The Story Of Queen Exilona
When Roderic overthrew the ancient dynasty of Spain and made himself king,
he had the defences of the cities thrown down that they might not give
shelter to his enemies. Only the walls of the frontier cities were left,
and among these was the ancient city of Denia, on the Mediterranean
shores. Dread of the Moorish pirates was felt in this stronghold, and a
strong castle was built on a high rock that overlooked the sea. To the old
alcaide who served as governor of Denia word was brought, at the end of a
day of fierce tempest, that a Moorish ship was approaching the shore.
Instantly the bells were rung to rouse the people, and signal fires were
kindled on the tower that they might flash from peak to peak the news of
an invasion by the Moors.
But as the ship came closer it was seen that alarm had been taken too
soon. The vessel was alone and had evidently been in the grip of the
tempest. It was seen to be a bark rich in carving and gilding, adorned
with silken banderoles, and driven through the water by banks of crimson
oars; a vessel of state and ceremony, not a ship of war. As it came nearer
it was perceived to have suffered severely in the ruthless grasp of the
storm. Broken were its masts and shattered its oars, while there fluttered
in the wind the torn remnants of its banners and sails. When at length it
grounded on the sands below the castle the proud bark was little better
than a shattered wreck.
It was with deep curiosity that the Spaniards saw on the deck of the
stranded bark a group of high-born Moors, men and maidens dressed in robes
of silk rich with jewels, and their features bearing the stamp of lofty
rank. In their midst stood a young lady of striking beauty, sumptuously
attired, and evidently of the highest station, for all paid her reverence,
and a guard of armed Moors stood around her, scimitar in hand.
On landing, a venerable Moor approached the alcaide, who had descended to
meet the strangers, and said, in such words of the Gothic language as he
could command,--
"Worthy sir, we beg your protection and compassion. The princess under our
care is the only daughter of the king of Algiers, on her way to the court
of the king of Tunis, to whom she is betrothed. The tempest has driven us
to your shores. Be not, we implore you, more cruel than the storm, which
has spared us and our precious charge."
The alcaide returned a courteous answer, offering the princess and her
train the shelter of the castle, but saying that he had not the power to
release them. They must hold themselves the captives of Roderic, the king
of the Goths, to whom his duty required him to send them. The fate of a
royal captive, he said, could be decided only by the royal voice.
Some days afterwards Elyata, the Moorish princess, entered Toledo in a
procession more like that of a triumphant heroine than of a captive. A
band of Christian horsemen preceded the train. The Moorish guard, richly
attired, followed. In the midst rode the princess, surrounded by her
maidens and dressed in her bridal robes, which were resplendent with
pearls, diamonds, and other gems. Roderic advanced in state from his
palace to receive her, and was so struck with her beauty and dignity of
aspect that at first sight warm emotions filled his heart.
Elyata was sadly downcast at her captivity, but Roderic, though not
releasing her, did all he could to make her lot a pleasant one. A royal
palace was set aside for her residence, in whose spacious apartments and
charming groves and gardens the grief of the princess gradually softened
and passed away. Roderic, moved by a growing passion, frequently visited
her, and in time soft sentiments woke in her heart for the handsome and
courteous king. When, in the end, he begged her to become his bride her
blushes and soft looks spoke consent.
One thing was wanting. Roderic's bride should be a Christian. Taught the
doctrines of the new faith by learned bishops, Elyata's consent to the
change of faith was easily won, and the princess was baptized as a
Christian maiden under the new name of Exilona. The marriage was
celebrated with the greatest magnificence, and was followed by tourneys
and banquets and all the gayeties of the time. Some of the companions of
the princess accepted the new faith and remained with her. Those who clung
to their old belief were sent back to Africa with rich presents from the
king, an embassy going with them to inform the monarch of Algiers of his
daughter's marriage, and to offer him the alliance and friendship of
Roderic the Gothic king.
TOLEDO, WITH THE ALCAZAR.
Queen Exilona passed a happy life as the bride of the Gothic monarch, but
many were the vicissitudes which lay before her, for the Arab conquest was
near at hand and its effects could not but bear heavily upon her destiny.
After the defeat and death of Roderic a considerable number of noble Goths
sought shelter in the city of Merida, among them the widowed queen.
Thither came Musa with a large army and besieged the city. It was strongly
and bravely defended, and the gallant garrison only yielded when famine
came to the aid of their foes.
