A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V W X Z

The History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella The Catholic, V3

W >> William H. Prescott >> The History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella The Catholic, V3




[8] Many of Martyr's letters were addressed to both Ferdinand and
Isabella. The former, however, was ignorant of the Latin language, in
which they were written. Martyr playfully alludes to this in one of his
epistles, reminding the queen of her promise to interpret them faithfully
to her husband. The unconstrained and familiar tone of his correspondence
affords a pleasing example of the personal intimacy to which the
sovereigns, so contrary to the usual stiffness of Spanish etiquette,
admitted men of learning and probity at their court, without distinction
of rank. Opus Epist., epist. 230.

[9] "Galli," says Martyr, in a letter more remarkable for strength of
expression than elegance of Latinity, "furunt, saeviunt, internecionem
nostris minantur, putantque id sibi fere facillimum. Regem eorum esse in
itinere, inquiunt, ut ipse cum duplicato exercitu Alpes trajiciat in
Italiam. Vestro nomini insurgunt. Cristas erigunt in vos superbissimè.
Provinciam hanc, veluti rem humilem, parvique momenti, se aggressuros
praeconantur. Nihil esse negotii eradicare exterminareque vestra praesidia
ex utrâque Siciliâ blacterant. Insolenter nimis exspuendo insultant." Opus
Epist., epist. 241.

[10] D'Auton, Hist. de Louys XII., part. 2, chap. 8.--Giannone, Istoria di
Napoli, lib. 29, cap. 4.--Guicciardini, Istoria, lib. 5, pp. 274, 275.--
Buonaccorsi, Diario, p. 61.

[11] Guicciardini, Istoria, lib. 5, p. 265.--D'Auton, Hist. de Louys XII.,
part. 1, chap. 57.--Gaillard, Rivalité, tom. iv. pp. 221-233.--St. Gelais,
Hist. de Louys XII, p. 169.

Brantôme has introduced sketches of most of the French captains mentioned
in the text into his admirable gallery of national portraits.--See Vies
des Hommes Illustres, Oeuvres, tom. ii. and iii.

[12] Martyr's epistles at this crisis are filled with expostulation,
argument, and entreaties to the sovereigns, begging them to rouse from
their apathy, and take measures to secure the wavering affections of
Venice, as well as to send more effectual aid to their Italian troops.
Ferdinand listened to the first of these suggestions; but showed a strange
insensibility to the last.

[13] Zurita, Hist. del Rey Hernando, lib. 4, cap. 62, 65.--Carta del Gran
Capitan, MS.

Prospero Colonna, in particular, was distinguished not only for his
military science, but his fondness for letters and the arts, of which he
is commemorated by Tiraboschi as a munificent patron. (Letteratura
Italians, tom. viii. p. 77.) Paolo Giovio has introduced his portrait
among the effigies of illustrious men, who, it must be confessed, are more
indebted in his work to the hand of the historian than the artist. Elogia
Virorum Bellica Virtute Illustrium, (Basiliae, 1578,) lib. 5.

[14] D'Auton, Hist. de Louys XII., part. 2, chap. 8.--Ulloa, Vita di Carlo
V., fol. 10.--Chrónica del Gran Capitan, cap. 42.--Summonte, Hist. di
Napoli, tom. iii. p. 541.

[15] This beautiful and high-spirited lady, whose fate has led Boccalini,
in his whimsical satire of the "Ragguaglí dí Parnasso," to call her the
most unfortunate female on record, had seen her father, Alfonso II., and
her husband, Galeazzo Sforza, driven from their thrones by the French,
while her son still remained in captivity in their hands. No wonder they
revolted from accumulating new woes on her devoted head.

[16] Giovio, Vitae Illust. Virorum, p. 237.--Guicciardini, Istoria, lib.
5, pp. 282, 283.--Garibay, Compendio, tom. ii. lib. 19, cap. 14.--Peter
Martyr, Opus Epist., epist. 249.--Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap.
168.

