‘Precept is of God: power is of God: mercy is of God: God is most great, there is no God but Him: wealth consists in God.’
On the walls of the passage the coats-of-arms are painted of the families which have owned Alfavia since Moorish times:
| I. | Ben nassar (or a lion rampant gules). |
| II. | Santa Cilia (argent three bars gules). |
| III. | Berga (azure five crescents or). |
| IV. | Burgues (or twelve crescents azure). |
| V. | Zaforteza (gules three fleurs-de-lys or). |
But the great treasure of Alfavia is the memorial of the unfortunate brother and sister, Jayme IV. and Isabel. It consists of a solid oaken armchair of the fourteenth century, designed and carved for Arnaldo de Santa Cilia in loving memory of his ill-fated friends. The workmanship and the costumes of the figures carved on it are the evidence of its date. The carvings represent the sorrows of the two unfortunate children of Jayme III. On each end of the back there are lions séjant. On the back, facing the seat, two figures are carved, a prince and a lady, in costumes of the fourteenth century. They are seated at a table, supposed to be a chessboard, but the surface is smooth. A small dog is under the table. Over them there is a tree with three branches, and foliage at the end of each. On each branch, among the foliage, there is a bird of evil omen or of mourning—crows and owl—symbolising the sorrows of the two young people beneath them. Below the seat there are two fierce bloodhounds facing each other, one killing a rabbit.
At the back of the chair the carving is still more symbolical. A laurel-tree rises out of a tomb, and among its foliage there is a crowned head, intended for that of Jayme III. On either side of the tree stand the same prince and princess, the prince with a hawk on his wrist. Both point their hands down to the tomb, in which there is the same crowned head.
In a lower compartment there is a fierce hound chasing a rabbit; and beneath that again there is a rabbit sitting up and looking back behind a mound, a second mound with a rabbit looking out of it, and the hindquarters of another going into its hole. On the sides of the chair there are niches with arches, and under two of them on either side are armed figures in iron caps, shirts of mail, swords, and shields. One is crowned and has a long mantle, and a bird with wings displayed is carved on his shield.[18]
The whole composition is very curious and most interesting, alike a touching memorial of the brother and sister, the last of their race, and a very precious relic of antiquity.
The descendants of the second son of Jayme the Conqueror have left a goodly record. To them Majorca owed her rights and liberties, the settlement of her people, the founding of her towns, and all the beginnings of her future prosperity. Devoted to the good of their people, honourable and true to their word, wise in counsel, steadfast in adversity, they produced also knights-errant of the most chivalrous type, like En Fernando and like young Jayme IV., the last of his race.
CHAPTER XIII
Relates the story, so far as it concerns Majorca, of the last Kings of Aragon
The extinction of their reigning dynasty was a great calamity to the people of Majorca, especially during the prolonged life of the Ceremonious one. At last he died in 1387. His sons were very different in all respects. Juan I., surnamed the Huntsman, succeeded as King of Aragon, and he was also the legitimate heir to the Balearic Islands. A pestilence in Catalonia led him to visit Majorca. He and his Queen were in different galleys, and were separated during bad weather. Juan landed at Soller on July 16, 1394, and proceeded to the castle of Valdemosa. The Queen, reached Palma safely. They were united at the castle of Belver, where they spent six pleasant months. Devoted to the chase, Juan went about over the island hawking the partridges introduced by King Sancho. He also imported deer. Returning to Aragon, he was unfortunately killed in the forest of Foxà, near his castle of Uriols, when hunting a she-wolf. He only had a daughter named Violante, who became Queen of Naples, mother of Louis, Duke of Calabria.