,,the ,,brochure ,,series               
,spanish ,wrought-,iron ,screens        
,,xii4 ,century ,capitals from the      
,benedictine ,monastery1 ,monreale      
,,march1 #aijj      ,illustration3      
,,plate ,,xix      ,,screen1 ,,royal    
,,chapel1 ,,granada ,,cathedral         
,,the                                   
,,brochure ,,series                     
,,of ,,architectural ,,illustration4    
#aijj4      ,,march      ,no4 #c4       
,,spanish ,,wrought-,,iron ,,screens4   
,from earliest times the numerous iron  
mines which exist in ,spain1  especially
 in the ,cantabrian provinces1 have been
 worked1 and their  presence has        
developed in that country excellent     
objects of art in  metal at all times2  
but owing to the perishable character of
 iron1 the  slight intrinsic value of   
the material1 and the little care taken 
of  such fabrics1 examples of very early
 specimens1 with the exception of  a few
 interesting ones which have reached us 
from the ,spanish ,arabs1  have         

disappeared4 ,the most interesting      
examples of ,moorish manufacture  which 
have survived are some iron keys of most
 delicate tracery4 ,their  perfect state
 of preservation shows that they were   
used only as symbols  of cities or      
fortresses1 and1 on given occasions1    
offered to kings or  great people1 and  
even in the present day in ,spain this  
ceremony is  kept up1 and a key         
signifying the freedom of the palace1 is
 offered  to the foreign princes who    
stay at the royal residence in ,madrid4 
,in a similar manner1 as far back as the
 middle ages1 keys have been  presented 
to ,spanish sovereigns on occasions of  
their visits to such  towns as ,toledo  
and ,seville2 and a ceremony of swearing
 them to uphold  the accorded privilege 
is gone through with1--a reminiscence   
probably  of what occurred when these   
towns were conquered from the ,moors4   
,one of  these keys at ,valencia1       
belonging to ,count de ,trignona1       
measures nine  and-a-half inches long1  

and was originally gilt4 ,its handle is 
closed  and covered with delicate work  
in relief1 and the wards are ornamented 
in the same manner with a combination of
 several words written in  ,cufic       
letters of difficult interpretation2 but
 around the handle we  can read         
distinctly in arabic the name of the    
artist3 ,it was made by  ,ahmel ,ahsan4 
,this key appears to date from the      
thirteenth or early  fourteenth century1
 and two similar ones exist in the ,town
 ,hall of  ,valencia4    ,worthy objects
 of iron work must have been made by    
,christian artists of  this period in   
,spain1 for1 although no specimens have 
come down to us1  we have historical    
information which confirms such a       
conclusion4 ,in the  ordinances of      
,barcelona we find it recorded that the 
iron-smiths formed  an extensive guild  
in the thirteenth century1 and that in  
#abeg four of  its members were officers
 of the ,chief ,municipal ,council2 and 
other  similar records substantiate the 

fact that this guild increased in       
importance during the succeeding        
centuries4 ,the ordinances of ,seville  
of the fifteenth century1 which were    
reformed in #aejb1 and those of         
,toledo1 also revised in #aehb1 will    
give the student an idea of what was    
done by workers of metals at this       
period1 the method of workmanship  and  
other interesting details4 ,the         
ordinances of ,seville mention  rejas   
made in ,biscay1 and give a good idea of
 the styles adopted by  the iron-masters
 there1 and the ordinances of ,granada  
repeat1 almost  exactly1 the former     
descriptions4    ,illustration3 ,,plate 
,,xx      ,,screen1 ,,altar ,,de ,,la   
,,gamba1 ,,seville    ,,cathedral       
,the modern history of iron work in     
,spain begins1 however1 with the  second
 half of the fifteenth century4 ,from   
this period on1 the art  continued to   
progress1 and in the sixteenth century  
,spain produced  works of art in wrought
 iron which were unrivalled in ,europe4 

,the most beautiful and characteristic  
productions of the ,spanish  iron-smiths
 were the openwork screens or grilles1  
especially the  rejas1 or chancel       
screens1 enclosing the chapels in the   
cathedrals2  and these last deserve     
special attention1 from the beauty of   
their  forms1 the quality of their      
workmanship and the intrinsic variety of
  their models4    ,illustration3       
,,chapel ,,screen      ,,seville        
,,cathedral    ,the interior arrangement
 of ,spanish cathedrals differs somewhat
 from  that of churches in other parts  
of ,europe4 ,in ,spain1 the choir       
proper1  or coro1 is transferred to the 
nave1 of which it commonly occupies  the
 western half1 and a passage1 usually   
protected by low iron or brass          
railings1 leads from the eastern gate of
 the coro to the screen in  front of the
 high altar4 ,this arrangement is       
necessary because1 as  the choir proper 
is deep1 the people must be kept from   
pressing on  the clergy as they pass to 

