MASTER'S THESIS M-919
STAHLMAN, M. Lucille. FOLK SOURCES AND ANALOGUES OF IRVING'S ALHAMBRA: A STUDY OF THREE REPRESENTATIVE TALES.
The American University, M .A., 1966 Folklore
University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan FOLK SOURCES AND ANALOGUES OF IRVING*S ALHAMBRAt
A STUDY OF THREE REPRESENTATIVE TALES
by
M. Lucille Stahlman
Submitted to the
Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences
of The American University
In Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements for the Degree
of
Master of Arts
Signatures of Committee: Chal rman 1
Date :
1966
The American University AMEr^iCAN UN!vEr\3,, Washington, D. C. LIBRARY JHN Z Ü 1966
M^ASHJNGTON. d. c. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I should first like to express my sincere appreciation to the members of my Thesis Committee of The American University for their valuable assistance during the writing of this thesis.
Acknowledgments are due the following libraries and organizations whose staff members kindly assisted me in gaining access to valuable books and other materials: The
Library of Congress, The Columbus Memorial Library of the
Pan American Union, The American University Library, and
Georgetown University Library, Washington, D. C,, as well as The Hispanic Society of America, New York, N. Y, TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
INTRODUCTION 1
I. BACKGROUND OP IRVING'S INTEREST IN
SPANISH FOLK SOURCES ...... 8
II . FOLD SOURCES AND ANALOGUES OF THE ALHAMBRA . . . ^5
Sources and Analogues of the "Legend of
the Moor's L e g a c y " ...... 46
Sources and Analogues of the "Legend
of the Two Discreet Statues" ...... 66
Sources and Analogues of the "Legend
of the Rose Alhambra" ...... 93
III . FROM FOLKLORE TO ART» T ^ ALHAMBRA
AS A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES ...... 115
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... l4l INTRODUCTION
A survey of studies that have already been made on the folk sources of Irving's Alhambra revealed that Stanley T.
Williams, In The Life of Washington Irving, the recognized authority on which to base any modern study of Irving and his works, devoted one chapter and one supplementary study to The
Alhambra, citing a number of possible sources for the sketches in Spanish history, as well as general sources for the tales in legends and stories that were recorded by Irving in his notebooks of 1828 and 1829. In The Spanish Background of
American Literature. Williams surveyed the Spanish influence on Irving, as one of eight interpreters of Spanish culture in
American Literature. In his published articles, this same scholar discussed the influence of Johann Nikolaus Bohi von
Faber and Fernan Caballero, the pseudonym of Cecilia Bohl von
Faber, Marcloness of Arco Herraoso, both of whom encouraged
Irving to make use of Spanish folk materials In his writing.
Sr. M. Delphine Kolker, In Spanish Legends In English and
American Literature, I8OO-I86O, devoted part of the study to the influence of the Granada legends on Irving's Alhambra.
Marla Soledad In The Moor of Granada In Spanish Literature of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, devoted part of the study to the influence of the Moor in Spanish Literature on
The Alhambra.
Despite the previous scholarly treatments of Irving's 2
Alhambra, there are several Justifications for the present study and its particular emphases. First of all, the study of folklore has deepened within the last two decades into an important area of scholarly concern. Folklore Is collected enthusiastically by nearly all literate nations. Many states of the United States maintain folklore societies; moreover, many Important universities of the world maintain chairs or departments of folklore.^ The great collection of American ballads and folk songs In the Library of Congress has proved a stimulating resource for scholars and singers. Indeed, "It might be argued that one of the most exciting developments In the study of American literature and culture during the twentieth century has been the accelerating interest in folklore."2 The tales of The Alhambra, which stem from the ancient legends and traditions of Spain, furnish a rich field for the study of folklore. The Williams statement "I wonder
. . . If • . . the story of our first man of letters should not be retold in the light of his three long books and his essays on Spain"3 is, perhaps, in itself ample Justification
^Douglas G. Haring, "Folklore," Encyclopedia Americana (i960 ed.), XI, 422g.
2John T. Flannagan and Arthur Palmer Hudson, Folklore ^______AmericanTloan Literature (White Plains, New York: Peterson and Company, 1958),58)f p. xl.
^Stanley T. Williams, The Spanish Background of American Literature (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1955)» I» xli. 3 for further examination of Irving's Alhambra. Earlier studies were segments of larger studies, rather than being detailed studies of The Alhambra. Indeed, the present study goes beyond previous studies In tracing the folk sources of The Alhambra to their remote origins, and thus may make some claim to origi nality.
The purpose of this thesis Is threefold; (1) to examine the immediate sources of certain key stories In Irving* s
Alhambra; (2) to trace these sources to their remote origins
In European and Oriental lore; (3) to analyze Irving's artistic adaptation of these materials.
The limitation of this thesis to certain of Irving's tales demands further explanation. Irving's Alhambra Is composed of sketches of customs and manners as well as tales or short stories; In the first edition of The Alhambra, published in 1832, the second volume consisted almost wholly of tales.
Because the fabulous elements are more prevalent in the tales than in the sketches, this thesis is concerned with that section of Irving's work. Because of limitations of space, three tales from The Alhambra have been chosen, representing varying folk motifs, all of which can be traced to a variety of folk sources and analogues. The tales are: (1) the "Legend of the Moor's
Legacy," (2) the "Legend of the Two Discreet Statues," and
(3) the *Ligend of the Bose of the Alhambra." The five forms of folklore that constitute the basis for comparison of the
Irving tales with the possible sources and analogues are: 4
(1) folk tales, (2) legends, (3) ballads, (4) superstitions, and (5) traditional customs. Passages from the sketches of The
Alhambra have, at times, been quoted as recorded source material since Irving himself identified them as factual in a letter to his friend S. A. Allibonei
The account of my midnight rambles about the palace is literally true .... Everything in the work relating to myself and to the actual inhabitants of the Alhambra is unexaggerated fact; it was only in the legends that I indulged in "romancing."^
Before beginning a study of the folk sources of The
Alhambra, it may be well to define and elucidate the terms that are basic to the present study. The term "analogue" refers to remote folk motifs, similar to those in the immediate sources that Irving used. "Folklore" is applied to orally transmitted myths, legends, stories, proverbs, songs, patterns of festivals and dances, wise sayings and lore, magical formulas, and super stitions.^ It comprises traditional creations of people, primitive and civilized, and appears in popular, that is non-literary form. The term "folklore" and the definition felearly imply the "coexistence of two traditions, a literary and artistic one on the one hand, and a folk or popular tradition on the other.The Arne-Thompson school of folklore, which is
^Ibid.. II. 43. ^Haring, o£. cit.. XI, 422e. 6flaria Leach and Jerome Fried (eds.). Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend (New York» Funk and Wagnalls, 1949), I, 403. 5 concerned with the study of European folk tales, has been impressed by the existence of an oral tradition that stands apart from the written or sophisticated, like a parallel growth.^ Q "However, much extinct folklore has been embalmed in print."
The diffusion of folklore materials has not been limited to an exchange between various strata of society. It is known to have traveled over vast areas of the earth's surface, thus presenting one of the most fascinating problems of folklore.
In this diffusion, folk materials have, to all appearances, been less handicapped by linguistic barriers than have literary materials. The common fairy-tale types are known over virtually
the entire Eastern Hemisphere, and ordinary types of local legends are found over the entire European continent. Even folk songs and ballads have crossed linguistic barriers with surprising ease.9
Sir Laurence Gomme, in The Handbook of Folklore. has categorized folklore as follows * (1) traditional narratives,
(2) traditional customs, (3) superstitions, and (4) folk speech.
Traditional narratives appear in a number of forms that
7lbld.. p. 420.
®Haring, loc. clt.
^Leach and Fried, o£. cit.. I, 405.
^^Haring, loo. cit. 6 require differentiation before going Into this Investigation.
(1) "Polk tales are . . . fictional narratives or short stories that circulate orally, Illustrating the nature of everyday life or recounting the unusual, with entertainment the primary purpose."11 (2) "Fairy tales are narratives about superhuman creatures that produce wonderful changes In the lives of the people who meet them."12 (3) Myths are stories of gods and other superhuman beings which explain natural phenomena, and often parallel the religions of advanced cultures. (4) Legends are stories of wonderful events concerning places and folk heroes that are handed down from one generation to another, and are popularly believed to have a historical basis, although
It Is not verifiable. Legends constitute popular history which parallels history on the learned level. (5) Ballads are romantic poems or songs that are characterized by simplicity of structure as well as Impersonality of authorship, and are usually founded upon ancient legends or traditions. In the fourteenth or fifteenth centuries, they were secular vocal compositions with musical accompaniment.
Traditional customs are interpreted as meaning long-
11Levette, J. Davidson, A Guide to American Folklore (Denver, Colorado* The UnlversTty of Denver Piress, 195l|, p. 19.
12ibld.. pp. 19-20.
I3lbld.. pp. 7, 14, 34. 7 established customs or practices that are handed down orally
and have the effect of unwritten laws.
Superstitions are Interpreted as meaning any beliefs
or attitudes that are Inconsistent with well-known laws of
science, or what Is generally considered. In the particular
society, as true or rational. Including charms, omens, and the
supernatural. Astrology, for example, may be accepted by some
Individuals even today, but It Is not accepted In our society
as plausible.
Although the present study Is by no means definitive.
It Is hoped that the rich variety of sources used by Irving In
composing The Alhambra will herein receive a portion of the
attention they deserve, and that the American writer's artistry will be once more demonstrated. CHAPTEH I
BACKGROUND OF IRVING'S INTEREST IN SPANISH FOLK SOURCES
Washington Irving's Interest In "legendary, proud spirited, romantic Spain"! had been developing over a period of years when, on January 30, 1826, he wrote in his journal:
"Reed, letter from Mr. Everett, attaching me to Embassy at
Madrid."2 Irving expressed happy astonishment at the appoint ment in a letter to T. W. Storrow, written in Bordeaux on
February 3, 1826*
How little did I dream . . . a week since that Spain, the country I have so long been wishing to see, but into which I feared I should never get a peep, should be the very first port Into which the first whiff of good luck should blow me.3
What were the Influences that had, for so long, made him wish to see Spain? Chapter one of this study has been devoted to a review of the forces that turned Irving's interest to Spain and Spanish folklore, beginning with his early preoc cupation with folklore before the Spanish visit, continuing through his perusual of Spanish literature, his study of
1Albert F. Calvert, The Alhambra* Moorish Remains In Spain (London and New York* John Lane Company, 190?), p. 103»
2stanley T. Williams, The Spanish Background of American Literature (New Haven* Yale University Press, 1955)f II, 12. Alexander H. Everett was the American Minister at Madrid. 3stanley T. Williams, The Life of Washington Irving (New York* Oxford University Press, 1933), I, 297. 9
Spanish and Arabic, his experiences in Spain, including perti nent friendships and residence in the Alhambra, and culminating in his composition of The Alhambra.
Irving* s preoccupation with folklore was evident before the visit to Spain. It was only natural that one who had been b o m of Scottish-English parents, living in Dutch folk surroundings, and entertained by older sisters, reading stories and singing songs of the Highlands, should begin to show an interest in folk legends and traditions. Even the Arabian
Nights tales of Sinbad, the sailor, and the exploits of Boabdil,
King of Granada, were favorites of his at an early age.^ Dutch customs and legends, too, were part of Irving's early envif ronment, and, as he grew into boyhood, he extended his range of observation to the surrounding countryside, as he revealed in an autobiographical passage of The Sketch Book*
I made myself familiar with all its places famous in history or fable. I knew every spot where a murder or a robbery had been committed, or a ghost seen. I visited the neighboring villages, and added greatly to my stock of knowledge by/noting their habits and customs, and conversing with their sages and great men.5
At the age of fifteen, he visited his brother William at
^Ibid.. pp. 4, 20; and Washington Irving, "Personal Papers * Miscellaneous," Manuscript I, Washington, Library of Congress.
^Washington Irving, The Works of Washington Irving (New York* G. P. Putnam's Sons, 16)Ù"TW91)* II, lj-l6. 10
Tarrytown where he developed a stirring interest in legends and the supernatural, explored the valley known as Sleepy
Hollow, and minted with the old Dutch inhabitants, who filled him with scraps of historic lore and mystical b e l i e f s , & He gave an introspective picture of himself on a voyage up the
Hudson, which added to his stock of stories;
I was a lively boy, somewhat imaginative, of easy faith and prone to relish everything marvelous. Among the passengers was a veteran Indian trader .... He had discovered my propensity, and amused himself by telling me Indian legends and grotesque stories about every noted place on the river, such as . . . the Tappan 3ea* the Devil's Tanz-Kammer, and other hobgoblin places.'
Irving showed every indication of going on with his study of folklore for he wrote his brother William that he would pursue a plan that he had contemplated for some tl&e, of studying for a while, and then traveling about the country "for the purpose of observing the manners and characters of various parts of it, with the view of writing a work,"® which he thought, if he had any acquaintance with his own talents, would be far more profitable than anything he had yet written. This was only the beginning of his concern for folklore, which continued during most of his seventesTHyear sojourn in England and on the
^Harold Dean Cater, Washington Irving and Sunnyside (Tarrytown. New York: Sleepy Hollow Restorations, Inc., 1956), p. 3. 7Williams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 386. Citing "The Catskill Mountains,"A Landscape Book.
®Ibid.. p. 128. Citing a letter from Irving to William Irving, Washington, February 7, 1811. 11
Continent, European folklore nurtured and romanticized Irving's folk Inclinations as he observed the accumulated treasures of the past about which he wrote;
I longed to wander over the scenes of renowned achievement— • to tread, as It were. In the footsteps of antiquity— -to loiter about the ruined castle— -to meditate the falling tower— • to escape. In short, from the commonplace realities of the present, and to lose myself among the shadowy grandeurs of the past.9
It was his good fortune to seek out and to be received by 31r
Walter Scott, who, at that time In the history of literature, was showing how the "sentiment of nostalgia for the past could influence fiction and become Its forming principle."!® It was
Scott who fired his folk curiosity and inclined his thoughts toward the romantic tales of Europe. Irving's account of his first meeting with Scott on August 30, 1817, reads like a folk tale. As the chaise stopped at the gate of Abbotsford, Scott's country residence,
I sent a postillion with a letter of Introduction from Mr Thomas Campbell, and requested to know whether it would be agreeable for Mr Scott to receive me In the course of the day. The noise of the chaise and the appearance of the postillion had given the alarm to a legion of dogs that garrisoned the Scott castle; all their throats were opened and one black greyhound mounted on a wall and seemed to
^Washington Irving, The Works of Washington Irving. II, 27. Prom "The Author's Account of Himself." The Sketch Book.
!®Daniel G. Hoffman, Form and Fable In American Fiction (New York; Oxford University Press, 196ÏT» p. 83. 12
lead the chorus.
In a few minutes Scott himself appeared, limping up the hill.11
In a letter to his brother, Irving recalls the same event:
The glorious old minstrel . • . came . . . to the gate, took me by the hand in a way that made me feel as if we were old friends. . . .12
On that day began the friendship that was to bind the two men
together.
During the four-day visit to Abbotsford, Irving heard
border ballads as well as stories of chieftain and clan, and
discussed the history of folklore and Continental legend. In
particular, he loved, as did Scott, the huntsman, the ancient
retainer, the squire, the abbey, the castle, and the tournament.
Perhaps they discussed his study of the German language as
the key to the German folk tales, or chatted of Spanish themes,
for Scott had just written a poem about Don Roderick, which was to be a subject of Irving's in 1828. No one could have
spoken so understandingly of Irving's life-long interests. In
a critical moment, Irving drank in encouragement from a genius
in the same field. His days with Scott yielded an unusual pleasurel3 in the romantic world of ideas, images, and impressions
l^Stanley T. Williams (ed.), Tour in Scotland. 1817, and Other Manuscripts (New Haven: Yale University ihress, 1927), ppr39-404 12pierre M. Irving (ed.), Life and Letters of Washington Irving (New York: G. P. Putnam, 18&7), I, jGl. Â letter from Irving to Peter Irving, Abbotsford, September 1, 1017• 13willlams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 162-63. 13 that crowded his mind. The profound Impression that aoott made upon Irving was revealed In a letter to David Wilkie on
October 22, 1828, In which he stated, "I feel It a happiness to have lived In the same time with hlm."!^ After publication of the tales serially, the complete collection of The Sketch Book was published In 1820. It was dedicated to Sir Walter Scott in "testimony of admiration and affection."13 Perhaps, too, the dedication quelled the London rumor that Scott had written parts of the collection.!®
Having used German legend to advantage in The Sketch
Book. Irving entered Germany with his eyes and ears open for
"those marvelous bits of literature and folk lore" that he could rework in his writing, or those floating materials that a person naturally collects In traveling.17 He was desirous of getting closer to the folk as a source for his literary production, as he indicated in a letter to T. W. Storrow;
"I mean to get into the confidence of every old woman I meet
l^Pierre M. Irving, og. cit.. I, 381. A letter from Irving to Peter Irving, Abbotsford, September 1, 1817.
15Washington Irving, The Works of Washington Irving (New York: Peter Penlon Collier, 1Ô97)» I, 50. The dedicatory page.
l^Wllllams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 162-63.
l^Hanry A. Pochmann, "Irving's German Tour and Its Influence on His Tales," PMLA. XLV (December, 1930), 2256, ll6l. Citing the Dresden Notebook. 14 with In Germany and get from her, her budget of wonderful
atarlee."!® Many times his ramblings to the Van Wart and the
Storrow children were what might have been first drafts of tales to be printed. As he wrote to Susan Storrow, something
Put me in mind of the Emperor and his army shut up in the enchanted mountain. . . . Put me in mind of a little dwarf woman with twenty rings on her fingers, who came, nobody knew whence, and went, nobody knew whither.19
In Bavaria, he enjoyed the royal boar hunts for which, he said, the King and all his hunting retinue were clad in old-fashioned hunting uniforms as they went galloping through the forest chasing the hounds. Their shouts, the blasts of the horns, and the cry of the hounds were all very animating. He was also intrigued by the secret society of Hoslcrucians, who were said to have various sorts of occult lore and power, as well as by the ancient lore of the Egyptians.20 There came another crucial time in Irving* s life when he would use folklore as a means of earning a living and his journals became veritable savings banks.
Irving's notebooks and journals revealed that he was an inveterate observer and collector of folklore as he meticu-
1^Edward Wagenknecht, Washington Irvingt Moderation Displayed (New York: Oxford University Press, 1962), p. 55*
l^Williams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 226. Citing a letter from Irving to Susan Storrow, Vienna, November 10, 1822.
20Wagenknecht, o£. cit.. pp. 28, 53» 15
lously recorded legends, character sketches, and experiences
for use In future literary efforts. His style could be seen
to mature as the notebooks progressed. As early as 1805» his
notebook was filled with anecdotes. In the notes on the tour
in Scotland in l8l?, he wrote;
There was an old highlander . . • who • . . was a . . . compound of simplicity and cunning. . . ./ The old man was a firm believer in witches and fairies and warlocks. . . 'they abounded in the auld times, when the world was in Obscurity before the Scriptures. . . . /The <^d man said-there was something/ no canny about the /snuff/ box.^i
Another entry recorded a story heard at a dinner party about a
famous family that kept
. . . open house. . . . A punch bowl of mighty dimen sions was never . . . empty and all comers welcome. . . . One day a stranger rode up gave his horse in charge to a servant . . . liked the cheer . . . there he sat . . . year after year . . . he called a servant & ordered his horse . . . troth your honour replied the latter your steeds /sic/been dead these three y e a r s . 22
He wrote of Ayr Wallace's Tower and the stories told about it by an old man in the neighborhood, as well as about a palace,
in which there was a woman whose ancestors had been in the
service of the castle for two hundred years. In the notes
jotted down while preparing The Sketch Book, England was described as richly studded and gemmed with castles and palaces, embroidered with parks and gardens, storied, and wrought with
^^Williams, Tour in Scotland, I8l7, and Other Manuscripts, pp. 23-25.
ZZlbid.. p. 36. 16
pictures.The notebook of I8l8 revealed;
Waltznan Mountain in Bavaria where it is said the Emperor Charles the Great it all his army are confined until Doomsday— near Salzburg— a cleft mountain from whence you hear a dull rumbling like distant thunder.24
Irving could always hear voices of enchanted soldiers in the
Hartz hills, the din of Moorish shields in the Sierra Nevada,
and the reverberations of falling ninepins in his own Catskills.
He was an "incorrigible lover of legend." In 1822, he wrote a
friend that he was still making notes on old legendary castles
and goblin tales,25 and in his journal, he recorded a visit to
a village inn, where wagoners were supping in a huge room, the
hostess was in peasant dress, and a simple good looking girl,
in a red waistcoat. Next, he observed an "old castle that
looks down upon the little village owls hooting . . . moonlight
amphitheater of black hills . . . Watchman singing the hour.
Mine host . . . a pleasant fellow."^® In the journal of 1824
Irving's quite obvious romantic attitude was expressed as
follows I
The beautiful parts of the world . . . have been made up by convulsions which have . . ./thrown up mountains— made
23atanley T. Williams (ed.), Notes While Preparing The Sketch Book. 1817 (New Haven; Yale University Press, 1927), p. 89.
2^illiams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, I66. 25ibid.. pp. 166, 244. Citing a letter from Irving to Mrs. Sarah Van Wart, Heidleberg, September 18, 1882.
2®lbid.. Citing a letter from the journal of 1828, October 3* 17 orage. . . . It Is the convulsions and revolutions that have made all that is romantic and picturesque in morals and in manners . . . .^7
Spain had already entered his notes as he pondered, in the notebook of 1825* whether he should "follow the hint of that engaging fellow Captain Medwin and make something of the
Spanish tale of 'El embozado,'" supposedly, a lost play by
C a l d e r o n . 28 The random samplings from Irving's early notebooks reveal his unquenchable romanticism and his constant search
Cor folk materials; the three collections of essays and tales that followed exemplified his preoccupations, especially his serious interest in folklore.
The Sketch Book. 1820, was a compound of German legend, boyhood recollections, English customs, and Irving's mood concerning the transiency of things of the world. His most enduring character, Hip Van Winkle, showed what Irving had made of a character from folklore. Although the original legend was German, the themes of Hip Van Winkle were universal: the pathos of change, the barely averted tragedy of loss of personal identity. It has been pointed out that Rip is close to an aspect of American national character: "that yearning for escape from work and respon/sibility which is exemplified by a host
27wagenknecht, o£. cit.. pp. 40-41.
2®Williams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 283. Citing the notebook of 1825, and the journal of 1825» March 16. Thomas Medwin, a good friend of Byron, was a source of anecdotes. 18 of gadgets and the daydream dramas of contemporary popular culture."29 Bracebrldge Hall. 1822, whose materials paralleled those of The Sketch Book, was like an "enormous postscript to
Irving's first depiction of English life of the past,"30 lacking the personal experiences. Although Irving had dreamed of a "German sketch book," The Tales of a Traveller. 1824, was a reworking of folk motifs and tales from all the nations he had visited, which indicated that he was in need of new sources to be found, perhaps, in mysterious Spain, in whose literature the English and German romanticists had already interested him.
