Washington Irving by Charles Dudley Warner

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"The worthy chronicler is no less elaborate in his description of
the masters of Santiago, Calatrava, and Alcantara, and their
valiant knights, armed at all points, and decorated with the badges
of their orders. These, he affirms, were the flower of Christian
chivalry; being constantly in service they became more steadfast
and accomplished in discipline than the irregular and temporary
levies of feudal nobles. Calm, solemn, and stately, they sat like
towers upon their powerful chargers. On parades they manifested
none of the show and ostentation of the other troops: neither, in
battle, did they endeavor to signalize themselves by any fiery
vivacity, or desperate and vainglorious exploit,--everything, with
them, was measured and sedate; yet it was observed that none were
more warlike in their appearance in the camp, or more terrible for
their achievements in the field.

"The gorgeous magnificence of the Spanish nobles found but little
favor in the eyes of the sovereigns. They saw that it caused a
competition in expense ruinous to cavaliers of moderate fortune;
and they feared that a softness and effeminacy might thus be
introduced, incompatible with the stern nature of the war. They
signified their disapprobation to several of the principal
noblemen, and recommended a more sober and soldier-like display
while in actual service.

"'These are rare troops for a tournay, my lord [said Ferdinand to
the Duke of Infantado, as he beheld his retainers glittering in
gold and embroidery]; but gold, though gorgeous, is soft and
yielding: iron is the metal for the field.'

"'Sire [replied the duke], if my men parade in gold, your majesty
will find they fight with steel.' The king smiled, but shook his
head, and the duke treasured up his speech in his heart."

Our author excels in such descriptions as that of the progress of
Isabella to the camp of Ferdinand after the capture of Loxa, and of the
picturesque pageantry which imparted something of gayety to the brutal
pastime of war:--

"It was in the early part of June that the queen departed from
Cordova, with the Princess Isabella and numerous ladies of her
court. She had a glorious attendance of cavaliers and pages, with
many guards and domestics. There were forty mules for the use of
the queen, the princess and their train.

"As this courtly cavalcade approached the Rock of the Lovers, on
the banks of the river Yeguas, they beheld a splendid train of
knights advancing to meet them. It was headed by that accomplished
cavalier the Marques Duke de Cadiz, accompanied by the adelantado
of Andalusia. He had left the camp the day after the capture of
Illora, and advanced thus far to receive the queen and escort her
over the borders. The queen received the marques with distinguished
honor, for he was esteemed the mirror of chivalry. His actions in
this war had become the theme of every tongue, and many hesitated
not to compare him in prowess with the immortal Cid.

"Thus gallantly attended, the queen entered the vanquished frontier
of Granada, journeying securely along the pleasant banks of the
Xenel, so lately subject to the scourings of the Moors. She stopped
at Loxa, where she administered aid and consolation to the wounded,
distributing money among them for their support, according to their
rank.

"The king, after the capture of Illora, had removed his camp before
the fortress of Moclin, with an intention of besieging it. Thither
the queen proceeded, still escorted through the mountain roads by
the Marques of Cadiz. As Isabella drew near to the camp, the Duke
del Infantado issued forth a league and a half to receive her,
magnificently arrayed, and followed by all his chivalry in glorious
attire. With him came the standard of Seville, borne by the
men-at-arms of that renowned city, and the Prior of St. Juan, with
his followers. They ranged themselves in order of battle, on the
left of the road by which the queen was to pass.

"The worthy Agapida is loyally minute in his description of the
state and grandeur of the Catholic sovereigns. The queen rode a
chestnut mule, seated in a magnificent saddle-chair, decorated with
silver gilt. The housings of the mule were of fine crimson cloth;
the borders embroidered with gold; the reins and head-piece were of
satin, curiously embossed with needlework of silk, and wrought with
golden letters. The queen wore a brial or regal skirt of velvet,
under which were others of brocade; a scarlet mantle, ornamented in
the Moresco fashion; and a black hat, embroidered round the crown
and brim.

"The infanta was likewise mounted on a chestnut mule, richly
caparisoned. She wore a brial or skirt of black brocade, and a
black mantle ornamented like that of the queen.

