THE POWER IN VIRTUE: El Abencerraje and the Chivalric Ethos

THE POWER IN VIRTUE: El Abencerraje and the Chivalric Ethos Lisa Haygood Subjectivity in Early Modern Europe February 4, 2016 THE POWER IN VIRTUE 2 “The highest proof of virtue is to possess boundless power without abusing it.” ~ Thomas Babington Macaulay1 Since the dawn of antiquity, concepts of loyalty, courage, generosity, humility, honesty, compassion and justice have figured prominently in the minds of man. And just as those distinctive acts of benevolence have shaped man’s quest for righteous living, so too has the vices of power acted as man’s corruptor. A legacy of the classical teachings of Aristotle and his illustrious mentors, Early Modern European constructs of virtue aspired to mirror those characteristics laid forth by the great philosopher in his Nicomachean Ethics more than three hundred years before the birth of Christ. Early Judeo-Christian and Islamic metaphysics and theology have their roots in Aristotelian virtue ethics, so much so that medieval Muslim scholars regularly referred to Aristotle as the “First Teacher.”2 Aristotelian ideals of virtuous actions and corrupting vices also serve as the foundations of the chivalric romance prose and poetry so popular with the aristocratic audiences of the Late Middle Ages and from which would spring the Early Modern novels of the Christian ethical idea. One of the finest examples of the chivalric romance genre as it merged into the Christian ideal is El Abencerraje, the anonymous sixteenth-century novella of friendship and respect set on the Iberian Peninsula in the years immediately preceding the fall of the last Muslim kingdom, Granada, in 1492. El Abencerraje masterfully navigates between the cultural and political conflicts created by the final Spanish Reconquista3 of the Moorish territories in the south; Spanish ‘agency’ versus Moorish ‘othering,’ and the juxtaposition of Aristotelian virtues with traditional concepts of conquest and power. While Niccolò Machiavelli’s political discourse on power and its absence of virtue appeared only decades earlier, El Abencerraje posits the interdependency of power tempered with virtuous (presumably Christian) actions to remind 1 From Review of Aiken’s Life of Addison, London, 1843. Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859) was a British historian, Whig politician and Secretary of State for War during the second administration of Viscount Melbourne (1838-1841). His historical books and essays, written during the first half of the nineteenth century, are still considered masterful. 2 Abudul Aziz Said, Mohammed Abu-Nimer, and Meena Sharify-Funk, eds. Contemporary Islam, Dynamic Not Static. New York, NY: Routledge, p 27. 2006. 3 Officially, the Reconquista refers to the 770 years between the Islamic conquest of Spain in 718 to the final surrender of the last Muslim kingdom, Granada, in 1492. The term as it is used here refers to the last stages of border wars; as the Christian kingdoms of Castile and Aragon merged into a united Spain in 1469, and turned their combined forces on the last Moorish foothold in Western Europe. THE POWER IN VIRTUE 3 even the modern reader of the high moral and legal standards humanity places on the bearer of power. Set against the brutal border skirmishes commonplace during final stages of the Reconquista, El Abencerraje tells the charming tale of Rodrigo de Narváez, a Spanish (Christian) knight of immense fame, and his chance encounter with the reflective Grenadine (Muslim), Abindarráez Abencerraje, who becomes his prisoner. Even from the openings lines of the Prologue the reader understands that this will be a story about the complexities of bonds across cultures, religions and nationalities, and the infinite power of the human spirit. Narváez is a gallant knight in true chivalric form. His brave deeds and triumphant victories in defense of the newly reunited Spain have earned him the respect and praise of his sovereign and his countrymen. Following a string of successful conquests, Narváez is given the alcaide4 of the Spanish cities of Álora and Antequera. These alaides provide the author’s first elucidation to Narváez’s characterization as one of both power and virtue. According to the narrator, “[Narváez] was outstanding in virtue and deeds of arms . . . [he] did such good service to both his law and his king, that after the town was won, the king made him alcaide . . . so that he could take part in defending it, just as he had had a large role in winning it.” To further emphasize Narváez’s unique stature, the narrator asserts that the Spanish are not normally in the habit of formally recognizing the individual virtue and heroism of its citizens - as the Greeks and Romans had done in antiquity -- and thus the awarding of two governorships to Narváez attests to his exceptional qualities; such rewards also infer that ‘his king’ has great confidence and trust in Narváez’s abilities to discharge the duties of both simultaneously.5 As was contemporary practice during the border wars, Narváez and a handful of his squires have ventured out under cover of darkness in search of Moorish raiders of the White Towns, the Christian settlements which dot the mountains along the Spanish/Grenadine frontier. The ambush and capture of enemy soldiers and the confiscation of enemy property were among the principle mandates of the knights commanding the provincial fortresses. In addition to the honor of Spain, such raids were personally profitable to the victors as the spoils frequently included large ransoms for prisoners of rank and the enslavement of the common prisoners, distributed albeit not evenly, amongst the conquerors. It is on one such outing that 4 Governorship, having the provincial responsibilities for both the political administration and the military defense of the fortresses. Jessica Knauss, trans. El Abencerraje. 