file which includes the numerous original illustrations4 ,see #caiff-;h4htm or #caiff-;h4zip3 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/cache_/epu b_/#caiff_/pg#caiff-;images4html7 or 7https3_/_/www4gutenberg4org_/files_/#ca iff_/caiff-;h4zip7 ,images of the original pages are available through ,internet ,archive4 ,see http3_/_/www4archive4org_/details_/cathe dralsofspai#jj;gadeiala ,,cathedrals ,,of ,,spain ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,new ,,cathedral ,illustration3 ,,salamanca ,,cathedrals ,,of ,,spain by ,,john ,,allyne ,,gade ,fully ,illustrated ,illustration ,boston and ,new ,york ,houghton ,mifflin ,company ,the ,riverside ,press ,cambridge #aiaa ,copyright1 #aiaa1 by ,john ,a4 ,gade ,all ,rights ,reserved ,published ,february #aiaa ,,to ,,the ,,last ,,ch,,telaine ,,of ,,frogner ,,hovedgaard ,,in ,,reverence1 ,,gratitude ,,and ,,affection ,,preface ,in the last dozen years many ,english books on ,spain have appeared4 ,they have dealt with their subject from the point of view of the artist or the historian1 the archologist1 the politician1 or the mere sight-seer4 ,the student of architecture1 or the traveler1 desiring a more intimate or serious knowledge of the great cathedrals1 has had nothing to consult since ,street published his remarkable book some forty years ago4 ,there have been artistic impressions1 as well as guide-book recitations1 by the score4 ,some have been excellent1 though few have surpassed the older ones of ,dumas1 pre1 and ,gautier1 or ,baedeker's later guide-book4 ,a year ago appeared the second and last volume of ,seor ,lamperez y ,romea's ,historia de la ,arquitectura ,cristiana ,espaola en la ,edad ,media1 a work so comprehensive and scholarly that it practically stands alone4 ,it has seemed to me that certain buildings1 and especially cathedrals1 cannot be properly studied quite apart from what surrounds them1 or from their past history4 ,to look comprehendingly up at cathedral vaults and spires1 one must also look beyond them at the city and the people and times that created them4 ,in some such setting1 the study of ,avila1 ,salamanca the elder and the younger1 ,burgos1 ,toledo1 ,leon1 ,segovia1,seville1 and ,granada is here attempted1 in the hope it will not prove too technical for the ordinary traveler1 nor too superficial for the student of architecture4 ,the cathedrals selected cover nearly all periods of ,gothic art1 as interpreted in ,spain1 as well as the earlier ,romanesque and succeeding ,renaissance1 with which the ,gothic was mingled4 ,all the great churches were the work of different epochs and consequently contain several styles of architecture4 ,the series here described is very incomplete1 but the book would have grown too bulky had it included ,santiago da ,compostella with its heavenly portal1 and ,barcelona or ,gerona1 ,lerida or ,tudela4 ,whether we read a page of ,cervantes1 or gaze on one of ,velasquez's faces1 or wander through one of the grand cathedrals of ,spain1 we realize that this great world-empire has never ceased to exist in matters of art1 but still in the twentieth century must rouse our wonder and admiration4 ,in barren deserts1 on parched and lonely plains1 amid hovels crumbling to decay1 still stand the monuments of ,spain's greatness4 ,but if nowhere else in the world can one find such glorious works of art surrounded by such squalor1 let us draw from the past the promise of a revival in ,spain of all that constitutes the true greatness of a nation4 ,in the fourth century1 ,bishop ,hosius of ,cordova was1 from every point of view1 the first living churchman--,cordova itself became1 under the ,ammeyad ,caliphs in the tenth century1 the most civilized1 the most learned1 and the loveliest capital in ,europe4 ,three hundred years later1 ,alfonso ,x of ,castile was not only a distinguished linguist and poet1 but the greatest astronomer and lawgiver of his age4 ,when the ,spanish people have once more made education as general as it was under the accomplished ,arabs1 and adopted the division of power insisted on in a letter from ,bishop ,hosius to the ,emperor ,constantius1 ,leave ecclesiastical affairs alone4444 ,we are not allowed to rule the earth1 they will take the rank their character and genius deserve among the nations4 ,their cathedrals will then stand in an environment befitting their grandeur1 a society which will help them to transmit to coming generations the noblest1 imperishable hopes of humanity4 ,,john ,,allyne ,,gade4 ,,new ,,york ,,city4 ,,contents ,i4 ,,salamanca #a ,,ii4 ,,burgos #ca ,,iii4 ,,avila #fe ,,iv4 ,,leon #hi ,v4 ,,toledo #aai ,,vi4 ,,segovia #afe ,,vii4 ,,seville #ahi ,,viii4 ,,granada #bcg ,,books ,,consulted #bfg ,,index #bfi ,,illustrations ,,new ,,cathedral ,,of ,,salamanca 7page #bd7 ,frontispiece ,,cathedrals ,,of ,,salamanca3 ,the towers of the old and new buildings #c ,,cathedrals ,,of ,,salamanca3 ,plans #f ,,threshing ,,outside ,,the ,,walls ,,of ,,salamanca #aj ,,cathedral ,,of ,,salamanca3 ,the ,tower of the ,cock #af ,,salamanca3 ,from the ,vega #bh ,,cathedral ,,of ,,burgos3 ,west front #cc ,,cathedral ,,of ,,burgos3 ,plan #cf ,,cathedral ,,of ,,burgos3 ,view of the nave #dj ,,cathedral ,,of ,,burgos3 ,lantern over the crossing #df ,,cathedral ,,of ,,burgos3 ,the ,golden ,staircase #ej ,,cathedral ,,of ,,burgos3 ,the ,chapel of the ,constable #ed ,,cathedral ,,of ,,burgos3 ,the spires above the house-tops #eh ,,cathedral ,,of ,,avila #fg ,,cathedral ,,of ,,avila3 ,plan #fh ,,cathedral ,,of ,,avila3 ,exterior of the apse turret #gb ,,avila3 ,from outside the walls #hj ,,cathedral ,,of ,,avila3 ,main entrance #hf ,,cathedral ,,of ,,leon3 ,from the southwest #ia ,,cathedral ,,of ,,leon3 ,plan #id ,,cathedral ,,of ,,leon3 ,looking up the nave #ih ,,cathedral ,,of ,,leon3 ,rear of apse #ajd ,,cathedral ,,of ,,toledo #aba ,,cathedral ,,of ,,toledo3 ,plan #abd ,,cathedral ,,of ,,toledo3 ,the choir stalls #adj ,,cathedral ,,of ,,toledo3 ,chapel of ,santiago1 tombs of ,alvaro de ,luna and his spouse #aeh ,,cathedral ,,of ,,segovia #afg ,,cathedral ,,of ,,segovia3 ,plan #agj ,,cathedral ,,of ,,segovia3 ,from the ,plaza #agf ,,cathedral ,,of ,,seville3 ,the ,giralda1 from the ,orange ,tree ,court #aia ,,cathedral ,,of ,,seville3 ,plan #aid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,seville3 ,gateway of ,perdon in the ,orange ,tree ,court #baj ,,cathedral ,,of ,,seville ,,and ,,the ,,giralda #bbh ,,cathedral ,,of ,,granada3 ,west front #bci ,,cathedral ,,of ,,granada3 ,plan #bdb ,,cathedral ,,of ,,granada3 ,the exterior cornices of the ,royal ,chapel #bdh ,,cathedral ,,of ,,granada3 ,the reja enclosing the ,royal ,chapel and tombs of the ,catholic ,kings #bef ,,cathedral ,,of ,,granada3 ,the tombs of the ,catholic ,kings1 of ,philip and of ,queen ,juana #bfb ,i ,,salamanca ,illustration3 ,photo by ,author ,,cathedrals ,,of ,,salamanca ,the towers of the old and new buildings ,,cathedrals ,,of ,,spain ,i ,,salamanca ,in quella parte ove surge ad aprire ,zeffiro dolce le novelle fronde1 ,di che si vede ,europa rivestire4 ,paradiso1 c4 ,,xii1 l4 #df4 ,i ,nowhere else in ,spain1 and certainly in few places outside her borders1 can one take in the whole architectural development of successive styles and ages so comprehensively as in ,salamanca4 ,byzantine and ,romanesque1 ,gothic from its first fire to the last flicker and coldness of the ashes1 and the triumphant domination of the reborn classicism1--all are massed together here4 ,contrasts are eloquent to belittle or magnify4 ,here two cathedrals stand side by side1 the older from the days of the ,kingdom1 a mere chapel in size compared to the larger and later expression of ,imperial ,spain4 ,a ,david beside a ,goliath1 simple power by the side of ponderous self-assurance4 ,rude in its simplicity1 seemingly unconscious of its great inheritance and the genius it embodies1 the old church stands a monument of early virile effort1 in strength and poetry akin to the wind-swept rocks round which still whisper mysterious ,oriental legends4 ,the huge bulk that overshadows it betrays exhausted vigor and a decadent form4 ,here is simplicity by complexity1 majestic sobriety close to wanton magnificence1 poise by restlessness2 each speaks the language of the age that conceived and brought it forth4 ,proximity has compelled the odiousness of comparison1 for you can never see the later ,cathedral apart from the old4 ,you are haunted by the salience of their divergency1 the importance of their contrasts1 until their meaning becomes so far clear to you that the solid blocks of the ancient temple seem to symbolize the ,church ,militant and ,triumphant4 ,that indomitable spirit did not meet you under the mighty arches of the newer church1 but go into the hushed perfection of those abandoned walls and walk along the dismantled nave and you will repeat the old epithet coupled with the city1 ,fortis ,salamanca6 ,this once famous town lay in a curious setting as seen from the cock-tower in the month of ,august4 ,here and there were rusty1 copper-colored fields1 where the plow had just furrowed the surface4 ,there were vineyards in which the sandy1 white mounds were tufted by the deep emerald of the grape-vines1 but the prevailing color was the yellow straw of harvested fields4 ,these were a busy scene1--laborers were driving their oxen harnessed to primitive carts and treading out the grain as in olden times4 ,they made their rounds between the high yellow cones built up of grain-stalks and filled the hot air with golden dust4 ,this is ,salamanca of to-day1 seemingly robbed of all but her rich vowels4 ,the whole city1 like her two cathedrals1 bears traces of the dynasties that have swept over her4 ,their footprints are everywhere4 ,hannibal's legions passed through ,roman ,salmantica on their victorious march to ,rome1 and the city soon afterwards became a military station in the province of ,lusitania4 ,plutarch praises the valor of her women4 ,age after age generals have built her bridges and the towers and walls that surround the valley and the three hills1 on one of which stands her supreme medival creation4 ,from the eighth century ,salamanca became an apple of discord between ,moslem bands and the forces of early ,castilian kings1 ,crescent and ,cross constantly supplanting each other on her turrets4 ,not until the latter half of the eleventh century1 in the days of ,king ,alfonso ,,vi1 were the ,moors driven south of ,leon1 and ,salamanca could at last claim to be body and soul ,christian4 ,the safety of the city was finally assured by ,alfonso's conquest of ,toledo4 ,the university1 destined to become so famous1 was founded by ,alfonso ,,ix about #abcj4 ,among the ,arab rulers in ,spain1 there were not a few as eager as their co-believers in eastern ,islam to learn all that the civilized world could teach in art and science4 ,the ,caliphate of ,cordova had from the tenth century drawn to its schools and academies proficients in astronomy1 mathematics1 and jurisprudence1 as well as in the more graceful arts of music1 rhetoric1 and poetry4 ,the monks of ,cluny1 belonging to the ,order of ,saint ,benedict1 then the most influential in ,europe1 now became domiciled in ,salamanca under the protection of ,king ,alfonso4 ,they contributed the arts of ,france1 preminently architecture1 and the training of their order as instructors and veracious compilers of historical annals to the learning and skill already established by the followers of ,mahomet in several cities of the ,spanish ,peninsula4 ,thus the science and arts of the ,orient joined forces with those of the ,occident within the strong walls of ,salamanca and founded there an illustrious seat of learning4 ,only three universities1 ,oxford1#a ,paris1 and ,bologna1 could boast a greater age1 but ,salamanca soon attained such eminence as to rank with these by papal decree among the four lamps of the world4 ,in the sixteenth century1 she numbered over seven thousand scholars4 ,among those destined to become famous in the world's history were ,saint ,dominic1 ,ignatius ,loyola1 ,fray ,luis of ,leon1 and ,calderon4 ,to-day solitude and intellectual stagnation reign in the halls and courts of this once renowned university4 ,in a few half-empty lecture-rooms the rustic now receives an elementary education1 as he listens to the cathedral chimes across the sunlit courtyard4 ,within the crumbling crenelations of the ancient battlements twenty-four once large parishes are more or less abandoned or laid waste with their convents1 monasteries1 and palaces4 ,illustration3 ,,key ,,of ,,plans ,,of ,,new ,,and ,,old ,,cathedrals ,,of ,,salamanca ,a4 ,old ,cathedral4 ,b4 ,new ,cathedral4 ,c1 ,c4 ,crossing4 ,d4 ,cloisters4 ,e4 ,choir4 ,f4 ,apse4 ,g1 ,g4 ,apsidal ,chapels4 ,h4 ,altar4 ,the history of ,salamanca's ecclesiastical architecture is connected with the campaigns which were carried on in ,castile and ,leon at the end of the eleventh and the beginning of the twelfth centuries4 ,these had established the dominion of ,king ,alfonso ,,vi1 and the great influence of the distinguished immigrant prelates of the ,french orders4 ,king ,alfonso left ,castile to his daughter ,urraca1 who1 with her husband1 ,count ,raymond of ,burgundy1 settled in ,salamanca4 ,the old city1 which had suffered so long and terribly from the successive fortunes of war and its quickly shifting masters1 was once more to feel the blessings of law and order4 ,to replace its sad depopulation1 ,count ,raymond allotted the various portions of the city to newcomers of the most different nationalities1--,castilians1 ,gallegos1 ,mozarabes1 ,basques1 and ,gascons4 ,among them were naturally pilgrims and monks1 who played an important part in every colonizing enterprise of the day1 introducing new ideas1 arts1 and craftsmen's skill4 ,after his conquest of ,toledo1 ,alfonso ,v,iplaced on the various episcopal thrones of his new dominion ,benedictine monks of ,cluny1--men of unusual ability and energy4 ,the great ,bernard1 who had been crowned ,archbishop of ,toledo1 had brought with him many brethren from the mother house1 whose patrimony was architecture4 ,among them was a young ,frenchman from ,prigueux in ,aquitaine1 ,jeronimo ,visquio1 whose ability as organizer and builder1 up to the time of his death in #aabj1 left great results wherever he labored1 and most especially in ,salamanca4 ,he was the personification of the ,church ,militant of his time1--fighting side by side with the most romantic hero of ,spanish history and legend1 confessing him on his death-bed1 and finally consigning him to his tomb4 ,jeronimo was transferred from the ,see of ,valencia to that of ,zamora1 to which ,salamanca was subject1 and shortly afterwards ,salamanca was elevated to episcopal dignity by ,pope ,calixtus ,,ii1 ,count ,raymond's brother4 ,even in the days of the ,goths1 we find mention of prelates of ,salamanca who voiced their ideas in the ,councils of ,toledo1 and later followed1 for such scanty protection as it offered1 the ,court of the early ,castilian kings4 ,in calling ,jeronimo to ,salamanca1 ,raymond had1 however1 a very different purpose in mind from that of attaching to his court an already celebrated churchman4 ,he understood the vital importance of building up within his city a powerful episcopal seat with a great church4 ,grants and other assistance were at once given the churchman and were in fact continued through successive reigns until1 with indulgences1 benefices1 and privileges1 it grew to be a feudal power4 ,as late as the fifteenth century1 the workmen of the ,cathedral were exempted from tributes and duties by the ,spanish kings4#b ,during the first years of ,jeronimo's activity and the earliest work on the building1 we find curious descriptions of how the ,moorish prisoners were put to work on the walls1 even to the number of five hundred ,moslem carpenters and masons4 ,the ,cathedral stands upon one of the hills of the old city4 ,the exact date of its inception1 as well as the name of the original architect1 is doubtful1 but it is certain that it was begun not long after the year #aajj4 ,at ,jeronimo's death it could not have been far advanced1 but the crossing and the ,capilla ,mayor could be consecrated and employed for services in the middle of the century1 and the first cloisters were built soon after4 ,the nave and side aisles followed1 their arches being closed in the middle of the thirteenth century4 ,the lantern was probably placed over the crossing as late as the year #abjj4 ,following an order inverse to that pursued by later ,gothic architects1 the ,romanesque builders finished their work with the eastern end4 ,its building extended over long periods marked by a gain in confidence and skill and a development of architectural style1 so that in its stones we may read a most interesting story of different epochs1 and to serious students of church-building1 the old ,cathedral of ,salamanca is possibly the most interesting edifice in ,spain4 ,it is magnificent in its early1 virile manhood4 ,the tracing of the many and varied influences is as fascinating as it is bewildering4 ,every student and authority on the subject has a new conception or some definite final conclusion in regard to its many surprising elements4 ,no student of ,spanish architecture has studied its origin with greater insight or knowledge than ,seor ,don ,lamperez y ,romea in his recent luminous work on ,spanish ecclesiastical architecture4 ,to say that the old ,cathedral was wholly a ,french importation would be unjust2 to speak of it as sprung entirely from native precedents and inspiration would show equal ignorance4 ,no1 there were many and subtle influences affecting its original conception and formation2 first of all and naturally1 those derived from ,burgundy1 now only partially visible1 as for instance the vaulting of the nave4 ,these precedents have been altered or concealed in the evolution of the building4 ,byzantine influences follow1--most obvious in the magnificent dome crowning the crossing4 ,the ,school of ,aquitaine of course made itself felt through ,bishop ,jeronimo as well as several of his successors4 ,great portions are ,gothic1 slightly visible in some of the later exterior work1 but throughout in the last interior portions of the great arches and vaults4 ,after carefully considering all these influences and going to their roots1 we may conclude that the old ,cathedral of ,salamanca is both in plan and structure a ,romanesque church of the ,burgundian ,school built on ,spanish soil by ,french monks from ,cluny1 who in their new surroundings were strongly affected by ,byzantine and ,oriental influences and possibly by the original ,spanish or ,moorish development of the dome4 ,at a later date1 under ,aquitaine bishops1 certain forms of vaulting characteristic of their region were adopted as well as devices to bring about the transition between the circular dome and the square base4 ,strange to say it is a ,romanesque church erected at the time when what are regarded as the finest ,gothic cathedrals were being built in ,france4 ,the ,spaniard clung more tenaciously to the older style1 which in many ways adapted itself better to his climate and requirements1 while it easily flowed into native streams of inspiration to form with them a mighty whole4 ,the church is neither ,french nor ,spanish nor ,arab nor ,italian in its various composition1 but distinctly ,romanesque in spirit4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,author ,,threshing ,,outside ,,the ,,walls ,,of ,,salamanca ,the plan is in general that of the old basilica3 a nave with side aisles of five bays1 a crossing prolonged one bay to the south beyond the side aisle1 while to the east the nave and side aisles all terminate in a semicircular apsidal chapel4 ,a portion of the southern wall of the huge new ,cathedral replaces the northern one of the old church by encroaching on its side aisle4 ,a flight of eighteen broad stone steps occupies the northern bay of the old ,cathedral's crossing and leads from its considerably lower pavement up to the level of the new one4 ,to the south lie the great cloisters4 ,it was a plan which for its time was undoubtedly as magnificent in scale as it seemed diminutive and insignificant in the sixteenth century when the new ,cathedral was built4 ,the massiveness on which the old ,romanesque builders depended to obtain their elevations and support the great weight is most impressive4 ,the outer walls have in some places a thickness of ten feet and the piers are much larger in section than those of the new ,cathedral which carry vaults soaring far above the roof of the earlier structure4 ,the choir had formerly blocked the clear run of the nave2 to the good fortune of the old church and the injury of the new1 this was removed to the latter when it was sufficiently advanced to receive it4 ,unfortunately1 the plan of the west front was very radically disturbed by the building of the new ,cathedral1 the two old towers flanking the entrance being removed and a narrow passage1 which leads into the nave through the immense later masses of masonry1 taking the place of the old entrance4 ,the nave is #cc feet wide1 #aij feet long and #fj feet high2 the side aisles are #bj feet broad1 #ahj feet long and #dj feet high1 thus surprisingly high in proportion to the nave4 ,the main piers which subdivide nave and side aisles are most interesting1 as their greater portion belongs to the original structure4 ,they are faced by semicircular shafts which carry simple1 unmolded1 transverse ribs in the central aisle4 ,a small additional columnar section is seen in the angles of the piers1 supporting in an awkward position1 with the assistance of the interposed corbel1 molded1 diagonal vaulting ribs4 ,columns1 reaching to about two thirds of the height of the tall shafts of the nave1 carry the arches separating nave from side aisles4 ,the undecorated base-molds of the total composite piers are all supported upon a heavy1 widely projecting1 common drum1 a curious remnant of the earlier single ,byzantine pillar of but one body and base4 ,the capitals are among the great glories of the edifice4 ,they are remarkable from every point of view1 and among the finest ,byzantine extant1 comparable to the best of ,saint ,mark's or of ,sancta ,sofia4 ,the acanthus leaves are carved with all the jewel-like sparkle and crispness and the play of light and shade of the best period2 the life and spring of a living stem are in them4 ,their oriental parentage is apparent at a glance4 ,much of the carving is alive with all the fancy and imagination of the day1--beasts and monsters1 real and mythical animals1 masks and contorted human figures and devils interlace on the bells and peer out from the foliage4 ,the execution is quite unrestrained4 ,it has a divergency which must have had its unconscious origin in the different antique caps serving again in the early ,byzantine edifices4 ,the ancient carvers must have realized the full importance of sculptural relief in their poorly lighted edifices4 ,again1 the corbels which carry the diagonal ribs are formed by crude contorted beings and animals1 in some instances bearing figures leaning against the lower surfaces of the diagonal ribs and intended still further to conceal its faulty spring4 ,at the intersections of the diagonal ribs are bosses with figures at the salient points4 ,with an astonishment verging on incredulity1 we look up at the vaulting supported by these piers4 ,in place of the great ,burgundian barrel vaults above the nave and semicircular arches between nave and side aisles1 there are pointed ,gothic transverse arches and quadripartite vaulting of low spring and simplest sections1 but nevertheless ogival4 ,it is evident both by the appearance of shafts1 as well as by other indications1 that it could not have been the original construction1 but rather one reached at a later day when the new art was supplanting the old1 a substitution for the original ,romanesque vaulting2 the upper windows and the most glorious lantern are all constructed in the ,romanesque style to which the ,spanish builders clung so long and tenaciously in preference to the subtle and nervous ,french ,gothic which suited neither their temperament nor conditions4 ,the church must originally have been carried out in their more native art1 which they better understood4 ,the western termination of the church is formed by three semicircular apses crowned by semicircular vaults4 ,in the central one1 closed from the transept by a simple iron reja1 stands the high altar backed by a great ,gothic retablo of fifty-five panels and crowned in the vaulting by a most remarkable painting4 ,in the walls of the niches is a series of tombs of persons with varying claims to our interest and esteem4 ,its original exclusiveness in the reception of royal princes of pure lineage gave way in the thirteenth century to admit princesses and bastards4 ,here lies the ,dean of ,santiago and ,archdeacon of ,salamanca1 a natural son of the ,king of ,leon4 ,his mother1 owing to her short-comings1 got no farther than the cloister vaults4 ,some one has extracted from the archives of the old ,cathedral the origin of the ancient mural decoration above the high altar4 ,on the #aeth of ,december1 #adde1 the ,chapter engaged the services of ,nicholas ,florentino1 painter1 who for a consideration of #ge1jjj maravedis of current white ,castilian money1 which is worth two old white ones and three new1 promised to complete the painting from top to bottom4 ,on a rich blue background the ,supreme ,judge stands in the centre2 to the right1 is a regiment of the dead clad in white raiment1 graciously welcomed by angels with trumpets2 on the left1 the damned are being hustled into hell by devils4 ,as a well-preserved example of very ancient ,spanish painting1 it certainly is of intrinsic value and interest and recalls the nave representations of early ,italian artists4 ,it is unusually well lighted for a ,romanesque church1 which is naturally owing to the dome and not to the various windows or roses4 ,there is no triforium1 but the side walls1 transepts1 and apses are pierced by openings of true ,romanesque type4 ,the thick masonry has been most timidly pierced for narrow1 round-headed slits of light1 with splayed jambs and colonettes engaged to their sides carrying the typically ornamented archmolds enframing the whole4 ,the stone mullions of the two remaining roses are equally timid and typical1 but have not suffered like the windows from the encroachment of the new edifice4 ,the pavement undulates like that of ,saint ,mark's4 ,high above the crossing of nave and transepts rises the tower flooding the church with light and internally as well as externally expressing one of the grandest architectural conceptions of the ,spanish ,peninsula4 ,superlatives can alone describe the ,torre del ,gallo1--truly a product and glory of ,spanish soil4 ,many writers have argued its similarity to the domes of ,aquitaine churches1 to ,saint ,front of ,prigueux and others1 but it is distinctly different from and far superior to those with which it has been compared in the magnificently interposed members of the drum1 which shed light into the church through their openings and raise the cupola high enough to make of it a finely proportioned1 crowning member4 ,the cupola alone1 certainly not the general disposition1 may be regarded as a copy of earlier examples4 ,the internal and external cores have been admirably managed1 the outer one being much higher to be in correct proportion to the surrounding masonry which it crowns4 ,the interior transition from the square to the round base1 twenty-eight feet in diameter1 is rather clumsily managed4 ,the successive masonry courses of the angles step out in ,byzantine fashion in front of each other4 ,the four piers of the crossing1 upon which the pendentives descend1 are no larger than the main piers of the nave4 ,above the pendentives which stand out1 in their undecorated masonry1 the circle is girdled by a carved cyma1 above which rises a double arcade of sixteen arches1 each arch flanked by strong and simple columns with ,byzantine caps of barely indicated foliage4 ,powerful1 intermediate columnar shafts separate the superimposed arcades and carry on their caps the sixteen ribs that shoot upwards and meet in the great floral boss at the apex of the inner dome4 ,the lower arcades are semicircular1 the upper1 trefoiled1 while the intermediate shafts are broken by two band-courses4 ,all the moldings1 and especially the energetic1 muscular ribs1 are splendidly simple and vigorous in their undecorated profiles4 ,the lower arcade is blind1 the upper admits light through timidly slender apertures1 with the exception of every fourth arch1 which coincides with an exterior turret4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,salamanca ,the ,tower of the ,cock ,externally the lantern is even more remarkable than internally4 ,as seen from within1 it is faced alternately by four tympanums and four turrets4 ,these are broken by long1 narrow1 round-headed openings1 vivified by ball moldings ornamenting the heavy rounding of their splays4 ,the tympanums1 as well as the windows between them1 and the turrets are flanked by a series of ,romanesque columns4 ,their grouping1 the deep reveals and resulting shadows1 the play of light and shade brought out in the foliage of their various caps1 which is but indicated in the simple manner of the style1 and the adjacent moldings1 all give a most archaic impression4 ,the roofing of the turrets1 as well as that of the outer dome1 suggests a stone coat-of-mail4 ,the flags are laid in scallops or stepped rows1 like the scales of a fish1 giving a far tighter joint than the stone channels covering the roofing of ,avila ,cathedral4 ,the outline of the dome is that of a cone with a slightly modulated curve1 perhaps unconsciously affected by a ,moorish delineation4 ,the angles are marked by bold crockets4 ,above1 crowning the apex1 perches the cock1 gayly facing whatever part of the heavens the wind blows from4 ,there is an everlasting triumph in it all1 reminding one not a little of that won at a later date in ,santa ,maria del ,fiore4 ,salamanca holds the religious triumph of a militant age2 ,florence1 the sacred glory of an artistic one4 ,the lofty aspiration1 boldly hewn in the ,spanish fortress1 is no less admirable than the constructive genius rounded in ,brunelleschi's dome4 ,the remainder of the interior is now singularly undecorated and severe4 ,the entrance has been so much transformed by later additions that1 in place of the original portal and vestibule1 there remains only a vestibule considerably narrower than the nave1 compressed on one side by the huge towers of the new ,cathedral1 and on the other by later alterations4 ,the two older towers which contained1 one the chimes and the other the dwelling of the ,alcaide1 have quite disappeared4 ,the vestibule has excellent allegorical sculptures and ,gothic statuary4 ,the northern aisle still has a few mural paintings1 but the larger part of those which once illuminated the bare walls were washed off by a bigoted prelate in the fifteenth century and the present gray of the stone1 as seen in the dim light1 looks cold compared to the rich gold of the exterior masonry bathed in sunshine4 ,the excellence of the vaulting is such that to-day hardly a fissure or crack is visible4 ,the old pavement consists of great rectangles marked by red sandstone borders and bluestone centre slabs1 the size of a grave1 with central dowels for lifting and closing4 ,in the southern transept-arm leading to the cloisters1 some of the original windows are still preserved with their fine columns1 archivolts1 and carved moldings4 ,the ribs of the vaults are decorated by zigzag ornamentation1 and here a few magnificent old tombs remain intact in their ancient niches4 ,there is1 properly speaking1 no exterior elevation of the whole structure4 ,the western front is hidden by the modernization1 the north and south1 by the new ,cathedral1 the cloisters1 and squalid1 encumbering walls and chapels4 ,from the ,patio ,chico alone1 the old structure can be seen unobstructed4 ,the curves of the apses bulge out like full-bellied sails1 their great masonry surfaces broken by the small windows1 which are cut with enormous splays and encased and arched by typical ,romanesque features1 the windows protected by heavy ,moorish grilles4 ,engaged shafts run up the sides of the central apse to below a quatrefoil gallery1 originally a shelter for the archers stationed to defend the building4 ,two fortress-towers formed the eastern angles north and south2 the one to the north was removed in building the new ,cathedral4 ,a scaled turret1 broken by later ,gothic pediments1 crosses the one remaining4 ,above all soars the dome1 the inspiration of our greatest ,american ,romanesque temple1 ,trinity ,church in ,boston4 ,at the end of the twelfth century the houses of a sacrilegious ,salamanca gentleman were confiscated and given to the ,cathedral ,chapter1 who forthwith began the cloisters upon their site4 ,they lie to the south and thus came to be planned and built into the original fabric and with ,romanesque arches and wooden roof4 ,they were practically entirely rebuilt in the fifteenth century and again restored in the eighteenth4 ,curious1 elaborate1 vaulted chapels--in one of which the ,mozarabic rite1 the ancient ,gothic ritual prolonged under ,moslem rule1 is still occasionally celebrated--adjoin it to the east and south4 ,recently1 old ,byzantine niches and tombs1 some of great interest1 have been uncovered in the outer walls4 ,,ii ,most ,reverend ,father in ,christ1 ,lord ,cardinal1 our much beloved and very dear ,friend2 ,we the ,king and the ,queen of ,castile1 of ,leon1 and of ,aragon1 ,sicily1 etc41 send this to salute you1 as one whom we love and esteem highly1 and to show we desire ,god may give life1 health1 and honor1 even to the extent of your own desire4 ,we inform you that the ,city of ,salamanca is one of the most notable1 populous1 and principal cities of our kingdoms1 in which there is a society of scholars1 and where all sciences may be studied1 and to which people from all states continually come4 ,the ,cathedral ,church of the said city is very small1 dark1 and low1 to such an extent that the divine services cannot be celebrated in such a manner as they should be1 especially during feast-days when a large concourse of people streams to the ,cathedral1 and by the ,grace of ,god1 the said city increases and enlarges day by day4 ,and considering the extreme narrowness of the said ,church1 the ,administrator and ,dean and ,chapter have agreed to rebuild it1 making it as large as is necessary and convenient1 according to the population of the said city4 ,this furthermore as the form and the fabric of the said ,church cannot be rebuilt without disfigurement4 ,and in order to build better and promptly1 as the said ,church has a very small income1 it is necessary that our most ,holy ,father concede some indulgences in the form that the ,bishops of ,vadajos and ,astorga1 our agents and emissaries to your ,court1 will tell your ,reverend ,fatherhood1 and we request you to beseech ,his ,holiness to concede the said indulgences4 ,therefore we affectionately beg you to undertake the matter in the manner which we affectionately supplicate1 because our ,lord will be served1 and the ,divine ,service increased1 and we will receive it from you in peculiar gratitude4 ,regarding this1 we wrote details to the said bishops4 ,we beg you to give them credit and favor4 ,most ,reverend ,father in ,christ1 ,lord ,cardinal1 our very dear and beloved friend1 may ,god our ,lord at all times especially guard and favor your ,reverend ,fatherhood4 ,i1 ,,the ,,king1 ,i1 ,,the ,,queen4 ,,seville1 the #agth day of ,february1 in the ninety-first year4 ,that was the way the ,catholic ,kings wrote to the ,cardinal of ,angers to make plain to him that the plain1 dark1 small1 old ,cathedral was no longer in keeping with their glory or the times1 and to begin the movement for a larger edifice4 ,the stern simplicity of the ancient ,church was indeed out of harmony with the brilliance and craving for lavish display and magnificent proportions which characterize the age of ,ferdinand and ,isabella4 ,pope ,innocent ,,viii answered the appeal in the year #adia1 granting permission for the transference of the services to a larger edifice more fitting the congregation of ,salamanca1 now at the zenith of its prosperity and academic renown4 ,in #aejh ,ferdinand passed through ,salamanca1 and was again sufficiently fired by religious zeal to issue the following order3 ,the ,king to the ,master ,mayor of the works of the ,church of ,seville4 ,since it has now to be decided how the ,church of ,salamanca may be made1 in order that its design may be made as it ought1 ,i consent that you be present there4 ,i charge and command you instantly to leave all other things1 and come to the said ,city of ,salamanca1 that1 jointly with the other persons who are there1 you may see the site where the said ,church has to be built1 and may make a drawing for it1 and in all things may give your judgment how it may be most suited to the,divine ,worship and to the ornature of the said ,church2 which1 having come to pass1 then your salary shall be paid1 which ,i shall receive return for in this service4 ,done in ,valladolid1 the #bc;d day of ,november1 #aeji4 ,the famous ,master of ,toledo1 ,anton ,egas1 received a similar summons 7served in his absence on his two maids71 but neither architect seems to have been over-zealous in carrying out the royal commands1 for next year ,queen ,juana1 ,ferdinand's daughter1 growing impatient1 writes again3 ,ifind it now good1 as ,i command you1 that immediately that this my letter shall be made known to you1 without making any excuse or delay1 you go to the said ,city of ,salamanca4 ,this produced the desired result1 for the two delinquent architects hurried to the city1 studied the conditions1 and1 after considerable squabbling with each other and the ,chapter1 many drawings1 and a lengthy report1 agreed to disagree4 ,this was too much for the ,bishop1 and without further ado he summoned on the #c;d of ,september1 #aeab1 a famous conclave of all the celebrated architects in ,spain to pass on the report of ,egas of ,toledo and ,rodriguez of ,seville and settle the matter4 ,here sat besides ,egas1 ,juan ,badajos1 ,juan ,gil de ,hontaon1 ,alfonso ,covarrubias1 ,juan de ,orazco1 ,juan de ,alava1 ,juan ,tornero1 ,rodrigo de ,sarabia and ,juan ,campero4 ,the matter was thrashed out both as to site and form and a final report sent in1 stating the result of their deliberations1 and as they were much learned and skilful men1 and experienced in their art1 their opinion ought certainly to be acted on4 ,however1 to leave no further doubt1 every one of them swore by ,god and ,saint ,mary1 under whose protection the ,church is1 and upon the sign of the ,cross1 upon which they all and each of them put their hands bodily1 that they had spoken the entire truth1 which each of them did1 saying1 ',so ,i swear1 and ,amen4' ,this settled the business4 ,three days afterwards1 ,juan ,gil de ,hontaon1 the later builder of ,segovia and rebuilder of the dome of ,seville1 was named ,maestro ,mayor and ,juan ,campero1 his apprentice4 ,on a stone of the main faade there still stands an inscription recording the solemn laying of the corner-stone on the #abth of ,may1 #aeac4 ,it was dedicated to the ,mother and the ,saviour4 ,the wisest of the resolutions passed by this wisest of architectural bodies was the recommendation to leave the old edifice undisturbed4 ,work was immediately started on the western entrance front and continued with untiring energy by ,juan ,gil until his death in #aeca4 ,his two sons assisted him1 and they were all constantly guided and aided by a body of the most eminent ,spanish architects who yearly visited the edifice4 ,on the death of ,maestro ,alvaro1 six years later1 ,juan's son1 ,rodrigo ,gil1 was selected as ,maestro ,mayor4 ,he naturally tried to carry out all his father had planned1 building with equal rapidity and no less excellence4 ,by #aefj the work had been carried as far towards the east as the crossing4 ,amid immense popular rejoicing1 and with ecclesiastical pomp1 the ,holy ,sacrament was moved from the old ,basilica to the new4 ,pio ,,iii papa1 ,philippe ,,ii rege1 ,francisco ,manrico de ,lara episcopo1 ex vetere ad hoc templum facta translatio xxv mart4 anno a ,christo nato ,,mdlx4 ,this of course gave a new impetus to the work1 and arch after arch1 chapel on chapel1 rapidly grew through the next decades4 ,the bigoted ,philip naturally looked on with favoring eye4#c ,twice the work languished1 but was resumed through the waning period of the ,gothic style4 ,the new classicism was triumphantly replacing the dying art1 and the builders of ,salamanca were sorely perplexed whether or not to make a radical departure to the newer style4 ,most fortunately1 the conclave called together at this critical moment remained loyal to the original conception1 and the ,renaissance only took possession in ornamentation and the dome4 ,not until #agcc was the final translation celebrated4 ,later1 earthquakes and lightning shook down both dome and tower1 so that practically it was not till the nineteenth century that the last mortar was dry4 ,the building spanned a long and glorious epoch in the city's history1 from a time when her imperial master ruled the world until a foreign upstart trampled her under foot4 ,the plan of the new ,cathedral1 like that of ,seville1 is an enormous rectangle of ten bays1 resembling a huge mosque1 #cgh feet long by #aha feet wide4 ,it consists of nave and double side aisles without projecting transept2 square chapels fill the outer aisles as well as the bays of the eastern termination4 ,after much discussion it was decided that the nave 7#acj feet high7 should be about one third higher than the first side aisles2 the chapels are #ed feet in height4 ,the choir blocks the third and fourth bays of the nave1 while the ,capilla ,mayor occupies the eighth4 ,over the sixth soars the lantern4 ,the platform of the ,patio ,chico separates the sacristy and the old ,cathedral that practically abuts the entire southern front4 ,at the southwestern angle1 the intersection of the two cathedrals is hidden by the gigantic tower4 ,the northern front is admirably free1 the whole structure being visible on its high granite platform4 ,the western front is entered through the great triple doorway1 the central being that of the ,nacimiento2 the northern1 through the ,puerta de las ,ramos1 the southern1 through the ,puerta del ,patio ,chico4 ,glancing at the plan as a whole1 one cannot but deplore that a conception of such daring proportions with no limitation of time nor money1 having centuries and the wealth of the ,indies to draw on1 was not conceived with that most perfect of all ,gothic developments1 the semicircular apsidal termination4 ,the ,spanish1 as well as the customary ,english eastern end1 can never1 from any standpoint of ingenuity or beauty1 be comparable to the amazing conceptions of ,rheims or ,amiens or ,paris4 ,the interior effect is expressed in one word1--grandiloquence4 ,it is a true child of the age which conceived it1 and the spirit which informed its erection4 ,if the fabric of the old ,cathedral is essentially ,romanesque1 with later ,gothic ornamentation and constructional features1 the new is entirely ,gothic1 with ,renaissance additions4 ,the spirit and form are ,gothic1--,spanish ,gothic1--and one of its last sighs4 ,the fire was extinct4 ,by display and sculptural fire-works1 by bold flaunting of mechanical mastery1 a last trial and glorious failure were made in an attempt to emulate the marvelous structural logic and simplicity which had marked the ,gothic edifices of an earlier age4 ,the blending of the two styles does not jar1 but has been effected with a harmony scarcely to be expected4 ,if one were not hampered with an architectural education1 one could admire it all1 instead of criticizing and wondering why a ,renaissance lantern is raised upon a ,gothic crown1 and why a fine ,renaissance balustrade above ,gothic band-courses separates the nave arches from its clerestory1 while those of the side aisles are separated by a ,gothic one4 ,the interior fabric itself is fine3 it is more in detail1 in the stringiness and multiplicity of moldings1 in the fineness1 subdivision1 and elaboration of carvings and ornament that one feels the advancing degeneration4 ,from being frank and simple1 it has become insincere and profuse4 ,the ,gothic window openings1 which had been steadily developing larger and bolder up to their culmination in the glorious conservatory of ,leon1 had again grown smaller and more fitted to the climate4 ,in ,salamanca they are small and high up4 ,nave and side aisles both carry clerestories2 that of the nave consisting of seventy-two windows in alternate bays of three windows and two windows with circle above1 that of the side aisle1 of one large window subdivided within its own field4 ,the chapel walls are also pierced by smaller openings4 ,some have good though not excellent coloring4 ,the form of the ,renaissance lantern is not infelicitous1 either from the inside or outside4 ,it was first built by ,sacchetti4 ,the double base is octagonal1 with corners strengthened by columns and pilasters and executed with much artistic skill4 ,were it not for the vulgar interior coloring and ornamentation of cherubs1 scrolls1 and scallop shells1 contorted1 disproportionate1 and unmeaning1 its high1 brilliantly lighting semicircle might be pleasing4 ,horrible decoration fills the panels of the octagonal base4 ,the dome itself is almost as gaudily colored4 ,the interior is built of a clear gray stone on which sparing employment of color in certain places is most effective4 ,thus in the bosses of the vaulting ribs throughout1 in the capitals of the piers of nave and transept1 in the very elaborate fan-vaulting of the ,capilla ,mayor1 and in the soffits of nave-clerestory1 the blue and gold contrasts finely with the cold gray surfaces4 ,renaissance medallions decorate the spandrels of the nave1 but those of the side aisles bear the coats-of-arms of the ,cathedral and the ,city of ,salamanca4 ,a differently designed fan-vaulting spreads over every chapel4 ,great rejas enclose choir and ,capilla ,mayor from the transept4 ,the rear of the choir is badly mutilated by a ,baroque screen1 while the sides and back of the high altar still consist of the rough blocks which have been waiting for centuries to be carved4 ,the choir-stalls are very late eighteenth century1 a mass of over-elaborate detail1 as fine as ,grinling ,gibbon's carving1 and if possible even more remarkable in the detail4 ,the west and north faades are1 for a ,spanish cathedral1 singularly free and unencumbered4 ,the west faces the old walls of the university4 ,the entire composition is overshadowed by the tremendous tower that looms up for miles around in the country4 ,it is indeed ,salamanca qui rige ses clochers rutilants sur la nudit inexorable du dsert4 ,though it has nothing to do with the rest of the composition1 it is a happy mixture of the two styles2 the massive base is as high as the roofing of the nave1 blessedly bare and severe beside the restlessness of the adjoining screen4 ,a clock and a few panels are all that break it4 ,classical balconies run round it above and below the first bell-story1 the sides of which are decorated with a ,corinthian order and broken by round arched openings4 ,a similar order decorates the drum of the cupola1 while ,gothic crocketed pyramids break the transition at angles4 ,at the peak of the lantern1 three hundred and sixty feet in the air1 soars the triumphant emblem of the ,church of ,christ4 ,that man of architectural infamy1 ,churriguera1 erected it1 showing in this instance an extraordinary restraint4 ,the faade belongs to the first period of the ,cathedral1 and portions of it are ,juan ,gil de ,hontaon's work1 though the later points to ,poniente4 ,it is interesting to compare it with the last ,gothic work in ,france1 with1 for instance1 ,saint-,ouen at ,rouen4 ,the end of the style in the two countries is totally different--one expiring in a mass of glass and tracery1 the other1 in a meaningless jumble of ornamentation1 of cusped and broken and elliptical arches and carving incredible in its delicacy4 ,one can scarcely believe it to be stone4 ,the ,spanish1 though not wild in its extravagance1 yet lacks all sense of restraint4 ,the front is composed of a screenwork of three huge arches1 within which three portals leading to the aisles form the main composition1 the whole crowned by a series of crocketed pinnacles4 ,a plain fortress-like pier1 resembling the remnant of an old bastion1 terminates it to the north4 ,great buttresses separate the portals4 ,around them are deep reveals and archivolt2 somewhat recalling ,french examples in their forms2 above them is an inexhaustible effort in stone4 ,there are myriads of brackets and canopies1 some few having statues4 ,there are enough coats-of-arms to supply whole nations with heraldic emblems1 and recessed moldings of remarkable and exquisite workmanship and crispness of foliage4 ,some of the bas-reliefs1 as those of the ,nativity and ,adoration1 are very fine4 ,the ,virgin in the pillar separating the doors of the central entrance gathers the folds of her robe about her with a queenly grace and dignity4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,salamanca ,from the ,vega ,the whole doorway on its great scale is a remarkable work of the transition from ,gothic to ,renaissance4 ,while the treatment of the figures has a naturalism already entirely ,renaissance1 the main bulk of the ornamental detail is still in its feeling quite ,gothic4 ,from the steps of the ,palazzo del ,goberno ,civil1 the northern front stretches out before you above the bushy tops of the acacia trees in the ,plaza del ,colegio ,viejo4 ,the demarcations are strong in the horizontal courses of the balconies which crown the walls of the nave and side-aisle chapels1--the two lower quite ,gothic4 ,the thrust of the naves is met by great buttresses flying out over the roofs of the side aisles1 and there1 as well as above the buttresses of the chapel walls1 pinnacles rise like the masts in a great shipyard4 ,the whole organism of the late ,spanish ,gothic church lies open before you4 ,the long stretch of the three tiers of walls is broken by the face of the transept1 the door of which is blocked1 while the surrounding buttresses and walls are covered with canopies and brackets1 all vacant of statues4 ,in place of the condemned door1 there is one leading into the second bay1 the ,puerta de los ,ramos or de las ,palmas1 in feeling very similar to the main doors of the west4 ,its semicircular arches support a relief representing ,christ entering ,jerusalem4 ,a circular light flanked by ,peter and ,paul comes above1 and the whole is encased in a series of broken arches filled with the most intricate carving4 ,the grand and the grandiloquent ,cathedral seem to gaze out over the town and the vast plain of the old kingdom of ,leon and to listen4 ,it is a golden town1 of a dignity one gladly links with the name of ,castile4 ,it is a city--or what is left of it after the firebrands of ,thiebaut1 of ,ney1 and of ,marmont--of the sixteenth century1 of convents and churches and huge ecclesiastical establishments4 ,they rise like amber mountains above the squalid buildings crumbling between them1 and stand in grilled and latticed silence4 ,las ,dueas lies mute on one side and on the other ,san ,esteban1 where the great discoverer pleaded his cause to deaf ears4 ,in the evening glow their brown walls gain a depth and warmth of color like the flush in the dark cheeks of ,spanish girls4 ,,ii ,,burgos ,illustration3 ,,cathedral ,,of ,,burgos ,west front ,whereat he wondred much1 and gan enquere ,what stately building durst so high extend ,her lofty towres unto the starry sphere4 ,the ,faerie ,queene1 book ,i1 c4 x1 lvi4 ,i ,the best view of the spires of ,burgos is from the ruined walls of the ,castillo high above the city4 ,from these crumbling ramparts1 pierced and gouged by a thousand years of assault and finally rent asunder