F0156 · The Maroon Kingdom / The Creators of a New World
And William of Ockham, according to the lord of Montijo, was the German who had freed the mind, which could now organize itself, thanks to the printing press, in gatherings free from the yoke of Christ’s false vicar. How could they go on saying that Rome was one after what had happened in Avignon? No one could go on believing there was anything holy in the lord of this city (and here Garci pointed to all of Rome as though it were a harlot who had been found guilty) after the Great Schism.
—Perhaps —Alberto remarked, more to learn than to defend the Church— Rome has had to ally itself with the empire because of the invasions of all the barbarians. This is the reason for the empire, and why Aragon is so interested in Charles, Juana’s son and the duke of Luxembourg, coming in his time to hold his grandfather’s title and becoming emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
—Let’s take it slowly, little monk —said Garci, completely drunk. Fortune has not yet favored Matías. The queen is ill, and the German electors, I assure you, will not want the grandson of an Aragonese on Charlemagne’s throne.
—It has been the Christian universities —Alberto said that have promoted the study of geography.
—You have seen them yourself today. It has been the Arabs, the Jews and the Genoese. It has been the merchants, like me, who are seeking the routes. What has the pope done? Divide a sea he does not know between Spain and Portugal. The Germans are furious, as are the English, and it is they, the German and Jewish bankers, who control the world and promote the new science and the new art. They are the creators of a new world.
—The Flemish and Italian bankers have no small amount of money.
Garci smiled.
—They have taught you Christian apologetics well, little monk. And you sing well, but you have not understood the fallacies of all that they now want to present to us as the only, the true religion. You have read the Corpum Hermeticum, but tell me. Have you read the Chaldean oracles? Look for them in Isaac’s library. There you will find the place from which the notion of trinity came, the mythical and fantastic representations that today, with innocent fancy, they teach to a populace they want to keep bound to their meaningless rituals.
A beggar approached to ask them for a coin. Alberto told him to go away, and Garci did not even look at him. Only Farid took a coin from a leather molleja and gave it to him. The man went away thanking Christ.
—There they are —the consort concluded—. They thank Christ for their misery.
He said it so loudly that the beggar returned and spat on the ground before the gentleman. It was a daring gesture, because he could die, but the man asked his condottieri to restrain themselves. The fellow spat and threw the coins at the Arab boy’s feet. He said he could not accept money from a blasphemer and went away.
Garci picked up the money and gave it back to Farid, who received it with disgust.
They argued no more. Nor did they sing. They contented themselves with breathing the placid air rising from the woods of the Gianicolo.
F0156 · The Maroon Kingdom / The Creators of a New World
And William of Ockham, according to the lord of Montijo, was the German who had freed the mind, which could now organize itself, thanks to the printing press, in gatherings free from the yoke of Christ’s false vicar. How could they go on saying that Rome was one after what had happened in Avignon? No one could go on believing there was anything holy in the lord of this city (and here Garci pointed to all of Rome as though it were a harlot who had been found guilty) after the Great Schism.
—Perhaps —Alberto remarked, more to learn than to defend the Church— Rome has had to ally itself with the empire because of the invasions of all the barbarians. This is the reason for the empire, and why Aragon is so interested in Charles, Juana’s son and the duke of Luxembourg, coming in his time to hold his grandfather’s title and becoming emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
—Let’s take it slowly, little monk —said Garci, completely drunk. Fortune has not yet favored Matías. The queen is ill, and the German electors, I assure you, will not want the grandson of an Aragonese on Charlemagne’s throne.
—It has been the Christian universities —Alberto said that have promoted the study of geography.
—You have seen them yourself today. It has been the Arabs, the Jews and the Genoese. It has been the merchants, like me, who are seeking the routes. What has the pope done? Divide a sea he does not know between Spain and Portugal. The Germans are furious, as are the English, and it is they, the German and Jewish bankers, who control the world and promote the new science and the new art. They are the creators of a new world.
—The Flemish and Italian bankers have no small amount of money.
Garci smiled.
—They have taught you Christian apologetics well, little monk. And you sing well, but you have not understood the fallacies of all that they now want to present to us as the only, the true religion. You have read the Corpum Hermeticum, but tell me. Have you read the Chaldean oracles? Look for them in Isaac’s library. There you will find the place from which the notion of trinity came, the mythical and fantastic representations that today, with innocent fancy, they teach to a populace they want to keep bound to their meaningless rituals.