"When the royal cavalcade passed by the chivalry of the Duke del
Infantado, which was drawn out in battle array, the queen made a
reverence to the standard of Seville, and ordered it to pass to the
right hand. When she approached the camp, the multitude ran forth
to meet her, with great demonstrations of joy; for she was
universally beloved by her subjects. All the battalions sallied
forth in military array, bearing the various standards and banners
of the camp, which were lowered in salutation as she passed.

"The king now came forth in royal state, mounted on a superb
chestnut horse, and attended by many grandees of Castile. He wore a
jubon or close vest of crimson cloth, with cuisses or short skirts
of yellow satin, a loose cassock of brocade, a rich Moorish
scimiter, and a hat with plumes. The grandees who attended him were
arrayed with wonderful magnificence, each according to his taste
and invention.

"These high and mighty princes [says Antonio Agapida] regarded each
other with great deference, as allied sovereigns rather than with
connubial familiarity, as mere husband and wife. When they
approached each other, therefore, before embracing, they made three
profound reverences, the queen taking off her hat, and remaining in
a silk net or cawl, with her face uncovered. The king then
approached and embraced her, and kissed her respectfully on the
cheek. He also embraced his daughter the princess; and, making the
sign of the cross, he blessed her, and kissed her on the lips.

"The good Agapida seems scarcely to have been more struck with the
appearance of the sovereigns than with that of the English earl. He
followed [says he] immediately after the king, with great pomp,
and, in an extraordinary manner, taking precedence of all the rest.
He was mounted '_a la guisa_,' or with long stirrups, on a superb
chestnut horse, with trappings of azure silk which reached to the
ground. The housings were of mulberry, powdered with stars of gold.
He was armed in proof, and wore over his armor a short French
mantle of black brocade; he had a white French hat with plumes, and
carried on his left arm a small round buckler, banded with gold.
Five pages attended him, apparelled in silk and brocade, and
mounted on horses sumptuously caparisoned; he had also a train of
followers, bravely attired after the fashion of his country.

"He advanced in a chivalrous and courteous manner, making his
reverences first to the queen and infanta, and afterwards to the
king. Queen Isabella received him graciously, complimenting him on
his courageous conduct at Loxa, and condoling with him on the loss
of his teeth. The earl, however, made light of his disfiguring
wound, saying that 'our blessed Lord, who had built all that house,
had opened a window there, that he might see more readily what
passed within;' whereupon the worthy Fray Antonio Agapida is more
than ever astonished at the pregnant wit of this island cavalier.
The earl continued some little distance by the side of the royal
family, complimenting them all with courteous speeches, his horse
curveting and caracoling, but being managed with great grace and
dexterity,--leaving the grandees and the people at large not more
filled with admiration at the strangeness and magnificence of his
state than at the excellence of his horsemanship.

"To testify her sense of the gallantry and services of this noble
English knight, who had come from so far to assist in their wars,
the queen sent him the next day presents of twelve horses, with
stately tents, fine linen, two beds with coverings of gold brocade,
and many other articles of great value."

The protracted siege of the city of Granada was the occasion of feats of
arms and hostile courtesies which rival in brilliancy any in the
romances of chivalry. Irving's pen is never more congenially employed
than in describing these desperate but romantic encounters. One of the
most picturesque of these was known as "the queen's skirmish." The royal
encampment was situated so far from Granada that only the general aspect
of the city could be seen as it rose from the vega, covering the sides
of the hills with its palaces and towers. Queen Isabella expressed a
desire for a nearer view of the city, whose beauty was renowned
throughout the world, and the courteous Marques of Cadiz proposed to
give her this perilous gratification.

"On the morning of June the 18th, a magnificent and powerful train
issued from the Christian camp. The advanced guard was composed of
legions of cavalry, heavily armed, looking like moving masses of
polished steel. Then came the king and queen, with the prince and
princesses, and the ladies of the court, surrounded by the royal
body-guard, sumptuously arrayed, composed of the sons of the most
illustrious houses of Spain; after these was the rear-guard, a
powerful force of horse and foot; for the flower of the army
sallied forth that day. The Moors gazed with fearful admiration at
this glorious pageant, wherein the pomp of the court was mingled
with the terrors of the camp. It moved along in radiant line,
across the vega, to the melodious thunders of martial music, while
banner and plume, and silken scarf, and rich brocade, gave a gay
and gorgeous relief to the grim visage of iron war that lurked
beneath.

