The Sword of Saint Ferdinand (La Espada de San Fernando) is a Spanish historic novel written by Luis de Eguílaz (full name: Damaso Luis Martínez Eguílaz y Eguílaz) in 1852. The action is set before and during the Siege of Seville (1247-1248) by Ferdinand III of Castile.
The year is 1231, and Garcí-Pérez (García) de Vargas and his brother Diego are about to take part in the Battle of Jerez after making a name for themselves during the entire war campaign. However, although the Brothers Vargas are popular among the low-rank soldiers, they are irrationally hated by one high-ranked knight called Pedro de Guzmán.
García is cut off behind the enemy lines during the siege due to Pedro's schemes, but he is found and helped by old soldier and court jester Fortún Paja, whose loyalty was earned by the Vargas when they saved his life in an earlier skirmish. García and Fortún manage to escape from Jerez as rescuing Elvira de Lara, a Castilian noblewoman who was being held prisoner by Almanzor, the ruler of another Andalusian city. Since they cannot return safely to the camp yet, Fortún leads his wards to the cottage of a hermit called Agatín. García and Elvira feel attracted to each other, but neither of them reveals their name, and García keeps his helmet's visor down, fearing the wartorn area is not safe enough to show his identity.
García and Fortún must go outside to argue their situation, leaving Elvira in the care of Agatín. In the meantime, though, Guzmán and his soldiers find the cottage, murder Agatín and take Elvira to Melgarejo Castle, a stronghold managed by Gazul, an Andalusian commander who Guzmán is spying for. Elvira is locked up in a bedroom, but she manages to climb down the wall and flee.
Meanwhile, García and Fortún run into Castilian troops led by the former's brother Diego. Diego had been ordered to capture an enemy castle, but a direct attack would be unsuccessful right now. Fortún suggests, as an alternative, heading towards Melgarejo Castle. The Brothers Vargas reach the place shortly after Elvira's escape and succeed in capturing the castle, but Guzmán and Gazul escape during the battle. Afterwards, García, Diego and Fortún return to Agatín's cottage, and find Elvira gone and Agatín murdered. Looking around the place, the trio quickly figure out that the murder was committed by another Castilian knight like themselves. Outraged, both brothers swear that crime will not go unpunished.
Time passes, yet the war goes on. As defending the Peña de Martos castle, Diego meets Elvira and falls in love with her, unaware that that is the woman his brother fell for, whom García has been looking for years. Diego asks for her in marriage immediately, but it turns out that she is already engaged to Pedro de Guzmán, even though Elvira hates him, because he managed to trick her father Mendo de Lara into believing he had rescued Elvira from Jerez. Diego opens his heart to his brother, and García -who doesn't yet know Elvira is the woman whom he rescued- swears he will get Guzmán out of his brother's way, in one way or another.
Meanwhile, Pedro de Guzmán keeps working as a spy for his own gain, and plotting against the Brothers Vargas.
The novel is the public domain and can be read in the original idiom here
, here and here.
Tropes:
- Artistic License – History: The novel is set in the mid-thirteenth century Spain, but several characters use visored sallets (which originated in Italy at the beginning of the fifteenth century), and use the style of "Alteza Real" (His Majesty) when referring to the king (a treatment which only appears later in official documents). At the end of the novel, Luis de Eguílaz's afterword acknowledges that they are -intentional- anachronisms. However, his own research indicates that sallets were mentioned in documents from the 12th century, and he points out that no character says "Alteza Real" when talking directly to the king.
- Bedsheet Ladder: When Elvira is locked up in Melgarejo Castle, she makes one rope by knotting her room's bedsheets and curtains together, ties one end to the window's supporting column and climbs down the wall.
- Boom, Headshot!: Fortún gets rid of one sentinel posted to guard the walls of Melgarejo Castle by putting a crossbow bolt in his head as the man is negligently sleeping.
- Bound and Gagged: When Fortún needs to flee from Jerez, he dons a disguise and tricks and assails one gatekepper, stealing the door keys and leaving the man tied up and gagged with his own clothes in a locked empty room.