and fro1 during the service1 in the long
  passage from the altar to the coro4   
,high metal screens or rejas are  also  
placed across the entrance to the choir 
or capilla mayor1 as  its eastern part  
is called4 ,owing to this form of       
interior arrangement  the cathedrals and
 churches of ,spain lent themselves     
admirably to the  construction of       
objects of all kinds in ornamental iron 
work2 and from  the earliest times when 
such records were kept1 we meet with    
many  names of iron-masters who were    
apparently attached to the different    
cathedrals in the same manner as were   
the painters and artists4    ,one of the
 finest specimens of this artistic      
industry 7and we place it  first because
 it is a typical example7 is the        
splendid reja which  divides the nave   
from the ,royal ,chapel in the          
,cathedral of ,granada  7,plate ,,xix74 
,this ,cathedral is1 on the whole1 the  
best ,renaissance building in  ,spain1  
and in plan one of the finest churches  

in ,europe2 and the ,royal  ,chapel is  
the most interesting feature of its     
interior4 ,this ,chapel  was erected in 
the late ,gothic style1 in #aejf-ag1 for
 the reception  of the tombs of the     
,catholic ,kings1 and was afterwards    
enlarged by  ,charles ,v41 who found it 
too small for so great glory4 ,besides  
the  tombs of ,ferdinand and ,isabella  
it contains those of the parents of     
,charles ,v4    ,illustration3 ,,plate  
,,xxi      ,,chapel ,,screen1 ,,seville 
,,cathedral    ,the reja which guards it
 was completed about #aebb1 by the      
celebrated  ,bartolom of ,jaen1 who also
 worked at ,seville1 and whom the       
records of  the time describe as        
sculptor and iron-master4 ,its important
 size  enabled the artist to carry out a
 splendid scheme of ornamentation in    
the plateresque style1 combined with    
reliefs1 on a large scale1 of  figures  
of apostles and saints1 terminating at  
the upper part with  a wide ornamental  
band of conventional floral decoration  

in relief1  crowned with a ,crucifixion1
 with the ,virgin and ,saint ,john on   
either  side4 ,the ornamentation was    
originally gilded and the figures       
painted  in oil colors4 ,the balustrades
 and supports are forged with the       
hammer4  ,the figures and circular piers
 are formed of large plates1 repouss    
and carved in a most admirable manner1  
and an examination of them will  give a 
good idea of the technical mastery over 
the material which the  artists of this 
time had attained long before the       
various mechanical  facilities of the   
present day existed4    ,this reja at   
,granada is entirely of iron1 which most
 ,spanish  rejas are not1 and is the    
earliest specimen of anything like equal
  importance in ,spain4 ,it has been    
chosen as the first specimen to be  here
 described1 not only because of the     
early date of its construction1  but    
because it excellently illustrates the  
salient merits of the best  type of     
,spanish cathedral screen4 ,the first of

 these merits is a  general             
transparency1--a highly important       
quality in a wrought-iron  screen so    
placed1 for if such a screen be covered 
with sufficient  ornament to arrest the 
eye on its surface when viewing the     
interior of  the cathedral as a whole1  
it detracts from the general            
architectural  effect1 serving indeed1  
to block the nave as a wall where no    
wall was  intended4 ,in such a screen as
 the present one1 however1 the slight   
vertical piers almost disappear unless  
the sight be focussed upon  them1 while 
the ornamental portions seem apparently 
suspended in mid  air and do not in any 
way injure the general architectural    
scheme or  decrease the apparent space4 
,the rectangularity of the design gives 
great repose2 and the division into     
departments1 which allows of  the       
concentration of strength in skeleton   
lines1 affords sufficient               
constructional stiffness without        
involving too much formality4  ,the     

design is both beautiful and            
appropriate4 ,at the summit the         
crucifixion1 below the leading incidents
 of biblical history1 and1 in a  central
 panel about twenty feet square1 grouped
 in a decorative design1  the full      
heraldic insignia of the monarchs who   
repose in the tombs  which the screen   
guards4 ,the lock bears a small         
inscription giving the  name of the     
artist1 ,maestro ,bartolom me fec4      
,to consider in detail the multitude of 
similar rich and beautiful  railings    
which happily survive in ,spanish       
cathedrals and churches1  would be      
impossible1 even were it possible to    
illustrate them2 but1 for  the most     
part1 they have never been drawn or     
photographed1 and a brief  description  
of those illustrated in our plates must 
here suffice4    ,the ,cathedral of     
,seville is undoubtedly one of the      
largest1 handsomest  and richest ,gothic
 churches in ,christendom1 and was once 
a veritable  museum of works of art4 ,an

