CHAPTER III

Tells how En Jayme besieged and took the capital, conquered the whole island, and became the first Christian King of Majorca

The rout of the Moorish army removed any obstacle to the commencement of the siege of the capital. The western side of the walls faced the Catalans as they approached from the hills above Porto Pi, but it was defended by a torrent-bed. After a careful reconnaissance, it was resolved to deliver the main attack on the north-east side, at the _Belalcofol_ gate, called by the Spaniards ‘_Pintada_.’ Accordingly the King formed his camp facing this gate and about a mile distant, at a place still called ‘El Real,’ or ‘the camp.’ It was surrounded by a ditch and strong palisades, for it appears that the infantry went to sleep on board the ships every night, leaving only the knights and artillery in the camp.

Mallorca was very strongly fortified, the walls being of great thickness, with towers at intervals. It was therefore determined to batter down the walls and make a breach with the artillery so efficiently provided by the zealous contractor, Ramon de Plegamans. The King mentions four kinds of artillery for hurling rocks against the walls, which he calls _trebuchets_ or catapults, _almajanachs_, _algarradas_, and _fonebols_, the latter being the stone balls themselves, not the machines. These were the latest things in siege artillery; but the King was not content with them and ordered a still larger machine to be constructed out of the yards and masts of the ships, as well as _mantellos_ for the protection of the workmen. The Moors had similar artillery within the walls, one of their machines with such a range as to reach the Christian camp.

The zealous ardour of the Catalan army was stimulated and kept alive not only by the example of the young King, but also by the fiery eloquence of a friar preacher named Miguel Fabra. All worked alike, from the King himself to the meanest labourer. But although a continual watch was kept round the walls, the Amír succeeded one dark night in effecting an entrance with a number of his followers.

The Moors were not without supporters outside the town, who were ready to harass the Christians. One of the principal Moslem chiefs in the mountains was Fatih-billah (‘Conqueror by the grace of God’), a word corrupted by the Spaniards into ‘Infantilla.’ About two Spanish leagues[3] from the town there was an abundant spring, with a channel leading from it, bearing a copious supply of good water. The Christian camp was pitched by the side of this channel. The place where the spring rises is called Canet, near the foot of the mountains. The actual spring was on a wooded hill sloping down to a beautiful little valley, with the main range of the mountains on the other side. Fatih-billah hoped to do irreparable injury to the besiegers by cutting off their water-supply. So one night he went to Canet with 500 footmen and 100 horse, occupied the hill where the spring rises, and began to turn the water into another channel. Directly this was known at the camp, the King despatched a much larger force under En Nuño and Torrella, which surprised the Moors at their work. There was a desperate encounter on the hillside; Fatih-billah was killed, his men were cut to pieces, and the spring remained in possession of the Catalans. How changed is now the scene! The large country house of the descendants of Torrella dominates the valley of Canet, with its beautiful gardens and woods of fir-trees and heath beyond. The hillside is terraced for olive-trees and carobs; and a few years ago a stalactite cave was discovered there, several hundred yards in length, the entrance to which is close to the spot where the battle between En Nuño and Fatih-billah must have been fought. The cave was then unknown. It would easily have held the whole of the Moorish force, and the Catalans would have been unaware of their proximity. The discovery appears to have been made owing to a perforation in the roof of the cave which made a hole in a field above.

This was the last attempt to molest the besiegers from outside, or by sallies in force. Nevertheless the King caused a tower called ‘El Torre de las Lanoveras,’ between the capital and Porto Pi, to be fortified, and a guard to be stationed there, so as to keep a close watch on the movements of the enemy.

The Catalans received important assistance from the friendship of a very influential Moor named Benahabet, who was anxious to be on the winning side. He was highly connected, was Governor of Pollenza and Inca, and owner of the beautiful country seat of Alfavia. He sent a messenger declaring that he would place a third of the island in the power of King Jayme. Soon afterwards he came himself with a very large supply of fresh provisions, and was received into the King’s grace. The supply was renewed every week. Benahabet suggested that, as the towns in his jurisdiction had submitted, two principal Christian officers should be sent to bear rule over them and to administer justice. Two such officers--one a native of Barcelona, the other of Montpellier were appointed with the title of ‘Baile,’ or Judge.

