The Crusade of the Grand Master of Alcantara
La Cruzada del Gran Maestre de Alcántara
Washington Irving
Tales of the Alhambra
Tales of the Alhambra
IN THE course of a morning’s research among the old chronicles in the Library of the University, I came upon a little episode in the history of Granada, so strongly characteristic of the bigot zeal, which sometimes inflamed the Christian enterprises against this splendid but devoted city, that I was tempted to draw it forth from the parchment-bound volume in which it lay entombed and submit it to the reader.
EN el curso de mis investigaciones matutinas entre las viejas crónicas existentes en la Biblioteca de la Universidad, tropecé con un breve episodio de la historia granadina, tan genuinamente característico del ardiente celo que animaba a veces las empresas cristianas contra esta espléndida aunque desgraciada ciudad, que me decidí a sacarlo del pergamino en que yacía sepultado y ofrecerlo a continuación al lector.
In the year of redemption, 1394, there was a valiant and devout grand master of Alcantara, named Martin Yanez de Barbudo, who was inflamed with a vehement desire to serve God and fight the Moors. Unfortunately for this brave and pious cavalier, a profound peace existed between the Christian and Moslem powers. Henry III had just ascended the throne of Castile, and Yusef ben Mohammed had succeeded to the throne of Granada, and both were disposed to continue the peace which had prevailed between their fathers. The grand master looked with repining at Moorish banners and weapons, which decorated his castle hall, trophies of the exploits of his predecessors; and repined at his fate to exist in a period of such inglorious tranquillity.
En el año 1394 de nuestra redención, hubo un piadoso y valiente Gran Maestre de Alcántara, llamado Martín Yáñez de Barbudo, inflamado de un ardiente deseo de servir a Dios y luchar contra los moros. Desgraciadamente para este bravo y devoto caballero, reinaba una profunda paz entre los poderes cristiano y musulmán. Enrique III acababa de heredar el trono de Castilla, y Yusuf Ibn Mohamed, el de Granada, y ambos monarcas estaban dispuestos a prolongar la paz que había reinado entre sus padres. El Gran Maestre contemplaba con desconsuelo las banderas y armas arábigas que decoraban el salón de su castillo, trofeos que pregonaban las hazañas de sus antepasados, y se dolía de su suerte al vivir en época de tan afrentosa tranquilidad.
At length his impatience broke through all bounds, and seeing that he could find no public war in which to engage, he resolved to carve out a little war for himself. Such at least is the account given by some ancient chronicles, though others give the following as the motive for this sudden resolution to go campaigning.
Llegó por último al límite de su paciencia, y viendo que no estallaba una guerra pública en la que combatir, decidió conseguir una pequeña para su uso particular. Tal es, al menos, el relato que hacen algunas viejas crónicas, aunque otras dan el siguiente como pretexto de su súbita resolución para entrar en campaña:
As the grand master was one day seated at table with several of his cavaliers, a man suddenly entered the hall; tall, meagre and bony, with haggard countenance and fiery eye. All recognized him for a hermit, who had been a soldier in his youth, but now led a life of penitence in a cave. He advanced to the table and struck upon it with a fist that seemed of iron. “Cavaliers, ” said he, “why sit ye here idly, with your weapons resting against the wall, while the enemies of the faith lord it over the fairest portion of the land? ”
Un día que se encontraba el Gran Maestre sentado a la mesa con varios de sus caballeros, entró bruscamente en el salón un hombre alto, delgado y huesudo, de semblante macilento y fiera mirada. Todos reconocieron en él a un ermitaño que fue soldado en su juventud y ahora llevaba una vida penitente en una cueva; el cual avanzó basta la mesa y la golpeó con un puño que parecía de ‘hierro. —¡Caballeros! —les dijo—. ¿Cómo es posible que estéis aquí tranquilamente sentados, con vuestras armas descansando en la pared, mientras los enemigos de nuestra fe señorean la parte más próspera del país?
“Holy father, what wouldst thou have us do, ” asked the grand master, “seeing the wars are over and our swords bound up by treaties of peace? ”
—Reverendo padre —le preguntó el Gran Maestre—: ¿qué queréis que hagamos si las guerras terminaron y están nuestras espadas enmohecidas por los tratados de paz?
“Listen to my words, ” replied the hermit. “As I was seated late at night at the entrance of my cave, contemplating the heavens, I fell into a reverie, and a wonderful vision was presented to me. I beheld the moon, a mere crescent, yet luminous as the brightest silver, and it hung in the heavens over the kingdom of Granada. While I was looking at it, behold there shot forth from the firmament a blazing star, which, as it went, drew after it all the stars of heaven; and they assailed the moon and drove it from the skies; and the whole firmament was filled with the glory of that blazing star. While mine eyes were yet dazzled by this wondrous sight, some one stood by me with snowy wings and a shining countenance. ‘Oh man of prayer,’ said he, ‘get thee to the grand master of Alcantara and tell him of the vision thou hast beheld. He is the blazing star, destined to drive the crescent, the Moslem emblem, from the land. Let him boldly draw the sword and continue the good work begun by Pelazo of old, and victory will assuredly attend his banner.’ ”
—¡Oídme! —respondió el ermitaño—. Estaba yo anoche sentado a una hora avanzada en la puerta de mi gruta, contemplando el cielo, cuando quedé adormecido en un sueño, y una maravillosa visión se ofreció a mis ojos. Vi que el astro de la noche era sólo una media luna, pero luminosa como la plata más nítida y refulgente, rebrillando en los cielos sobre el reino de Granada. Mientras la observaba, vi cómo surgía del firmamento una fulgurante estrella que arrastraba tras de sí a todos los astros del cielo, la cual acometió a la luna y la expulsó de la bóveda celeste, en tanto que todo el universo se llenaba del esplendor de la victoriosa estrella. Todavía estaban mis ojos deslumbrados por este maravilloso espectáculo cuando alguien vino junto a mí, con alas más blancas que la nieve y aspecto resplandeciente. —¡Oh tú, santo varón de rezos y penitencias! —me dijo—. Busca al Gran Maestre de Alcántara y dale cuenta de la visión que has presenciado. Hazle saber que es él la brillante estrella elegida para expulsar del país a la Media Luna, emblema de los infieles. Dile asimismo que desenvaine valientemente la espada y continúe la gloriosa empresa comenzada en otro tiempo por Don Pelayo, y asegúrale que el triunfo acompañará a sus banderas.
