PROGRESS OF CHIVALRY IN SPAIN.
General Nature of Spanish Chivalry ... Religion and Heroism ... Gallantry ... Blending of Spanish and Oriental Manners ... Its beneficial Tendencies ... Peculiarities of Spanish Chivalry ... Forms of Knighthood ... Various Ranks of Knights ... Spanish Poetry ... Heroes of Chivalry ... Pelayo ... Bernardo del Carpio ... And incidentally of Charlemagne’s Expedition into Spain ... The Life of the Cid ... His early ferocious Heroism ... His singular Marriage ... Enters the Service of King Ferdinand ... The Cid’s Chivalric Gallantry ... He is knighted ... Death of King Ferdinand ... The Cid becomes the Knight of Sancho, King of Castile ... Mixture of Evil and Good in the Cid’s Character ... Supports the King in his Injustice. ... The Cid’s romantic Heroism ... Sancho’s further Injustice opposed by him ... Death of Sancho ... Instance of the Cid’s virtuous Boldness ... Character of Alfonso, Successor of Sancho ... Story of his chivalric Bearing ... The Cid’s second Marriage ... Is banished from Alfonso’s Court ... Becomes the Ally of the Moors. ... But recalled ... Is banished again ... Singular Story of the Cid’s unknightly Meanness ... Fortunes of the Cid during his Exile ... The Cid’s chivalric Nobleness and Generosity ... Is recalled by Alfonso ... The Cid captures Toledo ... and Valentia ... Story of Spanish Manners ... The Cid’s unjust Conduct to the Moors ... The unchivalric Character of the Cid’s Wife and Daughters ... The Cid recalled by Alfonso ... The Marriages of his Daughters ... Basely treated by their Husbands ... Cortez at Toledo to decide the Cause ... Picture of ancient Manners ... Death of the Cid ... His Character ... Fate of his good Horse ... Spanish Chivalry after his Death ... Gallantry of a Knight ... The Merits of Missals decided by Battle ... Passage of Arms at Orbigo ... Knights travel and joust for Ladies’ Love ... Extinction of Spanish Chivalry.
General nature of Spanish chivalry.
Spanish chivalry awakens the most splendid and romantic associations of the mind. Europe, with her active courage,—her jealousy of honour,—her superior religion;—Asia, with her proud and lofty deportment,—her fervid and sublimated imagination, and the magnificent ceremonial of her pomp,—formed the knight of Spain; and, in consequence of this influence of Orientalism on his character, he represents the stateliness of chivalry as perfectly as the English cavalier its adventurousness, and the French its gaiety.
Religion and heroism.
There was an interesting blending of religious enthusiasm and romantic heroism in the Spaniard. His warm and creative imagination transformed the patron-saint of his country into a knight. He always saw St. James at his side, mounted on a stately white horse, and fighting the battles of Christianity and Spain; and, as if these chivalric exploits were not sufficient, he represented him as the professed and powerful champion of distressed damsels; for he supposed that this celestial ally had freed the nation from paying the annual tribute of a hundred Christian virgins to their infidel enemies.[171]
Gallantry.
Spain, too, appears to our fancy as the very land of chivalric love,—of love which was bred amidst difficulties and dangers, where the undistinguishable throng of “hopes and fears that kindle hope” gave a more imaginative cast to the feelings than can be known in the more settled frame of modern society. There was not only the feudal baron violating the laws of courtesy, as in other countries, but bands of Moors were careering over the plains, who did not think that woman was an object utterly unworthy of a perilous quest. Here, then, all the beautiful romance of knight-errantry might be realised; and in the breast of the rescued damsel love would spring from gratitude.
Blending of Spanish and Oriental manners.
The germs of chivalry existed in the minds of the Visigoths, who overthrew the dominion of the Romans in Spain. Military investiture, respect for women, and the sports of hawking and hunting, were the new circumstances in Spanish character and manners: but in the times of those wretched barbarians, the Visigoths, it is in vain to search for the perfect developement of the chivalric character. Chivalry appears only in few and fitful gleams in those dark times; and her golden light did not shine in full and bright display till the days of the Arabians; and, throughout their long reign of seven centuries, it had a very remarkable effect on circumstances and characters. As its glory was personal, chivalry abated much of the fierceness of a religious or a national war; for the cavalier could admire, even in an enemy, qualities which it was his own pride and ambition to possess.