New-York tribune., 1894-05-23
IN ANCIENT ARAGON.
a STUDY OF THE CAREER OF JAMES THE
CONQUEROR.

tribe of English historians at the presen' '
has made MI Swift even less energetic anu ''
in this book than he might be under o'ne' Oo"
dtions He is so fearful Of rash geherd"1' 'o''
that when he attempts deliberate one NV
ant merely to repeat the particulars III epi'o'"'
Vet he has made an interesting DOOR, Oiie 0
SON for his success is the theme we iiiuS 'e
,nenober that Jaime" stands on the ooui'u"i'
between the Orient and the Occlueh' pe'"e
Iatinism and Teutontsm, between Sou'" "'
n-or,h between the ancient and the modern II
the unfortunate and Incorrect diNls'oh Vi L"'0
80, history called the Dark Ages could be
senarated properly. and that part OF II reies"Vu
70 antiquity which belonged to antiquity wh'ie
the rest was properly analyzed IN It's reia''o" -
che evolution of modern Europe. 1t would be seen
that the Conquistador embodied most OF 'ne ei-
6c,ent tendencies which created the monarchism
NJ the seventeenth century. 1t took the rest oi
the Continent several hundred years to eaten up
Nth ,deas which lanes tried to realize in MS
,fetine IT NAV be said plausby. on the one
nord tha, he was In advance Of his times on
,ba other hand II Is not impossible that he was
,oere,v irving 10 practise as far as his meagre
resources would allow. the lessons Of imperialism
,,,bich the Provincials had learned from Rome
md had never forgotten In the time OF Charle-
rnaene the imperial tradition still potent IN
Northern Europe; but it was now at It's last
easn oven in those countries which had Oeeh
longest under the sway of Rome. on the o'ner
hand there were in James's time the beginnings
of national feeling which were unknown 10 'he
peope In the time Of Charles the Great. Fro"
the Pillars Of Hercules to the North sea there
had been one country in later Roman times. but
an the twelfth and thirteenth centuries wmie
men remembered the old bond. they were more
bitterly conscious of the lines Of cleavage
The chapters Of modern history nearest to TINS
experience Of medieval times have been those
relating TO the settlement Of America and Aus
tralia But the civilized races of the mediaeVal
period were not strong enough TO efface the saw
ages and begin anew on empty territory. Wmie
Americans and Australians have had TO labor
only with "reminiscences OF the culture OF their
own ancestors. and have been able to overtake
the Old World in most of the practical affairs OF
civilized life the old civilization had to deal al
ways with a growing multitude OF new ana re-
lsractorv pupils among whom those who had
irecollections of the past became fewer and fewer
The tradition itself became more and more in
distinct. but in the mean while, II spread over
a greater area. As in America one may at this
day hear people talking in English about Anglo
Saxon civilization when they have not drop Of
period. and down to the present day, in the Ro-
nance countries the pride OF Latinity Is over
whemng Probably, at this moment. the quick
est wav TO start a quarrel with Portuguese,
Spaniard a Frenchman and Italian would be TO
raise the question as TO which Of the four came
nearest to speaking the language of old Rome
But in the times Of James OF Aragon the Jeal-
pusy was not shared by four divergent races and
nationalities 1t was practically only the South
against the North. only the educated Catalan
land Provencal against the uneducated Frank
iRude as the King of Aragon was ne imperson-
ated the South in this controversy, and ne might
twell have hoped in his more sanguine years 10
have united the whole Spanish Peninsula with
all of France below Toulouse into civilized en-
pire. AS the fgurehead Of brilliant though
ehort-hved culture, he felt the defects OF the
rountry from which he sprang, the native FORCES
of which had enabled him to make his conquests.
In civilization AragOn was the rough sewage on
the finished cloth Of Catalonia For one clerk in
Aragon, said James there were ten In Catalonia;
for one solid citizen in the former country there
were FIVE In the latter. Thus Catalonia repre-
scented most faithfully 10 the outside world the
realm over which he ruled, not being so Roman
as Montpelier and Perpignan, nor so rustic as
+he countries west Of 1t like Aragon and Navarro.
empire. a small field in which James exercised
his skill as a politician and his force as a gen
eral The Pyrenees more than measured the
width of his kingdom at It's best while in length
1t reached only from the Western Alps on the
north to the Jucar River on the south. But his
was the day Of small things in Europe. The
barons yielded to the king everywhere only what
they could not withhold. Jamess life was spent
largely in the effort to keep those in his domain
under control They had to be conquered and
reconquered in detail The story Of his controversy
with them was the story of feudalsm again
Just as 1t was told in other countries. But the
basis of Spanish nobility was somewhat more
frankly stated than usual since the great barons
owners Of wide stretches of land. were plainly
known to the customary law Of various kingdoms
merely as "rich men," Indeed. the very anatomy
Of feudalism Is presented in James's history The
authority Of the great mobiles grows really out
Of the fact that they rich in lands anC
In the facilities for employing armed men
But they are intent the point that blood
shall be recognized 1t has never yet beer
So They jealousyt resist the efforts Of the
King to reward his personal followers at theil
expense: and their best argument the one which
accords with the feeling Of the age all over
Europe. is based birth. Men not yet clear
about land boundaries. James himself reckons
his possessions rather by the towns and strong
holds that have yielded TO him than by any def
Unite external lines. But the idea of land owner
ship is beginning to take its modern shape ant
questions Of descent are paramount. If the Kinl
can create a nobility whenever 1t please:
him out Of the soldery Of fortune which fight.
his battles, then the rich are rich only in nam,
and the growing ambition to perpetuate a family
q hat nj aiplv y,
barons And the King his side had to yield L
a feeling which was in fact the best guarante,
the times could give Of his rights as a suzerain
James owned his disposition as a soldier and Z
tyrant legitimately. His father was descend
ant OF those Counts OF Barcelona whom the sol