The grand master listened to the hermit as to a messenger from heaven, and followed his counsel in all things. By his advice he dispatched two of his stoutest warriors, armed cap-a-pie, on an embassy to the Moorish king. They entered the gates of Granada without molestation, as the nations were at peace; and made their way to the Alhambra, where they were promptly admitted to the king, who received them in the Hall of Ambassadors. They delivered their message roundly and hardily. “We come, oh king, from Don Martin Yanez de Barbudo, grand master of Alcantara; who affirms the faith of Jesus Christ to be true and holy, and that of Mahomet false and detestable, and he challenges thee to maintain the contrary, hand to hand, in single combat. Shouldst thou refuse, he offers to combat with one hundred cavaliers against two hundred; or, in like proportion, to the number of one thousand, always allowing thy faith a double number of champions. Remember, oh king, that thou canst not refuse this challenge; since thy prophet, knowing the impossibility of maintaining his doctrines by argument, has commanded his followers to enforce them with the sword. ”
El Gran Maestre escuchó al ermitaño como si fuera un enviado del Cielo, y se aprestó a seguir su consejo al pie de la letra. Así, pues, envió una embajada al rey moro con dos de sus más intrépidos guerreros, armados de pies a cabeza. Estos entraron por las puertas de Granada sin ser molestados, puesto que entre ambas naciones reinaba la paz, y se dirigieron hacia la Alhambra, en donde prontamente fueron conducidos ante el rey, quien los recibió en el salón de Embajadores, y al que comunicaron valientemente y sin rodeos el mensaje de que eran portadores. —Venimos, ¡oh rey!, de parte de don Martín Yáñez de Barbudo, Gran Maestre de Alcántara, el cual afirma que la fe de Jesucristo es santa y verdadera y la de Mahoma falsa y detestable, y te desafía a mantener lo contrario en singular combate, mano a mano. Si te niegas, te ofrece luchar con cien caballeros cristianos contra doscientos de los tuyos, o en la misma proporción hasta mil, concediendo siempre a los defensores de tu religión doble número de paladines. Recuerda, ¡oh rey!, que no puedes negarte a este reto, pues vuestro profeta, conociendo la imposibilidad de mantener sus doctrinas por medio de argumentos, ordenó a sus secuaces que las impusieran por la espada.
The beard of King Yusef trembled with indignation. “The master of Alcantara, ” said he, “is a madman to send such a message, and ye are saucy knaves to bring it. ”
Las barbas del rey Yusuf temblaron de indignación. —El Maestre de Alcántara —dijo—— es un loco al enviar semejante mensaje, y vosotros sois unos insolentes bellacos al traerlo.
So saying, he ordered the ambassadors to be thrown into a dungeon, by way of giving them a lesson in diplomacy; and they were roughly treated on their way thither by the populace, who were exasperated at this insult to their sovereign and their faith.
Dicho esto, ordenó que encerrasen a los embajadores en un calabozo con ánimo de darles una lección de diplomacia. Cuando los llevaban a su encierro fueron bárbaramente maltratados por el populacho, exasperado por aquel insulto a su soberano y a su fe.
The grand master of Alcantara could scarcely credit the tidings of the maltreatment of his messengers; but the hermit rejoiced when they were repeated to him. “God, ” said he, “has blinded this infidel king for his downfall. Since he has sent no reply to thy defiance, consider it accepted. Marshal thy forces, therefore; march forward to Granada; pause not until thou seest the gate of Elvira. A miracle will be wrought in thy favor. There will be a great battle; the enemy will be overthrown; but not one of thy soldiers will be slain. ”
El Gran Maestre de Alcántara apenas pudo dar crédito a las noticias que recibió de los malos tratos infligidos a sus mensajeros, pero el ermitaño sintió una extrema alegría cuando se lo repitieron. —Dios —exclamó--—, ha cegado a ese rey infiel para perderle. Puesto que no ha dado respuesta a vuestro reto, don Martín, debéis considerarlo como aceptado de su parte. Reunid, pues, vuestras fuerzas; dirigíos hacia Granada y no os detengáis hasta ver la puerta de Elvira. Estoy seguro de que se obrará el milagro en vuestro favor. Se librará una gran batalla y el enemigo será derrotado; mas ni uno solo de vuestros guerreros morirá en ella
The grand master called upon every warrior zealous in the Christian cause to aid him in this crusade. In a little while three hundred horsemen and a thousand foot-soldiers rallied under his standard. The horsemen were veterans; seasoned to battle and well armed; but the infantry were raw and undisciplined. The victory, however, was to be miraculous; the grand master was a man of surpassing faith, and knew that the weaker the means the greater the miracle. He sallied forth confidently, therefore, with his little army, and the hermit strode ahead bearing a cross on the end of a long pole, and beneath it the pennon of the order of Alcantara.
El Gran Maestre hizo un llamamiento a todos los guerreros celosos de la causa cristiana para que le ayudasen en su cruzada. En poco tiempo reunió bajo sus enseñas trescientos jinetes y mil infantes; los primeros, veteranos, curtidos en las batallas y bien armados, pero los infantes eran bisoños e indis ciplinados. A pesar de ello, Martín Yáñez confiaba en una maravillosa victoria, era hombre de ardiente fe y sabía que cuanto mas escasos son los medios, el milagro es mucho mayor. Salió, pues, confiadamente con su pequeño ejército, a la cabeza del cual marchaba el ermitaño llevando una cruz en el extremo de una larga pértiga, y debajo de ella el pendón de la Orden de Alcántara.
As they approached the city of Cordova they were overtaken by messengers, spurring in all haste, bearing missives from the Castilian monarch, forbidding the enterprise. The grand master was a man of a single mind and a single will; in other words, a man of one idea. “Were I on any other errand, ” said he, “I should obey these letters as coming from my lord the king; but I am sent by a higher power than the king. In compliance with its commands I have advanced the cross thus far against the infidels; and it would be treason to the standard of Christ to turn back without achieving my errand. ”
Cuando se aproximaban a la ciudad de Córdoba, fueron alcanzados por unos correos que habían cabalgado a toda prisa y que eran portadores de misivas del monarca de Castilla, prohibiendo aquella arriesgada empresa. El Gran Maestre era hombre de pensamientos y voluntad muy particulares; en otras palabras, hombre de una sola idea. —Si yo estuviese empeñado en otra tarea —dijo— obedecería con gusto estas cartas que me dirige el rey mi señor; pero ahora soy enviado de un poder más alto que el suyo. Cumpliendo sus órdenes he avanzado hasta aquí con la cruz para luchar contra los infieles, y sería una traición para el emblema de Cristo volver ahora la espalda sin cumplir mi sagrada misión.
So the trumpets were sounded; the cross was again reared aloft, and the band of zealots resumed their march. As they passed through the streets of Cordova the people were amazed at beholding a hermit bearing a cross at the head of a warlike multitude; but when they learnt that a miraculous victory was to be effected and Granada destroyed, laborers and artisans threw by the implements of their handicrafts and joined in the crusade; while a mercenary rabble followed on with a view of plunder.
