High above Murcia, Monteagudo Castle casts its shadow over the landscape.
Centuries ago, it also witnessed a story of love, loss, and courage that has endured in legend.
The story begins with Zaida, a young woman whose name means “fortunate,” though her life proved anything but. In truth, she was María, a Christian noblewoman, daughter of a castellan serving the King of Castile. Her beauty was said to rival angels, admired far and wide. Life promised her happiness, and she was soon to marry a handsome Aragonese castellan, until disaster struck.
One fateful night, Moorish forces attacked. María was torn from her family and home, carried off to Monteagudo Castle, and forced into marriage with the Sultan. Confined in the steep fortress, her days became long and sorrowful. Her only escape was a balcony in a half-ruined tower, where she would watch the world beyond the castle walls, draped in white, a haunting vision for soldiers, peasants, and travellers who caught a glimpse of her. Admirers whispered in awe: “Sebahan Allah li jeloh ha!”, praise to God who created her.
Monteagudo Castle: Murcia’s lost love
The legend reaches its turning point one afternoon when the Sultan returns from a raid, victorious. Among the prisoners brought back was the young Aragonese castellan, badly wounded but alive. Zaida, clad in a luxurious white veil, could hardly believe her eyes. Recognising her lost love, she murmured, “My eyes have not deceived me!”
Thanks to the relative freedom of noble prisoners, the couple began secret meetings. Their reunion was tender, thrilling, and dangerous. But one night, the Sultan discovered them. Enraged, he lunged with a sword. Zaida stepped between her lover and the blade, declaring bravely: “I am your slave, but I never consented to be your wife.”
The Sultan mocked them, praising her beauty in poetic terms while asserting she could not be bought. When the Aragonese offered any ransom, the Sultan cruelly refused, and the young man was thrown from the balcony. In a desperate, heroic act, Zaida leapt after him.
The lovers were buried side by side, united at last in death. The Sultan, consumed by grief and rage, never found peace, meeting his end on a later raid.
