The History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Volume I Part 17

The historian cannot complain of a want of authentic materials for the reign of Henry IV. Two of the chroniclers of that period, Alonso de Palencia and Enriquez del Castillo, were eye-witnesses and conspicuous actors in the scenes which they recorded, and connected with opposite factions. The former of these writers, Alonso de Palencia, was born, as appears from his work, "De Synonymis," cited by Pellicer, (Bibliotheca de Traductores, p. 7,) in 1423. Nic. Antonio has fallen into the error of dating his birth nine years later. (Bibliotheca Vetus, tom. ii. p. 331.) At the age of seventeen, he became page to Alfonso of Carthagena, bishop of Burgos, and, in the family of that estimable prelate, acquired a taste for letters, which never deserted him during a busy political career. He afterwards visited Italy, where he became acquainted with Cardinal Bessarion, and through him with the learned George of Trebizond, whose lectures on philosophy and rhetoric he attended. On his return to his native country, he was raised to the dignity of royal historiographer by Alfonso, younger brother of Henry IV., and compet.i.tor with him for the crown. He attached himself to the fortunes of Isabella after Alfonso's death, and was employed by the archbishop of Toledo in many delicate negotiations, particularly in arranging the marriage of the princess with Ferdinand, for which purpose he made a secret journey into Aragon. On the accession of Isabella, he was confirmed in the office of national chronicler, and pa.s.sed the remainder of his life in the composition of philological and historical works and translations from the ancient cla.s.sics. The time of his death is uncertain. He lived to a good old age, however, since it appears from his own statement, (see Mendez, Typographia Espanola, (Madrid, 1796,) p. 190,) that his version of Josephus was not completed till the year 1492.

The most popular of Palencia's writings are his "Chronicle of Henry IV.,"

and his Latin "Decades," continuing the reign of Isabella down to the capture of Baza, in 1489. His historical style, far from scholastic pedantry, exhibits the business-like manner of a man of the world. His Chronicle, which, being composed in the Castilian, was probably intended for popular use, is conducted with little artifice, and indeed with a prolixity and minuteness of detail, arising no doubt from the deep interest which as an actor he took in the scenes he describes. His sentiments are expressed with boldness, and sometimes with the acerbity of party feeling. He has been much commended by the best Spanish writers, such as Zurita, Zuniga, Marina, Clemencin, for his veracity. The internal evidence of this is sufficiently strong in his delineation of those scenes in which he was personally engaged; in his account of others, it will not be difficult to find examples of negligence and inaccuracy. His Latin "Decades" were probably composed with more care, as addressed to a learned cla.s.s of readers; and they are lauded by Nic. Antonio as an elegant commentary, worthy to be a.s.siduously studied by all who would acquaint themselves with the history of their country. The art of printing has done less perhaps for Spain than for any other country in Europe; and these two valuable histories are still permitted to swell the rich treasure of ma.n.u.scripts with which her libraries are overloaded.

Enriquez del Castillo, a native of Segovia, was the chaplain and historiographer of King Henry IV., and a member of his privy council. His situation not only made him acquainted with the policy and intrigues of the court, but with the personal feelings of the monarch, who reposed entire confidence in him, which Castillo repaid with uniform loyalty. He appears very early to have commenced his Chronicle of Henry's reign. On the occupation of Segovia by the young Alfonso, after the battle of Olmedo, in 1467, the chronicler, together with the portion of his history then complied, was unfortunate enough to fall into the enemy's hands. The author was soon summoned to the presence of Alfonso and his counsellors, to hear and justify, as he could, certain pa.s.sages of what they termed his "false and frivolous narrative." Castillo, hoping little from a defence before such a prejudiced tribunal, resolutely kept his peace; and it might have gone hard with him, had it not been for his ecclesiastical profession. He subsequently escaped, but never recovered his ma.n.u.scripts, which were probably destroyed; and, in the introduction to his Chronicle, he laments, that he has been obliged to rewrite the first half of his master's reign.