2nd Ed. p 38. Atlanta, GA: Açedrex Publishing, 2012. 5 THE POWER IN VIRTUE 4 Narváez and his men happen upon the exquisitely dressed and noble figure of Abindarráez Abencerraje, saddled straight and tall on a roan horse and curiously singing quietly to himself. No discussion arises between Narváez and his men, yet all visually perceive the air of confidence, virtue and military prowess emitting from this Moor; so much so that the group, “nearly allowed him to go by until they were right on top of him.”6 In keeping with Aristotelian conscripts of chivalric virtue -- owing to the sight of Abencerraje’s fine clothing and armaments -- the squires determine the Moor, uncharacteristically travelling alone, to be of high birth or rank. They make this judgment solely on observation, endowing Abencerraje with noble kalokagathia,7 though the author has yet to give us any account of his class. Such assessment by the squires is quickly validated, as the narrator describes the fierceness with which the Moor fights; defeating each in turn or together, until only Narváez is left to subdue him. We are told that Narváez is initially jolted by fear, “seeing the valor of the Moor, he is frightened,” but regains his composure and then calls upon the Moor to spare the remaining squires and take up the honor of Narváez’s individual challenge. “Moor, come for me, and if you beat me, I assure you of the rest.”8 Narváez is offering his personal guarantee that if Abencerraje spares the squires and defeats their master, he will be rewarded as if he had vanquished all ten Spaniards. Despite absence of any confirmation as to Abindarráez’s rank or status, the knight has offered his opponent – his enemy – a contract; an honorable promise of prestige and compensation if the Moor will allow the squires to live. Narváez makes this pledge strictly upon his perceptions of Abencerraje’s appearance, bearing and conduct in battle; and in so doing he elevates Abindarráez to his equal in both virtue and power. Narváez does succeed in subduing Abencerraje and the Moor, injured and with his horse lame, quietly submits to being taken prisoner. Even in this exchange, when cultures should clash and centuries-old animosities overtake conciliatory kindnesses, Narváez and Abindarráez speak with a tenderness of honesty and respect indicative of lifelong camaraderie. Narváez treats Abencerraje’s wounds himself and the Moor is remounted on one of the squire’s horses without restraints. The narrator takes time to note that even the squires are in awe of the prisoner’s honorable acquiescence to his fate. Later we will learn that Abindarráez’s troubled mind and breaking heart have contributed to the resignation with 6 Jessica Knauss, trans. El Abencerraje. 2nd Ed. p 43. Atlanta, GA: Açedrex Publishing, 2012. 7 Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle. Book I. From the Greek kalos kagathos meaning “personal conduct” and used by Aristotle specifically in a military context. 8 Jessica Knauss, trans. El Abencerraje. 2nd Ed. p 42-43. Atlanta, GA: Açedrex Publishing, 2012 THE POWER IN VIRTUE 5 which he accepts defeat and the evolving tale will continue to demonstrate the chivalric ethos possessed by both the Christian and the Moor; however nothing can diminish the magnitude of actions which bridge theological and cultural gaps between the two men. As the two ride side-by-side, the knight is suddenly aware of his captive’s disheartened emotional state, mannerisms distinctly out-of-sync with the Abencerraje’s prior displays of chivalric character. With a decisive sigh indicative of weakness and abandonment Abindarráez stares off in the distance, as if beyond caring. Without speaking, without eye contact or overture, the prisoner’s sigh has a resounding effect on both Narváez’s confidence and his conscious. In this scene, the “sigh” is a literary ploy used to alert the reader (as it has alerted Narváez) of an underlying melancholia that has overtaken Abencerraje. It is a cryptic, if only thinly veiled appeal to Narváez to open a dialogue and unburden his prisoner’s heavy heart; yet it is a communication which can be easily misconstrued. The mysteriousness of the deep sigh belies the virtue previously demonstrated by Abindarráez’s valor in battle and implies a sense of foreboding. This is a disconnection that the Christian cannot accept but will not ignore and he entreats Abencerraje to explain himself. Speaking quietly, Narváez admonishes Abencerraje for his apparent failure to honorably discharge the threats of defeat, capture and possibly even death which are, according to Aristotle,9 the inherent risks of courage. “Knight [addressing the Moor as his presumed equal though still without rational justification], a prisoner who gives up hope in prison gambles with his right to freedom. In war, knights have to win and to lose … It looks like weakness that you, who have so far made such a good example of strength, now make such a bad one.” As if willing Abindarráez to vindicate his initial impressions, Narváez pleads “and if you have another secret pain, entrust it to me. I promise you as a gentleman that I will do everything in my power to remedy it.”10 As he will do again and again throughout the story Narváez, in his capacities as a trusted Spanish knight and a political representative of the Crown, immediately guarantees his Moorish foe that he will place all the resources of his own power at Abindarráez’s disposal if the nature of his conflict is noble. As his captive begins the confessions of his soul, Narváez listens with pronounced empathy as his faith in the virtue of his adversary is reconfirmed. 