[17] Chrónica del Gran Capitan, cap. 47.--Zurita, Hist. del Rey Hernando,
tom. i. lib. 4, cap. 69.--Giovio, Vitae Illust. Virorum, tom. i. p. 241.--
D'Auton, part. 2, chap. 11.--Peter Martyr, Opus Epist., epist. 247.

Martyr says, that the Spaniards marched through the enemy's camp, shouting
"España, España, viva España!" (ubi supra.) Their gallantry in the defence
of Canosa elicits a hearty eulogium from Jean D'Auton, the loyal
historiographer of Louis XII. "Je ne veux donc par ma Chronique mettre les
biensfaicts des Espaignols en publy, mais dire que pour vertueuse defence,
doibuent auoir louange honorable." Hist. de Louys XII., chap. 11.

[18] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 169.--Ulloa, Vita di Carlo V.,
fol. 10.--Chrónica del Gran Capitan, cap. 66.

[19] Chrónica del Gran Capitan, cap. 53.--D'Auton, Hist. de Louys XII.,
part. 2, chap. 26.--Giovio, Vitae Illust. Virorum, pp. 238, 239.--Mémoires
de Bayard par le Loyal Serviteur, chap. 23, apud Petitot, Collection des
Mémoires, tom. xv.--Brantôme, Oeuvres, tom. iii. disc. 77.

This celebrated tourney, its causes, and all the details of the action,
are told in as many different ways as there are narrators; and this,
notwithstanding it was fought in the presence of a crowd of witnesses, who
had nothing to do but look on, and note what passed before their eyes. The
only facts in which all agree, are, that there was such a tournament, and
that neither party gained the advantage. So much for history!

[20] D'Auton, Hist. de Louys XII., ubi supra.--Quintana, Españoles
Célebres, tom. ii. p. 263.

[21] Brantôme, Oeuvres, tom. vi. Discours sur les Duels.--D'Auton, Hist.
de Louys XII., part. 2, chap. 27.--Ulloa, Vita di Carlo V., fol. 11.--
Mémoires de Bayard, chap. 22, apud Collection des Mémoires.--Giovio, Vitae
Illust. Virorum, p. 240.

[22] According to Martyr, the besieged had been so severely pressed by
famine for some time before this, that Gonsalvo entertained serious
thoughts of embarking the whole of his little garrison on board the fleet,
and abandoning the place to the enemy. "Barlettae inclusos fame pesteque
urgeri graviter aiunt. Vicina ipsorum omnia Galli occupant, et nostros
quotidie magis ac magis premunt. Ita obsessi undi que, de relinquendâ
etiam Barlettâ saepius iniere consilium. Ut mari terga dent hostibus, ne
fame pesteque pereant, saepe cadit in deliberationem." Opus Epist., epist.
249.

[23] Giovio, Vitae Illust. Virorum, p. 242.--Zurita, Hist. del Rey
Hernando, tom. i. lib. 5, cap. 4.--Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap.
167.--Guicciardini, Istoria, p. 283.

[24] Ibid., lib. 5, p. 294.--D'Auton, Hist. de Louys XII., part. 2, chap.
22.--Chrónica del Gran Capitan, cap. 63.

[25] Ulloa, Vita di Carlo V., fol. 11.--Giovio, Vitae Illust. Virorum,
tom. i. p. 247.--Zurita, Hist. del Rey Hernando, tom. i. lib. 5, cap. 9.

[26] Giovio, Vitae Illust. Virorum, pp. 243, 244.--Ulloa, Vita di Carlo
V., fol. 11, 12. A dispute arose, soon after this affair, between a French
officer and some Italian gentlemen at Gonsalvo's table, in consequence of
certain injurious reflections made by the former on the bravery of the
Italian nation. The quarrel was settled by a combat _à l'outrance_ between
thirteen knights on each side, fought under the protection of the Great
Captain, who took a lively interest in the success of his allies. It
terminated in the discomfiture and capture of all the French. The tourney
covers more pages in the Italian historians than the longest battle, and
is told with pride and a swell of exultation which show that this insult
of the French cut more deeply than all the injuries inflicted by them.
Giovio, Vitae Illust. Virorum, pp. 244-247.--Guicciardini, Istoria, pp.
296-298.--Giannone, Istoria di Napoli, lib. 29, cap. 4.--Summonte, Hist.
di Napoli, tom. iii. pp. 542-552.--et al.

