes, and shared the fate of Nepotian. A daring race of adventurers descending from the snowy mountains of Norway, explored every shore I82 HISTORY OF SPAIN. that promised spoil or settlement; their vessels were moored in the haven of Corunna; and their predatory incursions commanded the presence of the king himself; the northern pirates were routed with considerable slaughter; part of their fleet was destroyed; and for some time the kindred squadrons of Norway shunned the inauspici- ous coast. The second Abdalrahman proved a more formidable adversary; and in Asturia the number of Moslems who at his command over- shadowed the land, were compared to a cloud of locusts. Yet the long array was broken by the martial Christians; and the valour of Ordogno, the son of Ramiro, proved him worthy of the crown of Oviedo; in a second invasion Abdalrahman might deplore the degeneracy of the Moslems, or the rising virtue of the Christians; and the plains of Clavigo were fertilized with the blood of the infi- dels. It was on this occasion that St. James, the patron of Spain, mounted on a milk-white steed, was supposed to have animated by his presence the warriors of Christ; his assistance was repaid by the endowment of the church of Compostella; and long after the Spaniards complained that the yoke of the infidels could not have been more heavy than the tribute of gratitude which had been im- posed in the name of the saint. After a turbulent reign of six years, A. D. 851. - Ramiro was dismissed to the grave; and HISTORY OF SPAIN. 183 the sceptre of Oviedo dropped into the hands of his son Ordogno, who from the victory over the Moors, had been associated with his father in the toils of government. Yet the first moments of accession were disturbed by the revolt of the na- tives of Biscay: and he had scarce quelled by his vigour the insurgents, before he was informed that the forces of the Caliph had penetrated into the heart of his dominions. His march was conducted with secrecy and celerity ; and before the infidels had intelligence of his approach, they were as- tonished by his presence in their camp ; the rem- nant that escaped the sword, consulted their safety in a precipitate retreat ; their intestine dissensions suspended for some time their hostile incursions; and the rage of the contending factions was fomen- ted by the policy of Ordogno, who beheld and re- joiced in their mutual destruction. The prosperity of his people was the best re- ward of his address; yet Ordogno was not ex- empted from the murmurs of his subjects; the bishop of Compostella had been accused of a crime as degrading to nature, as offensive to religion; in the manly abhorrence of Ordogno, he forgot that the accusers of the prelate were his slaves, who might be influenced by private resentment; he commanded the bishop instantly to be exposed in the circus to a wild bull; but the furious beast instead of destroying, gently approached the holy 184 HISTORY OF SPAIN. culprit ; an event that might be derived from a thousand causes, and which probably was the ef- fect of the natural ascendancy of man over the brute creation, was in a superstitious age improved into a miracle; the bishop was however content to elude his danger; and to conceal his shame, or cherish his indignation in an hermitage; and he was followed to his cell by the acclamations of the unthinking crowd, whose reproaches accused the justice of their sovereign. The angry clamours of the multitude at the sentence of Ordogno, may serve to display the superstitious veneration of the age for the ministers of the church; but they were soon drowned in the loud applause which was extorted by the martial achievements of the king of Oviedo. The Moors again invaded his dominions, and their temerity was again chastised by the aged arm of the royal warrior. Near Albaga, Muza, who with the title of emir, ruled with independent authority over the district of Saragossa, was defeated with the loss of ten thousand Moslems ; his son-in-law was amongst the slain ; and Muza himself escaped with difficulty the chains of the victors, to expire of his wounds in his capital. The Normans, whose incursions had again violated the tranquillity of Gallicia, were repulsed, and compelled to seek shelter in their ships; and the infidels, after a second irruption into Asturia, were obliged to re- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 185 tire with disgrace; a formidable fleet that had been assembled by the Caliph, for the conquest of Portugal, was dispersed by tempests, or destroyed by the squadrons of Oviedo. Animated by vic- tory, Ordogno aspired beyond the glory of a de- fensive war; and he besieged and wrested from the caliph Mahomet, the important cities of Sala- manca and Coria. The difficulty of preserving any acquisitions beyond the stream of the Duero, probably influenced Ordogno to abandon his new conquests; the walls were dismantled ; the Ma- hometan inhabitants were swept away into slavery; and their spoils enriched the capital of Oviedo. The victorious career of Ordogno was checked by the increasing infirmities of age, and it was the natural desire of the father to transmit to his son, the sceptre which he himself had wielded with so much vigour and success. In a national council, the wishes of Ordogno were gratified; Alfonso was associated with him in the royal dig- nity; and soon after, in the full possession of the admiration and esteem of his subjects, the veteran monarch breathed his last. Alfonso the third, who from his ex- a. p. sea. ploits, deserved and obtained the surname * of Great, was in his eighteenth year when he as- cended the throne of his father; but the dawn of his future glory was overcast by the clouds of do- mestic commotion; he had scarce received in his VOL. I. 2 B . | 86 HISTORY OF SPAIN. capital the oath of allegiance from his subjects, before he was astonished by the approach of a formidable army, conducted by Froila, who had been intrusted with the government of Gallicia; and whose ambition aspired to the crown. Inca- pable of resisting the presumptuous rebel, Alfonso quitted Oviedo, and retired into the mountains of Castille; he was accompanied in his retreat by the most illustrious of the nobles, who acknow- ledged in their attachment to the son, the services and friendship of the father; the success of the usurper had been rapid, but his authority was transient; he was incapable of sustaining with moderation the favour of fortune ; and in the abuse of his power, he quickly degenerated into a tyrant. His arrogance offended those who had contributed to his elevation ; his cruel jealousy was dreaded by the party who secretly repined at his grandeur; obnoxious to all, he was soon the victim of his temerity; a conspiracy was silently formed against him; and he was assassinated in the palace that he had so lately seized. The fate of the tyrant was rapidly conveyed to the mountains of Castille; Alfonso quitted his re- treat, and entered Oviedo amidst the acclamations of his subjects; even the troops which had pro- moted the usurpation of Froila, joined in the ge- neral joy. A prudent amnesty quieted their fears, but might encourage the presumption of other HISTORY OF SPAIN. 187 pretenders; and the revolt of the counts of Alava, claimed the presence of the new monarch in the province of Biscay; the rebels, astonished by his celerity, deprecated his wrath by submission ; but no sooner had he pointed again his march towards Oviedo, than they derided and violated their en- gagements, and again assembled in arms; without hesitation Alfonso turned his face once more to- wards Alava ; the revolt was crushed by his vigour; but the traitors could no longer hope for mercy; and the natural disposition of Alfonso yielded to the claims of justice and the resentment of an injured sovereign. It was on his own subjects that the first tro- phies of Alfonso were erected; but the more splen- did and acceptable monuments of his fame were founded on his victories over the enemies of his faith and country. In the nuptial bed he had scarce tasted the charms of the fair but turbulent Ximene, before he was summoned to the field ; and the surname of Great was earned in near thirty laborious but prosperous campaigns. Two Maho- metan armies which had endeavoured to penetrate into his dominions by the opposite routes of Leon and Gallicia, were successively encountered and defeated; the victor passed in arms the Duero; overthrew, and restored the walls of Coimbra; re-peopled the cities of Braga and Porto; repaired those of Lamego and Wiseo, and occupied the dis- 188 HISTORY OF SPAIN. trict of modern Portugal between the Minho and the Duero. Yet in extending his dominions he was exposed to fierce and frequent conflicts; and it was not until the pride of the king of Cordova had been humbled by repeated defeats, and his son Almundar had been obliged to retreat before a Christian hero, that he consented to subscribe an honourable truce for six years, which confirmed to Alfonso the districts he had conquered. While Alfonso was feared and admired abroad, his throne was assailed, and his authority resisted at home. Three successive rebellions in Gallicia are distinguished by the names of their leaders, Anno, Hermegild, and Witiza ; the motives of revolt are concealed from our view; but the punishments of the rebels are recorded ; the estate of the first was confiscated ; the second atoned with his life for his treason ; and the third was con- demned to perpetual imprisonment. Yet clemency and severity seemed to produce the same effects; the reign of Alfonso was destined to incessant war- fare; and one rebellion was scarce extinguished before another broke out. * In Castille a second Froila aspired to seize the crown of Oviedo; his extraction was probably illustrious; but the supposition of Mariana, that he was a son of Ordogno, is destroyed by the evi- dence of a contemporary historian, who asserts Alfonso to have been the only issue of that mon- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 189 arch. His three brothers, Nugnez, Odoair, and Veremond, were impelled by affection or seduced by ambition to share his hopes and danger; but their counsels were betrayed; and before they could assemble a sufficient army to maintain their pretensions in the field, they were alarmed by a summons to appear before their sovereign. Their flight proclaimed their guilt ; they were pursued, overtaken, and brought back in chains; and the loss of their eyes was the consequence of their presumption. After a year of darkness and confinement, the chains of the blind Veremond were unlocked by a friendly hand; and from his dungeon of Oviedo, he escaped to the strong city of Astorga. His flight revived the drooping spirits of his faction; and the walls of Astorga were defended against Alfonso, by a numerous and desperate party; the cause of Veremond was supported by the king of Cordova; who strove to extend the flames of civil commotion, and retorted on the Christians the arts which they had practised on the Moslems; a Moorish army marched to the relief of Astorga; they were joined by the garrison; and in the plains which are fertilized by the river Ezla, the rebels, with their infidel allies, hazarded, and were vanquished in a decisive engagement; part fell by the sword; part perished in the waters of the Ez- la ; but amidst the tumult of defeat, the life and 190 HISTORY OF SPAIN. liberty of Veremond was preserved by the care of his attendants; from the field he was conveyed into the Moorish dominions; and found an asylum in the policy or generosity of the caliph Abdal- lah. A new truce between the Christians and Mos- lems was soon succeeded by war; and the banks of the Duero, in the neighbourhood of Zamora, were distinguished by the last victory which Al- fonso achieved as a king. In every foreign or domestic contest that monarch had resisted or vanquished his enemies; and during a long and tempestuous reign, his labours had been cheered by the remembrance of former exploits, and the hopes of future success. But his declining years were exposed to a struggle which even conquest could not reconcile ; the magnificence of his buildings and the length of his wars, had com- pelled him to impose new taxes on his subjects; and an ungrateful and inconsiderate people mur- mured at the expences which had contributed to their splendour and security. Their discontents were secretly inflamed by Garcias, the eldest son of the king, whose impatient and rebellious hand grasped at a sceptre, which in a short time must have descended to him without guilt; the con- federacy was swelled by Ximene, who repined in the arms of an old and infirm husband. But the unnatural design of Garcias had not entirely eluded HISTORY OF SPAIN. 191 the observation of Alfonso ; the prince was seized and strictly confined; and Ximene, after having in vain solicited his release, prepaired to obtain it by force. She was supported by Nugnez Fernan- dez, one of the most powerful nobles of Castille; and a civil war was kindled throughout the king- dom. The prudence of Alfonso taught him to pre- vent or terminate a contest which must have been fatal to his house, and destructive to his people; he disdained to reign by force; he abhorred the effu- sion of Christian blood ; and in a national council at Oviedo, he declared his intention to resign the crown to his son ; more truly great in the moment of his abdication than in the meridian blaze of prosperity, he retired from the palace; even the stubborn spirit of Garcias was vanquished by his generosity; and in the possession of the throne, he displayed that duty and reverence for his father, which he had despised or neglected in the con- dition of a subject. The Moors were soon taught that not- a. p. glo. withstanding the abdication of Alfonso, * the same counsels prevailed at Oviedo. Garcias penetrated into the heart of Castille, defeated an army of the infidels, and made their general pri- soner. In a second incursion the van guard was led by Alfonso himself; and the Christians and Mahometans beheld with mutual astonishment a son trust the father whom he had dethroned, and a j92 HISTORY OF SPAIN. father serve the son by whom he had been betray- ed. The country beyond the Duero was swept by their united arms; the cities of Meda, Corunna, Osma, and Coca, on the banks of that river rose from their ruins and were strengthened by new for- tifications; but the royal veteran was incapable of sustaining the fatigue of this last expedition; and on his return within the walls of Zamora, death closed the long and glorious toils of Alfonso the Great. * Bold and enterprising in the field, Garcias was the terror of his enemies; but stern and inexora- ble in the capital, he never acquired the affections of his subjects; they applauded his valour, but they dreaded his severity; and his premature death, after a short reign of three years, was received with indifference or exultation. A. D. 913. The vacant throne was filled by his * brother Ordogno the second, who had ad- ministered with independence the province of Gal- licia during the life of Garcias. He inherited the active valour of his father; and the town of Tala- vera, and the castle of Alhanges are distinguished by two successive victories over the Moors; the pride of Abdalrahman, the last and greatest caliph of that name, was wounded by the rapid success of Ordogno, the ardour of the Moslems was rekindled by the hope of plunder, and the promise of para- dise; some partial succour was drawn from their HISTORY OF SPAIN. 193 brethren of Africa; and a kindred host of eighty thousand Mahometans devoured the fertile coun- try along the banks of the Duero. The Chris- tian banners summoned them from the indulgence of rapine, to the trial of valour. After an ob- stinate and bloody struggle their ranks were transpierced, and their arrogance confounded by the hardy warriors of Asturia; the multitude was dispersed, their leaders slain, and their rich ar- mour, their belts enchased with gold, were the rewards of the victors. Leon witnessed the tri- umph, and more than shared the protection of her sovereign; that city was established by Or- dogno as his capital, and the title of king of Ovie- do was lost in that of Leon. Yet prosperity did not invariably gild the ad- ministration of Ordogno, and he was soon after reminded of the vicissitudes of fortune. The Spanish march, which had been instituted by Charlemagne, had been dissolved in the weak- ness of his successors; and about fourscore years after his death, the governors of Charles the Sim- ple revolted from his authority;-with the title of count confounded that of king, and asserted their independence over their separate districts. The king of Navarre, oppressed by the superior num- bers of the Moslems, solicited the assistance of his nephew Ordogno; and policy, or the ties of blood, induced the latter to march with a power- - 2 C 194 HISTORY OF SPAIN. ful army to the assistance of his kinsman and ally. In the valley of Junquera their combined forces attacked the infidel host; but the event of the day was unfavourable to the Christians; the confeder- ates were defeated; with the remnant of his fol- lowers Ordogno regained with difficulty his capital of Leon; but the Moors neglected to improve their advatage; and wasted in a fruitless incursion into Gaul, the strength that might have restored their ascendency in Spain. * Some desultory and successful enterprises re- stored the spirits of the Christians; but the glory of the reign of Ordogno was past; and his last days were stained with cruelty and clouded by do- mestic uneasiness. The influence and power of the counts of Castille provoked his jealousy; they were summoned to appear before their sovereign; the royal faith was violated by their detention; the forms of justice were disregarded in their execu- tion; and the rumour of conspiracy and rebellion, which was artfully propagated, could not conceal the unworthy fears and bloody injustice of the king of Leon. The widowed hand of Ordogno had been be- stowed on Argonta, who was descended from one Qf the most illustrious families of Gallicia; but Argonta had scarce excited the envy of her fair companions, hefore she was entitled to their com- passion. A malicious tale was fabricated against HISTORY OF SPAIN. 195 her virtue, was communicated to Ordogno, and readily believed ; she was repudiated with con- tempt by a jealous husband, who however lived long enough to repent his credulity. Argonta de- voted the remainder of her days to devotion, and Ordogno endeavoured to forget her charms in the nuptial bed of Santua, the daughter of the king of Navarre. He had scarce returned with his bride to his capital of Leon, before he was surprised by death; the pretensions of his sons Alfonso and Ramiro, the issue of his first marriage, were sup- planted by the intrigues of their uncle; and Froila the second, in a national council, was declared king of Leon and Oviedo. The third son of Alfonso the Great was A. p. gas unworthy of the blood he sprung from. * 5 He received the sacred trust of royalty only to abuse it; and the first months of his reign were stained by the murder of the nobles who had opposed his election; but his cruelty was arrested by disease; a tyranny of a year was terminated by a leprosy; on his death the claims of primogeniture were re- spected; and his nephew Alfonso was declared his successor. - r Alfonso, the fourth of that name, had a pººl, scarce received, before he found himself “ incapable of sustaining the weight of a crown. His aversion to the cares of government was increased by the death of his consort Urraca, 196 HISTORY OF SPAIN. whom he appears to have tenderly loved; and in less than a year after his election he resigned the sceptre of Leon to his brother Ramiro the second. In a private station Alfonso might have enjoyed that happiness which he had never tasted on a throne. But his easy disposition rendered him the instrument of the ambition of others; and while Ramiro assembled his forces at Zamora to march early in the spring against the Moors, he was astonished by the intelligence that Alfonso had quitted his retreat, had re-assumed the en- signs of royalty, and had occupied once more the city and palace of Leon. The siege of Leon was instantly formed by Ramiro, at the head of the army with which he had proposed to attack the infidels; the defence of Alfonso was obstinate; and in the vain attempt to regain the crown, he displayed a vigour which would have maintained him in the quiet possession of it. Famine at length compelled him to implore the mercy of his brother; a general pardon was granted to his adherents; but his own confinement was strict; and with his victorious troops Ramiro advanced into the Asturias to reduce by arms the three sons of Froila the second, who had also erected the standard of revolt. His superior genius or fortune again prevailed; but this second rebellion seems to have exasperated the spirit of Ramiro; his bro- ther and cousins were involved in the same fate, HISTORY OF SPAIN. I97 and the loss of their eyes was the punishment of their presumption. Yet in a state of darkness they were still treated with respect; the humanity of the victor was exerted to alleviate the misery of kinsmen who were no longer formidable; and when Alfonso the fourth, who from his misfortunes and devotion was surnamed the Blind and the Monk expired, his remains were honoured with a royal funeral. No sooner were the flames of civil A. p.º. discord extinguished, than those of fo- * reign war were kindled. The martial exploits of Tamiro rivalled those of the most illustrious of his predecessors; he passed the Duero; attacked and carried by assault Madrid, the present capital of the Spanish monarchy, and insulted by his presence Toledo, the strongest city of the caliphs of Spain. In the plains of Osma the Moors at- tempted to retreive their glory, and they aug- mented their disgrace; they were defeated after a bloody struggle by Ramiro; and Ahaga, the Moorish chieftain of Arragon, was compelled to acknowledge himself the vassal of the king of Leon. - Yet during the glorious career of Ramiro, the sceptre of Cordova was held by no feeble hand; and the pride of the third Abdalrahman stimulated him to exertions, worthy of the ancient power and renown of the Mahometans. From the mouth of 198 HISTORY OF SPAIN. the Guadalquivir to the source of the Tagus, the descendants of the tribes of Arabia eagerly obeyed the summons of the successor of the prophet; one hundred and fifty thousand Moslems were united by their zeal for religion, or their thirst of plun- der; the natives of Grenada were distinguished from the crowd, and in the dexterous manage- ment of their coursers asserted their descent from the horsemen of Syria and Irak. The army over- turned in its course, the Christian town of Solo- cuvas, trampled the harvest of old Castille, deso- lated the flourishing banks of the Duero, and pitched their camp where that river is swelled by the waters of the Puiserga. It was there they awaited, or were checked by the appearance of the Christian army; the plains of Simancas af- forded a wide theatre to the skill and rage of the combatants; the battle was obstinately disputed through a long summer's day; and it was not until the close of evening, that victory declared for Ramiro; the pursuit was continued by the indefatigable monarch, through the darkness of the night, and eighty thousand Moslems are re- ported to have fallen by the sword, or to have been precipitated into the waters of the Duero and the Puiserga. So complete and bloody an overthrow, Ramiro might have expected would have broken for years the spirit of the Moors; yet the remnant of their forces again united, and HISTORY OF SPAIN. T99 was swelled by fresh detachments; and it was not until he had gained a new victory in the neigh- bourhood of Salamanca, that the king of Leon entered his capital in triumph. The increase of taxes is the ungrateful, but too often the indispensable duty of the sovereign ; nor ought the subject to complain, as long as the revenue or service that is exacted, is strictly ap- plied to, or exceeds not the necessity of the state. The conquests of Ramiro had been extended to the mountains, that separate old and new Castille; and an heavy expence had been incurred in restor- ing the towns of the Duero, and erecting a strong barrier against the Moors; the counts of Castille, whose influence rose above that of subjects, and whose station was below that of princes, had long secretly aspired to independence; they murmured at the command of Ramiro to repair the fortifica- tions of Osma and Clunia, which had been over- thrown by the Moslems; they murmured, but they obeyed; and it was not until they were summoned to join the royal standard against the infidels, that they presumed openly to reject the authority of the king of Leon. The prompt and vigorous spirit of Ramiro was equal to every event; he abandoned the hopes of foreign conquest to extinguish the flames of civil commotion; and with an obedient and well-disciplined army he suddenly presented himself in Castille; he dissipated the hostile league, 200 HISTORY OF SPAIN. seized the persons of the counts Ferdinand Gonca- lez, and Diego Nugnez, the most formidable of the confederates, and conveyed them prisoners to Leon. A less prudent prince might have instantly sacrificed them to his insulted authority; but Ra- miro was more jealous of the happiness of his peo- ple than of the dignity of his crown; he condes- cended to remonstrate with his noble captives; he urged that it was alone by union that the Christians in Spain could hope to avert the yoke of Mahomet, or aspire to expel the infidel invaders; Goncalez and Nugnez at least affected to be convinced; they were restored to freedom; and the ties of public were drawn more close by those of pri- vate connexion, in the marriage of Ordogno, the son of Ramiro, with Urraca, the daughter of Goncalez. With the return of unanimity, the king of Leon resumed the martial preparations he had suspended. At the head of a numerous army, he passed the monntains of Avila, and near the walls of Talavera, he descried the Moorish banners. The conflict was fierce and obstinate ; the waters of the Tagus were purpled with the blood of the combatents; and it was not until Ramiro had re- peadedly charged his adversaries in person, that he could claim the victory; twelve thousand of the Moors were extended lifeless on the plain; the fertile fields of new Castille were desolated by the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 201 Christians; and with an immense booty, Ramiro slowly directed his march towards Leon; he was permitted to enjoy but a short time the acclama- tions of his subjects; he was seized with a mortal disease, and convinced that his end approached, he was desirous before his death, of fixing the crown on the head of his son. In a national council, the resignation of Ramiro was accepted, and the election of Ordogno unanimously ap- proved; and a few days afterwards, amidst the general lamentations of his people, he closed a glorious reign of near twenty years. The elevation of Ordogno the third, A. p. sº, had been promoted by the wishes and * renown of his father; but in the possession of a throne, his subjects were compelled to acknow- ledge he deserved it; and though his virtues could not always secure their fidelity, they invariably extorted their admiration. During a short but active reign of five years and a half, he resisted the combinations of his domestic foes, and van- quished the foreign enemies of his country. A civil war was kindled immediately on his acces- sion by the ambition of his brother Sancho, whose pretensions were supported by his uncle the king of Navarre; and Ordogno beheld with surprize and indignation his own father-in-law, Goncalez, march among the associates of his rival. The confederates were disconcerted by the bol datti- 2 I) 202 HISTORY OF SPAIN. tude of Ordogno; his dominions were protected by a chain of posts occupied with judgment and maintained with firmness; his adversaries were awed by his genius, and retired; their disappoint- ment was productive of mutual reproaches; and their discontents soon dissolved the unnatural con- federacy. The ascendancy of Ordogno was established by his safe and bloodless victory, but the mind that was superior to danger was not insensible to re- sentment. He divorced with contempt the daugh- ter of Goncalez, and raised to his bed Elvira, who was descended from one of the most noble families of Gallicia. The arrogance of the kindred of the queen provoked a new insurrection; and when Ordogno prepared to march against the Moors, he was mortified by the intelligence that the inhabi- tants of Gallicia were in arms; with a select body of troops he halted on the frontiers of that pro- vince; and his offer of a general pardon, and his promise to redress their grievances, reclaimed the malecontents to their allegiance; they ranged themselves under his standard; strengthened by the junction of their forces, he advanced through Portugal without encountering an enemy; and Lisbon was a second time assaulted and plundered by a Christian army; in his return he penetrated into Castille, accepted the submission of Goncalez; and when the territories of that chief were invaded * HISTORY OF SPAIN. 203 by the Moors, their deliverance was achieved by the arm of Ordogno. His career of glory was arrested by a A. p. gº, fever, and he expired after a short illness * at Zamora; a feeble infant by his last marriage was incapable of stemming the unpopularity of his mother, and the ambition of his uncle; and in a national assembly Sancho was preferred to the throne of Leon. The new monarch, who had at- tempted to wrest the sceptre from his brother, was incapable of retaining it when legally com- mitted to his hand. His health was oppressed by a dropsy ; his authority was shaken by the in- trigues of the turbulent Gonealez; he sought a re- treat in the court of his uncle the king of Navarre; and the crown of Leon was placed by the hand of Goncalez on the head of Ordogno the fourth. The virtues of three monarchs had endeared the name of Ordogno to the Christians, but it was disgraced by an usurper, to whom was justly ap- plied the epithet of wicked. He was the nephew of Ramiro the second, and the son of the unfortu- nate Alfonso the blind; but he neither inherited the genius of his uncle nor the mild virtues of his fa- ther; he received the hand of the repudiated Ur- raca from Goncalez, who twice beheld his daugh- ter seated on the throne of Leon, and who hoped from the gratitude of his son-in-law to erect his own extensive demesnes into an independent prin- 204 History of SPAIN. cipality; but the project was blasted by the vices and cruelty of Ordogno. The health of Sancho had been restored by tranquility or by the skill of the Arabian physicians, who revived in Europe the science of medicine; to consult them he had visited the court of Cordova; and it was there that he was informed of the tyranny of Ordogno and the disaffection of his subjects; his cause was espoused by the generosity or policy of the caliph Abdalrahman, and was supported by the kindred bands of the king of Navarre. The confederate armies of Moslems and Christians advanced to the frontiers of Leon; the gates of the cities were thrown open on their approach; from the exe- crations of his people Ordogno sought refuge with the Moorish chief of Arragon; the more intrepid spirit of Goncalez impelled him to try the chance of battle ; he was vanquished and taken prisoner in the plains of Aronia; his defeat extinguished the hopes of his faction; and Sancho re-ascended the throne of Leon. In the school of adversity Sancho had learned to distrust the smiles of fortune; and it was by generosity instead of terror that he endeavoured to disarm his enemies. He prevailed on the king of Navarre to release the count of Castille; and from the obscure records of the times, we may conjec- ture that he strove to secure the future friendship of Goncalez, by renouncing all claims of homage; HISTORY OF SPAIN. 205 gratitude might restrain him from invading the dominions of Abdalrahman; but he repulsed with cruel slaughter the Normans, whose piratical de- scents had afflicted the coasts of Gallicia. His satisfaction was interrupted by the intelligence, that an officer whom he had intrusted with an important command on the frontiers of Portugal, had revolted; he marched against the rebel, de- feated, pardoned, and received him into favour. But he was the victim of his own magnanimity; and a poisoned apple which he received from the ungrateful traitor, was attended by his immediate death. Surrounded by active and powerful A.p.s.º. enemies, the Christians of Oviedo and * Leon had, in the choice of a sovereign, sought the qualities of experience, of wisdom, or of va- lour; their judgment had rarely been deceived; and during more than two centuries the sceptre of Pelagius had been intrusted, with few excep- tions, to a succession of warriors and statesmen; in the full confidence of their strength, or from veneration to the memory of Sancho, they had relaxed from their wonted caution; the son of the late king, though only five years old, was placed on the throne; the reins of government were committed to the hands of his mother, Teresa, and his aunt, Elvira ; a female administration might at first provoke a smile of derision; yet 206 HISTORY OF SPAIN, during twelve years that it was continued, it was distinguished by prudence and vigour; a profound peace was maintained with the court of Cordova; but the rapacious adventurers of Norway, who had renewed their depredations, were severely chastised; their retreat was intercepted, their fleet destroyed; and those who escaped the sword were sold into servitude. At the age of seventeen, Ramiro the third, claimed the authority he was incapable of exer- cising ; his reign was disgraced by the follies, and disturbed by the passions of youth; in the choice of a consort, he had consulted the late re- gents; but whatever virtues Donna Urraca might possess, were more than outweighed by the inso- lence and rapacity of her relations ; a general murmur of disgust was heard; and the eyes of an indignant people were turned on Bermudo, the son of Ordogno the third; his graceful person and af- fable manners, united in his favour the multitude; and the renown of his father recommended him to the nobility; it was in Gallicia that he was in- vested with the ensigns of royalty; yet Ramiro, it must be confessed, defended his crown with vigour and resolution ; a bloody battle that was fought with doubtful success, was only terminated by night; in the slaughter of their brethren, the Christians might deplore the guilt and madness of civil war; and the numbers that were swept HISTORY OF SPAIN. 207 away in the bloody conflict of Monterossa, ex- ceeded those who had fallen in any action with the Moors; the opportune death of Ramiro, as he was engaged in recruiting his forces, put an end to the contest, and Bermudo the second, without a competitor, ascended the throne of Leon. The abilities of Bermudo are acknow- a. p. gº, ledged ; yet the difficulties of his situa- tion exceeded his abilities; in his contest with Ramiro, the strength of the monarchy had been dissolved; the spirits of the Moors were revived; they were conducted to conquest by the renowned Almanzor, who united with the talents of a gene- ral, the address of a statesman. The king of Leon beheld without daring to oppose, the devas- tation of the fertile country along the banks of the Duero, the destruction of the walls of Simencas, and the banners of the infidels streaming from the towers of Zamora. He was feebly seconded by: a laity corrupted by prosperity and luxury; he was embarrassed by a proud and turbulent clergy; yet hope never deserted him; he collected with difficulty an army sufficient to face the infidels in the field; and on the banks of the river Ezla he rather confided in the justice of his cause, than in the goodness or number of his troops. Yet in the heat of action, the Christians for a moment assert- ed their ancient renown; the ranks of the Mos- 208 HISTORY OF SPAIN. lems were broken; and the battle was only re- stored by the despair of Almanzor; his followers were ashamed to abandon a chief, who declared his resolution to conquer or to perish on the spot on which he stood; they returned to the charge, and the efforts of rage and shame were successful. The Christians were overpowered; and Bermudo retreated, or probably fled towards his capital. The fortifications of Leon were incapable of re- sisting the ardour of a victorious army; the king was not ignorant of the enterprising spirit of Al- manzor; he ordered the inhabitants to retire with their most valuable effects; he removed with pious care the sacred remains of his predecessors to Oviedo; and after placing a strong garrison in Leon, with the rest of his forces he withdrew to the shelter of the Asturian mountains. The city of Leon was besieged, carried by assault, and levelled to the ground by Almanzor, who in three successive campaigns reduced or overthrew the walls of Astorga, of Coimbra, Wiseo, and Lamago, and penetrated from the source of the Ezla to the mouth of the Duero. The fortifications of Braga awhile resisted his fury; but the obstinacy of the inhabitants was se- verely chastised by the sentence of slavery, and Braga itself was razed to its foundations. Galli- cia was ravaged, Castille menaced; and disease alone checked the progress of the victor; he re- History of SPAIN. 209 tired to return more dreadful; but his retreating steps were closely followed by Bermudo; his rear was frequently attacked, and the Christians se- verely avenged on the straggling Moors, the suf- ferings of their brethren of Leon and Braga. The threats of Almanzor had been heard throughout Spain; and their common danger united the Christians from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pyrenees, from the extreme verge of Asturia to the banks of the Duero. The various, but kindred standards of the kings of Leon and Na- varre, and the counts of Castille, were displayed in the spacious plain of Osma. They awaited, but they awaited not long the approach of Al- manzor. Though broken with the gout, and in- capable of mounting on horseback, Bermudo ani- mated in person his soldiers; both leaders were alike impatient of delay, and both armies rushed to the encounter with equal alacrity; the struggle between the contending hosts, was continued long after the close of day; but the return of the dawn revealed to the Christians the extent of their vic- tory; the Moorish camp was abandoned ; the plain of Osma was covered with an hundred thou- sand lifeless infidels; the haughty spirit of Al- manzor scorned to survive defeat; and the exul- tation with which the Christians received the in- telligence of his death, may be considered as the strongest evidence of his abilities. WOL. I. 2 E 2 i() HISTORY OF SPAIN. A. p. 999, The shattered constitution of Ber- * mudo, allowed him not to achieve the entire deliverance of his country; in about a year after the victory of Osma, he expired of disease; and the same suffrages that raised to the throne his infant son Alfonso, committed the protection of his dominions to his widow Elvira. In the ardu- ous station, Elvira deserved and acquired the ge- neral esteem; an army of Moors who had pre- sumed to ravage Leon, was encountered and driven back with disgrace; and the dissensions of the in- fidels themselves, prevented them from renewing their hostile enterprises; by negociation the re- gent obtained from the counts of Castille, and restored to the family of Cabala, the district of Alava, which the former had usurped from them; but the most important care of Elvira was to form the character of the young Alfonso, on whose qua- lities the happiness or misery of his subjects was ultimately to depend; the happy genius of the royal youth, facilitated the labours of his preceptors; and his marriage with the daughter of the wise and vir- tuous Gonzalez, his governor, might be variously ascribed to love or gratitude. §. : A. D. 1014, The voice of a people, called Alfonso * the fifth, to practise on a throne the les- sons that he had studied in a cabinet; within the tranquil walls of a monastery, Elviralistened with pleasure, to the rising virtues and renown of her HISTORY OF SPAIN. 21 1, son. During twelve years that his reign and life were continued, he laboured, and not unsuccess- fully, to restore the glory and felicity of his sub- jects. Beneath his auspices, the walls of Leon rose in fresh strength, and the capital resumed its ancient magnificence; the new fortifications of Zamora protected the Christians, and awed the infidels; the Moors rent by intestine discord, were incapable of opposing his progress; with a well disciplined army he passed the Duero, and in- vested the city of Wiseo ; it was defended by a strong garrison; the heat of the weather tempted Alfonso to lay aside his cuiras; and as he rode round the walls, he was mortally wounded by a Moorish arrow ; a few hours after he expired in his tent, and left an only and infant son, who was the heir of his crown and virtues. Bermudo the third, was probably not A. p. loss, more than twelve years of age when he ” was chosen to succeed his father; but the bloody dissensions of the Moors suffered them not to avail themselves of the weakness of a minority; and at the expiration of four years, when Bermudo re- ceived from the hands of the queen, his mother, the reins of government, it was the formidable power of a Christian neighbour that first excited his jealousy. By arms or address, by birth or alli- ance, Sancho, king of Navarre, had added to his paternal dominions the kingdom of Arragon, and 212 HISTORY OF SPAIN. the greatest part of the province of Biscay; under the pretence of avenging the murder of Garcias, count of Castille, who had been basely assassinated, he entered that country with a numerous army, seized and executed the assassins, and converted to his own advantage their crime by retaining the dominions of the unfortunate Garcias. From the mountains of Sierra Morena, to the northern ex- tremity of the Pyrenees, his authority was acknow- ledged. His ambiguous claim to the city Valencia on the frontiers of Asturia was openly resented by Bermudo ; and a war was kindled between the rival monarchs; the country between the Puiserga and the Cea, was over-run by the united forces of Navarre and Castille; and the strong city of As- torga on the banks of the Ezla, was after a long siege compelled to surrender. To recover the country that had been wrested from him, and to retrieve the honour of his arms, Bermudo collected with diligence his forces, and pitched his camp in sight of that of Sancho. The ardour and ambition of the leaders might have prompted them instantly to have decided their differences in a field of bat- tle; but their subjects had embraced their quarrel with reluctance; the holy mediation of the bishops of Navarre and Leon were successfully employed; and Sancho and Bermudo were persuaded, per- haps with difficulty, to avert the effusion of Chris- tian blood, and to try the effect of a negociation; HISTORY OF SPAIN. 213 the king of Navarre consented to resign to his se- cond son Ferdinand, his new acquisition of Cas- tille; the country between the Puiserga and the Cea was ceded by Bermudo to the latter as the marriage portion of his sister; and with the hand of Sancha, the name of Ferdinand was inscribed as the first king of Castille. A reconciliation which had been extorted by necessity, was observed no longer than interest dictated; the death of Sancho dissolved that for- midable power which had awed the king of Leon. His eldest son Garcias succeeded to the crown of Navarre, with the province of Biscay; the domi- nions of Ferdinand his second, have been already described; to Gonzalez the third, were bequeathed the districts, which under the name of Sobranza and Ribargona, stretch along the frontiers of Ar- ragon and Catalonia; and the fertile and populous kingdom of Arrogan, was the inheritance of Ra- miro the fourth. The division which paternal affection suggested, might have proved fatal to all ; but it was Ferdinand who first had reason to dread the consequences of it. With a numer- ous army Bermudo besieged and reduced the city of Palentia, and recovered without a battle, and in one campaign, the country between the Puiserga and the Cea. Incapable of contending alone with the king of Leon, he summoned to his assistance his brother of Navarre. Their combined 214 HISTORY OF SPAIN. forces were collected in the valley of Samara near Fromista, when they were informed of the ap- proach of Bermudo. The obscure spot of Carrion has been rendered illustrious for the decisive ac- tion; and could the king of Leon have restrained his ardour, the superiority of his numbers would probably have secured to him the victory; but im- patient of resistance or delay, he spurred his courser into the thickest ranks of the enemy, and while he darted his eyes around in search of his royal ad- versaries, his unguarded bosom was transpierced by the lance of an unknown foe. He fell lifeless from his horse; and his astonished troops, without a general, must have been exposed to certain slaugh- ter, had they not been rescued by the prudence and policy of Ferdinand. His voice restrained the martial fury of his followers; the battle ceased, and the crown of Leon was the reward of the for- bearance of the victor. The male descendants of Pelagius after reigning three centuries, were ex- tinguished in Bermudo the third; the natural claims of the brother-in-law of that prince were debated and acknowledged in a national council; and the crowns of Leon and Castille were united on the head of Ferdinand. C H A P. VII. * Nºm- State of Spain, on the union of the crowns of Castille and Leon, under Ferdinand the first.—War of that monarch with his brothers, the kings of Navarre and Arragon.—Account of, and exploits of Don Rodrigo, surnamed the Cid.—Death of Ferdinand.—Division of his dominions.—Sancho the second, despoils his brothers of Leon and Gallicia.-He is killed in the siege of 23amora.-Accession of Alfonso the sixth-Disgrace of the Cid.—Establishes himself on the frontiers of Valencia.-Alfonso reduces Toledo.—Is de- feated by the Moors.-His peace and marriage with the daughter of the king of Seville.—Invasion of the Almova- rides.