Project Gutenberg's The Story of Majorca and Minorca, by Clements R. Markham This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: The Story of Majorca and Minorca Author: Clements R. Markham Release Date: August 16, 2016 [EBook #52812] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF MAJORCA AND MINORCA *** Produced by Jana Srna, Bryan Ness, Wayne Hammond and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Million Book Project) iiiiii THE STORY OF MAJORCA AND MINORCA THE STORY OF MAJORCA AND MINORCA BY SIR CLEMENTS R. MARKHAM, K.C.B. AUTHOR OF ‘RICHARD III: LIFE AND CHARACTER’ ‘THE LIFE OF THE GREAT LORD FAIRFAX’ ‘EDWARD VI: AN APPRECIATION’ ETC. WITH TWO MAPS LONDON SMITH, ELDER, & CO., 15 WATERLOO PLACE 1908 [All rights reserved] iv v PREFACE The story of the Islands of Majorca and Minorca has never been told in our language in a condensed form, although the interest is great from an historical point of view, and the materials sufficient, though not perhaps abundant. It is so closely connected with the history of Aragon and the recovery of the Sicilies from the intruding Angevins that the two cannot be altogether separated. The most that can be done is, as far as practicable, to treat the Aragonese and Sicilian events from a Majorcan point of view. This has been attempted. The stirring events of the conquest of Majorca by Jayme I., the latter part of the reign of his son, and the reigns of Sancho and Jayme III., as well as the adventures and death of Jayme IV., the last of his race, all belong strictly to Majorcan history, as do the chapters on Balearic navigators and the revolt of the ‘Comunidades.’ The story fills a gap in the history of Mediterranean countries which may not be altogether unacceptable to students. This has been one object of the writer. Another object has been to supply more detailed information respecting the events of former times in the islands, for the use of the considerable number of visitors who resort to them. The interest of the scenery and of many localities cannot fail to be much increased by a detailed knowledge of the historical associations connected with them. My principal authorities have been the autobiography of Jayme I., the Chronicle of Muntaner, Desclot, Zurita, and the histories of Dameto and Mut, edited by Bover. My thanks are due for much courtesy and assistance from the Count of Montenegro, H.M. Consul Don Bartolomè Bosch y Cerda, and Señor Albareda of the Grand Hotel at Palma, and to Mr. Gilbert Ogilvy for having kindly made sketches for me of the memorial chair at Alfavia. The story of Minorca necessarily embraces an account of the several British occupations, and of some of the operations of the British fleet with Minorca as a base. September 1908. vi vii CONTENTS Page Preface v PART I MAJORCA CHAPTER I Of King Jayme I. of Aragon, and how he resolved to conquer Majorca and drive out the Moors 1 CHAPTER II Tells how King Jayme won a victory over the Moors of Majorca, and gives some account of the Moorish capital 16 CHAPTER III Tells how En Jayme besieged and took the capital, conquered the whole island, and became the first Christian King of Majorca 25 CHAPTER IV King Jayme’s last visits. Settlement of the island—Acts and death of Jayme I. 39 CHAPTER V Tells how the King of Aragon took up Conradin’s glove, how the Pope’s curses went home to roost, and how En Pedro kept his tryst 54 CHAPTER VI Tells how the Queen of Aragon went to Sicily with her sons, how Admiral Lauria won new victories, and how more of the Pope’s curses went home to roost 76 CHAPTER VII Tells how young Federigo held Sicily against all odds, how the Catalan Company went to the east, and how Jayme II. of Majorca was restored to his island home 96 CHAPTER VIII Tells how King Jayme II. at last reigned in peace, and how his page, Raymondo Lulio, attained the crown of martyrdom 107 CHAPTER IX The career of Prince Fernando of Majorca, and tells how the orphan was taken home to its grandmother 120 CHAPTER X King Sancho of Majorca 136 CHAPTER XI King Jayme III. of Majorca 141 CHAPTER XII Relates the adventures of Jayme and Isabel, describes the memorial chair, and records the end of the Majorcan dynasty 151 CHAPTER XIII Relates the story, so far as it concerns Majorca, of the last Kings of Aragon 160 CHAPTER XIV The Majorcans as navigators 170 CHAPTER XV The ‘Comunidades’ 180 CHAPTER XVI The Majorcan historians—War of Succession—Families ennobled—Cotoners, Raxa, and Cardinal Despuig—Country houses 190 CHAPTER XVII viii ix to face p. to face p. The Marquis of Romana and the patriot Jovellanos 201 CHAPTER XVIII Conclusion 213 PART II MINORCA CHAPTER I Minorca—Its prehistoric remains—Mago the Carthaginian 219 CHAPTER II Conquest by Alfonso III.—Barbary pirates 230 CHAPTER III British occupation 242 CHAPTER IV Minorca as a base 253 CHAPTER V Minorca under British rule 263 CHAPTER VI Minorca twice lost 272 CHAPTER VII Third occupation—Loss of British rule 282 Index 291 MAPS Majorca 218 Minorca 290 THE STORY OF MAJORCA AND MINORCA PART I MAJORCA x 1 CHAPTER I Of King Jayme I. of Aragon and how he resolved to conquer Majorca and drive out the Moors Majorca has a very interesting history under its Aragonese princes, and a history which has been well told by those princes themselves and by a loyal vassal who was a diligent seeker after truth. But to understand it we must turn first to the gorges of the Pyrenees and the ports of Catalonia. By the middle of the eighth century the Moors had overcome Spain up to the Pyrenees, and established their rule and their religion in all parts of the country. But there they had to stop. They could not subdue the mountaineers of Asturias and the Basque provinces. Strong in their almost inaccessible valleys in the southern slopes of the Pyrenees, the ancestors of the nobles of Aragon also held their Moslem enemies at bay. Wild as those valleys were, they were beautiful and productive. Evergreen oaks clothed the lower slopes, succeeded by pine forests, and still higher up are the bushes and trees of box so characteristic of the Pyrenees. The mountaineers had their flocks and herds, crops of barley