Notwithstanding Castillo's familiarity with public affairs, his work is not written in the business-like style of Palencia's. The sentiments exhibit a moral sensibility scarcely to have been expected, even from a minister of religion, in the corrupt court of Henry IV.; and the honest indignation of the writer, at the abuses which he witnessed, sometimes breaks forth in a strain of considerable eloquence. The spirit of his work, notwithstanding its abundant loyalty, may be also commended for its candor in relation to the partisans of Isabella; which has led some critics to suppose that it underwent a _rifacimento_ after the accession of that princess to the throne.

Castillo's Chronicle, more fortunate than that of his rival, has been published in a handsome form under the care of Don Jose Miguel de Flores, Secretary of the Spanish Academy of History, to whose learned labors in this way Castilian literature is so much indebted.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS., part. 2, cap. 21.--Gaillard, Rivalite, tom. iii. p. 284.--Rades y Andrada, Las Tres Ordenes, fol. 65.-- Caro de Torres, Ordenes Militares, fol. 43.

[2] Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 23.--Castillo, Cronica, p. 298.--Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS., part. 2, cap. 24.-- Henry, well knowing how little all this would avail without the const.i.tutional sanction of the cortes, twice issued his summons in 1470 for the convocation of the deputies, to obtain a recognition of the t.i.tle of Joanna. But without effect. In the letters of convocation issued for a third a.s.sembly of the states, in 1471, this purpose was prudently omitted, and thus the claims of Joanna failed to receive the countenance of the only body which could give them validity. See the copies of the original writs, addressed to the cities of Toledo and Segovia, cited by Marina, Teoria, tom. ii. pp. 87-89.

[3] The grand master of St. James, and his son, the marquis of Villena, afterwards duke of Escalona. The rents of the former n.o.bleman, whose avarice was as insatiable as his influence over the feeble mind of Henry IV. was unlimited, exceeded those of any other grandee in the kingdom. See Pulgar, Claros Varones, t.i.t. 6.

[4] The marquis of Santillana, first duke of Infantado, and his brothers, the counts of Coruna, and of Tendilla, and above all Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, afterwards cardinal of Spain, and archbishop of Toledo, who was indebted for the highest dignities in the church less to his birth than his abilities. See Claros Varones, t.i.t. 4, 9.--Salazar de Mendoza, Dignidades, lib. 3, cap. 17.

[5] Alvaro de Zuniga, count of Palencia, and created by Henry IV., duke of Arevalo.--Pedro Fernandez de Velasco, count of Haro, was raised to the post of constable of Castile in 1473, and the office continued to be hereditary in the family from that period. Pulgar, Claros Varones, t.i.t.

3.--Salazar de Mendoza, Dignidades, lib. 3, cap. 21.

[6] The Pimentels, counts of Benavente, had estates which gave them 60,000 ducats a year; a very large income for that period, and far exceeding that of any other grandee of similar rank in the kingdom. L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 25.

[8] Carbajal, a.n.a.les, MS., ano 70.

[9] Zurita, a.n.a.les, tom. iv. fol. 170.--Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS., cap. 45.

[10] This n.o.bleman, Diego Hurtado, "muy gentil caballero y gran senor," as Oviedo calls him, was at this time only marquis of Santillana, and was not raised to the t.i.tle of duke of Infantado till the reign of Isabella, (Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8.) To avoid confusion, however, I have given him the t.i.tle by which he is usually recognized by Castilian writers.

[11] Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS., cap. 3.--Salazar de Mendoza, Cronica de el Gran Cardenal de Espana, Don Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, (Toledo, 1625,) pp. 138, 150.--Zuniga, a.n.a.les de Sevilla, p. 362.

[12] Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS., cap. 4, 5, 7.--Zuniga, a.n.a.les de Sevilla, pp. 363, 364.--Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS., part. 2, cap.

