Leon V of Armenia (referred to here as Leon VI), lifetime
portrait (above) and statue on his tombstone at Saint
Denis
As reproduced in Historia del Pueblo
Armenio by Ruben Artzruni (p. 259)
PARTICULAR FEATURES OF THIS STORY
The saga of how Leon V of Armenia ended up being the ruler of
Madrid, the
present capital of Spain,
for a short period of the late XIV th century, is one of the more original
episodes of the colourful and agitated history of the Armenian people. It is
also one of the least documented and researched, both in Spain itself
and in the Armenian world.
It is of course possible that a doctorate student wishing to dig
further into the matter, would be able to gather additional details by
extensive research in some ancient Spanish archives. However, considering that
the author of the only book published to date and entirely devoted to the
episode, a Spanish historian of some standing, leaves many questions
unanswered, may indicate that information is indeed scant and often contradictory.
Why hasn’t the story been looked at more seriously by contemporary
authors? It is primarily of interest to Armenians, and the little Armenian
presence in Spain
up to the early 1990’s could be an explanation for this neglect. In turn, one
may ask why there were so few Armenians in Spain until they started arriving
in droves from the 1990’s, mainly from the newly independent Republic of Armenia,
and ended up currently numbering tens of thousands? After all, large Armenian
communities, many predating the Genocide period emigration, had settled in
neighbouring countries such as France
and Italy,
and further afield in Belgium,
Germany
and the Netherlands,
for centuries. However, as recently as the early 1970’s, there were no more
than a handful of Diaspora Armenians based in Madrid.
Here again, one may have to resort to conjecture. The Leon V episode
is regarded by those Spaniards as are aware of it, as a folkloric episode at
best, and by many others, even in contemporary papers, as an aberration. From
what one can gather, it is not even taught in Spanish schools, and there is no
reference to it in the Spanish version of Wikipedia when referring to the
history of Madrid.
For some reason, despite the historically varied origins of the
inhabitants of the Iberian peninsula (Visigoths, Celts, Arabs, Jews, Romans,
etc..), not to mention the more recent waves of immigrants from Northern and
Black Africa, the arrival of this unusual character is often seen as an
unacceptable intromission into their identity. More than one comment refers to
Leon V as an impostor, or at best a penniless layabout and adventurer who was
successful in spinning a tale to his advantage among gullible Spanish rulers.
He is ignorantly referred to as a “Slav”, by some academics, no less, or even a
“Moor” (an insulting term even in modern Spain). His place of detention
following his being taken to captivity in Egypt is described as “Babylon” and his captor
“the Sultan of Babylon”. Even though there was a city fortress of that name in
the Nile Delta, the reference is at best confusing, as the real Babylon had long ceased
to exist by that name. This intellectual hostility must have translated itself
into wanton neglect of “a best forgotten” episode of Spanish history.
As for potential Armenian researchers, their absence from Spain and the
fact that, save some intellectuals in Soviet Armenia, Spanish-speakers were
mainly concentrated in distant South America,
could not have helped either.
The available secondary Spanish sources generally consist of
references forming part of studies on the history of Madrid, or chronicles about the various
sovereigns of the kingdoms then present on Spanish territory with which Leon V
interacted at some stage. It is indicative that the only book entirely devoted
to the subject which could be found (Leon V de Armenia- Primero y Único Señor
de Madrid, by José Fradejas Lebrero) was itself published in 2007 by the
Institute of Madrid Studies (Instituto de Estudios Madrileños). Among the
couple of dozen sources the book cites in its bibliography, only one is
Armenian (Michel Tchamitchian: Histoire d’Arménie, Venice 1784-86).
Fradejas, though described as a “prominent historian” and his being
a Professor Emeritus of Literature, does not really seem to warm up to his
subject, and spends an inordinate amount of the 73 pages of his text (the rest
being appendices) criticising other authors of articles on the subject,
sometimes in sarcastic and less than diplomatic language. The book also suffers
from a lack of rigidity in its structure, and has no alphabetical index. However, it has the merit of existing, and the
reproduction of various relevant historical documents in the original ancient
Spanish in the appendices, is most helpful.