Irving's perusal of Spanish literature was both exten sive and intensive. As a child, he was fascinated by the travel tales in The World Displayed, which contained accounts of the voyages of Columbus as well as the deeds of Spanish heroes in Peru and Mexico, and, by the age of ten or twelve, he knew about the conquest of Granada. The following passage from The Alhambra, which has often been translated into
Spanish, is autobiographical;
Prom earliest boyhood, when, on the banks of the Hudson, I first pored over the pages of old Gines Perez de Hyta's apocryphal but chivalresque history of the civil wars in Granada, and the feuds of its gallant cavaliers, the Zerries and the Abencerrages, that city has ever been the subject of my waking dreams; often have I trod in fancy the
^^Hoffman, op. cit., pp. 95-96.
3®Williams, The Life of Washington Irving, 200, 19
romantic halls of the Alhambra. 31
Gines Perez de Hita's Civil Wars of Granada, which contained poetical, historical, and legendary material that had previ ously been used, plus many fictional developments, was a
common source of almost every novel and drama that was written about the Moors of Granada after that.^^ Prior to Sracebridge
Hall, Irving had read Rodd's translations of Perez de Rita's
Civil Wars of Granada, and, perhaps, Pierian*s Gonzalo de
Cordova, o la conquista de Granada, published in 1804, or even
Conde's Historia de la dominacion de los Arabes en Espana, published in 1820-21. For his History of New York, which had so delighted Scott, he had mastered Don Quixote,33 and had once considered writing about the life of Cervantes, his diary 34 of 1825 revealed. He was also devoted to Lope de Vega and to Calderon, whose lines he had written in his notebook of
1825:
/ BelliSima Granada, Cuidad de tantos rayos coronada. Quantos tus torres bellas _ Saben parti cipar de las Estrellas. . . .33
3lElizabeth Robins Pennell (ed.). The Alhambra, (London and New York: The Macmillan Company, I896), pT Ô9. ^^Maria Soledad Carrasco, The Moor of Granada in Spanish Literature of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries~TAnn Arbor: University Microfilms, 1955)» p. 34. 33williams, The Spanish Background of Ameri can Literature, II, 5 » 10. 3^Plerre M. Irving, og. cit., II, 230. 35williams, The Life of Washington Irving, I, 298, 465. Citing the notebook of IÔ25. 20
The notebook of 1825, after he had begun to study Spanish, devoted eighty pages to entries under the rubric "Spanish
Literature." It was a record of his reading, containing lists of writers, with comments and long excerpts from books, many of which were in Spanish or German. He was evidently attempting a general survey of Spanish literature, but the allusions to
Moorish themes, as early as 1826, are significant."3® Irving wrote Storrow, in 1826, that he had made the acquaintance of
Moratin who was the most celebrated Spanish dramatic writer of the day, living in a kind of exile in Bordeaux.37 it was, therefore, obvious that Irving was familiar with Spanish liter ature as well as interested in Moorish themes before his happy letter to John Howard Payne, stating, "I am on the wing for Madrid."38
During the Spanish visit, Irving was steeped in the literature of Spain. Immediately upon arrival in Madrid, he began the task for which he had been attached to the embassy there, namely, the translation of Martin Fernandez Navarrets'g voluminous work on Columbus, but, after looking over the literary
3&ibid.. pp. 465-66.
37wiliiams, The Spanish Background of Ameri can Literature. II, 12. Citing a letter from Irving to Storrow, Bordeaux, February 3, 1826, concerning Leandro Pem6idez de Moratin.
3®ibid., Citing a letter from Irving to Payne, Bordeaux, February 3» 1826. 21 treasures In the library of Obedlah Rich, who owned probably the finest collection of Hispano-Americana in Europe, he decided to begin his own writing on Spanish subjects. In the library, he looked over treasured books and manuscripts,39 including an unpublished manuscript by Lope de Vega, and read, among others, Sarmiento, the famous Benedictine man of letters.
In addition, he visited the King's library, where he not orJ.y perused valuable books but also noted the embroidered coats and swords of the attendants. He walked, almost every day, to the Jesuits' College of San Isidro to read in its collections of Spanish legends, and confided in a letter to prince
Dolgoroukii
You cannot think what a delight I feel in passing through its galleries filled with old parchment bound books. . . . What a deep felt quiet luxury there is in delving into the rich ore of these old neglected v o l u m e s . 40
In the diary of 1827, he recorded that, on at least two occasions, in the Jesuits' Library, he had read "Cid,"4l probably referring to the famous caballero and national hero of legend and ballad, Rodrigo or Buy Diaz de Biver, known as
^9william P. Trent and George S. Heilman (eds.). Journals of Washington Irving. 1819-1842. (Boston; The Bibliophile Society, 1919)» III, 7« Obediah Rich was the United States Consul at Madrid.
40pierre Mj, Irving, og. cit.. II, 18. Prince Dolgorouki, who was an attache, and later, secretary of the Russian Legation at Madrid, also wrote poetry.
^^Ibid.. p. 267. 22 el Cld and el Campeador« Such sensitive perusal of Spanish literature was an excellent preparation for his tour and later sojourn in Andalucia, where he continued reading and writing.
While in Seville, Irving, by permission of the King, through the efforts of Everett, gained access to the Archives of the Indies, which contained many old manuscripts and priceless treasures of the country, and which today, is "the richest repository of historical Spanish-American documents on earth."42 xn Malaga, he meditated Al-Makkari, one of his chief Arabian sources, whose themes. Sr. Kolker observes, seemed to be connected with both the Spanish chronicles and the Arabian Nlghts. according to an example cited in which the
Arabian king Muss maneuvered the Conquest of Spain, am exploit which was also described J>y Al-Makkarl.43
It is apparent that all forms of Spanish literature were at Irving*s command in the national libraries as well as in the libraries of his friends, and that, being an avid and tireless reader, he had perused the important works in both old and contemporary Spanish literature. As a result of this extensive reading, though Irving is seldom found in the role of critic, he did make critical comment about a few Spanish works.
42Kip Wagner, "Drowned Galleons Yield Spanish Gold," National Geographic. CXXVII, No. 1 (January, 1965), 7.
433r. M. Delphine Kolker, Spanish Legends in English and American Literature. 1800-1860 (Washington; Catholic University, 1953), p. 235. Citing a review in Blackwood* s Magazine. LV (April, 1844), 434. 23
Although he admired Perez de Hlta*s Civil Wars of Granada in his youth, after making an intensive study of the conquest of
Granada and of Boabdil, the Moorish king, he repudiated de
Hita's version, particularly his depiction of Boabdil as a cruel ruler. Writing an anonymous criticism in the London
Quarterly Review in I830, he stated#
The world at large has been content to receive a strangely perverted idea of it / ^ e conques^, through Florian*s Consolvo Cordova# or through the legend equally fabulous, entitled The Civil Wars of Granada, by Gines Pfrez de Hita, the pretended work of an Arabian contem porary, but in reality a Spanish fabrioàtor.44
However, he also pointed out favorable qualities of the same work#
It possessed sufficient interest in the striking contrast presented by the combatants, of Oriental and European creeds, costumes, and manners; and in . . . the romantic adventures, the picturesque forages through mountain regions, the daring assaults and surprisais of cliff-castles and cragged fortresses, which succeeded each other with a variety and brilliancy beyond the scope of mere invention.45
At another time Irving pondered#
In the present time when popular literature is running into low levels of life. . . . I question whether it would not be of service for the reader to turn to these records of prouder times and loftier modes of thinking, and to steep himself in old Spanish r o m a n c e . 46
^3r. Delphine Kolker, og. cit.. p. 252. Citing "Reviews and Miscellanies," Works of Washington Irving. New York, 1866, p. 379.
45lbid.. p. 263.
4^Wagenknecht, og. cit.. p. 100. 24
Perhaps he expressed his deepest feeling for Spanish literature in a letter to Pierre Irving when he stated that the old literature of Spain partook of the character of its history and its people, had an Oriental splendor about it, and was a mixture of Arab fervor, magnificence, and romance with old Castilian pride and punctilio, chivalrous heroism, immaculate virtue, and a sublimated notion of honor and country.4? Such profound
sentiment seems to corroborate the statement of one writer that
"Irving descubrio en Espana su madre patria espiritual,
The Spanish language, like Spanish literature, held an appeal for Irving, and made possible his profound understanding of Spanish culture. After beginning the study of Spanish in
1824, and giving close attention to it for several months, he attained sufficient proficiency to read widely in Spanish poetry as well as Spanish and Moorish history. He must have achieved considerable fluency and proficiency In speaking as well, for, years later, Daniel Webster considered his knowledge of Spanish a prime reason for his appointment as Minister to
S p a i n . 49 in a letter to Pierre Irving in 1825, Irving extolled the magnificence of the language, saying that, to his taste, it excelled the Italian in variety of expression, and had twice
4?Pierre M. Irving, 0£. cit., II, 236. Citing a letter from Irving to Pierre Irving, Paris, March 25, 1825. 4%orton Dauwen Zabel, Historia de la literature nortea- merica (Buenos Aires* Editorial Losada, S. A.l 1950), P» 125* 49williams, The Spanish Background of American Literature. II, ii. 25 the quantity of words that the French had.50 He added, in a letter to Mrs. Storrow in 1827, that the farther he went in the language the more he admired it. There was, he thought, an energy, a beauty, a melody and a richness in it that, in their combined proportions, surpassed all other languages that he was acquainted with. In fact, he said, "It is characteristic of the nation; for with all its faults, and in spite of the state to which it has fallen, this is a noble people, naturally full of high and generous qualities."51 Wagenknecht comments that, despite Irving*s study and admiration for the language, and the diplomatic appointment, he spoke as one who had not attained proficiency, and that in 1846, when presented to Queen
Isabella II, he had found it necessary to apologize for his
Spanish. Could it not have been that, after a lapse of fourteen years, he might have lost some of his earlier fluency, or perhaps, that he might have been exhibiting modesty before the
Queen, though hoping to be complimented on his Spanish, as he was?52
Irving also took up the study of Arabic, which was the most recondite language that he had attempted to learn. His
Arabic notebook, which is now in the New York Public Library,
50pierre M. Irving, o£. cit., II, 236.
Wagenknecht, op. cit.. p. 62. 52lbid. 26 though It may not show profundity, certainly testifies to his d i l i g e n c e . 33 Moreover, his study of both Spanish and Arabic bore evidence of his endeavor to penetrate the Spanish-Moorish folk sources of the Peninsula.
Irving's experiences in Spain opened a new mine of folk sources. Perhaps the most causative of the friendships that aided him in his quest for materials was Johann Nikolaus
Bohl von Faber, a German scholar and romantic, who resided in his adopted country Spain and who had fought along with the
German Schlegel and Bouterwek to convince the nineteenth century of the glories of the Spanish past. Irving had made the acquaintance of Bohl von Faber after reading the letter's
Floresta de rimas antiguas castellanas; and during their long friendship, they exchanged books, discussed Lope de Vega,
Calderon, the modern drama, as well as the legends behind Irving's works and Bohl's anthology.34 They had prepared themselves to rouse the Spaniards from their chronic apathy toward their own folklore to an appreciation of its treasures.
Irving wrote Bohl, concerning the drama, that the critics who wrote for oorreo literario % mercantil considered Moratin superior to CalderSn, Lope de Vega, and all that school. "How little do these . . . Spaniards know of what they ought to be
j^Ibid.. p. 195.
34williams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 374. 27 proud of,"55 he said. Continuing the discussion of the subject later, Irving found thoughtful Spaniards to be
. . .touchy on the subject* They turn their backs upon their old writers and then are piqued when they find strangers appreciate them more than they do themselves. They are/ like some husbands irtio neglect their wives but are ready to draw their swords the moment they detect a stranger ogling them.36
At times, tertulias tinged with romanticism were held at Bohl's home for the brilliant refugee society of Seville, including
Arguelles and Francis Francisco de la Rosa, whom Irving knew well.57 Bohl exercised a stimulating influence, but it was his daughter Cecilia, Marchioness of Arco Hermoso, later known as the novelist F e m w Caballero, who made a deep imprint upon Irving's writings.
The meeting of Irving and Fem6n Caballero was imagi natively described by a Peruvian writer in a way, Williams stated, that was not far from the truth. After describing
Fernan Caballero's salon, the writer mentioned the guests, including
The most honorable Mr. Everett, Minister of the United States. The diplomat with another gentleman approached Cecilia . . . who, smiling, extended her hand; Mr. Everett kissed it, and beckoning to his companion, who bowed
35ibid.. 350. Citing a letter to J. N. Bohl, Seville, February 6, 1829.
56ibid.. pp. 350-51» Citing a letter from Irving to J. N. B6‘hl, Seville, April 7, 1829.
37ibid.. p. 349. 28
his thoughtful head, said; "Marquesa, Don Washington Irving."20
Irving, however, passing over the amenities, wrote in his diary on December, 1828;
Tuesday 30. . . . Bvg /sic? at the opera Crociata, introduced to the Marchioness of Arco Hermosa, daughter of Mr B o h l . 3 9
Folklore was a subject of interest to both Irving and F e m w i
Caballero, and the day after their meeting Irving's diary read;
Wednesday 31. Call this morning . . . on the Marchioness of Arco Hermoso, make long visit, the Marchioness relates many village anecdotes of the village of Dos Hermanos. Return home & make a note of two of them.
The diary disclosed another meeting with the Marquis and the
Marchioness on January 2, 1829, at which the latter had again recounted stories.She was eloquent, vivacious, and adrift in a current of literature more realistic than B o h l ' s . &2
Irving was captivated by her "warmth and purity of heart." In a letter to Bohl, he stated that the marchioness had written out some little anecdotes that she had told him about the
3&Wllliams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 352. Citing Angelica Palma, ÿemàn Caballero la novelista novelable (Vidas espdnoles e hisoano-americanas del siglo XIX. XVI. Mia?Td,"l95l), P.”87T"^ ------
59Clara Louise Penney (ed.), Washington Irving Diary; Spain 1828-1829 (The Hispanic Society of America, 1959), p. 89.
60ibid.. pp.89-90. There is a discrepancy between Irving's spelling of "Hermoso” and "Hermanas" and that of Williams.
6llbid.. p. 91.
62williams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 351* 29 Spanish peasants, their opinions and mode of life, which she had related with wonderful spirit and discrimination. Her conversation had made such an impression on him that he had noted down as much as he could recollect.&3 He continued,
"I do not know idien I have been more delighted with the conversation of anyone, it was so full of 'original* matter, the result of thinking, and feeling, as well as o b s e r v i n g .
The ideas which she and Irving had discussed were based on convictions concerning the art of fiction, which later made her supreme in the form of the novela de costumbres and the articulo de costumbres.^3 ghe believed that it was the function of the novelist "poetizar la realidad sin alterarla."66 At first, it did not seem that Irving's aim was the same, but reconsideration proved that much of his writing resembled the articulo de costumbresG? Pernan Caballero's purpose in the
&3Williems, The Spanish Background of American Literm ature. II, 22. Citing a letter from Irving to J. N. BOhl, Seville, April 7, 1829. 64%bid.. Citing a letter from Irving to J. N. Bohl, Seville, February 6, 1829. 65stanley T. Williams, "Washington Irving and Feman Caballero." Journal of English and German Philology. XXXIX (July, 1930)7155:------^ G^ibid.. p. 364. Citing Obras complétas of Fem an Caballero, Madrid, 1898, III, 40. &7lbid.. p. 363. In the introduction to Bracebridge Hall, he wrote, "I shall continue looking at things poetically . . . discussing them as they are. ..." Ten years later, in the preface to The Alhambra, he wrote, "Oare was taken to maintain local coloring and verisimilitude; so that the whole might present a fadthful and living picture. ..." Washington Irving, o£. cit.. I, 16 and IV, 11. 30 essay and story, to paint life as it was, removing only the crudities because delicacy was part of a r t , 68 surprisingly like his own. Indeed, her bold pronouncement of her ideas may have bolstered his halting literary philosophy. Certain traits in The Alhambra, with its romantic tales in a setting of reality and its sketches of Andalucian peasants, may owe their origin, or at least their force to her.
The anecdotes that Fem 6i Caballero had written down for Irving were never known until the Yale University Library, in 1832, acquired an Irving manuscript which was headed
"Village of Dos Hermanas," containing some pages that were written in Spanish and headed "Dos anecdotes."&9 Dos Hermanas, a village surrounded by olive groves and filled with memories of the Christian conquest, was near the estate of the Marquis de Arco Hermoso. The stories and tales that Femwi Caballero collected while living near the village formed the substance of her later n o v e l s , 70 including ^ familia de Alvareda. a novel that was interspersed with sketches of folk life set in the romantic atmosphere of the past. It was this manuscript that Irving read, reportedly helped her with, and encouraged
GBpernan Caballero, La familia de Alvareda (Buenos Airest Espasa Calpe Argentina, S. A., 1939)» P* 9»
69E. H. Hespelt, "Washington Irving's Notes on Fernan Caballero's itories," PMLA. XLIX (December, 1934), II29.
f^Ibid.t and Williams. The Life of Washington Irving. I, 3 5 3 -5 4 . ------31 her to publish.71 What use Irving made of the notes on Dos
Hermanas is unknown. One writer stated that, although Irving had recorded these notes for later use, a thorough study of
The Alhambra furnished no evidence that he had utilized the material.72 However, Irving's diary revealed that, on
January 3» 1829, the day after his second meeting with the marchioness, when she related stories to him, he began to write, what he termed, the "Story of the Enchanted Soldier of the
Alhambra," which he finished the following day. Also, on
January 10, a diary entry disclosed that he had worked on the tales of the Alhambra, and that, on January 21 and 22, he had written the "Legend of the tower /sic7 of the Infanta."73
Though Irving did not use, in these two tales, any major theme or motif from the Dos Hermanas stories, which are now known, it is conceivable that at least some elements of local color or folkways may have been introduced into his tales. For example, in the Dos Hermanas manuscript, an old guard fell in love with the innkeeper's daughter;7^ in "The Tower of Las
Infantas," the adjutant of invalids married a young Andalucian
71williams, The Spanish Background of Americyi Liter ature . II, 22. Citing the Edinburgh Review. CXLIV (July, i860), 100.
72Hespelt, og. cit.. p. II30.
73penney, og. cit.. pp. 92, 95.
74Hespelt, og. cit.. p. 1132 32 damsel; in the "Legend of the Enchanted Soldier," the good dominie gave a kind-hearted kiss to the young maid who waited on him.73 This theme is not an uncommon one, but in this case,
Irving's explanation, in the manuscript notes, that the
Spaniards had old fellows, often old soldiers, to guard their fields, related the notes to the tales. The manuscript notes can also be identified with the later-published novels of
Fernan Caballero, including notes outlining the plot of La familia de Alvareda. though she had found a great deal of reworking necessary to change an hecho veridico into a work of art.76 In addition, this manuscript gave proof that the benefits of the friendship between these two students of folklore were reciprocal.
Having taken in the folklore of Dos Hermanas, Irving sought other folk tales from travelers while he and Prince
Dolgorouki made the Journey, which is described in The Alhambra, from Seville to Granada on h o r s e b a c k , 77 in true Cervantine fashion. The return to Granada was inspired by Irving's previous fruitful visit to the Alhambra, by his desire to complete the stories of the Moorish palace that he had already begun, and possibly, by the Spanish popular rhyme :
75pennell, og. cit.. pp. 295,430. 7&Hespelt, og. clt,. pp. 1130-32. 77pierre M. Irving, og. cit.. II, 380. A letter from Irving to Peter Irving, Seville, April 29, 1829; and Pennell, og. cit.. p. 1. 33 He who Seville has not seen Has not seen a marvel great; Who to Granada has not been Has nothing to relate.7°
Hesldenoe in the Alhambra, the Oriental palace of
Moorish kings was granted Irving by permission of the Governor
of Granada, who was interested in the restoration of the
A l h a m b r a . 79 Thus Irving was placed in the midst of a romantic
setting of the past as well as in contact with other folk
sources. His letters expressed delight with the new surroundings.
To Peter Irving he wrote, "I question if ever poor Chico el
Zogoyby /^ing Boabdii? ifas as comfortable in his palace,®® and
to Henry Brevoort, "Here . . . I am nestled in one of the most
remarkable, romantic spots in the world. . . . It absolutely
appears to me like a dream; or as if I am spellbound in some fairy palace."81
The Duke of Gor, to whom the Governor, General O'Lawly,
had introduced Irving, was a well-informed, public-spirited,
cultured young Spaniard, who place! at Irving's disposal his library of five thousand books and curious manuscripts, many of which related to the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth
centuries. Of the books that Irving named as sources of The
yBcalvert, og. cit.. p. ii. 79c. 0. Parsons, "Washington Irving Writes from Granada," American Literature VI (January, 1935), p. 440. GOpierre M. Irving, og. cit.. II, 382. A letter from Irving to Peter Irving, Alhambra, May 11, 1829. 8llbid.. II, 386. A letter from Irving to Henry Brevoort, Alhambra, May 23, i829. 34
Alhambra, four were In this library.®2 Gor also gave dramatic
accounts of the pride of the Spanish peasants. He said that
the Spanish nobles had never had absolute power over the
peasants like serfs, but, that only the King had had the power
of life and death over them. He continued, "There are no
grades in Spain, but an insensible ascent . . . from peasant to
crown. . . . The Spanish are all Kings— independent in their
feelings."83 It was Irving*s good fortune to know both peasant
and nobleman during his sojourn in the Alhambra.
Among the pleasant acquaintances to whom the Duke of
Gor, himself a social leader of the Granadinos, introduced
Irving was the Marquis of Salar, Hernando del Pulgar, a true
descendant of "El de las Hazanas," a Spanish hero who was
famous in legend and s o n g . ® 4 Irving was invited to rummage
the family archives to see the grants that were given to the
famous Pulgar by the Catholic sovereigns for his exploits.
Since Pulgar, on entering Granada, had dedicated the chief mosque to the Virgin, a descendant of his was always allowed
to sit in the choir. ®5 The Marquis remarked that he had the
82williams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 36?, 497-98. 83lbid.. I, 367. Citing the notebook of 1829, p. 89.
84wiiliams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 367.
®3pierre M. Irving, op. cit.. II, 392. A letter from Irving to Peter Irving, Alhambra, June 13, I829. 35 right to enter the church on horseback and put on his hat in the cathedral.Irving wrote, "There are various circumstances concerning this madcap hero and his privileges which are current among the good people of Granada, with whom his memory is held in great regard. I shall carefully gather them and dress them up for use."8? Even the old Count de Luque, a lineal descendant of the Grand Captain, Gonsolvo of Cordova, who effected the capitualation of the last Moorish king,
Boabdil,®® permitted Irving to visit his palace in Granada, in whose archives was the sword of the Grand Captain and several arquebusses with matchlocks, which doubtless made a great noise in the time of the conquest of Granada.®9 This was matchless society for a man thirsting for legend.