Así, pues, resonaron las trompetas, alzóse de nuevo la cruz y el grupo de piadosos guerreros reanudó su marcha. Cuando pasaron por las calles de Córdoba, el pueblo quedó estupefacto al contemplar a un ermitaño llevando una cruz a la cabeza de un ejército; pero cuando supieron que había de obtenerse una milagrosa victoria y que Granada iba a ser destruida, los obreros y artesanos arrojaron las herramientas de su oficio y se unieron a los cruzados, mientras una chusma mercenaria los seguía con vistas al botín.
A number of cavaliers of rank who lacked faith in the promised miracle, and dreaded the consequences of this unprovoked irruption into the country of the Moor, assembled at the bridge of the Guadalquivir and endeavored to dissuade the grand master from crossing. He was deaf to prayers, expostulations or menaces; his followers were enraged at this opposition to the cause of the faith; they put an end to the parley by their clamors; the cross was again reared and borne triumphantly across the bridge.
Cierto número de caballeros de noble linaje, que no confiaban en el prometido milagro y temían las consecuencias de esta inmotivada irrupción en territorio musulmán, se reunieron en el puente del Guadalquivir y trataron de convencer al Gran Maestre de que no lo cruzase; mas éste permaneció sordo a sus ruegos, reconvenciones o amenazas. Los cruzados montaron en cólera ante esta oposición a la causa de la fe y pusieron fin al parlamento con sus clamores, alzando de nuevo la cruz y llevándola en triunfo a través del puente.
The multitude increased as it proceeded; by the time the grand master had reached Alcala la Real, which stands on a mountain overlooking the Vega of Granada, upwards of five thousand men on foot had joined his standard.
A medida que avanzaba, nuevas gentes se unían a la marcial comitiva; y para cuando el Gran Maestre llegó a Alcalá la Real, enclavada en una montaña que domina la vega de Granada, más de cinco mil hombres de a pie se habían unido a su estandarte.
At Alcala came forth Alonzo Fernandez de Cordova, Lord of Aguilar, his brother Diego Fernandez, Marshal of Castile, and other cavaliers of valor and experience. Placing themselves in the way of the grand master, “What madness is this, Don Martin? ” said they. “The Moorish king has two hundred thousand foot-soldiers and five thousand horse within his walls; what can you and your handful of cavaliers and your noisy rabble do against such force? Bethink you of the disasters which have befallen other Christian commanders, who have crossed these rocky borders with ten times your force. Think, too, of the mischief that will be brought upon this kingdom by an outrage of the kind committed by a man of your rank and importance, a grand master of Alcantara. Pause, we entreat you, while the truce is yet unbroken. Await within the borders the reply of the king of Granada to your challenge. If he agree to meet you singly, or with champions two or three, it will be your individual contest, and fight it out in God’s name; if he refuse, you may return home with great honor and the disgrace will fall upon the Moors. ”
En esta población salieron a su encuentro Alonso Fernández de Córdoba, señor de Aguilar, su hermano Diego Fernández, Mariscal de Castilla, y otros caballeros de valor y experiencia. Atravesándose al paso del gran Maestre, le dijeron: —¿Qué locura es ésta, don Martín? El rey de Granada cuenta dentro de sus murallas con doscientos mil infantes y cinco mil jinetes. ¿Qué podéis hacer vos, vuestro puñado de caballeros y esa bulliciosa chusma contra fuerza semejante? Pensad en los desastres que sobrevinieron a otros jefes cristianos que osaron traspasar esos limites rocosos con fuerzas diez veces mayores que las vuestras. Pensad igualmente en el oprobio que caerá sobre este reino por una imprudencia de esa naturaleza, cometida por un hombre de vuestra alcurnia y condición, por el Gran Maestre de Alcántara. Os suplicamos encarecidamente que os detengáis, puesto que todavía no se ha roto la tregua de paz. Esperad dentro de nuestras fronteras la respuesta del rey de Granada a vuestro desafío. Si él accede a pelear con vos tan sólo o con dos o tres paladines, este combate personal será de vuestra responsabilidad exclusiva, y lo reñiréis en nombre de Dios; si se niega, podéis regresar a vuestros lares con gran honor, y la desgracia caerá sobre los moros.
Several cavaliers, who had hitherto followed the grand master with devoted zeal, were moved by these expostulations, and suggested to him the policy of listening to this advice.
Varios caballeros que hasta este momento habían seguido al caudillo cristiano con fervoroso entusiasmo, se sintieron conmovidos por estas juiciosas reflexiones y le aconsejaron, con sabia política, que escuchara este parecer.
“Cavaliers, ” said he, addressing himself to Alonzo Fernandez de Cordova and his companions, “I thank you for the counsel you have so kindly bestowed upon me, and if I were merely in pursuit of individual glory I might be swayed by it. But I am engaged to achieve a great triumph of the faith, which God is to effect by miracle through my means. As to you, cavaliers, ” turning to those of his followers who had wavered, “if your hearts fail you, or you repent of having put your hands to this good work; return in God’s name, and my blessing go with you. For myself, though I have none to stand by me but this holy hermit, yet will I assuredly proceed; until I have planted this sacred standard on the walls of Granada, or perished in the attempt. ”
—Señores —respondió don Martín, dirigiéndose a don Alonso Fernández de Córdoba y a sus compañeros—, os agradezco el consejo que me habéis otorgado tan amablemente y si yo persiguiese únicamente mi gloria personal, tened por cierto que lo seguiría; pero me hallo empeñado en lograr un gran triunfo para nuestra fe, que Dios obtendrá milagrosamente por mi mediación. En cuanto a vosotros, caballeros —añadió, volviéndose hacia aquellos de sus partidarios que se habían mostrado vacilantes—, si se debilita vuestro ánimo u os arrepentís de haber emprendido esta gloriosa empresa, volveos en nombre de Dios y que mi bendición os acompañe. En cuanto a mi, aunque no tenga más apoyo que el de este santo ermitaño, continuaré sin vacilar hacia adelante, hasta plantar esta sagrada enseña en los muros de Granada o perecer en la demanda.
“Don Martin Yanez de Barbudo, ” replied the cavaliers, “we are not men to turn our backs upon our commander, however rash his enterprise. We spoke but in caution. Lead on, therefore, and if it be to the death, be assured to the death we will follow thee. ”
—Don Martín Yáñez de Barbudo —respondieron los caballeros—: no somos hombres para volver la espalda a nuestro jefe por temeraria que sea esta expedición. Sólo os dimos un prudente aviso. Así, pues, guiadnos aunque fuere hasta la muerte y estad seguro de que hasta la muerte os seguiremos.
