LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
| "'Ah, my ill-starred blade!' he cried; 'no longer may I be thy guardian!'" | [Frontispiece] |
| The Knighting of the Cid | [59] |
| "'Look, my lord, my dear lord! the hound hath found water!' cried Sigier" | [109] |
| "There for months he was kept a close prisoner, loaded with chains" | [190] |
| "As Bayard lay thus, there was hardly an officer among the Spanish who did not come to speak kindly to him" | [251] |
| Sir Philip Sidney and Penelope Devereux | [266] |
INTRODUCTORY
THE MOORS IN SPAIN
In the seventh century an Arab by the name of Mohammed, or Mahomet, established a new religion in the East. This religion was called Islam, meaning The Faith, and its followers were known as Mohammedans, Mussulmans, or Moslems. The principal article of their belief is expressed in the formula, "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet."
The new faith spread rapidly, and Mohammed soon became the ruler of all the people who received him as a prophet. His successors, called Caliphs, or Khalifs, conquered Palestine, Syria, Persia, and northern Africa. The inhabitants of the countries thus added to the Mohammedan empire usually adopted the faith of their conquerors, and undertook to carry it into other lands.