Mateo Ximenez, the inquisitive Andalucian peasant of the Alhambra, whom Irving had met on his first visit to the palace on March 15, 1828,90 the source of many stories and
Moorish legends, which Irving recorded in his notebook and made use of in writing the tales of The Alhambra. Mateo served as
G^Williams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 360. 8?Pierre M. Irving, og. cit.. II, 392. A letter to Peter Irving, Alhambra, June 13, 1829. ®®George Sidney Heilman, Washington Irving Esquire % Ambassador at Large from the New World to the Old (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1925),pp. 191-92. 89Pierre M. Irving, o£. cit.. II, 403-404. A letter from Irving to Peter Irving, Alhambra, July 22, 1829. 90wiiiiams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 496, Citing the notebook of 1828. 36 hlstorlador, messenger, and guide,91 to Irving, pointing out a house that was the scene of one of his tales of treasure, telling legends, exploring the Alhambra and the Generalife, and talking of Boabdil, the melancholy of the Spanish mountains, and the star above the Sierra Nevada, about which he exclaimed:
"Que lucera /sic? mas hermosaI Clara y 1impia es--no puede ser mas brillante."92 "if i could get it, I would cut it up into diamonds for the ladies of Granada."93 Mateo prided himself on his stock of local information, having Irving said, the loquacity and gossip of a village barber, and the "most marvellous stories to relate about every tower, and vault, and gateway of the fortress. . . ."94 was a true "son of the
Alhambra," whose grandfather, before he died in 182? at the age of ninety-six, had told Mateo tales and legends of the
Moors. The old man had been a curious reader, had owned papers that were more than three hundred years old, and had made a habit of staying up late at night, talking over old times and the history of the Alhambra. He had been bom, brought up, and was buried in the Alhambra, as had his father before him, for the Ximenez family had been one of the first to take up
91Pierre M. Irving, o£. cit.. II, 394. A letter from Irving to Prince Dolgorouki, June 15, 1829. 92williams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 365. Citing the notebook of 1829, p. >3 3 .
93ibid.
94pennell, o£. cit.. p. 85. 37 residence In the A l h a m b r a , 95 Irving's letter to a friend corroborated Mateo's folk materials as sources:
I have received from my . • • guide many most curious particulars of the superstitions irtiich circulate among the poor people inhabiting the Alhambra respecting its old smoldering towers. I have noted down these amusing little anecdotes. . . . They generally relate to the Moors and the treasures they have buried in the Alhambra, and the apparitions of their troubled spirits about the towers and the ruins where the gold lies hidden.96
Not only Mateo but also the other peasants in the
Alhambra added to Irving's collection of folk tales and folk ways. In the little household that took ceure of the palace were Dona Antonia Molina, known as Tia Antonia, and her good- natured, bright-eyed niece Dolores, who told Irving a tale of buried treasure, which may have appeared in the manuscript used in writing the "Legend of the Moor's Legacy,"97 as well as a story about the Hall of the Two Sisters.98 Tia Antonia's nephew Miguel, a young medical student, who went about begging alms to enable him to enable him to pay his way in school, sometimes joined the household tertulias. at which Antonia related stories and he read Calderon and Lope de Vega.99 Also,
9^Williams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 496. Citing the manuscript notes on the Alhambra, Yale University Library. 96pierre M. Irving, op. clt., II, 291. Citing a letter from Irving to Mademoiselle Antoinette Bollviller, Granada, March 15, 1828. 97Williams, The Life of Washington Irving. II, 3l6. Citing the notebook of 1829, pp. 45-46. 98Pennell, op. cit.. 74-75» 99Williams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 49?. Citing the notebook of 1829, p. 97» 38 occasionally invited to such gatherings, was La Reyna Cuohina
Marfa Antonia Sabonea, whom Irving described in his notebook as a little old woman who lived in a whole under the staircase, sewed for a living, and had five husbands and a half, one having died during courtship.1®®
Although Irving was fascinated by the tales of the
Moorish past, he was also concerned with a study of the Spanish peasants, particularly, their thoughts and feelings. It is interesting to discover, in the present study of the tales of
The Alhambra, how Irving's insight into the Spanish and Moorish character traits is discernible in the tales. The notebook of 1829 reveals his penetrating look at the Spanish folk:
The Spaniard ^ e wrotg? Is distrustful & reserved, his wariness is of long continuance, but when dvercome, when he thinks he discovers in his superiors and even in his equals the loyal and generous qualities which form the basis of his character, he passes to the opposite e^reme & his confidence like his attachment has no bounds.^®^
Irving studied the Andalucian natives as the Marchioness of
Arco Hermoso had studied them at Dos Hermanas. Though the
Spanish local characters were not much different in their innate integrity and sense of tradition from those of other
European countries, it seemed to Irving that the Spaniard, more than the others, "partook of the very marrow of the country.
l®®Williams, The Spanish Background of American Liter ature . II, 229. Citing the Notebook of 1829, p. 25.
l®lWilliams, The Life of Washington Irving, I, 497. Citing the notebook of lo29, p. o. 39 He 'was* Spain.Irving had discussed this subject with the marchioness and with Sir David Wilkie, the artist.It was apparent to Irving, ir ^he Alhambra, as in Rich's library, that legend and fact were itertwined.
Composition of The Alhambra was begun in Spain while
Irving was researching his earlier works, was continued during his residence in the Alhambra, and was completed in England as the result of a diplomatic assignment to that country. The plan to translate important historical documents in Madrid, which originally took Irving to Spain, brought him in contact with a mass of ancient chronicles and legends abounding in
interesting characters and adventures which led to the writing of The Life of Columbus and The Conquest of G r a n a d a ^ ® 4 ^s well as a manuscript of fascinating legends and stories which were
Intended for a future work, perhaps, a "Spanish sketch book."
A visit to the Alhambra in 1828 added Moorish folklore to the manuscript, which he was already as fond of as the scenes that it described. He decided to call the collection "tales of the
Alhambra," and to make it his most beautiful book on Spain.1®3
102ibid.. p. 363.
l®3lbid.
l®4Hamilton W. Mabie (ed.), Legends of the Alhambra (Philadelphia and London: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1909), p. zxii.
105Williams, The Spanish Background of American Literature. II, 25. 40
Several tales were written In Madrid and Seville before he returned to the storied Alhambra to complete the work.
The Alhambra was not only the inspiration for the title of the work, but also the unifying element of the whole collection as well as the locale for each of the tales. Irving described this world inside the palace in a letter to a friend:
"I feel s a i ^ as if living in one of the enchanted palaces that we used to read of in the Arabian Knights. I wander . . . through great halls . . , decorated with . . . Arabic inscriptions that have stood for centuries. . .
Prom the first day of residence in the Alhambra, Irving began to record his observations. He wrote, using ink diluted with water from the fountain in the Court of the Lions, that while he was picturing the past with Boabdil passing in regal splendor, his beautiful queen, the Abencerrages, and the Moorish cavaliers filling the halls with Oriental luxury, he was awakened by an Andalucian peasant setting out rosebushes, and the song of an Andalucian girl chanting a little romance that had probably been handed down from generation to generation from the time of the Moors.1®? The past and the present were
lO&Williams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 364. Citing a letter from Irving to Mrs. Catherine Paris, Alhambra, June l6, 1829.
107pierre M. Irving, op. cit.. II, 289-90. A letter from Irving to Mademoiselle Antoinette Bollviller, Court of the Lions, Alhambra, March 15, 1828. 41 fused together in the palace. From his apartment, Irving
could see the Garden of Lindaraxa, with blossoming trees and a fountedn throwing up a jet of water, the Hall of the Two
Sisters, the Court of the Lions, the Hall of the Abencerrages, and in the distance the beautiful valley of the Darro.^®®
He wrote that nothing could be more favorable for study and literary purposes than his Alhambra abode*
I am determined to linger here until I get some writngs under way connected with the place, . . . that shall bear the stamp of real intimacy with the charming scenes described.
It is a singular good fortune to be thrown into this most romantic and historical place, which has such sway over the imaginations of readers in all parts of the world. . . .i®9
His notebook of one hundred twenty-four pages, which bore the
inscription* "Memoranda by Washington Irving of Sunnyside,
Alhambra, Spain, 1829," differed from previous ones in the variety of its contents, which included* readings, records of experiences and conversations, introspective comments, and rough drafts of stories. The subjects included a Spanish robber, the bells of evening, the character of Count de Luque, tenants of the Alhambra, the Duke of Gor, Boabdil, and the
capture of Granada. ^^® Irving mentioned other source treeisurest
^®®Ibidr. p. 393. A letter from Irving to Prince Dolgorouki, Alhambra, June 15, 1829.
109lbld., p. 391. Citing a letter from Irving to Peter Irving, Alhambra, June 13, 1829. llOWilliams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 496. Citing the notebook of 1Ô29, Yale University. 4 2
I have a shelf or two of venerable, parchment-bound tomes, picked up here and there about the peninsula, and filled with chronicles, plays, ballads, about Moors and Christians, which I keep by me as a mental tonic, in the same way that a provident housewife has her cupboard of cordials. Whenever I find my mind below par, by the commonplace everyday life/ . . . I resort to these venerable tomes, as did the hero of La Mancha to his books of chivalry, and refresh my spirit by a deep draught of their contents.Ill
Out of all this material came the collection of tales and sketches under study.
The Alhambra exemplified Irving's profound Interest In the Spanish folk traditions with their Oriental Influence. He expressed such concern In a letter to the editor of the
Knickerbocker to whom he had sent Spanish legends;
I love these old Spanish themes, especially when they have a dash of Morlsco In them, and treat of the times when the Moslems maintained a foothold In the peninsula. They have a high spicy flavour, not to be found In any other themes that are purely European. In fact, Spain is a country that stands alone in the midst of Europe,— severed in habits, manners, and mode of thinking, from all its continental neighbors. It Is a romantic country; but Its romance has none of the sentimentality of modern European romance; It Is chiefly derived from the brilliant school of Saracenic Chivalry.
The Arab Invasion and conquest brought a higher civilization, and a nobler style of thinking into Gothic Spain. The Arabs were quick-witted, sagacious, proud spirited, and poetical people, and were imbued with Oriental science and literature. 112
The Alhambra was in a very incomplete form when Irving
ill Pierre M. Irving, Spanish Papers and Other Miscel lanies Hitherto Unpublished and Uncollected (New York: G. P. Putnam: Hurd and Houghton, I896), I, pp. 457-58. A letter from Irving to the editor of the Kni ckerbooker. llZibid.. p. 455. 43 received an invitation to serve as secretary of the American
Legation in London. In this way an experience for which his talents were particularly suited, came to an end abruptly.
Though he worked on the notes in London and prepared them for publication in New York, "the spell was broken; The Alhambra as Irving conceived it in the Court of the Lions suffered contraction and change."113 In May, 1832, The Alhambra was published, and dedicated to Irving's artist friend. Sir David
Wilkie*
To David Wilkie, Esq., R. A.
My Dear Sir— You may remember that, in the course of the rambles that we once took together about some of the old cities of Spain, particularly Toledo and Seville, we frequently remarked the mixture of Saracenic with the Gothic, remaining from the time of the Moor, and were more than once struck with the incidents and scenes in the streets that brought to mind passages in the "Arabian Nights," You then urged me to write something illustrative of these peculiarities; "something in the Horoun Alrachid style," that should have a dash of Arabian spice which pervaded everything in Spain. I call this to mind to show you that you are, in some degree, responsible for the present work, in which I have given a few "Arabesque" sketches and tales taken from the life, or founded on local traditions, and mostly struck off during a residence in one of the most legendary and Morisco-Spanish places in the Peninsula. . . ,"114
Such was the background of Irving's interest in the
113williams, The Spanish Background of Ameri can Liter ature, II, 27.
ll^waahington Irving, The Works of Washington Irving (New York: Penlon Collier, Publisher, 1ÏÏ97)V P» 8. The dedicatory page. 44
Spanish sources that were used In writing The Alhambra— sources that reached far beyond King Boabdil and Roderick the Goth into the lore of the continent of Africa.113
^l^Stanley T. Williams (ed.), Washington Irvingt Selected Prose (New York: Rinehard and Company, Inc., 1950), p7 vii. CHAPTER II
FOLK SOURCES AND ANALOGUES OF THE ALHAMBRA
The sources of The Alhambra are as diverse as were
Irving's readings in Spanish literature and his experiences in Spain. The notebooks and journals as well as the letters to his family and friends give credence to the fact that the sketches are both autobiographical, deriving from his conver sations with native Spaniards, and historical, stemming from his readings in Spanish history.1 The tales, however, represent
Irving's interest in legend for its own sake, and prove to be composites of any number of sources which he interwove and embellished with his own imagination. Irving gave the following introduction to the tales, which first appeared in a separate volumes
Having, I trust, in the preceding papers made the reader in some degree familiar with the localities of the Alhambra, I shall now launch out more largely into the wonderful legends connected with it, and which I have dilligently
^Stanley T. Williams, The Life of Washington Irving (New Yorks Oxford University Press, 1935)» II, 314-315» Citing the manuscript on the Alhambra, Yale University, for the following historical sources* Gines Perez de Hita, Guerras civiles de Granada I, cÿap. xiii, for accounts of the Abencerrages; Miguel Lafuente Alcantara, Historia de Granada. . . . Ill, 132-160, for details of Granada's past; Padre Juan de Echeverria, Paseos por Granada . . . , chap.^ xiv; José Antonio Conde, Historia Is dominacion de les Xrabes en Bspafia . . . , III, 1ÔÔ-261, for basic information, including the founders and finishers of the Alhambra; Alexandey de Laborde, A View of Spain . . . ;^ Antonio de Guevara, Bpistolas familiasresy. for anecdotes of Boabdil; Caballero Florian, Gonzalo de Cordoba . . . , I, 38-48, 59-67» for descriptions of Granada, and I, 90-99» for the anecdote of the massacre of the Abencerrages in the Court of the Lions. 46
wrought together Into shape and form, from various legendary scraps and hints picked up in the course of my perambulations; in the same manner that an antiquary works out a regular historical document from a few scattered letters of an almost defaced inscription.2
What were the legendary materials that Irving worked
into the tales of The Alhambra? Chapter two of this study has been devoted to an examination of the folk sources of three representative tales of The Alhambra— sources which were found
in such forms as folk tales, legends, ballads, superstitions, and traditional customs. Passages from the Irving tales have
been compared with passages from the immediate sources as well as with analogous passages in the more remote folk materials.
Among the fabulous motifs that Irving worked into the romantic
tales are* buried treasure, which was the most common theme among the Spanish common people; the legendary stories of King Boabdil and his enchanted soldiers; and the enchanted princes with the magical silver lute.
I. SOURCES AND ANALOGUES OF THE "LEGEND OF THE MOOR'S LEGACY"
Though hidden treasure was not an uncommon European folk theme, in Spain, stories of buried gold were on the lips of every peasant. The landlady of a posada. at which Irving stopped, recounted a story often told by the common people of dark caverns formed by subterranean streams and waterfalls in which money-counters had been shut up since the time of the Moors, irtio had kept their treasures in the caverns. An old man
Zibid.. p. 315. Citing The Alhambra. London, I832, I, 22?, 47 told of treasure burled under the castle of a Moorish king.
After dreaming of the location of the treasure three times, the curate and the notary went to work with picks and axes to find the treasure, suddenly became rich, but never revealed what they had found.^ Like most popular tales, these "have sprung from some scanty groundwork of fact."4 Irving observed that during the wars between the Moors and the Christians, castles frequently changed owners and the people burled their money and valuables In the earth, as was the custom In some of the countries of the East. At the time of the expulsion, many Moors burled their gold and jewels, expecting to return to
Spain at some future time and retrieve their treasures. Prom time to time, over the centuries, gold coins were dug up, and such findings gave rise to many fictitious tales. In which burled treasure was under a magic spell and guarded by a strange monster or by enchanted Moors, In the manner of the Oriental tales.5 Irving was Interested Inthe fact that the stories of treasure burled by the Moors, so popular throughout Spain, were current among the poorest people. He analyzed the dream of wealth In these termst
Kind nature consoles with shadows for the lack of substantlals. The thirsty man dreams of fountains and
^Elizabeth Robins Pennell (ed.), The Alhambra (London and New York: The Macmillan Compeuiy, I896, pp. 33»
4washlngton Irving, The Works of Washington Irving (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, I865), IV, 196. ^Ibld.. pp. 196-197. 4 8
running streams; the hungry man of banquets ; and the poor man of hidden gold* nothing certainly Is more opulent than the Imagination of the beggar.&
And none had such a wealth of stories as Mateo Xlmenez, whose
tales of treasure burled deep In the vaults of the Alhambra were the sources of Irving's "Legend of the Moor's Legacy."
The story concerns a poor water-carrier named Peregll, who
offered hospitality to a solitary Moor, who was 111. The
Moor, realizing that his end was near, gave Peregll, In return
for his charity, a legacy in the form of a sandal-wood box,
which contained a taper and a scroll with Instructions In
Arabic characters on how to break the spell over the treasure ,
hidden In the Alhambra. Another Moor, iriio translated the
Inscription, shared the treasure with Peregll, though not without
complications, brought about by a meddling barber and by
Peregll*s wife, whose vanity led her to reveal the secret of the treasure.?
In developing the theme of this tale, Irving leaned
heavily upon two of Mateo's anecdotes. The first concerns a
Moor who hid his treasure In a cave and left an enchanted soldier
to guard It. After a hundred years, the Inhabitants of the
house saw apparitions, and consulted a Christianized Moor, who
opennell, og. cit., p. 33.
?Mabel Williams (ed.), The Alhambra (New York* The Macmillan Company, 1953)f pp. lOé-145» This and subsequent references to the "Legend of the Moor's Legacy" are to this edition. 49 told them how to recover the enchanted treasure by lighting a candle and saying a prayer at midnight. They followed the
Instructions, and, after they had obtained the gold and divided
It, the Moor went to Portugal and the others to Gibraltar and France. Another, who was less fortunate, having had to fight a fierce bull guarding the treasure, revealed his discovery to the corregldor. who took It all away from him. The second of Mateo's stories concerns a valued family sword, which was thrown Into a well when the French came, was recovered two years later, and was displayed In the Alhambra, after thirty years, by a poor Invalid with a large family. One evening, four richly dressed Moors, waCLklng In the Court of the Lions, called to him, but he was so frightened that he ran off and would never return to the Alhambra. He died and his family ended In ruin. His successor entered the Alhambra poor. In three months, became rich, went to Malaga, bought Spanlaurd clothes, and lived extravagantly, having supposedly been aided g by the four Moors.
Comparison of the following passages from the "Legend of the Moor's Legacy" with passages from Mateo's Moorish folk tales, which Irving had recorded In his journal, reveals Mateo's stories to be Irving's Immediate sources. The first entry.
In each case. Is from Irving's tale; the second, from Mateo's
^Stanley T. Williams (ed.), Journal of Washington Irving. 1828. and Miscellaneous Notes on Moorish Legend and History (New Haven* Yale University Press, 1928), pp. 69, 72. 50 stories* 1. In Spain, the carriers of water . . . are natives of Galicia. . . . Peregll the Gallego . . . was enabled to purchase a donkey.
2. ^ h e man/ purchased a mule.9
1. He had a large family of ragged childrento support.
2. He was a poor man, with a large family.
1. When /Peregll/ arrived at the well, he found It deserted by everyone except a solitary stranger In Moorish garb . . . ^Rio said/ "I am faint and 111 . . . ; aid me. . . . If I die I bequeath you this box as a reward for your charity."
2. As he was one evening about twilight In the court of the Lions he saw In the great Hall to the right, four Moors richly dressed & armed. . . .
1. ^ h e box contained/ a parchment scroll, covered with Arabic characters, suid an end of waxen taper.
/Peregll/ stopped at the shop of a Moor . . . and asked him to explain the contents. "This manuscript, said he, "Is a form of incantation for the recovery of hidden treasure that is under the power of enchantment."
2. He . . , /Rad/ a book in Arabic characters /whlc^ . . . /told/ the way to recover enchanted treasure.
1. "Hold," replied the Moslem, "this writing must be read at midnight by the light of a taper singularly prepared."
2. /Jhej^ must read prayers at midnight.
1. /^he Moor and Peregll/ . . . approached the awful tower . . . descended four flights . . . heard the watch tower strike midnight . . . /5n4/ lit the taper. . . . The Moor began to read . . . the earth shook . . . /and/ the floor, yawning open, disclosed steps . . . / a n y a vault. . . . In the center stood a great chest . . .
^Ibld.« pp. 69-72. In the following comparison, this and subsequent references to Mateo's stories are to this edition. 51 /iànd/ at each end • • . sat an enchanted Moor in armour. . Before the chest were several jars filled with gold and silver and precious stones.
At length, struck with sudden panic . . . they both rushed up the staircase . . . extinguished . . . the taper . . . Z ^ d / the pavement closed. . . . They divided the spoil /and planned/ to return. . . .
2. The men at midnight read prayers . . . /and? • /dug/. . . . /The/ earth tremble/d/ . . . they /werg/ frightened and /île^.
1. /Having learned of the treasure/- the alcalde . . . the alKuazll . . . /thg/ barber . . . the Moor and the watercarrier . . . arrived at the tower ....
/ T h ^ Moor read the incantation and /Hg/ and the water- carrier entered the vault . . . /and/ removed two . . . jars filled with golden coin and precious stones. . . .
/The alcalde? . . . descended the steps, followed . . . by the alguazll and the barber.
/ T h ^ Moor extinguished the yellow taper; the pavement closed . . . and the three worthies remained burled. . . .
"It Is the will of Allah," said the Moor.
The two partners . . . divided their spoil amicably and fairly /the Moor taking the small jewels and giving Peregll the large gold colnj/.
2. /The secon^ night they read. . . . j^here was earthquake . . . /Bhey/ read . . . /the wall/ open/ed7 • • • /they found/ within a man seated on a box . • . armed with lance . . . /they got? gold /and/ dlvlde/d/ It among themselves.
1. They made off to enjoy their wealth In other countries. The Moor returned to Africa . . • and the Gallego, with his wife, his children, and his donkey, made the best of the way to Portugal.
2. / T h £ 7 Moor . . . / w e n ^ to Portugal . . . one of the men to Gibraltar . . . the other to Prance.
1. Here he became a personage of some consequence . . . with a feather In his hat and a sword by his fide, and 52
laying aside his familiar appelation of Peregll, assume /d/ the more sonorous title of Don Pedro Gil.
2. He entered the Alhambra poor but . . . left it rich* went to Malaga C i J bought Spaniard clothes . . . /and/ lived there yet very rich. /He wag/ supposed to have been informed by the . . . Moors where the treasure was hid.
/A7 sword . . . /was/ ages . . . in /thg/ family.
Comparison of the passages from the "Legend of the Moor's
Legacy" and Mateo's tales reveals the closeness of Irving's tale to the folk sources, though Irving passed back and forth from one Moorish tale to the other for material, adding other bits of folklore to embellish the source elements. Irving was not concerned with the problems of life in his writing, but he was a student of human nature, was alert to the character traits and folk ways of his subjects, and wrote into the tale a great deal of background knowledge of the culture of Spain. For example, in the statement that the treasure had been divided fairly and equally, his added remark that the Moor had taken many of the small precious Jewels and given the large gold coins to the water-carrier, to his complete satisfaction, subtly contrasted the quick-witted, sagacious, sophisticated Moor^® with the simple good-natured, trusting Gallego, as he had previously interpreted their character traits in his notes.11 In the Moor's remark, "It is the will of Allah I" concerning the entrapment
lOpierre M. Irving, Spanish Papers and Other Miscel lanies Hitherto Unpublished yid Uncollected. (New York* G. P. Putnam, Hurd and Houghton, 1896), I, 455. llwilllams. The Life of Washington Irving. I, 363» Citing the notebook of 1828, p. 53 of the alcalde, the alguazll. and the barber In the vault,
Irving reached Into the Moslem religion. In the devout resig nation of the Moor to the will of Allah, and In the allusion to the fatalistic nature of the religion.1% This aspect Is evident In the tales of the Islamic world.
