Tales of
the Alhambra
![](alhambra_vista.jpg)
This ancient
palace perched on a hill above the old city of Granada, Spain,
has been the source of myths and legends for centuries. Often
they are romantic tales, but occasionally tinged with horror.
The book
"Tales of the Alhambra" was published in 1832. It was written
by none other than Washington Irving. Yes, the same fellow we
remember mainly for Halloween favorite, short story "The Legend
of Sleepy Hollow" (Which was turned into a terrifying movie by
Tim Burton in 1999 starring Johnny Depp.)
Irving,
however, did much more than write a single short story of enduring
horror. In addition to being an accomplished writer he also served
an historian, and diplomat. From 1842 to 1846 he even functioned
as what would now be considered the ambassador to Spain. That
wasn't his first trip to the country, either. In 1828 he had been
in Madrid working on a biography of Christopher Columbus, when
he took the time to travel to travel to the city of Granada. When
he saw the town he described it as "a most picturesque and beautiful
city, situated in one of the loveliest landscapes that I have
ever seen."
He was
particularly intrigued by the Alhambra, the remains of a fortress/palace
that rose on a hill above the town. Made of a rose colored stone
(in fact the name translates to "The Red One") it makes a striking
image perched upon a ridge, with the mountains behind it, particularly
when it is bathed in the rays of the setting sun.
The Alhambra
has originally been established as a military installation in
889 A.D. on top of a set of Roman era ruins. Later it was renovated
by the Nasrid emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Emirate of Granada
in the mid-13th century. He turned it in to a palace. The Moors
ruled from there until 1492 when the Christians managed to take
control of the entire Iberian Peninsula. The palace then became
the Royal Court of the Christian rulers Ferdinand and Isabella
and it was in that same year that in the Alhambra's "Hall of the
Ambassadors" Christopher Columbus convinced the royal couple to
back his wild gambit of sailing around the world to get to the
Far East.
Entranced
with the romance of the structure, and getting permission of the
authorities, Irving moved into a room in the old palace and started
researching its history with the help of Mateo Ximenes, a local
guide. The book he created included myths and legends of the old
palace along with the history of the buildings. The Spanish authorities
were so pleased with his book and how it raised interest in the
ancient structure, they named the apartment he had been staying
in the "Washington Irving Room" and placed a plaque on the wall
there to commemorate his work. Irving never felt he had done the
palace justice, however, writing, "How unworthy is my scribbling
of the place."
A few
Tales from Irving's Book:
![](alhambra_fort.jpeg.jpg) |
The Legend
of the Arabian Astrologer - In this tale Irving tells the story
of a sorcerer who is employed by a Moorish, Granadian king named
Aben Habuz to create a magical defense for the Alhambra. If he
is successful the King promises a reward of the Astrologer's own
choosing. The magician builds a tower using elements both of magic
and mechanisms that when activated causes the enemy to start fighting
among themselves. The device works precisely as designed and the
King's enemies (who are Christian) are defeated. For his reward
the sorcerer demands a beautiful Christian princess that was captured
during the fighting. The King, wanting the girl for himself, reneges
upon the agreement so the sorcerer seizes the princess and disappears
by magic into a subterranean palace in a subterranean paradise
world closing the magical gate behind him. The King wants to persuade
him into the earth, but despite digging and digging he is unable
to find a passage into the palace. The king, without the sorcerer
to work the tower's magic, finds himself surrounded by enemies
and plagued with attacks upon his kingdom. The
Three
Beautiful Princesses - This story tells the tale of a Granadian
prince named Mohammed the Left-handed. He forces a captured Christian
princess to marry and live with him at the Alhambra. The two have
three beautiful daughters. After their mother dies Mohammed decides
to send the girls away with the mother's maid to the Salobrea
royal castle until they are old enough to marry. When they reach
this age, the maid informs the prince and the daughters are brought
back to the Alhambra and locked in a tower until suitable husbands
can be found for them. The girls, however, have fallen in love
with three captured Spanish knights, and implore the maid to help
them escape the Alhambra, along with the knights so they can flee
across the moutains, cross the river and be married in the Christian
town of Cordoba. The maid arranges the escape by bribing the guards
and having the girls slide down a rope to get out of the tower.
The youngest, Zorahayda, loses her nerve, however, and stays at
the tower, eventually dying of sadness. The other princesses escape
and are married to their knights, but the maid traveling with
them is lost while crossing the river. Nobody knows the fate of
the maid, but if she survived she was careful to stay away from
the wrath of Mohammed the Left-Handed.
![](alhambra_lions.jpg) |
The Rose
of the Alhambra - This tale starts during the visit of Philip
V, first Bourbon ruler, to the Alhambra many years after the Moors
were forced from Granada. A court page named Ruyz de Alarcon takes
the queen's favorite falcon out hunting and the bird flies to
the top of a seemingly abandoned tower (as it turns out it's the
same one the three princesses were imprisoned in) and refuses
to come down. The page knocks on the door of the tower and a beautiful
young maiden of 15 peeks out the window. He implores her to let
him enter the tower to retrieve the falcon, but the girl, Jacinta,
tells him her spinster aunt will not let her have any contact
with men. The page continues to beg her, telling her how much
trouble he will get in with the queen unless he gets the falcon
back, until she opens the door and allows him to climb the tower
to get the bird. He does, but finds he is overcome with her beauty
and pledges his love to her. She can hear her aunt returning from
mass and begs him to leave giving him the rose that adorns her
hair to remember her. When King Philp and his court leave the
Alhambra taking the page with them, Jacinta falls into despair.
It is while she is crying she sees the fountain at the base of
the tower bubbling in an odd manner and from the bubbles a human
form takes place. It appears to be a young girl with a lute. It
is the spirit of the princess Zorahayda who still inhabits the
tower. She pleads with Jacinta to preform a magical ritual to
release her. Jacinta does and in gratitude the princess' spirit
leaves her a magical silver lute. Jacinta, soon becomes known
as the "Rose of the Alhambra" for her singing and the sound of
her magical lute. Meanwhile the King has been suffering a spirit
of depression which only seems to be relieved by music. The queen,
hearing of Jacinta's talent, brings her, and her aunt to the court
at St. Ildefonso. She comes and upon hearing the music of her
magical lute, the King's spirit of depression is lifted. At the
court page, Ruyz de Alarcon is reunited with Jacinta and they
live happily ever after.
![](alhambra_heads.jpg)
Fountain
in the Hall for the Abencerrages. (Copyright
Lee Krystek, 2019)
|
The Abencerrages
- Perhaps the darkest tale of the Alhambra is the story of a group
of people called the Aberncerrages. This group of Moors fell into
the disfavor of Aben Osmyn, a cruel man who had just proclaimed
himself King of Granada. Lacking support because of his cruel
demeanor, Aben Osmyn soon suffered a number of defeats in his
attempts to expand his dominion. He blames this on the Aberncerrages,
who he felt had become disloyal to him.
One by
one he summoned them to the Alhambra and had them beheaded with
the heads piled in the fountain in the room now know as the Hall
of Abencerrages. Afterwards knowing his abilty to hold the city
was slipping away, Aben Osmyn fled into the hills and became a
robber chieftain.
Copyright
Lee Krystek 2019 All Rights Reserved.