"The army moved towards the hamlet of Zubia, built on the skirts of
the mountain to the left of Granada, and commanding a view of the
Alhambra, and the most beautiful quarter of the city. As they
approached the hamlet, the Marques of Villena, the Count Urena, and
Don Alonzo de Aguilar filed off with their battalions, and were
soon seen glittering along the side of the mountain above the
village. In the mean time the Marques of Cadiz, the Count de
Tendilla, the Count de Cabra, and Don Alonzo Fernandez, senior of
Alcaudrete and Montemayor, drew up their forces in battle array on
the plain below the hamlet, presenting a living barrier of loyal
chivalry between the sovereigns and the city.

"Thus securely guarded, the royal party alighted, and, entering one
of the houses of the hamlet, which had been prepared for their
reception, enjoyed a full view of the city from its terraced roof.
The ladies of the court gazed with delight at the red towers of the
Alhambra, rising from amid shady groves, anticipating the time when
the Catholic sovereigns should be enthroned within its walls, and
its courts shine with the splendor of Spanish chivalry. 'The
reverend prelates and holy friars, who always surrounded the queen,
looked with serene satisfaction,' says Fray Antonio Agapida, 'at
this modern Babylon, enjoying the triumph that awaited them, when
those mosques and minarets should be converted into churches, and
goodly priests and bishops should succeed to the infidel alfaquis.'

"When the Moors beheld the Christians thus drawn forth in full
array in the plain, they supposed it was to offer battle, and
hesitated not to accept it. In a little while the queen beheld a
body of Moorish cavalry pouring into the vega, the riders managing
their fleet and fiery steeds with admirable address. They were
richly armed, and clothed in the most brilliant colors, and the
caparisons of their steeds flamed with gold and embroidery. This
was the favorite squadron of Muza, composed of the flower of the
youthful cavaliers of Granada. Others succeeded, some heavily
armed, others _a la gineta_, with lance and buckler; and lastly
came the legions of foot-soldiers, with arquebus and cross-bow, and
spear and scimiter.

"When the queen saw this army issuing from the city, she sent to
the Marques of Cadiz, and forbade any attack upon the enemy, or the
acceptance of any challenge to a skirmish; for she was loth that
her curiosity should cost the life of a single human being.

"The marques promised to obey, though sorely against his will; and
it grieved the spirit of the Spanish cavaliers to be obliged to
remain with sheathed swords while bearded by the foe. The Moors
could not comprehend the meaning of this inaction of the
Christians, after having apparently invited a battle. They sallied
several times from their ranks, and approached near enough to
discharge their arrows; but the Christians were immovable. Many of
the Moorish horsemen galloped close to the Christian ranks,
brandishing their lances and scimiters, and defying various
cavaliers to single combat; but Ferdinand had rigorously prohibited
all duels of this kind, and they dared not transgress his orders
under his very eye.

"Here, however, the worthy Fray Antonio Agapida, in his enthusiasm
for the triumphs of the faith, records the following incident,
which we fear is not sustained by any grave chronicler of the
times, but rests merely on tradition, or the authority of certain
poets and dramatic writers, who have perpetuated the tradition in
their works. While this grim and reluctant tranquillity prevailed
along the Christian line, says Agapida, there rose a mingled shout
and sound of laughter near the gate of the city. A Moorish
horseman, armed at all points, issued forth, followed by a rabble,
who drew back as he approached the scene of danger. The Moor was
more robust and brawny than was common with his countrymen. His
visor was closed; he bore a huge buckler and a ponderous lance; his
scimiter was of a Damascus blade, and his richly ornamented dagger
was wrought by an artificer of Fez. He was known by his device to
be Tarfe, the most insolent, yet valiant, of the Moslem
warriors--the same who had hurled into the royal camp his lance,
inscribed to the queen. As he rode slowly along in front of the
army, his very steed, prancing with fiery eye and distended
nostril, seemed to breathe defiance to the Christians.