Prom Mateo's stories of the Alhambra, Irving wrote other tales of burled treasure, including "The Adventure of the
Mason" and the "Legend of the Enchanted Soldier," In which the spell over the soldier guarding the concealed treasure, was broken by the power of a ring bearing the seal of Solomon, found by a mendicant student, who obtained part of the treasure before an act of human frailty caused the renewal of the enchantment over the treasure and the soldier.^3
The possible sources of the Irving tales may be traced beyond the stories of the Alhambra, which were related to
Irving by Mateo. The folk tales of the African Berbers contain analogous motifs, which appear to Identify Mateo's stories as basically Moorish In origin, and, consequently, to Identify
Irving's tales with the folk tales of the Berbers, which have come down to us or have been gathered by travelers from the lips of singers and story tellers In the mountains. In the dessert, or In the Oases from Senegal and Morocco to southern Algeria
H. Newby (ed.). Tales from the Arabian Nights (New York* Pocket Books, Inc., 1954), p. ilv.
13Mabel Williams, og. cit., pp. 226-41. 54
and Tunisia. The name "Berber" is a general term given to the
inhabitants of northern Africa, whom the ancients knew under
the name of Moors. The name "Moors" applied not only to the
descendants of the nomadlc as well as the settled Libyans and
Numidians, but also to the descendants of the Arabs who brought
Islamism into Spain in the eighth century. It included, there
fore, the Berbers, the Arabs of the West, and the Spanish
Mussulmans who were all united by religious l a w . ^4 when a
song or story related to belebrated personages among the
Mussulmans, like Solomon, or to the elements of a legend having
no remaining trace of the names, it was, no doubt, borrowed
from the Arabs. Many of Mateo's tales were indefinite as to
names. The Berbers borrowed many tales, some of which were
from The Thousand and One Nights, gave them the manners of
local characters, and stripped them of their Oriental s p l e n d o r .
The burled-treasure motif was used in one of the Berber
popular tales. In which the father hid his money In three pots
and burled them In the garden, where he had burled his two
daughters; whom he haul put to death for disobeying him and
secretly meeting suitors that he did not wish them to marry.
He then went off on a pilgrimage, and during his absence, the
former suitors of the two daughters engaged a young man, who
l^Hene Basset (trans. and ed.), Moorish Literature (New York* The Colonial Press, 1901), p. 111.
I5lbld.. pp. ivll-ivlll. 55 played the flute and the rehab, to go to the garden and play.
In the middle of the night, two lamps appeared, and the two girls came out of the ground under the lamps. They told him where to dig for the money; he obeyed, found the pots, took them away, and became rich, while the girls disappeared In the ground.In Irving's tale, the treasure was In jars and a chest In a vault in the Alhambra; In Mateo's story. It was in a cave; in the Berber tale, in three pots. The light in
Irving's story was a yellow waxen taper; in the other stories, the light was a candle, or two lamps. At midnight, an incantation was read, prayers were said, or a flute was played to break the magic spell, or to produce the magic effect. In each story the searchers found the money and went away rich. Mateo also told a story that his father had heard about an iron pot, which hung by a chain inside a hole in the mountain, and which, though covered, was supposed to contain Moorish gold. When touched, the pot would sink far down in the hole. Finally, it was touched with the cross to break the charm; it sank out of sight and was never seen again.1? Whether or not the Berber tale was an Irving source is not certain, but the Berber motifs are analogues of the motifs of both Irving and Mateo, his
Immediate source. The possible link Is the fact that Mateo's ancestors had lived in the Alhambra from the time of the Moorish
l^lbld.. p. 227.
17Pennell, ££. clt.. p. 2 6 7 . 56
occupation, and had handed down folk tales from that time, which could have been of African origin.
The stories of concealed riches and the search for
treasure were not confined to Spain, nor to ancient times, as
a recent discovery off the coast of Florida revealed. Treasures,
almost Identical with those of Irving's tales of the Alhambra,
were recovered from the bottom of the sea. Large gold and
silver coins, bearing the cross and the coat of arms of Spain,
magnificent Jewelery, gold chains, and other priceless artifacts
were among the treasures recovered from the wreckage of two
ships, which were sunk during a hurricane in 1715* They were
part of the famous Spanish Plate Fleet that carried cargo from
Spain's American empire from 1500 to 1820. Records concerning
the ships remain in the Archives of the Indies In Seville,19 where Irving did research in 1828,20 for which Henry Brevoort
admired his perseverence and industry in "digging up ore from those mines/of the Indies."21 It is conceivable that Irving
saw such Spanish treasures in the Archives of the Indies before
writing The Alhambra.
l^Williems, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 4 9 6 -9 7 .
19k1p Wagner, "Drowned Galleons Yield Spanish Gold," National Geographic. CXXVII, No. 1 (January, 1965), pp. 1-29.
20Clara Louise Penney, Diary of Washington Irving* Spain 1,828-1829 (New York* The Hispanic Society of America, 19597» p. oO. 2lGeorge Sidney Heilman (ed.), Letters of Henry Brevoort to Washington Irving (New York* G. P. Putnam, 191^)» pp. 185-66. 57
Spanish legends as well as folk tales present possible
Irving sources, but In the "Legend of the Moor's Legacy,"
the materials of historical Inspiration are quite remote.
After Irving had presented the theme Idea of the Moor's legacy.
In the mysterious sandal-wood box, he re-enforced the theme from legendary sources when. In answer to the children's request
for food or garments, Peregll's wife replied sneerlngly, "Go
to your father— he Is heir to King Chico of the Alhambra; ask
him to help you out of the Moor's strong box." It was the
surrender of the Moor's and their expulsion from Spain that
gave rise to the legends that Mateo had recounted about the
Moorish king and the treasure buried in the Alhambra,which
the common folk delighted in believing would finally be delivered
into the hands of the poor.23 "Abdallah 0 Abu-Abdilah, the
son of Abul Hassan and the sultana Aixa, was commonly known as
Boabdil el Chico (the Little), and also as el Gogoybi (the
Unfortunate)."24 Irving frequently used the name el Chico for
Boabdil as his Journal revealed after a visit to the ancient armory, where he had seen a suit of "El Hey Chico of Granada."25
2èwilliams, Journal of Washington Irving. 1828. and Miscellaneous Notes on Moorlsh Legend and History, pp. 71-72. 23Mar(a Soledad Carrasco, The Moor of Granada In Spanish Literature of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centur1e s ^ Ann Arbor* University Microfilms, 1955)» P« 126. 24willlams, The Life of Washington Irving. I, 488.
^^willlam P. Trent and George S. Heilman (eds.). Journals of Washington Irving. 1815-1842 (Boston* The Blbllpphlle Society of America, I919), III, 31. 58
In the Irving tale, after Peregll had obtained the gold and
Jewels, he assumed an attitude of confidence and exuberance as he exclaimed, "Now, wife, • • . what do you say now to the
Moor's legacy?" Then, after moving his family to Portugal, he began to take on the ways and the dress of a gentleman, an hidalgo, with new attire, a plume in his hat, and a sword at his side, all of which were reminiscent of the Duke of Gor's observation that the Spaniards were all kings, or of Mateo's reply when asked whether he was a descendant of the great
Cardinal Ximenezt "Dios sabet . . . Se^rl It Aay be so. . . .
I know we belong to some great family or other, but I forget whom. My father/. . . has the coat of arms hanging up . . . in the fortress."25 Even a poor, ragged, but portly old fellow in the Alhambra went around with a red cockade In his hat, boasting that he was a descendant of the house of Aguilar, from which came the grand captain, Gonsalvo de Cordoba,^ whose sword vied for fame with that of Hernando del Pulgar. The pride with which a hero carried his sword was shown by the inscription*
No me saqueis sin rason. No me embarques sin honor.2?
The Moors had brought the art of swordmaking to Toledo where
^^Pennell, o£. clt.. 54-55.
26lbld.. p. 92.
2?Trent and Heilman, og. clt.. Ill, 81. 59 craftsmen may still be seen plying their trade with Toledo pg steel, Irving's peasant Peregll, with a plume in his hat and a sword by his side had assumed the pose of the heroes of legends and song.
The old ballads of Spain revealed similar legendary themes and were frequently the sources from which the legends came. The Moorish ballads, though found in the Spanish language, ware Oriental in character. While they showed a blending of the earnest and chivalrous qualities of the Spanish with the wild and dashing qualities of the Arabs, they repre sented a type of literature which was quite unparalled in the
Latin and Teutonic countries of the Mediterranean basin.The ballads, in which Spain is very rich, represented the ideals, the feelings, and the sentiments of the people, and made a contribution of permanent value to literature and f o l k l o r e . 3®
The ballads of Moorish origin were frequently romantic rather than historical, and the romances were poems that described the character, travails, or exploits of a single individual. The heroic Moor was pictured with a vivid cloak and plumes, and a lance made of s t e e l . The ballads told of the surrender of
^®Bart McDowell, "The Changing Face of Old Spain," National Geographic. CXXVII, No. 3 (March, 1965), p.334. 29sasset, o£. cit.. p. xxxi. 30Maria Leach and Jerome Fried (eds.). Standard Dictionary of Folklore. Mythology, and Legend (New York * Funk and Wagnalls, 1949, II, 105ÏÏ7"^ 31Sasset, og. cit.. p. xxxi. 60
Boabdil and of the bravery and the trappings of the knights.
"The Plight from Granada" described the final departure of the weak and unfortunate king;
There was crying in Granada when the sun was going down,— Some calling on the Trinity, some calling on Mahoun.
The arms thereon of Arragon /slq/ they with Castile's display; One King comes in triumph,— one weeping goes away I /
"The gardens of the Vega, its fields and blooming bowers,— Woe, woei I see their beauty gone and scattered all their flowers I /
Thus spake Granada's King as he was riding to the sea. About to cross Gibralter's Strait away to Barbary;32
In "Hamete All" Boabdil's misfortune was lamented;
"And, Fortune, do thy worst; it is not meant By Allah, that his knight should die in banishment,"
In "The Death of Don Alonzo of Aguilar" the bravery of the
Spanish knight was celebrated;
The champion on champion high, and count on count doth look; And fait'ring is the tongue of lord, and pale the cheek of duke; Till starts up brave Alonzo, the knight of Aguilar, The lowmost of the royal board, but foremost still in war.34
3 J. G, Lockhart, Esq. (trans.). Ancient Spanish Ballads; Historical yid Romantic (New York and London* G. P. Putnam's Sons, /h.d.y,pp. 179-&1. 33Basset, op. cit., p. 56. 34Albert F. Calvert, The Alhambra* Moorish Remains in Spain (London and New York* John Lane Company, 1907), p."?53. 61 Irving's Don Pedro Gil, like the dashing knight, wore a feather in his hat;
And banners bright from lattice light are waving everywhere, And tall, tall plume of our cousin's bridegroom floats proudly in the air; ^
Through all the land of Xeres and bank of Guadalquivir, Rode forth bridegroom so brave as he, so brave and lovely never. Yon tall plume waving o'er his brow, of purple mixed with white, I guess 'twas wreathed by Zara, whom he will wed tonight
"How full of interest everything is connected with the old times of Spain," wrote Irving. "I am more and more delighted with the old . . . romances."^ His early reading of Perez de Hita had led him to the ballads, and most of the numerous works containing the ballads derived from the Civil Wars of Granada.
Superstitions were interwoven with the other folk-source materials in the Irving tale. A common Spanish conjuration may account for the breaking of spells and the acquisition of treasure at midnight by lighted candles in the "Legend of the
Moor's Legacy" and other similar tales;
Conjurote, diablo, con San Polo y San Pablo que vengas a hacer esto que mando.^'
Many of the superstitions grew out of the differences of religious
^-^Ibid.. pp. 455-56. 36pierre M. Irving, Life and Letters of Washington Irving. (New York* G.P. Putnam, 186?]^ II, 277. Citing a letter to Prince Dolgorouke, Madrid, January 22, 1828. 37Leach and Fried, op. cit.. II, IO66. 62 background of the Spaniards and the Moors. Each religion protected its followers from the evil influences of the other; each considered the other infidel. After the surrender of the
Moors, there was a great effort on the part of Ferdinand and
Isabella to Christianize the Moslems, and the order for baptism was enforced by a r m s . 3^ In Mateo's second story, a Christianized
Moor was mentioned. Irving noted an old Moorish Alcazar which was used successively by a Convent, a Provincial Governor, and 39 the Inquisition. Many superstitions had arisen from the
Inquisition, since
La Inquisicion condenaba la magia en todas sus formas.
En el Archive General de la Nacion se conservan numerosos expedientes de causas contra Individups accusados de hacer conjuros y tener pacto con el d e m o n i a . 4 0
Among the arts which the Moors had brought to Spain was the dark art, "the Toledo art," which once meant black magic to the Christian world.Another writer concurred on the superstitions growing out of the Inquisition:
En el Archive Historico Nacional de Madrid, se custodian varies miles de expedientes de pausas consecuencia de la Inquisicion. Es curioso el fenomeno que come consecuencia
3 Williams, Journal of Washington Irving, 1828, and Miscellaneous Notes on Moorish Legend and History, pp. 69-72.
3 9 i b i d . . p. 12.
40Agapito Key, Cultura % cos timbres del siglo XVI en la Peninsula Iberica % en nueva Espana (Mexico: Ediciones Mensaje, 19^9), p. 126. ^^McDowell, pp. cit.. p. 334. 63 ho de los explotadores de superstlclones.
In the Irving tale, upon Peregll*s taking a "turbaned stranger" to his home, his wife cried, "What infidel companion
. . . have you brought home at this late hour, to draw the eyes of the Inquisition?" Here, Irving drew not only from the superstitions connected with the Inquisition, but also from the common literary theme of the evil eye, which was especially dreaded by the Orientals as well as by the Spaniards.
So great was the Moorish fear of the evil eye that an inscription had been placed in the Hall of Ambassadors of the
Alhambra, which read: "The best praise be given to Allah I I will remove all the effects of the Evil Eye upon your master
Y u s u f . "43 At one time, Irving stated, a vessel had been dug up, which contained a large scarabaeus of baked clay, "covered with Arabic inscriptions, which was pronounced a prodigious amulet of occult virtues.The Arabic inscription was a common device in the tales for breaking the power of a magic spell.
The traditional customs of Spain lend an air of reality to the "Legend of the Moor's Legacy." In this story of hidden treasure, the well in the Square of the Cisterns was the means
^^Jose Agusto Sanchez Perez, Supersticiones espanolas (Madrid: Madrid Colegia, 1915-1917)» p. 3»
43calvert, op. cit., p. 36.
^^Washington Irving, pp. cit., pp. 197-98. 64 by which Irving placed the tale within the walls of the Alhambra, provided the setting for the meeting of the water-carrier and the Moor, introduced the idea of concealment— "the Square being undermined by reservoirs of water hidden from sight"— provided a place for gossiping and telling tales, and set the story in the reality of the traditional water-carrier's daily routine.
In the tale Irving wrote, "Fountains and wells . . . have been noted gossiping places in hot climates . . . and at the well in question there is a kind of perpetual club kept up . . . by invalids, old women, and other curious do-nothing folk of the fortress."
Among Irving's frequent Journal entries concerning fountains euid wells, was the one in which he described a village square where men were wearing cloaks and women were filling vessels with water at the fountain, while fowls, dogs, donkeys, and mules were being led through the p l a c e . ^5 And again, he noted a group of peasants wearing mantles of striped cloth, and also a "swarm of borricos" crossing the place with "waterjugs slung across."^6
Another traditional folk theme, which was not Just a
Spanish entity, was the curious barber, whom Irving introduced as an evil force in the tale, and who, with the alcalde.
45williams, Journal of Washington Irving. 1828. and Miscellaneous Notes on Moorish Legend and History, p. 37»
46Trent and Heilman, pp. cit., III, 69. 65 provided an obstacle to the water-carrier's obtaining the treasure. Irving pictured the barber as "one of the most prying, tattling, and mischief-making of his gossiping tribe."
In one of the sketches df The Alhambra he observed that Mateo had the "loquacity of a village barber."4? His favorite opera was "The Barber of Seville," whose Figaro had been played spiritedly in Spain.There was also the barber, who, with the curate, scrutinized Don Quixote's controversial books on chivalry and destroyed them, and also tried to find out the contents of a letter that Dox Quixote had written.^9 But one of the most interesting analogues is the barber in "The
Tale of Kamar and the Expert Haliman," idio was of that profession that "have ever an itching tongue and a word lying near the end of it."50
The "Legend of the Moor's Legacy" is a fusion of the motif of treasure buried by the Moors, which stemmed from the legends of the surrender of Boabdil, and the chivalry of the warriers and noblemen, which, in turn, had their origin in the early ballads. All these elements were woven together with the superstitions derived from the Inquisition, and set in the
^?Pennell, pp. cit., p. 85.
48rrent and Heilman, pp. cit.. p. 36. 49samuel Putnam (trans.). The Ingenious Gentlemen. Don Quixote de la Mancha (New York: Viking Press, 1949), pp. 213-14. 50powys Mathers (trans. ), The Book of the Thouscuid and One Nights (London: Houtledge and Kegan Paul, Ltd., 1949)» III, ZJÏ» 66
Square of Cisterns of the Alhambra, the gossiping center for tales of the present and the past. The sources were found in
Moorish folk tales, legends, ballads, superstitions, and
traditional customs of Spain. Analogues were found in the
African Berber tales, the Arabian Nights, and Don Quixote de la Mancha. The "Legend of the Moor's Legacy," completed in the Alhambra, proved to be a fine tapestry of folk elements
colored by the author's imagination.
II. SOURCES AND ANALOGUES OF THE "LEGEND
OF THE TWO DISCREET STATUES"
Irving once observed that there were few places in the world that were raised above the dull prosaic level and clothed
in the romantic glow of poetry--places whose names were so
charmed that the very mention of them conjured up, as if by magic, visions of scenes and pageants of the past, with their shadows of the great and the good, the brave and the beautiful.
Such a place was Granada, whose past glory was the source of innumerable legends, ballads, and folk traditions.
In the "Legend of the Two Discreet Statues," there is a
complexity of apparent source materials, including the hidden- treasure and the flying-horse motifs which Irving interwove with the Granada legends of King Boabdil and his royal court.
^Ipierre M. Irving, Spanish Papers and Other Miscel lanies Hitherto Unpublished and Uncollected. II, 37Ô. 67
Irving himself had become Interested In the young Spanish princess, Isabella, who was the frequent subject of letters to his own young nieces and friends. In an 1828 letter, he commented upon the royal child's rapid growth, and supposed that the "discreet princess" would soon consider it an indignity to be ranked among the n u m b e r . ^2 Irving may have had the young princess in mind as he composed the "Legend of the Two Discreet Statues," a tale about Sanchica, the discreet little daughter of Lope Sanchez, a gardener of the Alhambra, who during a St. John's Eve celebration found a talismanic hand of jet, and after listening to stories about enchanted
Moors, fell asleep and dreamed that a cavalcade with King
Boabdil and his courtiers descended the mountain and passed through the Gate of Justice, where she followed them to a subterranean palace. There the Christian child, with the aid of the talisman, freed the captive Gothic princess, who in return for the child's faith and courage, led Sanchica and her father to the Moorish treasure, guarded by two discreet statues whose eyes were directed to the location of the con cealment. The princess asked that they use the money discreetly, giving a donation to the church. Sanchica's father was almost deprived of the riches by the tattling of his wife to the good friar, her confessor and spiritual counselor, who acquired
32pierre M. Irving, Life and Letters of Washington Irving. II, 323» Citing a letter from Irving to Mademoiselle Antoinette Bollviller, Seville, May 28, 1828. 68 many donations fto m her for the church and for his poor rela
tives. Lope bought a mule and prepared to leave with the treasure by night, but the zealous friar, aware of his plan,
schemed to overtake Lope and secure a little more of the gold
for the church. However, the friar unknowingly mounted the flying-horse instead of the mule, and after bounding high over housetops, was thrown to the ground, bruised and shaken, only
to discover that the bags were filled with gravel instead of
gold. Lope and his family lived richly in Malaga, where
Sanchica grew as graceful as a princess and married a Spanish
grandee, while the two statues continued to guard the remaining
treasure silently and discreetly.33
Irving pieced together this tale from Mateo's stories recorded in his journal and from his own foraging among the
legends in the Jesuit's library. One such story concerns a
child who, late at night when her parents were absent, showed no fear when a stranger appeared and asked for food, which she
gave him. In return for her courage, he left a skin of wine, which turned to gold, and her father took it away on a mule.
In another story, a giant Moor appeared at night and revealed,
to the wife, the location of buried treasure under the tower.
The husband searched, removed bricks, and found a great stone
33Mabel Williams, pp. cit.. pp. 31-54. This and subseque&t references to the ^Legend of the Two Discreet Statues" are to this edition. 69 of gold, guarded by two Moors with armor. He purchased a mule and made off, but later his son dispensed alms to poor inhabitants.3^
In Irving's tale, the child used a talisman to free the princess from enchantment, and in return for her faith and
courage, she and her father were led to the hidden Moorish treasure, guarded by two discreet statues. Part of the gold was given to the church, but part of it turned to gravel in unauthorized hands; the rest was carried away on a mule. In the source stories, the child fearlessly gave food to the Moor, and she and her father were rewarded for her courage with a skin of wine, which turned to gold, part of which was dispensed to the poor; the other gold, guarded by two Moors with armor, was carried off on a mule. The theme of these sources is recognizable in Irving's tale.
The flying-horse motif is combined with a story recorded in Irving's Journal, which Mateo had heard from the old folks in the Alhambra, concerning the tower with seven stages underground, from which Boabdil had once sallied forth, and from which a horse without a head, followed by seven dogs, came forth at midnight, scoured the city, frightened the inhabitants, and at daybreak, returned to the tower, idiere seven
3 Stanley T, Williams, Journal of Washington Irving. 1828. and Miscellaneous Notes on Moorish Legend and History, pp. 70-73. 70
slain men were supposed to have been burled.35 The following
passages from Irving's tale came directly from the Mateo source*
He ^ope/ tethered . . . /the mule . . . underneath the tower of the seven floors, the very place whence Belludo, or the goblin horse, is said to Issue forth at midnight, and scour the streets of Gjanada, pursued by a pack of hell-hounds.
To add to his ÿthe ftlar'q/terror and distress, he found a pack of seven hounds at his heels, and perceived, too late, that he was actually mounted on terrible BelludoI
Again he /the horse/ scoured the Vlvarrambla, the Plaza Nueva, and the avenue of fountains, the seven dogs yelling, and barking, and leaping up, and snapping at the heels of the terrified friar.
At . . . the crowing of a cock . . . the goblin steed . . . galloped back for his tower.
A headless horse surrounded by hounds had already appeared In
Paseos por Granada by Padre Juan de Echeverrla, and had become
one of the best known figures in Grenadine folklore.36 An
interesting analogue of the flying-horse motif can be found in
"The Ebony Horse" of the Arabian Nights, in which the prince mounted an ebony horse and soared almost to the sun before
discovering how to control the magic steed.37 However, it Is
possible that the flying-horse theme in the folk traditions of
Spain had its remote origin in the very heart of the Moslem
culture, the Koran, which reveals that the Prophet Mohammed was conveyed from earth to the seventh heaven on a milk-white
35ibid.. p. 71.
