“From the outer walls hang chains and chains of the Christian captives of Granada, placed there in memory of them, which two carts would not be enough to carry them.”
A detailed investigation into the accounts of the treasurer of Isabella I of Castile, Ruy López de Toledo, reveals that the queen financed the transfer to Toledo of the chains of the Christian prisoners freed by Don Fernando in Marbella and other andalusian squares.
Toledo is steeped in stories that have been engraved in the collective memory. Although they lack documentary evidence, these narratives have been passed down orally from generation to generation and are widely accepted. Their legends are a clear testimony to this. Occasionally, however, an ancient document is discovered in an archive that sheds light on events previously believed to be true due to numerous testimonies over the centuries. This is precisely the case of one of the stories that most surprises visitors to San Juan de los Reyes Monastery.
The monastery was erected to commemorate the victory of the Catholic Monarchs over king Alfonso V of Portugal in the Battle of Toro. It was also envisaged as the final resting place of Isabel and Fernando, although they finally chose Granada because of its great symbolism after the conquest.
This symbolism, especially significant for the Catholic Monarchs and particularly for Isabel, is clearly reflected in the façade of the Toledo monastery. From its outer walls hang chains evoking the liberation of christian captives during the 15th-century War of Granada campaign against the muslims.
Numerous accounts in history books and chronicles of the period, such as that of the humanist Jerónimo Münzer in his work ‘Journey through Spain and Portugal in the years 1494 and 1495’, mention these shackles and emphasise their symbolism as a triumph of christianity over islam. However, until then there was no hard evidence that this had actually happened.
There are even documents that indicate that the chains were taken to Toledo by the freed cristian slaves themselves, as votive offerings of eternal gratitude to God and his queen.
This story has always been told and many have accepted it as true, although others, more sceptical, consider it to be merely ornamental with a clear symbolism. In any case, the chains fulfil their function of remembrance, homage and exaltation, although there has always been uncertainty as to whether they really belong to history or just to the propaganda of the time.
Pablo Ortego Rico, Professor of medieval history at the University of Malaga, sheds light on this subject in an article published in the Complutense University journal ‘medieval Spain‘, entitled ‘1480: Un año en la corte de Isabel I de Castilla’ (1480: A year at the court of Isabel I of Castile). This study is part of the results of the ‘Research Project Fiscal systems and state construction: Castile, centres and peripheries (1250-1550)‘, part of the Arca Comunis Network.
Ortego Rico analyses the accounts of the treasurer Ruy López de Toledo for the year 1480, which, according to him, “provide precise information on the sumptuous expenditure, the daily life of the queen and the payments made at the Castilian court in that year“.
One of these payments refers directly to San Juan de los Reyes. The original document, preserved in the Archivo General de Simancas, in the Contaduría Mayor de Cuentas (first period, file 106, undated), mentions that in 1485 Ruy López de Toledo paid “181,160 maravedíes to certain guides in charge of transporting the Queen’s ‘chamber’ throughout the year, including the transfer of the shackles of the captives from San Juan de los Reyes Monastery”.
This accounting entry constitutes the best proof that the transfer took place and that payment was made, thus certifying that the symbolism of the chains, as a reminder of the christian slaves in the nasrid kingdom of Granada, had a basis in historical reality.
History of the freed slaves
Ronda was taken on 22 May 1485 after a prolonged siege by the troops of the Marquis of Cádiz, Don Pedro Enríquez, the adelantado of Andalusia. Most of the city’s christian slaves worked in what was known as the Sala de la Noria, located under the city’s moorish royal palace.
This 14th-century water mine is one of the best-preserved examples of hydraulic engineering from the nasrid kingdom in Spain, built to fortify the city by taking advantage of a natural crack in the river wall. A gallery was dug to extract water by means of a waterwheel, thus ensuring the supply during sieges.
Slaves operated the waterwheel to provide water, as the gallery was too narrow for animals to access. During the christian siege of the city, the sappers of the Catholic Monarchs’ army were able to access it and overcome the natural defences and walls.
The Ronda slaves were freed, and to thank God and her queen, Isabel paid 181,160 maravedis for the chains to be taken to San Juan de los Reyes Monastery. Although some sceptics may question whether the chains currently hanging on the monastery walls are the originals as the building was burnt and looted in the 19th century by napoleonic troops and damaged during the Spanish Civil War.
Perhaps one day it will be possible to analyse the metal of these shackles to determine whether medieval methods were used in their casting and forging. In the meantime, the symbolism of these shackles endures as one of the great stories of San Juan de los Reyes.