—Defeat of Ucles.—Death of Alfonso.-IIis daughter Urraca is acknowledged as his successor.—Civil wars with her husband and son.—On her death, Castille and Leon submit to her son, Alfonso the seventh. – IIis glorious reign.—He receives the title of Emperor from the princes of Spain.—Divides his dominions between his sons Sancho and Ferdinand.—Short but prudent reign of Sancho over Castille.—Turbulent minority of his son, Alfonso the eighth. He assumes the Administration.—Is defeated by the Moors, near Alercon.—He marries his daughter Beregara, to his nephew, the young king of Leon.—Crusade of the Chris- tians, against the infidels of Spain-Gallantry of Alfonso 2 16 HISTORY OF SPAIN. in the battle of Toloso.-Splendid victory of the Christians. Prudent reign and death of Alfonso.-He is succeeded by his son Henry.—Disputes for the regency-Death of IIenry, and accession of Beregara.-She resigns the crown to her son Ferdinand the second, who on the death of his jather, unites the kingdoms of Castille and Leon. A. D. 1037, AT the time that Ferdinand united * with Castille, the crown of Leon, the greatest and most fertile part of Spain acknow- ledged his own authority or that of his brothers; the eldest, Garcias, reigned over Navarre and part of Biscay; the third, Gonzalez, possessed the districts of Sobranza and Ribargona, which pro- jected into or separated Arragon and Catalonia; Arragon was the royal inheritance of Ramiro the fourth, who established in Saragossa the seat of his government. But considerable districts were still occupied by the Moors; from the Pyrenees their territories stretched along the Mediterra- mean sea to the rock of Gibraltar, and from the point of Tarif coasted the Atlantic to the mouth of the Tagus; beyond that river to the Duero they possessed several strong and important towns; and though a few Christian chiefs might confide in the natural or artificial strength of their rocks and castles, they rather disturbed the tranquillity than asserted the independence of Portugal; but Andalusia, Granada, and Murcia, believed in the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 217 faith, or obeyed the followers of Mahomet; To- ledo, with a portion of new Castille, and all Wa- lencia, were cultivated by the Moors; and a Sa- racen emir resided in Barcelona, and stimulated the industry of the Catalans. The magnificent cities of Seville and Cordova, were inhabited by Moslems; a long tract of sea-coast afforded fre- quent and spacious harbours, and was propitious to commerce; and the grateful soil of Granada repaid seven-fold the toils of the husbandmen; yet these advantages were neglected, or abused by the Moors; the same causes as had nearly over- whelmed the Christians, precipitated the downfall of the Moslems of Spain; and while ambition, or jealousy, pointed their swords against each other, their kindred strength was consumed, and the boundaries of their dominions gradually receded. The designs of conquest, which had been sus- pended by the death of Alfonso the fifth, were resumed by the martial and active spirit of Fer- dinand. He passed the Duero near Zamora, car- ried by assault, and put to the sword the garrison of Zena; and formed the siege of Wiseo ; the walls of that city were levelled by his machines; and the execution of the Moor, whose skill had been fatal to Alfonso, rather marks his veneration for the memory of that monarch, than his regard for justice. The fortifications of Coimbra were superior to force; and in his second campaign, VOL. I. 2 F is , 218 HISTORY OF SPAIN. Ferdinand patiently awaited the capitulation of the garrison, from the slow, but certain effects of famine. A chain of posts occupied with judgment and vigilance, prevented the introduction of all supplies; yet for several months the perseverance of the Moors was displayed, nor did they Surren- der, until hunger had exhausted their vigour, and hope was no more. - In the reduction of Wiseo and Coimbra, his subjects might applaud with justice, and exult without remorse, in the success of Ferdinand ; but the martial trophies of that prince were chiefly erected over his own kinsmen; his victory at Car- rion, had been stained with the blood of a brother- in-law; he was soon involved in a contest, which was only terminated by the destruction of a bro- ther; and though his moderation has been loudly praised by the Spanish historians, yet some sus- picions naturally rest on a prince, who at least acquired one kingdom, by violating the ties of domestic alliance. He listened with alacrity, to the intelligence, that in a visit to the court of Navarre, he had narrowly escaped being detained a captive ; and when on the indisposition of Fer- dinand, the fraternal affection of Garcias attracted him to Leon, on the recovery of his brother, he found himself, with indignation, arrested and con- veyed a prisoner to the fortress of Cea. He eluded the vigilance of his guards, escaped to his own HISTORY OF SPAIN. 219 dominions, and returned at the head of a numerous army, impatient for revenge. It is probable, that Ferdinand was unwilling to depend on force, for those advantages which he had endeavoured to obtain by fraud; but every offer of reconciliation was sternly rejected; and nine miles from Burgos, the plains of Atupuerta and Agas, were deluged with Christian and kindred blood; while the battle raged with doubtful violence, a javelin from a vulgar hand, pierced the bosom of Garcias; he fell into the arms of, and was conveyed from the field by his attendants; but their zeal was vain; the wound was mortal; and he soon after expired. His troops, dismayed by his fate, retired in con- fusion; the pursuit was checked by Ferdinand; and the forbearance of the victorious monarch has been ascribed to remorse. But that emotion sel- dom finds room in the bosom of ambitious princes; and most probably, Ferdinand feared less the re- proaches of his conscience, than the murmurs of his subjects; he might dread an union of the othèr powers of Spain, to check his career of conquest; and he suffered, without a struggle, the crown of Navarre to descend, or be placed on the head of the son of Garcias. . - Yet it is doubtful, whether the reign of Ferdi- nand is not marked by the slaughter of another brother; the fate of Ramiro, king of Arragon, and his war with Castille, have been regarded by 220 HISTORY OF SPAIN. many critics, as entirely spurious; by some histo- rians, those events have been fixed after the death of Ferdinand ; a faint light, however, glimmers through the dark and confused records of the times; and the monument of Ramiro, in the mo- nastery of St. John de la Pagna, attests that he died before his brother Ferdinand; the most ge- neral account is, that he attacked the dominions of a Moorish chief, who was tributary to the king of Leon and Castille; the latter ordered his forces under the command of his son Sancho, and under the conduct of his celebrated general, Rodrigo, better known from the muse of Corneille, by the name of the Cid, to march to the defence of his vassal; a battle was fought, Ramiro killed; and the victory which was imputed to the skill, con- firmed the renown of Rodrigo. Fifteen summers had not yet matured the strength of Rodrigo, when his fearless spirit was displayed in vindicating the honour of an insulted father. The aged Alfonso de Vivar, had in the presence of the court, received a blow from the count de Lozano. He could not trust to his own feeble arm for reparation; and though he had three sons who had attained to manhood, it was to the youthful ardour of the fourth that he confided the indignity, and his hopes of vengeance; his choice was justified by the alacrity of Rodrigo; and, be- fore the royal palace, Lozano fell by the sword of HISTORY OF SPAIN. 221 an adversary, whose youth and inexperience he had derided. A martial age approved the deed; and the valour which had avenged the injuries of a father, extended the glory of a people. Rodrigo grew in fame and years; but on his return from a successful campaign against the infidels, he was accused by the filial piety of the daughter of Lo- zano; she found the culprit in full possession of the royal favour and the admiration of his country; she was moved to compassion by his renown, she was inflamed to love by his majestic person and graceful address; she consented to become the consort of a hero; and the death of a father was forgotten, in the embraces of a husband. The surname of Cid, is a corruption from the Arabic of El Seid, or Lord, which the respect of the Moors first conferred on their conqueror, and which was afterwards confirmed to him by the es- teem of his king. The exploits of the Cid have been adorned and exaggerated by fancy, yet through the cloud of fable we may discern that he was an intrepid soldier and skilful captain. To his genius was ascribed the defeat of Ramiro; as the general of Sancho, the son and successor of Ferdinand in the throne of Castille, he wrested the victory from Alfonso of Leon; with his own fol- lowers he recovered Valencia; though his in- tegrity exposed him to the ingratitude of a court, he was constantly followed by the esteem of his 222 HISTORY OF SPAIN. countrymen; and in the reign of Alfonso the sixth, after near sixty successful years of martial toils, he encountered with the resignation of a Christian that death which he had so often braved as a war- rior. - The marriage and victory of Ferdinand had first united the crowns of Castille and Leon; his death separated them; the division of his dominions, which he prevailed on a national assembly to ratify, might rather become a fond parent who wished to distribute his favours impartially among his chil- dren, than a wise monarch, jealous of the happiness and grandeur of his people. To his eldest son Sancho, he assigned Castille; to Alfonso, his se- cond, Leon and the Asturias; Gallicia, with the part of Portugal he had conquered were erected into an independent kingdom for Garcias the youngest; and to his daughters Urraca and Elvira he bequeathed the cities of Zamora and Toro, on the banks of the Duero. His death was the signal of almost immediate hostilities between his children; the am- a. p. 1067, bitious Sancho considered the rights of "* primogeniture, as violated by the ungrateful dis- tribution. He invaded Leon with a formidable army; and was encountered by his brother Al- fonso, at Valpallar, near Carrion. The action was maintained throughout the whole day, until darkness parted the combatants; in the loss of HISTORY OF SPAIN. 223 his bravest soldiers, Sancho might repent his rash injustice; but his spirits were revived by the coun- sels of the Cid ; while the troops of Alfonso were drowned in sleep, or anticipated in revelry, the fruits of victory, their camp was suddenly at- tacked, and in the confusion of a night assault, they were exposed to the swords of their more vigilant foe; Alfonso fled, and was overtaken; he was despoiled of his dominions; but his life was spared; aud the monastery of Sahagon was as- signed as his prison. The victor entered Gallicia; and Garcias, attacked by his brother, and deserted by his subjects, sought an asylum in the Maho- metan court of the king of Seville. Yet though Sancho had regained by arms, what he conceived himself unjustly deprived of, by the partiality of his father, he was not per- mitted long to enjoy the territories he had usurped; the flight of Alfonso from Sahagon, awakened his fears; and a suspicion that the means of escape had been furnished by his sisters, excited his resent- ment; Toro, the inheritance of Elvira, was terri- fied into submission; but the resistance of Zamora was animated by Urraca herself, who, above the weakness of her sex, derided the menaces and re- pulsed the attacks of her brother; the length of the siege exhausted the patience or prudence of Sancho; he listened to the insidious promises of an officer of the garrison, who proposed to betray to 224 HISTORY OF SPAIN, him the gate he commanded at ; as Sancho advan- ced without caution, an ambuscade started from some adjacent ruins; he was encompassed, and slain; his guards arrived only to behold their mas- ter weltering in his blood; the siege of Zamora was instantly raised ; the army that had formed it dispersed; and the pious care of the Cid conveyed and deposited the remains of the unfortunate San- cho in the monastery of Ona. A. D. 1072, In Toledo, Alfonso was informed of * the fate of his brother; and whatever hopes the dispatches of Urraca might inspire, were alloyed by the survey of his own precarious situation ; his fears were dissipated by the gene- rosity of the Moorish monarch, Ali Maimon, who nobly disdained to shackle his illustrious guest with unworthy conditions; and with mutual vows of eternal friendship and honourable alliance, dis- missed him to improve the return of fortune. At Zamora, Alfonso the sixth, received the congra- tulations of the nobles of Leon and Asturia; but some delay was interposed by the pride of the Castilians; and it was stipulated, that on his arri- val at Burgos he should by oath, before he ascend- ed the throne, clear himself of being privy to the murder of Sancho. Yet when the moment came, the nobles of Castille were awed by the presence of their future sovereign; their silence was reproached by the honest boldness of Rodrigo; he proposed the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 22.5 sacred obligation; it was accepted by Alfonso ; but the Cid was for ever estranged from the coun- sels and favour of the new monarch. With a train of martial adventurers he quitted Castille; sur- prised the castle of Alcazar, on the frontiers of Arragon; penetrated to the borders of Valencia; and in the pleasant district of Teruel, which is fertilized by the streams of the Guadalquivir and Alhambra, fixed his residence on a craggy height, that still bears the name of Pena de el Cid, or the Rock of the Cid. At the same time that Alfonso quitted the court of Toledo, Garcias emerged from his retirement of Seville; in the hour of exile, the former had probably deplored the unhappy lot of the latter; but seated on a throne, he indulged the ambition he had so lately been the victim of; Garcias had scarce resumed, the government of Gallicia, be- fore he was invited to a conference with Alfonso; he accepted it, hastened to Leon, and became the prisoner of his brother; and Gallicia was united under the same authority as Castille and Leon. The turbulence of the times was favourable to the first enterprises of Alfonso. He availed him- self of the revolt of the inhabitants of Navarre, to seize the important province of Biscay. Gra- titude might restrain him from disturbing the tranquility of Ali Maimon; but that monarch was no more; and the sceptre of Toledo, in less VOL. I. 2 G. 226 HISTORY OF SPAIN. than a year, had passed from the land of his eldest son, Hassam, to his youngest, Hiaga. If we may credit the Spanish historians, the citizens of To- ledo themselves, solicited Alfonso to deliver them from the bloody controul of a tyrant. Yet if the character of Hiaga is stained with cruelty, it ap- pears not devoid of vigour. Though destitute of allies, and harassed by the king of Seville, whom sound policy should have directed to have defended, and not oppressed his Mahometan neighbour, four campaigns were consumed, and many engagements maintained, before Alfonso presumed to approach the walls of Toledo. In the fifth year, he formed the siege of that city; and the obstinacy with which it was defended for several months by the citizens, may justly entitle us to suspect the impartiality of those writers, who represent Hiaga as detested by his subjects. But famine raged within; a bold and numerous enemy were indefatigable in their attacks without ; and Hiaga consented to nego- ciate, when he was no longer able to resist; he obtained permission, with those who were willing to share his fortunes, to retire in search of new adventures; a solemn treaty promised, and ought to have secured to the inhabitants who remained, the free exercise of their religion, and the quiet possession of their property; Valencia received Hiaga and his companions; and that life which had been respected by the swords of the Chris- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 227 tians, was sacrificed to the daggers of the Mos- lems. Toledo was erected by Alfonso into the capital of the kingdom of Castille; and an acquisition which had been made at the expence of so much blood and treasure, was secured by new fortifica- tions. But the success of the Christians had aroused the Mahometans from their supineness. To the powerful king of Seville, was joined the Mussulman prince of Badajoz, who ruled over the province of Estremadura, and they both invo- ked the assistance of their brethren from Africa. Alfonso who was not ignorant of the object of their alliance, still confided in his own activity and the valour of his subjects; he penetrated into Estre- madura, and extended his ravages to the stream of the Alagon. On the banks of that river he at- tacked and reduced the town of Corea; but he had scarce taken possession of it before he was inform- ed of the approach of the kings of Seville and Ba- dajoz at the head of the tribes who inhabited the country between the Guadalquivir and Guadiana. He advanced to meet them; and the decisive bat- tle was fought between Badajoz and Merida; but the event of the day was unfavourable to the Chris- tians; Alfonso himself was wounded in the leg by an arrow; and escaped with difficulty from a field overspread with twenty thousand of his subjects. Yet it is probable amidst danger and dismay he 228 HISTORY OF SPAIN. was not unmindful of his rank and renown; and he would not have presumed at Toledo to have re- proached the ignominious speed of his nobles, had he himself first deserted his station. The honour of the field had been obtained by the Moslems; but it had been purchased at the expence of thirty thousand of their lives; and the kings of Seville and Badajoz, far from being able to act on the offensive, were scarce capable to pro- tect their dominions. While the spirit of Alfonso rose superior to defeat, the courage of his troops was revived by a successful incursion against the Moors of Portugal; he carried Lisbon by assault, and was admitted into Cintra by capitulation; but he resigned in the ensuing year his acquisitions on the banks of the Tagus to Henry of Besancon, who had crossed the Pyrenees from France to his support, had received in marriage the hand of his natural daughter Theresa, and laid the foundation of the Christian kingdom of Portugal. Alfonso had been defeated; the strength of the infidels had been exhausted by victory, and both parties inclined to peace; the charms of Zaida, the daughter of the king of Seville, hastened the negociation; Alfonso was impatient to receive into his bed a princess whose beauty and accomplish- ments were the theme of general admiration; and to share the throne of Castille and Leon, Zaida renounced the faith of her ancestors. The articles HISTORY OF SPAIN. 229 of future alliance between the two kings were easily adjusted; a mutual exchange of several places was agreed upon, and a transient tranquil- lity was restored to Spain. It was while the war raged with doubtful fury that Hiaga, king of Valencia, was assassinated in his capital; at the head of his own followers, and a small reinforcement sent him by Alfonso, the Cid, disdaining the repose of age, marched to avenge his fate, After a long siege, Valencia submitted to the genius of a hero; Rodrigo fixed in it his residence, defending it against a host of Moslems; and when he expired full of years and glory, his undaunted spirit seemed to have sur- vived in the bosom of his widow, who maintained Valencia against the attacks of the infidels, until the prudence and distress of Alfonso prompted him to abandon a distant and precarious conquest. In a reign of above thirty years, Alfonso could reflect but on a few months of tranquil enjoyment. The storms of war again gathered in the south; the Almovarides, of Arabian extraction, who pro- fessed a rigid obedience to the Koran, had posses- sed themselves of the kingdoms of Fez and Mo- rocco; in their new settlements they retained the native ferocity of the wandering Arabs; they were governed by a king or taliph of the name of Yusuf or Joseph; and it is doubtful whether they were at first invited as allies, or landed in Spain aS 230 HISTORY OF SPAIN. open enemies; it was against the Moors their in- mediate attacks were directed; Seville was be- trayed by treachery, or reduced by force; and a vigorous war was waged against the Moslems of Murcia; but the artifice did not deceive the vigi- lance of Alfonso; and he doubted not but the inva- ders aspired to the entire conquest of Spain; a con- siderable body of troops that the king of Castille and Leon had detached to the support of his father- in-law of Seville, compelled Joseph to throw off the mask; he attacked and defeated the Christians at Quada, in la Mancha, a country that in the romance of Don Quixotte, has been immortalized by the pen of Cervantes. Yet the victor presum- ed not to await the approach of Alfonso, who on the news of the disaster had advanced to retrieve the honour of his arms at the head of the martial nobles of Castille and Leon. The chiefs of the Almovarides withdrew to Malaga, reimbarked for Africa, and inflamed their brethren by a dis- tribution of the spoil, and a description of the wealth of the country. The rapacious myriads of Fez and Morocco, readily obeyed the voice of their sovereign, that incited them to plunder; a considerable fleet was collected, probably in the port of Velez; a favourable wind soon transported them to the coast of Grenada; they were joined by their countrymen, who had maintained posses- sion of Seville ; and the fertile fields along the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 231 Tagus, were blasted by their destructive pre- . Sen Ce. Age and infirmities suffered not Alfonso to take the field in person; he was deprived by death of his son-in-law Raymond, to whose valour and experience he might have confided the command of his forces; and a feeble boy eleven years old, the only son of Alfonso, could not animate the Christians by his example, but might confirm their efforts by the sense of his danger. The infant Sancho, for such was the title of the presump- tive heir to the crown, was shielded by the arm of his governor Don Garcia de Cabra, who probably also acted as general. At Ucles, near Toledo, the Christians descried the banners of Mahomet and the myriads of Africa; yet they advanced with confidence; and the battle was long disputed with that fury which religious and national enmity naturally inspire. The squadrons of the Almovarides penetrated at length, or over- whelmed the adverse ranks; the horse of Sancho was killed, his governor slain in his defence, and the prince himself trampled to death; seven counts of the most illustrious families of Spain, preserved their honour, but lost their lives : and of the nameless crowd, near thirty thousand perished in the action or pursuit. s To a discerning eye, the character of Alfonso never appeared to greater advantage, than amidst 232 HISTORY OF SPAIN. the storms of adversity. On the couch of sick- ness, he still retained the same vigour of mind as had formerly distinguished him in the field of bat- tle; he had no longer a son ; but his private loss was forgotten in the public calamity; he levied new forces ; secured Toledo by a strong garrison; and still appeared formidable to the invaders; who as they surveyed the field, mournfully acknow- ledged the loss of the victors had exceeded that of the vanquished; and turned aside from the walls of Toledo to more easy conquests over the infidels of Catalonia. . A. p. no, Eighteen months after the disastrous * battle of Ucles, and in the thirty-seventh year of his reign, Alfonso breathed his last; a short time before his death, he had bestowed the widowed hand of his daughter, Urraca, on Al- fonso, king of Navarre and Arragon. To claim the crown of his late father-in-law, that monarch advanced with a powerful army to the frontiers of Castille; but he was admonished by the nobles that his own dominions were the proper station for his troops; and that no force was necessary, since the rights of Urraca were undisputed. He yield- ed to their remonstrances, dismissed his followers; and in a national assembly the authority of Urraca over the kingdoms of Castille and Leon was form- ally recognized. Alfonso had flattered himself, that he should HISTORY OF SPAIN. 233 have reigned under the name of his consort; but he found it easier to conciliate the affections of a martial nobility, than to command the obedience, or to gain the acquiescence, of an imperious and turbulent woman. Urraca despised the authority or influence of her husband; their domestic dissen- sions ripened into a civil war; the queen was im- prisoned by Alfonso, was delivered by her nobles, who considered their honour as wounded by her captivity; and in a field of battle presumed to de- fend her independence; but they were vanquished by the superior numbers or skill of their adver- saries; yet whatever advantage Alfonso acquired in the field, he soon lost in the cabinet. The convenient conscience of Urraca was afflicted by her marriage with her cousin; her doubts were imparted to an obsequious clergy ; and in the council of Palentia her union with the king of Arragon was formally dissolved by the omnipotent sentence of the Roman pontiff. Yet though the subjects of Urraca had espous- ed the cause, they were far from approving the conduct of that princess. Their eyes were turned on the infant Alfonso, the issue of her first mar- riage with Raymond count of Burgundy; Gallicia acknowledged him as her sovereign ; his title was sanctioned by the holy influence of the archbishop of Compostella; and a new scene of bloody and kindred discord was opened. Tenacious of a WOL. I. 2 H 234 HISTORY OF SPAIN. sceptre which she had held against the grasp of a powerful husband, Urraca refused to yield to the pretensions of a youthful son; ten years Castille and Leon were distracted by the rival factions; at the end of that term Urraca expired at Saldagna of indisposition, and Alfonso the seventh, in the twentieth year of his age, was declared king of Castille and Leon. A. p. 1126. The king of Arragon had not 1157. been an indolent spectator of the late commotions; notwithstanding the sentence of the Roman pontiff, the cities of Carrion, Nagara, and Burgos, preferred his claims to those of Urraca; but on the death of the queen, they expelled his garrisons, and proclaimed Alfonso the seventh. The king of Arragon appeared in arms on the banks of the Lima to chastise their levity; but near the stream of that river he was opposed by his royal antagonist, who with a firm step led on the martial nobles of Castille and Leon to battle. Amidst the sanguinary annals of ambitious monarchs, we are pleased to discover some traces of a feeling heart; the king of Arragon confessed his affection for a prince, whom he had been accustomed to call his son; he consented to evacuate the few places he still retained in Castille, and to become the ally, instead of the enemy of her youthful sovereign. A slight revolt that was excited by the house of Tara in Castille, served only to display the vigour, HISTORY OF SPAIN. 235 and exercise the clemency of Alfonso ; an insur- rection in the Asturias was scarce attended with more serious consequences; the ardour of the new monarch accorded with that of his subjects; and to efface their disgrace at Ucles, the flower of the nobility repaired to the royal standard. The army in two columns forded the Guadiana; the right, which passed beneath the towers of Bada- joz, was intrusted to Roderic de Gonzalez, who had rebelled, been vanquished, and by his subse- quent services justified the lenity and confidence of his prince; the left, which penetrated through the mountains of Sierra Morena, was conducted by the king himself; their march was marked by desolation; and so judiciously was the enterprise concerted, and so happily executed, that they ar- rived on the same day, by different routes, at the castle of Gallalo. The calamities which had been inflicted by the Moors on Castille, might vindi- cate the orders which were issued by Alfonso; the vines and olives which grew along the banks of the Guadalquivir were rooted up; the hopes of the husbandman consumed; the mosques levelled to the ground; the villages abandoned to the flames; and the wretched inhabitants awakened from security to feel at once the horrors of slavery. The fortifications of Seville were respected by an army unprovided with battering machines; but the suburbs were insulted, and probably destroyed. 236 HISTORY OF SPAIN. Beyond that city Alfonso pursued his victorious career; surveyed at Xeres the fatal field which had witnessed the overthrow of the Visigoths, and the triumph of the Saracens; and from his camp in the neighbourhood of Gibraltar, might behold the coast of Africa and the fortress of Ceuta. In his return, at the head of his cavalry, he encountered and overthrew the vanguard of the Moorish army; the main body trusted to the massy walls of Seville, rather than to their valour; and without further interruption the march of the victors was continued through the desolated province of Estremadura, to the friendly turrets of Talavera. Yet on every side the banners of the Christi- ans were not gilded with the same success; and as the aged king of Arragon pressed the siege of Fraga, on the banks of the Cinga, he lost among the mountains his army and his life. His sceptre was broken by his death; the kingdoms of Arra- gon and Navarre, which had been united by his arms, were again separated; and while the former acknowledged the authority of his brother Ramiro, the latter submitted to the pretensions of his kins- man Garcias. The son of Urraca could not hear without emo- tion the fate of a prince whom he had regarded as a father; and as a Christian king, he could not be indifferent to the defeat of Fraga, and the triumph of the infidels. He entered Arragon at HISTORY OF SPAIN. 237 the head of a considerable army, and the appre- his approach, were dispelled by the assurance that he came as an ally to act against their common enemy, the Moslems. Their union probably de- terred the Moors from pursuing their advantage; and Alfonso, after a friendly interview with Ra- miro, returned to Leon. It was in that city that the general voice and gratitude of the Christian princes of Spain hailed him with the title of Emperor ; the pride of the successors of Constantine and Charlemagne might reject as an associate in the imperial dignity, a monarch whose influence was confined between the straits of Gibraltar and the Pyrenean moun- tains; but the pretensions of Alfonso were erected on the most solid foundations; and his new honours were the voluntary fruits of the esteem of his subjects, and the admiration of his neigh- bours. Yet jealousy is a passion more congenial to the bosoms of princes than gratitude; and the kings of Navarre and Portugal, who had been most zea- lous in couferring on Alfonso the title of emperor, were the first to confederate against him. Their league had originated in perfidy, and was dis- solved with disgrace; they were successively com- pelled to sue for peace; and the terms were such us marked the moderation of the conqueror, de- 238 HISTORY OF SPAIN. sirous of preventing the effusion of Christian blood, and reserving his strength entire to act against the Mahometans. With a formidable army Alfonso burst into the province of Andalusia, and extended his ravages over the open country; but his exultation was of short continuance; a detachment of his troops, which had imprudently passed the Guadalquivir in search of plunder, was cut to pieces in his sight; after the loss of one of his principal generals and some thousands of his soldiers, he was compelled to retire from the walls of Coria; and though he reduced the strong fortress of Oraja, which had been constructed with the greatest skill on the frontiers of the kingdoms of Castille and Cordova, yet six months were consumed in the tedious en- terprise. The acquisition was more than balanced by the loss of Mora, which awed the country be- tween the Guadiana and the Tagus, and which was betrayed by the negligence or treachery of the governor. But in the succeeding campaign, Al- fonso took Coria, recovered Mora; and with the assistance of the naval squadrons of France, of Genoa, and of Pisa, invested the town of Almeria, on the coast of Granada. The former assailed the walls by land, the latter blocked up the harbour by sea. The resistance of the garrison was firm but ineffectual; Almeria submitted to the authority of Alfonso, and her treasures, the fruits of pirati- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 239 cal adventure, were the reward of his allies. The dissensions of the Moors prevented them from in- terrupting the operations of the Christians; a new race of fanatics had arose amidst the sands of Af- rica; had precipitated themselves on Spain; and the dynasty of the Almovarides was lost in that of the Almohades. The discord of the Moslems should have ad- monished the Christians of the advantages of union; yet the fondness of the father prevailed over the policy of the monarch; and in a national assembly the emperor recommended the division of his dominions; his advice was secretly condemned, and openly approved; his eldest son, Sancho, was declared his successor in both the Castilles, and his youngest, Ferdinand, in Leon and Asturia. Their hopes had no sooner been formally ratified by the states, than the emperor again took the field. His forces were swelled by those of Na- varre, animated by the example of their king; and as the confederate host issued from the mountains of Sierra Morena, they beheld, and were charged by the rapid squadrons of the Moors; the shock was violent; but the Christians fought beneath the eyes of their respective monarchs; their ranks were restored by the skill of Alfonso; and their transient disgrace was effaced by a cruel slaughter of their enemies. Jaen was plundered, Seville insulted; and the country between the Guadal- 240 HISTORY OF SPAIN. quivir and the Guadiana converted into a desert. But the triumphant entry of Alfonso into Leon was alloyed by the unwelcome intelligence of the indisposition of the king of Navarre, who soon after his return from the campaign expired at Pampeluna; and in his death the emperor deplored the double loss of an affectionate son-in-law, and an important ally, The age of Alfonso, which did not amount to fifty years, and the experience of his past conduct, seemed to extend the prospect of the public feli- city; a visit from Louis the seventh of France, who had married his daughter Constantia, did not divert the emperor from the toils of war. He traversed again the mountains of Sierra Morena, and pitched his camp under the walls of Andujar, which are washed by the Guadalquivir. The na- tural and artificial strength of that city had resisted the attacks of successive generals, who had as- pired to the possession of it; but it yielded to the ardour or perseverance of Alfonso ; and after a short visit to Toledo, the victor again took the field, with the pleasing expectation of completing the conquest of Andalusia; in a bloody encounter near Jaen he defeated the united force of the in- fidels; his last days were cheered by victory; but disease prevented him from improving it; the in- creasing ravages of a dysentery announced his speedy dissolution; and on his return towards To- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 241 ledo, the emperor Alfonso expired in the obscure village of Fresneda. The infidels exulted in the death of an A. p. nº, enemy, whose sword had so often proved "* fatal to their bravest warriors; the Christians la- mented the loss of a prince whose genius had in- variably conducted them to victory; the first were encouraged, the last terrified by the prospect of a feeble and divided administration. Yet on their re- spective thrones, the virtues of Sancho and Ferdi- nand commanded applause and esteem; their fra- ternal affection was unimpaired by jealousy or am- bition ; and though in the first moments of a new reign the Moors recovered Andalusia, and planted again the standard of Mahomet on the towers of Andujar; yet no sooner had the king of Castille received the congratulations of his nobles and Christian neighbours, than he moved forward to conquest; in a long and bloody action on the frontiers of Andalusia, he proved himself not un- worthy of his illustrious father; the Moors fled before him ; but the news of his victory was scarcely diffused, before it was followed by that of his death; the surname of the desired, is ex- pressive of his amiable qualities; and the suspicion that he fell a victim to his grief for the loss of Blanch, his much-loved consort, is an evidence of his feeling heart. -- - VOI. I. 2 I - 242 HISTORY OF SPAIN. A. p.mss. The memory of his virtues, and the * abilities of his faithful minister Don Gui- terez de Castro, promoted the election of his son Alfonso, who when only three years old, was ac- knowledged king of Castille. The administration of Guiterez was short and stormy; the envy of the nobles was excited by his appointment; and the family of Lara, not less remarkable for their wealth and descent, than for their daring and tur- bulent spirit, were his declared enemies. They possessed themselves by fraud of the person of the young king ; they asserted by force their preten- sions to the regency; and a civil war would have been the immediate consequence of their ambition, had not the opportune death of Guiterez extin- guished their rising discord. . On the decease of Guiterez, Don Manrique de Lara was formally recognized as the regent of Castille; and some vigour was displayed in the success with which he resisted the rival claims of the king of Leon, and the hostile incursions of the king of Arragon. But the family of Castro were still the objects of his indefatigable hatred; and an attempt to deprive Ferdinand, the brother of Guiterez, of the government of the city of To- ledo, was fatal to his own life; the angry passions of the two factions urged them to battle; Manri- que was killed, and his followers dispersed by the victor; yet Nugnez de Lara arose to supply with HISTORY OF SPAIN. 243 more auspicious fortune the place of his brother. A new army was levied in the name of the king; the adherents to the house of Castro were pro- claimed rebels; Toledo obeyed the summons of, and opened her gates to, her sovereign ; and Fer- dinand was compelled to seek an asylum among the enemies of his country and religion. Under the name of Alfonso, Nugnez de Lara governed for some time with absolute sway; he negociated and concluded a marriage between the king and Eleanora the daughter of Henry the se- cond, who with England ruled over the extensive province of Normandy. Yet the house of Castro had rather been surprised than vanquished; from Seville, Ferdinand their chief had repaired to the court of Leon, and was received with open arms by a monarch who had himself experienced the ar- rogance of Nugnez de Lara. The martial youth of Leon were permitted or encouraged to march beneath the standard of Ferdinand; his own re- tainers were still numerous; and the exile at the head of an army entered Castille, to solicit his par- don, and the punishment of his rival. To encoun- ter his hereditary enemy, Nugnez advanced with a considerable body of forces hastily assembled; and their differences were terminated in a field of battle, which was adverse to the house of Lara ; two counts of the name were slain in the conflict; and Nugnez himself, a prisoner, might have en- 244 HISTORY OF SPAIN. vied their fate; yet he was received with courtesy and dismissed with magnanimity; and Ferdinand aspired to the more noble revenge of subduing a second time by his generosity, the enemy whom he had first vanquished by his arms. Without violating the dignity of his sovereign, he led back his victorious followers to Leon; and in a marriage with the natural sister of his royal protector, who esteemed, and knew how to reward his merits, he renounced for ever his native country. On the captivity of Nugnez de Lara, the reins of administration were assumed by Alfonso him- self; but the unsteady hand with which he held them, was the affliction of his subjects and the ex- ultation of his enemies; he provoked the resent- ment of his Christian neighbours, and engaged in a series of hostile and unsuccessful enterprizes against the kings of Leon, of Arragon, and of Navarre. And when the formidable preparations of the Moors compelled him at last to solicit the friendship and succour of those monarchs, actuated by pride and jealousy, he rushed to the field to anticipate the diligence of his allies, and to erect alone, the trophies his fond presumption had pro- mised; near the town of Alarcon, a broken monu- ment still records the defeat of the Christians; the waters of the Xucar were purpled with the blood of twenty thousand Castilians. Unwilling to sur- vive the effects of his own rashness, the king HISTORY OF SPAIN. 3:45 sought death amidst the thickest squadrons of the enemy; but his person was shielded by a brave and faithful nobility, who fought around him, and at length conveyed him from the scene of dismay and slaughter. In his retreat with the shattered remains of his army, he met the king of Leon advancing to his support; their interview was cold and reproachful; the son of Ferdinand, for Fer- dinand himself was no more, upbraided the jea- lous temerity of Alfonso, and Alfonso accused with warmth the tardy prudence of his confederate; they parted with mutual disgust; and while To- ledo was insulted and besieged by the infidels, the king of Castille was employed in ravaging the territories of a kinsman and Christian ally. The magnanimity of Alfonso, for such also was the name of the son and successor of Ferdinand, was superior to the insult; he sacrificed his own resentment to the general interest of the Christian powers; and though he advanced at the head of an army, it was only to add weight to his offers of reconciliation. The murmurs of the Castilian mobility compelled their sovereign to subscribe an equal and honourable treaty; the bonds of political union were drawn more close by those of domestic alliance; in the Cathedral of Walladolid, the king of Leon received the hand of Berengara, the daughter of his cousin of Castille; and though the marriage was afterwards dissolved by the im- 246 HISTORY OF SPAIN. perious voice of the Roman pontiff, yet the issue of it was declared legitimate; the title of Ferdi- nand the eldest, to the throne of Leon, was form- ally recognized ; and in little more than thirty years, his claims indissolubly united the dominions of his father and grand-father. Whatever might be the secret aversion of the king of Castille to the new nuptials, he was forced to conceal or suspend his enmity; the power of the Moors had been nourished by the dissensions of the Christians, and to recover the kingdom of Toledo, the Moslems of Africa had obeyed with alacrity, the summons of their brethren of Spain. Four score thousand cavalry were distinguished by the spirit of the horses and the dexterity of the riders; and the myriads of infantry which slowly followed their motions, are described as fatiguing the eye of the spectator; the innumerable host threatened to overwhelm all resistance; and their common peril united the Christian princes from the mouth of the Tagus to the foot of the Pyrenees. But their confederate forces appeared unequal to the encounter; and the source of their danger pointed out to them the means of their defence. Towards the conclusion of the eleventh cen- tury, the martial nations of Europe had been awakened by Peter the Hermit, to the recovery of the holy land. The impassioned eloquence of the fanatic had been seconded by the exhortations of HISTORY OF SPAIN. 2.47 the Roman pontiff; and in the council of Cler- mont, pope Urban the second urged the warriors of the west to march to the relief of their brethren in the east. At the voice of their pastor, the rob- ber, the incendiary, the homicide, arose by thou- sands to redeem their souls, by repeating on the infidels the same deeds which they had exercised against their Christian brethren; and to use the words of the princess Anne Comnena, all Europe torn up from the foundation seemed ready to precipitate itself in one united body on Asia; four crusades had consumed in less than a hundred and twenty years, a million and a half of the en- thusiasts of Europe, without exhausting the hopes of the survivors; and an engine, which in unskilful hands had been frequently abused, was sometimes employed to the most salutary purposes. Pope Innocent the third listened to the distress of the Christian princes of Spain; his holy eloquence in- cited to arms the martial nobles of Gaul and Ger- many ; and sixty thousand warlike adventurers beneath their respective chiefs traversed the Pyre- nees in quest of spoil and glory; some jealousies between the kings of Portugal and Leon prevented them from joining them ; but the armies of Cas- tille, of Arragon, and Navarre, were animated by the presence of their monarchs; and the whole force was united under the walls of Toledo. Im- placable against the enemies of Christianity, and 248 History of ssain. still more so against those who were rich and in- potent, the pious warriors of Gaul and Germany were with difficulty dissuaded from plundering the Jews who dwelt in the suburbs of Toledo; and the first proof of their zeal had nearly been dis- played against the subjects of a prince to whose succour they had been invited; they quitted with reluctance the tempting prey, and in their march overturned the walls of Melagon; those of Cala- trava were defended by a brave and numerous gar- rison, which, though compelled to abandon the town, still displayed the standard of Mahomet on the citadel. The confederate princes of Spain were unwilling to consume their strength in a tedi- ous siege; they proposed terms of capitulation; and a safe retreat with their most valuable effects was offered to the garrison, and accepted. The French and Germans however, who had been taught that it was meritorious to shed the blood of infidels, were not easily restrained from violating the treaty; and their murmurs accused the lenity of their allies, as a desertion of the Chris- tian cause. The wealth of Calatrava might yet have appeased their discontent; but the king of Castille opposed with firmness their insolent cla- mours; and their ardour for an enterprise, which was neither recommended by blood nor spoil, gra- dually subsided. They complained of the heat of the climate; they announced their intentions to HISTORY QF SPAIN. 