- Christianity is Catholic: As far as the story seems to be concerned, Catholicism is the only kind of Christianism, even though the East-West Schism had happened two hundred years before of the novel's events.
- Circling Vultures: After a skirmish next to the Genil River, a flock of vultures quickly appears and starts circling over the ruins littered with bodies of dead soldiers. Somberly, the narration remarks those birds are the only ones who profit from the war.
- Crocodile Tears: After a battle, Guzmán cries over the alleged deaths of García Vargas and Pero Miguel (unaware that the former is merely missing in action) to cover up the fact that he is secretly happy that his foe García is dead, and he does not care about his easily manipulable pawn Pero's demise.
- The Cuckoolander Was Right: Like most of court jesters and buffoons, Fortún Paja is considered crazy, or at the very least pretty nuts. However, King Ferdinand III keeps him around not only because of his jokes and gags, but also because Fortún often gives good advice. The King himself remarks this after Fortún correctly points out that the enemy will very quickly take back the city which he has just conquered if he leaves now: "I have always heard that the crazy sometimes offer good advice".
- Damsel out of Distress: When Elvira becomes imprisoned in the tower of Melgarejo castle, she quickly makes a rope using her room's sheets and curtains, slides out of the window, climbs down the tower despite the strong wind and the low night-time visibility, and flees.
- Death Equals Redemption: Discussed when Fortún reports that the bodies of Guzmán and Gazul have just been found in the river Genil. Elvira and Blanca hope that their souls can rest in peace now, but Fortún consider it unlikely since they were evil assholes...unless that they regretted and swore off their bad actions before dying.
- Death Seeker: Having fallen in love with the woman whom his brother Diego loves, García becomes suicidal and wants nothing more than to die in combat (although he would accept dying of sickness). García even forgives whoever attempted to kill him previously since they would have done him a favor.
- The Dreaded: When a seven-man squad of Andalusians sees a single knight going out to meet them, they get ready to engage him...until they see their face and he is recognized as Garcí-Pérez de Vargas. The whole group freaks out and decides to stand aside and let him pass unharmed.
- Dressing as the Enemy: In order to flee from Jerez with Elvira, García and Fortún don the robes of Almanzor -ruler of Alcalá de los Gazules, whom García had just killed in the battle- and one Jerezan soldier. They then pretend to be Almanzor and his slave, who are taking one captive to a safer location, so that the guards let them ride through the gates.
- Dirty Coward: Fortún Paja regards Pedro of Guzmán's penchant for hiding behind his shield constantly as a sign that he is a coward and should not be trusted. And indeed, Guzmán resorts to subterfuge, lies and betrayal as often as he runs from fights (even after being called a coward).
- End of an Age: The story ends with the capture of Seville by Ferdinand III in 1248, putting an end to the Taifa of Seville, which had existed since the year 1023, and to fifty hundred thirty-seven years of Islamic rule.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Although Almanzor thinks nothing of buying sex slaves to swell the ranks of his harem, he will not touch his captives until they show themselves genuinely willing to have sex with him.
- Exact Words: García wants to challenge Guzmán to a duel, but they have been prohibited from fighting each other directly, so he comes up with the idea of challenging Guzmán to confront one enemy squad on their own. Since they will not be fighting each other, the king cannot complain about them disobeying his orders.
- Face Death with Dignity: The epilogue starts with Ferdinand III on his deathbed. As he is dying, the king rewards the main characters for their loyalty and asks them to take care of his family, begs forgiveness of whoever has felt wronged by him, asks everybody to say a last prayer for him, and passes away feeling happy and at peace.
- Fate Worse than Death: García and Elvira are fleeing from an army of enemies when they see the Genil River stretching in front of them. Elvira remarks that she would rather die than be captured and enslaved again. García agrees and they ride their horse into the river, expecting to get dragged away by the current and become drowned.
- The Good King: By all accounts, King Ferdinand III is a wise, reasonable and measured monarch, traits which have made him popular among his subjects.