A beggar approached to ask them for a coin. Alberto told him to go away, and Garci did not even look at him. Only Farid took a coin from a leather molleja and gave it to him. The man went away thanking Christ.
—There they are —the consort concluded—. They thank Christ for their misery.
He said it so loudly that the beggar returned and spat on the ground before the gentleman. It was a daring gesture, because he could die, but the man asked his condottieri to restrain themselves. The fellow spat and threw the coins at the Arab boy’s feet. He said he could not accept money from a blasphemer and went away.
Garci picked up the money and gave it back to Farid, who received it with disgust.
They argued no more. Nor did they sing. They contented themselves with breathing the placid air rising from the woods of the Gianicolo.
F0156 · El Reino Cimarrón / Los creadores de un nuevo mundo
Y era Guillermo de Ockham, según dijo el señor de Montijo era el alemán que había liberado a la mente que ahora podía organizarse, gracias a la imprenta en reuniones libres del yugo del falso vicario de Cristo. ¿Cómo podían seguir diciendo que Roma era una después de lo que había sucedido en Aviñón? Nadie podía seguir creyendo que había algo santo en señor de esta ciudad (y aquí Garci señaló a toda Roma como si fuese una ramera que ha sido encontrada culpable) después del Gran Cisma.
—Tal vez —comentó Alberto, más por saber que por defender a la Iglesia— Roma ha tenido que aliarse con el imperio a causa de las invasiones de todos los bárbaros. Esta es la razón del imperio y por eso Aragón está tan interesada que el Carlos, el hijo de Juana y duque de Luxemburgo llegue, en su momento a ostentar el título de su abuelo y pueda ser emperador del Sacro Imperio Romano Germánico.
—Vamos con calma pequeño monje —dijo Garci completamente borracho. Aún la suerte no ha caído sobre Matías. La reina está enferma y los electores alemanes, te lo aseguro, no van a querer al nieto de un aragonés en el trono de Carlomagno.
—Han sido las universidades cristianas —dijo Alberto las que han promovido el estudio de la geografía.
—Tú los has visto hoy mismo. Han sido los árabes, los judíos y los genoveses. Han sido los mercaderes, como yo, los que estamos buscando las rutas. ¿Qué ha hecho el papa? Repartir un mar que no conoce entre España y Portugal. Los alemanes están furiosos, igual que los ingleses y son ellos, los banqueros alemanes y judíos los que controlan el mundo y promueven la nueva ciencia y el nuevo arte. Son ellos los creadores de un nuevo mundo.
—Los banqueros flamencos e italianos no tienen poco dinero.
Garci sonrió.
—Te han enseñado bien la apologética del cristianismo pequeño monje. Y cantas bien, pero no has entendido las falacias de todo eso que hoy quieren presentarnos como la única, la verdadera religión. Has leído el Corpum Hermeticum, pero dime. ¿Has leído los oráculos caldeos? Búscalos en la biblioteca de Isaac. Encontrarás ahí el lugar del que ha salido la noción de trinidad, las representaciones míticas y fantásticas que hoy con fantasía inocente le enseñan a un vulgo a quien quieren tener atado a sus rituales sin sentido.
Un mendigo se aproximó a pedirles una moneda. Alberto le dijo que se fuera y Garci ni siquiera lo miró. Sólo Farid extrajo de una molleja de piel una moneda que le dio. El hombre se fue dando las gracias a Cristo.
—Helos ahí —remató el consorte—. Agradecen a Cristo de su miseria.
Lo dijo tan fuerte que el mendigo volvió y escupió al suelo frente al gentil hombre. Era un gesto atrevido porque podía morir, pero el hombre pidió a sus condotieros que se controlaran. El tipo escupió y lanzó las monedas a los pies del muchacho árabe. Dijo que no podía recibir dinero de un blasfemo y se fue.
Garci recogió el dinero y se lo devolvió a Farid quien lo recibió con asco.
No discutieron más. Tampoco cantaron. Se contentaron con respirar el aire plácido que subía del bosque del Gianicolo.