249 return; and deaf to the remonstrances and solici- tations of Alfonso, pointed back their disorderly steps towards the Pyrenees. - Arnauld, archbishop of Narbonne, and Tih- baud de Blacon, whose zeal for religion was more pure, or whose thirst for glory more strong, of the chiefs of Gaul and Germany remained alone be- neath the banner of the cross; but the royal lead- ers, though their numbers were diminished by the desertion of their allies, still pressed forward to victory. They besieged and reduced the town of Alarcon ; reviewed and reposed their followers at Salvatierra; and instead of attempting to force the passes, which the Moors had occupied, and were prepared to defend, under the direction of a shepherd they explored a new route across the mountains of Sierra Morena; from whence, as they descended into the plains beneath, they be- held the banks of the Guadalquivir, between Jaen and Baeza, whitened with the innumerable tents of the infidels. Two days were allotted to recruit their strength, which had been exhausted in the toilsome march; on the third they obeyed with alacrity the signal for action. Near Toloso, in firm order, the Moors awaited their charge ; the choicest bands of Africa and Granada were sta- tioned in the centre; but some distrust of their own numbers and valour must have prevailed; and the iron chain that was stretched along their front, WOI. T. 2 K 250 HISTORY OF SPAIN. revealed their secret doubts or fears. The Mira- molin, or Moorish monarch, was distinguished from the host of his subjects, by his splendid vest and majestic mien. In his left hand he held the koran, with his right he wielded a sabre. The first reminded the Moslems of the joys of paradise, which had been promised by their prophet, to those who bravely fell in battle ; the last admon- ished his captains to dread less the swords of their enemies than the indignation of their sovereign. Nor did the Christian leader disregard the arts of superstition; the first place in danger and honour was claimed by the king of Castille; and as he spur- red his horse to the encounter, the holy cross was ex- alted before him by the nervous arm of the arch- bishop of Toledo. In the mutual rage of the con- flicting hosts, little room was allowed for the genius of the generals; and each combatant de- pended rather on his vigour and the keenness of his own sabre, than on the address of his leader. Yet in a struggle of several hours, though the courage of the Christians was unbroken, their strength began to fail; they were incessantly as- sailed by fresh squadrons, and they panted on the verge of destruction, when they were aroused by the generous despair of the king of Castille; on that day Alfonso redeemed the former errors of his reign; as he surveyed the field he exclaimed, A glorious death alone remained; and was with dif. HISTORY OF SPAIN. 251 ficulty restrained from plunging singly amidst the Moorish ranks; his contempt of life was rewarded with victory. The Castilians, stimulated to a last effort by the example of their prince, burst the iron chain, broke through the thick array of the infidels, and scattered in their career dismay and death. The Miramolin fled from a field which he could no longer hope to restore; and two hun- dred thousand of his followers are said to have been slaughtered by the Christians in the arduous con- test. But the reader must turn with disdain from the historians who assert that this advantage was purchased with the loss of only twenty-five of the victorious army; and who, in their eager desire to establish the miraculous interposition of heaven, defraud of their just glory the champions of Christ, who sealed their faith with their blood. On the field of Toloso the power of the Mi- ramolin was for ever broken ; yet the immediate conquests of the Christians were few and unimpor- tant. They ravaged or reduced the open country as far as Baeza; but they in vain pressed the siege of Ubeda ; and after refusing a liberal ransom, they were compelled by hunger to retire from the inauspicious walls. They led back to Toledo an army thinned by famine and disease; yet in that city they displayed in triumph, and rewarded their foreign auxiliaries with, the spoils of victory; and 3's. after subscribing a treaty of future defence against 252 HISTORY OF SPAIN. the infidels, the French repassed the Pyrenees, and the kings of Arragon and Navarre returned to their own capitals. - The remembrance of his danger, seems to have awakened the dormant judgment of Alfonso ; in- stead of yielding to the impulse of his passions, his conduct was ever afterwards regulated by just and sound policy; he cultivated the most perfect friendship with the king of Leon; he mediated between that monarch and the court of Portugal; and though his satisfaction was transiently clouded by a dearth which afflicted Castille, yet he la- boured to relieve the distress of his subjects, and beheld the strength of the Moors consumed by in- testine dissensions. The Miramolin after his de- feat had repassed the seas to Africa; a crowd of petty chiefs disputed his sceptre, and dissevered his dominions; and no sooner had the luxuriance of the ensuing harvest restored plenty to their peo- ple, than the kings of Castille and Leon marched against the infidels. The first in vain besieged Baeza; but the latter burst open the gates of Al- cantara; and as he passed over the stupendous bridge, which for eleven hundred years had re- sisted the impression of time, he might justly ad- mire this durable monument of Roman architec- ture. § . The prudence and moderation of Alfonso in his latter years, had converted the contempt of his HISTORY OF SPAIN. 253 subjects into esteem; but their desires for the con- tinuance of his reign were not gratified; and he had scarce shown himself worthy of the crown, before he was bereaved of it by death. He had fixed on the city of Placentia for an interview with his royal kinsman of Leon, to concert the opera- tions of the ensuing campaign, but on his road he was seized with a malignant fever; his last hours were cheered by the spiritual consolation of the archbishop of Toledo, who had been his compa- nion in victory, and was his comforter in death; and after naming his widow Eleanora for regent, he expired in the arms of that prelate. Henry, the son of Alfonso, was but A, p. 1214, eleven years old, when the states of Cas- * tille ratified the will of their late monarch, and ac- knowledged him as their sovereign. He was soon deprived of the protection of his mother, whose health had been impaired by grief, and who was impatient to join her husband in the grave. The loss might have been supplied by the experience of his sister Berengara, who had early been initiated to adversity in the persecution of the see of Rome, and who from her separation from the king of Leon, had deserved the love of the Cas- tilians, by the active and affectionate performance of every social duty. Her natural pretensions were supported by the last testament of Alfonso, who had named her to succeed to the regency in 254 HISTORY OF SPAIN. case of the death of Eleanora. But her claims were opposed by the ambition of the brothers of the house of Lara, who, emerging from retirement, asserted the hereditary turbulence of their ances- tors. In a national assembly their intrigues pre- vailed ; and the reins of administration were com- mitted to the hand of Don Alvaro de Lara; he might have trampled with impunity on the pros- trate laity; but he presumed to invade the immu- nities of the clergy; their resentment was impla- cable ; the churches resounded with the sacrile- gious oppression of Alvaro, and the discontents of the people encouraged the party of Berengara to vindicate her right. Yet amidst the storms which agitated Castille, the address and boldness of Al- varo were conspicuous. By a negociation of mar- riage between Henry and the eldest daughter of the king of Leon, he diverted the latter from es- pousing the cause of his former consort; in arms he menaced the chiefs who had dared to confede- rate against his authority, and threatened with the dangers of a siege the sister of his sovereign, when his schemes were broken by a melancholy and unexpected incident; as Henry was pursuing his amusements, a tile, that had been thrown in sport by one of his youthful companions, pitched upon his head, and was almost instantly fatal to his life, and to the ambitious hopes of Don Al- Wal'O, - HISTORY OF SPAIN. 255 The title of Berengara was immedi-, p. su. ately recognized in an assembly of the * states; yet the house of Lara did not retire from power without a struggle; but their resistance was speedily overwhelmed by the tide of loyalty; the cities that had been most attached to their fac- tion readily opened their gates to the queen; too proud to yield, they retired into exile; and Be- rengara after having held the sceptre of Castille for a few weeks, resigned it to Ferdinand, her son by the king of Leon, and who had just entered on his sixteenth year. r Ferdinand, who from his virtues obtained af- terwards the sacred surname of Saint, ascended the throne amidst the acclamations of his sub- jects. His tranquil accession seemed secured by the prudence and magnanimity of his mother; by the exile of the house of Lara ; and by his natural claims to the protection of his father and neigh- bour the king of Leon. But the bosom that is in- flamed with ambition, is seldom susceptible of the more tender passions; and such was the judgment of Alvaro de Lara, when he chose the court of Leon as an asylum against the indignation of his prince. While Alfonso revolved his own aggran- disement, he forgot, or wished to forget, that Fer- dinand was his son; and the coronation of the lat- ter was interrupted by the unwelcome intelligence, that his unnatural father and his rebellious subject 956 HISTORY OF SPAIN. were advancing towards Burgos at the head of a formidable army. The loyalty of the nobles of Castille was the security of Ferdinand; a numer- ous and gallant body of cavalry was hastily as- sembled; and Alfonso endured the mortification of abandoning with precipitation, an enterprise which had been prompted by injustice. He ac- knowledged his error, solicited the friendship of his son—and scarce subscribed, before he again violated the terms of reconciliation. Yet his se- cond attempt was equally fruitless with his first ; and his penitence might not have been more per- manent, but for the premature death of Alvaro de Lara. In an hostile incursion that chief had been taken prisoner by the valour, and released by the magnanimity of his sovereign; his haughty spirit was exasperated by disgrace, and incapable of being subdued by gratitude; in the second inva- sion of Alfonso, at the head of a martial train of his adherents, he ravaged his native country, and defied his king and conqueror. When the king of Leon was compelled to retreat before the forces of his son, Alvaro obeyed the order with reluc- tance and indignation; his heart was swelled by conflicting passions, and rage and despair deli- vered Alfonso from an injurious counsellor, and Ferdinand from an implacable enemy. Yet the generosity of the king of Castille expired not with the life of his foe; and the funeral of Alvaro was HISTORY OF SPAIN. 257 celebrated with a magnificence worthy of his birth, by the liberality of a monarch whose life he had repeatedly sought, and whose peace he had in- cessantly invaded. The pride of the Castilians was gratified by the marriage of their king with Beatrix, daughter to Philip, who, with his hereditary dukedom of Swabia, had been chosen to fill the imperial throne of Germany. From the couch of amorous enjoy- ment, Ferdinand was summoned by the cares of sovereignty; and he had scarce tasted the charms of Beatrix, before he prepared to march against the infidels; his first campaign neither advanced his renown nor extended his dominions; and after beholding ten thousand of his followers perish by famine, beneath the walls of Requena, he was compelled to raise the siege of that place. But the disgrace was soon effaced by success the most brilliant and decisive; the Moorish king of Wa- lencia, and the chiefs of Baeza and part of Anda- lusia, consented to become his vassals; Baeza was surrendered into his hands; and for ten years, at the conclusion of as many campaigns, he led back his followers from the invasion of Valencia, of Murcia, and of Granada, laden with spoil and glory; at the expiration of that term he invested Jaen, which during the turbulent regency of Don Alvaro de Lara, had been recovered by the Moors. The fortifications were strong, the garrison bold 2 L 258 History of SPAIN. and numerous; and Ferdinand yielded to the re- monstrances of his generals ; and abandoned, though with reluctance, the hopeless enterprise. He had scarce returned to Burgos, before he re- ceived the intelligence that his father, the king of Leon, after a glorious victory at Merida over the infidels, had breathed his last in a pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James, of Compostella. The will of Alfonso displayed in the last moments the inconstant temper of that monarch, which his sub- jects had deplored throughout his reign; though Ferdinand had been recognized his heir in an as- sembly of the states, yet he bequeathed his domi- nions to his daughters, Sancha and Dulcia, the issue of his first marriage; to assert his right, Ferdinand advanced towards the frontiers of Leon; his train was swelled into an army, by the Astu- rian and Gallician nobles, who respected the sanc- tity of their former oaths, or preferred the true interests of their country; all competition was extinguished by the moderation of the princesses, Sancha and Dulcia; they renounced their claims; enjoyed in a private station, a princely income ; and from the final union of the kingdoms of Cas- tille and Leon, under Ferdinand, we may date the future grandeur of Spain. CHAP. VIII. -º- Final union of Castille and Leon.—Rise aad progress of chiv- alry.—Orders of St. Jago, Calatrava, and Alcantara.-Ex- ploits of Ferdinand, surnamed the Saint.—He successively reduces the cities of Cordova and Seville.—He meditates the invasion of Africa.-His death.-Four hundred years after, he is canonized at the request of the king and states of Spain. —Accession of Alfonso, surnamed the Wise.—He aspires to the imperial crown of Germany.—Distraction of his reign, —Revolt of his son Sancho.—Death of Alfonso.-He is suc- ceeded by Sancho the brave.—Vigorous measures of that monarch.-He vanquishes his rebellious subjects.-Dies at Toledo.—The queen dowager is supplanted in the regency by Don Henry, uncle of the late king.—Stormy minority and reign of Ferdinand the fourth.—Pretensions of the house of de la Cerda.-Prudence of the queen dowager.—Persecution of the Knights Templars.--They are acquitted in Spain.— Hasty condemnation of two noblemen, by Ferdinand.—Par- ticulars of the death of that monarch.-He is succeeded by his son, Alfonso the eleventh.-Defeat of the Christians, and deaths of the regents Juan and Pedro.—Alfonso assumes the reins of government.—He acts with vigour against his re- bellious subjects and foreign enemies.—In conjunction with the king of Portugal, he defeats the Moors at Sulsedo.— Takes Algezire.—Dies of the plague in the siege of Gibraltar, Review of his character. *º- A. D. 1230, MoRE than five hundred years had " 'iº elapsed, since the Christians had emerged from 260 HISTORY OF SPAIN. their craggy retreats in Asturia, and under the conduct of Pelagius, ranged themselves in battle on the open plain. The success of their first en- terprises was productive of confidence; and their rapid progress was accelerated by the divisions and decay of their common enemies, who were actuated by jealousy of each other, and were enervated by luxury. The descendants of the Arabian warriors, who marched under the ban- ners of Tarik and Musa, had degenerated from the simplicity, and had declined from the valour of their ancestors; their empire, which had been founded on fanaticism, had gradually receded, in proportion as science and learning had advanced; and when Ferdinand, the third of the name who ruled over Leon, united that kingdom with Cas- tille, the possessions of the Moors in Spain were limited to part of Andalusia, the kingdom of Gra- nada, and the provinces of Murcia and Valentia. Narrow as these territories might appear, they were not suffered to cultivate them in tranquillity; that ardour and enthusiasm which had enflamed the first Moslems, seemed to have passed from their bosoms into those of their adversaries; the spirit of chivalry, which has been often considered as a wild institution, the effect of caprice, and the source of extravagance, diligently traced, must be ascribed to the most liberal and generous senti- ments. Perpetual war, rapine, and anarchy, were HISTORY OF SPAIN. 261 congenial to the feudal state ; and the limited power of the sovereign suffered him not to protect from insult or injury, the weak and unarmed. The valour and generosity of private persons, af- forded the most effectual defence against violence and oppression; such qualities might naturally have been expected from noble bosoms only, which had long entertained the most lofty and delicate notions of honour; and the sons of peers who could produce four quarters or lines of an- cestry, without spot or reproach, at first might alone legally pretend to the distinction of knight- hood. But a simple knight could impart accord- ing to his judgment the character which he re- ceived; and a warlike plebeian was sometimes en- riched and ennobled by the sword, and became the father of a new race. The ceremony was in its origin simple and profane ; the candidate, after some previous trial, was invested with the sword and spurs; and his cheek or shoulder were touched with a slight blow, as an emblem of the last affront which it was lawful for him to endure; but superstition was soon blended with the rites of chivalry; the sword of the novice was blessed by the ministers of religion; his solemn reception was preceded by fasts and vigils; and he was created a knight in the name of God, of St. George, and of St. Michael the archangel. He swore to accomplish the duties of his profession, 262 HISTORY OF SPAIN. to check the insolence of overgrown oppressors, to rescue the helpless from captivity, to protect or to avenge women, orphans, and ecclesiastics, who could not bear arms in their own defence ; to re- dress wrongs, and to remove grievances, were deemed acts of the highest prowess and merit. Valour, humanity, courtesy, justice, and honour, were the characteristic qualities of chivalry. Each knight was attended to the field by his faithful squire, a youth of equal birth and similar hopes; he was followed by his archers and men at arms; and four, or five, or six soldiers, were computed on an average, as his martial train. He himself constantly served on horseback; his lance was his proper and peculiar weapon; and his steed was of a large and heavy breed. When his long lance was fixed in the rest, he furiously spurred his charger against the foe, and transpierced or over- turned in his career, the naked bands and light squadrons of the Arabs. Religion, the prominent feature of the age, was conspicuous in the institu- tion; and to recover the Holy Land from the dominion of the infidels, was the pious object of the majority of the knights of Europe. But those of Spain might exercise their valour within their native boundaries; and when Ferdinand ascended the throne, the associations of several of them had obtained the appellation of orders, and were dis- tinguished by the saint they had chosen as their HISTORY OF SPAIN. 263 patron, or the spot they had pitched on for their residence. . The military order of St. Jago, had been esta- blished in Spain towards the close of the twelfth century, under the auspices of Alfonso the ninth ; it had been confirmed by the bull of pope Alex- ander the third ; the object of it was to oppose the enemies of the Christian faith, and to restrain and punish those who disturbed the public peace; such an institution, while the open country was not only ravaged by the common enemy, but was afflicted by the depredations of private banditti, could not fail of popularity and general encourage- ment. And in the ensuing century, the wealth and importance of the order became so consider- able, that according to one historian, the grand master of St. Jago, was the person in Spain of greatest power and dignity next to the king. To the vows of poverty, and conjugal chastity, which were pronounced by the knights, was added that of implicit obedience to their grand master; they were capable of bringing into the field a thousand men at arms; if these men were accompanied as was usual in that age, they must, with their fol- lowers, have composed a formidable body of ca- valry. Eighty commanderies, two hundred prio- ries, and a variety of other benefices had, in little more than an hundred and fifty years been accumu- lated by the order; and it is not surprising that 264 HISTORY OF SPAIN. the command of so considerable a force, the dis- tribution of so ample a revenue, and the disposal of so many offices, should have rendered the per- son who was intrusted with them scare less formi- dable to his sovereign than to the enemies of his faith. The orders of Calatrava and Alcantara, though neither so honourable nor opulent as that of St. Jago, were yet numerous and liberally en- dowed; and while they adhered to the purity of their first institution, without becoming the tools to the ambition or resentment of their grand mas- ters, they must have given an energy to the ope- rations of government which the feeble and divided Moslems were incapable of resisting. º The enterprising genius of Ferdinand suffered not the lance of chivalry to rust in inaction. An army under the command of his brother Alfonso penetrated into the Moorish territories, and passed the Guadiana; they were surrounded by an host of infidels; and when they compared their own scanty numbers to the myriads of the enemy, their whole confidence must have been derived from their valour and piety; on these they relied in the hour of danger; and such was the unqualified hope they inspired, that had a retreat been practicable, they would have disdained the inglorious expedi- ent. They were ranged in two lines; they advan- ced in close order to the charge; and the dexterity and courage that had been practised in tilts and HISTORY OF SPAIN. 265 tournaments, were effectually exerted to assert the glory of their country, and vindicate the purity of their faith. The bosom of the Moorish general was transpierced by the lance of a beardless youth, who had been invested with the sacred honour of knighthood on the morning of the action; his fol- lowers were dismayed by his fate; and the bloody toils of the Christians were cheered by the firm belief that they fought beneath the conduct of their peculiar patron St. James. The vision which en- thusiasm presented amidst the tumult of the bat- tle, has been preserved by superstition ; and the Spanish historians have gratefully commemorated the assistance they derived that day from the pre- sence of their guardian saint. To avail himself of the weakness of his enemies and the ardour of his subjects, Ferdinand, accom- panied by his gallant nobles, took the field, and encamped beneath the towers of Ubeda. The fortifications of that city were not long capable of resisting the weight of his machines; and with Ubeda, a considerable district of the province of Andalusia, fertile in corn, in wine, and in oil, was added to the crown of Castille; yet the exul- tation of conquest was alloyed by domestic afflic- tion, and while her royal consort pressed the siege of Ubeda, Beatrix had expired at Toro. In a pe- riod when the champion of the cross was equally that of the ladies, and when the emulation of the VOL. I. 2 M 266 HISTORY OF SPAIN. sons of chivalry was kindled by the approbation of chaste and high-born beauty, the tears of the man stained not the honour of the warrior; and on the decease of Beatrix, the generous nobles of Castille sympathised in the sorrows of their so- vereign. w During an entire year Ferdinand suffered not his griefs to be invaded by the sound of the trum- pet or the voice of glory; but at the expiration of that term he again assumed his arms; and the duties of the king prevailed over the affliction of the husband. The magnificence of the city of Cordova has been already described; and though with the waining strength of the Moors her meri- dian splendour must have gradually declined, yet still as the seat of Mahometan government, and the repository of Saracen wealth, she excited the envy and avarice of the Christians. The discon- tent of some Moorish captives, whose fetters were rendered more heavy by the indifference of their countrymen, revealed the weakness of the garri- son; a martial band were inflamed by the lustre of the achievement and the richness of the spoil; they marched under cover of a dark night, scaled the outward walls, and intrenched themselves in a quarter of the suburbs; the banner of Christ dis- played from the ramparts summoned to their sup- port don Alvaro de Perez, who had followed on their steps with a more considerable force; yet HISTORY OF SPAIN. 267 their united strength was inadequate to the com- pletion of the enterprise; the interior part of the city was protected by solid works, and the swarms of the inhabitants which it contained, threatened to overwhelm the daring adventurers. The same messenger apprised Ferdinand of the success and the danger of his troops. He rushed to their suc- cour, and was followed by the most valiant knights and nobles of his court. From the bridge of Al- cala he commanded the opposite banks of the Guadalquivir; yet his situation was scarce less dangerous than the condition of those whom he had advanced to rescue; and had the Moorish monarch Aben-Hut pressed forwards at the head of the rapid and innumerable squadrons of Africa and Arabia, he must have crushed his adversary before the armies of Castille and Leon could have been assembled in his defence. But he was de- ceived and deterred by an insidious and exagger- ated representation of the numbers of the Chris- tians; he was distracted by the solicitations of the Moslem prince of Valencia, whose capital was be- sieged by the king of Arragon; he marched to the protection of his ally; and on his route he fell a victim to domestic treason. His death extin- guished the hopes of the inhabitants of Cordova; they beheld the camp of the besiegers swelled by constant reinforcements, every post strongly occu- pied, and every supply diligently intercepted; fa- 268 HISTORY OF SPAIN. mine was not less terrible within the walls than the sword without; and they reluctantly yielded to the double danger. Those whose stubborn spirits still refused to bend to the Christian yoke, were permit- ted to retire with their effects; but the majority ac- quiesced under the dominion of their new masters; the cathedral of Cordova was in solemn pomp pari- fied from the profanation of the disciples of Maho- met; and in less than three centuries from the time that it had been erected, the Christian king of Cas- tille and Leon reposed in the palace of Abdalrah- man the Great. - The unavailing sorrows of Ferdinand for Beatrix had been abated by time and reason; and the memory of that princess was effaced by the charms of a new consort; Jane, daughter of the count de Ponthieu, was chosen by Berengara to share the bed and throne of her son; the purity of her man- mers, and the sweetness of her disposition, vied with her graceful shape and the expression of her features. The nuptials were celebrated at Bour- deaux; and the operations of war were suspended by a year of festivity. The insolence of a factious and powerful subject, summoned Ferdinand from the arms of his bride, and no sooner had that mon- arch vanquished and pardoned Don Diego de Haro, than he took the field against the infidels; Jaen, that had so long resisted, submitted to his arm; after a siege of eight months, and the kings HISTORY OF SPAIN. 269 of Murcia and Granada consented to become his vassals and tributaries. The wealth and import- ance of the rich and populous city of Seville in- flamed his desires; seated in the midst of a spa- cious plain which is fertilized by the waters of the Guadalquivir, and which is diversified by vineyards and corn fields, the luxuriance of the country around, and the purity of the air, had recom- mended it successively to the natives and con- querors of Spain. It had been founded by the Phoenicians, had been extended and adorned by the Romans, and had been the residence of the Gothic kings before they removed their court to Toledo. After the defeat of Xeres it refused to acquiesce under the yoke of the victors; and the patience and courage of the Moslems were tried in the siege and assault of Seville. In the revolu- tions which had rapidly succeeded the extinction of the house of Ommijah, it had become the seat of an independent government, and was still separated from the crown of Granada, when it tempted the ambition of Ferdinand. Two years were dili- gently employed in preparations for the arduous enterprise; and the want of a naval force, which must have rendered the design abortive, was re- moved by the persevering industry of the king of Castille and Leon. Thirteen large ships, and se- veral of inferior size, were built, manned, and equipt under the direction of Raymond Boniface, 270 HISTORY OF SPAIN. whose skill in maritime affairs had preferred him to the confidence of his sovereign; and though the most considerable of the vessels in the present age would have been regarded with contempt, yet in that period of naval ignorance, their bulk excited the admiration of the Christians and the terror of the Moslems. The holy armament was not only sanctioned by the blessings of the clergy, but had been promoted by their liberality; and one-third of their tithes was readily granted to break the power of the enemies of their faith. The fleet cast anchor at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, blocked up the squadrons of the Moors, and intercepted all supplies from Africa, while the numerous army of Ferdinand ravaged the open country, and erected his engines against the towers of the devoted city. The king of Granada condescended to serve as his vassal; and the dexterity of the horsemen of Ara- bia was employed at the command of their sove- reign to subvert their own religion. The inhabi- tants of Seville beheld with indignation the ban- ners of Christ and Mahomet blended in one camp, and united for their destruction. Yet though as- sailed by those who ought to have rushed to their protection, their resistance was long and glorious. The summer and autumn were consumed in bloody but indecisive attacks; and they might reasonably have expected that the inclemency of the winter would have chilled the ardour, and compelled the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 271 retreat of the besiegers; but every obstacle was vanquished by the indefatigable care of Ferdinand, and the unwearied zeal of his subjects; a perpetual supply of provisions was poured into his camp, which from its regularity assumed the appearance of a new and immense city; stretched over the plain, and covered the ruins of Italica, that has been celebrated for the birth of Trajan, of Hadrian, and Theodosius the Great. The plenty which reigned through the host of the besiegers, insulted the distress of the besieged ; yet their spirits were unbroken; and when on the return of spring Fer- dinand again assailed their walls, he was encoun- tered with a courage unimpaired by famine, and unshaken by danger. Through a second summer and autumn the defence of Seville was protracted by the steady resolution of her inhabitants; but while her own numbers daily diminished, those of her adversaries increased ; her magazines were exhausted; her hopes extinguished; and in the month of November a capitulation was subscribed, and the gates of the city were delivered to Ferdi- nand; yet the majority of the citizens chose to abandon their ancient habitations rather than live under a Christian master; and if three hundred thousand Moslems left the city to carry their arms and industry into countries that still reverenced and cultivated the Koran, the triumphal entry of the victor could have been witnessed only by his 273 HISTORY OF SPAIN. own forces; and some painful reflections must have arisen as he passed through the deserted streets to view the solitude his success had created. The constitution of Ferdinand had not been proof against a reign of incessant care and toil; but his mind superior to indisposition, still dis- played its pristine vigour; in his last and most splendid campaign he ravaged or subdued the country from the walls of Seville to the mouth of the Guadalquivir; from the coast of Andalusia he surveyed the opposite shores of Africa; and he re- volved the glorious design of planting again the banners of Christ on the towers of Ceuta, and of recovering the southern continent from the arms of the infidels. He solicited Henry the third of England to join in the splendid project; and the refusal of that monarch may rather be ascribed to the weakness of his disposition than to his policy. The disappointment of Ferdinand in the negocia- tion did not deter him from pursuing the design; he urged the preparations with his wonted industry: a more formidable fleet than he had yet issued from the Christian ports of Spain, was assembled; and Raymond, to whose skill and experience it was intrusted, not only insulted the coasts of Africa, but obtained a considerable advantage over the Moorish squadrons which had ventured to engage him; the king received the intelligence with undisguised exultation; but the strength of HISTORY OF SPAIN. 273 his body could no longer keep pace with the ar- dour of his mind; he laboured under the fatal weight of a dropsy; the arts of medicine had been fruitlessly exhausted to procure him relief; and as a Christian and a hero he prepared to meet his approaching end. His last words exhorted his son to govern with equity and moderation; and he expired in the sentiments of piety and resigna- tion; his memory was long revered by a grateful people, whose happiness he had invariably con- sulted. Above four hundred years afterwards, Clement the tenth yielded to the solicitations of the states and king of Spain; the name of Fer- dinand was inscribed by the Roman pontiff among the long list of saints, and the calendar, which had been so frequently disgraced by lazy monks and wild fanatics, received a lustre from the addition of a prince whose virtues had promoted the pros- perity of his subjects, and had extended the influ- ence of the Christian religion. Yet it is probable Ferdinand expired not too soon for the preservation of his glory, as the hostile coasts of Africa, on which the reputation of his successors has so often been wrecked, might have proved fatal to his fame. His seeptre descended to his son, Alfonso the tenth; and the epithet of mise, which this mpnarch had already attained, might inspire his subjects with the most pleasing expectations of his reign. But WOL. I. 2 N A. D. 1252, I284. 274 HISTORY OF SPAIN. his hours had been wasted in unprofitable lucubra- tions; he was versed in every science but that of governing ; and the royal grammarian and astro- nomer, who might have claimed the admiration of the academy, was exposed to the contempt and ridicule of the state. He engaged in, and aban- doned every enterprise with the same inconsiderate and disgraceful facility. His vain pretensions to the province of Guienne, provoked an open rupture with Henry the third of England; and though the harmony of the courts was restored by the media- tion of the Roman pontiff, and by the marriage of Eleanora, the sister of Alfonso, with Edward the son of Henry, yet in peace the subjects of the for- mer monarch groaned beneath all the consequences that they could have experienced from a wide and unsuccessful war. New taxes were devised and imposed; the value of the coin was diminished; and every expedient was employed which could swell the royal coffers. The fervour of religious enthusiasm might support his people under their accumulated burthens; and they might fondly hope that the splendid capitals of Fez and Moroc- co, which had been erected by the followers of Mahomet, amidst the wilds of Africa, would be subverted by the Christian sword. But they heard with indignation that the African expedition was renounced, and that their blood was to be lavished in an ambitious competition for the imperial dig- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 275 nity. Alfonso was determined to assert the pre- tensions which he derived from his mother, the daughter to the duke of Swabia and emperor of Germany. His money, while it lasted, procured him friends and partisans; but it was soon drained by the cupidity of the German princes; and after having consumed, in the frantic project, those trea- sures which might have expelled the Moors from the peninsula of Spain, his hopes were finally ex- tinguished by the election of Rodolph of Haps- burgh. - Whilst he had wasted his hours and wealth in the vain pursuit of the imperial crown, his throne was assailed by the intrigues of open and secret enemies. The strength and spirits of the Moors had been restored by peace; and the hopes of the factious had been inflamed by the unsteady hand with Fhich the reins of government were held. Against the former Alfonso took the field in per- son, and the success which attended his arms may rather be ascribed to the strict discipline which had been established by his father, than to his own military talents. The infidels were defeated; Xeres was surrendered; the cities of Bajar, of Si- donia, Rota, St. Lucar, and Arcos, were evacu- ated on the approach of the Christians; the king- dom of Murcia sunk into an obedient province; and new colonies, to secure her fidelity, were es- tablished from Castille and Arragon. The re. 276 HISTORY OF SPAIN. sources of Granada were yet formidable; but her monarch dreaded to provoke the contest; and con- sented to purchase a disgraceful peace by the hu- miliating ceremony of homage. Whatever satisfaction Alfonso might derive from foreign war, was clouded by domestic com- motion. A powerful confederacy had been silently cemented against his authority; the illustrious houses of Lara, of Haro, of Castro, and Men- doza, assembled their numerous vassals and re- tainers; and their rebellion derived an increase of dignity and consequence from the accession of prince Philip, the brother of the king. Yet they were unwilling to submit their pretensions to the arbitration of the states, and being incapable of withstanding the king in his own dominions, they withdrew with their followers into the territories of the king of Granada. Near three years their secret intrigues and open incursions embarrassed the counsels, and afflicted the frontiers of Castille; and when at length, weary of exile, they consented to accept a pardon, they dictated the terms of re- conciliation, and the language of elemency could not disguise the weakness of their prince. Their unnatural counsels had induced the king of Granada to re-assert his independence; he in- voked the assistance of the king of Morocco; and that monarch, who had not been indifferent to the preparations of the Christians for the invasion of HISTORY OF SPAIN. 277 Africa, readily listened to his solicitations. He cast anchor in the bay of Gibraltar; was admitted by his ally into the fortresses of Tarif and Alge- zire; and at the head of seventeen thousand of the choicest horsemen of Africa, ravaged the country between the Guadalquivir and the Guadalato. Within the walls of Eciza, Nugnez de Lara might have derided his impotent attacks; but he was desirous of effacing, by some splendid achiev- ment, the remembrance of his former revolt; and he rushed forth at the head of his martial garrison to encounter the invaders; he was oppressed by their superior numbers; an honourable death was all that was allowed him; and his head was trans- mitted by the king of Morocco as the trophy of his victory to his ally of Granada; with the same temerity and the same fortune, the archbishop of Toledo, near the walls of Martos, in Andalusia, had charged the forces of Granada; his valour could not atone for his imprudence; he perished in the bloody conflict; and the appearance of Don Lopez de Haro, at the head of a vigorous rein- forcement, preserved alone the Christian army from total destruction. He recovered the cross from the hands of the infidels; but the strength and spirits of the Christians had been broken in the beginning of the day; and the signal of retreat, that was reluctantly given by the general, was obeyed with disgraceful alacrity by the soldiers. 