The Mercenary Mediterranean_ Sovereignty, Religion, and Violence in the Medieval Crown of Aragon - Hussein Fancy

134 chapter six

al- ‘Abbās’ attitude had grown increasingly bad, particularly after receiv-

ing news of the king’s truce (la carta dels Seynor Rey de la treva) with

Castile.^96 And even more startlingly, Bertran reported that three jenets,

bearing letters from the king of Granada, had visited with al- ‘Abbās,

which was a cause for great celebration ( fort alegrats) among his soldiers.

Thus, Bertran requested that Templar knights be sent to the kingdom

for its protection. Seeing the jenets’ lack of loyalty to the Crown, Bertran

warned the king that al- ‘Abbās and his men were “the worst and the most

evil men in the world (la pigor gent e la pus avol del mon).”

In a separate letter to the king, Bernat de Libia, the bailiff of Valencia,

also reported that the situation in the kingdom had grown worse and po-

tentially dire.^97 Every day, he wrote, al- ‘Abbās met with Valencian Mudé-

jares, who were pleased to see him. He had also heard rumors that after

meeting the jenet commander, some of these subject Muslims sold their

possessions and made preparations to leave the kingdom. Had the jen-

ets convinced the Mudéjares that it was their duty to emigrate? Bernat

also warned that since al- ‘Abbās’ arrival, Muslim preachers (moradins)

in Valencia had become more outspoken. “For certain,” he added, “to

my understanding and that of others who know the Moors, they would

not behave like this unless they were going to rise up like the other time

[i.e., the revolt of al- Azraq].”^98 This notice suggests coordination or col-

laboration rather than tension between the jenets and Mudéjar preach-

ers. It gives a glimpse of the support that local religious leaders had for

the jenets, something that legal sources from North Africa masked. In

other words, in this case, the Mudéjares saw the jenets not as agents of the

Crown or traitors but rather as their protectors. Bernat explained finally

that he had spoken with al- ‘Abbās extensively and that the jenet captain

swore that he remained loyal to the Crown of Aragon but that many of his

soldiers said that “they would do no harm to the king of Granada (que ells

no farien mal al Rey de Granada).”

Thus, not only had the changing political climate affected al- ‘Abbās

and his troops but also the presence of the jenets had had a profound in-

fluence on the Mudéjar population. Nevertheless, Jaume’s response to the

claims that the jenets were a threat was as equivocal as that of his prede-

cessors. On the one hand, he ordered the arrest of a Muslim preacher by

the name of Alhaig (al- Ḥājj), “the pilgrim,” for incitement.^99 He also com-

manded the Templars to enter Játiva for its protection.^100 On the other

hand, he ignored al- ‘Abbās’ conspiratorial behavior and passed over com-

plaints that the jenets would not support the Crown against Granada in

the coming war.