by the powder of the ,napoleonic armies1 you look directly down upon the mistress of the city and the sad and ardent plain4 ,a stubbly growth1 more like cocoa matting than grass1 covers the unroofed floor beneath your feet4 ,from this ,castle1 ,ferdinand ,gonzales ruled ,castile1 and here the ,cid led ,doa ,zimena1 and ,edward ,i of ,england ,eleanor of ,castile1 to the altar4 ,the only colors brightening the melancholy hillside are here and there the brilliant blood-stain of the poppy1 the gold of the dandelion1 and the episcopal purple of the thistle4 ,below and beyond1 stretches a sea of shaded ochre1 broken in the foreground by the corrugations of the many roofs turned by time to the brownish tint of the encircling hillocks and made to blend in one harmony with its monochrome bosom4 ,fillets of silver pierce the horizon1 glittering as they wind nearer between over-hanging birches and poplars4 ,the deep1 guttural1 roar of the great ,cathedral's many voices rises in majestic and undisputed authority from the valley below1 now and again joined by the weaker trebles of ,san ,esteban and ,san ,nicolas4 ,regiments of soldiers march with regular clattering step through holy precincts and up and down the crooked lanes and squares2 barracks and parade-grounds occupy consecrated soil1--still ,santa ,maria la ,mayor raises her voice to command obedience and proclaim her undivided dominion over the plains of drowsy1 old ,castile4 ,from this height1 one does not notice the transformation of the ,gothic into seventeenth-century edifices1 nor the changes wrought by later centuries4 ,in the glare of the dazzling sun1 the tremulous atmosphere1 and the lazy1 curling smoke of the many chimneys1 ,burgos still seems ,burgos of the ,middle ,ages1 the royal city1 mistress of the castles and sweeping plains1 and the ,cathedral is her stronghold4 ,she is very old1--tradition says1 founded by ,count ,diego ,rodriguez of ,alava with the assistance of an ,alfonso who ruled in ,christian ,oviedo towards the end of the ninth century4 ,for many years his descendants1 as well as the lords of the many castles strewn along the lonely hills north of the ,sierra de ,guadarrama1 owed allegiance to ,leon and the kingdom of the ,asturias4 ,burgos finally threw off the yoke1 and chose judges for rulers1 until one of them1 ,ferdinand ,gonzalez1 assumed for himself and his successors the proud title of ,conde of ,castile4 ,under his great-grandson1 ,ferdinand ,i1 ,castile and ,leon were united in #ajcg1 thus laying the foundations of the later monarchy4 ,burgos became a capital city4 ,against the dark background of medival history and interwoven with many romantic legends1 there stands out that greatest of ,spanish heroes1 the ,cid ,campeador4 ,this ,rodrigo ,diaz was born near ,burgos4 ,the lady ,zimena whom he married was daughter of a ,count ,diego ,rodriguez of ,oviedo1 probably a descendant of the founder of the city4 ,in the presence of the knights and nobles of ,burgos1 the ,cid forced ,alfonso ,,vi to swear that he had no part in the murder of ,king ,sancho1 and in the royal city he was then elected ,king of ,castile by the ,commons 7#ajga74 ,alfonso never forgave the ,cid this humiliation1 and later exiled him4 ,to the ,burgalese of to-day1 he seems as living and real as he was to medival ,castilians4 ,spanish histories and children will tell you of two things that make ,burgos immortal--her ,cathedral1 and her motherhood to ,rodrigo ,diaz de ,vivar4#d ,the importance of the city as a ,christian centre becomes evident at the end of the eleventh century 7#ajgd71 when it receives its own bishop1 and shortly afterwards1 fully equipped1 convokes a church council to protest against the supplanting by the ,latin of the earlier ,mozarabic rite1 so dear to the hearts of the people4 ,the same ,alfonso transferred his capital to the newly conquered ,toledo and1 contemporaneous with the great prosperity of ,burgos during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries1 there was endless jealousy as to precedence1 first between ,burgos and ,toledo and afterwards between these and ,valladolid4 ,burgos reaches the zenith of her power in the reign of ,saint ,ferdinand and the first half of the thirteenth century1 though as late as #acdi1 ,alfonso ,,xi1 in the assembled ,cortes1 still recognizes ,burgos's claim as first city by calling on her to give her voice first1--prima voce et fide1 saying he would then speak for ,toledo4 ,not long after1 ,valladolid overshadows them both4 ,the greatness of ,burgos is that of the old ,castilian kingdom2 with its extinction came hers4 ,her flowering and expansion were contemporaneous with the most splendid period of ,gothic art4 ,her day was a glorious one1 before bigotry had laid its withering hand upon the arts1 and while the rich imagination and skilled hands of ,moorish and ,jewish citizens still ennobled and embellished their capital city4 ,,ii ,the present ,cathedral is singularly picturesque and by far the most interesting of the three great ,gothic ,cathedrals of ,spain1--,leon1 ,toledo1 and ,burgos4 ,the interest is mainly due to her vigorous organism1 an outcome of more essentially ,spanish predilections 7as well as a natural interpretation of the ,french importations7 than we find in either of the sister churches4 ,later additions and ornamentation have naturally concealed and disfigured1 but the old body is still there1 admirable1 fitting1 and sane4 ,illustration3 ,,key ,,of ,,plan ,,of ,,burgos ,,cathedral ,a4 ,chapel of ,santa ,thecla4 ,b4 ,chapel of ,santa ,anna4 ,c4 ,chapel of the ,holy ,birth4 ,d4 ,chapel of the ,annunciation4 ,e4 ,chapel of ,saint ,gregory4 ,f4 ,chapel of the ,constable4 ,g4 ,chapel of the ,parish of ,st4 ,james4 ,h4 ,chapel of ,saint ,john4 ,i4 ,chapel of ,saint ,catherine4 ,k4 ,chapel of ,jean ,cuchiller4 ,l4 ,chapter ,house4 ,m4 ,sacristy4 ,n4 ,minor ,sacristy4 ,o4 ,chapel of ,saint ,henry4 ,p4 ,altar4 ,q4 ,choir4 ,r4 ,chapel of the ,presentation of the ,virgin4 ,s4 ,choir4 ,t4 ,golden ,staircase4 ,u4 ,door of the ,pellegeria4 ,x4 ,door of the ,sarmental4 ,y4 ,door of the ,perdon4 ,z4 ,door of the ,apostles4 ,burgos ,cathedral is built upon a hillside1 her walls hewn out of and climbing the sides of the mountain1 making it necessary either from north or south to approach her through long flights of stairs4 ,what she loses in freedom and access1 she certainly gains in picturesqueness4 ,she is flesh of the flesh and blood of the blood of the city1 scaling its heights like a great mother and drawing after her the surrounding houses which nestle to her sides4 ,she would not gain in majesty by standing free in an open square1 nor by receiving the sunlight on all sides4 ,and so1 though many later additions hide much of the early fabric1 they combine with it to form a picturesque whole1 a wonderful jewelled casket1 a sparkling diadem set high on the royal brow of the city1 such as possibly no other city of its size in ,christendom can boast4 ,it was ,king ,alfonso ,,vi who at the end of the eleventh century gave his palace-ground for the erection of a ,cathedral for the new ,episcopal ,see4 ,we know nothing of its design1 nor whether it occupied exactly the same site as the later building4 ,the early one must1 however1 have been a ,romanesque ,church2--what might not a later ,romanesque ,cathedral have been6--for the style had arrived at a point of vitally interesting promise and national development1 when it was forced to recoil before the foreign invaders1 the ,benedictines and ,cistercians4 ,two great names are linked to the founding of the present ,cathedral of ,burgos1 ,saint ,ferdinand and ,bishop ,maurice4 ,the latter was bishop from #abac to #abch1 and probably an ,englishman who came to ,burgos in the train of the ,english ,queen1 ,eleanor ,plantagenet4#e ,he was sent to ,speyer as ambassador from the ,spanish ,court to bring back the ,princess ,beatrice as bride for ,saint ,ferdinand4 ,maurice's mission took him through those parts of ,germany and ,france where the enthusiasm for cathedral-building was at its height1 and he had time to admire and study a forest of exquisite spires1 newly reared1 particularly while the young lady given him in charge was sumptuously entertained by ,king ,philip ,augustus4 ,naturally he returned to his native city burning with ardor to begin a similar work there1 and probably brought with him master-builders and skilful artists of long training in ,gothic church-building4 ,queen ,berengaria and ,king ,ferdinand met the ,suabian ,princess at the frontier of ,castile4 ,the first ceremony was the conference of the ,order of ,knighthood1 in the presence of all the ricos hombres 7ruling men71 the cavaliers of the kingdom with their wives and the burgesses4 ,the sword was taken from the altar and girded on by the right noble lady ,berengaria4 ,we read that the other arms had been blessed by ,bishop ,maurice and were donned by the ,king with his own hands1 no one else being high enough for the office4 ,three days later ,ferdinand was married to dulcissimam ,domicellam in the old ,cathedral by the ,bishop of ,burgos without protest from the ,primate of ,castile1 ,archbishop ,rodrigo of ,toledo4 ,this took place in #abai1 and two years after ,king and ,bishop laid the corner-stone of the new edifice4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,burgos ,view of the nave ,the work must have been spurred on by all the religious ardor which fired the first half of the thirteenth century1 for only nine years later services were held in the eastern end of the building4 ,the good ,bishop was laid to rest in the old choir1 where he still lies undisturbed1 though to-day it is the ,capilla ,mayor4 ,by the middle of the century1 the great bulk of the old structure must have been well advanced4 ,the lower portions of the towers and the eastern termination are fourteenth-century work2 the spires themselves1 fifteenth4 ,a multitude of changes and additions1 new chapels and buildings1 gradually1 as years went on1 transformed the primitive plan from its first harmony and beauty to a confused mass of aisles1 vaults1 and chapels4 ,when we compare the present fabric with the early plan1 we see with what masterly skill and simplicity the original one was conceived4 ,all that is left or can be seen of this first structure is splendid4 ,though built in the second period of the great northern style1 it has none of the lightness of the ,french churches which were going up simultaneously1 nor even that of ,spanish ,leon or ,toledo4 ,it has heavy supporting walls and is of the family of the early ,french with a magnificently powerful and efficient system of piers and buttresses4 ,it is not free from a certain ,romanesque feeling in its general lines1 its windows1 and in many of its details4 ,though a splendid type of ,gothic construction1 this first church is a convincing proof that the nervous1 subtle1 fully developed system was foreign to ,spanish taste4 ,the complicated solutions1 the intricate planning1 were not in accordance with their temper nor predilections4 ,rheims may be said to express the radical temper of its ,french builders1 ,burgos1 the conservative ,spanish4 ,in ,spain1 construction and artistic principles did not go hand in hand in the glorious manner they were wont to in ,france4 ,burgos seems much more emotional than sensitive4 ,riotous excess and empty display take the place of restrained and appropriate decoration4 ,the organic dependence which should exist between sculpture and architecture1 so invariably present in the early ,french church1 is lacking in ,burgos4 ,a careful analysis is interesting4 ,it reveals the fusion of foreign elements1 the severe monastic of the ,cistercians and the later sumptuous secular style1 the florid intricacy of the ,german1 the glory of the ,romanesque1 the dryness of its revival and the bombast of the ,plateresque1 all more or less transformed by what ,spaniards could and would do4 ,in its construction and buttresses1 it recalls ,sens and ,saint-,denis2 in its nave1 ,chartres2 in its vaulting1 the ,angevine ,school4 ,the symmetry of the early plan is fascinating1 and ,seor ,lamperez y ,romea's sincere and beautiful reconstruction must be a faithful reproduction4 ,it makes the side aisles quite free1 the broad transepts to consist of two bays1 while the crossing is carried by piers heavy enough to support an ordinary vault but not a majestic lantern4 ,five perfectly formed radial chapels surround the polygonal ambulatory and are continued towards the crossing by three rectangular chapels on each side4 ,the vaulting of nave and transepts is throughout sexpartite2 that of the side aisles1 quadripartite4 ,most of this has1 as will be seen1 been profoundly modified4 ,the old structure is the kernel of the present church4 ,it consists of a central nave of six bays up to a strongly marked crossing and three beyond1 terminating in a pentagonal apse4 ,the side aisles are decidedly lower and continue across the transept round the apse4 ,these again are flanked on the west by the chapel churches of ,santa ,tecla1 ,santa ,anna1 and the ,presentacion1 as well as by a number of other smaller1 vaulted compartments4 ,only two of the radial chapels outside the polygonal ambulatory remain1 the others having been altered or supplanted by the great ,chapels of the ,constable1 of ,santiago1 ,santa ,catarina1 ,corpus ,christi1 and the ,cloisters4 ,the western front is entered by a triple doorway corresponding to nave and side aisles2 the southern transept1 by an incline #dj feet wide1 broken by #bh steps4 ,on reaching the door of the northern transept1 one finds the ground risen outside the church some #bf feet above the level of the inner pavement1 and instead of descending by the interior staircase1 one wanders far to the northeast1 there to descend to a portal in the north of the eastern transept4 ,the whole church is about #cjj feet long1 and in general #hc feet wide1 the transepts1 #aid feet4 ,the piers under the crossing1 as well as those of the first bay inside the western entrance1 are much larger than the others1 in order to support the additional weight of crossing and towers1 and the piers1 abutting aisle and transept walls1 are also unusually strong4 ,the interior pillars are of massive cylindrical plan1 of well-developed ,french ,gothic type1 solid1 but kept from any appearance of heaviness by their form and by eight engaged columns4 ,the ornamented bases are high and of characteristic ,gothic moldings4 ,the finely carved capitals carry square abaci in the side aisles and circular ones in the nave4 ,both abaci and bases have been placed at right angles to the arches they support4 ,the three engaged pier columns facing the nave carry the transverse and diagonal groining ribs1 while the wall ribs are met by shafts on each side of the clerestory windows4 ,the four main supports at the angles of the crossing are rather towers than piers4 ,in the original structure1 they were probably counterparts of those supporting the inner angles of the tower between nave and side aisles1 with a fully developed system of shafts for the support of the various groining ribs4 ,with the collapse of the old crossing and the consequent erection of an even bulkier and far more weighty superstructure1 tremendous circular supports upon octagonal bases were substituted4 ,they are thoroughly ,plateresque in feeling1 #ej feet in circumference and delicately fluted and ribbed as they descend1 with ,renaissance ornaments on the pedestals and similar statues under ,gothic canopies1 evidently inserted in their faces as a compromise to the surrounding earlier style4 ,glancing up at the superstructure and vaulting1 there is a great consciousness of light and joy1--a feeling that it would have been well-nigh perfect1 if the choir and its rejas could only have remained in their old proper place east of the crossing1 instead of sadlycongesting a nave magnificent in length and size4 ,the brightness is due1 partly to the stone itself1 almost white when first quarried from ,ontoria1 and partly to the uncolored glass in the greater portion of the clerestory4 ,here and there the masonry has the mellow tones of meerschaum1 shaded with pinkish and lava-gray tints1 but the effect is rather that of ancient marble than of limestone4 ,the interior1 compared to ,toledo1 is a bride beside a nun4 ,granting the loss of original simplicity and a rather distressing mixture of two styles1 the combination has been handled with a skill and genius peculiarly ,spanish and therefore picturesque4 ,the austerity of the ,french prototype has been replaced by joyousness and regal splendor4 ,if we examine carefully the older portions of the interior structure and carving as well as the traces of parts that have disappeared1 we feel how very ,french it is1 and undoubtedly erected without assistance from ,moorish hands4 ,the vaulting is like some of the ,french1 very rounded1 especially in the side aisles4 ,it is all plain excepting under the dome and the vaults immediately abutting1 where additional ribs were evidently added at a later time4 ,the vaulting ribs of the main arches start unusually low down1 almost on a level with the top of the triforium windows1 giving the church relatively a much lower effect than ,leon or the ,french ,rheims or ,amiens4 ,both triforium and clerestory are very fine1 especially in the nave1 where1 although they have undergone alterations1 these are less radical than in the ,capilla ,mayor4 ,the triforium1 which is early thirteenth-century work1 is strikingly singular4 ,its narrow gallery is covered by a continuous barrel vault parallel to the nave4 ,six slender columns divide its seven arches1 while above them are trefoil and quatrefoil penetrations contained within a segmental arch1 broken by carved heads4 ,the fine old shafts1 separating the trefoiled or quatrefoiled arcade1 are hidden by crocketed pinnacles and a traceried balcony4 ,the triforium east of the crossing has only four arches1 with much later traceried work above4 ,the charming old simplicity is of course lost wherever gaudy carving has been added1 but the oldest portions belong decidedly to the early ,gothic work of northern ,france4 ,above rises the clerestory in its early vigor1 with comparatively small windows1 consisting of two arches and a rose4 ,probably the crossing had originally a vault somewhat more elaborate than the others1 or1 possibly1 even a small lantern4 ,to emphasize the crossing1 both internally and externally1 was always a peculiar delight to ,spanish builders4 ,this characteristic was admirably adapted to ,romanesque churches and in the ,gothic was still felt to be essential1 but ,burgos shared the fate of ,seville and the new ,cathedral of ,salamanca4 ,the old writer1 ,cean ,bermudez1 relates that the same disaster befell the crossing of ,burgos that had happened to ,seville1--it collapsed entirely in the middle of the night on the #c;d of ,march1 #aeci4 ,at that time the ,bishop was the ,cardinal ,d4 ,fray ,juan ,alvarez de ,toledo1 famous for the many edifices which he erected and among them ,s4 ,esteban of ,salamanca4 ,owing to the zeal of the ,prelate and the ,chapter and the piety of the generous ,burgalese1 the rebuilding began the same year4 ,they called upon ,maestro ,felipe1 who was assisted in the planning and construction by ,juan de ,vallejo and ,juan de ,castanela1 architects of the ,cathedral4 ,felipe died at ,toledo1 after completing the bas-reliefs of the choir stalls4 ,the ,chapter honored his memory in a worthy manner1 for they placed in the same choir under the altar of the ,descent from the ,cross this epitaph3 ',philippus ,burgundio statuarius1 qui ut manu sanctorum effigies1 ita mores animo exprimebat3 subsellis chori struendis itentus1 opere pene absoluto1 immoritur4'#f ,in place of the old dome rose one of the most marvelous and richest structures in ,spain1 a crowning glory to the heavenly shrine4 ,it is at once a mountain of patience and a burst of ,spanish pomp and pride4 ,it is the labor of giants1 daringly executed and lavishly decorated4 ,the work of angels1 said ,philip ,,ii4 ,nothing less could have called forth such an exclamation from those acrimonious lips and jaded eyes4 ,the men who designed and erected it were the best known in ,spain4 ,there was ,philip1 the ,burgundian sculptor with exquisite and indefatigable chisel1 who had come to ,spain in the train of the ,emperor4 ,vallejo1 one of the famous council that sat at ,salamanca1 had with ,castanela erected the triumphal arch which appeased ,charles's wrath kindled against the citizens of ,burgos1 and is even to-day1 after the ,cathedral1 the city's most familiar landmark4 ,in the year #aefg1 twenty-eight years after the falling of the first lantern1 the new one towered completed in its place4 ,it was a magnificent attempt at a blending1 or rather a reconciliation1 of the ,renaissance and the ,gothic4 ,there is the character of one and the form of the other4 ,gothic trefoil arches and traceries are carried by classical columns4 ,renaissance balustrades and panels intermingle with crockets and bosses1 and ,florentine panels and statues with ,gothic canopies4 ,they are so interwoven that the careful student of architecture feels himself in a nightmare of styles and different centuries4 ,it was of course an undertaking doomed to failure4 ,the outline is octagonal4 ,above the pendentives1 forming the transition of the octagon1 comes a double frieze of armorial bearings 7those of ,burgos and ,charles ,v7 and inscriptions1 and a double clerestory1 separated and supported by classical balustraded passages2 the window splays and heads are a complete mass of carving and decorations4 ,the vaulting itself contains within its bold ribs and segments an infinite variety of stars1 as if one should see the panes of heaven covered with frosty patterns of a clear winter morning4 ,thophile ,gautier's description of it is interesting as an expression of the effect it produced on a man of artistic emotions rather than trained architectural feeling3 ,en levant la tte1 he says1 on aperoit une espce de dme form par l'intrieur de la tour1--c'est un groupe de sculpture1 d'arabesques1 de statues1 de colonettes1 de nervures1 de lancettes1 de pendentifs1 a vous donner le vertige4 ,on regarderait deux ans qu'on n'aurait pas tout vu4 ,c'est touffu comme un chou1 fenestr comme une truelle poisson2 c'est gigantesque comme une pyramide et dlicat comme une boucle d'oreille de femme1 et l'on ne peut comprendre qu'un semblable filigrane puisse se soutenir en l'air depuis des sicles4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,burgos ,lantern over crossing ,the work immediately around and underneath this gigantic effort is really the earliest part of the church1 for1 as was usual1 the portion indispensable for services was begun first4 ,the transepts1 the abutting vaults1 the southern and possibly the northern entrance fronts1 undoubtedly all belong to the work carried so rapidly forward by ,bishop ,maurice's contagious enthusiasm4 ,the work of the transepts is very similar to that in the nave1 but1 in the former1 one obtains really a much finer view of the receding bays north and south than in the nave with its choir obstruction4 ,the huge rose of the south transept1 placed directly under the arch of the vaulting1 is a splendid specimen of a ,gothic wheel4 ,its tracery is composed of a series of colonettes radiating from centre to circumference1 every two of which form1 as it were1 a separate window tracery of central mullion1 two arches and upper rose4 ,the other windows of the transepts are1 barring their later alterations1 typically thirteenth-century ,gothic1 high and narrow with colonettes in their jambs4 ,while the glazing of the great southern rose is a perfect burst of glory1 that of the northern transept arm is later and very mediocre4 ,there is a little chapel opening to the east out of the northern transept arm which is full of interest from the fact that it belongs to the original1 early thirteenth-century structure4 ,probably there was a corresponding one in the southern arm1 with groining equally remarkable4 ,the northern transept arm is filled by the great ,renaissance golden staircase leading to the ,puerta de la ,coroneria1 now always closed4 ,it must have been a magnificent spectacle to see the purple and scarlet robes of priest and prelate sweep down the divided arms of the stair uniting in the broad flight at the bottom4 ,such an occasion was the marriage in #abfh of the ,infante ,ferdinand1 son of ,alfonso the ,wise1 to ,blanche of ,france1 a niece of ,saint ,louis4 ,the learned monarch ever had a lavish hand1 and he spared no expense to dazzle his distinguished guests1 among whom were the ,king of ,aragon and ,philip1 heir to the ,french throne4 ,ferdinand was first armed chevalier by his father1 and the marriage was then celebrated in the ,cathedral of ,burgos with greater pomp and magnificence than had ever before been seen in ,spain4 ,the gilt metal railing is as exquisite in workmanship as in design1 carried out by ,diego de ,silo1 who was the architect of the ,cathedral in the beginning of the sixteenth century4 ,there is also a lovely door in the eastern wall of the southern transept1 now leading to the great cloisters4 ,the portal itself is early work of the fourteenth century1 with the ,baptism of ,christ in the tympanum1 the ,annunciation and ,david and ,isaiah in the panels1 all of early energy and vitality1 as full of feeling as simplicity4 ,and the extraordinary detail of the wooden doors themselves1 executed a century and a half later by order of the quizzical-looking old ,bishop of ,acuna1 now peacefully sleeping in the chapel of ,santa ,anna1 is as beautiful an example of wood-carving as we have left us from this period4 ,if ,ghiberti's door was the front gate of paradise1 this was certainly worthy to be a back gate1 and well worth entering1 should the front be found closed4 ,the choir occupies at present as much as one half the length of nave from crossing to western front1 or the length of three bays4 ,with its massive ,corinthian colonnade1 masonry enclosure and rejas rising to the height of the triforium1 it is a veritable church within a church4 ,the stalls1 mostly ,philip of ,burgundy's work from about the year #aejj1 surround the old tomb of the ,cathedral's noble founder4 ,as usual1 the carvings are elaborate scenes from ,bible history and saintly lore1--over the upper stalls1 principally from the old ,testament1 and above the lower1 from the ,new4 ,a very remarkable family of ,german architects have left their indelible stamp upon ,burgos ,cathedral4 ,in #adce a prominent ,hebrew of the tribe of ,levi died as ,bishop of the ,see1 and was succeeded by his son1 ,alfonso de ,cartagena4 ,alfonso not only followed in his father's footsteps1 but became one of the most renowned churchmen in ,spain during the early years of ,ferdinand of ,aragon4 ,and he looks it too1 as he lies to-day near the entrance to his old palace1 in fine ,flemish lace1 mitre covered with pearls1 and sparkling1 jewelled crozier4 ,as ,chancellor of ,spain1 ,alfonso was sent to the ,council of ,basle1 and thereafter1 like his predecessor ,maurice1 he returned to ,burgos1 bringing with him visions of church-building such as he had never dreamed of before and the architect ,juan de ,colonia4 ,the ,plateresque style was rapidly developing towards the effulgence so in harmony with ,spanish taste4 ,interwoven and fused with the work ,juan was familiar with from his native country1 he and his sons1 ,simon and ,diego1 encouraged and royally assisted by ,alfonso and his successor1 ,d4 ,luis of ,acuna1 set about to erect some of the most striking and wonderful portions of ,burgos ,cathedral1--the towers of the faade1 the first lantern and the ,chapel of the ,constable4 ,the ,chapel of ,don ,pedro ,fernandez de ,velasco1 ,count of ,haro and ,constable of ,castile1 was not erected with pious intent1 but to the immortal fame of the ,constable and his wife4 ,in the centre of the chapel-church on a low base lie the ,count and ,countess4 ,the white ,carrara of the figures is strangely vivid against the dark marble on which they rest1 and all is colored by the sunlight striking down through the stained glass4 ,it is very regal4 ,the ,constable is clad in full ,florentine armor1 his hands clasping his sword and his mantle about his shoulders4 ,the carving of the flesh and the veining1 and especially the strong knuckles of the hands1 are astonishing4 ,the fat cushions of the forefinger and thumb seem to swell and the muscles to contract in their grip on the cross of the hilt4 ,the robe of his spouse1 ,doa ,mencia de ,mendoza1 is richly studded with pearls1 her hand clasps a rosary1 while1 on the folds of her skirt1 her little dog lies peacefully curled up4 ,the plan of the chapel is an irregular hexagon4 ,it should have been octagonal1 but the western sides have not been carried through and end in a broad-armed vestibule1 which by rights should be the radial chapel upon the extreme eastern axis of the whole church4 ,above the vaulting early ,german pendentives are inserted in the three faulty and five true angles in order to bring the plan into the octagonal vaulting form4 ,the builder seems almost to have made himself difficulties that he might solve them by a tour-de-force4 ,a huge star-fish closes the vault4 ,the recumbent statues face an altar4 ,the remaining sides are subdivided by typically ,plateresque band-courses and immense coats-of-arms of the ,haro and ,mendoza families4 ,the upper surfacing is broken by a clerestory with exquisite1 old stained glass4 ,it is melancholy to see tombs of such splendid execution crushed by meaningless1 empty display1 out of all scale1 vulgar1 gesticulating1 and theatrical1 especially so when one notices with what extraordinary mechanical skill much of the detail has been carved4 ,it thrusts itself on your notice even up to the vaulting ribs1 which the architect1 not satisfied to have meet1 actually crossed before they descend upon the capitals below4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,burgos ,the ,golden ,staircase ,the reja closing the chapel off from the apse is among the finest of the ,renaissance1 the masterpiece of ,cristobal ,andino1 wrought in the year #aebc4 ,curiously enough1 the supporters of the shield above might have been modeled by ,burne-,jones instead of the medival smith4 ,the interior could not always have been as light and cheerful as at present1 for probably all the windows were more or less filled with stained glass from the workshops of the many vidrieros for which ,burgos was so renowned that even other cathedral cities awarded her the contracts for their glazing4 ,the foreign masters of ,burgos were accustomed to see their arches and sculpture mellowed and illumined by rainbow lights from above1 and surely here too it was of primary importance4 ,after the horrible powder explosion of #ahac1 when the ,french soldiers blew up the old fortress1 making the whole city tremble and totter1 the agonized servants of the church found the marble pavements strewn with the glorious sixteenth-century crystals that had been shattered above4 ,they were religiously collected and1 where possible1 reinserted in new fields4 ,chapels stud the ground around the old edifice4 ,the ,cloisters1 a couple of chapels north of the chevet and small portions here and there1 rose with the transepts and the original thirteenth-century structure1 but all the others were erected by the piety or pride of later ages or have been transformed by succeeding generations4 ,their vaulting illustrates every period of ,french and ,german ,gothic as well as ,plateresque art1 while their names are taken from a favorite saint or biblical episode or the illustrious founders4 ,the fifteenth century was especially sedulous1 building chapels as a rich covering for the splendid ,renaissance tombs of its spiritual and temporal lords4 ,they are carved with the admirable skill and genius emanating once more from ,italy4 ,the ,castilian ,constable and his spouse1 ,bishop ,alfonso de ,cartagena 7in the ,capilla de la ,visitacion71 ,bishop ,antonia de ,velasco1 the eminent historian-archbishop 7in the ,sacristia ,nueva71 are splendid marbles of the classic revival4 ,they must all have been portraits3 for instance ,bishop ,gonzalvo de ,lerma1 who sleeps peacefully in the ,chapel of the ,presentacion2 his fat1 pursed lips and baggy eyelids are firmly closed1 and his soft1 double chin reposes in two neat folds upon the jeweled surplice4 ,so1 too1 ,fernando de ,villegas1 who lies in the north transept and whose scholarly face still seems to shine with the inner light which prompted him to give his people the great ,florentine's ,divine ,comedy4 ,the poetry and romance that cling to these illustrious dead are equally present as you pass through the lovely ,gothic portal into the cloisters which fill the southeastern angle of the church and stand by the figures of the great ,burgalese that lie back of the old ,gothic railings in many niches of the arcades4 ,to judge from the inscriptions they would1 if they could speak1 be able to tell us of every phase in their city's religious and political struggles1 from the age of ,henry ,,ii down to the decay of ,burgos4 ,saints1 bishops1 princes1 warriors1 and architects lie beneath the beautiful1 double-storied arcade4 ,here lies ,pedro ,sanchez1 the architect1 ,don ,gonzalo of ,burgos1 and ,diego de ,santander1 and here stand the effigies of ,saint ,ferdinand and ,beatrice of ,suabia4 ,the very first church had a cloister to the west of the transept1 now altered into chapels4 ,for some reason1 early in the fourteenth century1 the present cloister was built east of the south transept and with as lovely ,gothic arches as are to be found in ,spain4 ,we read of great church and state processions1 marching under its vaults in #acbd1 so then it must have been practically completed4 ,later on the second story was added1 much richer and more ornate than the lower4 ,the oldest masonry1 with its delicate tracery of four arches and three trefoiled roses to each arcade1 seems to have been virtually eaten away by time4 ,new leaves and moldings are being set to-day to replace the old4 ,the pure white1 native stone1 so easy to carve into spirited crockets and vigorous strings similar to the old1 stands out beside the sooty1 time-worn blocks1 as the fresh sweetness of a child's cheek laid against the weather-beaten furrows of the grand-parent4 ,a careful scrutiny of all the details shows in what a virile age this work was executed4 ,the groining ribs are of fine outline1 the key blocks are starred1 the foliage is spirited both in capitals and in the cusps of the many arches1 the details are carefully molded and distributed1 and the early statues in the internal angles and in places against the groining ribs are of rich treatment1 strong feeling1 and in attitude equal to some of the best ,french ,gothic of the same period4 ,the door that leads out of the cloisters into the old sacristy with the ,descent from the ,cross in its tympanum is truly a beautiful piece of this ,gothic work4 ,while these cloisters lie to the east1 the broad terraces leading to the glorious1 southern transept entrance are flanked to the west by the ,archbishop's ,palace1 whose bare sides1 gaudy ,renaissance doorway and monstrous episcopal arms1 repeated at various stages1 hide the entire southwestern angle of the church4 ,between the cloisters and the ,archbishop's ,palace at the end of the broad terraces1 rises the masonry facing the southern transept arm4 ,it belongs1 together with that of the northern1 to the oldest portions of the early fabric erected while ,maurice was bishop and a certain ,enrique architect1 and shows admirable thirteenth-century work4 ,the ,sarmentos family1 great in the annals of this century1 owned the ground immediately surrounding this transept arm4 ,as a reward for theirconcession of it to the church1 the southern portal was baptized the ,puerta del ,sarmental1 and they were honored with burial ground within the church's holy precincts4 ,it cannot be much changed1 but stands to-day in its original loveliness4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,a4 ,vadillo ,,cathedral ,,of ,,burgos ,the ,chapel of the ,constable ,a statue of the benign-looking founder of the church stands between the two doors1 which on the outer sides are flanked by ,moses1 ,aaron1 ,saint ,peter and ,saint ,paul1 and the two saints so beloved by ,spaniards1 ,saint ,james and ,saint ,philip4 ,the archivolts surrounding the tympanum are filled by a heavenly host of angels1 all busied with celestial occupations1 playing instruments1 swinging censers1 carrying candelabra1 or flapping their wings4 ,both statues and moldings are of character and outline similar to ,french work of this best period1 nevertheless of a certain distinctly ,spanish feeling4 ,the literary company of the tympanum is full of movement and simple charm4 ,in the lowest plane are the twelve ,apostles1 all1 with the exception of two who are conversing1 occupied with expounding the ,gospels2 in the centre is ,christ1 reading to four ,evangelists who surround him as lion1 bull1 eagle and angel2 finally1 highest up1 two monks writing with feverish haste in wide-open folios1 while an angel lightens their labor with the perfume from a swinging censer4 ,it is sculpture1 rich in effect1 faithful in detail and of strong expression1 admirably placed in relation to the masonry it ornaments4 ,it has none of the whimsical irrelevancy to surroundings characterizing so much of the work to follow1 nor its hasty execution4 ,it is not meaningless carving added indefinitely and senselessly repeated1 but every bit of it embellishes the position it occupies4 ,above the portal the stonework is broken and crowned by an exquisite1 early rose window and the later1 disproportionately high parapet of angels and free-standing quatrefoiled arches and ramps4 ,the northern doorway1 almost as rich in names as in sculpture1 is as fine as the southern1 so far below it on the hillside4 ,it is called the ,doorway of the ,apostles from the twelve still splendidly preserved statues1 six of which flank it on each side4 ,it is also named the ,door of the ,coroneria1 but to the ,burgalese it is known simply as the ,puerta ,alta1 or the high door4 ,the door proper with its frame is a later makeshift for the original1 thirteenth-century one4 ,on a base-course in the form of an arcade with almost all its columns likewise gone1 stand in monumental size the ,twelve ,apostles4 ,the drapery is handled differently on each figure1 but with equal excellence2 the faces1 so full of expression and character1 stand out against great halos and represent the apostles of all ages4 ,similar in treatment to the southern door1 the archivolts here are filled with a series of fine statues4 ,there are angels in the two inner arches and in the outer1 and the naked figures of the just are rising from their sepulchres in the most astonishing attitudes4 ,the tympanum is also practically a counterpart of the southern one1 only here in its centre the predominating figure of the ,saviour is set between the ,virgin and ,saint ,john4 ,as the ,puerta ,alta is so high above the church pavement1 and ingress would in daily use have proved difficult1 the great door of the ,pellejeria was cut in the northeastern arm of the transept at the end of the furriers' street1 and down a series of moss-grown1 cobblestone planes the ,burgalese could gain entrance to their church from this side4 ,the great framework of architecture which encases it is so astonishingly different from the work above and around it that one can scarcely believe it possible that they belong to one and the same building4 ,it is a tremendous piece of ,plateresque carving1 as exquisite as it is out of place1 erected through the munificence of the ,archbishop ,don ,juan ,rodriguez de ,fonseca in #aead by the architect ,francisco de ,colonia4 ,it might have stood in ,florence1 and most of it might have been set against a ,tuscan church at the height of the ,renaissance4 ,there is everywhere an overabundance of luxurious detail and rich carving4 ,between the entablatures and columns stand favorite saints4 ,the ,virgin and ,child are adored by a very well-fed1 fat-jowled bishop and musical angels4 ,in one of the panels the sword is about to descend on the neck of the kneeling ,saint ,john4 ,in another1 some unfortunate person has been squeezed into a hot cauldron too small for his naked body1 while bellows are applied to the fagots underneath it and hot tar is poured on his head4 ,while the whole work is thoroughly ,renaissance1 there is here and there a curious ,gothic feeling to it1 from which the carvers1 surrounded and inspired by so much of the earlier art1 seem to have been unable to free themselves4 ,this appears in the figure ornamentation in the archivolts around the circular-headed opening1 the angel heads that cut it as it were into cusps and the treatment and feeling of some of the figures in the larger panels4 ,the exterior of ,santa ,maria is very remarkable4 ,it is a wonderful history of late ,gothic and early ,renaissance carving4 ,the only clearing whence any freedom of view and perspective may be had is to the west1 in front of the late fifteenth-century spires1 but wherever one stands1 whether in the narrow alleys to the southeast1 or above1 or below in the sloping city1 the three great masses that rise above the cathedral roof1 of spires1 cimborio1 and the ,constable's ,lantern1 dominate majestically all around them4 ,if one stands at the northeast1 above the terraces that descend to the ,pellejeria door1 each of the three successive series of spires that rise one above the other far to the westward might be the steeple of its own mighty church4 ,the two nearest are composed of an infinite number of finely crocketed turrets1 tied together by a sober1 ,renaissance bulk2 that furthest off shoots its twin spires in ,gothic nervousness airily and unchecked into the sky1 showing the blue of the heavens through its flimsy fabric4 ,between them1 tying the huge bulk together1 stretch the buttresses1 the sinews and muscles of the organism1 far less marked and apparent1 however1 than is ordinarily the case4 ,at various stages above and around1 crowning and banding towers1 chapels1 apse1 naves1 and transepts1 run the many balconies4 ,they are ,renaissance in form1 but also ,gothic in detail and feeling4 ,like the masts of a great harbor1 an innumerable forest of carved and stonytrunks rise from every angle1 buttress1 turret1 and pier4 ,in among them1 facing their carved trunks and crowning their tops1 peeping out from the myriads of stony branches1 stands a heavenly legion of saints and martyrs4 ,crowned and celestial kings and angels people this petrified forest of such picturesque and exuberant beauty4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,a4 ,vadillo ,,cathedral ,,of ,,burgos ,the spires above the house-tops ,the general mass that rises above the roofs1 now flat and covered with reddish ochre tiles1 is1 whatever may be the defects of its detail1 almost unique in its lavish richness4 ,the spires rest upon the house-tops of ,burgos like the jeweled points of a monarch's crown4 ,the detail is so profuse that it well-nigh defies analysis4 ,it seems as if the four corners of the earth must for generations have been ransacked to find a sufficient number of carvers for the sculpture4 ,the closer one examines it1 the more astonishing is the infinite labor4 ,rich1 crocketed cornices support the numerous1 crowning balconies4 ,figure on figure stands against the many sides of the four great turrets that brace the angles of the cimborio1 against the eight turrets that meet its octagon1 on the corners of spires1 under the parapets crowning the transepts1 under the canopied angles of the ,constable's ,lantern1 on balconies1 over railings1 and on balustrades4 ,crockets cover the walls like feathers on the breast of a bird4 ,it surely is the temple of the ,lord of ,hosts1 the number of whose angels is legion4 ,it is confused1 bewildering1 over-done and spectacular1 lacking in character and sobriety1 sculptural fire-works if you will1 a curious mixture of the passing and the coming styles1 but nevertheless it is wonderful1 and the age that produced it1 one of energy and vitality4 ,curiously enough1 the transepts have no flying1 but mere heavy1 simple buttresses to meet their thrusts4 ,the ornamentation of the lower wall surfaces is in contrast to the superstructure1 barren or meaningless4 ,on the plain masonry of the lower walls of the ,constable's ,chapel stretch gigantic coats-of-arms4 ,knights support their heads as well as the arms of the nobles interred within4 ,life-sized roaring lions stand valiantly beside their wheels like immortally faithful mariners4 ,above1 an exquisitely carved1 ,german ,gothic balustrade acts as a base for the double clerestory4 ,the angle pinnacles are surrounded by the ,fathers of the ,church and crowned by angels holding aloft the symbol of the ,cross4 ,the gargoyles look like peacefully slumbering cows with unchewed cuds protruding from their stony jaws4 ,tufts of grass and flowers have sprung from the seeds borne there by the winds of centuries4 ,outside the ,chapel of ,sant ,iago are more huge heraldic devices3 knights in full armor and lions lifting by razor-strops1 as if in some test of strength1 great wheels encircling crosses4 ,above them1 gargoyles leer demoniacally over the heads of devout cherubim4 ,in the little street of ,diego ,porcello1 named for the great noble who still protects his city from the gate of ,santa ,maria1 nothing can be seen of the great church but bare walls separated from the adjacent houses by a dozen feet of dirty cobblestones4 ,ribs of the original chapels that once flanked the eastern end1 behind the present chapels of ,sant ,iago and ,santa ,catarina1 have been broken off flat against the exterior walls1 and the cusps of the lower arches have been closed4 ,thus the fabric has been added to1 altered1 mutilated or embellished by foreign masters as well as ,spanish hands4 ,who they all were1 when and why they wrought1 is not easy to discover4 ,enrique1 ,juan ,perez1 ,pedro ,sanchez1 ,juan ,sanchez de ,molina1 ,martin ,fernandez1 ,juan and ,francisco de ,colonia and ,juan de ,vallejo1 all did their part in the attempt to make ,santa ,maria of ,burgos the loveliest church of ,spain4 ,the mighty western faade rises in a confined square where acacia trees lift their fresh1 luxuriant heads above the dust4 ,the symmetry of the towers1 the general proportions of the mass1 the subdivisions and relationship of the stories1 the conception as a whole1 clearly show that it belongs to an age of triumph and genius1 in spite of the disfigurements of later vandals1 as well as essentially foreign masters4 ,it is of queenly presence1 a queen in her wedding robes with jewels all over her raiment1 the costliest of ,spanish lace veiling her form and descending from her head1 covered with its costly diadem4 ,north and south the towers are very similar and practically of equal height1 giving a happily balanced and uniform general appearance4 ,the lowest stage1 containing the three doorways leading respectively into north aisle1 nave1 and south aisle1 has been horribly denuded and disfigured by the barbarous eighteenth century1 which boasted so much and created so little4 ,it removed the glorious1 early portico1 leaving only bare blocks of masonry shorn of sculpture4 ,no greater wrong could have been done the church4 ,in the tympanum above the southern door1 the vandals mercifully left a ,coronation of the ,virgin1 and in the northern one1 the ,conception1 while in the piers1 between these and the central opening1 four solitary statues of the two kings1 ,alfonso ,,vi and ,saint ,ferdinand1 and the two bishops1 ,maurice and ,asterio1 are all that remain of the early glories4 ,the central door is called the ,doorway of ,pardon4 ,one can understand the bigotry of ,henry ,,viii and the ,roundheads1 which in both cases wrought frightful havoc in art1 but it is truly incomprehensible that mere artistic conceit in the eighteenth century could compass such destruction4 ,the second tier of the screen facing the nave1 below a large pointed arch1 is broken by a magnificent rose4 ,above this are two finely traceried and subdivided arches with eight statues set in between the lowest shafts4 ,the central body is crowned by an open-work balustrade forming the uppermost link between the towers4 ,the ,virgin with ,child reigns in the centre between the carved inscription1 ,pulchra es et decora4 ,three rows of pure1 ogival arches1 delicate1 and attenuated1 break the square sides of the towers above the entrance portals2 blind arches1 spires and statues ornament the angles4 ,throughout1 the splays and jambs are filled with glittering balls of stone4 ,inscriptions similar in design to that finishing the screen which hides the roof lines crown the platform of the towers below the base of the spires4 ,the towers remained without steeples for over two hundred years until the good ,bishop ,alfonso de ,cartagena1 returning to his city in #addb from the ,council of ,basle1 brought with him the ,german1 ,juan de ,colonia4 ,bishop ,alfonso was not to see their completion1 for he died fourteen years later1 but his successor1 ,don ,luis de ,acuna1 immediately ordered the work continued and saw the figures of ,saint ,peter and ,saint ,paul placed on the uppermost spires1 three hundred feet above the heads of the worshipping multitude4 ,the spires themselves1 essentially ,german in character1 are far from beautiful1 perforated on all sides by ,gothic tracery of multitudinous designs1 too weak to stand without the assistance of iron tie rods1 the angles filled with an infinite number of coarse1 bold crockets breaking the outlines as they converge into the blue4 ,when prosperity came again to ,burgos1 as to many other ,spanish cities1 it was owing to the wise enactments of ,isabella the ,catholic4 ,the concordat of #ahea enumerated nine archbishoprics in ,spain1 among which ,burgos stands second on the list4 ,such is ,burgos1 serenely beautiful1 rich and exultant1 the apotheosis of the ,spanish ,renaissance as well as studded with exquisitely beautiful ,gothic work4 ,she is mighty and magnificent1 speaking perhaps rather to the senses than the heart1 but in a language which can never be forgotten4 ,although various epochs created her1 radically different in their means and methods1 still there is a certain intangible unity in her gorgeous expression and a unique picturesqueness in her dazzling presence4 ,,iii ,,avila ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,avila ,i lift mine eyes1 and all the windows blaze ,with forms of saints and holy men who died1 ,here martyred and hereafter glorified2 ,and the great ,rose upon its leaves displays ,christ's ,triumph1 and the angelic roundelays ,with splendor upon splendor multiplied4 ,longfellow4 ,the ,cathedral of ,san ,salvador is the strongest link in the chain that encircles the city of ,avila1--cuidad de ,castilla la vieja4 ,avila lies on a ridge in the corner of a great1 undulating plain1 clothed with fields of grain1 bleached light yellow at harvest1 occasional groups of ilex and straggling pine and dusty olives scrambling up and down the slopes4 ,beyond is the hazy grayish-green of stubble and dwarfed woodland1 with blue peaks closing the horizon4 ,to the south rises the ,sierra ,gredos1 and eastwards1 in the direction of ,segovia1 the ,sierra de ,guadarrama4 ,the narrow1 murky ,adaja that loiters through the upland plain is quite insufficient to water the thirsty land4 ,thistles and scrub oak dot the rocky fields4 ,here and there migratory flocks of sheep nibble their way across the unsavory stubble1 while the dogs longingly turn their heads after whistling quails and the passing hunter4 ,the crenelated1 ochre walls and bastions that1 like a string of amber beads1 have girdled the little city since its early days1 remain practically unbroken1 despite the furious sieges she has sustained and the battles in which her lords were engaged for ten centuries4 ,as many as eighty-six towers crown1 and no less than ten gateways pierce1 the walls which follow the rise or fall of the ground on