Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. I.djvu/230

86 86 CASTILE UNDER HENRY IV. PART I. His sudden death. 146G. Battle of 01- medo. partuie, he was attacked by an acute disorder while at Villarubia, a village not far from Ciudad Real, which terminated his life in four days. He died, says Palencia, with imprecations on his lips, because his life had not been spared some few weeks longer.^'^ His death was attributed by many to poison, administered to him by some of the nobles, who were envious of his good fortune. But, not- withstanding the seasonableness of the event, and the familiarity of the crime in that age, no shadow of imputation was ever cast on the pure fame of Isabella.^^ The death of the grand master dissipated, at a blow, all the fine schemes of the marquis of Villena, as well as every hope of reconciliation between the parties. The passions, which had been only smother- ed, now burst forth into open hostility; and it was re- solved to refer the decision of the question to the issue of a battle. The two armies met on the plains of Olmedo, where, two and twenty years before, John, the father of Henry, had been in like manner 27 Palencia imputes his death to an attack of the quinsy. Coronica, MS., cap. 73. 28 Rades y Andrada, Las Tres Or- denes, fol. 77. — Caro de Torres, His- toria de las Ordenes Militares de Santiago, Calatrava, y Alcantara, (Madrid, 1629,) lib. 2, cap. 59.— Castillo, Cr6nica, cap. 85. — Alonso de Palencia,Cor6nica,MS.,cap. 73. — Gaillard remarks on this event, " Chacun crut sur cette mort ce qu'il voulut." And ajrain in a few pages after, speaking of Isabella, ne says, " On remarqua que tous ceux qui pouvoient faire obstacle k la satisfaction ou il la fortune d'Isabelle, mouroient toujours a propos pour elle." (Rivalite, tom iii. pp. 280,286.) This ingenious writer is fond of seasoning his style with those piquant sarcasms, in which oftentimes more is meant than meets the ear, and which Voltaire rendered fasliionable in history. I doubt, however, if, amid all the heats of controversy and faction, there is a single Spanish writer of that age, or indeed of any subsequent one, who has ventured to impute to the contrivance of Isabella any one of the fortunate coincidences, to which the author alludes.