CHAPTER VIII

Tells how King Jayme II. at last reigned in peace, and how his page Raimondo Lulio attained the crown of martyrdom

King Jayme II. of Majorca returned to his island dominions in 1294 with fifteen years of life before him, which he devoted to the restoration of prosperity to Majorca. He was now advanced in years, and was far better fitted for peaceful administration and the work of promoting the good of his people than for steering safely through the entanglements and difficulties caused by the war between his brother and his brother-in-law of France.

His wife, Esclaramunda of Foix, was still by his side, and his children were taking their places in the world. His eldest son, Jayme, had adopted a religious life and had become a Franciscan friar. His second son, Sancho, was therefore to be his successor, and was recognised as the heir by the Cortes of Gerona in 1302. The third son, Fernando, was one of the ablest and most valorous soldiers of that chivalrous age, with honour bright as his sword. The youngest son, Felipe, entered holy orders. The two daughters married well--Isabel to the Infante Juan Manuel of Castille, and Sancha to Robert, King of Naples.

Majorca had suffered during the usurpation of young Alfonso. Her commercial interests had been neglected, and the foreign rule had been tyrannical. At the same time the population was increasing, and there was need for the foundation of towns as centres of trade and protection in the different districts. The companions of Jayme I., forming the nobility of the island, held large estates. The twenty most prominent names were:

Surnames Later titles

[10]Berga ---- [10]Burgues ---- [10]Canet Viscount of Canet, 1322 Caro Marquis of Romana, 1739 Cotoner Marquis of Ariañy, cr. 1717 [10]Dameto Marquis of Bellpuig, 1625 Despuig Count of Montenegro, 1658 Fortuñy ---- [10]Morey ---- Oleza ---- [11]Puigdorfila ---- [11]Rocaberti Count of Campofranco, 1718 Sureda Count of Desbrull, 1717 [11]Santa Cilia ---- [11]Sant Marti ---- Togores Count of Ayamans, 1634 Torrella ---- Truyolls Marquis of La Torre, 1728 Villalonga ---- Zaforteza ---- [11]Gual ----

With the aid and consent of these nobles and of the Jurados, Jayme II. founded several towns which have continued to flourish to this day. One of the first was Felanitx, on the plain to the east of the capital. The next was Santañi, on the estate of Sant Marti; and the King, owing to the want of water, caused large cisterns to be constructed. Binisalem, near Inca, was founded, and is now a centre of apricot cultivation. Porreras, Sineu, and Manacor were also founded; the latter is now a flourishing town and a centre of the vine industry. Lluchmayor, the scene of his grandson’s fatal overthrow, was also founded by this King. These towns formed markets and homes for the farmers of the surrounding districts.

King Jayme next established a coinage, which for its purity and accuracy of weight was very highly esteemed in all the Mediterranean commercial marts. Gold coins began to be issued in 1310, but none are now known to exist. The silver reals and double reals are handsome coins. They are excessively rare. The silver coinage began to be issued in 1300. The Mint-master was Bernardo de Oleza, whose arms were gules a rose argent. The rose appears on each side of the crowned head, and in the four angles of the cross on the reverse of the silver money.[12]

The representatives of the people agreed to pay a tax, called _fogatje_, for the support of the mint, assessed on all houses having hearths.

A pure currency is a great aid to commerce, and the trade of Majorca increased rapidly under the auspices of En Jayme. Shipbuilding progressed, and the rich and fertile soil began to yield abundant crops. The cultivation of olive-trees, though many of them now present such an extraordinarily antiquated appearance, was introduced into the island by the Catalans, and not by the Arabs.[13] The raising of stock also received much attention from the King, who in this as in other measures for the prosperity of the island, was well supported by his ‘Ricos hombres.’

