The Story of Majorca and MinorcaMarkham, Clements R. (Clements Robert), Sir
History
The Story of Majorca and Minorca
Markham, Clements R. (Clements Robert), Sir
Balearic Islands (Spain) -- History
This time the King brought with him a cousin to be Viceroy of Mallorca,
in the person of the Infante Pedro of Portugal. This prince’s mother
was Aldonza, sister of Alonso II. of Aragon and wife of Sancho, King of
Portugal; so that Pedro was a first cousin of King Jayme’s father--the
same relation as En Nuño. He married the Countess of Urgel, the
greatest heiress in Aragon, and acquired a position of importance in
the country. The Countess had died without children, and Pedro received
Mallorca on condition that he surrendered all his rights in the county
of Urgel. He seems to have been a weak man, fond of his ease, and all
real power remained with Torrella and others trusted by the King.
En Jayme, accompanied by En Nuño and the Portuguese prince, sailed
from Salou, and in two days his little fleet was anchored in the port
of Soller, where the joyful news was received that the King of Tunis
had abandoned his intended invasion, at all events for that year. The
port of Soller is on the north side of the island, about two miles
from the town, which is in the midst of a lovely valley surrounded
by magnificent mountain peaks. Rich in the products of its harvests,
Soller was even then a place of trade, and En Jayme found a Genoese
vessel loading in its port. The King must have been struck by the
wonderful beauty of this side of his island, which he had not seen
before. Suliar (Soller) in Arabic means a shell, like the golden shell
at Palermo. It is now, and probably was then, golden with orange and
lemon gardens; the higher slopes of the mountains covered with pine and
carob trees, and the grand peaks raising their heads into the sky. The
loftiest peak in the island, ‘Puig Mayor d’en Torrello’ (4,700 feet)
is not in sight, being concealed by the second highest, the ‘Puig de
Massonella’ (4,400 feet), on which the King probably saw patches of
snow. To the north-east is a striking peak, called ‘Puig de L’Ofre’
(3,500 feet), and to the south the ‘Teix’ of Valdemosa (3,400 feet). In
the division the King gave two-thirds of the Soller valley to the Count
of Ampudia, and one-third to Gaston de Moncada, whose father was slain
in the battle of Santa Ponza. In riding from Soller to Palma King Jayme
had to cross a mountain saddle 2,000 feet high, whence he had glorious
views of the Soller valley on one side, and of the fertile ‘garden’ of
Palma on the other. At the end of the descent is the estate of Alfavia,
the enchanting country seat of Jayme’s Moorish ally, Benahabet. The
estate had been granted to En Nuño, but the Moorish owners were
allowed to retain it on paying a quit-rent. Here the King probably
rested before riding across the ‘_huerta_,’ or garden, to Palma, where
he was received with transports of joy by the people.
The King was unable to remain long away from his Continental dominions.
He left the Infante Pedro of Portugal as Viceroy, Bernardo de Torrella
and a knight named Pedro Maza being the real governors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account