e time of
the surrender of Toledo, in 1074, is a most excellent example of the
eager, yet thoughtless, way in which they went about their new work.
When King Alfonso, after an interval of more than three hundred years,
regained possession of the ancient capital of the Goths, the city from
which the luckless Rodrigo, the last of the Goths, was driven, Toledo
was surrendered on the express condition that the Moors should not be
disturbed in their religious beliefs and that they were to retain the
use of their mosques. Such terms with such an enemy appeared monstrous
to the queen. Especially did it seem a sin before God that the
principal mosque, the Alfaqui, the noblest building in all that fair
city which lay stretched out with many a gilded dome and minaret upon
its seven hills above the Tagus, should still be used for the worship of
a pagan people; and Constance and Bernard plotted together, piously, for
the triumph of the true religion. The first time that the king left the
city, Bernard, now Archbishop of Toledo, acting under the authority of
Queen Constance, went to the Alfaqui at the head of a company of monks
summoned from his monastery at Sahagun, opened the doors, set up
crosses, erected altars, hung bells, and then publicly summoned the
people to mass on the following morning. The king, upon his return, was
furious at this intolerant act, and was moved to threaten punishment;
but the Moors, satisfied by his indignation, displayed a real spirit of
toleration in asking for the pardon of the monks.

The queen and Bernard, successful in this first struggle, continued to
labor incessantly for the glory of the Church. The masterful Pope
Gregory VII., in his letter addressed to the princes of Spain, said:
"You are aware, I believe, that from the earliest times the kingdom of
Spain was the special patrimony of Saint Peter, and although pagans have
occupied it, it still belongs to the same master." The King of Castile
was not bold enough to deny this papal claim of overlordship, and
Gregory demanded as first proof of his submission that he should
substitute throughout his realm the Roman liturgy for the national or
Mozarabic ritual then in general use. Queen Constance and Bernard were
in favor of this reform, and they prevailed upon the king to accept it;
but it was a far different matter to secure its actual use at the hands
of the national clergy, who were strongly opposed to the change. In
spite of all her efforts th