THE
MAIN CHARACTER
The dearth of sources and subsequent in-depth research also means
that there is confusion as far as dates, events and characters are concerned.
This starts with the main character himself. Leon V is somewhat referred-to as
Leon VI. This is caused by two options in the counting method. There was a
first Leon who ruled from 1129 to 1137, but he was Prince of Cilicia and not a
king, and it is not the usual practice to give serial numbers to princes, so
the more usual (but not universally accepted) practice is to start counting
from the first Leon to have the title of king (Leon II as prince, who elevated his
principality into a kingdom in 1198).
To add to the confusion, there also was an emperor of Byzantium called Leon V,
known as “the Armenian” (which presumably he was, like several others who have
occupied that throne), who reigned from 813 to 820.
Leon V, born in Cilicia in 1342,
was the son of Jean de Lusignan, regent, and the Georgian princess Soldane or
Soldana (Sultana?), daughter of King George V of Georgia. Despite their
Armenian-sounding name, the “Lusignans” are actually from the French town of
the same name, in the Poitou region. Their
arrival in the Middle East with the crusades
led to several members of the family ruling Frankish kingdoms there over a long
period.
There is a version according to which Jean and Soldana, were not
actually married, which would be mainly for the anecdote, but for a possible bearing
on their son’s legitimacy. It is said that due to that condition, he was barred
by the Pope from receiving an inheritance left by his grandmother Isabelle
(Zabel) on the Lusignan side. With all the cross-alliances, it is virtually
impossible to say how much “Armenian” blood Leon V actually had, but what is
undeniable is that he was the last king of what was left of the kingdom of Armenia. After all, the British royal
family are of German descent, and the Spaniards are Bourbons (now mixed with
Greek), so ethnic origins can become rather diluted.
THE
FALL OF THE KINGDOM
OF ARMENIA AND CAPTIVITY
IN EGYPT
The events leading to Leon V ascending to the throne of Cilician Armenia in 1374, and the surrender of
that Kingdom the following year, are well documented, and do not actually
constitute the main purpose of this paper. They shall therefore be dealt with
summarily. There is one version that relates to Leon V previously holding the crown
on an interim basis in an earlier period (1364-65), which was an interregnum in
the dynasty, but it has not been possible to confirm this. It may just be based
on the fact that a papal edict of 1364 or 1365 confirmed his right to the
crown, without him actually taking it up, as he could not physically leave Cyprus due to
the strife conditions there.
Living in Cyprus,
itself in the middle of political unrest and pressure from Moslem and Genoese
foes, Leon
was offered the vacant crown of Armenia,
following the murder in 1373 of his distant relative Constantine VI. He
virtually had to fight and beg his way back to Sis, capital of what remained of
the kingdom, and was crowned there on September 14, 1374. There was ongoing tension between
Catholics and non-Catholics among the population, for which reason the ceremony
was performed under both rites.
The Armenian
Kingdom of Cilicia had by then virtually shrunk to the town of Sis and the surrounding
region, and was being subjected to an invasion by Turkish-Egyptian forces.
Though it is said that the reason for the invasion was that Armenia had
stopped paying a traditional tribute to the Sultan, other sources see it as a
move to get rid of the last Christian stronghold in the region. This is just in
case it was used again as a springing base for recapturing the Holy Land. Some present-day websites actually consider
Leon V as a pioneer of resistance to Islamic Jihad, a matter which has regained
topicality in current times (www.stormfront.org
“White European heroes of the
struggle against Islam!”). It is known that the
King was offered high office in the Sultanate if he abjured his Christian
faith, an offer which he rejected. Despite having been badly wounded in battle,
and being in a desperate position, he and his greatly outnumbered men finally
retreated to the Sis citadel, which fell on April 16, 1375 (obviously the
second half of April is not a very good period in Armenian history).
Throughout his short reign, and before, there was continued tension
between “nationalist” Armenians who were not that keen on a ruler who was a
Catholic (the ecumenical coronation ceremony seems to have exacerbated rather
than assuaged feelings). It is said that the nationalists preferred defeat to
his continuing presence, and there are reports that the defenders may actually
have been betrayed to the assailants by some Armenian nobles opposed to Leon V.
