The Story of Majorca and Minorca

by Sir Clements R. Markham

The Sicilian Parliament met at Messina soon afterwards and decreed the death of the younger Charles, as a reprisal for the death of Conradin. He would certainly have been executed if the young Prince En Jayme had not interfered, preferring the more generous course of returning good for evil. Charles was confined for some time in the castle of Cefalu, and eventually removed, by order of King Pedro, to a prison at Barcelona.

The Pope’s curses kept coming home to roost, but this failed to divert him from his vindictive course. His protégé, Charles of Anjou, was at Rome when the disastrous news arrived, and must have felt that retribution was overtaking him. The usurper hurried back to Naples, but died at Foggio on January 7, 1283. The Pope was furious, and was more liberal than ever with his curses. He placed the kingdom of Aragon under an interdict, decreed the dethronement of En Pedro, declared a crusade against him, made Charles of Valois, the younger son of France, King of Aragon, ordering him to be crowned, and called upon the King of France to attack Aragon with all his forces by land and sea. He further absolved Philip of France from keeping his oaths and treaties made with his brother-in-law of Aragon. A papal Legate was to accompany the invading army.

En Pedro sent an embassy to Rome, consisting of grave and learned counsellors. In a dignified speech their spokesman remonstrated with the Pope and his cardinals. They were, however, obdurate, and all the answer they would give was that the Holy See could do no wrong. Finally the ambassadors made a solemn appeal from an unjust vicegerent to St. Peter himself and to God, who would defend the right, and so departed.

En Pedro prepared to defend his country, confident in the loyalty of his people and the justice of his cause. He had an interview with his nephew Sancho, the usurping King of Castille, who promised to give him all the assistance in his power. He also discussed the situation with his brother of Majorca. They were several days together at Gerona. The position was a most difficult one. If Jayme opposed the advance of the French army through his Continental dominions their permanent loss to the house of Aragon would be inevitable. If he offered no opposition he would be giving an advantage to his brother’s enemy. The brothers chose what appeared to be the least of two evils. En Jayme was to allow the French army to march across his territories, and to avoid any action which would furnish a pretext for their annexation.

Philip (le Hardi) can hardly have had any heart in the enterprise which was forced upon him by the Pope. His eldest son, who had a strong feeling of regard and admiration for his uncle En Pedro, openly disapproved. When his younger brother, Charles of Valois, talked of himself as King of Aragon, Philip said to him: ‘You, little brother, are not fit to take the place of our uncle. You are scarcely fit to be king of what is under your cap. You will never be King of Aragon.’ There was an angry quarrel, and their father had to separate them. But Charles got the name of King Cap, ‘le roi du chapeau.’ Nevertheless, it was generally believed that little Aragon would have no chance against the whole power of France, and that the campaign could have but one result, and would be over in a few weeks. The oriflamme was unfurled, and a great army, led by the King of France and accompanied by the Cardinal Legate, advanced to the Catalonian frontier. A formidable fleet was also equipped, to overpower the naval forces of Aragon and to keep up the supplies for the army in the bay of Rosas. In April 1285 King Philip encamped with his army at Perpignan. The French were constantly harassed by night attacks from the Aragonese; and at last, after a fortnight of hesitation, Philip determined to attempt a passage into Catalonia by the hill of Panisars. Here he was attacked on all sides, suffering very serious losses. Then young Philip turned to his brother and said: ‘See now, pretty brother, how glad your subjects are to see you!’ His father overheard the sneer and was very angry. ‘Hold your tongue, Philip. They will be made to repent what they are doing.’ ‘Ah, Sire,’ answered his son, ‘I mourn for your honour and for the evil that is being done you. The Pope and cardinals have brought this upon you, and have made my brother king of the wind, while they take their pleasure, caring little for the danger and evil with which you are menaced.’ The King was silent, for he knew very well that his son had merely spoken the truth. But it was too late to repent and turn back.

Following the advice of some monks, Philip got possession of another pass, known as the ‘Collado de Masona,’ and his army was thus enabled to invade Catalonia. The little town of Peralada was taken after a brave resistance, and siege was laid to the city of Gerona. But the French army was harassed by incessant attacks, and was entirely dependent for supplies on the navy which guarded the transports conveying provisions from Marseilles and Cette to the bay of Rosas. Here was the weak point.

En Pedro received information from the gallant sea-captains Marquet and Malliol, who were ever on the watch, that the French King had 160 galleys; that his admiral kept sixty well-armed in the port of San Felio; that another fifty cruised between San Felio and the bay of Rosas; while twenty-five plied between those ports and Marseilles with provisions. Another twenty-five remained in the bay of Rosas, under the command of a brave knight, M. de Lodève. The proposal of the Catalan captains was to watch for an opportunity when the other cruisers were out of sight, and to fall upon the twenty-five French galleys in Rosas Bay at early dawn. The King approved of their daring scheme, and at the same time he sent to Sicily for the Admiral Roger de Lauria to come with sixty galleys and attack the rest of the French fleet.

Marquet and Malliol set out on their enterprise with eleven galleys and two small vessels. But never were crews better disciplined or more carefully trained. They made sail for the Cape of Creus, where they ascertained that the twenty-five French galleys were in Rosas Bay. As soon as the Catalans came in sight, M. de Lodève sent fifteen galleys to dispute their entrance into the bay; while he intended to manœuvre with the rest so as to cut off their retreat, that none might escape. Marquet and Malliol formed in close order to prevent the enemy from dividing their line, and ran on with a view of boarding. Their trust was in their crossbowmen. The Catalans considered that no one was a crossbowman unless he was so familiar with every part of his weapon that he could make it or repair it. Each man carried a box containing all the tools necessary; and the Catalans were so constantly trained in the use of the crossbow that no other people could compete with them.

The Catalan captains manœuvred so as to secure the greatest advantage for their special weapon. Every shot told; while the French, with swords and lances, were unable to return the attack, being shot down when they attempted to board. When the French decks were nearly cleared, Marquet and Malliol ordered the trumpets to be sounded as a signal for his galleys to separate under oars and attack the enemy on their broadsides. Then began an unequal combat, the Catalans boarding at the sword’s point, while the French had already suffered so severely as only to be able to offer a feeble resistance. The whole of the twenty-five galleys were captured, with a loss of upwards of four thousand on the part of the French, and of barely a hundred on the Catalan side. This naval battle was a combination of consummate seamanship with consummate gunnery practice, the one of little avail without the other.

M. de Lodève had sent a boat to apprise fifty French galleys cruising in the offing of the approach of the Catalans, and they made sail for Rosas Bay. The winds were light and baffling, and the Catalans, with their prizes, were only sighted after the battle was over. The French admiral could not overtake his victorious enemy, but he stationed twenty-five more galleys in Rosas Bay, and returned to San Felio.