Note 78 — Appendices

It is stated in the Fuero of Nájera (a.d. 1076) that the price of the blood of a Moorish slave was twelve sueldos and a half, while the Fuero Viejo of Castile (Book II., Tit. III., Ley IV.) contains the significantly contemptuous phrase, “If a man demand of another a beast or a Moor” (si algún ome demanda á otro bestia ó moro). The Countess d'Aulnoy wrote in 1679;—“There are here (at Madrid) a large number of Turkish and Moorish slaves, who are bought and sold at heavy prices, some of them costing four hundred and five hundred escudos. Until some time ago the owners of these slaves possessed the right to kill them at their pleasure, as though they had been so many dogs; but since it was remarked that this usage tallied but poorly with the maxims of our Christian faith, so scandalous a license was prohibited. Nowadays the owner of a slave may often break his bones without incurring censure. Not many, however, resort to so extreme a chastisement.”