Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. I.djvu/506

360 360 WAR OF GRANADA. quera The tnililiiry ■* PART On Wednesday, the 19th of March, this gallant ^ little army marched forth from the gates of Ante- 14 83. quera. The van was intrusted to the adelantado Henriquez and Don Alonso de Aguilar. The cen- tre divisions were led by the marquis of Cadiz and the count of Cifuentes, and the rear-guard, by the grand master of St. James. The number of foot, which is uncertain, appears to have been consider- ably less than that of the horse, which amounted to about three thousand, containing the flower of An- dalusian knighthood, together with the array of St. James, the most opulent and powerful of the Span- ish military orders. Never, says an Aragonese his- torian, had there been seen in these times a more splendid body of chivalry ; and such was their con- fidence, he adds, that they deemed themselves in- vincible by any force which the Moslems could bring; against them. The leaders took care not to encumber the movements of the army with artillery, camp equipage, or even much forage and provisions, for which they trusted to the invaded territory. A number of persons, however, followed in the train, who, influenced by desire rather of gain than of glory, had come provided with money, as well as commissions from their friends, for the purchase of rich spoil, whether of slaves, stufis, or jewels, which they expected would be won by the good swords of their comrades, as in Alhama. ^^ 21 Bernaldez, Reyes Catolicos, — Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum De- MS., cap. 60. — Rades y Andrada, cades, ii. lib. 2, cap. 2. — Oviedo, LasTresOrdenes,fol.71.— Zurita, Quincuajrenas, MS., bat. 1, quinc. Anales, torn. iv. fol. 320. — Zuili- 1, dial. 36. ga, Annales de Sevilla, Ibl. 395.