278 HISTORY OF SPAIN. The intelligence of the defeat and distress of the Christian army, had quickened the steps of Ferdinand, the eldest son of Alfonso ; but as he rushed forward at the head of the chivalry of Cas- tille, his course was arrested by a mortal fever, the effect of his incessant toil and anxiety. His death opened to his brother Sancho the career of glory and ambition; he assumed the command of the united forces of the Christians; assembled a strong fleet; alarmed the king of Morocco for the safety of his own dominions; and compelled the king of Granada to retire from the walls of Jaen, which he had invested. The popular applause which accompanied his actions inflamed his hopes of royalty; and in his pretensions to the crown, he overlooked or despised the feeble children of his deceased brother, whose age allowed them not to assert their claim by arms. The infants de la Cerda sought with their mother Beatrix, an asy- lum in the court of Arragon; and by the voice of the states-general, and the consent of the king, Sancho was called to the certain succession of the crowns of Castille and Leon. The daring spirit of Sancho rendered him the idol of the army, and his unbounded profusion endeared him to the multitude. In a second and successful war against the Moors of Granada, he established and extended his renown; and in his impatience to ascend the throne, he hesitated not History of span. 279 to violate the double duties of a son and a subject. The exigencies of the state or the improvidence of the sovereign, had reduced Alfonso to recruit his exhausted coffers by the most dangerous expedi- ents; and the proposal of raising the denomination of the coin, though ratified by the states-general, was justly considered by the people as a measure the most pernicious, and as a breach of the public faith. Their indignation was favourable to the designs of Sancho ; he summoned his adherents to Walladolid, painted in glowing colours the weak- ness of Alfonso, and the distress of the kingdom; and in an assembly which usurped the title of the states-general, though with affected diffidence he declined the name, he consented to receive the authority of king, and to govern under the dis- tinction of regent. At Badajoz the unfortunate Alfonso was first acquainted with the resolution of the council of Walladolid, and of the almost universal defection of his subjects. The most considerable cities of Castille and Leon had already opened their gates to his rebellious son; and the title of Sancho to the regency, was formally acknowledged by the kings of France, of Portugal, and of Arragon, who courted his alliance. Palencia alone was con- firmed in her loyalty by the magnanimity of Don Alvaro de Lara; and Badajoz, by her steady zeal, repaid the confidence of her prince who had com- 280 HISTORY OF SPAIN. mitted his safety to her walls. Prudence might have recommended to Alfonso to have resigned a sceptre which he could not retain without involv- ing his country in the calamities of a civil war; and his retreat might have been ascribed to a ge- merous reluctance to turn his sword against his son and his subjects. But every prudent reflection and public consideration were overwhelmed by the passions of the man; Alfonso yielded to the resentments of a king and a father; his ambassadors presented themselves in the court of Morocco, and a Mahometan prince was prevailed upon by policy and compassion, to arm in support of a Christian monarch. The Miramolin crossed again the straits; and the town of Zara, on the confines of Granada, was the scene of interview between the two princes; the king of Morocco yielded to his illustrious suppliant the place of honour; and even the Christians were compelled to ac- knowledge, in the enemy of their faith, the mag- naminity of his spirit. “I treat you thus,” said he to Alfonso, “beeause you are unfortunate; and eater into alliance with you merely to avenge the eommon cause of all kings and all fathers.” Yet a confederacy founded on the purest motives, was far from being attended with the success it merited. The adherents of Alfonso, with the forces of Mo- rocco and Granada, in vain united in the siege of Cordova; the patience of the Miramolin was ex- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 281 hausted in the tedious enterprise; he reimbarked for Africa; and his alliance served only to render Alfonso more obnoxious in the eyes of his Chris- tian subjects. N. But the advantages which Alfonso had fondly hoped from the arms of the Miramolin, he derived from the pity of the Roman pontiff; the succes- sors of St. Peter, after an insensible progress during several ages of darkness and ignorance, had erected their head above all the princes of Europe, and interposed their decrees in the quar- rels of the greatest monarchs. The tremendous sentence of an interdict, dissolved the bond of do- mestic and political alliance, and transformed the assassin into the saint or martyr. The thunders of the Vatican were already brandished against Sancho, when he resolved to avert the bolt by submission. He deputed a nobleman who enjoyed his confidence to negociate a reconciliation with his father; in the anguish of his heart Alfonso had renounced his rebellious son as a stranger to his crown and blood; but he was not proof to the language of repentance; and the pardon of his ungrateful offspring was accelerated by the intel- ligence that he languished under a dangerous in- disposition at Salamanca; the last breath of Al- fonso revoked the curse he had denounced ; but the will that he had dictated in the hour of resent- ment still subsisted, and bequeathed to his younger WOL. I. 2 O 282 HISTORY OF SPAIN. son Juan, the cities of Seville and Badajoz, with the districts under their immediate jurisdiction. A. D. 1284, The health of Sancho was scarce re- * stored when he received the news of his fathers's death; from his former conduct, we may justly doubt how far he sincerely lamented an event which established his authority over the realms of Castille and Leon. In the cathedral of Toledo he received the crown from the hands of the arch- bishop of that city ; among the crowd who poured forth their congratulations on his royal fortunes, the homage of his brother Don Juan was probably the most reluctant; but the spirit of Sancho was known and dreaded; he regarded the will of the deceased king, which would have dissevered Se- ville and Badajoz from the monarchy, as equally injurious to himself and the state; and though in his address to the national assembly, he spoke with veneration of the virtues of his father, yet he de- clared his resolution to preserve the kingdom entire against every pretender. r * The surname of Brave, had been early ac- quired by Sancho; and he was impatient to sig- nalize his courage against the enemies of his country and his faith. His naval squadrons were joined by those of Genoa; and the fleet of the Moors was defeated, and the coast of Africa in- sulted. The Miramolin had formed and pressed the siege of Xeres; while he daily expected the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 283 surrender of that city, he was astonished by the appearance of a hundred sail of Christian vessels in the straits of Gibraltar, and by the return of his scouts who had already descried the banners of the Christian army; he abandoned the siege with precipitation; and retired within the territories of the king of Granada; his retreat was conducted without order, and effected with difficulty ; and Sancho was defrauded of the glory he anticipated from the total destruction of the infidel host, by the disobedience and intrigues of a powerful and factious subject, and an ambitious and envious brother. - r The wealth and influence of the illustrious house of Haro had more than once excited the jealousy, and supported them against the resent- ment of their sovereigns; they had been frequently suspected; they had sometimes been trusted; and during the commencement of the reign of Sancho, he had lavished, with an impolitic prodigality, every office and honour on Don Lopez de Haro. With the title of count, he united the important trusts of high-treasurer, and prime-minister; the troops and government of the province of Anda- lusia were committed to his brother Diego; and he was raised to an alliance with royalty by the marriage of his daughter Maria with Don Juan, the king's brother. But distrust soon succeeded to favour; and the arrogant disposition and over- 284 HISTORY OF SPAIN. grown power of Don Lopez, inspired Sancho with the most serious alarms. The latter had lately recalled from exile, and admitted into his con- fidence, Don Alvaro de Lara, the hereditary enemy of the house of Haro; the pride of the minister was wounded by the promotion of the an- cient rival of his family; and he might foresee in the elevation of that noble, his own downfall. But instead of endeavouring to conciliate his prince by submission, he aspired to defend his power by arms; he found a ready confederate in his son-in- law, who still in secret cherished the claims which he derived from his father's will, and readily em- braced the first opportunity to assert them by force; on the confines of Portugal Don Juan assembled his adherents; and in Castille the numerous vas- sals of the house of Haro obeyed the summons of their chief. Yet the conspirators after having pre- sumed to draw the sword, were weak enough to sheath it; they consented to an interview with the sovereign they had insulted; and in a conference at Alfaro, in return to the demand of the king, that Lopez should evacuate the fortresses he had seized or corrupted, that haughty subject answered by the expressive menace of applying his hand to the hilt of his sword. His insolence was the sig- nal of his death; an hundred nobles, jealous of the dignity of their prince, started from the seats, and their weapons were instantly plunged into the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 285 bosom of the daring traitor. Don Juan was the witness of the fate of his accomplice; but Sancho amidst his resentment respected the blood of his brother; he yielded to the solicitations of his mother; and the ambitious prince, instead of being raised to a throne, found himself immured in a prison. The spirits of the house of Haro were rather exasperated than intimidated by the death of their chief. The brother and son of Lopez immediately retired within the limits of Arragon, and prevailed on that monarch to espouse the title of the infants de la Cerda, the grand-children of Alfonso the tenth, by his eldest son. The greater part of the province of Andalusia was influenced by Diego to declare in their favour ; and the forces of Arra- gon were swelled by their numerous partisans to a host of a hundred thousand men. The courage of Sancho rose with his danger, and the inferior number of his troops was more than compensated by his own vigour and activity. He suffered not long an enemy to brave him in his dominions, and the king of Arragon trembled in the presence of a hero who had been familiar with victory. His retreat was hastened by the intelligence of a com- motion in his own territories; and his steps were closely followed by Sancho, who retorted the in- vasion of Castille, by ravaging Arragon to the banks of the Ebro. 286 HISTORY OF SPAIN. Badajoz had imprudently declared for the in- fants de la Cerda, and the obstinacy of her citi- zens was confirmed by the dread of the inexorable severity of Sancho. But they were incapable of withstanding the fury of the assailants, who were inflamed with the hope of spoil, and animated by the presence of their king. A capitulation was tardily subscribed, and immediately violated; and though the massacre of the inhabitants of Badajoz may be ascribed to the intemperate rage of the sol- diers, yet it reflects no small dishonour on the memory of the prince who permitted it. If Sancho was stern and implacable in victory, he was bold and diligent in war. From chastising his rebellious subjects, he again turned his arms against his foreign and natural enemies. A new fleet had issued from the ports of Africa, but it was encountered and defeated by the combined squadrons of Castille and Genoa; and the strong fortress of Tarif, which, on an eminence at a small distance from Gibraltar, awed the adjacent country, and invited the invasion of the hordes of Africa, was, after a long siege, wrested from the infidels by Sancho. - The advantages which his subjects might have derived from the martial virtues of the king of Cas- tille, were diminished by their own turbulence and levity. Four years of imprisonment had not sub- dued the ambitious spirit of Don Juan, and he was HISTORY OF SPAIN. 287 less sensible of his life that had been spared, than of the captivity he had endured. He was scarce restored to freedom before he entered into new intrigues; and the croud of adventurers who lis- tened to his solicitations, enabled him soon to ap- pear openly in arms. To chastise their temerity, Sancho rushed forwards at the head of his faith- ful nobles; his approach dissolved their confede- racy; and the leaders who had been vanquished by the terror of his name, were pardoned by his magnanimity. From the justice of a brother whom he had so repeatedly offended, Don Juan sought an asylum in the court of Lisbon ; he was followed by the ambassadors of Sancho, and, banished by the po- licy or aversion of the king of Portugal, he crossed the seas and implored the protection of the king of Morocco. By this monarch he was intrusted with the command of a considerable armament; landed his followers on the coast of Andalusia; and in the siege of Tarif he stimulated the ardour of the infidels by the promised plunder of a Chris- tian fortress. He was, however, repulsed by the valour and vigilance of the governor, Alonso de Guzman; whose steady mind in the discharge of his duty was indifferent to every other considera- tion. His infant son had fallen into the hands of Juan, and was, by the command of that prince, exposed under the walls of Tarif, with the painful 288 HISTORY OF SPAIN. admonition, that the surrender of the fort could alone ransom the life of the child. “If,” replied Guzman, as he threw indignantly his sword to the inhuman ruffian, “If you, who were born a “prince, and educated a Christian, dare commit “so foul a crime, know that I not only prefer the “loss of my son to that of my honour, but dare “furnish you with a weapon for the murder you “ meditate.” The Moors and Christians in silent admiration at his heroic spirit awaited the event. But the heart of Juan was incapable of approving the virtue he had never felt ; and in the presence of the father he plunged his tagger into the bosom of the unfortunate victim. Without shaking the fortitude of Guzman, Juan beheld himself the object of general detes- tation; the avenger of his people's injuries was at hand; and the banners of Sancho were no sooner descried, than the precipitate retreat of the in- human assassin proved, that a timid and cruel spirit are in general nearly allied. After the failure of an enterprise, for the success of which he had confidently answered, he ventured not to present himself to the king of Morocco; and in the court of Granada, though he eluded the ven- gance of his brother, he could not escape the contempt and abhorrence of mankind. In action, the daring valour of Sancho had been often applauded; and his conduct towards HISTORY OF SPAIN. 289 the faithful and unhappy Guzman, attested that he was not insensible to the softer emotions of the heart. In a letter that expressed his grateful sense of his loyalty, he conferred on him the name of the Good; and he lamented, while he invited him to his court, that his own health suffered him not to hasten to Tarif, and to console him in person. Amidst the bloody and disgusting annals of vio- lence and slaughter which the historian is compel- led to trace, he dwells with pleasure on the gentler traits which distinguish the character of the man from that of the king; and in the hour of death, Sancho himself must have derived more satisfac- tion from his generous sympathy for the afflicted Guzman, than from the trophies he had erected over his rebellious subjects and infidel enemies. That hour already rapidly approached; during eleven years that Sancho had reigned, foreign war or domestic commotion had scarce ever permitted him to lay aside his armour; and his constitution sunk at length under incessant toil and care. He acknowledged the symptoms of inevitable death; and his last concern was to provide for the tranquil succession of his son Ferdinand, whose feeble age was exposed to the factions which had long agitated the kingdom. In the presence of the most illus- trious prelates and nobles of Castille, he bequea- thed, with the distinction of regent, the reins of administration, and the education of the royal in- 2 P 290 HISTORY OF SPAIN. fant, to his consort Maria, whose virtues well en- titled her to the sacred trust; and at Toledo, the air of which had been vainly prescribed as the last hope of recovery, he expired in the forty-fifth year of his age. - . . . A. D. 1995, A turbulent nobility who had often * revolted against, and always reluctantly submitted to, the rule of a warlike and vigorous monarch, were not likely to acquiesce under the authority of a child scarce ten years old, and the government of an inexperienced woman. Yet in the station that she occupied, the prudence of Ma- ria must have been confessed, and her magnani- mity applauded. The pretensions of Don Juan were revived; he even aspired to wrest the sceptre from his nephew; and though the Moors might detest his baseness, their interest prompted them to support his claims. The restitution of his honours and estates, which had been attainted under the last reign, reclaimed him to his allegiance; the hostile preparations of the king of Portugal were arrested by the cession of some considerable fron- tier towns; and the powerful houses of Haro and Lara, who had suspended their hereditary enmity to unite against the authority of their sovereign, were reconciled by the redress of those grievances which they had alleged as the objects of their re- volt. Yet, if to maintain the public tranquillity, Maria sacrificed the dominions, and circumscribed HISTORY OF SPAIN. 29 | the privileges of her son, she was not more tenacious of her own rights; and rather than kindle a civil war, she resigned to a new pretender the title and power of regent, which she derived not only from the will of her deceased husband, but from the suffrages of the states-general. - Henry was the third son of Ferdinand, sur- named the saint, by his first queen, Beatrix. - In his early youth he had been addicted to, and con- fided in, the science of judicial astrology; and the allusive prediction, that Alfonso the tenth was to be dethroned by a near relation, had pointed his sword against his brother. By a hasty and disgraceful flight from an adverse field of battle, he eluded the punishment of his revolt; and the asylum which had been denied him in the court of Arragon, he found in that of Tunis. In that station he still maintained a correspondence with the malecontents of Castille, and fomented the factions which distracted the reign of Alfonso; weary of a life of inaction, he embarked at Tunis for the shores of Italy, and engaged in the enter- prise of his kinsman Conradin, the last heir of the imperial house of Swabia. That unhappy youth in his endeavour to wrest Sicily from Charles of An- jou, became the prisoner of the usurper; and his execution on a public scaffold extinguished the pretensions of his family. Henry, in the rash ad- yenture, had participated in the misfortunes of his 292 HISTORY OF SPAIN. chief; and after the death of Conradin, he found himself plunged into a dark dungeon, and involved in the excommunication of the Roman pontiff, which had been pronounced against those who assailed a throne founded on the decrees of the suc- cessors of St. Peter. By the most abject submis- sions Henry disarmed the resentment of the holy see, and by the intercession of the pope was re- stored to freedom. After an absence of twenty- seven years he returned to Spain, and found his ne- phew Sancho seated on the throne of Castille; he was received with the generosity that was due to an unfortunate kinsman, whose former misconduct had been severely punished by his subsequent suf- ferings, and he repaid the benevolence of that mo- narch with the blackest ingratitude. The turbu- lence of the times was favourable to his ambitious hopes; his guilt had been forgotten, and his vices concealed in exile; and the Castilians remembered only that he was the son of that Ferdinand whose virtues were the object of their adoration. He claimed the regency, and was supported by the clamours of the multitude, and the general suf- frages of the nobility; the prudence of Maria taught her to avoid a competition which might have been fatal to the interests of her son; she abandoned the title and authority she had been invested with ; and only reserved to herself the care of the person and education of the infant king. HISTORY OF SPAIN. 293 Henry found but little satisfaction in the posses- sion of a dignity for which he had violated the most sacred obligations. The clouds of civil and foreign commotion gathered on every side, and the throne of Ferdinand was shaken to its very founda- tion by the fury of the tempest. A secret and for- midable league had been concerted by the kings of France, of Arragon, and of Portugal, in support of Don Alfonso de la Cerda, the grandson of Alfon- so the tenth, by his eldest son Ferdinand; the spe- cious claims of that prince were espoused by the king of Granada, who, amidst the dissensions of the Christians, hoped to extend his own boundaries; the restless spirit of Don Juan prompted him to embark in the confederacy, and the kingdom of Leon and Gallicia were to be the reward of his perfidy ; the house of Lara was disgusted by the preference that had been given to that of Haro; and every hour swelled the number of the male- contents, and diminished the strength of the royal party. The designs of the confederates were first an- nounced to the queen dowager and the regent by the success of their arms; and the court of Burgos heard with astonishment the intelligence, that Leon and Gallicia had acknowledged the autho- rity of Don Juan, and that Alfonso de la Cerda had been proclaimed king of Castille by the armies of Portugal and Arragon. Had the latter followed 294 HISTORY OF SPAIN. the impulse of his own ardour, and at the head of the allied host pressed forwards to the capital, he might have surprised or crushed the feeble son of Sancho, unprepared for flight or resistance. But he was persuaded on his march to attempt the re-, duction of the town of Majorga; and the ruinous state of the fortifications, encouraged the hope that it could not long withstand the attacks of the besiegers; every deficiency was however supplied by the active zeal of the garrison, faithful in the cause of their prince; the assailants were repeated- ly repulsed; their spirits drooped; their ranks were thinned and their vigour was exhausted by an epidemic disease: the troops of Arragon were the first to abandon the tedious enterprise; and Alfon- so himself was the companion of their retreat; his inglorious example was reluctantly followed by the other allies; and from the transient possession of Leon and Gallicia, and from the fond vision of en- tering in triumph the city of Burgos, Don Juan was reduced to wage a feeble and indecisive war on the banks of the Duero. - On the opposite frontiers, the squadrons of Gra- nada had ravaged the fertile province of Andalu- sia; and to check their progress, the regent him- self took the field at the head of those troops that could be spared from the protection of Burgos. But in the hour of difficulty and danger, Henry was instructed how unequal was his genius to the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 295 station he had obtruded himself on. He was de- feated in battle; and the presumption with which he had marched to the encounter, was succeeded by the most abject despair; by a treaty of peace that he subscribed, he consented to deliver the strong fortress of Tarif to the Moors, But the honour of the crown of Castille, which had been sullied by the weakness of a man, was vindicated by the firmness of a woman. Amidst the distress of her country, the virtues of Maria shone forth with superior lustre; she exclaimed against the ignomi- nious conditions which had been signed by the trembling hand of Henry; her spirit was applaud- ed and seconded by the states; and in a national assembly it was determined to prefer the chance of war to an inglorious and doubtful peace. Yet had the allies on the side of Portugal acted with vigour and unanimity, even the prudence and fortitude of Maria must have been oppressed in the unequal struggle. It was proposed in the camp of the confederates, instead of wasting their strength in the reduction of the frontier towns, to penetrate into the heart of Castille, and invest the king and his mother in Valladolid; the flower of the Castilian nobility were distant and engaged in the defence of Andalusia, and the enterprise ap- peared not more glorious than easy; but it was frustrated by the returning loyalty of Don Juan de Lara, who declared his resolution not to act imme- 296 HISTORY OF SPAIN. diately against the person of his king; his scruples embarrassed his associates; and the langour with which they prosecuted the war, sufficiently evinced that they only waited the favourable moment to conclude a peace. On that event, amidst the din of arms, the mind of Maria had been intent; the character of Henry stood forth in its true colours; he was haughty, fickle, and turbulent; cruel and avari- cious; abject in adversity, and insolent in pros- perity; and the queen dowager rose in proportion as the regent sunk in the opinion of the public. Beneath her auspices a negociation was opened with the court of Lisbon, and a double marriage was concluded between Ferdinand and his sister, and the daughter and son of the king of Portugal. The nuptials of the daughter of Don Juan de Lara with the regent himself, restored that power- ful family to their obedience; and though the king of Granada insulted or ravaged the open country, he was repulsed with loss from the walls of Jaen; and was obliged to retire within his own dominions without achieving any permanent or important conquest. After recruiting an army which had been broken with toil and disease, James, king of Arragon, had taken the field with the fairest prospect of success. His first operations were equal to his most sanguine expectations. He over-ran the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 297 province of Murcia; and Alicant, whose situation on the shores of the Mediterranean still attracts the eye of commercial adventure, consented to re- ceive a garrison, and to acknowledge the autho- rity of the king of Arragon. That monarch en- countered a more obstinate resistance in the siege of Lorca; and had not the counsels of the queen- dowager been secretly embarrassed by the envy of the regent, he must either have abandoned the enterprise with disgrace, or staked his fortune in a field of battle. But Henry marched with re- luctance to promote the glory of Maria; his in- trigues retarded the steps of his companions; and before the banners of Castille were displayed on the banks of the Guadalantin, Lorca had surren- dered. The fame which the queen-dowager had been defrauded of by the mean jealousy of the regent, she derived from her own fruitful genius. She fomented in Arragon the spirit of discontent; and the rising disaffection recalled James to guard his own throne; on his retreat he offered to eva- cuate all his conquests in Murcia, with the single exception of Alicant; but the proposal was re- jected as unworthy the dignity of the crown of Castille; and his ambassadors might be astonished at the magnanimity of the queen-dowager in the reply, that his restoring all the places he had seized, could alone prove the foundation of an honourable and permanent peace. VOL. I. 2 Q 298 HISTORY OF SPAIN. Had the counsels of Maria neither been en- barrassed by intrigue nor revolt, she probably would soon have compelled the king of Arragon to have subscribed the conditions she had dictated. She called into action the power of the nation; and the train of gallant nobility that accompanied her to Walladolid, and in the assembly of the states supported her interests, impressed with fear the prince Don Juan, who abandoned his vain hope of reigning over Leon and Galicia, and renewed his homage and oath of fidelity to his sovereign. The timid Juan was terrified into obedience, the venal Henry was bribed into compliance ; his death soon after delivered Maria from a formidable rival and a faithless associate; and the moment seemed arrived when, undisturbed by factious competition, she might vindicate the glory of her country, and train the inexperienced youth of her son, to prove the terror of his enemies and the delight of his subjects. But the fond illusion, if Maria indulged it, was soon dissipated; some differences which threatened the tranquillity of Castille on the side of Navarre, had summoned her to Victoria; and she returned, exulting in the success of her negociations abroad, to endure the mortification of finding her power undermined at home. The ear of Ferdinand had been poisoned by the artful representations of the prince Don Juan, and the house of Lara; they HISTORY OF SPAIN. 299 malieiously contrasted his own situation with that of his mother; and he was taught to dread as an enemy, the only person whom he could rely on as a friend. He declared his resolution to assume the reins of government. In celebrating his mar- riage with Constantia, the daughter of the king of Portugal, he displayed the pomp, and asserted the authority of a sovereign; and the multitude, ever prone to change, and intoxicated with the desire of a new administration, applauded his pre- sumption; the city of Walladolid alone remained firm to the party of the queen-dowager, whose judgment they had so long experienced; the in- habitants shut their gates against the troops of Ferdinand; and it was only to the remonstrances of Maria herself that they yielded, and consented to receive a royal garrison; but their indignation survived their submission; they forbade their de- puties to appear in the assembly of the states; and refused to sanction by their presence the measures which they could not approve. Maria would have been unworthy of the repu- tation she had acquired, had she attempted by force to constrain the inclinations of her son; and she would have been insensible to the feelings of a mother, had she remained a silent spectator of his imprudence; she expostulated, but she expos. tulated in vain; and against her advice, the king of Castille agreed to accept the king of Portugal 300 HISTORY OF SPAIN. as umpire between himself and the king of Arra- gon. The decision of the royal arbitrator was such as the queen-dowager had foreseen and fore- told ; the Segura, which intersects the province of Murcia, was fixed on as the boundary of the dominions of Ferdinand and James; and with the important city of Alicant, the country to the north of that river was dismembered from the crown. * The pretensions of the infants de la Cerda might yet interrupt the repose of Ferdinand; and to extinguish the embers of civil discord, that monarch consented to resign to the eldest, Alfonso, the cities of Moncon and Tormes, with several towns, the revenues of which afforded him an ample maintenance; to the youngest, Ferdinand, he promised an income equal to that which had been allotted for a prince of Spain; and the bro- thers, after receiving hostages for their security, appeared at court, and submitted to the ungrate- ful ceremony of homage. It would have been extraordinary indeed, had not the weakness and concessions of the king of Castille multiplied the number of the factious and ambitious. The hereditary enmity of the houses of Haro and Lara was again suspended, that they might brave with impunity their sovereign ; and though the former was reconciled by the grant of the important province of Biscay for his life, the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 301 latter still maintained a dangerous independence in arms, and allured the prince Don Juan to his party. Yet Don Juan had scarcely betrayed the cause of his royal kinsman, before he himself was deserted by the family of Lara, who solicited, and readily obtained as the reward of their perfidy, the par- don and favour of Ferdinand. The uninteresting annals of domestic discord and treachery are transiently varied by a feeble but foreign war; through the mediation of the queen mother a new reconciliation was effected between Don Juan and the king; and Ferdinand embraced the moment of tranquillity to march against the natural enemies of his country and re- ligion. He surprised the fortress of Gibraltar, the importance of which was then but slightly known; yet he failed in his attempt on Algezire; and the ill success of that siege, and the fresh intrigues of the prince Don Juan, induced him to listen to the overtures of the king of Granada, and in considera- tion of a considerable sum of money to subscribe a peace with the Moors. The majesty of Ferdinand had been often in- sulted by the turbulence, and his confidence fre- quently abused by the professions of the prince Don Juan; yet in the revenge that he meditated, he should not have forgotten his own character. And when instead of the sword of a sovereign he condescended to employ the dagger of an assassin, 302 HISTORY OF SPAIN. he revealed the weakness of his government, and forfeited what yet remained of the esteem of his subjects. The nuptial feast of his sister with the duke of Brittany, was to have been polluted with the blood of a kinsman; but the design had not been so secretly concerted as entirely to escape the suspicion of the destined victim; on the first alarm Don Juan withdrew abruptly from court; pro- claimed the cause of his flight; and derived some share of popularity from the general abhorrence of of the treachery of Ferdinand. From the moment the king had assumed the reins of administration, the counsels of Maria had been disregarded; and it was not until he was alarmed by the preparations of Don Juan, that he condescended again to solicit the mediation of his mother; the virtues of the queen dowager had secured the respect of all parties; on her assurances of safety Don Juan returned again to court, and the public harmony was re-established. It was not only the court of Spain that was disgraced by perfidy and cruelty; the persecu- tion of the knights templars excited the attention of all Europe. During the first fervour of the crusades, that order, by uniting the popular quali- ties of devotion and valour, had rapidly advanced in credit and authority; their services in the reco- very and defence of the Holy Land, had been re- paid by the piety of the Christian inhabitants of HISTORY OF SPAIN. 303 Europe; but in France especially their acquisitions had extended through every province, and enabled them to support a royal magnificence. The abuse of their riches had in time relaxed those virtues which first preferred them to esteem; and instead of braving the dangers of martial pilgrimage, they chose to enjoy their opulent revenues in ease and luxury. Of illustrious birth, and according to the custom of the age without any tincture of letters, they scorned the ignoble occupations of a monastic life, and passed their time in the fashionable amuse- ments of hunting, gallantry, and the pleasures of the table. But though this conduct had diminish- ed the respect they had once possessed, yet the immediate cause of their destruction in France proceeded from the rapacious and vindictive spirit of Philip the Fair. They were accused of every species of sensual vice that degrades human nature, and every act of impiety which could prove offen- sive to religion. But their accusers were two of their brethren, condemned by the order to perpe- tual imprisonment for their profligacy, and who obtained their forfeited lives from the secrets they affected to reveal. The doubtful evidence was readily received by the tyrant; and above a hundred unhappy gentlemen on the rack were tortured to confess the justice of the charge; several supported their agonies with unabated constancy; but the majority yielded to the ex- 804 HISTORY OF SPAIN. cruciating anguish, and signed the declaration of their own criminality. Yet they were no sooner released from the engines of torture, than they re- tracted the confessions which had been extorted from them. But the avarice and resentment of their persecutor was deaf to every remonstrance; their estates were confiscated; and without the form of trial fifty were condemned to, and suffered death with manly fortitude ; the grand-master, with the three great officers, were in the presence of their royal oppressor, consumed by a slow fire; and asserted with their last breath the purity of their conduct. Their firmness commanded the belief of the people; but the barbarous injustice of Philip was sanctioned by the sentence of his crea- ture, pope Clement the fifth, who then resided in France; and who, without examining a wit- ness, or making an enquiry into the truth of facts, by the plenitude of his apostolic power, abolished the whole order. A greater degree of moderation and equity prevailed through the councils of Spain; the charges against the order were heard; but they were heard with impartiality; and the knights were acquitted by the unanimous voice of their judges. Yet though in their decision the latter disregarded private views and public clamour, they could but windicate the reputation of the accused; the decree of the Roman see was ir- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 305 resistible; the order was dissolved; the knights were distributed into several convents, and their possessions were, by the command of the pope, transferred to the order of St. John of Jerusalem, whose poverty had preserved unsullied the purity of their professions, and who still distinguished themselves by their martial enterprises against the disciples of Mahomet; yet the states-general of Spain eluded in part the holy judgment; they re- presented their own situation; and they were per- mitted to retain the spoils of the templars to sup- port themselves against their infidel neighbours. The rejoicings which the birth of a son and heir to the crown might "occasion, did not inter- rupt the preparations for renewing the war against the Moors; a considerable army marched under the conduct of Don Pedro, the brother of the king, and invested the town of Alcandeta, on the fron- tiers of Andalusia. From the adjacent situation of Martos, Ferdinand himself observed the operations of the siege; two brothers of the house of Carvajal had been apprehended as guilty of the murder of a nobleman at Palencia; they were brought before the royal tribunal; and the indignation of the king suffered them not to vindicate their innocence; they were commanded instantly to be hurled from a rock; and the intemperate sentence was exe- cuted without delay. On the verge of eternity, they summoned their inexorable judge within a 2 R. 306 HISTORY OF SPAIN. month to appear before his God; and the death of Ferdinand, on the thirtieth day from that time, was regarded in a superstitious age as the effect of their solemn citation. . It is the wish of a lively French writer, that the story was either true, or generally believed; and that the example might instruct all princes, who think they have a right to follow their own imperious wills at the expence of their fellow crea- tures, to dread the retribution of a superior power; but though the execution of the brothers of Car- vajal, and their last words, are confirmed by a variety of historians, yet we may gather from the candid pages of Mariana, that the health of Fer- dinand had long been shaken, that he was just re- covered from a severe indisposition, and that his indulgence in the pleasures of the table, well war- rant the short space that was fixed by the culprits as the term of his life, whose hasty sally of resent- ment would have been buried in oblivion, had it not been preferred to notice by the event. ~ A. D. 1912, The civil commotions which had * agitated the kingdom during the mino- rity and reign of Ferdinand, were revived with in- crease of fury on his death; the invidious office of regent was declined by the prudence of Maria, and the pretensions of Don Juan, and of Pedro, the brother of the late monarch, were supported by their respective partisans with clamour and HISTORY OF SPAIN. 307 violence; yet though the widow of Sancho refu- sed to sustain again the weight and odium of go- vernment, she neglected not to watch over the in- fancy and safety of Alfonso the eleventh. Her voice extinguished or suspended the enmity of the rival factions; the authority was divided between, and the title of regent was equally imparted to both the princes Juan and Pedro ; but the states- general that ratified the agreement were not un- mindful of the future welfare of their king, and to Maria was assigned the duty of protecting his per- son and forming his mind. The promise of spoil had again allured the Moors of Afriea to pass the straits of Gibraltar; and the regents determined by the vigour of their measures to anticipate the designs of their ene- mies. In his march Don Pedro reduced the strong fortress of Tiscar; and under the walls of Alcan- deta he joined the forces of his associate Don Juan. The confederate host swept the open country, and pitched their tents within sight of the towers of Granada; and while the Moorish monarch assem- bled the strength of his nation, the Christian lead- ers exulted in the hopes of an easy conquest; but no sooner were the squadrons of Granada united with those of Africa, than Ismael rushed to the defence of his capital. On the day that was to decide the fate of Granada, though her sovereign encouraged his warriors by his presence, yet the 308 HISTORY OF SPAIN. chief command in the hour of battle was entrusted to the experience of Osmyn. The right of the Christians was led by Don Juan; and in the front of the left was displayed the banner of Don Pedro. Their rival exertions, long resisted the superior numbers of the Moors; and if we may rely on the credit of Mariana, they sunk at length without a wound, and expired exhausted by the slaughter of their enemies. But we may safely venture to re- ject the partial narrative, which might gratify the vanity of the chivalry of Castille, but cannot com- mand the belief of posterity; and the regents were undoubtedly involved in the general carnage of the Christians. A wretched remnant escaped un- der cover of the night to relate the fate of their brethren. The calamities of war were retaliated on the vanquished; from the walls of Granada the victorious torrent rolled on to those of Jaen ; and from the stream of the Oro, to the northern banks pf the Guadalquivir, the fertile fields of Andalusia were converted into a desert. - The progress of the infidels might still have been checked by the unanimity of the Christians; but the death of the regents opened a new scene of dissension; and the reins of administration were disputed by four powerful competitors, Don Philip, the uncle of the king; Don Juan Emanuel, who had married the daughter of the king of Ar- ragon, and commanded on the frontiers of Murcia; HISTORY OF SPAIN. 309 Don Juan, son to the regent of the same name, and who, from the loss of an eye in his infancy, was distinguished by the epithet of the Deformed ; and Don Alfonso de la Cerda, who, thrust aside from the throne, without the title aspired to the authority of king ; each was supported by nume- rous vassals and adherents, and each was indif- ferent to the means by which he could attain the object of his ambition. In vain did Maria exert her influence and address to controul their pre- sumption, or conciliate their regard; in vain did the Roman pontiff interpose to repress their dis- cord; the constitution of the former was unequal to the struggle, and incessant anxiety extinguished the expiring taper of life; while the latter was instructed that the thunders of the Vatican were more efficacious in kindling, than suppressing the flames of civil commotion, Regardless of his censures, the rivals exerted every engine of fraud and force; and Alfonso de la Cerda, and Juan the Deformed, sooner than suffer the natural claims of Don Philip to prevail, abandoned their own, and declared in favour of the party of Don Juan Emanuel. - During thirteen years from the death of Fer- dinand, the kingdoms of Castille and Leon had experienced all the calamities which flow from faction and anarchy. But in the lapse of that term, the understanding of Alfonso had rapidly advanced 310 HISTORY OF SPAIN. and far surpassed his age; in his fifteenth year he proclaimed his resolution to break the shackles he had been held in, and to claim the rights of a king. The distracted state of the nation was favourable to his intentions; in a general assem- bly at Valladolid his authority was recognized; the hopes of the competitors expired, or were concealed in the presence of their lawful prince ; and Alfonso the eleventh beheld a transient calm succeed the tempests which had afflicted his minority. Yet the prospect was soon again overcast; th discontent of Don Juan Emanuel was no longer concealed ; he withdrew from court; to attach Don Juan the Deformed effectually to his interests, he proposed to bestow on him the hand of his daughter Constantia; and the formidable alliance must have overshadowed the lustre of the crown. The character of Alfonso will not suffer from the artifice which he descended to at this critical mo- ment; he affected himself to be sensible of the charms of Constantia, and of the merits of her father; he intimated that policy, as well as incli- nation, prompted his union with the daughter of so powerful a subject; the stratagem was attended with the effect he expected ; and on the first rumour of the passion of the king, Emanuel flew to Burgos to renew his oath of fidelity and alle- giance. i HISTORY OF SPAIN. 311 While the nobles of Castille preferred in arms their own claims, or supported those of their chiefs, every species of disorder had multiplied throughout the kingdom; large bodies of banditti violated the public peace, and in contempt of the laws, levied their contributions not only on indi- viduals, but towns and cities. To restore the tone. and vigour of the law was the first object of the royal attention; with a small band of disciplined troops Alfonso flew from province to province ; explored their retreats in the depths of the forests and mountains; and though the immediate execu- tion of the offenders has been construed into cruelty, yet it must be remembered, that the justice of a king admits not of the compassion which adorns a subject; and that lenity to the guilty, is too fre- quently an injury to the good. , From the severity of their monarch, the needy and desperate found a refuge with Don Juan the Deformed; and the numbers of daring adventu- rers inured to blood and rapine, who flocked to the standard of that prince, enabled him to brave the vengeance of his king. His negociations were extended to the courts of Arragon and Por- tugal, and he urged Don Alfonso de la Cerda to resume his pretensions to the crown. His in- trigues eluded not the vigilence of his sovereign; and Alfonso, after having in vain endeavoured to reclaim him to his duty by the most liberal offers, $12 HISTORY OF SPAIN. determined to deliver himself from his factious and enterprising spirit, by a decisive though dis- honourable blow. In the execution of the design, his address rather than his integrity must be com- mended; he proposed to give him in marriage his sister, Eleanora; and the presumption of Don Juan induced him to accept the invitation of his king, and to present himself at Toro; he came attended with a train which resembled rather the army of a powerful sovereign than the establish- ment of a private person. But his confidence in his strength was fatal to his life; as he passed through the royal apartments, he was assailed by a chosen and determined band; two gentlemen who accompanied him, and attempted to draw their swords in his defence, shared his fate, and were extended lifeless on the ground; the hall of audience was thrown open, and Alfonso from his throne avowed the orders he had issued; he re- presented Dou Juan as a traitor too great for the laws, and declared that his blood alone could have prevented an immediate and dangerous civil war. The clamours of the multitude were hushed by the imperious voice of their sovereign; the adherents of the unhappy victim were glad to conceal their attachment in silence; but the bonds of society were loosened by the fatal expedient, and when a monarch can have recourse to the practice of an HISTORY OF SPAIN. 313 assassin, the most virtuous of his subjects have reason to tremble equally with the most guilty. The first to dread his fate, and to attempt to avenge it, was Don Juan Emanuel, whose sword had been drawn successfully against the Moors, but who, on the intelligence of the death of Don Juan the Deformed, signed a private peace with the king of Granada, and trusting to the strength of his castle of Chinchilla, and to the number of his vassals, erected the standard of revolt. His rebellion dissolved the hopes of his daughter Constantia; and that lady, who had already borne the title of queen, beheld herself a prisoner in a city which she had fondly regarded as the capital of her future power and splendour. The haughty spirit of Emanuel was exasperated to fury by the insult; he obtained from his father- in-law the king of Arragon, a promise of support; with the forces that he could hastily assemble he laid waste the frontiers of Castille; and his re- sentment to the sovereign was proclaimed in his barbarous warfare against his people. r , But the spirit of Alfonso was not to be braved with impunity; in open war or secret confederacy, his valour and vigilance extorted the admiration of his enemies; by land or by sea, on horse-back or on foot, in every encounter his genius and cou- rage shone conspicuous. The piratical squadrons of the Moors had issued from the ports of Africa, VOL. I. 2 S 314 HISTORY OF SPAIN. but they were attacked and defeated by the fleets of Castille; the cities of Zamora and Toro had revolted; they were quickly reduced and severely punished; Don Alvaro Nugnez Osorio, who had enjoyed the entire confidence of his master, was the first to desert him in his distress; the un- grateful favourite was stabbed by the command of the king in the midst of his retainers. A new king of Arragon had succeeded to the father-in- law of Emanuel; and was readily persuaded to desert the cause of that chief; a negociation was entered into with the court of Lisbon, and the marriage of Alfonso with the daughter of the king of Portugal, secured to the former a powerful and faithful ally. Yet the bosom of Alfonso was less susceptible of private revenge than of public glory; he still offered to Emanuel the free pardon of his guilt, and the restoration of his estates and honours; and urged him, instead of weakening by his ob- stinacy, to strengthen by his union the common cause, and to march in conjunction with him against the infidels. The refusal of the haughty rebel could not check the ardour of Alfonso; Spain resounded with his preparations; and the court of Granada was astonished and dismayed by the rumour of the fleets and armies he had assem- bled; the prudence of Mahomet, the successor of Ismael in the throne of Granada, instructed HISTORY OF SPAIN. 