which the city has been compactly and narrowly constructed for safest defense4 ,it must look to-day almost exactly as it did to the approaching armies of the ,middle ,ages1 except that the men-at-arms are gone4 ,the defenses are so high that what is inside is practically hidden from view and all that can be seen of the city so rich in saints and stones#g are the loftiest spires of her churches4 ,to the ,romans1 ,avela1 to the ,moors1 ,abila1 the ancient city1 powerfully garrisoned1 lay in the territory of the ,vacci and belonged to the province of ,hispania ,citerior4 ,during three later centuries1 from time to time she became ,abila1 and one of the strongest outposts of ,mussulman defense against the raids of ,christian bands from the north4 ,under both ,goths and ,saracens1 ,avila belonged to the province of ,merida4 ,at a very early date she boasted an episcopal seat1 mentioned in church councils convoked during the seventh century1 but1 during temporary ascendencies of the ,crescent1 she vanishes from ecclesiastical history4 ,for a while ,alfonso ,i held the city against the ,moors1 but not until the reign of ,alfonso ,,vi did she permanently become ,avila del rey1 and the quarterings of her arms1 a king appearing at the window of a tower1 were left unchallenged on her walls4 ,illustration3 ,,key ,,of ,,plan ,,of ,,avila ,,cathedral ,a4 ,capilla ,mayor4 ,b4 ,crossing4 ,c4 ,cloisters4 ,d4 ,towers4 ,e4 ,main ,entrance4 ,f4 ,northern ,portal4 ,by the eleventh century the cities of ,old ,castile were ruined and depopulated by the ravages of war4 ,even the walls of ,avila were well-nigh demolished1 when ,count ,raymond laid them out anew and with the blessing of ,bishop ,pedro ,sanchez they rose again in the few years between #ajij and the turning of the century4 ,the material lay ready to hand in the huge granite boulders sown broadcast on the bleak hills around ,avila1 and from these the walls were rebuilt1 fourteen feet thick with towers forty feet high4 ,the old ,spanish writer ,cean ,bermudez describes this epoch of ,avila's history4 ,when1 he says1 ,don ,alfonso ,,vi won ,toledo1 he had in continuous wars depopulated ,segovia1 ,avila and ,salamanca of their ,moorish inhabitants4 ,he gave his son-in-law1 the ,count ,don ,raymond of the house of ,burgundy1 married to the ,princess ,doa ,urraca1 the charge to repeople them4 ,avila had been so utterly destroyed that the soil was covered with stones and the materials of its ruined houses4 ,to rebuild and repopulate it1 the ,count brought illustrious knights1 soldiers1 architects1 officials and gentlemen from ,leon1 the ,asturias1 ,vizcaya and ,france1 and from other places4 ,they began to construct the walls in #ajij1 #hjj men working from the very beginning1 and among them were many masters who came from ,leon and ,vizcaya4 ,all obeyed ,casandro ,romano and ,florin de ,pituenga1 ,masters of ,geometry1 as they are called in the history of this population1 which is attributed to the ,bishop of ,oviedo1 ,d4 ,pilayo1 who lived at that time and who treats of these things4 ,during these perilous years1 ,count ,raymond wisely lodged his masons in different quarters of the city1 grouping them according to the locality they came from1 whether from ,cantabria1 the ,asturias1 or the territory of ,burgos4 ,a nobility1 as quarrelsome as it was powerful1 must have answered ,count ,raymond's call for new citizens1 for during centuries to come1 the streets1 like those of medival ,siena and ,florence1 constantly ran with the blood of opposing factions4 ,warring families dared walk only certain streets after nightfall1 and battles were carried on between the different castles and in the streets as between cities and on battlefields4 ,in the quarrels between royal brothers and cousins1 ,avila played a very prominent part4 ,the nurse and protectress of their tender years1 and the guardian of their childhood through successive reigns of ,castilian kings1 she became a very vital factor in the fortunes of kings1 prelates1 and nobles4 ,in feuds like those of ,don ,pedro and his brother ,enrique ,,ii1 she was a turbulent centre4 ,great figures in ,spanish history ruled from her episcopal throne1 especially during the thirteenth century4 ,there was ,pedro1 a militant bishop and one of the most valiant on the glorious battlefield of ,las ,navas2 ,benilo1 lover of and beloved by ,saint ,ferdinand2 and ,aymar1 the loyal champion of ,alfonso the ,wise through dark as well as sunny hours4 ,the ,jews and the ,moriscoes here1 as wherever else their industrious fingers and ingenious minds were at work1 did much more than their share towards the prosperity and development of the city4 ,the ,jews especially became firmly established in their useful vocations1 filling the king's coffers so abundantly that the third of their tribute1 which he granted to the ,bishop1 was not appreciably felt1 except in times of armament and war4 ,with the fanatical expulsion of first one1 and then the other1 race1 the city's prosperity departed4 ,their place was filled by the bloodhounds of the ,inquisition1 who held their very first1 terrible tribunal in the ,convent of ,saint ,thomas1 blighting the city and surrounding country with a new and terrible curse4 ,the great rebellion under the ,emperor ,charles burst from the smouldering wrath of ,avila's indignant citizens1 and in #aebj she became1 for a short time1 the seat of the ,junta ,santa of the ,comuneros4 ,it is still easy to discern what a tremendous amount of building must have gone on within the narrow city limits during the early part of its second erection4 ,the streets are still full of bits of ,romanesque architecture1 palaces1 arcades1 houses1 balconies1 towers and windows and one of the finest groups of ,romanesque churches in ,spain4 ,of lesser sinew and greater age than ,san ,salvador1 they are now breathing their last4 ,san ,vicente is almost doomed1 while ,san ,pedro and ,san ,segundo are fast falling4 ,but ,san ,salvador remains still unshaken in her strength1--a fortress within a cathedral1 a splendid mailed arm with its closed fist of iron reaching through the outer bastions and threatening the plains4 ,it is a bold cry of ,christian defiance to enemies without4 ,if ever there was an embodiment in architecture of the church militant1 it is in the ,cathedral of ,avila4 ,approaching it by ,san ,pedro1 you look in vain for the church1 for the great spire that loomed up from the distant hills and was pointed out as the holy edifice4 ,in its place and for the eastern apse1 you see only a huge gray bastion1 strong and secure1 crowned at all points by battlements and galleries for sentinels and fighting men1--inaccessible1 grim1 and warlike4 ,a fitting abode for the men who rather rode a horse than read a sermon and preferred the breastplate to the cassock1 a splendid epitome of that period of ,spanish history when the ,church fought instead of prying into men's souls4 ,it well represents the unification of the religious and military officesdevolving on the ,church of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries in ,castile1--a bellicose house rather than one of prayer4 ,all the old documents and histories of the ,church state that the great ,cathedral was started as soon as the city walls were well under way in #ajia and was completed after sixteen years of hard work4 ,alvar ,garcia from ,estrella in ,navarre is recorded as the principal original architect1 ,don ,pedro as the ,bishop1 and ,count ,raymond as spurring on the #aijj men at work1 while the pilgrims and faithful were soliciting alms and subscriptions through ,italy1 ,france1 and the ,christian portions of the ,spanish ,peninsula4 ,of the earliest church very little remains1 possibly only the outer walls of the great bastion that encloses the eastern termination of the present edifice4 ,this is much larger than the other towers of defense1 and1 judging from the excellent character of its masonry1 which is totally different from the coarse rubble of the remaining city walls and towers1 it must have been built into them at a later date1 as well as with much greater care and skill4 ,many hypotheses have been suggested1 as to why the apse of the original church was thus built as a portion of the walls of defense4 ,all seem doubtful4 ,it was possibly that the altar might come directly above the resting-place of some venerated saint1 or perhaps to economize time and construction by placing the apse in a most vulnerable point of attack where lofty and impregnable masonry was requisite4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,avila ,exterior of the apse turret ,the church grew towards the west and the main entrance1--the transepts themselves1 and all work west of them1 with the advent of the new style4 ,we thus obtain in ,avila1 owing to the very early commencement of its apse1 a curious and vitally interesting conglomeration of the ,romanesque and ,gothic4 ,practically1 however1 all important portions of the structure were completed in the more vigorous periods of the ,gothicstyle with the resulting felicitous effect4 ,the building of the apse or the chevet westward must1 to judge from its style1 have advanced very slowly during the first hundred years1 for its general character is rather that of the end of the twelfth and beginning of the thirteenth centuries 7the reign of ,alfonso ,,viii7 than of the pure ,romanesque work which was still executed in ,castile at the beginning of the twelfth century4 ,a great portion of the early ,gothic work is1 apart from its artistic merit1 historically interesting1 as showing the first tentative1 and often groping1 steps of the masters who wished to employ the new forms of the north1 but followed slowly and with a hesitation that betrayed their inexperience4 ,arches were spanned and windows broken1 later to be braced and blocked up in time to avert a catastrophe4 ,the transepts belong to the earliest part of the fourteenth century4 ,we have their definite dates from records1--the northern arm rose where previously had stood a little chapel and was given by the ,chapter to ,dean ,blasco ,blasquez as an honorable burial place for himself and his family1 while ,bishop ,blasquez ,davila1 the tutor of ,alfonso ,,ix and principal notary of ,castile1 raised the southern arm immediately afterwards4 ,he occupied the ,see for almost fifty years1 and must have seen the nave and side aisles and the older portions1 including the northwestern tower1 all pretty well constructed4 ,this tower with its unfinished sister and portions of the west front are curiously enough late ,romanesque work1 and must thus have been started before the nave and side aisles had reached them in their western progress4 ,the original cloisters belonged to the fourteenth century1 as also the northern portal4 ,chapels1 furnishings1 pulpits1 trascoro1 choir stalls1 glazing1 all belong to later times1 as well as the sixteenth-century mutilations of the front and the various exterior ,renaissance excrescences4 ,it is interesting to infer that the main part of the fabric must virtually have been completed in #adcb1 when ,pope ,eugenio ,,iv published a bull in favor of the work4 ,here he only speaks of the funds requisite for its preservation and repair4 ,we may judge from such wording the condition of the structure as a whole4 ,the most extraordinary portion of the building is unquestionably its fighting turret and eastern end4 ,this apse is almost unique in ,spanish architectural history and deeply absorbing as an extensive piece of ,romanesque work1 not quite free from ,moorish traces and already employing in its vaulting ,gothic expedients4 ,it may be called barbaric ,gothic or decadent ,romanesque1 but1 whatever it is termed1 it will be vitally interesting and fascinating to the student of architectural history4 ,externally the mighty stone tower indicates none of its interior disposition of chapels or vaulting4 ,the black1 weather-stained granite of its bare walls is alternately broken by slightly projecting pilasters and slender1 columnar shafts4 ,they are crowned by a corbel table and a high1 embattled parapet1 that yielded protection to the soldiers occupying the platform immediately behind1 which communicated with the passage around the city walls4 ,this is again backed by a second wall similarly crowned4 ,the narrowest slits of windows from the centres of the radiating1 apsidal chapels break the lower surfaces1 while double flying buttresses meet1 at the level of the triforium and above the clerestory windows1 the thrusts of the upper walls4 ,the plan is most curious1 and on account of its irregularity as well as certain inconsistencies1 it is difficult to guess how far it was originally conceived in its present form1 or what alterations were made in the earlier centuries4 ,some changes must have been made in its vaulting4 ,the chevet or ,capilla ,mayor1 which at first very properly contained the choir1 is surrounded by a double ambulatory1 outside of which the thick walls are pierced by nine apsidal chapels4 ,it is probable that these were originally constructed by the engineers to lighten the enormous bulk of the outer masonry4 ,they are not quite semicircles in plan1 and are vaulted in various simple ways4 ,where ribs occur1 they meet in the key of the arch separating chapel from ambulatory4 ,the piers round the apse itself are alternately monocylindrical and composite2 the intermediate ones1 subdividing unequally the girola1 are lofty1 slender columns1 while those of the exterior are polygonal in plan1 with shafts against their faces4 ,some of the caps are of the best ,romanesque types1 and composed of animals1 birds1 and leaves1 while others1 possibly substituted for the original ones1 have a plain bell with the ornamentation crudely applied in color4 ,the ,capilla ,mayor has both triforium and clerestory of exquisite early work4 ,dog-tooth moldings ornament the archivolts4 ,mohammedan influence had asserted itself in the triforium1 which is divided by slender shafts into two windows terminating in horseshoe arches1 while the clerestory consists of broad1 round1 arched openings4 ,the construction and balance of the apse thrusts were doubtless originally of a somewhat different nature from what we find at present1 as may easily be observed from the materials1 the function and positions of the double flying buttresses4 ,they may have been added as late as three centuries after the original fabric4 ,lamperez y ,romea's observations in regard to this are most interesting3-- ,we must observe in the two present orders of windows1 that the lower was never built for lights and its construction with double columns forming a hollow space proves it a triforium4 ,that it was actually so is further abundantly proved by several circumstances3 first1 by a parapet or wall which still exists below the actual roof and which follows the exterior polygonal line of the girola1 as well as by some semi-,romanesque traceries which end in the wall of the ,capilla ,mayor1 and finally1 by a continuous row of supports existing in the thickness of the same wall below a gutter1 separating the two orders of windows4 ,these features1 as well as the general arrangement of the openings1 demonstrate that there was a triforium of ,romanesque character1 occupying the whole width of the girola1 which furthermore was covered by a barrel vault4 ,above this came the great platform or projecting balcony1 corresponding to the second defensive circuit4 ,military necessity explains this triforium2 without it1 there would be no need of a system of continuous counterthrusts to that of the vaults of the crossing4 ,if we concede the existence of this triforium1 various obscure points become clear4 ,the ,capilla ,mayor has four bays prior to reaching the pentagonal termination4 ,the vaulting of the most easterly bay connects with that of the pentagon1 thus leaving three remaining bays to vault2 two form a sexpartite vault1 and the third1 nearest the transept1 a quadripartite4 ,all the intersections are met by bosses formed by gilded and spreading coats-of-arms4 ,the ribs do not all carry properly down1 two out of the six being merely met by the keystones of the arches between ,capilla ,mayor and ambulatory4 ,the masonry of the vaulting is of a reddish stone1 while that of the transepts and nave is yellow1 laid in broad1 white joints4 ,in various portions of the double ambulatory passage as well as some of the chapels1 the fine1 deep green and gold and blue ,romanesque coloring may still be seen1 giving a rich impression of the old barbaric splendor and gem-like richness so befitting the clothing of the style4 ,other portions1 now bare1 must surely all have been colored4 ,the delicate1 slender shafts1 subdividing unequally the ambulatory1 have really no carrying office1 but were probably introduced to lessen the difficulty of vaulting the irregular compartments of such unequal sides4 ,gothic art was still in its infancy1 and the splendid grasp of the vaulting difficulties and masterly solution of its problems exemplified in so many later ambulatories1 had not as yet been reached4 ,here we have about the first fumbling attempt4 ,the maestro is still fighting in the dark with unequal thrusts1 sides and arches of different widths1 and a desire to meet them all with something higher and lighter than the old continuous barrel vault4 ,a step forward in the earnest effort toward higher development1 such as we find here1 deserves admiration4 ,the profiles of the ribs are simple1 undecorated and vigorous1 as were all the earliest ones2 in the chapels1 or rather the exedras in the outer walls1 the ribs do not meet in a common boss or keystone1 its advantages not as yet being known to the builders4 ,a good portion of the old roof-covering of the ,cathedral1 not only over the eastern end1 but pretty generally throughout1 has either been altered1 or else the present covering conceals the original4 ,thus it is easy to detect from the outside1 if one stands at the northwestern angle of the church and looks down the northern face1 that the upper masonry has been carried up by some three feet of brickwork1 evidently of later addition1 on top of which comes the present covering of terra-cotta tiles4 ,the old roof-covering here of stone tiles1 as also above the apse1 rested directly on the inside vaults1 naturally damaging them by its weight1 and not giving full protection against the weather4 ,the ,french slopes had in some instances been slavishly copied1 but the steep roofs requisite in northern cathedrals were soon after abandoned1 being unnecessary in the ,spanish climate4 ,over the apse of ,avila1 there may still be found early thirteenth-century roofing1 consisting of large stone flags laid in rows with intermediary grooves and channels1 very much according to ancient established ,roman and ,byzantine traditions4 ,independent superstructure above the vault proper1 to carry the outside covering1 had not been introduced when this roofing was laid4 ,in its early days many a noted prelate and honored churchman was laid to rest within the holy precinct of the choir in front of the high altar or in the rough old sepulchres of the surrounding chapels4 ,with the moving of the choir1 and probably also a change in the church ceremonies1 came a rearrangement of the apse and the ,capilla ,mayor's relation to the new rites4 ,the retablo back of the high altar1 consisting of ,plateresque ornament1 belongs for the most part to the ,renaissance4 ,the ,evangelists and church fathers are by ,pedro ,berruguete 7not as great as his son1 the sculptor ,alfonso71 ,juan de ,borgoa and ,santos ,cruz4 ,in the centre1 facing theambulatory behind1 is a fine ,renaissance tomb of the renowned ,bishop ,alfonso ,tostada de ,madrigal4 ,he is kneeling in full episcopal robes1 deeply absorbed either in writing or possibly reading the ,scriptures4 ,the workmanship on mitre and robe is as fine as the similar remarkable work in ,burgos1 while the enclosing rail is a splendid example of the blending of ,gothic and ,renaissance4 ,the glass in the apse windows is exceptionally rich and magnificently brilliant in its coloring4 ,it was executed by ,alberto ,holando1 one of the great ,dutch glaziers of ,burgos1 who was given the entire contract in #aebj by ,bishop ,francisco ,ruiz1 a nephew of the great ,cardinal ,cisneros4 ,such1 in short1 are the characteristics of the chevet of the ,cathedral of ,avila1 constructed in an age when its builders must have worked in a spirit of hardy vigor with the trowel in one hand and the sword in the other4 ,as we see it to-day1 it imparts a feeling of mystery1 and its oriental splendor is enhanced by the dim1 religious light4 ,in entering the crossing1 we step into the fullness of the ,gothic triumph4 ,the vaults have been thrown into the sky to the height of #acj feet4 ,it is early ,gothic work1 with its many errors and consequent retracing of steps made in ignorance4 ,the great arches that span the crossing north and south had taken too bold a leap and subsequently required the support of cross arches4 ,the western windows and the great roses at the end of the transepts1 with early heavy traceries1 proved too daring and stone had to be substituted for glass in their apertures2 the long row of nave windows have likewise been filled with masonry4 ,despite these and many similar penalties for rashness1 the work is as dignified as it is admirable4 ,of course the proportions are all small in comparison with such later great ,gothic churches as ,leon and ,burgos1 the nave and transepts here being merely #bh to #cj feet wide1 the aisles only #bd feet wide4 ,avila is but an awkward young peasant girl if compared with the queenly presence of her younger sisters4 ,nevertheless ,avila is in true ,spanish peasant costume1 while ,leon and ,burgos are tricked out in borrowed finery4 ,the nave is short and narrow1 but that gives an impression of greater height1 and the obscurity left by the forced substitution of stone for glass in the window spaces adds to the solemnity4 ,the nave consists of five bays1 the aisle on each side of it rising to about half its height4 ,the golden groining is quadripartite1 the ribs meeting in great colored bosses and pendents1 added at periods of less simple taste4 ,in the crossing alone1 intermediary ribs have been added in the vaulting4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,avila ,from outside the walls ,the walls of the transept underneath the great blind wheels to the north and south are broken by splendid windows1 each with elaborate tracery 7as also the eastern and western walls71 heavy and strong1 but finely designed4 ,the glazing is glorious1 light1 warm1 and intense4 ,the walls of the nave1 set back above the lowest arcade some eighteen inches1 have triforium and clerestory1 and above this again1 they are filled quite up to the vaulting with elaborate tracery1 possibly once foolhardily conceived to carry glass4 ,each bay has six arches in both triforium and clerestory1 all of simple and early apertures4 ,the glazing of the clerestory is white1 excepting in one of the bays4 ,in this single instance1 a simple1 geometric pattern of buff and blue stripes is of wonderfully harmonious and lovely color effect4 ,the shafts that separate nave from side aisles are still quite ,romanesque in feeling1--of polygonal core faced by four columns and eight ribs4 ,the capitals are very simple with no carving1 but merely a gilded representation of leafage1 while the base molds carry around all breaks of the pier4 ,it may be coarse and crude in feeling and execution1 certainly very far from the exquisite finish of ,leon1 nevertheless the infancy of an architectural style1 like a child's1 has the peculiar interest of what it holds in promise4 ,like ,leon1 the side aisles have double roofing1 allowing the light to penetrate to the nave arcade and forming a double gallery running round the church4 ,many of the bishops who were buried in the choir in its old location were1 on its removal to the bay immediately west of the crossing1 also moved and placed in the various chapels4 ,the sepulchre of ,bishop ,sancho ,davila is very fine4 ,like his predecessors1 he was a fighting man4 ,his epitaph reads as follows3-- ,here lies the noble cavalier ,sancho ,davila1 ,captain of the ,king ,don ,fernando and the ,queen ,doa ,isabel1 our sovereigns1 and their alcaide of the castles of ,carmona1 son of ,sancho ,sanches1 ,lord of ,san ,roman and of ,villanueva1 who died fighting like a good cavalier against the ,moors in the capture of ,alhama1 which was taken by his valor on the #bhth of ,february in the year #adij4 ,the pulpits on each side of the crossing1 attached to the great piers1 are1 curiously enough1 of iron1 exquisitely wrought and gilded4 ,the one on the side of the epistle is ,gothic and the other ,renaissance1 the body of each of them bearing the arms of the ,cathedral1 the ,agnus ,dei1 and the ever-present lions and castles4 ,the rejas1 closing off choir and ,capilla ,mayor in the customary manner1 are heavy and ungainly4 ,on the other hand1 the trascoro1 that often sadly blocks up the sweep of the nave1 is unusually low and comparatively inconspicuous4 ,it contains reliefs of the life of ,christ1 from the first half of the sixteenth century1 by ,juan ,res and ,luis ,giraldo4 ,the choir itself is so compact that it only occupies one bay4 ,the chapter evidently was a modest one4 ,the stalls are of elaborate ,renaissance workmanship4 ,the verger now in charge1 with the voice of a hoarse crow1 reads you the name of the carver as the ,dutchman ,cornelis #aecf4 ,strange to say1 there are no doors leading1 as they logically should1 into the centre of the arms of the transept4 ,through some perversity1 altars have taken their place1 while the northern and southern entrances have been pushed westward1 opening into the first bays of the side aisles4 ,the southern door leads to a vestibule1 the sacristy with fine ,gothic vaulting disfigured by later painting1 a fine fifteenth-centurychapel and the cloisters4 ,none of this can be seen from the front1 as it is hidden by adjoining houses and a bare1 pilastered wall crowned by a carved ,renaissance balustrade4 ,the galleries of the present cloisters are later ,gothic work with ,plateresque decorations and arches walled up4 ,avila ,cathedral is1 as it were1 a part and parcel of the history of ,castile during the reigns of her early kings1 the turbulent times when self-preservation was the only thought1 any union of provinces far in the future1 and a ,spanish kingdom undreamed of4 ,she was a great church in a small kingdom1 in the empire she became insignificant4 ,much of her history is unknown1 but in the days of her power1 she was certainly associated with all great events in old ,castile4 ,her influence grew with her emoluments and the ever-increasing body of ecclesiastical functionaries4 ,in times of war1 she became a fortress1 and her bishop was no longer master of his house4 ,the ,captain-,general took command of the bastions1 as of those of the ,alcazar1 and soldiers took the place of priests in the galleries4 ,she was the key to the city1 and on her flat roofs the opposing armies closed in the final struggle for victory4 ,the ,cathedral has1 in fact1 only an eastern and a northern elevation1 the exterior to the west and south being hidden by the huge tower and the confused mass of chapels and choir which extend to the walls and houses4 ,the western entrance front is noble and dignified in its austere severity2 probably as old as the clerestory of the nave1 it is a grim sentinel from the first part of the fourteenth century4 ,with the exception of the entrance1 it speaks the ,romanesque language1 although its windows and some of its decoration are pointed4 ,it is magnificent and impressive1 very ,spanish1 and almost unique in the ,peninsula4 ,four mighty buttresses subdivide the composition2 between these is the entrance1 and to the north and south are the towers which terminate the aisles4 ,the southern tower has never been finished4 ,the northern is full of inspiration4 ,it is broken at two stages by double windows1 the upper ones of the belfry being crowned by pediments and surmounted by rich1 sunk tracery4 ,the piers terminate in hexagonal pinnacles1 while the tower1 as well as the rest of the front1 is finished with a battlement4 ,the later blocking up of this1 as well as the superimposed roofing1 is very evident and disturbing4 ,all the angles of buttresses1 of windows1 arches1 splays1 and pyramids1--those also crowning the bulky piers that meet the flying buttresses1--are characteristically and uniquely decorated with an ornamentation of balls4 ,it softens the hard lines1 splashing the surface with infinite series of small1 sharp shadows and making it sparkle with life and light4 ,the angles recall the blunt1 blue teeth of a saw4 ,the main entrance1 as well as the first two bays of the naves underneath the towers1 must originally have been of different construction from the present one4 ,inside the church1 these bays are blocked off from nave and side aisles by walls1 on top of which they communicate with each other as also with the eastern apse by galleries1 probably all necessary for the defense of troops in the early days4 ,possibly a narthex terminated the nave back of the original entrance portal underneath the present vaulted compartment4 ,the main entrance door is indeed a strange apparition4 ,in its whiteness between the sombre tints of the martial towers1 it rises like a spectre in the winding-sheets of a later age4 ,it is distressingly out of place and time in its dark framework4 ,but in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver1 but also of wood and of earth1 and some to honor1 and some to dishonor4 ,the semicircular door is crowned by a profusely subdivided1 ,gothic archivolt and guarded by two scaly giants or wild men that look1 with their raised clubs1 as if they would beat the life out of any one who should try to enter the holy cavern4 ,saints ,peter and ,paul float on clouds in the spandrels4 ,above rises a sixteenth-century composition of masks and canopied niches4 ,the ,saviour naturally occupies the centre1 flanked by the various saints that in times of peril protected the church of ,avila3 ,saints ,vincente1 ,sabina and ,cristela1 ,saint ,segundo and ,santa ,teresa4 ,in the attic in front of a tremendous traceried cusp1 with openings blocked by masonry1 the ornamentation runs completely riot4 ,saint ,michael1 standing on top of a dejected and doubled-up dragon1 looks down on figures that are crosses between respectable caryatides and disreputable mermaids4 ,it is certainly as immaterial as unknown1 when and by whom was perpetrated this degenerate sculpture now shamelessly disfiguring a noble casing4 ,the strong1 early towers seem in their turn doubly powerful and eloquent in their simplicity and one wishes the old ,romanesque portal were restored and the great traceries above it glazed to flood the nave with western sunlight4 ,the northeastern angle is blocked by poor ,renaissance masonry1 the exterior of the chapels here being faced by a ,corinthian order and broken by circular lights4 ,the northern portal is as fine as that of the main entrance is paltry4 ,the head of the door1 as well as the great arch which spans the recess into which the entire composition is set1 is1 curiously enough1 three-centred1 similar to some of the elliptical ones at ,burgos and ,leon4 ,a lion1 securely chained to the church wall for the protection of worshipers1 guards each side of the entrance4 ,under the five arches stand the twelve ,apostles1 time-worn1 weather-beaten and mutilated1 but splendid bits of late thirteenth-century carving4 ,for they must be as early as that4 ,the archivolts are simply crowded with small figures of angels1 of saints1 and of the unmistakably lost4 ,in the tympanum the ,saviour occupies the centre1 and around ,him is the same early1 nave representation of figures from the ,apocalypse1 angels1 and the crowned ,virgin4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,avila ,main entrance ,two years before ,luther1 a true exponent of ,teutonic genius1 had nailed his theses to the door of a cathedral in central ,germany1 there was born in the heart of ,spain as dauntless and genuine a representative of hercountry's genius4 ,each passed through great storm and stress of the spirit1 and finally entered into that closer communion with ,god1 from which the soul emerges miraculously strengthened4 ,do not these bleak hills1 this stern but lovely ,cathedral1 rising per aspera ad astra1 typify the strong soul of ,santa ,teresa8 ,a great psychologist of our day finds the woman in her admirable literary style4 ,prof4 ,james further accepts ,saint ,teresa's own defense of her visions3 ,by their fruits ye shall know them4 ,these were practical1 brave1 cheerful1 aspiring1 like this ,castilian sanctuary1 intolerant of dissenters1 sheltering and caring for many1 and leading them upward to the ,city which is unseen1 eternal in the heavens4 ,,iv ,,leon ,illustration3 ,,cathedral ,,of ,,leon ,from the southwest ,look where the flood of western glory falls ,through the great sunflower disk of blazing panes ,in ruby1 saffron1 azure1 emerald stains4 ,holmes4 ,in the year #ajjh the ancient church of ,leon witnessed a ceremony memorable for more reasons than one4 ,it was conducted throughout according to ,gothic customs1 ,king1 ,queen1 nobility and ecclesiastics all being present1 and it was the first council held in ,spain since the ,arab conquest whose acts have come down to us4 ,the object was twofold3 to hold a joyous festival in celebration of the rebuilding of the city walls1 which had been broken down some years before by a ,moslem army1 and to draw up a charter for a free people1 governing themselves1 for ,spain has the proud distinction of granting municipal charters one or two hundred years before the other countries of ,europe4 ,for three centuries of ,gothic rule1 the kings of ,leon1 ,castile and other provinces had successfully resisted every attempt at encroachment from the ,holy ,see and1 in session with the clergy1 elected their own bishops1 until in #ajhe ,alfonso ,,vi of ,castile takes the fatal step of sending ,bernard d',azeu to receive the pallium and investiture as ,bishop of ,toledo from the hands of ,gregory ,,vii4 ,from this time forth1 kings are crowned1 queens repudiated1 and even the hallowed ,gothic or ,mozarabic ritual is set aside for that of ,rome by order of popes4 ,in #aace ,santa ,maria of ,leon is the scene of a gorgeous pageant4 ,an ,alfonso1 becoming master of half ,spain and quarter of ,france1 thinks he might be called ,emperor as well as some others1 and within the ,cathedral walls he receives the new title in the presence of countless ecclesiastics and all his vassals1 great and small4 ,the monarch's robe was of marvelous work1 and a crown of pure gold set with precious stones was placed on his head1 while the ,king of ,navarre held his right hand and the ,bishop of ,leon his left4 ,feastings and donations followed1 but1 what was of vastly more importance1 the new ,emperor confirmed the charters granted to various cities by his grandfather4 ,again a great ceremony fills the old church4 ,ferdinand1 later known as the ,saint1 is baptized there in #aaii4 ,a year or two later1 ,innocent ,,iii declares void the marriage of his father and mother1 who were cousins1 and an interdict shrouds the land in darkness4 ,several years pass during which the ,pope turns a deaf ear to the entreaties of a devoted husband1 the ,king of ,leon1 to their children's claim1 the intercession of ,spanish prelates1 and the prayers of two nations who had good cause to rejoice in the union of ,leon and ,castile4 ,then a victim of the yoke1 which ,spain had voluntarily put on while ,frederic of ,germany and even ,saint ,louis of,france were defending their rights against the aggressions of the ,holy ,see1 the good ,queen ,berenzuela1 sadly took her way back to her father's home1 to the ,king of ,castile4 ,his prerogative once established1 ,innocent ,,iii looked well after his obedient subjects4 ,when ,spain was threatened by the most formidable of all ,moorish invasions1 he published to all ,christendom a bull of crusade against the ,saracens1 and sent across the ,pyrenees the forces which had been gathering in ,france for war in ,palestine4 ,rodrigo1 ,archbishop of ,toledo1 preached the holy war and led his troops1 in which he was joined by the bishops of ,bordeaux1 ,nantes1 and ,narbonne at the head of their militia4 ,germany and ,italy sent their quota of knights and soldiers of fortune1 and this concourse of ,christian warriors1 speaking innumerable tongues1 poured through mountain defiles and ever southward till they met in lofty ,toledo and camped on the banks of the ,tagus4 ,marches1 skirmishes1 and long-drawn-out sieges prelude the great day4 ,the hot ,spanish summer sets in1 the foreigners1 growing languid in the arid stretches of ,la ,mancha1 and disappointed at the slender booty meted out to them1 desert the native army1 march northwards and again cross the ,pyrenees to return to their homes4 ,it was thus left to the ,spaniards1 led by three kings and their warlike prelates1 to defeat a ,moslem army of half a million and gain the glorious victory of ,las ,navas de ,tolosa on the sixteenth of ,august1 #abab4 ,with ,rome's firm grasp on the ,spanish ,peninsula came temples no less beautiful than those the great ,mother ,church was planting in every portion of her dominion north of the ,pyrenees1--,leon1 ,burgos1 ,toledo and ,valencia rose in proud challenge to ,amiens1 ,rheims1 ,beauvais and ,chartres4 ,leon may be called ,french1--yes1 unquestionably so1 but that is no detraction or denial of her native gentileza4 ,she may be the very embodiment of ,french planning1 her general dimensions like those of ,bourges2 her portals certainly recall those of ,chartres1 and the planning of her apsidal chapels1 her bases1 arches1 and groining ribs1 remind one of ,amiens and ,rheims2 but nevertheless this exotic flower blooms as gloriously in a ,spanish desert as those that sprang up amid the vineyards or in the ,garden of ,france4 ,illustration3 ,,key ,,of ,,plan ,,of ,,leon ,,cathedral ,a4 ,capilla ,mayor4 ,b4 ,choir4 ,c4 ,crossing4 ,d4 ,tombs4 ,e4 ,trascoro4 ,f4 ,towers4 ,g4 ,cloisters4 ,leon is almost as old as the history of ,spain4 ,in the first century after ,christ1 the seventh ,roman legion1 on the order of ,augustus1 pitched their tents where the city now stands1 built their customary rectangular enclosure with its strong walls and towers1 happily seconded by the nature of the surrounding country4 ,from here the wild hordes of the ,asturias could be kept in check4 ,the city was narrowly built in the fork of two rivers1 on ground allowing neither easy approach nor expansion1 so that the growth has1 even up to the twentieth century1 been within the ancient walls1 and the streets and squares are in consequence narrow and cramped4 ,on many of the blocks of those old walls may still be seen carved in the clear ,roman lettering1 ,legio septima gemina1 pia1 felix4 ,the name of ,leon is merely a corruption first used by the ,goths of the ,roman ,legio4 ,roman dominion survived the empire for many years1 being first swept away when the ,gothic hordes in the middle of the sixth century descended from the north under the conqueror1 ,loevgild4 ,its ,christian bishopric was possibly the first in ,spain1 founded in the darkness of the third century1 since which time the little city can boast an unbroken succession of ,leonese bishops1 although a number1 during the turbulent decades of foreign rule1 may not actually have been in residence4 ,the ,moslem followed the ,goth1 and ruled while the nascent ,christian kingdom of the ,asturias was slowly gaining strength for independence and the foundation of an episcopal seat4 ,in the middle of the eighth century1 the ,christians wrested it from the ,moors4 ,on the site of the old ,roman baths1 built in three long chambers1 ,king ,ordoo ,,ii erected his palace 7he was reconstructing for defense and glory the walls and edifices of the city7 and in #iaf presented it with considerable ground and several adjacent houses to ,bishop ,frumonio1 that he might commence the building of the ,cathedral on the advantageous palace site in the heart of the city4 ,terrible ,moorish invasions occurred soon after1 involving considerable damage to the growing ,byzantine basilica4 ,in #iif the ,moors swept the city with fire and sword1 and again1 three years later1 it fell entirely into the hands of the great conqueror ,almanzor1 who remained in possession only just the same time1 for we may read in the old monkish manuscripts that in #ajjb from the ,christian pulpits of ,castile and ,leon the proclamation was made3 ,almanzor is dead1 and buried in ,hell4 ,leon could boast of being the first medival city of ,europe to obtain self-government and a charter of her own1 and she became the scene of important councils during the eleventh1 twelfth and thirteenth centuries4 ,in the eleventh century1 under the great ,ferdinand ,i1 who united ,castile and ,leon1 work on the basilica was pushed rapidly forward4 ,french influence was predominant in the early building operations1 for ,alfonso ,,vi of ,castile1 who assumed the title of ,emperor of ,spain1 had two ,french wives1 each of whom brought with her a batch of zealous and skillful church-building prelates4 ,the church was finally consecrated in #aadi4 ,about twenty-five years ago1 the ,spanish architect1 ,d4 ,demetrio de los ,rios1 in charge of the work of restoration on the present ,cathedral1 discovered the walls and foundations of the ancient basilica and was able to determine accurately its relation to the later ,gothic church4 ,the exact date when this was begun is uncertain1--many writers give #aaii4 ,beyond a doubt the foundations were laid out during the reign of ,alfonso ,,ix1 early in the thirteenth century1 when ,manrique de ,lara was ,bishop of the ,see of ,leon and ,french ,gothic construction was at the height of its glory4 ,it is thus a thirteenth-century church1 belonging principally to the latter part1 built with the feverish energy1 popular enthusiasm1 and unparalleled genius for building which characterizes that period and stamps it as uniquely glorious to later constructive ages4 ,though smaller than most of the immense churches which afterwards rose under ,spanish skies1 ,leon remained in many respects unsurpassed and unmatched4 ,sevilla en grandeza1 ,toledo en riqueza1 ,compostella en fortaleza1 est en sutileza ,santa ,maria de ,regla4 ,in the middle of the thirteenth century1 after the consecration of the new church1 a famous council of all the bishops of the realm was held in the little town of ,madrid1 and there the faithful were exhorted1 and the lukewarm admonished with threats1 to contribute by every means to the successful erection of ,leon's ,cathedral4 ,indulgences1 well worth consideration1 were granted to contributors1 at the head of whom for a liberal sum stood the king1 ,alfonso ,x4 ,but ,leon1 capital of the ancient kingdom1 was doomed before long to feel the bitterness of abandonment4 ,the ,castilian kings followed the retreat southward of the ,moorish armies1 and the history of the capital of ,leon1 which1 during the thirteenth century1 had been the history of the little kingdom1 soon became confined within the limits of her cathedral walls4 ,burgos1 a mighty rival1 soon overshadowed her4 ,the time came when the ,bishop of ,leon was merely a suffragan of the ,archbishop of ,burgos1 and her kings had moved their court south to ,seville4 ,the city of ,leon was lost in the union of the two kingdoms4 ,the fortunes of the ,cathedral have been varied and her reverses great4 ,her architects risked a great deal and the disasters entailed were proportionate4 ,though belonging preminently in style to the glorious thirteenth century1 her building continued almost uninterruptedly throughout the fourteenth4 ,we have in succession ,maestro ,enrique1 ,pedro ,cebrian1 ,simon1 ,guillen de ,rodan1 ,alonzo ,valencia1 ,pedro de ,medina1 and ,juan de ,badajoz1 working on her walls and towers with a magnificent recklessness which was shortly to meet its punishment4 ,although ,bishop ,gonzalez in #acjc declared the work1 thanks be to ,god1 completed1 it was but started4 ,the south faade was completed in the sixteenth century1 but as early as #afcj the light fabric began to tremble1 then the vaulting of the crossing collapsed and was replaced by a more magnificent dome4 ,many years of mutilations and disasters succeeded4 ,the south front was entirely taken down and rebuilt1 the vaulting of aisles fell1 great portions of the main western faade1 and ornamentation here and there was disfigured or destroyed by the later alterations in overconfident and decadent times1 until1 in the middle of the eighteenth century1 very considerable portions of the original rash and exquisite fabric were practically ruined4 ,there came1 however1 an awakening to the outrages which had been committed1 and from the middle of the nineteenth century to the present day1 the work of putting back the stones in their original forms and places has steadily advanced to the honor of ,leon andglory of ,spain1 until ,santa ,maria de ,regla at last stands once more in the full pristine lightness of her original beauty4 ,the plan of ,leon is exceedingly fine1 surpassed alone among ,spanish churches by that of ,toledo4 ,three doorways lead through the magnificent western portal into the nave and side aisles of the ,church4 ,these consist of five bays up to the point where the huge arms of the transept spread by the width of an additional bay4 ,in proportion to the foot of the cross1 these arms are broader than in any other ,spanish cathedral4 ,they are four bays in length1 the one under the central lantern being twice the width of the others1 thus making the total width of the transepts equal to the distance from the western entrance to their intersection4 ,the choir occupies the fifth and sixth bays of the nave4 ,to the south1 the transept is entered by a triple portal very similar in scale and richness to the western4 ,the eastern termination of the church is formed by a choir of three and an ambulatory of five bays running back of the altar and trascoro1 and five pentagonal apsidal chapels4 ,the sacristy juts out in the extreme southwestern angle4 ,the northern arm of the huge transepts is separated from the extensive cloisters by a row of chapels or vestibules which to the east also lead to the great ,chapel of ,santiago4 ,all along its eastern lines the church with its dependencies projects beyond the city walls1 one of its massive towers standing as a mighty bulwark of defense in the extreme northeastern angle4 ,illustration3 ,,cathedral ,,of ,,leon ,looking up the nave ,it is a plan that must delight not only the architect1 but any casual observer1 in its almost perfect symmetry and in the relationship of its various parts to each other4 ,it belonged to the primitive period of ,french ,gothic1 though carried out in later days when its vigor was waning4 ,it has not been cramped nor distorted by initial limitation of space or conditions1 nor injured by later deviations from the original conception4 ,it is worthy of the great masters who planned once for all the loveliest and most expressive house for the worship of ,god4 ,erected on the plains of ,leon1 it was conceived in the inspired provinces of ,champagne and the ,isle de ,france4 ,it has a total length of some #cjh feet and a width of nave and aisles of #hc4 ,the height to the centre of nave groining is #ajj feet4 ,the western front has two towers1 which1 curiously enough1 as in ,wells ,cathedral1 flank the side aisles1 thus necessitating in elevation a union with the upper portions of the faade by means of flying buttresses4 ,there is a fine view of the exterior of the church from across the square facing the southwestern angle4 ,a row of acacia plumes and a meaningless1 eighteenth-century iron fence conceal the marble paving round the base1 but this foreground sinks to insignificance against the soaring masses of stone towers and turrets1 buttresses and pediments1 stretching north and east4 ,both faades have been considerably restored1 the later ,renaissance and ,baroque atrocities having been swept away in a more refined and sensitive age1 when the portions of masonry which fell1 owing to the flimsiness of the fabric1 were rebuilt4 ,the result has1 however1 been that great portions1 as for instance in the western front and the entire central body above the portals1 jar1 with the chalky whiteness of their surfaces by the side of the time-worn masonry4 ,they lack the exquisite harmony of tints1 where wind and sun and water have swept and splashed the masonry for centuries4 ,the two towers that flank the western front in so disjointed a manner are of different heights and ages4 ,both have a heavy1 lumbering quality entirely out of keeping with the aerial lightness of the remainder of the church4 ,it is not quite coarseness1 but rather a stiff-necked1 pompous gravity4 ,their moldings lack vigor and sparkle4 ,the play of fancy and sensitive decorative treatment are wanting4 ,the northern tower is the older and has an upper portion penetrated by a double row of round and early pointed windows4 ,an unbroken octagonal spire crowns it1 the angles of the intersection being filled by turrets1 as uninteresting as ,prussian sentry-boxes4 ,the southern tower1 though lighter and more ornamented1 has1 like its sister1 extremely bald lower surfaces1 the four angles in both cases being merely broken by projecting buttresses4 ,the lowest story was completed in the fourteenth century4 ,it was added to in successive centuries by ,maestro ,jusquin and ,alfonso ,ramos1 but its great open-work spire1 of decided ,german form1 probably much influenced by ,colonia's spires at ,burgos1 was first raised in the fifteenth century4 ,it is a complete monotonous lacework of stone1 not nearly as spirited as similar1 earlier1 ,french work4 ,the spire is separated from the bald base by a two-storied belfry1 with two superimposed openings on each surface4 ,gothic inscriptions decorate the masonry and the huge black letters spell out ,deus ,homo--,ave ,maria1 ,gratia plena4 ,at the base1 between these huge1 grave sentinels1 stands the magnificent old portico with the modern facing of the main body of the church above it4 ,this screen of later days1 built after the removal of a hideously out-of-keeping ,renaissance front1 is contained within two buttresses which meet the great flying ones4 ,in fact1 looking down the stone gorge between these buttresses and the towers1 one sees a mass of pushing and propping flying buttresses springing in double rows above the roof of the side aisles towards the clerestories of the nave4 ,the screen itself contains1 immediately above the portico1 an arcade of four subdivided arches1 corresponding to the triforium1 and above it a gorgeous rose window4 ,it is the best type of late thirteenth or early fourteenth-century wheel of radial system1 very similar in design to the western wheel of ,notre ,dame de ,paris and the great western one of ,burgos4 ,springing suddenly into being in all its developed perfection1 it can only be regarded as a direct importation from the ,isle de ,france4 ,the ribs of the outer circle are twice as many as those of the inner1 thus dividing the glass surfaces into approximately equal breadth of fields4 ,this and the rose of the southern transept are similar1 and both are copies of the original one still extant in the north transept4 ,a fine cornice and open-work gallery surmount the composition1 flanked by crocketed turrets and crowned in the centre by a pediment injurious in effect and of ,italian ,renaissance inspiration4 ,the gable field is broken by a smaller wheel1 and in an ogival niche are statues of the ,annunciation4 ,the portico is the most truly splendid part of the ,cathedral4 ,erected at the end of the thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century1 much of its ,gothic sculpture is unsurpassed in ,spain4 ,a perfect museum of art and a history in magnificent carving4 ,the composition as a whole recalls again unquestionably ,chartres4 ,it consists of three recessed arches hooding with deep splays the three doorways