56carrasco, o£. cit.. p. 126. 57Newby, o£. clt.. pp. 129-30. 71
winged h o r s e . 3® The white Arabian horse seems to have been
the favored breed for the most renowned Spanish or Moorish
knight, who according to legend and song, was mounted on a
milk-white steed, a horse as white as driven snow, or a cream-
colored horse, as was the king in Irving's tale. The number
seven, too, is common to Spanish folklore, perhaps because
of the Moslem concept of seven heavens.
Other themes in the "Legend of the Two Discreet Statues,"
which have a historical tinge, were inspired by the Granada
legends. The variety of legends subsumed under the title.
The Conquest of Granada, can be divided into two groups,
depending largely upon whether they used folklore or the more
reliable historical sources. Those in the folklore group
concentrate upon one phase of the Abencerrage-Zegri feud. The
Abencerrages were noble and chivalrous Moors whose splendor
of array, gallantry of service, and glorious horsemanship were unequaled. According to the legends, thirty-six of the
Abencerrages were beheaded near the fountain in one of the
great halls in the Alhambra, at the order of Boabdil, who resolved upon the exterpation of the noble family as a result of an alleged discovery of intrigue, including the false charge
^^Statement by Dr. Hameed Tajeldin of Baghdad, Iraq. Citing the Korén. Personal interview, Washington, D. C., August 13, 1965. 39sr, Delphine Kolker, Spanish Legends in English and American Literature. I8OO-186O (Washington; Catholic University, 1953), p. 202. 72 of Infidelity against his queen, a plan Instigated by the
Zegrl tribe, who had sworn enmity against the Abencerrages.
The remaining Abencerrages left Granada, weakening the defenses and laying the city open to attack by the army of
Ferdinand and Isabella, which resulted In the surrender of
Boabdll and his army and his humiliating departure from Granada.60
These legends had their source In the collection of ballads In Perez de Hlta’s Civil Wars of Granada, which Irving had severely criticized. The story of Boabdll*s cruelty had passed Into ballads, dramas, and romances until It had grown too strong to eradicate. There Is evidence to substantiate
Irving's repudiation of the legend, revealing that It was,
In reality, Boabdll*s father Muly-Abu-l-Hasen, whom both
Spanish and Arabian chroniclers had depicted as a cruel and ferocious ruler, who had had a number of Illustrious cavaliers put to death upon suspicion that they were conspiring to overthrow hlm.^l
In a sketch composed In the Hall of the Abencerrages,
Irving wrote that It was very difficult to reconcile the ancient tale of violence and blood with the gentle peaceful scene around him. Everything there was so delicate and beautiful that it seemed calculated to Inspire kind and happy
Calvert, o£. cit., pp. 104-10?.
6llbld.. p. 108. 73 feelings. No name, he wrote, had ever been so "foully and unjustly slandered" as that of Boabdll. After examining the authentic chronicles and letters written by Spanish authors,
contemporary with Boabdll, and all the Arabian authorities that he could get access to through translation, Irving had found nothing to justify the dark and hateful accusations.°
The depth of Irving’s study of the Moors during their domination of Spain was brought to light by the discovery of an unpublished manuscript of three hundred and three pages, begun In Madrid
In 1827-1828, titled "The Chronicle of the Ommlades," which
Is now In the Special Collections of the Columbia University
Library.63 However, Irving’s memoir of Abderhman, the founder of the dynasty of the Ommlades In Spain, was published In
Knlckerbocker Magazine In 1840. In a note to the editor of
the magazine, Irving wrote that, though he had conformed to
the facts of the Arabian Chronld e s , as cited by Conde, the
story of Abderhmem had almost the charm of romance, but that
It derived a higher Interest from the heroic, yet gentle, virtues which It illustrated.64
Irving demonstrated his conviction that Boabdll was a
62pennell, o£. clt.. pp. 152, 156.
63washlngton Irving, "The Chronicle of the Ommlades" (unpublished Manuscript begun In Madrid, 1827-1828, Gratduate Faculties News Letter. Columbia University, New York I96O), p.8.
64pierre M. Irving, Spanish Papers and Other Miscel lanies Hitherto Unpublished and Uncollected. 11, 24.6. 74
mild and kindly king in the "Legend of the Two Discreet Statues,"
as the little Sanchica described the yellow-bearded Boabdll el
Chico in a jeweled mantle and a crown of diamonds, mounted on
a cream-colored horse at the head of the cavalcade, much as
Irving, in his journal, had described a portrait of the monarch,
showing his mild handsome face, fair complexion, and yellow
hair as well as his colorful brocaded robe and crown of black
and gold,65 it was the splendor of the Moorish court and the
colorful pageantry of Boabdll and his soldiers, rather than
the truculence of the legends, that Irving brought into this
romantic tale. Irving had revealed his interest in such
pageantry as he sat in the Court of the Lions picturing a
procession of regal splendor with Boabdll, his beautiful queen,
the Abencerrages, and Moorish cavaliers in their Oriental
luxury.66 ^ diary entry noted stopping at a Moorish tower to
watch a cavalcade with groups of all kinds on horseback and
on foot passing by.67
Though Irving’s tale does not follow the Granada legends, many elements of the tale allude to the legends. They involve
the more fantastic traditions that have sprung from the
6^Stanley T. Williams, Irving’s Journal of 1828 yid Miscellaneous Notes on Moorish Legend and History, pp. 28-29.
^6pierre M. Irving, Life and Letters of Washington Irving, 11, 1289-90. Citing a letter from Irving to Mademoiselle Antoinette Bollviller, Court of the Lions, Alhambra, March 15, 1828. 67penney, o£. cit.. p. 17. 75
Granada legends. It was the Intrigue and massacre of the
Abencerrages and the surrender of Boabdil that gave rise to
Mateo's stories of buried treasure and apparitions of the
Moor's spirits about the towers of the Alhambra, or the story that Mateo told when he and Irving came to a deep circular pit, which Irving supposed to be a well dug by the Moors to obtain pure water. But, according to a tradition in which
Mateo's father and grandfather believed, it was the entrance to subterranean caverns in the mountain, in which Boabdil and his court were held under a magic spell, and from which they came forth at certain times, to visit their ancient abodes.
An old Water-carrier, had told of seeing an army going up the mountain on horseback and on foot, blowing trumpets, beating drums, and striking cymbals, but not making a sound, while at the rear of the cavalcade rode a figure on a snow-white
/ O donkey.According to another Moslem tradition, it was written in the book of fate that when the enchantment over the court and army of Boabdil was broken, Boabdil would descend from the mountain at the head of his army, occupy the throne in the Alhambra, gather together the enchanted warriors from all parts of Spain, and reconquer the P e n i n s u l a , it is not surprising that such traditions arose when the Arab chronicler
6^Pennell, op. cit.. pp. 265r268.
69charles Dudley Warner, Washington Irving (Boston; Houghton Mifflin Company, 1881), p. 266. 76
Al-Makkarl wrote, concerning the Moorish kingdom* "May Allah restore it entire to the Moslems."70
Irving revealed in one of the sketches of The Alhambra that, in the Court of Lions, he had once come across a Moor, originally from Tetuan in Barbary, who talked of the gaiety and luxury of life in the beautiful Moorish palace when the Moors held Granada. Irving went on to say that while he and the
Moor were discussing an Arabic Inscription which foretold perpetuity to the power add glory of the Moslem monarchs, the
Moor observed that he was convinced that Boabdll had been responsible for the fall of Granada, In accordance with the legend. Nevertheless, he was of the opinion that the descendants of the defeated and exiled Moors, living In the cities of northern
Africa, believed the time would come when they would reconquer their rightful domain on the Peninsula.71
This statement provoked the criticism of the poet Jose
Zorilla y Moral, the author of "Granada, poema oriental,"
1852, who said that the incident of extraction from a Moor in the Alhambra was pure Invention;
"Los moros hoy si haben donde esta Granada es porque se lo ha dicho algdn datilero vagabundo. ^E1 moro no sabe nada de la historia de los Krabes in Espana; y las bellezas arquitectonlcas y el sentldo de las leyendas . . . de la
70calvert, op. cit., p. xxxi.
flpennell, pp. clt.. p. 158. 77
Alhambra, les son eitranas como a /elo7 un baturro de Aragon"62
However, a later Spanish writer as well as translator of
The Alhambra. J. Ventura Traveset, In the prologue of his Cuentos de la Alhambra. 1893» emphasized the authentic character of the folklore;
A /slc7 la clrcumstancla especlallslma de haber vlvldo en la Alhambra el signe escrltor norte-Amerloano Washington Irving, en el ano 1829, debemos el poder satx^ear algunas de estas narraclones encantadoras, que el a /slc/su vez recoglo de lablos de los habitantes de la hlstorlca fortaleza, y que foiman paginas tan amenas é Interesantes como las musllmlcas de Las mil % una noches. . . .
Dentro la rlca literature popular europea, pocos libros podran aventajgr al de Irvlng . . . por aquel "colorldo local" tan artisticamente conservado en sus consejas; por su profundo,çonocimlento . . . de las costumbres populares granadinas.
Williams stated that, after due allowance had been made for
Spanish eloquence, the tribute of Mario Mendez Bejarano repre sented a general belief; "The soul of Granada is more apparent in the pages of Irving than in the stories of Chateaubriand, the poems of Zorilla, or any of these writers who have cele brated its charm."64
62stanley T. Williams, The Life of Washington Irving. II, 318-19. Citing Narclsco Alonzo Cortes, Zorilla. su vida y sus obras (Valladolid, 1918), II, 157.
63lbld.. p. 319. Citing J. Ventura Traveset, Cuentos de la Alhambra (Granada, I893), pp. vlll-li.
64 Ibid..pp. 319. Citing Mario Mendez Bejarano, Historia àlteraria; ensayo (Madrid, 1902), I, 495. 78
From the same sources that produced the "Legend of the
Two Discreet Statues" Irving composed "Governor Manco and the
Soldier,"65 in which a Spanish soldier was carried by a Moor on the flying-horse into the subterranean cavern where Boabdil was enthroned and surrounded by his court in Jeweled robes, and his army with shields, helmets, cuirasses, and scimitars, making ready to sally forth. The soldier escaped on the flying-horse with a bag of gold and a beautiful damsel. In an anonymous translation of this tale in Semlnario plnturesco espanol in I869, the introduction mentioned the fact that there were many legends that had survived In and around
Granada, but the only legend that was definitely stated was the one about Boabdll on which Irving's tale was based.66
The traditions stemming from the Granada legends even penetrated the first translation of "Hip Van Winkle" Into
Spanish. In "El serrano de las Alpujarras," which was adapted to the Spanish culture by George Washington Montgomery, the official translator of the American Embassy, the little men who haunted t e mountain were Moors. In the adaptation, Andres
Gazul, the counterpart of Rip Van Winkle, met Moors with scimitars In the mountains, was crowned king of Granada, and fell Into a deep sleep under the Influence of the fumes of
65Mabel Williams, pp. clt.. pp. 146-69.
66üe Lancy Ferguson, American Literature In Spain (New York; Columbia University Press, 1916), p. 29. 79
Oriental opiates. The dog, wolf, became Tarfe, a name which could bring to mind the Moorish knight, who, according to legend, had desecrated the "Ave Marla" before the Spanish soldiers. Montgomery's skillful adaptation of the American legends of the Catskills to those of the Alpujarras demonstrates his perception of how close Irving's earlier local romantic tradition was to that of the Spaniards.^7
The mention of national heroes and famous structures in the tale allude to still other legends, which Irving intertwined, and In some way, related to the Granada legends.
The merry little gardener In the story was strumming his guitar and singing long ditties about the Cld, Hernando del Pulgar, and other Spanish heroes. "El Cid" was a title derived from an Arabic word meaning "lord" which was given to Rodrigo or
Huy Diaz de Blvar, a Spanish soldier and national hero, known as el Campeador. whose deeds as well as his horse, Babieca, became popular legendary themes.68 Hernando del Pulgar was a great warrior and horseman, whose daring exploits Irving had heard from the Marquis of Salar, a direct descendaht of el de las hazanas. The legend told of Hernando del Pul gear's midnight ride into Granada, where with a dagger for a nail, he affixed the "Ave Marla" to the gate of the chief mosque. This
6"/Stanley T. Williams, "First Versions of the Writing of Washington Irving In Spanish," Modem Philology. XXVIII (November, 1930), 198-99.
68^Th« Cld," Encyclopedia Amerlcana (i960 ed. ), VI, 672. 80
challenge was not unanswered by the young Moorish knights, who
vied with the young Spaniards In deeds of daring, and the next
day the Moorish warrior, Tarfe, confronted the Christian army
with the holy Inscription tied to the tall of his horse. He
was Immediately challenged by Gracllasa de la Vega and slain
In single combat. Upon the capture of Granada, the mosque
became the chief cathedral of the clty.69
Frequently, In the Irving tales, as In the traditional
stories, a famous hero or a royal cavalcade passed through the
Gate of Justice, the main entrance to the Alhambra. In this
tale the cavalcade rode through the famous gate Into the realm of fantasy and enchantment, in the same way that the little
Sanchica rolled a large stone into the deep pit where she began to hear the movements of the enchanted Moors. Carved above the arch of the Gate of Justice were a hand and a key, which had given rise to a legend, before the expulsion, that
the Christians would never take the Alhambra until the outer hand grasped the inner key. It was also thought that the key was the emblem of the Prophet's power to open the gates of hell or heaven. The key, however, was really an old Cufic emblem, suggesting Allah's power to open the hearts of true believers, and was often seen on Moorish castles or banners.7®
69George Sidney Heilman, Washington Irving. Esquirei Ambassador at Large from the New World to the Old (New York* Alfred A. Knopf, 1 9 2 3 7 7 " p. 192.
70calvert, pp. clt.. p. 37» 61
The fact that, In the tale, the cavalcade headed by Boabdll entered the Gate of Justice, and the flying-horse came from the gateway of the cavern, suggests the legend concerning the gate by which Boabdll left the Alhambra to surrender the keys
to Ferdinand and Isabella. He descended outside the city by the same road that the Grand Cardinal of Spain ascended at the head of a band of cavaliers. Boabdll made the request that no one be permitted to enter the Alhambra by the portal at which he had departed. The request was granted; the gate was walled up and remained so. Irving stated that he had found this anecdote In an old chronicle, but that no one knew the story except an elghty-year-old man In the Alhambra, who remembered hearing his parents mention the gate and the story.
Irving and Mateo searched and found the gate In a ruined tower.
Irving then traced the whole path that Boabdll had taken to
the little chapel in the Vega, once a Moorish mosque,
surrounded by palms, fig trees, and other poetical plants.71
Many legendary and traditional themes of Irving's tale may also be found in the ballads, which were written in simple though melodious language, giving a dramatic picture of the
Moor, the material and color of his cloak, the brightness of his lance and scimitar, and In great detail, the breed and
color of his horse. The ballads parallel the Granada legends
T^Plerre M. Irving, Life and Letters of Washington Irving. II, 290. 82
In the stories of Boabdll, his queen, and their unhappy fate, as well as in the stories of courageous knights. "The
Admiral's Farewell" gives a colorful picture of the Moor;
His hood and cloak of many hues he dons, and sets Upon his brew his turban gay with pearls and amulets; Of many tints above his head his plumes are waving wide;
His courser was Arablem, In whose crest and pastern show A glossy coat as soft as silk, as white as driven snow.72
"The Jealous King" portrays knightly action;
And now the lists are opened and, loi a dazzling band. The Saracens, on sorrel steeds leap forth upon the sand; Their golden cloeGcs are flashing like the golden orange rind. The hoods of green from their shoulders hang and flutter in the w i n d . 73
The courage of the Moorish hero of the Pulgar legend is
celebrated in "Tarfe's Truce";
'Twas thus that Tarfe, valiant Moor, His proclamation wrote at large; He, King Darraja's favored squire. Has mailed the cartel to his targe.
"My arm, my lance, ahi well 'tls known How oft In battle's darkest hour They saved Granada's city proud From yielding to the Christians p o w e r . "74
A number of ballads allude to the supposed infidelity of Boabdil's queen, one example of which can be seen in
"Fickleness Rebuked";
72Basset, pp. cit.« p. 6.
73lbid.. p. 29.
74%bid.. pp. 36, 38. 83
Thou, fickle Mooress, puttest on Thine odorous brocade. And hand In hand with thy false love Wert sitting in the shade. Thus on the scutcheon of thy sires Thou plantest many a stain The pillars of thy ancient house Will ne'er be firm again.
Thou Shalt be hated far and wide; And, thinking on this hate. Will lay It to the black offense That thou didst perpetrate.75
According to the legend, the beautiful queen was discovered under a tree with her lover, the Abencerrage. She was to be put to death unless she produced four knights to defend her cause. The knights fought and conquered, and the last dying conspirator confessed his invention of the false charges against the Innocent queen.76 "The Zegrl Bride" from the
Civil Wars of Granada derives from the feud between the two great families, the Zegris and the Abencerrages of Granada;
Young Lisaro was musing so, when onward on the path. He well could see them riding slow; then pricked he in his wrath The raging sire, the kinsman of Zayda's hateful house. Fought well that day, yet in the fray the Zegri won his spouse.77
In the ballad, the Zegri won his spouse from an enemy tribe; in Irving's tale, the Gothic princess was held against her will by enchantment. As In the legend, "The Lamentation for
75ibld.. pp. 133-34.
76calvert, pp. clt.. p. 421.
77sasset, op. clt.« p. 149. 84
Celln" tells of the sadness after the massacre of the
Abencerrages by the order of Boabdll, or Celln In the romance;
What tower Is fallen, what star Is set, what chief come these bewailing? A tower Is fallen, a star Is set. Alas I alas for CellnI
Him yesterday a Moor did slay, of Ben-cerraje*s blood, •Twas at the solemn Jousting, around the nobles stood; The nobles of the land were by, and ladles bright and fair Looked from their latticed windows, the haughty sight to share; But now nobles all lament, the ladles are bewailing, Por he was Granada's darling knight. Alas I alas for Cellnl 78
In Irving's tale, Sanchica described Boabdll at the head of a long cavalcade of warriors with sclmlters and polished cuirasses, riding on prancing horses such as the returning cavalcade Is pictured In "Celia's Return";
There streams Into Granada's gate a stately cavalcade Of prancing steeds comparlsoned, and knights In steel arrayed;
And Moorish maiden Cegri straight to the window flies. To see the glittering pageant and hear the Joyous cries.
The gallant Celin comes again, the ladies knight was he I They knew the story of his fate and undeserved disgrace. And eagerly they gaze upon the splendor of his face.'?
As the magic horse in Irving's tale went forth, aooured the town, and returned at daybreak, the Spanish cavalcade went forth, engaged the Moors, and returned before daybreak in "The Death of Don Alonzo of Aguilar";
f^ibld.. p. 152.
7?Ibld.. p. 34. 85
Fernando, king of Aragon, before Granada lies. With dukes and barons many a one, and champions of emprise; With all the captains of Castile that serve the lady's crown. He drives Boabdil from his gates, and plucks the Crescent down./
Alonzo's on a milk-white steed, with horsemen in his train, A thousand horse, a chosen band, ere dawn the hills to gain.
They ride along the darkling ways, they gallop through the night; They reach Nevada ere the cock hath harbenger'd the light.oO
The Berber version of a cavalcade of warriors is analogous to the Spanish cavalcade, the Moorish cavalcade, and the phantom cavalcade in Irving's tale, as the old Berber song "Almato" reveals :
He has seized his banners for the fight In honor of the Bey whose honor he maintains. He guides the warriors with their gorgeous cloaks With spurs unto their boots well fastened. All that was hostile they destroyed with violence. And brought the insurgents to reason.
The ballad concerning the departure of the Moors from
Granada was based more on romantic minstrelsy than historic truth. Calvert, nevertheless, was of the opinion that the allusion to the old white beard of the Moorish king in "The
Flight from Granada" seemed to favor the conjecture that "Muley
Hasan," and not his son Boabdil, had surrendered the keys to
GOcalvert, op. cit., pp. 453-54.
SlBasset, pp. cit., p. viii. 86 82 the fortress. The ballad reads;
Thus cried the weeper, while his hands his old grey beard did tear. Farewell, farewell, GranadaI thou city without peer! Woe, woe thou pride of heathendomI seven hundred years and more Have gone since first the faithful thy royal acepter bore I
".No reverence can he claim, the king that such a land hath lost— On charger never can he ride, nor be heard among the host;"®3
Still another ballad substantiated the evidence that Boabdil was innocent of the charges of cruelty. Boabdil*s father
Muley Hasen, according to Calvert, lost Alhama, a fortress near Granada, in 1488. The fall of Alhama had been ascribed to the wrath of Allah at the wickedness of the king, thus absolving Boabdil of the crimes of his father, as the ballad discloses;
By thee were slain, in evil hour. The Abencerrages, Granada's flower; And strangers were received by thee Of Cordova the chivalry. Woe is me, AlhamaI
And for this, oh king! is sent On thee a double chastisement; Thee and thine, thy crown and realm. One last wreck shall overwhelm. Woe is me, AlhamaI
G^Calvert, pp. cit.. p. 451.
83lbid.. p. 452.
G^lbid.. p. 108. 87
Of the few extant verses of the Mussulmans of Granada, the
following, which was preserved in Arabic, was attributed to
Mouley Abou Abdallah*
The charming Alhambra and its palaces weep Over their loss, Muley Boabdil (Bon Abdallah), Bring me my horse and my white buckler. That I may fight to retake the Alhambra; Bring me my horse and my buckler blue. That I may go to fight to retake my children. ^
Prom the Moorish legends and ballads the importance of
the horse to king and cavalier is apparent. It may also
indicate the reason for Irving's introducing the flying-horse motif into this tale inspired by the Granada legends as well
as his including the Cid in the tale. An ancient Spanish
ballad tells of the Cid and his horse "Bavieca"*
Por neither Spain nor Araby could another charger bring So good was he, and certes the best befits a king.
With that, the Cid, clad as he was in mantle furred and wide. On Bavieca vaulting, put the rowel in his side; And up and down, and round and round, so fierce was his career. Streamed like a pennon on the wind Huy Diaz' minivere./
Ne'er had they looked on horseman might to this knight come near. Nor on another charger worthy of such a cavalier.
The Cid's vaulting on Babieca brings to mind the friar's vault
35^Basset,; pp. cit.. p. xvii.
^Lockhart, pp. cit.. pp. 113-14. 88 onto the magic horse for his evehtful ride. By means of the flying horse, Boabdil*s sudden fall from power at the little cathedral in the Vega, surrounded by palms and fig trees, was turned Into a bit of humor In the Irving tale as the good friar tumbled from the magic Belludo and landed under a fig tree, which according to Spanish folklore was an evil omen since Judas hanged himself from a fig tree.^?
The thread of superstition running through the "Legend of the Two Discreet Statues" also stems from traditional superstitions relating to the Grsuiada legends. In the tale,
Sanchica found a talismanic hand, which was first considered an evil omen of Moorish origin, but after consideration, a good omen with the power to break Moorish charms. With the aid of the talisman, Sanchica was able to control the destiny of the Christian princess and free her from Moorish enchantment, to break the spell over the treasure, and to convert the infidel wealth into something good for her family and the church. According to Calvert, the hand and the key over the gate of Justice had given rise to superstitions as well as legends. Some thought of the open hand, like the talisman, as the hand of God, the symbol of power and providence; or the five commandments of Islam. According to one tradition, when the spell was broken, the building would tumble down and
87 Leach euid Pried, pp. c it. , p. 1066. 89 88 reveal the treasure burled by the Moors. In Irving*s tale, the key of Granada, which when surrendered to the hand of
Ferdinand, caused Boabdil*s kingdom to tumble.