By this time the common soldiers became impatient. “Forward! forward! ” shouted they. “Forward in the cause of faith. ” So the grand master gave signal, the hermit again reared the cross aloft, and they poured down a defile of the mountain, with solemn chants of triumph.
Mientras tenía lugar este diálogo, los soldados empezaban a impacientarse. —¡Adelante! ¡Adelante! —gritaban—. ¡Adelante por la santa causa de la fe! El Gran Maestre dio la señal de marcha, el ermitaño alzó de nuevo la cruz y se adentraron por un desfiladero de la montaña, entre solemnes cánticos de triunfo.
That night they encamped at the river of Azores, and the next morning, which was Sunday, crossed the borders. Their first pause was at an atalaya or solitary tower, built upon a rock; a frontier post to keep a watch upon the border, and give notice of invasion. It was thence called el Torre del Exea (the Tower of the Spy). The grand master halted before it and summoned its petty garrison to surrender. He was answered by a shower of stones and arrows, which wounded him in the hand and killed three of his men.
Aquella noche acamparon junto al río de Azores, y a la mañana siguiente, que era domingo, cruzaron la frontera enemiga. Su primer alto fu.~ en una atalaya construida sobre una roca, puesto limítrofe destinado a vigilar los confines y dar aviso de una posible invasión, por lo que era llamada la torre de Egea (o del espía). El Gran Maestre se detuvo ante ella y conminó a rendirse a su reducida guarnición.
La respuesta se expresó en una lluvia de piedras y dardos que hirieron a don Martín en la mano y mataron a tres de sus hombres.
“How is this, father? ” said he to the hermit, “you assured me that not one of my followers would be slain!”
—¿Cómo es esto, padre? —preguntó al ermitaño—. ¡Me asegurasteis que no moriría ni uno solo de mis guerreros!
“True, my son; but I meant in the great battle of the infidel king; what need is there of miracle to aid in the capture of a petty tower? ”
—Es cierto, hijo mío; pero me refería a la gran batalla que sostendréis con el rey infiel. ¿Qué necesidad hay de un milagro que nos ayude a conquistar una torrecilla?
The grand master was satisfied. He ordered wood to be piled against the door of the tower to burn it down. In the mean time provisions were unloaded from the sumpter-mules, and the crusaders, withdrawing beyond bow-shot, sat down on the grass to a repast to strengthen them for the arduous day’s work before them. While thus engaged, they were startled by the sudden appearance of a great Moorish host. The atalayas had given the alarm by fire and smoke from the mountain tops of “an enemy across the border, ” and the king of Granada had sallied forth with a great force to the encounter.
El Gran Maestre tranquilizóse con esta respuesta y dio orden de que se apilase leña contra la puerta de la torre para incendiarla. Entre tanto, fueron descargadas las provisiones de las acémilas, y los cruzados, lejos del alcance de las flechas, sentáronse a comer sobre la hierba, a fin de cobrar fuerzas para la ardua labor de los días siguientes. Mientras estaban confiadamente ocupados en este menester, les sorprendió la brusca irrupción de una gran hueste morisca. Las atalayas situadas en las cumbres de los montes habían dado la alarma, por medio de hogueras y columnas de humo, de que el enemigo cruzaba la frontera, y el rey Yusuf de Granada había salido a su encuentro con un formidable ejército.
The crusaders, nearly taken by surprise, flew to arms and prepared for battle. The grand master ordered his three hundred horsemen to dismount and fight on foot in support of the infantry. The Moors, however, charged so suddenly that they separated the cavaliers from the foot-soldiers and prevented their uniting. The grand master gave the old war cry, “Santiago! Santiago! and close Spain! ” He and his knights breasted the fury of the battle, but were surrounded by a countless host and assailed with arrows, stones, darts, and arquebuses. Still they fought fearlessly, and made prodigious slaughter. The hermit mingled in the hottest of the fight. In one hand he bore the cross, in the other he brandished a sword, with which he dealt about him like a maniac, slaying several of the enemy, until he sank to the ground covered with wounds. The grand master saw him fall, and saw too late the fallacy of his prophecies. Despair, however, only made him fight the more fiercely, until he also fell overpowered by numbers. His devoted cavaliers emulated his holy zeal. Not one turned his back nor asked for mercy; all fought until they fell. As to the foot-soldiers, many were killed, many taken prisoners; the residue escaped to Alcala la Real. When the Moors came to strip the slain, the wounds of the cavaliers were all found to be in front.
Los cruzados, cogidos casi por sorpresa, corrieron en busca de sus armas y se aprestaron a la lucha. El Gran Maestre ordenó a sus trescientos jinetes que desmontasen y peleasen a pie en apoyo de la infantería; pero los moros cargaron con tal rapidez que impidieron juntarse a los cristianos y mantuvieron separados a los jinetes de los infantes. El Gran Maestre lanzó el viejo grito de guerra: «¡Santiago! ¡Santiago y cierra España! » Tanto él como sus caballeros luchaban como leones en el fragor del combate, pero estaban rodeados por una inmensa turba y atacados por piedras, dardos y arcabuces. Pese a su inferioridad, luchaban con audacia y arrojo e hicieron horribles estragos en las filas de sus adversarios. El ermitaño se mezcló en lo más violento de la pelea, llevando en una mano la cruz y blandiendo en la otra una espada con la que, como loco, asestaba formidables mandobles a su alrededor, matando a varios enemigos, hasta que cayó a tierra cubierto de heridas. El Gran Maestre le vio caer, y comprendió demasiado tarde la falacia de sus profecías; la desesperación, sin embargo, le hizo combatir con más fiereza, hasta que él también cayó vencido por la aplastante superioridad numérica, mientras sus piadosos caballeros emulaban su santo celo. Ni uno solo volvió la espalda ni imploró misericordia; todos lucharon hasta la muerte. En cuanto a los infantes, muchos fueron muertos; otros, prisioneros, ‘y el resto huyó hacia Alcalá la Real. Cuando los moros se dedicaron a despojar los cadáveres de los cruzados, comprobaron que todas las heridas de los caballeros habían sido causadas de frente.
Such was the catastrophe of this fanatic enterprise. The Moors vaunted it as a decisive proof of the superior sanctity of their faith, and extolled their king to the skies when he returned in triumph to Granada. Tal fue la catástrofe de esta fantástica empresa.
Los moros la esgrimían como argumento decisivo de la superioridad de su religión, y recibieron en triunfo a su rey cuando regresó victorioso a Granada.