- Gratuitous Latin: When Fortún Paja and Agatín are arguing, the latter suddenly cites Horace's Odes, and then Sallust's Conspiracy of Catiline, even after the latter has clearly stated he does not speak Latin (in fact, Fortún believes Agatín is speaking Greek):Agatín: "You are going to make that lady and that knight think I am a crook."
Fortún Paja: "That lady and that knight don't care by the likes of you, dear Agatín."
Agatín: "Pulvis et umbra sumus (We are dust and shadows)."
Fortún Paja: "I'm warning you: I don't know a word of Greek."
Agatín: "Vita est brevis (Life is short)."
Fortún Paja: "Even worse."
Agatín: "I mean: 'We are nothing'."
Fortún Paja: "I get it." - The Hermit: Agatín is a reclusive hermit and scholar who lives alone in a cottage in the Jerezan countryside. Agatín doesn't like visitors, and he will readily introduce strangers to his crossbow if they don't leave without a fuss.
- Hermit Guru: Subverted with Agatín, who claims he lives alone in the countryside because he is dedicated to contemplative life -and he is certainly knowledgeable at matters of theology, astrology, medicine and ancient languages-, but Fortún does not buy it, guessing Agatín is a double spy for both the Castilian army and the Taifa kingdom of Seville.
- The High Middle Ages: The story is set in the background of the Reconquista and Siege of Seville (1247-1248) by Ferdinand III.
- Historical Domain Character:
- King Ferdinand III of Castile (1199?-1252) is one of the main characters.
- Garci Pérez and Diego de Vargas are also historical characters, and the book largely sticks to the chronicled facts regarding their military victories.
- Álvar Pérez de Castro "the Castilian" (?-1240) was a Castilian nobleman who served the Muslim ruler of Jaén before joining the army of Ferdinand III.
- Abén-Buc (also known as Ibn-Hud) was a taifa emir who took over most of Al-Andalus until his assassination in 1238.
- Honor Before Reason: Discussed. García and Diego intend to seize the Castle of Doña Blanca, taking advantage of the chaos caused by the Battle of Jerez. However, some traitor has alerted the garrison, for which storming the castle means certain death. Both brothers intend to assault the fortress anyway, because they have been ordered to, and they place more value on their honor than on their lives. However, Fortún points out that they can keep both if they raid Melgarejo Castle, which is near at hand and will be less protected.
- Hordes from the East: The Arab conquerors were regarded by the Hispano-Romans as invaders from the South and East who spoke strange languages, wore strange clothes and practiced a strange religion. Five centuries later, though, it is the Andalusian settlers who regard the Castilian army as a horde of infidel northern savages overrunning their lands.
- I Choose to Stay: King Ferdinand planned to return to Castile after freeing the city of Seville until Fortún pointed out that he will be leaving the city extremely vulnerable and ripe for the enemy's retaking if he does so. The king realizes that the old soldier is right and swears he will never leave Seville until his death.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Both Diego and García want to marry Elvira, but neither of them would bear seeing his brother unhappy. Diego settles the matter by pointing out that Elvira marrying García will at least make her happy, whereas the three of them will be miserable if she marries him.
- I Warned You: Before the Battle of Jerez, Fortún Paja warns Pero Miguel that he better prays to a patron saint of his choice if he attempts to murder one of the Brothers Vargas again. Pero attempts to murder García Vargas during the battle anyway, Fortún puts one arrow through his neck, and mutters the fallen body "I warned you".
- Ignored Epiphany: Pero Miguel freaks out and considers leaving the Brothers Vargas alone after Fortún Paja threatens to kill him if he attempts to murder them again. However, his "ally" Pedro de Guzmán, who also hates the Vargas and is manipulating Pero into doing his dirty work, asks him if he is so coward as to be afraid of an old crossbowman. Angry and emboldened, Pero attempts to kill García Vargas again, and gets immediately killed by said old crossbowman.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Pero Miguel attempts to murder García by pinning him to the wall, but he gets killed before discovering that García ducked just in time and dodged his spear.