Though Cheikh Eddine, governor of Aleppo, one of the assaulting armies’
commanders, had subsequently promised him an unconditional safe conduct, the
King was taken captive to Egypt, and initially placed under what would be
called today “House Arrest”. However, Armenian merchants resident in Cairo (trust such people
to be always around in any corner of the world), petitioned the authorities to
relax the exiled monarch’s conditions. Egypt at the time was ruled by the
Mamluk dynasty (1250-1517), whose origins were Turkish slaves enlisted by the
Arabs to fight against the Crusaders, and by subsequently taking advantage of
internal strife among their masters, played their cards right and created a thriving
Sultanate in Egypt, even transferring the Baghdad Caliphate to Cairo in 1261.
Leon V and his family were allowed some freedom around Cairo (probably subjected
to strict surveillance), and even given an allowance. On ascending the throne
in Sis, Leon V had found the treasury empty (generally thought to be as a
result of embezzlement, but he graciously pardoned those responsible) and in
the 7 months that he was in power, besieged and on the defensive, he had little
opportunity to correct the situation. Furthermore, he was already poor on
leaving Cyprus
for Sis, so the generosity of his captors must have been welcome in Cairo.
In his exile, Leon V was accompanied by his wife, Margaret
(Marguerite or Mary) de Soissons, whom he married in 1369. She was the daughter
of Jean, governor of Famagusta,
and they had at least one daughter, called Mary. Margaret de Soissons had been
married before and left widowed. One has to say “at least one daughter”,
because some chronicles refer to “two daughters”, adding in one case that they
were twins. This is one more example of the lack of precise details.
Subsequently, there is only reference to one daughter, named Mary, who is said
to have died in Egypt
whilst her father was still a captive, with her mother suffering the same fate
(there is even supposed to be an identified tomb for Mary on the road between Cairo and Alexandria). However,
other reports say that when the King eventually left Egypt in September 1382, the mother
and the daughter left with him, accompanying him to a pilgrimage in Jerusalem where he wanted
to give thanks for his freedom. Once there, Margaret and her daughter decided
to stay put and not accompany him any further. He therefore had to leave them
behind, but like a good macho Armenian ashamed to having to admit that his wife
left him, he would have spread the rumour that “they died in captivity”. Things
are further complicated by the fact that among the party in exile was another
Mary, (Maria de Gorigos), widow of his predecessor.
Such confusion as to facts would accompany Leon V till his last days
during his final exile in France.
Over that period, he is said to have fathered two illegitimate sons. However,
in his will dated July 1392 (16 months prior to his death) he only refers to
one son, for whose education and future he makes provisions. This is Guyot,
also know as Guy or Guido. That son is said to have been a canon of the church,
serving in various locations in France,
though he must have been rather precocious, as he is supposed to have died age
19. As for the other one (variously described as Philippe, Stephane or
Etienne), there is a reference to him becoming “a knight in Sis”, which, if correct,
would mean that he travelled all the way back to Armenia at some stage. Other
reports described him as a captain in France, and refer to Etienne as a
third son, who ended life as a filibuster in the Mediterranean.
Leon V pretended to accept his captive fate philosophically (he even
made a promise to his captors not to try to escape). Whilst in Cairo, he turns down another offer of freedom
should he convert. However, his real dream was actually to regain his kingdom,
and towards that aim he persevered for the remainder of his life, though sadly,
never managed to achieve it.
TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS TOWARDS
SEEKING A RELEASE
It was a good two years after the start of his forced stay in Egypt that
things took a turn for the better
for Leon V. In the meantime, he had been receiving many visitors, mainly
Christian pilgrims passing through Cairo
on their way to and from the Holy Land. To all
those who appeared to be able to hold some influence, he asks to intercede on
his behalf among the crowned heads of Christian Europe. Thus are contacted not
just Pope Gregory XI, but the emperors of Germany and Byzantium, the King of
Cyprus and Queen Juana of Naples. Some are more diligent than others in their
lobbying, arguing that the initial promise of an unconditional safe conduct by the governor of Aleppo should be
fulfilled.
