CHAPTER XXXVIII

Chronicle of the Conquest of Granada

by Washington Irving

CHAPTER XXXVIII, CHRONICLE OF THE CONQUEST OF GRANADA by Washington Irving

HOW KING FERDINAND HELD A COUNCIL OF WAR AT THE ROCK OF
THE LOVERS.


The royal army on its march against Loxa lay encamped one pleasant
evening in May in a meadow on the banks of the river Yeguas, around
the foot of a lofty cliff called the Rock of the Lovers. The quarters
of each nobleman formed as it were a separate little encampment,
his stately pavilion, surmounted by his fluttering pennon, rising
above the surrounding tents of his vassals and retainers. A little
apart from the others, as it were in proud reserve, was the
encampment of the English earl. It was sumptuous in its furniture
and complete in all its munitions. Archers and soldiers armed with
battle-axes kept guard around it, while above the standard of
England rolled out its ample folds and flapped in the evening breeze.

The mingled sounds of various tongues and nations were heard from
the soldiery as they watered their horses in the stream or busied
themselves round the fires which began to glow here and there in the
twilight--the gay chanson of the Frenchman, singing of his amours on
the pleasant banks of the Loire or the sunny regions of the Garonne;
the broad guttural tones of the German, chanting some doughty
"krieger lied" or extolling the vintage of the Rhine; the wild romance
of the Spaniard, reciting the achievements of the Cid and many a
famous passage of the Moorish wars; and the long and melancholy
ditty of the Englishman, treating of some feudal hero or redoubtable
outlaw of his distant island.

On a rising ground, commanding a view of the whole encampment,
stood the ample and magnificent pavilion of the king, with the banner
of Castile and Aragon and the holy standard of the cross erected
before it. In this tent there assembled the principal commanders of
the army, having been summoned by Ferdinand to a council of war
on receiving tidings that Boabdil had thrown himself into Loxa with a
considerable reinforcement. After some consultation it was determined
to invest Loxa on both sides: one part of the army should seize upon
the dangerous but commanding height of Santo Albohacen in front of
the city, while the remainder, making a circuit, should encamp on the
opposite side.

No sooner was this resolved upon than the marques of Cadiz stood
forth and claimed the post of danger in behalf of himself and those
cavaliers, his companions-in-arms, who had been compelled to
relinquish it by the general retreat of the army on the former
siege. The enemy had exulted over them as if driven from it in
disgrace. To regain that perilous height, to pitch their tents upon
it, and to avenge the blood of their valiant compeer, the master
of Calatrava, who had fallen upon it, was due to their fame: the
marques demanded, therefore, that they might lead the advance
and secure that height, engaging to hold the enemy employed
until the main army should take its position on the opposite side
of the city.

King Ferdinand readily granted his permission, upon which the count
de Cabra entreated to be admitted to a share of the enterprise. He
had always been accustomed to serve in the advance, and now that
Boabdil was in the field and a king was to be taken, he could not
content himself with remaining in the rear. Ferdinand yielded his
consent, for he was disposed to give the good count every opportunity
to retrieve his late disaster.

The English earl, when he heard there was an enterprise of danger in
question, was hot to be admitted to the party, but the king restrained
his ardor. "These cavaliers," said he, "conceive that they have an
account to settle with their pride; let them have the enterprise to
themselves, my lord: if you follow these Moorish wars long, you will
find no lack of perilous service."

The marques of Cadiz and his companions-in-arms struck their tents
before daybreak; they were five thousand horse and twelve thousand
foot, and marched rapidly along the defiles of the mountains, the
cavaliers being anxious to strike the blow and get possession of the
height of Albohacen before the king with the main army should arrive
to their assistance.

The city of Loxa stands on a high hill between two mountains on the
banks of the Xenil. To attain the height of Albohacen the troops had
to pass over a tract of rugged and broken country and a deep valley
intersected by those canals and watercourses with which the Moors
irrigated their lands: they were extremely embarrassed in this part
of their march, and in imminent risk of being cut up in detail before
they could reach the height.

The count de Cabra, with his usual eagerness, endeavored to
push across this valley in defiance of every obstacle: he, in
consequence, soon became entangled with his cavalry among the
canals, but his impatience would not permit him to retrace his steps
and choose a more practicable but circuitous route. Others slowly
crossed another part of the valley by the aid of pontoons, while the
marques of Cadiz, Don Alonso de Aguilar, and the count de Urena,
being more experienced in the ground from their former campaign,
made a circuit round the bottom of the height, and, winding up it,
began to display their squadrons and elevate their banners on the
redoubtable post which in their former siege they had been compelled
so reluctantly to abandon.