"But what were the feelings of the Spanish cavaliers when they
beheld, tied to the tail of his steed, and dragged in the dust, the
very inscription, 'AVE MARIA,' which Hernan Perez del Pulgar had
affixed to the door of the mosque! A burst of horror and
indignation broke forth from the army. Hernan was not at hand to
maintain his previous achievement; but one of his young companions
in arms, Garcilasso de la Vega by name, putting spurs to his horse,
galloped to the hamlet of Zubia, threw himself on his knees before
the king, and besought permission to accept the defiance of this
insolent infidel, and to revenge the insult offered to our Blessed
Lady. The request was too pious to be refused. Garcilasso remounted
his steed, closed his helmet, graced by four sable plumes, grasped
his buckler of Flemish workmanship, and his lance of matchless
temper, and defied the haughty Moor in the midst of his career. A
combat took place in view of the two armies and of the Castilian
court. The Moor was powerful in wielding his weapons, and
dexterous in managing his steed. He was of larger frame than
Garcilasso, and more completely armed, and the Christians trembled
for their champion. The shock of their encounter was dreadful;
their lances were shivered and sent up splinters in the air.
Garcilasso was thrown back in his saddle--his horse made a wide
career before he could recover, gather up the reins, and return to
the conflict. They now encountered each other with swords. The Moor
circled round his opponent, as a hawk circles when about to make a
swoop; his steed obeyed his rider with matchless quickness; at
every attack of the infidel, it seemed as if the Christian knight
must sink beneath his flashing scimiter. But if Garcilasso was
inferior to him in power, he was superior in agility; many of his
blows he parried; others he received upon his Flemish shield, which
was proof against the Damascus blade. The blood streamed from
numerous wounds received by either warrior. The Moor, seeing his
antagonist exhausted, availed himself of his superior force, and,
grappling, endeavored to wrest him from his saddle. They both fell
to earth; the Moor placed his knee upon the breast of his victim,
and, brandishing his dagger, aimed a blow at his throat. A cry of
despair was uttered by the Christian warriors, when suddenly they
beheld the Moor rolling lifeless in the dust. Garcilasso had
shortened his sword, and, as his adversary raised his arm to
strike, had pierced him to the heart. 'It was a singular and
miraculous victory,' says Fray Antonio Agapida; 'but the Christian
knight was armed by the sacred nature of his cause, and the Holy
Virgin gave him strength, like another David, to slay this gigantic
champion of the Gentiles.'

"The laws of chivalry were observed throughout the combat--no one
interfered on either side. Garcilasso now despoiled his adversary;
then, rescuing the holy inscription of 'AVE MARIA' from its
degrading situation, he elevated it on the point of his sword, and
bore it off as a signal of triumph, amidst the rapturous shouts of
the Christian army.

"The sun had now reached the meridian, and the hot blood of the
Moors was inflamed by its rays, and by the sight of the defeat of
their champion. Muza ordered two pieces of ordnance to open a fire
upon the Christians. A confusion was produced in one part of their
ranks: Muza called to the chiefs of the army, 'Let us waste no more
time in empty challenges--let us charge upon the enemy: he who
assaults has always an advantage in the combat.' So saying, he
rushed forward, followed by a large body of horse and foot, and
charged so furiously upon the advance guard of the Christians, that
he drove it in upon the battalion of the Marques of Cadiz.

"The gallant marques now considered himself absolved from all
further obedience to the queen's commands. He gave the signal to
attack. 'Santiago!' was shouted along the line; and he pressed
forward to the encounter, with his battalion of twelve hundred
lances. The other cavaliers followed his example, and the battle
instantly became general.

"When the king and queen beheld the armies thus rushing to the
combat, they threw themselves on their knees, and implored the Holy
Virgin to protect her faithful warriors. The prince and princess,
the ladies of the court, and the prelates and friars who were
present, did the same; and the effect of the prayers of these
illustrious and saintly persons was immediately apparent. The
fierceness with which the Moors had rushed to the attack was
suddenly cooled; they were bold and adroit for a skirmish, but
unequal to the veteran Spaniards in the open field. A panic seized
upon the foot-soldiers--they turned and took to flight. Muza and
his cavaliers in vain endeavored to rally them. Some took refuge in
the mountains; but the greater part fled to the city, in such
confusion that they overturned and trampled upon each other. The
Christians pursued them to the very gates. Upwards of two thousand
were either killed, wounded, or taken prisoners; and the two pieces
of ordnance were brought off as trophies of the victory. Not a
Christian lance but was bathed that day in the blood of an infidel.