9 “And so, if the case of courage is similar, death and wounds will be painful to the brave man and against his will, but he will face them because it is noble to do so … And the more he is possessed of virtue in its entirety and the happier he is, the more he will be pained at the thought of death; for life is best worth living for such a man, and he is knowingly losing the greatest of goods, and this is painful. But he is none the less brave, and perhaps all the more so, because he chooses noble deeds of war at that cost.” (Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle. Book III, Chapter 9) 10 Jessica Knauss, trans. El Abencerraje. 2nd Ed. p 44-45. Atlanta, GA: Açedrex Publishing, 2012 THE POWER IN VIRTUE 6 The worrisome sigh has become a prelude to friendship, deconstructing traditional concepts of othering in both men. With each ensuing turn, Narváez uses his established powerbase to ease Abencerraje’s captivity and to aid him in achieving his goal of marrying the beautiful daughter of his former guardian, the alcaide of Cártama. As the story nears its end the Spaniard, in an act of overwhelming altruism, demonstrates the virtuous conceptions of his own power, and enlists the assistance of his ultimate “adversary,” the Muslim king of Granada, in bringing about Abindarráez’s sought-after peace. The king, so we are told, like many on either side of the conflict, admires from afar the character and deeds of the Knight whose reputation so precedes him. “The king, knowing who the letter was from, was very much pleased, because he loved this Christian alone for his virtue and good customs.” The narrator then goes on to say that the king summons the man who stands in the way of Abencerraje’s happiness and explains to his own lieutenant, “know that the alcaide of Álora can ask me for nothing that I will not grant him,”11 ordering his fellow Grenadine to travel to the country of his enemy, the Christian kingdom that fights to expel him from his Muslim homeland of more than 700 years, to honor Narváez’s request. In his willingness to comply with Narváez’s appeal, the power represented in the character of the king of Granada, as well as that of his trusted deputy, are further chivalric protestations against the growing late sixteenth-century societal concerns with the corruptness of absolute power. While the story of El Abencerraje is “a tale of love and friendship in a time when no one could imagine anything but war,”12 its historical accuracy - even folkorically - seems improbable. Notions of virtue and power were unraveling as Renaissance thinking challenged long-recognized corruptions within the Church, and the political philosophies of Machiavelli’s The Prince widened already growing tensions between the blind chivalric faith so characteristic of the Middle Ages, the emergence of the veniality of economic exploitation of the New World, and the rise to political power of the city-states and the individuals who administered them. El Abencerraje enchants its reader with displays of traditional themes of knightly virtues, miraculous events and an inspiring love capable of conquering all obstacles. As with the canonical verse or the epic poem, the moral of this story is that a good and happy life is achieved through pure actions supported by valiant motives, and the morality of power 11 Jessica Knauss, trans. El Abencerraje. 2nd Ed. p 69-70. Atlanta, GA: Açedrex Publishing, 2012 12 Ibid, cover page. THE POWER IN VIRTUE 7 as a means of conquering evil and oppression. The common thread of chivalric ethos was the belief that a special relationship, an intrinsic interdependency existed between moral virtue and legitimate political authority. To that end, El Abencerraje contends that the legitimacy of true power can only be exercised by one whose personal actions earn them the right to be obeyed, respected and revered; thus making virtue a cornerstone of power. THE POWER IN VIRTUE 8 Bibliography Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle. Translated by W.D. Ross. EBook. New York, NY: Start Publishing, LLC, 2012. Avilés, Luis. “El Abencerraje.” presented at the Early Modern European Subjectivity, University of California, Irvine, January 26, 2016. Knauss, Jessica, trans. El Abencerraje. 2nd Ed. Atlanta, GA: Açedrex Publishing, 2012. Said, Abdul Aziz, Mohammed Abu-Nimer, and Meena Sharify-Funk, eds. Contemporary Islam, Dynamic Not Static. New York, NY: Routledge, 2006. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. “Niccolò Machiavelli.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, September 13, 2015. https://leibniz.stanford.edu/friends/preview/machiavelli/.