SPAIN, 53? 



princes, dukes, marquises, counts, viscounts, and other inferior titles. 

 Such as are created grandees may stand covered before the king, and 

 are treated with princely distinctions. A grandee cannot be appre- 

 hended without the king's order ; and cardinals, archbishops, ambas- 

 sadors, knights of the golden fleece, and certain other great digni- 

 taries, both in church and state, have the privilege, as well as the 

 grandees, to appear covered before the king. 



The " Order of the Golden Fleece," particularly described before 

 in the orders of Germany, is generally conferred on princes and 

 sovereign dukes : but the Spanish branch of it has many French and 

 Italian nobility ; there are no commands or revenues annexed to it. 



The " Order of St. James," or St. Jago de Compostella, is the 

 richest of all the orders of Spain. It was divided into two branches, 

 each under a grand master ; but the office of both was given, by pope 

 Alexander VI, to the kings of Spain and Portugal as grand masters 

 in their respective dominions. The order is highly esteemed in. 

 Spain, and only conferred on persons of noble families. The same 

 may be said of the " Order of Calatrava," first instituted by Sanchio, 

 king of Toledo : it took its name from the castle of Calatrava, which, 

 was taken from the Moors, and here began the order, which became; 

 very powerful. Their number, influence, and possessions, were sd 

 considerable as to excite the jealousy of the crown, to which, at 

 length, their revenues, and the office of grand master, were annexed 

 by pope Innocent VIII. The celebrated " Order of Alcantara," 

 derived its origin from the order of St. Julian, or of the Pear-tree ; 

 but after Alcantara was taken from the Moors, and made the chief 

 residence of the order, they assumed the name of knights of the order 7 

 of Alcantara, and laid aside the old device of the pear-tree. This? 

 order is highly esteemed, and conferred only on persons of ancient" 

 and illustrious families. The "Order of the Lady of Mercy" is said! 

 to have been instituted by James I, king of Arragon about the year 

 1218, on account of a vow made by him to the Virgin Mary, during; 

 his captivity in France, and was designed for the redemption of cap- 

 tives from the Moors, in which were expended large sums of money. 

 It was first confined to men, but a lady of Barcelona afterwards got 

 women included in it. This order possesses considerable revenue^ 

 in Spain. The " Order of Montesa" was instituted at Valencia, at 

 the close of the thirteenth century, in the place of the Templars, and 

 enjoyed their possessions. Their chief seat being the town of Mon- 

 tesa, the order from thence derived its name, and chose St. George 

 for their patron. In the year 1771, the late king instituted, after 

 his own name, the " Order of Charles III," in commemoration of the 

 birth of the infant. The badge is a star of eight points, enamelled 

 white, and edged with gold ; in the centre of the cross is the image of 

 the Virgin Mary : vestments, white and blue. On the reverse, the let- 

 ters C. C. with the number III, in the centre, and this motto, Virtuti 

 et Merit o'. None but persons of noble descent can belong to this order. 



Religion... .The Romish religion is the only one tolerated in Spain. 

 The inquisition, a tribunal disgraceful to human nature, was, to the 

 honour of the cortes, abolished by them, during the absence of the 

 king in France, and to the disgrace of the latter, re-established by 

 him upon his return. The Spaniards embrace and practise the Ro- 

 man-catholic religion with all its absurdities ; and in this they have 

 been so steady that their king is distinguished by the epithet of Most 

 Catholic. It appears, however, that the burning zeal which distin- 



Vol. 7. 3 Z 