[27]: This supply was owing to the avarice of the French general Alègre,
who, having got possession of a magazine of corn in Foggia, sold it to the
Venetian merchant, instead of reserving it, where it was most needed, for
his own army.

[28] D'Auton, Hist. de Louys XII., part, 1, chap. 72.--Peter Martyr, Opus
Epist., epist. 254.--Giovio, Vitae Illust. Virorum, p. 242.

[29] Guicciardini, Istoria, lib. 5, p. 296.--D'Auton, Hist. de Louys XII.,
part. 2, chap. 31.

[30] Giovio, Vitae Illust. Virorum, pp. 248, 249.--Guicciardini, Istoria,
p. 296.--Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., cap. 175.--D'Auton, Hist. de
Louys XII., part. 2, chap. 31.--Chrónica del Gran Capitan, cap. 72.

The gallant behavior of La Palice, and indeed the whole siege of Ruvo, is
told by Jean D'Auton in a truly heart-stirring tone, quite worthy of the
chivalrous pen of old Froissart. There is an inexpressible charm imparted
to the French memoirs and chronicles of this ancient date, not only from
the picturesque character of the details, but from a gentle tinge of
romance shed over them, which calls to mind the doughty feats of

"prowest knights,
Both Paynim and the peers of Charlemagne."

[31] Bernaldez, Reyes Católicos, MS., ubi supra.--Ulloa, Vita di Carlo V.,
fol. 16.--Chrónica del Gran Capitan, cap. 72.

[32] D'Auton, Hist. de Louys XII., ubi supra.--Giovio, Vitae Illust.
Virorum, p. 249.--Quintana, Españoles Célebres, tom. ii. p. 270.--Zurita,
Hist. del Rey Hernando, tom. i. lib. 5, cap. 14.

[33] Giovio, Vitae Illust. Virorum, p. 249.

[34] Garibay, Compendio, tom. ii. lib. 19, cap. 15.--Zurita, Hist. del Rey
Hernando, tom. i. lib. 5, cap. 16.--Ulloa, Vita di Carlo V., fol. 17.




CHAPTER XII.

ITALIAN WARS.--NEGOTIATIONS WITH FRANCE.--VICTORY OF CERIGNOLA.--SURRENDER
OF NAPLES.

1503.

Birth of Charles V.--Philip and Joanna Visit Spain.--Treaty of Lyons.--The
Great Captain Refuses to Comply with it.--Encamps before Cerignola.--
Battle and Rout of the French.--Triumphant Entry of Gonsalvo into Naples.


Before accompanying the Great Captain further in his warlike operations,
it will be necessary to take a rapid glance at what was passing in the
French and Spanish courts, where negotiations were in train for putting a
stop to them altogether.

The reader has been made acquainted in a preceding chapter with the
marriage of the infanta Joanna, second daughter of the Catholic
sovereigns, with the archduke Philip, son of the emperor Maximilian, and
sovereign, in right of his mother, of the Low Countries. The first fruit
of this marriage was the celebrated Charles the Fifth, born at Ghent,
February 24th, 1500, whose birth was no sooner announced to Queen
Isabella, than she predicted that to this infant would one day descend the
rich inheritance of the Spanish monarchy. [1] The premature death of the
heir apparent, Prince Miguel, not long after, prepared the way for this
event by devolving the succession on Joanna, Charles's mother. From that
moment the sovereigns were pressing in their entreaties that the archduke
and his wife would visit Spain, that they might receive the customary
oaths of allegiance, and that the former might become acquainted with the
character and institutions of his future subjects. The giddy young prince,
however, thought too much of present pleasure to heed the call of ambition
or duty, and suffered more than a year to glide away, before he complied
with the summons of his royal parents.