which lead into nave and side aisles4 ,between the major arches are two smaller1 extremely pointed ones1 the most northerly of which encases an ancient columnar shaft decorated with the arms of ,leon and bearing the inscription1 locus appellationis4 ,beneath it court was long held and justice administered by the rulers of ,leon during the ,middle ,ages4 ,the arches of the porches are supported by piers1 completely broken and surrounded by columnar shafts and niches carrying statues on their corbels4 ,these piers stand out free from the jambs of the doors and wall surfaces behind1 and thus form an open gallery between the two4 ,around and over all is an astounding and lavish profusion of sculpture1--no less than forty statues4 ,the jambs and splays1 the shafts1 the archivolts1 the moldings and tympanums are covered with carving1 varied and singularly interesting in the diversity of its period and character4 ,part of it is late ,byzantine with the traditions of the twelfth century1 while much is from the very best vigorous ,gothic chisels1 and yet some1 later ,gothic4 ,certain borders1 leafage1 and vine branches are ,byzantine1 and so also are some of the statues1 retaining the shapeless proportions and the immobility and parched frown of the ,byzantine ,school1 so perfectly dead in its expression1 offering1 however1 by its garb and by its contours not a little to the study of this art1 and so constituting a precious museum4 ,again1 other statues have the mild and venerable aspect of the second period of ,gothic work4 ,the oldest are round the most northerly of the three doorways4 ,every walk of life is represented4 ,there is a gallery of costumes2 and most varying emotions are depicted in the countenances of the kings and queens1 monks and virgins1 prelates1 saints1 angels1 and bishops4 ,separating the two leaves of the main doorway1 stands ,our ,white ,lady4 ,but if the statues are interesting1 the sculpture of the archivolts and the personages and scenes carved on the fields of the tympanums far surpass them4 ,mrs4 ,wharton says somewhere1 ,all northern art is anecdotic1--it is an ancient ethnological fact that the ,goth has always told his story that way4 ,nothing could be more anecdotic than this sculpture4 ,the northern tympanum gives scenes from the ,life of ,christ1 the ,visitation1 the ,nativity1 the ,adoration of the ,magi1 and the ,flight into ,egypt4 ,in the southern1 are events from the life of the ,virgin ,mary2 but the central one1 and the archivolts surrounding it1 contain the most spirited bits4 ,the scene is the ,last ,judgment1 with ,christ as the central figure4 ,servants of the ,church of various degrees are standing on one side with expressions of beatitude nowise clouded by the fate of the miserable reprobates on the other4 ,in the archivolts angels ascend with instruments and spreading wings1 embracing monks or gathering orphans into their bosoms1 while the lost with horrid grimaces are descending to their inevitable doom4 ,not even the great ,florentine could depict more realistically the feelings of such as had sinned grievously in this world4 ,the long southern side of the church has for its governing feature the wide transept termination1 which in its triple portal1 triforium arcade1 and rose is practically a repetition of the west4 ,the central body is all restored4 ,the original1 magnificent old statues and carving have1 however1 been set back in the new casings around and above the main entrance4 ,an old ,leonese bishop1 ,san ,triolan1 occupies in the central door the same position as ,our ,white ,lady to the west1 while the ,saviour between the ,four ,evangelists is enthroned in the tympanum4 ,illustration3 ,,cathedral ,,of ,,leon ,rear of apse ,one obtains a most interesting study in construction by standing behind the great polygonal apse1 whence one may see the double rows of flying buttresses pushing with the whole might of the solid piers behind them against the narrow strips of masonry at the angles of the choir4 ,from every buttress rise elegantly carved and crocketed finials4 ,marshalled against the cobalt of the skies1 they body forth an array of shining lances borne by a heavenly host4 ,the balconies1 forming the cresting to the excessively high clerestory1 are entirely ,renaissance in feeling1 and lack in their horizontal lines the upward spring of the church below4 ,almost all of this eastern end1 breaking through the city walls1 is1 with the possible exception of the roof1 part of the fine old structure1 in contrast to the adjoining ,plateresque sacristy4 ,it is generally from the outside of ,french cathedrals that one receives the most vivid impressions4 ,though the mind may be overcome by a feeling of superhuman effort on entering the portals of ,notre ,dame de ,paris1 yet the emotion produced by the first sight of the queenly1 celestial edifice from the opposite side of the broad square is the more powerful and eloquent4 ,not so in ,spain1--and this in spite of the location of the choirs4 ,it is not until you enter a ,spanish church that its power and beauty are felt4 ,the audacious construction of ,leon1 which one wonders at from the square outside1 becomes well-nigh incredible when seen from the nave4 ,how is it possible that glass can support such a weight of stone8 ,if ,burgos was bold1 this is insane4 ,it looks as unstable as a house of cards1 ready for a collapse at the first gentle breeze4 ,can fields of glass sustain three hundred feet of thrusts and such weights of stone8 ,it is a culmination of the daring of ,spanish ,gothic4 ,in ,france there was this difference1--while the fields of glass continued to grow larger and larger1 the walls to diminish1 and the piers to become slenderer1 the aid of a more perfectly developed system of counterthrusts to the vaulting was called in4 ,in ,spain we reach the maximum of elimination in the masonry of the side walls at the end of the thirteenth century1 and in the ,cathedral of ,leon1 whereas later ,gothic work1 as in portions of ,burgos and ,toledo1 shows a sense of the futile exaggeration towards which they were drifting1 as well as the impracticability of so much glass from a climatic point of view4 ,internally1 ,leon is the lightest and most cheerful church in ,spain4 ,the great doorways of the western and southern fronts1 as well as that to the north leading into the cloisters1 are thrown wide open1 as if to add to the joyousness of the temple4 ,every portion of it is flooded with sweet sunlight and freshness4 ,it is the church of cleanliness1 of light and fresh air1 and above all1 of glorious color4 ,the glaziers might have said with ,isaiah1 ,and ,i will make thy windows of agates and thy gates of carbuncles1 and all thy borders of pleasant stones4 ,the entire walls are a continuous series of divine rainbows4 ,the side walls of the aisles for a height of some fourteen feet to the bottom of their vaulting ribs1 the triforium1 commencing but a foot above the arches which separate nave from side aisles1 and immediately above the triforium1 forty feet of clerestory1--all is glass1 emerald1 turquoise1 and peacock1 amber1 straw1 scarlet1 and crimson1 encased in a most delicate1 strangely reckless1 and bold-traceried framework of stained ivory4 ,indeed1 the jeweled portals of ,heaven are wide open when the sun throws all the colors from above across the otherwise colorless fields of the pavement4 ,the color of love's blood within them glows4 ,there is glazing of many centuries and all styles4 ,in some of the triforium windows are bits of glass1 which1 after the destruction or falling of the old windows1 were carefully collected1 put together1 and used again in the reglazing4 ,some of it is of the earliest in ,spain1 probably set by ,french1 ,flemish1 or ,german artisans who had immigrated to practise their art and set up their factories on ,spanish soil adjacent to the stone-carvers' and masons' sheds under the rising walls of the great churches4 ,like all skilled artisans of their age1 the secret of their trade1 the proper fusing of the silica with the alkalies1 was carefully guarded and handed down from father to son or master to apprentice4 ,they were chemists1 glaziers1 artists1 colorists1 and glass manufacturers1 all in one4 ,the heritage was passed on in those days1 when the great key of science which opens all portals had not yet become common property4 ,some of the oldest glass is merely a crude mosaic inlay of small bits and must date back to early thirteenth century4 ,coloring glass by partial fusion was then first practised and soon followed by the introduction of figures and themes in the glass1 and the acquisition of a lovely1 homogeneous opalescence in place of the purely geometrical patterns4 ,scriptural scenes or figures painted1 as the ,spanish say1 en caballete1 became more and more general4 ,the best of the ,leon windows are from the fifteenth century1 when the glaziers' shops in the city worked under the direction of ,juan de ,arge1 ,maestro ,baldwin1 and ,rodrigo de ,ferraras1 and its master colorists were at work glazing the windows of the ,capilla ,mayor1 the ,capilla de ,santiago1 and a portion of those of the north transept4 ,ces vitreaux hauts en couleur1 qui faisaient hsiter l'il merveill de nos pres entre la rose du grand portail et les ogives de l'abside4 ,the glazing has gone on through centuries2 even to-day the glaziers at ,leon are busy in their shops1 making the sheets of sunset glow for their own and other ,spanish cathedrals4 ,in some of the side aisles1 they have1 alas1 during recent decades placed some horrible grisaille and geometrically patterned windows1--in frightful contrast to the delightful thirteenth-century legends of ,saint ,clement and ,saint ,ildefonso1 or that most absorbing record of civic life depicted in the northern aisle4 ,in studying the windows of ,leon1 ,lamperez y ,romea's observations on ,spanish glazing are of interest3 ,in the fourteenth century the rules of glazing in ,spain were changed4 ,legends had fallen into disuse and the masters had learned that1 in the windows of the high nave1 small medallions could not be properly appreciated4 ,they were then replaced by large figures1 isolated or in groups1 but always one by one in the spaces determined by the tracery4 ,the coloring remained strong and vivid4 ,the study of nature1 which had so greatly developed in painting and in sculpture1 altered the drawing little by little1 the figures became more modeled and lifelike1 and were carried out with more detail4 ,at the same time the coloring changed by the use of neutral tints1 violet1 brown1 light blues1 rose1 etc4 ,many of the old windows are of this style4 ,and so are the majority of the windows of ,avila1 ,leon1 and ,toledo1 as it lasted in ,spain throughout the fifteenth century1 and others which preserve the composition of great figures and strong coloring1 although there may be noticed in the drawings greater naturalism and modeling4 ,these rules differed slightly from those followed in ,france1 where1 with the exception of certain churches in the east1 the windows of the thirteenth century were richer in decoration1 more luscious in coloring and more harmonious in their tones than those of the fourteenth4 ,there is little in this later century that can compare with the thirteenth-century series of ,chartres figures4 ,the ,leonese windows are perhaps loveliest late in the afternoon1 when the saints and churchmen seem to be entering the church through their black-traceried portals1 and1 clad in heavenly raiment1 about to descend to the pavement1-- ,as softly green1 ,as softly seen1 ,through purest crystal gleaming1 there to people the aisles and keep vigil at the altars of ,god to the coming of another day4 ,there are1 fortunately1 scarcely any other colors or decorations1--or altars off side aisles1--that might divert the attention from the richness of glass4 ,the various vaulting has the jointing of its stonework strongly marked1 but1 with the exception of the slightly gilded bosses1 no color is applied4 ,the glory of the glass is thus enhanced4 ,owing to the great portions of masonry which have been rebuilt1 this varies in its tints1 but the old was1 and has remained1 of such an exquisitely delicate creamy color that the new interposed stonework merely looks like a lighter1 fresher shade of the old4 ,the restoration has been executed with rare skill and artistic feeling4 ,in studying the inner organism and structure of the edifice1 one soon sees how recklessly the original fabric was constructed and in how many places it had to be rebuilt1 strengthened and propped1--indeed1 immediately after its completion4 ,here1 as was the general custom in the greater early ,gothic cathedrals1 the building began with the choir and ,capilla ,mayor1 to be followed by the transepts1 the portions of the edifice essential to the service4 ,the choir was probably temporarily roofed over and the nave and side aisles followed4 ,the exterior faades1 portals1 and upper stories of the towers were carried out last of all by the aid of indulgences1 contributions1 alms and concessions4 ,in old manuscripts and documents which record the very first work on the cathedrals we find the one in charge called ,maestro1--or magister operis1 magister ecclesiae1 magister fabricae1 but not till the sixteenth century does the appellation arquitecto appear4 ,his pay seems to have varied1 both in amount and in form of emolument1--sometimes it was good hard cash1 often a very poor or dubious remuneration1 handed out consequently with a more lavish hand2 sometimes grants1 and again royal favor4 ,generally the architect entered into a stipulated agreement with the ,cathedral ,chapter1 both as to his time and services1 before he began his work4 ,we find ,master ,jusquin 7#adej-fi7 receiving from the ,chapter of ,leon not only a daily salary but also annual donations of bushels of wheat1 pairs of gloves1 lodgings1 poultry1 other supplies1 and the use of certain workmen4 ,leon's unquestionable ,french parentage is1 if possible1 even more obvious in the interior than in the exterior4 ,the piers between nave and side aisles are cylindrical in plan1 having in their lowest section on their front surface three columns grouped together that continue straight up through triforium and clerestory and carry the transverse and diagonal ribs of the nave4 ,they have further one column on each side of the axis east and west and1 strange to say1 only one toward the side aisles1 which thus lack continuous supports for their diagonal ribs4 ,the outer walls of the side aisles are formed by a blind arcade of five arches1 surmounted by a projecting balcony or corridor and a clerestory subdivided by its tracery into four arches and three cusped circles4 ,the nave triforium consists of a double arcade with a gallery running between 7one of the very rare examples in ,spain74 ,each bay has in the triforium four open and two closed arches1 surmounted by two quatrefoils4 ,the clerestory rises above1 divided by marvelously slender shafts into six compartments and three cusped circles in the apex of the arch4 ,here shine1 in dazzling raiment and with ecstatic expressions1 the saints and martyrs ordered in the fifteenth century from ,burgos for the sum of #bj1jjj maravedis4 ,throughout all the glazed wall surfaces we find evidence of the anxiety that overtook their reckless projectors4 ,all but the upper cusps of the windows of the side aisles have been filled in by masonry1 painted with saints and evangelists in place of the translucent ones originally placed here4 ,the lower portions of the triforium lights have been blocked up and also the two outer arches of the clerestory4 ,the light1 clustered piers and slender1 double flying buttresses could not accomplish the gigantic task of supporting the great height above4 ,nor could the ingenious strengthening of the stone walls 7consisting of ashlar inside and out1 facing intermediate rubble7 by iron clamps supply the requisite firmness4 ,it seems doubly unfortunate that the choir stalls should occupy the position they do here1 when there is such liberal space in the three bays east of the crossing in front of the altar4 ,the stone of their exterior backing is cold and gray beside the ochre warmth of the surrounding piers4 ,the classic ,plateresque statues and bas-reliefs1 as well as the exquisitely carved1 ,florentine decoration1 seems strangely out of place under the ,gothic loveliness above4 ,the trascoro itself is warmer in color1 but of the extravagant later period4 ,its pilasters1 spandrels1 and band-courses are filled with elaborate and fine ,florentine ornamentation1 while the niches themselves1 with high reliefs representing the ,annunciation1 the ,nativity1 and the ,adoration of the ,magi1 are not quite free from a certain ,gothic feeling4 ,above1 great statues of ,church ,fathers weigh heavily on the delicate work and smaller scale below4 ,the carving of the double tier of walnut choir stalls is at once restrained and rich4 ,beautiful ,gothic tracery surmounts in both tiers the figures that fill the panels above the seats4 ,below are characters from the ,old ,testament1--,daniel1 ,jeremiah1 ,abel1 ,david busily playing his harp1 ,joshua ,dux ,isri1 ,moses with splendid big horns and tablets1 ,tobias with his little fish slit up the belly4 ,above stand firmly full-length figures of the ,apostles and saints4 ,with the exception of some of the work near the entrance1 which is practically ,renaissance in feeling1 all this carving is late ,gothic from the last part of the fifteenth century and executed by the masters ,fadrique1 ,john of ,malines1 and ,rodrigo ,aleman4 ,two of the stalls1 more elevated and pronounced than the rest1 are for the hereditary canons of the ,cathedral1 the ,king of ,leon and the ,marquis of ,astorga4 ,excellent as they are1 these stalls are not nearly so rich in design nor beautiful in execution as the ,italian ,renaissance choir stalls1 in the ,convent of ,san ,marcos directly outside the city walls1 carved some decades later by the ,magister ,guillielmo ,dosel4 ,the crossing is splendidly broad1 the transepts appearing1 as one glances north and south1 as much the main arms of the cross as do the nave and choir4 ,the southern arm is quite new1 having been completely rebuilt by ,d4 ,juan ,madrazo and ,d4 ,demetrio ,amador de los ,rios4 ,the glazing of its window and the arabesques cannot be compared to those of the original fabric in the northern arm4 ,the four piers of the crossing1 though slender and graceful1 carry full1 logical complements of shafts for the support of the various vaulting ribs1 intersecting at their apexes4 ,the retablo above the high altar is in its simplicity as refreshing as the light and sunniness of the church4 ,in place of the customary gaudy carving1 it merely consists of a series of painted fifteenth-century tablets set in ,gothic frames4 ,simple rejas close the western bays and a florid ,gothic trasaltar1 the eastern termination4 ,directly back of the altar lies a noble and dignified figure1 the founder of the church1 ,king ,ordoo ,,ii4 ,at his feet is a little dog1 looking for all the world like a sucking pig in a butcher's window4 ,and above him is an ancient and most curious ,byzantine relief of the ,crucifixion4 ,the lions and castles of his kingdom surround the old king4 ,the greater portion of the carving must belong to the oldest in the church4 ,in looking at the vaulting and considering the difficulty of planning the girola or ambulatory1 one realizes that such construction could only be the outcome of many years of study1 experiment and inspiration4 ,perfection means long previous schooling and experience4 ,the apsidal chapels that radiate from it have glass differing in excellence4 ,here and there frescoes of the thirteenth century line these earliest walls4 ,it is surprising in how many different places old sepulchres are to be found1 all more or less similar in their general design and belonging to the period of transition from the ,byzantine to the ,gothic1 yet each denoting the building period of the place where it stands4 ,some of the subjects of the carving are most curious3 a hog playing the bagpipes1 the devil in the garb of a father confessor1 tempting a penitent2 or again1 a woman suckling an ass4 ,saint ,froila lies on one side of the altar4 ,not only his sanctity but even his authenticity were disputed by various disbelievers in the city1 prior to his being brought to this final resting-place4 ,the matter was decided by placing the body in question on an ass's back1 whereupon the sagacious animal took his holy burden to the spot where it deserved burial4 ,in the ,capilla de ,nuestra ,seora del ,dado1 or of the die1 stands a ,virgin with the face of the ,christ child ever bleeding1 it is said1 since the time when an unlucky gambler in a fit of despair threw his dice against the ,babe4 ,directly opposite ,ordoo's tomb lies the ,countess ,sancha1 who1 in a burst of religious enthusiasm1 decided to leave her considerable worldly goods to the ,church instead of to her nephew4 ,this was more than he could stand1 and he murdered her4 ,below her figure he is represented1 receiving his just reward in being torn to pieces by wild horses4 ,to the north1 a florid ,gothic portal leads on a higher level to the ,chapel of ,santiago4 ,this has been1 and is still being1 restored4 ,its three vaults are differently arched1 the ribs not being carried down against the side walls to the floor1 but met by broad corbels supported by curious figures4 ,the stonework is cold and gray in comparison to the church proper4 ,separating the northern entrance from the cloisters is a row of chapels1 leading one into the other and crowded with tombs and sculpture4 ,there are few more complete cloisters in ,spain4 ,large and elaborate1 they are a curious mixture of the old ,gothic and the ,renaissance restorations of the sixteenth century4 ,ancient ,gothic tombs1 their archivolts crowded with angels1 pierce the interior walls1 while the vaults themselves are most elaborately groined1 the arches and vaulting being later filled with ,renaissance bosses and rosettes4 ,in the sunny courtyard are piled up the ,renaissance turrets and sculptures that once usurped on the faades the places of the older ,gothic ornamentation4 ,the northern portal itself is practically hidden by the chapels and cloisters4 ,it is fine ,gothic work4 ,a ,virgin and ,child form a mullion in its centre1 while very worldly-looking women parade in its archivolts4 ,everywhere are the arms of the ,united ,kingdoms4 ,a great portion of the ancient tapestry blue and ,veronese red coloring is still preserved1 throwing out the old ,gothic figures in their true tints4 ,this aerial tabernacle1 so rich and yet so simple1 lies in the heart of a city so fabulously old that the ,cathedral itself belongs rather to its later days4 ,the old houses and streets have a dryness and close smell like that in the ancient sepulchres of parched countries4 ,monuments and walls and turrets of ,rome crumble around the houses and vaults of ,byzantium4 ,the nave frescoes and carvings of the eighth and ninth centuries seem to look down with childlike wonder and amazement on the pedestrians now crowding the patterned pavements1 or pressing against the shady sides of the time-worn arches4 ,the worshipers who tread the narrow lanes leading to and from the altar have changed1 but little else4 ,the square1 medival castles with their angular towers still command the approach of the main thoroughfares4 ,the crabbed old watchman with lantern and stick under his cape treads his doddering gait across the courtyards through the night hours1 crying after the peal of the bell above1 ,las doce han dado y sereno1 ,las trece han dado y aleviendo1 ,las quince han dado y nublano1 just as in the middle ages1 so that the good peasant may know time and weather and merely turn in his bed1 if neither crops nor creatures need care4 ,santa ,maria de ,regla too stands to-day as she stood in the middle ages1 a monument to the care and affection of her children4 ,she has the same spirituality1 harmony of proportions1 slenderness1 and purity of lines1 and she looks down and blesses us to-day with the same serenity and queenly grace which she wore in the fourteenth century4 ,she is the finest ,gothic cathedral in ,spain4 ,v ,,toledo ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,toledo ,i withdrew at once with the ,morisco into the cloisters of the ,cathedral4--,don ,quixote4 ,i ,the peace of death is over ,toledo1 unbroken by any invasion of modern thought or new architecture since her last deep sighs mingled with the distant echoes of the middle ages4 ,but she still wears the mantle of her imperial glory4 ,she sleeps in the fierce1 beating sunlight of the twentieth century like the enchanted princess of fairy tales1 undisturbed by1 and unconscious of1 the world around her4 ,the atmosphere is transparent2 the sky spreads from lapis-lazuli to a cobalt field back of the snow-capped1 turquoise ,sierra de ,gredo mountains1 while a clear streak of lemon color throws out the sharp silhouette of the battlements and towers4 ,there is sadness and desolation in the decay1 a pathetically forlorn and tragical widowhood1 strangely affecting to the senses4 ,a blackened ruin1 lonely and forsaken1 ,already wrapt in winding-sheets of sand2 ,so lies ,toledo till the dead awaken1-- ,a royal spoil of ,time's resistless hand4 ,toledo6 ,the name rings with history1 romance and legend4 ,enthralling images of the past rise before one and vanish like the ghosts of ,macbeth4 ,capital of ,goth1 of ,moslem1 and of ,christian2 mightiest of hierarchical seats1#h city of monarch and priest1 she has worn a double diadem4 ,gautier says1 ,jamais reine antique1 pas mme ,clopatre1 qui buvait des perles1 jamais courtisane ,vnitienne du temps de ,titien n'eut un crin plus tincelant1 un trousseau plus riche que ,notre ,dame de ,tolde4 ,but the flame of life which once burned warm and bright is now extinct and all her glory has vanished4 ,neglected churches1 convents1 palaces1 and ruins lie huddled together1 a stern and solemn vision of the past1 waiting with the silence of the tomb1 broken only by the continual tolling of her hoarse bells4 ,the city has a superb situation4 ,once seen1 it is forever impressed upon the memory4 ,the hills on which it stands rise abruptly from the surrounding campagna1 which bakes brown and barren and crisp under the scorching rays of the sun1 and stretches away to the distant mountains1 vast and uninterrupted in its solitude and dreariness4 ,it is pobre de solemnidad1--solemnly poor1 as runs the touching phrase in ,spanish4 ,there is no joy and freshness of vegetation1 no glistening of wet leaves1 no scent of flowers4 ,you read thirst in the plains1 hunger in the soil-denuded hills4 ,all is naked and bare1 without a softening line or gentler shadow1 lying fallow in spring1 unwatered in drought1 and ungarnered at harvest time4 ,the ,tagus rushes round the city in the shape of a horseshoe1 confining and protecting it as the ,wear does the towers of ,durham4 ,it boils and eddies 'twixt its narrow1 rocky confines1 hurrying from the gloomy shadows to the sunshine below1 through which it slowly sweeps1 murky and coffee-colored1 to the horizon1 no life between its flat banks1 no commerce to mark it as a highway4 ,you pass over the high-arched ,alcantara ,bridge1 which the ,campeador and his kinsman1 ,alvar ,fanez1 crossed with twelve hundred horsemen at their back1 to demand justice from their sovereign4 ,a broad terrace crawls like a serpent up the steep incline to the city gates4 ,a forest of soaring steeples rises above you1 topped by the square bulk of the ,alcazar4 ,the city smells sleepy4 ,the narrow streets1 or rather alleys1 of the town wind tortuously around the stucco faades1 with no apparent starting-point or destination1 as confused as a skein of worsted after a kitten has played with it4 ,thus were they laid out by the wise ,arabs1 to afford shade at all hours of the day4 ,at every corner1 one runs into some detail of historical or artistic interest1--history and architecture here wander hand in hand4 ,huge1 wooden doors1 closely studded with scallop nails as big as a man's fist1 proud escutcheons of noble races lost to all save ,spain's history2 charming glimpses of interior courtyards and gardens glittering fresh in their emerald coloring1 and sweet with the scent of orange blossoms2 ,gothic crenelations1 ,renaissance ironwork and railing1 and ,moorish capitals and ornamentation1 all pell-mell1 the styles of six centuries often appearing in the same building4 ,more than a hundred churches and chapels and forty monasteries crumble side by side within the small radius of the city4 ,half of its area was once covered by religious buildings or mortmain property4 ,,ii ,the church1 be it a grand cathedral or the humble steeple of some little hamlet1 is always the connecting link between past and present4 ,it has been the highest artistic expression of the people1 and it remains an eloquent witness to continuity and tradition4 ,it is what makes later ages most forcibly remember1 for it seeks to embody and satisfy the greatest need of the human heart4 ,the history of a great cathedral church of ,spain is so closely connected with the civil life of its city that one cannot be thoroughly studied without some familiarity with the other4 ,spanish cathedrals differ in this respect from their great ,english and ,french sisters4 ,in ,england1 cathedrals were built and owned by the clergy1 they belonged to the priests1 they were surrounded and hedged in from the outside world by their extensive lawns and cloisters1 refectories1 chapter houses1 bishops' palaces1 and numerous monastic buildings4 ,they were shut off from the rest of the world by high walls4 ,in ,france1 the cathedrals were the centre of civic life2 their organs were the heart-throbs of the people2 their bells were notes of warning4 ,the very houses of the artisans climbed up to their sides and nestled for protection between the buttresses of the great ,mother ,church4 ,notre ,dame d',amiens1 for instance1 was the church of a commune1 what ,walter ,pater calls a people's church4 ,they belonged to the people more than to the clergy4 ,they were a civil rather than an ecclesiastical growth1 essentially the layman's glory4 ,illustration3 ,,key ,,of ,,plan ,,of ,,toledo ,,cathedral ,a4 ,chapel of ,saint ,blase4 ,b4 ,chapel of the ,parish of ,saint ,peter4 ,c4 ,octagon4 ,d4 ,chapel of the ,virgin of the ,sanctuary4 ,e4 ,large ,sacristy4 ,f4 ,court of the ,hall of ,accounts4 ,g4 ,chapel of the ,new ,kings4 ,h4 ,chapel of the ,master of ,santiago1 ,d4 ,alvaro de ,luna4 ,i4 ,chapel of ,saint ,ildefonso4 ,k4 ,chapter ,house4 ,l4 ,chapel of the ,old ,kings or of the ,holy ,cross4 ,m4 ,capilla ,mayor4 ,n4 ,chapel of the ,tower or of the ,dean4 ,o4 ,mozarabic ,chapel4 ,p4 ,choir4 ,q4 ,portal of the ,lions4 ,r4 ,portal of the ,olive1 or ,gate of ,la ,llana4 ,s4 ,portal of the ,choir4 ,t4 ,portal of the ,little ,bread4 ,v4 ,portal of the ,visitation4 ,w4 ,portal of the ,tower or ,gate of ,hell4 ,x4 ,portal of the ,scriveners or of ,judgment4 ,in ,spain1 the church belonged to both4 ,municipal and ecclesiastical history were one and the same1 going hand in hand in bloody strife or peaceful union1--the city was the body1 the cathedral its animating soul4 ,the cathedrals were meant1 not for prayer alone1 but to live in1--they were for festivals1 meetings1 thanksgivings1 for surging1 excited crowds4 ,the church was an imperium in imperio4 ,it was the rallying place in all great undertakings or excitements4 ,here the ,cortes often met1 the great church conclaves assembled1 the mystical ,autos or sacred plays were performed1 in them soldiers gathered1 prepared for battle1 edicts were published1 sovereigns were first proclaimed1 and allegiance was sworn2 kings were christened1 anointed1 and buried4 ,the troubled murmurings of the lower classes were here first voiced4 ,they were the art galleries2 here were displayed their finest paintings1 statues and tapestries2 they were even museums of natural history1 and exhibited the finest examples of their wood-carving and glass-work1 and the iron and silversmith's arts4 ,it is thus easy to see that the political history of ,toledo becomes vital in connection with its ,cathedral church4 ,the history of ,toledo dates back to ,roman days1--we find ,pliny referring to the city as the metropolis of ,carpentania4 ,she was among the first cities of ,spain to embrace ,christianity4 ,all the barbarians1 with the exception of the ,franks1 were ,arians1 but the last ,gothic ruler in ,spain to withstand the ,roman faith was ,leovgild1 who reigned in the last half of the sixth century4 ,he was also their first able administrator1 the first who consistently strove to bring order out of the chaos of warring tribes and conflicting authorities4 ,contemporaries describe his palace at ,toledo1 his throne and apparel1 and his council chamber1 as of truly royal magnificence4 ,it was reserved to his son ,reccared to change the history of ,spain by publicly announcing his conversion to the ,roman faith before a council of ,roman and ,arian bishops held in ,toledo in #ehg1 at the same time inviting them to exchange their views fearlessly and1 as many as would1 to follow him4 ,the ,goths were never difficult to convert1 and many of the bishops and of the lords who were present embraced the ,catholic faith1 to which a majority of the people already belonged4 ,gregory the ,great1 hearing of the success of ,reccared's gentle and liberal proselytism1 wrote to him3 ,what shall ,i do at the ,last ,judgment when ,i arrive with empty hands1 and your ,excellency followed by a flock of faithful souls1 converted by persuasion8 ,he summoned a third council at ,toledo in #ehi1 and in concert with nearly seventy bishops1 regulated the rites and discipline of the ,church1 at the same time excluding the ,jews from all employments4 ,in royal ,toledo ,reccared was anointed with holy oil1 and he substituted the ,latin for the ,gothic tongue in divine service1 where ,isidore was the first to use it4 ,in daily life ,latin soon replaced ,gothic4 ,king ,wamba built the great walls round the city1 and ,king ,roderick held his glorious tournament inside them4 ,greater than any fame of ,gothic monarch was that of the ,church ,councils which met here to determine the course of early dogma and shape the destinies of the larger part of ,christendom4 ,the most salient figure during the rule of the ,gothic kings was ,saint ,ildefonso1 who quite overshadows his royal contemporaries4 ,in #gaa the ,moors conquered the city1 which then became a dependency of the ,caliphs of ,damascus and ,bagdad until a ,moorish prince shook off the foreign yoke4 ,independent ,arab princes ruled1 with ,toledo as capital of their empire1 until ,alfonso ,,vi1 ,king of ,castile and ,leon1 in #ajhe1 finally conquered it for himself and his successors4 ,during the reigns of the early ,castilian kings1 we find names connected with the city's history which became famous all over ,spain4 ,the ,cid was the city's first ,alcaide4 ,alfonso el ,batallador and ,pedro el ,cruel stand out in sombre relief1 and ,toledo was the cradle of the dramatic ,comunidades' rising1 and the scene of the noble death of their patriotic leader ,padella4 ,the streets ran with blood1 and the walls spoke of glorious resistance before the ,flemish emperor had crushed the liberties of the people4 ,we have a description of the brilliant pageant of ,ferdinand and ,isabella's entry after defeating the king of ,portugal4 ,the ,prince of ,aragon was in full armour on his war horse and ,isabella riding a beautiful mule1 splendidly caparisoned1 the bridle being held by two noble pages4 ,followed by their gorgeous retinue they rode slowly towards the ,cathedral1 while the highest dignitaries of the ,church1 the archbishop1 himself a mitred king1 the canons1 and the clergy1 in their pontifical garments1 preceded by the ,cross1 came forth from the ,puerta del ,perdon to receive them4 ,on each side of the arch above the doorway were two angels1 and in the centre a young maiden richly clothed1 with a golden crown on her head1 to represent the image of ',la ,bendita ,madre de ,dios1 nuestra ,seora4' ,when ,ferdinand and ,isabella and all the company had gathered around1 the angels began to sing4 ,the following day the trophies of war were presented to the ,cathedral4 ,during the period immediately following the reign of the ,catholic ,kings1 ,toledo reached her highest prosperity4 ,she numbered as many as #bjj1jjj inhabitants2--to-day she has only #bj1jjj4 ,glorious processions swept through her streets1 the proud knights of the military orders of ,alcantara1 ,calatrava1 and ,santiago1 black-robed ,dominican inquisitors1 executioners1 royal chaplains and major-domos1 the ,councils of the ,indies1 ,castilian grandees1 ,roman princes and cardinals1 brawling ,flemish and ,burgundian nobles1 ,german landsknechts1 and great ,catholic ambassadors4 ,toledo received her death-blow when ,philip ,,ii1 unable to brook the haughty claims of the ,toledan archbishops1 and feeling his power second to theirs1 finally1 in #aefj1 moved the capital of his realm to ,madrid4 ,toledo's annals grew dark4 ,so merciless was the ,tribunal of the ,inquisition that under its vigilant eye #ccbg processes were disposed of in little more than a year4 ,so ,toledo fell from her former greatness4 ,the site of the ,cathedral in the very heart of the city is by no means dominant4 ,the church lies so low that even the spire is inconspicuous in the landscape4 ,on three sides adjacent buildings completely bar all view or approach4 ,the only free perspective is on the fourth side1 from the steps of the ,ayuntamiento across the square4 ,the inscription above the door of the city hall1 with its trenchant advice to the magistrates1 is well worth notice3-- ,nobles discretos varones1 ,qui gobernais a ,toledo ,en aquatos escalones ,codicia1 temor y miedo4 ,por los comunes provechos ,deschad los particulares ,puez vos hezo ,dios pilares ,de tan requisimos lechos ,estat vermes y derechos4#i ,in the streets1 the alcazerias which wind around the sides of the ,cathedral1 the rich silk guild traded4 ,here were shipped the goods that freighted vessels sailing for the ,american colonies4 ,during the ,visigothic reign in ,toledo1 the ,cathedral site was occupied by a ,christian temple4 ,it was transformed by the ,moors after their occupancy of the city into their principal mosque2 there they were still permitted to carry on their worship1 according to the terms of the treaty made on their surrender of the city to ,king ,alfonso ,,iv in #ajhe4 ,a year afterwards ,king ,alfonso went off on a campaign1 leaving the capital in charge of his ,french queen1 ,constance1 and the ,archbishop ,bernard1 recently sent to ,toledo at the ,king's request by the ,abbot of ,cluny4 ,no sooner was ,king ,alfonso outside the city walls than the regents turned the ,moors out of the church4 ,the ,archbishop arrived with a throng of ,christian citizens1 battered down the main entrance1 threw the ,moslem objects of worship into the gutters1 and set in their place the ,cross and the ,virgin ,mary4 ,when the news of this outrage reached the ears of the ,king1 he returned in wrath to ,toledo1 swearing he would burn both wife and prelate who had dared to break the oath he had so solemnly sworn4 ,the ,moslems1 sagely fearing later vengeance would be wreaked upon them should they permit matters to take their course1 besought the returning sovereign to restrain his wrath while they released him from his oath1--,whereat he had great joy1 and1 riding on into the city1 the matter ended peacefully4 ,the appearance of this fanatic ,cluny monk is of the greatest importance as heralding a new influence in the development and history of ,spanish ecclesiastical architecture4 ,his coming marks the introduction of a foreign style of building and a revolution in the previous national methods1 known as obra de los ,godos1 or work of the ,goths4 ,further1 with the gradual arrival of ,french ecclesiastics from ,cluny and ,citeaux1 came also a greater interference from ,rome in the management of the ,spanish ,church1 and a radical limitation of the former power of the ,peninsula's arrogant prelates4 ,owing to the new influence1 the ,italian mass-book was soon presented in place of the ancient ,gothic ritual and breviary4 ,the foreign churchmen likewise aided in uniting sovereign1 clergy1 and nobility in common cause against the ,saracen infidels now so firmly ensconced in the ,peninsula4 ,spanish art had previously felt only national influences2 now1 through the door opened by the monks1 it received potent foreign elements4 ,spain had been far too much occupied with internal strife and political dissension to have had breathing spell or opportunity for the development of the fine arts and the building of churches4 ,the passion for building which the ,french monks brought with them awoke entirely dormant qualities in the ,spaniard1 which in the early ,romanesque1 but especially in the ,gothic edifices1 produced beautiful1 but essentially exotic fruits4 ,first in the days of the ,renaissance the architecture showed features which might be termed original and national4 ,with the ,cluniacs came not only ,french artisans but ,flemish1 ,german1 and ,italian1 all taking a hand in1 and lending their influences to the great works of the new art4 ,nothing remains of the old ,moorish-,christian house of worship4 ,it was torn down by order of ,saint ,ferdinand 7he had laid the foundation stone of ,burgos as early as #abba71 who laid the corner stone of the present edifice with great ceremony1 assisted by the ,archbishop1 in the month of ,august1 #abbg 7seven years prior to the commencement of ,salisbury and ,amiens74 ,the building was practically completed in #adic1 during the reign of ,ferdinand and ,isabella1 the most illustrious epoch of ,spanish history4 ,additions and alterations injurious to the harmony and symmetry of the building were made till the end of the seventeenth century1 and again continued during the eighteenth4 ,it thus represents the architectural inspiration and decadence of nearly six hundred years4 ,in style it belongs to the group of three great churches1 ,burgos1 ,toledo and ,leon1 which were based upon the constructional principles and decorative features termed ,gothic4 ,in some respects these churches embodied to a highly developed extent the organic principles of the style1 in others1 they fell far short of a clear comprehension of them4 ,none of them had the beauty or the purity of the greatest of their ,french sisters4 ,burgos may be said to be most consistently ,gothic in all its details1 but neither ,toledo nor ,leon was free from the influence of ,moorish art1 which was indeed developing and flowering under ,moslem rule in the south of the ,peninsula1 at the time when ,gothic churches were lifting their spires into the blue of northern skies under the guidance and inspiration of the ,french masters4 ,in many respects the ,gothic could not express itself similarly in ,spain and ,france1--climatic conditions differed1 and1 consequently1 the architecture which was to suit their needs4 ,in ,france1 ,gothic building tended towards a steadily increasing elimination of all wall surfaces4 ,the weight and thrusts1 previously carried by walls1 were met by a more and more skillfully developed framework of piers and flying buttresses4 ,such a development was not practical for ,spain nor was it understood4 ,the widely developed fields for glass would have admitted the heat of the sun too freely1 whereas the broad surfaces of wall-masonry gave coolness and shade4 ,nor were the sharply sloping roofs for the easy shedding of snow necessary in ,spain4 ,in ,french and ,english ,gothic churches1 the light1 pointed spire is the ornamental feature of the composition1 whereas in the ,spanish1 with a few exceptions1 the towers become heavy and square4 ,none of the three ,cathedrals in question impresses us as the outcome of ,spanish architectural growth1 but seems rather a direct importation4 ,they have the main features of a style with which their architects were familiar and in which they had long since taken the initial steps4 ,they are working with a practically developed system1 whose infancy and early growth had been followed elsewhere4 ,while in the twelfth1 and the early portion of the thirteenth century1 ,frenchmen were gradually evolving the new system of ecclesiastical architecture1 the ,spaniards1 destined to surpass them1 were to all purposes still producing nothing but ,romanesque buildings1 borrowing certain ornamental or constructional features of the new style1 but in so slight and illogical a degree1 that their style remained based upon its old principles4 ,they employed the pointed arch between arcades and vaulting1 and unlike the ,french1 threw a dome or cimborio over the intersection of nave and transepts4 ,in some instances we find a regular ,french quadripartite vault at the crossing1 but such changes are not sufficient to term the cathedrals of the period 7,tudela1 ,tarragona1 ,zamora1 and ,lerida7 ,gothic4 ,they remain historically1 rather than artistically1 interesting4 ,with the second quarter of the thirteenth century1 comes the change4 ,in style ,toledo corresponds most closely to the early ,gothic of the north of ,france4 ,its plan reminds one forcibly of ,bourges1 though it is far more ambitious in size4 ,owing to the long period of its building1 it bears late ,gothic1 ,renaissance1 and ,baroque features1 while traces of ,moorish influence are not wanting4 ,the ,cathedral of ,toledo was built in an imaginative1 creative and passionate age1--an age when the ordinary mason was a master builder as well as sculptor1 stimulated by local affection1 pride and piety4 ,the results of his work were tremendous1--his finished product was a storehouse of art4 ,artists of all nations had a hand in the work4 ,bermudez mentions #adi names of those who embellished the ,cathedral during six centuries4 ,here worked ,borgoa1 ,berruguete1 ,cespedes1 and ,villalpando1 ,copin1 ,vergara ,egas1 and ,covarrubias4 ,it is rather difficult to analyze their genius4 ,they were not naturally artists1 as were the ,french and ,italians2 they did not create as easily1 but were rather stimulated by a more nave craving for vast dimensions4 ,with this we find interwoven in places the sparkling1 jewel-like intricacy and play of light and shade so natural to the ,moorish artisan1 and the sombre1 overpowering solemnity of the warlike ,spanish cavalier4 ,it is necessary for a people at all times to find expression for its sthetic life4 ,architecture1 like literature1 reflects the sentiments and tendencies of a nation's mind4 ,as truly as ,don ,quixote1 ,don ,juan1 or the ,cid express them1 so do the stories told by ,toledo1 ,leon1 or ,burgos4 ,they reproduce the passions1 the dreams1 the imagination1 and the absurdities of the age which created them4 ,toledo's first architect1 who superintended the work for more than half a century1 was named ,perez 7d4 #abhe74 ,he was followed by ,rodrigo1 ,alfonso1 ,alvar ,gomez1 ,annequin de ,egas1 ,martin ,sanchez1 ,juan ,guas1 and ,enrique de ,egas4 ,hand in hand with the architects1 worked the high priests4 ,the ,archbishop of ,toledo is the ,primate of ,spain4 ,mighty prelates have sat on that throne1 and the chapter was once one of the most celebrated in the world4 ,the ,primate of ,toledo has the ,pope as well as the ,king of ,spain for honorary canons1 and his church takes precedence of all others in the land4 ,the offices attached to his person are numerous4 ,as late as the time of ,napoleon's conquest of the city1 fourteen dignitaries1 twenty-seven canons1 and fifty prebends1 besides a host of chaplains and subaltern priests1 followed in the train of the ,metropolitan4 ,at the close of the fifteenth century1 his revenues exceeded #hj1jjj ducats 7about #gbj1jjj71 while the gross amount of those of the subordinate beneficiaries of his church rose to #ahj1jjj4 ,this amount1 or #ab1jjj1jjj reals1 had not decreased at the beginning of the nineteenth century4 ,in the middle ages he was followed by more horse and foot than either the ,grand ,master of ,santiago or the ,constable of ,castile4 ,when he threw his influence into the balance1 the pretender to the throne was often victorious4 ,he held jurisdiction over fifteen large and populous towns besides numbers of inferior places4 ,many who occupied the episcopal throne of ,toledo ruled ,spain1 not only by virtue of the prestige their high office gave them1 but through extraordinary genius and remarkable attainments4 ,they were great alike in war and in peace4 ,many of them combined broadness of view and real learning with purity of morals4 ,they founded universities and libraries1 framed useful laws1 stimulated noble impulses1 corrected abuses1 and promoted reforms4 ,popes called them to ,rome to ask their advice in affairs of the ,church4 ,bright in the history of ,spain shine the names of such prelates as ,rodriguez1 ,tenorio1 ,fonseca1 ,ximenez1 ,mendoza1 ,tavera1 and ,lorenzana4 ,from the tenth to the sixteenth centuries ,castile was far less bigoted than other ,european nations1 for1 of all the daughters of the ,mother ,church1 ,spain was the most independent4 ,her kings and her primate were naturally her champions1 ever ready and defiant4 ,king ,james ,i even went so far as to cut out the tongue of a too meddlesome bishop4 ,from early ,gothic days to the time when ,ferdinand began to dream of ,spain as a power beyond the ,iberian ,peninsula1 no kingdom in ,europe was less disposed to brook the interference of the ,pope4 ,ferdinand and ,isabella thwarted him in insisting upon their right to appoint their own candidates for the high offices of the ,spanish church1 and the ,pope was obliged to give way4 ,the figure we constantly encounter in the thrilling tilts between ,rome and ,spanish prelates is the ,archbishop of ,toledo4 ,like ,richelieu and ,wolsey1 ,ximenez and ,mendoza towered above their time1 and their great spirits still seem present within their church4 ,ximenez1 better known in ,english as ,cardinal ,cisneros1 rose to his high office much against his will from the obscurity of a humble monk4 ,the peremptory orders of the ,pope were necessary to make him leave his cell and become successively ,archbishop of ,toledo1 ,grand ,chancellor of ,castile1 ,inquisitor ,general1 ,cardinal1 ,confessor to ,queen ,isabella1 ,minister of ,ferdinand the ,catholic1 and ,regent of the ,kingdom of ,charles ,v4 ,he was an austere priest1 a profound politician1 a powerful intellect1 a will of iron1 and an inflexible and unconquerable soul2 one of the greatest figures in modern history2 one of the loftiest types of the ,spanish character4 ,notwithstanding the greatness thrust upon him1 he preserved the austere practices of the simple monk4 ,under a robe of silk and purple1 he wore the hard shirt and frock of ,st4 ,francis4 ,in his apartments1 embellished with costly hangings1 he slept on the floor1 with only a log of wood for his pillow4 ,ferdinand owed to him that he preserved ,castile1 and ,charles ,v1 that he became ,king of ,spain4 ,he did not boast when1 pointing to the ,cordon of ,st4 ,francis1 he explained1 ',it is with this ,i bridle the pride of the aristocracy of ,castile4'#aj ,history may accuse him of the unpardonable expulsion of the ,moriscos1 and the retention of the ,inquisition as well as its introduction into the ,new ,world1--but what he did was done from the strength of his convictions and according to what1 in the light of his age1 seemed the best for his country and his ,church4 ,he was perhaps even greater as a ,spaniard than as a churchman4 ,his conceptions were all grand1 and he was as versatile as he was great4 ,victor in the greatest of all ,spanish toils1 he executed the polyglot version of the ,scriptures1 the most stupendous literary achievement of his age4 ,fitting his greatness is the simplicity of his epitaph3-- ,condideram musis ,franciscus grande lyceum1 ,condor in exiguo nunc ego sarcophago4 ,praetextam junxi sacco1 galeamque galero1 ,frater1 ,dux1 ,praesul1 ,cardineusque pater4 ,quin virtute mea junctum est diadema cucullo1 ,cum mihi regnanti paruit ,hesperia4 ,the figure of ,cardinal ,mendoza stands