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Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada

by Washington Irving

CONTENTS.

I..........Of the Kingdom of Granada, and the Tribute which it Paid

to the Castilian Crown.

II.........Of the Embassy of Don Juan de Vera to Demand Arrears of

Tribute from the Moorish Monarch.

III........Domestic Feuds in the Alhambra--Rival Sultanas--Predictions

concerning Boabdil, the Heir to the Throne--How

Ferdinand Meditates War against Granada, and how he

is Anticipated.

IV.........Expedition of the Muley Abul Hassan against the Fortress

of Zahara.

V..........Expedition of the Marques of Cadiz against Alhama.

VI.........How the People of Granada were Affected on Hearing of the

Capture of the Alhama; and how the Moorish King

sallied forth to Regain it.

VII........How the Duke of Medina Sidonia and the Chivalry of

Andalusia Hastened to the Relief of Alhama.

VIII.......Sequel of the Events at Alhama.

IX.........Events at Granada, and Rise of the Moorish King, Boabdil

el Chico.

X..........Royal Expedition against Loxa.

XI.........How Muley Abul Hassan made a Foray into the Lands of

Medina Sidonia, and how he was Received.

XII........Foray of Spanish Cavaliers among the Mountains of Malaga.

XIII.......Effects of the Disasters among the Mountains of Malaga.

XIV........How King Boabdil el Chico Marched over the Border.

XV.........How the Count de Cabra sallied forth from his Castle in

Quest of King Boabdil.

XVI........The Battle of Lucena.

XVII.......Lamentations of the Moors for the Battle of Lucena.

XVIII......How Muley Abul Hassan Profited by the Misfortunes of his

Son Boabdil.

XIX........Captivity of Boabdil el Chico.

XX.........Of the Treatment of Boabdil by the Castilian Sovereigns.

XXI........Return of Boabdil from Captivity.

XXII.......Foray of the Moorish Alcaydes, and Battle of Lopera.

XXIII......Retreat of Hamet el Zegri, Alcayde of Ronda.

XXIV.......Of the reception at Court of the Count de Cabra and the

Alcayde de los Donceles.

XXV........How the Marques of Cadiz concerted to Surprise Zahara,

and the Result of his Enterprise.

XXVI.......Of the Fortress of Alhama, and how Wisely it was Governed

by the Count de Tendilla.

XXVII......Foray of Christian Knights into the Territory of the Moors.

XXVIII.....Attempt of El Zagal to Surprise Boabdil in Almeria.

XXIX.......How King Ferdinand Commenced another Campaign against the

Moors, and how he Laid Siege to Coin and Cartama.

XXX........Siege of Ronda.

XXXI.......How the People of Granada invited El Zagal to the Throne,

and how he Marched to the Capital.

XXXII......How the Count de Cabra attempted to Capture another King,

and how he Fared in his Attempt.

XXXIII.....Expedition against the Castles of Cambil and Albahar.

XXXIV......Enterprise of the Knights of Calatrava against Zalea.

XXXV.......Death of Muley Abul Hassan.

XXXVI......Of the Christian Army which Assembled at the City of

Cordova.

XXXVII.....How Fresh Commotions broke out in Granada, and how the

People undertook to Allay them.

XXXVIII....How King Ferdinand held a Council of War at the Rock of

the Lovers.

XXXIX......How the Royal Army appeared Before the City of Loxa, and

how it was Received; and of the Doughty Achievements

of the English Earl.

XL.........Conclusion of the Siege of Loxa.

XLI........Capture of Illora.

XLII.......Of the Arrival of Queen Isabella at the Camp before Moclin;

and of the Pleasant Sayings of the English Earl.

XLIII......How King Ferdinand Attacked Moclin, and of the Strange

Events that attended its Capture.

XLIV.......How King Ferdinand Foraged the Vega; and of the Battle of

the Bridge of Pinos, and the Fate of the two Moorish

Brothers.

XLV........Attempt of El Zagal upon the Life of Boabdil, and how the

Latter was Roused to Action.

XLVI.......How Boabdil returned Secretly to Granada, and how he was

Received.--Second Embassy of Don Juan de Vera, and his

Perils in the Alhambra.

XLVII......How King Ferdinand laid Siege to Velez Malaga.

XLVIII.....How King Ferdinand and his Army were Exposed to Imminent

Peril before Velez Malaga.

XLIX.......Result of the Stratagem of El Zagal to Surprise King

Ferdinand.

L..........How the People of Granada Rewarded the Valor of El Zagal.

LI.........Surrender of the Velez Malaga and Other Places.