The ‘Almudaina,’ or alcazar of the Moors, is a huge bastille on the right of the landing-place. The lofty walls still stand, enclosing a large space, with square towers at intervals. The exterior has undergone considerable modern alterations, but it is still quite easy to make out the appearance of the original building. King Jayme II. brought artists and expert artificers from Perpignan to convert this ancient alcazar of the Almudaina into a palace. The royal apartments were decorated with paintings and bas-reliefs, the beautiful oratory of Santa Ana was built as the royal chapel, pleasant balconies were erected, and gardens were laid out in the courts and on the terraces. The sculptor François Camprodon was employed to adorn the halls and gardens with statues. A code of palace etiquette was drawn up, and the Majorcan Court was ceremoniously conducted, while at the same time it was a home of pleasure and festivity.

To the east of the Almudaina there was a space, said to have been occupied by a garden in Moorish times, on a high platform overlooking the Mediterranean. No finer site could be found for a cathedral. The Capilla Real had been finished in the time of the Conqueror, but during the usurpation work had been stopped. Funds were raised under Jayme II. and the construction of this beautiful edifice was continued. All the stone came from the quarries of Santañi, on the south coast of the island. The cathedral presents rather a curious appearance from the sea, owing to the crowd of flying buttresses and the absence of windows, which are only allowed to give full light through stained glass in the apse. The nave is very lofty, with eight arches on each side, between seven high and slender pillars supporting a finely vaulted roof. There is a clerestory with windows blocked, but no triforium. The aisles are lower and rather narrow, with side chapels. The lofty and slender pillars rising to the vault, less than three feet in diameter, give a peculiarly solemn effect which is alike pleasing and imposing.[14] The Bishop’s palace, built round a courtyard, is to the east of the cathedral, and also overlooks the sea.

The King’s eldest son had devoted his life to religion and had become a Franciscan monk. Out of affection for him Jayme II. founded a large Franciscan monastery. A fine church rose up in due time, with a very picturesque cloister of two storeys, other buildings used as schools, and a large library with a richly carved wooden ceiling. All came to ruin on the expulsion of the monks in 1835.

En Jayme also planned and commenced one of the finest military works of his time. The castle of Belver is a beautiful object from the sea, standing on the summit of a pine-clad hill, with a background of more distant mountains. It is elliptical in shape, with a large courtyard in the centre. The accommodation is spacious. On the ground floor there is a series of vaulted chambers suitable for barracks, guard rooms, or prisons. Above there is a vaulted gallery opening on numerous large rooms, also vaulted, including a large hall and a chapel. The roof is flat and paved. Standing by itself there is a tall tower, called ‘el Torre de Homenaje,’ connected with the roof by an arch. The whole is surrounded by a deep moat. Pedro Salva, the architect, was a native of Majorca. The hill on which the castle stands, 450 feet above the sea, is entirely covered with pine-trees (_Pinus Halepensis_), with an undergrowth of _lentisco_-bushes, wild lavender, and a purple cistus. Between the bushes the ground is covered with asphodel and the leaves of an arisarum.

En Jayme brought architects, sculptors, and decorators to Majorca, as well as troubadours and musicians, and he encouraged native talent. But the great ornament of his reign was an eminent philosopher and theologian. Ramon Lull, or Raimundo Lulio of Barcelona, was one of the companions of Jayme I., and received two _alquerias_ or farms at the partition. He was married to Heril de Cataluña, and their son Raimundo was born in the capital of Majorca in about the year 1235. His parents wished him to learn to read, but he cared for nothing but arms, and became a page to En Jayme. He neglected his duties to the Prince and gave up nearly all his time to rather scandalous love affairs. His parents thought that the only cure was marriage, and they married him to a girl named Catalina Labots; but this only appeared to increase his devotion to other married women. His conversion was miraculous. He had a celestial vision in the garden of the bishop’s palace, and another in his own house, when he heard the words, ‘Raimundo, follow me!’ He sold all his property, only reserving a small portion for his wife and children, and in 1266 he embarked for Barcelona to visit the shrines of Montserrat and Santiago. He then returned home to cause edification by his example in the same place where his former life had been so scandalous. He was well past his thirtieth year.

