CHAPTER XI

King Jayme III. of Majorca

The little child who was brought home with such care and through so many dangers from Catania now succeeded his uncle Sancho as Jayme III., King of Majorca, Count of Roussillon, Conflent, and Cerdaña, Lord of Montpellier, and, in his own right, as the heir of his mother, Lord of Clarencia in the Morea[17] and of Matagrifon.

Jayme had a happy childhood, and there was no premonition of the sorrows and calamities of his after-life. His clerical uncle Felipe was accepted as Regent by the Ricos Hombres of Majorca and the Cortes of Aragon, and, after some demur, by Roussillon and Cerdaña. The young King received a good education under the supervision of En Felipe, and was brought up with his elder half-brothers Fernando, Pagano, and Sancho, who trained him in martial exercises. Among his dearest friends was Arnaldo de Santa Cilia. This noble and loyal Majorcan was the son of Pedro Juan Santa Cilia, a knight of the conquest, whose original home was a castle of the same name on the banks of the river Ter, near Vich in Catalonia. Pedro Juan married Leonor Ben-nasser, the baptized heiress of the Arab chief Benahabet, who helped King Jayme in the conquest. Through her the Santa Cilias became the owners of the beautiful country seat of Alfavia.

The Regent Philip continued the wise policy of his brother. He took the boy King to Barcelona to do homage to King Jayme II. of Aragon, and furnished a strong contingent to his suzerain for the Sardinian war. He also negotiated a marriage between Jayme III. of Majorca and Constance, the young granddaughter of the King of Aragon, daughter of his heir Alfonso (who succeeded as Alfonso IV. in 1327) by Teresa de Entensa of Urgel.

Jayme III. was an amiable and gallant prince, always loyal and correct in all his dealings with his suzerain and beloved by his subjects. Of his elder half-brothers, Fernando appears to have retired to Italy. But Pagano and Sancho were his tutors in arms, counsellors, staunch and loyal friends through life. Pagano was married to Blanca, daughter of Ramon Sabellos, and Sancho to Sauria, daughter of Ferrario Rossello.

All went well until the accession, in 1335, of Pedro IV., son of Alfonso IV. and brother of Constance, the wife of Jayme III. of Majorca. She had another brother, Jayme, Count of Urgel, a far better man. Pedro was an odious character. Jayme III. came to Barcelona with his wife Constance, and did homage to his brother-in-law for his Balearic and Continental dominions, proceeding thence to Perpignan. There he was joined by Pedro, and the two Kings went together to Avignon--Pedro to do homage to the Pope for the new conquests of Sardinia and Corsica.

On his return to Aragon Pedro soon began to show himself in his true character. From the first he coveted the Balearic Islands, and resolved to seize them in defiance of right and justice. With such a man, a hatred of his unfortunate brother-in-law and cousin, who stood in the way of his ambition, was the inevitable consequence of his greed.

Pedro IV. combined the evil qualities of our two Henry Tudors. He had all the avarice and cunning meanness of the father and the heartless cruelty of the son, together with his love of display and magnificence. Hence he was called ‘Pedro the Ceremonious.’ He soon began to seek for excuses for his contemplated usurpation. His first accusation was that the King of Majorca allowed French money to circulate in his Continental dominions, which he alleged to be derogatory to his suzerainty. He then wrote letters to the Jurados of Majorca, accusing their King of contumacy. Their reply was that their King had done nothing opposed to the dignity, honour, or rights of the King of Aragon; but, on the contrary, that he had complied with all his obligations loyally and faithfully, and that they would stand by him as devoted subjects. This reply was dated June 18, 1342.

Jayme III. had returned to Majorca, and his son, also named Jayme, was born in the Almudaina in 1334. Isabel, his daughter, followed in 1338, just when the dark clouds were gathering around their father’s horizon.

Pedro found that the accusation about the currency was absurd and untenable. He therefore deliberately concocted an infamous lie, declaring that his brother-in-law intended to kidnap him at Barcelona and carry him off to a dungeon in Majorca. He added that God, Who never failed those that trusted in Him, had, by reason of the piety and goodness of the Ceremonious one, disclosed the treason.

A fleet was prepared at Barcelona for the conquest of Majorca, and on February 21, 1343, Pedro published what he called the sentence, declaring the King of Majorca to be contumacious and guilty of treason against his suzerain, and that he was therefore deprived of all his dominions. Jayme III., through his procurator Pedro Pascual, published a complete refutation of the false statements in the so-called sentence, and a well-reasoned proof of his rights. Pedro’s aunt Sancha, the Queen of Naples, entreated him to refrain from hostilities and to let the questions be settled by arbitration.

