At the end of the 15th century, during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Doña Beatriz, daughter of Don Tello de Guzmán, was spending the summer at the castle of Villaviciosa, a town located about twenty kilometers from the capital. She was 17 years old and possessed a beauty that left no one indifferent.
But one day, an emissary arrived at the castle bearing the sad news of Don Tello's death in a campaign against the Moors. And her placid existence changed radically: not only had she lost her beloved parent, but she also fell captivated by the young man who had served as the messenger. Although she insisted with a thousand excuses and pretexts that the youth rest at the castle just to be able to be near him, he was responsible with his mission and swiftly departed again for the war front.
Those who inhabited the castle heard the young woman's laments for days. Everyone interpreted it as the infinite sadness of a daughter for the loss of her father, but in reality, this pain was mixed with the anguish of a lover who does not know if she will ever see her beloved again.
Doña Beatriz, gripped by a painful passion, a feeling she had never known before, seemed like a soul in torment, wandering through the castle and spending whole hours, facing the cold and the heat, upon the battlements. From there, she scanned the horizon, hoping that the silhouette of the anonymous young man would appear in the distance.
Finally, one morning with a leaden and gray sky, she spotted a knight galloping toward her fortified residence. She had never taken so little time to descend from the keep to the courtyard. There, she waited longingly for the courier to leap from his mount and hand her a rolled parchment, which was opened anxiously.
And indeed, it was a letter from her beloved. What is more, it was a confession of love, of his love for her. But, clouding her initial happiness, she discovered that it was written in blood shed by the unfortunate youth. He had fought in battle with special verve and courage to achieve merits that would make him a knight. But that courage was tragic, as he was mortally wounded. Before passing away, he was able to write the letter with the following declaration:
“Upon seeing you, Doña Beatriz, I felt the call of love and wished to present myself as a knight before my lady of Villaviciosa, with merits to ask for your hand in marriage. I die, not so much from my many wounds as from the pain of not seeing you.”
And they say that, after reading this, Doña Beatriz's chest opened up like a reddish volcano of blood and flames, and she collapsed dead instantly.
No results match the filters you have selected. Try adjusting your filters to explore more options.