out clear and strong in the final struggle with ,granada4 ,it was he who first planted the ,cross where the ,crescent had waved for six centuries1 and he was the first to counsel ,isabella to assist the great discoverer4 ,his keen intellect made him lend a ready ear and friendly hand to the rapid development of the science of his time and the fast-spreading taste for literature4 ,and so the line of ,toledo's illustrious bishops continues1--leaders of the church militant1 like the ,montagues and ,capulets1 they fought from the mere habit of fighting1 but they seldom stained their swords in an unworthy cause4 ,,iii ,there is a great discrepancy between the interior and the exterior of the ,cathedral4 ,the former is as grand as the latter is insignificant and unworthy4 ,the scale is tremendous4 ,only ,milan and ,seville cover a greater area1 if the ,cathedral is considered in connection with its cloisters4 ,cologne comes next to it in size4 ,it runs from west to east1 with nave and double side aisles1 ending in a semicircular apse with a double ambulatory4 ,as is characteristic of ,spanish churches1 it is astonishingly wide for its length1--being #bjd feet wide and #djd feet long4 ,the nave is #ih feet high and #dd feet wide1 while the outer aisles are respectively #bf and #cb feet across4 ,the exterior1 with the exception of the ornamental portions of the portals and a few carvings1 is all built of a ,berroquea granite4 ,the interior is of a kind of mouse-colored limestone taken from the quarries of ,oliquelas near ,toledo4 ,like many limestones1 it is soft when first quarried1 but hardens with time and exposure4 ,the impression of the exterior is strangely disappointing4 ,imposing and massive1 but irregular1 squat1 and encumbered by surrounding edifices clinging to its masonry4 ,an indifferent husk1 encasing a noble interior4 ,only one tower is completed1 and no two portions of the decoration are symmetrical4 ,the exterior has no governing scheme1 no ide matresse1 no individual style1 and is the outgrowth of no definite period4 ,successive generations of peace or war have enriched or destroyed its masonry4 ,you stop with an exclamation of admiration in front of certain details of the exterior2 before others1 you only feel astonishment4 ,the want of order and unity in the execution of its various portions and elevations is distressing4 ,order and harmony may be preserved1 even where an edifice is carried on by successive ages1 each of which imparts to its work the stamp of its own developing skill and imagination4 ,very few of the great cathedrals were begun and completed in one style4 ,most of the great ,french churches show traces of the earlier ,norman or ,romanesque2 most of the ,english ,gothic1 traces of the ,norman or of the different periods of ,english ,gothic architecture2 but one dominating scheme has been followed by the consecutive architects4 ,the lack of such a governing and restraining principle is felt in the exterior of ,toledo4 ,further than this1 although successive wars and religious fanaticism have with their destructive fury injured so many of the beautiful statues and exquisite carvings and much of the stained glass of the ,french and ,english religious establishments1 still the architecture itself has in the main been left undisturbed4 ,in ,toledo1 there is hardly a portion of the early structure and decoration of the lower1 visible part of the ,cathedral which has not been altered or torn down by the various architects of the last three centuries4 ,as an obvious result1 the portions of the exterior which are interesting are individual features1 and not a unified scheme2 and they are interesting historically1 rather than in relation to or in dependence upon one another4 ,the west front1 which is the principal faade1 the various doorways and completed tower form the most interesting portions of the exterior4 ,the west front is flanked by two projecting towers1 dissimilar in design4 ,to the south is the uncompleted one1 containing the ,mozarabic chapel1#aa roofed by an octagonal cupola and surmounted by a lantern1 strangely betraying in exterior form its ,byzantine ancestry4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,toledo ,the choir stalls ,to the north rises the spire which commands the city and the ,cathedral of ,toledo4 ,it was begun in #achj and completed in sixty years1--no long time when we take into account its size and detail and the carefulness of its construction4 ,rodrigo ,alfonso and ,alvar ,gomez were the architects1 and the ,cardinals ,pedro ,tenorio and ,tavera directed the work4 ,although it lacks the soaring grace of the towers of ,burgos1 it possesses quiet strength and a majestic dignity1 and the transitions between its various stories have been executed with a skill scarcely less than that shown in the older tower of ,chartres4 ,it is in fact full of a character of its own4 ,divided into three parts1 it rises to a height of some three hundred feet and terminates in a huge cross4 ,the principal building material is the hard but easily carved ,berroquea granite1 with certain portions finished in marble and slate4 ,the lower part1 which is square1 has its faces pierced by interlacing ,gothic arches1 windows of different shapes1 ornamental coats-of-arms and marble medallions4 ,it is crowned by a railing and1 at the corners where the transition to the hexagon occurs1 by stone pyramids4 ,the central part is hexagonal in plan and ornamented by arches and crocketed finials4 ,above it rises the slate spire terminating under the cross in a conical pyramid1 added after a fire in the year #affb4 ,the spire is curiously and uniquely encircled by three collars of pointed iron spikes1 intended to symbolize the crowns of thorns4 ,the great bells of the ,cathedral peal from this tower1 among them the huge ,san ,eugenio1 better known1 though1 by the name ,campana gorda1 or the ,big-bellied ,bell1 weighing #aedc arobes 7about #ag tons7 and put up the same day it was cast in the year #agec4 ,its fame is shown by the old lines1 which enumerate the wonders of ,spain as the-- ,campana la de ,toledo1 ,iglesia la de ,leon1 ,reloj el de ,benavente1 ,rollos los de ,villalon4#ab ,fifteen shoemakers could sit under it and draw out their cobbler's thread without touching each other4 ,a legend relates that the sound of it reached1 when first it was rung1 even to heaven4 ,saint ,peter fancied that the tones came from his own church in ,rome1 but on ascertaining that this was not the case1 and that ,toledo possessed the largest of all bells1 he got angry and flung down one of his keys upon it1 thus causing a crack in the bell which is still to be seen4 ,not only does the hoarse croak of ,gorda's voice remind the tardy worshiper of the approaching hour of prayer1 but it tells each and all of the barrio where the fire is raging4 ,though the prudent ,toledan may not know the art of signing his name or reading his ,pater ,noster1 full well he knows1 whenever ,gorda speaks1 whether the danger is at his own door or at his neighbor's4 ,the lower portion of the faade between the towers is composed of a fine triple portal dating from #adah to #adej1 which1 despite later changes1 is still an excellent piece of ,gothic work4 ,it contains over seventy statues4 ,above1 the faade is composed of an ornamental screen inexpressive of the structure and the internal arrangement of the edifice4 ,a railing separated the lonja1 or enclosure immediately in front of the entrances1 from the street outside4 ,the central entrance is the ,gate of ,pardon2 to the north is the ,gate of the ,tower1 also called the ,gate of ,hell2 to the south is the ,gate of the ,scriveners or of ,judgment4 ,the middle door is the largest and most important4 ,for centuries the steps leading to it have been climbed and descended by the pregnant women of ,toledo1 to insure an easy parturition4 ,the doors themselves are covered with most interesting bronze work1 showing how far the ,spaniards had in later centuries developed the art of their skillful ,saracenic predecessors4 ,the arch of the ,gate of ,pardon is exquisitely formed and its moldings and recesses are profusely decorated with finely chiseled figures and ornaments4 ,each of the three doors is surmounted by a relief1 that over the ,pardon representing the ,virgin presenting the chasuble to ,saint ,ildefonso1 who is kneeling at her feet4 ,the ,scriveners' ,gate derives its name from having been the door of entry for the scriveners when they came to the ,cathedral to take their oath1 but1 though they had a gate for their own particular use1 they did not seem to enjoy an especially good reputation4 ,according to an old verse1 their pen and paper would drop from their hands to dance an independent fandango long before their souls ever entered the ,kingdom of ,heaven4 ,above the door is an inscription commemorative of the great exploits of the ,catholic ,sovereigns and ,cardinal ,mendoza and of the expulsion of the ,jews from the ,kingdoms of ,castile1 ,aragon and ,sicily4 ,the principal feature above the doors is a classical gable which extends the whole width of the faade1 its field filled with colossal pieces of sculpture representing the ,last ,supper4 ,our ,lord and the ,apostles are seated1 each in his own niche4 ,it recalls the carving over the northeast entrance of ,notre ,dame du ,puy4 ,nothing could be more ineffective and out of place than to crown this portion of the ,gothic building with a ,greek gable end4 ,finally1 above the gable1 with a curious pair of arches built out in front of it1 comes a circular rose almost thirty feet in diameter1 of early fourteenth-century work1 this again being surmounted by late eighteenth-century ,baroque additions4 ,there are two doorways on the south side4 ,the ,gate of the ,lions1 which forms the southern termination to the transept1 is of course named from the lions standing over the enclosing rail directly in front of it1 each supporting its shield4 ,here you have a bit of the finest work of the exterior1 a most exquisite specimen of the ,gothic work of the fifteenth century4 ,its detail and finish are remarkable1 and few pieces of ,spanish sculpture of its time surpass it in elegance and grace4 ,the larger figures are most interesting1 varying greatly in execution and character4 ,those of the inner arches are stiff and still struggling for freedom from tradition1 but of admirably carved drapery1--while the bishops in the niches to the right and left have faces radiating kindness and patriarchal benignity1 faces we meet and bless in our own walks of life to-day4 ,the bronze ,renaissance doors are as fine as their setting1--splendid examples of the metal stamping of the sixteenth century1 and the wooden carving on their inner surfaces is equally fine4 ,the bronze knocker might easily have come from the workshop of the great ,florentine goldsmith4 ,the ,gate of ,la ,llana1 west of the ,gate of the ,lions1 is as ludicrous in its eighteenth-century dress as the gable of the west faade4 ,on the north side of the church we find three gates2 in the centre1 forming the northern entrance to the transept1 the ,puerta del ,reloic1 and east and west of it1 the ,puerta de ,santa ,catalina1 and the ,puerta de la ,presentacion4 ,,iv ,you leave the outside with a feeling of distress at having viewed a patchwork of architectural composition1 feebly decorating and badly expressing a noble and mighty frame4 ,you enter into a light of celestial softness and purity4 ,it seems an old and faded light4 ,as soon as you regain vision in the cool1 refreshing twilight1 you experience the long-deferred exultation4 ,you are amid those that pray1--the poor and sorrowing1 those that would be strengthened4 ,here voices sink to a reverent whisper1 for curiosity is hushed into awe4 ,i could never fathom how a man dares to lift up his voice to preach in a cathedral1--what has he to say that will not be an anti-climax8 says ,robert ,louis ,stevenson1 and you are struck by the force of his remark when you compare the droning voice coming from one corner of the building with the glorious expression of man's faith rising above and around you4 ,the quiet majesty and silent eloquence of the one accentuates the feebleness of the other4 ,for the interior is as simple and restrained and the planning as logical and lucid as the exterior is blameworthy and unreasonable4 ,here is rhythm and harmony4 ,the constructive problems have been ingeniously mastered1 and the carved and decorated portions subordinated to the gigantic scheme of the great monument4 ,the sculptures are limited to their respective fields4 ,structural and artistic principles go hand in hand4 ,eloquently the carvings speak the language of the time1--they become a pictorial ,bible1 open for the poor man to read1 who has no knowledge of crabbed1 monastic letters4 ,they are the language of true religion1 the religion that may change but can never die4 ,the plan is unquestionably the grand feature of the ,cathedral2 the beauty and scale of it challenge comparison with those of all other churches in ,christendom4 ,the vaulting and its development1 the concentration of the thrust upon the piers and far-leaping flying buttresses are unquestionably on such a scale and of such character as to place it among the mightiest1 if not the most pure and well-developed ,gothic edifices4 ,it is like a giant that knows not the strength of his limbs nor the possibilities in his mighty frame4 ,you do not feel the great height of the nave1 owing to the immensity of all dimensions and the great circumference of the supporting piers4 ,the nave and the double side aisles on each side are all of seven bays4 ,the transept does not project beyond the outer aisles4 ,the plan proper has thus1 at a rough glance1 the appearance of a basilica and seems to lack the side arms of the ,gothic cross4 ,the choir consists of one bay1 and the chevet formed by an apse to the choir of five bays4 ,both aisles continue around the chevet4 ,outside these again1 and between the buttresses of the main outer walls1 lie the different chapels1 the great cloister and the different compartments and dependencies belonging to church and chapel1--a tremendous development1 accumulation1 growth1--a city in itself4 ,the cloisters1 as well as almost all the chapels1 were added after the virtual completion of the ,cathedral proper4 ,the chevet is the keynote of the plan1 and the solution of the problem1 how to vault the different compartments lying between the three concentric circular terminations beyond the choir4 ,their vaulting shows constructive skill and ingenuity of the highest order4 ,the architects solved the problem with a simplicity and grandeur which places their genius on a level with that of the greatest of ,french builders4 ,there are no previous examples of ,spanish churches where similar problems have been dealt with tentatively4 ,we are thus forced to acknowledge that the schooling for1 and consequent mastery of1 the problem1 must have been gained on ,french soil4 ,the central apse is surrounded by four piers1 the two aisles are separated by eight1 and the outer wall is marked by sixteen points of support4 ,the bays in both aisles are vaulted alternately by triangular and virtually rectangular compartments4 ,the vista from west to east is perfectly preserved1 and the distance from centre to centre of every second pair of outer piers is as nearly as possible the same as that of the inner row4 ,the outer wall of the aisles1 except where the two great chapels of ,santiago and ,san ,ildefonso are introduced1 was pierced alternately by small1 square chapels opposite the triangular1 vaulting compartments and circular chapels opposite the others4 ,in the cathedrals of ,notre ,dame de ,paris1 ,saint ,remi of ,rheims1 and in ,le ,mans1 we find intermediate triangular vaulting compartments introduced1 but they are either employed with inferior skill or in a different form4 ,in none of these cathedrals do they call for such unstinted admiration as those of the architect of ,toledo4 ,they just fall short of the happiest solution4 ,in ,saint ,remi1 for instance1 we have intermediate trapezoids instead of rectangles1 the inner chord being longer than the exterior4 ,the seventy-two well-molded1 simple1 quadripartite vaults of the whole edifice 7rising in the choir to about one hundred1 and1 in the inner and outer aisles1 to sixty and thirty-five feet7 are supported by eighty-eight piers4 ,the capitals of the engaged shafts1 composed of plain foliage1 point the same way as the run of the ribs above them4 ,simple1 strong moldings compose the square bases4 ,the great piers of the transept are trefoiled in section4 ,the outer walls of the main body of the church are pierced by arches leading into uninteresting1 rectangular chapels1 some of them decorated with elaborate vaulting4 ,in the outer wall of the intermediate aisle is a triforium1 formed by an arcade of cusped arches1 and above this1 quite close to the point of the vault1 a rose window in each bay4 ,the clerestory1 filling the space above thegreat arches on each side of the nave1 is subdivided into a double row of lancet-pointed windows1 surmounted by a rosette coming directly under the spring of the vault4 ,the treatment of the crossing of transept and nave is in ,toledo1 as in all ,spanish churches1 emphatic and peculiar4 ,the old central lantern of the cruciform church was retained and developed in their ,gothic as well as in their ,renaissance edifices1 and was permitted illogically to break the ,gothic roof line4 ,the lantern of ,ely is the nearest reminder we have of it in ,english or ,french ,gothic4 ,in ,spain the cimborio became an important feature and made the croise beneath it the lightest portion of the edifice4 ,it shed light to the east and west of it1 into the high altar and the choir4 ,the position of the choir is striking and distressing4 ,its rectangular body completely fills the sixth and seventh bays of the nave1 interrupting its continuity and spoiling the sweep and grandeur of the edifice at its most important point4 ,it sticks like a bone in the throat4 ,any complete view of the interior becomes impossible1 and its impressive majesty is belittled4 ,one constantly finds the choir of ,spanish cathedrals in this position1 which deprives them of the fine perspective found in northern edifices4 ,in ,westminster ,abbey1 strangely enough1 the choir is similarly placed1 and there1 as here1 it is as if the hands were tied and the breath stifled1 where action should be freest4 ,this peculiar position of the choir was owing to the admission of the laity to the transept in front of the altar4 ,in earlier days the choir was adjacent to and facing the altar1 the singers and readers being there enclosed by a low and unimportant rail4 ,the short1 eastern apses of the ,spanish cathedrals and the undeveloped and insufficient room for the clergy immediately surrounding the altar almost necessitated this divorce of the choir4 ,in ,france and ,england the happier and more logical alternative was resorted to1 of providing sufficient space east of the intersection of the transept for all the clergy4 ,the rectangular choir of ,toledo is closed at the east by a magnificent iron screen2 at the west1 by a wall called the ,trascoro1 acting as a background to the archbishop's seat4 ,a doorway once pierced its centre but was blocked up for the placing of the throne4 ,if the position of the choir is unfortunate1 its details are among the most remarkable and glorious of their time and country4 ,the only entrance is through the great iron parclose or reja at the east4 ,this1 as well as the corresponding grille work directly opposite1 closing off the bay in front of the high altar1 are wonderful specimens of the iron-worker's craft1 splendid masterpieces of an art which has never been excelled since the days of its medival guilds4 ,the master ,domingo de ,cespedes erected the grille in the year #aedh4 ,the framework seems to be connected by means of tenons and mortices1 while the scrolls are welded together4 ,the larger moldings are formed of sheet iron1 bent to the shape required and flush-riveted to their light frames4 ,neither the general design nor the details 7both ,renaissance in feeling7 are especially meritorious1 but the thorough mastery of the material is most astonishing4 ,the stubborn iron has been wrought and formed with as much ease and boldness as if it had been soft limestone or plaster4 ,it is characteristic of the age that the craftsman has not limited himself to one material4 ,certain portions of the smaller ornaments are of silver and copper4 ,originally their shining surfaces1 as well as the gilding of the great portion of the principal iron bars1 must have touched the whole with life and color4 ,it was all covered with black paint in the time of the ,napoleonic wars to escape the greedy hands of ,la ,houssaye's victorious mob1 and the gates still retain the sable coat that protected them4 ,even a more glorious example of ,spanish craftsmanship is found in the choir stalls which surround us to the north and south and west as soon as we enter4 ,here we are face to face with the finest flowering of ,spanish medival art4 ,thophile ,gautier1 generalizing upon the whole composition1 says3 ,l'art gothique1 sur les confins de la ,renaissance1 n'a rien produit de plus parfait ni de mieux dessin4 ,the whole treatment of the work is essentially ,spanish4 ,the stalls1 the silleria1 are arranged in two tiers1 the upper reached by little flights of five steps and covered by a richly carved1 marble canopy1 supported by slender ,corinthian columns of red jasper and alabaster4 ,all the stalls are of walnut1 fifty in the lower row1 seventy in the upper1 exclusive of the archbishop's seat4 ,the right side of the altar1 that is1 the right side of the celebrant looking from the altar1 is called the side of the ,gospel1--the left1 the side of the ,epistle4 ,the great carvings1 differing in the upper and lower stalls in period and execution1 are the work of three artists4 ,the carvings of the lower row were executed by ,rodriguez in #adie1 those of the upper1 on the ,gospel side1 by ,alonso ,berruguete1 and those on the side of the ,epistle1 by ,philip ,vigarny 7also called ,borgoa71 both of the latter about fifty years later 7in #aedc74 ,the reading desk of the upper stalls forms the back of the lower and affords the field for their sculptural decoration4 ,the subjects are the ,conquest of ,granada and the ,campaigns of ,ferdinand and ,isabella4 ,we are shown in the childish and picturesque manner in which the age tells its story1 the various incidents of the war1 all its situations and groups1 its curious costumes1 arms1 shields1 and bucklers1 and even the names of the fortresses inscribed on their masonry4 ,we can recognize the ,catholic monarchs and the great prelate entering the fallen city amid the grief-stricken infidels4 ,the spirit of the work is distinctly that of the period which has gone before1 without any intimations of that to come4 ,it has the character of the ,german ,gothic1 recalling ,lucas of ,holland and his school4 ,if it has a grace and beauty of its own1 there is also a childish grotesqueness without any of the self-assured mastery1 so soon to spread its ,italian light4 ,the imagination and composition are there1 but not the execution1--the mind1 but not the hand4 ,the carvings of the upper stalls were executed by their masters in generous rivalry and in a spirit that shows a decided classic influence4 ,many curious accounts of the time describe the excitement which prevailed during their execution and the various favor they found in the eyes of different critics4 ,looking at them1 one's thoughts revert to that glorious dawn in which ,cellini and ,ghiberti and ,donatello labored4 ,the inscription says of the two artists1 ,signatum marmorea tum ligna caelavere hinc ,philippus ,burgundio1 ex adverso ,berruguetus ,hispanus3 certaverunt tum artificum ingenia2 certabunt semper spectatorum judicia4 ,berruguete's work 7on the ,gospel side7 shows distinct traces of ,michael ,angelo's influence and his study in ,italian ateliers with ,andrea del ,sarto and ,baccio ,bandinelli4#ac ,the nervous vigor of the ,italian giant and the purity of style which looked back at ,greece and ,rome1 are apparent4 ,the subjects of ,vigarny's work1 as also of ,berruguete's1 are taken from the ,old ,testament4 ,they have a more subtle charm1 more grace and freedom4 ,some of them show strength and an unerring hand1 others1 delicacy and exquisite subtleness4 ,where the ,maestro ,mayor of ,charles ,v is powerful and energetic1 ,vigarny is imaginative and rich4 ,comparing the upper and lower rows of panels1 we must see what remarkable steps had been taken in so short a time by the sculptors4 ,a lightness of execution1 a victorious self-reliance1 seems to follow close on the steps of tentative1 even if conscientious1 effort4 ,the carving1 the bold relief of the chiseling1 have a vividness and intensity of expression1 surpassing some of the best work of ,italy and ,france4 ,the niches in the marble canopy above the upper row of stalls are filled with figures standing almost in full relief1 and representing the genealogy of ,christ4 ,the outer walls of the choir are also completely covered with sculpture4 ,it is thoroughly ,gothic in character1 crude1 and fumbling for expression1 consisting of arcades with niches above containing alto-relievo illustrations of ,old ,testament scenes and characters4 ,you recognize the ,garden of ,eden1 ,abraham with agonized face1 ,isaac1 ,jacob1 passages from ,exodus1 and other familiar scenes4 ,many of the panels depict further the small1 everyday occurrences and incidents so loved by medival artists1 and so full of earnest1 religious feeling4 ,crowning it all1 amid the pinnacles1 are a whole flock of angels1 quite prepared for ,ascension ,day4 ,it is all very similar to the early fourteenth-century work in ,french cathedrals4 ,the bay in front of the high altar1 forming with it the ,capilla ,mayor1 and the choir are closed from the transept by a huge reja as fine as the one facing it1 and the work of the ,spaniard ,francesco ,villalpando 7#aedh74ad ,the ,capilla ,mayor originally consisted of the one bay to the east of the transept1 the adjacent terminating portion of the nave being the chapel containing the tombs of the kings4 ,the great ,cardinal ,ximenez received ,isabella's permission to remove the dividing wall in case he could accomplish the task without disturbing any of the monarchs' coffins4 ,the walls all round1 both internally and externally1 are completely covered with sculpture4 ,many of the figures are faithful portraits2 many of the groups tell an interesting story4 ,on the ,gospel side there are two carvings1 one over the other1 the upper representing ,don ,alfonso ,,viii1 and the lower1 the shepherd who guided the monarch and his army to the renowned plains of ,las ,navas de ,tolosa1 where the battle was fought which proved so glorious to ,christian arms4 ,one likewise sees the statue of the ,moor1 ,alfaqui ,abu ,walid1 who threw himself in the path of ,king ,alfonso and prevailed upon him to forgive ,queen ,constance and ,bishop ,bernard for the expulsion of the ,moors from their mosque1 contrary to the king's solemn oath4 ,all around us lie the early rulers of the ,house of ,castile1 ,alfonso ,,vii1 ,sancho the ,deserted1 and ,sancho the ,brave1 the ,prince ,don ,pedro de ,aguilar1 son of ,alfonso ,,xi1 and the great ,cardinal ,mendoza4 ,below in the vault lie1 by the sides of their consorts1 ,henry ,,ii1 ,john ,i1 and ,henry ,,iii4 ,at the end of the chapel1 acting as a background to the altar1 you find a composition constantly met in and characteristic of ,spanish cathedrals4 ,the huge retablo is nothing but a meaningless1 gaudy and sensational series of carved and decorated niches4 ,it is carved in larchwood and merely reveals a love of the cheap and tawdry display of the decadent florid period of ,gothic4 ,back of the retablo and the high altar1 you are startled by the most horrible and vulgar composition of the church4 ,nothing but the mind of an idiot could have conceived the transparente4#ae ,it has neither order nor reason4 ,the whole mass runs riot4 ,angels and saints float up and down its surface amid doughy clouds4 ,the angel ,raphael counterbalances the weight of his kicking feet by a large goldfish which he is frantically clutching4 ,it is a piece of uncontrolled1 imbecile decoration1 perpetrated to the everlasting shame of ,narciso ,tom in the first half of the eighteenth century4 ,nothing except the choir and ,capilla ,mayor disturb the simplicity of the aisles and the great body of the church4 ,all other monuments or compositions are found in the numerous rooms and chapels leading from the outer aisles or situated between the lower arches of the outside walls4 ,there are many of them1 some important1 others trivial4 ,the ,mozarabic chapel1 in the southwest corner of the cathedral1 is the oneplace in the world where you may still every morning hear the quaint old ,visigothic or ,mozarabic ritual recited4 ,the chapel was constructed under ,cardinal ,ximenez in #aeab for the double purpose of commemorating the tolerance of the ,moors1 who during their dominion left to the ,christians certain churches in which to continue their own worship1 and also to perpetuate the use of the old ,gothic ritual4 ,it is most curious1 almost barbaric3 ,the canons behind1 in a sombre flat monotone1 chant responses to the officiating priest at the altar4 ,the sound combines the enervating effect of the hum of wings1 whirr of looms1 wooden thud of pedals1 the boom and rush of immense wings circling round and round4 ,it is strange to hear this echo a thousand years old of a magnanimous act in so intolerant an age4 ,in the eleventh century ,king ,alfonso1 at the insistence of ,bernard and ,constance1 and the papal legate ,richard1 decided to abolish the use of the old ,gothic ritual and to introduce the ,gregorian rite4 ,the ,toledans threatened revolt rather than abandon their old form of worship4 ,the ,king knew no other method of decision than to leave the question to two champions4 ,in single combat the ,knight of the ,gothic ,missal1 ,don ,juan ,ruiz de ,mantanzas1 killed his adversary while he himself remained unhurt4 ,at a second trial1 where two bulls were entrusted with the perplexing difficulty1 the ,gothic bull came off victor4 ,councils were held and the ,pope still persevered in his determination to abolish the old ,spanish service book4 ,outside the walls of the city1 in front of the ,king and churchmen and amid the entire populace of ,toledo1 a great fire was built1 and the two mass-books were thrown into it4 ,when the flames had died down1 only the ,gothic mass-book was found unscathed4 ,only after many years1 when traditions had gradually altered and even much of the text had become meaningless to the clergy1 did the ,roman service book become universally introduced into ,toledan houses of worship4 ,two other chapels are of especial interest3 those of ,saint ,ildefonso and ,santiago4 ,saint ,ildefonso1 who became metropolitan in #feh1 is second only in honor to ,saint ,james of ,compostella2 he was unquestionably the most favored of ,toledo's long line of bishops4 ,three natives of ,narbonne had dared to question the perpetual virginity of ,our ,lady4 ,saint ,ildefonso gallantly took up her defense and proved it beyond doubt or questioning in his treatise ,de ,virginitate ,perpetua ,sanctae ,mariae adversus tres ,infideles4 ,it was a crushing vindication and a discourse of much reason and scriptural light4 ,shortly afterwards the ,bishop1 together with the ,king and court1 went to the ,church of ,saint ,leocadia to give public thanks4 ,as soon as the multitude had had sufficient time to kneel at the saint's tomb1 a group of angels appeared amid a cloud and surrounded by sweet scents4 ,next the sepulchre opened of its own accord4 ,calix relates1 ,thirty men could not have moved the stone which slid slowly from the mouth of the tomb4 ,immediately ,saint ,leocadia arose1 after lying there three hundred years1 and holding out her arm1 she shook hands with ,saint ,ildefonso1 speaking in this voice1 ',oh1 ,ildefonso1 through thee doth the honor of ,my ,lady flourish4' ,all the spectators were silent1 being struck with the novelty and the greatness of the miracle4 ,only ,saint ,ildefonso1 with ,heaven's aid1 replied to her4 ,now the virgin ,saint looked as if she wished to return into the tomb and she turned around for that purpose1 when the ,king begged of ,saint ,ildefonso that he would not let her go until she left some relic of her behind1 for a memorial of the miracle and for the consolation of the city4 ,and as ,saint ,ildefonso wished to cut a part of the white veil which covered the head of ,st4 ,leocadia1 the ,king lent him a knife for that purpose1 and this must have been a poniard or a dagger1 though others say it was a sword4 ,with this the saint cut a large piece of the blessed veil1 and while he was giving it to the ,king1 at the same time returning the knife1 the saint shut herself up entirely and covered herself in the tomb with the huge stone4 ,but even this was not a sufficient expression of gratitude to satisfy ,saint ,mary1 for next week she herself came down to enjoy matins with ,saint ,ildefonso in the ,cathedral4 ,she sat in his throne and listened to his discourse with both pleasure and edification4 ,a celestial host dispensed music in the choir1 music of heaven1 hymns1 ,david's psalms and chants1 such as never had been heard before1 either in ,seville or in ,toledo4 ,to cap it all1 the ,virgin made her favorite a splendid present of a chasuble worked by the angels with which she invested him with her own hands before she said good-bye4 ,you may still kiss your fingers after having touched the sacred slab upon which the ,virgin stood and above which run the words of the ,psalmist3 ,adorabimus in loco ubi steterunt pedes ejus4 ,the chapel is1 similarly to the screens around the choir1 of fourteenth-century work4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,toledo ,chapel of ,santiago1 tombs of ,d4 ,alvaro de ,luna and his spouse ,the ,chapel of ,santiago was erected by ,count ,alvaro de ,luna1 for more than thirty years the real sovereign of ,castile4 ,it is most elaborately decorated throughout with rich ,gothic work1 interwoven with sparkling filigree of ,saracenic character4 ,the tombs of the ,lunas are of interest because of the great ,count4 ,his own is not the original one4 ,the first mausoleum which he erected to himself was so constructed that the recumbent effigy or automaton could1 when mass was said1 slowly rise1 clad in full armor1 and remain kneeling until the service was ended1 when it would slowly resume its former posture4 ,this was destroyed at the instigation of ,alvaro's old enemy1 ,henry of ,aragon1 who remained unreconciled even after the death of his old minister4 ,at each corner of ,alvaro's tomb kneels a knight of ,santiago1 at his feet a page holds his helmet1 his own hands are crossed devoutly over the sword on his breast1 and the mantle of his order is folded about his shoulders4 ,his face wears an expression of sadness4 ,alvaro began his career as a page in the service of ,queen ,catharine 7,plantagenet74 ,he ended it as ,master of ,santiago1 ,constable of ,castile1 and ,prime ,minister of ,john ,,ii1 whom he completely ruled for thirty-five years4 ,he lived in royal state1 became all-powerful and arrogant4 ,his diplomacy effected the marriage of ,henry ,,ii and ,isabella of ,portugal1 but he later incurred the enmity of ,isabella1 was accused of high treason1 found guilty1 and executed in the square of ,valladolid4 ,pius ,,ii said of him1 ,he was a very lofty mind1 as great in war as he was in peace1 and his soul breathed none but noble thoughts4 ,and thus we may continue all around the ,cathedral1 past the successive chapels1 vestries1 sanctuaries and treasuries1--the architecture and sculpture of each connected with great events and telling its own story of dark tragedy or lighter romance4 ,in one1 the ,spanish banners used to be consecrated before leading the hosts against the ,moors2 in another1 ,spain now keeps her priceless treasures under the locks of seven keys hanging from the girdles of an equal number of canons4 ,there are silver and gold and pearl and precious jewels sufficient to set on foot every stagnant ,spanish industry4 ,the #hejj pearls of the ,virgin's cape might alone feed a province for no short time4 ,they are buried in the dark4 ,outside in the light1 the children of ,spain are starving and without means of obtaining food4 ,at one's elbow the whine of the beggar is continually heard1 till one recalls ,washington ,irving's words3 ,the more proudly a mansion has been tenanted in the days of its prosperity1 the humbler are its inhabitants in the days of her decline1 and the palace of the king commonly ends in being the resting-place of the beggar4 ,here and there1 in the interior as in the exterior1 we find1 mixed with or decorating the ,gothic1 ,moorish and ,renaissance details and the later extravagances which followed the decline of the ,gothic4 ,even where the carvers are expressing themselves in ,gothic or ,renaissance details1 we frequently observe an extreme richness1 a love of chiaroscuro1 of sparkling jewel-like light and shade1 and intricately woven ornamentation which betrays the influence of the ,arab4 ,we see the ,morisco1 a kind of fusion of ,french and ,moorish1 in many places4 ,the triforium of the choir is decidedly ,moorish in its design1 although it is ,gothic in all its details and has carvings of heads and of the ordinary dog-tooth enrichment instead of merely conventionalized leaf and figure ornament4 ,it consists of a trefoil arcade4 ,in the spandrels between its arches are circles with heads and1 above these1 triangular openings pierced through the wall4 ,the moldings of all the openings interpenetrate1 and the whole arcade has the air of intricate ingenuity so usual in ,moorish work4 ,again1 in the triforium of the inner aisle we find ,moorish influence1--the cusping of the arcade is not enclosed within an arch but takes a distinct horseshoe outline1 the lowest cusp near the cap spreading inward at the base4 ,we see ,moorish tiles1 we find ,moorish cupolas as in the ,mozarabic chapel1 and ,moorish doorways1 as the exquisite one leading into the ,sala ,capitular1--here and there and everywhere1 we suddenly come upon details betraying the ,arab intimacy4 ,the children of the ,renaissance also embellished in their new manner1 not only in the magnificent carvings of the choir but in a variety of places1 for instance1 the doors themselves contained within the ,moorish molds leading to the ,sala just mentioned1 the entire chapel of ,st4 ,juan1 the ,capilla de ,reyes ,nuevos1 portions of the ,puerta del ,berruguete1 and the bronze doors of the ,gate of the ,lions4 ,again1 on the capitals and bases of many of the piers1 with the exception of those of the central nave1 ,byzantine influence may be seen4 ,so each age1 according to its best ken1 dealt with the ,cathedral4 ,in among the varying styles of architectural decoration1 the sister arts embellish the stone surfaces or are hung upon them4 ,there are paintings by ,titian1 ,giovanni ,bellini1 and ,rubens1 by ,el ,greco1 ,goya1 and ,ribera2 ,italian and ,flemish tapestries1 and frescoes too4 ,probably the greater portion of the main walls were covered with them1 for here and there traces are still to be seen and a tree of ,jesse remains in the tympanum of the south transept1 and near it an enormous painting of ,saint ,christopher4 ,while the ,tresorio may have been the treasure-house of the clergy1 the church itself was that of the people4 ,here was their art museum1 here were their galleries4 ,the decorations became the primers from which they learnt their lessons4 ,here they would meet in the afternoon hour as the light fell aslant sapphire and ruby1 through the clerestory openings4 ,it would light up their treasures with strange1 unearthly glory and form aureoles and haloes of rainbow splendor over the heads of their beloved saints4 ,cool amethyst and emerald and warmer amber and gold touched the darkest corners1 and a gold and purple glory illuminated the high altar4 ,some of the earlier glass is as fine as any to be found in ,europe4 ,the depth and intensity of the colors are remarkable4 ,probably none of it was ,spanish1 but all was imported from ,france1 ,belgium1 or ,germany4 ,the glass in the rose of the north transept and in the eastern windows of the transept clerestory can hold its own beside that of the cathedrals of ,paris and ,amiens4 ,the subject scheme of the rose in the north transept is truly noble4 ,the earliest glass is that in the nave 7a little later than #adjj71 and this is ,flemish4 ,the windows of the aisles are at least a century later4 ,their composition is simple and broad1 the coloring rich and deep1 and the interior dusk of the church enhances the value of the sunlight filtering through the glass4 ,better than to descend into the immense crypt below the ,cathedral1 with its eighty-eight massive piers corresponding to those above1 is it to stray into the broken sunlight of the green and fragrant cloister arcade4 ,bishop ,tenorio procured the site for the church from the ,jews1 who here1 right under the walls of the ,christian church1 held their market4 ,a fresco adjoining the gate explains by what means4 ,it represents on a ladder a fiendish-looking ,jew who has cut the heart out of a beautiful1 crucified child and is holding the dripping dagger in his hand4 ,this fresco stirred up the fury of the ,christian populace to the point ofburning the ,jewish market1 houses and shops1 which then were annexed by the ,bishop4 ,the fine1 two-story ,gothic arcade of the cloisters encloses a sun-splashed garden filled with fragrant flowers4 ,around the walls of the lower arcade are a series of very mediocre frescoes4 ,the architecture itself is not nearly as interesting as that of the cloisters of ,salamanca4 ,it ought particularly to be so in this portion of the church1 for here is the very climate and place for the courtyard life of the ,spaniard4 ,v ,so lies the ,cathedral1 crumbling in the sunlight of the twentieth century4 ,beautiful1 but strange and irreconcilable to all that is around her1 she alone1 the ,mother ,church1 stands unshaken1 lonely and melancholy1 but grand and solemn in the midst of the paltry and tawdry happenings of to-day4 ,she has served giants1 and now sees but a race of dwarfs2 princes have prostrated themselves at her altars1 where now only beggars kneel4 ,her walls whisper loneliness1 desertion1 widowed resignation4 ,,note4--,in connection with the remarks on page #afj1 a ,catholic friend has pointed out how rarely1 when ,peter has been robbed1 ostensibly to pay ,paul1 ,paul 7otherwise the ,poor7 has derived any benefit from it4 ,it is willingly conceded that ,henry ,,viii bestowed much of the wealth derived from the dissolution of the religious houses on his own favorites1 and recent disclosures in ,france show as scandalous a diversion of some of the funds similarly obtained4 ,,vi ,,segovia ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,segovia ,where through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault1 ,the pealing anthem swells the note of praise4 ,gray4 ,once upon a time1 long1 long ago1 in the days of the ,iberians1 there was a city and its name was ,segovia4 ,it is now so old that all of it1 with the exception of the great heap of masonry which crowns its summit1 has practically crumbled into a mountain of ruins4 ,the pile still stands1 dominating the plain and facing the setting sun1 triumphant over time and decay1--the ,cathedral of ,saint ,mary and ,saint ,froila4 ,though ,mary was the holier of the two patrons1 owing to whose protection the church stands to-day so well preserved1 still ,froila was in certain respects no less remarkable4 ,the ,segovians of his day saw him split open a rock with his jackknife and prove to the ,moslems then ruling his city1 beyond all doubt1 the validity of his ,christian faith4 ,but long before saints and cathedrals1 the ,romans1 recognizing the tenacious and commanding position as a military stronghold of the rock of ,segovia1 which rises precipitously from the two valleys watered by the ,erasma and ,clamores1 pitched their camp upon its crest1 renaming it ,segobriga4 ,the city was fortified1 and under ,trajan the truly magnificent aqueduct was built1 either by the ,romans or the devil1 to supply the city with the waters of the ,fonfria mountains4 ,a beautiful ,segovian had at this early time grown weary of carrying her jugs up the steep hills from the waters below and promised the devil she would marry him1 if he only would in a night's time once and for all bring into the city the fresh waters of the eastern mountains4 ,she was worth the labor1 and the suitor accepted the contract4 ,fortunately the ,church found the arcade incomplete1 the devil having forgotten a single stone1 and the maid was honorably released from her part of a bargain1 the execution of which had profited her city so greatly4 ,segovia still carries on her shield this ,puente del diabolo1 with the head of a ,roman peering above it4 ,the strong position of the city made it an envied possession to whatever conqueror held the surrounding country4 ,it lay on the borderland1 constantly disputed with varying fortune by ,christian and ,moslem4 ,under the dominion of the early ,castilian kings1 and even under the triumphant ,moors1 the youthful church prospered and grew1 for in the government of their ,christian subjects1 the ,mohammedans here1 as elsewhere1 showed themselves temperate and full of common sense4 ,the invaders had1 indeed1 everywhere been welcomed by the numerous ,jews settled in ,spanish cities1 who under the new rulers exchanged persecution for civil and religious liberty4 ,prompt surrender and the payment of a small annual tax were the only conditions made1 to confirm the conquered1 of whatever race or religion1 in the possession of all their worldly goods1 perfect freedom of worship and continued government by their own laws under their own judges4 ,in the eleventh century1 ,segovia was included in the great ,amirate of ,toledo1 but the ,castilian kings grew stronger1 till in #ajhe they were able to recapture ,toledo4 ,the singularly picturesque contours of the city are due to the various races which fortified her4 ,iberians were probably the first to strengthen their hill from outside attack1--the ,romans followed1 building upon the foundations of the old walls1 and ,christian and ,moslem completed the work1 until the little city was compactly girdled by strong masonry1 broken by some three to four score fighting towers and but few gates of entrance4 ,alfonso the ,wise was one of the great ,segovian rulers and builders4 ,he strengthened her bastions1 added a good deal to the walls of her illustrious fortress1 and in #aajh gave the city her first charter4 ,a few years later ,segovia was elevated to a bishopric4 ,long before the earliest cathedral church1 the ,alcazar was the most conspicuous feature in the landscape1 and it still holds the second place4 ,erected on the steep rocks at the extreme eastern end of the almond-shaped hill1 it stands like a chieftain at the head of his warriors1 always ready for battle1 and first to meet any onslaught4 ,several ,alfonsos1 as well as ,sanchos1 labored upon it during the perilous twelfth century4 ,here the kings took up their abode in the happy days when ,segovia was capital of the kingdom1 and even in later times it sheltered such illustrious travelers as the unfortunate ,prince ,charles of ,england1 and ,gil ,blas1 when out of suits with fortune4 ,the first ,cathedral was erected on the broad platform east of the ,alcazar1 directly under the shadow of its protecting walls4 ,the ever-reappearing ,count ,raymond of ,burgundy was commissioned by his father-in-law1 the ,king1 to repopulate ,segovia after the ,moorish devastations1 and he rebuilt its walls1 as he was doing for the recaptured cities of ,salamanca and ,avila4 ,the battlements were repaired1 and northerners from many provinces occupied the houses that had been deserted4 ,to judge from the ruins as well as from well-preserved edifices1 ,romanesque days must have been full of great architectural activity4 ,one is constantly reminded of ,toledo in climbing up and down the narrow streets1 where one must often turn aside or find progress barred by ,romanesque and ,gothic courtyards or smelly culs-de-sac4 ,everywhere are ,romanesque portals and arches1 palaces and the apses and circular chapels of the age1 bulging beyond the sidewalks into the cobblestones of the street4 ,they seem indeed venerable4 ,some of the old palaces present a curious all-over design executed in ,moorish manner and with ,moorish feeling4 ,it is carved into the sidewalk1 showing in relief a geometrical1 circular pattern1 each circle filled with a quantity of small ,gothic lancets1 surely difficult both to design and to execute4 ,some of the old parish churches stand with their deep splays1 round-headed arches and windows and broad1 recessed portals almost as perfectly preserved as a thousand years ago4 ,the ,romanesque style died late and hard4 ,even in the thirteenth century1 the city could boast thirty such parish churches4 ,to-day they seem fairly prayer-worn4 ,beyond their towers stretch the plains in every direction1 seamed by stone walls and dotted with gray rocks4 ,olive and poplar groves cluster round the small hillocks1 rising here and there like camels' backs4 ,illustration3 ,,key ,,of ,,plan ,,of ,,segovia ,,cathedral ,a4 ,capilla ,mayor4 ,b4 ,choir4 ,c4 ,crossing4 ,d4 ,sacristy4 ,e4 ,cloisters4 ,f4 ,tower4 ,as long as the welfare and development of the city depended on strong natural fortifications1 ,segovia remained intact4 ,to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries belongs her glory4 ,her power passed with the middle ages and their chivalry1 and in the sixteenth century she was a dead city4 ,villages1 convents and churches lie scattered over the plain1 the houses crowded together for protection against the blazing1 scorching1 pitiless sun4 ,standing by itself is the ancient and severe church1 where many a knight-templar kept his last vigil before turning his back on the plains of ,castile1 and apart sleeps the monastery where ,torquemada was once prior4 ,they all crumble golden brown against the horizon4 ,many a bloody fray or revolution upset the city during the middle ages4 ,the minority of ,alfonso ,,xi witnessed one of the worst4 ,the revolt which broke out in so many of the ,spanish cities against the ,emperor ,charles ,v1 proved most fatal to the ,cathedral of ,segovia4 ,the first ,romanesque ,cathedral had been built in honor of ,st4 ,mary1 under the walls of the ,alcazar1 during the first half of the twelfth century4 ,it was consecrated in #abbh by the papal legate1 ,juan1 ,bishop of ,sabina4 ,some two hundred and fifty years later1 a new and magnificent ,gothic cloister was added to it by ,bishop ,juan ,arias ,davila1 and likewise a new episcopal palace more fitting times of greater luxury and magnificence4 ,this palace1 despite the coming translation of the ,cathedral itself1 remained the abode of the bishops for the three following centuries4 ,in the new cloisters a banquet of reconciliation was celebrated in #adgd by ,henry ,,iv and the ,catholic ,kings4 ,it was held on the very spot whence ,isabella had started in state on a journey proving so eventful in the history not only of ,castile but of the entire ,peninsula and countries beyond4 ,three years after the furious struggle which took place around the entrance of the ,alcazar1 ,charles ,v issued the following proclamation3-- ,the ,king3 ,to the ,aldermen1 ,justices1 ,councillors1 ,knights1 ,men-at-arms1 ,officials1 and good ,burghers of the city of ,segovia4 ,the reverend ,father in ,christ1 ,bishop of the church of this city1 has told me how he and the ,chapter of his church believe that it would be well to move the ,cathedral church to the plaza of the city on the site of ,santa ,clara1 and that the parish of ,san ,miguel of the plaza should be incorporated in the ,cathedral church2 and this1 because when the