- In the Back: Pero Miguel is shot from behind by Fortún, who is not feeling guilty about putting one bolt through the neck of the man who apparently speared García to death.
- Interfaith Smoothie: Agatín is half-Christian half-Islamic. He assures his guests he is fully Christian, but he merely keeps Islamic relics so that he is not given grief by potential Islamic visitors. Fortún and García are not convinced, since he casually will quote both Jesus Christ and Muhammad in the same breath, but they will not give him grief about his weird syncretism either.
- Killed Offscreen: Álvar Pérez de Castro, one of the captains of the Castilian army and the commander of the protagonist duo, is an important character through the story's first part. However, he disappears around the second part's Chapter Six, and he is not heard of again until one character mentions he is dead in Chapter Nineteen. Justified, since the historical Álvar Pérez passed away in Toledo while the Vargas were deployed in another province.
- Killer Bear Hug: Pero Miguel, who is big and strong enough to pull it off, has used this move to kill at least two personal enemies by pretending he wants to give them a reconciliatory hug. Early on, Pero also attempts to hug Diego de Vargas to death, but Diego points out what happens to people who are tricked into receiving his "friendly" hugs.
- Knighting: The story starts with Álvar Pérez de Castro, a nobleman who commanded a part of the Castilian forces, knighting co-protagonist García de Vargas prior to the Battle of Jerez.
- Made a Slave: Elvira de Lara, a beautiful Castilian noblewoman, was captured during a Andalusian raid and sold into slavery.
- Magic Is Evil: Subverted. Being a devout Christian, Elvira feels reluctant when Agatín offers to draw up her horoscope; but the old hermit assures her twice that he has studied all Abrahamic religions and he is confident that there is nothing sinful about astrology, so she consents.
- Make Sure He's Dead: After putting one crossbow bolt through Pero Miguel's neck, Fortún insists on checking the corpse, explaining that crossbowmen have the habit to always check the body.
- Master Archer: Fortún Paja is an old soldier who is considered the best crossbowman in Castile, being skilled enough to hit -in the deep of the night- the head of a sentinel who is standing on a wall several meters above him.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Gazul is chasing Fortún to stop him from warning the garrison that enemy forces are approaching the unprotected Martos Castle. Fortún calculates that Gazul will reach and kill him within five minutes and prays for a miracle which allows him to get the nearest forest before Gazul gets him. The narrator states that "Whether by chance or thanks to divine Providence, Gazul's horse got frightened and reared up, giving Fortún time to ride into a wood of towering oaks".
- Meaningful Rename: After using a log as an improvised weapon to fend off an enemy squad, Diego de Vargas is named "Machuca" ("machacar" being Spanish by "smash, crush").
- Missed Him by That Much: García and Fortún take Elvira to a safe house and leave. Unfortunately, Elvira is found and carried prisoner to Melgarejo Castle by Guzmán, García's sworn enemy. Later that night Elvira manages to sneak out and flee on her own, right before García and his brother Diego -plus nearly one hundred soldiers- arrive to capture the fortress.
- More Expendable Than You: Fortún and the Brothers Vargas are looking for a way to sneak into Melgarejo Castle when they find a bedsheet rope dangling from a window. Unaware that it was used by a fugitive Elvira, and fearing a trap, Fortún insists on climbing up first, since his life is worth less than the Vargas'. However, Diego argues that he must run the risk, being the party leader. Then García argues he will go first because he is Diego's big brother and a higher-ranking officer.
- My Girl Back Home: Old soldier Fortún Paja mentions several times that he has a wife waiting for him back in Toledo as he serves in the royal army.
- My God, You Are Serious!: When Fortún tells their friends Nuño and Mendo that those who are plotting against the Vargas are not low-born commoners but high-ranking officers, Nuño wonders whether Fortún is pranking them. Fortún sadly states he would never try to trick another peasant like himself.