The Arabian Nights provides an analogue of the talismanic hand theme. In "The Keys of Destiny," a man and a Badawi with magic wings flew to a distant plain in the middle of which stood a column bearing the copper figure of a youth whose open hand held a key dangling from each finger. The man had to bear the fate of any key that he could take, for these were the keys of destiny— the keys of suffering, misery, death, glory, and happiness. From knowing nothing of the nature of the keys came all the misfortunes of the man's life, yet he accepted good and evil with humility for they both came from Allah. Luck and chance play a much more important part in the Oriental tale than do the merits of the characters. In the Western cultures, the lucky man is likely to be the prudent man; but to the Arab, the lucky man is likely to be the good man, for all things are ruled by chance, which after all is the will of A l l a h . The element of luck in Irving's tales by which a good person finds treasure or obtains supernatural powers shows the Oriental rather than the European origin of the sources.
The traditional celebration of St. John's day made an appropriate time for Irving's tale involving the Granada
'Calvert, pp. cit.. p. 37. 89 Mathers, pp. cit., p.69 O-69I. 90 legends to take place. In the evening, Lope and his family went to a nearby hillside for the customary dancing and story telling around a bonfire. There Sanchica found the talismanic hand, and heard stories of the mountain from which the enchanted
Moors came forth. There she fell asleep and dreamed of the royal cavalcade which she followed to the subterranean palace and the treasure.
According to Spanish folk sources, people went to the hillsides and the Vega for sports on St. John's day, and in the evening, they danced around the big bonfires. There was and old superstitious tradition that all spells were broken for twenty-four hours on that day, and in the evening, the enchanted Moors came from all parts of Spain to pay homage to 90 the king who would someday regain possession of the Alhambra.
Prom the custom of garlands made by young maidens on that day came Sanchica's myrtle wreath which turned to gold and convinced
Lope of the value of the treasure. The day of St. John was a great festival among the Spanish Moors. One of their songs about Boabdil's wife begins:
"La manana de San Juan, sal en a coger guimaldes, Zara, muger del fiey Chico, con sus mas queridas d a m a s . "91
Another song tells of their sports:
go Carrasco, op. cit.. p. 12?.
91 Lockhart, pp. cit.. p. 263. 91
La manana de San Juan, a punto que alboreva Gran fiesta hazen los Moros por la vega de Granada, Hebolvlendo sus oavallos, y Jugando con sus lanzas, Rlcos pendones en ellas, 1abrades por las Amandas.^
Thus, from the Indigenous customs and superstitions of St.
John's day, Irving derived Sanchica's wreath, the bonfire around
which the family danced and told stories, the suspension of
the enchantment over the Moors, and the setting in the mountain
from which Boabdll and his army came forth.
Each of Irving's tales brings out some human virtues
and frailties, such as faith, charity, vanity, and undue
curiosity in the "Legend of the Moor's Legacy;’* and in the
"Legend of the Two Discreet Statues," courage, discretion,
gullibility, and a little avarice. The tattling indiscretion
of Lope's wife provided a contrast to the silent discretion
of the two statues in guarding the treasure. The idea of
discretion runs throughout the story, providing a contrast
to the various indiscretions of the wife, the friar, and perhaps,
the king and queen, according to the legends. Sanchica was
discreet for years, but the mother was gullible for her
age. The treasure was discreet. The princess bade Lope to use the money discreetly; Lope hoped that the friar would be
discreet about the knowledge of the treasure. However, Lope
observed that though the discreet statues did not tattle with
^^Ibid. . p. 265. 92 their mouths, they tattled with their eyes, which were directed to the spot where the treasure was hidden. In conclusion,
Irving let it be known that all women visitors to the Alhambra regarded the discreet statues as a lasting monument to the fact that women can keep a secret.
Prom the wealth of available folk sources, Irving carefully selected, for this tale, what could be interwoven with the Granada legends and traditions. The "Legend of the
Two Discreet Statues" is a colorful mosaic of themes, picturing friar and gardener, king and queen, princess and child, knight and horse, as well as an array of multicolored mantles and gleaming instruments of foray with the environs of Granada and the storied portals of the Alhambra as the background.
The sources for this tale were the Granada legends, from which sprang the traditional tales including Mateo's stories recorded in Irving's journals, the ancient Spanish and Moorish ballads, and in addition ^he analogues found in the tales of the
Arabian Nights, in the ancient Berber songs, and in the Moslem
Koran. Irving encompassed this striking combination af sources in the traditional celebration of the day of St. John.
However, the very complexity of sources and motifs in the story makes this tale conform less to the short story form than do either the "Legend of the Moor's Legacy" or the "Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra." 93
III. SOURCES AND ANALOGUES OF THE "LEGEND
OF THE ROSE OF THE ALHAMBRA"
The Islamic poet Ibn Zamrak wrote that Sabika was the crown of Granada* s brow, and the Alhambra was the central ruby of its crown.Among Irving's works. The Alhambra is the peak of his romantic achievement, and the "Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra" is among the best of his tales about the Moorish palace, though it had more appeal to readers of the nineteenth century than to present day readers. Even so, the tale provides a fascinating view of Spanish folk traditions and folk ways.
Pattee states that the tale is a blending of humor, pathos, and naturalness with the extravagance of romanticism, and that the result is something of Irving's very own. The dainty damsel Jacinta, he goes on to say, is ingeniously made the descendant of romantic ancestors; the ever-watchful aunt,
Fredegonda, is a believable character; the page and the enchanted figure in the fountain are medieval and dreamlike.
There are also touches of humor, good-natured satire, and a pensive kind of melancholy appropriate to a legend of the old
Tower of the Infantas. The word "rose," the key word of the tale occurs repeatedly, permeating the tale and lending an atmosphere of fragrance and romance.
Combined with the rose motif of the tale and the theme
^^McDowell, pp. cit.. p. 307. 94pred Lewis Pattee, The Development of the American Short Story (New York* Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1923), p. 1^7 94 of the magic lute is one of the most feuiciful of the folk motifs, the nocturnal apparition, which in this case is the figure in the fountain, a motif common to the folk traditions of Spain, particularly Andalucia, as well as to those of northern Africa, whose tales are borrowed from the Arabs. Just as the ancient Moors delighted in the cool splashing fountains of the Alhambra, so, present day visitors may enjoy an old fifteenth century monastery converted to an inn, where they may dine on the terrace and have for dinner music the fountains of
q c the Alhambra below.Irving, too, reveled in this romantic palace, sitting at night where the blush of the rose was faintly visible, and the fountain sparkeled with moonbeams, which, no doubt, later took the form of the figure in the fountain as he wrote the "Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra."
According to the tale, many years after the surrender of Granada, the Alhambra was uninhabited as a result of successive earthquakes. Still standing, however, was the Tower of the
Infantas, which in the time of the Moors had been inhabited by three Moorish princesses who planned to flee to marry three
Christian knights. Only two of the princesses escaped, but the third, Zorahayda, remained in the tower and perished. It was rumored that her spirit was often seen by moonlight seated beside the fountain in the tower.
93McDowell, pp. cit.. p. 308. 94 P e n n e ll, pp. cit.. p. 308. 95
During the reign of Philip V. and Elizabeth of Parma, the Alhambra was again the scene for the pageantry of court life. While one of the queen's favorite pages was rambling in the woods about the Alhambra, his gerfalcon soared to the remote Tower of the Princesses. After passing through a bed of thorny roses, he reached the tower, where he saw the face of the beautiful young Jacinta at a window above. Contrary to the admonitions of her aunt, Fredegonda, she heeded the pleas of the page, permitting him to enter the tower and retrieve his gerfalcon. As they talked beside the fountain, the page, smitten by her beauty, pledged eternal fidelity. According to custom, Jacinta gave him the rose from her hair; he placed it under his bonnet and imprinted a kiss on her hand, then went away.
Later the page came back briefly to bid Jacinta farewell as the royal cavalcade proceeded to Granada, but then he failed to keep his promise to return. Being sad and melancholy because the page had not kept his promise, Jacinta sat by the fountain late one night, and as her tears fell into the fountain, it began to bubble and boil up, and a figure richly clad in Moorish robes rose from the waters. Jacinta was frightened and fled, but returned the next night, when at midnight, the figure appeared again holding a silver lute.
Jacinta confided to the spectral princess that she was weeping because of the faithlessness of man. The Moorish princess replied that she had loved a Christian knight, Jacinta*s 96 ancestor, and though having embraced his faith, she had lacked courage equal to her faith, and as a result had been put under an enchantment which would continue until a pure Christian broke the spell. Jacinta complied with her request, dipped her hand into the fountain, and baptized the phantom in the manner of the Christian faith, after which the princess smiled, dropped the silver lute at Jacinta*s feet, and disappeared.
The tones of the lute charmed even the watchful
Fredegonda, and the people thronged to hear the music from the
Tower of the Infantas. News of the magic lute and the beautiful minstrel inspired by love reached the royal palace, where the king, a hypochondriac, was in such a state of melancholy that not even the court fiddlers could cheer him ar dispell his depression. Finally, the far-famed minstrel, the
Rose of the Alhambra, was brought to the palace where she sang from her heart a legendary ballü of the ancient glories of the Alhambra and the achievements of the Moors. The king was so moved that he sprang from his bed and reached for his sword and buckler. The demon melancholy had been cast out by the magic lute. But the lute fell from Jacinta*s hands, and she sank to the floor, only to be lifted by the arms of the faithful page. As the Rose of the Alhambra, she became the delight of the court. The lute which Jacinta had received from the Moorish princess was purloined and eventually its 97 strings found their way to the fiddle of Paganini, where they continued to charm the world.95
Irving noted in his journal of 1828 a Moorish tale about a poor family, whom the governor of the Alhambra had permitted to inhabit the Tower of the Infantas. As the woman was washing clothes at the fountain one night, a figure appeared and said she had enough money to buy half of Granada, but wanted the woman to lighten her burden. The woman called her sister but the apparition disappeared. The second night the figure appeared, the woman threw water on it, and the figure disappeared, but the fountain remained full of gold. The closeness of
Irving's tale to the Moorish story related by Mateo leads to the assumption that this was Irving's source for the tale.9^
The figure-in-the-fountain motif is not limited to
Spain or to the past, for it appears even today in the folklore of Algeria. In the Berber culture, though the men did not disdain to listen, it was the children for whom the fairy tales were destined. At night, after a wearisome day, the mother gathered the children around her under the tent, and they would demand a story that would carry their imaginations far away. Thus the traditions were handed on from generation
95Mabel Williams, op. cit.. pp. 242-64. This suid subse quent references to the "Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra" are to this edition. 96stanley T. Williams, Journal of Washington Irving. 1828. and Miscellaneous Notes on Moorish Legend and History. p. 73. 98 to generation.97 Such a tale is the following Berber tale, which proves to be a close parallel to Irving's immediate source.
The story relates that a poor woman went to a stream to wash at an old spring, and while she was at work a fairy appeared and asked her to put perfumes in the fountain, in return for which the fairy gave her money. Everyday the woman returned to the fountain, received money from the fairy, and suddenly became rich, arousing the suspicions of the people, who accused her of being the mistress of a very rich man. They followed her to a tryst at the fountain, but after that the fairy never came out of the fountain again.9® In spite of the notion in the past that something new was always coming out of Africa, this motif varies little from the theme of the Spanish tale, though there is a fresh naive quality in the telling of this
Berber tale.
The following comparison of the figure-in-the-fountain motif of Irving's tale with that of the sources discloses not only the closeness of Irving's tale to the immediate source in the Moorish story related by Mateo Xlmenez, but also the close analogy to the same motif In "The Woman and the Fairy," the tale of the African Berbers. In each case the passage from the "Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra" appears first, followed by the passage from the Immediate source, after which
9"^Basset, op. clt.. pp. xvlll-xlx.
98ibld.. pp. 227-28 99 the passage from the analogue Is quoted»
1. At a late hour one summer night, . . . /Jaclntg/ remained alone In the hall of the tower, seated beside the alabaster fountain.
2. One night a woman was washing clothes at a small marble fountain.99
3. A wom^ went one day to the stream to wash at the old spring.
1. Her tears began to flow, and . . . fell drop by drop into the fountain. By degrees the crystal water became agitated . . . boiled up and was tossed about until a female figure, richly clad In Moorish robes, slowly rose to view.
2. The water tremble/%/ //and the^ figure of a Moorish princess . . . /rose/. . . .
3. In the middle of the day, . . . a woman appeared and saidI "Let us be friends . . . and . . . make/a promise."
1. Jacinta was so frightened that she fled from the hall and did not venture to return.
2. /The/ woman was very frightnd . . . her sister ran down . . . /and thq/ figure disappeared.
3. "When you çome to this spring, bring me some herma and perfumes. I will come forth and . . . give you money."
1. /The next night at/ midnight . . . the fountain was again agitated . . . /and/ the Moorish female again rose to view. She was young and beautiful; her dress was rich with jewels, and in her hand she held a silver lute.
2. /Thq/ second night the two sisters /went to the fountain and/ the figure again appeared.
99gtanley T. Williams, Journal of Washington Irving. 1828. eind Miscellaneous Notes on Moorish Legends and History, p. 73» In this comparison, this and other references to the flgure-ln-the-fountaln motif of Irving's journal are to p. 73»
lOOBasset, op. clt.. p. 227. In this comparison, this and other references to the flgure-ln-the-fountaln motif of *The Woman and the Fairy" are to pp. 227-28. 100
3. The wife returned everyday . . , and found the other woman who gave her money.
1. /The phantom said/ "... baptize me after the manner of thy faith; so shall the enchantment be dispelled. ..." The damsel dipped her hand In the fountain . . . and sprinkled . . . /water/ over the pale face of the phantom . . . /who/ smiled . . . dropped her silver lute at the feet of Jacinta . . . and melted from sight. . . .
2. They threw water . . . the figure disappeared & the fountain remained full of gold. The day after they . . . /got/ the gold . . . /and/ have never been heard of since.
3. One day when she went to the spring to bathe, the people followed her. . . . The fairy came . . . as usual, and gave her money. The people surprised them together, but the fairy never came out of the fountain again.
It seems apparent from the comparison of motifs in the three stories that the figure-in-the-fountain motif came from
Moorish sources. In addition to such Moorish lore, Spain's
Christian traditions abound In stories connecting fountains with miracles and discoveries of images of the virgin. Irving noted in the Journal that he had visited Our Lady of the Fountain of
Health, where according to legend, a small image of the Virgin had been found in the fountain, after which a certain wound had been cured by the salutary qualities of the water in the fountain.191 it seems that, like the romantic stories of Jacinta*s ancestors, the figure-in-the-fountaln motif could have derived from both Christian and Moorish sources.
Since the rose Is a dominent theme of the Irving tale, the folklore concerning the rose merits Investigation. The rose,
lOlstanley T. Williams, Journal of Washington Irving. 1828, and Miscellaneous Notes on Moorish Legend and History. pT^. 101 which was a mystic symbol in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, as well as a common theme of the literature of the romantic period, had appeared earlier In the folk traditions of many countries, with varying connotations. Many of these traditions concerning the rose are included by Leach and Pried In the work on folklore, as are the ones which follow. They state that throughout the Teutonic area the rose belonged to dwarfs and fairies and was under their protection. The rose, originally from Persia and probably brought to the West by Alexander, was to the Arabs a symbol of masculinity. The Arabs say that the white rose sprang from the sweat of Mohammed on his return from heaven. The rose was anciently the symbol of Joy, later secrecy and silence, but is now usually associated with love.
Since it is one of the most beautiful of flowers. It has also been associated with Venus, to whose tears Its origin is some times ascribed.192
In Spain it is the red rose that is usually associated with folk traditions and folk customs, perhaps in that profoundly religious country, because, according to Leach and
Pried, it is said that Christ's blood turned the rose red at the time of the Crucifixion. Many of the attributes of the rose are thought to have been Inherited by the Virgin Mary.
Then too, when Eve kissed a white rose In the Garden of Eden,
19^each and Fried, pp. clt., p.956 . 102
It blushed and has been pink ever since. A princess whom the sun admired too long was made to become a rose as punishment, and when the sun came near the next day, the rose blushed and became red. Other legends, say Leach and Pried, link the rose with Cupid, who on one occasion mischievously emptied a cup of wine on the rose and made It red. Again, while stopping to smell a rose, Cupid was so angered by a bee admiring the same rose that he shot an arrow Into the bush, thus causing the 103 thorns. In Spanish folklore, there are many connotations of the rose. According to Machado y Alvarez, it is associated with the power and valor of an animal, with medicine and magic, with worship and elegance, with the unfolding of life, and with a momentous episode linked with life or a living person.
It is the flower of spring, and it has an inherent tendency to inspire fancy and imagination.^^4
The rose theme is interestingly developed in Irving's tale, beginning with the title, the "Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra," which brings to mind a lovely flower enclosed in the romantic palace, and anticipates the beautiful Jacinta secluded in the legendary Tower of the Infantas, as well as the fanciful Moorish princess held under enchantment. Like the flower that blushed when the Sun came near, the youthful
lO^Ibid. . pp. 956-57.
^ lO^Antonio Machado,y Alvarez, Tradlciones populares espanoles (Madrid* Libreria de Fernando Fe, I8l6), pp.1-5. 103 warden of the tower blushed at the sight of the page. She wore a fresh-plucked rose in her hair, according to the custom of the time— a custom still practiced by Spanish ladies during traditional celebrations. The page would not depart until
Jacinta gave him the rose from her hair. Here, the rose is clearly a symbol of love, Jacinta gave the rose to the page and he placed it under his bonnet; thus, they made a secret pledge of love and fidelity to each other. Next, Irving com pares the pretty Jacinta, under the guardianship of her aunt
Fredegonda, with a beautiful rose beneath a briar, thus intro ducing a common Spanish custom. Cupid, too, had protected the rose. In all romantic literature poets have sung of love and beauty, and in Irving's tale the poetic people of Andalucia gave the lovely Jacinta the appellation "the Rose of the
Alhambra." But the beautiful Rose grew pale without the sunshine of happiness and the love of the page, and shed tears in the fountain. The Rose of the Alhambra, the symbol of love and beauty with their magical powers, cheered the queen and the unhappy king, and became the delight of tne Spanish court.
Thus, the love in the heart of the Rose had triumphed over the unfaithfulness of the page and the malady of the king.
The rose theme could have been suggested to Irving as he observed from a balcony of the Hall of Ambassadors in the
Alhambra, young lady in a trim basquina with a fresh-plucked rose in her hair, followed by a watchful aunt or a vigilant duenna, walking behind her. If they were on the way to church, 104
Irving observed, the rose showed that earth divided with
Heaven the empire of her thoughts,195
The legendary Tower of the Infantas, which was supposed to have been the abode of the favorite sultannas of Moorish kings, was the setting for Irving's tale. According to the inhabitants of the Alhambra, it was called the Tower of
Princesses because it was the residence of the daughters of
Moorish kings. The cruel king of one legend had his daughters confined to the tower, never permitting them to go out except to ride their palfreys at night, at which time if spoken to, they would vanish from sight. Irving wrote in a sketch on
"The Tower of Las Infantas" that he had been fascinated to see the head of a maiden with flowers in her hair appear in the tower. However, upon investigation, instead of a beautiful young princess, she proved to be the buxom wife of the aged adjutant of invalids of the A l h a m b r a . 196 This tower was also the inspiration for the "Legend of the Three Beautiful
Princesses,"19? in which two of the three Moorish princesses fled from the tower and married Spanish cavaliers, but Zorahayda remained in the tower and perished. It is Zorahayda who appears as the phantom in the fountain in the "Legend of the Hose of the Alhambra." The Moorish princess Zarahayda, in her desire
105pennell, o£. cit.. pp. 139-40. 196ibid.. pp. 294-295.
^99j^abel Williams, op. cit., pp. 195-225. 105 to marry a Christian, shows how the two races intermingled and the ballads and legends tell of the valor of both the
Christians and the Moors. Throughout the oldest Spanish ballads there breathes a spirit of charity toweurd their Moorish enemies, for in spite of their adverse faith and different Interests, they had in common their loves and their sports, and some of the heroes had fought for both the Crescent and the Crown.
Ballads devoted to Spanish heroism sometimes give tribute to the Moor*
Caballeros Granadinos .gg Aunque Moors hiJos d'algo.
Many ballads contain themes similar to those of Irving* s tale. The romantic ballads tell how the knight was give a flower or similar token by his lady-love before he departed for the fray, as Jacinta had given the rose to the page. The knight in "The Zegri Bride" carried such a token*
Young Lisaro, as they go out, his bonnet doffeth he. Between its folds a sprig it holds of dark and glossy tree; That sprig of bay, were out of way, right heavy heart had he,— .gg Fair Zayda to her Zegri gave that token privily.
The "Wandering Knight's Song" also refers to a token*
My ornaments are arms My pastime is war.
198calvert, op. cit. . p. 450.
^99gasset, pp. clt.. p. l48. 106
From hill to hill I w ^ d e r Kissing thy t o k e n . 1^0
In "The Bridal of Andalla," the maid is not moved by the gay music of the lute and the guitar because of the unfaithfulness of her knight:
Rise up, rise up, Xarifal lay the golden cushion down; Rise up, come to the window, and gaze with all the townI From gay guitar and violin the silver notes are flowing. And the dulcet lute doth speak between the trumpet's lordly blowing.
One bonny rose-bud she had traced, before the noise drew nigh; That bonny bud a tear effaced, slowly drooping from her eye.121
"Fonte Freida" has as its theme the fidelity of love:
Fount of freshness! fount of freshness! Fount of freshness and of lovel22
The ancient sport of falconry, which is still maintained by the
Arabs of southern Iraq, added action to the tale and provided the means by which the page met Jacinta. The falcon followed a bird to the old tower, and the page in trying to retrieve the falcon, met Jacinta. A similar theme is presented in a very old Spanish ballad, in which the knight found an enchanted maiden, who then disappeared like the figure in the fountain.
In "The Lady of the Tree,"
The knight had hunted long, and twilight closed the day. His hounds were weak and weary,— his hawk had flown away;
IZ^Lockhart, pp. cit.. p. 2?2.
IZlsasset, pp. clt.. pp. 149-50.
l^^Leach and Fried, pp. cit.. II, 1060. 107
He stopped beneath an oak, an old and mighty tree. Then out the maiden spoke, and a comely maid was she.
"I am a good King's daughter, long years enchanted here;
Seven weary years are gone since o'er me charmes they threw;"/
He came when morning broke, to fetch the maid away, . But could not find the oak wherein she made her stay; ^
Though Philip V., the last of the Spanish monarchs to inhabit the Alhambra, was in Irving's tale, subject to periods of fancy and melancholy, he was symbolic of the sadness of
Boabdil at the surrender of Granada and the Alhambra. Adinanaur, the fountain of tears in the middle of a garden near Granada, is evidence of this melancholy, as is the ballad "Celia's
Farewell;"
He gazed back upon the bastions high. The towers and fretted battlements that soar into the sky; And Celin, whom the King in wrath has from Granada banned Weeps as he turns to leave for aye his own dear native land,
"Ye springs and founts that sparkling well from yonder mountainside. And flow with dimpling torrent o'er mead and garden wide. If e'er the tears that from my breast to these and eyes ascend Should with your happy waters their floods of sadness blend. Oh, take them to your bosom with love, for love has bidden These drops to tell the wasting woe that in my heart is hidden. I see thee shining from afar. As in Heaven's arch some radiant star.