The besiegers continued to work hard at the approaches and mines, both sides receiving much injury from the stone-hurling artillery. Seeing the rapid progress of the Christians, the Amír made a request that the King would send some one to treat with him. En Nuño went, with a dozen attendant knights and an interpreter. The Amír offered to pay all the expenses of the expedition if the Christians would depart; but the King positively refused to consider any such terms. The Amír then prayed for a second interview, and pitched a sumptuously furnished tent near Porto Pi. Hostilities were suspended, and En Nuño came again. The Amír made a dissertation on the impossibility of taking so strong a place, and merely offered the same terms. When this was again refused, he offered five besants for each man, woman, and child, and to surrender the town, if he was allowed a number of ships sufficient to take all his people to Barbary. En Nuño came back with this offer, but the relations and friends of the Moncadas insisted that the place should be taken without any treaty or agreement. At first En Jayme was inclined to accept the Moor’s offer, but eventually he gave way to the strong feeling of his nobles, and all negotiations were broken off.

As soon as he found that there was no hope from negotiation, the Amír resolved upon a desperate defence. He addressed his people, urging them to defend their religion, their liberty, and their homes to the death. He met with a determined response, and the resistance became more fierce and desperate than ever. The Count of Ampurias conducted the mining operations, and eventually at least forty yards of the wall fell in. The breach was defended with such furious valour that the besiegers were forced to retire, while the Moors hastily built up another wall. A few days afterwards, on the Saturday after St. Andrew’s,[4] another piece of the wall, with a tower, fell in heaps. With the accord of the army, the King then resolved to deliver the assault on the following Sunday morning. Still the resistance was so resolute, the furious struggles for positions so prolonged, that it was the last day of December before the general assault could be given.

At dawn the troops heard Mass and received the Sacrament. The King made a speech to animate the men, with whom he promised to conquer or die. They advanced to the ruined walls, where the ‘_Puerta Pintada_’ stood, and 300 footmen rushed over the breach, followed by cavalry. The Moorish Amír was at the head of his bravest warriors, and soon a desperate battle was raging in the street now called ‘San Miguel.’ Mounted on a white horse, and armed at all points, the gallant Moor courted death, and kept shouting to his men, ‘Stand firm! Stand firm!’ The brave defenders died in heaps where they stood, but the impulse of the Catalans was irresistible, and they reached the front of the chief mosque, leaving heaps of dead behind them.

This mosque was turned into the first Christian place of worship, and is now the church of San Miguel. The figure-head of the King’s galley was a Virgin and Child. It was placed in the church of San Miguel, where it remains to this day.

Here there was a pause. The Moors still fought hard to prevent a further advance into their city, while stones and timber were hurled upon the assailants by women and children on the roofs. So long as their Amír led them the Moors continued the struggle, but at last he retired in despair. Then the inhabitants began to pour out of the gates now called Jesus and Catalina, and fled towards the mountains. The dead could be counted by thousands. The King placed himself at the head of his troops and led them through the town until he reached the ‘Almudaina’ palace on the sea-face. Those within it surrendered on condition that their lives were spared.

The house in which his brave antagonist the Amír Abu Yahye had taken refuge was pointed out to King Jayme. He went there, accompanied by his cousin En Nuño. When he entered the room, the Amír, who was in a white burnous and quilted coat, stood up and tendered his submission. The King received it with courtesy, promised the Amír his life, and treated him with consideration, giving him in charge to two of his nobles. En Jayme found the Amír’s son, a boy aged about fourteen, in the ‘Almudaina.’ He adopted the young Moorish prince, converted him, and eventually granted him a considerable estate in Aragon, where he married the fair Eva de Roldan and became Baron of Hillueca and Gotor.

Having placed a strong guard over the treasury in the ‘Almudaina,’ the King, quite worn out by the fatigue of so many days of anxiety and fighting, retired to rest in the Moorish palace. On the following morning the city was given up to sack, and the spoils were enormous, consisting of great quantities of gold and silver in many shapes, rich clothing, arms, horses, and a thousand other forms of riches. The soldiers were well repaid for their labours. The sacking of the town was allowed to proceed for eight days continuously. As many as 180 Christian captives were found and liberated. Efforts were then made to bury the dead, but they were ineffectual, and a terrible pestilence broke out. One of the first victims was the Count of Ampurias; many other leading nobles perished, and great ravages were made among the soldiers before the pestilence subsided.

