History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic, vol 1 | Page 9

day and night,
in wars, not against the Saracens, but one another. [10]
These circumstances so far palsied the arm of the Christians, that a
century and a half elapsed after the invasion, before they had penetrated

to the Douro, [11] and nearly thrice that period before they had
advanced the line of conquest to the Tagus, [12] notwithstanding this
portion of the country had been comparatively deserted by the
Mahometans. But it was easy to foresee that a people, living, as they
did, under circumstances so well adapted to the development of both
physical and moral energy, must ultimately prevail over a nation
oppressed by despotism, and the effeminate indulgence, to which it was
naturally disposed by a sensual religion and a voluptuous climate. In
truth, the early Spaniard was urged by every motive that can give
efficacy to human purpose. Pent up in his barren mountains, he beheld
the pleasant valleys and fruitful vineyards of his ancestors delivered
over to the spoiler, the holy places polluted by his abominable rites, and
the crescent glittering on the domes, which were once consecrated by
the venerated symbol of his faith. His cause became the cause of
Heaven. The church published her bulls of crusade, offering liberal
indulgences to those who served, and Paradise to those who fell in
battle, against the infidel. The ancient Castilian was remarkable for his
independent resistance of papal encroachment; but the peculiarity of his
situation subjected him in an uncommon degree to ecclesiastical
influence at home. Priests mingled in the council and the camp, and,
arrayed in their sacerdotal robes, not unfrequently led the armies to
battle. [13] They interpreted the will of Heaven as mysteriously
revealed in dreams and visions. Miracles were a familiar occurrence.
The violated tombs of the saints sent forth thunders and lightnings to
consume the invaders; and, when the Christians fainted in the fight, the
apparition of their patron, St. James, mounted on a milk-white steed,
and bearing aloft the banner of the cross, was seen hovering in the air,
to rally their broken squadrons, and lead them on to victory. [14] Thus
the Spaniard looked upon himself as in a peculiar manner the care of
Providence. For him the laws of nature were suspended. He was a
soldier of the Cross, fighting not only for his country, but for
Christendom. Indeed, volunteers from the remotest parts of
Christendom eagerly thronged to serve under his banner; and the cause
of religion was debated with the same ardor in Spain, as on the plains
of Palestine. [15] Hence the national character became exalted by a
religious fervor, which in later days, alas! settled into a fierce
fanaticism. Hence that solicitude for the purity of the faith, the peculiar

boast of the Spaniards, and that deep tinge of superstition, for which
they have ever been distinguished above the other nations of Europe.
The long wars with the Mahometans served to keep alive in their
bosoms the ardent glow of patriotism; and this was still further
heightened by the body of traditional minstrelsy, which commemorated
in these wars the heroic deeds of their ancestors. The influence of such
popular compositions on a simple people is undeniable. A sagacious
critic ventures to pronounce the poems of Homer the principal bond
which united the Grecian states. [16] Such an opinion may be deemed
somewhat extravagant. It cannot be doubted, however, that a poem like
that of the "Cid," which appeared as early as the twelfth century, [17]
by calling up the most inspiring national recollections in connection
with their favorite hero, must have operated powerfully on the moral
sensibilities of the people.
It is pleasing to observe, in the cordial spirit of these early effusions,
little of the ferocious bigotry which sullied the character of the nation
in after ages. [18] The Mahometans of this period far excelled their
enemies in general refinement, and had carried some branches of
intellectual culture to a height scarcely surpassed by Europeans in later
times. The Christians, therefore, notwithstanding their political
aversion to the Saracens, conceded to them a degree of respect, which
subsided into feelings of a very different complexion, as they
themselves rose in the scale of civilization. This sentiment of respect
tempered the ferocity of a warfare, which, although sufficiently
disastrous in its details, affords examples of a generous courtesy, that
would do honor to the politest ages of Europe. [19] The Spanish Arabs
were accomplished in all knightly exercises, and their natural fondness
for magnificence, which shed a lustre over the rugged features of
chivalry, easily communicated itself to the Christian cavaliers. In the
intervals of peace, these latter frequented the courts of the Moorish
princes, and mingled with their adversaries in the comparatively
peaceful pleasures of the tourney, as in war they vied with them in