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Title: Leon, Burgos and Salamanca
Author: Calvert, Albert Frederick
Language: English
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THE SPANISH SERIES
LEON, BURGOS
AND
SALAMANCA
THE SPANISH SERIES
_EDITED BY ALBERT F. CALVERT_
GOYA
TOLEDO
MADRID
SEVILLE
MURILLO
CORDOVA
EL GRECO
VELAZQUEZ
THE PRADO
THE ESCORIAL
ROYAL PALACES OF SPAIN
GRANADA AND THE ALHAMBRA
SPANISH ARMS AND ARMOUR
LEON, BURGOS, AND SALAMANCA
CATALONIA, VALENCIA, & MURCIA
VALLADOLID, OVIEDO, SEGOVIA
ZAMORA, AVILA, AND ZARAGOZA
LEON, BURGOS
AND SALAMANCA
A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE
ACCOUNT. BY ALBERT F. CALVERT,
WITH 462 ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD
NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY MCMVIII
Edinburgh: T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to His Majesty
_To_
_THE MARQUIS OF VIANA_
_The History of whose House
Is indissolubly connected
With the Grandest Traditions
of Spain
This Volume is Dedicated
With a Sincere Expression
Of the Author’s Esteem_
PREFACE
In the plan of this book, as in the other volumes of the Series, the
text has been made subordinate to and explanatory of the illustrations,
which, I venture to hope, will be found to form a complete and useful
panorama of the monumental glories of these grand old cities. I have not
proposed to write a guide-book for the tourist, but rather to supply him
with a souvenir, and to provide a manual for those interested in
architecture and archæology. I have avoided technology as much as
possible, as my appeal is not to the professional student, but to the
amateur (in the true sense) of the arts. In order to supplement my own
knowledge and revise the impressions derived from personal observation
in the three towns, I have availed myself freely of the works of others
who have laboured in the same field, and have been at much pains to
consult all the writings I could find upon the subject. The lengthy list
of authorities I have consulted need not be recited here, as they are
duly acknowledged in the text.
As in the case of all the cities dealt with in this Series, I have
prepared a brief historical sketch of Leon, Burgos, and Salamanca.
Their early history is largely of a speculative and debatable character,
and much of it has been learnedly discounted by modern writers. Let me
explain at once, that while recounting incidents which may be suspected
of merely traditional origin, I neither accept nor reject the criticism
of these recent historians, and if I do not quote their conclusions, it
is because they are often too conflicting to be embodied in so slight a
work. I would also add, that a quotation is not to be taken as a blind
acceptance of the accuracy of the dicta or as a recognition of the
writer as an absolute authority.
In conclusion, I may explain that I have dealt more briefly with the
architecture of these Gothic cities than with the Moorish monuments of
Seville, Cordova, and Granada, my reason being that the general reader
is more familiar with Gothic and Renaissance styles than with the rarer
work of the Arabs.
To Mr. E. B. d’Auvergne I offer my grateful acknowledgment of the
assistance he has rendered me in the compilation of the text, and my
thanks are also due to Señor J. Lacoste and Messrs. Hauser y Menet for
their permission to reproduce many of the photographs which appear in
this volume.
A. F. C.
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. LEON 1
II. BURGOS 33
III. SALAMANCA 96
ILLUSTRATIONS
LEON
SUBJECT PLATE
General View of Leon, 1
View from the Cemetery, 2
Cathedral: View from the North, 3
Cathedral: General View, 4
Leon Cathedral, 5
Cathedral: Door of the Cross-Aisle (restored), 6
Leon Cathedral, 7
Lateral Façade of the Cathedral, 8
Longitudinal Section of the Cathedral, 9
Cathedral: Stained Glass Window of the Thirteenth Century, 10
Cathedral: Stained Glass Window of the Fourteenth Century, 11
Plan of the Cathedral, 12
Cathedral: Central Gate of the Principal Porch, 13
Cathedral: Right Gate of the Principal Porch, 14
Cathedral: Detail of the Lower Part of the Principal Portico, 15
Cathedral: Arch of the Central Portico, 16
Cathedral: Arch of the Right Door, 17
Cathedral: Left Gate of Principal Porch, 18
Cathedral: Gate of the Coro, 19
Cathedral: Door of the Chapel of St. Andrew, 20
Cathedral: Painted Walls, 21
Cathedral: Statue of Our Lady La Blanca in the Principal Porch, 22
Cathedral: A Sepulchre, 23
Cathedral: Sepulchre of Don Ordoño II., 24
Cathedral: Sepulchre of Martin, First Bishop of Leon, 25
Cathedral: Detail of the Door of the Chapel of St. Andrew, 26
Cathedral: The Cloisters. Our Lady Del Foro and the Offerings
of the Kings, 27
Cathedral: Spandril of Central Gate. The Last Judgment, 28
Cathedral: Spandril of Central Gate. The Last Judgment, 29
Cathedral: Detail of the Right Gate, 30
Cathedral: Detail of the Gate of the Chapel of St. Andrés, 31
Cathedral: Various Statues from the Cross Aisle, 32
Cathedral: Detail of the Right-hand Portico, 33
Cathedral: The Back of the Choir, 34
Cathedral: The Choir Stalls, 35
Cathedral: The Choir Stalls, 36
Cathedral: Detail of the Choir, 37
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. The Guardian Angel of Paradise,
and the Archangel St. Michael, 38
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. Noah, Adam and Eve, 39
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. The Archangel Gabriel and Abraham, 40
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. Isaac and Jacob, 41
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. Esau, 42
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. Samson, 43
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. St. Mathias and St. Mark, 44
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. St. Luke and St. Bartholomew, 45
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. St. Andrew and St. Peter, 46
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. Santiago Alfeo and St. Philip, 47
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. St. John the Evangelist and Santiago, 48
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. Saint Mary Magdalene and Santo
Domingo, 49
Cathedral: In the Choir. St. Nicodemus and Valour, 50
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. St. Martha and St. Lucy, 51
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. St. Francis and St. Catherine, 52
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. St. Froylan and St. Nicholas, 53
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. San Vitorino and San Martin, 54
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. Santa Cristina and Santa Elena, 55
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. San Gregorio and San Geronimo, 56
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. San Silvestre and San Lupercio, 57
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. San Lorenzo and San Vicente, 58
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. San Celedonio and San Esteban, 59
Cathedral: Choir Stalls. A Saint, 60
Cathedral: Detail of the Choir Stalls, 61
Cathedral: Detail of the Choir Stalls, 62
Cathedral: Statue of the Virgin, 63
Cathedral: Detail of the Cloisters, 64
Cathedral: Bas-reliefs in the Cloisters, 65
Façade of the Collegiate Church of San Isidoro, 66
Gate of Pardon: Collegiate Church of San Isidoro, 67
Collegiate Church of San Isidoro, 68
Principal Gate of the Collegiate Church of San Isidoro, 69
Panteon of the Kings in the Collegiate Church of San Isidoro, 70
Spandril of Gate of Pardon: Collegiate Church of San Isidoro, 71
Fresco of the Panteon of the Kings in the Collegiate Church of
San Isidoro. End of Eleventh Century, 72
Sections and Details of the Panteon of San Isidoro, 73
Collegiate Church of San Isidoro: Painting on the Wall of the
Panteon of the Kings, 74
Collegiate Church of San Isidoro: Paintings on the Walls of
the Panteon of the Kings, 75
Collegiate Church of San Isidoro: Chalice and Paten of Doña
Urraca, and Cross, 76
Collegiate Church of San Isidoro: Ivory Cross of King Fernando
I. and Sancha his Wife, 77
Collegiate Church of San Isidoro: Relics, containing St. Martin’s
Hand, St. John Baptist’s Jaw, one of St. Isidoro’s Fingers,
and some of the Virgin’s Hair, 78
Collegiate Church of San Isidoro: Chalice and Crucifix in
Filigree Gold, 79
Collegiate Church of San Isidoro: Ivory Coffer, 80
Collegiate Church of San Isidoro: Gothic Crucifix in Gold, 81
San Miguel de Escalada: General View of the Convent, 82
San Miguel de Escalada: Exterior of the Temple and Portico, 83
San Miguel de Escalada: Interior of the Church, 84
San Miguel de Escalada: Interior of the Church, 85
San Miguel de Escalada: Southern Façade, Plan, and Details
(Town Hall, Gradefes) 86
San Miguel de Escalada: Longitudinal and Transverse Sections
and Details. (Town Hall, Gradefes), 87
Details of San Miguel de Escalada. (Town Hall, Gradefes), 88
San Miguel de Escalada: A Capital in the Church, 89
Our Lady Del Mercado, 90
Our Lady Del Mercado: Barred Window in the Principal
Façade, 91
Church of San Pedro de Los Huertos, 92
General View of the Convent of San Marcos, 93
Principal Façade of the Convent of San Marcos, 94
Detail of the Façade of the Convent of San Marcos, 95
Entrance to the Convent of San Marcos, 96
Detail of the Façade of the Convent of San Marcos, 97
Detail of the Façade of the Convent of San Marcos, 98
Detail of the Façade of the Convent of San Marcos, 99
Detail of the Façade of the Convent of San Marcos, 100
Detail of the Façade of the Convent of San Marcos, 101
Sacristy in the Convent of San Marcos, 102
Stalls in the Convent of San Marcos, 103
Church of San Marcos: Detail of the Choir, 104
Church of San Marcos: Detail of the Choir Stalls, 105
Church of San Marcos: Detail of the Stalls, 106
Church of San Marcos: Detail of the Choir Stalls, 107
Church of San Marcos: Detail of the Choir, 108
Provincial Museum of San Marcos: Tray, Crucifix, and Vase, 109
Provincial Museum of San Marcos: Cross of Santiago de
Peñalva, 110
Provincial Museum of San Marcos: Christ in the Byzantine
Style, and the Virgin in the Gothic Style, 111
Provincial Museum of San Marcos: San Francisco, 112
Don Ordoño II. presenting his Palace to the Virgin, 113
Standard of Alfonso VII., Emperor, now belonging to the
Illustrious Families of Leon, 114
Tower of the Ponces, 115
Las Casas Consistoriales, 116
House of the Guzmanes, 117
Bastions of the Ancient Walls, 118
Calle de Santa Ana, 119
Corner of the House of the Guzmanes, 120
View of the Railway Station, 121
General View of Astorga, 122
Mountaineers of the Province, 123
Ivory Casket of the Ninth Century, from San Isidoro at
Leon, now in the National Archæological Museum, 124
Two Statues in the Archæological Museum, 125
BURGOS
View of Burgos, 126
General View of Burgos, 127
La Plaza Mayor, 128
General View from the Castle, 129
Mansion of the Cid, 130
El Paseo del Espolon, 131
View from the Provincial Museum, 132
A View of Burgos, 133
The Cathedral, 134
Façade of the Cathedral, 135
Cathedral: Puerta de la Pellegeria, 136
Cathedral: View from the Cloisters, 137
Cathedral: Upper Part of the Tower, 138
Cathedral: The Constable’s Chapel, 139
Cathedral: Principal Front, 140
Cathedral: From the Cloisters Garden, 141
Towers of the Cathedral, 142
Cathedral: One of the Spires, 143
Cathedral: Bosses--Detail, Spire Windows--Angle and
Crocket of Spire, 144
Cathedral: Interior of Spire--Doorway to Spire, 145
Court of the Cathedral, 146
General Plan of the Cathedral, 147
Burgos Cathedral, 148
Cathedral: View of the Principal Nave and High Altar, 149
Burgos Cathedral, 150
Cathedral: View of the Nave from the Gate of the Pellegeria, 151
Cathedral: Back Part of the High Altar, 152
Cathedral: Choir Stalls, 153
Interior of the Cathedral, 154
Details in the Cathedral, 155
Details in the Cathedral, 156
Details in the Cathedral, 157
Details in the Cathedral, 158
Details in the Cathedral, 159
Details in the Cathedral, 160
Cathedral: Exterior of the Constable’s Chapel, 161
Cathedral: Interior View of the Constable’s Chapel, 162
Cathedral: The Constable’s Chapel, 163
Cathedral: Details of the Constable’s Chapel, 164
Cathedral: Details of the Constable’s Chapel, 165
Cathedral: The Constable’s Chapel from the Altar, 166
Cathedral: Entrance to the Constable’s Chapel, 167
Cathedral: Details of the Constable’s Chapel, 168
Cathedral: Altar-piece on the Epistle Side of the Constable’s
Chapel, 169
Cathedral: Windows of Sacristy, the Constable’s Chapel, 170
Cathedral: Doorway and Window in the Constable’s Chapel, 171
Cathedral: Santa Ana, in the Altar-piece of the Constable’s
Chapel, 172
Cathedral: St. Margaret with the Monster at her Feet, in
the Altar-piece of the Constable’s Chapel, 173
Cathedral: Details of the Principal Chapel, 174
Cathedral: Details of the Exterior of the Principal Chapel, 175
Cathedral: Exterior of the Principal Chapel, 176
Cathedral: Chapel of St. Anne, 177
Cathedral: Details of the Altar-piece in the Chapel of
St. Anne, 178
Cathedral: Chapel of Santa Tecla, 179
Cathedral: Staircase leading to Puerta Alta de la Coroneria, 180
Cathedral: View of the Cloisters, 181
Cathedral: Gate of the Old Sacristy in the Cloisters, 182
Cathedral: The Cloister Gate, 183
Cathedral: Puerta Del Sarmental, 184
Cathedral: Gate of Pardon, 185
Cathedral: A Doorway, 186
Cathedral: A Doorway, 187
Cathedral: Porch of the Pellegeria, 188
Cathedral: Puerta Alta de la Coroneria, 189
Cathedral: Puerta Alta de la Coroneria, 190
Cathedral: The Famous Coffer of the Cid, 191
Cathedral: Central Dome in the Cross-aisle, 192
Cathedral: Processional Door in the Cloisters, 193
Cathedral: Entrance to the Cloisters, 194
Cathedral: Detail of the Door leading to the Gothic
Cloisters, 195
Cloisters of the Cathedral, 196
The Lower Cloisters. Eleventh Century, 197
Cathedral: The Cloisters, 198
Cathedral: The Cloisters, 199
Cathedral: The Cloisters, 200
Cathedral: Detail of the Cloisters, 201
Cathedral: Bas-relief in the Lower Cloisters. Eleventh
Century, 202
Cathedral: Bas-reliefs in the Lower Cloisters. Eleventh
Century, 203
Cathedral: Soffits of Cloister Arches and Ornaments from
Doors, 204
San Fernando and Doña Beatriz of Swabia in the Cathedral
Cloisters, 205
Cathedral: Longitudinal Section of the Cloisters. Eleventh
Century, 206
Cathedral: Details of the Sepulchre of Don Fernando Diez
de Fuente-Pelayo, 207
Niches with Tombs in the Cathedral Cloisters, 208
Cathedral: Puerta Del Sarmental, 209
Cathedral: Sepulchre of Don Fernando Diez de Fuente-Pelayo,
Abbot of St. Martin, 210
Details of Screens in the Cathedral, 211
Cathedral: El Cristo de Los Huevos, 212
Cathedral: Sepulchre of Archbishop Luis de Acuña, 213
Cathedral: Sepulchre of the Founder of the Cathedral, 214
Cathedral: Our Lady la Mayor, Statue of Silver, 215
Cathedral: Processional Crucifix in Silver Gilt, the Work of
Juan de Arfe in 1592, 216
Cathedral: Gold Enamelled Vase with Cover and Antique
Medallions, two Silver Gilt Goblets, and Jug, 217
Cathedral: Double-handled Vessel with Cover, the Work of
Dom. Urquiza de Madrid, in 1771, 218
Cathedral: Statues of Saints and Ecclesiastics, 219
Cathedral: Details of Balconies, 220
Cathedral: Remains of Altar--Relievo from Portal. Eleventh
Century, 221
Cathedral: Compartment of Apsis, 222
Cathedral: Part of the Open Gallery or Triforium, 223
Cathedral: Details of the Choir Stalls, 224
Altar-piece of the Church of San Nicolás, 225
La Cartuja: General View of the Church, 226
La Cartuja: Gate of the Church, 227
La Cartuja: Sepulchre of the Infante Don Alonso, 228
La Cartuja: Interior View of the Church, 229
La Cartuja : Sepulchre of the Infante Don Alonso, 230
La Cartuja: Sepulchre of the Sovereigns John II. and Isabel
of Portugal, 231
La Cartuja: Sepulchre of the Sovereigns John II. and Isabel
of Portugal, 232
La Cartuja: Statue of San Bruno, 233
La Cartuja: Details of the Sepulchre of the Sovereigns
John II. and Isabel of Portugal, 234
La Cartuja: Details of the Sepulchre of the Sovereigns
John II. and Isabel of Portugal, 235
La Cartuja: Details of the Sepulchre of the Sovereigns
John II. and Isabel of Portugal, 236
La Cartuja de Miraflores: Details of the Choir Stalls, and
