Alas, Alhama!
The Constant Princess“Alas, Alhama!” is identified in the book’s note on songs as a traditional song associated with the work’s musical material. The note records Francesca Claremount’s Catherine of Aragon as the source through which the song is quoted, distinguishing the song’s traditional status from the book’s documentary source for it.
Identification and Source
The note lists “Alas, Alhama!” alongside two other traditional songs: “Riders gallop through the Elvira gate…” and “There was crying in Granada…”. It attributes these songs to Francesca Claremount’s Catherine of Aragon. This establishes a source for the song as cited in the book, but does not identify an individual author or give further details about its composition.
Place in the Song Note
The note places “Alas, Alhama!” among songs connected with the book, while separately attributing “A palm tree stands in the middle of Rusafa” to Abd al Rahman, in translation. The distinction records different source histories for the quoted material; the note itself does not specify when or how “Alas, Alhama!” appears in the narrative.