and oats, and abundance of timber. But there was a long struggle before them. The little kingdom of Navarre was founded by Garcia Jimenes as early as 758, and Louis, the son of Charlemagne, drove the Moors out of Barcelona and established a Christian country there about fifty years afterwards. At length the kingdom of Aragon was founded by Ramiro I., a son of the King of Navarre, and Buesca was taken from the Moors and became the first capital of Aragon. Then the great Alonso, surnamed ‘El Batallador,’ having firmly established his power in the plains, drove the Moors out of Zaragoza in 1118, which was thenceforth the capital of Aragon. The marriage of Petronilla, the heiress of Aragon, with Raymond Berenger, the Count of Barcelona, raised the kingdom to a position of importance among the nations of the Middle Ages. The Counts of Barcelona during three centuries had ruled over a maritime people of great energy. These rulers were, for the most part, capable men, whether in war or peace. The Berengers were great warriors. It is related that the first of the family passed his hand, covered with blood, down the face of his golden shield after a battle, and ever afterwards the arms of Barcelona, granted by the Emperor Charles the Bald in 873 and eventually adopted by Aragon, were or four pales gules.1 The old arms of Aragon were a cross of St. George between four Moors’ heads. They were quartered with those of Barcelona after the union; but latterly those of the Counts of Barcelona only were used. Sicily was per saltire the arms of Aragon (Barcelona) above and below, imperial eagles dexter and sinister. As rulers of a maritime and commercial people, the Counts were not found wanting. Count Raymond, called the ‘Old,’ gave the Catalans a code of laws and began the cathedral at Barcelona, and his successors fostered the rising importance of Catalan enterprise. Aragon, like England, was a constitutional monarchy, with the ‘Fueros de Sobrarbe’ as its Magna Charta. The King could do nothing, in peace or war, without the counsel of the nobles, called ‘Ricos Hombres,’2 and there was a court of appeal in the ‘Justicia Mayor.’ The Parliament was composed of the ‘Ricos Hombres’ and the ‘Syndicos’ of the towns. Next in rank to the ‘Ricos Hombres’ were the ‘Infançones,’ equivalent to ‘Hidalgos’ in Castille. The prefix ‘En’ was used in Aragon as equivalent to ‘Don’ in Castille. The Catalan language, allied to the Provençal, was spoken by the people, and written by lawyers, chroniclers, and troubadours. It was extended to Valencia and the Balearic Isles, and claims great antiquity. It was the language of an enterprising commercial people, and was well adapted to be a vehicle for romantic and national songs. The exact identity of duration of the two dynasties of Plantagenets and Aragonese sovereigns invites comparison. The heiress Petronilla was the contemporary of our Empress Maud; and Ferdinand, the last male of his race, was the contemporary of our last Plantagenet, Richard III. They were neighbours, the Pyrenees only separating Gascony of the Plantagenets from Aragon and Catalonia. They were cousins through Eleanor of Provence. They were more than cousins, for Raymond, the husband of Petronilla, chose our Henry II. for the guardian of his children, and the greatest of our kings, Edward I., was the trusted umpire selected by Pedro III. of Aragon, and the intended father-in-law of his son. Both families were composed of remarkable men, renowned for chivalry, bravery, and, in more instances than was the case in most dynasties, for wisdom as rulers. Pedro II. of Aragon reigned from 1196 to 1213. He and his cousin En Nuño de Sans fought at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa side by side with the kings of Castille and Navarre. It was the great conflict which finally settled the preponderance of Christians over Moors. After that famous victory the expulsion of the latter was only a question of time. Pedro married the heiress of Montpellier and became the Lord of that barony, as well as of Roussillon and Cerdaña. This brought him in contact with Simon de Montfort; and the King of Aragon appears to have made an agreement with Simon by which he gave his only son Jayme to be brought up at Carcassonne with a view to his eventual marriage with a daughter of De Montfort. Afterwards a war broke out between Aragon and Carcassonne, and Pedro was slain in a battle near the castle of Muret. The heir of Aragon was at Carcassonne, in the power of his father’s enemy, and was only six years of age. He was born on February 8, 1208. Simon de Montfort at first refused to give him up; but, owing to the intervention of the Pope, he was restored to his subjects, and arrived at Montpellier in safety with his cousin Ramon Berenguer of Provence, who was the same age. This companion of Jayme was the future grandfather of Edward I. of England. Jayme I. of Aragon, surnamed the Conqueror, was among the greatest sovereigns in an age of great sovereigns, the 2 3 4 5 6 7 age of Edward I. of England, of St. Louis of France, of St. Fernando of Castille, of Frederick II. of Germany. Accepted by his Parliament and guarded by his nobles during his minority, Jayme entered upon his duties as ruler of a free people with every advantage. His person is described by Desclot. He was very tall—over six feet—with broad shoulders, small waist, and well-proportioned limbs. He had a fair rosy complexion, blue eyes, and auburn hair. He was strong and active, very expert in all exercises on foot or horseback, valiant and well-practised in arms. He was courteous and affable to all classes of people, and he was as merciful as he was brave. There is one charming incident which throws a very pleasant light on his character. It is related in his own journal. His tent had been pitched in one place for a considerable time, and when the camp was moving it was found that a swallow had built its nest between the tent-poles. The King ordered that the tent was to remain pitched and guarded until the young swallows could fly, saying that the mother-bird had put herself under his protection, and that he could not disappoint her. Jayme, when a boy, was married to a princess of Castilla and had a son by her named Alonso, who died young. But the mother of his other children was Violante, daughter of King Andrew of Hungary and sister of St. Isabel. The first great enterprise undertaken by King Jayme was the expulsion of the Moors from the Balearic Islands, which they had possessed for five hundred years. Majorca, with its satellites Minorca and Iviça, forms a very fine possession. The largest of the islands, with its fifty miles of extent and area covering 1,300 square miles, is nearly square, with its two large bays of Palma and Alcudia on either side and a projection to the south-west; but the grace and beauty of its outline should have saved it from being called a ‘quadrilateral trapezoid.’ A fine range of mountains, mainly of Jurassic limestone (lias), occupies the western and northern sides of the island, with peaks rising to near 5,000 feet. The ‘Puig Galatzo,’ in sight from Palma, is 3,500, and the ‘Puig Major,’ farther north, 4,700 feet in height. The mountainous part contains lovely valleys, with much terrace-cultivation of oranges and olives, many flowering shrubs, and with the higher slopes clothed in forests of Aleppo pines. From this deep green vegetation perpendicular cliffs and peaks of white marble stand out against the deep blue sky. There are lower hills near the south coast, but the rest of the island is a most fertile huerta or garden, covered with almond and apricot trees, and crops or pasture beneath them. In the early spring the whole is one vast sea of almond-blossom. Ancient olive and carob trees take the place of almonds near the skirts of the mountains. On the northern side of the mountains, especially at Miramar, with the sea far below and the white peaks shooting up into the sky, the scene is a perfect dream of loveliness. The Arab conquerors fully appreciated the beauty and advantages of Majorca, with its inheritance of Carthaginian and Roman traditions, ruins, and aqueducts. For does not the chronicler Ask-shakandi describe the island as ‘one of the most fertile and best cultivated countries that God ever made, and the most abundant in provisions of all kinds’? while the poet Ibn-al-labneh tells us that to its capital ‘the ringdove lent the prismatic colours of his collar, and the peacock his beautiful variegated plumage’! It was in 716 that Abdallah, the son of Musa, overran the Balearic Islands, and they became part of the empire of the Beni Umiyyah. During this period they were fully occupied by Moors and Arabs. When the great Cordovan empire fell to pieces, a man of remarkable courage and ability was governor of the town of Denia, on the Valencian coast. This was Mujahid ibn Al Amíri, surnamed Abu-l-jayush, or the father of the army. He was a Cordovan, and a freed man of Abdu-r-rahman, son of the great conqueror Almanzor. Mujahid retained possession of Denia, and made himself Amir of the Balearic Islands in 1015. He was an undaunted warrior, an experienced sailor, and his large fleet dominated the eastern Mediterranean. His son Ali, surnamed Al Muhtadi, succeeded him in 1045, and was in close alliance with the Christian Count of Barcelona, Raymond Berenger I. A remarkable grant has been preserved by which Ali ordered that all the Christian clergy of Denia and the Balearic Islands were to be under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Barcelona. It is a proof of the liberal and tolerant spirit which actuated the Spanish Muhammadan princes. Ali was dethroned by one of this officers named Mubashir, who reigned until 1114, and from that time, though the islanders throve and their capital was enriched, the rulers became aggressive and piratical. They were kept in check to some extent by the fleets of the republic of Pisa; but they made raids on the Catalonian coast, and even sacked Barcelona on one occasion and killed its Count. No Christian ship was safe, and at last the cup of their iniquity was full. King Jayme resolved that Majorca must be conquered and that the Moorish must be replaced by a Catalan population. It was time. The chroniclers call the Moor who was then ruling at Majorca ‘Sheikh Bohibe,’ but his real name appears to have been Abu Yahye ibn Ali Imran At-tinmeleli. King Jayme, by keeping a journal, had an immense advantage over other sovereigns. His autobiography is deeply interesting in itself: its truthfulness is self-evident, and it checks and sometimes disproves the tales of careless chroniclers. It was printed at Valencia in 1474 in Catalan, the language in which it was written; was printed in Spanish for Philip II. in 1557; and Mr. Forster’s English translation, edited by Don Pascual Gayangos, was published in 1883. Here we have a detailed narrative of the conquest of Majorca at first hand. The young King was only in his twentieth year when the great enterprise was undertaken. He ruled over a free people, and it was necessary to call together the Ricos Hombres, the prelates, and the procurators of towns, and to submit his project for their approval. They assembled in the old palace of the Counts of Barcelona. Their assent was unanimous and enthusiastic. The Archbishop of Tarragona, too old to go himself, promised to equip one hundred knights and one thousand infantry. Then up rose En Berenguer de Palou, the Bishop of Barcelona, who was not to be outdone. He declared that he would go himself with 130 knights, one thousand soldiers, and a galley, and that he would not return 8 9 10 11 12 until the conquest was complete. Other prelates—canons, abbots, and monks—followed these examples, down to the sacristan of Gerona, who promised to equip ten knights. The most able and experienced general among the nobles was the King’s cousin En Nuño Sans, the Count of Roussillon, and he spoke in the names of the principal Ricos Hombres, who were En Guillem de Moncada, Viscount of Bearne by marriage, a very great vassal; Ponce Hugo, Count of Ampurias; Ramon de Moncada; Bernardo de Santa Eugenia de Torrella; Jofre, Viscount of Rocaberti; Hugo de Mataplana—all promising to equip knights and foot soldiers according