315 him to prevent by submission a contest which threatened the total subversion of the Moorish power. His ambassadors were dispatched to Se- ville; and the humiliating conditions they sub- scribed, sufficiently reveal the terror with which they were impressed; the king of Granada con- sented to hold his sceptre as the vassal of the crown of Castille; and to acknowledge the supremacy of his lord by the annual tribute of twelve thousand pieces of gold. The terms which had been extorted by fear, were violated with the return of confidence. It was from Africa alone that Mahomet could hope for succour; he crossed the straits; represented in the court of Morocco the increasing power of Castille, and was heard with attention; seven thousand horsemen were granted to his immediate distress; a more considerable detachment followed under the conduct of Abu Malic, the son of the king of Morocco; the transports which conveyed them, eluded the vigilance of the Christian fleet; the king of Granada renewed his alliance with Don Emanuel; and the siege of Gibraltar was instantly formed by the Moslem host. The allegiance of the house of Lara had been corrupted by the intrigues of Don Emanuel; and at the moment that Alfonso beheld his dominions exposed to foreign invasion, he found his resources distracted by civil commotion. At the head of 316 HISTORY OF SPAIN. the troops which yet were faithful to their sove- reign, he pointed his steps towards Gibraltar. In his march he was solicited to an interview with the disaffected lords; he accepted their invitation; and superior to fear, entered without attendants the castle of Becerril, which was garrisoned by their followers; they were awed by his magna- nimity; and at the feast that he shared without reserve, they engaged on the payment of a sum of money to return to their duty; the engagement was fulfilled on the side of Alfonso, but basely broken by Emanuel, who employed the gold he had received in fomenting new cabals, and making new levies against his sovereign. The speed with which Alfonso had advanced to the relief of Gibraltar, only exposed him to a fresh mortification; he was arrived within sight of that fortress, when he was informed the go- vernor had meanly betrayed his trust, and sur- rendered it to the infidels. He aspired to reco- ver it; but while he yet pressed the siege with the fairest prospect of success, he was recalled to the centre of his dominions by the cries of his subjects. The contagion of revolt had reached the house of Haro, and Don Alonzo, the chief of that family, with Don Emanuel, and Don Juan de Lara, had started to arms at an appointed sig- nal, and marked their different routes through Castille with slaughter and devastation. - HISTORY OF SPAIN. 317 We may easily believe it was reluctance and indignation that a high-spirited prince like Al- fonso, signed a treaty with the Moors, which left Gibraltar in their possession, and released the king of Granada from the humiliating condition of tribute. But the danger was pressing; and while his kingdom was rent by intestine discord, he could not hope to triumph over his foreign enemies. He had no sooner subscribed the peace, than he marched with diligence to the protection of his capital. As he advanced, the confederates retired; but they were not able to elude the ven- geance of an injured monarch. The precipitate flight of Don Juan de Lara preserved indeed his life ; but his estates were laid waste or confiscated; and his fortresses in the mountainous province of Biscay were attacked and reduced. A severer doom awaited Don Alonzo de Haro; he was surprised in his castle, led in chains before his king, and sternly reproached with his guilt and ingratitude; the resentment of his sovereign suf- fered him not long to languish in doubt, and the second day after he was made prisoner, he was beheaded on a public scaffold. The factious nobles of Castille heard with ter- ror, that the chief of the powerful house of Haro had perished by the hand of the common execu- tioner. Neither the most illustrious extraction nor extensive connexions could secure them from 3.18 HISTORY OF SPAIN. the wrath of majesty; and in the fate of Don Alon- zo, Don Juan de Lara trembled for his own. He dispatched a trusty messenger to learn if yet the road to mercy was open; but though the king as- sured him of his personal safety, he still refused to see him; he was more indulgent to Don Emanuel; and on his reconciliation with that nobleman, he released his daughter Constantia, and consented to, and facilitated her marriage with his brother- in-law the prince of Portugal. After so long a period of turbulence, Alfonso might have hoped to have tasted some moments of repose; but his life was destined to incessant toil; and he had scarce sheathed the sword of civil war, before a new enemy arose on the side of Navarre. The king of Castille endeavoured to prevent open hostilities by every offer of accommodation which the dignity of his crown would admit of; but when compelled to take the field, his preparations were carried on with vigour and alacrity. The chivalry of Castille, at the command of their sovereign, consented to march beneath the conduct of Martin Fernandez, an officer whose obscure descent they despised, but whose worth they revered. In a field of battle the appointment of Fernandez was approved; the troops of Navarre were broken or slaughtered; and the peace that was re-established between the two kingdoms was dictated by Al- fonso. HISTORY OF SPAIN. 319 The exultation of the king of Castille at his victory, was allayed by the information that the intrigues of Don Juan de Lara, and Don Emanuel, were still continued. Exasperated by their fre- quent perfidy, he appealed against them to the assembly of the states; they were declared traitors by the unanimous voice of the representatives of the nation, who granted at the same time a liberal subsidy to prosecute the war to their entire des- truction. The king of Castille suffered not the weapon to rust, which the states-general had trusted to his hand. With a numerous army he invested in the walls of Lerma, Don Juan de Lara. The obsti- nacy of the garrison, and the strength of the for- tifications, protracted the siege ; and Don Ema- nuel marched to the relief of his associate; the king advanced to meet him at the head of a select de- tachment; the rebels were defeated, and their chief escaped with difficulty from the pursuit of Alfonso ; the victorious king continued the siege of Lerma with unwearied diligence; the towers of that city were already shaken by his engines; and Don Juan, baffled in every attempt to fly, anticipated the consequences of unsuccessful re- bellion. A last, but slender hope was reposed on the mercy of his sovereign; and even the stubborn temper of Don Juan was not proof against the clemency he had so ill deserved ; his life had in- 320 HISTORY OF SPAIN. deed been promised on his submission ; but he was received by Alfonso with a generosity which reflects the brightest lustre on the character of that prince ; he was restored to his estates and honours, invested with the high dignity of standard bearer of Castille, and during the remainder of his life, approved himself a dutiful and grateful servant. The example of Don Juan de Lara influenced the conduct of Don Emanuel; whose return to his allegiance extinguished the war which his intrigues had kindled between Castille and Portugal; a general pacification between the Christian princes of Spain succeeded; and Alfonso at length found himself at leisure to attend to the progress of the Moors of Africa and Granada. - At Seville the royal standard was displayed; and the factions which had so long pursued each other with kindred rage, confessed a generous emulation as they marched against the common foe. They penetrated without seeing an enemy to the walls of Ronda; that fortification, erected on a craggy rock, derided their menaces; the exhausted country no longer supplied them the means of subsistence ; and they again pointed . their steps towards the frontiers of Castille; but the signal of retreat was scarcely given, before a cloud of dust revealed the approach of the squa- drons of Granada and Africa. The Moors were History of SPAIN. 321 animated by the presence of Abu Malic, the son and heir to the crown of Morocco; and Alfonso with impatience awaited in open field the charge of an adversary who had wrested from him the strong fortress of Gibraltar. In the tumult of the day Alfonso, with Don Juan de Lara, and Don Emanuel, were distinguished above the crowd of combatants. The Moors, incapable of withstand- ing their rival ardour, fled to an adjacent mountain; under a shower of stones and missile weapons the steep ascent was climbed by the impetuous Chris- tians; and so desperate was the resistance of the vanquished, and so inexorable the victors, that not a single Moor escaped the promiscuous slaughter. Whatever tears the king of Morocco might shed over his unfortunate son, were soon dried by the hope of vengeance. His voice aroused the tribes of Africa from their lethargy; the pro- pagation of the koran and the promise of spoil as- sembled the rapacious disciples of Mahomet; two hundred transports were convoyed by thirty gallies; a favourable wind enabled them to elude the Chris- tian fleet; they were joined by the forces of Gra- nada; and the host which invested Tarif has been computed at two hundred thousand men. The danger of that fortress was quickly con- veyed to Alfonso; but the strength of Castille was unequal to the contest; and to his queen was in- trusted the important commission of awakening VOL. I. 2 T - 322 HISTORY OF SPAIN. the court of Lisbon to the common defence of Christianity; the king of Portugal was not deaf to the solicitations of his daughter; and policy quick- ened his steps at the head of his martial nobility; he was received in Seville with every honour by his son-in-law ; but the distress of Tarif allowed not the monarchs to waste the hours in feasts and tournaments; forty thousand infantry and twenty thousand cavalry, confident in their faith and va- lour, marched beneath their banners. A thousand horse and four thousand foot cut their way through the lines of the besiegers, and reassured the faint- ing spirits of the garrison of Tarif; and on the en- suing morning the signal for general action was displayed. On the plains of Salsado the king of Castille charged the squadrons of Morocco, and the king of Portugal advanced against those of Granada; the encounter was long and bloody; and it was not until the conflict had been main- tained several hours with various success, that victory declared for the Christians. One hundred thousand Moors fell in the battle, or were slaugh- tered in the pursuit; the king of Morocco fled with precipitation to Algezire, and instantly reim- barked for Africa; while the king of Granada, with the shattered remnant of his forces, retired within his own territories, and trembled for the safety of his capital. . . . . On the field Alfonso offered to recompense the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 323 zeal of his ally with the wealthy spoil and captives of their joint valour. But the generous spirit of the king of Portugal rejected the rich prize; some arms rather curious than valuable were all he could be prevailed on to accept ; and after having inter- changed mutual vows of amity with his son-in-law, he led back his troops into his own dominions. His disinterested conduct sunk deep in the mind of Alfonso; the private life of the king of Castille had been less pure than his public; interest rather than passion had prompted his marriage with the prin- cess Maria of Portugal; but his heart had been long captivated by the wit and charms of Donna Leonora de Guzman, the widow of Don Juan de Velasco. To her his hours were sacrificed, and his affections devoted; and those who were permitted to approach and gaze on her beauty, forgot the guilt of his attachment in the admiration of his choice. But Alfonso could not be insensible to the ardour with which Maria had served him in the hour of distress; he was penetrated by the genero- sity of her father the king of Portugal; gratitude supplied the place of love, and religion confirm- ed his resolution ever after to renounce the licen- tious pleasures which he had shared with Leo- nora, and to confine himself to the arms of the law- ful partner of his throne and bed. With his victorious army Alfonso swept the frontiers of Granada, reduced by famine Alcala, 324 HISTORY OF SPAIN. and by force Molin; the fortifications of Alge- zire demanded more weighty preparations; the squadrons of Portugal and Arragon were readily persuaded to act in concert with that of Castille; twelve gallies were hired of the Genoese, whose naval skill about the middle of the fourteenth century was celebrated throughout Europe; these blocked up the harbour, and intercepted all sup- plies from Africa, while Alfonso regularly invested Algezire by land with an army which might safely defy the feeble attempts of the king of Granada. The eyes of Europe were turned on the enterprise; the walls were strong, the garrison numerous ; and the thunder of the artillery, the first that had been used in Spain, was heard with astonishment by the besiegers; but the tremendous effect which was produced by the first discharge, was soon effaced; and the troops of Alfonso dreaded less the destructive fire of the canon, than the gradual approach of famine. Six months had tried the patience of the auxiliaries, and ex- hausted the magazines of the assailants; hunger already began to be felt through the camp ; and to supply the demands of his allies, and relieve the distress of his own troops, the king ordered his plate to be coined into current money, at a higher rate than the common standard. The disgraceful and dangerous expedient was averted by the zeal of the most considerable cities of Spain; every HISTORY OF SPAIN. 325 province freely contributed its proportion in corn, in wine, or in specie; some pecuniary assistance was derived from the holy liberality of the pope; and the ardour of the warriors of Spain was re- kindled, and their emulation inflamed by the martial nobles of France and England, who hastened to share the glory and hazard of the enterprise. Yet it was not until the second year, when every offer for raising the siege had been rejected, and the walls of Algezire tottered beneath the incessant strokes of the engines of the besiegers, that the garrison, diminished by famine and the sword, submitted to propose terms of capitulation. The soldiers and citizens were permitted to retire without molestation; the Christian standard was again displayed on the towers of Algezire; and a truce for ten years was subscribed between the king of Castille, and the monarchs of Granada and Morocco. The valour and activity of Alfonso had been approved in war, and in peace his courtesy and generosity were admired. Several of the daugh- ters of the king of Morocco had, on his defeat at Salsado, become the captives of the king of Cas- tille; they had been treated by the latter prince with the respect due to their birth ; and no sooner was peace restored, than they were dismissed with magnificent presents to their father's court; 326 HISTORY OF SPAIN. amidst the amnals of a sanguinary age, the mind is rarely relieved from the bloody narrative by the contemplation of the more amiable qualities of humanity and politeness; and some praise is due to Alfonso, who, amidst religious and poli- tical enmity, was still careful to cherish the gene- rous sentiments of chivalry. Yet one passion ever rages in the bosoms of kings; and if the courtesy of Alfonso commands our applause, his ambition cannot be defended from our reproach ; four years of peace had scarcely skinned over the wounds of war, and the inhabitants of Castille still groaned beneath the double scourge of pestilence and famine, when the royal standard was displayed; and their mo- narch summoned his martial nobles again to the field. The Moorish banners that streamed from the towers of Gibraltar insulted his pride; and he recollected with indignation, that during his reign that important fortress had passed from the hands of the Christians to those of the infidels; without a previous declaration of war, he suddenly sum- moned the garrison to surrender ; and urged in person the siege with his usual ardour. But the seeds of disease lurked in the veins of his soldiers, and the plague soon broke out in his camp; the remonstrances of his officers could not prevail on him to abandon the enterprise, or withdraw from the scene of infection; he was the victim of his HISTORY OF SPAIN. 327 perseverance; his blood was tainted; and he ex- pired in the moment that the distress of the be- sieged afforded him the strongest assurances of Success, Such was the fate of Alfonso the eleventh, who of the princes that succeeded Ferdinand the Saint, is most entitled to our admiration; the turbulence of the times he reigned in was his glory; the fac- tions which had overshadowed the power of the throne were broken by his vigour; and the foreign enemies of the state who had availed themselves of the hour of civil dissension, were chastised by his valour; the execution of the chief of the house of Haro awed the haughty spirits of his nobles; and though the means by which he delivered him- self from the incessant enmity of Don Juan the Deformed cannot be justified, yet the confidence that he reposed in Don Emanuel, and the clemen- cy that he extended to Don Juan de Lara, cannot be too warmly applauded. The love of martial fame was his predominant passion as a king; and to that his life was at length sacrificed, when it would have been most serviceable to his subjects. As a man, his attachment to the fair seems to have been his sole failing; one son, of the name of Peter, and who had attained his sixteenth year, was his only issue by his consort Maria; but Donna Leonora had proved more fruitful in his embraces; and her second son, Henry of Transta- 328 HISTORY OF SPAIN. mare, was destined to avenge the fate of his mother, and after a long and bloody contest, to ascend, by the destruction of his brother, the throne of Castille. - CHAP. IX. —ss- Accession of Peter, surnamed the Cruel.—His perfidy and bar- barity.—He is dethroned by his half-brother Henry, Count of Transtamare.—He is restored by Edward the Black Prince. —Is a second time defeated by Henry, and put to death.- Reign of Henry the second.—ls succeeded by his son John.— Pretensions of John to the crown of Portugal.—His defeat at Aljubarrota.—Makes peace with Portugal and England.— Felicity of his general administration.—Account of his death. —His infant son, Henry the third, is acknowledged king.— Dissensions of the nobility.—Henry assumes the government at thirteen.—His vigorous conduct.—Meditates the eagulsion of the Moors from Spain.—His death.-Integrity of his brother Ferdinand —John, the second, is proclaimed.— Wise administration of Ferdinand.—He is chosen king of Portugal.—Competition for the regency of Castille.—Long and disastrous reign of John.-Revolt of his son, the prince of Asturias.-Execution of his favourite, Alvaro de Luna.- He dies, and is succeeded by his son Henry the fourth, sur- named the Impotent.—His marriage with the princess of Portugal. She is delivered of a daughter.—The nobility refuse to acknowledge the child as the king's.--Formidable confederacy against Henry.—He is solemnly deposed at Avila ;-and his brother Alfonso proclaimed.—Death of Al- fonso.-Treaty between Henry and his nobles.—The king acknowledges his sister Isabella, his successor, in prejudice to the princess Joanna.-Marriage of Isabella with Ferdi- VOL. I. 2 U. * 330 HISTORY OF SPAIN. mand the king of Sicily, and son of the king of Arragon.— Death of Henry.—Ferdinand and Isabella are proclaimed.— The king of Portugal claims the crown in right of Joanna.-- He is defeated at Toro.—Death of the king of Arragon.— Ferdinand unites the crowns of Castille and Arragon. -º- A. D. 1850, WHEN Peter, whose sanguinary man- - ners affixed to him the surname of Cruel, was acknowledged king of Castille, the memory of his father had prejudiced in his favour the minds of his subjects. The haughty spirits of the nobility had been awed, the power of the Moors had been broken ; though the siege of Gibraltar was abandoned, the national honour was pre- served; it was to disease that the assailants yield- ed; they retired slowly and in order; and their enemies were content to observe, without attempt- ing to molest their retreat. But the fair prospects of tranquillity and pros- perity were soon clouded by the passions of Peter himself, and those of his mother; as the consort of Alfonso, the patience and moderation of Ma- ria had been the theme of general praise; as his widow, her vindictive spirit was the source of de- struction to her son; she gave a loose to female resentment; and her rival Donna Leonora de Guzman was the unfortunate victim that she claimed. HISTORY OF SPAIN. 331 Though from the battle of Salsado, Alfonso had renounced all amorous commerce with the beautiful Leonora, yet he had not been inattentive to her future safety or interest. He had assigned the town of Medina Sidonia for her retreat; had strengthened it with new fortifications; and had provided it with a numerous and faithful garrison, commanded by the gallant Alonzo Cardonel. Four sons, the fruits of her illicit interviews with the king, had attained to manhood; and if the imbecility of Sancho allowed her not to repose her confidence on the eldest, she must have observed with pleasure that the enterprising temper of the second, Henry, count Transtamare, was support- ed by the fraternal affection of his brothers Ferdi- mand and Tello. - - - - By her own feelings it is probable that Donna Leonora judged of the intentions of the queen dowager; and on the first intelligence of the death of Alfonso, she sought refuge within the walls of Niedina Sidonia; to that city gratitude or ambition induced several of the most illustrious Castilians to repair; and though in the contest with the power of the crown, Leonora and her adherents would probably have been overwhelmed, yet their resis- tance would not have been inglorious, and in their deaths they might at least have enjoyed the satis- faction of revenge. $ While Peter contemplated with contempt the 332 HISTORY OF SPAIN. virtues of his father, he was impatient to emulate his crimes. The same arts which had been exert- ed to achieve the destructiou of Don Juan the De- formed, were practised to accomplish the ruin of Leonora. By the most solemn professions of safety and regard, she was prevailed upon to quit the fortifications of Medina Sidonia; but she had scarce entered Seville before she found herself a prisoner. Her son, the count of Transtamare, who by his marriage with the daughter of Don Emanuel had excited the jealously of the king, by a timely flight to Portugal escaped the orders that had been issued to arrest him; but his brothers Ferdinand and Tello, were still received with marks of esteem; and while Peter declared him- self incapable of protecting Leonora from the just vengeance of his mother, he was liberal in his protestations of future regard and kindness to her children. - At Talavera, the palace of the queen dowager was polluted with the execution of her unhappy rival. But the resentment of Maria was not per- petuated to the offspring of the hated Leonora; and her counsels joined with those of the king of Portugal in urging a reconciliation with the count of Transtamare; Peter consented with reluctance, and probably with little sincerity; and Henry could but ill confide in the professions of a court that was stained with the blood of his mother. HISTORY OF SPAIN. $33 The first sanguinary exertion of the royal power, might be ascribed to the influence of the queen mother; but it was not long before Peter asserted the independent prerogative of guilt. Rapacious and bloody, he considered the treasures and lives of his subjects, as intended for his sole use; and the pertinacity with which they defended the former, was often punished by the proscription of the latter. Yet while the great were satisfied, the clamours of the multitude were disregarded; and it was not until a fatal passion armed the tyrant against his own family, that the publie in- dignation was supported and guided by the most illustrious nobles of Castille. . The birth of Donna Maria Padilla was rather decent than splendid; and her ancestors, in a life of obscure virtue, had either declined, or been excluded from the honours of the state. But mature had imparted every qualification to atone for the deficiency of rank and fortune; her form was small but elegant; her features delicate and expressive; and her countenance was animated by a mind and spirit, formed to excite admiration and command respect. Her situation of com- panion to the wife of Don Juan de Albuquerque, the king's favourite, had exposed her to the sight of Peter; and the eyes of that monarch sufficiently revealed the emotions that her charms had occa- sioned. It is seldom that a favourite is slow in 334 HISTORY OF SPAIN. discerning the inclinations of his master; and Don Juan de Albuquerque exulted in a connexion, which he flattered himself would secure his own authority over his sovereign. An interview was contrived at Sahagan ; and that passion which the beauty of Donna Padilla had inspired, was confirmed by her wit; yet she refused easily to yield to the ardour of her royal lover; a private marriage reconciled the scruples of the lady; and it was as her hus- band that Peter ascended her bed. - At the moment that the king was rioting in the embraces of Donna Padilla, his mother had been engaged in negociating an alliance for him with Blanch, the sister of the queen of France. The proposal had been accepted by the court of Paris; it was ratified by Peter; his authority imposed silence on Donna Padilla; and he had sccarce bestowed his hand on the latter, before he publicly celebrated with royal magnificence his nuptials with Blanch. + If Peter condescended to sacrifice for a moment to policy, he soon returned to pour out his vows on the altar of love. The influence which Donna Padilla had acquired over him, in a superstitious age was considered as the effect of magic; but we need not have recourse to supernatural causes to account for the dominion of wit and beauty over a youthful and ardent mind. And it is pro- bable that the ascendency of the fair was establi- # HISTORY OF-SPAIN. 335 shed by a prudent silence at the transient infideli- ties of her royal admirer. Her relations were advanced to the highest posts of honour and trust; the grand-masterships of St. James and Calatrava were transferred by violence to her brothers; and Don Juan de Albuquerque found their rising power overshadow his own. , He concealed not entirely his discontent; his murmurs had reached the ear of his king; the dark and daring spirit of Peter was unrestrained by the remembrance of former regard, or the dread of immediate infamy. At an interview which he proposed for their recon- ciliation, he planned the murder of Don Juan and his principal adherents; but his intentions were suspected or his design betrayed, and Don Juan sought a refuge from his cruelty in the court of Lisbon. - - Above fear or shame, from the moment that the king of Castille was abandoned by his former favourite, his reign presents a headlong career of oppression, rapacity, and sanguinary caprice. The unfortunate Blanch was, by his orders, im- mured in a prison; an obsequious council of bishops pronounced a venal sentence of divorce; and Peter, at the foot of the altar, received in solemn pomp the hand of Donna Joanna, the widow of Don Diego de Haro, and the sister of Don Ferdinand de Castro. The reign of Joanna was not longer than that of Blanch; in a few months she was re- 336 HISTORY OF SPAIN. pudiated with contempt; and was doomed to de- plore in solitude the unhappy effect of her charms, which had exposed her to the desires of the licen- tious tyrant. The pride of the house of Castro was wounded by the ignominious treatment of Donna Joanna; Henry, count of Transtamare, with his brothers Frederick and Tello, could not trust to the profes- sions of a prince whose hands were stained with the blood of their mother; Don Juan de Albu- querque panted to revenge himself on the family of Padilla; and the queen mother deplored the in- juries of Blanch, who had entered Spain under her auspices. A secret confederacy was formed; all former enmities were buried in oblivion; and the sons of Leonora, and her persecutress Maria, were embarked in the same enterprise. From Burgos, Blanch had been removed a pri- soner to Toledo; even the tyrant could not refuse, or did not distrust her request to offer up her devotions in the cathedral of that city; she entered the holy walls, availed herself of their privileged sanctity, and declared her resolution never to quit them. The inhabitants of Toledo were inflamed by her misfortunes, and their own piety; they arose by thousands, and expelled the royal guards; the news of their revolt was quickly conveyed to the count of Transtamare; he presented himself with his associates at the gates, and was received amidst the acclamations of the multitude. HISTORY OF SPAIN. 337 Toro, on the banks of the Duero, followed the example of Toledo; and the power of the party became so formidable, as compelled Peter to descend to the language of negociation ; an interview was appointed at Toro; and while the public hours of the king were apparently occupied in listening to the grievances of the confederates, his private moments were employed in dissolving the league, by an artful application to the passions or interests of each individual. Several of the most considerable lords professed their inclina- tions to return to their duty; with greater con- stancy Don Juan de Albuquerque adhered to the cause he had espoused ; his sudden death was attributed to poison; and in the moment of dis- may, the king escaped from Toro to the walls of Segovia. In that city the royal standard was erected, and a numerous army was assembled; and though Peter was repulsed by the prudence and valour of the count of Transtamare, in an attempt on Toro, he moved with a fairer prospect of success towards Toledo. In his march he proclaimed his intention of recalling Blanch to his bed and throne; he was outstripped by the zeal and alacrity of Henry, who had already entered Toledo, and exhorted the citizens to a vigorous resistance; but com- passion to Blanch had first excited them to arms; they either feared the resentment, or believed the 2 x 338 HISTORY OF SPAIN. professions of the king, and determined to open their gates ; yet before their surrender, Henry had the address to effect his escape, and with the royal treasure, gained the friendly walls of Tala- vera, which were devoted to the will of the queen mother. - - The inhabitants of Toledo had soon reason to repent of their credulity; every condition was violated by the tyrant; twenty-two of the prin- cipal citizens were executed in his presence; and the unhappy Blanch was committed a close pri- soner to the tower of Siguenca. The siege of Toro was again formed ; the walls were shaken ; and the illustrious chiefs of the confederacy escaped from its tottering towers, to behold themselves invested in the fortress of the Alcazal. Maria became an humble but fruit- less suppliant to her inexorable son, for the pro- mise of life to herself and her adherents. She was compelled to trust to his mercy; and though he refrained from parricide, the agony of death must have been slight, in comparison to her emo- tions on witnessing the execution of her most faithful friends. The consort of Henry was among his captives; but the fears or policy of Peter, prevailed above his thirst of blood and revenge; and the freedom of her husband was the safety of Joanna. . * ** - On the surrender of Toro, the count of Trans- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 339 tamare had quitted Castille, crossed the Pyrenees, and sheltered himself in the court of France ; from this retreat he was summoned by the intel- ligence of a rupture between the crowns of Castille and Arragon; he offered his wrongs and his sword to the king of Arragon; waged a successful war on the frontiers against the tyrant ; recovered, by the pious fraud of a domestic, his consort Joanna; and when peace was re-established be- tween the rival kingdoms, regained his former asylum at Paris. --> - - Could Peter have moderated his own passions, he might have disregarded the enterprises of his fugitive brother; but no virtue appears to have found place within his bosom, and his reign was one continued series of cruelty, of perfidy, and oppression. After the reduction of Toro, his brothers, Frederick and Tello, had consented to live in peace under his authority; the former was assassinated in the hall of audience in Seville, the latter, on board a small bark, was saved by a storm, from the pursuit of the sanguinary tyrant. Don Juan of Arragon was the kinsman, and had acted as the minister of Peter; he presumed to claim the reward of his services; and he was stabbed as he preferred his request. The guilt of his aunt Leonora, was her pity for Blanch, and the cup of poison which she swallowed, was pre- pared by the command of Peter. Wealth, virtue, 340 HISTORY OF SPAIN. or noble birth, were equally fatal to their posses- sors; the finances of Castille had been intrusted to a Jew, of the name of Levi ; the heresy of the royal treasurer might have been overlooked, but his riches could not be pardoned; the warrant for his death was signed ; he expired on the rack; the tyrant boasted of the wealth he extorted by his murder; and only lamented that his torments had shortened his life, before he had time to reveal the whole of his treasure. The unfortunate Blanch herself, without friends or resources, might have hoped in prison to have been considered no longer as an object of jea- lousy. But the injustice of the tyrant was re- proached by the existence of the consort he had injured; she was removed to the fortress of Keres; and the governor was informed, that her death was the most acceptable service he could render to his sovereign. He turned with disdain from the proposal; but every description of ruffians had been cherished and multiplied under the reign of Peter; a ready minister of his barbarious will was soon found; and the potion that was admi- nistered to Blanch for the restoration of her health, was too fatal in its effects to leave a doubt of the hand that prescribed it. . Yet indifferent as Peter appeared to the suffer- ings of his family and his subjects, he was not totally divested of the feelings of a man; he could HISTORY OF SPAIN. 341 inflict death but he could not protract life; and the premature loss of Donna Padilla transiently aveng- ed the miseries of his people; Castille was far from participating in the sorrows of her sovereign; and fear alone restrained in public that exultation which was inwardly indulged on the fate of the mistress. Yet the grief of the tyrant was transient; affliction had not softened his heart, and every mo- ment presented some new instance of perfidy and cruelty. Mohammed Barbarossa had usurped the crown of Granada; while the prince whom he had driven from the throne trembled within the fortifications of Ronda for his safety. The domestic enemies of Peter were crushed, and he was impatient to avail himself of the dissensions of the Moors. The lust of spoil supplied the thirst of military fame; and he listened to the insidious intelligence, that the wealthy and important city of Cadiz was defended by a feeble and negligent garrison. To surprise it, he detached the grand-master of Calatrava, and Don Henriquez, with one thousand horse and two thousand foot. They arrived within sight of Cadiz without perceiving an enemy; from that city a small body of cavalry issued as if to reconnoitre their march; it was rapidly followed by more nu- merous detachments; and before the Christians could discern their danger, they were surrounded and overwhelmed; the majority of the soldiers 342 HISTORY OF SPAIN. perished by the sword; and the grand-master of Calatrava, Don Henriquez, and the principal officers, were led captives to Granada. .- Mohammed Barbarossa felt the fears of an usurper; he knew the king of Castille was impe- tuous and resentful; and that his own subjects were fickle or disaffected. He was unwilling to commit to the chance of war the throne he had obtained by fraud; and to propitiate Peter, he dismissed his captives with magnificent presents, and expressions of friendship and respect. When he found this act of generosity had not disarmed the wrath of his haughty adversary, he even deter- mined to acknowledge himself the vassal of the crown of Castille; and he was invited to Seville to ratify the conditions of peace by the ceremony of homage. It is uncertain whether Peter, in the commencement of the negociation, meditated the dark crime he perpetrated, or whether he was stimulated by the gold and jewels that his royal guest and his train imprudently displayed; but while Barbarossa shared with confidence the ban- quet, he was seized, with the Moorish nobles who had accompanied him, was mounted on an ass, exposed to the derision of the populace of Seville, and received his mortal wound from the hand of Peter himself; his head was transmitted to Ronda; and assured the prince whom he had dethroned, HISTORY OF SPAIN. 343 that he might re-enter in security the capital from which he had been so lately expelled. Whenever revenge and avarice slumbered, the memory of Donna Padilla obtruded itself on the mind of Peter; the beauty he had so passionately adored, was no more ; but their mutual children were still the objects of his care. One son and three daughters: had been the fruits of their em- braces; and it was the earnest wish of Peter, that the sceptre of Castille might, after his death, de- scend to the infant Alfonso. In an assembly of the states, which was held at Seville, he declared his previous marriage with Donna Padilla; three witnesses were produced, who swore they were present at the ceremony; whatever might be the doubts of the assembly, they were cautious to suppress them ; the legal pretensions of Alfonso were recognized; and in case of his death, his three sisters, according to the rights of primo- geniture, were called to the succession of the CTOWI). * It was immediately after this council that Peter hastened to Soria, to confer with an ally worthy of his confidence. The surname of Bad or Wicked, had been bestowed on Charles king of Navarre, and his character and conduct justified the ap- pellation. He was descended from the males of the blood royal of France; his mother was daughter of Lewis Hutin; and he had himself 344 HISTORY OF SPAIN. espoused a daughter of king John, who was taken prisoner by the English on the disastrous field of Poictiers. With regard to his personal qualities, he was courteous, affable, engaging, eloquent; full of insinuation and address; inexhaustible in his resources, and enterprising in action. But these splendid accomplishments were attended with such defects, as rendered them pernicious to his country, and even fatal to himself. He was volatile, faith- less, revengeful, and malicious ; restrained by no principle or duty; insatiable in his pretensions; and whether successful or unfortunate in one en- terprise, he immediately undertook another, in which he was never deterred from employing the most criminal and dishonourable expedients. - Yet practised in, and enamoured as Charles was of guilt, he confessed a master in the presence of Peter; the discourse of the latter was abrupt and passionate; and his expressions seemed only half to reveal what his thoughts revolved. He dwelt with pleasure on the perfidious and inhuman murder of the king of Granada; he expatiated with violence, on his hatred to the king of Arra- gon; and he demanded of Charles to enter into an offensive league against that monarch; the fate of Barbarossa was before the eyes of the king of Navarre; he consented with alacrity to whatever was proposed; and, with the same facility, violated every condition, the moment that he had gained the shelter of his own dominions, HISTORY OF SPAIN. 34.5 Though Peter soon perceived that he had been deceived by the king of Navarre, yet he com- menced and carried on the war against Arragon with vigour. The death of the infant Alfonso, though it clouded his views, did not suspend the ardour of his preparations. The domestic loss he had sustained was supplied by the birth of a son by another mistress; and his negociations were extended to the courts of Granada and Portugal; but the measure of his crimes was almost full; a general abhorrence of him had prevailed ; the sovereigns of Arragon and Navarre were combined against him ; the count of Transtamare openly aspired to the throne; and the policy and resent- ment of the court of France combined in support- ing his pretensions. The most fertile provinces of France had been desolated by the arms of the English; and after a long war, Charles the fifth had been reduced to subscribe a peace, which ceded to the king of England the extensive countries of Guienne, Poic- tou, Saintonge, Perigort, the Limousin, &c. But his treaty with Edward did not immediately re- store the tranquillity of his kingdom; large bands of martial adventurers, who had followed the Eng- lish standard, refused to lay down their arms, and persevered in a life of military rapine. They re- garded with contempt the censures of the church; and they even rejected the authority of the king 2 Y 346 HISTORY OF SPAIN. of England, who, enraged at their insolence, offered to cross the seas to chastise them. But Charles was not desirous of the présence of so formidable an ally; he was content with coolly declining the proposal; and adding, that he him- self had conceived a project which would deliver him from those dangerous inmates. It was at this critical moment that Henry, count of Transtamare, renewed his solicitations to the court of France, already inflamed against Peter, on account of the murder of Blanch de Bourbon; and Charles determined to employ the daring bands of the companions, to the destruction of the tyrant. He imparted the design to Ber- trand du Guesclin, a gentleman of Brittany, and one of the most accomplished characters of the age. The abilities of du Guesclin were the means of securing these adventurers. He remonstrated to the leaders, by many of whom he was already beloved, as the former associate of their toils and dangers, on the ignominy of their lives, and the dishonourable subsistence which they drew from plunder and rapine. To the plea of necessity, he opposed an honourable expedition, which pro- mised equal advantages with their present licentious incursions; the chiefs of the companions, so high was their confidence in his honour, consented to follow his standard, though ignorant of the enter- prise he meditated ; and the single stipulation HISTORY OF SPAIN. 347 they required was, that they should not be led against the prince of Wales, who, in the name of his father, governed the provinces of France, which had been ceded by the late treaty. The silent acquiescence, if not the open concurrence of Edward, was obtained; and Charles contributed what little he could spare from his slender revenues, to hasten and complete the preparations. - Du Guesclin joined the martial band at Cha- lons on the Soane; and probably descended that river and the Rhone to Avignon, the residence of a Roman pontiff. From Innocent the sixth he demanded, sword in hand, an absolution for his soldiers, and the sum of two hundred thousand livres. The first cost nothing, and was instantly granted; but the second request was received with hesitation. When complied with, the pious suc- cessor of St. Peter extorted the money from the inhabitants of Avignon; but the generous du Guesclin refused to trample on the oppressed; “It is not my purpose,” cried the humane warrior, “to injure those innocent people; the pope and “his cardinals themselves can well spare me the “ sum I require, from their own hands. This “money I insist, must be restored to the owners; “and should they be defrauded of it, I shall myself “return from the other side of the Pyrenees, and “oblige you to make them restitution.” The pope submitted to the peremptory language of du 348 HISTORY OF SPAIN. Guesclin; and the success of his first negociation was rivalled by that of his arms. It was with terror, that Peter received the in- telligence of the rapid approach of Henry, at the head of troops long celebrated for their valour, and accompanied by a general, whose military skill was deemed second to none. Yet his throne was apparently defended by a gallant nobility, and a numerous army; but he justly distrusted the loyalty of both ; and though he was strongly solicited to remain at Burgos, and rely on their fidelity for the defence of his capital, he embraced the less glorious, but more secure expedient of a precipi- tate retreat to Seville; and thence, after possessing himself of the treasures he had amassed in that city, he continued his flight to the frontiers of Portugal. The count of Transtamare was received in Castille, with the transport which might naturally be expected, from a people who had long groaned under the yoke of a relentless tyrant, and were eager to testify their gratitude to their deliverer. Burgos opened her gates; and the nobles who had so lately been lavish in their protestations to Peter, hastened to acknowledge the authority of his victorious brother; the crown was placed on his head with holy pomp, by the archbishop of To- ledo; the example of the capital determined the provinces; the adherents of the tyrant were only HISTORY OF SPAIN. 