Among those approached is Pedro IV, monarch of the Spanish Kingdom
of Aragon,
who is said to have close commercial ties with the ruler of Egypt. Taking
advantage of a trip by one of his merchant subjects to Cairo, he sounds the authorities who make
promising noises, and suggest that King Pedro sends an ambassador to talk further
about the matter. This he does, sending a personal emissary with a letter, but
the efforts come to nothing.
Sometime in 1377, two Franciscan monks on their way to the Holy Land stop over in Cairo. One is the Frenchman Jean Dardel, and
he is accompanied by another monk, Antonio de Monopoli (presumably an Italian,
but about whom there is not a lot of information). The travellers hear about
this Christian king being held captive, and ask to meet him. They hit it off
immediately, and comfort him and his family for whom they feel very sorry,
celebrating mass, and hearing their confessions.
After a certain time in the Holy Land,
to comply with their pilgrimage, the monks as promised return to Cairo, and offer their
services to Leon V. Leon Dardel first acts as chaplain to the King, then
becomes his secretary and finally his appointed roving ambassador. Before leaving
Cairo on their
way back to Europe, Dardel enquires with the
Sultan of Egypt as to what conditions he would require to free the Armenian
monarch.
It seems that by then Moslem rule was so well established in the
former Armenian kingdom and surrounding countries, that the conquerors thought
it unlikely that any attempt at recovering these territories by the Christians
was likely. The Sultan was therefore ready to offer generous terms. He did not
want a money ransom for Leon V, but wished Christian kings to beg for his
release, on their own surety, to use a legal term, as well as sending some
presents consisting of precious stones and other goods that were not available
in his own country. He also agrees that Dardel would serve as go-between in the
proceedings.
Dardel and Monopoli leave Cairo
on June 11, 1379
and arrive in Barcelona
on March 1st, 1380.
They seek and obtain an audience with King Pedro IV, who as previously,
expresses a deep interest in the matter. However, there is a hitch. In the
court of Aragon, the one who wears the pants is apparently the
Queen (Sybil of Forcia). She originates from Cyprus and is
even loosely related to Leon V, but pursuing a policy of hostility which the
Cypriots have adopted against the Armenian monarch from the times that he was
first invited to ascend to the throne. Pedro IV is forced to procrastinate, to
the great frustration of Leon’s
ambassadors. After several months’ waiting, they are given letters of
introduction to other Spanish rulers, possibly as a way of getting rid of them.
However, nothing comes of the new contacts either. Finally, it is suggested to
them that they visit Juan I, king of Castile, who is said to have a
reputation for “goodness, prudence, wealth and generosity”. They are
accompanied, as a modest gesture of goodwill from the King of Aragon, by his
son and heir, also called Pedro.
The administration of the Kingdom
of Castile at the time
was a moveable feast, with the monarch, Juan I, in frequent displacement. The
monks eventually catch up with him on November 29, 1380. He seems rather sympathetic but has
many other things on his plate, such as a threatened schism in the Church, an
uprising led by his illegitimate half-brother, and the settlement of the
succession of the Portuguese throne. The monks, like zealous dogs who will not
let go of a bone, follow him everywhere. Finally, in May 1381, Juan I says that
he is close to having assembled the required gifts for the Sultan (the younger
Pedro of Aragon having meanwhile assured, somewhat boastfully, that his father
was doing the same back in Barcelona).
As the official representatives of Leon V were lobbying for him in
the various courts of Spain,
there was an amusing episode in the shape of an Armenian curate, who had
converted to Islam. Having heard of the saga surrounding the liberation
efforts, he impersonated one of Leon V’s entourage, Marshal Sohier du Sart, and
went around collecting money and support from various high-placed people to
“help the cause”. He was eventually found out and discreetly removed from the
scene by the ecclesiastical authorities.