to their means. The young son of a German count, named Carroz, and many other volunteers, also followed the King. Ramon de Plegamans, a wealthy merchant of Barcelona, contracted to supply arms, siege equipage, and provisions; and the thoroughness with which this was done impresses the reader, more than the numbers of troops, with the wealth and resources of the great Catalonian seaport. As many as 143 vessels were assembled, including 25 full-sized ships, 18 undecked ‘taridas,’ and 100 flat-bottomed boats. The largest ship came from Narbonne, and had three decks. The army consisted of 15,000 infantry and 1,500 cavalry. All the latest machines for hurling stones and protecting the besiegers were provided by the enterprising Plegamans. The vessels were assembled at the small ports of Salou and Cambrils, near Tarragona, and the expedition sailed on September 1, 1229. The King’s orders were that the ship of Captain Nicolas Bonet, with En Guillermo de Moncada on board, should lead, and that young Carroz should command the rear ship. The King was in a galley belonging to Montpellier, his birthplace. There was a light wind from the shore, but before evening it began to blow hard from the south-west, with a very heavy sea. The ships were close-hauled, and making such bad weather that the pilot wanted to put back. The King would not hear of it. Towards sunset of the following day the land was in sight, and next morning the fleet was off Pollenza, the north-east extreme of Majorca. But suddenly a strong ‘Provençal’ wind sprang up, and the ships were in great danger of being driven on shore. By advice of an experienced sailor, they stood along the north-west coast of the island until the south-west extremity was reached at a place called Palomera. The King’s galley arrived first, and was followed by the rest of the fleet, not one being missing. There was a consultation with En Nuño and the Moncadas, when it was agreed that the galleys should examine the south-west coast for a good place to land, while the rest of the fleet remained at anchor. The King landed on a rock between the island of Dragonera and the main, called Pantaleu, where he passed the following Sunday. The Moors had discovered the hostile fleet, and lined the shore with a strong force of horse and foot. At midnight the fleet was got under way, with all lights out, and in profound silence. The main portion anchored in the bay of Santa Ponza, and the rest in a neighbouring roadstead called Porrasa. Thence the coast runs south to Cape Calafiguera, and sweeps round the bay of Palma. Here King Jayme landed with his army. 13 14 15 16 CHAPTER II Tells how King Jayme won a victory over the Moors of Majorca; and gives some account of the Moorish capital The little bay of Santa Ponza was alive with boats from the ships, pulling to the shore. The first to land was a young Catalan ensign named Bernardo de Riudemeya, who waved his pennon as a sign for the others to follow him. As a reward the King granted him the estate of Santa Ponza in fee-simple. He was followed by 700 men and the chief officers, including En Nuño, En Ramon de Moncada, En Bernardo de Santa Eugenia de Torrella, Bernardo de Champans, the Master of the Temple, and his knights, making about 150 horse. A reconnaissance by Ramon de Moncada found an advanced guard of Moors about a mile away, which was attacked and put to flight. When the King landed, he heard that this encounter was proceeding, so he galloped off to the scene of action with forty attendant knights. Seeing a body of 400 Moorish infantry on a spur of the hills, he attacked them furiously, put them to flight, and returned well pleased. He found his nobles in some alarm for his safety, and he was seriously taken to task for running such risks when so much depended on his life. Guillem de Moncada told him that he ought to recollect that the lives of all of them depended upon his safety. The rest of the cavalry had arrived in the rear squadron and had been landed at Porrasa, where it was ascertained that the Moorish Amír with a large army was at Porto Pi, a small harbour between Porrasa and the capital of the island. This news was brought to the King at midnight, and he called a council of war, when it was determined to give the troops a good night’s rest before the expected battle. At dawn Jayme and his nobles heard Mass, and a sermon was preached by the Bishop of Barcelona. All prayed fervently, and were resolved upon victory. The King and most of his friends had received the Sacrament before starting, at Salou; but En Guillem de Moncada had delayed until this moment, desiring to do so on the very eve of battle. Then the Moncadas, Mataplana, and some other knights, with 5,000 men, commenced a rapid advance against the enemy, apparently without orders. The Count of Ampurias followed with his men. A desperate fight was commenced, the Moors being in overwhelming numbers. Seeing the danger, the King galloped forward with a single knight, named Rocafort, in hopes of being in time to make the vanguard halt until the rest of the army could come up. He sent back Rocafort, when he heard the clang of arms; with an urgent message to En Nuño to bring up supports, as the vanguard was surrounded. Jayme was in extreme anxiety. He was heard to say to himself, ‘En Nuño delays much. The Holy Virgin preserve us!’ An experienced veteran, En Nuño saw that all was in order before he led the main body of the army into battle. In about an hour En Nuño came to where the King was, who had galloped forward without arming himself. Bertran de Naya, one of his servants, brought the royal accoutrements, and Jayme put on his quilted coat, his coat of mail, and iron cap in the field. He told the general that the vanguard was engaged with the whole force of the enemy, and a rapid advance was made to the scene of action. Here the King met a knight named En Guillem de Mediona, who had great fame as a jouster in tournaments. He was coming out of the battle. He said he had been wounded by a stone on the lip. In a severe tone, King Jayme said that it was not seemly to retire owing to so slight a hurt. Mediona blushed with shame, turned his horse’s head and galloped into the thick of the fight, where he found a soldier’s death. The King had been delayed by the necessity of putting on his armour. He then advanced up a hill which to this day is called ‘El Collado del Rey,’ attended by only twelve soldiers. On reaching the summit he found En Nuño marshalling his forces for the battle, and close at hand the vast army of the Moors, with the Amír’s red-and-white banner, the staff surmounted by a human head. The King, full of martial ardour, wanted to charge at once, but was restrained by En Nuño. Both armies joined battle, and, after a long contested engagement, the Moors broke and fled. The rout was so complete that the Amír took refuge in the mountains instead of returning to his capital. The Aragonese troops were too tired to continue the pursuit, and soon very sad news was brought respecting the fate of the vanguard. The Bishop of Barcelona had to announce to the King that both En Guillem de Moncada, Viscount of Bearne, and En Ramon Moncada were slain, and that nearly all their men were cut to pieces before the main body of the army arrived on the field. Hugo de Mataplana was also among the slain. Young Jayme burst into tears at the loss of so many dear friends and comrades. The whole army mourned with their King. But they were now in sight of the beautiful city, the capture of which would be the crown of their enterprise. The King was dead tired and nearly famished, for he had eaten nothing all day. Going down a mountain spur, in company with En Nuño, they came upon a tent pitched under the pine-trees, amidst brushwood consisting of tree heaths, lentisco, and wild lavender. There was the smell of a good dinner in preparation, and here the tired warriors appeased their hunger, their host being En Oliver de Termens, a gallant Frenchman of Roussillon. When the King rose from an excellent meal he said, ‘Ben dinat,’ which in Catalan means ‘well dined.’ The spot retains the name to this day. Long the property of the Caro family, from which sprang that gallant Marquis de la Romana who brought the Spanish troops from Denmark to join in the War of Independence, the historical spot has been much changed in recent times. A stately castle with towers at the angles, surrounded by gardens and orange-groves, has taken the place of En Oliver’s tent where the young King dined so well 680 years ago. It was built in recent years by the Hungarian Marquesa de la Romana, who afterwards sold it. The castle of Bendinat is now owned by the Marquis de la Torre. The interment of the great lords who were slain in the vanguard was conducted with all the pomp that was possible. A stone pillar surmounted by an iron cross now marks the spot. On one side is the date, September 12, 1229; on 17 18 19 20 21 another the date of erection, 1884; and on a third the arms of Barcelona impaling those of Moncada (gules, four bezants in pale). It is on the left-hand side of the road, just halfway between Palma and Andraix, under the shade of a fine old pine-tree. The scene of these military operations is exceedingly beautiful. The spurs from the main chain of mountains by the western sea are well covered with pine and ilex forests, and rise one behind the other. From them spurs covered with olives and carob-trees and an undergrowth of bright green crops and grass slope down to the sea. Some of the spurs form a lower chain, called the Sierra de Burguesa, overlooking Porto Pi and the capital. The exposed bay of Palma, fifteen miles across, has the little harbour of Porto Pi on the west side, and the city of Mallorca, afterwards called Palma, in its centre. In Moorish times the city was an important commercial port, with a great fleet of piratical galleys. It had a strong wall and ditch, and eight gates. The bed of a mountain torrent formed the moat on the west side. On the sea-face there were three gates: one leading to the mole, called ‘the Gate of Chains’; another to the west, called Balbelet, leading from the Dar-as-Sanâá or arsenal, corrupted by the Catalans into ‘Atarazana.’ In the east of the sea-wall was the Hicolbelet. On the right of the Gate of Chains, within the walls, stood the Moorish palace, which appears to have been a small town in itself, called El Medînah, and by the Spaniards to this day Almudaina. On the east side there was a gate near the south-east angle, since closed up. Near the north-east angle was the Belalcofol, called by the Spaniards ‘Pintada.’ On the north side was the Barbolet, now the Puerto de Jesus. The Moors had two gates on the side of the torrent, facing west, the Belalbelet, since closed, and the gate of Porto Pi, now called Catalina. Altogether there seem to have been eight gates in the Moorish walls. Besides the Almudaina there was a strong castle near the south-east angle of the town, which was given to the Knights Templars, and near the centre stood the chief mosque. Of other public buildings in Moorish times there is no notice. The city of the Moors, owing to its wealth and importance, must have contained many fine and richly furnished houses; but such an active energetic people as the Catalans very soon replaced them with churches, convents, and houses in their own style, and there is but one vestige left. Walking down a street at the back of the cathedral, called ‘Serra,’ to the sea-face, the shrubs and flowers of a garden show themselves over a high wall. A flight of steps leads to the garden, and in one corner an archway opens on the ruins of a Moorish bath, though nothing is left but the bare brickwork. There is a dome supported by twelve pillars, with capitals apparently from the ruins of a Roman temple, the pillars about eight feet high, and the conventional leaf capitals not exactly fitting them. Round the dome there is a vaulted passage, with recesses for piping. This is all that remains to bear witness of the Moorish palaces and houses, with their wealth of arabesque work and bright colouring, their marble pillars and pavements, their cool gardens and fountains and luxurious baths. All is now a dream of the long-buried past. 22 23 24 25 CHAPTER III Tells how En Jayme besieged and took the capital, conquered the whole island, and became the first Christian King of Majorca The rout of the Moorish army removed any obstacle to the commencement of the siege of the capital. The western side of the walls faced the Catalans as they approached from the hills above Porto Pi, but it was defended by a torrent-bed. After a careful reconnaissance, it was resolved to deliver the main attack on the north-east side, at the Belalcofol gate, called by the Spaniards ‘Pintada.’ Accordingly the King formed his camp facing this gate and about a mile distant, at a place still called ‘El Real,’ or ‘the camp.’ It was surrounded by a ditch and strong palisades, for it appears that the infantry went to sleep on board the ships every night, leaving only the knights and artillery in the camp. Mallorca was very strongly fortified, the walls being of great thickness, with towers at intervals. It was therefore determined to batter down the walls and make a breach with the artillery so efficiently provided by the zealous contractor, Ramon de Plegamans. The King mentions four kinds of artillery for hurling rocks against the walls, which he calls trebuchets or catapults, almajanachs, algarradas, and fonebols, the latter being the stone balls themselves, not the machines. These were the latest things in siege artillery; but the King was not content with them and ordered a still larger machine to be constructed out of the yards and masts of the ships, as well as mantellos for the protection of the workmen. The Moors had similar artillery within the walls, one of their machines with such a range as to reach the Christian camp. The zealous ardour of the Catalan army was stimulated and kept alive not only by the example of the young King, but also by the fiery eloquence of a friar preacher named Miguel Fabra. All worked alike, from the King himself to the meanest labourer. But although a continual watch was kept round the walls, the Amír succeeded one dark night in effecting an entrance with a number of his followers. The Moors were not without supporters outside the town, who were ready to harass the Christians. One of the principal Moslem chiefs in the mountains was Fatih-billah (‘Conqueror by the grace of God’), a word corrupted by the Spaniards into ‘Infantilla.’ About two Spanish leagues3 from the town there was an abundant spring, with a channel leading from it, bearing a copious supply of good water. The Christian camp was pitched by the side of this channel. The place where the spring rises is called Canet, near the foot of the mountains. The actual spring was on a wooded hill sloping down to a beautiful little valley, with the main range of the mountains on the other side. Fatih-billah hoped to do irreparable injury to the besiegers by cutting off their water-supply. So one night he went to Canet with 500 footmen and 100 horse, occupied the hill where the spring rises, and began to turn the water into another channel. Directly this was known at the camp, the King despatched a much larger force under En Nuño and Torrella, which surprised the Moors at their work. There was a desperate encounter on the hillside; Fatih-billah was killed, his men were cut to pieces, and the spring remained in possession of the Catalans. How changed is now the scene! The large country house of the descendants of Torrella dominates the valley of Canet, with its beautiful gardens and woods of fir-trees and heath beyond. The hillside is terraced for olive-trees and carobs; and a few years ago a stalactite cave was discovered there, several hundred yards in length, the entrance to which is close to the spot where the battle between En Nuño and Fatih-billah must have been fought. The cave was then unknown. It would easily have held the whole of the Moorish force, and the Catalans would have been unaware of their proximity. The discovery appears to have been made owing to a perforation in the roof of the cave which made a hole in a field above. This was the last attempt to molest the besiegers from outside, or by sallies in force. Nevertheless the King caused a tower called ‘El Torre de las Lanoveras,’ between the capital and Porto Pi, to be fortified, and a guard to be stationed there, so as to keep a close watch on the movements of the enemy. The Catalans received important assistance from the friendship of a very influential Moor named Benahabet, who was anxious to be on the winning side. He was highly connected, was Governor of Pollenza and Inca, and owner of the beautiful country seat of Alfavia. He sent a messenger declaring that he would place a third of the island in the power of King Jayme. Soon afterwards he came himself with a very large supply of fresh provisions, and was received into the King’s grace. The supply was renewed every week. Benahabet suggested that, as the towns in his jurisdiction had submitted, two principal Christian officers should be sent to bear rule over them and to administer justice. Two such officers—one a native of Barcelona, the other of Montpellier were appointed with the title of ‘Baile,’ or Judge. The besiegers continued to work hard at the approaches and mines, both sides receiving much injury from the stone- hurling artillery. Seeing the rapid progress of the Christians, the Amír made a request that the King would send some one to treat with him. En Nuño went, with a dozen attendant knights and an interpreter. The Amír offered to pay all the expenses of the expedition if the Christians would depart; but the King positively refused to consider any such terms. The Amír then prayed for a second interview, and pitched a sumptuously furnished tent near Porto Pi. Hostilities were suspended, and En Nuño came again. The Amír made a dissertation on the impossibility of taking so strong a place, and merely offered the same terms. When this was again refused, he offered five besants for each man, woman, and child, and to surrender the town, if he was allowed a number of ships sufficient to take all his people to Barbary. En Nuño came back with this offer, but the relations and friends of the Moncadas insisted that the