LII........Of the City of Malaga and its Inhabitants.--Mission of

Hernando del Pulgar.

LIII.......Advance of King Ferdinand against Malaga.

LIV........Siege of Malaga.

LV.........Siege of Malaga continued.--Obstinacy of Hamet el Zegri.

LVI........Attack of the Marques of Cadiz upon Gibralfaro.

LVII.......Siege of Malaga continued.--Stratagems of Various Kinds.

LVIII......Sufferings of the People of Malaga.

LIX........How a Moorish Santon Undertook to Deliver the City of

Malaga from the Power of its Enemies.

LX.........How Hamet el Zegri was Hardened in his Obstinacy by the

Arts of a Moorish Astrologer.

LXI........Siege of Malaga continued.--Destruction of a Tower by

Francisco Ramirez de Madrid.

LXII.......How the People of Malaga expostulated with Hamet el Zegri.

LXIII......How Hamet el Zegri Sallied forth with the Sacred Banner to

Attack the Christian Camp.

LXIV.......How the City of Malaga Capitulated.

LXV........Fulfilment of the Prophecy of the Dervise.--Fate of Hamet

el Zegri.

LXVI.......How the Castilian Sovereigns took Possession of the City

of Malaga, and how King Ferdinand signalized himself

by his Skill in Bargaining with the Inhabitants for

their Ransom.

LXVII......How King Ferdinand prepared to Carry the War into a

Different Part of the Territories of the Moors.

LXVIII.....How King Ferdinand Invaded the Eastern Side of the

Kingdom of Granada, and how He was Received by

El Zagal.

LXIX.......How the Moors made Various Enterprises against the

Christians.

LXX........How King Ferdinand prepared to Besiege the City of Baza,

and how the City prepared for Defence.

LXXI.......The Battle of the Gardens before Baza.

LXXII......Siege of Baza.--Embarrassments of the Army.

LXXIII.....Siege of Baza continued.--How King Ferdinand completely

Invested the City.

LXXIV......Exploit of Hernan Perez del Pulgar and Other Cavaliers.

LXXV.......Continuation of the Siege of Baza.

LXXVI......How Two Friars from the Holy Land arrived at the Camp.

LXXVII.....How Queen Isabella devised Means to Supply the Army

with Provisions.

LXXVIII....Of the Disasters which Befell the Camp.

LXXIX......Encounters between the Christians and Moors before Baza,

and the Devotion of the Inhabitants to the Defence of

their City.

LXXX.......How Queen Isabella arrived at the Camp, and the

Consequences of her Arrival.

LXXXI......Surrender of Baza.

LXXXII.....Submission of El Zagal to the Castilian Sovereigns.

LXXXIII....Events at Granada subsequent to the Submission of El Zagal.

LXXXIV.....How King Ferdinand turned his Hostilities against the City

of Granada.

LXXXV......The Fate of the Castle of Roma.

LXXXVI.....How Boabdil el Chico took the Field, and his Expedition

against Alhendin.

LXXXVII....Exploit of the Count de Tendilla.

LXXXVIII...Expedition of Boabdil el Chico against Salobrena.--Exploit

of Hernan Perez del Pulgar.

LXXXIX.....How King Ferdinand Treated the People of Guadix, and how

El Zagal Finished his Regal Career.

XC.........Preparations of Granada for a Desperate Defence.

XCI........How King Ferdinand conducted the Siege cautiously, and

how Queen Isabella arrived at the Camp.

XCII.......Of the Insolent Defiance of Tarfe the Moor, and the Daring

Exploit of Hernan Perez del Pulgar.

XCIII......How Queen Isabella took a View of the City of Granada, and

how her Curiosity cost the Lives of many Christians

and Moors.

XCIV.......The Last Ravage before Granada.

XCV........Conflagration of the Christian Camp.--Building of Santa Fe.

XCVI.......Famine and Discord in the City.

XCVII......Capitulation of Granada.

XCVIII.....Commotions in Granada.

XCIX.......Surrender of Granada.

C..........How the Castilian Sovereigns took Possession of Granada.

Appendix.