The Catalan force had been much reduced by losses during the siege, by some having returned home, and by the pestilence, and no reinforcements had arrived. Yet the King insisted upon attacking a large body of Moors who had taken refuge in the mountains. Fortunately, the impregnable castle of Alaro, which he left on his right as he advanced, had been secured by his ally Benahabet, and was not in the hands of the Moors. The King led his men to the skirts of the mountains, at a place called Buñola, where he appears to have sustained a serious reverse. The Catalans fed before the mountaineers, and never stopped until they reached Benahabet’s town of Inca, near the centre of the island. The King followed the fugitives with only forty attendant knights, and sternly upbraided them for their cowardice. He then returned to Palma with his beaten troops.

Soon afterwards a welcome reinforcement arrived, which, however, only consisted of fifteen well-armed knights. But their leader was a man of exceptional importance. Hugo de Folch Alguer was Master of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem in Aragon and Catalonia, and was a veteran for whom the King had a great regard. His request for a grant of land for his Order was opposed at first by the nobles who had borne the heat and burden of the day. It speaks much for the tact and conciliatory skill of the young King that he eventually succeeded in making the grant to the Master with the consent and approval of all concerned in the division of the land.

En Jayme then resolved to lead an expedition against the Moors who had taken refuge in the hills towards the south-east angle of the island. Accompanied by En Nuño, the Bishop of Barcelona, and the Master of the Hospitallers, the King advanced to the site of Manacor, now the centre of a vine-growing district. Here the news came that many Moors were concealed, with their riches, in almost inaccessible caves near the south coast.

On the coast near Manacor is the _Cueva del Drach_, one of the largest stalactite caves in Europe, with several subsidiary caves and an underground lake, over which the myriads of stalactites present a fairy-like scene. Farther to the eastward the caves of Arta are of still greater extent, nearly 300 yards long, in three vast vaulted halls, roofed by magnificent stalactites, some of them assuming marvellous shapes. The approach to the entrance, where there is a splendid view over the sea, has now been made easy enough. In the thirteenth century it was extremely difficult and perilous. The young King led an assault on the caves of Arta, but, unable to face the hail storm of missiles on so narrow and dangerous a path, his men were repulsed. A retreat was unavoidable, and En Jayme went to dinner. The Master of St. John, with his knights, then endeavoured to set fire to some huts built round the entrance of the caves. The plan was to send two knights on to the heights above the entrance, whence they were to shower down darts made with artificial fire, so as to burn the huts and fill the cave with suffocating smoke. Two brothers named Antonio and Perote Moix volunteered for this dangerous service. The plan was successful, and the Moors, from fear of suffocation, offered to surrender if no succour reached them in eight days. Meanwhile the Catalans were suffering from want of provisions. The King himself, with En Nuño and a hundred followers, only had seven loaves of bread amongst them for a whole day. The rest of the army fed on corn stored in the farms. The young son of Ramon de Moncada, who secured the bread, received for his arms ‘_on a field gules seven loaves or_.’

On Palm Sunday, 1230, the Moorish fugitives in the various caves surrendered, to the number of 1,500 men, women, and children, with an immense quantity of wheat and barley, cows and sheep, and jewels of gold and silver. En Jayme returned in triumph to Palma, where his satisfaction was increased by the arrival of a large reinforcement. Soon afterwards some of the Moors in the western mountains submitted to the conqueror.

The King busied himself with the political settlement of the land, dividing the estates among his nobles and knights, and granting very extensive privileges to the Catalan settlers. He then resolved to return to his Continental dominions. En Bernardo de Santa Eugenia, Lord of Torrella, was appointed the first Governor and Captain-General of the kingdom of Majorca. His descendants still enjoy the _quinta_ of Canet and other estates granted to him. His brother was the first Bishop. The Moorish prisoners were made to labour on the public works. Those who had submitted voluntarily were allowed to retain houses and lands, paying rent and cultivating the ground. Some became Christians. Soon many settlers arrived with their wives, while many wives of the soldiers joined their husbands.

At length the day came for the King to depart. He was much beloved, and there was general mourning. He made a farewell speech, and the knights who had gone through so many dangers and hardships with him were affected to tears. With only two galleys King Jayme embarked at the port of Palomera on October 28, 1230, and landed near Tarragona. He was received with great rejoicings by all classes of the people.