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LETTER V

Proceedings of the Trobadours in the kingdom of Aragon, until, its union to the crown of Castile. Character of the Marquis of Villena, an eminent poet.

Valencia, 31st May, 1778

From the mistaken laws and notions concerning inns on the road, you will entertain a very indifferent idea of the interior police and government in towns in this country. Valencia, however, in this respect, deserves some exceptions, and I was not a little surprized at my return to my inn the second night after my arrival, to see the city guarded by a patrol, the men carrying lanthorns and poles in their hands like our London watchmen. This regulation is owing to the patriotic spirit of Don Joachin Foz, a worthy magistrate, who proposed it for the relief of a number of poor men, heretofore employed in the making of fireworks, a considerable branch of industry in this capital, till a late proclamation abolished them all over the kingdom. To find bread for a number of distressed families, he hit upon this laudable expedient. They walk the several streets from eleven at night, till five in the morning, crying the hours and the weather, and keeping the peace as with us; but as this fine climate is seldom obscured by dark nights or cloudy mornings, the serene atmosphere only affords them a monotony of expression, and the word sereno, becomes their constant clamour; from whence they have acquired the name of Sereneros, which added to the stillness of the town, recalled to my mind the beautiful night of Milton:

“Silence was pleased: now glow'd the firmament
“With living sapphires: Hesperus that led
“The starry host rode brightest.”

I have now an opportunity of improving myself in the poetry of the Trobadours; for the language of this country is a dialect of the Provenzal, and introduced itself with their verse in all those parts where their numbers prevailed; such as the counties of Languedoc, Roussillon, and Barcelona; kingdoms of Valencia, Murcia, Majorca, Minorca, and Sardinia; where it remains to this day. The Spanish writers boast of their Trobadours as high as the twelfth or thirteenth centuries. William de Berguedam, a Catalan baron, was a Trobadour, and his poems are preserved in the Vatican library 1 , as well as those of Nun de Mataplan 2 ; they also rank Raymond Lulli, of Majorca, in this class: but without looking so far back, I shall not go higher than the fourteenth century, when John the first, king of Aragon, who was also a poet, invited the Trobadours to settle in Barcelona, as we learn from Zurita, the learned and classic historian of that kingdom. The fifteenth century produced the celebrated Ausias March and James Roig, both of Valencia; the works of the former have been turned into Castilian verse; the latter vented his spleen against women in a satyrical piece, called Espil, or “the Looking-glass”, which seems to have been imitated by Prior. To court afterwards the favour of the fair sex, Roig sung the immaculate conception of the Virgin. This poet was physician to queen Mary of Aragon, wife to Alfonso the fifth, and lived to be near a hundred years old. Though there are five editions of his works, none are later than 1562. The following lines may serve as a specimen of his style:

Noranta cinch
O cent anys tinch
Dels quals cinquanta
O los sexanta
Del meus millors [5]
Penes dolors
Man espletat.

In the sixteenth century, Peter Seraphi distinguished himself in the Valencian dialect, and his poems are prefixed to an edition of Ausias March, printed at Barcelona, in 1560. Many other bards are spoken of, though the exact period when they lived cannot be ascertained. Among the rest, Arnau Catalans, 3 and Mola, 4 whose works are in the Vatican library, Mossen Narias Vinyolles, 5 Vincent Ferradis, Don Franci de Castelor, Miguel Perez, Juan de Verdancha and Mossen Bernardo Fenollar, of all whom, there are provenzal poems in the Cancionero General printed at Antwerp, in 1573. Fenollar was a native of Catalonia, and in that dialect, wrote in couplets, a poem on the “contemplation of Christ” printed at Valencia, in 1493. They value themselves greatly in this city on their early knowledge of the art of printing, when it was not in use in any other part of Spain; and shew a latin dictionary, entitled, Comprehenforium, 6 and a Sallust, printed in 1475: So that they soon followed the example of Oxford, where we find a book printed in 1468, 7 which was several years before Caxton practised that art in England.