INTRODUCTION

Although the following Chronicle bears the name of the venerable Fray Antonio Agapida, it is rather a superstructure reared upon the fragments which remain of his work. It may be asked, Who is this same Agapida, who is cited with such deference, yet whose name is not to be found in any of the catalogues of Spanish authors? The question is hard to answer. He appears to have been one of the many indefatigable authors of Spain who have filled the libraries of convents and cathedrals with their tomes, without ever dreaming of bringing their labors to the press. He evidently was deeply and accurately informed of the particulars of the wars between his countrymen and the Moors, a tract of history but too much overgrown with the weeds of fable. His glowing zeal, also, in the cause of the Catholic faith entitles him to be held up as a model of the good old orthodox chroniclers, who recorded with such pious exultation the united triumphs of the cross and the sword. It is deeply to be regretted, therefore, that his manuscripts, deposited in the libraries of various convents, have been dispersed during the late convulsions in Spain, so that nothing is now to be met of them but disjointed fragments. These, however, are too precious to be suffered to fall into oblivion, as they contain many curious facts not to be found in any other historian. In the following work, therefore, the manuscript of the worthy Fray Antonio will be adopted wherever it exists entire, but will be filled up, extended, illustrated, and corroborated by citations from various authors, both Spanish and Arabian, who have treated of the subject. Those who may wish to know how far the work is indebted to the Chronicle of Fray Antonio Agapida may readily satisfy their curiosity by referring to his manuscript fragments, carefully preserved in the Library of the Escurial.

Before entering upon the history it may be as well to notice the opinions of certain of the most learned and devout historiographers of former times relative to this war.

Marinus Siculus, historian to Charles V., pronounces it a war to avenge ancient injuries received by the Christians from the Moors, to recover the kingdom of Granada, and to extend the name and honor of the Christian religion.*

*Lucio Marino Siculo, Cosas Memorabiles de Espana, lib. 20.

Estevan de Garibay, one of the most distinguished Spanish historians, regards the war as a special act of divine clemency toward the Moors, to the end that those barbarians and infidels, who had dragged out so many centuries under the diabolical oppression of the absurd sect of Mahomet, should at length be reduced to the Christian faith.*

*Garibay, Compend. Hist. Espana, lib. 18, c. 22.

Padre Mariana, also a venerable Jesuit and the most renowned historian of Spain, considers the past domination of the Moors a scourge inflicted on the Spanish nation for its iniquities, but the conquest of Granada the reward of Heaven for its great act of propitiation in establishing the glorious tribunal of the Inquisition! No sooner (says the worthy father) was this holy office opened in Spain than there shone forth a resplendent light. Then it was that, through divine favor, the nation increased in power, and became competent to overthrow and trample down the Moorish domination.*

*Mariana, Hist. Espana, lib. 25, c. 1.

Having thus cited high and venerable authority for considering this war in the light of one of those pious enterprises denominated crusades, we trust we have said enough to engage the Christian reader to follow us into the field and stand by us to the very issue of the encounter.

NOTE TO THE REVISED EDITION

The foregoing introduction, prefixed to the former editions of this work, has been somewhat of a detriment to it. Fray Antonio Agapida was found to be an imaginary personage, and this threw a doubt over the credibility of his Chronicle, which was increased by a vein of irony indulged here and there, and by the occasional heightening of some of the incidents and the romantic coloring of some of the scenes. A word or two explanatory may therefore be of service.*

*Many of the observations in this note have already appeared in an explanatory article which at Mr. Murray's request, the author furnished to the London Quarterly Review.

The idea of the work was suggested while I was occupied at Madrid in writing the Life of Columbus. In searching for traces of his early life I was led among the scenes of the war of Granada, he having followed the Spanish sovereigns in some of their campaigns, and been present at the surrender of the Moorish capital. I actually wove some of these scenes into the biography, but found they occupied an undue space, and stood out in romantic relief not in unison with the general course of the narrative. My mind, however, had become so excited by the stirring events and romantic achievements of this war that I could not return with composure to the sober biography I had in hand. The idea then occurred, as a means of allaying the excitement, to throw off a rough draught of the history of this war, to be revised and completed at future leisure. It appeared to me that its true course and character had never been fully illustrated. The world had received a strangely perverted idea of it through Florian's romance of "Gonsalvo of Cordova," or through the legend, equally fabulous, entitled "The Civil Wars of Granada," by Ginez Perez de la Hita, the pretended work of an Arabian contemporary, but in reality a Spanish fabrication. It had been woven over with love-tales and scenes of sentimental gallantry totally opposite to its real character; for it was, in truth, one of the sternest of those iron conflicts sanctified by the title of "holy wars." In fact, the genuine nature of the war placed it far above the need of any amatory embellishments. It possessed sufficient interest in the striking contrast presented by the combatants of Oriental and European creeds, costumes, and manners, and in the hardy and harebrained enterprises, the romantic adventures, the picturesque forays through mountain regions, the daring assaults and surprisals of cliff-built castles and cragged fortresses, which succeeded each other with a variety and brilliancy beyond the scope of mere invention.