The Story of Seville. Gallichan Walter Matthew
and upon his accession made ready for war upon the Mohammedans. In 1235 Córdova was taken by Fernando, and Jaén and other towns fell into his hands. Assisted by Aben Alhamar, King of Granada, who had been compelled to yield allegiance to the victorious Fernando, the Christian monarch marched upon Seville. The inhabitants prepared for a stubborn defence. A Moorish fleet guarded the mouth of the Guadalquivir, while the troops of the Almohades awaited attack within the city. Fernando sent war vessels from the Biscayan coast to San Lucar to attack the Moorish fleet. The navy was in the command of Admiral Raymond Boniface (Ramon Bonifaz), and in an engagement the Moorish ships were driven from their position. Bonifaz lived in Seville after the capture of the town. On the front of a house in Placentines, now the shop of a dealer in antiquities, there is this inscription in Spanish and French: 'Esta casa fué cedida por el Santo Rey D. Fernando III. à su almirante D. Ramon Bonifaz cuando conquesto à Sevilla libertando del dominio Sarraceno.'
The infidels next made a stand on land, but failed to overcome the army of Fernando. For fifteen months Seville was besieged. Provisions were brought into the town from the surrounding district of Axarafa, thirty miles long, on the right bank of the Guadalquivir. This highly-cultivated region is said to have contained a hundred fertile farms. Seville was connected with the suburb of Triana (the town of Trajan) by a bridge of boats and a chain bridge. The boat-bridge was broken by Fernando during the siege by launching heavy vessels upon it. But still the defenders held out behind their high, broad walls, driving back the charges of the Christians against the sturdy gates, and raining missiles from the towers. At length, when Triana and Alfarache were in the hold of Fernando's force, and all food supplies cut off, the defenders were forced to yield. On 23rd November Fernando made a triumphal entry. The vanquished ruler, Abdul Hassan, who had proved a most courageous defender, was offered territory and money if he would continue to live in Seville, or in a city of the kingdom of Castile, as a dependent officer of the King. The Moor proudly rejected these terms; he preferred to leave the scene of his defeat, and with thousands of his people he departed for Africa. It is stated that three or four hundred thousand Moors had quitted Seville before its capture. If this is true, only a few Almohades remained in the place. Those who elected to stay were bade to render the same tribute to Fernando as they had been in the habit of paying to their princes. Such as desired to return to their country were offered the means of travelling and protection.
The triumphant King, escorted by his troops, the loyal inhabitants and the clergy, proceeded to the mosque. Christian bishops purified the temple, and dedicated it to the service of God and the Virgin, and a high and imposing Mass was celebrated. Amid festivities and ceremonies, Fernando took possession of Seville and all its rich treasure. He occupied the Alcázar, then in its pristine splendour, and divided the houses and land around the city among his knights.
The Christian King was brave, and his treatment of the conquered shows that he had a strain of mercy in his nature. He was, however, an intensely bigoted pietist, for at Palencia he set fire with his own hands to the faggots to burn heretics. His austerities were excessive, and fasting is said to have weakened his body. Fernando died from dropsy at Seville, four years after his conquest of the town. On his deathbed he called his son Alfonso, bade him farewell, and exhorted him to follow justice and clemency. Then, amid deep sorrow in the city, the King took the Mass, and passed away. In 1671 Fernando III. was canonised by Pope Clement X.
The keys of Seville, which were given up by the Governor at the surrender of the city, may be seen in the cathedral. One key is of silver, and bears the inscription: 'May Allah grant that Islam may rule for ever in this city.' The other key is made of iron-gilt, and is of Mudéjar workmanship. It is lettered: 'The King of Kings will open; the King of the Earth will enter.' San Fernando's shrine is on view in the cathedral on May 30, August 22 and November 23, when honour is paid to the body of the sainted monarch by the soldiers of the Seville garrison, who march past with the colours lowered.
In the collection of paintings in the house of Señor Don Joaquin Fernandez Pereyra, 86, Calle Betis, Triana, there is a picture attributed to Velazquez, and said to have been painted by him at the age of twenty-eight, representing the Sultan of Seville handing the keys of the city to San Fernando.1
It is said that Velazquez painted himself as model of the King. If the work is not that of the master, it is by an artist of parts. The colour is good, and the horse well drawn and painted.