Stall of the Officiating Priest, 237
La Cartuja de Miraflores: Stalls of the Lay Brothers, 238
La Cartuja de Miraflores: A Side Door, 239
La Cartuja de Miraflores: Detail of the Choir, 240
La Cartuja de Miraflores: Choir Stalls, 241
La Cartuja de Miraflores: Detail of the Choir Stalls, 242
La Cartuja de Miraflores: The Prior’s Stall, 243
La Cartuja: Detail of the Sepulchre of Don Juan II. and his wife, 244
La Cartuja: Sepulchre of the Infante Don Alonso, brother of
Isabel I., 245
La Cartuja: Tomb of the Infante, 246
La Cartuja: Compartment of King’s Tomb, 247
La Cartuja: Portions of Cornice, King’s Tomb, 248
La Cartuja: Ornament from the Infante’s Tomb, 249
La Cartuja: King’s Effigy--Infante’s Robe--Infante’s Prie-Dieu
Cloth, 250
La Cartuja: Panelled Wall--Alabaster Crown and Tassels, 251
La Cartuja de Miraflores: A Sixteenth-Century Chimneypiece, 252
Cathedral and La Cartuja: Effigies from Tombs, 253
La Cartuja: Ceiling Ornaments--Cathedral: Details from
the Constable’s Monument, 254
Convent of Las Huelgas: View of the Temple, 255
Convent of Las Huelgas: Façade of the Monastery, 256
Convent of Las Huelgas: Patio de San Fernando, 257
Convent of Las Huelgas: Entrance to the Church, 258
Convent of Las Huelgas, 259
Church of Las Huelgas, 260
A Sepulchre in the Convent of Las Huelgas, 261
Details of the Exterior of Santa Maria La Real commonly
called de Las Huelgas, 262
Cloisters and Sepulchre in the Convent of Las Huelgas, 263
A Sepulchre in the Convent of Las Huelgas, 264
A Sepulchre in the Convent of Las Huelgas, 265
Sepulchres in the Choir of Santa Maria La Real de Las
Huelgas, 266
Convent of Las Huelgas: View of the Choir, 267
Convent of Las Huelgas: The Cloisters, 268
Convent of Las Huelgas: Cloisters of San Fernando, 269
Convent of la Huelgas: Entrance to the Nave of St. John, 270
Convent of la Huelgas: Door in the Chapel of San Salvador, 271
Convent of la Huelgas: The Cloisters, 272
Convent of la Huelgas: Flag taken by Alfonso VIII. at the
Battle of Las Navas, 273
Gate of the King’s Hospital, 274
Façade of the Church of the Hospital of the King, 275
Interior View of the Courtyard of the Hospital of the King, 276
Cloisters in the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos, 277
Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silas (Silos), 278
Caskets and Chalice in the Monastery of Santo Domingo de
Silos, 279
Reliquary, Details, and Paten in the Monastery of Santo
Domingo de Silos, 280
Detail of an Altar: Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos, 281
The Arch of Fernan Gonzalez, 282
Gate of the Hospital of St. John, 283
Monastery of San Juan de Ortega: Sepulchre of the Founder, 284
Gate of the House of the ‘Cordon,’ 285
House of the ‘Cordon,’ 286
Church of San Gil: Chapel of the Nativity, 287
Altar-piece of the Buena Mañana in San Gil, 288
Church of San Gil: Altar-piece of the Chapel of the Kings, 289
Gate of the Church of San Lesmes, 290
Altar-piece in San Lesmes, 291
Porch of the Church of San Estéban, 292
Entrance to the Parish Church of San Nicolás, 293
Altar-piece in San Nicolás de Bari, 294
Archway of Santa Maria, Sixteenth Century, 295
Gate of Santa Maria, 296
The Arco de Santa Maria, 297
Provincial Museum: Arabesques of the Arco de Santa Maria, 298
Exterior View and Detail of the Arch of Santa Maria, 299
Provincial Museum: Sepulchre of Don Juan de Padilla in
Fresdelval, Fifteenth Century, 300
Provincial Museum: Sepulchre of Don Juan de Padilla, 301
Interior View of the Provincial Museum, 302
Provincial Museum: Front of an Altar in Enamelled Bronze,
Eleventh Century, 303
Provincial Museum: Visigothic Sepulchre of Sixth Century,
found at Briviesca, 304
Coffin of Briviesca: Preserved in the Provincial Museum, 305
Provincial Museum: Roman Statue found in the Ruins of
Salonica, 306
Transverse Section and Details of the Church of San Juan (Baños), 307
Church of Gamonal, 308
Interior of the Church of Gamonal, 309
Portal of the Church of the Villa de Sasamón, 310
Tower of the Church of the Villa de Santa Maria Del Campo, 311
Chapel of Our Lady of the Valley in the Rodilla Monastery,
General View of the Exterior, 312
Chapel of Our Lady of the Valley in the Rodilla Monastery,
Porch--Interior, 313
Monastery of Fresdelval: Portal, 314
Monastery of Fresdelval: Hospice, 315
Monastery of Fresdelval: Cloisters, 316
Monastery of Fresdelval: Window in the Ruined Temple, 317
Monastery of Fresdelval: Window in the Ruined Temple, 318
Olmillos Castle, 319
A Courtyard, 320
Lerma: The Duke of Lerma’s Palace and the College, 321
Lerma: The College, 322
Lerma: Interior of the Collegiate Church, 323
Lerma: Sepulchre of the Cardinal Duke of Lerma, 324
Lerma: Details of the Sepulchre of the Cardinal Duke of
Lerma, 325
Lerma: The Magdalene. (Copy of a Picture by Leonardo
Da Vinci), 326
Lerma: Our Lady of the Silla. (Copy of a Picture by Raphael), 327
Bridge of Horadada, 328
SALAMANCA
Cathedral, from the East, 329
General View from the School, 330
General View of Salamanca, 331
General View of Salamanca, 332
A Portion of Salamanca, 333
Roman Bridge over the Tormes, 334
Bridge of Bejar, 335
View of the Ancient Wall, 336
Principal Nave of the Old Cathedral, 337
Nave of Cross-aisle of the Old Cathedral, 338
Sepulchres in the Old Cathedral, 339
Longitudinal Section of the Old Cathedral, 340
Sepulchres in the Old Cathedral, 341
Sepulchres in the Cross-aisle, Old Cathedral, 342
Sepulchre in the Cloisters of the Old Cathedral, 343
Sepulchre in the Cloisters of the Old Cathedral, 344
Sepulchre in the Cloisters of the Old Cathedral, 345
Capitals of the Sepulchres in the Cloisters of the Old Cathedral, 346
Capitals of the Sepulchres in the Cloisters of the Old Cathedral, 347
Capitals of the Sepulchres in the Cloisters of the Old Cathedral, 348
Capitals and Effigies in the Old Cathedral, 349
Capitals in the Old Cathedral, 350
The Old Cathedral, 351
Details of the Outside and Plan of the Cupola of the Old
Cathedral, 352
The Cathedral, 353
View of the Cathedral from the ‘Seminario,’ 354
Cathedral: East Façade, 355
Tower of the Cathedral, 356
Cathedral: The Tower del Gallo, 357
Principal Façade of the Cathedral, 358
Principal Nave in the Cathedral, 359
Cathedral: View of the Cross-aisle, 360
Cathedral: Entrance to the Chapel of the Bishop of Seville,
Don Diego de Anaya, 361
Cathedral: View of the Sacristy, 362
Cathedral: Chapel in the Cloisters, 363
Chapel of St. Barbara in the Cathedral Cloisters, 364
Cathedral: Dome of the Tower of the ‘Gallo,’ 365
Cathedral: General View of the Puerta del Nacimiento, 366
Cathedral: Gate of the Nativity, 367
Cathedral: Gate of St. Clement, 368
Cathedral: Gate of the ‘Ramos,’ 369
Cathedral: Gate of the Patio Chico, 370
Cathedral: Right-hand Gate; or, Gate of the Bishop, 371
Cathedral: The Beheading of St. John Baptist. (By Jac.
Geronimo Espinosa), 372
Cathedral: The Virgin holding the Dead Body of her Divine
Son. (Pietá in wood, by Salvador Carmona), 373
Cathedral: Wooden Crucifix with which the troops of the
Cid were harangued. The Smaller Crucifix the Cid carried
beneath his Armour, 374
Cathedral: Chair and Table in the Chapter Hall, 375
General View of the Church of Santo Domingo, 376
Detail of the Façade of Santo Domingo, 377
Façade of the Church of Santo Domingo, 378
Detail of the Façade of Santo Domingo, 379
Cloisters of Santo Domingo, 380
Interior of the Church of Santo Domingo, 381
Arches in the Choir of the Church of Santo Domingo, 382
Interior View of the Sacristy of Santo Domingo, 383
Door of the Conference Hall of Santo Domingo, 384
General view of the Cloisters of Santo Domingo, 385
Cloisters of Santo Domingo, 386
Fresco in the Church of Santo Domingo, by Palomino, 387
Door of the church of St. Martin, 388
Gate of the Church of St. Martin, 389
Door of the Church of San Justo, 390
Church of the Augustines: The Conception of the Virgin, by
Ribera, 391
Gate of the Church of San Benito, 392
Parish Church of the Holy Spirit, 393
Portal of the Parish Church of the Holy Spirit, 394
Church of the Third Order of St. Francis, 395
View of the Seminary from the Irlandeses, 396
View of the Seminary, 397
Chapter Hall in the Seminary, 398
The Seminary: Abraham offering Melchisedech Bread and Wine, 399
The Seminary: The Queen of Sheba visiting Solomon, by
Rubens, 400
The Seminary: Christ scourged. Statue in wood by Salvador
Carmona, 401
General View of the University, 402
Façade of the University, 403
Upper Part of the Façade of the University, 404
Lower Part of the Façade of the University, 405
University: Medallion representing the Catholic Sovereigns
over the Principal Entrance, 406
Façade of the University, 407
Library in the University, 408
University: Altar of the Chapel, 409
Gallery in the University, 410
Portico of the University, 411
Details of the Porch of the University, 412
Details of the Porch of the University, 413
Door of the Library of the University, 414
Court of the College of the Irlandeses, 415
Façade of the College of the Irlandeses, 416
Porch of the College of the Irlandeses, 417
Portico of the Chapel of the College of the Irlandeses, 418
Court of the College of the Irlandeses, 419
Details of the Court of the Archbishop’s College, now of the
Irlandeses, 420
Gate of the Santa Maria de las Dueñas, 421
Provincial Museum: Model in wood for an Altar for the
Cathedral, by Manuel Rodriguez, 422
Provincial Museum: Arm-chair of Fr. Antonio de Sotomayor, 423
Provincial Museum: St. Michael overcoming Satan. Silver
Statue. The work of John de Arfe, 424
Cloisters in the Ruins of the School of the Vega, 425
Capitals in the College of the Vega, 426
Statue of Our Lady of the Vega, 427
The House of Salinas, 428
Courtyard of the House of Salinas (Upper Part), 429
Detail of the Courtyard of the House of Salinas, 430
General View of the College of Calatrava, 431
Staircase in the College of Calatrava, 432
Tower of the ‘Clavero,’ 433
General View of the School, 434
Façade of the School, 435
Interior Gate of the School, 436
Entrance to the School, 437
Porch of the Archivos of the School, 438
Courtyard of the School, 439
Back of the School, 440
Courtyard of the School, 441
Principal Façade of the House of the Shells, 442
Grated Window of the House of the Shells, 443
Triple Grated Window of the House of the Shells, 444
Balcony and Triple Grated Window of the House of the Shells, 445
Doorway in the House of the Shells, 446
Courtyard in the House of the Shells, 447
House of Monterey, 448
Tower of the House of Monterey, 449
House of Monterey, 450
La Plaza Mayor, 451
The Town Hall, 452
Patio de la Gobernación, 453
Ancient College, now the House of the Provincial Deputation, 454
River Gate through which Hannibal entered, 455
House of Doña Maria the Brave, 456
Avenue of the Campo of San Francisco, 457
Statue of Fr. Luis de Leon, 458
The Pacification of the Factions of Salamanca. A Relief by
Don Aniceto Marinas, 459
Market, Province of Salamanca: ‘A Bad Bargain,’ by J.
Aranjo, 460
Peasants’ Dance, by D. Fierros, 461
Charro, or Peasant of the Province, 462
LEON, BURGOS, AND SALAMANCA Leon, Burgos, and Salamanca
I
LEON
There is something cold and forlorn about the little city of Leon, that
one-time capital of Spain; something chill and wintry, not explained
even by the snowy peaks of Asturias bounding the horizon on the north.
It is the chill of age. Other cities there are, even in Spain, older
than Leon, but with them time has dealt more gently. It was but natural
that this town should wither and grow old. Very much out of the world it
lies, in as remote a situation as could be found in southern Europe. It
has long outlived its destiny--and that was an honourable one. The blood
of no new race has ever been infused into its veins. Founded by S.
Sulpicius Galba in 70 A.D. as the headquarters of the Seventh Legion
(Legio Septima), when it grew into a town, doubtless its first
inhabitants were the unconquerable Celts of the Cantabrian Mountains.
When the wild Suevi took refuge in this north-western corner of the
peninsula, _Legio_, as it was then called, was nominally subject to
them. Leovigild added it to the dominions of the Visigoths in 540, but
despite this change of masters it probably remained Celtic to the core.
The Moorish yoke endured here but twenty-five years. So near to the
great mountain barriers, where the new Spain was born, which contained
the nucleus of the new monarchy and nation, it was naturally among the
first prizes of the kings of Pelayo’s line. Issuing from those passes
which had proved a death-trap to the Moorish hordes, the Christians of
Asturias wrested this city from the invader in the year 742, and with a
very brief interval it was henceforward to know none but a Spanish yoke.
We do not hear of much effort on the part of the Saracens to recover or
to hold it. We can fancy that the spirit and resolution of those
children of the South were numbed in these wintry plains, within sight
of the everlasting snows, almost within reach of the tempests of the
northern seas. But it was a place that suited well the temper of the
champions of Christendom in Spain. It was grim, it was stern, it was
rude and simple. Behind was the glorious cradle of the nation, the
citadel of Spanish freedom; before were the plains whereon to do battle
with the Moor, the streams that flowing south pointed the way for the
Spanish knight. Leon was the first stage of a journey which was to end
only at the Pillars of Hercules. Every town in the peninsula marks a
forward step of the Christian, a backward step of the Moslem. Leon was
outpost first, capital after. It seems to have been attacked and perhaps
destroyed by the enemy during the ninth century, for we read that Ordoño
I. rebuilt it. Under Alfonso III. the frontier of the nascent kingdom
was carried forward to the Douro. At Leon men slept more peacefully.
Alfonso, upon his abdication in 912, pursuing the policy afterwards so
harmful to Spain, divided his dominions among his children. Leon was
allotted to Garcia; and two years later, on the death of that prince and
the accession of his brother Ordoño II., it became the capital of the
united realms of Galicia and Leon, to which in 923 with the crowning of
a third brother, Froila II., was added the ancestral province of
Asturias.
In the Middle Ages, where the Court was the scaffold was not far away.
And the new capital was soon to see something of the darker side of
regal authority. Ordoño II. attributed his defeat at Val de Junqueras
to the defection or mutiny of the Counts of Castile, the wardens of the
eastern marches. Summoning four of them into his presence at his palace
at Tejares, he placed them under arrest, and sent them in chains to
Leon, where after a painful captivity they were put to death. This was
not the last tragedy to cast a shadow over the little capital.
Meanwhile, under Ramiro II., the name of the town began to be applied to
the whole kingdom. It was the scene of the imprisonment of the aspiring
Fernan González, Count of Castile; and by him and a Navarrese army it
was besieged during the reign of Ordoño III. Under the terrible Al
Mansûr, the Moslem tide swept up to the very peaks of Asturias. Leon was
submerged, the city taken and burned, and Fernando II. was glad to find
an asylum in the mountain fastnesses of his ancestors.
This was but a temporary check to the Christian fortunes. In 1002 the
announcement was made from every pulpit in free Spain, ‘Al Mansûr is
dead and buried in Hell.’ Emerging once more from their retreat, the
Leonese recovered their capital, which was henceforward to remain
uninterruptedly in Christian hands.
Alfonso V., the Restorer of Leon, mindful of the precedents set by
Visigothic kings, held an ecclesiastical council at his capital in the
year 1020. There was a great concourse of prelates and nobles from all
parts of Christian Spain. The conference took place in the cathedral
church of St. Mary, founded by Ordoño II., and King Alfonso and Queen
Elvira presided in person. Of the fifty-eight ordinances and
resolutions, thirty-one embodied the municipal constitution of the town
of Leon--the first town in Spain to receive a charter. Indeed, it was
probably the first town in mediæval Europe to obtain the privilege of
self-government.