As it was satisfactorily shown that this crusade was the enterprise of an individual and contrary to the express orders of the king of Castile, the peace of the two kingdoms was not interrupted. Nay, the Moors evinced a feeling of respect for the valor of the unfortunate grand master, and readily gave up his body to Don Alonzo Fernandez de Cordova, who came from Alcala to seek it. The Christians of the frontier united in paying the last sad honors to his memory. His body was placed upon a bier, covered with the pennon of the order of Alcantara; and the broken cross, the emblem of his confident hopes and fatal disappointment, was borne before it. In this way his remains were carried back in funeral procession, through the mountain tract which he had traversed so resolutely. Wherever it passed, through a town or village, the populace followed, with tears and lamentations, bewailing him as a valiant knight and a martyr to the faith. His body was interred in the chapel of the convent of Santa Maria de Almocovara, and on his sepulchre may still be seen engraven in quaint and antique Spanish the following testimonial to his bravery:
HERE LIES ONE WHOSE HEART NEVER KNEW FEAR
(Aqui yaz aquel que par neua cosa nunca eve pavor en seu corazon)
La paz no se interrumpió entre los dos reinos cuando quedó demostrado satisfactoriamente que esta cruzada fue un empeño personal de Don Martín Yáñez, y contraria a las órdenes expresas del rey de Castilla. Es más: los moros dieron muestras del sentimiento de respeto que les inspiraba el valor del infortunado Gran Maestre, y gustosamente entregaron su cuerpo a Don Alonso Fernández de Córdoba, que vino desde Alcalá a buscarlo. Los cristianos de la frontera se unieron para rendir las últimas exequias en su memoria. El cadáver fue colocado en un féretro y cubierto por el pendón de la Orden de Alcántara; la cruz rota, símbolo de sus confiadas esperanzas y fatal desengaño, iba delante de él. De esta manera fueron trasladados sus restos, en fúnebre cortejo, a través de la comarca montañosa que tan resueltamente había atravesado. Por todos los lugares que pasaban, ciudades y aldeas, seguíalo el pueblo con lágrimas y lamentaciones llorándole como valiente caballero y mártir de la fe. Su cuerpo fue enterrado en la capilla del convento de Santa Maria de Almogávar y aún puede verse esculpido sobre su sepulcro, en curioso español antiguo, el siguiente epitafio, testimonio de su bravura:
Aqui yaz aquel que par neua cosa nunca eve pavor en seu corazon.
Alternative Text:
Tales of the Alhambra
Tales of the Alhambra is a collection of essays, verbal sketches, and stories by Washington Irving. It was originally published in May 1832
The Crusade of the Grand Master of Alcantara.
IN THE course of a morning’s research among the old chronicles in the Library of the University, I came upon a little episode in the history of Granada, so strongly characteristic of the bigot zeal, which sometimes inflamed the Christian enterprises against this splendid but devoted city, that I was tempted to draw it forth from the parchment-bound volume in which it lay entombed and submit it to the reader.
In the year of redemption, 1394, there was a valiant and devout grand master of Alcantara, named Martin Yanez de Barbudo, who was inflamed with a vehement desire to serve God and fight the Moors. Unfortunately for this brave and pious cavalier, a profound peace existed between the Christian and Moslem powers. Henry III had just ascended the throne of Castile, and Yusef ben Mohammed had succeeded to the throne of Granada, and both were disposed to continue the peace which had prevailed between their fathers. The grand master looked with repining at Moorish banners and weapons, which decorated his castle hall, trophies of the exploits of his predecessors; and repined at his fate to exist in a period of such inglorious tranquillity.
At length his impatience broke through all bounds, and seeing that he could find no public war in which to engage, he resolved to carve out a little war for himself. Such at least is the account given by some ancient chronicles, though others give the following as the motive for this sudden resolution to go campaigning.
As the grand master was one day seated at table with several of his cavaliers, a man suddenly entered the hall; tall, meagre and bony, with haggard countenance and fiery eye. All recognized him for a hermit, who had been a soldier in his youth, but now led a life of penitence in a cave. He advanced to the table and struck upon it with a fist that seemed of iron. "Cavaliers," said he, "why sit ye here idly, with your weapons resting against the wall, while the enemies of the faith lord it over the fairest portion of the land?"
"Holy father, what wouldst thou have us do," asked the grand master, "seeing the wars are over and our swords bound up by treaties of peace?"
"Listen to my words," replied the hermit. "As I was seated late at night at the entrance of my cave, contemplating the heavens, I fell into a reverie, and a wonderful vision was presented to me. I beheld the moon, a mere crescent, yet luminous as the brightest silver, and it hung in the heavens over the kingdom of Granada. While I was looking at it, behold there shot forth from the firmament a blazing star, which, as it went, drew after it all the stars of heaven; and they assailed the moon and drove it from the skies; and the whole firmament was filled with the glory of that blazing star. While mine eyes were yet dazzled by this wondrous sight, some one stood by me with snowy wings and a shining countenance. ‘Oh man of prayer,’ said he, ‘get thee to the grand master of Alcantara and tell him of the vision thou hast beheld. He is the blazing star, destined to drive the crescent, the Moslem emblem, from the land. Let him boldly draw the sword and continue the good work begun by Pelazo of old, and victory will assuredly attend his banner.’"
The grand master listened to the hermit as to a messenger from heaven, and followed his counsel in all things. By his advice he dispatched two of his stoutest warriors, armed cap-a-pie, on an embassy to the Moorish king. They entered the gates of Granada without molestation, as the nations were at peace; and made their way to the Alhambra, where they were promptly admitted to the king, who received them in the Hall of Ambassadors. They delivered their message roundly and hardily. "We come, oh king, from Don Martin Yanez de Barbudo, grand master of Alcantara; who affirms the faith of Jesus Christ to be true and holy, and that of Mahomet false and detestable, and he challenges thee to maintain the contrary, hand to hand, in single combat. Shouldst thou refuse, he offers to combat with one hundred cavaliers against two hundred; or, in like proportion, to the number of one thousand, always allowing thy faith a double number of champions. Remember, oh king, that thou canst not refuse this challenge; since thy prophet, knowing the impossibility of maintaining his doctrines by argument, has commanded his followers to enforce them with the sword."
The beard of King Yusef trembled with indignation. "The master of Alcantara," said he, "is a madman to send such a message, and ye are saucy knaves to bring it."
So saying, he ordered the ambassadors to be thrown into a dungeon, by way of giving them a lesson in diplomacy; and they were roughly treated on their way thither by the populace, who were exasperated at this insult to their sovereign and their faith.
The grand master of Alcantara could scarcely credit the tidings of the maltreatment of his messengers; but the hermit rejoiced when they were repeated to him. "God," said he, "has blinded this infidel king for his downfall. Since he has sent no reply to thy defiance, consider it accepted. Marshal thy forces, therefore; march forward to Granada; pause not until thou seest the gate of Elvira. A miracle will be wrought in thy favor. There will be a great battle; the enemy will be overthrown; but not one of thy soldiers will be slain."
