at most elegant of sciences were cul- The intellect of the Christian Spativated together with equal zeal. Aver- niards could not be ungrateful for the roes translated and expounded Aris- rich gifts it was every day receiving totle at Cordova : Ben-Zaid and Aboul- from their misbelieving masters; while Mander wrote histories of their na- the benevolence with which instruction at Valencia ;-Abdel-Maluk set tors ever regard willing disciples must the first example of that most inte- have tempered in the minds of the resting and useful species of writing Arabs the sentiments of haughty suby which Moreri and others have since periority natural to the breasts of conrendered services so important to our- querors. By degrees, however, the selves; and an Arabian Encyclopædia scattered remnants of unsubdued Visiwas compiled under the direction of goths, who had sought and found rethe great Mohammed-Aba-Abdallah fuge among the mountains of Astu Grenada. Ibn-el-Beither went rias and Gallicia, began to gather the forth from Malaga to search through strength of numbers and of combinaall the mountains and plains of Eu- tion, and the Mussulmen saw differope for every thing that might rent portions of their empire succesenable him to perfect his favourite sively wrested from their hands by sciences of botany and lithology, leaders whose descendants assumed and his works still remain to ex- the titles of kings in Oviedo and Nacite the admiration of all that are in varre—and counts in Castille-Soprara condition to comprehend their value. bia—Arragon--and Barcellona. From The Jew of Tudela was the worthy the time when these governments were successor of Galen and Hippocrates established, till all their strength was while chemistry, and other branches of united in the persons of Ferdinand and medical science, almost unknown to Isabella, a perpetual war may be said the ancients, received their first asto- to have subsisted between the profesnishing developements from Al-Rasi sors of the two religions and the naand Avicenna. Rhetoric and poetry tural jealousy of Moorish governors were not less diligently studied-and, must have gradaully, but effectually in a word it would be difficult to diminished the comfort of the Christians point out, in the whole history of the 'who yet lived under their authority. world, a time or a country where the Were we to seek our ideas of the peactivity of the human intellect was riod only from the events recorded in its more extensively or usefully or grace- chronicles, we should be led to believe fully exerted,--than in Spain, while the that nothing could be more deep and Mussulman sceptre yet retained any fervid than the spirit of mutual hosportion of that vigour which it had tility which prevailed among all the originally received from the conduct adherents of the opposite faiths : but and heroism of Tariffa. external events are sometimes not the Although the difference of religion surest guides to the spirit either of prevented the Moors and their Spa- peoples or of ages--and the ancient nish subjects from ever being com- popular poetry of Spain may be repletely melted into one people, yet it ferred to for proofs, which cannot be appears that nothing could, on the considered as either of dubious or of whole, be more mild than the conduct trivial value, that the rage of hostility of the Moorish government towards had not sunk quite so far as might the Christian population of the coun. have been imagined into the minds and try during this their splendid period hearts of those engaged in the conflict. of undisturbed dominion. Their learn- There is, indeed, nothing more naing and their arts they liberally com- tural, at first sight, than to reason in municated to all who desired such par- some measure from a nation as it is in ticipation, and the Christian youth stu- our own day, back to what it was a died freely and honourably at the feet few centuries ago : but we believe of Jewish physicians and Mahomme- nothing could tend to the production dan philosophers. Communion of stu- of greater mistakes than such a mode dies and acquirements continued of judging applied to the case of Spain. through such a space of years could not In the erect and high-spirited peahave failed to break down, on both santry of that country we still see the sides, many of the barriers of religious genuine and uncorrupted descendants prejudice, and to nourish a spirit of of their manly forefathers—but in kindliness and charity among the more every other part of the population, the cultivated portions of either people. progress of corruption appears to have a a a been no less powerful than rapid, and was never tried, for down to the time the higher we ascend in the scale of of Charles V. no man has any right to society, the more distinct and morti- say that the Spaniards were a bigotted fying is the spectacle of moral not people. One of the worst features of less than of physical deterioration. their modern bigotry-their extreme This unusual falling off of men may and servile subjection to the authority be traced very easily to an universal of the Pope, was entirely awanting in falling off--an universal destruc- the picture of their ancient spirit. tion of principle-in regard to every In the 12th century, the kings of Arpoint of faith and feeling most es- ragon were the protectors of the bisential to the formation and preservagenses; and Pedro II. himself died in tion of a national character. We see 1213, fighting bravely against the red the modern Spaniards the most bi- cross, for the cause of tolerance. In gotted and enslaved and ignorant of 1268, two brothers of the king of CasEuropeans; but we must not forget tille left the banners of the Infidels; that the Spaniards of three centuries beneath which they were serving at back were, in all respects, a very dif- Tunis, with 800 Castillian gentlemen, ferent