The history of the city thenceforward becomes merged in the history of
the kingdom and in that of Spain generally. But here and there in the
annals of the time certain events stand out as specially associated with
it. In the year 1029 the young Count Garcia of Castile came hither to
espouse Sancha, the sister of King Fernando III. His movements were
watched by the three sons of the Count of Vela, whom his father had put
to death. Their manner towards the young Count implied rather friendship
than enmity. But one morning, as he entered the church of San Isidoro,
they fell upon him and slew him. The assassins were burned to death; but
their deed served to intensify the bitter rivalry of Castile and Leon.
There were other ecclesiastical councils held here in 1106, 1114, 1134,
1228, and 1288. And in 1137 the church which had been defiled with the
young Garcia’s blood was the scene of the impressive coronation of
Alfonso VII. as Emperor of all Spain--a title which no Spanish king
could justly bear, till Charles came from Flanders in 1517 to rule over
a Spain for ever united.
For a hundred years longer the little city by the northern hills posed
from time to time as an imperial capital, but with the union of the
crowns under San Fernando the headship of the kingdom passed to Burgos
and Toledo. For a century more the court of the Spanish kings was in the
ever-moving camps, on the ever-shifting battlefield. The claims of Leon
to rank as capital were forgotten. The echoes of warfare far away on the
banks of the Jucar and Guadalquivir hardly reached her walls. She fell
asleep. She had harboured the founders of national independence; she had
borne the brunt and stress of battle, had been in the van in the fierce
strife between Christian and Moslem. Everything that happened to Leon
happened a very long time ago; and it might all have seemed a dream if
the genius of the architect had not bequeathed to our own day great
memorials of the glory made by kings and prelates.
* * * * *
Leon, as we know, does not derive its name from ‘the lions introduced by
the Carthaginians,’ as some old chroniclers believed, but from the
legion quartered here in the first century of the Christian era. The old
name of the place was Urbs Legionis. Remembering the peculiar
pronunciation of the Spanish G, the modification of the Latin word into
its present form is easily explained.
The legion which preserved the _pax Romana_ in this remote corner of the
empire may have varied in strength from six to seven thousand men of all
arms. The camp was rectangular, and measured 380 by 570 metres. It was
confined by the wall, of which the northern, eastern, and part of the
western sides remain,--or rather the bases, for the masonry of the upper
part reveals the handiwork of various subsequent ages. Walking round the
city, you notice the stout round bastions outcropping between the houses
which frequently obscure the trace of the wall. Of the four Roman gates,
faced with marble slabs and inscribed with the names of the commanders
of the legion, two remain--the eastern, or Bishop’s gateway, behind the
cathedral, and the low semicircular arch in the Plazuela del Conde de
Luna.
Embedded in or against these walls many profoundly interesting relics of
the Roman domination have been discovered. These are now to be seen in
the Provincial Museum. There is the white marble altar dedicated to
Diana by the legate Tullius Maximus, as the inscription on one side
records. The three other faces bear respectively these inscriptions:--
(1) ‘Aequora conclusit campi, Divisque dicavit,
Et templum statuit tibi, Delia virgo triformis,
Tullius è Lybia, rector legionis Hiberae,
Ut quiret volucris capreas, ut figere cervos,
Saetigeros ut apros, ut equorum silvico lentum
Progeniem, ut cursu certare, ut disice ferri,
Et pedes arma gerens, et equo jaculator Hibero.’
(2) ‘Cervôm altifrontum cornua
Dicat Dianae Tullius,
Quos vicit in parami aequore
Vectus feroci sonipede.’
(3) ‘Dentes aprorum quos cecidit Maximus
Dicat Dianae, pulchrum virtutis decus.’
This Tullius Maximus seems to have loved the chase, and elsewhere we
find him dedicating a bear’s skin to his favourite goddess. The people
of the Urbs Legionis were probably mighty hunters. On a sepulchral
monument the son-in-law, daughter, and grandson of the founder are
represented as a boar, a hind, and a fawn. The Provincial Museum also
contains an altar consecrated to the genius of the legion.
Where the cathedral now stands were the Roman baths, which are said to
have been converted into a castle or palace by the kings of Asturias.
The building was utterly destroyed by Al Mansûr, and on its site arose
the basilica of Ordoño II. The royal residence then seems to have been
situated near where the monastery of San Salvador del Palaz del Rey was
built by Ramiro II. (930-950). Another palace occupied the square in
front of the church of San Isidoro. Rebuilt by Berenguela, the mother of
San Fernando, it was pulled down in the time of Isabel the Catholic. It
was no doubt from this building that Count Garcia passed to his death in
the opposite church.
SAN ISIDORO,
after the Roman walls the most ancient building in Leon, occupies the
site of a chapel and nunnery consecrated in 966 and rebuilt by Alfonso
V. Fernando I., who reigned over Leon and Castile from 1033 to 1065,
obtained from the Amir of Seville the body of the doctor, San Isidoro.
To receive this venerated relic a new church was built, and solemnly
dedicated on December 21, 1063. Two years later the bones of the martyr
San Vicente were transported hither from Avila. In the next century the
church was greatly enlarged and richly endowed by Alfonso VII., who
attributed his victory at Baeza to the miraculous intervention of the
Doctor of Seville. To provide for the service of the church, the regular
canons were transferred here from Carvajal, and exchanged quarters with
the nuns who had continued to occupy the old tenth-century convent.
The church is in the Romanesque style, the oldest portion being the
chapel of Santa Catalina, which Street thinks was the original fabric of
Fernando I. The chapel was intended as a mausoleum for the royal family
of Leon, but twelve tombs only remain out of thirty. The only
inscriptions are on the resting-places of Alfonso V. and Sancha, the
sister of Alfonso VII. Here were buried Alfonso IV., Ramiro II., Ordoño
III. and his queen, Sancho I., Ramiro III. and his queen Urraca,
Fernando I. and Queen Sancha, Sancho the Great of Navarre, and the
murdered Count Garcia. Here, before the Pantheon was despoiled by the
French in 1808, might have been seen the marble and porphyry sepulchre
of the brave princess Urraca of Zamora, and the urns of the Moorish and
French wives of Alfonso VII. Now, the inscriptions having been wantonly
defaced, it is impossible to identify the few remaining sarcophagi.
The arches of this gloomy Pantheon are decorated with curious frescoes,
probably of the twelfth century. The crude drawing and tints rather add
to the impressive effect of these solemn paintings. Among the subjects
are the ‘Massacre of the Innocents,’ the ‘Last Supper’ (painted, as
Street points out, without the least regard to the angles formed by the
groining, and as if the vault were a flat surface), scenes from the
Passion, and the Visions of the Apocalypse--terrible conceptions. One of
the designs represents the Supreme Judge with two swords issuing from
His mouth; another shows a hand, inscribed _Dextra Dei_. The
compositions are surrounded by foliage, rich and conventional. On the
altar is an interesting ivory cross, the gift of Fernando I. and Sancha,
whose names are engraved upon the reverse. While the figure of Christ is
rude in the extreme, the foliage and figures of the four evangelists at
the back are exquisitely chiselled.
Leaving this place consecrated to wrath and tears, we re-enter the
church. The plan is roughly cruciform, an apsidal chapel projecting to
the east of each arm of the transept, on either side of the Capilla
Mayor. We are now in that part of the fabric which was built by order of
Alfonso VII., evidently on the model of St. Sernin at Toulouse. The name
of the architect is given on an inscription in the flooring as Petrus de
Deo--Peter of God. The most interesting features in the church are the
very ancient mural paintings in the Byzantine style, with the same
profusion of foliage and richly moulded capitals to be noticed in the
Pantheon. The dentated and horse-shoe arches reveal traces of Moorish
influence, showing that even in the far north of Spain architects could
not have closed their eyes and ears altogether to the doings of the
detested infidels.
Among the treasures of the church might fairly be included the font,
with its Byzantine reliefs, while objects of special veneration are the
relics of San Isidoro contained in an ancient silver urn, supported by
four lions, and the hand of San Martino, holding a pen, and encased in a
rich reliquary. Here also you may see a chalice of agate, the donation
of the Infanta Urraca, and (in the Sacristy) the standard embroidered
by order of Alfonso VII. with the image of San Isidoro as he appeared at
Baeza, and last displayed at the taking of Antequera in the fifteenth
century. Many other priceless treasures and relics were lost when the
church was plundered by the French; while in 1811 the building was
struck by lightning, and--as if that were not enough--white-washed
throughout!
The exterior is interesting. A doorway admits to the middle of the nave
on the south side. The arch is semicircular and triple, the tympanum and
spandrils being filled with sculpture, representing the Offering of
Isaac, the Lamb of God, figures of Saints, and the signs of the Zodiac.
‘The whole detail of this sculpture,’ says Street, ‘is very unlike that
of most of the early work I have seen in Spain; the figures are round
and flabby, and very free from any of the usual conventionality. All
this made me feel much inclined to think that the execution of this work
was at an early date, and soon after the first consecration of the
church.’ The appearance of the whole front was not improved by the
Renaissance work above this gateway--the elaborate cornice, the imperial
shield of Charles V., and the colossal equestrian statue of San
Isidoro. The Romanesque portal of the southern transept, now closed, is
adorned with a relief representing the Descent from the Cross, the
statues of Saints Peter and Paul, and other sculptures. Detached from
the church is a square tower or steeple built between two bastions in
the adjoining city wall. Generally speaking, the eastern façade is
strictly Gothic, much of it having been added to the Romanesque
framework in the sixteenth century.
The adjoining cloister is mainly of the same period and style. The
decorations are in the plateresque style, and the staircase, leading to
the council chamber of the Provincial Deputation, is a daring and
admirable example of Renaissance work. The library contains the
beautiful Bible written in 960 by the priest Sancho, ‘whose
illuminations and vignettes’ (says a native writer) ‘with their sinister
figures with black faces, curious dresses, and gloomy fancies, display
the artistic tendencies of that age of turmoil.’
In the Plaza del Conde de Luna is the mean little church of San Salvador
del Palaz del Rey, built by Ramiro II. as a convent for his daughter
Elvira--she who ruled as regent during the minority of her brother,
Ramiro III. Nothing of the original structure remains; but the site is
that of one of the oldest royal residences in Leon, and of the first
burying-place of her kings, before their ashes were transported to San
Isidoro.
THE CATHEDRAL
of Leon marks the second period of the city’s history and of the
architecture of northern Spain. San Isidoro stands for the infant
monarchy, with its Byzantine traditions handed down from the Visigothic
kings; the cathedral, for the strong, ever-expanding realm of Leon and
Castile, in close touch and sympathy with the great Catholic world of
the west. San Isidoro is Romanesque; the cathedral is not only Gothic,
but purely French, closely resembling Amiens and Rheims. It is a
magnificent exotic. It symbolised the reunion of Spain with Western
Christendom, after its long night of isolation, the infusion into its
art and its people of the European spirit.
This beautiful cathedral--_pulchra Leonina_--occupies the site of the
basilica of Ordoño II. (of which no trace remains). Planned about the
first years of the reign of San Fernando, it was not completed in 1258,
when an episcopal congress was held at Madrid to discuss the progress of
the works and to grant an indulgence of forty days to the faithful who
should assist with alms. In 1303 the Bishop Gonzalez proclaimed that
the work was done, ‘thanks be to God.’
The beauty of this wonderful church consists largely in its lightness.
Its supports are so slender, its walls so freely pierced with windows at
every stage, its details everywhere so delicate, that the term ‘frozen
music’ applied to architecture seems here indeed no mere hyperbole. ‘A
mere lantern,’ Street calls the church, and blames the architect for his
extreme daring and for his excessive use of windows. Though the vaults
had been filled in with very light stone or concrete, the fabric was
ever trembling on its fragile foundations. In 1631 the vault above the
crossing collapsed, and was replaced by a dome. A hundred years later
many of the arches of the aisles succumbed. Meanwhile Renaissance and
Churrigueresque additions were made; but the whole was restored between
the years 1850 and 1901, and now the cathedral exists in almost pristine
symmetry and airiness.
The eastern end, or chevet, projects beyond the city wall, which forms
the eastern boundary of the adjacent cloister. The transept, if that
term may be applied to the whole space between the Capilla Mayor and
Coro, is of unusual breadth, and may be said to include a nave, two
aisles to the east and one to the west. North and south it projects but
slightly beyond the nave. The west front is flanked by two steeples,
which stand on each side of, and do not terminate, the aisles. They are
heavier than the rest of the structure, and of different heights and
ages. Ugly, too, is the empty space left between their side walls and
those of the clerestory over the main entrance. The northern steeple is
the older, lower, and simpler; it is surmounted by a spire with a vane.
The other tower is more ornate, and contains the belfry. Its traceries
are in a debased Gothic style.
The façade between these steeples is very beautiful. It is surmounted by
a pediment with ‘acroteria’ or pedestals to receive statues. Beneath
this is a very large wheel-window above a row of windows corresponding
to the triforium. The three magnificently sculptured doorways extend
from steeple to steeple. The arches are pointed and triple. Byzantine
influence is visible in the statuary and foliage. The figures, forty in
number, are rather more than life-size, and represent saints and
apostles, martyrs and confessors, kings and queens. On the north-west
doorway is seen the half-defaced figure of Justice, bearing a sword
inscribed with the words ‘Justitia est unicuique dare quod suum est.’
Beneath this portal cases of appeal were tried in the thirteenth
century. A small column between this and the central doorway is engraved
with the words _locus appellationis_ and the arms of Leon and Castile.
The tympanum of the arch is adorned with reliefs, illustrating the
earlier episodes in the life of Jesus. The doors themselves show scenes
from the Passion and Risen Life.
The central shaft of the middle door is disfigured with a dressed-up
image of the Virgin enclosed in glass. The sculpture of the tympanum is
spirited and elaborate. In a composition depicting the Last Judgment
devils are seen stirring their fires and plunging the reprobate into
seething cauldrons. On the side of the blessed a young man extracts
cheering music from what is perhaps a harmonium. The attitudes of the
just express the liveliest satisfaction, whereas a crowned personage,
striding boldly into Paradise, is met and warned off by a celestial
Janitor. The naïve and fantastically horrible are curiously blended in
this skilful work. The southern doorway is the least interesting of the
three; the subjects of the reliefs are the death and coronation of the
Virgin.
The entrance to the south transept has been entirely rebuilt, but the
original reliefs and statuary of the three doors have been preserved
and re-erected. Some old Byzantine capitals may be distinguished among
the Gothic work. The south-west door is relieved with a diaper of
fleurs-de-lys and castles, and lions and castles. The sculpture of the
tympanum is equal to that of the west front, and shows the Saviour and
the Evangelists, the twelve Apostles, and the Death of the Blessed
Virgin. The colossal statue on the central shaft is that of San Froilan,
an early bishop of Leon. Above is a row of four windows of two lights,
and an enormous rose-window.
The glory of the cathedral is its stained glass, which fills the
innumerable windows. Most of this is comparatively modern, and, though
good in tone, is inferior to the fifteenth-century glass still existing
in the windows of the Capilla Mayor, the Capilla de Santiago, and the
north transept. The three rows of windows reach high up to the vaultings
of the roof, those of the chapels being of two lights, those of the
clerestory of four. It is strange that with such exquisite examples of
colouring before them, the restorers of the church should have had the
bad taste to bedaub the arches of the aisles with ochre, and to
whitewash the pillars and vaults, marking the stonework with red lines.
We could well have spared, moreover, the elaborate plateresque work in
the choir, which, though good in itself, is dissonant from the general
character of the building; and the Churrigueresque retablo of the
Capilla Mayor, representing the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. The
sanctuary and choir, which in so many churches are the most interesting
feature, are of quite secondary importance at Leon. The Capilla Mayor,
however, contains the remains of San Froilan in two silver reliquaries
of the Renaissance style, and the relics of two other bishops (Alvitas
and Pelagius) in plain marble urns. The choir stalls date from the
fifteenth century, and are well carved. The best work is seen in the
panels behind the stalls, the subjects being the generation of Christ,
the Visitation, the Revolt of Satan, and the Descent into Hell.
But after the general ensemble and the stained glass, nothing in the
cathedral merits as much attention as the tombs and monuments. Of these
the noblest is the cenotaph of Ordoño II. at the rear of the High Altar,
erected five centuries after his death as a tribute of gratitude by the
citizens of Leon. Though in the florid Gothic style of the fifteenth
century, many of the figures and inscriptions appear to have been copied
from an earlier tomb. The recumbent effigy of the king is large and
dignified; his face is sharp and smooth-shaven; he wears his crown and
the royal robes, and carries the orb and sceptre. At his feet lies a
dog, the emblem of fidelity, beneath which is an inscription in Latin
setting forth his deeds and virtues, and erroneously attributing to him
the erection of the present temple. The monumental arch above encloses
sculpture painted in brilliant colours on a gilt ground, which appears
to be of an earlier elate than the rest of the monument. The arches of
the wall of the Capilla Mayor have been bricked up, and those on each
side of this monument are adorned with two very ancient distemper
paintings of the Ecce Homo and Entombment. They exhibit some interesting
peculiarities of dress and detail, and though the central figure is
badly done, the spectators are lifelike and vigorously represented.