35, 38, 39, 42.--Saez, Monedas de Enrique IV., pp. 1-5.--Pulgar, in an epistle addressed, in the autumn of 1473, to the bishop of Coria, adverts to several circ.u.mstances which set in a strong light the anarchical state of the kingdom and the total deficiency of police. The celebrated satirical eclogue, also, ent.i.tled "Mingo Revulgo," exposes, with coa.r.s.e but cutting sarcasm, the license of the court, the corruption of the clergy, and the prevalent depravity of the people. In one of its stanzas it boldly ventures to promise another and a better sovereign to the country. This performance, even more interesting to the antiquarian than to the historian, has been attributed by some to Pulgar, (see Mariana, Hist. de Espana, tom. ii. p. 475,) and by others to Rodrigo Cota, (see Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Veins, tom. ii p. 264,) but without satisfactory evidence in favor of either. Bouterwek is much mistaken in a.s.serting it to have been aimed at the government of John II. The gloss of Pulgar, whose authority as a contemporary must be considered decisive, plainly proves it to have been directed against Henry IV.

[13] See Chap. II.

[14] Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS., cap. 56.--Mariana, Hist. de Espana, tom. ii. p. 481.--Zurita, a.n.a.les, tom. iv. fol. 191.--Barante, Histoire des Ducs de Bourgogne, (Paris, 1825,) tom. ix. pp. 101-106.

[15] Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS., cap. 70.--Mariana, Hist. de Espana, tom. ii. p. 482.--L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 148.--Zurita, a.n.a.les, tom. iv. fol. 195.--Anquetil, Histoire de France, (Paris, 1805,) tom. v. pp. 60, 61.

[16] Zurita, a.n.a.les, tom. iv. fol. 196.--Barante, Hist. des Ducs de Bourgogne, tom. x. pp. 105, 106.--L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 149.

--Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS., cap. 70, 71, 72.

[17] Zurita, a.n.a.les, tom. iv. fol. 200.--Gaillard, Rivalite, tom. iii. p.

266.--See the articles of the treaty cited by Duclos, Hist. de Louis XI., tom. ii. pp. 99, 101.--Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS., cap. 73.

[18] Louis XI. is supposed with much probability to have a.s.sa.s.sinated this brother. M. de Barante sums up his examination of the evidence with this remark: "Le roi Louis XI. ne fit peut-etre pas mourir son frere, mais personne ne pensa qu'il en fut incapable." Hist. des Ducs de Bourgogne, tom. ix. p. 433.

[19] The two princes alluded to were the duke of Segorbe, a cousin of Ferdinand, and the king of Portugal. The former, on his entrance into Castile, a.s.sumed such sovereign state, (giving his hand, for instance, to the grandees to kiss,) as disgusted these haughty n.o.bles, and was eventually the occasion of breaking off his match. Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS., part. 2, cap. 62.--Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom.

ii. p. 392.

[20] Oviedo a.s.signs another reason for this change; the disgust occasioned by Henry IV.'s transferring the custody of his daughter from the family of Mendoza to the Pachecos. Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8.

[21] Salazar de Mendoza, Cron. del Gran Cardenal, p. 133.--Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS., part. 2, cap. 46, 92.--Castillo, Cronica, cap.

163.--The influence of these new allies, especially of the cardinal, over Isabella's councils, was an additional ground of umbrage to the archbishop of Toledo, who, in a communication with the king of Aragon, declared himself, though friendly to their cause, to be released from all further obligations to serve it. See Zurita, a.n.a.les, tom. iv. lib. 46, cap. 19.

[22] Carbajal, a.n.a.les, MS., anos 73, 74.--Pulgar, Reyes Catolicos, p. 27.

--Castillo, Cronica, cap. 164.--Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS., part.

2, cap. 75.--Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 23.

[23] Mendoza, Cron. del Gran Cardenal, pp. 141, 142.--Castillo, Cronica, cap. 164.--Oviedo has given a full account of this cavalier, who was allied to an ancient Catalan family, but who raised himself to such pre- eminence by his own deserts, says that writer, that he may well be considered the founder of his house. Loc. cit.

