Читать книгу History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic - William Hickling Prescott - Страница 23

[1] The popular belief of Joanna's illegitimacy was founded on the following circumstances. 1. King Henry's first marriage with Blanche of Navarre was dissolved, after it had subsisted twelve years, on the publicly alleged ground of "impotence in the parties." 2. The princess Joanna, the only child of his second queen, Joanna of Portugal, was not born until the eighth year of her marriage, and long after she had become notorious for her gallantries. 3. Although Henry kept several mistresses, whom he maintained in so ostentatious a manner as to excite general scandal, he was never known to have had issue by any one of them.—To counterbalance the presumption afforded by these facts, it should be stated, that Henry appears, to the day of his death, to have cherished the princess Joanna as his own offspring, and that Beltran de la Cueva, duke of Albuquerque, her reputed father, instead of supporting her claims to the crown on the demise of Henry, as would have been natural had he been entitled to the honors of paternity, attached himself to the adverse faction of Isabella.

Queen Joanna survived her husband about six months only. Father Florez (Reynas Cathólicas, tom. ii. pp. 760–786) has made a flimsy attempt to whitewash her character; but, to say nothing of almost every contemporary historian, as well as of the official documents of that day (see Marina, Teoría, tom. iii. part. 2, num. 11), the stain has been too deeply fixed by the repeated testimony of Castillo, the loyal adherent of her own party, to be thus easily effaced.

It is said, however, that the queen died in the odor of sanctity; and Ferdinand and Isabella caused her to be deposited in a rich mausoleum, erected by the ambassador to the court of the Great Tamerlane for himself, but from which his remains were somewhat unceremoniously ejected, in order to make room for those of his royal mistress.

[2] See this subject discussed in extenso, by Marina, Teoría, part. 2, cap. 1–10.—See, also, Introd. Sect. I. of this History.

[3] See Part I. Chap. 3.

[4] See Part I. Chap. 4, Note 2.

[5] Fortunately, this strong place, in which the royal treasure was deposited, was in the keeping of Andres de Cabrera, the husband of Isabella's friend, Beatriz de Bobadilla. His co-operation at this juncture was so important, that Oviedo does not hesitate to declare, "It lay with him to make Isabella or her rival queen, as he listed." Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 23.

[6] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 10.—Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 75.—Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 93.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 155.—Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 2, dial. 3.

[7] Marina, whose peculiar researches and opportunities make him the best, is my only authority for this convention of the cortes. (Teoría, tom. ii. pp. 63, 89.) The extracts he makes from the writ of summons, however, seem to imply, that the object was not the recognition of Ferdinand and Isabella, but of their daughter, as successor to the crown. Among the nobles, who openly testified their adhesion to Isabella, were no less than four of the six individuals, to whom the late king had intrusted the guardianship of his daughter Joanna; viz. the grand cardinal of Spain, the constable of Castile, the duke of Infantado, and the count of Benavente.

[8] A precedent for female inheritance, in the latter kingdom, was subsequently furnished by the undisputed succession and long reign of Joanna, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, and mother of Charles V. The introduction of the Salic law, under the Bourbon dynasty, opposed a new barrier, indeed; but this has been since swept away by the decree of the late monarch, Ferdinand VII., and the paramount authority of the cortes; and we may hope that the successful assertion of her lawful rights by Isabella II. will put this much vexed question at rest for ever.

[9] See Part I. Chap. 3.—Ferdinand's powers are not so narrowly limited, at least not so carefully defined, in this settlement, as in the marriage articles. Indeed, the instrument is much more concise and general in its whole import.

[10] Salazar de Mendoza, Crón. del Gran Cardenal, lib. 1, cap. 40.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 155, 156.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 222–224.—Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, pp. 35, 36.—See the original instrument signed by Ferdinand and Isabella, cited at length in Dormer's Discursos Varios de Historia, (Zaragoza, 1683,) pp. 295–313.—It does not appear that the settlement was ever confirmed by, or indeed presented to, the cortes. Marina speaks of it, however, as emanating from that body. (Teoría, tom. ii. pp. 63, 64.) From Pulgar's statement, as well as from the instrument itself, it seems to have been made under no other auspices or sanction, than that of the great nobility and cavaliers. Marina's eagerness to find a precedent for the interference of the popular branch in all the great concerns of government, has usually quickened, but sometimes clouded, his optics. In the present instance he has undoubtedly confounded the irregular proceedings of the aristocracy exclusively, with the deliberate acts of the legislature.