There are many tombs in the cathedral belonging to the transitional
period from Byzantine to Gothic, mostly of bishops of the thirteenth
century. The best preserved is in the Capilla del Nacimiento, and
enshrines the remains of Bishop Rodrigo, who died in 1232. The tympanum
of the arch is occupied by a representation of the Crucifixion, below
this being shown a funeral procession, with the mourners tearing their
hair in a grotesque excess of grief. The benevolence of the good
prelate is immortalised by a figure distributing food to the poor, the
halt, and the blind. The tomb of Bishop Martin (1254-1289), in the south
transept, is adorned with the favourite scene from the life of St.
Martin of Tours--the division of the cloak. The monuments to the bishops
Manrique de Lara, Erasmus, and Martin (second of the name) are all in
much the same style, but differing stages of preservation. In the
Capilla del Salvador, behind the High Altar, may be seen the graceful
effigy of the Countess Sancha (eleventh century), executed in the
fourteenth century by Maestre Juan Lope, as an inscription on the robe
informs us. The relief on the front of the tomb, showing a youth dragged
along by a fiery horse, probably refers to the punishment in this world
or the next of the wicked nephew, by whom the countess was assassinated.
Another tomb in the same chapel bears the figure of a venerable man with
flowing beard and ample robes.
At the north-eastern shoulder of the church, between it and the tower in
the city wall already mentioned, is the fine rectangular chapel of
Santiago, built in the time of the Catholic sovereigns--on the site, it
would seem, of a twelfth-century chapel. The pillars are borne on the
shoulders of various figures, among them being Samson, the Queen of
Sheba, Laocoon, and a monk with a book on which is the derisive motto
_legere et non intelligere_. The details of the architecture are
capricious and graceful. The chapel is lighted by colossal windows,
filled with gorgeous stained glass--blue and gold, purple and
emerald--the reflected colour producing a magical effect.
The spacious cloister, which conceals the northern façade of the
cathedral, was built in the early fourteenth century, but it has been
rebuilt, restored, and altered into what Street calls ‘a very poor and
weak kind of Renaissance.’ The ornamentation is profuse and not in bad
taste. The inner walls have not been much altered, and the pillars
supporting them are sculptured in the Gothic style. The bays are painted
with an extremely valuable and interesting series of frescoes, so well
drawn that they were more likely the work of some fifteenth-century
Italian artist than productions of native talent. The subjects are all
from the history of Christ and Mary, the Crucifixion curiously enough
being omitted. When Street saw these paintings forty years ago, he spoke
of the colours as pure and good, but they have now been almost entirely
obliterated by the damp. The cloister contains several sepulchral
monuments, some mere slabs, but one--that of the Canon Juan de Grajal
(1447)--elaborately and artistically sculptured. Some colossal idiot has
cut off the heads of the angels shown in this fine piece of work. Near
the beautiful Gothic entrance to the cloister is an image of our Lady of
Regla, to which at one time the people used to proceed in procession to
return thanks for the mythical victory of Clavijo, a choir of damsels
representing the equally mythical tribute of one hundred virgins said to
have been paid by Mauregato to the Moors.
In the archives of the cloister are preserved a fine collection of
codices and documents, throwing light on the history not only of Spain
but of the Catholic Church. Specially valuable is a Gothic Bible written
_sub umbraculo Santae Marie et Sancti Martini in monasterio vocabulo Alb
... in DCCCCLVIII._ [920 A.D.], by John the Deacon, who transcribed on
the intermediate pages the life of San Froilan.
We cross the spacious plaza in front of the cathedral, with its fine
marble fountain, presided over by Neptune and his Tritons, and go into
the town in search of ancient buildings. Of thirteenth-century
architecture there are no more examples; but the southern wall was built
by Alfonso XI. about 1324, to take in a quarter which had hitherto been
a suburb. The old Roman wall began at the stern, square Torre de los
Ponces. The gates in Alfonso’s wall have all been restored and
modernised, except that of Santo Domingo, which, with its low arch and
pointed vaulting, preserves the true mediæval air. The Moneda gate
carries a statue of Carlos III., erected in 1759, the year of his
accession. Enrique II. (Trastamara) built a palace at Leon on the model,
it is said, of the Alcazar at Seville. What was left of this structure
has been converted into a prison.
The Renaissance, which left everywhere in Spain so deep an impress, did
not leave untouched this Gothic capital. Beside such triumphs of the
Romanesque and pointed styles as San Isidoro and the PULCHRA LEONINA
rises the church of San Marcos, an interesting specimen of the newer
school. Founded as a chapel of the new order of Santiago in 1170, the
church witnessed the election of the first prior, and received in 1184
the ashes of the first grand master, Pedro Fernandez de Fuente Encalada.
Fernando the Catholic ordered the church to be rebuilt in 1514, but the
work progressed very slowly and was not actually finished till 1715. The
most important part of the fabric and the plans, however, we owe to Juan
de Badajoz, who was working here about 1550. With the adjoining convent,
first a hospice for pilgrims to Compostela, now the Provincial Museum,
the building presents a very imposing appearance. The church occupies
the eastern side of the block, the portal being contained within a very
deep and lofty semicircular arch. On either side, in deep plateresque
niches, are fine but damaged reliefs by Crozec. The ‘acroterium’ (to
employ an expression used by Spanish writers), surmounting the arch,
appears to be unfinished, as also are the towers or large buttresses
flanking the portal.
The church is large and cruciform, with some good glass, windows with
plateresque traceries, and fine arabesques. The most notable accessories
are the choir stalls, the upper row exhibiting admirably carved busts of
New Testament worthies; the lower row, of the saints of the Old
Dispensation. Grotesque and capricious masks, centaurs, griffins, and so
forth, are introduced in great profusion into the decoration; they were
the work, for the most part, of one Doncel in 1542, and were mutilated
by a pupil of Churriguera in the early part of the eighteenth century.
The work of Juan de Badajoz is to be seen in the Sacristy, a spacious
nave of three vaults, richly designed and gilded. Under the windows are
medallions with busts in relief, very well done. The retablo in the
plateresque style shows the Eternal Father with His angels, and the
Vision of Santiago. The inscriptions on the frieze are from the Book of
Leviticus.
Much good work is to be seen in the cloisters, begun in the Armada year
or thereabouts, but interest here chiefly centres in the Prior’s
apartments where the illustrious Quevedo was imprisoned by order of the
Count-Duke Olivares, from December 1639 to June 1643,--the penalty for
an all too true and biting lampoon.
Quevedo thus describes his prison in one of the letters to his friend
Adán de la Parra:--
‘Although at first I was imprisoned in a tower of this sacred
house, as roomy as it was light and warm for this season of the
year, a short time after by superior order (I will not say by
superior disorder) I was taken to another much more uncomfortable
one, where I am now. It is an underground room, as damp as a
spring, so dark that in it it is always night, and so cold that it
is always like January. It is undoubtedly more like a tomb than a
prison.... The latitude of this tomb, in which I am enclosed, is
barely twenty-four feet and the width nineteen. The roof and walls
are in many places fallen owing to the damp, and everything is so
black that it seems more like a hiding-place of fugitive thieves
than the prison of a man of honour. In order to enter it two
equally strong doors have to be passed; one is on the floor of the
convent and the other on the floor of my prison, after twenty-seven
steps designed like a precipice.... This is the life to which I am
doomed by him who, because I would not be his favourite, is now my
enemy.’
The grand façade of the old convent, extending to the river bank, is
divided into two stories, the lower characterised by semicircular
windows between pilasters in the plateresque style, and separated by
niches; the upper by rectangular windows with balconies, disposed
between columns, and likewise separated by niches in pairs. The frieze
beneath the lower row of windows is adorned by a series of medallions,
displaying the heads of mythological and historical worthies, Gentiles
and Christians, ancients and moderns, most oddly assorted. With Priam
and Hector, Hannibal and Cæsar, we find Charlemagne and the Cid, Charles
V. and Philip II., with Lucretia, Judith and Isabel the Catholic. The
busts to the left of the doorway are those of the grand masters of the
Order of Santiago. The doorway itself is a very unhappy combination of
the plateresque and baroque styles, but the statue of Fame surmounting
it is not devoid of grace and dignity. The balconies and windows facing
the river date from the eighteenth century.
A good deal of building went on in Leon during the sixteenth century. In
the Plaza de San Marcelo (before Alfonso XI.’s time, outside the walls)
stands the mansion of the illustrious Guzman family, of which Guzman el
Bueno, of Tarifa fame, was an illegitimate and the most distinguished
member. It was built in the year 1560 by Juan Juiñones y Guzman, Bishop
of Calahorra. Its architecture is severe and imposing. Over the main
entrance, adjoining a square tower at the corner of the building, are
two medallions on which is engraved the motto, ‘Ornanda est dignitas
domo--non domo dignitas tota quærenda’--a device which one wishes all
the architects of the age had borne in mind. The interior _patio_ is
adorned with handsome plateresque reliefs. Next to the Casa Guzman is
the residence of the marquesses of Villasinta, in rather similar style.
Beneath the sixteenth-century façade of the mansion of the great Luna
family was discovered a fine Gothic arch, with another pointed arch
supported by columns with Byzantine capitals. This work cannot be later
than the thirteenth century. In the _patio_ is a magnificent arch
designed with arabesques.
Looking on the Plaza de San Marcelo is one of Leon’s two town halls,
finished by Juan de Rivera in 1584. The lower story is of the Doric
order, the upper Ionic. In the council-chamber, hung with damask and
velvet, may be read the verses proclaiming the excellences of the
city:--
‘En argen Leon contemplo
Fuerte, purpureo, triunfal.
De veinte santos ejemplo,
Donde está el unico templo
Real y sacerdotal.
Tuvo veinte y cuatro reyes
Antes que Castilla leyes;
Hizo el fuero sin querellas;
Libertó las cien doncellas
De las infernales greyes.’
The other town hall (Casas Consistoriales) in the Plaza Mayor was built
to accommodate the municipal authorities on the occasion of festivities
and public functions in the square. It is an elegant building, built in
1677, and is surmounted by a pediment and acroteria, and by weather
vanes on its flanking towers.
The modern church of San Marcelo, which gives its name to the square,
was founded by Ramiro I. in the ninth century, and was liberally endowed
in after years by Alfonso VI. Marcelus is a reputed local martyr, a
Roman legionary who refused to adore the divinity of Cæsar, and was
beheaded, having blessed his executioners. By another account the
martyrdom took place at Tangier, whence, at all events, the saint’s
relics were brought here in 1493. The tympanum of a thirteenth-century
doorway in the wall at the back of the church is all that remains of the
original fabric. A deserted esplanade beyond the walls, to the
south-west of the city, marks the site of the once famous shrine of San
Claudio, erected first in Constantine’s day on the place of martyrdom of
Claudius, Lupercius, and Victoricus. Al Mansûr is said to have been
struck with sudden panic when about to attack this church. Successive
fanes of great magnificence rose over the spot, the last being destroyed
by fire in the sixteenth century.
Santa Maria del Mercado still exhibits much ancient work. Its arching
and capitals are Byzantine in style. The suburban church of San Pedro de
los Huertos was, it is said, the cathedral, before the time of Ordoño
II. In the tenth century we hear of it as a monastery for both sexes.
Another extremely old foundation is San Salvador del Nido, founded as a
monastery by Queen Urraca. A local guide states that Carlo Alberto, the
ex-King of Sardinia, received the last sacraments and expired in this
church on April 8, 1849. I confess I have not troubled to verify this,
but have hitherto laboured under the impression that the unlucky
predecessor of Victor Emmanuel breathed his last at Oporto.
Having noticed this link with the history of our own times, we take
leave of Leon, and hasten across the plains to the city which succeeded
it as capital of the growing monarchy of Leon and Castile.
II
BURGOS
THE CAPITAL OF CASTILE
Burgos, the red and white city in the broad valley of the Arlanzon, is
more mediæval than many an older town. For she was no inheritance from
Celts or Romans, but was born in the Dark Ages, waxed prosperous within
them, and declined with the Renaissance and the dawn of the modern era.
There is nothing that is classical, little that is modern, about this
old capital of Castile. All her memories are of Gothic, mediæval,
romantic Spain. To her belong knights and barons, shield and helm and
lance, tournaments and jousts, soaring Gothic spires, and the quiet of
the cloister--all the pageant and panorama of mediævalism.
Burgos was born amid the clash of arms. This dry, desert-like province
of Castile, which is now the very heart of, and whose name is almost
synonymous with Spain, was a thousand years ago a very debatable ground
between Moor and Christian. Leon, to the west, looked fiercely east and
south towards the dusky garrisons of Medina Sarakusta (Zaragoza), and
Tolaitola (Toledo). In itself the country seemed hardly worth settling
in or fighting for. It was the frontier, the ‘marches,’ as we should
have called it in olden England. And in the Dark Ages danger ever ran
like a hedge along the border of two lands. The valley of the Arlanzon,
a veritable oasis in this desert, was early peopled with shepherds and
tillers of the soil. To protect these against the forays of the Beni
Kasim from Zaragoza, early in the ninth century a fort or advanced post
was established here by the kings of Asturias and Leon. Its defence was
entrusted by Ordoño I. to a count (850-866), despite whose efforts the
post was destroyed by the Moors under Abd-ur-Rahman in the year 865.
Rallying from these disasters, the new king Alfonso III. (866-910) took
steps to defend the frontier, and appointed Diego Porcellos count or
warden of the marches. This personage--the first whose name is
particularly associated with Burgos--found the settlement on the
Arlanzon reduced to six groups of houses. He threw together three or
four hamlets, including, it is said, the churches of Santa Coloma, Santa
Gadea, and San Juan Evangelista, and surrounded the whole with a wall.
The dissensions among the Moors themselves favoured the development of
the nascent town, and also permitted its governors, like those of the
other frontier forts, to turn their attention to domestic politics. Don
Gonzalo Fernández, who reigned as count from about 884 to 915, was a
party to various conspiracies and intrigues against his sovereign, the
net result of which appeared to be to confirm him in his petty
sovereignty. Patriotism was an unknown virtue in those days, and the
counts of Castile were bent rather upon consolidating their own
authority than combining against the Infidel. They are said in fact to
have flatly refused to accompany the king on one of his campaigns.
Revenge for such treason could in the tenth century take but one form.
Ordoño II. summoned four of the rebellious vassals--Abu-l-Mundhir
(evidently a Moor), Nuño Fernández, another Diego Porcellos, and
Fernando Ansúrez--into his presence, and sent them in chains to Leon,
where, after a painful captivity, they were put to death. Spanish
writers, who express no particular horror at the atrocities of the
Inquisition in after years, appear somewhat unaccountably shocked at
such rough and ready justice.
As a stroke of policy this deed of violence was a bad one. The
Castilians, as it is now time to call the inhabitants of the marches,
conceived a lasting aversion to the government of Leon, and the desire
for independence grew stronger. An interregnum seems to have taken place
at Burgos after the execution of Nuño Fernández and his colleagues. We
hear at this time of two famous but nebulous personages, Nuño Nuñez
Rasura and Lain Calvo, who were elected as judges to rule over the
little commonwealth. Their reign as actual rulers was brief, for about
the year 930 we find all authority in Castile in the strong hands of the
greatest Spaniard of that age--Fernan González, the king-maker.
The fame of the good _Conde Castellano_, as González is lovingly called
by the annalists, is overshadowed in the song and story of Spain only by
that of the Cid himself. His heroic exploits against Moor and Christian
are magnified and set forth in popular ballads and legends, dating
mostly, it is true, from the thirteenth century. The real Fernan
González is a difficult person to understand and appraise, when we have
cleared away as much as possible the clouds of tradition and romance
which obscure his features. Like the Cid, we find him repeatedly
revolting against his sovereign, and striving very much harder for the
independence of Castile than for the interests of the whole kingdom. But
unlike the greater Spanish hero, he never seems to have been in the pay
of the Moslems, or to have in concert with them turned his sword against
his fellow Christians. Judged by the standard of that day, Fernan
González was a great man. He was a good lord to his immediate vassals, a
valiant and determined enemy of the Moor, a patriot in a very parochial
sense, and a strong man.