FREEDOM AND QUEST FOR RECAPTURING
THE KINGDOM
However, it appears that at the end, Pedro IV of Aragon only
provided the transport, and the required pleading letters, but no gifts. The
delegation set off from Barcelona
on May 21, 1382,
and arrived in Alexandria
on August 14. They went on to Cairo to deliver the letters and Juan I’s gifts,
thought not without the Aragon delegation getting a mouthful from Admiral Barkouk,
the Sultan’s chancellor, who is said to have told them : “Don´t you know our
customs? Even an apple would have been something! “. Still, the deal was seemingly
done, and Leon V and his family were freed on September 30, 1382, 7 years and 3 months after
having arrived in Cairo.
On October 7, Leon V, having acquired a vessel, sailed away from Alexandria. There is one
version according to which the Sultan had second thoughts and sent an emissary
to Alexandria
revoking Leon V’s freedom, but the monarch had already departed.
There is again confusion as to his exact movements on leaving Egypt. It is
known than he arrived in Rhodes not long
afterwards, but he may have gone via Jaffa,
from where he would have undertaken a thanksgiving pilgrimage to Jerusalem (where his wife
and daughter would have stayed on, if you believe the story mentioned earlier).
Leaving Rhodes, he did a “European tour”,
stopping in Venice,
meeting with cardinals representing the Rome-based Pope Urban IV, and going on in person to Avignon to meet the “French”
Pope Clement VII. The latter awards him a coveted papal medal, The Golden Rose,
and names the loyal Jean Dardel bishop of Tortiboli (Naples region). Much of the information we
have on this period, particularly before the arrival of Leon V to Spain, is based
on Dardel’s diary Chronique d’Arménie. Events in Spain are well documented in the
writings of Castilian Chancellor Pedro Lopez de Ayala about the reign of Juan
I, whom he served. Despite all the goodwill and warm welcome, Leon V makes no
progress in his quest to gather enthusiasm for the recapture of his Christian
kingdom in Armenia.
The first encounter between Leon V and Juan I of Castile takes
place outside the town of Badajoz
on May 15, 1383.
Considering that Juan was in Badajoz
for the purpose of marrying the daughter of the King of Portugal, Beatrix, due
to take place on May 12, he did a great honour to his Armenian counterpart,
without having even met him, by postponing the ceremony until after Leon V’s
arrival.
Not only that, but so as not to make him feel embarrassed by his
status of impoverished refugee, prior to the wedding, he sent him gold and silk
cloth, jewels and silver vessels. At the first meeting, a league’s distance out
of Badajoz, Juan I came with a large high level delegation, and as Leon V
approached riding a mule, then dismounting to kneel before Juan and salute him
humbly, the King of Castile himself dismounted, as did all his delegation, in
respect for the Armenian king.
THE
GRANTING OF THE MADRID
LORDSHIP
The original document granted by Juan I of Castile to Leon V of
Armenia, by which he awards him the “Lordship” (Señoria) of the “Villa of
Madrid”, as well as the city of Villa Real (situated in the province of La
Mancha and now called Ciudad Real) and Andujar (in the Jaen region of
Andalucia) has disappeared. We therefore do not know its exact content, or even
its date.
The most likely view is that it was granted soon after the two
sovereigns met in Badajoz in May 1383, and around the time Juan I’st wedding
was held (May 17). The gift also included an annual allowance of 150,000
Maravedis. Introduced in 1172, the Maravedi was the main Spanish monetary unit
of account until 1854! So many different coins and currencies were circulating
at the time in various parts of Spain
that a conversion to present value is almost impossible, but by all accounts it
was a substantial sum.
Another version is that the land donation was made in September of
that year, following a meeting in Segovia
of the general council (Cortes). What is sure is that it was prior to October
10, because on that date, Juan I issued another edict on the matter, of which
we do have the original text, which introduces certain precisions to his initial
generosity.
Some sources have jumped to the conclusion that the donation made
Leon V “king” of Madrid,
and in some sources he is referred to as “Leon Ist of Madrid”. This theory is fairly baseless. Madrid belonged to the Kingdom of Castile, whose king, as mentioned above,
was Juan I. It was not even the capital, which in those times changed from Burgos to Toledo and then on to Valladolid. Castile was run
as a sort of federation, with plenty of autonomy to its various components. Madrid itself had been
given special privileges (“fueros” in Spanish) by kings Alfonso X & XI, in
1262 and 1339 respectively.