place should be taken without any treaty or agreement. At first En Jayme was inclined to accept the Moor’s offer, but eventually he gave way to the strong feeling of his nobles, and all negotiations were broken off. 26 27 28 29 30 As soon as he found that there was no hope from negotiation, the Amír resolved upon a desperate defence. He addressed his people, urging them to defend their religion, their liberty, and their homes to the death. He met with a determined response, and the resistance became more fierce and desperate than ever. The Count of Ampurias conducted the mining operations, and eventually at least forty yards of the wall fell in. The breach was defended with such furious valour that the besiegers were forced to retire, while the Moors hastily built up another wall. A few days afterwards, on the Saturday after St. Andrew’s,4 another piece of the wall, with a tower, fell in heaps. With the accord of the army, the King then resolved to deliver the assault on the following Sunday morning. Still the resistance was so resolute, the furious struggles for positions so prolonged, that it was the last day of December before the general assault could be given. At dawn the troops heard Mass and received the Sacrament. The King made a speech to animate the men, with whom he promised to conquer or die. They advanced to the ruined walls, where the ‘Puerta Pintada’ stood, and 300 footmen rushed over the breach, followed by cavalry. The Moorish Amír was at the head of his bravest warriors, and soon a desperate battle was raging in the street now called ‘San Miguel.’ Mounted on a white horse, and armed at all points, the gallant Moor courted death, and kept shouting to his men, ‘Stand firm! Stand firm!’ The brave defenders died in heaps where they stood, but the impulse of the Catalans was irresistible, and they reached the front of the chief mosque, leaving heaps of dead behind them. This mosque was turned into the first Christian place of worship, and is now the church of San Miguel. The figure- head of the King’s galley was a Virgin and Child. It was placed in the church of San Miguel, where it remains to this day. Here there was a pause. The Moors still fought hard to prevent a further advance into their city, while stones and timber were hurled upon the assailants by women and children on the roofs. So long as their Amír led them the Moors continued the struggle, but at last he retired in despair. Then the inhabitants began to pour out of the gates now called Jesus and Catalina, and fled towards the mountains. The dead could be counted by thousands. The King placed himself at the head of his troops and led them through the town until he reached the ‘Almudaina’ palace on the sea- face. Those within it surrendered on condition that their lives were spared. The house in which his brave antagonist the Amír Abu Yahye had taken refuge was pointed out to King Jayme. He went there, accompanied by his cousin En Nuño. When he entered the room, the Amír, who was in a white burnous and quilted coat, stood up and tendered his submission. The King received it with courtesy, promised the Amír his life, and treated him with consideration, giving him in charge to two of his nobles. En Jayme found the Amír’s son, a boy aged about fourteen, in the ‘Almudaina.’ He adopted the young Moorish prince, converted him, and eventually granted him a considerable estate in Aragon, where he married the fair Eva de Roldan and became Baron of Hillueca and Gotor. Having placed a strong guard over the treasury in the ‘Almudaina,’ the King, quite worn out by the fatigue of so many days of anxiety and fighting, retired to rest in the Moorish palace. On the following morning the city was given up to sack, and the spoils were enormous, consisting of great quantities of gold and silver in many shapes, rich clothing, arms, horses, and a thousand other forms of riches. The soldiers were well repaid for their labours. The sacking of the town was allowed to proceed for eight days continuously. As many as 180 Christian captives were found and liberated. Efforts were then made to bury the dead, but they were ineffectual, and a terrible pestilence broke out. One of the first victims was the Count of Ampurias; many other leading nobles perished, and great ravages were made among the soldiers before the pestilence subsided. The Catalan force had been much reduced by losses during the siege, by some having returned home, and by the pestilence, and no reinforcements had arrived. Yet the King insisted upon attacking a large body of Moors who had taken refuge in the mountains. Fortunately, the impregnable castle of Alaro, which he left on his right as he advanced, had been secured by his ally Benahabet, and was not in the hands of the Moors. The King led his men to the skirts of the mountains, at a place called Buñola, where he appears to have sustained a serious reverse. The Catalans fed before the mountaineers, and never stopped until they reached Benahabet’s town of Inca, near the centre of the island. The King followed the fugitives with only forty attendant knights, and sternly upbraided them for their cowardice. He then returned to Palma with his beaten troops. Soon afterwards a welcome reinforcement arrived, which, however, only consisted of fifteen well-armed knights. But their leader was a man of exceptional importance. Hugo de Folch Alguer was Master of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem in Aragon and Catalonia, and was a veteran for whom the King had a great regard. His request for a grant of land for his Order was opposed at first by the nobles who had borne the heat and burden of the day. It speaks much for the tact and conciliatory skill of the young King that he eventually succeeded in making the grant to the Master with the consent and approval of all concerned in the division of the land. En Jayme then resolved to lead an expedition against the Moors who had taken refuge in the hills towards the south- east angle of the island. Accompanied by En Nuño, the Bishop of Barcelona, and the Master of the Hospitallers, the King advanced to the site of Manacor, now the centre of a vine-growing district. Here the news came that many Moors were concealed, with their riches, in almost inaccessible caves near the south coast. 