War of Words
Spain 1614:
To my most loyal and obedient servant, Manuel, Duke of Guimaraes, from the hand of Sebastian, by the Grace of God King of Portugal and the Algarves, most worthy greeting.
My loyal servant,
I praise you most heartily on your successes in the field against our most notorious and fatal mutual enemy the Duke of Evreux, and wish to bestow upon you numerous and diverse honors and estates in good recognition of your faithful service, and here do summon you forth to my court at Lisbon, that I might place upon your brow the laurel with mine own hands. Make haste, and tarry not, but attend unto me within the month, and within one fortnight, iffen it be possible, for I wish to clasp you to my breast as my beloved kinsman.
Your loving liege, Sebastian R.
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To my most sovereign King of Portugal, Sebastian, from the hand of Manuel, Duke of Guimaraes, I bid thee hearty greeting.
My lord King,
My everlasting thanks to you for your kind words, which are a balm unto my heart in these trying days. I thank thee further that thou bidst me come into thy presence, and that thou wishest to bestow many favors upon my unworthy spirit; again I say unto you, my thanks. Alas, my men cry out for mine own strong hand, that by its lack they might go astray, and so I am forced by duty and by obligation to remain in place, before the walls of Madrid, which are even now under siege.
Your humble and obedient servant, Manuel.
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To my most docile servant, Manuel, Duke of Guimaraes, from the hand of Sebastian, by the Grace of God King of Portugal and the Algarves, most heartfelt greeting.
My obedient, faithful, and docile servant,
I weep that you have been enchained by duty and unable to attend me as has been my wish. In that interest, I hereby as your sovereign release you from your duties to your men, and bid you come hither to Lisbon to my side. My heart grieves, that I am separated from you. That you have not come forth from the wastes of Spain to fruited Lisbon is a wound in my spirit, and I am troubled. Further, I am troubled by persistent rumor that alights upon my ear. It is said to me that your men, when abroad and far from your watchful eye, do proclaim you King of Spain, in defiance of what are no doubt your own wishes. For I know thou art wise in the ways of the world, and knowest thou very well that my son is by law and by right the rightful King of Spain, and I have every faith that thou hast made no claim to that title, and that your men speak out of turn. My mind is unpeaced, and so I bid you, make still the thoughts that trouble me and send with your man a signed bond that you do recognize the rightful title of my son, Dom Sebastian, to that throne which was once the seat of Charles of Germany. And make you haste to my side, at once, for I fear for your safety.
Your most loving sovereign, Sebastian R
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To the most sovereign King of Portugal, Sebastian, from the hand of His Grace, Manuel, Duke of Guimaraes and Protector of Cantabria, Galicia, Asturias, Leon, and Castile, most esteemed greeting.
My lord King,
I gain great pains that I cannot comply with your desires espoused to me so eloquently in your prior correspondence. As thou art renowned for thy wisdom and thy wit, I must perforce conclude thy counselors do lie to thee, and mislead thee, as to the lawfulness of Dom Sebastian's usurpation of the crown of Spain, and I therefore reject their counseling that I do homage unto Dom Sebastian as vassal of the crown of Spain. My heart is heavy as I write this, for I do love thee with all mine heart, and know that the truth shall drive between us a wedge which I cannot bear. But the truth it is, and the truth it remains. Although my men do call me king, and do homage to me as their liege, I have not claimed that title, though my claim be better than your son's. I do this out of love for you, and grieve that I cannot do more. Pray do not ask me again.
Your loving servant, Manuel
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To my most humble and respectful servant, Manuel, Duke of Guimaraes, from the hand of Sebastian, by the Grace of God King of Portugal and the Algarves, most aggrieved greeting.