"Such was the brief but bloody action which was known among the
Christian warriors by the name of "The Queen's Skirmish;" for when
the Marques of Cadiz waited upon her majesty to apologize for
breaking her commands, he attributed the victory entirely to her
presence. The queen, however, insisted that it was all owing to her
troops being led on by so valiant a commander. Her majesty had not
yet recovered from her agitation at beholding so terrible a scene
of bloodshed, though certain veterans present pronounced it as gay
and gentle a skirmish as they had ever witnessed."

The charm of "The Alhambra" is largely in the leisurely, loitering,
dreamy spirit in which the temporary American resident of the ancient
palace-fortress entered into its mouldering beauties and romantic
associations, and in the artistic skill with which he wove the
commonplace daily life of his attendants there into the more brilliant
woof of its past. The book abounds in delightful legends, and yet these
are all so touched with the author's airy humor that our credulity is
never overtaxed; we imbibe all the romantic interest of the place
without for a moment losing our hold upon reality. The enchantments of
this Moorish paradise become part of our mental possessions, without the
least shock to our common sense. After a few days of residence in the
part of the Alhambra occupied by Dame Tia Antonia and her family, of
which the handmaid Dolores was the most fascinating member, Irving
succeeded in establishing himself in a remote and vacant part of the
vast pile, in a suite of delicate and elegant chambers, with secluded
gardens and fountains, that had once been occupied by the beautiful
Elizabeth of Farnese, daughter of the Duke of Parma, and more than four
centuries ago by a Moorish beauty named Lindaraxa, who flourished in the
court of Muhamed the Left-Handed. These solitary and ruined chambers had
their own terrors and enchantments, and for the first nights gave the
author little but sinister suggestions and grotesque food for his
imagination. But familiarity dispersed the gloom and the superstitious
fancies.

"In the course of a few evenings a thorough change took place in
the scene and its associations. The moon, which when I took
possession of my new apartments was invisible, gradually gained
each evening upon the darkness of the night, and at length rolled
in full splendor above the towers, pouring a flood of tempered
light into every court and hall. The garden beneath my window,
before wrapped in gloom, was gently lighted up; the orange and
citron trees were tipped with silver; the fountain sparkled in the
moonbeams, and even the blush of the rose was faintly visible.

"I now felt the poetic merit of the Arabic inscription on the
walls: 'How beauteous is this garden; where the flowers of the
earth vie with the stars of heaven. What can compare with the vase
of yon alabaster fountain filled with crystal water? nothing but
the moon in her fullness, shining in the midst of an unclouded
sky!'

"On such heavenly nights I would sit for hours at my window
inhaling the sweetness of the garden, and musing on the checkered
fortunes of those whose history was dimly shadowed out in the
elegant memorials around. Sometimes, when all was quiet, and the
clock from the distant cathedral of Granada struck the midnight
hour, I have sallied out on another tour and wandered over the
whole building; but how different from my first tour! No longer
dark and mysterious; no longer peopled with shadowy foes; no longer
recalling scenes of violence and murder; all was open, spacious,
beautiful; everything called up pleasing and romantic fancies;
Lindaraxa once more walked in her garden; the gay chivalry of
Moslem Granada once more glittered about the Court of Lions! Who
can do justice to a moonlight night in such a climate and such a
place? The temperature of a summer midnight in Andalusia is
perfectly ethereal. We seem lifted up into a purer atmosphere; we
feel a serenity of soul, a buoyancy of spirits, an elasticity of
frame, which render mere existence happiness. But when moonlight is
added to all this, the effect is like enchantment. Under its
plastic sway the Alhambra seems to regain its pristine glories.
Every rent and chasm of time, every mouldering tint and
weather-stain, is gone; the marble resumes its original whiteness;
the long colonnades brighten in the moonbeams; the halls are
illuminated with a softened radiance,--we tread the enchanted
palace of an Arabian tale!

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