In the latter part of 1501, Philip and Joanna, attended by a numerous
suite of Flemish courtiers, set out on their journey, proposing to take
their way through France. They were entertained with profuse magnificence
and hospitality at the French court, where the politic attentions of Louis
the Twelfth not only effaced the recollection of ancient injuries to the
house of Burgundy, [2] but left impressions of the most agreeable
character on the mind of the young prince. [3] After some weeks passed in
a succession of splendid _fêtes_ and amusements at Blois, where the
archduke confirmed the treaty of Trent recently made between his father,
the emperor, and the French king, stipulating the marriage of Louis's
eldest daughter, the princess Claude, with Philip's son Charles, the royal
pair resumed their journey towards Spain, which they entered by the way of
Fontarabia, January 29th, 1502. [4]

Magnificent preparations had been made for their reception. The grand
constable of Castile, the duke of Naxara, and many other of the principal
grandees waited on the borders to receive them. Brilliant _fêtes_ and
illuminations, and all the usual marks of public rejoicing, greeted their
progress through the principal cities of the north, and a _pragmática_
relaxing the simplicity, or rather severity, of the sumptuary laws of the
period, so far as to allow the use of silks and various-colored apparel,
shows the attention of the sovereigns to every circumstance, however
trifling, which could affect the minds of the young princes agreeably, and
diffuse an air of cheerfulness over the scene. [5]

Ferdinand and Isabella, who were occupied with the affairs of Andalusia at
this period, no sooner heard of the arrival of Philip and Joanna, than
they hastened to the north. They reached Toledo towards the end of April,
and in a few days, the queen, who paid the usual penalties of royalty, in
seeing her children, one after another, removed far from her into distant
lands, had the satisfaction of again folding her beloved daughter in her
arms.

On the 22d of the ensuing month, the archduke and his wife received the
usual oaths of fealty from the cortes duly convoked for the purpose at
Toledo. [6] King Ferdinand, not long after, made a journey into Aragon, in
which the queen's feeble health would not permit her to accompany him, in
order to prepare the way for a similar recognition by the estates of that
realm. We are not informed what arguments the sagacious monarch made use
of to dispel the scruples formerly entertained by that independent body,
on a similar application in behalf of his daughter, the late queen of
Portugal. [7] They were completely successful, however; and Philip and
Joanna, having ascertained the favorable disposition of cortes, made their
entrance in great state into the ancient city of Saragossa, in the month
of October. On the 27th, having first made oath before the Justice, to
observe the laws and liberties of the realm, Joanna as future queen
proprietor, and Philip as her husband,--were solemnly recognized by the
four _arms_ of Aragon as successors to the crown, in default of male
issue of King Ferdinand. The circumstance is memorable, as affording the
first example of the parliamentary recognition of a female heir apparent
in Aragonese history. [8]

Amidst all the honors so liberally lavished on Philip, his bosom secretly
swelled with discontent, fomented still further by his followers, who
pressed him to hasten his return to Flanders, where the free and social
manners of the people were much more congenial to their tastes, than the
reserve and stately ceremonial of the Spanish court. The young prince
shared in these feelings, to which, indeed, the love of pleasure, and an
instinctive aversion to anything like serious occupation, naturally
disposed him. Ferdinand and Isabella saw with regret the frivolous
disposition of their son-in-law, who, in the indulgence of selfish and
effeminate ease, was willing to repose on others all the important duties
of government. They beheld with mortification his indifference to Joanna,
who could boast few personal attractions, [9] and who cooled the
affections of her husband by alternations of excessive fondness and
irritable jealousy, for which last the levity of his conduct gave her too
much occasion.

Shortly after the ceremony at Saragossa, the archduke announced his
intention of an immediate return to the Netherlands, by the way of France.
The sovereigns, astonished at this abrupt determination, used every
argument to dissuade him from it. They represented the ill effects it
might occasion the princess Joanna, then too far advanced in a state of
pregnancy to accompany him. They pointed out the impropriety, as well as
danger, of committing himself to the hands of the French king, with whom
they were now at open war; and they finally insisted on the importance of
Philip's remaining long enough in the kingdom to become familiar with the
usages, and establish himself in the affections of the people over whom he
would one day be called to reign.