31 32 33 34 35 On the coast near Manacor is the Cueva del Drach, one of the largest stalactite caves in Europe, with several subsidiary caves and an underground lake, over which the myriads of stalactites present a fairy-like scene. Farther to the eastward the caves of Arta are of still greater extent, nearly 300 yards long, in three vast vaulted halls, roofed by magnificent stalactites, some of them assuming marvellous shapes. The approach to the entrance, where there is a splendid view over the sea, has now been made easy enough. In the thirteenth century it was extremely difficult and perilous. The young King led an assault on the caves of Arta, but, unable to face the hail storm of missiles on so narrow and dangerous a path, his men were repulsed. A retreat was unavoidable, and En Jayme went to dinner. The Master of St. John, with his knights, then endeavoured to set fire to some huts built round the entrance of the caves. The plan was to send two knights on to the heights above the entrance, whence they were to shower down darts made with artificial fire, so as to burn the huts and fill the cave with suffocating smoke. Two brothers named Antonio and Perote Moix volunteered for this dangerous service. The plan was successful, and the Moors, from fear of suffocation, offered to surrender if no succour reached them in eight days. Meanwhile the Catalans were suffering from want of provisions. The King himself, with En Nuño and a hundred followers, only had seven loaves of bread amongst them for a whole day. The rest of the army fed on corn stored in the farms. The young son of Ramon de Moncada, who secured the bread, received for his arms ‘on a field gules seven loaves or.’ On Palm Sunday, 1230, the Moorish fugitives in the various caves surrendered, to the number of 1,500 men, women, and children, with an immense quantity of wheat and barley, cows and sheep, and jewels of gold and silver. En Jayme returned in triumph to Palma, where his satisfaction was increased by the arrival of a large reinforcement. Soon afterwards some of the Moors in the western mountains submitted to the conqueror. The King busied himself with the political settlement of the land, dividing the estates among his nobles and knights, and granting very extensive privileges to the Catalan settlers. He then resolved to return to his Continental dominions. En Bernardo de Santa Eugenia, Lord of Torrella, was appointed the first Governor and Captain-General of the kingdom of Majorca. His descendants still enjoy the quinta of Canet and other estates granted to him. His brother was the first Bishop. The Moorish prisoners were made to labour on the public works. Those who had submitted voluntarily were allowed to retain houses and lands, paying rent and cultivating the ground. Some became Christians. Soon many settlers arrived with their wives, while many wives of the soldiers joined their husbands. At length the day came for the King to depart. He was much beloved, and there was general mourning. He made a farewell speech, and the knights who had gone through so many dangers and hardships with him were affected to tears. With only two galleys King Jayme embarked at the port of Palomera on October 28, 1230, and landed near Tarragona. He was received with great rejoicings by all classes of the people. 36 37 38 39 CHAPTER IV King Jayme’s last visits—Settlement of the island—Acts and death of Jayme I., first King of Majorca The settlement of the country was continued under Bernardo de Torrella, though there were still about two thousand Moors holding out in the mountains under a chief called by the Spaniards Xoarp. Soon alarming news arrived that the King of Tunis was preparing to reconquer Mallorca with a large army, and that he had collected a great number of ships to transport it. The tidings were sent to the King, and were confirmed by Plegamans, who was a newsagent as well as a contractor. En Jayme resolved to go in person to defend his island, in spite of the remonstrances of many of his councillors, who deprecated his exposure to so many dangers. The old Archbishop of Tarragona went so far as to try and hold him round the waist when he was getting into the boat at Salou. This time the King brought with him a cousin to be Viceroy of Mallorca, in the person of the Infante Pedro of Portugal. This prince’s mother was Aldonza, sister of Alonso II. of Aragon and wife of Sancho, King of Portugal; so that Pedro was a first cousin of King Jayme’s father—the same relation as En Nuño. He married the Countess of Urgel, the greatest heiress in Aragon, and acquired a position of importance in the country. The Countess had died without children, and Pedro received Mallorca on condition that he surrendered all his rights in the county of Urgel. He seems to have been a weak man, fond of his ease, and all real power remained with Torrella and others trusted by the King. En Jayme, accompanied by En Nuño and the Portuguese prince, sailed from Salou, and in two days his little fleet was anchored in the port of Soller, where the joyful news was received that the King of Tunis had abandoned his intended invasion, at all events for that year. The port of Soller is on the north side of the island, about two miles from the town, which is in the midst of a lovely valley surrounded by magnificent mountain peaks. Rich in the products of its harvests, Soller was even then a place of trade, and En Jayme found a Genoese vessel loading in its port. The King must have been struck by the wonderful beauty of this side of his island, which he had not seen before. Suliar (Soller) in Arabic means a shell, like the golden shell at Palermo. It is now, and probably was then, golden with orange and lemon gardens; the higher slopes of the mountains covered with pine and carob trees, and the grand peaks raising their heads into the sky. The loftiest peak in the island, ‘Puig Mayor d’en Torrello’ (4,700 feet) is not in sight, being concealed by the second highe...