A deputation from the city sought the Arab camp and was conducted to the
splendid pavilion of Musa, whom the deputies found to be an old man with
long white beard and streaming white hair. He received them kindly,
praised them for their valor, and offered them favorable terms. They
returned the next day to complete the conditions. On this day the
Mohammedan fast of Ramadhan ended, and the Arabs, who had worn their
meanest garb, were now in their richest attire, and joy had everywhere
succeeded penitent gloom. As for Musa, he seemed transformed. The meanly
dressed and hoary ancient of the previous visit now appeared a man in the
prime of life, his beard dark-red in hue, and his robes rich with gold and
jewels. The Goths, to whom the art of dyeing the hair was unknown, looked
on the transformation as a miracle.
"We have seen," they said on their return, "their king, who was an old
man, become a young one. We have to do with a nation of prophets who can
change their appearance at will and transform themselves into any shape
they like. Our advice is that we should grant Musa his demands, for men
like these we cannot resist."
The stratagem of the Arab was successful, the gates were opened, and
Merida became a captive city. The people were left their private wealth
and were free to come and go as they would, with the exception of some of
their noblest, who were to be held as hostages. Among these was the
widowed Queen Exilona.
She was still young and beautiful. By paying tribute she was allowed to
live unmolested, and in this way she passed to the second phase of her
romantic career. Arab fancy has surrounded her history with many
surprising incidents, and Lope de Vega, the Spanish dramatist, has made
her the heroine of a romantic play, but her actual history is so full of
interest that we need not draw contributions from fable or invention.
When Musa went to Syria at the command of the caliph he left his son
Abdul-Aziz as emir or governor of Spain. The new emir was a young,
handsome, and gallant man. He had won fame in Africa, and gained new
repute for wisdom and courage in Spain. The Moorish princess who had
become a Gothic queen was now a hostage in his hands, and her charms moved
his susceptible heart. His persuasive tongue and attractive person were
not without their effect upon the fair captive, who a second time lost her
heart to her captor, and agreed once more to become a bride. Her first
husband had been the king of Gothic Spain. Her second was the ruler of
Moorish Spain. She declined to yield her Christian creed, but she became
his wife and the queen of his heart, called by him Ummi-Assam, a name of
endearment common in Arab households.
Exilona was ambitious, and sought to induce her new husband to assume the
style of a king. She made him a crown of gold and precious stones which
her soft persuasion induced him to wear. She bowed in his presence as if
to a royal potentate, and to oblige the nobles to do the same she induced
him to have the door-way of his audience chamber made so low that no one
could enter it without making an involuntary bow. She even tried to
convert him to Christianity, and built a low door to her oratory, so that
any one entering would seem to bow to the cross.
These arts of the queen proved fatal to the prince whom she desired to
exalt, for this and other stories were told to the caliph, who was seeking
some excuse to proceed against the sons of Musa, whose ruin he had sworn.
It was told him that Abdul-Aziz was seeking to make Spain independent and
was bowing before strange gods. Soliman asked no more, but sent the order
for his death.
It was to friends of the emir that the fatal mandate was sent. They loved
the mild Abdul, but they were true sons of Islam, and did not dare to
question the order of the Commander of the Faithful. The emir was then at
a villa near Seville, whither he was accustomed to withdraw from the cares
of state to the society of his beloved wife. Near by he had built a
mosque, and here, on the morning of his death, he entered and began to
read the Koran.
A noise at the door disturbed him, and in a moment a throng burst into the
building. At their head was Habib, his trusted friend, who rushed upon him
and struck him with a dagger. The emir was unhurt, and sought to escape,
but the others were quickly upon him, and in a moment his body was rent
with dagger strokes and he had fallen dead. His head was at once cut off,
embalmed, and sent to the caliph. The cruel use made of it we have told.
A wild commotion followed when the people learned of this murder, but it
was soon quelled. The power of the caliph was yet too strong to be
questioned, even in far-off Spain. What became of Exilona we do not know.
Some say that she was slain with her husband; some that she survived him
and died in privacy. However it be, her life was one of singular romance.
As for the kindly and unfortunate emir, his memory was long fondly
cherished in Spain, and his name still exists in the title of a valley in
the suburbs of Antequera, which was named Abdelaxis in his honor.
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