All was of no avail. On May 10, 1343, Pedro embarked with 110 sail of vessels, 29 being war-galleys, arriving on the coast of the island on the 23rd. King Jayme had hastily collected some troops to resist this unjust invasion. But they were quickly routed by the vastly superior force of the invaders, and the unfortunate King took ship and retired to Perpignan. There was a great slaughter, and the city had no alternative but submission. The usurper entered in triumph, declaring Majorca and its dependent islands to be annexed to the crown of Aragon. Nicolas de Marin, the loyal castellan of Belver, held out for a short time, but he was forced to capitulate. A cruel persecution of all the friends of the King of Majorca was then commenced. The Queen and her two children were captured, and kept in close imprisonment at Barcelona.

In July Pedro returned from Majorca, assembled troops at Gerona, and prepared to attack his brother-in-law’s Continental dominions. He advanced to Figueras, where he received a letter from the unfortunate Jayme asking for an interview. The only reply was a threat that Perpignan should be destroyed. But the town was faithful, though Jayme was scarcely able to maintain the troops that remained loyal to him. At last, in January 1344, poor Jayme humbled himself to the extent of entreating mercy from his coldblooded and relentless brother-in-law. He submitted entirely, in the hope of some feeling of generosity or pity on the part of the usurper of his dominions. But of any such feeling the Ceremonious one was quite incapable. He seized upon Perpignan, and sent the King of Majorca to Berga, where he was offered a pension on condition that he abandoned all his rights of every description. The object of Pedro was to drive his brother-in-law to despair and exterminate his family.

Jayme was indeed in despair. His wife, in spite of her entreaties, was not allowed by her unfeeling brother to join him. But the imprisonment of the two innocent children was more than some noble Catalans could stand. They broke into the prison, killed the jailer, and contrived that Prince Jayme and his sister should escape to their father. At the same time there was a revulsion of feeling in favour of the persecuted King. The French Court interceded in his favour, and he received letters and messages from Majorca inviting him to return. He still retained the Barony of Montpellier. He sold it to King Philip of France for 120,000 _escudos de oro_, with which he raised troops and equipped vessels for the invasion of Majorca. The King of France and the Queen of Sicily assisted him, especially with ships. King Jayme collected eight galleys and many smaller vessels, on board of which he embarked 3,000 infantry and 400 cavalry. His half-brothers, Pagano and Sancho, faithful to the end, were with him. There, too, was his young son Jayme, just escaped from the dungeon at Barcelona. Carlos de Grimaldi, of the noble Genoese family, was one of his chief commanders. He had been granted the towns of Soller and Alcudia, while his brother Ayto was to have the estate of Buñola, both with the title of Count. Thus the ill-fated King sailed from the coast of Provence on his last disastrous attempt to regain his kingdom.

En Gilabert de Centelles was then Governor of Majorca for the usurper, and he had a large force under his command. King Jayme landed with his little army on the south coast of the island, and advanced with some hope of success. But Centelles had an overwhelmingly superior force of 20,000 infantry and 800 cavalry. The hostile armies met near the town of Lluchmayor, to the south-east of Palma. The King led a small squadron of cavalry and some French infantry in the van, and was the first to encounter the enemy. But there was a panic, and his troops fled in confusion. With only a few faithful knights he fought valorously until, covered with wounds, he fell from his horse. When on the ground a brutal soldier cut off his head. He had reigned for twenty-five years, from 1324 to 1349, the first eleven years happily and in peace, the last fourteen bowed down by calamity and sorrow. Jayme III. was a prince of many virtues. He was conscientiously religious, well versed in the learning of his time, animated and eloquent, and devoted to the interests of his subjects. His wife Constance was faithful to him throughout his misfortunes, though long separated from him by the heartless cruelty of her brother. His young son loved him with a passionate fondness, which led to his giving up his whole life to avenge his father’s death. His half-brothers fought by his side at Lluchmayor, and their wives were thrown into prison. Sancho, the youngest, lead a daughter named Esclaramunda, who married Antal, Count of Foix, and was buried in the cathedral of Palma.

For more than a hundred years the Aragonese Kings of Majorca had ruled over the islands well and prosperously and to the great good of the inhabitants. They were an exceptionally noble and high-souled race, worthy of their descent from the ‘great Conquistador.’

The body of Jayme III. is said to have been buried at Valencia. Born at Catania on April 5, 1315, his age was thirty-four and some months. The fatal battle of Lluchmayor was on August 25, 1349.