Madrid: an historical description and handbook of the Spanish capital

by Albert Frederick Calvert

Charles V. was a singular example of weakness, of obstinacy, and of reason, with a bias for right and justice. He delighted in the quietude of Aranjuez, and was fond of directing the work of the gardeners. The emperor was athletic in his early manhood, and addicted to field sports. He loved the sights and sounds of wild nature, and took pleasure in roaming the forests. During his visits to Italy, he went to see many famous pictures, and paid homage to Titian. His versatility was also exhibited in his great taste for music and his knowledge of the technique of the art.

He it was who first conceived the project of elevating Madrid to the rank of capital. It was left, however, to his son to promulgate the decree declaring the town to be unica Corte. The document, dated 1561, has unfortunately been lost. Madrid had this advantage over Toledo, Valladolid, and the other old capitals, that it was not identified with any one in particular of the kingdoms that made up Spain, but with Spain in general.

Philip II. held his Court at Madrid in 1561, but he preferred the solitude of his palace of the Escorial. Under this monarch’s rule the city was enlarged, the streets widened, and several squares built. At this time a number of the surrounding forests were felled in order to raise money for the royal exchequer. Don John of Austria, the natural son of Philip IV. by the beautiful actress Calderona, lived in the Buen Retiro. In “The Lady’s Travels into Spain,” written in 1679, we read that it was against the custom to permit the illegitimate sons of royalty to enter Madrid. Don John was therefore confined in the Buen Retiro, “which is the Royal Seat at one of the farthest Parts of Madrid, a little without the Gate.” Here the prince led a secluded existence. “And he shew’d himself so little that he was never seen at any publick Feast during the Life of the late King: but since, Times have changed, and his Fortune stands on a different bottom.”

According to this very entertaining authoress, Don John was of middle height, handsome, with “a most manly countenance.” His address was polished and kindly, and he was reputed to be well learned in the arts and sciences. He “took a great pleasure in the Mathematicks.” Madrid at this time was renowned for the purity of its air and water. The water was “so good and so light that the Cardinal Infante would drink no other when he was in Flanders; and he caus’d it to be brought by Sea in Earthen Jars well stop’d.” The streets of the city were poorly paved, so that the horses often sank up to their knees and the coaches to the butts of the wheels. There were no fortifications to Madrid at this period, and the gates were not defended. Still, even at this time, there were long and wide streets and many great houses. Eating houses abounded, where the chief dishes were beans, garlic, leeks, and broth. There was very little drunkenness. Men drank less than half a pint of wine during the day, and the majority of women abstained altogether.

At this date it was the fashion to retain a large number of domestic servants. The Duchess of Osuna kept about eight hundred attendants, and every room seemed full of them. Only titled persons were allowed to drive teams of four mules. If a commoner dared to appear on the streets with such an equipage, he was liable to a fine, and the traces of his carriage would be cut. The king’s team consisted of six mules.

The daughters of high families in Madrid were often placed in a sort of service to friends of their relatives, who employed them in embroidery and other needlework, for if the young women remained at home they spent their time in idle chatter. The farthingale was worn, and it was often of a huge size, and exceedingly troublesome to the wearers and to other persons. Some women of fashion wore as many as a dozen skirts and petticoats, except in the hot months, when they contented themselves with seven or eight, some being of satin and others of velvet. As the dresses were cut low, it was the custom to rouge the shoulders as well as the cheeks.

The ladies of Madrid society used at this time to sit upon the floor, with their legs crossed in the oriental fashion. They played ombre, took but little outdoor exercise, toyed with their needles, and read very little. At Mass the women carried enormous muffs, and each one had a fan, which was used both in hot and cold weather.

The author who records these impressions of Madrid was the Countess d’Aulnoy. It is the opinion of some modern Spanish chroniclers that her accounts of the manners and customs of that period are over-coloured and often incorrect.

It was in the reign of Philip III. that the first part of Cervantes’ “Don Quixote” was printed in a house in the Calle de Atocha, by Juan de la Cuesta, and the great satire was published in 1605. Philip III. removed the Court to Valladolid, where it was maintained for about four years and then reinstated at Madrid. During the rule of Philip, the Plaza Mayor was built.

The reign of his successor was inaugurated by the public execution of the unfortunate Calderon, whose fall has been the theme of many romances.