[24] Carbajal, a.n.a.les, MS., ano 70.--This was the eldest child of Ferdinand and Isabella, born Oct. 1st, 1470; afterwards queen of Portugal.

[25] Gaillard, Rivalite, tom. iii. pp. 267-276.--Duclos, Hist. de Louis XI., tom. ii. pp. 113, 115.--Chronique Scandaleuse, ed. Pet.i.tot, tom.

xiii. pp. 443, 444.

[26] Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS., part. 2, cap. 83.--Ferreras, Hist.

d'Espagne, tom. vii. p. 400.--Zurita, a.n.a.les, tom. iv. lib. 19, cap. 12.

[27] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 150.--Zurita, a.n.a.les, tom. iv.

lib. 19, cap. 13.--Chronique Scandaleuse, ed. Pet.i.tot, tom. xiii. p. 456.

--Alonso de Palencia, Coronica, MS., part. 2, cap. 91.

[28] Of the original letters, as given by M. Barante, in his History of the Dukes of Burgundy, in which the author has so happily seized the tone and picturesque coloring of the ancient chronicle; tom. x. pp. 289, 298.

[29] Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, MS., cap. 10.--Carbajal, a.n.a.les, MS., ano 74.--Castillo, Cronica, cap. 148.

[30] This topic is involved in no little obscurity, and has been reported with much discrepancy as well as inaccuracy by the modern Spanish historians. Among the ancient, Castillo, the historiographer of Henry IV., mentions certain "testamentary executors," without, however, noticing in any more direct way the existence of a will. (Cron. c. 168.) The Curate of Los Palacios refers to a clause reported, he says, to have existed in the testament of Henry IV., in which he declares Joanna his daughter and heir; (Reyes Catolicos, MS., cap. 10.) Alonso de Palencia states positively that there was no such instrument, and that Henry, on being asked who was to succeed him, referred to his secretary Juan Gonzalez for a knowledge of his intention. (Cron. c. 92.) L. Marineo also states that the king, "with his usual improvidence," left no will. (Cosas Memorables, fol. 155.) Pulgar, another contemporary, expressly declares that he executed no will, and quotes the words dictated by him to his secretary, in which he simply designates two of the grandees as "executors of his soul," (_albuceas de su anima_,) and four others in conjunction with them as the guardians of his daughter Joanna. (Reyes Cat. p. 31.) It seems not improbable that the existence of this doc.u.ment has been confounded with that of a testament, and that with reference to it, the phrase above quoted of Castillo, as well as the pa.s.sage of Bernaldez, is to be interpreted.

Carbajal's wild story of the existence of a will, of its secretion for more than thirty years, and its final suppression by Ferdinand, is too naked of testimony to deserve the least weight with the historian. (See his a.n.a.les, MS., ano 74.) It should be remembered, however, that most of the above-mentioned writers compiled their works after the accession of Isabella, and that none, save Castillo, were the partisans of her rival.

It should also be added that in the letters addressed by the princess Joanna to the different cities of the kingdom, on her a.s.suming the t.i.tle of queen of Castile, (bearing date May, 1475,) it is expressly stated that Henry IV., on his deathbed, solemnly affirmed her to be his only daughter and lawful heir. These letters were drafted by John de Oviedo, (Juan Gonzalez,) the confidential secretary of Henry IV. See Zurita, a.n.a.les, tom. iv. fol. 235-239.

[31] As was the case with the testaments of Alfonso of Leon and Alfonso the Wise, in the thirteenth century, and with that of Peter the Cruel, in the fourteenth.

CHAPTER V.

ACCESSION OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.--WAR OF THE SUCCESSION.--BATTLE OF TORO.

1474-1476.

Isabella proclaimed Queen.--Settlement of the Crown.--Alfonso of Portugal supports Joanna.--Invades Castile.--Retreat of the Castilians.-- Appropriation of the Church Plate.--Reorganization of the Army.--Battle of Toro.--Submission of the whole Kingdom.--Peace with France and Portugal.-- Joanna takes the Veil.--Death of John II., of Aragon.