^^^Lockhart, pp. c it. . pp. 251-52. 108
Granada, queen and town of lovliness. Listen to my lament, and mourn for my distress?^
Other ballads tell of the weeping and lamenting. Even'the hill from which el Zogoybi turned to take his last look at his beloved Granada is called el ultimo suspiro del moro. According to legend, his resolute mother said* "You do well to weep like a woman, for what you failed to defend as a man."^^-^ An old ballad also tells of the mother's feeling;
"Unhappy kingl whose craven soul can book"— (she "gan reply) To leave behind Granada— who hast not heart to die— Now for the love I bofe thy youth, thee gladly could I slayl. For what is life to leave when such a crown is cast away?"^2o
The great feeling of distress at the loss of Granada was expressed years later by Charles V. who said of Boabdil* "Had I been he, or he been I, I would rather have/made this Alhambra my 1 27 sepulcher than have lived without a kingdom in Alpuxarra."
It was the grief of the defeated rather than the exul tation of the conqueror that became the subject of the ballads, some of which suggest an attitude of sympàthy and slight contempt toward Boabdil. Later authors have made of the king of Granada a symbol of frustration and melancholy.It is
124gagset, pp. cit., pp. 21- 2 2 .
125carrasco, pp. cit., p. 5 1 .
126calvert, pp. cit.. p. 452.
127pennell, pp. pit., pp. 169-7 0 .
128carrasco, pp. cit.. p. 2 3 . 109 this theme of melancholy that Irving caught from the ballads and developed in this tale. He first mentioned the sadness of
Jacinta when her lover did not return, then her tears shed in the fountain, the sadness of the enchanted Moorish princess, and as a climax, the hopeless melancholy of the king, which was finally overcome by the power of love and music.
The frontier romances were popular songs of the minstrels or .logarles. who traveled from place to place bringing, to the people as well as to the king, the news of battle and of courageous hero. In Irving's tale, Jacinta, with her magical silver lute, was the singing minstrel who played and sang a stirring legendary ballad of the Moors and the ancient glories of the Alhambra, which could have been "The Warden of
Molina:"
Let honor take the lance and steed to meet our country's call.
And sweating steeds and flashing spurs and hands in fury clenched. Follow the fluttering banners that toward the vega swarm.
They call the knights they love so well to arm them for the fray. To arms, to arms, my captains! Sound, clarions; trumpets, blow; And let the thundering kettle-drum Give challenge to the foe.129
There are many examples of the power of music and of musical instruments in folk narratives, including those told by Mateo as well as the Oriental tale of the player upon a Persian lute.
129Ba88et, op. c it. . 12-13- 110 whose playing calmed or excited and followed his commands much as a doctor, feeling with his skill, makes the warm blood of life hasten or be still,1^0 Irving's use of the magic lute and the strange power of music may be a romantic theme, but it has its roots in the folklore and folkways of Andalucia.
In a sketch about the Alhambra the author mentioned the young daughter of a Spanish count, who often sat by the fountain in the Alhambra, playing her guitar and singing the popular romances of Spain, of which Irving enjoyed best the ones about Moors.
The girl sometimes brought her friends, who sang and danced to the music in typical Andalucian style, just as Irving's
Journals so often reveal strumming guitars, dancing gypsies on the hillside, and romantic serenades about the A l h a m b r a .^31
The romantic ballads of Moorish origin were sung in the villages of Andalucia in either language, to the same tunes, and listened to by Mussulman and Christian with equal pleasure. Irving has embodied the spirit of Andalucian music in the Rose of the
Alhambra, who overcame the demon melancholy by playing the magic lute and singing from her heart the ancient ballads of the glorious past. As the strings of the lute, in Irving's tale, found their way to the violin of Paganini, so the ancient ballads of Spain may have been perpetuated in the vibrant flamenco rhythms of present-day Andalucia.
l^^Mathers, pp. clt., III, 184. l^lpennell op. cit., 206. Ill
The superstitions relating to this tale are closely interwoven with traditional customs. However, the wearing of the rose by a young lady and giving it to a young man involves a certain superstitious belief as to its secret revelation.
The rose assumes magic powers when used as medicine. In this tale the rose theme is combined with the magic or miracle-per forming power of the fountain and the power of music to dispel the king's malady. According to one Spanish superstition, if a young woman looks into the water of a fountain on St. John's day, she will see reflected beside her own image, that of her future husband. Here an image did appear, though not the image of her secret love. The magic lute stems from a long line of magical musical instruments in folklore and literature, from the magic lute of "Khalifah the Fisherman of Baghdad" that soothed like medicine, to "The Magic Flute" by Mozart, which opera-lover Irving must have seen.
Traditional customs have changed little since the days when Irving met Fernan Caballero and the prideful custom of kissing the hand of a lady still survives, as was demonstrated recently by the experience of a famous visitor to Spain, who when she offered money to a boy who had applauded her, received the reply, "Thank you, madam, but I don't need this. Instead,
I should like to kiss your h a n d . "1^2
The "Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra" is a harmonious
l^^MoDowell, pp. c it. . p. 339. 112
blending of folk motifs and sources found in Mateo's Moorish
stories and legends, in romantic Spanish ballads, and in
Irving's experiences and observations of Spanish life about the
Alhambra, all of which were recorded in his journals and sketches.
Spanish history, with the unhappy experiences of the Moors and
the triumph of the Spanish, lurks in the background. Analogous motifs appear in the Berber tale "The Woman and the Fairy," and in the Arabian Nights tale "Khilafah the Fisherman of
Baghdad." All of these folk elements are placed in the romantic
Tower of the Infantas within the walls of the Alhambra. The
tale is a romantic symphony of Andalucian folk traditions, which by the close relationship of the motifs and thread of plot make it one of Irving's best-written tales.
It is appropriate, at this point in the development of the present study on The Spanish folk sources in Irving's tales of The Alhambra, to assemble the findings. Though Irving's folk interests and romantic inclinations had been developed and demonstrated before the visit to Spain, and though the main themes of the three stories under study, namely, hidden treasure,
the enchanted king and soldiers, and nocturnal apparitions, had all appeared in his notebooks and/or earlier writings, comparison of the tales with the folk sources, as well as with
Irving's Spanish journals and his own statements, gives conclusive evidence that the immediate sources of the tales are found in Spanish folklore. The detailed study of the sources 113 brings to light a number of Oriental tales and ballads containing motifs analogous to those found in Irving's tales.
The study also shows that the Irving motifs stem from Oriental rather than European folk tales, that the historical motifs derive from the traditional stories growing out of the histo rical Granada legends and related ballads, but do not parallel the legends, and that the superstitions interwoven In the
Irving tales stem from both Christian and Moslem religious philosophies. The final logical step is to look into the nature of Irving's artistry in combining this interesting array of folk sources in the stories of The Alhambra. CHAPTER III
PROM FOLKLORE TO ART I THE ALHAMBRA
AS A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES
Although this study of the representative tales of
Irving* s Alhambra and of the sources that the author used
in writing them has revealed the author's skill in weaving
together a rich assortment of materials, it has not shown
Irving to be a writer of profundity. Indeed, Irving himself
admitted that he had attempted no lofty theme, nor sought to
appear wise and learned, as was the fashion among American writers of the time, but preferred, to address himself to the
feeling and fancy of the reader more than to his Judgment.^
"I seek only," he said, "to blow the flute accompaniment in
the national concert, and leave others to play the fiddle and
French horn."2 Nevertheless, this study has revealed that
Irving made Spain his own by his penetration of the folklore and folkways of the country to their very roots. One might also claim for The Alhambra an enduring appeal, in that it is still looked upon as a minor classic, and is still read by aficionados of Spanish culture.
What are the reasons for the lasting quality of The
Alhambra? Chapter three of this study has been devoted to an
Ipierre M. Irving (ed.), Life and Letters of Washington Irving (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1075), I, 41^. A letter from Irving to Henry Brevoort, London, March 3, I819.
^Ibid.. p. 4l6. 115 analysis of the selected tales to determine the nature of
Irving's artistry through a brief examination of the techniques used in writing the work, a comparison of such techniques with those used in Irving's earlier collections, and conclusions with regard to the continuation of earlier techniques, and
Irving's ultimate contribution to the short story form.
It is apparent from this study that Irving's short narratives were written for the purpose of entertainment. He observed that he had always been of the opinion that much good might be done by keeping mankind in a good humor.3 In fact, Pattee states that Irving was the first prominent writer to make the prose tale a literary form solely for entertainment, by removing the moralizing and didactic elements and adding lightness of touch and a pervasive kind of humor.^
Irving's manner of writing is particularly appropriate to the short narrative form of writing. He himself stated that he preferred working within the limits of sketches and short tales rather than long works, because in the shorter forms he could develop his own individual mode of expression, rather than falling into the manner of another writer or school of writers.^
^Washington Irving, The Works of Washington Irving (New York! G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1Ô56-1ÏÏ92), I, 16. 4pred Lewis Pattee, The Development of the Amerlcan Short Story (New York* Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1923)» pp. 21- 22. 5pierre M. Irving, op. cit.« p. 22?. A letter from Irving to Henry Brevoort, Paris, December 11, 1824. 116
Irving was the first flctionlst to recognize that the shorter form of narrative could be made something unique, and he insisted that this form required a peculiar nicety of execution and patient workmanship. In setting forth his ideas about his own short stories, he stated that there was a con stant activity of thought as well as nicety of execution required in writings of the kind. It was comparatively easy, he said, to expand a story to any size when the writer once had the scheme and characters in mind, because the mere interest of the story would carry the reader through many pages of careless writing or dull material if there were some striking scene at the end of it. In shorter writings, on the other hand, every page had to have merit, for if the writer made an awkward sentence or wrote a dull page the critics would attack it. Yet, if the writer succeeded, the variety and zest of the writing and the very brevity would invite further perusual by the reader, who when his interest in the story was exhausted, would begin to give the writer credit for his touches of pathos, his humor, or his mode of expression.^
Since Irving's first experiment had been a success, he organized subsequent books around the same related forms, namely, sketches and short tales.
The techniques that Irving initiated in The Sketch Book
^Ibid. 117 and continued to use in Bracebridge Hall and Tales of a
Traveller were polished and refined by the time he wrote The
Alhambra. His main purpose in all of the collections was entertainment. With the exception of Tales of a Traveller, the collections consist of both sketches and tales based on folklore and folk ways, which he acquired through reading and personal experiences. The best sketches and tales are composed of rather short well-transitioned paragraphs, which in turn, are made up of long, well-balanced sentences, punbtuâtéd occasionally with short sentences. Conciseness of idea is achieved, description, and humor are introduced by means of a select vocabulary. The long, smooth-flowing sentences and the interesting use of words lend his writings a pleasant leisurely atmosphere, which is indeed apparent, even in his first collection of short writings.
The Sketch Book (1820), a collection of loosely-woven sketches and tales with settings in England and America, particularly the environs of London and the Catskill Mountains, won great contemporary acclaim, perhaps on the excellence of a few of the tales and sketches, which appeared in print one at a time or in groups, before the whole collection was pub lished. Williams states that this collection, when viewed today as a book, is a miscellaneous assortment of unrelated sketches and tales with no unifying element. The collection, he adds, contains the heights and depths of Irving's literary accomplishment, and it is the artistry of a few of the tales. 118 such as "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," as well as such sketches as "The Mutability of Literature" and
"Stratford-on-Avon," that has caused them to survive,? In the revised edition, there are thirty-four narratives, three of which are tales, spaced throughout the book. "Rip Van Winkle," an American folk tale based on German legend is placed near the beginning; "The Spectre Bridegroom," a tale of super naturalism, is near the middle; and "The Legend of Sleepy
Hollow," a blend of folk hero and supernaturalism is the final story. There is no apparent pattern of arrangement of the narratives except that the most distinguished sketches and tales are placed among the less interesting ones. Neither is there any particular relationship between "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Wife," which precedes it, except that a blissful married life is portrayed in "The Wife," creating a contrast to the discordant family scene in "Rip Van Winkle." In one case, however, "The Inn Kitchen" serves as an Introduction to "The Spectre Bridegroom," which follows it.
Though the overall structure of the collection is informal, the sentences are carefully composed and the charm and grace of Irving's style emerge. The atmosphere of repose
Is attained in a familiar sentence from "Rip Van Winkle" by the use of sound and rhythm in creating Rip's view of the
Hudson River* "He saw at a distance the lordly Hudson, far.
^Stanley T. Williams, The Life of Washington Irving (New York* Oxford University Press, 1935)» pp. l85-8o. 119
far below him, moving on its silent majestic course, with the reflection of a purple cloud, or the sail of a lagging bark, here and there on its glassy bosom, and at last losing itself O in the blue highlands." Here, the repetition of sibilants
creates softness of sound effect. In the sketches, too, he uses long flowing sentences. The same atmosphere of calm is
found in "Stratford-on-Avon," as the author reflects on the
peace and tranquility of a homeless man, weary from travel,
thrusting his feet into slippers and stretching before the
Inn fire I "It is a morsel of certainty, snatched from the midst of the uncertainties of life; it is a sunny moment gleaming out kindly on a cloudy day; and he who has advanced some way on the pilgrimage of existence, knows the importance of hus banding even morsels and moments of enjoyment."9 Thus, in the first collection of short narratives that Irving wrote, his meticulous craftsmanship— the carefully constructed sentences, the precisely selected adjectives, the simple elegant style— had evolved. The Sketch Book was followed, in two years, by a sequel collection.
Bracebridge Hall (1822), the next collection of sketches and tales to appear, though lacking the spirit of The Sketch
Book, has more unity of theme, since it centers about English country life. The narrator goes to "The Hall" to attend a ------Washington Irving, The Works of Washington Irving, II, 58. ------
9lbid. . p. 361. 120 wedding, about which one of the final sketches is written. The sketches treat every aspect of English country life from
"English Country Gentlemen" ahd "Family Servants" to "Horse manship" and "Popular Superstitions." Of the fifty-one narratives in the revised edition, three are stories, and as in The Sketch Book, the three main tales are spaced throughout the book. "The Stout Gentleman," an informal tale of suspense, is placed near the beginning of the work; "The Student of
Salamanca," a Spanish tale, is in the middle; and "Dolph
Heyliger," a tale of Dutch New York," is placed near the end of the collection.
The style of writing in Bracebridge Hall is a continu ation of that used in the first collection. Irving depicts a peaceful domestic scene in "The Library," as the English lady buries herself in a deep-cushioned "elbow-chair," with her dogs nestled at her feet and the general by her side.19 gy the skillful use of words, he sketches a picture of gypsy life
In "Fortune Telling*" "A tea-kettle was hanging by a crooked piece of iron over a fire made of dry sticks and leaves, and two old gypsies, in red cloaks, sat crouched on the grass, gossiping over their evening cup of tea; for these creatures, though they live in the open air, have their ideas of fireside comforts."11 In this outdoor scene, as well, the author
19lbid.. I, 182.
lllbid.. I, 168. 121 catches the relaxed atmosphere of the fireside. With the popular acceptance of Bracebridge Hall, Irving began to anti c-
Ipate another collection, which though not completely German, as he had hoped, was a book of stories based, in the main, on material collected during his European travels.
Tales of a Traveller (1824) is a collection of four distinct groups of stories, for the most part based on German,
Italian, and American folk materials, with no unifying device.
Of the thirty-two narratives in the revised edition, twenty- seven are tales, though a number of tales are short and sketch like. Aside from the introduction to the work, each group of tales Is Introduced by a sketch, providing the setting or the source of the tales that follow. At the time of publication,
Irving considered this his best work, as did Poe, but the press doomed it to failure, causing Irving great anxiety and discouragement.
The tales of the first group, "Strange Stories of a
Nervous Gentleman," are based on German supernaturalism. In
"The German Student," for example, vocabulary and sentence structure combine to create a mournful effect at the guillotine.
The second group concerns "Buckthorns and His Friends." A new theme is introduced in the third group, "The Italian
Banditti," among which "The Inn at Terracina," demonstrates
Irving's fondness for description as he pictures the Italian bandits wearing gaily embroidered jackets, breeches of bright 122 12 colors, and belts full of pistols and stilettos. In the fourth group, "The Money Diggers," he used American Dutch lore, and In perhaps the best tale, "The Devil and Tom Walker," he creates an air of quiet Isolation as he describes a forlom- looklng house with no smoke curling from Its chimney, and no traveller stopping at Its door.^^ Though there Is some very lively writing In this collection, no story or character has won outstanding acclaim.
Like his earlier successes. The Sketch Book and Brace- bridge Hall, The Alhambra Is a collection of Informal sketches and short tales. Of the forty-one narratives In the revised edition, eleven are tales. The sketches concern Irving's
Journey to Granada, his acquaintances, experiences, and observations while residing In the Alhambra, as well as folk tales and legends related to him by native Inhabitants of the palace. A few sketches, having a central theme, approach the form of tales. The stories are romantic fictions created out of his experiences and observations, as well as derived from
Spanish literature and folklore. The legendary Alhambra palace, which Is the setting for all of the tales, and which
Is connected l^n some way or other with most of the sketches, serves as a unifying element for the whole collection. There
Is also a unifying personality In Boabdll, the Moorish King,
IZlbld,, I, 450,
13lbld, 123 who Is always In the background, though only part of the sketches relate to him, and though he appears In but few of the tales,
A third element which consolidates the collection Is the com mon source for both sketches and tales In Spanish folklore with Its Oriental flavor.
The tales are composed of loosely woven bits of folk lore and fact, with folk themes serving as weak plots. Irving did not consider the plot to be of great Importance to the short stories. In fact, he said, "I consider the story merely as a frame on/whlch to stretch my materials." It was, he declared, the play of thought, sentiment, and language; the weaving of characters; the Introduction of scenes In common life; and the pervasive strain of humor that he considered of greatest Importance In writing short stories. However, he felt that the majority of his readers failed to observe what he hlmseli valued most In writing, because they were more
Interested In the story than In the way In which It was told,^^
The motifs which he used In the tales of The Alhambra are romantic ones gleaned from the oral traditions, the literature, and the folk customs of Spain,
The three tales of The Alhambra selected for study are representative of other short stories composed around the same
^^Pierre M, Irving, og. cit.. II, 227-28, A letter from Irving to Henry Brevoort, Paris, December 11, 1824, l^ibld. 124 folk motifs. The buried-treasure theme, which is best developed in the "Legend of the Moor's Legacy,"also appears in ?The Adventures of the Mason" and in the "Legend of the
Enchanted Soldier," Boabdll and his enchanted army, the central theme of the "Legend of the Two Discreet Statues," appears In "Governor Maneo and the Soldier" and more remotely
In "The Governor and the Notary," In the most fanciful group of tales, the enchanted-prlncess motif, developed In the
"Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra," assumes various forms
In other stories. It becomes the secluded-or captive-per- sonage motif In the "Legend of the Three Beautiful Princess,"
In the "Legend of Prince Ahmed al Kamel," It Is the prince who Is secluded In the tower. All of the tales In this group relate to enchantment or seclusion, which acts as an obstacle to the development of a romance. The "Legend of the
Arabian Astrologer," though more Oriental In tone than the other tales. Is more closely related to the "Legend of the
Rose of the Alhambra" than to the other key stories, since It deals with enchantment, though In the form of sorcery— the sorcerers being a Gothic princess with a magical silver lyre, and an ancient astrologer endowed with magic powers. Other wise, the tale differs widely from the others in that it stresses the garden-of-Irem motif, relating to Moorish pleasures
^^Ellzabeth Robins Pennell (ed,). The Alhambra (London and New York* The Macmillan Compsuiy, I896), p. 2?0, This and all subsequent references to The Alhambra are to this edition. 125 and to the Moslem concept of celestial paradise.
There is a close relationship not only between the key tales under study and the other tales of The Alhambra, but also between the tales and the sketches of the collection. In the revised edition of the work, Irving introduces, by means of the sketches, old legends and traditional stories related to him by his sources In the Alhambra or obtained from Spanish literature, most of which were previously recorded In his
Journals and In personal letters. The sketches frequently serve to Introduce tales In which the author has romanticized the same folk motif. In the structural pattern of The Alhambra, the sketches become part of the elaborate system of transi tions, which bring together a wide variety of folk materials, and serve to unify the collection.
The sketches pertaining to Irving's Journey to Granada, the detailed descriptions of the various halls and vaults of the Alhambra, as well as his observations relating to the
Inhabitants of the palace, are all Introduced before any of the tales appear. The reader Is familiar with the palace.
Its Inhabitants, and Irving's abode, as well as with his
Impressions and reveries of history and legend, before reading the tales. The sketches In this collection become important to a full appreciation of the tales. After the group of orienting sketches. Including "The Journey," "Palace of the
Alhambra," "Important Negotiations," "Inhabitants of the 126
Alhambra," "The Hall of Ambassadors," "The Mysterious Chambers," and "Panorama View from the Tower of Comares," Irving groups the stories with related sketches.
Prom the sketch on "The Balcony," concerning the place where Irving observed the passing panorama of Spanish life, and where Mateo related an anecdote about a spacious old house which he had pointed out, Irving launches into the tales, the first of which Is "The Adventure of the Mason," derived from
Mateo's story about the old house. Sketches about "The Court of the Lions" and "Mementos of Boabdll" follow. Next, "The
House of the Weathercock," which concerns a weather vane used by an ancient Moorish king, serves as an Introduction to the
"Legend of the Arabian Astrologer," In which the weather vane
Is a tallsmanlc horse, which Indicates the approach of enemy armies. In "Visitors to the Alhambra," popular traditions related by the visitors are shaped Into the ensuing story, the "Legend of Prince Ahmed al Kamel." Next, Irving places
"A Ramble among the Hills," In which he explores the area about the Alhambra with Mateo and hears legendary stories, which he has worked Into the "Legend of the Moor's Legacy," which follows. "The Tower of Las Infantas," which presents the legends concerning Moorish princesses secluded or held captive
In the storied tower, ends with a transitional sentence which leads Into the "Legend of the Three Beautiful Princesses," who are the daughters of a captive princess. This tale Intro- 127 duces the "Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra," another tale about the tower and a captive princess. Following that tale
Is "The Veteran," the last sentence of which mentions a hero appearing In "The Governor and the Notary," and the related
"Governor Manco and the Soldier." The next sketch, "A Fete
in the Alhambra," which concerns two marble statues of nymphs, and great mysteries about the Alhambra, very naturally In troduces the "Legend of the Two Discreet Statues." Next, a sketch concerning a famous Spanish soldier and one about a mendicant student aptly Introduce the "Legend of the Enchanted
Soldier." As the enchanted soldier leaves the Darro near
Granada and returns to his enchanted abode, the introduction
Is provided for "The Author's Farewell to Granada," the final sketch of The Alhambra. From this pattern of arrangement of stories. It Is clear that the sketches and tales of the col lection are well Integrated, and that the key tales are repre sentative of sketches as well as groups of tales.
