Kingdom of Granada

The Kingdom of Granada is the setting and governing power behind the story of Abindarráez and Jarifa, an episode Felismena recounts at Felicia’s house. Its history is marked by the destruction and expulsion of the Abencerrajes: a royal decree shapes where Abindarráez may live, while the king’s later intervention helps restore the lovers to family and security. The kingdom thus frames a romance in which political authority first divides a couple and then, through a different exercise of power, permits their union to be recognized.

Political Setting and the Abencerrajes

The story introduces the Abencerrajes as a distinguished Granada lineage, praised for military courage, prudence in public affairs, generosity, and service to women. Older members served on the king’s council, while younger men pursued chivalric deeds. Their standing extended across social ranks: they were loved by common people, esteemed by the king, and celebrated as models of noble conduct.

That reputation did not protect the family from royal suspicion. After the king had wronged two Abencerrajes, an accusation arose that they and ten other members of the lineage had conspired to kill him and divide the kingdom. The narrative leaves the conspiracy’s truth unresolved, noting that it may have been true or false; it does establish that the plot was uncovered before it could be carried out. The accused were arrested and beheaded before the people learned of the case, and the king refused appeals for mercy, even when supporters offered substantial sums of gold and silver.

The purge went beyond the executions. The family’s houses were demolished, its property confiscated, and the surviving lineage denounced as traitors and forbidden to live in Granada. Abindarráez’s father and uncle were exempted after being found uninvolved, but that limited finding did not restore their former standing. The decree required them to send any sons away to be raised outside the city and to marry any daughters outside the kingdom when they came of age.

A Realm That Determines Where the Lovers May Live

Abindarráez was born in Granada but sent, under the decree, to be raised at Cártama. His father entrusted him to Cártama’s governor, an old friend and a man of considerable means. There Abindarráez grew up with the governor’s daughter, Jarifa. Both children believed themselves to be siblings, and the governor raised them as his own. The political ban therefore governs not only the family’s address: it places Abindarráez in the household where his love for Jarifa begins.

The royal administration later changes the household’s location again. The king orders Jarifa’s father to leave the fortress at Cártama and go to Coín, a frontier place, while Abindarráez is to remain at Cártama under the new governor. This reassignment creates an impending separation between the lovers. Jarifa promises that, when an opportunity arises, she will summon Abindarráez so they can fulfill their agreement to marry. When her father is called to Granada by the king, she sends for him; he sets out from Cártama toward Coín, but Rodrigo de Narváez captures him on the way.

Royal Authority and the Lovers’ Release

The king’s power first appears as a force that can move households, restrict residence, and place a relationship at risk. Yet Narváez’s intervention redirects that authority. After hearing Abindarráez’s account, Narváez releases him temporarily so he can reach Jarifa, on the condition that he return to captivity within three days. Jarifa then discloses that they have married and that she has chosen to come with him rather than remain behind. The couple returns to Narváez’s custody together.

Narváez writes to the king of Granada, explaining the marriage, Abindarráez’s capture, his temporary release, and the couple’s return. He asks the king not to treat Abindarráez as culpable for the old conspiracy and requests that Jarifa’s father forgive the marriage and receive Abindarráez as a son. The king responds by ordering Jarifa’s father to go to Álora, forgive the couple, and bring them home. Though Jarifa’s father is distressed, he obeys; once reunited with them, he welcomes the marriage and says Jarifa chose a better husband than he could have selected for her.

Narváez then releases Abindarráez without demanding a ransom. The couple returns to Coín, where they celebrate their marriage. Jarifa’s father subsequently urges them to repay Narváez for his generosity. Abindarráez sends four thousand gold doblas, six finely caparisoned horses, and six shields and lances; Jarifa sends a letter and a box of fine linen. Narváez accepts the money as the ransom for Abindarráez but returns it to help with the wedding expenses, while distributing most of the weapons and horses among his companions.

Narrative Significance

The Kingdom of Granada is more than a backdrop to the embedded romance: its laws and decisions set the terms of the lovers’ lives. The decree against the Abencerrajes explains Abindarráez’s removal from Granada, his upbringing at Cártama, and the vulnerability of his connection to Jarifa. A later royal command causes the relocation that appears to separate them just as they are preparing to marry.

The resolution does not erase the earlier persecution, but it contrasts the king’s original severity with his later willingness to pardon the lovers at Narváez’s request. Authority that once enforced exclusion now enables a family reconciliation. The episode also places the king’s decision within a broader chain of personal commitments: Narváez keeps faith with his prisoner, the couple returns as promised, and Jarifa’s father ultimately accepts the marriage. In this nested story, the kingdom’s political reach creates the lovers’ obstacles, while mercy and reciprocal generosity allow them to live within its order.