The Provenzals generally made use of the hendecasyllable verse: their poems consisted chiefly of sonnets, pastorals, and love songs, which gave rise to a poetical tribunal, termed, the court of love; consisting of a select number of eminent poets, who decided all controversies amongst themselves on these subjects. The Trobadours were chiefly of the prime nobility of the kingdom; at length they carried the poetic licence so far, as to give much scandal to the public, and even to taint the reputation of the palace, as well as of the ladies of the court; for to make these entertainments more sprightly, they invited minstrels, strollers, and buffoons, which in some measure justified the precautions taken afterwards against them. However the kings of Aragon, Don John the 1st, Don Martin, and Don Ferdinand, reformed these poetical consistories, and brought them into high reputation, in which the last mentioned sovereign was greatly assisted by his kinsman, Don Henry of Aragon, Marquis of Villena. These monarchs assisted in person at their assemblies, where the verses of the candidates were recited, and the premiums distributed with all the magnificence and splendor of royalty. The poets who had gained the prizes were crowned with laurel, amidst the acclamations of the spectators, added to the joyful found of musical instruments, succeeded by an elegant repast: they were then conveyed home with a courtly attendance, and presented with an exclusive privilege to sing, and read their verses in public at pleasure: a noble institution! the continuance of which was so ardently wished for, by that immortal genius, Michael de Cervantes, the contemporary of Shakespeare, and I will almost venture to add, in every respect his equal.

The muses seem to have taken great delight in the kingdom of Aragon. At the coronation of king Alfonso the fourth, in 1328, the Infant Don Pedro, earl of Ribagorza, and brother to the king, attended by the principal nobility, exhibited dances and a variety of pastorals, and songs, composed for that pleasing event. The Joglar, or poet Ramuset, sung a pastoral song composed by the earl; and Novelet, another Joglar recited a poem of six hundred verses by the same royal hand. The attachment to poetry seemed hereditary in the royal line of these princes, and continued in the Marquis of Villena, who composed the Arte de la Gaya Sciencia, for the use of the college of Trobadours, besides many other poems, which were greatly admired, and frequently recited in public.

An historical poem of all the poets of Aragon, has been since composed by Don John Francis Andres de Ustafroz, historiographer of Aragon, in imitation of that of the great Lope de Vega, of the poets of Castile. Ustarroz completed his in 1652, and thought first to entitle it Parnasso Aragones; but he altered his mind, and called it Aganipe de Los Cisnes Aragoneses, celebrados in el clarin de la fama: but it never was printed, and still remains in manuscript in the king's library at Madrid.

The union of the crown of Aragon with that of Castile, in the person of king Ferdinand the fifth, who married Isabella, heiress of Castile, seems to have eclipsed the fabling of the Trobadours. The Aragonians and Catalonians adopted the Castilian dialect, when the influence of that kingdom prevailed, and the cultivation of its language and manners paved the way to honour and preferment. The poet Boscan, of Barcelona, tuned his lyre to the genius of Castile, and though a few bards attempted to support a languishing muse, Miguel Perez and Juan de Verdancha, of Catalonia, introduced the Castilian metre and rhyme into their verse. — About this time Columbus discovered a new world for the arms of Castile, which gave such a splendour to its court, and dignity to its language, that the Castilian muse shone like a new constellation in the firmament! the wonderful exploits of intrepid heroes engrossed universal attention; the boundless love of fame immortalized the gallant soldier, while the sordid view of lucre dishonoured the adventurer, though it replenished the kingdom with gold. This unexpected event gave rise to a variety of passions. The nation was roused; the great empire of Montezuma ceased in America; the Spanish standard was displayed in the new world; and the effeminate Trobadours, and their songs, were entirely forgotten.

