y, the depth of sentiment and singleness of purpose of its
Aragonese inhabitants, the crusading spirit that carried to victory the
armies of Peter II of Aragon and his more famous son, James the
Conqueror, lend probability to a legend that would ordinarily be
considered highly improbable from the point of view of historical
authenticity. Stripped of the fantastic details that have gathered about
it in the many literary treatments given to it by Spanish writers, the
legend may be briefly told. In Teruel, at the beginning of the
thirteenth century, lived Juan Diego Martinez Garces de Marsilla and
Isabel de Segura. They had loved each other from childhood, but when it
became a question of marriage, Isabel's father opposed the union
because of the young man's lack of material resources and because a
wealthy suitor, Rodrigo de Azagra, had presented himself for the hand of
his daughter. All that the entreaties of the lovers could gain from him
was the promise that if Marsilla went to the wars, gained fame and
riches, and returned before a certain day, he would receive Isabel in
marriage. This Marsilla did; but unfortunately he was unable to return
until just after the expiration of the time set. When he reached Teruel,
he found Isabel married to the wealthy rival. Disappointed in their
hopes after so many years of constant love and continual struggle
against adversity, Marsilla died of grief, and Isabel soon followed him;
separated in life by cruel fate, they were united in death. Buried in
the same tomb, they were later disinterred, and their mummified remains
may now be seen in the old church of San Pedro in Teruel.

#II. Authenticity of the Legend#. The earliest references that have
yet been found to the legend belong to the middle of the sixteenth
century, that is, more than three centuries after the supposed death of
the lovers. In 1555, when the church of San Pedro in Teruel was
undergoing some repairs, two bodies, supposedly those of Marsilla and
Isabel, were discovered in one tomb in a remarkably good state of
preservation. They were reburied at the foot of the altar in the chapel
of Saints Cosme and Damian, and the story of the unfortunate lovers
began to spread far and wide. By the end of the century it was
apparently widely known and attracted considerable attention to the old
city of Teruel. When Philip III of Spain was journeying to Valencia in
1599 he was induced to turn aside to visit the church of San Pedro. In