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[1] The reader who may be curious in this matter will find the pedigree exhibiting the titles of the several competitors to the crown given by Mr. Hallam. (State of Europe during the Middle Ages, (2d ed. London, 1819,) vol. ii. p. 60, note.) The claims of Ferdinand were certainly not derived from the usual laws of descent.

[2] The reader of Spanish history often experiences embarrassment from the identity of names in the various princes of the Peninsula. Thus the John, mentioned in the text, afterwards John II., might be easily confounded with his namesake and contemporary, John II., of Castile. The genealogical table, at the beginning of this History, will show their relationship to each other.

[3] His grandfather, Charles III., created this title in favor of Carlos, appropriating it as the designation henceforth of the heir apparent.— Aleson, Anales del Reyno de Navarra, contin. de Moret, (Pamplona, 1766,) tom. iv. p. 398.—Salazar de Mendoza, Monarquia, tom. ii. p. 331.

[4] See Part I. Chap. 3, Note 5, of this History.

[5] This fact, vaguely and variously reported by Spanish writers, is fully established by Aleson, who cites the original instrument, contained in the archives of the counts of Lerin. Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 354, 365.

[6] See the reference to the original document in Aleson. (Tom. iv. pp. 365, 366.) This industrious writer has established the title of Prince Carlos to Navarre, so frequently misunderstood or misrepresented by the national historians, on an incontestable basis.

[7] Ibid., tom. iv. p. 467.

[8] See Part I. Chap. 3, of this work.

[9] Gaillard errs in referring the origin of these factions to this epoch. (Histoire de la Rivalité de France et de l'Espagne, (Paris, 1801,) tom. iii. p. 227.) Aleson quotes a proclamation of John in relation to them in the lifetime of Queen Blanche. Annales de Navarra, tom. iv. p. 494.

[10] Zurita, Anales, tom. iii. fol. 278.—Lucio Marineo Siculo, Coronista de sus Magestades, Las Cosas Memorables de España, (Alcalà de Henares, 1539,) fol. 104.—Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 494–498.

[11] Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 223.—Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 501–503.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 105.

[12] Compendio, tom. iii. p. 419.—L. Marineo describes the heavens as uncommonly serene at the moment of Ferdinand's birth. "The sun, which had been obscured with clouds during the whole day, suddenly broke forth with unwonted splendor. A crown was also beheld in the sky, composed of various brilliant colors like those of a rainbow. All which appearances were interpreted by the spectators as an omen, that the child then born would be the most illustrious among men." (Cosas Memorables, fol. 153.) Garibay postpones the nativity of Ferdinand to the year 1453, and L. Marineo, who ascertains with curious precision even the date of his conception, fixes his birth in 1450, (fol. 153.) But Alonso de Palencia in his History, (Verdadera Corónica de Don Enrique IV., Rei de Castilla y Leon, y del Rei Don Alonso su Hermano, MS.) and Andrés Bernaldez, Cura de Los Palacios, (Historia de los Reyes Católicos, MS., c. 8,) both of them contemporaries, refer this event to the period assigned in the text; and, as the same epoch is adopted by the accurate Zurita, (Anales, tom. iv. fol. 9,) I have given it the preference.

[13] Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 3–48.—Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 508–526.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 105.

[14] Giannone, Istoria Civile del Regno di Napoli, (Milano, 1823,) lib. 26, c. 7.—Ferreras, Histoire Générale d'Espagne, trad. par D'Hermilly, (Paris, 1751,) tom. vii. p. 60.—L'Histoire du Royaume de Navarre, par l'un des Secrétaires Interprettes de sa Majesté, (Paris, 1596,) p. 468.

[15] Compare the narrative of the Neapolitan historians, Summonte (Historia della Città e Regno di Napoli, (Napoli, 1675,) lib. 5, c. 2) and Giannone, (Istoria Civile, lib. 26, c. 7.—lib. 27. Introd.) with the opposite statements of L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, (fol. 106,) himself a contemporary, Aleson, (Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. p. 546,) and other Spanish writers.

[16] Enriquez del Castillo, Crónica de Enrique el Quarto, (Madrid, 1787,) cap. 43.

[17] Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 97.—Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Vetus, tom. ii. p. 282.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 106.—Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 250.—Carlos bargained with Pope Pius II. for a transfer of this library, particularly rich in the ancient classics, to Spain, which was eventually defeated by his death. Zurita, who visited the monastery containing it nearly a century after this period, found its inmates possessed of many traditionary anecdotes respecting the prince during his seclusion among them.