Lulio then began to learn Arabic from a slave, with the intention of preaching to the Moors; but one day he flogged his teacher for blaspheming God, who retaliated by stabbing Lulio in the breast. The new convert then left the abodes of man and went up an isolated hill called Randa, well in sight from the anchorage off the capital of Majorca. Here his life was a continual succession of prayers, penitence, and tears. He was favoured with more celestial visions. His mind seems to have been filled with zeal for the conversion of unbelievers; and he also developed some crude philosophical ideas in his solitude. Jayme II. was at this time at Montpellier, and, hearing of the miraculous conversion of his former page, he sent for him. En Jayme was struck by the earnestness, the eloquence, and the ability of the new convert. When Lulio entreated the King to establish a school in Majorca for teaching Arabic, with a view to preaching to the infidels, he consented. He made a grant of money sufficient to sustain thirteen monks, and assigned for their college a farm in a lovely spot on the north coast of the island, overlooking the sea, called Miramar. Here Lulio studied, and wrote his theories and ideas; but his plan did not succeed, and the college was a failure.

Lulio went to Rome, and then to Paris, where he read his system and argued some points with the famous Duns Scotus and his disciples. In 1290 he was at Montpellier and Genoa, whence he embarked for Tunis. Here he preached the faith of Christ openly, was beaten, and eventually banished. He travelled through Armenia and the holy Land; and afterwards wandered over Europe, preaching a crusade to recover Jerusalem. Another year found him at Paris once more, reading his system, which at length received the approbation of the University. In 1314 Lulio was again travelling through Egypt and the Holy Land; and two years afterwards we find him in England, studying physics as then understood. During the intervals of travel he diligently wrote books on every imaginable subject. He reached his eightieth year, and longed for martyrdom. So he embarked in a vessel bound for Tunis, and went thence to Bugia. He preached Christ openly and persistently until he was taken out of the town and stoned. Some Genoese begged for the martyr’s body, and conveyed it to Majorca. The date of the martyrdom was June 29, 1315. Lulio was buried in the church of San Francisco. The effigy of the martyr rests sideways and rather high up on the wall of a transept; above it two angels are bearing up his soul, below are the arms of Lulio and Majorca, at the sides angels in niches.

The philosophy of Lulio is part of the intellectual history of his century, and can have no place here; but this meagre sketch of his life and acts is sufficient to show that he was one of the most remarkable men of his time. Majorca has good reason to be proud of him. His works were read and taught in the Franciscan monastery and elsewhere, and his statue at Palma is a sufficient proof of the appreciation of his countrymen.

Raimundo Lulio survived his old master by four years. Jayme II. continued to maintain an excellent understanding with his nephew and namesake of Aragon, affording him assistance in ships and men in his conquest of Corsica and Sardinia. He died in his palace of Almudaina on May 28, 1371, and was succeeded by his second son, Sancho. Among many adherents, his most faithful friend through all his troubles was his secretary, Guillermo de Puigdorfila. This noble Majorcan was possessed of a large fortune, which he devoted to the service of his master, and was his most trusted councillor to the last. His descendants continued to flourish in Majorca for 540 years, the last male dying in 1846.

Jayme II. was buried in the Royal chapel of the cathedral at Majorca, and in 1779 Charles III. of Spain erected a monument to his memory, in doubtful taste. On a parchment at the lid of the shroud it is recorded that: ‘Here is Jayme (Jacma) of worthy memory, King of Majorca, Count of Roussillon and Cerdaña, Lord of Montpellier, who departed this life in this city on the 28th of May, vigil of Pentecost, 1311, son of en Jayme, King of Aragon, who delivered this city from the heathens.’ The body is well preserved as a mummy. Jayme II. of Majorca was an excellent king for peaceful times, and in the last fifteen years of his life his administration was most useful and serviceable to his country.