Ramiro the king, jealous of Fernan González’s power and influence,
dispossessed him of his countship, and released him from prison only
when he had sworn fidelity and obedience anew. His daughter Urraca was
given in marriage to the king’s son, Ordoño, by whom, however, she was
afterwards repudiated. Till the death of Ramiro the count was not
suffered to return to Burgos, which was meanwhile governed by the
Infante Don Sancho. Meanwhile the Moors ravaged the country, destroying
the monastery of Cardeña without the walls of Burgos, and greatly
profiting by the internal disorders of Leon.
On the abdication of Ramiro in 950, González was reinstated in his
fiefs, and henceforward played the part of king-maker in northern
Spain, changing sides more than once, establishing every day more firmly
his own authority, and warring unceasingly against the Moor. His policy
often met with severe rebuffs, and he sustained not a few disastrous
reverses; but his death in 970 was felt as a deadly blow to Christian
Spain and to the Castilians in particular, whose national aspirations
undoubtedly coincided with his own ambitions.
He had succeeded so far as to establish a dynasty; and his son Garcia
Fernández became the next count of Castile as of right. The defects of
the hereditary system became at once apparent, for while inheriting his
father’s rank, Garcia inherited little of his ability. Unluckily for
him, he was the contemporary of the terrible Al Mansûr, the greatest and
most formidable of the Moorish race. Castile was ravaged from the Sierra
Guadarrama to the sea. Don Sancho, supported by the Moors, revolted
against his father, who died from wounds received in battle on the banks
of the Douro, in May 995. The unfilial Sancho was at once acknowledged
sovereign Count of Castile, but was compelled to pay an annual tribute
to the Khalifa of Cordoba. But we find Al Mansûr waging war against him
seven years later. It was the great Mohammedan’s last campaign, and
Sancho profited by the dismay into which their leader’s mortal sickness
plunged the Moslems to expel them from his dominions.
Two or three years later we find the envoys of rival Moorish monarchs
soliciting the aid of the count of Castile; and in 1009 Sancho paid off
old scores by taking and sacking the proud city of the Khalifas. Never
had so much richness been seen in barren Castile, when her armies
returned laden with booty. ‘He of the good laws,’ as Sancho was styled
by his subjects, died in 1021, and was buried in the church of the
monastery of San Salvador de Oña, which he had founded.
The sisters of his youthful son and successor, Garcia II., were married
to the kings of Leon and Navarre; and Garcia went to Leon to seek the
hand of King Bermudo’s daughter, and to demand recognition of his title
as king of Castile. The poniards of the three sons of the Count de Vela
left him a bleeding corpse at the door of the church of San Isidoro, on
the 13th May 1029, and put an end to the male line of the house of
Fernan González. His destined bride became the wife of Fernando, son of
the king of Navarre, who was proclaimed count of Castile, though he
enjoyed nothing more than the semblance of sovereignty till his father’s
death in 1035. Bermudo of Leon died two years later, and Fernando thus
became king of united Leon and Castile--the former in right of his wife,
the latter in right of his mother.
The newly crowned king was immediately assailed by his elder brother,
Garcia of Navarre, who invaded Castile with an army largely composed of
Mussulmans, and threatened Burgos. After some days passed in fruitless
negotiations between the fraternal enemies, the Navarrese king was
defeated and slain. Eleven years later--in 1065--Fernando I. followed
his brother to the grave. Deeming his dominions too vast to be
administered by one man he divided them, allotting Castile to his
first-born son Sancho, from which it may be inferred that he considered
that province the fairest of his possessions. Not contented with the
lion’s share of the spoils, the king of Castile wrested the kingdom of
Leon from his brother Alfonso, whom he imprisoned in the castle of
Burgos. Sancho next endeavoured to deprive his sister Urraca of her
little principality of Zamora. Before the walls of that town he fell a
victim to the sword of Bellido Dolfos, and to the kingdoms which he had
by dint of violence and treachery reunited, succeeded Alfonso, but
lately a guest of the kindly Moorish Amir of Toledo.
So far the history of Burgos and of Castile generally has been an
involved and tedious record of dynastic arrangements, civil strife, and
desultory warfare with the Moor. The dullness of the panorama is now
relieved by the picturesque and crudely romantic personality of the
Cid--‘he that in a good hour was born’--Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar.
‘Rodrigo is Burgos, Rodrigo is Castile, Rodrigo is Spain,’ says Don
Rodrigo Amador de los Rios. ‘His prowess, his glory, his trials, his
renown, are the renown, the trials, the glory, and the prowess of the
fatherland. His form, which touches the confines of the supernatural,
and stands forth vigorous and powerful in the interesting picture of the
Middle Ages, is the spontaneous creation of a people--is the people
itself--whose marvellous instinct has given it from its own being, heat
and life. His honour is the honour of Castile and Spain; there is
nothing in his personality which does not represent and symbolise with
transcendental expression the national character; he is the splendid
synthesis in which a nation is resumed, the idol of the ages, the
pattern of all perfection, the permanent example of all the virtues, the
true mirror of the Middle Ages, with all that they had of noble and
generous, rude and loyal, warrior and devotee, tradition and history,
legend and fact, petty and great; the manifestation, in short, of the
essential and permanent in the Spanish nationality, which does not vary,
and is transmitted unimpaired from generation to generation, through the
centuries; the spirit which informs and sustains the peoples, in all the
epochs of history.’
I quote _in extenso_ an eminent Spaniard’s appreciation of the national
hero. But accepting even the Cid of the ballads and legends, it does not
seem that a high compliment is paid to Spain by recognising in him her
absolute personification and embodiment. The traditions of less cultured
races have conceived purer heroes. But in Burgos, almost his native
place, we must not approach the memory of the doughty Campeador in any
cold or captious mood. You may visit (though you will derive neither
pleasure nor profit from the journey) the miserable hamlet of Vivar,
five or six miles from Burgos, where he first saw the light somewhere
about the year 1040. For ancestors, tradition credits him with the
famous judges, Lain Calvo and Nuño Rasura, two worthies whose existence
is at least problematical. But that Rodrigo (or Ruy) Diaz was a good
Burgolese, there can be no question. Here he passed his youth at the
court of Fernando I., rising to the high rank of Alferez or
standard-bearer in the service of King Sancho. He was among the
champions selected by his sovereign to decide the fate of the two
kingdoms in a personal conflict with a similar number of Leonese
knights. But whatever luck may have attended Rodrigo individually on
this occasion, the Castilians got the worst of the encounter; whereupon
Sancho refused to stand by his bargain, and by more military and less
chivalrous methods secured his brother’s realms.
When Alfonso ascended the throne of Castile, it was the Cid who exacted
from him, at the gate of the church of Santa Gadea, the humiliating oath
that he had had no share in his brother’s murder--an indignity which
Alfonso did not quietly forget. He dissimulated his resentment, however,
and gave his sister Jimena in marriage to the valiant Campeador. Soon
after the threatened quarrel broke out, and the haughty vassal abandoned
all his estates in Castile, and entered the service of the Moorish Amir
of Zaragoza. The chronicles tell how on his visiting Burgos the knight
found, by order of the king, every door shut against him. Only a little
girl nine years of age ventured to address him. From their windows the
citizens beheld him and wept, crying, ‘How good a vassal, if he had only
a good lord!’ Very sadly the Cid passed the night with his followers
without the walls. He visited his wife and daughters at the monastery of
Cardeña, and turned his face from Castile. He was at shifts for money--a
precedent Don Quixote appears to have forgotten--and bethought him of an
ingenious expedient. Filling an enormous coffer with stones and sand, he
offered it, as being laden with gold and treasure, as security to a Jew,
on the understanding that it should not be opened till the money was
repaid. The confiding usurer readily advanced six hundred marks of gold
and silver, and the coffer remains to this day to attest the simplicity
of the Jewish character and the eminently commercial aptitudes of the
Castilian national hero.
With Rodrigo’s wonderful exploits in other parts of Spain we are not
here concerned. When he died at Valencia at a ripe age, he was brought
back to his native place, seated upright on his famous steed Babieca,
and laid to rest beside his wife at Cardeña. There he was suffered to
remain till the year 1842, when his ashes were transported to the town
hall of Burgos. A brave soldier, but one of the sorriest of the nation’s
heroes!
During the lifetime of this worthy and the reign of Alfonso VI., Toledo
was captured from the Moors, and Burgos ranked henceforward only as a
secondary capital of Spain. It may be remarked that till Philip II.
published his decree that ‘_Madrid solo es corte_,’ the kingdom could
not be said in the modern sense of the word ever to have had a capital.
Burgos, Valladolid, Toledo, and Seville had all equal claims to be
considered the seat of government. As the Moorish frontier was pushed
farther and farther south, Burgos lost in military importance. But its
dignity was enhanced in an ecclesiastical sense, for it was raised in
1073 to an archiepiscopal see. Then followed the stormy days of Queen
Urraca, when the city came in for its fair share of turmoil and
bloodshed. Order was temporarily restored under the ‘Emperor’ Alfonso
VII. An important ecclesiastical council was held here in 1136. Alfonso,
at his death in 1157, most unwisely divided his estates, bestowing
Castile upon the eldest, Fernando. The events of 1070 were repeated.
Leon and Castile waged war against each other, and when the infant,
Alfonso VIII., succeeded his father on the Castilian throne in 1158, the
Laras and Castros, rivals for the regency, turned their swords against
each other. Burgos was once more the capital of an independent kingdom,
and witnessed in 1170 the marriage of the young king to Eleanor,
daughter of Henry II. of England--the first of the many happy alliances
between the royal houses of the two countries.
Alfonso’s reign was prosperous and glorious. He was a tolerant monarch,
and showed favour to the Moslems. There seems in his time to have been
an important mosque at Burgos. To propitiate Heaven, after the terrible
defeat of the Christians at Alarcos, Eleanor persuaded her husband to
build the monastery of Las Huelgas, to which act of piety no doubt was
attributed the ‘crowning mercy’ of las Navas de Tolosa in 1212.
During the struggle for the regency, which ensued on the death of
Alfonso, Burgos sided with the boy-king’s suitor Berenguela, who soon
after became queen in her own right. Without hesitation this high-minded
princess abdicated in favour of her son Fernando, the issue of her
marriage with Alfonso of Leon, which had been dissolved by the Pope. The
new king was attacked by his own father and by the arch-rebel of Spain,
Alvar Fanez, but he triumphed over his enemies, and in 1230 succeeded to
his unnatural father’s dominions, thus uniting finally and for ever the
kingdoms of Leon and Castile.
‘From the time of St. Ferdinand,’ remarks a recent historian of Spain
(Mr. Ulick Burke), ‘Moors in Castile became as scarce as foxes in
Middlesex.’ An era of prosperity seemed about to dawn for Burgos--_caput
Castellae camera regia_, as she proudly styled herself. There were great
doings within her walls when the son of the king of England (afterwards
Edward I.) came here in October 1254 to espouse Leonor, sister of King
Alfonso the Learned. The English prince was made a knight by his
prospective brother-in-law in the church of Santa Maria, where the
marriage later on took place. In 1269 Edward came again to Burgos to
assist at the nuptials of the Infante Fernando and the Princess Blanche
of France. Among the guests were also the king of Aragon, the sultan of
Granada, the Infantes of Aragon and Castile, ‘and other great
_ricoshombres_ and knights of the kingdom of Castile and Leon, and
counts and dukes of France, and other hidalgos of that country; and the
Marquis of Montferrat, who was wedded to Doña Beatriz, daughter of King
Alfonso.’
The learned king did much to organise and to purify the administration,
and as a natural consequence a sedition was fomented by his brother Don
Felipe and the chiefs of the Lara, Haro, and Castro families. The rebels
appeared in force before Burgos, and the king invited the leader to the
Cortes then in session (1271). This invitation was refused, but a
meeting was arranged at the Hospital del Rey outside the walls. Alfonso
was in a most conciliatory mood, and as the rebels wanted only a
colourable pretext to continue their campaign of rapine and lawlessness,
the more he granted the more they wanted. Finally the ringleaders
retired in utter disgust to Granada.
Burgos was the scene of one of Alfonso’s worst deeds. Suspecting his
brother Don Fadrique of intriguing with his grandchildren, the
disinherited Infantes de la Cerda, he ordered him to be confined in the
castle, where the unfortunate prince was put to death by his ferocious
nephew, the Infante Sancho. After the marriage of the Infantes Don Pedro
and Don Juan with Margaret of Narbonne and Joanna of Montferrat, at
Burgos in 1281, Sancho himself revolted against his father and caused
himself to be proclaimed king. He obtained possession of the city, and,
strangely enough, reinterred with great ceremony in the monastery of La
Trinidad the very uncle he had killed.
Señor Amador de los Rios attributes the rivalry of the two cities of
Valladolid and Burgos to the preference shown the former city by the
wife of Sancho IV., Doña Maria Molina. For all that, it was the old
capital of Castile where Sancho caused his son Fernando to be publicly
declared heir to the throne.
Burgos was now a large and populous town. It owed much of its prosperity
to its considerable Jewish colony, of which Don Todros Abulafia was
Nasi, and Abu-l-Hasan Aben el Harits, physician to the king, one of the
elders. The Israelites contributed over one hundred thousand maravedis
to the revenue in the city alone. With the important part played by the
Jews in the internal policy of Spain I have dealt at greater length in
my work on Toledo in the present series.
During the regency of Doña Maria Molina, Valladolid was the usual seat
of the court. But Burgos continued to be the scene of great functions of
state. The marriage of the Duke of Brittany and the sister of Fernando
IV. was celebrated here in January 1311; and several Cortes and councils
met here. From Fernando the city obtained many privileges and
favours--the town and revenues of Villafranca de Montes de Oca being
granted to the municipality.
We pass over the civil wars and intrigues which distracted the reign of
Alfonso XI., and find Burgos ruled by one born within its walls--Pedro
the Cruel. Seville is more intimately associated with this picturesque
and sinister personality, but here it was that he caused the governor,
Garcilaso de la Vega, to be beaten to death in his presence, and watched
the bulls in the arena without trampling on and tossing the mangled body
of the victim. De la Vega’s remains were then placed in a casket, which
was hung from the castle walls that all might fear the king’s justice.
In 1355, after a busy butchering expedition, Pedro decorated a room in
the castle with the heads he had collected, the slaughtered grandees,
Lope de Bandaña, Gonzalo de Melendez, and Jofre Tenorio, contributing in
this way to the adornment of the chamber and the delight of their lord.
It was at the old capital of Castile that he was residing when Enrique
de Trastamara with Bertrand du Guesclin and the White Company crossed
the border. Pedro fled, and his brother was crowned at Las Huelgas. When
the tide had temporarily set in Pedro’s favour, it was in the cathedral
of Burgos that he and the Black Prince swore to the terms of their
alliance. But in the following year (1368) Enrique’s star was once more
in the ascendant, and a king, innately almost as vicious as our Henry
VIII., had gone to join his hosts of victims on the other side of the
tomb.
Burgos, under the Trastamara dynasty, resumed for a time the rank of
capital of Spain. Like his father, Don Juan I. was crowned here, at Las
Huelgas, in 1379, amid great festivities and rejoicings. His son,
afterwards Enrique III., was born here, probably in the great castle,
founded by Diego Porcellos, which perhaps gave its name to the whole
kingdom. Few traces exist to-day of the original building, which was the
habitual residence of the sovereign. Enrique III., however, ‘decreed a
stately palace dome’ at Miraflores, on the left bank of the Arlanzon,
at some distance from the city, but he died before its completion. A
strange monarch was this Enrique. Tired of living in poverty while his
nobles wallowed in luxury, he invited them to a banquet at the castle.
On their arrival they found no well-spread table, but the executioner
with his axe and block. It was only by liberal disbursements and
advances that they escaped this functionary’s professional attentions.
Thus did the needy monarch of Castile, who it is said had to pawn his
coat to get a dinner, replenish his exchequer.
During the reign of Juan II. the castle of Burgos was held by Don Pedro
de Estuñiga, the implacable foe of the great Constable, Alvaro de Luna.
The king on one occasion actually found the gates of his own castle
closed against him by this arrogant vassal, who at last compassed de
Luna’s downfall and death at Valladolid. In atonement for this brutal
sacrifice of his favourite, Juan converted the palace built by his
father into a Carthusian monastery--to the disgust, we are told, of the
local ecclesiastical authorities.
During the reign of Enrique IV. the castle of Burgos was a focus of
rebellion and conspiracy. On the king’s death the castle was held by
the Estuñigas for the Princess Juana, called by her enemies la
Beltraneja, while the town espoused the cause of Isabel and her
Aragonese husband. The bishop, who had retired to the castle of Rabe,
joined forces with the Estuñigas, and the townsfolk, thus placed between
two fires, implored the assistance of the court at Valladolid. Meanwhile
the Portuguese allies of Juana were implored to succour the castle.