 old saying groups the chief churches of
  ,spain together as ,toledo la rica1   
,salamanca la fuerte1 ,leon la bella1   
,oviedo la sacra1 e ,sevilla la grande4 
,it originally contained some  very     
beautiful rejas1 including two famous   
ones by ,sancho ,muoz2  but these with  
many other art treasures1 were destroyed
 by the twice  falling of the dome1     
first in #aeaa and again in #ahhh1 due  
to earthquake  shocks4 ,the three chapel
 screens shown in our illustrations     
7,plates  ,,xx41 ,,xxi41 and page #da7  
remain1 however1 to show how rich in    
iron work  this ,cathedral originally   
must have been4 ,the names of the       
artists of  these screens are not       
certainly known4 ,the ,altar de la      
,gamba1 shown  in ,plate ,,xx41 derives 
its curious name1 ,the ,altar of the    
,leg1 from  the finely painted leg of   
,adam in the picture which adorns the   
shrine1  representing our first parents 
adoring the ,virgin4    ,the ,cathedral 
of ,barcelona1 one of the noblest       

creations of ,spanish  ,gothic1 stands  
upon the highest point of the ancient   
city1 on a  site originally occupied by 
a ,roman temple and later by a ,moorish 
mosque4 ,on the southwest the cathedral 
is adjoined by magnificent  ,gothic     
cloisters1 finished in #addh4 ,along the
 northwest side of these  cloisters is a
 row of chapels1 placed back to back    
with the chapels of  the southwest aisle
 of the church4 ,the entrances to these 
chapels are  closed by iron grilles of  
simple but dignified design4 ,one of    
them is  shown in our illustration      
7,plate ,,xxii474    ,although the      
cathedral of ,avila was commenced in    
#ajia its general  character is that of 
the end of the twelfth or early part of 
the  thirteenth century1 though the     
solemn and dignified interior is        
designed in a style of a later date4    
,besides the beautiful reja here  shown 
7,plate ,,xxiii471 which divides the    
high altar from the church  proper1 it  
contains a fine iron pulpit 7page #dg47 

,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xxii           
,,cloister ,,screen1 ,,barcelona        
,,cathedral    ,iron pulpits1 so rare   
elsewhere1 have been made in ,spain with
 great  success4 ,the one here          
illustrated shows a mixture of ,gothic  
and  ,renaissance detail1 but the whole 
is of contemporary workmanship1  and    
presents an interesting example of the  
transitional style4 ,the  primitive     
method of working through thin plates   
superimposed to form  tracery is here   
adhered to1 and the whole is applied to 
a wooden  framework4 ,the pulpit was    
originally gilt4 ,it dates from the end 
of the  fifteenth century1 and shows the
 influence of the ,flemish masters who  
at about that period set so many        
fashions in ,burgos and its vicinity4   
,the wrought-iron screen 7shown on page 
#dg71 now preserved in the  collection  
of the ,louvre1 belongs to the same     
time1 and is of the same  style of      
workmanship4    ,illustration3 ,,screen1
 ,,zaporta ,,chapel      ,,church ,,of  

,,la ,,seo1 ,,saragossa    ,the interior
 of the cathedral of ,burgos is1 from   
its lofty spacious  proportions1 one of 
the finest in ,spain1 and is surrounded1
  unsymmetrically but not               
unpicturesquely1 by fourteen chapels1   
all distinguished by some particular    
beauty of construction or               
ornamentation4 ,the chief of these      
chapels1 situated at the east end of    
the cathedral1 is the gorgeous ,capilla 
del ,condestable1 built for ,don  ,pedro
 ,fernandez de ,velasco1 hereditary     
,constable of ,castile1 in #adhg4  ,this
 chapel contains superbly sculptured    
tombs of the ,constable and  his wife1  
and the lofty reja 7,plate ,,xxvi47     
which guards the entrance  to it has    
been considered one of the finest       
specimens of its kind1  owing to the    
perfection with which every detail is   
carried out4 ,it is  the master-piece of
 ,cristoval de ,andino1 and was         
constructed in #aebc4  ,a contemporary  
writer describing it says3 ,good        