It remains for me, however, to say something of the Marquis of Villena, whose great character appears conspicuous in the poetical annals of his country; being in a manner the father of poetry in Spain, as well as the brightest ornament of his age. This illustrious nobleman of the royal house of Aragon distinguished himself early in poetry, philosophy, and astrology, and with such attachment to this last science, that amongst his ignorant countrymen he generally passed for a necromancer. As his family had been dispossessed of the marquisate of Villena, Henry III had given him the earldom of Gangas, and afterwards procured him to be elected grand master of the military and religious order of Calatrava. For this purpose the marquis obtained a divorce from his wife under pretence of a natural impediment; then ceded the earldom of Cangas to the crown that it might not fall into his order at his death, and was elected grand master: some of the knights however protested, and elected Don Luis de Guzman, a Castilian nobleman; but the king went in person to Calatrava, put the marquis in possession, and everything was quiet till the death of the king, when Guzman who had fled to Rome renewed his claim before the pope, and the knights refused further obedience. A long suit was commenced, which lasted six years, and was referred to a general chapter of the order of Cister held in Burgundy. Whilst this was depending, the marquis attended on his uncle Don Ferdinand of Aragon when he succeeded to that crown, and came with him to Barcelona, where he presided at the consistory of Trobadours, and writ a theatrical piece, in which, justice, truth, mercy and peace, were the principal characters. In the midst of theses rejoicings news came in 1414 that he had lost his election, and was deprived of his grandmastership; with an injunction to cohabit again with his lawful wife which he complied with, and became a suitor at the court of king John II then an infant, for an indemnification for his earldom of Cangas. After much solicitation he obtained the lordship of Iniesta where he retired with his wife, and gave himself up to philosophy and the muses. Besides a translation of Dante into prose, he translated the Æneis of Virgil in Spanish verse at the request of his kinsman John, king of Navarre, and intended to dedicate it to that monarch, for which purpose he had affixed a painting, in which the king of Navarre is represented fitting on his throne, and the marquis presenting him his book; but when all this was completed, he dropped his design, as that monarch went to war with the king of Castile, on which account he avoided all further communication with him. His most famous piece was his book on the Gaya Sciencia, which is a complete system of poetry, rhetoric and oratory, besides describing all the ceremonies of the Trobadours at their public exhibitions. This work he dedicated to his illustrious and learned friend the marquis of Santillana.

After suffering much from the gout, he died in retirement in 1434; his fine library was burned under the notion of his knowledge of magic, and the bishop of Segovia, confessor to the king who was charged with this commission, is said to have reserved most of the books for himself. Thus ended this great philosopher and friend of the muses, who was contemporary with our poet Lydgate, and had just reached the days of the renowned Chaucer, the father of English poetry, whom he greatly resembled. With him he ran the career of courts, and experienced the fickleness of royal favour, equally preferring retirement and study, and like him, had the merit of refining the language and poetry of his country. Thus the names of both bards have been jointly handed down with veneration, by a grateful posterity! If their verse wanted melody, it was owing to the inaccuracy of measure, and imperfection of language at that time, when both the English and Castilians seem more to have courted the god Mars, than Apollo; for while the Castilians were daily encroaching on the Moors, the victorious banners of England were triumphant in Paris, where our Henry VI, was crowned king of France.

Alas, poor Macias! Trusty esquire of the grandmaster Villena, hapless bard, should I forget thee! who didst sing of love, and feel the smart of its embittered arrow: imprisoned for excess of passion, after the fair object of thy love had been disposed of; and had given away her hand in thy absence: loaded with chains by Villena for the follies of youth thou idlest sudden, when bewailing thy fate; the Galician muse strewed flowers over thy tomb, thy verse is treasured up in the escurial, and the Portuguese bard claims thee as a parent, for this was thy song:

Cativo de Mina tristura
Ja todos prenden espanto,
E preguntan, que ventura
Fov, que me atormenta tanto.
Mas non se no mundo amigo, [5]
Que mais de meu quebranto
Diga, desto que vos digo
Que ben see nunca devia,
Al pensar que faz folia.
Cuyde subir en alteza [10]
Por cobrar mayor estado,
E cay in tal pobreza,
Que moyro desemparado
Con pesar e con deseso
Que vos diray malfadado, [15]
Lo que yo he ben ovejo
Quando o loco cay mays alto
Sobir prende mayor salto.

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