INTRODUCTION.
Although the following Chronicle bears
the name of the venerable Fray Antonio
Agapida, it is rather a superstructure reared
upon the fragments which remain of his
work. It may be asked, Who is this same
Agapida, who is cited with such deference,
yet whose name is not to be found in any
of the catalogues of Spanish authors? The
question is hard to answer: he appears to
have been one of the many indefatigable
authors of Spain, who have filled the libraries
of convents and cathedrals with their
tomes, without ever dreaming of bringing
their labors to the press. He evidently was
deeply and accurately informed of the particulars
of the wars between his countrymen
and the Moors—a tract of history but too
much overgrown with the weeds of fable.
His glowing zeal, also, in the cause of the
Catholic faith, entitles him to be held up as
a model of the good old orthodox chroniclers,
who recorded with such pious exultation
the united triumphs of the cross and
the sword. It is deeply to be regretted,
therefore, that his manuscripts, deposited in
the libraries of various convents, have been
dispersed during the late convulsions in
Spain, so that nothing is now to be met
of them but disjointed fragments. These,
however, are too precious to be suffered
to fall into oblivion, as they contain many
curious facts, not to be found in any other
historian. In the following work, therefore,
the manuscript of the worthy Fray Antonio
will be adopted, wherever it exists entire;
but will be filled up, extended, illustrated,
and corroborated, by citations from various
authors, both Spanish and Arabian, who
have treated of the subject. Those who
may wish to know how far the work is indebted
to the chronicle of Fray Antonio
Agapida, may readily satisfy their curiosity
by referring to his manuscript fragments,
which are carefully preserved in the library
of the Escurial.
Before entering upon the history, it may
be as well to notice the opinions of certain
of the most learned and devout historiographers
of former times, relative to this war.
Marinus Siculus, historian to Charles V.,
pronounces it a war to avenge the ancient
injuries received by the Christians from the
Moors, to recover the kingdom of Granada,
and to extend the name and honor of the
Christian religion.[1]
Estevan de Garibay, one of the most
distinguished among the Spanish historians,
regards the war as a special act of divine
clemency towards the Moors; to the end
that those barbarians and infidels, who had
dragged out so many centuries under the
diabolical oppression of the absurd sect of
Mahomet, should at length be reduced to
the Christian faith.[2]
Padre Mariana, also, a venerable Jesuit,
and the most renowned historian of Spain,
considers the past domination of the Moors
as a scourge inflicted on the Spanish nation,
for its iniquities; but the triumphant
war with Granada, as the reward of Heaven
for its great act of propitiation in establishing
the glorious tribunal of the Inquisition!
No sooner (says the worthy father) was this
holy office opened in Spain, than there instantly
shone forth a resplendent light. Then
it was, that, through divine favor, the nation
increased in power, and became competent
to overthrow and trample down the Moorish
domination.
[3]
Having thus cited high and venerable
authority for considering this war in the
light of one of those pious enterprises denominated
crusades, we trust we have said
enough to engage the Christian reader to
follow us into the field, and to stand by us
to the very issue of the encounter.