This would explain why the imposition of a “Lord and Master”,
particularly a foreign exotic one, by the monarch, did not go down well among
the local establishment. Like any organisation faced with a major change at the
top, they were worried about consequences, in this case the possible loss of
privileges and positions, and the imposition of new taxes. Somewhat
reluctantly, the council of Madrid
met on October 2nd to consider the matter, and though they decided to
pay homage to their new master, they attached a rider expressing unease about
the way the matter had been handled by King Juan. With a population which would
have been no more than 15 to 20 thousand inhabitants, possibly much less, Madrid was initially considered
a rather prosperous town, with revenue from crops and nearby forests. However,
at the time of the donation, it had fallen on harder times. It had lost its
strategic importance as the border with Moorish Spain moved further south, and
it had suffered from several years of bad crops and a Plague epidemic in the
middle of the 14th century. Still, it consisted of no less than 10
parishes, and alongside the majority Christian population, there were dynamic
Muslim and Jewish minorities, each in their own district (Judería &
Morería). A map of XIVth century Madrid
appears at the end of this paper.
Soon after the council meeting, and sensing the unease expressed
apparently by an emissary sent by the town’s good citizens, Juan Ist
“clarified” his donation in a letter dated October 10, stating that the
donation was only valid in the lifetime of Leon V, and that in the future, such
an act would not happen again. This leads one to think that the original
donation may have had a hereditary nature. Juan tries to justify his initial
generosity by stressing that Leon
lost his crown in defence of Christendom.
The letter makes no mention of Villa Real or Andujar (which in any case
were situated in other parts of Spain).
In a further effort to placate the Madrid establishment, Leon V himself issues
a declaration on October 19, where he confirms that he has no intention to
touch any of the existing rights and privileges of his new citizens, nor
increase their taxes. His entry into Madrid,
dressed in colourful garb, together with whatever followers and courtesans that
were still with him, was said to have been quite an exotic spectacle. He made
his headquarters in the citadel (Alcazar) of Madrid, which was located where the grand Royal Palace
is today, extending the building to make it more comfortable.
HOSTILITY, CHANGE OF MIND
AND NEW EXILE
By most accounts, Leon V was true to his word in his treatment of
the population of Madrid,
but the reality of the matter was that his heart was not in it. He had not been
captive for 8 years in order to end up ruling a faraway foreign town which did
not seem to be particularly pleased to have him around. His aim was still the
recovery of his kingdom, and he might have accepted Juan’s generous donations not
just to tidy him over, but because the Castilian monarch has also hinted that
should Leon wish to “go to his country”, he would provide him with a dozen
fully equipped vessels, a venture where he hoped to be accompanied by some of
his fellow Iberian rulers.
On February 29,
1384, Leon V starts a new quest among the more promising Iberian
rulers, for help in a possible military venture to recapture his kingdom.
Carlos, King of Navarra, apart from gifts in money and kind, promises him 200
men, as does Count Gaston of Bearn.
As for the mean Pedro of Aragon, he does promise five vessels for a period of
up to six months. He then moves on to France, where King Charles VI
receives him cordially, but Leon
realises that he cannot expect any concrete help until the Hundred Years War
with England
is concluded. Though his French is far from perfect, he backs up his claims by
playing on his French (Lusignan) ancestry.
According to to Fradejas book, Leon V, like many crowned heads and
lesser mortals before or since, takes a taste to Paris, its social life, women
and court activities such as jousting and banquets. His newly acquired domains
in austere Spain
may by comparison have seemed a poor alternative, and his enthusiasm for
recovering his kingdom may have appeared less pressing. He is installed in the
Hotel de Saint Ouen, near Saint Denis, and the French king also grants him a
monthly stipend, plus a special grant with which to furnish and equip his
residence. Presumably, he was also still getting the Spanish allowance, plus
the income from his three new domains there, which virtually doubled the sum.