[11] Alonso de Palencia, Corónica, MS., part. 2, cap. 94.—Garibay, Compendio, lib. 18, cap. 3.—Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 10, 11.—Pulgar, Letras, (Madrid, 1775,) let. 3, al Arzobispo de Toledo.—The archbishop's jealousy of cardinal Mendoza is uniformly reported by the Spanish writers as the true cause of his defection from the queen.

[12] Ruy de Pina, Chrónica d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 173, apud Collecçaö de Livros Inéditos de Historia Portugueza, (Lisboa, 1790–93,) tom. i.

[13] The ancient rivalry between the two nations was exasperated into the most deadly rancor, by the fatal defeat at Aljubarrotta, in 1235, in which fell the flower of the Castilian nobility. King John I. wore mourning, it is said, to the day of his death, in commemoration of this disaster. (Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 394–396.—La Clède, Hist. de Portugal, tom. iii. pp. 357–359.) Pulgar, the secretary of Ferdinand and Isabella, addressed, by their order, a letter of remonstrance to the king of Portugal, in which he endeavors, by numerous arguments founded on expediency and justice, to dissuade him from his meditated enterprise. Pulgar, Letras, No. 7.

[14] Ruy de Pina, Chrónica d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 174–178.—Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 16, 17, 18.—Bernaldez states, that Alfonso, previously to his invasion, caused largesses of plate and money to be distributed among the Castilian nobles, whom he imagined to be well affected towards him. Some of them, the duke of Alva in particular, received his presents and used them in the cause of Isabella.—Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 396–398.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 230–240.—La Clède, Hist. de Portugal, tom. iii. pp. 360–362.-Pulgar, Crónica, p. 51.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 156.—Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 2, dial. 3.

[15] The queen, who was, at that time, in a state of pregnancy, brought on a miscarriage by her incessant personal exposure. Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 234.

[16] Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 75.—Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, pp. 45–55.— Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, tom. vii. p. 411.—Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 23.

[17] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 18.—Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 398–400.—Pulgar, Crónica, pp. 55–60.—Ruy de Pina, Chrón. d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 179.—La Clède, Hist. de Portugal, tom. iii. p. 366.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 240–243.

[18] "Pues no os maravilleis de eso," says Oviedo, in relation to these troubles, "que nó solo entre hermanos suele haber esas diferencias, mas entre padre é hijo lo vimos ayer, como suelen decir." Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 2, dial. 3.

[19] The royal coffers were found to contain about 10,000 marks of silver. (Pulgar, Reyes Catól. p. 54.) Isabella presented Cabrera with a golden goblet from her table, engaging that a similar present should be regularly made to him and his successors on the anniversary of his surrender of Segovia. She subsequently gave a more solid testimony of her gratitude, by raising him to the rank of marquis of Moya, with the grant of an estate suitable to his new dignity.—Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 23.

[20] The indignation of Dr. Salazar de Mendoza is roused by this misapplication of the church's money, which he avers "no necessity whatever could justify." This worthy canon flourished in the seventeenth century. Crón. del Gran Cardenal, p. 147.—Pulgar, Reyes Catól. pp. 60- 62.—Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 400.—Rades y Andrada, Las Tres Ordenes, part. 1, fol. 67.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 243.— Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 18, 20. Zuñiga gives some additional particulars respecting the grant of the cortes, which I do not find verified by any contemporary author. Annales de Sevilla, p. 372.

[21] Carbajal, Anales, MS., años 75, 76.—Ruy de Pina, Chrón. del Rey Alfonso V., cap. 187, 189.—Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 20, 22. —Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, pp. 63–78.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 156.—Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 401, 404.—Several of the contemporary Castilian historians compute the Portuguese army at double the amount given in the text.

[22] Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, pp. 82–85.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 252, 253.—Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 404, 405.— Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos. MS., cap. 23.—Ruy de Pina, Chrón. d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 190.

[23] Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 76.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 158.—Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, pp. 85–89.—Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 404, 405.—Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 23.—La Clède, Hist. de Portugal, tom. iii. pp. 378–383.—Zurita, Anales, tom. iv. fol. 252–255.

[24] Faria y Sousa claims the honors of the victory for the Portuguese, because Prince John kept the field till morning. Even M. La Clède, with all his deference to the Portuguese historian, cannot swallow this. Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 405–410.—Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8.—Salazar de Mendoza, Crón. del Gran Cardenal, lib. 1, cap. 46—Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, pp. 85–90.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 158.—Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 76.— Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 23.—Ruy de Pina, Chrón. d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 191.—Ferdinand, in allusion to Prince John, wrote to his wife, that "if it had not been for the chicken, the old cock would have been taken." Garibay, Compendio, lib. 18, cap. 8.