workmen1 and those who  wish that their 
work may have authority and be          
blameless1 must endeavor  to be guided  
by ancient models1 as was your fellow   
citizen ,cristoval  de ,andino2 and his 
works are thereby more elegant and      
excellent than  any others which ,i have
 seen up to the present time4 ,if you   
think  otherwise1 judge of his work by  
looking at the reja which he is  making 
for your lord1 the ,constable1 which is 
undoubtedly superior  to all those that 
have hitherto been made in ,spain4 ,the 
centre of  the upper part of the reja   
bears the signature of the artist1 ,ab4 
,andino1 ,a4,d4 ,,mdxxiii4              
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xxiii          
,,screen1 ,,avila ,,cathedral    ,the   
famous ,university of ,salamanca was    
originally built in #adae1 but in  #adhj
 the upper part was entirely            
reconstructed in the most brilliant     
plateresque style1 by the ,catholic     
,kings4 ,the various offices of  the    
,university are grouped around a simple1

 cloister-like court2 and on  the west  
side of the second floor is the         
,library1 which contains #hj1jjj        
volumes1 and is said to have been       
founded by ,alfonso the ,learned in     
#abed4 ,the entrance to this ,library is
 closed by the beautiful wrought  grille
 shown in ,plate ,,xxiv4 ,the exact date
 and the authorship of the  grille are  
unknown4    ,the ,church of ,san ,juan  
de la ,penitencia is a jumble of curious
 styles4  ,built by the ,cardinal       
,ximenez in #aead1 a semi-,moorish      
palace was  partially incorporated with 
it1 and it contains much interesting    
,moorish decoration4 ,the ceiling of the
 nave and choir is ,moorish1 the  portal
 and choir windows are ,gothic1 several 
of the altars are baroque1  and the     
elaborate reja1 here reproduced 7,plate 
,,xxv47 is a fine  specimen of          
plateresque iron-work4    ,illustration3
 ,,spanish ,,wrought-,,iron ,,screen    
,,louvre    ,the old ,cathedral of      
,saragossa is called ,la ,seo1 par      

excellence1 to  distinguish it from the 
other called del ,pilar1 seo being the  
usual  term for the principal church4   
,it was erected in #aaai-aebj on the    
site  of the principal mosque of the    
,moors1 and the general arrangement of  
the interior resembles that of a mosque4
 ,the sides are flanked with  chapels2  
and the ,chapel of ,zaporta 7,zaporta   
was a rich citizen of the  city who died
 early in the sixteenth century7 is shut
 off by an iron  screen1 of excellent   
workmanship in the less elaborate       
plateresque  style1 shown in the small  
engraving on page #de4    ,illustration3
 ,,wrought-,,iron ,,pulpit      ,,avila 
,,cathedral    ,after the sixteenth     
century smiths' work in ,spain declined 
in artistic  interest and importance4   
,the abilities of the iron-workers were 
devoted  to constructing objects on a   
smaller scale1 such as door locks1 clock
  ornaments and the like2 the arts of   
inlaying iron-work with gold and  silver
 sprung into prominence1 and ,spanish   

artists practically ceased  to undertake
 the great carved and chiselled grilles 
which have formed  the subject of this  
paper4                                  
,s4 ,f4 ,n4    ,illustration3 ,,plate   
,,xxiv      ,,screen1 ,,entrance ,,to   
,,library1 ,,university ,,of            
,,salamanca                             
,,xii4 ,century ,capitals               
from the                                
,benedictine ,monastery1 ,monreale      
,the ,cathedral church of ,santa ,maria 
,nuova1 with its adjoining  ,benedictine
 monastery and cloister1 were erected at
 ,monreale  7pronounced ,mur-ri-a-li by 
its ,sicilian inhabitants7 by ,william  
,,ii4 of  ,sicily in #aagd-hb4          
,illustration3 ,,capital ,,from         
,,monreale    ,this splendid work of    
,norman-,sicilian artists is ,latin in  
its shape1  ,roman in its colonnade1    
,byzantine in its mosaics1 ,greek in its
  sculpture1 ,saracenic and ,norman in  
its many mouldings1 exhibiting a  most  
curious combination of styles4 ,the     

names of the architects are  unknown    
7the nive ,vasari attributes this to    
their stupidity or  contempt of fame71  
but the evidence afforded by a careful  
examination  of the mosaics1 establishes
 the conclusion that ,king ,william     
intrusted  the embellishment to ,greek1 
that is to say1 ,byzantine1 artists or  
to  their ,sicilian disciples4 ,at any  
rate1 the artists who embellished       
,monreale in the latter part of the     
twelfth and the beginning of the        
thirteenth centuries were in every way  
the equals in artistic abilities  of the
 ,italian masters who lived and worked a
 century later2 and when  we talk of the
 ,renaissance we should not forget that 
long before  its advent these ,sicilian 
artists had here produced work that     
today  challenges the wonder and        
admiration of critics4    ,illustration3
 ,,capital ,,from ,,monreale    ,other  
cathedrals1 says ,mr4 ,symonds1 may     
surpass that of ,monreale in  sublimity1
 bulk1 strength or unity of plan4 ,none 

