Christianity and Islam in Spain, A.D. 756-1031 Part 11

[2] Samson, "Apol.," ii. Pref. sec. 5.

[3] Samson, 1.1.

[4] _Ibid._, sec. 9. This same Servandus, the meanest of timeservers, seeing the Sultan's (Abdallah's) cause failing, deserted to the rebel Omar and his Christian following, and was killed at Polei(?)--Ibn Hayyan., apud Dozy, ii. 270. His Arab name was Sherbil, and he was beheaded at Cordova by the Arabs.--See De Gayangos' note on Al Mak., ii. 451, 2.

We have had occasion to mention one or two cases of Church, and national, Councils held in Spain under the Arabs, and it will be worth while to enumerate all the instances which are recorded, that we may contrast them with those held under the Goths. It was one of the most characteristic features of the Old Church in Spain that it was united so closely with the civil power as almost to render the Government of Spain a theocracy. This intimate connection of Church and State was naturally overthrown by the Arab conquest; but the Moslem rulers, seeing how useful such inst.i.tutions as general councils were likely to be in adjusting the relations between Mussulmans and Christians, both allowed purely ecclesiastical councils to be called under their jurisdiction, and also summoned others in which they took part themselves, together with Jews, to the great scandal of the stricter Christians.[1]

To the purely ecclesiastical kind belong a council held at Seville by Elipandus[2] to condemn the errors of Migetius; and another, held by Cixila at Toledo in 776, against the errors of Egila, bishop of Elvira.[3] Whether Egila abjured his error is not known, but it is certain that he remained bishop.

Elipandus is also said, but on very doubtful authority, to have held a council, whereat he renounced his own error of Adoptionism.[4]

[1] We even find in 962 that the bishops of Toledo and Cordova had Moslem names, viz., Obeidollah ibn Kasim (Al Makkari, ii.

162), and Akbar ibn Abdallah. Dozy, iii. 99.

[2] The exact date is unknown. Fleury, ii. p. 235.

[3] "Pseudo Luitprand," sec. 236, says--"Ad concilium ex omnibus Hispaniae partibus concurrunt." See also Pope Adrian I.'s Letter to the bishops of Spain in 785. Very little is known of this Egila, nor is it certain of what see he was the bishop.

[4] See below, p. 131 ad fin. and 166 ff.

But the other cla.s.s of councils, partly ecclesiastical and partly political, seem to have been commoner, and we have already seen how Reccafredus, Bishop of Seville, in conjunction with the Moslem authorities, held such a council, in order to coerce the fanatical party among the Christians; and we have a more particular account of another, which was held by Hostegesis, Bishop of Malaga, and Servandus, Count of Cordova.[1] This council seems to have had some connection with the preceding one under Reccafredus, for Servandus was a strong and unscrupulous opponent of the party led by Eulogius, while Samson was their devoted supporter, though he did not carry his opinions so far as to suffer martyrdom in his own person. Samson was now accused of heresy[2] and sacrilege, as has been already mentioned. Hostegesis forced his views on the a.s.sembled bishops by the help of the secular arm, and a sentence of anathema and deposition was accordingly p.r.o.nounced against the unfortunate Abbot.[3] One of the apparently consenting bishops was Valentius, Bishop of Cordova, but his judgement had evidently been coerced, for after the close of the council he sounded the other consenting bishops, and some who had not attended, as to their opinions, and found that most of them were ready to affirm Samson's orthodoxy, and a memorial was drawn up to that effect This action of Valentius' brought upon him also a sentence of deposition, and he was succeeded by Stepha.n.u.s Flaccus,[4]--the election of the latter being quite informal, as no metropolitan a.s.sisted thereat,[5] and neither the clergy nor laymen of his diocese made a pet.i.tion in his favour.

[1] Samson, "Apol.," ii. Pref.

[2] On the ground, among others, that he recognised "nescio quam similitudines (besides the Trinity) non creaturas sed creatores." These appear (chap, ix.) to have been merely qualities, such as wisdom, etc. See Samson, chap. iii.