[25] Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, p. 90.—The sovereigns, in compliance with a previous vow, caused a superb monastery, dedicated to St. Francis, to be erected in Toledo, with the title of San Juan de los Reyes, in commemoration of their victory over the Portuguese. This edifice was still to be seen in Mariana's time.

[26] Rades y Andrada, Las Tres Ordenes, tom. ii. fol. 79, 80.—Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, cap. 48–50, 55, 60.—Zurita, Anales, lib. 19, cap. 46, 48, 54, 58.—Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, tom. vii. pp. 476–478, 517–519, 546.—Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 10.—Oviedo, Quincuagenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. 1, dial. 8.

[27] Gaillard, Rivalité, tom. iii. pp. 290, 292.—Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 76.

[28] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 27.—Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, cap. 56, 57.—Gaillard, Rivalité, tom. iii. pp. 290–292.—Zurita, Anales, lib. 19, cap. 56, lib. 20, cap. 10.—Ruy de Pina, Chrón. d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 194–202.—Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 412- 415.—Comines, Mémoires, liv. 5, chap. 7.

[29] According to Faria y Sousa, John was walking along the shores of the Tagus, with the duke of Braganza, and the cardinal archbishop of Lisbon, when he received the unexpected tidings of his father's return to Portugal. On his inquiring of his attendants how he should receive him, "How but as your king and father!" was the reply; at which John, knitting his brows together, skimmed a stone, which he held in his hand, with much violence across the water. The cardinal, observing this, whispered to the duke of Braganza, "I will take good care that that stone does not rebound on me." Soon after, he left Portugal for Rome, where he fixed his residence. The duke lost his life on the scaffold for imputed treason soon after John's accession.—Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 416.

[30] Comines, Mémoires, liv. 5, chap. 7.—Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 116.—Zurita, Anales, lib. 20, cap. 25.— Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 27.

[31] This was the first meeting between father and son since the elevation of the latter to the Castilian throne. King John would not allow Ferdinand to kiss his hand; he chose to walk on his left; he attended him to his quarters, and, in short, during the whole twenty days of their conference manifested towards his son all the deference, which, as a parent, he was entitled to receive from him. This he did on the ground that Ferdinand, as king of Castile, represented the elder branch of Trastamara, while he represented only the younger. It will not be easy to meet with an instance of more punctilious etiquette, even in Spanish history.—Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, cap. 75.

[32] Salazar de Mendoza, Crón. del Gran Cardenal, p. 162.—Zurita, Anales, lib. 20, cap. 25.—Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 79.

[33] Ruy de Pina, Chrón. d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 206.—L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 166, 167.—Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, cap. 85, 89, 90.— Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 420, 421.—Ferreras, Hist. d'Espagne, tom. vii. p. 538.—Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 79.—Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 28, 36, 37.

[34] Born the preceding year, June 28th, 1478. Carbajal, Anales, MS., anno eodem.

[35] L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 168.—Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, cap. 91.—Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. pp. 420, 421.—Ruy de Pina, Chrón. d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 206.

[36] Ruy de Pina, Chrón. d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 20.—Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 421.—Pulgar, Reyes Católicos, cap. 92.—L. Marineo speaks of the Señora muy excelente, as an inmate of the cloister at the period in which he was writing, 1522, (fol. 168.) Notwithstanding her "irrevocable vows," however, Joanna several times quitted the monastery, and maintained a royal state under the protection of the Portuguese monarchs, who occasionally threatened to revive her dormant claims to the prejudice of the Castilian sovereigns. She may be said, consequently, to have formed the pivot, on which turned, during her whole life, the diplomatic relations between the courts of Castile and Portugal, and to have been a principal cause of those frequent intermarriages between the royal families of the two countries, by which Ferdinand and Isabella hoped to detach the Portuguese crown from her interests. Joanna affected a royal style and magnificence, and subscribed herself "I the Queen," to the last. She died in the palace at Lisbon, in 1530, in the 69th year of her age, having survived most of her ancient friends, suitors, and competitors.—Joanna's history, subsequent to her taking the veil, has been collected, with his usual precision, by Señor Clemencin, Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., tom. vi. Ilust. 19.

[37] Faria y Sousa, Europa Portuguesa, tom. ii. p. 423.—Ruy de Pina, Chrón. d'el Rey Alfonso V., cap. 212.

[38] Carbajal, Anales, MS., año 79.—Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 42.—Mariana, Hist. de España, (ed Valencia,) tom. viii. p. 204, not.— Abarca, Reyes de Aragon, tom. ii. fol. 295.