[18] Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 548–554.—Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 251.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 60–69.

[19] Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, ubi supra.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 70–75.—Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. p. 556.

[20] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 108.—Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 3.—Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 556, 557.—Castillo, Crónica, cap. 27.

[21] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 108, 109.—Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 252.—Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 45.—Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. ii. p. 357.

[22] Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. ii. p. 358.—Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 6.—Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 253.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 111.

[23] Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 6.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 111.

[24] Castillo, Crónica, cap. 28.—Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, fol. 253, 254. —L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 111, 112.—Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 559, 560.—The inhabitants of Tarraca closed their gates upon the queen, and rung the bells on her approach, the signal of alarm on the appearance of an enemy, or for the pursuit of a malefactor.

[25] Alonso de Palencia, Crónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 51.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 114.—Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 561- 563.—Zurita, Anales, cap. 19, 24.

[26] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 106.—"Por quanto era la templança y mesura de aquel principe; tan grande el concierto y su criança y costumbres, la limpieza de su vida, su liberalidad y magnificencia, y finalmente su dulce conversacion, que ninguna cosa en el faltava de aquellas que pertenescen a recta vivir; y que arman el verdadero y perfecto principe y señor."

[27] Gundisalvus Garsias, apud Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Vetus, tom. ii. p. 281.

[28] Nic. Antonio, Bibliotheca Vetus, tom. ii. pp. 281, 282.—Mariana, Hist. de España, tom. ii. p. 434.

[29] This treaty was signed at Olit in Navarre, April 12th, 1462.—Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 38, 39.—Gaillard, Rivalité, tom. iii. p. 235.— Gaillard confounds it with the subsequent one made in the month of May, near the town of Salvatierra in Bearne.

[30] Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, tom., vii. p. 110.

[31] Hist. du Royaume de Navarre, p. 496.—Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 590–593.—Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 258, 259.— Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 38.

[32] Lebrija, De Bello Navariensi, (Granatae, 1545,) lib. 1, cap. 1, fol. 74.—Aleson, Anales de Navarra, ubi supra.—Zurita, Anales, lib. 17, cap. 38.—The Spanish historians are not agreed as to the time or even mode of Blanche's death. All concur, however, in attributing it to assassination, and most of them, with the learned Antonio Lebrija, a contemporary, (loc. cit.,) in imputing it to poison. The fact of her death, which Aleson, on I know not what authority, refers to the 2d of December, 1464, was not publicly disclosed till some months after its occurrence, when disclosure became necessary in consequence of the proposed interposition of the Navarrese cortes.

[33] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 51.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 98.—Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 256.—Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 563 et seq.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 114.—According to Lanuza, who wrote nearly two centuries after the death of Carlos, the flesh upon his right arm, which had been amputated for the purpose of a more convenient application to the diseased members of the pilgrims who visited his shrine, remained in his day in a perfectly sound and healthful state! (Historias Ecclesiásticas y Seculares de Aragon, (Zaragoza, 1622,) tom. i. p. 553.) Aleson wonders that any should doubt the truth of miracles, attested by the monks of the very monastery in which Carlos was interred.

[34] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 116.—Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 51.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 113. The Spaniards, deriving the knowledge of artillery from the Arabs, had become familiar with it before the other nations of Christendom. The affirmation of Zurita, however, that 5000 balls were fired from the battery of the besiegers at Gerona in one day, is perfectly absurd. So little was the science of gunnery advanced in other parts of Europe at this period, and indeed later, that it was usual for a field-piece not to be discharged more than twice in the course of an action, if we may credit Machiavelli, who, indeed, recommends dispensing with the use of artillery altogether. Arte della Guerra, lib. 3. (Opere, Genova, 1798.)

[35] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, c. 51.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 116.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 113.—Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 259.

[36] Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 111.—Another 100,000 crowns were to be paid in case further assistance should be required from the French monarch after the reduction of Barcelona. This treaty has been incorrectly reported by most of the French and all the Spanish historians whom I have consulted, save the accurate Zurita. An abstract from the original documents, compiled by the Abbé Legrand, has been given by M. Petitot in his recent edition of the Collection des Mémoires relatifs à l'Histoire de France, (Paris, 1836,) tom. xi. Introd. p. 245.

[37] A French lance, it may be stated, of that day, according to L. Marineo, was accompanied by two horsemen; so that the whole contingent of cavalry to be furnished on this occasion amounted to 2100. (Cosas Memorables, fol. 117.) Nothing could be more indeterminate than the complement of a lance in the Middle Ages. It is not unusual to find it reckoned at five or six horsemen.

[38] Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 113–115.—Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 1.

