Toledo, the Story of an Old Spanish CapitalLynch, Hannah
History
Toledo, the Story of an Old Spanish Capital
Lynch, Hannah
Toledo (Spain) -- Description and travel; Toledo (Spain) -- History
King John's love of poetry produced two Toledan poets, praised by Dr
Pisa, Antonio de Heredia, a poet who "added rare glory to the Castillian
muse" (probably an ancestor of the French academician, Jose Maria de
Heredia) and a woman, Aloysia de Sigea, whose portrait may be seen in
the Biblioteca provincial de Toledo. The fame of her erudition travelled
to Portugal, and she is said to have written fluently in Latin, Greek,
Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabian, though with so inconceivable a lack of
decency that her muse to-day is not translateable in modern tongue. Doña
Luisa Sigea of Toledo, and her witty daughter Doña Angela, were called
"women philosophers," and their depraved works are supposed to be
founded on the traditions of a mysterious association discovered under
John II. at Sevilla, "a bizarre school whose immorality is understood by
the terms of the law that prescribes it."[11]
Alvaro de Luna found the Toledans no easy subjects to deal with. Pedro
Sarmiento constituted himself chief of the revolution against the mighty
Constable, and instead of a great lord the people had to do with a mean
and avaricious hound. Don Alvaro appointed captains his sons, Pedro de
Luna and Fernando de Rivadeneira, and ordered them to cross the river
and besiege the town by the Puente de Alcantara. Sarmiento sent 50
horses and 500 foot out by the Puerta del Cambron under his son to
surprise the Constable's forces near the river. A fierce battle ensued,
and the King himself had to make conditions for the Constable with the
violent and haughty citizens. Sarmiento demanded that the Constable
should be given up or the King resign, and roundly accused his sovereign
of weakness and favouritism. The King demurred, upon which Sarmiento
invited his son to come and reign, but Henry soon found that he was only
a tool in Sarmiento's hands, and left the city in dudgeon, to return
speedily at the head of an army to crush the too powerful Sarmiento.
Ordered to leave Toledo, Sarmiento loaded two hundred beasts with gold,
silver, jewels, carpets, brocade, silk, and linen he had robbed of the
citizens he oppressed, and to the prince's shame the impudent thief was
permitted to carry off his treasure unmolested. The execution of the
great Constable, infamously abandoned by his friend and sovereign, did
not secure peace and content to rebel Toledo.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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