set of beings. Spain, in the for the purpose of coming to Italy and first regulation of her constitution, was assisting the Neapolitans in their reas free as any nation needs to be for all sistence to the tyranny of the Pope the purposes of social security and and Charles of Anjou. In the individual happiness. Her kings were great schism of the west, as it is her captains and her judges-the chiefs called (1378,) Pedro IV. embraced and the models of a gallant nobility, the party which the Catholic church and the protectors of a manly and in- regards as schismatic. That feud was dependent peasantry: But the autho- not allayed for more than a hundred rity with which they were invested years, and Alphonso V. was well paid was guarded by the most accurate limi- for consenting to lay it aside; while tations—nay, in case they should exceed down to the time of Charles V., the the boundary of their legal power- whole of the Neapolitan princes of the statute-book of the realm contain- the house of Arragon may be said to ed exact rules for the conduct of a have lived in a state of open enmity aconstitutional insurrection to recal gainst the papal see sometimesexcomthem to their duty, or to punish them municated for generations togetherfor its desertion. Every order of so- seldom apparently-never cordially reciety had its representatives in the conciled. When Ferdinand the Canational council, and every Spaniard, tholic, finally, wished to introduce the of whatever degree, was penetrated Inquisition into his kingdom, the whole with a sense of his own dignity nation took up arms to resist him.as a freeman-his own nobility as a The Grand Inquisitor was killed, and descendant of the Visigoths. And it every one of his creatures was compelis well remarked by the elegant led to leave the yet free soil of Arragon. Italian historian of our own day, * But the truest and best proof of the that, even to this hour, the influence liberality of the old Spaniards is, as of this happy order of things still we have already said, to be found in continues to be felt in Spain-where their beautiful ballads. Throughout manners and language and litera- the far greater part of these compositure have all received indelibly a tions, many of which must be, at least, stamp of courts, and aristocracy, and as old as the 10th century, there proud feeling-which affords a strik- breathes a charming sentiment of chaing contrast to what may be observed rity and humanity towards those in modern Italy, where the only free- Moorish enemies with whom the comdom that ever existed had its origin bats of the national heroes are repreand residence among citizens and sented. The Spaniards and the Moors merchants. lived together in their villages beneath The civil liberty of the old Span- the calmest of skies, and surrounded iards could scarcely have existed, so with the most lovely of landscapes. In long as it did, in the presence of any spite of their adverse faiths--in spite feeling so black and noisome as the of their adverse interests—they had bigotry of modern Spain; but this much in common-loves, and sports, same. and recreations--nay, sometimes their ses were repeated by liberal encomie haughtiest recollections were in com- ums on Moorish valour and generosity mon, and even their heroes were the in Castillian and Arragonese Redon Bernard de Carpio, Alphonse dilleras. Even in the ballads most VI., the Cid himself-every one of exclusively devoted to the celebration the favourite heroes of the Spanish of some feat of Spanish heroism, it is nation had, at some period or other of quite common to find some redeeming his life, fought beneath the standard compliment to the Moors mixed with of the crescent, and the minstrels the strain of exultation. Take, for exof either nation might, therefore, ample, the famous ballad on Don Rayin regard to some instances at mon of Butrago-translated in the least, have equal pride in the celebra- Edinburgh Annual Register for 1816, tion of their prowess. The praises just published. The version, it will which the Arab poets granted to them be seen, is by the same hand as those in their Monwachchah, or girdle ver- which follow. Your horse is faint, my king, my lord, your gallant horse is sick, His limbs are torn, his breast is gored, on his eye the film is thick ; Mount, mount on mine, oh mount apace, I pray thee mount and fly, I Mount, Juan, ride, whate'er betide, away the bridle fling, C * * King Juan's horse fell lifeless-Don Raymon's horse stood by, Even in the more remote and ideal to inspire both nations with sentiments chivalries celebrated in the Castillian of kindness and mutual esteem. Berballads, the parts of glory and great- nard de Carpio, above all the rest, ness were just as frequently attributed was the common property and pride to Moors as to Christians ;-Calaynos of both peoples. Of his all romanwas a name as familiar as Guyferos. tic life, the most romantic inci. At somewhat a later period, when the dents belonged equally to both. It conquest of Grenada had mingled the was with Moors that he allied Spaniards still more effectually with himself when he rose up to demand the persons and manners of the Moors, vengeance from king Alphonso for the we find the Spanish poets still fonder murder of his father. It was with of celebrating the heroic achievements Moorish brethren in arms that he of Moors; and, without doubt, this marched to fight against Charlemagne their liberality towards the “ Knights for the independence of the Spanish of Grenada, Gentlemen, albeit Moors, soil. It was in front of a Moorish host Caballeros Grenadinos that Bernard couched his lance, vicAunque Moros hijos d'algo, torious alike over valour and magic, must have been very gratifying to the “ When Roland brave and Oliver, former subjects of king Chico. It And many a Paladin and Peer must have counteracted the bigotry