Fernando of Aragon appeared at Burgos in June 1475 and invested the
Estuñigas’ stronghold. An attack on the church of Santa Maria la Blanca
was beaten off with loss, but the garrison, losing heart, ultimately
surrendered to the besiegers. The king of Portugal, instead of hurrying
on with all speed to Burgos, went into winter quarters at Zamora, while
Fernando prosecuted the siege with his accustomed vigour. The garrison
held out bravely, and seem to have at last capitulated, more out of
disgust at the inaction of their ally than from any inability to defend
themselves further. The commandant treated with Isabel in person, and
surrendered on obtaining a free and unconditional pardon for himself and
all his followers.
The union of Spain, consequent on the marriage of Isabel of Castile
with Fernando of Aragon, tended to diminish the importance of Burgos.
Nor was its prosperity augmented by the expulsion of the Jews--after
they had been decimated by repeated massacres--the act of two sovereigns
whose wisdom, greatness, and virtue English writers, as well as Spanish,
never tire of extolling.
The Burgolese joined the Comunidad in 1520, allying themselves with
Toledo and Segovia, Zamora, Toro, Madrid, Avila, Guadalajara, Cuenca,
Alcala, and Soria. The citizens seized the castle and murdered an
unpopular official, Garcia Jofre, afterwards sacking the episcopal
palace. They surrounded the palace of the Constable of Castile, Don
Iñigo Fernandez de Velasco, and were deterred from burning it to the
ground only by the intercession of the clergy, who exposed the Sacrament
over the doorway. The Constable fled to Briviesca, but some months after
returned in triumph to the now pacified city. Sixteen years later we
find the townsfolk welcoming Charles V. with enthusiasm, and erecting in
his honour the graceful arch of Santa Maria. Burgos had accepted the new
monarchy and the new era. The product of another age, she found herself
unfitted to play a distinguished part in this. Not without dignity she
passes into the background, and history knows her no more.
THE CATHEDRAL
Built at the instance of an English bishop and, like all the cathedrals
of northern Spain, on a French model, the church of Santa Maria la Mayor
is conspicuously more Spanish than that of either Leon or Toledo. This
more national character may be due to later additions and
alterations--alterations and additions which have neither obscured nor
impaired that wonderful unity and harmony of design apparent in this,
the ideal Gothic church.
The cathedral occupies the site of a church built in 1075, where a
summer palace of Fernan González had till then stood. The first stone
was laid on July 20, 1221, by Bishop Maurice, an Englishman who had come
over to Castile in the train of Henry II.’s daughter Eleanor. The
saintly King Fernando took a lively interest in the great work, which
progressed so rapidly that the cathedral appears to have been ready for
the reception of the faithful in November 1230. The nationality of the
bishop and his share in the building of the fabric are, however, matters
of dispute between historical writers.
The cathedral is built on very uneven ground, a circumstance which
rather enhances than detracts from its picturesqueness. O’Shea calls
attention to a remarkable trait in the exterior, rarely possessed by
buildings otherwise of equal merit: ‘We mean that the forms should be
bold projections or reproductions in relief of the internal parts, as in
embossing. Thus, in this cathedral, the eye embraces the inward
distribution at one glance from the shape of the parts outside.’ From a
distance the most conspicuous parts of the edifice are the steeples
surmounting the west front and the lantern over the crossing. The
delicacy and nobility of the spires, pinnacles, and open-work adorning
the glorious fabric tempt one to rhapsody. But so much beauty can be
adequately portrayed only by the brush, not by the pen.
The lowest stage of the western or main front is pierced by the three
doors corresponding to the nave and aisles within. Formerly rich in
sculpture, this part of the façade was rebuilt in the latter part of the
eighteenth century, in accordance with the pseudo-classical ideas of the
time, and robbed of nearly all its statuary. The ‘restorers’ spared the
statues of Alfonso VI., San Fernando, and the Bishops Maurice and
Astorio at the side of the Puerta Real (Central Door), and the
sculptures of the Coronation and Immaculate Conception of the Virgin
over the lateral entrances. This lowest stage of the west front in its
extreme plainness and severity presents an incomplete appearance when
contrasted with the much more elaborate and ancient work above. Over the
middle door, within a noble and gracefully moulded ogival arch, is a
large, finely traceried rose-window, lighting the nave. Above this again
are two windows, each of four lights, and their upper parts filled with
beautiful tracery. Before each light stands the statue of a youth
crowned. Over this highest stage of the middle division of the west
front is the inscription _Pulchra est et decora_ carved in stone, and
forming a balustrade, which is adorned by statues of the Redeemer, the
Madonna, and the Baptist.
Over the side doors rise the towers, surmounted with steeples, built for
Bishop Alfonso de Cartagena (1435-1456) by the artist, probably a
German, called Juan de Colonia, or John of Cologne. These steeples rise
to a height of three hundred feet, and, except at the lowest story, are
detached from the rest of the edifice. They are adorned with tall
pointed windows, the space for two of these on the second stage of the
north tower being covered, however, by the seventeenth-century clock.
The pinnacles themselves are wonderful examples of delicate fretted
stone-work. Street saw little beauty, however, in Juan de Colonia’s
work, adding that the bells in the spires were the most misshapen he had
ever seen.
The entrance to the north transept was known in the time of Alfonso X.
as the Gate of the Twelve Apostles. It stands on a higher level than the
floor of the church and is hence called Puerta Alta, or more often the
Puerta de la Coroneria. The lower portion certainly, the whole probably,
belongs to the thirteenth century. There is a great profusion of
sculpture. On either side of the door are seen the figures of the twelve
Apostles. The portal is enclosed within an ogival arch, on the archivolt
of which are shown, successively, seraphim, cherubim, and the souls of
the just rising from their graves. The upper part of the tympanum is
adorned with the figures of Christ seated and attended by the Virgin and
St. John. Below this is a composition of doubtful interpretation, the
figures on one side seeming to illustrate the judgment of the wicked,
those on the other side the establishment of the Dominicans and
Franciscans in Castile. Higher up, the façade is pierced with two high
pointed windows, and above these again by windows of several lights,
with statues in niches.
Ingress to the north transept is now obtained by a side entrance called
the Puerta de la Pellejeria, a plateresque structure facing east, dating
from the year 1516. Somewhat of the Gothic spirit may be detected in
this sumptuous but not over-decorated portal. The detail is excellent,
and the execution vigorous. With the figures of the Virgin, the
Apostles, Saints, and Bishops are associated genii, _amorini_, and
heraldic achievements in the true Renaissance style. Above the doorway
is a group representing the martyrdom of the two Saints John; and over
this a prelate, probably Rodriguez de Fonseca, is kneeling at the feet
of the Madonna. The composition is flanked by the fine statues of Saints
Peter and Paul; and on the sides of this façade are placed in niches the
statues of St. John the Baptist and St. James, and St. John the Divine
and St. Andrew.
The Puerta del Sarmental gives access to the south transept. It has the
finest of the cathedral fronts. It is approached by a broad flight of
steps, flanked by the walls of the episcopal palace and cloisters, and
by some interesting fourteenth-century tombs of bishops. The
architecture of the portal is on the same plan as that of the Puerta
Alta. In the tympanum Christ is shown with the Evangelists and the
beasts symbolical of them; below are the seated figures of the twelve
Apostles. The three orders of the archivolt are adorned with angels and
with crowned figures playing various instruments. Above all this is a
magnificent rose-window filled with beautiful glass of the fourteenth
century. The third stage of the front shows three Gothic windows,
elaborately traceried, and each divided into four lights by mullions,
supported by large figures of angels. ‘The angles of the transepts,’
says Street, ‘are flanked by crocketed pinnacles, the crockets here, as
elsewhere throughout the early work, being simple in form and design,
but as perfect in effect as it is possible for crockets to be.’
The eastern front of the cathedral is formed by the Capilla del
Condestable and its adjoining chapels. The exterior of the famous
octagonal chapel mentioned is very fine. On the uppermost stage on one
of the sides two lions, standing upright, are seen supporting laurel
crowns--one containing the cross, the other the monogram of Christ. On a
lower stage the escutcheon of the Velascos and Mendozas is displayed
between two knights armed _cap-à-pie_. The stages are flanked by
effigies under canopies. The angles of the façade are surmounted by
elegant spires and pinnacles.
The plan of the cathedral--a Latin cross, with nave, aisles, and
transept--has been obscured by the chapels built on the north, south,
and east sides, as may be seen by a glance at the plan included among
the illustrations. The nave is of six bays, and fifty-eight metres long.
Though the view is spoilt, as in all Spanish churches, by the choir, it
remains picturesque, pure, and devotional in the highest degree. The dim
religious light of our northern churches, it is true, is lacking, for
the interior is white throughout, and the stained glass, which in
earlier times would have mellowed the strong sunlight, was unhappily
shattered during the war of Independence. The aisles are lower than the
nave, from which they are separated by twenty columns, each with eight
engaged shafts. The triforium is somewhat in the nature of an
architectural curiosity, and certainly has been altered since the
thirteenth century; it consists of wide bays of five or six lights each,
with trefoil and quatrefoil traceries above, enclosed within a
semicircular arch or ‘label,’ which is decorated with sculptured heads.
Street declares that he has seen nothing like this elsewhere, and
supposes it to be the work of a native artist. Above the triforium is
the original clerestory--‘Simple, but good and vigorous in style.’
The High Altar, or Altar Mayor, occupying the centre of the apse, is
approached by a flight of steps of white, red, and black marble. It is
railed off from the ambulatory by _rejas_ or bronze screens fixed on
pedestals of jasper between the pillars of the nave; the backs of these
latter are adorned with life-size statues. Behind the altar rises the
Renaissance retablo, an elaborate and gorgeous work of walnut wood,
heavily gilded and each of its stages in a different order of
architecture. The symmetrical division of these altar-pieces into
compartments, each filled with its own statue, does not strike the
layman as artistic or pleasing. Indeed, there is something faintly
suggestive of pigeon-holes about it. Street, quoting Ponz, states that
the sculptures were the work of Rodrigo and Martin de la Aya (1577), who
were paid forty thousand ducats; and that for the painting and gilding
Juan de Urbino of Madrid and Martinez of Valladolid received, in 1573,
eleven thousand ducats. At the back of the sanctuary, between the
arches, may be seen the spirited reliefs of the celebrated Juan Vigarni
or ‘Borgoña,’ executed in 1540, and representing the Agony in the
Garden, Christ bearing the Cross, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and
the Ascension. The first and last are stated by Ford to have been
executed by one Alonso de los Rios in 1679. To the Renaissance period
also belong the handsome silver lamp and candlesticks. To an earlier age
belong the tombs on the north side of the sanctuary--two concealed by
the retablo; they contain the remains of Don Juan, the rebellious son of
Alfonso X., Don Sancho, brother of Enrique II. of Trastamara, and his
wife, Doña Beatriz. Over the altar is the copy of the banner borne
before Alfonso VIII. at the Navas de Tolosa, made by the De la Aya
brothers and others about 1570.
Over the crossing or intersection of nave and transept rises the
gorgeous lantern or octagonal dome, which Philip II. said seemed like
the work of angels rather than of men. It replaced the earlier dome
which collapsed in March 1537, and was completed in December 1567.
Felipe Vigarni (de Borgoña) and Juan de Vallejo are mentioned as the
architects. The Gothic and Renaissance styles are curiously but not
inharmoniously blended in this beautiful lantern, which rises to a
height of one hundred and seventy-three feet, and is profusely adorned
with sculpture.
Crossing the wide transept we reach the choir, which occupies three bays
of the nave. Under the eastern lectern lies the effigy--of wood cased in
bronze--of the English Bishop Maurice, a fine work believed to date from
1260. The stalls, one hundred and three in number, were executed between
1497 and 1512 by Felipe Vigarni, and bestowed on the cathedral by Bishop
Pascual de Fuensanta. They are of walnut wood, and in two tiers--all
most richly carved in fine Renaissance style, the pillars between being
moulded in similar fashion. The lower seats are, on the whole, the finer
work, and are inlaid in boxwood. The subjects of the reliefs are taken
from the acts of the saints and life of the Virgin. Scenes from Genesis
form the subject of the reliefs on the fronts of the upper stalls, the
backs illustrating the New Testament. The trascoro, or screen at the
west end of the choir, cost ten thousand ducats. The _reja_ displays the
arms of Cardinal Zapata, whose gift it was; the pillars which support it
rise from pedestals of jasper, and on brackets are placed two white
marble statues of Saints Peter and Paul. These statues, columns,
reliefs, etc., were executed at the expense of Archbishop Manso de
Zuñiga, in the first half of the seventeenth century, by Fray Juan de
Rici of the Order of St. Benedict.
The grand chapel of the Constable (Capilla del Condestable), behind the
high altar at the east end of the church, was built about 1487 by Don
Pedro Fernandez de Velasco, Conde de Haro, and Lord High Constable of
Castile, the property of whose descendant, the Duque de Frias, it
remains to-day. The architect was Juan de Colonia (John of Cologne) or,
as some will have it, his son Simon. Street sees much that is German in
the style of the chapel, but also features which may be fairly
attributed to the Spaniards who worked under the architect’s orders, or
to his own efforts to consult native tastes. While the chapel may be
described as florid Gothic, the splendid entrance arch, with its
marvellous lacelike tracery, tapering pinnacles, and railing, the
masterpiece of Andino, belongs to the Renaissance. The chapel is lighted
by fourteen stained-glass windows, displaying the arms of the Velascos,
which are repeated on four large stone escutcheons on the walls. The
retablo of the high altar, believed to be by Juan de Borgoña, has, in
its lower stage, a spirited sculpture of the Purification. Before the
altar are the noble tombs of the Constable and his wife, Doña Mencia de
Mendoza, Condesa de Haro. The effigies are of Carrara marble, the tombs
of jasper. The Constable is shown in complete armour, the details of
which are admirably rendered and merit close study. At the feet of the
Countess is crouched a dog, the emblem of fidelity. This great seigneur
of old Spain and his consort are interred in the vault beneath their
monuments. Close to the monument is a huge oblong slab of polished
jasper from the quarries of Atapuerca, weighing thirty-three tons, and
intended presumably to cover a tomb. The chapel contains many other
objects of interest. The side altars display some good sculpture, the
one in the Gothic, the other in the Renaissance style. There is a fine
Flemish triptych, and a good statue of St. Jerome by Becerra. In the
sacristy is shown the little portable ivory altar which the Constable
carried about with him, and a ‘Magdalene,’ attributed by some to Da
Vinci, by others to Luini. The plate, of the same age as the chapel,
includes a chalice of silver-gilt, enamelled in red and white and richly
jewelled; a pax in ivory and enamel, a thurible shaped like a ship; a
splendid silver-gilt cross; an oval alabaster relief of the Madonna;
and other treasures, some of which are not readily shown.
The two chapels next to that of the Constable on the north side of the
apse are earlier than the others and are of good middle-pointed style.
The chapel of San Gregorio seems to be the only one belonging to the
thirteenth-century church. It contains the tomb of Bishop Fontecha. The
adjoining chapel of San Nicolás was built in 1268 by Bishop Villahoz,
whose tomb and effigy are placed upright against the wall. Close by is
one of the finest sepulchres in the cathedral--that of the Archdeacon
Fernando Villegas, an early translator of Dante. Opposite the door of
the Nacimiento chapel is a notable picture of San Juan de Ortega by
Cuadra.
At the northern end of the transept is the grand staircase of
thirty-eight steps, leading to the Puerta Alta. It is one of the finest
examples of the art of Diego de Siloe, who was at his best when handling
such intricate and profuse decoration as this. The splendid iron
balustrade was the work of Cristobal Andino.
Opening on to the north aisle are the large chapels of Santa Ana and
Santa Tecla. The former was founded in 1474 by Bishop Luis Osorio
Acuña, whose tomb is here. A much finer altar and monument in the Gothic
style is that of the Archdeacon Fernando Diez de Fuente Pelayo, who died
in the memorable year 1492; it is in white marble and adorned with
sculpture with New Testament subjects, a good deal damaged. There are a
few good pictures in this chapel, one attributed to Andrea del Sarto,
and a sculptured genealogy of the Virgin. Of the chapel of Santa Tecla,
perhaps not much else need be said than that it is in the
Churrigueresque style and was founded in 1734. Its best feature is its
‘half-orange’ dome. O’Shea says that there formerly existed on the side
of the baptistry a small chapel dedicated to Santiago, wherein Alfonso
XI. instituted the order of knighthood of La Vanda or the Badge, of
which the kings of Castile were members.
Opening on to the southern aisle, opposite the Capilla de Santa Tecla,
is the cruciform chapel of the Santisimo Cristo de la Agonia, containing
a very ancient, curious, and (it is alleged) miraculous image of Christ.
It is supposed to have been carved by the fearful Nicodemus, and to have
been afterwards found floating in a boat on the sea. It is a grotesque
and yet a weird and impressive object, dressed up after the ridiculous
custom in Spain.