The grand master called upon every warrior zealous in the Christian cause to aid him in this crusade. In a little while three hundred horsemen and a thousand foot-soldiers rallied under his standard. The horsemen were veterans; seasoned to battle and well armed; but the infantry were raw and undisciplined. The victory, however, was to be miraculous; the grand master was a man of surpassing faith, and knew that the weaker the means the greater the miracle. He sallied forth confidently, therefore, with his little army, and the hermit strode ahead bearing a cross on the end of a long pole, and beneath it the pennon of the order of Alcantara.
As they approached the city of Cordova they were overtaken by messengers, spurring in all haste, bearing missives from the Castilian monarch, forbidding the enterprise. The grand master was a man of a single mind and a single will; in other words, a man of one idea. "Were I on any other errand," said he, "I should obey these letters as coming from my lord the king; but I am sent by a higher power than the king. In compliance with its commands I have advanced the cross thus far against the infidels; and it would be treason to the standard of Christ to turn back without achieving my errand."
So the trumpets were sounded; the cross was again reared aloft, and the band of zealots resumed their march. As they passed through the streets of Cordova the people were amazed at beholding a hermit bearing a cross at the head of a warlike multitude; but when they learnt that a miraculous victory was to be effected and Granada destroyed, laborers and artisans threw by the implements of their handicrafts and joined in the crusade; while a mercenary rabble followed on with a view of plunder.
A number of cavaliers of rank who lacked faith in the promised miracle, and dreaded the consequences of this unprovoked irruption into the country of the Moor, assembled at the bridge of the Guadalquivir and endeavored to dissuade the grand master from crossing. He was deaf to prayers, expostulations or menaces; his followers were enraged at this opposition to the cause of the faith; they put an end to the parley by their clamors; the cross was again reared and borne triumphantly across the bridge.
The multitude increased as it proceeded; by the time the grand master had reached Alcala la Real, which stands on a mountain overlooking the Vega of Granada, upwards of five thousand men on foot had joined his standard.
At Alcala came forth Alonzo Fernandez de Cordova, Lord of Aguilar, his brother Diego Fernandez, Marshal of Castile, and other cavaliers of valor and experience. Placing themselves in the way of the grand master, "What madness is this, Don Martin?" said they. "The Moorish king has two hundred thousand foot-soldiers and five thousand horse within his walls; what can you and your handful of cavaliers and your noisy rabble do against such force? Bethink you of the disasters which have befallen other Christian commanders, who have crossed these rocky borders with ten times your force. Think, too, of the mischief that will be brought upon this kingdom by an outrage of the kind committed by a man of your rank and importance, a grand master of Alcantara. Pause, we entreat you, while the truce is yet unbroken. Await within the borders the reply of the king of Granada to your challenge. If he agree to meet you singly, or with champions two or three, it will be your individual contest, and fight it out in God’s name; if he refuse, you may return home with great honor and the disgrace will fall upon the Moors."
Several cavaliers, who had hitherto followed the grand master with devoted zeal, were moved by these expostulations, and suggested to him the policy of listening to this advice.
"Cavaliers," said he, addressing himself to Alonzo Fernandez de Cordova and his companions, "I thank you for the counsel you have so kindly bestowed upon me, and if I were merely in pursuit of individual glory I might be swayed by it. But I am engaged to achieve a great triumph of the faith, which God is to effect by miracle through my means. As to you, cavaliers," turning to those of his followers who had wavered, "if your hearts fail you, or you repent of having put your hands to this good work; return in God’s name, and my blessing go with you. For myself, though I have none to stand by me but this holy hermit, yet will I assuredly proceed; until I have planted this sacred standard on the walls of Granada, or perished in the attempt."
"Don Martin Yanez de Barbudo," replied the cavaliers, "we are not men to turn our backs upon our commander, however rash his enterprise. We spoke but in caution. Lead on, therefore, and if it be to the death, be assured to the death we will follow thee."
By this time the common soldiers became impatient. "Forward! forward!" shouted they. "Forward in the cause of faith." So the grand master gave signal, the hermit again reared the cross aloft, and they poured down a defile of the mountain, with solemn chants of triumph.
That night they encamped at the river of Azores, and the next morning, which was Sunday, crossed the borders. Their first pause was at an atalaya or solitary tower, built upon a rock; a frontier post to keep a watch upon the border, and give notice of invasion. It was thence called el Torre del Exea (the Tower of the Spy). The grand master halted before it and summoned its petty garrison to surrender. He was answered by a shower of stones and arrows, which wounded him in the hand and killed three of his men.
"How is this, father?" said he to the hermit, "you assured me that not one of my followers would be slain!"
"True, my son; but I meant in the great battle of the infidel king; what need is there of miracle to aid in the capture of a petty tower?"
The grand master was satisfied. He ordered wood to be piled against the door of the tower to burn it down. In the mean time provisions were unloaded from the sumpter-mules, and the crusaders, withdrawing beyond bow-shot, sat down on the grass to a repast to strengthen them for the arduous day’s work before them. While thus engaged, they were startled by the sudden appearance of a great Moorish host. The atalayas had given the alarm by fire and smoke from the mountain tops of "an enemy across the border," and the king of Granada had sallied forth with a great force to the encounter.
The crusaders, nearly taken by surprise, flew to arms and prepared for battle. The grand master ordered his three hundred horsemen to dismount and fight on foot in support of the infantry. The Moors, however, charged so suddenly that they separated the cavaliers from the foot-soldiers and prevented their uniting. The grand master gave the old war cry, "Santiago! Santiago! and close Spain!" He and his knights breasted the fury of the battle, but were surrounded by a countless host and assailed with arrows, stones, darts, and arquebuses. Still they fought fearlessly, and made prodigious slaughter. The hermit mingled in the hottest of the fight. In one hand he bore the cross, in the other he brandished a sword, with which he dealt about him like a maniac, slaying several of the enemy, until he sank to the ground covered with wounds. The grand master saw him fall, and saw too late the fallacy of his prophecies. Despair, however, only made him fight the more fiercely, until he also fell overpowered by numbers. His devoted cavaliers emulated his holy zeal. Not one turned his back nor asked for mercy; all fought until they fell. As to the foot-soldiers, many were killed, many taken prisoners; the residue escaped to Alcala la Real. When the Moors came to strip the slain, the wounds of the cavaliers were all found to be in front.
Such was the catastrophe of this fanatic enterprise. The Moors vaunted it as a decisive proof of the superior sanctity of their faith, and extolled their king to the skies when he returned in triumph to Granada.