On October 9,
1390, his original benefactor, Juan I of Castile, falls from his horse and
dies. Leon V insists on attending his funeral, which seemingly did not take place
until February 1391, in Toledo.
It was his last trip to Spain.
Soon afterwards, on April
13, 1391 (another sign of a bad luck month for Armenians), Juan’s
son and heir, Enrique III, decides to cancel his father’s donation. We have the
full text of that document, where Enrique pretends that his father was mistaken
in giving away Madrid,
because it was always a property of the Crown, which could not be disposed of.
Not only he revokes the donation, but also cancels any ongoing judicial action
that may still be ongoing under the jurisdiction of the “King of Armenia” .
However, the yearly money grant is maintained. It has to be said that Enrique III
was barely a teenager at the time (at most twelve years old), so the decision
may have been imposed on him by political pressure from elders.
One would have to be an expert in Spanish medieval law and custom to
be able to judge the legality of the revocation. Though most monarchs of the
period had “absolute” powers, they had to comply with certain laws and principles.
On the moral side, setting aside the fact that it is extremely discourteous to
take back a gift, even if given in error, the original donation, as corrected
in October 1383 by Juan I, did specify that it would remain valid until the
death of Leon V. In fact, it was taken away from him some two years before he
passed away.
Interestingly, that very same year (1391) there were major pogroms
in most Spanish towns, including Madrid,
which saw their Jewish districts all but destroyed.
Curiously, none of the documents revoking the donation makes any
reference to the other gifts, namely Villa Real and Andujar, and apart from the
fact that they were domains of Leon V at one stage, there is no trace as to
their fate. It could be that they were an appendage to Madrid in the original document, and its
revocation automatically implied the cancellation of the other gifts. There
apparently is no record of Leon
having ever visited these other properties.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIATOR AND
SENIOR STATESMAN
In the over 9 years that he was based in Paris (from June 1384 to his death on November 29, 1393), Leon V
did more than enjoy the delights of the City of Light.
Soon after settling there, he developed a relationship with Juan of
Aragon, heir to that throne (son of Pedro IV, the “mean” one), which he assumed
as King Juan I of Aragon
in June 1387. Using a trusted servant of the Spaniard as messenger, the two
exchanged regular correspondence, with Leon V acting as an informer on what is
going on in the French court, local politics and peace negotiations with England. He
also acts like an unofficial agent for Juan, helping settle commercial disputes
in which Aragonese merchants may be involved, and procuring special items from Paris requested by him.
Juan occasionally reciprocates such help with gifts of money.
However, the main claim to fame of Leon V, even if it led to
nothing, was his effort to try to secure a permanent peace between France and England. For
that purpose he secures an audience with the French monarch Charles VI soon
after his arrival in June 1384, and subsequently visits Richard II of England (sources
differ as to whether it took place in 1385 or 1386, but it seems that end 1385
is the correct date for Leon’s arrival to England). The English monarch
receives him lavishly. He gave a memorable speech at Westminster, and it was announced that thanks
to Leon’s
efforts, delegations from England
and France
were to meet in a place on the Northern coast of France, in order to seek a lasting
peace. The meeting did take place but nothing came out of it. However, Richard
also gave Leon V a pension of 1,000 pounds a year, which meant that at least
for the Armenian, the exercise was not totally unproductive.
Considering not just the efforts on his own behalf, but the various
actions he took in relation to third parties, Leon V was obviously an
impressive character who did not leave indifferent those who dealt with him. Curiously,
though his Spanish connections are not generally known, the monarch has a following
among fans of esoteric stories. This stems out of the legendary link between
the Lusignan family and the fairy Mélusine, who according to folklore was their
“house fairy”.
EPILOGUE
Having made his will in July 1392, Leon V passed away in Paris on November 29, 1393, aged
51. He was initially buried in the Celestins convent, and after the French
Revolution, transferred to the Basilica of Saint Denis, where most kings of France are
buried. Saint Denis is a suburb of Paris,
situated between Charles de Gaulle airport and the town centre. It can be
easily reached by a short journey on a suburban train.
