The legend of the Troubadour Macias

Legend has it that the Troubadour Macias was born in a Galician village between 1340 and 1370, although little is known about the childhood and youth of this young nobleman.

Troubadour Macias had a special voice for singing. His trovas emanated strength, feeling and sweetness. He loved to write poetry to sing accompanied by his lute. His trovas became so popular that Enrique de Aragón, Marquis of Villena, asked him to be his maid.

From then on, Macías began to gain popularity, especially among women, as his poems were known for their delicate amorous sentiments. This did not go unnoticed by María de Albornoz, wife of Enrique de Aragón. Macías" poetry made María de Albornoz fall in love with the troubadour and, moreover, she was reciprocated.

The troubadour"s singing became more beautiful from that moment on. He sang poems full of feeling, but also of intense bitterness, as they had to hide their love. While Macías and María were in secret, Don Enrique was preoccupied with increasing his power by conquering new territories. For the Marquis of Villena, the only way to achieve this was to be a widower or a bachelor, so he spent his nights devising a plan to get rid of his wife.

When he came up with the plan, the Marquis of Villena wanted Macias to be the one to carry it out. Macias was to be the one to kill the source of his inspiration and the love of his life. This plunged the troubadour into despair and sadness because he knew that, sooner or later, someone would kill his beloved María.

Although Macias and Maria continued to see each other, the troubadour said nothing to her to avoid the girl"s concern. The troubadour"s songs became sad and desolate, until some bandits, in exchange for a few coins, kidnapped María, took her to a distant forest and, after a severe beating, took her to the castle of Arjonilla, in the province of Jaén.

On the property of the Marquis of Villena, she was left unconscious in the most secluded and darkest dungeon there. The next day, Enrique de Aragón feignedly reported his wife missing. Maria"s bloody clothes in the forest raised the alarm. No one found her body and, therefore, Don Enrique was a widower. The Marquis then achieved one of his goals: to become Master of the Order of Calatrava.

Meanwhile, Macias composed sad poems, increasing the rumour of the love between the troubadour and Maria, which reached the ears of Don Enrique who, angered by the betrayal, blamed the troubadour himself for the death of his wife. Macías went to prison and was taken to the same castle where his beloved was. He was locked up very close to her, in the dark, in chains, on bread and water and without his lute.

However, the two lovers soon realised how close they were, even though they were separated. While Maria could be heard sobbing for part of the day, Macias could be heard dedicating beautiful love verses to her in an attempt to cheer her up. Their love for each other was so pure that even the jailers themselves shed tears and tried to help them with more rations of bread and water. Even the inhabitants of Arjonilla came to listen to the troubadour, for whom they felt a very special affection.

One day, the now Master of Calatrava turned up at the castle of Arjonilla unannounced. As he approached the walls, he surprised a group of people sitting by the grilles of the dungeons listening to the love verses of Macías. Seized by anger, he took his spear and, without saying a word to the jailers, entered Macías" cell and pierced his heart.

All the inhabitants of Arjonilla wept at his funeral, including María, who was released so that she could attend. From then on, María was a living pity. Every afternoon she sat next to Macías" cell, moving her body as if listening to the melodies of her beloved. At night, she slept on Macías" tombstone with some wild flowers.

One day, Maria did not come to Macias" cell and everyone knew where to find her: at Macias" grave. His lifeless body lay on the epitaph "Here lies Macias, the lover". On his face was a sweet smile and in his hand were the flowers he brought to his troubadour every day.

Another legend, equally widespread, tells of the love story between the troubadour Macías and Doña Elvira, wife of Hernán Pérez de Vadillo, Marquis of Porcuna. According to this legend, when Macías was already with Don Enrique de Aragón, he met Doña Elvira. Macías saved the lady"s life when she was riding over a bridge, avoiding falling into a river, and it was then that the two young men fell in love.

However, at that time, a young man had to prove his worth, sword in hand, and Macías had to go to fight in Granada. Meanwhile, Don Enrique of Aragon arranged for Doña Elvira to marry Don Hernán Pérez de Vadillo, Marquis of Porcuna. The troubadour Macías was devastated by this news and turned his desolation into poetry.

One day, after a meeting with Doña Elvira, the troubadour Macías met the Marquis of Porcuna and, without knowing him, declared his love for Doña Elvira to his own husband. Don Enrique then ordered him imprisoned in the castle of Arjonilla.

Despite being imprisoned, Macías continued to sing to his beloved. His songs were so beautiful that crowds gathered every day next to the troubadour"s cell to listen to him. This news reached the Marquis of Porcuna who, filled with jealousy and rage, killed him.