Note 585 — Chapter XVIII

Generaciones y Semblanzas, Cap. 33. Diego de Valera, who, like Guzman, just cited, had much personal intercourse with the king, gives a similar account of him, in a style no less natural and striking. “He was,” says that chronicler, “devout and humane; liberal and gentle; tolerably well taught in the Latin tongue; bold, gracious, and of winning ways. He was tall of stature, and his bearing was regal, with much natural ease. Moreover, he was a good musician; sang, played, and danced; and wrote good verses [trobaua muy bien]. Hunting pleased him much; he read gladly books of philosophy and poetry, and was learned in matters belonging to the Church.” Crónica de Hyspaña, Salamanca, 1495, folio, f. 89.