said ,cathedral church is placed in a situation where the divine services may be more advantageously held1 our ,saviour will be better served and the people will receive much benefit and the city become much ennobled2 it appears to me good that this plan should be carried out1 desiring the good and ennoblement and welfare of the said city because of the loyalty and services ,i have always found in it1 therefore ,i command and request that you unite with the said ,bishop or his representative and the ,chapter of said church and all talk freely together about this and see what will be best for the good of the said city1 and at the same time consider the assistance that the said city could itself render1 and after discussion1 forward me the results of your combined judgment1 in order that ,i better may see and decide what will be for the best service of ,our ,lord1 ,ourselves1 and the welfare of the city4 ,dated in ,madrid1 the #b;d day of ,october1 in the year #aeaj4--;,i1 the ,king4 ,while the discussion of the feasibility and expense of commencing an entirely new cathedral upon a new site nearer the heart of the city was at its height1 the revolt of the ,comunidades broke out1 in #aebj1 and swept away in its burning and pillaging course the ,romanesque edifice4 ,this stood at the entrance to the fortress1 where the fight naturally raged hottest4 ,only a very few of the most sacred images1 relics and bones were carried to safety within the walls of the ,alcazar before the old pile had been practically destroyed4 ,segovia was without a ,cathedral church4 ,in the centre of the city1 on the very crest of the hill1 lay the only clearing within the walls4 ,here at one end of the plaza was the site of the convent mentioned by ,emperor ,charles1 which had long sheltered the nuns of ,santa ,clara4 ,they had abandoned it for other quarters1 and the adjacent convent of ,san ,miguel had become unpopular and was dwindling into insignificance4 ,both could thus in this most free and commanding location give way to a new and larger cathedral1 distant from what would always prove the rallying point of civic strife4 ,following the mighty wave of revolt which had swept the city1 came a great receding wave of religious enthusiasm to atone in holy fervor for the impious act recently committed4 ,citizen and noble alike proposed to build an edifice which would be much more to the glory of ,saint ,mary than the shrine which they had so recently pulled down4 ,lords gave whole villages2 women1 their jewels2 and the citizens1 the sweat of their brows4 ,we find in the archives of the ,cathedral the following entry by the ,canon ,juan ,ridriguezb3 ,on ,june #hth1 #aebb1 444 by the consent and resolution of the ,lord ,bishop ,d4 ,diego de ,rovera and of the ,dean and ,chapter of the said church1 it was agreed to commence the new work of the said church to the glory of ,god and in honor of the ,virgin ,mary and the glorious ,san ,frutos and all saints1 taking for master of the said work ,juan ,gil de ,hontaon1 and for his clerk of the works ,garcia de ,cubillas4 ,thursday1 the #hth of ,june1 #aeeb1 the ,bishop ordered a general procession with the ,dean and ,chapter1 clergy and all the religious orders4 ,the corner stone was laid and the masonry started at the western end under the most renowned architect of the age4 ,juan ,gil had already worked on the old ,segovian ,cathedral1 but had achieved his great fame on the new ,cathedral of ,salamanca1 started ten years previously1 whose walls were rising with astounding rapidity4 ,his clerk was almost equally skilled1 always working in perfect harmony with his master and carrying out his designs without jealousy during the maestro's many illnesses and journeys to and from ,salamanca4 ,garcia lived to work on the church until #aefb1 and the old archives still hold many drawings from his skillful hand4 ,the two late ,gothic ,cathedrals are so similar in many points that they are immediately recognizable as the conception of the same brain4 ,segovia is1 however1 infinitely superior1 not only in the magnificent development of the eastern end with its semicircular apse1 ambulatory1 and radiating apsidal chapels1 as compared with the square termination of ,salamanca1 but1 throughout1 in the restrained quality of its detail and the refinement of its ornamentation4 ,how far the abrupt and uninteresting apsidal termination of ,salamanca was ,juan ,gil's fault1 it is difficult to say1 for we find records of its having been imposed upon him by the ,chapter as well as of his having drawn a circular apse4 ,fortunately1 the ,segovian churchmen had the common sense to leave their architect alone in most artistic matters and allow him to make the head of the church either octagonal1 hexagonal1 or of square form4 ,where ,salamanca has been coarsened by the new style1 ,segovia seems inspired by its fidelity to the old4 ,the similarity of the two churches is visible throughout4 ,the general interior arrangements are much alike4 ,the stone of the two interiors is of nearly the same color1 and the formation and details of the great piers are strikingly similar4 ,there is the same thin1 reed-like descent of shafts from upper ribs1 the same1 almost inconspicuous1 small leaves for caps1 and1 in both1 the bases terminate at different heights above the huge common drum1 which is some three feet high4 ,externally1 there are analogous buttresses1 crestings1 pinnacles and parapets1 and a concealment of roof structure1 but there is none of the vanity of ,salamanca in the sister church of ,segovia4 ,the last great ,gothic church of ,spain1 though deficient in many ways1 was not lacking in unity nor sincerity4 ,the flame went out in a magnificent blaze4 ,such faithfulness and love as possessed ,juan ,gil for his old ,gothic masters seems well-nigh incredible4 ,he designed1 and during his activity there of nine years1 raised the greater portions of ,segovia in an age when ,gothic building was practically extinct1 when ,brunelleschi was building ,santa ,maria del ,fiore1 and the classic revival was in full march4 ,segovia and ,spaniards were as tardy in forswearing their ,gothic allegiance as they had been their ,romanesque4 ,not until the beginning of the sixteenth century does the reborn classicism victoriously cross the ,pyrenees1 and then only in minor domestic buildings4 ,the last manifestations of ,gothic church-building in ,spain were neither weak nor decadent1 but virile1 impressive and logical4 ,segovia ,cathedral may be said to be the last great monument in ,spain1 not only of ,gothic1 but of ecclesiastical art4 ,thereafter came the deluge of decadence or petrification4 ,what must not the power of the ,church1 as well as the religious enthusiasm of the populace1 have been during this extraordinary sixteenth century6 ,it is almost incredible that this tiny city1 in a weak little kingdom1 and so few miles from ,salamanca1 had the spirit for an undertaking of the size of this ,cathedral church1 so soon after ,salamanca had entered on her architectural enterprise4 ,either of the two seems beyond the united power of the kingdom4 ,even more remarkable than the starting of ,segovia in the ,gothic style at so late a date1 was the fact that the architects succeeding ,juan ,gil1 who were naturally tempted to embody their own ideas and to employ the new style then in vogue1 should nevertheless have faithfully adhered to the original conception and completed in ,gothic style all constructive and ornamental details everywhere except in the final closing of the dome and a few minor exterior features4 ,naturally the ,gothic of the sixteenth century was not that of the thirteenth1--not that of ,leon or ,toledo1 nor even of ,burgos1--it had been modified and lost in spirit1 but still its origin was undeniable4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,segovia4 ,from the ,plaza4 ,in #aebe ,segovia was fairly started4 ,house after house that impeded the progress of the work was destroyed1 until up to a hundred of them had been razed4 ,santa ,clara was kept for the services until the very last moment1 when a sufficient portion of the new building was ready for their proper celebration4 ,it was unusual to start with the western end1 the apse and its surrounding arches being the portion necessary for services4 ,in ,segovia1 however1 as well as in the new ,salamancan ,cathedral1 the great western front was the earliest to rise4 ,gil did not live to finish it1 but it is evident that1 as long as he directed1 the work drew the attention of the entire artistic fraternity of the ,peninsula4 ,we find constant mention in old documents of the visits and the praise of illustrious architects1 among them ,alfonso de ,covarrubias1 ,juan de ,alava1 ,enrique de ,egas1 and ,felipe de ,borgoa4 ,gil's clerk-of-the-works1 ,cubillas1 succeeded him as maestro1 and under him the western front with its tower1 the cloisters1 and the nave and aisles as far as the crossing1 were virtually completed by #aeeh4 ,aside from the manual labor1 it had taken more than forty-eight collections of maravedis to bring it to this point4 ,the magnificent old cloisters erected by ,bishop ,davila beside the old ,cathedral in #adgj1 had been spared the fury of the mob1 and in #aebd they were moved stone by stone to the southern flank of the new ,cathedral4 ,this would have been a remarkable feat of masonry in our age1 and1 for the sixteenth century1 it was astonishing4 ,not a stone was chipped nor a piece of carving broken4 ,juan de ,compero took the whole fabric apart and put it together again1 as a child does a box of wooden blocks4 ,the #aeth of ,august1 #aeeh1 when the first services were held in the ,cathedral1 was the greatest day in ,segovia's history4 ,quadrado1 probably quoting from old accounts1 tells us1 ,the divine services were then held in the new ,temple4 ,people came to the festival from all over ,spain1 and music1 from all ,castile4 ,at twilight on ,august #adth1 #aeeh1 the tower was illuminated with fire-works1 the great aqueduct1 with two thousand colored lights1 and the reflection of the city's lights alarmed the country-side for forty leagues round4 ,the following day1 the ,assumption of ,our ,lady1 there was an astonishing procession1 in which all the parishes took part and the community offered prizes for the best display4 ,the procession went out by the gate of ,saint ,juan1 and1 after going all around the city1 returned to the plaza1 where the sacrament was being borne out of ,santa ,clara4 ,there was a bull-fight1 pole-climbing1 a poetical competition and comedies4 ,the generosity of the donations corresponded to the pomp of the occasion4 ,ten days afterwards the bones were taken from the old church and reinterred in the new one1 among which were those of the ,infante ,don ,pedro1 ,maria del ,salto1 and different prelates4 ,the bones of the two former were laid to rest under the arches of the cloister4 ,don ,pedro was a little son of ,king ,henry ,,ii who had been playing on one of the iron balconies in front of the ,alcazar windows1 and1 while his nurse's back was turned1 pitched headlong over the precipice into eternity and the poplar trees three hundred feet below4 ,the nurse1 who knew full well it would be a question of only a few hours before she followed her princely charge1 anticipated her fate and jumped after him4 ,maria del ,salto 7of the leap7 was a beautiful ,jewess who1 having been taken in sin1 was forced to jump from another of ,segovia's steep promontories4 ,bethinking herself of the ,virgin ,mary as a last resource1 she invoked her assistance while in mid-air1 and the blessed saint immediately responded1 causing the ,jewess to alight gently and unharmed4 ,it was naturally a great pious satisfaction to the ,segovians to carry to the new edifice such cherished bones4 ,with services in the church1 the building was well under way4 ,juan ,gil's son1 ,rodrigo ,gil1 had worked on ,salamanca as well as very ably assisted ,cubillas4 ,upon the latter's death1 in #aefj1 ,rodrigo became maestro mayor4 ,three years later1 when the corner stone of the apse was laid1 the ,chapter seems to have seriously discussed the advisability of finally deviating from the original ,gothic plans and building a ,renaissance head4 ,it was1 however1 left to ,rodrigo1 who loyally adhered to his father's original designs1 and when he died in #aegg1 there was fortunately but little left to do4 ,indeed1 most of what followed in construction1 repair or decoration was rather to the detriment than embellishment of the church4 ,it was consecrated in #aehj4 ,chapels were added to the trasaltar by ,rodrigo's successor1 ,martin ,ruiz de ,chartudi2 the lantern above the crossing was raised by ,juan de ,mogaguren in #afae2 five years later1 the northern porch was erected and ,renaissance features invaded the edifice4 ,like most ,spanish churches1 it has been constantly worked upon and never completed4 ,the plan is admirable1--at once dignified and harmonious1 and the semicircular ,romanesque termination is striking4 ,the total length is some #cdj feet1 its entire width1 some #aef2 the nave is #dc and the side aisles are #cb feet wide4 ,it is thus logical1 symmetrical1 and fully developed in all its members4 ,beyond the side aisles stretches a row of chapels separated from each other by transverse walls4 ,as the transepts1 which are of the same width as the nave1 do not project beyond the chapels of its outer aisles1 the ,latin cross disappears in plan4 ,the nave1 aisles and chapels consist of five bays up to the crossing crowned by the great dome4 ,beyond this comes the vault of the ,capilla ,mayor and the semicircular apse surrounded by a seven-bayed ambulatory1 or girola1 and an equal number of radiating pentagonal chapels4 ,the chevet is clear in arrangement and noble in expression4 ,entrances lead logically into the nave and side aisles of the western front and into the centres of the northern and southern transepts1 while cloisters which abut to the south are entered through the fifth chapel4 ,when ,segovia was built1 ,spaniards were thoroughly reconciled to the idea of placing the choir west of the crossing and the ,capilla ,mayor east1 and consequently the latter was designed no larger than was requisite for its offices1 and a space was frankly screened off between it and the choir for the use of the officiating clergy4 ,the third and fourth bays of the nave contained the choir4 ,as one enters the church1 there is a consciousness of joy and order4 ,the stone surfaces are just sufficiently warmed and mellowed by the glorious light from above4 ,the piers are very massive and semicircular in plan2 the foliage at their heads underneath the vaulting is so delicate and unpronounced that it scarcely counts as capitals4 ,the walls of the chapels in the outer aisles1 as well as round the ambulatory1 are penetrated by narrow1 round-headed windows1 as timid and attenuated as those of an early ,romanesque edifice2 the walls of the inner aisle1 by triple1 lancet windows2 and the clerestory of the nave1 by triple1 round-headed ones4 ,under them1 in the apse1 is a second row of round-headed blind windows4 ,none of them have any tracery whatever4 ,the glass is of great brilliancy of coloring and exceptional beauty1 but the designs are as poor as the glazing is glorious4 ,in the smaller windows1 the subjects represent events in the ,old ,testament2 in the larger1 scenes from the ,new4 ,around the apse much of the old1 stained glass has been shamefully replaced by white1 so as to admit more light into this portion of the building4 ,there is no triforium1 but a finely carved late ,gothic balcony runs around the nave and transepts below the clerestory4 ,in the transepts1 this is surmounted by a second one underneath the small roses which penetrate their upper wall surfaces4 ,both nave and side aisles are lofty1 the vaulting rising in the former to a height of about #ajj feet and1 in the latter1 to #hj feet1 while the cupola soars #ccj feet above4 ,the vaulting itself is most elaborate and developed4 ,while the early ,gothic edifices have only the requisite functional transverse1 diagonal and wall ribs1 we now find every vault covered with intermediate ones of most intricate designs4 ,especially over the ,capilla ,mayor in its ambulatory chapels and around the lantern1 this ornamentation becomes profuse1--everywhere ribs are met by bosses and roses4 ,the general effect of the endless cutting up of the vaults into numberless compartments by the complicated system of lierne ribs is one of restlessness4 ,one misses the logical simplicity of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and is reminded of the decadent surfacing of late ,german work and the ogee1 lierne ribs of some of the late ,english1 in which the true ridges can no longer be distinguished from the false4 ,looking up into the dome over the crossing1 we see that the pendentives do not rise directly above the four arches1 but spring some fifteen feet higher up above a ,gothic balustrade which is surmounted by elliptical arches pierced by circular windows4 ,the dome1 disembarrassed of the ribs which still cling to some of its predecessors1 is finely shaped1--a thorough ,renaissance piece of work4 ,light streams down through the bull's eye under the lantern4 ,there is considerable difference in the design as well as workmanship ofthe many rejas4 ,tremendous iron rails1 surely not as fine as those of ,seville1 ,granada1 or ,toledo1 but still very remarkable1 close the three sides of the ,capilla ,mayor and the front of the choir4 ,the emblematical lilies of the ,cathedral rise in rows one beside the other1 as one sees them in a florist's ,easter windows4 ,rejas close off similarly all the outer chapels from the side aisles4 ,among the very few portions of the old ,cathedral which remained intact after the fury of the ,comunidades1 were the choir stalls and an exquisite door4 ,the former were placed in the new choir and the latter became an entrance to the transplanted cloisters4 ,it was indeed fortunate that these stalls were spared1 for they are among the most exquisite in ,spain and excelled by few in either ,france or ,germany4 ,wood-carving had long been a favorite art in ,spain1 one in which the ,spaniards learned to excel under the skillful tutelage of the great masters from ,germany and ,flanders4 ,the foreign carvers settled principally in ,burgos1 where there grew up around them apprentices eager to fill the churches with statues1 retablos1 choir stalls1 and organ screens executed in wood4 ,the art of carving became highly honored4 ,an early ordinance of ,seville referring to wood-carving1 masonry and building1 esteems it a noble art and self-contained1 that increaseth the nobleness of the ,king and of his kingdom1 that pacifieth the people and spreadeth love among mankind conducing to much good4 ,in the numerous panels of cathedral choir stalls1 there was a wonderful opportunity for relief work and the play of the fertile imagination and childlike expressiveness of the middle ages4 ,curious freaks of fancy1 their extraordinary conceptions of ,biblical scenes1 the events and personages of their own day1 could all be portrayed and even carved with wonderful skill4 ,leonard ,williams1 in his ,art and ,crafts of ,older ,spain1 tells us that the silleria consists of two tiers1 the sellia or upper seats with high backs and a canopy1 intended for the canons1 and the lower seats or sub-sellia of simpler pattern with lower backs1 intended for the beneficados4 ,at the head of all is placed the throne1 larger than the other stalls1 and covered in many cases by a canopy surmounted by a tall spire4 ,few of the many ,gothic stalls are finer than those of ,segovia4 ,the contrast with the work above them1 as well as with that which backs onto them1 is doubly distressing4 ,the tremendous organs above are a mass of gilding and restless ,baroque ornamentation1 while their rear is covered by multicolored strips of stone which would have looked vulgar and gaudy around a ,punch and ,judy show and here enframe the four ,evangelists4 ,the chapels and high altar are uninteresting1 decorated in later days in offensive taste4 ,apart from these furnishings1 which play but a small part1 it is rare and satisfying to survey an interior in which there has been so much decorative restraint1 in which the constructive and architectural lines dominate the merely ornamental ones1 and where harmony1 severity and excellent proportions go hand in hand4 ,were it not for the cupola and a few minor details1 there would be added to these merits1 unity of style4 ,the cloisters are rich and flamboyant1 but nevertheless more restrained than those of ,salamanca4 ,they are elaborately subdivided1 carved and festooned1 and1 in the bosses of the arches1 they carry the arms of their original builder1 ,bishop ,arias ,davila4 ,just inside their entrance lie three of the old architects1 ,rodrigo ,gil de ,hontaon1 ,campo ,aguero1 and ,viadero4 ,the old well in the centre is covered with a grapevine1 and nothing could be lovelier than the deep emerald leaves dotted with purple fruit growing over the white and yellow stonework4 ,few ,spanish cathedrals can be seen to such advantage as ,segovia1 its situation is so unusual and fortunate4 ,in medival towns closely packed within their city walls1 there could be but little room or breathing space either for palace or hovel1 and the buildings adjacent to a cathedral generally nestled close to its sides4 ,the plaza of ,segovia is unusually large compared to the area of the little city4 ,the clearing away of ,santa ,clara and ,san ,miguel and all the smaller surrounding edifices condemned for the ,cathedral site1 left much room also in front of the western entrance for a fine broad platform as well as an unobstructed view from the opposite side of the square4 ,most of the flights of granite steps leading to it from the streets below are now closed by iron gates and overgrown with grass and weeds4 ,the days of the great processions are past1 when the various trades1 led by their bands of musicians1 filed up to deliver their offerings towards the construction1 and the staircases are no longer thronged by devout ,segovian citizens anxious to see the daily progress of the work4 ,the platform is paved with innumerable granite slabs which in the old ,cathedral covered the tombs of the city's illustrious citizens1 whose names may still be easily deciphered4 ,taken as a whole1 the faade is bald and void of charm4 ,it is neither good nor especially faulty1 of a certain strength1 but without interest or merit4 ,it is logically subdivided by five pronounced buttresses marking the nave1 side aisles and outer row of chapels4 ,their relative heights and the lines of their roofing are clearly defined4 ,to the north1 a rather insignificant turret terminates the faade1 while to the south rises the lofty tower1 three hundred and forty-five feet above the whole mountain of masonry1 the most conspicuous landmark in the landscape of ,segovia4 ,it consists of a square base of sides thirty-five feet wide1 broken by six rows of twin arches2 the first1 the third and the sixth are open1 the last is a belfry4 ,the present dome curves from an octagonal ,renaissance base1 the transitional corners being filled with crocketed pyramids similar to the many crowning buttresses and piers at all angles of the church below4 ,the dome and lantern are almost exact smaller counterparts of those crowning the crossing4 ,they were put up by the same architect1 ,mogaguren1 who certainly could not have been over-gifted with artistic imagination4 ,the tower had varying fortunes1--much to the distress of the citizens1 it has been twice struck by lightning4 ,the wooden structure and lead covering were burned and melted by the fire which followed the first catastrophe1 but fortunately it was soon put out by the rain which saved the ,cathedral and city4 ,after the second thunderbolt1 in #ahji1 the surmounting cross was replaced by a lightning-rod4 ,the nave is entered by the ,perdon portal1 which1 under a ,gothic arch1 is subdivided into two elliptical openings4 ,peculiarly late ,gothic railings here1 as elsewhere1 crown the masonry and conceal the tiling of the sloping roofs4 ,rounding the church to the south1 we find the view obstructed by the cloisters and sacristy2 only the faade of the transept1 ascended from the lower ground by a flight of steps1 remains visible4 ,the southern doorway is quite denuded1 and even its buttresses rise without as much as a corbel to soften their lines4 ,when one has1 however1 dodged through the tortuous1 narrow1 malodorous streets and come out opposite the apse and northern flank1 the whole bulk of the logical organic body of the church becomes visible with its larger squat and higher lofty domes towering into the blue4 ,to the same ,renaissance period as the two domes belongs the classical portal of ,pedro ,brizuela1 leading to the northern transept4 ,the view from the northeast is particularly fine4 ,every portion of the structure is expressed by the exterior lines4 ,one above the other rise chapels1 ambulatory1 apse1 transepts and lanterns1 each level crowned by its sparkling balustrade4 ,the sky is jagged by the crocketed spires which terminate the flying buttresses1 the piers and the angles of the wall surface4 ,here the ,latin cross may be seen1 and the sub-divisions of every portion of the interior4 ,there is no deception nor trickery4 ,it is simple and straightforward4 ,its artistic merits may be small1 the forest of carved turrets rising all around the apse1 tiresome1 but this final impression of ,spanish ,gothic was thoroughly sincere4 ,,vii ,,seville ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,seville ,the ,giralda1 from the ,orange ,tree ,court ,wen ,gott lieb hat1 dem giebt er ein ,haus in ,sevilla4 ,seville is ever youthful1 for the blood which courses in her veins absorbs the sunlight4 ,venice is the city of dreamy love1 ,naples1 of indolence1 ,rome1 of everlasting age1 but ,seville keeps an eternal youth4 ,what picturesqueness1 what color1 what passion blend with memories of ,andalusia6 ,all sunny land of love6 ,when ,i forget you1 may ,i fail ,to 444 say my prayers6 ,and ,seville is the queen of ,andalusia1 of noble birth1 proud and beautiful4 ,distinctly feminine in her subtle1 indefinable charm1 like a woman she changes with her surroundings1 and her mutability adds to her fascination4 ,we never fathom nor quite know her1 for she is one being as she slumbers in the first chalky light of morning1 another1 in the resplendent nakedness of noontide1 overarched by the indigo firmament1 and yet another1 in the happy laughter of evening when her mantle has turned purple and her throbbing life is more felt than seen4 ,the roses1 hyacinths and crocuses have closed in sleep1 but the orange groves1 the acacia1 and eucalyptus1 jasmine1 lemon1 and palm trees and hedges of box fill the air with heavy1 aromatic perfume4 ,to the exiled ,moors she was so sweet in all her moods that they said1 ,god in ,his justice1 having denied to the ,christians a heavenly paradise1 has given them in exchange an earthly one4 ,with the oriental languor of her ancestors1 she keeps the freshness and sparkle of the dewy morn4 ,she is as gay and full of youthful vitality as her ,toledan sister is old and worn and haggard4 ,while ,toledo is sombre and funereal1 ,seville is alive with the tinkling of silver fountains1 the strumming of guitars and mandolins1 and the songs of her women4 ,she lies rich and splendid on the bosom of the campagna1 fruitfulness and plenty within her embattled walls4 ,she is a strange1 sweet sorceress1 a little wise perhaps1 in whom love has degenerated into desire2 but she offers her lovers sleep1 and in her arms you will forget everything but the entrancing life of dreams4 ,andalusia and ,seville justly claim an ancient and royal pedigree1 which through all the vicissitudes of centuries has still left its stamp upon them4 ,andalusia was the ,tarshish of the ,bible1 whither ,jonah rose to flee4 ,her commerce is spoken of in ,jeremiah1 ,isaiah1 the ,psalms1 and the ,chronicles3 ,tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches1 with silver1 iron1 tin1 and lead they traded in thy fairs 7,ezekiel xxvii1 #ab74 ,in passing the ,straits of ,hercules1 ,seville and ,ceuta alone caught ,odysseus' eye3-- ,tardy with age ,were ,i and my companions1 when we came ,to the ,strait pass1 where ,hercules ordain'd ,the bound'ries not to be o'erstepp'd by man4 ,the walls of ,seville to my right ,i left1 ,on th' other hand already ,ceuta past4 ,inferno1 xxvi4 #ajf-aaj4 ,the honor of founding the city of ,seville seems to be shared by ,hercules and ,julius ,csar4 ,in the popular mind of the ,sevillians1 as well as through an unbroken chain of medival historians and ballad-makers1 ,hercules is called its father4 ,monuments throughout the city bear witness to its founders4 ,on one of the gates recently demolished the inscription ran1-- ,condidit ,alcides1 ,renovavit ,julius urbem4 ,restituit ,christo ,fernandus tertius heros4 ,the ,latin verses were later paraphrased in the ,castilian tongue over the ,gate of ,zeres3-- ,hercules me edifico1 ,julio ,cesar me cerco1 de meno y torres altes y el rey santo me gan1 ,con ,garci ,perez de ,vargas4 ,hercules built me1 ,julius ,csar surrounded me with walls and high towers1 the ,holy ,king conquered me by ,garcia ,perez de ,vargas4 ,statues of the founder and protector still stand in various parts of the city4 ,in the second century ,b4 ,c41 the shipping of ,seville made it one of the most important trade centres of the ,mediterranean4 ,phnicians and ,greeks stopped here to barter4 ,in #de ,b4 ,c41 ,rome stretched forth her greedy hand1 and ,csar entered the town at the head of his victorious legion4 ,eighty-two years later the ,romans formed the whole of southern ,spain into the ,provincia ,btica4 ,with its formation into a ,roman colony1 ,seville's historical background begins to stand out clearly and its riches are sung by the ancients4 ,fair art thou1 ,btis1 says ,martial1 with thine olive crown and thy limpid waters1 with the fleece stains of a brilliant gold4 ,the whole province contained what later became ,sevilla1 ,huelva1 ,cadiz1 ,cordova1 ,jaen1 ,granada and ,almeria4 ,seville1 or ,hispalis1 became the capital and was accordingly fortified with walls and towers1 garrisoned and supplied with water from aqueducts and adorned with ,roman works of art4 ,after the spread of ,christianity during the later ,emperors1 ,seville was important enough to be made the seat of a bishop4 ,with the fall of ,rome1 ,hispalis was overrun by hordes of ,goths and ,vandals4 ,they held possession of the country until they were conquered in #gaa by the ,moors1 who1 after crossing the strait between ,africa and ,europe1 gradually spread northward through the ,iberian peninsula4 ,the ,goths made ,hispalis out of the ,roman ,hispalia1 and the ,arabians in their turn1 unable to pronounce the p1 formed the name into ,ixbella1 of which the ,castilians made ,seville4 ,to the ,moors1 ,andalusia was the ,promised ,land flowing with milk and honey4 ,what was lacking1 their genius and husbandry soon supplied4 ,the land which they found uncultivated soon became a garden filled with exotic flowers and rich fruits1 while they adorned its cities with the noblest monuments of their taste and intelligence4 ,they divided their territory 7el ,andalus7 into the four kingdoms of ,seville1 ,cordova1 ,jaen1 and ,granada1 which still exist as territorial divisions4 ,to-day the three latter contain only the ruins of a great past4 ,seville alone remains in many respects a perfectly ,moorish city4 ,her courts1 her squares1 the streets and houses1 the great palace and the tower are essentially ,arabian and bear witness to the magnificence of her ancient masters4 ,illustration3 ,,key ,,of ,,plan ,,of ,,seville ,,cathedral ,a4 ,the ,giralda4 ,b4 ,royal ,chapel4 ,c4 ,chapter ,house4 ,d4 ,sacristy4 ,e4 ,old ,sacristy4 ,f4 ,colombina ,library4 ,g4 ,portal of the ,perdon4 ,h4 ,courtyard of the ,orange ,trees4 ,i4 ,the ,sagrario4 ,j4 ,portal of the ,orange ,trees4 ,k4 ,choir4 ,l4 ,capilla ,mayor4 ,m4 ,portal of the ,lonja 7,san ,cristobal74 ,n4 ,portal of the ,palos4 ,o4 ,portal of the ,campanillas4 ,p4 ,portal of the ,bautismo4 ,q4 ,puerta ,mayor4 ,r4 ,portal of the ,nacimiento4 ,s4 ,trascoro4 ,t4 ,dependencias de la ,hermandad4 ,u4 ,portal of the ,sagrario4 ,v4 ,portal of the ,lagarto4 ,x4 ,tomb of ,fernando ,colon4 ,they had lost all the rest of ,spain except ,granada before ,cordova and ,jaen surrendered1 and finally ,seville fell into the hands of ,ferdinand ,,iii of ,castile in #abdh1 and its ,christian period began4 ,three hundred thousand followers of the detested faith were banished from ,seville1 and slowly the power of the ,catholic ,church began to rise and the agricultural beauty and industry of the surrounding province to wane4 ,the city was divided into separate districts for the different races1 the canals were dammed up1 the water-works fell to pieces1 the valley was left untilled1 and fruit trees were unpruned and unwatered4 ,hides bleached in the sun and webs rotted on the looms1 sixty thousand of which had woven beautiful silk fabrics in the palmy days of the ,moors4 ,ferdinand the ,holy was a great king1 of a saintliness and greatness still acknowledged by the soldiers of ,seville4 ,after eight centuries they still lower their colors as they march past the great shrine of the ,third ,ferdinand1 in the church which he purged from ,mohammedanism and dedicated to the worship of the ,christians' ,god and the ,holy ,virgin4 ,after him1 ,seville became the theatre of momentous deeds and events that had a far-reaching influence on the history of the country4 ,into her lap was poured the riches of the ,new ,world2 within her halls ,queen ,isabella laid the foundation of her united kingdom2 from ,seville came the intellectual stimulus that revived the arts and letters of the whole ,peninsula4 ,here were born and labored ,pedro ,campaa1 ,alejo ,fernandez1 ,luis de ,vargas1 the several ,herreras1 ,francisco de ,zurbaran1 ,alfonso ,cano1 ,diego de ,silva ,velasquez1 ,bartolom ,esteban ,murillo1 and ,miguel ,florentino4 ,the riches of the western world made of ,seville a second ,florence1 where art found ready patrons1 and literature1 cultivated protectors4 ,she rivaled the great schools of ,italy and the ,netherlands1 but out of her secret council chambers came the ,institution of the ,holy ,office1 the scourge that withered the nation4 ,in the latter half of the sixteenth century1 forty-five thousand people were put to death in the archbishopric of ,seville4 ,finally1 under ,philip ,,ii1 ,seville and her great church rose to stupendous wealth and power4 ,when ,philip ,,ii died1 loyal ,seville honored the departed king by a magnificent funeral service in the ,cathedral4 ,a tremendous monument was designed by ,oviedo4 ,on ,nov4 #beth1 #aeih1 the mourning multitude flocked to the dim ,cathedral while the people knelt upon the stones1 and the solemn music floated through the air4 ,there was a disturbance among a part of the congregation4 ,a man was charged with deriding the imposing monument and creating disorder4 ,he was a tax-gatherer and ex-soldier of the city named ,don ,miguel de ,cervantes ,saavedra4 ,some of the citizens took his side1 for there was a feud between the civil and the ecclesiastical authorities in ,seville4 ,the brawler was expelled from the cathedral1--but he had his revenge4 ,he composed a satirical poem upon the tomb of the ,king which was read everywhere in the city3-- ,to the ,monument of the ,king of ,seville ,i vow to ,god ,i quake with surprise1 ,could ,i describe it1 ,i would give a crown1 ,and who1 that gazes on it in the town ,but starts aghast to see its wondrous size2 ,each part a million cost1 ,i should devise3 ,what pity 'tis1 ere centuries have flown1 ,old time will mercilessly cast it down6 ,thou rival'st ,rome1 ,o ,seville1 in my eyes6 ,i bet1 the soul of him who's dead and blest1 ,to dwell within this sumptuous monument1 ,has left the seats of sempiternal rest6 ,a fellow tall1 on deeds of valour bent1 ,my exclamation heard4 ,bravo1 he cried1 ,sir ,soldier1 what you say is true1 ,i vow6 ,and he who says the contrary has lied6 ,with that he pulls his hat upon his brow1 ,upon his sword-hilt he his hand doth lay1 ,and frowns--and--nothing does1 but walks away6#af ,far more ineffaccable even than the record left by ,philip's life upon the history of ,seville and ,spain is that of this immortal soldier and scribbler1 who believed he had found something better to do than writing comedies4 ,the soft1 sonorous syllables of ,guadalquivir 7from the ,arabic ,wad-el-,kebir1 or ,the ,great ,river7 would picture to the imaginative eye a river far more poetic than the sluggish stream that loiters across the wide plain and fruitful valley until it pierces the amber girdle of crenelated walls and embattled towers which enclose the treasures of ,seville4 ,on its broad bosom have swept the barks and galleys of ,phnicia and ,greece1 of ,roman1 ,goth1 and ,moor4 ,on its shores ,columbus lowered the sails of his caravel and presented ,spain with a new world on ,palm ,sunday1 #adic2 ,pizarro and ,cortez here first embarked their greedy and daring adventurers2 hither ,pizarro returned with hoards of gold and silver treasures from ,mexico and ,peru1 for the ,council of the ,indies restricted all the trade of the colonies to the port of ,seville4 ,the valley through which the river descends is sheltered from the cold tablelands lying northward by the ,sierra ,morea chain4 ,gray olive trees1 waving pastures1 and fields of grain cover its slopes4 ,a soft1 tempered wind whispers through the grassy meadows of ,la ,tierra de ,maria ,santissima1 and the atmosphere is so dry and clear that far away against the horizon objects stand out in clear silhouette4 ,so vivid are the colors that the smoky olive groves1 the orange and lemon-colored walls1 the fir trees1 the chalky white of the stucco1 the fleshy1 prickly leaves of the cacti1 and the tall standards of the aloes seem photographed on the brain4 ,in a fair and fruitful land lies the city1 and her spires pierce a smokeless1 unspotted sky4 ,in the heart of the city1 set down in the very centre of her life of song and laughter and childish simplicity1 surrounded by crooked streets and great airy courts1 in the widest sunlit square1 lies her ,cathedral4 ,the first impression made by a building is generally not only the most distinct but the truest4 ,that produced by ,seville's ,cathedral is its immensity of scale4 ,toledo la rica1 ,salamanca la fuerta1 ,leon la bella1 ,oviedo la sacra1 ,sevilla la grande1 runs the ,spanish saying4 ,the size is overpowering4 ,each of the four side aisles is nearly as broad and high as the nave of ,westminster ,abbey1 while the arcades of ,seville's nave have twice the span4 ,to the impressionable sensitiveness of ,thophile ,gautier it was like a mountain scooped out1 a valley turned topsy-turvy4 ,notre ,dame de ,paris might walk erect under the frightful height of the middle nave2 pillars as large as towers appear so slender that you catch your breath as you look up at the far-away1 vaulted roof they support4 ,here are the first impressions of two early ,spanish writers4 ,cean ,bermudez finds that1 seen from a certain distance1 it resembles a high-pooped and beflagged ship1 rising over the sea with harmonious grouping of sails1 pennons1 and banners1 and with its mainmast towering over the mizzenmast1 foremast1 and bowsprit4 ,caveda is struck by the general effect1 which is truly majestic4 ,the open-work parapets which crown the roofs2 the graceful lanterns of the eight winding stairs that ascend in the corners to the vaults and galleries2 the flying buttresses that spring lightly from aisle to nave1 as the jets of a cascade from cliff to cliff2 the slender pinnacles that cap them2 the proportions of the arms of the transept and of the buttresses supporting the side walls2 the large pointed windows to which they belong1 rising over each other1 the pointed portals and entrances1--all these combine in an almost miraculous effect1 although they lack the wealth of detail1 the airy grace1 and the delicate elegance that characterize the cathedrals of ,leon and ,burgos4 ,such are the varying impressions of ancient critics4 ,to the student's question1 ,to what period of architecture does the ,cathedral of ,seville belong8 we must answer1 ,to no period1 or rather to half a dozen4 ,authorities and writers will give completely different information1 and ,seville has found more willing and loving chroniclers than any other of ,spain's churches4 ,gallichan classes it as the largest ,gothic cathedral in the world1 and ,caveda calls it a type of the finest ,spanish ,gothic architecture4 ,the interior of the main body of the church is pure1 severe ,gothic1 the sacristy major1 highly developed ,renaissance2 the main portions of the exterior are what might be termed for want of a better word ,spanish ,renaissance--plateresco2 other details are ,moorish1 classical1 late florid ,gothic1 rococo1 and so forth4 ,as if to add to the incongruity of the architectural hodge-podge1 it is surrounded by shafts of old ,roman columns as well as ,byzantine pillars from the original mosque1 sunk deep into the ground and connected with iron chains4 ,the total impression to any student of architecture is one of outraged law and order1 composition and unity4 ,recalling the carefully membered and distinctly developed plan of the great ,gothic churches of ,france1 the expressive exteriors of the huge ,renaissance cathedrals of ,italy1 the satisfying perspective of ,english monastic temples1 one feels the hopelessness of attempting a comparison between this huge1 impressive undertaking and any accepted standards or schools4 ,it is something so entirely different and apart1 a mighty and unbridled effort which cannot be classified nor grouped with other churches1 nor studied by methods of earlier architectural training4 ,it is full of romance1--a building romantic as the ,cid1 a child of architectural fervor or even architectural furor4 ,centuries of ,spanish history and religion and the various temperaments of different and inspired races have created it and fostered its growth4 ,like many of its sister churches1 the artisans that labored on it were gathered from different lands and their work stretches through centuries of time and architectural thought4 ,there is the sparkling1 oriental fancy of the ,mudejar1 the classic training of the ,italian1 the brilliant color and technique of the ,fleming and ,dutchman1 the skilled and masterful chiseling of the ,german1 and the restless pride and domination of the ,spaniard4 ,you find it expressed in every way1--on canvas1 in wood and clay and stone1 on plaster and in glass4 ,it is a museum of art from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries1 with portions still waiting for the work of the twentieth4 ,the artists range from ,juan ,sanches de ,castro1 the morning star of ,andalusia1 in #aded1 to ,francisco ,goya1 the last of the great ,spanish painters4 ,it is colossal1 incongruous1 mysterious1 and elusive4 ,it breathes the spirit of the middle ages with all their piety and loyalty to church and crown1 and their unparalleled ardor in building religious temples4 ,gazing at it1 you feel the same religious fervor that flung the arches of ,amiens and ,chartres high into the northern air and rounded the dome of ,santa ,maria del ,fiore under ,lombardy's azure vault4 ,if you stand in the ,calle del ,gran ,capitan1 or better1 the ,plaza del ,triumfo1 best of all1 near the gateway of the ,patio de las ,banderas1 where the ,cathedral and the ,giralda pile up in front of you1 unquestionably you have before you ,spain's mightiest architectural work1 a sight as impressive as the view from the marble pavement of the ,piazzetta by the ,adriatic4 ,the lofty tower is entirely oriental4 ,the walls of the ,cathedral which rise from a broad paved terrace consist below of a classical screen1 whose surface is broken by a ,corinthian order carrying a ,renaissance balustrade and topped by heavy1 meaningless stone terminations4 ,windows with ,italian ,renaissance frames pierce the ochre masonry4 ,above rises a confusion of buttresses1 kettle-shaped domes1 and ,renaissance lanterns1 simple1 massive walls1 some portions entirely bare1 others overloaded with delicate ,gothic interlacings full of ,spanish feeling2 flowers and rosettes1 broad blazons and coats-of-arms1--above all1 a forest of ,gothic towers1 finials1 crockets1 parapets1 and rails peculiarly ,spanish in carving and treatment4 ,there is practically no sky line4 ,the interior of the nave and aisle vaulting are entirely concealed externally by the parapets and walls4 ,so lacking in sobriety is the first view6--but you are ready to echo the ,spanish saying1-- ,quien no ha visto ,sevilla ,no ha visto maravilla4#ag or the words of ,pope1 ,there stands a structure of majestic fame6 ,the ,spanish ,christians in ,seville1 like those who obtained possession of other ,moorish strongholds1 first appropriated the old ,arab mosque for their house of worship4 ,later1 when it no longer sufficed1 they and their fellow-believers elsewhere built the new cathedral on1 around1 or adjacent to1 the old consecrated walls4 ,like all other churches from which ,islam had been driven1 the great mosque of ,seville was dedicated to ,santa ,maria de la ,sede4 ,the famous ,moorish conqueror1 ,abu ,jakub ,jusuf1 had laid the foundation stones of his mosque and tower in #aaga1 building his walls with the materials left by imperial ,rome1 and laying out orange courtyard and walls in a manner befitting his power and the traditions of his race4 ,it belongs to what architectural writers have for convenience called the second period of the ,spanish ,arabs1 between #aadf and about #abej1 under the ,almohaden dynasty4 ,this was the period of the ,moors' greatest constructive energy1--they no longer blindly copied the ancient architecture of ,byzantium1 but endeavored to create a bold and independent art of their own4 ,after the capture of ,seville in #abdh1 ,ferdinand at once consecrated the mosque to ,christian service1 and it was used without alteration until it began to crumble4 ,its general plan was probably very much like the one in ,cordova1 a great rectangle filled with a forest of columns3 its high walls of brick and clay supported by buttresses and crowned with battlements enclosed an adjacent courtyard with fountain and rows of orange trees1 abutted by the bell or prayer tower4 ,the courtyard and tower remain with but slight changes or additions2 portions of the foundation walls1 the northeast and west porticos1 decorative details and ornamentation still to be found on the ,christian church are all ,moorish4 ,the plan and general structure have been restricted by the lines of the old ,moorish foundations4 ,there are no documents extant that give a trustworthy account of what portions of the old mosque were allowed to remain when the ,christians finally decided to rebuild1 but the most cursory glance at the outline of the ,cathedral shows how organically it has been bound by what was retained4 ,the mosque must have been built on as large and magnificent a scale as the one which still amazes us in ,cordova4 ,the peculiar1 oblong1 quadrilateral form was probably common to both4 ,on the #hth of ,july1 #adja1 the ,cathedral ,chapter issued the challenge to the ,catholic world which to the more practical piety of to-day rings with a true medival fervor4 ,verily a faith that could remove mountains6 ,the inspired ,chapter proclaimed they could build a church of such size and beauty that coming ages should call them mad to have undertaken it4 ,and their own fat pockets were the first to be emptied of half their stipends4 ,the pennies of the poor1 grants from the crown1 indulgences published throughout the kingdom1 all went to satisfy the ever-grasping building fund4 ,in #adjc the work of tearing down and commencing afresh on the old foundations was begun4 ,these measured about some #dae feet in length by #bgh feet in width4 ,the old mosque or the present church proper is now only the central edifice in a rectangle of about #fjj by #ejj feet4 ,this is the size of a village1 with its courts1 its tower1 the great library of the ,cathedral ,chapter where books were collected from all over the lettered world by the son of ,columbus1 the parroquia or parish church1 the endless row of chapels1 some larger than ordinary churches1 the sacristy1 the chapter house and offices4 ,it became the largest church of the middle ages1 covering #abd1jjj square feet2 ,milan covers only #ij1jjj1 ,toledo1 #ge1jjj1 and ,saint ,paul's in ,london1 #hd1jjj4 ,among the churches of all ages1 ,saint ,peter's1 with an area of #afb1jjj square feet1 alone exceeds it in size4 ,in #aejf1 under the archbishops ,alfonso ,rodriguez and ,gonzalo de ,rojas1 the building was completed4 ,for a century the work had been carried on with such reckless haste that inferior building methods had been employed1 which led to subsequent disasters4 ,on ,december #bh1 #aeaa1 to the consternation of the devout workmen1 the great central dome fell in during an earthquake1 carrying with it or weakening many of the vaults and much of the masonry below4 ,after the earthquake1 some of the large piers supporting the great crossing as well as the adjacent ones were found filled with the most carelessly laid rubble and earth1 with no carrying power nor resistance4 ,about #aebj the building might in the main be said to be finished4 ,externally it has never been completed1 although in the nineteenth century the west front was finished and its central doorway ornamented4 ,an extensive restoration which took place in #ahhb was interrupted by the second earthquake of #ahhh1 during which the dome again fell in4 ,to-day it is all rebuilt4 ,the entrance is at the west end4 ,the plan1 as ,i have said1 was governed by the old basilica-shaped mosque4 ,the transepts do not project beyond the chapels of the side aisles1 and at the east end it differs from most ,spanish churches in having a square termination instead of an apse4 ,also along the east wall chapels have been built between the buttresses similar to those between the north and south sides4 ,the central portions of the east end open into the great ,capilla ,real4 ,there are nine doorways to the church4 ,in studying the plan1 it is interesting to note what ,mr4 ,ferguson has indicated1 that similarly to what is found in the ,indian ,jain temples1 the diagonal of the aisle compartments has the same length as the width of the nave4 ,the original documents and accounts of the church1 which have disappeared1 were probably burnt among ,philip ,,ii's papers destroyed by the great ,madrid fire4 ,scarcely two of the ,cathedral's many biographers agree as to its architects1 its historic precedents or what part of the work was actually inspired by earlier ,spanish architecture and national builders4 ,naturally ,spanish writers attribute workmanship1 precedents and builders all to their own ,peninsula1 while the different foreign authorities vary in their estimates4 ,distinctly ,spanish features of construction as well as ornamentation are found side by side with others which unquestionably came from masters trained beyond the ,pyrenees4 ,in various places vaulting is found thoroughly ,german in its complexity and florid detail4 ,several authorities point out the resemblances between ,milan and ,seville1 not that the ornamentation of the frosted and encrusted ,italian misconception can be intelligently compared with the ,plateresque carving1 but there is a certain mixture of local and foreign feeling in both4 ,in ,seville ,french and ,german feeling seems to be struggling under ,spanish fetters1 just as in ,lombardy the ,german seems to be laboring with ,italian comprehension of ,gothic1 finally abandoning the inorganic scheme for a lovely1 riotous1 and marvelous attempt at carving to which the material no longer placed any limitations4 ,the ,spanish architect of the middle ages was placed in a novel situation1 and his art had very peculiar and unusual influences bearing upon it4 ,gothic methods of construction and ornamentation had slowly spread over the country with the growing sovereignty of ,aragon and ,castile1 and in spite of the corresponding decline of the ,arab kingdoms1 ,moorish art began to work hand in hand1 as far as was possible1 with the forms of the ,christian invader1 although the hostility between the races hindered any extensive fusion of the two4 ,they began1 however1 to influence each other for good or bad and to flourish side by side4 ,the result might be called architectural volapk4 ,in ,seville it is certain that1 whatever the nationality of the original architect and however incongruous and expressionless the exterior may finally have become1 the interior is less exotic1 less unquestionably a ,french importation1 than in either of the great ,gothic churches of ,toledo or ,burgos4 ,when we recall the organic completeness1 the truthful exterior expression1 of interior lines and construction in the greatest ,gothic cathedrals of ,france1 we turn with sadness to the outer form of so fair a soul as that of ,santa ,maria of ,seville1 the work of the most famous architects of her age4 ,some attribute the original plans of the church to ,alfonso ,rodriguez1 others to ,alfonso ,martinez1 who was ,maestro ,mayor of the chapter in #acif1 others again to ,pedro ,garcia2 a long list of names follows3 ,juan the ,norman1 ,juan de ,hoz1 ,alfonso ,ruiz1 ,ximon1 ,alfonso ,rodriguez1 and ,gonzalo de ,rojas1 ,pedro ,mellan1 ,miguel ,florentin1 ,pedro ,lopez1 ,henrique de ,egas1 ,juan de ,alava1 ,jorge ,fernandez ,alleman1 ,juan ,gil de ,hontaon and the masters who after the earthquake hurried to ,seville from their buildings in ,toledo1 ,jaen1 ,vittoria1 and other places4 ,casanova is the last of her many architects4 ,correctly speaking1 there is no faade4 ,the ,cathedral runs from west to east1 the western or main entrance portal being pierced by three ogival doorways1 the ,puerta ,mayor with a modern relief of the ,assumption1 the ,puerta del ,nacimento or de ,san ,miguel to the south1 and the ,puerta del ,bautizo or de ,san ,juan to the north4 ,saint ,miguel has a relief of the ,nativity of ,christ1 ,saint ,juan1 one representing ,saint ,john baptizing4 ,in the moldings surrounding these1 are very exquisite little figures of early sixteenth-century work executed in terra-cotta4 ,they are full of the best ,gothic feeling1 splendidly fitted to their spaces1 alive with the expression of the imaginative period of their sculptor1 ,pedro ,millan4 ,above and around the door of ,san ,juan is a ,gothic tracery of the most elaborate character4 ,one cannot refrain from comparing the sculptural work of these three doorways4 ,riccardo ,bellver's modern ,assumption over the central doorway is as congealed as the terra-cotta sculptures above and around the side portals are admirable4 ,they are unquestionably among the most interesting bits of relief as well as figure sculpture of their kind produced in ,spain during the fifteenth century4 ,pedro ,millan stands out as a great medival master1 not only from the consummate skill with which the drapery is treated but from the living1 breathing personality and attitudes of the men and women around him1 which we still gaze at in the truth of their curious1 nave1 fifteenth-century light4 ,as the whole western faade was not completed in its present form until #ahbg1 much of its work is as poor as it is modern4 ,there are two entrances to the eastern end1 richly decorated with fine terra-cotta statues and reliefs of angels1 patriarchs1 and ,biblical figures1 attributed to ,lope ,marin4 ,in the northern faade there are three1--one classical and of very little interest leading to the parish church2 the second is the ,puerto de los ,naranjos4 ,in the ,puerta del ,lagarto1 where the ,giralda abuts the ,cathedral1 there hangs a poor stuffed crocodile1 once sent by a ,sultan of ,egypt in token of admiration to ,saint ,ferdinand4 ,the beast1 having died on his way from the ,nile1 could never crawl in the basins of the ,alcazar gardens1 but found a resting-place under the shelves of the ,columbina library4 ,on the opposite side of the orange-tree court is the ,puerta del ,perdon4 ,the ,florentine relief above1 representing the crouching traders as they were driven from the ,temple1 naturally spoils the effectiveness of the magnificent ,moorish portal below4 ,its horseshoe curve1 with delicate ,moorish interlacing1 arabesques1 frieze and bronze doors1 is a curious and striking note of a bygone age1 leading as it does to the walled and fragrant courtyard of its builders1 and the fountain where they made their ablutions4 ,later ,renaissance statues of the ,annunciation and ,saint ,peter and ,saint ,paul1 as well as ,florentine pilasters and ornament1 flank the ,moorish moldings in an utterly meaningless manner4 ,on the south is the gate of ,san ,cristobal1 or of the ,lonja1 finished only a few years ago4 ,in and out of these many entrances the populace stream1 to worship1 to whisper1 to gossip1 to rest1 to bargain1 to beg1 and to make love4 ,the whole drama of life in its conglomerate population goes on within the walls of the ,cathedral4 ,it is the most frequented thoroughfare1 where the people enter as often with a song on their lips as with a prayer4 ,the great edifice with all the ceremonial of its religious services is woven into their life1 as is the sound of the guitars and castanets that echo within its portals and courtyards4 ,the church and her children are not strangers4 ,the ,sevillian does not approach her altars with religious awe and fear1 but with a childish trust2 he kneels down before them as much at home as when rolling his cigarette on the bench of his caf4 ,the ,cathedral1 like the houses nestling and crumbling around it1 opens wide and hospitable gates that lead to the refreshing shade and comfort within4 ,the western front is practically the only one which presents the ,cathedral unobscured by adjacent buildings climbing up its sides or struggling between the buttresses1--or which is not concealed by enclosing screenwork4 ,to the north the walls of the ,orange ,court block the view2 to the east1 the high screen2 and to the south1 the chapter house and the ,dependencias de la ,hermanidad and the sacristy4 ,the mass of domes with supporting flying buttresses1 ramps and finials above it1all remind one curiously of a transplanted and ecclesiasticized ,chambord4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,seville ,gateway of ,perdon in the ,orange ,tree ,court ,as the plan conforms to the conditions of the old rectangular mosque and has neither projecting transepts nor semicircular chevet1 it can scarcely be called ,gothic4 ,it consists of nave and double side aisles1--the nave #ef feet wide from centre to centre of the columns and #ade feet high1 and the inner side aisles #dj wide and about #ajj high4 ,outside these is another aisle filled with various chapels4 ,at the crossing of the nave and transept1 we have the typical1 small ,spanish octagonal dome1--in this instance covering possibly what was in the original mosque a central octagonal court4 ,it is a construction rising some hundred and seventy feet above the level of the eye1 admitting light below its spring into what in the ,french ,gothic edifices would usually be the gloomiest portions of the building4 ,the side aisles differ slightly in width1 the two lateral ones being filled with various chapels4 ,there are nine bays1 separated by thirty-six clustered pillars1 some of them perfect towers in their huge and massive strength4 ,their detail and outline are excellent1 all of the greatest simplicity and restraint4 ,the delicate engaged shafts which surround the huge supports of fifteen feet diameter terminate below the vaulting ribs in delicately interlaced palm-leaf caps4 ,nothing is confused or intricate4 ,sixty-eight compartments spring from the various piers with a loftiness reminding one of ,cologne4 ,the groining differs very much4 ,the greater portion is admirably plain1 of simple quadripartite design2 other parts are fanciful and elaborate1 recalling florid ,german prototypes4 ,the five central vaults forming the cross under the dome alone have elaborate fan-vaulting2 the geometrical design is as excellent as its detail4 ,the richness given this central and most correct portion of the great roofing is all the more effective by contrast with the plain1 unelaborated groins of the surrounding vaults4 ,the petals of the flower1 the very holy of holies1 between the choir and the ,capilla ,mayor1 before the high altar1 are what is most beautiful and enriched4 ,the lighting is very unusual1 and better than either ,leon or ,toledo4 ,ninety-three windows are filled with the most glorious glass4 ,there are two clerestories to light the body of the church1 one in the walls of the second side aisle1 admitting light above the roofs of the chapels1 the second in the nave4 ,added to this come the huge lights of the five rose windows4 ,in ,seville1 as in ,toledo and many of the other great ,spanish cathedrals1 the general view of the interior is blocked1 and the majesticeffectiveness of the columnar rows marred1 by the placing of the great choir in the centre of the edifice4 ,but the interior effect is nevertheless one of the most inspiring produced by the imagination and hands of man4 ,all truly majestic conceptions are simple and1 though we may at times wonder at the secret of their power1 we always find their enduring grandeur due to a hidden simplicity4 ,this is true of the ,parthenon1 of the ,venus of ,milo1 and the ,sistine ,madonna4 ,whoever enters the ,cathedral of ,seville is struck first of all by its simplicity4 ,the tremendous scale of the interior is unperceived1 owing to the just proportion between all the parts4 ,there is height as well as width1 massiveness and strength1 boldness and light4 ,none of the detail is petty or too elaborate1 but simple and effective1 making a harmony in all its parts4 ,even the furniture carries out the tremendous boldness and grandeur of the edifice4 ,bells1 choir books1 candles1 altar chests1 are all on the same grandiose scale4 ,it has true majesty in its simplicity of direct1 honest appeal1 and a proud unconsciousness1 because it is free from the artificiality which is invariably vulgar4 ,the truly beautiful woman needs none of the devices of art4 ,the shafts and vaults and string courses in ,seville's ,cathedral need little ornamentation to bring out their beauty2 they are in fact as effective as the elaborate carving of ,salamanca and ,segovia4 ,seville preaches a great lesson to our twentieth century1 of peace1 rest and completeness4 ,it has room for all its children2 they may kneel at eighty-two different shrines and find romance or encouragement or the consolation they are seeking4 ,some churches are strangely secular in their restlessness of feeling1 while others breathe an atmosphere full of poetry1 exaltation and the infinite peace of the ,gospels4 ,seville's religion is for the humble and simple as much as for the grandee4 ,it is not only the great cathedral church of the archbishop and bishop1 the eleven dignitaries1 forty canons1 twenty prebendaries1 twenty minor canons1 twenty veinteneros1 twenty chaplains and the host of a choir1 but the beloved home of the poor1 miserable1 starving sons and daughters of ,santa ,maria de la ,sede4 ,although architecturally the injurious effect of placing choir and high altar in the middle of the church cannot be overstated1 from the point of view of ritual1 of closely uniting the officiating body with the worshipers1 it is undoubtedly a far happier arrangement than where the prayers and psalms proceed from the extreme apsidal termination4 ,in the former case the religious guidance seems to emanate from the very soul of the edifice1 and to reach all humble worshipers in the remotest nooks and corners4 ,the ,spanish nature craves the sensuous and theatrical in religious rites1 and not far-away but intimately1 as part and parcel of it4 ,in the time of the great ecclesiastical power of the bishopric of ,seville #bj1jjj pounds of wax were burned every year1 #ejj masses were daily celebrated at the #hj altars1 and the wine consumed in the yearly sacrament amounted to #ah1gej litres4 ,seville's children wished to be close to the glare and flicker of the wax candles and torches and to hear distinctly the unintelligible ,latin service4 ,seek the shade of the cathedral when the ,july sun is burning outside1 or during one of the nights of ,holy ,week1 when the great ,miserere of ,eslava is sung1 and you will find it the most thronged spot in all ,seville4 ,in the words of ,havelock ,ellis3 ,profoundly impressive1--around the choir an impassive mass1 in the rest of the church characteristic ,spanish groups crouched at the bases of the great clustered shafts1 and chatted and used their fans familiarly1 as if in their own homes1 while dogs ran about unmolested4 ,the vast church lent itself superbly to the music and the scene4 ,it was a scene stranger than the designs of ,martin1 as bizarre as something out of ,poe or ,baudelaire4 ,in the dim light the huge piers seemed larger and higher than ever1 while the faint altar lights dimly lit up the iron screen of the ,capilla ,mayor1 as in ,rembrandt's conception of the ,temple of ,jerusalem4 ,in the scene of enchantment one felt that ,santa ,maria of ,seville had delivered up the last secret of her mystery and romance4 ,if you enter the church from the west through the main portal1 or the ,puerta ,mayor1 the whole length of the nave is broken by various structures4 ,on the axis1 under the second vault1 is the tomb of ,fernando ,colon2 the fourth and fifth vaults contain the choir2 the sixth comes under the dome2 the seventh and eighth take in the ,capilla ,mayor and ,sacristia ,alta2 back of the ninth and terminating the eastern end1 rises the great ,renaissance royal chapel 7,capilla ,real74 ,fernando ,colon deserves to live not only in ,seville's history but in the memory of all ,spain1 first and foremost for being his father's son 7by his mistress ,beatrix ,enrigues71 and1 secondly1 for leading a most pious and studious life and devoting his time and fortune while traversing ,europe during the first half of the sixteenth century1 to the purchase of the most valuable books and manuscripts of the time4 ,these he united into the famous ,columbina ,library and presented to the ,cathedral ,chapter4 ,the enormous wooden tabernacle erected every ,passion ,week over the great ,discoverer's son1 to reach the very arches of the vaults overhead1 is as hideous as the inscription is touching4 ,three caravels are inlaid on the slab1 between which runs the legend1 ,a ,castilla y a ,leon mundo nuevo die ,colona 7,to ,castile and ,leon ,columbus gave a new world71 and the following inscription3 ,of what avails it that ,i have bathed the entire universe in my sweat1 that ,i have thrice passed through the new world1 discovered by my father1 that ,i have adorned the banks of the gentle ,bati and preferred my simple tastes to riches1 in order to gather around thee the divinities of the ,castalian ,spring and offer thee the treasures already gathered by ,ptolemy1 if thou in passing this stone in ,seville1 dost not at least give a greeting to my father and a thought to me4 ,directly back of ,fernando ,columbus' tomb rises the rear surface or trascoro of the choir4 ,the choir1 which occupies the fourth and fifth bays1 is enclosed by the most elaborate walls1 except at the entrance to the east1 where it is screened by the remarkable iron reja4 ,this1 as well as the rejas of the choir1 is in design and workmanship a marvelous example of medival craft1 quite as fine as the screens of ,toledo and ,granada and the best work of the ,german forgers and guilds4 ,the design1 from #aeai1 harmonizes splendidly with the ironwork facing it4 ,its gilding must have improved as each century has toned it down4 ,now in the evening hours when it catches the reflection of some light1 the spikes look like angels' spears rising flame-like out of the mysterious twilight and guarding the holy places beyond4 ,the choir1 placed so nearly under the dome1 naturally suffered greatly by its fall4 ,a portion of the #abg stalls has been so well restored that it is difficult to distinguish the old from the new4 ,nufro ,sanchez1 sculptor1 whom ,god guarded1 made this choir in the year #adge4 ,the subjects are as usual from the ,new and ,old ,testaments1 and the character of the carving constantly betrays ,moorish influence4 ,the pillars as well as the canopies and the figures themselves are possibly entirely ,gothic1 but one glance at the gaudily inlaid backs shows ,arab workmanship4 ,along the outer sides of the choir around the four little stonework niches1 which serve as smaller chapels1 the ,gothic carving 7some of it executed in transparent alabaster71 works more happily than usual in combination with the later ,plateresque or ,renaissance1 here containing the fine feeling of the ,genoese school4 ,one piece of sculpture stands out from all the rest1 viz41 the ,virgin1 carved by ,montaes4 ,her hands are of such exquisite girlish delicacy1 of such immature and dimpled softness1 that one cannot pass them by without a feeling of delight4 ,the organs1 which form a part of the choir1 have an incredible number of pipes and stops4 ,according to a remarkable old tale1 they were filled with air by the choir boys1 who walked back and forth over tilting planks placed on the bellows4 ,whether or no the boys still have this happy outlet for their ecclesiastic activities1 the music means little to the ,spaniard1 and their design still less to the architect's eye4 ,the ,capilla ,mayor faces the choir1 merely separated from it by the space lying directly under the dome and forming the intersection of nave and transepts4 ,as the church services constantly require the simultaneous use of the choir and the high altar of the ,capilla ,mayor1 a portion of the intermediate space or entre los dos ,coros is roped off during service time for the clergy to pass from one to the other4 ,the ,spanish taste for pomp and magnificence centres in all its extravagance about the high altar1 while a more subdued richness characterizes the surrounding stone and iron work which encloses the sanctuary on all sides4 ,not only on the front1 complementing and balancing admirably the facing reja of the choir1 but on the western ends of the sides1 immense ornamental iron screens bar the way4 ,the front one is quite overpowering in size1 rising some seventy-five feet above the altar4 ,the ,spaniard was equal to any undertaking in the days of early ,hapsburg splendor under the pious ,reyes ,catolicos4 ,with the aid of ,sancho ,munoz and ,diego de ,yorobo1 a ,dominican ,friar1 ,francesco de ,salamanca designed them 7#aeah7 and then superintended the welding1 gilding and the final erection in #aebc4 ,the east end of the ,capilla ,mayor is formed by the magnificent retablo1 almost four thousand square feet in size4 ,one is immediately struck by its immense proportions and the infinite amount of carving bestowed on it4 ,its great scheme was conceived in #adhb by the ,flemish sculptor ,dancart1 evidently a man of prolific and versatile imagination4 ,if we try to compare it with the work of ,english churches1 we might best liken it to the great altar screens4 ,this and the retablo at ,toledo are probably the richest specimens of medival woodwork in existence4 ,portions of the execution are somewhat inferior to the conception1 and yet the artists who labored on it with loving skill until the middle of the following century carried out all their work with a richness and delicacy which make it not only a representative piece of late ,gothic sculpture but one of the most magnificent specimens of this branch of ,spanish art4 ,its various portions embrace the whole period of florid ,gothic from its earlier1 more restrained expression to the very last stroke of the art1 when wood was mastered and carved into incredible filigree work as if it had been as soft and pliable as silver leaf4 ,everything that could be carved is there1 figures1 foliage1 tracery1 moldings and mere conventionalized ornament4 ,the central portions are of the earlier fifteenth century1 the outer ones1 of the late sixteenth1 executed under ,master ,marco ,jorge ,fernandez4 ,the wood is principally larch1 with minor portions of chestnut and pine4 ,the whole field is divided by slender shafts and laboriously carved bands into forty-four compartments representing in high and low relief various scenes from the life of ,christ and the ,virgin ,mary4 ,in the centre is ,santa ,maria de la ,sede1 the patron saint of the church1 surmounted by a ,crucifixion with ,saint ,john and the ,virgin on either side4 ,between the retablo and the rear wall enclosing the rectangle of the ,capilla ,mayor1 there is a dark space known as the ,sacristia ,alta1 where is preserved the ,tablas ,alfonsinas#ah brought from ,constantinople to ,paris by ,saint ,ferdinand's son1 ,alfonso4 ,seville ranks high among the churches of ,spain in the beauty of its carving4 ,the stone screen that forms the rear of the retablo is filled with admirable ,gothic terra-cotta statues1 saints1 virgins1 bishops1 martyrs and prelates executed with a little of the curious rigidity of the ,dutch ,school still awaiting its ,renaissance emancipation1 but with faces full of holy devotion4 ,the modeling is correct and the treatment of the drapery excellent4 ,within the enclosure of the ,capilla ,mayor1 there is still to be seen at certain times of the year1 a ceremony which has been performed for centuries1 and which is certainly the most unique religious rite celebrated in any ,christian church4 ,to the ,saxon it is most extraordinary4 ,during the last three days of the ,carnival or after the ,feast of ,corpus ,domini1 we may see boys dressed in costumes perform a dance before the high altar of the ,cathedral4 ,children1 so the tale runs1 danced1 skipped and shouted for joy when the city of ,seville was finally taken from the ,mohammedans1 and these childish demonstrations so touched the hearts of the clergy who entered the city with the conquering army1 that they resolved that succeeding generations of boys should perpetuate them forever4 ,of all the festivals and religious processions culminating in or outside ,saint ,mary's shrine1 surely none can give her so much pleasure as the sight of these little boys dancing and singing in her honor4 ,this naf and charming ceremonial is part of the ,mozarabic ,ritual1 the work of ,saint ,isidore1 a metropolitan of ,seville a hundred years before the arrival of the ,saracens4 ,in his early years1 when his elder brother ,leander ruled the ,gothic ,church with stern hand1 ,isidore had time and talents to master in his cloistered seclusion so much art and science that he became the ,admirable ,crichton of his day4 ,his work on ,the ,origin of ,things shows the profundity of his knowledge1 his history of the ,goths is beyond doubt his most valuable legacy to us1 but what endeared him above all to his countrymen was the ,mozarabic ,rite1 of which he composed both breviary and music4 ,the ,benedictine monks of ,cluny1 those architects and chroniclers1 who had been obliged to sacrifice their ,gallican liturgy for the ,roman1 could not rest satisfied until they had imposed it on the ,peninsula4 ,they were supported in this truly foreign aggression by ,constance of ,burgundy1 ,queen of ,alfonso ,,vi1 and by the masterful ,gregory ,,vii1 himself a ,benedictine4 ,and so ,saint ,isidore's quaint old hymn with the accompanying melody was banished from all but one or two favored chapels4 ,fortunately ,cardinal ,ximenez became its enthusiastic and powerful protector4 ,he endowed in the ,cathedral of ,toledo a special chapel and had thirteen priests trained for the service1 ,mozarabes sodales4 ,in ,ximenez' time a ,german1 ,peter ,hagenbach1 first printed missale secundum regulam beati ,isidori dictum ,mozarabes1 what ,saint ,isidore called those fleeting sounds so hard to note down4 ,his breviary was the first ,roman one to be used in ,spanish churches4 ,to enumerate the endless rows of chapels with their countless treasures and chaste or tawdry architecture and decoration would be tiresome and unprofitable1--with a plan and guide-book1 one may pass them in review4 ,sixty-seven of the great sculptors and thirty-eight of the painters here display to the astonished and incredulous eye the masterpieces of their hand1 says one4 ,here is almost every painter belonging to the great ,sevillian school of painting of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries4 ,they form a veritable museum or a series of small museums1 each chapel being a separate room of masterpieces4 ,but here1 as in the museum1 there are good and bad paintings and statues1 and only the excellent are worth attention4 ,they are better worth studying here than elsewhere1 for they have been left in the surroundings for which they were intended and painted4 ,spain's great religious artist did not paint his ,madonnas so full of distracting and sensuous loveliness for the walls of the ,prado2 their smiles1 human and pathetic1 were for the altars and panels of sanctuaries4 ,here is the light in which they were studied and for which they were colored2 here are the walls and frames which were intended to surround them2 they are in the company they would choose1 and they were painted with the same religious devotion that inspires the prayers now offered before them4 ,the painter's inspiration sprang from the fervor of his faith4 ,three of the paintings are lovely above all others4 ,two are ,murillo's1 namely the ,angel de la ,guarda and the ,san ,antonio of the baptistery2 the third is the ,deposition from the ,cross1 by ,pedro de ,campana 7or more correctly ,kempeneer71 hanging in the great sacristy4 ,this is the painting1 ,spanish historians will tell you1 ,murillo loved so well that whenever he was downhearted he would stand in front of it for hours1 and become lost to all around him1 even forgetting his own ,madonnas4 ,one day the sacristan asked him impatiently1 why he so often stood there staring4 ,i am waiting1 ,murillo answered1 till those holy men have taken the ,saviour down from the ,cross4 ,it hangs well lighted over one of the altars of the ,sacristy4 ,few faces have ever been painted which convey depth and intensity of feeling in a more affecting way4 ,the agonized faces of the women at the foot of the ,cross express all an innocent human heart can feel of compassion1 heart-wrung sorrow and despair4 ,the ecstasy with which ,saint ,anthony1 who is kneeling in prayer1 gazes at the ,child ,jesus has seldom been surpassed in reality and power4 ,entirely lifted beyond the earthly sphere1 his features kindle with ardent piety and divine love4 ,the angels surrounding the ,infant ,jesus have a simplicity of expression which never escapes those who have loved and studied children4 ,the coloring is unique and of a truly penetrating softness4 ,all the little details of the miserable cell in which the saint is kneeling are rendered with the vigorous reality so characteristic of the ,spanish school1 while in the upper part of the painting one seems to see even the dust particles floating in the rays of sunlight4 ,the shadows have a marvelous transparency4 ,the ,angel de la ,guarda1 or ,guardian ,angel1 is one of the master's very best works4 ,the purples and yellows of the angel's vesture have kept their depth and richness through all the centuries in which the colors have been drying4 ,there might be a guide-book dealing with the paintings of the ,cathedral alone4 ,how differently it is decorated from the great ,gothic cathedrals of the present ,anglican ,church6 ,in ,seville as in ,florence1 all the fine arts seemed to flower and come to perfection during the sixteenth century4 ,sculpture and painting were employed to embellish architecture1 as in the ancient days of ,greece4 ,the sister arts walked once more hand in hand4 ,the figures in stone and still more in terra-cotta which adorn the exterior porches and the more decorative portions of the interior are unusually fine4 ,many of the bishops1 saints and kings have an unmistakable ,renaissance feeling4 ,take1 for instance1 such a statue as the ,virgin del ,reposo1 so dear to the ,sevillians1--you feel in all the handling the period of transition4 ,such sculptors as ,miguel ,florentin1 ,juan ,marin1 and ,diego de ,pesquera must have been influenced by ,italy when they carved the statues which adorn the ,cathedral of ,seville4 ,the contact with ,italy and the many ,italian workmen gradually induced faithlessness to the earlier ,gothic ideals of the founders and builders of the church4 ,the great ,maestro ,mayor of ,toledo ,cathedral1 ,henrique de ,egas1 was among the first to introduce restraint in ,spanish building after the fanaticism of the later flamboyant4 ,in the time of ,ferdinand and ,isabella1 a well-known ,toledan published a ,spanish abridgment of ,vitruvius2 this in conjunction with the influence of many foreign artists led the way to classical building4 ,granada was soon resurrected as a ,greek-,roman ,centralbau and even the crossing of ,gothic ,burgos was unfortunately restored by ,borgoa after classic models4 ,the new foreign movement found expression in architecture1 in sculpture and in painting1 often with the most extraordinary attempts to employ the new without discarding the old4 ,grotesque and fantastic ornaments crown illogical construction4 ,the royal chapel1 the chapter house1 the sagrario and the great sacristy are examples of the new-born style4 ,the first two are magnificent specimens of ,spanish ,renaissance4 ,each of them is a fine church in itself1 and they can only be classed as chapels because they bear that relation and are proportioned to the immense mother church of ,seville4 ,the walls of the ,capilla ,real form the eastern termination to the ,cathedral1 and the chapel is very properly planned upon the axe of the church and entered through a splendidly decorated lofty arch4 ,it is about #ha by #ei feet in plan1 and #aac feet high to the lantern crowning the really fine dome4 ,a round altar at its eastern extremity is closed off by a typically impressive reja4 ,the architecture is of the magnificence of ,saint ,peter's in ,rome1 and not unlike it in detail4 ,eight ,corinthian pilasters support the dome1 breaking the wall space into panels and carrying the richest classical cornice surmounted by fine statues of the ,apostles1 ,evangelists and kings4 ,the chapel takes its name from being the burial place of the royal house4 ,along its walls are the tombs of ,saint ,ferdinand's consort1 of ,alfonso the ,learned and his mother1 ,beatrice of ,suabia1 and the beautiful ,doa ,maria de ,padilla1 the mistress of ,pedro the ,cruel4 ,he himself is buried below in the vault with many other of the royal princes4 ,in the centre of the chapel ,saint ,ferdinand lies in full armor with a crown on his head4 ,three times a year he is shown to the soldiers of ,spain1 who march past with sounding bugles and lowered banners4 ,the chapel was planned and built by ,martin ,ganza during the reign of ,charles ,v4 ,shortly after the defeat of the ,moors1 an earlier royal one was built upon the same site and added to the old mosque4 ,when the great new ,cathedral was planned1 the ,chapter begged permission to remove temporarily the bodies of the royal personages interred in the chapel1--the holy ,king ,ferdinand1 his mother and son4 ,this petition was granted by ,queen ,joanna on condition that they would rebuild it on a more fitting scale at as early a date as possible4 ,the ,chapter preferred1 however1 to expend all its means and energies on the great vaulting of the ,cathedral rather than on the new royal sepulchre1 and this was not rebuilt until ,charles ,v finally lost patience over the negligent and disrespectful manner in which the remains of his forbears were treated and wrote to the ,chapter1 in #aedc1 commanding them to start the work without any delay whatsoever1 and to bring it to completion as rapidly as possible1 and to execute the work as excellently as befitted its royal guests4 ,that the workmen made no delay in obeying the royal commands is shown by the fact that the walls were well up as early as #aeff and finished shortly afterwards4 ,none of the ,spanish cathedrals have a better type of ,plateresque architecture and decoration than the sacristy1 built during the first half of the seventeenth century4 ,the plan is that of a ,greek cross1 #gj by #dj feet1 and about #abj feet high4 ,its dome1 spanning the great central vault1 is a distinct feature in any comprehensive exterior view of the ,cathedral4 ,the ,sacristy is filled with curious and priceless relics1 treasures1 and vestments belonging to the church4 ,as ,santa ,justa and ,santa ,rufina are in a manner the patron saints of ,seville1 their picture by ,goya hanging here is of interest4 ,both of them hold vessels of the character of soup dishes2 and their faces1 taken from ,seville models1 are of decidedly earthly types4 ,to the west of the faade as you enter1 lies the large sagrario1 or parish church4 ,it is a building entirely by itself1 #aab feet long1 with a single nave spanned by a dangerously bold barrel vault4 ,here and there among the chapels you come suddenly on famous subjects by great masters1 names renowned in ,spanish history or striking works of art4 ,learning and statesmanship are honored in great ,mendoza's monument3 the silent mailed effigies of the ,guzmans commemorate the thrilling exploits of ,spanish arms4 ,what sympathies are stirred as you stand uncovered before the tomb of the great and deeply wronged ,discoverer6 ,we hear again the passionate appeals and the vain pleadings of his undaunted faith4 ,the living head was left to whiten within prison walls2 its effigy is now proudly carried on the four gorgeous shoulders of the ,spanish states2 the poor bones1 after their weary travels from ,valladolid to the ,carthusian monastery of ,las ,cuevas1 from ,hispaniola to ,havana1 have finally found a resting-place within the very walls where they were once treated with such contumely1--for here lies the ,great ,admiral1 ,cristoforo ,colon4 ,you pass paintings by ,alfonso ,cano1 ,ribera1 ,zurbaran1 ,greco and ,goya1--,murillo's ,immaculate ,conception1 better known than all his other works2 ,montaez' exquisite ,crucifixion1 canvases by ,valdes1 ,herrera1 ,boldan and ,roelas4 ,there are subjects curious and out of keeping with our present artistic sentiments1 saints walking about with their heads instead of breviaries under their arms1 dresses more fitting for the ballroom than the wintry scenery amid which they are worn1 marriage ceremonies of the ,virgin1 ,adam and ,eve1 entirely forgetful of their lost ,eden in the contemplation of the ,virgin's halo1 keys with quaint old ,arab inscriptions3 ,may ,allah render eternal the dominion of ,islam in this city1 saints with removable hair of spun gold and jointed limbs1 others snatched from quiet altar service to plunge into the turmoil of battle on the saddle bow of reigning kings4 ,verily a museum of historical curiosities as well as of the fine arts1 satisfying sensational cravings as well as the finer artistic sense4 ,the structure is revealed to us through a light of unearthly sweetness4 ,none of the ,spanish cathedrals are more satisfactorily lighted1 for ,seville has neither the brilliant clarity of some of the northern churches1 which robs them of a certain mystery and awe1 nor has it the sinister obscurity of some of the southern1 where both structure and detail are half lost in shadows1 as in ,barcelona4 ,the light from the cimborio and from the two rows of windows as well as the doors penetrates every chapel with its rainbow hues2 it reveals the whole majestic structure1 the lofty spring of the arches1 the glittering ironwork of the screens1 the titanic strength and simple caps of the columns1 and breathes celestial life into the army of saints and martyrs4 ,it gives a soul to it all4 ,the effect produced by the early morning and late afternoon light is very different4 ,santa ,maria de la ,sede1 like all her earthly sisters1 has a variety of expressions4 ,at times she burns with animation1 even a remnant of earthly passion may glow in her holy countenance1 and again she is cold1 impassive and nunlike in her gray garb of renunciation4 ,according to an ,andalusian proverb1 the rays of the sun have no evil power where the voice of prayer is heard4 ,for this reason1 only a few of the highest windows are screened by semi-transparent curtains1 and the light pours in unbroken through most of their brilliant tints--down the nave in deep blood reds and indigo blues4 ,the greater portion of the glass is unusually rich in coloring1--perhaps too florid1 but typical of the ,flemish ,school of glass-painting4 ,ninety-three windows were stained during the first half of the sixteenth century1 for which the church paid the painters the large sum of #ij1jjj ducats4 ,the earliest ones are by ,micer and ,cristobal ,aleman1 who in #aech introduced in ,seville real stained glass4 ,aleman's1 representing the ,ascension of ,christ1 ,mary ,magdalen1 and the ,awakening of ,lazarus1 the ,entry into ,jerusalem1 the ,descent of the ,holy ,ghost and the ,apostles1 all in the transept1 together with those by his brother ,arnao de ,flanders1 are thebest1--better than most ,flemish windows of the time in any ,european cathedral4 ,true1 they are somewhat heavy in outline and the coloring lacks softness and restraint in tone1 but they have great depth1 excellency of drawing and power of expression in faces and figures4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,seville ,illustration3 ,,and ,,the ,,giralda ,the little chapel1 the ,capilla de los ,doncelles1 contains a magnificent sheet of glass representing the ,resurrection of ,christ1 painted by ,carlos de ,bruges1 one of the great ,flemish artists4 ,a whole school of foreign painters seem to have gathered round these famous vidrieros1 many of them working in their shops4 ,among the best known are ,arnao de ,vergara1 ,micer ,enrique ,bernardino de ,celandra and ,vicente ,menardo4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,giralda is incomparable1 a unique expression of feminine strength4 ,she is as oriental and mysterious as the ,sphinx1 or might be likened to a great sultana in enchanted sleep4 ,though her majestic head has towered for centuries beside her ,christian sister1 they still seem as irreconcilable as their faiths a thousand years ago4 ,it has been a strange companionship4 ,the oriental loveliness and splendor of the ,giralda1 like that of ,seville1 are best felt at the twilight hour1 when her jewels sparkle in the last rays of the setting sun4 ,with the waning light the coloring becomes purple1 then indigo1 while the silhouette still stands out in startling clearness and strength against the spotless blue of the evening sky4 ,you feel as if the whole mountain of masonry were slowly but surely leaning more and more from its base and about to bury you in its fall4 ,the vermilion and ochre coloring are like the petals of the rose4 ,nowhere is the surface uniform1 but passes gradually from light cream and buff through warmer amber to brilliant orange and carmine and crimson lake1 even to the color of the pomegranate's heart4 ,the exquisite surface of delicate tinting1 mellowed by the storms and suns of centuries1 is everywhere relieved by the brilliant sparkle1 the delicate play of light and shade1 of the ,moorish designs4 ,when the low rays of the ,andalusian sun illumine the ,giralda1 just touched here and there with dots of molten gold like the orange trees from whose green bed it rises1 you see the boldest creation of ,moorish imagination in all its splendor4 ,the great ,cathedral itself becomes a modest nun with rich1 but sombre1 cape over her shoulders1 beside this dazzling creature glowing with ,saracenic fire4 ,the ,giralda is the greatest of all the monuments of that enlightened civilization4 ,she is so different from any other tower that comparison becomes difficult4 ,there is a robustness1 an appearance of adequate solidity and strength which are lacking in the ,italian towers of ,saint ,mark's1 of ,pistoja1 or of ,florence4 ,this holds true even in relation to other ,moorish towers1 or such edifices as the ,mosque at ,cordova1 the ,alcazar at ,seville1 or the pillared halls of ,granada2 all other ,moorish work seems to have a certain feminine weakness1 a timidity and insecurity1 when compared with the tower which dominates ,maria ,santissima4 ,the ,giralda is your first and last impression of this corner of the world1 for it embodies all the grace and strength that can be combined in architecture4 ,old ,spanish authorities assert that it was in the very year when believers throughout ,christendom were anxiously expecting the end of the world that the ,moslem infidels began to build their huge monument4 ,more probably it was started about the year #aahe1 as the prayer tower or minaret of the mosque which was then rapidly progressing4 ,the ,spanish historian ,gayangos says that it was completed by ,jabar or ,gever in #aaif1 during the reign of the illustrious ,almohad ruler1 ,abu ,jakub ,jusef1 the same monarch who erected the ,mesquita at ,cordova4 ,other authorities insist that its original purpose was as an observatory1--but although it may have been used for astronomical purposes1 it was certainly erected as a tower from which the muezzin could call the faithful to prayer in the ,mosque of ,seville4 ,while building it1 ,gever claims to have invented algebra4 ,the original tower has undergone skillful but of course detrimental changes from the hands of later generations4 ,we have descriptions and representations of it prior to the changes made in #aejj4 ,the main ,arab structure was1 like almost all ,mohammedan prayer-towers1 surmounted by a smaller tower and capped by a spire4 ,it was about #bej feet high1 and on its summit an iron standard supported1 before the earthquake of #acie1 four enormous balls of brass4 ,king ,alfonso the ,wise1 in his ,cronica de ,espaa1 describing ,seville in the thirteenth century1 says that when the sun shone upon these balls1 they emitted so fierce a light that they might be seen a day's journey away from the city4 ,when ,seville was taken by ,saint ,ferdinand in #abdh1 the tower was standing in the full glory of its original conception4 ,the thought that it might fall into the hands of the conquerors so horrified its builders that they were only prevented from destroying it by ,saint ,ferdinand's threat that1 if a single brick were removed1 not an infidel in ,seville should keep his head4 ,the ,giralda had already lost the ,byzantine crown which it had worn proudly for five hundred years when1 in #aeie1 it came near total destruction1 and was only saved during the terrible earthquake and storm which almost destroyed the city by the interposition of its special protectresses1 the potter girls of ,triana1 ,santa ,justa and ,santa ,rufina4 ,there are pictures which show us these blessed ,virgins supporting the tower while the wind devils with distended cheeks are blowing on its sides with all their might and main4 ,we are not only grateful to them for this timely intervention1 but very glad it cost them so little exertion1 for we find them shortly afterwards holding the tower in their hands as lightly as a filigree casket4 ,the architects who restored it about twenty years ago fortunately refrained from all attempts at improving or renovating its sunburned1 wind-swept surface4 ,the ,giralda is as strong as it looks4 ,the huge walls have a thickness of eight feet below1 diminishing to seven feet in the upper stories4 ,the height to the very top of the crowning figure is #cjh feet4 ,in the foundations are bricks1 rubble1 and huge blocks of earlier ,roman and ,visigothic masonry2 even ,latin inscriptions are found immured4 ,the ,moors1 like all other builders1 used the materials readiest at hand2 the rejected building stones of one generation become the corner stones of the next4 ,below the ,renaissance addition with which the tower was terminated in #aefh1 the broad sides of the shaft had been broken by the ,arabs in the simplest and most felicitous manner4 ,the brickwork was treated in three panels with the corner borders very properly broader and stronger than the two intermediate ones4 ,the panels1 which could not be of a happier depth1 are filled down to eighty feet of the ground with varying ,moorish arabesque patterns2 the figured diaper-work on all sides is broken in the two outer panels by blind cusped arches1 and in the central patterns1 by ,moorish windows of the ajuiez variety4 ,their double arches are subdivided by small ,byzantine columns2 these again are framed within larger cusped and differently broken horseshoe curves4 ,small ,renaissance balconies have at a later date been placed below the windows4 ,the small niches comprising the total ,moorish composition sparkle throughout with life and charm1 and1 though no two are alike1 they form a harmonious whole4 ,the ,arab seemed to have an instinctive aversion from tedious repetition4 ,he would always vary the design just enough to satisfy his imagination and creative faculty1 but never sufficiently to disturb the harmony of the general scheme4 ,as with the windows1 so also with the arabesques4 ,they begin at slightly varying heights on the different sides of the tower1 so that the windows may properly meet the different elevations of the interior stair4 ,their patterns are not quite the same1 neither on the various sides of the tower nor at different heights on the same side4 ,the decoration employed is admirably fitted to a large surface which would have been weakened by strong cutting or deep relief4 ,considering what ,arab art achieved within prescribed limits1 the student of ,christian art may well deplore that the ,koran1 in its abhorrence of idol-worship1 forbade its followers in any way to reproduce human or animal forms4 ,forever debarred all the wider possibilities of movement and poetry these would have given them for interior decoration1 ,moorish art necessarily stagnated to mere conventionalization of floral and natural subjects4 ,these are well adapted to exterior mural surfacing4 ,when we look at the fancifully handled geometric patterns on the ,giralda1 we can only rejoice that the frescoes added by the later ,renaissance artists in the upper arches and along some of the lower surfaces have been washed away by time4 ,they were ineffective2 all that remains of ,moorish is magnificent4 ,a small arcade1 running the width of each side in its single panel1 terminates the ,moorish work4 ,it is almost to be regretted that the ,renaissance top has been so well done1 for its barbarous exotism is sufficient to condemn it4 ,it has excellently fulfilled a dastardly purpose4 ,the original ,moorish termination was taken down by the architect1 ,francisco ,ruiz1 who was commissioned by the ,cathedral ,chapter in #aefh to give it a more fitting crown4 ,his design consists of three stages reaching to a height of about a hundred feet4 ,the first1 of the same width as the shaft below1 is pierced by openings to let out the sweet sounds of the bells inside4 ,the second stage consists of a double tier of considerably smaller squares pierced by wide arches4 ,around the four sides of its upper frieze runs the inscription so legible that all ,sevillians who know how may read1 ,nomen ,domini ,fortissima ,turris 7,proverbs1 xviii1 #aj74 ,the third stage consists of a double lantern surmounted by a soaring ,seraphim1 bearing in one hand the banner of ,constantine and in the other the ,roman palm of conquest4 ,the ,girardello was cast in gilded bronze by ,bartolom ,morel in the year #aefh4 ,intended to symbolize ,faith1 the name1 a diminutive of ,giralda1 or weathercock1 is most inappropriate4 ,despite her enormous size and weight1 the faintest zephyr blowing down from the ,sierra ,morea sets her turning on the spire she treads so lightly1 whereupon the crowds of hawks resting on ,girardello disperse in noisy scolding4 ,dumas gazed at her in wonder and admiration4 ,c'est merveilleux1 he said1 de voir tourner dans un rayon de soleil cette figure d'or aux ailes deployes1 qui semble1 comme un oiseau cleste fatigu d'une longue course1 avoir choisi pour se reposer un instant le point le plus proche du ciel4 ,the great bells of the tower1 all baptized with holy oil1 a custom very frequent in ,spain1 are dear to the hearts of those whom they daily call to rest and prayer4 ,as they strike the hours1 passers-by look up to see their great tongues protrude4 ,their sweet peal is heard in the most distant quarters of the city1 and beyond on the waters of the ,guadalquivir and in the fertile valley through which it flows4 ,the deep resonant note of ,santa ,maria is the last sound we hear before falling asleep4 ,inside you may ascend to the very summit by steps so broad and easy that two horses abreast may go as far as the platform of the bells4 ,below you lies the city with its scattered white buildings that once housed half a million1 and beyond1 the valley that enfolded twelve thousand villages4 ,though dwindled and changed1 time has dealt gently with ,seville4 ,there is gay laughter in her sunny streets and the olive groves echo with rippling song4 ,just under your feet throbs the heart of it all4 ,though repeatedly struck by lightning1 the great ,cathedral still stands1 an everlasting symbol of the ,church1 triumphant and eternal4 ,,viii ,,granada ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,granada ,west front ,kennst du das ,land we die ,citronen blhn1 ,im dunkeln ,land die ,goldorangen glhn1 ,ein sanfter ,wind vom blauen ,himmel weht1 ,die ,myrte still und hoch der ,lorbeer steht8 ,,goethe',s ,wilhelm ,meister4 ,thus being entred1 they behold arownd ,a large and spacious plaine1 on every side ,strewed with pleasauns1 whose fayre grassy grownd ,mantled with greene1 and goodly beautifide ,with all the ornaments of ,floraes pride4 ,faerie ,queene1 book #b1 c4 xii4 ,i ,the first stars shone pale in the fields of upper air over walls and towers wrapt in the mystery of twilight which softened every outline and cast a kindly veil over the decay of a thousand years4 ,the air was oppressively sweet with the fragrance exhaled by southern vegetation on a summer evening4 ,the roses had climbed to the top of the walls1 where they could cool their flushed cheeks on the marble copings of the battlements4 ,the myrtle and ivy trembled in the evening breeze1 and through the broken casements the aloes whispered to the sweet-breathing orange trees in the courtyards4 ,the martlet twittered in the branches4 ,on all sides was heard in cool silvery continuity the gurgle and plash of streams which1 issuing from mountain snows1 had wound their loitering way through fields of violets and forget-me-nots to the large and spacious plaine of the ,vega4 ,the fairy palace of the ,alhambra1 the ,acropolis that once held forty thousand defenders of the faith1 crowns and encircles the hill4 ,from its watch-tower the nightingales pour forth lovers' songs1 plaintive and passionate1 heightening the enchantment of a scene unsurpassed in natural loveliness and the charm of a romantic past4 ,the hillsides undulating from the vermilion ramparts of the ,alhambra are clad with graceful elms1 with orange and pomegranate trees bearing deep red and golden fruit and with the mulberry's glistening olive green4 ,here and there are open spaces between the groves2 fields of roses and lilies4 ,the ,darro and the ,xenil flow by the foot of the hill1 and from their banks for almost thirty miles stretches the ,vega4 ,at the base of the fortress1 between the rivers1 lies the city of ,granada1-- ,the artist's and the poet's theme1 ,the young man's vision1 the old man's dream1-- ,granada1 by its winding stream1 ,the ,city of the ,moor4 ,out on the plain the settlement becomes gradually sparser1 the houses more scattered4 ,white stucco walls are interspersed with plots of green garden1 the ochre houses are smaller shining patches amid the yellow-flowering fig-cactus and the regularly planted olive groves1 until finally the eye must search for the farmhouse hidden among vineyards1 orchards and waving fields of corn4 ,the gleaming villas and farmhouses still look as they did to the ,moor1 like oriental pearls set in a cup of