All these arguments were ineffectual; the inflexible prince, turning a
deaf ear alike to the entreaties of his unhappy wife, and the
remonstrances of the Aragonese cortes, still in session, set out from
Madrid, with the whole of his Flemish suite, in the month of December. He
left Ferdinand and Isabella disgusted with the levity of his conduct, and
the queen, in particular, filled with mournful solicitude for the welfare
of the daughter with whom his destinies were united. [10]

Before his departure for France, Philip, anxious to re-establish harmony
between that country and Spain, offered his services to his father-in-law
in negotiating with Louis the Twelfth, if possible, a settlement of the
differences respecting Naples. Ferdinand showed some reluctance at
intrusting so delicate a commission to an envoy in whose discretion he
placed small reliance, which was not augmented by the known partiality
which Philip entertained for the French monarch. [11] Before the archduke
had crossed the frontier, however, he was overtaken by a Spanish
ecclesiastic named Bernaldo Boyl, abbot of St. Miguel de Cuxa, who brought
full powers to Philip from the king for concluding a treaty with France,
accompanied at the same time with private instructions of the most strict
and limited nature. He was enjoined, moreover, to take no step without the
advice of his reverend coadjutor, and to inform the Spanish court at once,
if different propositions were submitted from those contemplated by his
instructions. [12] Thus fortified, the archduke Philip made his appearance
at the French Court in Lyons, where he was received by Louis with the same
lively expressions of regard as before. With these amiable dispositions,
the negotiations were not long in resulting in a definitive treaty,
arranged to the mutual satisfaction of the parties, though in violation of
the private instructions of the archduke. In the progress of the
discussions, Ferdinand, according to the Spanish historians, received
advices from his envoy, the abate Boyl, that Philip was transcending his
commission; in consequence of which the king sent an express to France,
urging his son-in-law to adhere to the strict letter of his instructions.
Before the messenger reached Lyons, however, the treaty was executed. Such
is the Spanish account of this blind transaction. [13]

The treaty, which was signed at Lyons, April 5th, 1503, was arranged on
the basis of the marriage of Charles, the infant son of Philip, and
Claude, princess of France; a marriage, which, settled by three several
treaties, was destined never to take place. The royal infants were
immediately to assume the titles of King and Queen of Naples, and Duke and
Duchess of Calabria. Until the consummation of the marriage, the French
division of the kingdom was to be placed under the administration of some
suitable person named by Louis the Twelfth, and the Spanish under that of
the archduke Philip, or some other deputy appointed by Ferdinand. All
places unlawfully seized by either party were to be restored; and lastly
it was settled, with regard to the disputed province of the Capitanate,
that the portion held by the French should be governed by an agent of King
Louis, and the Spanish by the archduke Philip on behalf of Ferdinand. [14]

Such in substance was the treaty of Lyons; a treaty, which, while it
seemed to consult the interests of Ferdinand, by securing the throne of
Naples eventually to his posterity, was in fact far more accommodated to
those of Louis, by placing the immediate control of the Spanish moiety
under a prince over whom that monarch held entire influence. It is
impossible that so shrewd a statesman as Ferdinand could, from the mere
consideration of advantages so remote to himself and dependent on so
precarious a contingency as the marriage of two infants, then in their
cradles, have seriously contemplated an arrangement, which surrendered all
the actual power into the hands of his rival; and that too at the moment
when his large armament, so long preparing for Calabria, had reached that
country, and when the Great Captain, on the other quarter, had received
such accessions of strength as enabled him to assume the offensive, on at
least equal terms with the enemy.

