Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. III.djvu/311

XX. RETIREMENT OF GONSALVO, 285 intervention of the legislature in this matter, as chapter superfluous ; alleging that he held the regency as natural guardian of his daughter, nominated, more- over, by the queen's will, and confirmed by the cortes at Toro. These rights, they argued, were not disturbed by his resignation, which was a com- pulsory act, and had never received any express legislative sanction ; and which, in any event, must be considered as intended only for Philip's lifetime, and to be necessarily determined with that. But, however plausible these views, the irreg- ularity of Ferdinand's proceedings furnished an argument for disobedience on the part of discon- tented nobles, who maintained, that they knew no supreme authority but that of their queen, Joanna, till some other had been sanctioned by the legisla- ture. The whole affair was finally settled, with more attention to constitutional forms, in the cor- tes held at Madrid, October 6th, 1510, when the king took the regular oaths as administrator of the realm in his daughter's name, and as guardian of 25 Zurita, Anales, torn. vi. lib. 7, Uos fe leales servidores de la reina cap. 26, 34 ; lib. 9, cap. 20. nuestra seilora, porque la admini- See the bold language of the stracion ^ gobernacion destosreinos protest of the marquis of Priego, se diera e concediera a quien las against this assumption of the re- leyes destos reynos mandan que se gency by the Catholic king. "En den 6 encomienden en caso," &c. caso tan grande," he says, " que (MS. de la Biblioteca de la Real se trata de gobernacion de grandes Acad, de Hist., apud Marina, Te- reinos fc sefiorios justa 6 razonable oria, tom. ii. part. 2, cap. 18.) Ma- cosa fuera, e serla que fueramos rina, however, is not justified in Uamados e certificados de ello, regarding Ferdinand's subsequent porque yo 6 los otros caballeros convocation of cortes for this pur- grandes e las ciudades e alcaldes pose, as a concession to the de- mayores vieramos lo que debia- mands of the nation. (Teoria, ubi mos hacer e consentir como vasa- supra.) It was the result of the