- Never Found the Body: After García and Elvira ride into the Genil river to flee from their enemies and are dragged away by the current, Guzmán and Gazul happily declare their hatred foe García dead. Several days later, García reappears in the king's camp together with Elvira, to Guzmán disbelief and amazement.
- Nice to the Waiter: García and Diego de Vargas are greatly respected and admired by the rank-and-file soldiers because despite being lower nobility, they are always courteous and kind to everyone, regardless their social standing or background.
- Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: Subverted. Since they have been prohibited from fighting each other directly, García Vargas challenges his enemy Pedro de Guzmán to engage together a seven-man squad riding out of a besieged city. Guzmán is reluctant to fight at a numerical inferiority, but he agrees angrily when García declares he will tell everybody Guzmán is a coward. However, when the pair ride out to meet the enemy patrol, Guzmán lets García's horse get ahead and then turns around, hoping that he will get killed off.
- Oh, Crap!: Pedro de Guzmán freaks out when Fortún Paja makes King Ferdinand realize that the Andalusians will recapture Seville if he leaves, since Guzmán fully intended to betray and hand the city over to the Andalusians when the king left, and now his plans are left in shambles.
- Old Soldier: Fortún Paja has served as a crossbowman in the Castilian army for decades. When he is introduced, much emphasis is placed on his silvering hair and the scars on his face.
- Pair the Spares: The love triangle between Diego, García and Elvira ends when Diego backs off so his brother and the woman whom he loves can be happy together. Before the end of the story, Diego has fallen in love with Elvira's friend Blanca.
- Parting-Words Regret: Subverted. Army captain Álvar Pérez tries to talk their soldiers into dropping their grudges and forgiving each other prior to the battle so that nobody has to regret their last words directed at each other. Pero Miguel pretends to agree to make peace with García de Vargas, but in reality, he is hoping for one chance to come closer to Diego and kill him.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Pedro de Guzmán is a hateful, double-faced asshole who -among other things- has tried repeatedly to destroy the lives of people who never wronged him out of spite, has murdered at least one innocent old man to cover his schemes up, and has betrayed his country for money and power. So Fortún does not feel particularly remorseful about killing him and dumping the corpse into a river.
- Peaceful in Death: When King Ferdinand dies, his expression is serene, happy and contented.
- Properly Paranoid: Old hermit Agatín's reaction when someone knocks on his door is fetching his crossbow and telling his would-be guests to go away, since he will not open his door to anybody he is not already acquainted with. His paranoia is justified, since Agatín lives alone in the middle of a war zone, and he gets murdered when he lets someone masquerading as a friend in.
- Rags to Riches: In reward for serving him well and giving excellent advice, King Ferdinand III leaves the municipality of Alcalá de Guadaira to court's jester and soldier Fortún.
- Real Men Love Jesus: Both García and Diego de Vargas are renowned warriors, are kind to people, regardless their class and beliefs, and are staunch Christians.
- Reports of My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Since García has been missing for four days, rumors start flying around the Castilian camp that he has been killed in action. The whole army is already about to raid Seville to "take revenge", when García shows up, revealing he was rescuing Elvira from the enemy.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: Subverted. Benalbamar, King of Granada, feels visibly repulsed by Pedro de Guzmán betraying his own country in exchange for some gold, and would clearly love to dispose of him, but he considers that spies and turncoats like Guzman are regrettably too useful to get rid of.
- Romancing the Widow: At the end of the story, Diego Vargas starts a relationship with Blanca, whose husband Álvar Pérez was killed in a skirmish some months earlier.
- Runaway Fiancé: Unwilling to marry Almanzor, ruler of Alcalá de los Gazules, Elvira takes advantage of the chaos of an urban battle to run away from his captor.
- Sacred Hospitality: Played with. After helping García and Elvira flee from the occupied city of Jerez, Fortún leads them through the wilderness to the hutch of his friend the hermit Agatín, where he expects they can find shelter from the storm. However, his friend is -rightfully- very wary of strangers who wander around the mountains and knock at his door at a stormy night, so he suggests them to leave and take shelter under a rock or learn the hard way that his crossbow is loaded. When Fortún identifies himself, though, Agatín swiftly opens the door, helps them sit by the fireplace and asks how he can help them.