As it was satisfactorily shown that this crusade was the enterprise of an individual and contrary to the express orders of the king of Castile, the peace of the two kingdoms was not interrupted. Nay, the Moors evinced a feeling of respect for the valor of the unfortunate grand master, and readily gave up his body to Don Alonzo Fernandez de Cordova, who came from Alcala to seek it. The Christians of the frontier united in paying the last sad honors to his memory. His body was placed upon a bier, covered with the pennon of the order of Alcantara; and the broken cross, the emblem of his confident hopes and fatal disappointment, was borne before it. In this way his remains were carried back in funeral procession, through the mountain tract which he had traversed so resolutely. Wherever it passed, through a town or village, the populace followed, with tears and lamentations, bewailing him as a valiant knight and a martyr to the faith. His body was interred in the chapel of the convent of Santa Maria de Almocovara, and on his sepulchre may still be seen engraven in quaint and antique Spanish the following testimonial to his bravery:
HERE LIES ONE WHOSE HEART NEVER KNEW FEAR
(Aqui yaz aquel que par neua cosa nunca eve pavor en seu corazon)
Tales of the Alhambra is a collection of essays, verbal sketches, and stories by Washington Irving. It was originally published in May 1832
The Crusade of the Grand Master of Alcantara.
IN THE course of a morning’s research among the old chronicles in the Library of the University, I came upon a little episode in the history of Granada, so strongly characteristic of the bigot zeal, which sometimes inflamed the Christian enterprises against this splendid but devoted city, that I was tempted to draw it forth from the parchment-bound volume in which it lay entombed and submit it to the reader.
In the year of redemption, 1394, there was a valiant and devout grand master of Alcantara, named Martin Yanez de Barbudo, who was inflamed with a vehement desire to serve God and fight the Moors. Unfortunately for this brave and pious cavalier, a profound peace existed between the Christian and Moslem powers. Henry III had just ascended the throne of Castile, and Yusef ben Mohammed had succeeded to the throne of Granada, and both were disposed to continue the peace which had prevailed between their fathers. The grand master looked with repining at Moorish banners and weapons, which decorated his castle hall, trophies of the exploits of his predecessors; and repined at his fate to exist in a period of such inglorious tranquillity.
At length his impatience broke through all bounds, and seeing that he could find no public war in which to engage, he resolved to carve out a little war for himself. Such at least is the account given by some ancient chronicles, though others give the following as the motive for this sudden resolution to go campaigning.
As the grand master was one day seated at table with several of his cavaliers, a man suddenly entered the hall; tall, meagre and bony, with haggard countenance and fiery eye. All recognized him for a hermit, who had been a soldier in his youth, but now led a life of penitence in a cave. He advanced to the table and struck upon it with a fist that seemed of iron. "Cavaliers," said he, "why sit ye here idly, with your weapons resting against the wall, while the enemies of the faith lord it over the fairest portion of the land?"
"Holy father, what wouldst thou have us do," asked the grand master, "seeing the wars are over and our swords bound up by treaties of peace?"
"Listen to my words," replied the hermit. "As I was seated late at night at the entrance of my cave, contemplating the heavens, I fell into a reverie, and a wonderful vision was presented to me. I beheld the moon, a mere crescent, yet luminous as the brightest silver, and it hung in the heavens over the kingdom of Granada. While I was looking at it, behold there shot forth from the firmament a blazing star, which, as it went, drew after it all the stars of heaven; and they assailed the moon and drove it from the skies; and the whole firmament was filled with the glory of that blazing star. While mine eyes were yet dazzled by this wondrous sight, some one stood by me with snowy wings and a shining countenance. ‘Oh man of prayer,’ said he, ‘get thee to the grand master of Alcantara and tell him of the vision thou hast beheld. He is the blazing star, destined to drive the crescent, the Moslem emblem, from the land. Let him boldly draw the sword and continue the good work begun by Pelazo of old, and victory will assuredly attend his banner.’"
The grand master listened to the hermit as to a messenger from heaven, and followed his counsel in all things. By his advice he dispatched two of his stoutest warriors, armed cap-a-pie, on an embassy to the Moorish king. They entered the gates of Granada without molestation, as the nations were at peace; and made their way to the Alhambra, where they were promptly admitted to the king, who received them in the Hall of Ambassadors. They delivered their message roundly and hardily. "We come, oh king, from Don Martin Yanez de Barbudo, grand master of Alcantara; who affirms the faith of Jesus Christ to be true and holy, and that of Mahomet false and detestable, and he challenges thee to maintain the contrary, hand to hand, in single combat. Shouldst thou refuse, he offers to combat with one hundred cavaliers against two hundred; or, in like proportion, to the number of one thousand, always allowing thy faith a double number of champions. Remember, oh king, that thou canst not refuse this challenge; since thy prophet, knowing the impossibility of maintaining his doctrines by argument, has commanded his followers to enforce them with the sword."
The beard of King Yusef trembled with indignation. "The master of Alcantara," said he, "is a madman to send such a message, and ye are saucy knaves to bring it."
So saying, he ordered the ambassadors to be thrown into a dungeon, by way of giving them a lesson in diplomacy; and they were roughly treated on their way thither by the populace, who were exasperated at this insult to their sovereign and their faith.
The grand master of Alcantara could scarcely credit the tidings of the maltreatment of his messengers; but the hermit rejoiced when they were repeated to him. "God," said he, "has blinded this infidel king for his downfall. Since he has sent no reply to thy defiance, consider it accepted. Marshal thy forces, therefore; march forward to Granada; pause not until thou seest the gate of Elvira. A miracle will be wrought in thy favor. There will be a great battle; the enemy will be overthrown; but not one of thy soldiers will be slain."
The grand master called upon every warrior zealous in the Christian cause to aid him in this crusade. In a little while three hundred horsemen and a thousand foot-soldiers rallied under his standard. The horsemen were veterans; seasoned to battle and well armed; but the infantry were raw and undisciplined. The victory, however, was to be miraculous; the grand master was a man of surpassing faith, and knew that the weaker the means the greater the miracle. He sallied forth confidently, therefore, with his little army, and the hermit strode ahead bearing a cross on the end of a long pole, and beneath it the pennon of the order of Alcantara.
As they approached the city of Cordova they were overtaken by messengers, spurring in all haste, bearing missives from the Castilian monarch, forbidding the enterprise. The grand master was a man of a single mind and a single will; in other words, a man of one idea. "Were I on any other errand," said he, "I should obey these letters as coming from my lord the king; but I am sent by a higher power than the king. In compliance with its commands I have advanced the cross thus far against the infidels; and it would be treason to the standard of Christ to turn back without achieving my errand."