No misgivings on this head, however, appeared to have entered the minds of
the signers of the treaty, which was celebrated by the court at Lyons with
every show of public rejoicing, and particularly with tourneys and tilts
of reeds, in imitation of the Spanish chivalry. At the same time, the
French king countermanded the embarkation of French troops on board a
fleet equipping at the port of Genoa for Naples, and sent orders to his
generals in Italy to desist from further operations. The archduke
forwarded similar instructions to Gonsalvo, accompanied with a copy of the
powers intrusted to him by Ferdinand. That prudent officer, however,
whether in obedience to previous directions from the king, as Spanish
writers affirm, or on his own responsibility, from a very natural sense of
duty, refused to comply with the ambassador's orders; declaring "he knew
no authority but that of his own sovereigns, and that he felt bound to
prosecute the war with all his ability, till he received their commands to
the contrary." [15]

Indeed, the archduke's despatches arrived at the very time when the
Spanish general, having strengthened himself by a reinforcement from the
neighboring garrison of Tarento under Pedro Navarro, was prepared to sally
forth, and try his fortune in battle with the enemy. Without further
delay, he put his purpose into execution, and on Friday, the 28th of
April, marched out with his whole army from the ancient walls of Barleta;
a spot ever memorable in history as the scene of the extraordinary
sufferings and indomitable constancy of the Spanish soldier.

The road lay across the field of Cannae, where, seventeen centuries
before, the pride of Rome had been humbled by the victorious arms of
Hannibal, [16] in a battle which, though fought with far greater numbers,
was not so decisive in its consequences as that which the same scenes were
to witness in a few hours. The coincidence is certainly singular; and one
might almost fancy that the actors in these fearful tragedies, unwilling
to deface the fair haunts of civilization, had purposely sought a more
fitting theatre in this obscure and sequestered region.

The weather, although only at the latter end of April, was extremely
sultry; the troops, notwithstanding Gonsalvo's orders on crossing the
river Ofanto, the ancient Aufidus, had failed to supply themselves with
sufficient water for the march; parched with heat and dust, they were soon
distressed by excessive thirst; and, as the burning rays of the noontide
sun beat fiercely on their heads, many of them, especially those cased in
heavy armor, sunk down on the road, fainting with exhaustion and fatigue.
Gonsalvo was seen in every quarter, administering to the necessities of
his men, and striving to reanimate their drooping spirits. At length, to
relieve them, he commanded that each trooper should take one of the
infantry on his crupper, setting the example himself by mounting a German
ensign behind him on his own horse.

In this way, the whole army arrived early in the afternoon before
Cerignola, a small town on an eminence about sixteen miles from Barleta,
where the nature of the ground afforded the Spanish general a favorable
position for his camp. The sloping sides of the hill were covered with
vineyards, and its base was protected by a ditch of considerable depth.
Gonsalvo saw at once the advantages of the ground. His men were jaded by
the march; but there was no time to lose, as the French, who, on his
departure from Barleta, had been drawn up under the walls of Canosa, were
now rapidly advancing. All hands were put in requisition, therefore, for
widening the trench, in which they planted sharp-pointed stakes; while the
earth which they excavated enabled them to throw up a parapet of
considerable height on the side next the town. On this rampart he mounted
his little train of artillery, consisting of thirteen guns, and behind it
drew up his forces in order of battle. [17]

Before these movements were completed in the Spanish camp, the bright arms
and banners of the French were seen glistening in the distance amid the
tall fennel and cane-brakes with which the country was thickly covered. As
soon as they had come in view of the Spanish encampment, they were brought
to a halt, while a council of war was called, to determine the expediency
of giving battle that evening. The duke of Nemours would have deferred it
till the following morning, as the day was already far spent, and allowed
no time for reconnoitring the position of his enemy. But Ives d'Allègre,
Chandieu, the commander of the Swiss, and some other officers, were for
immediate action, representing the importance of not balking the
impatience of the soldiers, who were all hot for the assault. In the
course of the debate, Allègre was so much heated as to throw out some rash
taunts on the courage of the viceroy, which the latter would have avenged
on the spot, had not his arm been arrested by Louis d'Ars. He had the
weakness, however, to suffer them to change his cooler purpose,
exclaiming, "We will fight to-night, then; and perhaps those who vaunt the
loudest will be found to trust more to their spurs, than their swords;" a
prediction bitterly justified by the event. [18]

Copyright (c) 2007. famouswriterz.com. All rights reserved.