[3] "Indiscreta simplicitate et metu impiorum in superbiae fascibus sedentium."--_Ibid_. Samson was rendered incapable of holding office, or even of belonging to the Church.--_Ibid_.

[4] In 864.

[5] See above, p. 8.

This fresh deposition was formally sanctioned by a new council, held at the church of St Acislus; Flaccus, and some of those who had sided with Valentius, but were now terrified into submission, being in attendance; while the places of those who refused to come were taken by Jews and Moslems.[1] These high-handed proceedings nearly led to an open rupture in the Church.[2]

In 914 a council is said to have been held (but on doubtful authority) by Orontius of Toledo,[3] and twenty years later by Basilius of Cordova.

These would fall under the reign of the greatest of the Umeyyade Khalifs of Spain.[4]

[1] Sayones (?) in the Latin. Samson, chap. iii.

[2] _Ibid._, sec. 10.

[3] "Pseudo Luit," sec. 328.

[4] _Ibid._ sec. 341.

CHAPTER VII.

SPAIN UNDER ABDURRAHMAN III.

Abdurrahman III., Annasir Lidinillah (912-961), may be looked upon as the Solomon of the Spanish Sultans. Succeeding to the throne when quite a youth, to the exclusion of his uncles, the sons of the late Sultan, he found the country torn by innumerable factions, and the king's power openly defied by rebels, Arab, Berber, and Christian. In person, and through his generals, he put down all these rebels, and though not uniformly successful against the Christians in the North, yet he defeated them in a series of great engagements.[1] He welded all the discordant elements under his rule into one great whole,[2] thereby giving the Arab domination in Spain another lease of life. In 929 he took the t.i.tle of Amir al Mumenin, or Commander of the Faithful. His alliance was sought by the Emperor of the East,[3] and he treated on equal terms with the Emperor of Germany and the King of France. To this great king, with more truth than to his namesake Abdurrahman II., may be applied the words of Miss Yonge:--[4]

"He was of that type of Eastern monarch, that seems moulded on the character of Solomon--large-hearted, wise, magnificent, tolerant, and peaceful. He was as great a contrast to the stern, ascetic, narrow-minded, but earnest Alfonso or Ramiro, as were the exquisite horse-shoe arches, filagree stonework lattices, inlaid jewellery of marble pavements, and slender minarets, to their dark vault-like, low-browed churches, and solid castles built out of hard unmanageable granite."

[1] Mutonia (918); Calaborra; Vale de Junqueras (921).

[2] Dozy, ii. 351, from an Arab writer.

[3] A very interesting account of this emba.s.sy from Constantine VII. (947) is given in Al Makkari, ii. 137, from Ibn Khaldun.---See Conde, i. 442.

[4] P. 57.

We find in this king none of that suspicious jealousy which we saw in Mohammed, even though Omar, the arch rebel, and Christian renegade, still held out at Bobastro, when he ascended the throne; and his treatment of Christians was, throughout his reign, tolerant and politic.

But his claims in this respect will be best seen from a very interesting fragment that has come down to our own times, describing the emba.s.sy of a certain John of Gorz, a monk from an abbey near Metz, who carried letters from Otho, emperor of Germany, to the Spanish Sultan.[1]

In 950 Abdurrahman had sent an emba.s.sy to the emperor. A bishop who had been at the head of this emba.s.sy died, and this seems to have caused a delay in the answer. As the Khalif's letter contained blasphemies against Christ, it was determined to write a reply in the king's name, such as might perhaps convince Abdurrahman of the error of his ways. A certain bishop, Adalbero, was appointed to be at the head of the return emba.s.sy,[2] and he asks the abbot of the monastery of Gorz to give him two a.s.sistants. Two are chosen, but one of these quarrels with his superior, and is expelled from the body; whereupon John offers himself as a subst.i.tute. The abbot only gives his consent to John's going with great reluctance, knowing that the young monk had an ardent longing to be a martyr, if he could only get the opportunity.