Manuel,
You have caused me offense which I do not warrant, and it pains me. Your recalcitrance and your obstinance make mine own heart hard against you, and it pains me. But even now I am gracious and merciful. If you put aside your befalsed claim to the throne of Spain, and lead your armies south, to fight those of the infidels who call themselves the Crescent Bands, I shall make you a Grand Duke of Galicia. You shall be made Lord Protector of those realms which have, in their error, bent the knee before you, and my son shall call you friend, and regard you as his most especial counselor when he is King of Spain. I extend to you, my son, the hand of friendship, and bid you come to my side, that I might forgive your trespasses, and make you my brother and beloved cousin again.
Your most forgiving sovereign, Sebastian R.
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To the King of Portugal, from the hand of His Grace, Manuel, Duke of Guimaraes and Protector of Cantabria, Galicia, Asturias, Leon, and Castile, greeting.
Your Grace,
What you have asked of me, I cannot do. By law, by custom, by right, by faith, and by the fealty of my lords and subjects, I have the better claim. You ask me that I should forsake what is mine, in favor of what is given to me, and which I already possess. I cannot do this. Your armies have been beaten by those of the infidel, and rely on the good graces of foreigners to survive. Your son has less claim to the sovereignty of the realm than does the pretender Enrique of Rohan. I grieve that we are at a divide, but so be it.
Manuel, Duke of Guimaraes
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To Manuel of Guimaraes, from the hand of His Majesty and Grace Sebastian, First of his Name, by the Grace of God King of Portugal and the Algarves, Protector of Spain, Regent of Naples and Sicily, greeting.
Since you have given me nothing but offense, when I have so kindly shown you the palm of my hand, and extended unto you honors beyond the dreams of even the mightiest of my lords, and have persisted in your ill-advised and obdurate insubordination towards my commands, and further refuse the offer of pardon I have delivered to you, I do cast you out. You are declared outlaw in my realm, your lands are forfeit to the crown, and your title is attainted away, and I attach it to my son, whose rights you have denied, as Peter denied our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If you lay down your sword, and swear never to take arms against my kingdom again, I shall pardon you, but if you do not, your sentence shall be a traitor's death. I give you until the New Year to send word to me that you have complied with my commands, and resumed your rightful role as my obedient, faithful, loyal, humble, and loving servant.
Your sovereign lord and master, King of the Portuguese and Overlord of Brazil, Sebastian R.
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To Sebastian of Portugal, from Manuel, Duke of Guimaraes.
King of the Portuguese,
Let it be as you say.
Manuel
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To His Holiness the Bishop of Rome, Marcellus, being the Third of that Name to hold the Throne of Saint Peter, Pontifex Maximus, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the Vatican City State, Servant of the servants of God, from the personal hand of His Majesty Sebastian, King of Portugal and the Algarves, Monarch over Brazil, most esteemed, beloved and humble greeting.
Your Holiness,
I write to you with heavy heart, to report unto you the miscreancy of one who claims to be a faithful servant of the Church but sooth does defy it, and is a heretic. Manuel, who called himself of late Duke of Guimaraes, has in his sinful pride granted himself the title of King of Spain, a title to which he has not the right, and indeed defies in so doing the command of his sworn and lawful sovereign, thus breaking his solemn oath to me. I respectfully petition your Holiness to bring to heel this wayward son, and castigate him mightily, that he might better know the error of his ways, and be corrected, lest he fall further into the sin of disobedience.
Pray be patient with me, and permit me the moment, that I might make thee better acquainted with the matter. It stands thusly: my daughter, Ursula, beloved of mine eye and beloved of the people of Spain, was lawfully queen until she was foul murdered by an assassin. Upon her death, her estate fell to her brother, my son who shareth my name, and he hath in these desperate times labored diligently to return order to that lawless kingdom, as is his duty as King of Spain. Manuel of Guimaraes has no right to this title, and his usurpation of it is an affront and an offense. I petition you, Marcellus, Vicar of Christ, to spare not the rod and spoil not the child, and by your wisdom bring truth to the ill-begotten so-called duke.
Your loving and bosom friend, Sebastian R.
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The Papacy of Marcellus III takes up the matter of the Spanish Succession in October of 1614.
