hat no one saw her body. She came wrapped
closely in a cloak of silken fabric fine and fair called sisclaton; it
was red with a border of silver and had a golden lion broidered on it.
She bowed to the king and took her seat on one side at some distance.
Then, behold, a _joglar_ come before the king, frank and debonair, who
said 'King, noble emperor, I have come to you thus and I pray you of
your goodness that my tale may be heard,'" The scene concludes, "Joglar,
I hold the story which you have related as good, amusing and fair and
you also the teller of it and I will order such reward to be given to
you that you shall know that the story has indeed pleased me."

The crown of Castile was united with that of Leon by Fernando III.
(1230-1262) the son of Alfonso IX. of Leon. Lanfranc Cigala, the
troubadour of Genoa, excuses the Spaniards at this time for their
abstention from the Crusades to Jerusalem on the ground that they were
fully occupied in their struggles with the Moors. Fernando is one of the
kings to whom Sordello refers in the famous _sirventes_ of the divided
heart, as also is Jaime I. of Aragon (1213-1276), the "Conquistador," of
whom much is heard in the poetry of the troubadours. He was born at [117]
Montpelier and was fond of revisiting his birthplace; troubadours whom
he there met accompanied him to Spain, joined in his expeditions and
enjoyed his generosity. His court became a place of refuge for those who
had been driven out of Southern France by the Albigeois crusade; Peire
Cardenal, Bernard Sicart de Marvejols and N'At de Mons of Toulouse
visited him. His popularity with the troubadours was considerably shaken
by his policy in 1242, when a final attempt was made to throw off the
yoke imposed upon Southern France as the result of the Albigeois
crusade. Isabella of Angouleme, the widow of John of England, had
married the Count de la Marche; she urged him to rise against the French
and induced her son, Henry III. of England, to support him. Henry hoped
to regain his hold of Poitou and was further informed that the Count of
Toulouse and the Spanish kings would join the alliance. There seems to
have been a general belief that Jaime would take the opportunity of
avenging his father's death at Muret. However, no Spanish help was
forthcoming; the allies were defeated at Saintes and at Taillebourg and
this abortive rising ended in 1243. Guillem de Montanhagol says in a
_sirventes_ upon this event, "If King J