349 anxious for their personal safety; and the martial followers of Henry might complain, that no opportunity was allowed them to display their valour. Yet if they were defrauded of the glory they had anticipated, by the flight of Peter, they were amply recompensed for the march they had un- dertaken, by the generosity of Henry. The royal treasures which that prince found in Burgos, he immediately divided among the companions; nor were the superior merits of du Guesclin neglected; and the rich lordship of Molina, besides a con- siderable sum of money, was allotted as the re- ward of his services. While the victors divided the riches he had extorted from his oppressed subjects, the fugitive Peter revolved the means by which he could hope to regain his throne; from Portugal he had ven- tured to present himself in Gallicia; but the ap- proach of Henry, and the unfavourable disposition of the inhabitants, induced him to retire; with what he had preserved of his wealth, he embarked at Corunna; though closely pursued he gained Bayonne; and entered a suppliant the court of the prince of Wales. Edward, who from the colour of his armour, was surnamed the Black Prince, and who ruled over Aquitaine, with the power and pomp of a sovereign; was not more distinguished for his high 350 HISTORY OF SPAIN. courage and military talents, than for his gene- rosity, humanity, and affability; he had early encouraged the enterprise against Peter; but the appearance of that monarch seems to have changed his sentiments. Whether he was moved by the generosity of supporting a distressed prince, and thought, as is but too usual among sove- reigns, that the rights of the people were a mat- ter of much less consideration; or dreaded the acquisition of so powerful a confederate to France, as the new king of Castille; or what is most pro- bable, inflamed by the thirst of fame, and im- patient of rest and ease, was desirous of an op- portunity for exerting those abilities in war, by which he had already acquired so much renown, he promised his assistance to the royal suppliant; and having obtained the consent of his father, he levied a great army, and set out on the enterprise; he was accompanied by his younger brother John of Gaunt, lately created duke of Lancaster; and Chandos, who bore among the English the same character as du Guesclin among the French, com- manded under him. Each of the rivals was desirous of engaging in his interest the king of Navarre; and Charles, with his usual perfidy, negociated with and de- ceived both. He signed a treaty with Henry, by which in return for Logrono, and sixty thousand pistoles, he engaged to oppose the march of the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 351 confederates; and in a few days after, on the pro- mise of the strong and important town of Victoria on the frontiers of Navarre, he entered into an alliance with Peter, and assured him of a free pas- sage through his dominions for himself and his auxiliaries. To preserve appearances with Henry, he suffered himself to be surprised by a knight of the name of Mauny, and conveyed a prisoner to the castle of Cherburgh in Normandy, while Peter and the prince of Wales pursued their course through Navarre without molestation. The first blow which Edward gave to Henry, was the recalling of the companions from his ser- vice; and such was their reverence for the prince of Wales, that the majority immediately inlisted under his banners. Henry however, beloved by his new subjects, and supported by the king of Arragon and others of his neighbours, was able to meet the enemy with an army of one hundred thousand men; forces three times more numerous than those which were commanded by Edward; du Guesclin advised him to delay any decisive action, and his counsel was supported by the most ex- perienced officers; and to content himself with harassing and cutting off the provisions of his an- tagonist, who in the open field had hitherto always proved victorious; but Henry confided too much in his superior numbers; he was sensible that his reputation must suffer in a defensive war; and he 352 HISTORY OF SPAIN. probably dreaded lest the intrigues of his brother might be extended to his camp. The plain which surrounds Najara afforded an ample theatre to the rival armies; the forces of Henry were permitted to pass a river in their front; but they were scarce formed on the opposite bank when they were charged by their enemies; their resistance was far from obstinate; and in less than an hour the im- mense host was totally dispersed. On the side of the English, only four knights and forty private men perished; but of the Castilians thousands fell by the sword, or were overwhelmed in the river; du Guesclin was taken prisoner; and Henry him- self, with a few of his officers of rank, escaped with difficulty the pursuit of the victors. The vanquished prince reposed for a few days in the territories of Arragon, but he distrusted the faith of that monarch, and sought a more secure asylum within the limits of France, while his vic- torious competitor was received into Burgos, and once more beheld Castille subject to his fury. Even on the field of battle he was with difficulty restrained by the generous Edward from satiating his revenge by the massacre of his captives; and his entrance into his capital would have been stained with the blood of his principal nobility, had they not been saved from his malignant rage by the same powerful mediation; yet the satisfac- tion which the prince of Wales experienced from HISTORY OF SPAIN. 353 the success of this perilous enterprise, was soon alloyed by the ingratitude and treachery of the tyrant he had restored; Peter refused the recom- pense he had promised to the English forces; and Edward, after a fruitless expostulation, returned to Guienne with his army diminished, and his own constitution fatally impaired by the heat of the climate. His retreat released Peter from the awe which his presence had imposed. A severe inquisition was made into the guilt of his subjects; and the most distant connection with the party of Henry was attended by confiscation or death. His fero- cious temper had been heightened by his former exile, and his present prosperity; and he considered and treated his people as vanquished rebels. Even the more helpless sex was included in his thirst of blood; and several of the most illustrious ladies of Castille were the victims to his cruelty. While Peter abused his prosperity, the fugi- tive Henry endeavoured to awaken the com- passion of the princes of Europe in his cause. He was received at Avignon with respect by the Roman pontiff, Urban the fifth, who affected to believe the marriage of his mother Leonora de Guzman, with Alfonso the eleventh, pronounced him free from the stain of illegitimacy, and dis- missed him with his benediction, and the more acceptable present of a considerable sum of mo- 2 Z 354 HISTORY OF SPAIN. ney; the count of Foix suffered him to levy forces within his territories; but his chief reliance was on the king of France. Charles was not deterred by the late reverse of fortune which his ally had experienced, from hoping a more auspicious event. The barbarities of Peter had increased his confi- dence in the cause of Henry ; he furnished the latter with whatever pecuniary aid he could spare; he paid the ransom of du Guesclin; and the name of that chief was itself an host. Henry again pas- sed the Pyrenees, and he had scarce unfurled his standard within the limits of Castille, before the detestation of Peter swelled his martial train to a numerous army; he formed the siege of Toledo; and only abandoned the enterprise to meet his bro- ther in the plains of Montial. The city of Cordova had been driven by the rapacity and cruelty of the tyrant into revolt; in conjunction with his ally the king of Granada, Peter invested the walls, and urged his attacks with vigour; but the fainting spirits of the citizens were rekindled by the reproaches of their wives, who avowed their resolution to perish in the flames, sooner than submit to the royal savage; their des- pair prevailed; and the assailants were compelled to retire from a city they had already entered; the retreat of Peter was quickened by the intelligence that Henry had passed the Pyrenees and menaced Toledo. His confidence was inspired by a review .* HISTORY OF SPAIN. 355 of the forces of Castille and Granada, which still professed their loyalty or fidelity; his impetuous mind ill-brooked delay; he rushed forwards to chastise the rash intruder; at a small distance from Toledo he descried the ensigns of his rival, and in the plains of Montial he pitched his last camp. The pretensions of the competitors admitted not of compromise, and their claims were referred to the decision of the sword ; in the tumult of bat- tle Peter displayed a courage not unworthy of his ancestors; but his soldiers fought coldly in his cause; and the troops of Granada felt themselves but little interested in the quarrel; they fled; and their example was soon followed by the Castilians; the horse of Peter bore him from the carnage; and the fortifications of Montial checked the immedi- ate pursuit of the victors. - Impatient to establish his throne by the death of his brother, Henry from the field of battle ad- vanced to, and invested the castle of Montial ; strong lines of circumvallation were drawn around it; and every hour increased the difficulty of es- cape, and dimished the means of resistance. Peter beheld with terror the approach of that death which he had so often wantonly inflicted; he en- deavoured to corrupt the fidelity of Bertrand du Guesclin; and he offered an immense sum to pass in the night through the quarter where the latter 3.56 HISTORY OF SPAIN. commanded. He was allured to an interview; but in the tent of du Guesclin instead of a confederate he found a rival; the negociation had been com- municated to Henry, who stood ready to receive his destined victim; some moments of ungrateful respite were allowed to reproach; but the remem- brance of Leonora shortened the suspense of Peter; and the dagger of Henry was buried in his bosom. A.D. iº, The reign and fall of a tyrant has * too long occupied our attention; the claims of his posterity were feebly supported by the duke of Lancaster, the son of Edward of England, who had married the eldest daughter of Peter; Toledo opened her gates to Henry; and his authority was sanctioned by the unanimous suffrages of the states-general. But the turbulence of the times suffered him not to enjoy his crown in peace; and during the ten years that he reign- ed, he was successively attacked by the forces of England and Granada, of Portugal, Arragon, and Navarre; in defending his dominions, he displayed the same address and valour as he had shewn in acquiring them; by negociation or force he evaded or repelled the attempts of his enemies; and Cas- tille looked forwards to the moment of general tranquillity, when the prospect was clouded by the premature fate of Henry; his death in the forty-sixth year of his age was ascribed to poison; the public suspicion fell on the king of Granada, HISTORY OF SPAIN. 357 who in the formidable preparations of Henry, was supposed to dread the total subversion of the Moorish power in Spain; and the venom was reported to have been conveyed in a pair of bus- kins, which had been sent by that monarch as a present to the king of Castille; the account serves only to expose the ignorance of the age; and the indisposition which brought Henry to the grave, may more probably be attributed to incessant toil and anxiety. . His throne was immediately filled by A.D. ige, his son John, a prince not unworthy of * his illustrious father. In a war which he main- tained in defence of his dignity with England and Portugal, he displayed the same prudence and spirit. The death of his consort Leonora had left him a widower in the flower of his age, and as the first condition of peace, he readily consented to receive the hand of Beatrix, the daughter of Ferdinand of Portual. The treaty was favourable to John; and it was stipulated that his children by Beatrix, should succeed to the throne of Por- tugal on the death of Ferdinand. That event was not far distant; and two years after John had celebrated his second nuptials, he was informed that his father-in-law was no more. He asserted the claim of his infant son Henry ; but the Por- tuguese dreaded his ascendancy; their pride was wounded by the fear that their country might sink 358 HISTORY OF SPAIN. into a province of Castille; and to the pretensions of that prince, they opposed those of a namesake and kinsman. John, to distinguish whom from his cousin we shall annex the title, of Portugal, was the half brother of the late king, and son of Peter, by his celebrated mistress Agnes de Castro. The stain of his birth was effaced by his splendid quali- ties; and the affections of the Portuguese accom- panied him to the field. Yet the commencement of his reign was overcast with clouds; the forces of Castille penetrated to the mouth of the Tagus, and invested the ancient city of Lisbon, which boasts its fabulous foundation from Ulysses; a pestilential distemper which broke out in the camp of the be- siegers, compelled them to retire ; but with the return of spring they were in arms again; and the banners of Castille were once more displayed on the banks of the Tagus. The Portuguese army consisted not of above twelve thousand men; but its position at Aljubarotta was naturally advanta- geous, and strongly fortified; the troops which marched under the king of Castille were computed at thirty thousand; and their numbers inspired their royal leader with fatal confidence. His ar- dour rejected the salutary counsels of the French ambassador, whose experience was the result of forty years spent in war; and without waiting to refresh his followers, he spurred his horse to the charge. His imprudence was severely punished; HISTORY OF SPAIN. 359 the Castilians were entangled in a morass which protected the front of the Portuguese; several thousands, with many of their principal officers, perished; and the king could not reproach the precipitate flight of the survivors, since he himself never ventured to stop until he reposed within the fortifications of Santaren, at the distance of thirty miles from the field of battle. The defeat of Aljubarotta extinguished the hopes of the king of Castille, and revived the spi- rits of his enemies; a hostile league was negoci- ated and concluded between Portugal and Eng- land; and the Duke of Lancaster was easily per- suaded to arm in support of the claim which he derived from his marriage with the eldest daughter of Peter the Cruel. He landed at Padron in Gal- licia, with an army less remarkable for its num- bers than its valour and discipline; was received into Compostella; and solemnly proclaimed king of Castille. His rival dreaded to encounter that impetuous courage which had so lately proved fatal to France; his mind was still impressed with the deteat of Aljubarotta; and he contented him- self with adopting a less glorious, though more certain plan of defence; he laid waste the greatest part of Gallicia; and as the English advanced, they beheld on every side a dreary and desolate country; their strength was impaired by famine; and transported from the temperate island of Bri- $60 HISTORY OF SPAIN. tain, they languished in the sultry climate of Spain. Yet John was far from relying on the distress of his adversary; he was impatient to secure his own, and his subjects' tranquillity; and while the duke of Lancaster revolved the difficulties that surrounded him, he was surprised by the appearances of com- missioners from the king of Castille; his ardent wish had been to raise his daughter to that throne; and he listened with pleasure to the offer of six hundred thousand pieces of gold to reimburse the expences he had incurred, and the proposal of a marriage between his daughter Catalina, and Henry the eldest son of John. The treaty with Portugal was an immediate obstacle; the war and negociation was continued through a second year; but on the expiration of that term a peace was for- mally subscribed; the infant Henry, though only in his tenth year, was contracted to the princes Catalina, who had entered her fourteenth ; and the title of Prince of Austurias, which on this oc- casion was imparted to Henry, has ever since be- come the distinction of the eldest son of Spain. • The subjects of the king of Portugal had started to arms to maintain their independence; but it was with reluctance they followed the standard of their monarch in the invasion of Castille; after the treaty between the duke of Lancaster and John, their aversion to the continuance of hostilities in- creased, the war was confined to a few desultory HISTORY OF SPAIN. 361 enterprises; and the mutual weakness of the rival nations recommended the doubtful expedient of a truce. The interval of public repose was improv- ed by John; and however his people might have doubted his talents in war, they were loud in their applause of his virtues in peace; their happiness seemed the only object of his attention; and the severe frugality which he practised himself, was the source of his liberality to his subjects; the taxes were diminished; commerce revived, and agriculture flourished; but their exultation was transient; and in the vigour of his age the Casti- lians were condemned to deplore the loss of their father and their king. The vicissitudes of public or private life had induced several of the Christians of Spain to seek a retreat or subsistence in Africa; in exile they still maintained the purity of their re- ligion, and panted after their native soil. The king of Castille was not insensible to their solicita- tions; his weighty mediation was used with the emperor of Morocco, and they were permitted to return; John advanced to meet them at Alcala on the road to Andalusia; trained in all the evolutions of the menage amongst a nation of horsemen, he admired the dexterity with which they guided their coursers. As he spurred his own in imitation, the feet of the horse plunged into a hole; he fell upon his master, and crushed him to death. WOL, I, 3 A 362 HISTORY OF SPAIN. A. p. so. Thus died in the thirty-third year of his age, and at the critical juncture when his prudence and experience were most necessary, John, king of Castille; his son, Henry the third, on whom the crown devolved, was but eleven years old, and the surname of Sickly was expressive of his delicate constitution. A council of regency was formed to administer the kingdom; and the members of it were Frederick, duke of Bene- venta, the natural son of Henry the second, and the uncle of the late king; Peter, count of Trans- tamare; Alonzo of Arragon, marquis of Villera; the archbishops of Toledo and Compostella; the grand masters of St. James and Calatrava; and sixteen deputies from the principal cities of Cas- tille. In the first moments they seemed willing to sacrifice their private views to the public good; but the spirit of patriotism was not proof against the suggestions of interest; and it was not long be- fore their jarring pretensions threatened the most fatal consequences. The duke of Beneventa was haughty, artful, and ambitious; the archbishop of Toledo was sin- cere, credulous, and bigotted; the judgment of the latter was seduced by the address of the for- mer; and his approbation served to sanction the designs of his intriguing associate. The duke of Beneventa had pretended to the hand of Leonora, a princess of the blood royal, and the richest heiress HISTORY OF SPAIN. 363 of Spain; such a match would have exalted him in power and influence too near the crown; and to disappoint his views, Leonora was betrothed to Ferdinand, the king's brother. The baffled lover immediately conceived a new project; he demand- ed in marriage the natural daughter of the king of Portugal; and to dissuade him from the alliance, the regency were obliged to make him a present of the same sum as he was to have received in dowry with that princess. * The domestic dissensions of the nobles of Cas- tille encouraged the insolence of her neighbours; the language of the king of Portugal was arrogant and hostile; and an irruption of the Moors of Gra- nada revealed their confidence in the intestine dis- cord of the Christians; yet Henry had not been an inattentive spectator of the intrigues which con- vulsed his kingdom; a vigorous mind animated a feeble frame; and though he had not yet complet- ed his thirteenth year, he determined to assume the reins of government; he was encouraged in this resolution by an embassy from Charles the sixth, king of France, who assured him of his support should his nobility presume to oppose his authority. At Madrid the states-general were convened; and the firm tone of an inexperienced youth commanded their acquiescence; the council of regency was dissolved; and the entire privilege of king was resigned into the hands of Henry. 364 HISTORY OF SPAIN. The first measure of the youthful monarch was more grateful to the nation at large than to his own family. The prudent conduct of his father was his example in the appropriation of the public wealth; but the period of his minority had been abused; and an interested, regency had alotted large pensions to every person who was allied to the throne. These lavish grants Henry instant- ly reclaimed; but he softened the rigour of the step, by the promise that when the affairs of Castille would admit the expedient, he should be ready to afford any support to the dignity of the royal family. It is seldom that individuals can be prevailed upon to relinquish their own for the pub- lic advantage; and the relations of the king were the first to oppose his administration; the dis- affection even gained the females of his blood; and his court was deserted by the princes and prin- cesses of the blood; at the same time the duke of Beneventa, the marquis of Villera, and the count of Transtamare assembled their partizans, and re- tired to their castles. Before their designs could be matured, or they could confederate in their rebellion, Henry, con- fiding in the integrity of his own intentions, and the fidelity of his people in general, was in arms. Jealous of his reputation, he suffered not the arch- bishop of Toledo to accompany him, lest his con- duct might be ascribed to the counsels of that pre- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 365 late. His vigour recalled the rebels to a sense of their danger; and the marquis of Villera was the first to implore and experience his clemency; the haughty genuis of the duke of Beneventa was awed by his resolution; he solicited peace, and obtained it; but the transaction proclaimed the magnanimous spirit of the king; and he dismissed the duke of Beneventa to a fortress of his own, that he might there revolve the treaty he proposed to sign, and be excluded from any pretence after- wards, that his consent had been extorted. The interval of suspense was dangerous to a mind that fluctuated between hope and fear; the duke hoped still to deceive his sovereign ; and though he re- newed his intrigues with the count of Transtamare, he hesitated not to present himself before the king at Burgos; but his steps had been closely watched; his correspondence detected; and as he entered the court he was arrested, and sent prisoner to the castle of Almadovar. - The count of Transtamare was the last of the confederates to return to his allegiance; deserted by his associates, he stood exposed to the wrath of his sovereign; but vengeance was too base a passion to find admission within the bosom of Henry ; and no sooner did the count of Transta- mare prostrate himself at the feet of his king, than his pardon was sealed; yet when the honour of Castille required her monarch to arm, the vigour 366 HISTORY OF SPAIN. of his preparations anticipated the designs of his enemies. In the hour of peace and confidence, the Portuguese had surprised the strong town of Badajoz, which commands the banks of the Gua- diana. But they were not suffered loug to exult in their perfidy; a formidable army was rapidly collected and moved beneath the conduct of Henry himself; the ſertile fields along the banks of the Tagus were laid waste; the naval squadrons which had issued from the port of Lisbon were defeated, and in part destroyed; the pride of the king of Portugal was humbled; he sued for peace; and the restitution of Badajoz was the preliminary of a truce for ten years. The fleet that had been successfully employed against Portugal, on the suspension of hostilities with that country, was destined by Henry to act against the rovers of Barbary. These had over- spread the narrow seas between the coasts of Spain and Africa; no laws nor treaties could restrain their thirst of spoil; their cruelty equalled their rapacity; and not only the wealth of the merchant became their prey, but the wretched crew who fell into their hands were often massacred, with cir- cumstances of wanton barbarity. Their haunts were explored by the squadrons of Castille; their vessels burnt; and the town of Tetuan, the repo- sitory of their plunder, besieged; its walls were not long capable of resisting the ardour of the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 367 assailants; the lives of its inhabitants atoned for the injuries of the Castilians; and the victors were glutted with the treasures that had been accumu- lated during years of piratical adventure. Bursting from the narrow limits of Zagatai, the renown of Timour had extended from the east to the west. He had subdued or over-run Persia, Tartary, and India; in the plains of Anjora he had trampled under foot the strength of the Otto- mans, and cast into chains the haughty sultan Ba- jazet; it was while his mind was elated with his recent victory, that he was saluted by the ambas- sadors of Henry; the Mogul emperor was not in- sensible to courtesy; a Tartarian envoy presented himself at Burgos; two Hungarian ladies who had been found among the captives of the vanquish- ed sultan, were deemed by Tamerlane the most acceptable present that he could offer to the king of Castille; and to express the satisfaction of Henry, a second embassy undertook the laborious pilgrimage to the camp of Tamerlane. The correspondence between Henry and Ta- merlane, whose dominions lay so distant, and whose faiths were so discordant, must have been rather prompted by vanity than policy; and at the time that the king of Castille vied in acts of courtesy with the most zealous of the Believers, be medi- tated the expulsion of the disciples of Mahomet from Spain. He beheld with indignation the 368 HISTORY OF SPAIN. fertile fields which were watered by the Guadal- Quivir in the hands of the Moors; he embraced the opportunity which the predatory incursions of the king of Granada offered; and the vigour with which his preparations were carried on, inflamed the hopes of his subjects and struck terror into his enemies. - But the prospects of victory which the Casti- lians had fondly indulged, were soon darkened. An assembly of the states had been summoned to Toledo; but the indisposition of Henry suffered him not to be present; and to his brother Ferdi- nand was assigned the care of opening to the de- puties the glorious prospects which their sovereign revolved. A strict and honourable economy had replenished the public coffers; a martial nobility restrained from domestic feuds languished to exer- cise their valour against the common enemy; the proposal for war was received with loud applause; the expedition was sanctioned by the holy appro- bation of the clergy; the whole force of Castille would have been poured upon the astonished in- fidels; no ris it probable that the Moors of Grana- da, unsupported by the powers of Africa, could have withstood the fury of the torrent; but while the states deliberated on the most efficacious means of supply, the plan was entirely dissolved; and Henry, whose wisdom had concerted it, and whose experienee alone could have executed it, HISTORY OF SPAIN. 369 had breathed his last at Toro. His only son was a feeble infant of fourteen months old; and the Cas- tilians already anticipated the evils with which the kingdom during a minority had been so frequently afflicted. - . It was the observation of Henry, and it ought to be treasured in the mind of every prince, “that “he feared the curses of his people more than the “weapons of his enemies.” Yet however careful he was to guard against the former by a reign of moderation, when the dignity of the crown deman- ded, he knew how to punish as well as to reward; he studiously repressed the pride of the nobility, whose influence when he ascended the throne over- shadowed the power of the sovereign; and in a se- dition of the city of Seville, he admonished the multitude to dread the anger of their monarch ; one thousand of the citizens atoned for their guilt with their lives; yet the instances of severity which he adopted were rare; more ready to pardon than to chastise, he was regarded rather as the fa- ther than the king; and his memory was embalm- ed by the tears of his people; his virtues were sup- posed to have hastened his fate; and the confes- sions of some Jews were eagerly received, who ac- cused the king of Granada of having undermined by poison the life of a prince whom he dreaded to encounter in the field. Yet Henry's constitution had been always delicate; his disorder was tedious; WOL., I, 3 B • 370 HISTORY OF SPAIN. and the effect of slow poison has been doubted, if not refuted by a more enlightened age. A. D., 1404, When the death of Henry was an- 4. nounced, a silent astonishment prevail- ed through the assembly of the states; it was bro- ken by a voice that proposed, instead of admitting the succession of a feeble infant, that a prince of mature wisdom should be chosen to fill the throne of Castille; the name of Ferdinand, the brother of the late king, was pronounced; but that prince con- sidered himself as the natural guardian of the rights of his nephew; at the proposal he started with horror and indignation from his seat; he command- ed the standard of Castille to be unfurled, and John the second to be proclaimed. His resolution fixed the wavering minds of the assembly; every murmur was suppressed; and the oath of allegiance was unanimously taken to the son of Henry. The integrity of Ferdinand did not leave the states long in doubt on whom to repose the trust of the regency. With that prince was joined the name of the queen mother; but while the latter watched over the health and education of her son, the cares of government were confided to the former. The fleets and armies which had been as- sembled by Henry only waited the signal for ac- tion; and though the death of that monarch had dissolved the splendid project of conquest, yet the defence of Castille demanded the most vigorous HISTORY OF SPAIN. . 371 measures. The king of Granada, to anticipate the designs of his adversaries, had passed the fron- tiers of his dominions, and invested Alcandata in the mountains of Sierra Morena, with a host of eighty thousand men; but a veteran garrison derided the unskilful attacks of the besiegers; the exhausted country no longer afforded them subsis- tence: the disgraceful expedient of a retreat was adopted; and the rear of the infidels was closely pressed, and repeatedly brºken by the charge of the Christian cavalry. "It The piratical squadrons of Tunis and Treme- cen had sallied from their ports; they were encoun- tered and defeated by the fleet of Castille. But the measures of Ferdinand were rather calculated to protect, than to extend the dominions of his ne- phew. The disorders to which a minority is ex- posed continually recurred to his mind; and he was willing to provide against domestic dissen- sion, by extinguishing the flames of foreign war, It might have been difficult to have adjusted the discordant claims of Castille and Granada, in a permanent peace; but the Moors were disgusted with the rival pretensions of two brothers, and the ill success of their enterprises; two powerful fac- tions distracted their own government; and a truce allowed each party to resume his claims at a pro- per opportunity. The expedient was approved by the court of Castille; it was first signed for eight 372 IIISTORY OF SPAIN. months, and though transiently interrupted by the reduction of Antequera, a strong town about twelve leagues from Granada, which surrendered to Don Ferdinand, was frequently afterwards prolonged. To his integrity Ferdinand had sacrificed one crown, and his moderation was soon rewarded with another. Martin, king of Arragon, had ex- pired without children; and a variety of preten- ders aspired to ascend the vacant throne. The pretensions of Ferdiñºnd were drawn from his descent from the great aunt of the late monarch; they were strengthened by his own reputation, by the influence of the Roman pontiff Benedict the thirteenth, and by the treasures and forces of Castille; yet his competitors yielded not without a struggle; and it was not until he had reduced the strong fortress of Balaguer, on the northern banks of the Segro, and which was defended by his ri- val count Urgal, that Ferdinand entered in triumph and celebrated his coronation within his capital of Saragossa. ? . His reign was short; and even the little time that was allowed him to taste of royalty was alloyed by domestic conspiracy and discontent; the count of Urgal, who had been pardoned by his magnani- mity, renewed his intrigues, and even attempted his life by poison; and the states of Catalonia, jealous of their privileges, refused to contribute to support the claim of his younger son to Sicily, HISTORY OF SPAIN. 373 His thoughts were still turned to Castille and the prosperity of his nephew; he concluded a marriage between his eldest son Alfonso, and Maria the sister of the king of Castille; but as he advanced to Burgos to confer with the queen dowager, he was attacked on the road with a mortal distemper, and was succeeded by Alfonso, who even surpassed in renown his father, and wrested from the house of Anjou the kingdom of Naples. . The death of Ferdinand was soon followed b that of the queen dowager; and though John had only entered his thirteenth year, it was deemed expedient, by the most powerful of the Castilian nobility, to extinguish a dangerous competition for the regency, by resigning into his hands the reins of government. But his weakness and in- experience tempted the ambition of the kindred princes of Arragon; and John and Henry, the brothers of Alfonso, contended for dominion over their royal cousin. In the career for power the daring spirit of the latter outstripped the former; and Henry, seconded by the constable of Castille, and the bishop of Segovia, possessed himself of the person of the king at Tordesillas. Whatever indignation that monarch might feel on beholding himself the captive of his faithless kinsman, he was careful to suppress every emotion of resentment. He consented to a double marriage; he received as the partner of his bed and throne Maria, the 374 HISTORY OF SPAIN. sister of Henry; and bestowed the hand of his own sister Catherine, on his treacherous relation; but while Henry exulted in his new alliances, and in the hour of confidence relaxed from his usual vi- gilance, his dream of grandeur was interrupted by the flight of the king. During more than thirty years that elapsed from the escape of John to his death, his subjects were afflicted with every calamity which can arise from civil war; yet amidst the tempest which incessantly shook his throne, he displayed no in- considerable share of firmness; he arrested his brother-in-law Henry, who had presumed to pre- sent himself at court at the moment that he was labouring to excite new commotions; and though he released him in compliance with the mediation of his brother, the king of Arragon, and of his second brother John, who, in right of his wife, had ascended the throne of Navarre; yet neither fear nor gratitude were sufficient to restrain the turbulent Henry. A new war soon broke out, in which the forces of Castille and Arragon engaged with various success; during a short suspension of hostilities, the gloom which involved the reign of John, was transiently gilded by a decisive victory over the Moors of Granada; but it was not until the affairs of Italy occupied the attention of the kings of Arragon and Navarre, that Cas- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 375 tille was suffered to repose for some time from their hostile enterprises. Even that period was far from tranquil; Don Alvaro de Luna, with the office of high constable, possessed, and perhaps abused, the favour and confidence of his sovereign ; his insolence or their envy stimulated the nobles of Castille to arms; they were the victims of their own temerity; and their defeat promised to establish the power of John, when it was suddenly shaken by those who appeared most interested to maintain it. Though the spirits of the malecontents were broken, their numbers were still far from despi- cable; and Henry of Arragon, had even in their name surprised the city of Toledo, when that event was obscured by a new incident still more astonishing ; the queen and the prince of Asturias openly declared on the side of the rebels; the former was influenced by her hatred of Don Al- varo de Luna ; the latter by his impatience to seize a sceptre, which, when it devolved on him, he was incapable of retaining. John was unable to resist the torrent of disaffection ; he subscribed the dismissal of his favourite ; consented to change his ministers; and while his rebellious nobles ob- truded themselves into every office of trust or emolument, was suffered to retain the name and state without the authority of a king. From this dependent situation he was rescued 376 HISTORY OF SPAIN. by a second revolution, not less rapid nor unex- pected than the former. The banishment of Don Alvaro de Luna had reconciled Maria to her con- sort; and the prince of Asturias, while he ex- claimed against his father's abandoning himself to the counsels of the constable, was himself a slave to the address of Don Juan Pacheco. The latter was persuaded by the bishop of Avila, to exert his influence to restore the royal authority ; his re- monstrances transiently awakened the prince to a sense of the infamy which attended his confede- racy against his father ; a new league was silently formed; the royal standard was displayed; and the king, eluding the vigilance of his guards, es- caped from the castle of Portillo, and placed him- self at the head of the forces which had been as- sembled by his son. . . . . The rebels had advanced too far to recede: the king of Navarre, whom neither the disasters of his Italian expedition could intimidate, nor the general cause of Kings could influence, appeared in arms on the side of the conspirators; their camp was pitched on the banks of the Adaja, in the neighbourhood of Olmedo; and it was there they awaited the charge of the royal army. The indignation of John impelled him to instant action; and the impetuous courage of the prince of Astu- rias ill brooked delay. Yet the resistance of the confederates was long and bloody; and though HISTORY OF SPAIN. 377 compelled to abandon the field, the king of Na- varre, and his brother Henry, merited the praise of skill and valour; a wound in the hand was at- tended by a mortification, and proved fatal to the latter; but the former, under cover of the dark- ness, eluded the pursuit of the victors, and gained the frontiers of Arragon. In the moment of distress John had consented to banish from his councils, the constable Don Alvaro de Luna; but with the return of prosperity his attachment to that nobleman revived; and he was not only recalled to court, but invested with the dignity of grand-master of the order of St. James; at the same time the death of Maria left the king of Castille a widower, and he was pre- vailed upon by his favourite, to bestow his hand on the princess Isabella of Portugal. The return of Don Alvaro, and the second marriage of his father, were equally disagreeable to the prince of Asturias; his actions were rather the effects of caprice than principle ; and the transient remorse he had lately felt, on having violated his duty as a son and a subject, was overwhelmed by the lust of empire. He abruptly retired from court, and flew to arms; but the forces he had collected were far from numerous, before he was surprised in the plains between Aravalo and Madrigal, by the appearance of John, who with a select de- tachment had hastened to chastise his disobedi- VOL. I. 3 G 378 HISTORY OF SPAIN. ence. The troops on each side were nearly equal; and if the king could not wish to survive the loss of his dignity, the prince could not hope to es- cape the punishment of his double guilt; yet both were alike impatient for the encounter. With dif- ferent emotions their followers awaited the signal to charge; on which ever side they turned their eyes, they beheld near relations or bosom friends; and the exultation of victory must have been al- loyed by the destruction of those who were most dear to them. While they gazed with horror on the adverse ranks, the interval of suspense was dexterously seized, and improved by the prelates and clergy, who had accompanied the king and prince. Their holy mediation proved succeseful; the sword for a moment was sheathed; but the oath of filial affection and future obedience, which passed the lips of the prince of Asturias, never found admission to his heart. - The king of Navarre still continued his hosti- lities; a rapacious host of Gascons was allured by his promises to traverse the Pyrenees, and to con- sume the plenty of Castille; the Moors of Granada insulted and ravaged the frontiers of Andalusia, while the prince of Asturias was an indolent spec- tator of their destructive progress; and in the fond hope that the public distress might induce John to abdicate the royal dignity, exulted in every event HISTORY OF SPAIN. 379 that contributed to diminish the reputation of his father. . . . . x- - - Yet there were moments when interest or Ca- price induced Henry to assume the appearance of filial duty, and to act in conjunction with his royal parent; and it was one of these that proved at length fatal to Don Alvaro de Luna. In the pos- session of the important offices of high constable of Castille and grand master of St. James, the power of the favourite seemed secure even against the frown of his master; a faithful company of guards was raised in his name, and commanded by his natural son Don Pedro ; and while these protected his person from immediate danger, his liberality seemed daily to swell the number of his adherents. Yet in his ascent to greatness, every step had only served to render his situation more perilous; envy had been the constant companion of his fortune; those he had promoted considered him as the obstacle to their future aggrandisement; and those he had neglected, if they concealed their murmurs, only eoncealed them to accomplish with greater ease his ruin. In the field he had braved the heir of the crown, and in the court his magnificence had obscured the possessor of it; and Henry was neither destitute of resentment, nor John totally devoid of observation; from the mo- ment that jealousy entered the bosom of the latter, the destructicn of Alvaro was determined; and it 380 HISTORY OF SPAIN. was only the means of achieving it with least dan- ger, that occupied the thoughts of the king of Castille. . . • . In the prosecution of the design some degree of artifice was requisite; and new marks of confi- dence were heaped by John on the devoted victim; he accepted of Alvaro's invitation to Tordesillas; and the sumptuous manner in which he was enter- tained, served to confirm his resolution. His counsels, however, had not been taken so secretly but some rumours of them had transpired; and when the court proposed to return to Burgos, the suspicions of Alvaro were revealed, by demanding of the king a solemn assurance for his safety; the alacrity with which it was granted, ought to have increased the fears of the minister; and long prac- tised in reading the human heart, he should have known, that to doubt the faith of his sovereign, was to convert him into an implacable enemy. He had scarcely entered the capital before he found the report of his disgrace became more ge- neral: the queen herself, who owed her marriage to his intrigues, had been disgusted with his ar- rogance; and Don Alfonso de Vivaro, who already possessed the place of high treasurer, and aspired to that of minister, under the mask of friendship was indefatigable in his efforts to undermine him ; his artifices, however, were penetrated by the eye of Alvaro, and the desire of vengeance surpassed HISTORY OF SPAIN. 381 that of safety; he summoned to his palace his ad- herents, and Vivaro presented himself amongst the number; the seat of council was a lofty tower which overlooked the city; and no sooner had Vivaro ascended, than he was thrown headlong from the summit, and dashed to pieces on the stones beneath. It is probable that Alvaro nourished a secret hope, that the fate of his rival might be imputed by his sovereign to accident; but he should have recollected, that it is not easy to lull the jealousy of a monarch when once it is awakened; the king was impatient to chastise his presumption ; the queen was zealous to avenge the death of her fa- vourite ; and a crowd of hollow courtiers were loud in their indignation against a minister, for whose smiles they had so lately contended. To the multitude, the minion of the prince is ever odious ; and Alvaro had too frequently heard the execrations of the populace, to rely on their assist- ance. His palace was surrounded by the royal guards; and though his own spirit might have preferred immediate destruction to submission, he declined by a fruitless defence to involve his friends in his ruin. He obtained a promise from the king, that nothing should be attemped against his life and honour; but the word unjustly, was insidu- ously inserted; the engagement was evaded; and 382 HISTORY OF SPAIN. Alvaro was conducted a prisoner to his own castle of Portillo. - - - A commission was immediately granted to proceed against him; and had he been innocent, he could have expected but little justice from judges who had been chosen by his prosecutors. Yet though he was free from the stain of treason, he could not vindicate himself from the murder of Wi- varo. He was declared guilty, and sentenced to suffer death by the hands of the common executioner. He heard the decree without changing colour; and in the last and most trying moment of his life he asserted the courage of a Castilian noble, and dis- appointed by his fearless behaviour the malice of his enemies. No entreaties for mercy, no expres- sions unworthy of the rank he had filled, escaped him; in the market-place of Walladolid he ascend- ed with a firm step the scaffold; and confessed in his approaching fate the just punishment of his sins; he observed near him the master of the horse to the prince of Asturias. “Bereza,” said he, “tell your master from me, that he will do “well not to follow his father's example in thus re- “warding his old and faithful servants.” As he surveyed the pole on which his head was to be fixed; “no death, added he, can be shameful, “which is supported with courage and intrepidity; “nor ought to be considered as untimely, when a * man has been for many years at the head of HISTORY OF SPAIN. 