Fernando III. was succeeded by his son Alfonzo X., El Sabio, 'the Learned.' He occupied the Palace of the Alcázar, and devoted his leisure to the study of geometry, ancient laws, history and poetry. The King wrote verse to the Virgin in the Galician dialect, which resembles the Portuguese tongue, and was, for his age, a versatile and accomplished scholar. His ambition was great, and though he was called 'the Learned,' he was prone to serious error in the conduct of the affairs of government. He attempted to take Gascony, which was then in the possession of Henry III. of England, and governed by Simon de Montfort. The King's military enterprises were costly, and as they failed, the people resented the increase of taxes, and especially the measure of direct taxation. When Alfonso presented Algarve to the King of Portugal, with his natural daughter, Beatrice de Guzman, the nobles rebelled under the King's brother, Felipe, and were aided by the King of Granada. Alfonso invited the malcontent party to a conference of arbitration at Burgos. The knights were appeased; but the King was forced to yield his ground, and to make many concessions. Upon the death of Alfonso's eldest son, Fernando, a dispute arose concerning the heir to the crown. Fernando left two sons, born to him by Blanche, sister of Philip IV. of France. The second son of Alfonso, Sancho, was announced as rightful successor, but this proclamation was a cause of offence to Philip IV., who claimed that the eldest child of his sister was the lawful heir to the throne of Castile. The King of France demanded that Alfonso should restore the dowry to Blanche, and allow her and the children to come to France. Alfonso refused the request. War was then declared by Philip of France; and further anxiety was caused by the disloyalty of Sancho, who took the lead of the discontented party, and laid siege to Toledo, Córdova, and other towns. The King was at his wit's end. He begged aid from Morocco, from the infidels, while, at the same time, he desired the Pope to excommunicate Sancho. Eventually the quarrel between King and Prince was patched up. Alfonso appears to have cherished affection for his unruly son, for upon hearing, soon after the reconciliation, that Sancho was seriously ill, the King died of grief.
So closed the troubled career of Alfonso el Sabio. He was a type of the bookish student, a great reader, but without a knowledge of human nature, and devoid of aptitude for governing a nation. In his fondness for book-learning, and his incapacity for ruling, Alfonso may be compared to James I. of England. It is claimed to the credit of the learned monarch that he encouraged the arts and education in the royal city of Seville, and founded the university. He loved the retirement of his study in the beautiful Alcázar rather than the council seat; but, at the same time, he had a craving for power and wished to extend his realm. Alfonso the Learned presented a reliquary to the chapter of the cathedral, which may be seen among the treasures. His body rests in the Capilla Real (Royal Chapel), where it was interred in 1284.
There is but little of interest to record in the annals of Seville until the time of Pedro I. Under Alfonso XI., a great council was held in the city to discuss plans for defending Andalusia from the Emperor of Morocco, who had landed in Spain with a powerful army. The King of Portugal attended the conference and promised his support, and in a battle fought near Tarifa the invading force was driven back. During the reign of Alfonso XI., the Earl of Derby and the Earl of Salisbury came to Spain, to fight for Christianity, and to offer amity to the martial King.
With the death of Alfonso XI., we come to the days of his son, Pedro I., the most renowned of all the Christian sovereigns who made court at the capital of Andalusia. The reign of Pedro el Cruel abounds with so much 'incident' from the story-teller's point of view, that many tales, ballads and plays of Spain are concerned with the exploits of this remarkable King. In some of the narratives he is portrayed as a veritable monster of cruelty and perfidy; in others he is represented as a severe, but just, monarch, with sympathy for the lower classes. Pedro was sixteen when he came to the throne. Fearing an attempt on the part of Enrique (son of Alfonso XI. by his mistress, Leonora de Guzman) to seize the crown, Pedro contrived to lure Leonora to Seville, and to imprison her in the Alcázar. From this dungeon the wretched woman was sent to other
This and other interesting pictures may be seen by applying to the owner of the collection.