emeralds4 ,the endless plain1 once the fertile bosom of fourteen cities1 innumerable strong castles and high watch-towers1 is shut in from the outside world like a very ,garden of ,eden1 by the mountain walls of the ,alpujarras and ,sierra ,alhama4 ,far away on the horizon the barrier is broken at a single point1 the ,loja gorge4 ,this was once guarded by sentinels ever on the watch for the distant gleam of ,christian lances to light the fires that signaled approaching danger to the distant citadel4 ,most ,spanish cities were densely built within high walls1 but ,granada felt so secure in her mountain fortress that her dwellings were strewn broadcast over the plain4 ,behind the walls of the ,alhambra1 on a second slope wooded with cypress1 the brilliant towers of the ,generaliffe gleam against the dark foliage4 ,beyond1 across the whole southern sweep1 rises the chalky1 hazy blue of the ,sierra ,nevada1 capped with glittering1 everlasting snow4 ,gazing up from the valley below1 one might fancy it a white veil thrown back from the lovely features of the landscape4 ,thus lies ,granada1 a verdant and perfumed valley wrapt in the soft mystery of its hazy atmosphere1--,grenade1--plus clatante que la fleur et plus savoureuse que le fruit1 dont elle porte le nom1 semble une vierge paresseuse qui s'est couche au soleil depuis le jour de la cration dans un lit de bruyres et de mousse1 dfendue par une muraille de cactus et d'aloes1--elle s'endort gaiement aux chansons des oiseaux et le matin s'veille souriante au murmure de ses cascatelles4#ai ,more than any other spot on earth1 ,granada seems haunted by memories of bygone glory4 ,the wide plains1 now inhabited by less than seventy-five thousand1 once swarmed with over half a million souls4 ,the artist feels poignantly the charm of those long centuries of ,arabian ,days and ,nights that were forever blotted out by the zeal of the ,christian sword4 ,the ruined temples still attest the thrift and industry1 the refinement and learning of the vanished race2 the squalid poverty that has replaced it is deaf and blind to the records of ancient grandeur1 but the traveler and the historian may still be thrilled by the struggle that destroyed the most voluptuous of all retirements and feel there as nowhere else the relentless power of the most ,catholic ,kings1 the pathos of the ,moor4 ,granada is a very old city1 and like ,cordova and ,seville1 it was one of the principal ,moorish centres2 in fact after their fall1 the industries and culture which had been theirs went to swell the inheritance of ,granada4 ,its name has always been associated with the scarlet-blossoming tree which covers its slopes1 whose fruit the ,catholic sovereigns proudly placed in the point of their shield1 with stalks and leaves and shell open-grained4 ,during the ,roman occupation1 a settlement had been made on the wooded slopes at the foot of the ,sierra ,nevada and called ,granatum 7pomegranate74 ,the ,goths in their turn swept over the peninsula until1 in #gaa1 they were driven out of the valley by the advancing ,arab hordes4 ,these transformed the name given it by the ,romans to ,karnattah4 ,seven hundred and eighty-two years passed before the ,crescent set forever on the ,iberian peninsula4 ,dynasties had succeeded one another in the various kingdoms formed of larger and smaller portions of southern and central ,spain1 but in the north1 hardy monarchs had founded more stable thrones on the ruins of the ,gothic ,empire1 and they were eagerly watching the advancing decay1 the domestic discord of the ,mohammedan power and grasping every opportunity for the aggrandizement of their own states4 ,illustration3 ,,key ,,of ,,plan ,,of ,,granada ,,cathedral ,a4 ,sagrario4 ,b4 ,royal ,chapel4 ,c4 ,capilla ,mayor4 ,d4 ,choir4 ,e4 ,door of the ,perdon4 ,f4 ,door of ,st4 ,jeronimo4 ,g4 ,main ,entrance4 ,in the tenth century1 the ,moorish power was at its zenith4 ,during the eleventh1 ,granada had become strong enough to break away from the caliphate of ,cordova4 ,there the ,almorvides and ,almohades dynasties had alternated while the ,nasrides ruled in the kingdom and city of ,granada until the luckless ,boabdil surrendered its keys4 ,during the last three centuries of ,moorish rule1 the northern ,cross cast an ever longer shadow before it4 ,alfonso of ,aragon advanced to within the walls of the outer forts in #aabe1 and in the two and a half centuries following1 tribute was exacted by the crown of ,castile4 ,the ,moors of ,cordova were more hardy and warlike than the ,arabs of ,granada4 ,the arts of peace flourished with this latter poetical1 artistic and commercial race1 who as time went on became less and less able to defend themselves against the fanaticism and skill of the ,spanish armies4 ,like ,hannibal's soldiers on the fertile plains of ,lombardy1 they had become enervated in the luxury of their beautiful valley4 ,when their imprudent ruler answered the ,castilian envoys who had come to collect the usual tribute1 that the ,kings of ,granada who paid tribute were dead1 and that the mint now only coined blades of scimeters and heads of lances1 the hour of ,granada's destiny had struck4 ,the smiling valley became for ten years a field of blood and carnage1 after which its devastation was relentlessly completed by the ,holy ,office of the ,inquisition4 ,ferdinand and ,isabella entered the last stronghold of the ,moors in the very year when the history of the civilized world was changing its course4 ,its helmsman1 ,columbus1 was received in the ,castilian camp outside the walls of the beleaguered city4 ,on the second of ,january1 #adib1 ,hernando1 ,bishop of ,avila1 raised the ,christian ,cross beside the banner of ,castile on the ramparts of the highest tower of the ,alhambra2 four days later1 on the day of the ,kings and the festival of the ,epiphany1 ,ferdinand and ,isabella entered the city4 ,the royal procession advanced to the principal mosque1 which had been consecrated as a cathedral4 ,here the sovereigns offered up prayers and thanksgivings and the choir of the royal chapel chanted a triumphant anthem1 in which they were joined by the courtiers and cavaliers4 ,nothing could exceed the thankfulness to ,god of the pious ,king ,ferdinand for having enabled him to eradicate from ,spain the empire and name of that accursed heathen race1 and for the elevation of the ,cross in that city where the impious doctrines of ,mohamed had so long been cherished4#bj ,bells were rung and masses celebrated in gratitude throughout the ,christian world4 ,as far away as ,saint ,paul's in ,london town1 a special ,te ,deum was chanted by order of the good ,king ,henry the ,seventh4 ,spain had reached the summit of her glory1 before which yawned the abyss4 ,and now in the name of ,christ the ,inquisition was established and one of its chief offices founded2 in ,his name the ,jews were driven out1 ,christian oaths and covenants broken1 and the peaceful ,moorish inhabitants hounded from their hearths4 ,under ,philip ,,iii1 in #afji1 their last descendants were banished from the realm4 ,no scene of chivalry during the middle ages displayed a more brilliant and bloody pageant than the battlefield of ,granada4 ,it was the culmination of the work of ,spain's greatest rulers1--the great crisis in her history4 ,here gallants held it little thing for ladies' sake to die1 ,or for the ,prophet's honour1 or pride of ,soldenry4 ,for here did ,valour flourish and deeds of warlike might ,ennobled lordly palaces in which was our delight4#ba ,gazing over this famous plain1 the ,vega1 that ,pearl of ,price1 with its courtyards now desolate1 its gardens parched and well-nigh calcined by the sun1 one recalls ,voltaire's words3 ,great wrongs are always recent wounds6 and long years have passed since the iron heel of ,austria set its first impress on the soil4 ,james ,howell1 the ,english traveler and busybody in the capital at the time ,prince ,charles went surreptitiously wooing1 writes home in #afbc1 after visiting ,granada3 ,since the expulsion of the ,moors1 it is also grown thinner1 and not so full of corn2 for those ,moors would grub up wheat out of the very tops of the craggy hills1 yet they used another grain for their bread1 so that the ,spaniard had nought else to do but go with his ass to the market and buy the corn of the ,moors4 ,only once more does ,granada's name emerge from the oblivion of ages1--when the ,iron ,duke occupied the city during the ,peninsular ,war4 ,he covered with a kindly hand some of her barrenness1 planting ,english elms beneath her fortress4 ,,ii ,in the heart of a crumbling mass of chalky1 chrome-colored walls and vermilion roofs1 rises the dome of the ,cathedral4 ,here1 as in ,seville1 the ground once sanctified to ,moslem prayer was cleansed by the ,catholics from the pollution of the ,moor1 and the ,christian edifice was reared on the foundations of the ,mohammedan mosque4 ,as already noted1 one of the first religious acts of the conquerors was the consecration1 in ,january1 #adib1 of the ancient mosque1 which thereafter was used for ,christian worship under the direction of the wise and tolerant ,talavera1 as first ,bishop of ,granada4 ,the new building was not begun until the year #aebc1 an exceedingly late date in cathedral-building1--a time when the great art was slowly dying down1 and1 in northern countries1 flickering in its last flamboyancy4 ,on ,march #be1 #aebe1 the corner stone was laid of the new ,cathedral of ,santa ,maria de la ,encarnacion4 ,it was planned on a much more elaborate scale than the previous mosque1 which1 however1 continued to be independently used as a ,christian church until the middle of the seventeenth century and was not demolished till the beginning of the eighteenth1 to make room for the new sagrario1 or parish church1 of ,santa ,maria de la ,o4 ,the old mosque was of the usual type of ,moslem house of prayer1 its eleven aisles subdivided by a forest of columns and resembling in general aspect the far greater mosque of ,cordova4 ,prior to the actual commencement of the new ,cathedral1 though not to its design1 the ,royal ,chapel was erected1 between the years #aejf and #aeag1 and when the ,cathedral was built1 it became its southern1 lateral termination and by far the most magnificent and interesting portion of the interior4 ,it was planned and executed by the original designer of the church1 and even after this was finished1 the ,royal ,chapel remained1 like the chapel of ,saint ,ferdinand of ,seville1 an independent church with its own ,chapter and clergy and independent services4 ,about a dozen master-builders1 almost all working under foreign influence1 are known as the architects of the great ,spanish cathedrals4 ,they seem generally to have worked more or less in conjunction with each other1 several being employed on the same building1 or called in turn to advise in one place or superintend in another4 ,sometimes a whole body of them reported together1 or several of them were jointly consulted by a cathedral chapter4 ,the original conception of the ,cathedral of ,granada was the work of ,enrique de ,egas of ,brussels1 who1 when he was commissioned by the new ,chapter to plan a fitting memorial to the final triumph of ,christianity over ,islam in ,spain1 was among the most celebrated builders of his day4 ,he had already succeeded his father as ,maestro ,mayor of the ,cathedral of ,toledo when1 just before his death1 in #aecd1 he executed the ,royal ,chapel of ,granada ,cathedral1 as well as built the hospital of ,santa ,cruz in the same city4 ,the ,colegio de ,santa ,cruz at ,valladolid was also his work1 and he had been summoned with other leading architects to decide the best mode of procedure in ,seville ,cathedral after the disastrous collapse of its dome4 ,at times he was giving advice in both ,saragossa and ,salamanca4 ,enrique de ,egas' designs were accepted in #aebc4 ,he had hardly proceeded further in two years than to lay out the general plan of the ,cathedral1 when1 either through misunderstanding or some controversy1 he was supplanted in his office by the equally celebrated ,diego de ,silo4 ,like ,egas1 his activity was not confined to ,granada1 but extended to ,seville and ,malaga4 ,in the year #aefa1 two years before ,silo's death1 the building was sufficiently completed to be opened for public worship1 and consequently on ,august #agth of that year it was solemnly consecrated4 ,the foundations and lower portion of the northern tower were executed about this time by ,silo's successor1 ,juan de ,maeda4 ,the tower was completed and partially taken down again during the following twenty years by ,ambrosio de ,vico4 ,then follows the main portion of the exterior work1 especially the west faade 7of the first half of the seventeenth century71 by the celebrated1 not to say notorious1 ,alfonso de ,cano1 and ,jos ,granados4 ,the decoration of the interior1 the addition of chapels and the building of the sagrario were continued through the latter part of the seventeenth and beginning of the eighteenth centuries4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,granada ,the exterior cornices of the ,royal ,chapel ,the building operations thus extended over a period of two hundred and fifty years4 ,alfonso de ,cano's reputation was of various kinds2 the son of a carpenter and a native of ,granada1 as soon as his talents were recognized1 he was apprenticed to the great ,montaes4 ,to judge from contemporaneous accounts1 he must have been as hot-headed and quarrelsome as the ,florentine goldsmith of similar talents and versatility4 ,he was always ready to exchange the paint-brush or chisel for his good sword1 and there was scarcely a day during the years of his connection with the ,cathedral in which he was not enjoying a hot controversy with the ,chapter4 ,his favor with the weak monarch and the powerful ruling ,conde-,duc was so great that they had the audacity to appoint him a prebendary of the ,chapter after he had been forced to fly from justice in ,valladolid on a charge of murder1 as well as for having beaten his wife on his return from a meeting of the ecclesiastical body4 ,the ,chapter deprived him of his office as soon as they dared1 which was six years after his appointment4 ,egas' original plan1 like the work he actually carried out in the ,royal ,chapel1 was undoubtedly for a ,gothic edifice1 as this style was understood and executed in ,spain4 ,from the fact that the original ,gothic intention was abandoned for a ,spanish ,renaissance church1 many authorities give the date of its commencement as #aebi1 when ,diego de ,silo's ,renaissance work was under way4 ,in the end of the fifteenth and beginning of the sixteenth centuries1 the great turning-point had come4 ,italian influences were beginning to predominate over earlier styles and the last exquisite flames of the ,gothic fire were slowly dying out to give place to the heavy ,renaissance structure of ecclesiastical inspiration4 ,spaniards who had returned fresh from ,italian soil and tutelage evolved with their ornate sense and characteristic love for magnificence1 the style1 or rather decorative treatment1 which marks the first stage of ,spanish ,renaissance architecture called ,estilo ,plateresco4 ,this is a happy name for it1 its derivation being from plata1 or silver plate1 and indicating that architects were attempting to decorate the huge superficial spaces on their churches with the same intricacy and sparkle as the silversmiths were hammering on their ornaments4 ,there was evolved the same lace-like quality1 the same sparkling light and shade4 ,wonderful results were indeed obtained by the stone-cutters of the sixteenth century4 ,the ,cathedral of ,granada is not at all remarkable4 ,its interest is derived from the city of which it is the chief ,christian edifice and the great bodies which it contains2 to students of architecture it is in a manner a connecting link between the ,gothic building of the middle ages and the modern revival of classical building methods4 ,it is the death of the old and the birth of the new2 it marks the advent of stagnant1 uninspired formalism in constructive forms4 ,its sarcophagi and much of its decoration are both in design and execution most exquisite and appropriate examples of ,renaissance art in ,spain4 ,its easy victory in decorative forms was owing to the fact that there had practically been evolved little or no ,spanish ornamental design outside of that produced by the ingenuity and peculiar skill of the ,moors4 ,the influence of ,moorish design is long traceable in ,christian decoration4 ,the ,spanish nature craves rich adornment in all material4 ,the art of the great sculptors who1 like ,berruguete1 returned at the beginning of the new century with inspiration gained in the workshops of the ,florentine ,michael ,angelo1 soon found a host of pupils and followers4 ,not only in stone1 but in wood1 metal1 plaster1 and on canvas1 the new forms were carried to a gorgeous profusion never dreamt of before4 ,charles ,v stands out amid its glories in as clear relief as in the tumult of the battlefield4 ,the decline and frigid formality did not set in until the reign of his unimpassioned and repulsive son4 ,the grandest epoch in ,spain's history thus corresponds to the most inspired period of its sculpture4 ,the first architects of this period worked on ,granada ,cathedral2 the work of the greatest sculptor1 the ,burgundian ,vigarny1 is found in inferior form on the retablo of the ,royal ,chapel4 ,in ,spain1 where the climate made small window openings desirable1 the churches offered great wall spaces to the sculptor4 ,the splendid portals1 window frames1 turrets and parapets1 the capitals and string courses and niches all became rich fields for ,spanish interpretation of the exquisite art of ,lombardy4 ,the new art first found tentative expression in decorative forms1 then in more radical and structural changes4 ,the world-empire of which ,ferdinand had dreamed1 and which his grandson almost possessed1 placed untold wealth and the art of every kingdom at the disposal of ,spain4 ,granada ,cathedral has a strange exterior1 meaningless except in certain portions1 which are essentially ,spanish4 ,to the ,granadines it is as marvelous as ,saint ,peter's to the ,romans4 ,its view is obstructed on all sides by a maze of crumbling walls1 yellow hovels1 and shop fronts shockingly modern and out of keeping4 ,it is all very1 very provincial4 ,the stream of the world has left it behind and its pageants and glories had departed centuries ago4 ,donkeys heavily laden with baskets of market produce stand--personifications of wronged and unremonstrating patience--hitched to the iron rails before its main portals4 ,goats browse on the grass in its courtyards1 and are milked between the buttresses4 ,immediately to the south of it lies the old episcopal palace1 where the archbishop preached the sermons criticized by the ingenuous ,gil ,blas4 ,the main entrance is to the west4 ,this front is the latest portion of the building with the exception of certain portions of the interior4 ,though not as corrupt as some of the surgical decorations in the trascoro1 it is the heaviest and least interesting part of the church4 ,it bears no relation to the sides of the building1 but seems to have been clapped on like a mask4 ,the central portion is subdivided into three huge bays1 the spring of the arch1 which rises from the intermediate piers1 being considerably higher in the centre than those of the two to the north and south4 ,diego de ,silo probably designed the composition1 intending that it should be flanked and terminated by great towers4 ,three stages1 rising to a height of some #ahe feet1 stand to the north4 ,corinthian and ,ionic orders superimpose a ,doric entablature over a plain and restrained base4 ,arches frame more or less meaningless and unpierced designs between the pilasters and engaged columns of the orders4 ,the whole is as painfully dry as the transfer of a student's compass from a page of ,vignola4 ,old cuts and descriptions represent this northern tower crowned by an octagonal termination with a height of #bfe feet4 ,despite the apparent massiveness of the substructure1 this soon made the whole so alarmingly insecure that it was pulled down4 ,the present tower scarcely reaches above the broken lines and flat surfaces of the roof tiles and1 particularly at a distance1 has the effect of a huge buttress4 ,the southern tower was never erected1 but in place of it the front was supported by a makeshift portion of base4 ,the northern tower is the work of ,maeda1 the faade principally by ,cano1 although much of the sculpture1 such as the ,incarnation over the central doorway1 and the ,annunciation and ,assumption over the side portals1 are by other inferior eighteenth-century sculptors4 ,statues1 cartouches and ornamental medallions relieve the paneled surfaces of the stonework1 the masonry of which has been laid and jointed with the utmost conceivable mechanical skill4 ,the whole central composition fizzles out in a meaningless mass of parapets and variously carved stone terminations4 ,one feels as if the original designer had started on such a gigantic scale that he either had to give up finishing his work proportionately or keep on till it reached the sky1--he wisely chose the former alternative4 ,in ,granada1 as in most of the ,spanish cathedrals1 the decoration of the doorways and portals forms one of the principal features of exterior interest4 ,their ornamentation1 with that of the parapets crowning the outer walls of chapels and aisles1 is practically all that relieves the huge surfaces of ochre masonry4 ,the walls themselves indicate in no manner the interior construction2 the windows which pierce them are very low and narrow and ,gothic in outline4 ,the north and south faades1--if despite their many obstructions they may be spoken of as such1--differ radically4 ,the northern is to a great extent executed in the same ponderous magnificence as the western4 ,two doorways pierce it1 the ,puerta de ,san ,jeronimo with mediocre sculpture by ,diego de ,silo and his pupil and successor1 ,juan de ,maeda1 and the ,puerta del ,perdon1 leading into the transept4 ,the decoration of this doorway is as good pure ,renaissance work as was executed in ,spain during the first quarter of the sixteenth century4 ,it consists of a double ,corinthian order crowned by a broken pediment4 ,the shafts of both orders are wreathed4 ,the pilasters1 the moldings of the arch1 the archivolt and jambs are all1 in the lower order1 most profusely covered with exquisite designs1 admirably fitted to their respective fields1 full of imagination and virility4 ,they are as good as the best corresponding work in ,italy4,above the arch key of the main door1 splendidly treated bas-reliefs of ,faith and ,justice support from the spandrels an inscription recounting the defeat of the ,moors4 ,the frieze band of both lower and upper orders is profusely filled with ornament1 while small cherubs in excellent scale replace the conventional volutes of the ,corinthian capitals4 ,in the upper order the niches have unfortunately been left uncompleted4 ,a bas-relief of ,god the ,father fills the semicircle of the main arch2 ,moses and ,david occupy the lunettes4 ,the huge pilasters or buttresses of the church which run up east and west of the entire composition are decorated with the enormous imperial shields of ,charles ,v1 overshadowing in their vulgar predominance all the exquisitely proportioned and delicate detail adjacent to them4 ,some of the bays on the southern side of the ,cathedral can be better seen1 as a small courtyard separates them from the adjacent building1 the episcopal palace4 ,the others are choked by the ,capilla del ,pulgar1 the ,royal ,chapel and the sagrario4 ,this side of the church exhibits in its balustrades1 its ornamentation and the crocketed terminations and finials to the exterior buttresses1 what is far more interesting in the ,plateresque style of ,spain than the purely borrowed and imitative features of the west and northern fronts4 ,here appear in jeweled play of light and shade1 in all their imaginative and exquisite intricacy1 those forms of carved string courses which were developed by the ,spanish ,renaissance and were essentially ,spanish and national4 ,you feel somewhere back of it the ,moorish influence4 ,it presents all the richness1 the magnificence and exuberant fancy which characterizes the spirit in which its masters worked4 ,the labor it involved must have been enormous4 ,the splendor of the solid lacework ten to twelve feet high is thrown out by contrast with the naked walls which it crowns4 ,the ,capilla del ,pulgar1 which blocks the most westerly corner of the south elevation1 was named in honor of ,hernan ,peres del ,pulgar1 the site of whose brave exploit it marks4 ,in #adij1 during the last siege of ,granada1 he determined on a deed which should outdo all feats of heroism and defiance ever performed by ,moslem warriors4 ,at dead of night1 some authorities say he was on horseback1 others that he swam the subterranean channel of the ,darro1 he penetrated to the heart of the enemy's city and fastened with his dagger to the door of their principal mosque a scroll bearing the words ,ave ,maria4 ,before this insult to their faith had been discovered1 he had regained ,ferdinand's camp4 ,a double superimposed arcade faces the southern side of the sagrario3 the lower story has been brutally closed and defaced by modern additions1 almost concealing its original carving4 ,the upper story1 however1 which forms a balcony1 strongly recalls by its fancifully twisted shafts1 elliptical arches and ,gothic traceried balustrade1 similar early ,renaissance work at ,blois1 where the ,gothic and early ,italian work were so charmingly blended4 ,the ,royal ,chapel is entered through an ,italian ,renaissance doorway of good general design and decoration1 but the ,spanish cornice and balustrade crowning the outer walls are much more interesting in details4 ,the principal member consists of a band of crowned and encircled ,f's and ,y's1 the initials of the ,catholic ,kings4 ,it is broken over the window by three gigantic coats-of-arms4 ,to the left is ,ferdinand's individual device of a yoke1 the yugo1 with the motto ,tato ,mota 7,tanto ,monta7 tantamount1 assumed as a mark of his equality with the ,castilian ,queen2 to the right ,isabella's device of a bundle of arrows or flechas1 the symbol of union4 ,in the centre is the common royal shield1 proudly adopted after the union of the various kingdoms of the ,peninsula had been cemented4 ,the ,eagle of ,saint ,john the ,evangelist and the common crown surmount the arms of ,castile and ,leon1 of ,aragon1 ,sicily1 ,navarre1 and ,jerusalem and the pomegranate of ,granada4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,granada ,the reja enclosing the ,royal ,chapel and tombs of the ,catholic ,kings ,the various roofs of the ,cathedral are covered with endless rows of tiles1 which in the furrowed1 overlapping irregularity of their surfaces add to the general play of light and shade4 ,above them all spreads the umbrella-shaped dome which crowns the ,capilla ,mayor4 ,at the period when ,gothic church-building was disappearing1 we find not a few edifices where the old and new styles are curiously blended4 ,a ,renaissance faade added in later days might encase a practically complete ,gothic interior4 ,in ,granada1 with the exception of the ,royal ,chapel1 very little of the interior contained traces of the expiring style4 ,in the ,cathedral proper1 it is principally found in a groined vaulting of the different bays1 which is covered with varying and most elaborate schemes of ornamental ,gothic ribs1 which seem strangely incongruous to the architect as he looks up from the classical shafts in the expectation of finding a corresponding form of building and decoration in the later vaulting4 ,the general plan of the church is more ,renaissance than ,gothic1 exhibiting rather the form of the ,rundbau than the ,langbau of the ,latin cross4 ,its main feature is likewise the great dome rising above and lighting the ,capilla ,mayor4 ,the ,spanish cimborio has at last reached its fullest development in the ,renaissance lantern4 ,the church is divided into nave and double side aisles1 outside of which is a series of externally abutting chapels4 ,east and west it contains six bays4 ,the choir blocks up the fifth and sixth bays of the nave1 and in the customary ,spanish manner it is separated from the high altar in the ,capilla ,mayor by the croise of the transept4 ,back of this1 forming the eastern termination1 runs an ambulatory4 ,the vaulting1 one hundred feet high1 is carried by a series of gigantic white piers consisting of four semi-columns of ,corinthian order with their intersecting angles formed by a triple rectangular break4 ,the vaulting springs from above a full entablature and surmounting pedestals1 the latter running to the height of the arches dividing the various vaulting compartments4 ,the church is about #che feet long and #bbj;feet wide4 ,the choir is uninteresting2 the carving of its stalls and organs in nowise comparing with the silleria of ,seville or ,burgos4 ,the ,capilla ,mayor1 the principal feature of the interior1 is circular in form1 and separated from the nave by a splendid ,arco ,toral4 ,the dome1 which rises to a height of #aee feet1 is carried by eight ,corinthian piers4 ,in general scheme it is pure ,italian ,renaissance1 of noble and harmonious proportions and very richly decorated4 ,at the foot of the pilasters stand colossal statues of the ,apostles4 ,higher up there is a series of most remarkable paintings by ,alfonso ,cano and some of his pupils4 ,cano's represent seven incidents in the life of the ,virgin1--the ,annunciation1 ,visitation1 ,nativity1 ,assumption1 etc4 ,though some of his carvings1 and especially the dignified and noble ,virgin in the sacristy1 are admirable1 still1 to judge from this series1 it was as a painter that he excelled4 ,they show1 too1 how essentially ,spanish he was1 like his great master1 ,montaez4 ,the careless1 lazy quality of his temperament is sufficiently apparent1 but he cannot be denied a place among the great masters of ,spanish painting who immediately preceded the all-eclipsing glory of ,velasquez1 ,murillo1 and ,ribera4 ,the lights of the dome which rises over the paintings are filled with very lovely stained glass1 representing scenes from the ,passion by the ,dutchmen1 ,teodor de ,holanda1 and ,juan del ,campo4 ,on the two sides of the choir below are colossal heads of ,adam and ,eve carved by ,cano and kneeling figures of ,ferdinand and ,isabella4 ,there are endless chapels outside the outer aisles1 but1 in spite of some good bits of sculpture and painting here and there1 one longs to sweep them out of the way and free the edifice from their encumbrance4 ,the interior of the great sagrario is an expressionless jumble of the later ,renaissance decadence1--and it is a shame that no more fitting architecture surrounds the tomb of the good ,talavera1 here laid to rest by his friend ,tendilla1 the first ,alcaide of the ,alhambra1 with the inscription over his tomb1 ,amicus ,amico4 ,the general color scheme in the interior of the ,cathedral is white and gold4 ,one feels that it is handsome1 even harmonious and magnificent1 but that all the mystery and religious awe that pervaded the great churches of the previous centuries have vanished forever4 ,the ,royal ,chapel1 although the oldest part of the building1 should be considered last of all1 as it is by far the most interesting portion and leaves an impression so vivid as to overshadow all other parts of the great edifice4 ,it is situated between the sagrario and the ,sacristia and is entered through the southern arm of the transept4 ,the chapel itself is the very last ,gothic efflorescence from which the spirit has fled1 leaving only empty form4 ,it consists of a single big nave flanked by lower chapels4 ,the ornamentally ribbed vaulting with gilt bosses and keystones is carried by clustered shafts engaged in its side walls4 ,the shafts are too thin and the capitals too meagre4 ,a broader and more generous string course runs1 at the height of the capitals1 across the wall surfaces between the upper clerestory and the lower arcades4 ,portions of this reveal a strong ,moorish influence1 as the manner in which the great ,gothic lettering is employed to decorate the band4 ,similarly to the invocations to ,allah running round the walls of the ,alhambra1 we read here that ,this chapel was founded by the most ,catholic ,don ,fernando and ,doa ,isabel1 ,king and ,queen of the ,espaosd1 of ,naples1 of ,sicily1 and ,jerusalem1 who conquered this kingdom and brought it back to the faith1 who acquired the ,canary ,isles and ,indies1 as well as the cities of ,ican1 ,tripoli1 and ,bugia2 who crushed heresy1 expelled ,moors and ,jews from these realms1 and reformed religion4 ,the ,queen died ,tuesday1 ,november #bf1 #aejd4 ,the ,king died ,january #be1 #aeaf4 ,the building was completed #aeag4 ,enrique de ,egas had1 at ,ferdinand's order1 commenced building two years after ,isabella's death4 ,the grandson enlarged it later1 finding it too small for so much glory4 ,the high altar with its retablo and the royal sarcophagi are separated from the rest of the chapel by the most stupendous and magnificent iron screen or reja ever executed4 ,spaniards have here surpassed all their earlier productions in this their master craft4 ,not even the screens of the great choir and altar of ,seville or ,toledo can compare with it4 ,with the possible exception of the curious ,biblical scenes naively represented by groups of figures near the apex1 which still tell their story in true ,gothic style1 it is a burst of ,renaissance1 or ,plateresque glory4 ,it is not likely that the crafts1 with all their mechanical skill1 will ever again produce a work of such artistic perfection4 ,it represents the labor of an army of skilled artisans1--all the sensitive feeling in the finger-tips of the ,italian goldsmith1 the most cunning art of the ,german armorer and a combination of restraint and boldness in the ,spanish smith and forger4 ,the difficulty naturally offered by the material has also restrained the artisan's hand and imagination from running riot in vulgar elaboration4 ,the design1 made by ,maestro ,bartolom of ,jaen in #aebc1 is as excellent as the technique is astonishing4 ,it may be said that in grandeur it is only surpassed by the fame of the ,queen whose remains lie below4 ,the material is principally wrought iron1 though some of the ornaments are of embossed silver plate and portions of it gilded as well as colored4 ,bartolom's design consists in general of three superimposed and highly decorated rows of twisted iron bars with molded caps and bases4 ,each one must have been a most massive forging1 hammered out of the solid iron while it was red hot4 ,the vertically aspiring lines of the bars are broken by horizontal rows of foliage1 cherubs' heads and ornamentation1 as well as two broad bands of cornices with exquisitely decorated friezes4 ,larger pilasters and columns form its panels1 the central ones of which constitute the doorway and enclose the elaborate arms of ,ferdinand and ,isabella and those of their inherited and conquered kingdoms4 ,the screen is crested by a rich border of pictorial scenes1 of flambeaux and foliated ,renaissance scrollwork1 above which in the centre is throned the crucified ,saviour adored by the ,virgin and ,saint ,john4 ,the crucifix rises to the height of the very capitals which carry the lofty vaulting4 ,inside the reja1 a few steps above the tombs1 rises ,philip ,vigarny's1 or ,borgoa's1 elaborate reredos4 ,to the ,protestant sense this is gaudy and theatrical1 a strikingly garish note in the solemnity and grandeur of the chapel4 ,to the right and left of its base are1 however1 most interesting carvings1 among them the kneeling statues of ,ferdinand and ,isabella4 ,behind the former is his victorious banner of ,castile4 ,the figures are vitally interesting as contemporaneous portraits of the monarchs1 aiming to reproduce with fidelity their features and every detail of their dress4 ,there is also a series of bas-reliefs portraying incidents in the siege of ,granada1--the ,cardinal on a prancing charger1 behind him a forest of lances1 the lurid1 flaming sky throwing out in sharp silhouette the pierced walls and rent battlements4 ,the ,moors1 very much like dogs shrinking from a beating1 are being dragged to the baptismal font2--the gesticulating prelates hold aloft in one hand the cross and in the other1 the sword1 for the tunicked figures to make their choice4 ,the scene has been described by ,sir ,w4 ,stirling ,maxwell1 who tells us that in one day no less than three thousand persons received baptism at the hands of the ,primate1 who sprinkled them with the hyssop of collective regeneration4 ,again1 in another1 the cringing ,boabdil is presenting the keys of the city to the three kings4 ,isabella is on a white genet1 and ,mendoza1 like the old pictures of ,wolsey1 on a trapped mule4 ,ferdinand is there in all his magnificence2 the knights1 the halberdiers and horsemen1 all the details of the dramatic moment1 full of the greatest imaginable historic and antiquarian interest1 perpetuated by one who was probably an eye-witness of the scene4 ,illustration3 ,photo by ,j4 ,lacoste1 ,madrid ,,cathedral ,,of ,,granada ,the tombs of the ,catholic ,kings1 of ,philip and of ,queen ,juana4 ,at the foot of the altar1 in the centre of the chapel1 stand the tombs of ,ferdinand and ,isabella and of ,philip and ,joan4 ,they are as gorgeous specimens of sepulchral monuments as the reja is of an ecclesiastical iron screen4 ,both sarcophagi are executed in the softest flushed alabaster2 that of ,ferdinand and ,isabella by the ,florentine ,dominico ,fancelli2 that of their daughter and her son by the ,barcelonian ,bartolom ,ordenez1 ,the ,eagle of ,relief1 who carved his blocks at ,carrara4 ,the tomb of poor crazy ,jane1 and the unworthy1 handsome husband whom she doted on to the extent of carrying his body with her throughout the doleful wronged insanity of her later years1 is somewhat more elevated than that of the ,catholic ,kings1 though its general design is very similar4 ,philip of ,austria sleeps vested with the ,order of the ,golden ,fleece4 ,isabella's celebrated will begins with her desire that her body may be taken to ,granada and there laid to rest in the ,franciscan monastery of ,santa ,isabella in the ,alhambra1 with a simple tomb and inscription3 but should the ,king1 my lord1 prefer a sepulchre in some other place1 then my will is that my body be there transported1 and laid where he can be placed by my side1 that the union we have enjoyed in this world1 and which through the mercy of ,god may be hoped for again when our souls are in heaven1 may be symbolized by our bodies being side by side on earth4 ,the humble burying-ground designated by ,isabella1 and where she was first laid to rest with the simple rites she desired1 was1 however1 no fitting place for the grandparents of ,imperial ,charles4 ,here1 in the ,cathedral's principal chapel1 he had them laid in the year #aebe4 ,the sarcophagus consists of three stages1 containing the ornamental motives so characteristic of the best sculpture of the ,italian ,renaissance4 ,no other form of statuary brought out their skill and genius so fully as a sepulchral monument4 ,medallions1 statues1 niches1saints1 angels1 griffins and garlands are all woven into a magnificent base to receive the recumbent effigies4 ,apostles and bas-reliefs of scenes from the life of ,christ surround the base1 while winged griffins break the angles4 ,above are the four ,doctors of the ,church1 the arms of the ,catholic ,kings and the proud and simple epitaph1 ,mahometic sect prostratores et heretic pervicaci extinctores3 ,fernandus ,aragonium et ,helisabetha ,castell1 vir et uxor unanimes1 catholici appelati1 marmoreo clauduntur tumulo4#bb ,in tranquil crowned dignity above lie ,ferdinand in his mantle of knighthood1 his sword clasped over his armored breast1 and ,isabella with the cross of her country's patron saint4 ,the recumbent figures are extremely fine2 the faces1 which are portraits1 convey all we know of their prototypes' characteristics4 ,ferdinand's proud1 pursed lips whisper his selfish arrogance1 his iron will1 and the greatness and fulfillment of his dreams4 ,the hard1 masterful jaw confirms the character given him by the shrewd ,french cynic as one of the most thorough egotists who ever sat on a throne1 as well as that of his ,english son-in-law1 who knew enough to call him the wisest king that ever ruled ,spain4 ,beside ,ferdinand sleeps his lion-hearted consort4 ,it is her lofty soul which broods over the sepulchre and heightens the feeling of reverence already inspired by reja and sarcophagus4 ,she is still the brightest star that ever rose in the ,spanish firmament and shone in clear radiance above even the lights of ,ximenez1 of ,columbus1 or the ,great ,captain4 ,her smile is now as cold and her look as placid as moonlight sleeping on snow4 ,noble1 tender-hearted and true1 dauntless1 self-sacrificing and faithful1 she rose supreme in every relation of life and the great crisis of her people's history4 ,in all her revelations of ,queen or ,woman1 said ,lord ,bacon1 she was an honour to her sex1 and the corner stone of the greatness of ,spain4 ,standing before her tomb1 on the battlefield of her victorious armies1 the clear perspective and calm judgment of four centuries still declare her of rare qualities1--sweet gentleness1 meekness1 saint-like1 wife-like government1 the ,queen of earthly queens4 ,,books ,,consulted ,,de ,,amicis1 ,,edmondo4 ,spain4 ,,baedeker1 ,,karl4 ,spain 7,guidebook74 ,,bermudez1 ,,cean4 ,descripcion ,artistica de la ,catedral de ,sevilla4 ,,bermudez1 ,,cean4 ,noticias de los ,arquitectos y ,arquitectura de ,espaa4 ,,caveda1 ,,jos4 ,ensayo ,historico sobre los diversos ,generos de ,arquitectura4 ,,didier4 ,anne en ,espagne4 ,,dumas1 ,,alexandre1 ,p,,re4 ,de ,paris ,cadiz4 ,,ellis1 ,,havelock4 ,macmillan's1 ,may1 #aijc 7vol4 #hh74 ,,ford1 ,,richard4 ,the ,spaniards and their ,country4 ,,ford1 ,,richard4 ,gatherings in ,spain4 ,,gautier1 ,,th,,ophile4 ,voyage ,en ,espagne4 ,,hare1 ,a4 ,j4 ,c4 ,wanderings in ,spain4 ,,hay1 ,,john4 ,castilian ,days4 ,,hume1 ,m4 ,a4 ,s4 ,the ,spanish ,people4 ,,hume ,,and ,,burke4 ,history of ,spain4 ,,hutton1 ,,edward4 ,the ,cities of ,spain4 ,,hutton1 ,,edward4 ,studies in ,lives of the ,saints4 ,,irving1 ,,washington4 ,alhambra4 ,,junghaendel1 ,,max4 ,die ,baukunst ,spanien's4 ,,lamperez ,y ,,romea1 ,d4 ,,vicente4 ,estudio sobre las ,catedrales ,espaas4 ,,lamperez ,y ,,romea1 ,d4 ,,vicente4 ,historia de la ,arquitectura ,cristiana ,espaola en la ,edad ,media4 ,,lund1 ,l4 ,spanske tilstande i nutid og fortid4 ,,lynch1 ,,hannah4 ,toledo1 the ,story of a ,spanish ,capital4 ,,meagher1 ,,james ,l4 ,the ,great ,churches of the ,world4 ,,moore1 ,,charles ,,herbert4 ,development and ,character of ,gothic ,architecture4 ,,norton1 ,,charles ,,eliot4 ,church-building in the ,middle ,ages4 ,,orcajo1 ,,don ,,pedro4 ,historia de la ,catedral de ,burgos4 ,,peyron1 ,,jean ,,fran,,ois4 ,essays on ,spain4 ,,prescott1 ,w4 ,h4 ,ferdinand and ,isabella4 ,,quadrado1 ,d4 ,,jos ,,ma4 ,espaa1 sus ,monumentos y ,artes--su ,naturaleza e ,historia4 ,,rudy1 ,,charles4 ,the ,cathedrals of ,northern ,spain4 ,,rose1 ,h4 ,j4 ,among the ,spanish ,people4 ,,rosseeuw ,,de ,,st4 ,,hilaire1 ,e4 ,f4 ,a4 ,histoire ,d'espagne4 ,,st4 ,,reynald4 ,la ,nouvelle ,revue1 #ahha1 ,l'espagne ,musulmane4 ,,schmidt1 ,k4 ,e4 ,sevilla4 ,,smith4 ,architecture of ,spain4 ,,street1 ,g4 ,e4 ,gothic ,architecture in ,spain4 ,,wort1 ,,talbot ,d4 ,brochure ,series of ,arch4 ,illustration1 #aijc 7vol4 #i74 ,,wyatt1 ,,sir ,,mathew ,,digby4 ,an ,architect's ,note-book in ,spain4 7,,official ,,publication74 ,los ,monumentos ,arquitectonicos de ,espaa4 ,,index ,aaron1 #ed4 ,abel1 #aaj4 ,abu ,jakub ,jusuf1 #bjc1 #bca4 ,abraham1 #aec4 ,acropolis1 #bdj4 ,acuna1 ,bishop of1 #dh1 #di1 #fb4 ,adaja1 #fg4 ,adam1 #bbg1 #bei4 ,adriatic1 #bja4 ,africa1 #aid4 ,aguero1 ,campo1 #ahd4 ,alava1 ,juan de1 #bb1 #agg1 #bjg4 ,alcides1 #aic4 ,alcaide1 #abg1 #bei4 ,alcantara1 ,bridge of1 #abc4 ,alcantara1 ,order of1 #abh4 ,alcazar of ,avila1 #hd4 ,alcazar of ,segovia1 #afi1 #aga1 #agb1 #agc4 ,alcazar of ,seville1 #bji1 #bcj4 ,alcazar of ,toledo1 #abc4 ,alcazerias1 ,toledo1 #abi4 ,aleman1 ,christobal1 #bbh4 ,alfaqui ,abu ,walid1 #aed4 ,alfonso1 architect of ,toledo1 #ace1 #ada4 ,alfonso ,i1 #fh1 #abg1 #bdc4 ,alfonso ,,iii1 #cg4 ,alfonso ,,iv1 #abi1 #acj1 #aef4 ,alfonso ,,vi1 #e1 #g1 #cg1 #fa1 #fh1 #fi1 #ia1 #if1 #abg1 #bbj4 ,alfonso ,,vii1 #aee4 ,alfonso ,,viii1 #gc1 #aed4 ,alfonso ,,ix1 #e1 #f1 #gd1 #if4 ,alfonso ,x1 ,the ,wise1 #dg1 #gj1 #ig1 #afi1 #bai1 #bbe1 #bca4 ,alfonso ,,xi1 #cf1 #aee1 #aga4 ,alfonso1 ,king1 #cd4 ,alfonso de ,cartagena1 ,bishop1 #di1 #eb1 #fb4 ,alfonsinas1 ,tablas1 #bai4 ,alhambra1 #bdj1 #bda1 #bdd1 #bei1 #bfj1 #bfc4 ,alleman1 ,jorge ,fernandez1 #bjg4 ,almanzor1 #ie4 ,almeria1 #aid4 ,almohaden1 #bjc1 #bdc4 ,almorvides1 #bdc4 ,alpujarras1 #bda4 ,alvarez of ,toledo1 ,juan1 #dd4 ,alvaro1 ,maestro1 #bc4 ,amiens1 ,cathedral of1 #be1 #dc1 #ic1 #id1 #abd1 #aca1 #afc1 #bja4 ,andalusia1 #abb1 #aia1 #aib1 #aid1 #bja4 ,andino1 ,cristobal1 #ea4 ,angelo1 ,michael1 #aec1 #bea4 ,angers1 ,bishop of1 #bj4 ,angevine ,school1 #dj4 ,anna1 ,sta41 #da1 #dh4 ,antonio1 ,st41 #bbb4 ,apostles1 #add1 #bbi4 ,aquitaine1 #g1 #aj1 #ae4 ,aragon1 ,king of1 #dh1 #abg4 ,aragon1 ,province of1 #ai1 #abb1 #adc1 #bjg1 #bef4 ,arge1 ,juan de1 #ajg4 ,arnao de ,flanders1 #bbi4 ,astorga1 #bj4 ,asterio1 ,bishop of1 #fa4 ,asturias1 #cd1 #fi1 #gj1 #id1 #ie4 ,augustus1 ,emperor1 #id4 ,avila1 ,cathedral of1 #fe-hg4 ,aymar1 #gj4 ,ayuntamiento1 ,toledo1 #abi4 ,azeu1 ,bernard of1 #ia4 ,bacon1 ,lord1 #bfe4 ,badajoz1 ,juan1 #bb1 #ig4 ,bagdad1 #abg4 ,btica1 ,provincia1 #aic4 ,btis1 #aic1 #bae4 ,baldwin1 ,maestro1 #ajg4 ,banderas1 ,seville1 ,patio de las1 #bja4 ,bandinelli1 ,baccio1 #aec4 ,barcelona1 #bbh4 ,bartolom of ,jaen1 #bfa4 ,basle1 ,council of1 #di1 #fb4 ,baudelaire1 #bad4 ,bautizo1 ,seville1 door of1 #bjh4 ,beatrice of ,suabia1 #ec1 #bbc4 ,beauvais1 ,cathedral of1 #ic4 ,belgium1 #afb4 ,bellini1 ,giovanni1 #afb4 ,bellver1 ,riccardo1 #bjh4 ,benavente1 ,cathedral of1 #adb4 ,benedict1 ,st41 #e4 ,benedictines1 #cg1 #bbj4 ,benilo1 #gj4 ,berenzuela1 ,queen1 #ib4 ,bermudez1 ,cean1 #dd1 #de1 #fi1 #acd1 #aii4 ,bernard1 ,archbishop of ,toledo1 #g1 #acj1 #aed1 #aef4 ,berroquea1 #ach1 #ada4 ,berruguete1 ,alfonso1 #gi1 #acd1 #aea1 #aec1 #bej4 ,berruguete1 ,pedro1 #gi4 ,blanche of ,france1 #dg4 ,blas1 ,gil1 #afi1 #beb4 ,blasquez ,dean ,blasco1 #gd4 ,blois1 #bef4 ,boabdil1 #bdc1 #bfb4 ,boldan1 #bbg4 ,bologna1 ,university of1 #f4 ,bordeaux1 #ic4 ,borgoa1 #bbd4 ,borgoa1 ,juan de1 #gi1 #acd4 ,borgoa1 ,philip1 #aea1 #aeb1 #agg1 #bfb4 ,boston1 #ah4 ,bourges1 ,cathedral of1 #id1 #acd4 ,brizuela1 ,pedro1 #ahg4 ,bruges1 ,carlos de1 #bbi4 ,brunelleschi1 #agf4 ,brussels1 #bdg4 ,bugia1 #bfj4 ,burgos1 ,cathedral of1 #cj-fc1 #hj1 #ha1 #hf1 #ic1 #ig1 #aja1 #aje1 #ajf1 #aaa1 #aca1 #acb1 #acd1 #ada1 #agg1 #ahc1 #aii1 #bjg1 #bbd1 #beh4 ,burgos1 ,bishopric of1 #abb4 ,burgundy1 ,school of1 #aj1 #ac4 ,burne-,jones1 #ej4 ,cadiz1 #aid4 ,csar1 ,julius1 #aic4 ,calderon1 #f4 ,caliphs1 #d4 ,calix1 #aeg4 ,calatrava1 ,order of1 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#bfb4 ,vignola1 #beb4 ,villalon1 ,cathedral of1 #adc4 ,villalpando1 #acd1 #aed4 ,villanueva1 #hb4 ,villegas1 ,fernando de1 #eb4 ,vincente1 ,st41 #hf4 ,viscaya1 #fi4 ,visitacion1 ,burgos1 ,capilla de1 #eb4 ,visquio1 ,jeronimo1 #g1 #h1 #aj4 ,vitruvius1 #bbd4 ,vittoria1 #bjh4 ,voltaire1 #bde4 ,wamba1 #abf4 ,wear1 #abc4 ,wells1 ,cathedral of1 #ii4 ,westminster ,abbey1 #adi1 #aih4 ,wharton1 ,mrs41 #ajc4 ,williams1 ,leonard1 #ahc4 ,wolsey1 #acf1 #bfb4 ,xenil1 #bdj4 ,ximenez1 #acf1 #aed1 #aef1 #bba1 #bfa1 #bfe4 ,ximon1 #bjg4 ,yorobo1 ,diego de1 #bah4 ,zamora1 cathedral of1 #acc4 ,zamora1 ,see of1 #g4 ,zaragoza1 bishopric1 #abb1 #bdh4 ,zeres1 gate of1 #aic4 ,zimena ,doa1 #cc4 ,zurbaran1 #aie1 #bbg4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,the precedence of ,oxford was established by the decree of ,constance of #adad4 #b ,ego comes ,raimundus una pariter cum uxore mea ,orraca filia ,adefonsi regis1 placuit nobis ut propter amorem ,dei et restaurationem ecclesie ,s4 ,marie ,salamantine sedis et propter animas nostras vel de parentum nostrorum vobis domino ,jeronimo pontefici et magistro nostro quatinus saceremus vobis sicut et facimus cartulam donationis vel ut ita decam bonifacti4 #c ,though to the city itself1 in which he had been married1 he dealt the death-blow when he moved his ,court from ,toledo to ,valladolid and established a bishopric at ,valladolid 7in #aeic71 which had previously been subject to ,salamanca4 #d ,according to ,doctor ,dllinger1 a faithless and cruel freebooter4 ,as a daring and successful condottiere1 he was dear to his liberty-loving contemporaries1 who protested against any encroachments from ,rome or curtailment of their civil rights by native rulers4 #e ,married to ,alfonso ,,iii of ,castile4 #f ,cean ,bermudez1 ,noticias de los ,arquitectos y ,arquitectura de ,espaa1 vol4 i1 p4 #bjh4 #g ,avila santos y cantos4 #h ,spain is divided into nine archbishoprics4 ,in ,castile are those of ,santiago1 ,burgos1 ,valladolid1 and ,toledo2 in ,aragon1 ,zaragoza2 on the ,mediterranean1 ,taragon and ,valencia2 and in ,andalusia1 ,seville and ,granada4 #i ,ye men so noble and so bright1 ,who from your elevated height ,do rule ,toledo's avarice1 ,and govern fear and cowardice4 ,of costly bed1 the ,lord of ,hosts ,hath made ye to the corner posts4 ,leave private interests behind1 ,show truth and justice to mankind1 ,to common good yourselves do bind4 #aj ,poitou1 ,spain and its ,people4 #aa ,the work of ,jorge ,manuel ,theotocopuli1 son of the great painter4 #ab ,bell of ,toledo1 ,church of ,leon1 ,clock of ,benavente1 ,columns of ,villalon4 #ac ,he is also the sculptor of the marvelous tomb of ,cardinal ,janera in the hospital of ,st4 ,john the ,baptist at ,toledo4 #ad ,the cost of this reja was #bej1jjj reales4 #ae ,transparente1 really meaning transparent1 allowing the passage of light4 ,the composition took its name from the little closed glass or crystal window placed directly back of the altar1 and which thus pierced a portion of the decorated wall surface behind the altar4 #af ,from ,william ,gallichan's ,story of ,seville4 #ag ,he who has not seen ,seville1 ,has not seen a marvel4 #ah ,the great astronomical work1 performed by that wonder of learning1 ,alfonso ,x of ,castile1 in concert with ,arab and ,jewish men of science4 #ai ,impressions de ,voyage1 ,alexandre ,dumas4 #bj ,washington ,irving's ,granada4 #ba ,lockhart's ,spanish ,ballads4 #bb ,hare's ,queen of ,queens4 99 99 99 99 99 ,notes of the transcriber of this etext3 a ,probably ,a ,castilla y a ,len mundo nuevo di ,colon 7note of ebook transcriber74 b ,probably ,canon ,juan ,rodriguez4 c ,should be ,puerta del ,reloj4 d ,probably means ,espaas4 ,changes made3 colonnettes colonettes ,narciso ,tome ,narciso ,tom #a ,vaccaei ,vacci #a index ,perigueux ,prigueux #a index ,baetica ,btica #a index ,baetis ,btis #a index ,dean ,blasco ,blasques ,dean ,blasco ,blasquez #a page #gd ,guadalquiver ,guadalquivir #b page #aig #bce ,juan ,gil de ,houtaon ,juan ,gil de ,hontaon #a ,bartolom of ,iaen ,bartolom of ,jaen #a page #bfa ,pellegeria ,pellejeria #a plan of ,burgos ,cathedral ,pintuenga ,pituenga #a page #fi ,reyos ,nuevos ,reyes ,nuevos #a index ,reyos ,catolicos ,reyes ,catolicos #a page #bag ,demetrio de los ,reos ,demetrio de los ,rios ,repiso1 ,virgin del ,reposo1 ,virgin del #a index ,diego de ,silho ,diego de ,silo page #dh index ,philip ,vigarni ,philip ,vigarny page #aea1 #aec1 #bea1 #bfb index ,villalpondo ,villalpando page #acd #aed ,ximenes ,ximenez #b page #bfe index ,juan de ,maedo ,juan de ,maeda #a page #bdh ,gayangoz ,gayangos #a index ,guaz ,guas #a page #ace ,maria1 de la ,incarnacion ,maria1 de la ,encarnacion #a index ,mugaguren1 ,juan de ,mogaguren1 ,juan de #a index ,rez1 ,juan ,res1 ,juan #a index ,rojas1 ,gonsalo de ,rojas1 ,gonzalo de #a index ,sachetti ,sacchetti #a index ,salamantica ,salmantica #a index ,vaga1 ,luis de ,vargas1 ,luis de page #aie index