- Scenery Porn: The book opens with a lengthy description of the beautiful landscapes of Andalusia and the region of Seville.
- Second Love: Diego and Blanca start a relationship sometime after the former has given up on his crush Elvira and the latter has lost her husband Álvar Pérez.
- Secondary Character Title: The story's main character is not the titular King Ferdinand III but his soldiers García and Diego de Vargas.
- Sex Slave: After being captured by enemy raiders, Elvira is bought by Almanzor, ruler of Alcalá de los Gazules, who intends to make her his favorite concubine.
- Shout-Out: Agatín cites Horace (Pulvis et umbra sumus, meaning We are dust and shadows, Ode IV, 7, 16) and Sallust (Vita est brevis, meaning Life is short, Conspiracy of Catiline (1,3))
- Sibling Triangle: Both García and Diego de Vargas are both in love with Doña Elvira de Lara. When Diego finds out that his brother and Elvira love each other, though, he backs off right away and insists that they should get married.
- Slain in Their Sleep: When the main characters sneak up to Melgarejo Castle, they spot one guard who has fallen asleep while on watch. The man is dreaming that he would burn one hundred trees every daily to keep himself warm if he was the Caliph when one arrow pierces through his skull, killing him.
- Smart People Know Latin: Agatín, a learned hermit, herbalist and astrologist, quotes Horace and Sallust effortlessly, in contrast to Fortún Paja, a court jester and soldier who cannot tell the difference between Latin and Greek.
- Storming the Castle: The Brothers Vargas, Fortún and ninety soldiers crawl slowly towards Melgarejo Castle in the deep of the night, get rid of a sleeping sentinel, and taking advantage of a bedsheet ladder left by an escaped prisoner, sneak into the fortress. Caught completely by surprise, the defenders of the castle are swiftly slaughtered while their cowardly leaders flee. It must be added that the group intended to assault another castle, but they decided against it because the garrison being alerted made a successful capture impossible and suicidal, and they guessed that Melgarejo would be an easier target.
- Surveillance Station Slacker: The armed sentinel posted at the walls of Melgarejo Castle tends to fall asleep during the night watch, and he will continue to sleep even after being woken up by a suspicious noise. It gets him killed when the main characters sneak up on him and Fortún puts a crossbow bolt in his head.
- Time Skip: The novel's Second Part starts about six years after the end of the previous half.
- Treachery Is a Special Kind of Evil: Benalbamar, King of Granada, may not like Castilians, but he is utterly repulsed by his mole Pedro de Guzmán, since the man is betraying his country, his king and his religion for a handful of golden coins. Benalbamar hates spies and traitors, but he believes them to be necessary in time of war (as long as he has to deal with them as little as possible).
- Unknown Rival: Neither García nor his brother Diego have the slightest clue what Pedro de Guzmán hates them to death and is constantly plotting ways to destroy them.
- Vestigial Empire: Five centuries after conquering the almost entire Iberian Peninsula, which allowed them to harass and pillage the few free Christian realms with total impunity, the Spanish Andalusians only keep some few Southern regions under their control and are incapable of holding back the advance of the mighty Castilian army.
- Vile Vulture: Vultures are constantly treated as ruthless scavengers and heralds of death who are always looking for corpses of unlucky people to feed on.
- Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Guzmán and Gazul flee from their stronghold, abandoning their men to their fate, when they realize that their enemies the Brothers Vargas have sneaked into their castle together with one army.
- War Is Hell: The war between Castilians and Andalusians claims hundreds of lives. Several characters express horror at the slaughter, and at one point one soldier observes that vultures are the only ones who are profiting from each battle.
- We Need a Distraction: So that he, García and Elvira can flee from a city occupied by the enemy, Fortún starts a fire. As the city guards rush to put the flames out, the trio rides out of the gates and escapes into the night.
- The X of Y: The Sword of Saint Ferdinand