[1] See "Vita Johannis Abbatis Gorziensis," 973, by John, Abbot of Arnulph. "Migne," vol. cx.x.xvii., pp. 239-310.

[2] In 953.

Going through Lyons, and by s.h.i.+p to Barcelona, the amba.s.sadors reached the frontier town, Tortosa, and at last got to Cordova, where they were a.s.signed a house two miles from the palace, and, though well entertained, were informed, to their dismay, that, as the Moorish amba.s.sadors had been made to wait three years for an answer, Otho's messengers would have to wait nine years. Moreover, they now discovered that the king had been already apprised of the contents of the letter, which Otho had sent, by a comrade of the late amba.s.sador-bishop, whom John and his companions had taken with them to Barcelona.

The king employs Hasdai, a Jew, as his go-between; who warns them not to divulge the contents of the letter, as it would make them liable to punishment; for the letter contained what Moslems would consider blasphemy against their Prophet. Soon after this John, the Bishop of Cordova, is sent to them to suggest that they should carry their gifts to the king, and say nothing of the letter. But John of Gorz stoutly refused to do this, saying that the delivery of the letter was his chief duty, and that as Abdurrahman had begun by reviling Christ, he must not be surprised at Otho's retaliating against Mohammed. However, John of Cordova begs him to remember the position in which the Christians stood, viz., under Pagan rule. "We are forbidden," he said, "by the apostle to resist the powers that be. In our calamity, we have this one consolation, we are allowed to observe our own laws and rites, and our rulers, if they see us diligent in our religion, honour us, cherish us, and delight in our society, while they abhor the Jews. As our religion, then, suffers no harm at their hands, let us obey the Moslems in other things." The bishop was anxious, therefore, that the letter should be suppressed, as calculated to do harm to the Christian community, and no good to Otho. His advice, however, fell on deaf ears. The monk of Gorz was resolved on doing what he deemed his plain duty; nor was he content to forego his chance of martyrdom, though his action might entail disastrous consequences on the Christians subject to the Moors. He taunted the bishop with giving his advice from a fear of man. "Better die of hunger than eat the salt of unbelievers;" and expressed horror at the fact that the bishop was circ.u.mcised, and also abstained from certain meats in deference to Moslem scruples. It was in vain that the bishop pointed out that otherwise they could not live with the Saracens.

John of Gorz now expressed his intention of delivering the letter forthwith; but the king denied the amba.s.sadors an audience, leaving them to themselves for six or seven weeks. Early in 955, however, the king sent to them, and asked if they held firm to their previous resolve, and on receiving an answer in the affirmative, he threatened all the Christians in his dominions with loss of privileges and even death. John of Gorz merely answers that the guilt would be on the king's head; but the latter is persuaded to milder counsels by his advisers, who remind him of Otho's power, and the certainty that he would interfere in favour of his amba.s.sadors.

John of Gorz now proposes the only practicable course, that Abdurrahman should send a fresh emba.s.sy to Otho and ask for instructions for his amba.s.sadors under the circ.u.mstances. Recemundus,[1] a Christian, offers to go as amba.s.sador, if a vacant bishopric be given him as a reward. He sets out and reaches Gorz in February 956. Otho gives him a fresh letter, with instructions to suppress the former one, to conclude an alliance with the Sultan, and make an arrangement with him for putting down the brigands who infested the marches.

[1] De Gayangos, on Al Makkari, ii. p. 464, identifies him with Rabi, a bishop mentioned as an amba.s.sador of Abdurrahman III.

in Al Makkari, i. 236, ii. 139; but Rabi may have been the bishop who died during the emba.s.sy to Otho. Recemundus, as De Gayangos (1.1.) says, was a katib or clerk of the palace.