[39] In conformity with the famous verdict given by Louis XI. at Bayonne, April 23d, 1463, previously to the interview between him and Henry IV. on the shores of the Bidassoa. See Part I. Chap. 3, of this History.

[40] This was the battle-ground of Julius Caesar in his wars with Pompey. See his ingenious military manoeuvre as simply narrated in his own Commentaries, (De Bello Civili, tom. i. p. 54,) and by Lucan, (Pharsalia, lib. 4,) with his usual swell of hyperbole.

[41] The cold was so intense at the siege of Amposta, that serpents of an enormous magnitude are reported by L. Marineo to have descended from the mountains, and taken refuge in the camp of the besiegers. Portentous and supernatural voices were frequently heard during the nights. Indeed, the superstition of the soldiers appears to have been so lively as to have prepared them for seeing and hearing anything.

[42] Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 390.—Alonso de Palencia, MS., part. 2, cap. 60, 61—Castillo, Crónica, pp. 43, 44, 46, 49, 50, 54.—Zurita, Anales, tom. ii. fol. 116, 124, 127, 128, 130, 137, 147.—M. La Clède states, that "Don Pedro no sooner arrived in Catalonia, than he was poisoned."(Histoire Générale de Portugal, (Paris, 1735,) tom. iii. p. 245.) It must have been a very slow poison. He arrived January 21st, 1464, and died June 29th, 1466.

[43] Sir Walter Scott, in his "Anne of Geierstein," has brought into full relief the ridiculous side of René's character. The good king's fondness for poetry and the arts, however, although showing itself occasionally in puerile eccentricities, may compare advantageously with the coarse appetites and mischievous activity of most of the contemporary princes. After all, the best tribute to his worth was the earnest attachment of his people. His biography has been well and diligently compiled by the viscount of Villeneuve Bargemont, (Histoire de René d'Anjou, Paris, 1825,) who has, however, indulged in greater detail than was perhaps to have been desired by René, or his readers.

[44] Comines says of him, "A tous alarmes c'estoit le premier homme armé, et de toutes pièces, et son cheval tousjours bardé. Il portoit un habillement que ces conducteurs portent en Italie, et sembloit bien prince et chef de guerre; et y avoit d'obéissance autant que monseigneur de Charolois, et luy obéissoit tout l'ost de meilleur coeur, car à la vérité il estoit digne d'estre honoré." Philippe de Comines, Mémoires, apud Petitot; (Paris, 1826,) liv. 1, chap. 11.

[45] Villeneuve Bargemont, Hist. de René, tom. ii. pp. 168, 169.—Histoire de Louys XI., autrement dicte La Chronique Scandaleuse, par un Greffier de l'Hostel de Ville de Paris, (Paris, 1620,) p. 145.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 150, 153.—Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 17.— Palencia swells the numbers of the French in the service of the duke of Lorraine to 20,000.

[46] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 139.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 148, 149, 158.—Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. pp. 611–613.— Duclos, Hist. de Louis XI., (Amsterdam, 1746,) tom. ii. p. 114.—Mém. de Comines, Introd., p. 258, apud Petitot.

[47] Villeneuve Bargemont, Hist. de René, tom. ii. pp. 182, 183.—L. Marineo, fol. 140.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 153–164.—Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. rey 29, cap. 7.

[48] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 88.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 143.—Aleson, Anales de Navarra, tom. iv. p. 609.— The queen's death was said to have been caused by a cancer. According to Aleson and some other Spanish writers, Joan was heard several times, in her last illness, to exclaim, in allusion, as was supposed, to her assassination of Carlos, "Alas! Ferdinand, how dear thou hast cost thy mother!" I find no notice of this improbable confession in any contemporary author.

[49] Mariana, Hist. de España, tom. ii. pp. 459, 460.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 151.—Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., cap. 88.

[50] Villeneuve Bargemont, Hist. de René, tom. ii. pp. 182,333, 334.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 142.—Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, part. 2, cap. 39.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 178.—According to M. de Villeneuve Bargemont, the princess Isabella's hand had been offered to the duke of Lorraine, and the envoy despatched to notify his acceptance of it, on arriving at the court of Castile, received from the lips of Henry IV. the first tidings of his master's death, (tom. ii. p. 184.) He must have learned too with no less surprise that Isabella had already been married at that time more than a year! See the date of the official marriage recorded in Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., tom. vi. Apend. no. 4.

[51] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 29, 45.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 180–183.-Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, rey 29, cap. 29.

[52] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 144, 147.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 187, 188.—Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 1.