of At Roncesvalles fell.” Confessors and Mollahs, and tended All the picturesque details, in fine, of that splendid, and not unfrequently, ject of a separate article, we shall not perhaps, fabulous career, were sung at present enter deeper into any of with equal transport to the shepherd's their beauties. They form probably lute on the hills of Leon, and the the oldest series extant in the lancourtly guitars of the Algeneraliffe, guage, and next to those of the Cid, or the Alhamra. Surely these beau- the most extensive as well as the most tiful verses were written by any one beautiful. rather than a bigot-they breathe all The history of the children of Lara the meek and noble gallantry of is another series from which many knighthood. rich illustrations of our proposition might be borrowed, but we decline Bernardo qui vio del Moro Aquel pecho tan gallardo entering upon it at present for similar Le dixo: Bernardo soy reasons-and as to the ballads of the Y el que nunca ha recusado Campeador himself, our readers may Batallo con ningun hombre refer to the best of them translated, as Que occasion me huviesse dado. never ballads nor any other composiMuça le abraça, y le dize tions that we are acquainted with Casi de plazer llorando : were translated, by Mr Frere. The Has de saber que yo soy dark and bloody annals of Pedro the El que mas ha procurado cruel, are narrated in another long De tenerte por amigo and exquisite series and in these too Aunque en las leyes contrarios ! we might find much to our purpose. Y pues el cielo lo quiere, As a specimen of the style in which Abraçame, amigo caro, they are written, will our readers acY de mi quiero te sirvas cept, by the way, the following specie Como del menor criado men ? It contains the narrative of Y si desto en algun tempo the tyrant's murder of Blanche of Me hallares en algun falto Bourbon, his young and innocent Quiero que el cielo me fallê queen, whom he sacrificed very shortY quanto Dios ha criado. ly after his marriage to the jealous But as the fine series of ballads in hatred of his Jewish mistress, Maria which the history of Bernardo is told, de Pedilla. The version is quite litemay probably furnish us with the subo ral. THE DEATH OF QUEEN BLANCHE. MARIA DE PEDILLA be not thus of dismal mood, * At the end of Mr Southey's History of the Cid. The king hath never known me. A virgin true I die. After this series, in all the collec- Y de que repartimoento tions we have seen, the greater part Son Celinda y Guadalara, of the ballads are altogether Moorish Estos Moras y Estas Moras in their subjects, and of these we Que en todas las bodas danzan. shall now proceed to give a few speci- Y por hablarlo mas claro mens. They are every way interesting Assi tenguan buena pascua, -but, above all, as monuments, for Ha venido a su noticia such we unquestionably consider them Que ay Christianos en Espana. to be, of the manners and customs of But these complaints were not with. a noble nation, of whose race no re- out their answer; for says another lics now remain on the soil they so poem in the Romancero generallong ennobled. Composed originally Si es espanol Don Rodrigo by a Moor or a Spaniard, (it is often Espanol fue el fuerte Andalla very difficult to determine by which Y sepa el senor Alcayde of the two), they were sung in the Que tambien lo es Guadalara. village greens of Andalusia in either But the best argument follows. language, but to the same tunes, and listened to with equal pleasure by man, No es culpa si de los Moros Les valientes hechos cantan, woman, child-mussulman and Pues tanto mas resplendecen christian. n these strains, whatever Nuestras celebras hazanas. other merits or demerits they may possess, we are, at least, presented refer to the period immediately prece The greater part of these ballads with a lively picture of the life of the ding the downfall of the throne of Arabian Spaniard. We see him as he was in reality,“ like steel among court-the bull-feasts and other spec Granada—the amours of that splendid weapons, like wax among women.” tacles in which its lords and ladies de Fuerte qual azero entre armas, lighted no less than those of the ChrisY qual cera entre las damas. tian courts of Spain—the bloody feuds There came, indeed, a time when of the two great Moorish families of the fondness of the Spaniards for their the Zegris and the Abencerrages which Moorish ballads was made matter of contributed so largely to the ruin of reproach--but this was not till long the Moorish causeand the incidents after the period when Spanish bravery of that last war itself, in which the had won back the last fragments of power of the mussulman was entirely the peninsula from Moorish hands. overthrown by the arms of Ferdinand It was thus that a Spanish poet of the and Isabella. But the specimens we after day expressed himself. give will speak for themselves. To Vayase con Dios Ganzul ! some of our readers it may, perhaps, Lleve el diable à Celindaxa ! occur that the part ascribed to MoorY buelvan estas marlotas ish females in these ballads is not alA quien se las dið prestadas. ways exactly in the oriental taste; Que quiere Dona Maria but the pictures still extant on the Ver baylar a Dona Juana, walls of the Alhamra contain abunUna gallarda espanola, dant proofs how unfair it would be to Que no ay dança mas gallarda : judge from the manners of any mus. Y Don Pedro y Don Rodrigo sulman nation of our day, to those of Vestir otras mas galanas the refined and elegant Spanish Moors. Ver quien son estos danzantes As a single example of what we mean, Y conocer estas damas. in one of those pictures, engraved in Y el senor Alcayde quiere the splendid work of Mr Murphy, a Saber quien es Abenamar. Moorish lady is represented, unveiled, Estos Žegris y Aliatares bestowing the prize, after a tourney, Adulces, Zaydes, y Andallas. on a knecling Moorish knight. |