Irving's techniques In arranging the various elements of the Individual tales Include the Introduction of local color, the creation of true-to-llfe folk characters, and the use of a simple, elegant style of writing. Place names are used to localize the tales and to lend them reality. The action In all of the tales takes place In the environs of the
Alhambra. In the "Legend of the Moor's Legacy," are also found* Galicia, the native home of Peregll; the banks of the 128
Xenll, where the blanket-wrapped Moor was burled; and Tanglers, the birthplace of the Moor with the knowledge of the dark arts. In the "Legend of the Two Discreet Statues," are used: the Mountain of the Sun and the Vega, to which the family went to celebrate the holiday; the Zacatln, where the tallsmanlc hand was appraised by the jeweler; and Malaga, to which Lope moved after acquiring the treasure. In the "Legend of the
Rose of the Alhambra," are found; the groves of the Generallfe, where the page went hunting; Andalucla, the romantic land of song and dance; as well as Malaga, Seville, and Cordova, to which the young minstrel's fame spread.
Traditional customs, too, are associated with specific locales. In addition to the celebration of St. John's Day
In the mountains, there Is the custom of gathering at the fountain to exchange gossip and tell stories. Also traditional
In Spain Is the custom of wearing a rose or giving It as a token of love.
Transition In the tales from the realm of reality to that of fancy and romance Is sometimes made by the Intro duction of cultural superstitions such as belief In the magic powers of the Arabic scroll and yellow tapers, which enabled
Peregll to enter the vault with the hidden gold. Other super stitions, concerning the powers of the tallsmanlc hand of jet and the silver lute, bridge the gap between reality and romance.
The creation of characters Is another Interesting 129
aspect of Irving's artistry. The characters are, for the most
part. Individual, life-like persons, rather than representa
tive types. They are developed by means of description of
appearance, with character traits brought out by description;
by dialog; and by contrast with another character. For example.
In the "Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra," Fredegonda's
ugliness Is suggested by the fact that nature "set up safe
guards In her face that forbade all tresspass upon her premises?
Turning to her character traits, Irving states that she Is
"vigilant" and "the most wary of ancient spinsters." She
also has "a becoming terror and distrust of . . . 'the oppo
site sex,' which had gradually Increased through a long life
of celibacy." Her distrustful nature Is emphasized by dialog
as she admonishes Jaclnta, "'Ah silly, silly girl I know that
that there are no gerfalcons half so dangerous as these young
prankllng pages, and It Is precisely these simple birds as
thee that they pounce upon.'" But In contrast to Predegonda,
Jaclnta Is "a blooming young damsel of fifteen," wearing an
Andaluclan bodice and brim basqulna that set off "the round
but delicate symmetry of her form, which was scarce verging
Into womanhood." Irving continues the description, giving a
glimpse at her romantic nature: "Her glossy hair was parted
. . . with scrupulous exactness, and decorated with a fresh-
plucked rose. ..." The Interaction of the characters
completes the picture as the winsome Jaclnta touches the magical silver lute, drawing forth "such ravishing tones as 130 to thaw even the frigid bosom of the Imaoulate Fredagonda, that region of eternal winter, Into a genial flow."
The honest little water-carrier Peregll with his faith ful donkey Is one of Irving's most appealing characterizations.
He Is "a sturdy, strong-backed, bandy-legged little fellow," created by nature for "drudgery." His possessions have
Increased from a "great earthen jar" to a "long-eared aide- de-camp." The streets "rang with his cheerful voice singing forth, 'Who wants water— water colder than snow?" He is "the civilest, pleasantest, and happiest of mortals" with a family
"as hungry and clamorous as a nest of young swallows" to sup port. In contrast, his wife Is a village beauty, noted for her skill "at dancing the bolero and rattling castanets," as well as "spending the hard earnings of Peregll In frippery."
Peregll, however, has "as meek a spirit as his donkey," Is a painstaking father," and has an "honest heart" that Is "touched with compassion at the appeal of a stranger." "'God forbid,' said he, 'that I should ask reward for doing a common act of humanity." Here Irving touches the heart and the pride of the
Spaniard. Peregll Is too humane to refuse help, but In contrast, his wife "stepped forth Intrepidly, like a ruffling hen before her brood when a vagrant dog approaches." After being ac cused of robbery and murder, and having his donkey taken as a penalty, Peregll, as he tolls up the hill says, "Dog of an
Alcalde I to rob a poor man of his subsistence and the best 131 friend he had In the world." Finally, under the tutelage of his wife, he becomes a "personage of some consequence, for she made the worthy little man array his long body and short legs
In doublet and hose with a feather In his hat and a sword by his side."
There Is something reminiscent of Rip Van Winkle In the honest little Peregll and his donkey, though there Is less appeal, for Peregll Is a character outside the American culture. However, In Irving's light but careful delineation of character, he adheres to the artful selection and combination of words Into smooth pleasing sentences, characteristic of his style of writing.
As most critics have observed, Irving's style Is the key to his literary achievement, and as he himself has asserted, he was less concerned with the plot-development of a story than with the style In which It was written. He emphasized his belief In the fact that the work of an artist would outlive a work written purely for contemporary story-lnterest.l? If, as has been said, an artist's style of writing Is a reflection of the man himself. It might be Inferred that the gentleman
Irving wrote gracefully and amusingly, developing a polished style made colorful by his love of romantic subjects as well as his pleasure In the commonplaces of folk life.
Ifpierre M. Irving, og. clt., II, 235» A letter from Irving to Pierre Irving, Paris, March 29, 1825. 132
Among the virtues of his style Is his apparent love for words, many of which assume richly connotatlve meanings In the tales, A key word of the title acquires a variety of meanings as the tale progresses. For example, the word "legacy," which at first signifies the sandal-wood box bequeathed to
Peregll by the Moor, takes on the connotation of magic power, the means of obtaining the treasure, a determining factor of
Peregll*s life. In another title the "discreet" statues are prudent In guarding the gold, but the word "discreet" also connotes the secret nature of the treasure as well as silent or unspeaklng women, and a person who Is secretive. In not revealing the treasure. The word "rose" In the third title has the connotations of beauty, youth, love, and Joy, as well as referring to the heroine. Besides eliciting a great deal of meaning from words, Irving used them for sketching pictures.
Perhaps It was his own study of Spanish paintings, revealed by his notebooks, or his frequent association with artists,
Wilkie among others, that was responsible for his adept use of pictorial terms, for the visual quality of his writing.
Though an occasional drawing appears In his notebooks. It Is his sketching with words that reveals his alertness to visual effect. He reveals a fondness for adjectival phrases, often
In the form of compounds, which become, at times, auditory or visual devises. For example, he pictures; "a weasel-faced, spider-legged varlet," "a shaggy-haired donkey," and a "blue- 133 bearded, bullet-headed friar." His tendency to create effect by adjectival and adverbial vividness Is further Illustrated by such phrases as: a "dreary abyss;" a "violent crash;" the
"tramp" of hoofs; a horse "shod In felt;" and a "Jarring" sound; as well as an "expiring" bonfire; "wild and craggy" mountains; and a bat flitting In "uncertain light." Generally, his descriptive words appeal to the senses In much the same way that Romantic poetry does.
The Introduction of Spanish words. In addition to sharpening descriptions, adds to the local color, the atmosphere of authenticity. Jaclnta wears a trim basqulna and a new lace mantilla; the natives dance the bolero; the Moor opens his albornoz; and the alcalde arrives at the tower. Snatches of dialog In Spanish accomplish a similar end. Jaclnta says
"Ah de ml," after the page leaves. Peregll sings, "Quien qui ere agua--agua més frla que la nleve?" The barber exclaims,
"Maldlta sea la nochel" when Peregll buries the Moor.
Another means of enriching meaning and adding Interest to the writing Is the use of evocative phrases. "Call me a
Gallego" brings forth. In addition to the fact that a native of Galicia Is to be called, the Idea that a carrier of burdens
Is to be summoned, for In Spain the Galicians work as water- carriers and burden toters. Peregll makes another trip to the well to earn "a Sunday puchero for the little ones." Besides a meal for his children, the phrase reveals Peregll's poverty 134 and his hand-to-mouth existence. "Dog of an alcalde" evokes a Moorish connotation of dislike for dogs and the association with a dog, of person In disfavor. The crowing of a cock" In dicates daybreak and also connotes the time when all enchanted spirits return to their habitats. In addition, Irving reveals a fondness for such graphic phrases as "a turbaned stranger,"
*'a legal bloodhound," and figures with "unwinking eyes." He employs alliteration frequently, as* "a tissue of turmoils,"
"a dimpling damsel," "a proud, pragmatical old father," and
"phantoms of pullets and partrlges." Onamatopoelc words and phrases convey a variety of sound effects, as: "the hum and buzz of the beehive," "the bell In the watch-tower tolled mid night," and Peregll bestows "a hearty thwack with his cudgel on the flanks" of his donkey.
Not only does the artist Irving sketch pictures and draw out remote meanings with words, but he creates euphonious effects as well. It may have been his own love for music that inspired the sound-consclousness In his writing. Folk motifs concerning the magic power of music appear In both the "Legend of the Rose of the Alhambra" and the "Legend of the Arabian
Astrologer," but throughout other stories too, are found such euphonious words as a "ruffling" hen, "scriptural" days, a
"tender adieu," "balmy zephyrs," and "loitering" housewives.
He seems to delight In combining words that create euphonious effects. For example, words with sibilant or voiceless sounds 135 tend to create a pleasing effect, as: "the music of the spheres";
"the clvilest, pleasantest, and happiest of mortals"; and
"genial spring burst forth with song and blossom." Euphony often derives from the use of present participai forms, which lend continuity to the sound, as can be sensed In the such phrases as: "lingering In the open air and enjoying Its tempered sweet ness until after midnight." Such expressions as the "rustling of dry leaves," the "hooting owl," and treasure "slipping forever" out of grasp, produce a more lingering sound effect than would such other forms of the words as: leaves that rustled an owl that hooted, and treasure that slipped away forever. In a passage concerning the good friar, how much more pleasantly lingering Is the humor of "tucking up the skirts of his habit" and "wriggling like a cat watching for a mouse," than would be* tucked up the skirts of his habit, and wriggled like a cat that watched a mouse. Irving also emphasizes a pleasant effect by means of contrast. A contrast of Idea Is reenforced with contrasting sounds. For example, hard or voiced sounds suggest trouble or unpleasantness such as the page’s attempts at "gallantry were awkward and Ineffec tual"; Fredegonda warns Jaclnta "against wicked cavaliers," and keeps a "dragon watch" over her. Though Irving’s style appears to be simple and easy, analysis reveals a great deal of manipulation of words to produce pleasant sound effects as well as rhythm of movement In sentences. 136
From such an artistic choice of words, Irvlng constructed
simple well-balancei sentences. In describing Sanchlca he writes, "She was of a curious nature, and felt an Immediate hankering to peep Into the dangerous pit," or again, "Honest
Peregll was so moved by the distress of his spouse, that he
could not help whimpering also." Longer sentences achieve balance too, as he describes the men possessing the treasure:
"Still they trembled and breathed short while cramming their pockets with the spoils; and cast many a fearful glance at the two enchanted Moors, who sat grim and motionless, glaring with unwinking eyes." He demonstrates balance and rhythm as he describes happy, active Sanchlca: "She played about him as he worked In the gardens, danced to his guitar as he sat In the shade, and ran as wild as a young fawn about the groves and alleys and ruined halls of the Alhambra," The sentence Itself
suggests her graceful movements.
There Is almost poetical rhythm In the following: "His heart was as full as his pocket, and not to be restrained."
There is beauty and charm In the long sentence suggesting the passing of time: "The pomegranate ripened, the vine yielded up
Its fruit, the autumnal rains descended In torrents from the mountains, the Sierra Nevada became covered with a snowy mantle, and wintry blasts howled through the halls of the Alhambra— still he came not." Beauty of sound and structure combine In:
"He had no other means of pacifying his wife, and dispelling the 137 phantoms of hér fancy, than by relating the whole story of his good fortune." A well-expressed simile Is developed within a single sentence to convey the relationship of parent and children: "He loved his children, too, even as an owl loves
Its owlets, seeing In them his own Image multiplied and perpetu ated; for they were a sturdy long-backed, bandy-legged little brood."
Not only the choice of words, but the very length and composition of sentences become devices to aid In the produc tion of an Idea or effect. All the elements of Irving's style are combined to produce totality of effect.
Though It Is easy to demonstrate the artistry of Irving's style, one may also point out certain faults. Perhaps the very polish and finish, as well as the preponderance of carefully balanced sentences, tend to create monotony. Furthermore, some sentences appear heavy with the weight of adjectives, as
In the sentence describing the spiritual counselor as a "sturdy, broad-shouldered, blue-bearded bullet-headed friar," though even In this case, the rhythmic pattern and the use of allit
eration tend to counteract the wordiness. The main flaws of the work are matters of structure rather then of style. It
Is the loose construction of the tales with their chatty Inter ludes, and the Informality of the plot-development that can be pointed to as the chief defects of Irving's tales, rather than the way In which they are written. Even In this regard, one 138 may argue that the distinctive charm of the stories owes a great deal to this very Informality of structure.
This study has revealed a slight trend from informality of structure toward more formality of structure in the development of the tales, and a decided change to formality of structure in the arrangement of the collections from The
Sketch Book to The Alhambra. A more formal development of structural patterning Is demonstrated In the final collection by Irving's effort to arrange the sketches and stories according to a set pattern, and to unify the collection by developing logical relationships between the sketches and tales In the progression of the book. Eight years and two historical works had Intervened between the first three collections on European folk subjects and The Alhambra, during which time Irving's experi mental Ideas on writing short stories as well as the greater success of some of his works over others, enabled him to formu late some conventions of his own with regard to that partic ular type of writing. Since his greatest success had been
The Sketch Book, he tried to recapture the spirit of the work
In The Alhambra, though no single story achieved the distinction that "Rip Van Winkle" had. Stories require more structural planning than do sketches, and since there are more stories
In The Alhambra than In the earlier successful collections, this further Indicates Irving's growing awareness of structure, as well as his effort to Improve on the structural form of the 139 earlier works. It also represents a progression from the essay- type form of narrative toward the short-story form.
In many ways Irving* s stories conform to the short- story criteria set forth by Poe, who also considered style In writing more Important than subject matter, and purpose, pri marily entertainment rather than didacticism. As Poe Insisted, a story should be brief, and should move without Interruption from the beginning toward a predetermined single effect, with not only subject matter, but also style of writing, that Is, words and even sentence structure, manipulated to attain totality of effect.The very essence of Irving's style Is Inherent In the Informality of his writing, with Its Interpolated descrip tions and comments. He establishes a close, friendly rela tionship with the reader, an Important factor In his technique.
However, like Poe, Irving strives to make his style of writing further the development of the preconceived effect, Early In his career, Irving realized that manner of writing was more enduring than subject matter of contemporary Interest, and In the artistry of his style lies the enduring value of his stories— the Informality, the charm, and the hard-to-lmltate atmosphere of repose that he creates.
This study of techniques reveals that Irving, by the time he had completed The Alhambra, though he had not conformed,
^^Arthur Hobson Quinn and Edward H. O'Neil (eds.). The Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe (New York* Alfred Knopf, 1 ^ 4 , II, 950. 140 in all respects, to the short-story criteria set forth by Poe, nor written a single short-story by such standards, had made
Important contributions to the development of the short-story form. He Introduced folk themes Into short tales, Injected realism by means of local color settings and life-like characters, added a light pervasive kind of humor, and created a brief fictitious prose narrative for the purpose of entertainment.
Finally, this complete study of the folk sources of
The Alhambra has revealed that Irving possessed a profound knowledge and understanding of the Spanish folk culture, and an affection for the country and Its people, before the Spanish visit; that In writing The Alhambra, he used exclusively Spanish folk materials with their Oriental heritage rather than Euro pean folklore, as he has In the earlier collections; that he had somewhat formalized the structure of the whole collection as well as that of the Individual stories, and developed his most refined style as well as his most romantic writing; and that through this experience,he had actually made a vital con tribution to the development of the short-story form.
In one of the closing sentences of The Alhambra, the author reveals his feeling as he turns for a parting glimpse of the towered Alhambra, against the setting sun, saying, "I will carry away a recollection of It clothed In all Its beauty."
So too, by the artistry of his style, the clarity and charm of his writing, Irving has made the beauty of the Alhambra live In the pages of American literature. BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. PRIMARY SOURCES
1. Works
Irving, Washington. The Alhambra. By Geoffrey Crayon (pseud.). 2 vols. London; H. Colburn and R. Bentley, 1852.
______. The Works of Washington Irving. 2 vols. New York; Peter Fenlon Colliery 1&97.
The Works of Washington Irving. 12 vols. Author's Revised Edition. New York; G. P. Putnam's Sons, I850-I892.
Mable, Hamilton W. (ed.). Legends of the Alhambra. Philadelphia and London* J. B. Llpplncott Company, 1909.
Pennell, Elizabeth Robins (ed.). The Alhambra. London and New York* The Macmillan Company, Inc.l I896.
Williams, Mabel (ed.). The Alhambra. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1954, 1964.
Williams, Stanley T. (ed.). Washington Irving* Selected Proses. New York* Rlnehard and Company, Inc., 1950.
2. Diaries, Journals, Letters, and Miscellanies
Heilman, George Sidney (ed.). Letters of Washington Irving to Henry Brevoort. 2 vols. New York* G.P. Putnam's Sons 1915»
Irving, Pierre M. (ed,). Life and Letters of Washington Irving. 4 vols. New York * G. P. Putnam, 18^7»
(ed.). Spanish Papers and Other Miscellanies Hitherto Unpublished and Uncollected. 2 vols. New York: G. P. Putnam* Hurd and Houghton^ 1S96.
Penney, Clara Louise (ed.). Washington Irving Diary: Spain 1828-1829. New York* The Hispanic Society of America, Ï 92&.
(ed.). Washington Irving In Spain* Unpublished Letters. New York* The Hispanic Society of America, 1959. 142
Trent, William P., and George S. Heilman (eds.). Journals of Washington Irving, 1815-1842. 3- vols. Boston* The Bibliophile Society, 1919.
Williams, Stanley T. (ed.). Journal of Washington Irving, 1828, and Miscellaneous Notes on Moorish Legend and History. New Haven* Yale University Press, 1920.
_. (ed.). Notes While Preparing the Sketch Book, 1817. New Haven* Yale University Press, 1927.
______. (ed.). Tour In Scotland, l8l7, and Other Manuscript Notes. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1927.
2. Unpublished Materials
Irving, Washington. "The Chronicle of the Ommlades." Unpublished Manuscript begun In Madrid, 1827-1828. Special Collections of Columbia University Library. Graduate Faculties Newsletter. New York: Columbia University, February, 1960.
"Personal Papers* Miscellaneous." Manuscript I. Washington, Library of Congress.
B. SECONDARY SOURCES
Books
Basset, Rene (trans. and ed.). Moorish Literature. New York* The Colonial Press, 19OI.
Caballero, Feman (pseud.). W famllla de Alyareda. Buenos Aires* Espasa Calpe Argentina, S. A., 1880.
Calvert, Albert F. The Alhambra: Moorish Remains In Spain. London and New York* John Lane Company, 1907.
Carrasco, Marfa Soledad. The Moor of Grenada In Spanish Litera ture of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. Ann Arbor* University Microfilms, 1955.
Cater, Dean Harold. Washington Irving and Sunnyslde. Tarry- town. New York* Sleepy Hollow Restorations, Inc., 1957.
Davidson, Levette. A Guide to American Folklore. Denver* The University of Denver Press, 1951. 143
Ferguson, De Lancy. Amerlcan Literature In Spain. New York* Columbia University Press, 1916.
Flannagan, John T. and Arthur Palmer Hudson. Folklore In American Literature. White Plains, New York* Peterson and Company, 195^1 Heilman, George Sidney (ed.). Letters of Henry Brevoort to Washington Irving. New York* G. P. Putnam, 1918.
Washington Irving. Esquire* Ambassador at Large from the New World to the Old. New York* Alfred A. Knopf, 1925.
Hoffman, Daniel G. Form and Fable In American Fiction. New York: Oxford University Press, 1961.
Kolker, Sr. M. Delphine. Spanish Legends In English and American Literature. I8OO-I86O.
Leach, Marla, and Jerome Fried (eds,). Standard Dictionary of Folklore. Mythology, and Legend. New York* Funk and Wagnalls, Î 9 W .
Leary, Lewis. Washington Irving. University of Minnesota Pamphlets on American Writers, No. 25. Minneapolis* University of Minnesota Press, 1963.
Lockhart, Esq., J. G. (trans.). Ancient Spanish Ballads * Historical and Romantic. New York and London* G. P. Putnam's Sons, /n.dfc/.
Machado y Alvarez,^Antonio. Tradlclones populares espanoles. Madrid: Llbrerla de Fernando Fé, 1816.
Mathers, Powys (trans.). The Book of the Thousand and One Nights. Vol. III. Translated Into English from the French Translation of Dr. J. C. Mardrus. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, Ltd., I949,
Newby, P. H. (ed.). Tales of the Arablan Nights. Translated Into English from Arabic by Sir Richard Burton. New York* Pocket Books, Inc., 1954.
Pattee, Fred Lewis. The Development of the American Short Story. New York* Harper and Brothers, 1923.
Putnam, Samuel (trans.). The Ingenious Gentleman. Don Quixote de la Mancha. New York* Viking Press, 1949. 144
Quinn, Arthur Hobson, and Edward H. O'Neill. The Complete Poems and Stories of Edgar Allan Poe. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1 ^ 6 , 1 9 6 4 . ------
Hey, A^aplto. Culture 2 costumbres del slglo XVI en la Peninsula Iberlca 2 en Nueva Espafia. Mexico: Edlclones Mensajel 1949.
Sanchez Pérez, Jose Agusto. Superstlclones espanolas. Madrid* Nuevas Grafleas, S. A. , 194d, .
Wagenknecht, Edward. Washington Irving: Moderation Displayed. New York* Oxford University Press, 19^^
Warner, Charles Dudley. Washington Irving. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, I881.
Williams, Stanley T. The Life of Washington Irving. 2 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 1935.
The Spanish Background of American Literature. 2 vols. New Haven: Yale University Press'^ 19^5*
Zabel, Norton Dauwen. Hlstorla de la 11teratura norteamerlcana. Buenos Aires: Editorial Losada, S. A., 1950.
2. Articles
"The Old." Encyclopedia Americana (196O ed.), VI, 672.
Haring, Douglas G. "Folklore," Encyclopedia Americana (196O ed.), XI, 422e-h.
Hespelt, E. H. "Washington Irving's Notes on Fernan Caballero's Stories," PMLA XLIX (December, 1934), 1129-39.
McDowell, Bart. "The Changing Face of Old Spain," National Geographic. GXXVII, No. 3 (March, 1965), 291-339.
Parsons, C. 0. "Washington Irving Writes from Granada," American Literature. VI (January, 1935), 439-43.
Pochmann, Henry A. "Irving's German Tour and Its Influence on His Tales," PMLA. XLV QDecember, 1930), II5O-89.
Starkle, Walter. "Spain* Literature," Encyclopedia Americana (1960 ed.), XXV, 348-58. 145
Wagner, Kip. "Drowned Galleons Yield Spanish Gold," National Geographic. CXXVII, No. 1 (January, 1965), 1-37»
Williams, Stanley T. "Letters of Washington Irving* Spanish Fetes and Ceremonies," Yale Review. XVII (October, 1927), 99-117.
______. "Washington Irving and Fernan Caballero," Journal of Engl1sh and German Philology. XXIX (July, 1930), 352-66.
______. "First Versions of the Writing of Washington Irving In Spanish," Modern Philology. XXVIII (November, 1930), 185-201.