What trace is left of the short passage of Leon V in Spain? Apart
from a single book and some academic papers, the only visible remnant is a Madrid street called
Calle Leon V de Armenia, in the Carabanchel district of the modern-day Spanish
capital. It is a small street, in a working-class neighbourhood previously
famous for a notorious jail, which is now being pulled down.
Following the death of Leon V, the title passed on to Jacob 1st,
a relative, who was King of Cyprus and thus combined the crowns of Cyprus, Jerusalem and Armenia. The
Lusignan line ended with the death in 1510 of Catherine Cornaro, Queen of
Cyprus and grand-daughter of the Doge of Venice. Although the title of King of
Armenia (according to Vahan Kurkjian in his History of Armenia) is described as
“abolished”, the claim to the throne subsequently passed through Venice to the Italian
royal family of Savoy.
This is currently not something to boast about, as most of the leading members
of that family have been prosecuted on various financial fraud charges since
2006, and some ended up in jail.
Spain was due to open an embassy in Yerevan
presently. As a result of the South ossetia
conflict and following NATO pressure, the location was switched to Tbilisi.
AN APPENDIX IN JEST: OPEN LETTER TO THE
KING OF SPAIN
In September 2008, a few days before the commemoration of the
independence of the Republic
of Armenia, this author
circulated a paper in Spanish, in the form of an open letter to King Juan
Carlos I. In it, he argues that as it was both discourteous and a breach of the
original donation to take away the land of Madrid from Leon V whilst he was
still alive, it should be returned to the Armenians, in the form of another
autonomous region of Spain. Making the comparison with other such regions such
as the Basque country or Catalonia,
where the local language has precedence over Spanish in many ways, it was also
suggested that all the citizens living there would have to learn Armenian. In a
gesture of goodwill, the Armenians would be prepared to forego the donations of
Villa Real and Andujar, and give a special status to the Royal Palace
and some other buildings housing ministries and other government offices. In
case there was any doubt as to the legal feasibility of such a move after
several centuries, it was pointed out that not that many years ago, the Spanish
government gave Spanish passports to Jewish descendants abroad of those expulsed
five centuries earlier. Apart from a standing distribution list, copies were
sent to Spanish diplomats and government officials, both at central government
and Madrid
community levels, as well as all main Spanish newspapers and TV stations. It
was of course meant in jest, though written up in a serious and respectful
style. There was not a single reaction from Spain, except from Mr José Fradejas
Lebrero, author as mentioned of the only book totally dedicated to this
episode. In a curt and angry email sent from what appeared to be his wife’s
address, he said that it was an outrageous and rude proposal, and totally
baseless, for which I should apologise to His Majesty. As I have been able to
find out during a personal and professional involvement of over 35 years with
the Hispanic world, a sense of humour is not among its most visible
characteristics.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ARTZUNI, Ruben History of the
Armenian People, in a Spanish translation published in Buenos Aires in 1971 (probably from an
original version in Armenian published in Soviet Armenia)
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA Web
version July 2008 On Jean Dardel
DARDEL , Jean Chronique
d’Arménie (Extracts from late 14th century manuscript)
FRADEJAS LEBRERO, José Leon V de Armenia (in Spanish) Instituto de
Estudios Madrileños, 2007
Madrid (several articles mentioned in this
book’s bibliography were also consulted on line, in particular the Crónica de
don Juan I, of Pedro Lopez de Ayala, various notes by Amanda Lopez Meneses,
also writing under the pseudonym Madelena Saez Pomés).
FROISSART J. Chronicles, 1844, quoted in
Christopher Walker’s Visions of Ararat
LAFUENTE Modesto
Historia General de España Madrid
1861
KURKJIAN Vahan A History of Armenia AGBU 1958
MONOGRAFIAS.com
Website (Historia de Madrid)
RAMIREZ José Luis Leon V de Armenia, Señor de
Madrid Amigos del Foro Cultural de Madrid
(website)
RYMER T.
Feodera, The Hague 1739-45 quoted in Christopher Walker’s Visions of
Ararat
And
numerous other short references and websites
MAP OF MADRID
IN THE XIVth CENTURY
(modern
reconstruction based on contemporary information)