The chapel of the Presentation was founded in 1519 by the Canon Gonzalo
de Lerma, whose noble tomb in the centre of the chapel was executed
during his lifetime by Vigarni. Another fine tomb is here--that of Canon
Jacubo de Bilbao. This chapel possesses a beautiful Virgin and Child
painted on a panel, probably by Sebastiano del Piombo, and sculptures by
Berruguete. The railing is another example of Andino’s craftsmanship.
In the chapel of San Juan de Sahagun are preserved the relics of the
saint, who was a canon of Burgos. Here are also numerous other relics,
chiefly fragments of the bodies of sainted personages, among them two
local martyrs, Centola and Helena. The image of the Virgin of Oca is
fabled to have testified by a nod to the promise of marriage made by a
faithless Don Juan to a damsel--a silly story also told of the Cristo de
la Vega at Toledo. Simon, the last Bishop of Oca, is buried in this
chapel, and also the Blessed Lesmes, who is invoked by sufferers from
nephritic disorders. More interesting than any of these things is the
Cristo de la Agonia, a painting signed by El Greco.
In the chapel of the Visitation is the handsome tomb of the founder, the
Bishop de Cartagena; and in the seventeenth-century chapel of San
Enrique repose the remains of the bishops of Oca, and those of the
founder, Bishop Peralta--contained in a beautiful tomb of alabaster,
beneath a superb kneeling effigy in bronze. Of alabaster is also the
beautiful flooring of the chapel; and of bronze, the fine eagle lectern.
We now reach the sacristy, a great part of which is in the bad style of
the eighteenth century. There is some good carving, which, indeed, is
not rare in Spain; but the pictures ascribed to Murillo and other
masters are all very doubtful. A jasper table is among the most
interesting objects. We complete the circuit of the church by a visit to
the large chapel of Santiago, designed in the sixteenth century by Juan
de Vallejo. It is considered to be the parish church of Burgos. The
Apostle of Spain is shown on horseback on the high altar, and again on
the beautiful _reja_. Here lies the Abbot of San Quirce, one of the
Velasco family, beneath a tomb worthy of his illustrious ancestry. Not
far off is the sarcophagus of the Astudillos, one of whom was the
founder of the chapel of the Three Kings at Cologne. There are other
interesting tombs in this chapel, among the oldest being that of Bishop
de Villacreces, who died in 1463.
On the south-east side of the cathedral are the cloisters, among the
most beautiful buildings of their kind. Street believes them to date
from between the years 1280 and 1350. They form a quadrangle, the
dimensions of each gallery being 90 feet by 22 feet. The cloisters are
entered through a fine pointed arch, near the chapel of the Visitation,
adorned with statues and heraldic devices. The head of St. Francis of
Assisi is said to be an actual portrait. Other statues are those of the
Blessed Virgin, St. Gabriel, David, and Isaiah. The tympanum is
sculptured with the Baptism of Christ--the rite being administered to
Christ _seated_. The reliefs on the doors, which are of later date, and
were the gift of Bishop Acuña, are worthy of their splendid setting.
The cloisters are in two stages, the lower being plain, the upper very
ornate. The windows are ogival, of four lights, and freely decorated
with traceries and foliage. The angles and niches are adorned with good
statues. Among these are the effigies of St. Fernando and his wife, Doña
Beatriz, each holding a ring in commemoration of their marriage at
Burgos. The statues of Santiago and Abraham date from the thirteenth
century. There are numerous tombs and doorways, all well sculptured. Of
this cloister Street remarks, ‘I know none altogether more interesting
and more varied, or more redolent of those illustrations of and links
with the past, which are of the very essence of all one’s interest in
such works.’
In a chapel leading from the cloisters is attached to the wall one of
the celebrated trunks filled with sand which the Cid palmed off as
security for a loan upon an unusually simple-minded son of Israel. It is
antique and solid enough to date from those days at all events. Close by
is the recumbent effigy and tomb of Juan Cuchiller, the faithful servant
of Enrique III. In adjacent chapels may be seen the splendid tombs of
Canon Santander, a sixteenth-century work, with an exquisite relief of
the Virgin and Child; of Canon Aguilar, who died in 1482; and the
monuments of other canons, chaplains, and knights.
Adjoining the cloisters is the Chapter House, or Sala Capitular, with a
fine _artesonado_ ceiling, and a cornice of blue and white majolica,
around which run verses from the Proverbs. The room contains a
Crucifixion signed _Greco_, and a St. John the Divine doubtfully
attributed to Murillo. There remains to be seen the old sacristy, a
spacious room over forty feet square, and with corbels quaintly carved
with scenes from a lion hunt. The treasury of Burgos is not as rich as
that of Toledo or Seville; but it contains some magnificent and
seemingly ancient vestments, beautifully carved presses, and a long
series of portraits of the occupants of the episcopal see. Below the
cloister a lower story was built; but the arches are now blocked up and
it is neglected, though abounding in interesting tombs and monuments of
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
The south-west side of this grand cathedral is shut in by the
archbishop’s palace.
LAS HUELGAS
The other great ecclesiastical building of Burgos belongs nearly to the
same period as the cathedral. The Cistercian convent of Santa Maria la
Real de las Huelgas was founded in 1180 by Alfonso VIII. and his Queen
Eleanor, daughter of our Henry II.--to propitiate the Heavenly Powers
after the rout of Alarcos, it is asserted by some. The architect
appears to have been a countryman of his royal mistress--an Angevin--and
his work was certainly copied in those churches which were built by
Spaniards.
This historic pile stands about a mile from the city, on the road to
Valladolid. The name is derived from the verb _holgar_ (to rest), the
site having been formerly occupied by pleasure in grounds. Many of the
most striking events in Castilian history were enacted here. Here Edward
I. was knighted by Alfonso el Sabio; here, in after years, the Black
Prince lodged, fresh from his much-to-be-regretted victory at Navarrete.
Many royal personages were wedded here, and not a few were buried here
besides. Great was the dignity of the abbess, who exercised ‘the high,
the low, and the middle justice,’ or, in other words, could hang
offenders on her own gallows; whose authority extended over half a
hundred towns and villages, and who was exempt from all episcopal
jurisdiction or control. Though shorn of her proudest prerogatives and
much of her wealth, the abbess of Las Huelgas is still one of the
greatest ladies of Spain. The rule, too, of St. Bernard is observed with
primitive strictness, and the high-born nuns refuse to permit even the
most sober of archæologists to examine their cloisters.
A thirteenth-century postern leads into the _compás_ or square formed by
the convent, a graceful fourteenth-century tower, and the ancient palace
of the Castilian monarchs, now a school. The church, built by St.
Ferdinand in 1279, is of the usual cruciform plan. It is stern, simple,
very pure Gothic, despite the restorations and alterations effected in
successive ages. The nave is inaccessible to strangers, and is reserved
exclusively to the nuns, who may be seen, through the screen, assisting
at the offices in their grandly carved stalls. We loiter in the
transept, and notice the lofty lantern over the crossing, and the
revolving pulpit from which St. Vincent Ferrer is said to have preached,
though the date of its construction (1560) may be discerned carved upon
it. The chancel, with its green tapestries woven with gold--the gift of
Philip the Handsome--is flanked on either side by two chapels, but our
interest centres in the nave, of which we can only obtain a glimpse
through the grille. The tombs facing us are those of the founders,
Alfonso VIII. and Eleanor Plantagenet. The conqueror of Las Navas is
shown on a relief, enthroned, handing the charter of the abbey to the
first abbess. To the right of these tombs lies Queen Berenguela, mother
of St. Ferdinand; and farther back in the aisles are the sarcophagi of
thirty-six members of the royal house of Spain, among them the ‘Emperor’
Alfonso VII., Sancho I., Enrique I., and Margaret of Austria, Duchess of
Savoy. Anne of Austria, daughter of the great Don John, was the last
princess entombed within these venerable precincts. Unapproachable by
visitors is the chapel of Santiago, wherein is preserved an effigy of
St. James, which by means of some hidden mechanism could place the crown
on the royal brow and confer the accolade of knighthood.
The remarkable Moorish fabric, generally believed to have been a trophy
of the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, is hung in the nun’s choir, but a
replica may be seen hanging in the chancel. A detailed description of
this interesting relic is contained in Riaño’s _Spanish Arts_. Amador de
los Rios rejects the tradition that this was the Almohade standard, and
thinks it was the curtain or flap of the Amir’s tent, taken in the
battle. Riaño goes farther, and opines that it was an offering made, not
by Alfonso VIII., but by the eleventh monarch of that name. Adopting
this theory, it remains probable that the fabric was one of the spoils
of war, for the character of the texts from the Koran woven upon it are
a sufficient proof that it could not have been worked by Moorish weavers
under Christian direction.
Not far from Las Huelgas is the Hospital del Key, built by Alfonso VIII.
as a hospice for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. There is little
about this building now to suggest a twelfth-century origin. Rebuilt in
the sixteenth century and restored by Carlos III., it has been styled
one of the finest specimens of the plateresque in Castile. The Puerta de
Romeros exhibits a bewildering wealth of ornament, against which stands
out, as the most interesting features, the vigorous figure of the
apostle, and the crowned busts of Alfonso and Eleanor. The court is
bordered on two sides by cloisters, the symmetry of which is marred by
the excess of arches. The cornice, with its heraldic achievement and
busts, is, on the whole, in good taste. One side of the court is formed
by the façade of the church, restored in the plateresque style by Carlos
III. in 1771. The original structure may be recognised in some
dilapidated and deserted chambers with Mudejar ceilings, adjacent to the
Magdalena arcade. There are some graceful Mudejar capitals and Arabic
inscriptions of the thirteenth century likewise to be seen in the
stables of the Hospice.
Far more interesting and substantially more ancient, though of a later
foundation, is the Cartuja de Miraflores in an arid spot some two and a
half miles from the city. Here once stood the hunting palace of Enrique
III.--placed like so many abodes of Spanish royalty in a naturally
uninviting site, and converted by that king’s son and successor, Juan
II., into a Carthusian monastery in 1442. In consequence of a fire, all
had to be rebuilt, a few years later, under the direction of Juan de
Colonia. The edifice was not actually completed till the time of Isabel
the Catholic. The monastery is now inhabited by only a few monks, each
having his own house or cell, according to the rule of St. Bruno. Grass
grows in the courtyard, and everything wears an aspect of desolation and
neglect. The church recalls San Juan de los Reyes at Toledo. It rises
high above the adjacent buildings, simple in plan and rather spoilt by
plateresque additions. The interior, consisting of a single nave and
apse, is divided by _rejas_ or grilles into three parts, reserved
respectively to the laity, the lay brothers, and the clergy. The two
last have their own choirs. The stalls of the lay brothers are
beautifully carved in walnut, and display the figures of the apostles.
They were carved in 1558 by Simon de Bueras for the sum of 810 ducats.
The priests’ stalls, also in walnut, show the fine workmanship of Martin
Sanchez (1489), a Spaniard whose style was very Flemish. The
quadrangular altar, designed by Gil de Siloe, was adorned with gold
brought from America in the second expedition of Columbus. The
altar-piece, by the same artist and Diego de la Cruz, is a triumph of
design and colouring. It is impossible to describe in detail the almost
innumerable subjects and sculptures which make up this marvellous work.
To be easily distinguished among the religious compositions are the
figures of Juan II. and his Queen Isabel, kneeling on faldstools and
attended by their guardian angels. Above the tabernacle a superb cluster
of angels encircles a crucifix, over which is seen the symbolical figure
of the pelican. Very fine, also, is the seat occupied by the celebrating
priest during the sermon. It is the work of Martin Sanchez, and is an
exquisite specimen of Gothic carving, described by one authority as ‘one
of the most beautiful and sumptuous pieces of ecclesiastical furniture
of its kind and period in Spain or elsewhere.’
But the supreme objects of interest in this Castilian Charterhouse are
the superb tombs of Juan II., his queen, and their son, the Infante
Alfonso. These were designed and in great measure executed by Gil de
Siloe, by order of Isabel the Catholic. The effigies of the king and
queen recline on an alabaster tomb, the ground plan of which is a star
of eight points formed by two squares placed diagonally. On the angles
of the lower slab are placed figures of children supporting the royal
escutcheon, and accompanied by lions. Each of the sixteen spaces between
the points of the star is occupied by the statue of an apostle or a
cardinal virtue placed in a niche. The tracery of this part of the tomb
is indescribably rich. The angles of the upper slab are rounded off and
marked by pinnacles, statuettes, and the statues of the Four
Evangelists. Here and there the charming figures of cherubim, all in
different postures, seem about to detach themselves from the marble. In
the intervals between the points of the substructure are disposed lions
in various attitudes: on some _amorini_ are mounted, while others are
about to devour nude children. Such fantastic conceptions--monsters,
genii, etc.--are displayed in marvellous profusion all over the surface
of the monument. All this detail, which, in Street’s opinion, is for
beauty of execution, vigour, and animation of design, finer than any
other work of the age, serves but as a setting for the recumbent figures
of Juan II. and Queen Isabel of Portugal--the parents of that other and
more famous Isabel. The king is shown in his crown and robes; the face
is weak, but beautiful, boyish almost, smooth-shaven, and framed by long
curling locks; on the breast falls a magnificent collar of state. The
right hand, which held the sceptre, has been broken off, the left, with
a natural gesture, gathers up the folds of the robe. On the feet are
pattens, which seem to have been in use by both sexes in Spain in the
fifteenth century. The robe is of the most magnificent description,
encrusted with embroidery and precious stones. The statue of the queen
remains intact. Her gloved hands hold an open book, from which she seems
to have raised her eyes to regard the spectator between half-closed
lids. Her mantle is as splendid as her husband’s. Siloe’s embroidery in
marble, his moulding of the draperies, are as delicate as the work of
the weaver of the robes itself could ever have been. The lace-work is so
fine that one expects a breath of wind to ruffle it. Assuredly, the
price paid to the architect (442,667 maravedis) was not an exorbitant
one.
The same skill is apparent in the kneeling effigy of the Infante
Alfonso, who died while in rebellion against his half-brother Enrique
III., at the age of fifteen years. Also by Siloe, this monument is
contained within a recessed arch in the north wall of the sanctuary,
festooned with a vine to which children cling. Men-at-arms support the
tomb, over which is seen a vigorous figure of St. George and the Dragon.
The monument is hardly less significant than that of the young prince’s
parents. All three tombs were a labour of love with Isabel the Catholic,
who looked upon this church as in quite a peculiar sense the property of
her family. It is said that on seeing the escutcheon of the family of
Soria painted on one of the stained-glass windows, she at once broke it
with one of her attendants’ swords, admonishing the community that they
must accept no other patronage than hers. And to-day, in truth, what
glory there is at this forlorn monastery is of her creation. A statue,
in painted wood, of St. Bruno, founder of the Carthusian Order, in one
of the chapels, deserves notice if only as one of the rare specimens of
Portuguese art--it was the work of one Manoel Pereira.
It is difficult to treat of the minor churches of Burgos in
chronological order, for here, as in so many other cities, the existing
fabric of the earliest-founded church may be of recent date, and far
surpassed in antiquity by the actual masonry of some less historic fane.
Street assigns the date of San Estéban to somewhere between the years
1280 and 1350. It stands on the castle hill, and exhibits some features
of architectural interest. The portico is good Gothic work of the late
thirteenth century, the reliefs representing the martyrdom of the patron
saint. An early instance of realism is the stones adhering to the folds
of the saint’s robe in one of the statues. Above is a fine wheel-window
of the middle fourteenth century. The church consists of three parallel
naves, all terminating in apses. At the west end is a raised gallery for
the choir, with a fine late Gothic balustrade. Some beautiful arabesque
work may be seen in the last chapel in the south aisle; the retablos and
pulpit are comparatively modern. This church, which belonged by the way
to the Knights Templars, is entered through an early fourteenth-century
cloister--one of the smallest to be met with.
Next in order of interest, and probably of date, comes San Gil, a
cruciform structure in the north of the city, founded, or at any rate
rebuilt, in the fourteenth century. Its chief treasure is a
wrought-iron pulpit, with very beautiful tracery, in part gilded. Very
curious are the effigies in the floor of the church, with bodies of
black marble and heads and hands of white. Another feature of the
building worthy of notice is the mixture of painting and sculpture and
carving in the decoration of the chapels on each side of the choir. The
retablos are gorgeous, and some of the tombs interesting and apparently
very ancient.
Only the very patient or enthusiastic sightseer will trouble to visit
the other churches of Burgos, which, as it seems to me, contain little
to reward one’s curiosity. San Nicolás, a sixteenth-century parish
church, being close to the cathedral, should not be neglected. The life
of the saint--the patron of youth--is illustrated in some ancient
paintings in the north aisle and on the admirably carved stone retablo
of the high altar. This fine work, as an inscription declares, was the
gift of Gonsalvo Solanco and his wife Leonor de Miranda, both of whom
are buried here. The tombs in these old forgotten churches are generally
interesting. St. Lesmes contains the sepulchre of the patron, a devout
French monk, who lived in the reign of Alfonso VI., but whose cult never
seems to have spread beyond Castile.