383 “ affairs, and conducted all things with dignity “ and reputation.” With decent composure he presented his throat to the executioner, and re- ceived with intrepidity the fatal stroke; for several days his headless body was exposed to the public view; his treasures had been confiscated by his rapacious sovereign; and it was to common cha- rity that his remains were indebted for a burial. Yet the hatred or compassion of the populace are ever in extremes; the faults of Alvaro were forgot- ten in the magnanimity with which he suffered; and an awful admonition was impressed on the surrounding crowd, while they revolved the bloody relicts of a man, who had equalled the greatest princes in wealth and power, left to depend for their funeral rites on the alms of those who had so lately trembled at his name. w John lived not long enough to repent his in- gratitude to a minister who, however he had op- pressed the people, had defended amidst the storms of civil dissension the authority of the crown. As the king of Castille rapidly pressed his journey to- wards the Medina del Campo, to confer with his sister, the queen of Arragon, he was attacked by a burning fever; his constitution resisted the imme- diate fury of the disease; but he reached Vallado- lid in a state of weakness; his disorder returned; and after a long and turbulent reign, he expired $84 HISTORY OF SPAIN. with sentiments of piety and resignation, in the forty-seventh year of his age. A.pngo. The vacant throne was immediately * filled by his son Henry, who, without the virtues, possessed all the failings of his father. He was equally destitute of the talents of a king, and the vigour of a man; and the cause of his di- vorce from his consort Blanch, the daughter of the king of Navarre, was perpetuated in his sur- name of Impotent. His understanding was frigid as his body; Don Juan de Pacheco ruled with the same absolute dominion over the present mo- narch as Don Alvaro de Luna had exercised over the late; and scarce had Henry, received the ho- mage of his nobility, before he disgusted them by conferring on his favourite the title of marquis of Villena, and encouraging him to hope for the office of grand-master of St. James. The commons were exasperated by the extravagance, the nobles by the insolence of this new minion of fortune; and the minister was not more odious than the king was contemptible; the jealousy of the latter was extend- ed even to the feeble years of Alfonso and Isabella, the children of Heays by his second marriage; and insensible to the disgrace which had accompa- nied his separation from Blanch, he solicited the hand of Joanna of Portugal. The ambition of that princess prompted her to become the partner of his throne; yet Joanna in the marriage bed, re- \ HISTORY OF SPAIN. . 385 signed not the claims of nature; and five years after her nuptials were celebrated, her pregnancy was announced ; a daughter was born, who was baptized after her mother ; was acknowledged heiress to the crown of Castille; and the validity of whose title was recognized by Alfonso and Isa- bella. Yet every precaution served only to in- crease the public suspicion ; the impotency of Henry was still the favourite theme; nor in the fifteenth century, such had been the progress of depravity, was Spain deficent in examples, where the chastity of the wife had been sacri- ficed by the husband from motives of revenge or policy. - Amidst the general discontent, one event darted a ray of lustre through the gloom of administra- tion; and Gibraltar, which had been wrested from the Christians, under the reign of Alfonso the eleventh, was recovered from the infidels in that of Henry. The latter had, with his usual precipi- tation, engaged in a war with the court of Gra- nada; and the inability with which he conducted it, must have exposed him to considerable loss; had not the king of Grahāda been distracted at that instant with eivil commotion; the throne was disputed by two rival princes; and the garrison of Gibraltar had rushed tâ the field to partake the eonfliet.” It was at this eritical moment, that a Moorººf the name of Zuria, was desirous of ret VOL. I. 3 D 386 HISTORY OF SPAIN. nouncing the visions of Mahomet for the pure doctrines of Christ; he felt the zeal of a new proselyte; and was ardent to signalize his con- version, by some act of service to those whose tenets he had determined to espouse; in an age when the lines of civil duty were obscured by su- perstition, it was not difficult to persuade him that perfidy to those whose faith he had abjured was meritorious. He betrayed the weakness of Gibral- tar. A considerable force marched silently from the neighbouring fortress of Tarif; and before the inhabitants could shut the gates, part of the as- sailants had already entered the town, and dis- played the Christian standard from the ramparts; the count of Arcos was among the foremost of the daring adventurers; but it was to the duke of Medina Sidonia that the citizens of Gibraltar surrendered; and so elated was Henry with the important acquisition, that in addition to his former titles, he assumed that of king of Gibral- It was not alone in Granada that the genius of discord seemed to have established her sway; and the tempest of civil war agitated also the kingdom of Arragon. Hardy, daring, and independent, the character of the Catalans has been always the same; and when the sceptre of Arragon was held. by John the second, the inhabitants of Catalonia were impelled by hatred to the consort of their so- HISTORY OF SPAIN. $87 vereign to erect the standard of revolt. Henry was rather willing than able to avail himself of their rebellion; and he suffered himself to be proclaimed at Barcelona their king. But the assistance he afforded was tardy and inadequate; his favourite the marquis of Willena, was averse to the war; and in the prosecution of it, it was deemed prudent to consult Lewis the eleventh, who, as the king of France, was to be feared as an enemy or courted as an ally. An interview was appointed between the two kings at Mauleon, on the confines of the kingdom of Navarre; and on their meeting their different dispositions were evinced by their contrasted ap- pearance. Henry, vain, magnificent, and haughty, was attended by a splendid train; Lewis, mean in his person, clad in coarse cloth, short and unbe- coming, was slenderly accompanied; but the wealth the former had expended in his sumptuous preparations, the latter employed to bribe the ministers of Castille; the marquis of Willena pro- mised to second the views of the king of France; and with mutual protestation of friendship, Henry and Lewis parted; the former disgusted with the sordidness of the latter; the latter full of contempt for the understanding of the former. . . . . The marquis of Villena hesitated not at the ex- pence of his fidelity to his sovereign, to fulfil the conditions he had entered into with Lewis; and 388 HISTORY OF SPAIN. in compliance with the inclinations of that mo- arch, he soan persuaded Henry to abandon the Catalans to the resentment of their prince; yet the king of Castille had scarce signed the treaty before he was awakened to a sense of his igno- miny; and the exile of the marquis from court was the immediate consequence of his disgraceful counsels. . . . . : . . . . . . . . Accustomed to bask in the smiles, the marquis of Willena ill-brooked the frowns of his sovereign. One moment effaced from his memory, the favours that had been heaped upon him in the patronage of twenty years; and he was scarce banished from court, before he became the favourite of the nobi- lity, who before had considered him as the object of their envy. A powerful confederacy was form- ed between the high admiral of Castille ; the counts of Placentia, Benevente, and Ossuna ; the archbishops of Toledo and Compostella; and the grand-masters; of Calatrava and Aleantara; to these the masquis of Villena joined himself; and hoped by his sword not only to regain his wonted ascendancy over the counsels of his sovereign, but to extort from him the high office of grand-master of St. James, the peculiar object of his ambition, and which the prudence of the king had hitherto withheld. In case Henry refused to gratify the wishes of the conspirators, it was determined to declare him unworthy of the crown, and to HISTORY OF SPAIN. 889 place it on the head of his brother Alfonso, from whose youth they might expect a more ready com- pliance. . . . . . It was while the king of Castille was engaged in visiting Gibraltar that he was first informed of the dangerous combination that had been cemented against him; he returned immediately to Madrid; and in the transport of his indignation at the ingra- titude of the marquis of Villena, he invested his rival the count of Ladesma with the office of grand- master of St. James; but the intelligence that the king of Arragon had acceded to the league, in- clined him to more moderate measures; he con- sented to an interview with the principal conspira- tors; promised to redress their grievances; and as a pledge of reconciliation, declared his willingness to bestow the grand-mastership of St. James on the marquis of Willena. In the execution of the treaty the consent of the count of Ladesma was neces- sary; and the possession of the office could not re- flect so much lustre on the character of that noble- man, as did the alacrity with which he resigned it. “I am happy,” said he, as he surrendered the ensigns of the appointment, “in rendering “ service to him to whom I owe all I possess; and “ of proving to his subjects that he has at least “raised one man of merit and fidelity;” the re- proof was heard and felt by all; a faint blush over- spread the countenance of the marquis of Willena; 390 HISTORY OF SPAIN. and though hardened in the commerce of courts, and elated by his triumph over his sovereign, he must for a moment have envied the feelings of his rival. - - It is seldom those concessions which are extort- ed from the crown, are faithfully executed; the nobles of Castille who yet retained their allegiance, reproached the weakness of Henry ; and that prince, ever influenced by the last counsel, de- termined to assert his dignity in arms. He col- lected a numerous body of forces; and the con- federates heard of his preparations without being dismayed; they published a manifesto in which they upbraided him with having endeavoured to defraud his brother Alfonso of the succession, and to impose in Joanna a supposititious child on the nation. They claimed as one of the privileges of their order, the right of trying and passing sen- tence on their sovereign. That the exercise of this power might be as public and solemn as the pretension to it was bold, they summoned all their party to meet at Avila. A spacious theatre was erected in a plain, without the walls of the town; an image representing the king was seated on a throne, clad in royal robes, with a crown on its head, a sceptre in its hand, and the sword of jus- tice by its side. The accusation against the king was read, and the sentence of deposition was pro- nounced in presence of a numerous assembly. At YHISTORY OF SPAIN. 391 the close of the first article of the charge, the archbishop of Toledo advanced, and tore the crown from the head of the image; at the close of the second, the count of Placentia snatched the sword of justice from its side; at the close of the third, the count of Benevente wrested the sceptre from its hand; and at the close of the last, Don Diego Lopez de Stuniga tumbled it headlong from the throne; and at the same instant Don Alfonso, Henry's brother, was proclaimed king of Castille and Leon in his place. - At the head of a numerous and loyal army, Henry might have despised the farce which had been acted at Avila ; but he was again vanquish- ed by the arts of the marquis of Willena. By the professions of that nobleman he was prevailed upon to dismiss his forces, and to expect the voluntary submission of the confederates ; but he was soon awakened from the delusion; Simancas was re- duced; Toledo declared for Alfonso ; and Henry beheld the spirit of revolt rapidly extending through his dominions. He hastily assembled what troops were still faithful to their oath of allegiance, and advanced to the relief of Medina. del Campo, which was besieged by Alfonso. In the plains which stretch around that city, he be- held the army of the confederates; and both par- ties prepared with alacrity for action. The forces of Henry consisted of eight hundred lances, seven 392, HISTORY OF SPAIN. hundred light horse, and two thousand infantry; those of Alfonso were nearly equal. Though the understanding of Henry was despised, yet his personal courage had never been doubted; but on this occasion he displayed not the same ardour as had characterised him when prince of Asturias; and the inglorious counsels of his courtiers per- suaded him to retire from the conflict. His youthful competitor sustained a nobler part; his banner was unfurled in the front of the line; and the archbishop of Toledo, whose sacred habit was laid aside for a crimson scarf embroidered with white crosses, charged with Alfonso. The shock was violent; and the engagement which was be- gan about noon, continued till fatigue and dark- mess parted the combatants. Five hundred Cas- tilians were extended lifeless on the field; but the loss was mutual; the victory undecided; and both armies dreaded to renew the engagement; and withdrew to their respective camps. ... " The town of Segovia, on the banks of Ara- yada, was soon after surprised by the confede- rates; but the castle in which were deposited the royal treasures still held out for the king ; and Henry received an ample compensation for the less of that town in the acquisition of the impor- tant city of Toledo. The inhabitants of Toledo had been among the first to declare for Alfonso; and they had lately repulsed the king from theirs HISTORY OF SPAIN. 393 walls; but by one of those sudden transitions, which so frequently occur in civil dissensions, they determined to return to their allegiance; they expelled the garrison of the confederates, and pro- claimed their joy on the entrance of Henry in tu- multuous acclamations. The rebels, who already laboured under no in- considerable distress from the censures of the see of Rome, could not but be highly mortified at this instance of desertion; some vigorous effort was necessary to restore the credit of their arms; but before they risked their hopes in a battle, they apparently determined to provide for the safety of their youthful leader. With a strong escort Alfonso prepared to retire to Avila; but he was not allowed to reach that place; the second night of his journey he retired to rest in perfect health, and was found dead, without any marks of vio- lence, in a few hours after. - The sudden and mysterious fate of a young prince, whose spirit and abilities were not unequal to the station he aspired to, could not fail to ex- cite suspicion. Yet the reputation of Henry has escaped free from stain ; nor has he ever been charged with promoting a death which promised him the greatest advantages. The confederates were not considered as equally guiltless ; they were supposed to have dreaded the rising genius of Alfonso ; and by poison to have blasted the WOL. I. 3 E 394 HISTORY OF SPAIN. prospect of a reign which would have controuled their factious turbulence. In the natural weak- mess of her sex, Isabella offered a fairer instrument to their ambition; yet the prudence of that prin- cess disappointed their views; and to their proffer of the crown, they heard with astonishment her answer; “that it was not theirs to bestow; but “was held by Henry according to the laws of “God and man.” Yet she concealed not her pretensions to the succession; and the revolted lords deprived of a chief, were happy to embrace any opening for negociation; the king consented to a conference; waved the claims of Joanna; ac- knowledged Isabella as the heiress to his domi- mions; and in the immediate, enjoyed the pleasing hope of future tranquillity. The peace that was established between the king and his nobles, confirmed the marquis of Villena in the post of grand-master of St. James; yet after the black ingratitude he had been guilty of, he could scarcely hope to regain his ascendancy over the mind of his master. But the feeble un- derstanding of Henry required a favourite on whom he could repose the cares of government, and he returned to his former confidence. The marriage of Isabella was the first object of the new counsels; and among a variety of pretenders, * Ferdinand, who with the title of king of Sicily, “joined as the son of the king of Arragon and Na- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 395 varre the succession of those thrones, was con- sidered as the most eligible; yet he was scarcely preferred, before the marquis of Villena plunged into new intrigues to evade the marriage ; his schemes were traversed by the archbishop of To- ledo, who on this occasion, seemed actuated by a just sense of his country's interest. He carried the princess privately to Walladolid, invited the king of Sicily, and pronounced himself the nuptial benediction; yet in his zeal, he neglected not to provide for the supremacy of the Catholic church, the present quiet of Henry, and the future inde- pendence of Castille. - Ten articles were presented by the archbishop, and subscribed by the king of Sicily, before he received the hand of Isabella. By the first, Fer- dinand engaged to acknowledge the pope as head of the church, and to maintain all ecclesiastical immunities ; by the second, to behave with re- spect to his brother-in-law Henry, and to con- form himself in all things to the accommodation that was made when he acknowledged the prin- cess for his successor. In the third, he stipulated to administer justice impartially, and not to in- fringe in any respect the laws, usages, preroga- tives, or privileges of any of the cities, towns, places, or persons in his dominions, agreeable to the oath taken by the kings of Castille, at their accession. By the fourth, he was not to alienate 396 HISTORY OF SPAIN. any town or fortress without the consent of the prin- cess. By the fifth, all orders were to be signed jointly by Ferdinand and Isabella; and no person to be admitted into the council, government, or offi- ces of state, that was not a native of Castille. By the sixth, all dignities ecclesiastical and civil were to be disposed of by the princess. By the seventh, Ferdinand was to grant a general amnesty with respect to all things which had happened in former civil wars; and was never to set up any claim or pretensions to those lands and estates which his father had possessed in Castille, and which had been given away by the crown, and were in the hands of several of the nobility. By the eighth, that the archbishops of Toledo and Seville, and the grand-master of St. James, should ever enjoy their respective ranks in the monarchy, as also all other lords and knights who have steadily adhered to the princess's party, and have contributed to se- cure to her the succession of the crown. By the ninth, that Ferdinand should reside in the domin- ions of Castille, and should make war against the Moors as soon as it was in his power; but otherwise should not take up arms without the consent of his consort; in case however, that any civil war should break out in Castille, he engaged to furnish as long as it lasted, a thousand lances from Arragon to remain during that space in the pay of the crown. And by the tenth, that over and above the sum of HISTORY OF SPAIN. 397 one thousand florins of gold, the princess shall have and enjoy the towns of Borga, Magalon, Elcha, and Carvallen, in the kingdoms of Arragon and Valencia, and Syracuse and Catanea in the kingdom of Sicily. - - . Such were the conditions dictated by the arch- bishop of Toledo, and accepted by Ferdinand; yet though ultimately beneficial, they procured not immediate peace to Castille; if Henry consi- dered Joanna as his daughter, his feelings must have been wounded by the preference which he had been obliged to give to his sister; and if con- scious of his own impotency, his pride must have been violated by a compromise that implied a tacit confession of the imposture; the marquis of Wil- lena, ever restless and intriguing, stimulated him to break the treaty which he himself had imposed; the queen, bold and vindictive, urged him to assert the right of a child who at least called him father; Henry was not capable of long resisting their counsels and importunities; he published a ma- nifesto, in which he recalled his former concessions, vindicated and confirmed by oath his belief that Joanna was his daughter, and declared her the heiress to his crown; it was opposed by a procla- mation from Ferdinand and Isabella, which warn- ed the people of Castille not to be deluded by the representations of Henry, or the artifices of his favourites; each party aspired to maintain their 398 HISTORY OF SPAIN. claim by argument, but it was by the sword alone that it could be finally decided. Two negociations of marriage for Joanna had been entered into by the marquis of Villena, and both had proved abortive ; the first was with the duke of Berri of the blood royal of France; but Lewis the eleventh, intent on his own aggrandise- ment, and unwilling to increase the power of his brother, listened with coldness to the proposal : the second was with Henry of Arragon, the son of that Henry who had seized the person of John the second, and for ten years embarrassed Castille by his pretensions to the administration; the son was not more successful than the father ; his haughty manners offended the Castilian nobility; and his thirst for power excited the jealousy of the marquis of Villena; the latter abandoned his interests; and rested his last hopes of a powerful alliance for Joanna on the king of Portugal; that monarch listened with pleasure to the proposal, and received the favourite with every mark of respect at Lisbon; but on his return, while the marquis of Villena exulted in the success of his negociations, he was attacked by a mortal disease, and expired less lamented by the people whom he had oppressed, than by the sovereign whose con- fidence he had abused. Henry himself survived his favourite, only to impart to his son the same proofs of regard as he HISTORY OF SPAIN. 399 had lavishly bestowed on the father: a slow fever had for some time preyed upon his spirits; and the approach of death was acknowledged by his physicians; he heard the sentence with greater fortitude than might have been expected from a review of his life; and his last breath declared the princess Joanna his daughter and successor; but he could not hope that his will, which had been continually opposed when he was alive, should be respected when he was dead; the majority of his subjects declared in favour of Ferdinand and Isa- bella; they were admitted into Segovia; were put into possession of the royal treasures; and were jointly proclaimed the sovereigns of Castille and Leon. - The decease of Henry did not ex- A.p. 1474, tinguish the ambitious hopes of Alfonso, *. king of Portugal; at the head of a formidable army he entered Castille, espoused the princess Joanna, and was supported in his claim to the throne by the young marquis of Villena. But at a small distance from Toro, his pretensions were decided on a field of battle; after a long struggle, the Portuguese were compelled to yield to the superior valour of the Castilians, or the skill of Ferdinand ; yet their retreat was conducted with order; and they gained their own frontiers with- out being pursued by the victors. But in the event of the day they confessed their adverse 400 History of SPAIN. fortune; the marquis of Willena submitted, and reconciled himself to Ferdinand; the less powerful malecontents followed his example; and Castille breathed at length from the calamities of civil Ferdinand had scarce established his authority over Castille, before his attention was recalled to Arragon; his aged father John still held the seeptre, but he held it with a feeble hand; famine and pestilence combined with war to depopulate his dominions ; in the early part of his reign, Lewis the eleventh had lent to him the sum of three hundred thousand crowns; and the impor- tant counties of Rousillon and Cerdagne were transferred as the security for the money advan- ced; the value of a country from which France derives a revenue exceeding an hundred thousand pounds sterling, and which contains above one hundred and eighty-eight thousand inhabitants, was early discerned by Lewis; he refused to re- store the pledge he had been trusted with, and maintained the possession of it by force; the suc- cours that Ferdinand could afford his father were few and precarious; the armies of Lewis were numerous and well disciplined; the war was not marked with any interesting occurrence; but the event of it was decisive ; and Roussillon and Cerdagne were annexed to the kingdom of France . . . . HISTORY OF SPAIN. 401 The distress of his subjects, and the ill success of his arms, might have occasioned some mortifi- cation to John ; he had already largely exceeded the common term of humanity; and at the advan- ced age of eighty-two his death might be hourly expected; he expired at Barcelona; the crown of Navarre, which he had obtained by his mar- riage with Blanch, passed to the countess of Foix, his daughter by that princess; but Arragon acknow- ledged and submitted to the pretensions of Ferdi- nand; and the union of that kingdom under the same monarch as Castille, revived the name, and established the power of modern SPAIN. VOL. I. 3 F - CHAP. X. **º- State of the neighbouring powers, when Ferdinand united the crowns of Castille and Arragon.—Of Portugal, Navarre, and Granada.-Of France.—Italy.—Germany.—And England.—Political state of Spain.—Account of the Jus- tiza, in Arragon.—Of the Holy Brotherhood.—Address of Ferdinand.—He makes peace with Portugal.—Com- mences the war with Granada.--Warious success.—Ever- tions of Ferdinand and Isabella. — Dissensions of the Moors.—Ferdinand successively reduces Ronda, Velez, and Malaga.--Domestic history of Abdallah, king of Granada.-Granada is invested by the Christians.—Con- struction of the town of Santa Fe.—Despair of the Moors. —Capitulation of Granada.-Triumphal entry of Ferdi- nand.—Description of the Alhambra.—Expulsion of the Jews.--Subsequent oppression of the Morescoes.—Pro- gress of navigation.—Discovery of the Fortunate or Ca- nary Islands by the Spaniards.-Extensive discoveries of the Portuguese.—History and character of Christopher Columbus; his idea of new countries in the west.—His proposals rejected by Genoa and Portugal.—Are at length accepted by Isabella-He sails from Palos in Andalusia. *º- W W HEN Ferdinand by marriage and succession united the kingdoms of Castille and A. D. 1479, 1492. HISTORY OF SPAIN. 403 Arragon under the name of Spain, that peninsula still contained the independent powers of Portugal, Navarre, and Granada. The former from Cape Vincent stretched along the sea coast to the mouth of the Minho; it nearly occupied the country of the warlike Lusitanians; and the loss it had sus- tained on the side of the east, was compensated by an accession of territory towards the north. From the Pyrenean mountains Navarre advanced about sixty miles in breadth to the frontiers of Castille, and extended about seventy-five in length, until bounded on the east by the province of Biscay, and on the west by the kingdom of Arragon. The kingdom of Granada for one hundred and seventy miles ranged along the shores of the Mediterran- ean; but it had gradually receded before the en- croaching spirit of Castille; and its breadth might be estimated at about seventy miles; yet narrow as were its limits, and mountainous its appearance, every deficiency was supplied, and every obstacle overcome by industry; the Moors disdained not the toils of husbandry; beneath their labours the country assumed the face of a garden; and Ferdi- nand confessed, with a sigh of envy and ambition, that the fairest district of Spain was possessed by the natural enemies of his faith and crown. It was not within the peninsula of Spain that the views of Ferdinand were confined; the neigh- bouring states of Europe claimed and partook of 404 HISTORY OF SPAIN. his attention. Recovered from the wounds which she had received in her long and repeated conflicts with England, France displayed the features of a mighty and vigorous monarch. The bloody po- licy of Lewis the eleventh, though immediately oppressive, had laid the foundation of the grandeur of his successors. He had broken the strength of the nobility, and established the power of the crown. Nine tilousand cavalry, and sixteen thou- sand infantry in regular pay, restrained within the bounds of obedience the national levity; his ad- dress had allured, or his menaces had intimidated the states to render several taxes perpetual, which had been formerly imposed only for a short time; and he had delivered the king from a precarious dependence on the will of his people. By fraud or force he had possessed himself of Burgundy, Artois, and Provence; and his recent acquisition of Roussillon and Cerdagne, pointed him out as the more peculiar object of jealousy and suspicion to Spain, From the eastern coast of Spain, the opposite shores of Italy could not but attract the notice * of Ferdinand. The fertile kingdom of Naples obeyed a bastard son of the house of Arragon, who had wrested it from that of Anjou ; yet the race of the latter was not extinct, nor had they relinquished their title to the Neapolitan crown. The count of Maine and Provence, the heir of HISTORY OF SPAIN. 405 this family, conveyed all his rights and pretensions to Lewis the eleventh and his successors; the king of Naples could not revolve without anxiety, their formidable claims, nor had he less to dread from the turbulence of his own nobility, ever prompt in arms to assert their enormous privileges, and confederate against their sovereign. In Venice, the form of government was re- publican ; a people who for safety had fled from the sword of the ferocious Attila, to the seques- tered isles of the Adriatic, and whose habitations might be doubtfully assigned to the earth or water, soon became alike familiar with both. Necessity had early compelled them to penetrate into the heart of Italy, by the secure, though laborious navigation of the rivers and inland canals; they were impelled by avarice, when they were no longer urged by want; their vessels were con- tinually increasing in size and number; and they assiduously visited all the harbours of the gulf. But the Venetian government, which had originated in a number of families, reduced by misfortune to the same level of humble poverty, had in the acqui- sition of wealth declined from its ancient simpli- city; and though its deliberative, legislative, and executive power, as calculated for the order of nobles alone might be regarded as excellent, yet if considered as formed for a numerous body of people, it must have appeared a rigid and partial 406 HISTORY OF SPAIN. aristocracy. The republic, however, rapidly ad- vanced in rank and affluence; the arts of industry and commerce were encouraged; all the nations of Europe depended on it, not only for the commo- dities of the east, which were imported in Venetian bottoms, but for various manufactures fabricated or finished with superior dexterity or elegance; and though the military genius of the citizens of Venice was naturally frigid, or was repressed by the jealousy of her nobles, yet on the sea, her peculiar element, her armaments were conducted with valour and wisdom, and augmented her glory and extended her dominion. - x The advantage of trade in sixteen successive centuries had gradually extended Florence from the rock of Faesulae to the banks of the Arno. But though the source of her prosperity was nearly the same, her constitution widely differed from that of Venice; it partook as much of democrati- cal turbulence and licenciousness, as the other of aristocratical rigour; but about the middle of the fifteenth century Cosmo of Medicis arose; and Florence beheld herself governed by one of her merchants, without arms and without a title. His wealth, his liberality, and his zeal for learning, established his pre-eminence among his fellow citi- zens. His riches were dedicated to the service of mankind; he corresponded at once with Cairo and London; and a cargo of Indian spices and Greek HISTORY OF SPAIN.” 407 books, was often imported in the same vessel. He gained such an ascendant over the affections as well as the councils of his countrymen, that though the forms of popular government were preserved, and though the various departments of administra- tion were filled by magistrates distinguished by ancient names, and elected in the usual manner, he was in reality the head of the commonwealth; his grandson Lorenzo imitated and surpassed him in generosity and literature, and at least equalled him in authority; and transmitted a considerable degree of his power to his descendants, who ruled in Florence with almost absolute sway. - Genoa had once been the rival of Venice, and disputed with her the sovereignty of the sea. The names and families of her naval commanders, Pi— sani and Doria, were familiar and illustrious throughout Europe; and their abilities supported her through a contest of one hundred and thirty years; but she was at length compelled to yield to the superior fortune or resources of her impla– cable enemy; her factions had increased as her strength diminished; and obliged her to seek for domestic peace under the protection of a foreign lord; and alternately to court the controul of the duke of Milan or the French king. Milan had in the beginning of the fourth centu- ry of the Christian aera, been exalted by the emperor of the west into the seat of government; 408 HISTORY OF SPAIN. about the middle of the sixth century it had been destroyed by the Burgundians; and three hundred thousand male inhabitants are reported to have perished by the swords of the barbarians; it had risen from its ashes, had resisted the authori- ty, and been overthrown by the arms of the emperor, Frederick the first. Yet its depressure was but transient; and it soon again reared its head, though with diminished splendour; it had scarce suffered more from the rage of foreign ene- mies than from domestic faction; the chief power amidst successive contests had imperceptibly been attained by the Wisconti family, who in recom- pense for their attachment to the imperial interest, had been created dukes of Milan; Valentina, a daughter of that house, had married Lewis, duke of Orleans, brother of Charles the sixth ; in their marriage contract, which the pope confirmed, it had been stipulated, that upon failure of heirs male in the family of Wisconti, the duchy of Mi- lan should descend to the posterity of Valentina and the duke of Orleans. That event took place; and Charles, duke of Orleans, urged his right to the crown, founded on the contract of his mother Valentina. It was disputed by Alfonso, king of Naples, who claimed under the will of the late duke; and by the emperor, who contended that upon the extinction of male issue in the family of Wisconti, the fief returned to the superior lord, HISTORY OF SPAIN. 409 i and was re-annexed to the empire. Both preten- sions were rejected by the citizens of Milan them- selves, who, enamoured of freedom, aspired to es- tablish a republic; but the jarring interests of each party were favourable to the ambition of Francis Sforza, the natural son of Jacomuzzo Sforza, whose courage and abilities had raised him to be a distinguished leader of those bands which made war a trade, and hired themselves out to different states. Francis succeeded his father in the com- mand of the martial adventurers who had followed his standard; he had married a natural daughter of the late duke of Milan; and this claim, slight in itself, became formidable from his address and va- lour. After a long struggle he ascended the ducal throne; the defects of his title were forgotten in the admiration of his abilities and virtues, and he was permitted to bequeath in peace his sceptre to his son. Rome, after having successively submitted to the rapacity of the Goths, the Huns, and the Vandals, trembled at the hostile approach of the Lombards. Famine and pestilence conspired with the rage of the Barbarians against the ancient mistress of the world; her streets were deserted; her edifices exposed to ruin and decay; and the mouldering fabrics were easily overthrown by in- undations, tempests, and earthquakes; the imperial magistrates had abandoned the scene of desolation; WOL. I. 3 G 410 HISTORY OF SPAIN. and towards the close of the sixth century, the reins of government dropped into the hands of her bishop. The name of Gregory must ever be dear to the Vatican; during more than thirteen years that his pontificate lasted, the misery of his flock was alleviated by his incessant care ; he intro- duced order and plenty again into the capital; he deserved and obtained the name of The Father of his Country; he directed the operations of the provincial troops; and repelled by his arms, or diverted by his address, the savage Lombards. The bishops of Italy, and the adjacent islands, acknowledged the Roman pontiff as their special metropolitan; and during several ages, the see of Rome received and claimed no other mark of re- spect ; but towards the beginning of the ninth century, their pretensions to infallibility, as the successors of St. Peter, were revealed ; and they asserted their power as heads of the church to universal jurisdiction. Their authority was sup- ported by the superstition and credulity of man- kind; in all ecclesiastical controversies, their de- cisions were received as oracles of truth; nor was the plenitude of their power confined solely to what was spiritual. They dethroned monarchs; disposed of crowns; absolved subjects from the obedience due to their sovereigns; and laid king- doms under interdicts. Their success inspired them with insolence; they forgot the sanctity of HISTORY OF SPAIN. 411 their situation; and engaged as principles, or aux- iliaries, in every war that was kindled in Europe; the surrounding nations could not remain blind to their inordinate ambition; the veneration for their sacred character began to abate; and towards the close of the fourteenth century, was nearly extin- guished. But while their spiritual authority, declined, their temporal dominion advanced; and the same turbulent spirit of intrigue that proved fatal to the first was propitious to the last. From the do- nation of Constantine they pleaded their claim to the greatest part of Italy; but the fictitious deed has been exposed by the pen of Laurentius Valla; and it was from the hasty liberality of Pepin and Charlemagne, that we may date their pretensions to a territory beyond the walls of their city; they derived more considerable advantages from the credulity of the Norman adventurers who conquer- ed Naples, and from the superstition of the coun- tess Matilda; and the ecclesiastical state was gra- dually extended over the Campagna, and embraced several of the adjacent cities. . . - One general system prevailed through the Ita- lian powers; and while they engaged in perpetual and endless negociation to adjust the interests of the different states, their contests in the field, when they had recourse to arms, were decided in mock battles, by innocent and bloodless victories. # 412 HISTORY OF SPAIN. When the danger became more imminent, instead of their own subjects, they had recourse to the Condottieri, or leaders of bands, who readily em- braced and fought for the party, which allured them by the most ample proffer of pay or plunder. - - - Of hardier mould, the Germans still retained the traces of their ancient ferocity and martial spirit; when the successors of Charlemagne relax- ed from the vigour of his administration, every baron exercised a sovereign jurisdiction within his own domains; every duke and count aspired to in- dependence; and towards the middle of the thir- teenth century, the imperial authority had dwin- dled into an empty title. Rodolph of Hapsburgh, the founder of the house of Austria, had been elec- ted emperor; not that he might re-establish order, but because his territories were too inconsiderable to excite the jealousy of the German princes: several of his successors were raised to the throne from the same motive; and almost every preroga- tive was wrested from their feeble hands. The capacity of Frederic of Austria, the third emperor of that name, was far from vigorous; he listened with terror to the progress of the Turks, who had planted the standard of Mahomet on the walls of Constantinople; he trembled for the safety of his capital; and his embarrassments were increased by an unsuccessful war, which he had waged in HISTORY OF SPAIN. 413 hopes of the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia. Unfortunate abroad, he was despised at home; and, during his reign, the calamities of the Ger- man empire rapidly multiplied; the causes of dis- sension among its numerous members were infinite; and these gave rise to perpetual private wars, which were carried on with all the violence that usually accompanies resentment, when unrestrained by superior authority. Rapine, outrage, and ex- action, became universal; the cities united in a league, to check the pride and oppression of the nobility ; the nobility formed confederacies to maintain tranquillity among their own order; Germany was divided into several circles, in each of which, a provincial and partial jurisdiction was established, to supply the place of a public tribu- nal ; but the remedy was ineffectual ; and the empire was still involved in darkness and anarehy, when on the death of Frederic, his son Maximi- lian succeeded to the imperial crown, who had been previously elected king of the Romans, and who, by his marriage with the daughter of Charles of Burgundy, had acquired Flanders, Franche- Comte, and the Low Countries. - The arms and victories of Henry and Edward in France, had diffused throughout Europe the name and renown of the English ; their valour had been immediately felt in Spain in the revo- lution which restored Peter the Cruel ; but the 414 HISTORY OF SPAIN. minority of Henry the sixth had been fatal to those conquests which had been obtained by the mature policy and courage of his father : and in France, Calais alone had stemmed the returning torrent which had overwhelmed the fortunes of the English. During more than twenty years, England herself had been distracted by the rival pretensions of the houses of York and Lancaster; and though the ascendancy of the former seemed established in the reign of Edward the fourth, the the embers of civil war were rather concealed than extinguished. . . . . . . Such was the situation of the principal powers of Europe, when Ferdinand united the crowns of Castille and Arragon; and though his territories were considerable, and the general disposition of his neighbours pacific, yet his ambitious views were contracted by the limits which were placed to his authority; the privileges of the nobility in Castille; the immunities of several of the cities; and the influence they possessed in the Cortes, or assembly of the States, restrained the will of the sovereign ; the military orders of St. James, Ca- latrava, and Alcantara, rivalled him in power; and although in Arragon the form of gayernment was monarchial, the genius of it was purely re- publican. The real authority was vested in the parliament, which consisted of four different de- scriptions. The nobility of the first rank; the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 415 equestrian order, or nobility of the second class; the representatives of the cities and towns; and the dignitaries of the church, with the deputies of the inferior clergy. No law could pass in this as- sembly, without the assent of every single mem- ber; peace, war, and revenue, depended on their resolutions; and they claimed the privilege of in- specting every department of justice and adminis- tration, and of redressing all grievances. Accor- ding to a regulation introduced at the commence- ment of the fourteenth century, the Cortes was convoked once in two years; after it was assem- bled, the king had no right to prorogue or dis- solve it without its own consent; and the session continued forty days. . . Besides her parliament, Arragon possessed an- other institution, peculiar to herself, in her justiza, or supreme judge; this officer was chosen by the king from the second class of nobility ; but he could be removed only by the voice of the Cortes. He acted as the protector of the people, and the comptroller of the prince ; his person was sacred ; his power and jurisdiction were almost unlimited; he was the supreme interpreter of the laws; had a title to review all the royal proclamations and patents; by his sole authority, could exclude any of the king's ministers from the conduct of affairs; could call them to answer for their mal-adminis- tration; and he was himself solely accountable 416 HISTORY OF SPAIN. to the Cortes, for the manner in which he executed his high office. It was through him, the Arra- gonese pronounced their oath of allegiance; and the words of it sufficiently proclaim their jealousy of the throne, and their love of independence: “We,” said the justiza to the king, in the name of his high-spirited barons, “who are each of us “as good as you, and who are altogether more “powerful than you, promise obedience to your “government, if you maintain our rights and “liberties; but not otherwise.” Nor were these lofty expressions a vain form; but according to their oath, they established it as a fundamental article in their constitution, that if the king should violate their privileges, it was lawful for the peo- ple to disclaim him as their sovereign, and to elect another (even a heathen) in his place. Had Ferdinand presumed publicly to have ex- alted the power of the crown at the expence of the people, he most likely must have fallen in the unequal contest; but he proceeded silently to un- dermine that strength, which he dared not openly attack; his profound sagacity in concerting his measures, his persevering industry in conducting them, and his uncommon address in carrying them into execution, fitted him admirably for an un- dertaking which required all these talents. He prevailed on the knights of St. James to place him at the head of that order; and when his reputa- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 41% tion was established by the success of the Moorish war, he influenced by threats or promises, the fraternities of Calatrava and Alcantara to follow the example of that of St. James, and to elect as their chiefs, Isabella and himself. Innocent the eighth, and Alexander the sixth, confirmed the choice by the sanction of the papal authority; subsequent pontiffs rendered the masterships per- petual in the crown; and a new accession of power and revenue was imparted to the kings of Spain. - Another engine in the hands of Ferdinand was the Holy Brotherhood; that name had been appro- priated to an association, which, about the middle of the thirteenth century, had been formed by the cities of Arragon, and in which they were soon after imitated by those of Castille. The Holy Brotherhood exacted a certain contribution from each of the associated towns ; they levied a con- siderable body of forces in order to protect tra- vellers, and to pursue criminals; they appointed judges who opened their courts in various parts of the kingdom ; whoever was guilty of mur- der, robbery, or any act that violated the public peace, was seized by their troops, was carried before judges of their nomination, who, without paying any regard to the exclusive and sovereign jurisdiction which the lord of the place might claim, tried and condemned the crimi- WOL. I. 3 H 418 HISTORY of SPAIN. nal. But this salutary institution, which restored, with the prompt and impartial administration of justice, internal order and tranquillity, was re- garded with peculiar jealousy by the nobles, whose castles were too often the seats of oppression, and who complained of this new fraternity, as an en- croachment on one of their most valuable privi- leges; they remonstrated against it in a high tone; and on some occasions refused to grant any aid to the crown unless it were abolished; Ferdi- nand was sensible, however, not only of the good effects of the Holy Brotherhood, with respect to the police of his kingdoms, but perceived its ten- dency to abridge, and at length to annihilate, the territorial jurisdiction of the nobility; whenever attacked, he invariably protected it; and when supported by the whole force of royal authority, the nobles of Spain found themselves incapable of resisting its weight. Yet whatever advantages Ferdinand might de- rive from these measures, he could never hope, with- out a numerous and obedient army, to establish the dignity of the crown on a broad and solid basis; and he was conscious it was only in a long and successful war, that the troops of Spain could be trained to discipline, and accustomed to respect the voice of their sovereign. On his accession to the throne of Arragon, he had been desirous of ter- minating his differences with Portugal, by an equal HISTORY OF SPAIN. 