Leaving Gorz with Dudo, the emperor's legate, on March 30, he reached Cordova on June 1st, but the Sultan declined to receive the second comers till he had received the earlier emba.s.sy. So, after three years semi-captivity, John is released, and told to prepare himself for the king's presence by shaving, was.h.i.+ng, and putting on new apparel. He declines to go in any otherwise than he is; and even when the king, thinking his refusal due to poverty, sends him a sum of money, the monk accepts the gift and distributes it to the poor, but says he will only see the king as a poor monk. The king good-naturedly said: "Let him come as he likes." On June 21, 956, the amba.s.sadors were conducted to the king's presence along a road thronged with sight-seers. The steps of the palace were laid down with tapestry, and a guard of honour lined both sides of the approach. On John's entrance, the king, as a great mark of distinction, gave him his open palm to kiss, and beckoned him to a seat near his own couch. After a silence Abdurrahman apologised to the monk for the long delay which he had been obliged to impose on the emba.s.sy, and which was in no sense due to disrespect for John himself, whose virtue and wisdom he could not but acknowledge. As a proof that this was no mere empty compliment, the king expressed his readiness to give him whatever he asked. John's wrath vanishes at these gracious words, and they talk amicably together. But when the monk asks leave to depart Abdurrahman says:--"After waiting so long to see one another, shall we part so soon?" He suggests that they should have at least three interviews. At their next meeting they discourse on the respective power of the empires of Otho and the Khalif himself; and the Sultan, taught by the experience of Spain, points out the unwisdom of allowing feudal subjects to become too powerful, by dividing kingdoms between them.

So ends this unique and interesting fragment, which throws so pleasant a light on the character and the Court of the greatest of Spanish Sultans, and proves that the Christians at that time enjoyed considerable freedom, and even honour, at the hands of the Moslem Government.

The reason why the king was unwilling to receive the first letter brought by John was not so much because he was reluctant to read words against Mohammed, as because he would by so doing render himself liable to the penalty of death, which was ordained by law to any Moslem--king or slave--who listened to abuse of the Prophet without exacting summary vengeance from the blasphemer. But--and here was the king's dilemma--he could not punish the amba.s.sadors without incurring the enmity of Otho.

The only possible alternative was that suggested by John, that Otho should be asked to withdraw the objectionable letter, without the Sultan having officially read it, and this Abdurrahman adopted. The moderation of the king is conspicuous throughout, for we must regard the threat against the Christians as merely a threat, never really intended to be put into execution.

In showing tolerance towards their Christian subjects, the Spanish khalifs might be thought to have forgotten the traditions of Islam; but, as a matter of fact, Mohammed seems to have been very inconsistent in his views with regard to Christians and Jews at different times of his career, and while he enjoined the necessity of Holy Wars,[1] he permitted the people of the book to be admitted to tribute.[2] In one pa.s.sage he even seems to allow the possibility of salvation to Jews, Christians, and Sabians: "Verily they who believe, and those who Judaize, and the Sabians, and the Christians--whoever of these believeth in G.o.d and the last day, and doeth that which is right--there shall come no fear on them, neither shall they be grieved."[3] And there is one remarkable text to find in the mouth of Mohammed, "Let there be no violence in religion." [4]

Moreover, some of the best Mohammedan rulers that have ever lived upheld the same principle of toleration. Abbas II., one of the Persian Sufis, is reported to have said: "It is for G.o.d, not for me, to judge of men's consciences, and I will never interfere with what belongs to the tribunal of the great Creator and Lord of the Universe."[5] Again, Akbar, one of the greatest kings that ever lived, followed in practice the principle thus expressed by his minister, Abul Fazl: "Persecution after all defeats its own ends; it obliges men to conceal their opinions, but produces no change in them."[6] n.o.ble sentiments surely, and such as we should expect from followers of Christ rather than of Mohammed!

[1] Tradition attributes even stronger approval of Holy Wars to Mohammed than can be found in the Koran,--_e.g._, "The sword is the key of Paradise and h.e.l.l. A drop of blood shed in the cause of G.o.d, a night spent in arms, are of more avail than two months of fasting and prayer. Whoever falls in battle against the infidel, his sins are forgiven him."