can surpass it in the  strange romance  
with which the memory of its many       
artificers invests  it4 ,none can exceed
 it in the richness and glory1 the      
gorgeousness of a  thousand decorative  
elements4    ,illustration3 ,,capital   
,,from ,,monreale    ,of the original   
buildings of the ,benedictine monastery 
which formed  a part of the church1 and 
were built at the same time1 none but   
the  cloister remains4 ,this cloister is
 in its kind one of the most superb     
examples of twelfth century architecture
 to be found in ,europe1 and is  one of 
the largest as well as one of the most  
beautiful in the world4  ,the cloisters 
of ,st4 ,john ,lateran1 ,st4            
,paul-beyond-the-,walls1 ,ste4          
,scholastica1 at ,subiaco1 are all      
admirable1 but they are inferior to     
that of ,monreale1 both in detail and in
 grandeur of total effect4              
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xxv            
,,screen1 ,,church ,,of ,,san ,,juan    
,,de ,,la ,,penitencia1    ,,toledo     

,illustration3 ,,capital ,,from         
,,monreale    ,illustration3 ,,capital  
,,from ,,monreale    ,imagine a vast    
central space1 one hundred and          
sixty-nine feet  square1--not a flat    
grass-plot scattered with decaying      
tombs1 nor  planted with the severe     
box-wood and funereal cypresses that    
give so  gloomy an aspect to most       
cloisters1 but a blooming garden1       
adorned with  shrubs and flowering      
vines1 laid out in parterres of         
exquisite verdure1  where1 in the shade 
of myrtle and citron trees1 fountains   
play1 their  jets caught in marble      
basins1 only to overflow and nourish the
 living  green about them4 ,this garden 
is walled in by four long corridors1    
sheltered by arcades of small pointed   
arches with something ,oriental  in     
their curves1 supported by two hundred  
and sixteen coupled columns  of white   
marble1 with a group of four at each    
angle1 all of them  surmounted by carved
 capitals of different designs1 the     

slender shafts  ornamented with mosaics 
and incrusted with precious marbles1    
some  patterned in lozenges1 some curved
 with floral designs1 some fluted  after
 the antique manner1 some wound with    
capricious spirals1--a file  of shining 
columns of fairy-like aspect4 ,and1     
looking at this perennial  garden with  
its ever-running fountains1 surrounded  
by so ,oriental an  arcade1 one might   
fancy one's self transported to a       
monastic ,alhambra1  or the interior of 
an ,arabian-,night's palace4            
,illustration3 ,,capital ,,from         
,,monreale    ,the capitals of the      
shafts that uphold the arcade 7and from 
the  slenderness of these shafts it is  
probable that they were inserted  some  
time after the heavier arcade was       
originally built71 are all  different4  
,a number of them are here illustrated4 
,in their design the  sharp acanthus    
foliage of the ,greeks is commingled    
with the emblems  of ,christianity1 such
 as the circle1 the cross1 the vine and 

the  dove1 with infinitely ingenious    
grotesques of birds and animals1 and    
with human figures4 ,the latter are     
represented in ,byzantine costume1  and 
,greek inscriptions everywhere appear4  
,the workmanship of these  capitals1 the
 delicate detail of the carving1 showing
 the constant  employment of the        
circular drill1 the almost entire       
concealment of the  background1 are     
tokens of the craftsmanship of the      
twelfth century  ,byzantine ,greeks     
,contemporary personages1 scenes from   
the old and new  ,testaments1 real and  
fantastic animals1 leaves1 flowers1     
fruit1--all  are represented with a     
wonderful liveliness of expression and  
with  prodigious fecundity of           
imagination4 ,they exhibit1 as ,m4      
,dantier  has said3 ,toute la foi1 toute
 la posie du temps sculptes sur la      
pierre4    ,the cloister at ,monreale   
has been illustrated1 and other examples
 of  its capitals shown1 in ,,the       
,,brochure ,,series1 ,volume #ahie1 ,no4

 #c1 and in  ,volume #ahih1 ,no4 #a4    
,illustration3 ,,plate ,,xxvi           
,,screen1 ,,chapel ,,of ,,the           
,,constable1 ,,burgos    ,,cathedral    
,transcriber's ,note3    ,italics are   
indicated by underscores4    ,small     
capitals have been rendered in full     
capitals4    ,a number of minor spelling
 errors have been corrected without     
note4