So the trumpets were sounded; the cross was again reared aloft, and the band of zealots resumed their march. As they passed through the streets of Cordova the people were amazed at beholding a hermit bearing a cross at the head of a warlike multitude; but when they learnt that a miraculous victory was to be effected and Granada destroyed, laborers and artisans threw by the implements of their handicrafts and joined in the crusade; while a mercenary rabble followed on with a view of plunder.
A number of cavaliers of rank who lacked faith in the promised miracle, and dreaded the consequences of this unprovoked irruption into the country of the Moor, assembled at the bridge of the Guadalquivir and endeavored to dissuade the grand master from crossing. He was deaf to prayers, expostulations or menaces; his followers were enraged at this opposition to the cause of the faith; they put an end to the parley by their clamors; the cross was again reared and borne triumphantly across the bridge.
The multitude increased as it proceeded; by the time the grand master had reached Alcala la Real, which stands on a mountain overlooking the Vega of Granada, upwards of five thousand men on foot had joined his standard.
At Alcala came forth Alonzo Fernandez de Cordova, Lord of Aguilar, his brother Diego Fernandez, Marshal of Castile, and other cavaliers of valor and experience. Placing themselves in the way of the grand master, "What madness is this, Don Martin?" said they. "The Moorish king has two hundred thousand foot-soldiers and five thousand horse within his walls; what can you and your handful of cavaliers and your noisy rabble do against such force? Bethink you of the disasters which have befallen other Christian commanders, who have crossed these rocky borders with ten times your force. Think, too, of the mischief that will be brought upon this kingdom by an outrage of the kind committed by a man of your rank and importance, a grand master of Alcantara. Pause, we entreat you, while the truce is yet unbroken. Await within the borders the reply of the king of Granada to your challenge. If he agree to meet you singly, or with champions two or three, it will be your individual contest, and fight it out in God’s name; if he refuse, you may return home with great honor and the disgrace will fall upon the Moors."
Several cavaliers, who had hitherto followed the grand master with devoted zeal, were moved by these expostulations, and suggested to him the policy of listening to this advice.
"Cavaliers," said he, addressing himself to Alonzo Fernandez de Cordova and his companions, "I thank you for the counsel you have so kindly bestowed upon me, and if I were merely in pursuit of individual glory I might be swayed by it. But I am engaged to achieve a great triumph of the faith, which God is to effect by miracle through my means. As to you, cavaliers," turning to those of his followers who had wavered, "if your hearts fail you, or you repent of having put your hands to this good work; return in God’s name, and my blessing go with you. For myself, though I have none to stand by me but this holy hermit, yet will I assuredly proceed; until I have planted this sacred standard on the walls of Granada, or perished in the attempt."
"Don Martin Yanez de Barbudo," replied the cavaliers, "we are not men to turn our backs upon our commander, however rash his enterprise. We spoke but in caution. Lead on, therefore, and if it be to the death, be assured to the death we will follow thee."
By this time the common soldiers became impatient. "Forward! forward!" shouted they. "Forward in the cause of faith." So the grand master gave signal, the hermit again reared the cross aloft, and they poured down a defile of the mountain, with solemn chants of triumph.
That night they encamped at the river of Azores, and the next morning, which was Sunday, crossed the borders. Their first pause was at an atalaya or solitary tower, built upon a rock; a frontier post to keep a watch upon the border, and give notice of invasion. It was thence called el Torre del Exea (the Tower of the Spy). The grand master halted before it and summoned its petty garrison to surrender. He was answered by a shower of stones and arrows, which wounded him in the hand and killed three of his men.
"How is this, father?" said he to the hermit, "you assured me that not one of my followers would be slain!"
"True, my son; but I meant in the great battle of the infidel king; what need is there of miracle to aid in the capture of a petty tower?"
The grand master was satisfied. He ordered wood to be piled against the door of the tower to burn it down. In the mean time provisions were unloaded from the sumpter-mules, and the crusaders, withdrawing beyond bow-shot, sat down on the grass to a repast to strengthen them for the arduous day’s work before them. While thus engaged, they were startled by the sudden appearance of a great Moorish host. The atalayas had given the alarm by fire and smoke from the mountain tops of "an enemy across the border," and the king of Granada had sallied forth with a great force to the encounter.
The crusaders, nearly taken by surprise, flew to arms and prepared for battle. The grand master ordered his three hundred horsemen to dismount and fight on foot in support of the infantry. The Moors, however, charged so suddenly that they separated the cavaliers from the foot-soldiers and prevented their uniting. The grand master gave the old war cry, "Santiago! Santiago! and close Spain!" He and his knights breasted the fury of the battle, but were surrounded by a countless host and assailed with arrows, stones, darts, and arquebuses. Still they fought fearlessly, and made prodigious slaughter. The hermit mingled in the hottest of the fight. In one hand he bore the cross, in the other he brandished a sword, with which he dealt about him like a maniac, slaying several of the enemy, until he sank to the ground covered with wounds. The grand master saw him fall, and saw too late the fallacy of his prophecies. Despair, however, only made him fight the more fiercely, until he also fell overpowered by numbers. His devoted cavaliers emulated his holy zeal. Not one turned his back nor asked for mercy; all fought until they fell. As to the foot-soldiers, many were killed, many taken prisoners; the residue escaped to Alcala la Real. When the Moors came to strip the slain, the wounds of the cavaliers were all found to be in front.
Such was the catastrophe of this fanatic enterprise. The Moors vaunted it as a decisive proof of the superior sanctity of their faith, and extolled their king to the skies when he returned in triumph to Granada.
As it was satisfactorily shown that this crusade was the enterprise of an individual and contrary to the express orders of the king of Castile, the peace of the two kingdoms was not interrupted. Nay, the Moors evinced a feeling of respect for the valor of the unfortunate grand master, and readily gave up his body to Don Alonzo Fernandez de Cordova, who came from Alcala to seek it. The Christians of the frontier united in paying the last sad honors to his memory. His body was placed upon a bier, covered with the pennon of the order of Alcantara; and the broken cross, the emblem of his confident hopes and fatal disappointment, was borne before it. In this way his remains were carried back in funeral procession, through the mountain tract which he had traversed so resolutely. Wherever it passed, through a town or village, the populace followed, with tears and lamentations, bewailing him as a valiant knight and a martyr to the faith. His body was interred in the chapel of the convent of Santa Maria de Almocovara, and on his sepulchre may still be seen engraven in quaint and antique Spanish the following testimonial to his bravery:
HERE LIES ONE WHOSE HEART NEVER KNEW FEAR
(Aqui yaz aquel que par neua cosa nunca eve pavor en seu corazon)