4 19 and honourable treaty; that court consented to re- sign all pretensions on Castille, and to relinquish the hand of the princess Joanna; the articles were finally signed at Alcacovas ; and Ferdinand at peace with his Christian neighbours, revolved in the Moorish kingdom of Granada a more popular object of hostilities. The sceptre of Granada was at that critical mo- ment held by Abul Hossein, who in his youth had been distinguished by his valour, and in his age was not found deficient in spirit. Though embarrassed by the pretensions of his son Abdalla, who was im- patient of sovereignty, he declined not the impend- ing contest; and to the demand of tribute that was urged by Ferdinand, boldly replied, “That in the “same place where they coined money at Granada, “ they forged arms also to defend it.” The an- swer sunk deep in the mind of Ferdinand ; and no sooner was he delivered by his treaty with Portugal from all apprehensions on that side of his domi- nions, than he encouraged the marquis of Cadiz to invade the Moorish territories; the inroad of that Castilian nobleman was regarded by the Moors as the act of his sovereign; they flew to arms to avenge it; they surprised the town of Zahara on the confines of Andalusia; placed a strong garrison in the citadel, which arose on a craggy rock, and was deemed impregnable; and swept away the inhabitants into captivity. The capture of Zahara 420 HISTORY OF SPAIN. was retaliated by that of Alhama, which is situated about twenty-five miles from Granada, and is still celebrated for the salubrity of its baths. A Spanish officer had remarked the weakness and negligence of the garrison; he imparted his observations to the marquis of Cadiz ; and a select detachment marched under his cºnduct, scaled the walls of the castle, and massacred the slender band that had been left to guard it; the citizens in the town be- low still continued to defend themselves; but their tumultuous valour was ineffectual against the ar- dour and rapacity of the assailants; three thousand who escaped the sword became the slaves of the Christian victors, and expiated by their sufferings the fate of the inhabitans of Zahara. --- These desultory enterprises were only the pre- lºqe to a more serious conflict, for which the Moors and Christians anxiously prepared themselves; the forces of Granada were first in motion; the royal standard was unfurled; and Abul Hossein rushed forwards at the head of three thousand cavalry and forty thousand infantry to recover Alhama. The reputation of Ferdinand was equally concerned to protect it; the zeal of his nobility enabled him to assemble a numerous army; and the garrison of Alhama had scarce felt the calamities of a siege, before they beheld the banners of their sovereign advancing to their relief; Abul Hossein dreaded to encounter his adversary in the open field; yet HISTORY OF SPAIN. 421 twice he resumed the enterprise, and as often aban- doned it on the approach of Ferdinand. Nor were the Christians exempt in their turn from lamenting the vicissitudes of war; and the king of Spain after beholding the bravest cº his followers perish 'compelled to retire with disgrace from the walls of Loxa. The repulse only served to stimulate Ferdinand to more vigorous efforts; his ardour was partici- pated or surpassed by Isabella; the influence of superstition was called to their assistance; and the people readily believed the moment was arrived which had been so long predicted, when the disci- ples of Mahomet were to be expelled from Spain; every province displayed the busy face of war; every port resounded with naval armaments; for- midable armies were levied, and numerous sq 1- drons equipped; and the supplies which were granted with liberality by the states, were manag- ed with economy by Isablla. Yet though their resources were far inferior, and divided by domes- tic contention, the resistance of the Moors was by no means inglorious. Abdalla the son of Hossein had seized the capital of Granada, and rejected the authority of his father. He was impatient to sanc-. tion his unnatural revolt by some signal and splen- did achievements. As a strong detachment of the Christians under the marquis of Cadiz climbed the steep mountains of Axarguira, in the neighbour- in the fruitless attemp), was 422 HISTORY OF SPAIN. hood of Malaga, they were suddenly assailed by an ambuscade of the Moors, who arose from their craggy lurking-places, and rushed to the attack with dissonant shouts. The ranks of the Spaniards were already disordered by their march over bro- ken ground; the soldiers were confounded by the unexpected charge; an instantaneous panic was communicated to every bosom; and though the marquis of Cadiz by the swiftness of his horse esca- ped through secret paths, the greater part of his followers perished by the sword of the infidels. The success of his countrymen elated Abdalla, he marched from Granada, and advanced without be- holding an enemy to the frontiers of Andalusia. Hut he was not suffered to retreat with the same impunity; the count of Cabra, with a select band of cavalry flew to chastise his temerity; a thick mist concealed their approach, which was dispelled by the sun, when the infidels beheld with terror the Christian squadron ready to charge their rear. They were themselves incumbered with spoil; they were ignorant of the number of their adversaries; and the error into which they were betrayed extin- guished all confidence in their leader; each man was only folicious for his personal safety; and, the moment that the trumpets of the enemy sounded, the rout began. Amidst dismay and slaughter Abdalla was not more conspicuous for the splen- dour of his arms than for his daring valous; two HISTORY OF SPAIN. 42:3 horses were slain under him in fruitless efforts to animate and rally his trembling and broken troops; but the day was irrecoverably lost; the prince him- self was gradually surrounded and oppressed ; his golden armour adorned with jewels was the prize for which the crowd contended ; and Abdalla would probably have fallen a victim to the avarice of the soldiers, had he not been rescued from their hands by the count de Cabra, anxious to preserve the most glorious mark of his victory. In Cordova, Ferdinand and Isabella received their royal captive; and Abdalla entered in chains that city which had been the seat of his ancestors' power and magnificence. Yet he was not suffered to regret long the loss of freedom ; Abul Hos- sein exulted in the disgrace of his rebellious son, and delivered from the immediate dread of a for- midable competitor, prepared to continue the war with increase of vigour. To distract the measures of the Moors it was resolved to release Abdalla; and that prince subscribed to whatever terms were proposed as the price of liberty. He consented to become the vassal of Spain, and to pay an annual tribute of twelve thousand crowns; but the condi- tions which had been imposed in the hour of sub- jection, were broken on the return of freedom; nor did Abdalla blush at a violation which was sanctioned by the precepts of Mahomet. Yet the advantages of restoring the Moorish 424 HISTORY OF SPAIN. prince to his countrymen, were such as Ferdinand and his council had foreseen. While the Christian arms, in four campaigns, successively recovered Zahara, reduced Ronda, Velez, and Malaga ; and displayed their victorious banners on the banks of the Rio Verde, and the shores of the Me- diterranean, the strength of the Moors was consu- med in a wide and bloody civil war. Abul Hos- sein resisted the pretensions of his son Abdalla, but he was forced to yield to the superior fortune or address of his brother Mohammed el Zagal, whose ambition was not restrained by the guilt of fratricide. Yet on the throne Mohammed was instructed how ill he could depend on the fidelity of his subjects; the ties of society were dissolved; the regal title had lost its weight; and the Moors were eager for new revolutions. Abdalla with a chosen band surprised or was admitted into Grana- da; and the reign of Mohammed was confined to the southern corner of Andalusia, which is watered by the Rio Verde. The strong fortress of Baza was besieged by the forces of Spain; in a despe- rate sally the garrison indulged themselves in an use- less carnage of their enemies; but it was the strug- gle of expiring independence; Mohammed him- self was detested among the Moors as a cruel usurper, and dreaded by the Spaniards as an ac- tive and enterprising foe ; the few partners of his hopes, or associates of his crimes, were industrious HISTORY of SPAIN. 42.5 to secure themselves by a timely submission; Gua- dix and Almeria opened their gates to Ferdinand ; after a gallant defence of eight months, Baza was obliged to capitulate ; and Mohammed, stript of his dominions, from the just revenge of his nephew appealed to the generosity of the Chris- tians; an ample estate was granted to him by Fer- dinand for the support of his dignity; he was pre- vailed upon to employ his valour in the field against his countrymen; and the plains of Granada were ravaged by his followers; yet the applauses of his new allies, could not drown the reproaches of his mind; he awakened to the infamy of waging war against his Moslem brethren; and he solicited and obtained permission to seek a retreat in Africa, with the Moors who preferred their ancient faith to their native habitations. Whatever might be the exultation of Ab- dalla at the abdication and retreat of Moham- med, it was alloyed by a review of his own dis. tress and danger. He had been besieged by the Chrstians within the walls of Loxa ; and though in repeated sallies, his valour had been displayed, his fortune had not been changed ; covered with wounds, the honourable testimonies of his intre- pidity, he had been compelled to sign a capitu- lation which delivered Loxa to the enemies of his faith, and confessed himself once more their vassal ; he was permitted to retire to &ranada ; W' () I. I. :; I 426 HISTORY OF SPAIN. and it was not long before that last retreat was as- sailed by his enemies. The conquest of Granada has been adorned by the romantic fancy of Dryden; the circumstances on which he founded his play have been collected by an ingenious modern traveller; and though per- haps they command not our belief, they admirably illustrate the spirit and manners of the age. The most powerful families in the reign of Abdalla were the Abencerrages and Alabeces, the Zegris and Gomeles. High above the rest towered the Abencerrages, unequalled in gallantry, magnifi- cence, and chivalry : of these Albin Hamet stood deservedly the foremost in the favour of his so- vereign. His influence excited the envy of the Zegris and Gomeles, and to accomplish his ruin, they descended to the blackest artifice. An insi- dious villain of the race of Zegri, availed himself of his intimacy with the king to insinuate a dark tale of treason and adultery ; he affirmed the Abencerrages to be ready to rise in arms; and as- sured the monarch, that in the gardens of the pa- lace of Alhambra, he had surprised Hamet in wanton dalliance with the queen. The story found ready admission into a jealous bosom ; and the house of Abencerrage was doomed to destruc- tion. They were summoned successively to at- tend the king in the court of Lions; and no sooner was each unhappy victim admitted within HISTORY OF SPAIN. 427 the walls than he was seized by the Zegris and beheaded. Thirty-six of the noblest had already perished, when the bloody perfidy was revealed by a page who had escaped after witnessing his master's execution. The news was rapidly circu- lated; all Granada flew to arms; and the streets were deluged with the blood of the contending fac- tions. The authority or address of Musa, a bas- tard brother of the king, prevailed on them to sus- pend their rage; and to the chief of his nation Ab- dalla explained the source of his conduct; the con- spiracy of the Abencerrages, and the adultery of the queen. At the same time he solemnly pro- nouced the sentence of the latter; and she was to be delivered alive to the flames in thirty days, if she did not produce four knights to vindicate in arms her innocence against four of her accusers. The bravest warriors of Granada were emulous to enter the list in her defence; but it was to a Chris- tian sword the royal criminal entrusted her cause. She conveyed a letter to Don Juan de Chacon, lord of Carthagena, and invoked him by the gene- rous duties of knighthood to become her champion, and to bring with him three valiant friends. The answer of Chacon assuaged her fears, and assured her that he too highly valued the honour she had conferred on him to be absent at the hour of trial. On the fatal day the populace accused the negli- gence of their queen, who had not named her de- 428 HISTORY OF SPAIN. fenders ; Mūsa, Azarque, and Almoradi, the judges of the eombat, intreated her in vain to ac- cept their serviees; she reposed with security on the Castikian faith, and descended with a firm step from the Alhambra to the scene of encounter ; the Hists were prepared ; the trumpets of the Zegri sounded; and from eight in the morning till two at noon, their defiance was unanswered ; but when the anxiety of the multitude was increased to the highest pitch, and even the confidence of the Queen was shaken, a shout of transport burst from the crowd; four horsemen, armed after the manner of the Turks, entered the square; one of them requested permission to address the queen ; and as he knelt before her, he let drop the letter she had written to Don Juan ; she instantly ac- knowledged her Christian champions, and de- elared her willingness to rest her innocence on their valour and success. With Don Juan, the duke of Arcos, Don Alonzo de Aguillar, and Don Ferdinand de Cordova shared the glory and danger of the romantic and perilous adventure. On the signal, they furiously spurred their coursers against their adversaries, and three of the Zegri were instantly overthrown and extended lifeless on the plain ; the fourth, the traitor himself who had forged the falsehood, maintained a more ob- stimate struggle; but he sunk at length, covered with wounds, at the foot of Don Ferdinand ; and HISTORY OF SPAIN. 429 his last breath confessed his treason, and the in- nocence of the queen. Amidst the acclamation of the multitude, and the congratulation of the Moorish chiefs, the victorious knights retired without disclosing their nation or quality; but though Abdalla in tears repented his credulity, he could not efface the resentment, or change the settled purpose of the queen ; she renounced for ever his society, and sought a retreat in the king- doms of Fez or Morocco ; a similar indignation was felt by the Abencerrages ; they quitted Spain ; and Granada was deprived of her ablest champions at the moment that they were most necessary to her defence. -- - Whatever might be the domestic griefs of Ab- dalla, he was allowed but a short time to indulge them : he had scarce received the intelligence of the reduction of Baza, and the submission of Mo- hammed, before he was embarrassed by the pre- sence of the ambassadors of Ferdinand, who de- manded in the name of their master the surrender of Granada. In many a bloody encounter Ad- dalla had experienced his own inferiority; in pro- longing the contest he was probably destitute of hope; and however rigorous, he would have gladly subscribed any conditions which would have pre- served the Moors of Granada as a people. But the decent pride of a prince was still cherished in adversity; nor could he sign without a struggle, 430 HISTORY OF SPAIN. the final extinction of a kingdom, which had flourished beneath the government of the Moslems for above seven hundred years. His answer re- vealed his fallen state; he acknowledged his obli- gations and engagements to Ferdinand ; but he prudently eluded them, under the pretence, that he was no longer master of his own capital, and that on the first intimation of the treaty, the indignation of the Moors would be fatal to his life. . Addalla flattered not himself that any reply could divert the purpose of Ferdinand; he pre- pared for war; and in her prosperity, the king- dom of Granada would not have been unequal to the contest. Thirty cities, and ninety-seven for- tified towns, were once included within the limits of her jurisdiction ; and a tribute of seven hundred thousand crowns in gold, was not only sufficient for the support of a large standing army, but might have allured the rapacious tribes of Africa to have crossed the sea in her defence. But when Abdalla dismissed the ambassadors of Ferdinand, the kingdom of Granada was confined to her walls or to the adjacent plain; and of four hundred thousand inhabitants, which in her most flourishing state those walls contained, scarce one hundred thousand remained to share the danger or increase the calamities of a siege. Yet these were inflamed by sullen despair and religious fanaticism; the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 431 first taught them to die; the last promised af- ter death, paradise, the sacred reward of the faithful. For that reward, they were not permitted long to sigh in vain; and the ardour of Ferdinand and Isabella, to plant the standard of Christ on the last retreat of the Mahometans of Spain, was communicated to their subjects. The Cortes and principal cities of Castille and Arragon contri- buted with alacrity to the glorious enterprise; their liberality was emulated by the clergy, de- sirous of signalizing their zeal in a cause conse- crated by religion ; an army of seventy thousand soldiers, whose valour had been already approved, and discipline confirmed in repeated conflicts with the infidels, marched beneath the conduct of Fer- dinand himself. They were animated by the presence of Isabella ; and the chivalry of Spain, who admired her manly spirit, were impatient to merit her approbation; as they moved along, they laid waste the fertile plains of Granada; and in the ninth year from the commencement of the Moorish war, they incamped beneath the walls of the devoted city. - On the banks of the Xenil and the Dauro, and at the extremity of a pleasant and fertile vale, the city of Granada occupies a strong and commodious station; but in a contest where the forces were so unequal, neither her natural position, nor the en- 432 HISTORY OF SPAIN. thusiasm of her citizens, could preserve her inde- pendence; the despair of the Moors, repeatedly precipitated them against the lines of the be- seigers; but their sallies, the effusions of rage and fanaticism, were more frequently fatal to them- selves than their adversaries; the Spaniards car- ried on their approaches with caution and regu- larity ; and one incident alone served transiently to revive and finally to confound the hopes of the infidels ; as Isabella beguiled the hours of the night in reading, her taper, negligently placed, involved in an instant her apartment in flames; she escaped from the fire; but it was rapidly com- municated to the camp, which was constructed of huts thatched with reeds or straw. On the first alarm, Ferdinand half dressed mounted on horse- back, and flew with the cavalry he could hastily assemble, to repulse the attempts of the besieged ; his firm posture awed the Moors; and they were content with observing the conflagration. But the misfortune served only to stimulate Isabella to a new undertaking ; and she determined to provide against a similar accident in future. Two long and broad streets were traced in the form of a cross; the neighbouring quarries supplied plenty of stone, and the work was facilitated by the skill and labour of the pioneers; instead of a camp a city arose; from the piety of its royal foundress, it obtained the name of Santa Fe, or Holy Faith; HISTORY OF SPAIN. 433 and its construction sufficiently revealed the per- severance and resolution of the besiegers. Many an anxious look was cast by the unhappy citizens of Granada towards the coast of Africa; but the Mahometan kings of Fez and Morocco were too intent on each others destruction to prop the sinking fortunes of their brethren in Spain; and the famine which raged through the city was aggravated by the plenty which flowed into the camp. Assailed by the sword, and exasperated by hunger, the Moors abandoned themselves to all the horrors of despair; they crowded round the tombs of their ancestors, and invoked their assist- ance; they filled the moschs with their cries, and alternately deprecated the wrath, or blasphemed the name of their prophet; thence starting to arms, they issued tumultuously from the gates, and rushed against the works of the besiegers; but Ferdinand could rely on the strength of his fortifications; he patiently awaited the effects of famine; nor exposed his soldiers to the headstrong fury of the infidels. Disappointed of a glorious, they returned to the terrors of a lingering death; they surrounded the Alhambra, menaced the life of their sovereign, and pursued him with exe- crations as the author of their miseries. At length the tempest seemed to have exhaust- ed its force; the multitude, oppressed by fatigue, sunk into a momentary silence; and the transient WQL. I. 3 K 434 HISTORY OF SPAIN. calm was improved by Abdalla, to obtain all that he could now hope for, an honourable capitula- tion. Ferdinand was too desirous to secure his triumph to hesitate on the terms; the articles were formally ratified by an oath; the Moorish king consented to surrender his palaces and capi- tal; to do homage, and swear allegiance to the victor; to set at liberty all Christian slaves with- out ransom; and to deliver five hundred of the principal inhabitants as securities for the punctual execution of the treaty. In return, Ferdinand engaged to protect the vanquished in the posses- sion of their arms, their horses, and their estates; to preserve their moschs inviolate, and allow them the free exercise of their religion; to govern them according to their own laws, and to choose from among themselves their magistrates ; to abate during the term of three years their taxes, and never to impose heavier than those which they had been subject to, under their former kings; and to provide shipping for all who should wish to dispose of their lands, and to retire with their effects to Africa. - If humanity could not influence Ferdinand, po- licy at least prompted him to alleviate the distress of a people, who were so speedily to become his subjects; and no sooner were the hostages deli- vered than plenty was poured into the famished Acity. Relieved from the immediate terrors of a HISTORY OF SPAIN. 435 slow and painful death, the concern of the Moors revived for the honour of their nation and the sanctity of their faith. A wild enthusiast re- kindled the rage of the multitude, his voice was heard through the streets denouncing the indigna- tion of Mahomet, and menacing with the flames of hell those who impiously treated with the fol- lowers of Christ; a motley group of twenty thou- sand fanatics obeyed his summons, and besieged the gates of the Alhambra; Abdalla could no longer command, and the frantic insurgents de- rided his intreaties; but they trembled at the menace of Ferdinand; the king of Spain threat- ened to intercept all further supplies, and to avenge on the hostages their guilt. They were awakened by the stern admonition to a sense of their forlorn condition; the last murmur of resist- ance expired, and they submitted to the will of their conqueror. It was on the second day of January, in the year fourteen hundred and ninety-two, that Fer- dinand and Isabella entered in triumph the pro- strate city of Granada; as they advanced towards the Alhambra they were met by Abdalla, accom- panied by fifty horse ; the Moorish prince alight- ed from his courser, pronounced with a dejected countenance and tremulous voice, the degrading words, “We are your slaves, invincible mo- “narch; we deliver up this city and kingdom to 436 HISTORY OF SPAHN. * “your clemency and moderation.” He would have fallen at the feet of his lord and master, but he was prevented by Ferdinand, whose spirit was neither moved by adulation, nor capable of ge- nerosity ; he promised the royal suppliant a safe retreat and an income adequate to his dignity; but Abdalla could not forget he had once been king ; the presence of the victor must have been irksome to him ; he solicited and obtained leave to retire to Africa. As from a neighbouring hill he cast a last look on his palace and capital, a tor- rent of tears proclaimed the anguish of his soul; his grief was reproved by the indignant reply of his mother, the sultaness Ayxa, “ Thou dost well to “weep like a woman for that kingdom which “thou knewest not how to die for like a man.” / The inmost recesses and glories of the Alham- bra were thrown open to the eyes of Ferdinand; as in the pride of victory he passed through the gates of judgment, the Christian chief might have been instructed by the humble piety of the Mus- sulman; and the frequent inscription on the walls, there is no conqueror but God, might have checked the insolence of prosperity; but the moment of success is seldom propitious to admonition ; and it is not probable that the instability of his own for- tune and the fallen state of Abdalla recurred to the mind of the victor, while he gazed on those won- ders which have resisted the rage of time, and still command the admiration of the traveller, HISTORY OF SPAIN. 437 The exterior of the Alhambra presents a rough and irregular pile of buildings, which forms a striking contrast to the order and elegance within. Through a simple and narrow gate, the spectator is conducted to a series of beauties which almost realize the fabulous tales of the Genii. The bath, the first object which strikes his sight, con- sists of an oblong square with a deep basin of clear water in the middle ; two ſlights of marble steps leading down to the bottom; on each side a parterre of flowers, and a row of orange trees. The court is encircled with a peristile paved with marble; the arches bear upon very slight pillars, in proportions and style different from all the re- gular orders of architecture. The ceilings and walls are incrustated with fret work in stucco, so minute and intricate, that the most patient draughtsman would find it difficult to follow it unless he made himself master of the general plan. The former are gilt or painted; and time has not faded the colours, though they are constantly ex- posed to the air; the lower part of the latter is Mosaic, disposed in fantastic knots and festoons; a work new, exquisitely finished, and exciting the most agreeable sensations. * From the bath a second door opens into the court of the lions, an hundred feet in length, and fifty in breadth, environed with a colonade seven feet broad on the sides, and ten at the end; the \ s 438 HISTORY OF SPAIN. roof and gallery are supported by slender columns of virgin marble, fantastically adorned ; and in the centre of the court are the statues of twelve lions, which bear upon their backs a large basin, out of which rises a lesser. A volume of water, thrown up, falls again into the bason, passes through the beasts, and issues out of their mouths into a large reservoir, whence it is communicated to the other apartments. These apartments are decorated with whatever the art of the age could invent or commerce could supply. The floors glitter with marble; the walls and the windows are enriched with Mosaic; and through the latter the rays of the sun gleam with a variety of light and tints on the former; the air is perpetually refreshed by fountains; and the double roof equally excludes the extremes of heat and cold; from every opening, shady gardens of aro- matic trees, beautiful hills, and fertile plains meet the eye; nor is it to be wondered that the Moors still regret the delights of Granada, and still offer up their prayers for the recovery of that city, which they deem a terrestrial paradise. While Ferdinand gazed with admiration on his new conquests, his bigoted mind revolved a scheme equally injurious to their interests and his own. In almost every age and country, the Jews have been the objects of contempt and persecu- tion; yet in oppression that uhhappy race have HISTORY OF SPAIN. 439 continually multiplied; and their address in pe- cuniary negociations has not been more advanta- geous to themselves, than to the government in which they have been tolerated. But the under- standing had not yet burst from the shackles of bigotry; and the fifteenth century was still dark- ened by religious prejudice; no sooner had Fer- dinand celebrated his triumph than he command- ed all the Jews who would not embrace the Christian faith, to quit his dominions within six months. Their attachment to the law of Moses was superior to every other consideration, and the effects they could conceal from the vigilant rapacity of the conqueror, they transported with them into Africa. In Tunis and Algiers they preserved their peculiar rites and unsocial man- ners; and have gradually increased in number and riches, under the most arbitrary and sangui- nary government. - - If the Jews accused the humanity, the Moors might impeach the faith of Ferdinand and his sucessors. Every article of the capitulation was in its turn eluded or openly violated; and they were reduced to the alternative of renounc- ing the koran, or abandoning their native coun- try. About seventy years after the taking of Granada they were driven into revolt by the ri- gour of administration; as they acted without , al- lies and almost without concert, they were after 440 HYSTORY OF SPAIN. a bloody struggle of above two years subdued. And at the commencement of the seventeenth century, their doom was finally signed by Philip the third. Every person of Moorish extraction, without exception, was commanded under the se- verest. penalties to retire out of Spain; the order in appearance was punctually obeyed; yet an edict in the beginning of the eighteenth century, assures us that several preferred their native soil, though with the sword suspended over their heads. About that period a fresh persecution was kindled by the breath of the inquisition; the wretched remnant of the Moorish race was driven into exile, and their effects which were estimated at twelve millions of crowns, were confiscated. From the conquest of Granada by Ferdinand and Isabella, to the present time, the joint num- bers of the Jews and Moors, who have been ba- nished or sacrificed to the bigotry and rigour of the Spanish government, are supposed to have amounted to two millions of persons. The loss of so many industrious hands has been severely felt; and the traveller who beholds the present state of Granada, can scarcely credit her ancient prospe- rity. Instead of luxuriant plantations and vene- rable forests, the eye is assailed by black and bar- ren wastes; and it is only in the massy ruins which are scattered over the hills, that her former magnificence can be traced. : |HISTORY OF SPAIN, 441 But to an inaccurate observer, the detriment which Spain sustained by the expulsion of the Moors, was compensated by an event extraordi- nary as it was important to Europe. The disco- very of the mariner's compass in the dawn of the fourteenth century, had encouraged the navigators to abandon their ancient, timid, and lingering course along the shore, and to launch boldly into the ocean. About the middle of that century, a more enterprising spirit guided the Spaniards to the Canary or Fortunate Islands, near five hundred miles from their own coast; and above a hun- dred and fifty from that of Africa. Yet the chief glory of penetrating beyond those limits which nature seemed to have imposed, and of opening a new field to the daring genius of men, must be ascribed to the Portuguese. The situation of their kingdom, bounded on every side by the dominions of a more powerful neighbour, did not afford free scope to their activity by land, and the sea re- mained the only theatre on which they could dis- tinguish themselves. About the beginning of the fifteenth century their vessels explored the coast of Africa, doubled Cape Horn, which had bounded the progress of former navigators, and reached Cape Bojador. Beneath the auspices of prince Henry, who to the martial spirit of the times added all the accomplishments of a more enlightened and polished age, the Portuguese rapidly advanced in "VOI, I, 3 L 44? History of SPAIN. the study of geography and the science of naviga- tion; they discovered and planted the islands of Porto Santo, and Madeira; the wines and sugars which were imported from the latter, encouraged them to proceed ; they doubled Cape Bojador, advanced within the tropics, and in the space of a few years reached the river Senegal, and became familiar with the coast from Cape Blanco to Cape de Verd; the countries which they had discovered were confirmed to them by the papal authority; and they were exhorted to proceed in their laudable career by the bull which granted to them an exclu- sive right over all the regions which they should descry, from Cape Horn to the continent of India. To gain that continent by a shorter route than hitherto had been known, was the darling object of the Portuguese councils; the spirit of nautical adventure received some check from the death of prince Henry, and slumbered during the warhike reign of Alfonso ; but it revived under John the second ; Bartholemew Diaz, an officer whose sagacity, experience, and fortitude, admirably qualified him for the undertaking, stretched boldly to the south, and after encountering a suc- cession of tempests in unknown seas, beheld his labours and perseverance crowned by the lofty promontory which bounds Africa on that side; to behold it was all that the violence of the winds, the shattered condition of his ships, and the tur- IIISTORY OF SPAIN. 443 bulent spirit of his crew allowed him : the appella- tion of Cabo Tormentoso, or the Stormy Cape, was expressive of the boisterous elements which forbade his nearer approach ; but on his return the name was changed by the discernment of his sovereign; and it received and retained that of the Cape of Good Hope, the auspicious omen of future success. But while John revolved the means of improv- ing the discovery of Bartholomew Diaz, a new and more distinguished character arose, whose genius, vast and fertile as the countries he ex- plored, with them, must command the admiration of posterity. Christopher Columbus was a subject of the republic of Genoa; and though neither the time nor place of his birth can be accurately ascertained, was descended of an honourable though impoverished family. The indigence of his ancestors had compelled them to a seafaring life; and the disposition of Columbus was happily adapted to the profession which necessity had imposed on him. He had acquired some knowledge of the Latin tongue; and had been instructed, and had rapidly perfected himself in geometry, cosmo- graphy, astronomy, and the art of drawing ; thus peculiarly qualified, he began his career on that element which conducted him to so much glory. For five years his adventurous spirit was confined within the limits of the Mediterranean, or exercised in voyages to the northern seas or coasts of Iceland; 444 HISTORY OF SPAIN. he afterwards entered into the service of a famous sea captain of his own name and family ; and dis- played his courage in frequent cruises against the Mahometans and Venetians; in an obstinate en- gagement with the latter, off the coast of Portu- gal, the vessel on board which he served, took fire, together with one of the enemy's ships; amidst the general horror, his presence of mind did not forsake him; he threw himself into the sea, and, with the assistance of an oar, reached the land, though at the distance of two leagues. The ardent spirit of Columbus could not be appalled by danger; and no sooner had he reco- vered his strength, than he repaired to Lisbon, and entered into the Portuguese service, the school for nautical adventure. He was soon esteemed for his skill and experience; and his marriage with a Portuguese lady, the daughter of Bartho- lomew Parrestrallo, one of the captains who had discovered and planted the islands of Porto Santo and Madeira, confirmed him in his darling pur- suit; he got possession of the journals and charts of that celebrated navigator; and indulged his impatience to visit the countries Parestrallo had described, in frequent voyages to Madeira, the Canaries, and the Portuguese settlements on the coast of Africa. • - The reputation of a skilful navigator satisfied not the ambition of Columbus; his mind, natu- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 445 rally vigorous and inquisitive, revolved new schemes of discovery ; he reviewed every circum- stance suggested by his superior knowledge in the theory and practice of navigation; and after comparing attentively the observations of modern pilots, with the hints and conjectures of ancient authors, he at last concluded, that by sailing directly towards the west, across the Atlantic Ocean, new countries, which probably form a part of the vast continent of India, must infallibly be discovered. x The spherical figure of the earth was already known, and its magnitude ascertained with some degree of accuracy. From this it was evident that the continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa, form- ed but a small part of the terraqueous globe. It was suitable to the ideas entertained of the wisdom and benevolence of the Author of Nature, to be- lieve that the vast space, still unexplored, was not covered with an unprofitable ocean; and it ap- peared probable that the continent on this side the globe was balanced by a proportional quantity of land in the other hemisphere. Canes, and timber, and trees, had been driven by westerly winds on the coasts of the Azores; and the dead bodies of two men, whose singular features resembled nei- ther the inhabitants of Europe, nor of Africa, were cast on shore there. These observations were combined by Colum- 446 HISTORY OF SPAIN, bus, and convinced him that other countries exist- ed in the western ocean, which were probably connected with the continent of India. With his sanguine and enterprising temper, speculation led directly to action; and he was impatient to bring the truth of his system to the test of experiment. Long absence had not extinguished the affection which he had imbibed to his native country, and he wished that it should reap the fruits of his labour and invention; but from his residence in foreign parts the Genoese were unacquainted with his abilities and character; they rejected his pro- posal as the dream of a chimerical projector; and lost for ever the opportunity of restoring their com- monwealth to its ancient splendor. The king of Portugal, in whose dominions he had long been established, had the next claim to his services. Here his talents were known and esteemed, and the genius of the people accorded with his own. But John unfortunately referred him to a council who had advised the discovery of a passage to India by a different route from that which Columbus recommended. They could not submit to condemn their own theory, and acknow- ledge his superior sagacity; while they deferred passing judgment, they advised John to dispatch, secretly, a vessel, to pursue the course Columbus had pointed out; but the ungenerous attempt was attended by the disappointment it deserved; con- HISTORY OF SPAIN. 447 trary winds arose; no symptom of approaching land appeared; the courage of the pilot failed; and he returned to Lisbon, execrating the project as equally extravagant and dangerous. Columbus quitted with indignation a court ca- pable of such mean treachery; and while he com- missioned his brother Bartholomew to sound the inclinations of the king of England, he himself repaired to Spain. He found Ferdinand and Isa- bella engaged in the war with Granada; the for- mer, wary and suspicious, was not disposed to bold or uncommon designs; the latter, though sanguine and enterprising, was chiefly influenced by her husband; and though the character of Columbus secured him respect—though his grave and cour- teous deportment, his exemplary attention to all the duties and functions of religion, conciliated the regard of the Spaniards, his proposals were received with coldness, his project was treated as chimerical, and the advantages which he reserved for himself were considered as exorbitant. Fatigued by incessant objections, Columbus had already quitted Santa Fe to join his brother in England, when his journey was arrested by a Inessenger from Isabella. Granada had surren- dered; the moment of triumph is ever propitious to new enterprises; and while the mind of the dueen was elated by prosperity, it was recalled to the plan of Columbus, by Alonso de Quintanilla, 448 HISTORY OF SPAIN. comptroller of the finances in Castille, and Lewis de Santangal, receiver of the ecclesiastical revenues of Arragon ; these ministers had early declared themselves the patrons of Columbus; they painted in glowing colours the honour that would accrue, after re-establishing the Christian faith in those provinces of Spain from which it had long been banished, from discovering and communicating it to a new world ; they represented that if she did not decide instantly, the opportunity would be irretrievably lost; that Columbus was on his way to foreign countries, where some prince more for- tunate or adventurous would close with his propo- sals, and Spain would for ever bewail the fatal timidity which had excluded her from the glory and advantages that she had once in her power to have enjoyed. 'i'he doubts and fears of Isabella were vanquish- ed by the arguments of Quintanilla and Santangal; an invitation was dispatched to Columbus to return, and was received with that exultation which an ardent mind must feel on being permitted to at- tempt a favourite enterprise. Yet Ferdinand still remained unmoved; as king of Arragon he refused to take any part in the expedition; one eighth part was defrayed by Columbus himself; the rest was supplied by Isabella as queen of Castille, who reserved for her subjects an exclusive right to all the benefits which might arise; yet the whole of the HISTORY OF SPAIN. 449 expence exceeded not four thousand pounds; and about eight months after Granada was recovered by the Christians, Columbus with three small ves- sels, and less than a hundred mariners, sailed from the port of Palos, in Andalusia, to traverse the Atlantic Ocean, and explore a new world in the western hemisphere. 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