The old convent of San Pablo, now appropriated to military uses, is
hardly worth a visit, but the story of its founder, Bishop Pablo de
Santa Maria, is, as Street remarks, worth telling. Originally a Jew, he
was baptized a Christian in 1390. Of his four sons one at least followed
his example, and afterwards became Bishop of Siguenza; but his wife,
Juana, remained deaf to all his persuasions and refused to abandon the
faith of her fathers. Accordingly he had the marriage legally dissolved,
and was ordained priest. In 1415, being then at Valladolid, he was
raised to the episcopal see of his native city, and among those who met
him upon his induction were ‘his venerable mother, Doña Maria, and his
well-loved wife, Juana.’ His well-loved wife, despite their religious
differences, she seems to have remained, for she was buried near her
husband in this church of San Pablo, unconverted to the last. The bishop
survived her fifteen years. It is strange that these tombs should have
been spared in the days of Torquemada, when many bishops of Jewish
ancestry were compelled to disinter the bones of their remote ancestors
to save them from the fury of the new school of Christians.
Of that tutelary divinity of Burgos, the Cid, there are several shrines,
mostly, alas! spurious. You may visit the church variously called Santa
Agueda and Santa Gadea, a fourteenth-century building, which succeeded
the historic church where the champion constrained Alfonso VI. to take
the oath. That event is recorded by the stone cross near the entrance,
and the iron lock over the door. But the real lock on which the oath was
taken was stolen by the French, who showed themselves particularly
greedy for relics of Spain’s national hero. Of the church of San Martin,
where he was baptized, no trace remains. The site of the Casa solar del
Cid is hardly worth visiting. The house, as might be expected, has long
since disappeared, and the present uninteresting monument was erected by
Carlos III. in the eighteenth century. The very monastery of San Pedro
de Cardeña, which the hero chose for his last resting-place, and to
which he was brought across Spain seated, dead, but still dreadful, on
his war-horse, has been modernised, and contains little to assist the
imagination. Its memories are stirring enough. The foundation dates from
Visigothic times, and here, in the ninth century, two hundred monks were
massacred by the Moors. Somewhere here is buried Babieca, the horse of
the Cid, one of those four-footed heroes who have attained to world-wide
fame. ‘Bury him deep,’ was his master’s last injunction, ‘for it is not
meet that he should be eaten by dogs who has trampled under foot so many
dogs of Moors.’ The honourable interment of animals who have endeared
themselves to their masters is far from being a modern craze and a proof
of the degeneracy of a people, as some pseudo-moralists of to-day appear
in their ignorance to believe.
The Cid’s own tomb at Cardeña is now empty. Some of his bones were
carried off by the French during the Peninsular War, and were ultimately
discovered at Sigmaringen, when they were restored to the Spanish
Government. Meanwhile the rest of the skeleton and that of the Cid’s
wife, Doña Ximena, had been removed from their insecure place of
sepulture, and are now contained in a walnut case, to be seen in a
modern chapel at the Ayuntamiento, or town hall. In the same
building--an eighteenth century structure--is shown the bench from which
those early judges of the nation, Lain Calvo and Nuño Rasura, are
affirmed by tradition to have administered justice. The archives are
said to merit exhaustive examination, and are rich in rare autographs
and manuscripts.
* * * * *
Burgos, like many other provincial capitals in Spain, is rich in old
mansions of the nobility. Our English country towns have lost much
historic and monumental interest from the immemorial practice of our
aristocracy living on their estates, remote from towns. Quite small
towns in France and in western Europe generally, usually contain two or
three residences of the local nobility which do something to redeem the
place from utter provincialism. It is the absence of such buildings
perhaps that gives even our large country towns the aspect of mere
agricultural centres or overgrown villages. The finest example of civil
architecture in Burgos is the Casa del Cordon, now the residence of the
Captain-General. This was the palace of that family whose tombs we have
seen in the Capilla del Condestable. It was in all probability built by
the same workmen in the middle of the fifteenth century, under the
direction of the famous Mudejar architect of Segovia, Mohammed, and by
order of the illustrious High Constable, Don Pedro Fernandez de Velasco,
and his consort, Doña Mencia de Mendoza de la Vega. Here Ferdinand the
Catholic and Charles V. held their courts, and here the first Duchess of
Frias presided over a little coterie composed of the most brilliant men
of letters and artists in Spain. This lady was the natural daughter of
Ferdinand, her mother having been a Catalan girl who accompanied her
royal lover in all his campaigns disguised as an esquire. The
accomplished duchess was the firm friend of her half-sister, the hapless
Queen Juana, and took the latter’s husband, Philip the Handsome, to task
so severely, that he caused her to be ejected from her own house. Within
these walls the Burgundian prince expired, his body being jealously
watched by the queen and the duchess to save it, tradition avers, from a
lady by whom he had been passionately loved and who had sworn to possess
him in death. The Casa del Cordon has nobler memories, too, of Columbus
who, on his return from his second voyage to America, here presented
himself to the Catholic Sovereigns with offerings of the choicest
products of the New World. Here was signed, on June 11, 1515, the act of
the incorporation of the kingdom of Navarre with Castile, the unity of
the whole of Spain being thus achieved. A copy of the document is
preserved in the city archives. And in this house, in 1526, Francis I.
was entertained on his way back to France by the High Constable of
Castile.
The mansion, which has thus loomed so large in the history of Spain,
occupies one side of the Plaza de la Libertad. It belongs to the last
period of Gothic, and is not wanting in dignity and grace. The walls are
surmounted by a parapet or balustrade of pinnacles and crestwork, in
which is repeated the Cross of St. Andrew, in remembrance of a victory
gained by a Velasco on that saint’s day. The façade is flanked by two
square towers, rising one story above the ordinary roof level. The
windows and arcades are later additions, and in bad style. The rope
carved in stone over the entrance, from which the house derives its
modern name, is held by some to be part of the insignia of the Teutonic
Order, by others, with more probability, to be the cord of St. Francis
of Assisi, a saint who was the object of a special veneration by the
Velasco family. Within it are contained the escutcheons of the allied
houses of Velasco, Mendoza de la Vega, and Figueroa, the first
displaying the castles and lions of Castile and the device _Un buen
morir honra toda la vida_. The halls and courts, now devoted to the
military administration of the province, reveal some interesting traces
of the former magnificence of this old home of one of the most powerful
and illustrious of the great families of Spain.
On the south side of the river, in the Calle de la Calera, are two
interesting houses which give the neighbourhood a thoroughly
sixteenth-century aspect. The portal of the fortress-like Casa de los
Angulos or of Iñigo de Angulo is adorned by two lions placed on the
pillars flanking the archway, above which is a shield with seven
quarterings. A few doors farther on is the more interesting Casa de
Miranda, considered the best example of the Renaissance style in Burgos.
It now serves the prosaic purposes of a candle factory. It is entered
through a noble doorway decorated with heraldic achievements. Between
the capitals of the inner court may be deciphered the inscription:
_Franciscus de Miranda salon abbas de salas et canonicus burgen
protonotarius et scriptor aplicus patrie restitutus faciendum curavit
anno De MDXLV_. The escutcheon of the Mirandas is displayed on the
friezes, which are in the usual Renaissance style, relieved with the
figures of genii, medallions, etc. The architecture of the staircase
exhibits a harmonious blending of late Gothic and early plateresque.
Fine workmanship is to be seen in the decoration of the façade of the
old Colegio de San Nicolás (1570), where the Provincial Institute has
its quarters.
Two more conspicuous monuments of the sixteenth century are the fine
arches of Santa Maria and Fernan González. The former occupies the site
of the old tower of Santa Maria, where the town council at one time held
its sittings, and whence the body of Garcilaso de la Vega was hurled by
Pedro the Cruel; it was erected between 1536 and 1540 by the
municipality to conciliate Charles V., it is said, for the events of the
Comunidad. The arch is of three stories, and flanked by two rounded
towers. Over the arch are shown in niches six statues: those of Charles
V. and the Castilian worthies, the Cid, Fernan González, Nuño Rasura,
Lain Calvo, and Diego Porcellos. The upper part of the structure is
battlemented and adorned with statues of the Virgin, of the guardian
angel of the city, and of kings-at-arms supporting escutcheons. The
probability is that the entrance arch, and indeed the whole lower story,
is older by a century than the sculptured parts.
The arch of Fernan González was erected in 1592 to mark the site of the
castle of the redoubtable count. It is in the severe and imposing Doric
style of Herrera, and was evidently intended to receive a statue of the
hero, which an impoverished city is not likely to provide now. Burgos
has, however, done its best to keep green the memory of its illustrious
sons--an example set by so many continental towns, which we, in England,
seem loth to follow.
* * * * *
Of the castle, whose history was so long the history of Castile, little
that is ancient, nothing of the earliest structure, remains. The oldest
masonry is probably the gate, called the Puerta San Estéban, a brick
structure pierced with a horse-shoe arch. Popularly ascribed to the
period of the Moorish domination (which practically was never asserted
over Burgos), there can be little doubt that it dates from the
fourteenth century, and was the work of Mudejar masons, like so many
other Spanish buildings of that time. The old citadel of Castile is now
a heap of ruins, but it was strong enough as late as a century ago to
resist the assaults of Wellington. The next year, however (1813), the
French completely dismantled the fortifications and evacuated the city.
* * * * *
The provincial museums of Spain are, as a rule, disappointing, but the
Burgos collection, housed in the Puerta Santa Maria, is enriched by the
spoils of numerous ancient churches and suppressed convents. The
alabaster effigy of Don Juan de Padilla, believed to be by Gil de Siloe,
is one of the noblest sepulchral monuments in the kingdom. It was
brought here from the ruined monastery of Fres del Val, where the knight
was interred in 1491, having met his death at the age of twenty years,
before the walls of Granada. He is shown kneeling in an attitude of
prayer, beside a prie-Dieu. The face is beautiful and expressive, and
probably a portrait. An ample robe of extraordinary richness reveals the
shirt of mail, the cuirass, and the plate armour worn by the young
warrior. The style reminds one of the statues of Don Juan II. and Prince
Alfonso in the Cartuja, and reflects the greatest credit on Spanish
sculpture. Hardly less beautiful is the tomb itself, decorated with
shields upheld by angels, and an inscription recording the age of the
deceased. In the museum is also a very curious and interesting
altar-front from the convent of Santo Domingo de Silos, dating from the
eleventh century. It is of bronze, with figures of saints in coloured
enamels, in a bastard Byzantine style. The Moorish ivory casket from the
same monastery and of the same century is profoundly interesting, as
exhibiting in relief the Persian theory of the origin of good and evil,
like the basin from Medina Az Zahara, preserved in the National Museum
of Archæology. The Byzantine reliefs of saints on one side of the casket
were evidently carved by the Christians when they became the possessors.
Few small provincial collections contain more important antiquities than
the Museum of Burgos.
III
SALAMANCA
‘Sword never blunted pen,’ says a Spanish proverb, ‘nor pen sword.’ The
history of Salamanca illustrated this truth. Its people were doughty
warriors and learned scholars. The name of Salamanca was feared by Moor
and Portuguese, as much as it was respected in all the halls of learning
of the mediæval world. The seat of a university which all but
successfully competed for pre-eminence with Oxford and Paris, it was at
the same time the permanent camp of as fierce a race of fighting men as
ever marched beneath the banners of Spain. The pen has made the city
famous in every land, but it was by her sword that she came to be better
known in her own country. Decayed and ruined, she has yet made herself
illustrious in the two great fields of human activity, and has a twofold
claim on the respect and interest of men of every European tongue.
The city, far older than Leon and Burgos, existed prior to the Roman
conquest. It is identified by some with the Elmantica of Polybius, in
which others recognise the neighbouring town of Alba de Tormes. Plutarch
speaks of it as Salmatica, ‘a great town of Spain,’ and relates the
heroic exploits of its womenfolk. Besieged by the Carthaginians under
Hannibal, the inhabitants were forced to surrender. They were ordered to
evacuate the town, leaving behind them all their arms and property as
spoils for the victors. They were then placed under a guard of
Massilians, while the rest of the Punic host hastened to plunder the
forsaken city. But the women, who had accompanied the prisoners and whom
no one had thought of searching, produced weapons which they had
concealed about them, and armed their husbands, who fell upon their
guards and cut them to pieces. The Carthaginian army was thrown into
dismay by this unexpected attack, and the brave Salamantians were
enabled to make good their escape to the hills. Hannibal is stated by
Plutarch to have graciously pardoned the enemy that had eluded his
vengeance.
Salamanca, with the rest of the province of Lusitania, passed under the
sway of Rome, and seems to have been a place of some importance. Money
was coined here in the reign of Tiberius, and the town was governed by
duumvirs. Christianity must have early taken root here, for when the
Goths conquered Spain they found an episcopal see already established at
Salamanca. It had already been for a time the seat of a Vandal governor,
Genseric, brother of King Huneric. Money was struck bearing the names of
the city and of the kings Erwig and Egica. Certain bishops are mentioned
as assisting at the councils of Toledo: Eleutherius at the third;
Hiccila at the fourth and fifth; Egered at the seventh, eighth, and
tenth; Providentius at the twelfth; Holemund at the thirteenth,
fifteenth, and sixteenth. When in 715 Salamanca was submerged by the
Moorish invasion, her bishop sought refuge with Pelayo in the glens of
Asturias, and we read that Alfonso the Chaste assigned the basilica of
San Salvador at Oviedo, to Quindulfo, the occupant of the see then _in
partibus infidelium_. The city did not long remain in the undisturbed
possession of the Moor. It was taken by Alfonso I. in 750, and again in
858 by Ordoño I., who made captive the Moorish amir, and released him
only after extorting better terms for his Christian subjects. But this
promise did not tempt back the bishops from their safe retreat in the
north. Sebastian, who wore the mitre about the year 880, occupied
himself with writing a chronicle of Spain from the reign of Wamba to his
own day. His patron, Alfonso el Magno, succeeded in expelling the
Mohammedans from Salamanca, and thought to annex it definitely to his
kingdom; but it was recaptured by Abd-ur-Rahman, the Khalifa, five years
later, the Christian inhabitants, including priests, to the number of
two hundred, being put to the sword.
The city continued to change hands according to the varying fortunes of
war till the conquest of Toledo by Alfonso VI. (1085). The country
between the Douro and the Tagus, desolated by three centuries of
unintermittent warfare, had become almost denuded of inhabitants.
Alfonso appointed his son-in-law, Count Raymond of Burgundy, governor of
Salamanca, with a mandate to repeople the town and surrounding district,
and to repair the ravages of war. The count drew his colonists mainly
from Castile, from the neighbouring towns of Toro and Braganza, from
other parts of Portugal, from Galicia, from the ‘Sierra,’ and from his
native province of Burgundy. These, together with the Mozarabes or
original inhabitants, constituted the seven classes into which the
population was divided, each with its separate quarter and local
authorities. The whole community was subject to a code of laws framed by
Count Raymond, and later amalgamated with the code preserved in the
municipal archives, dating from the thirteenth century. From this
document it would appear that an important part was taken in the work of
colonisation by the Benedictine monastery of San Vicente, a foundation
already some two or three centuries old.
Count Raymond and his wife, Urraca, were assisted in their beneficent
labours by the famous bishop, Jeronimo Visquio. This prelate, a native
of Perigord, and a monk of the order of St. Benedict, had come to Spain
with the equally illustrious Don Bernard, Archbishop of Toledo. He
accompanied the Cid as chaplain to Valencia, and on the reduction of
that kingdom became its bishop. On the death of his patron he returned
to Toledo, and was almost immediately appointed to the joint see of
Salamanca and Zamora. In a deed, dated July 1102, the count confers upon
him extensive privileges and revenues, which were confirmed by the king
in 1107, the towns included in the diocese being furthermore specified.
To Jeronimo we owe the old cathedral of Salamanca in which he was at
last, full of years and honours, laid to rest. It had been his wish to
have been laid beside his old master at Cardeña. He lived to witness the
troubles attendant on the second marriage of Queen Urraca, to whom he
was ever faithful; and was the first to acknowledge the primacy of the
powerful Gelmirez, Archbishop of Santiago.
On Jeronimo’s death in 1120, his successor, Gerardo, was driven from the
see by the Aragonese opponents of Urraca, and found an asylum with his
metropolitan. The accession of Alfonso VII. resulted in the deposition
of the next bishop Munio, who was a violent partisan of Aragon. He made
determined efforts to recover his authority, without success, the
intercession even of St. Bernard availing him nothing. Meanwhile a
certain count, Don Pedro Lope, who appears to have been all-powerful in
the town, shut the gates against the canonical bishop, Berengario, who
succeeded at last in taking possession of his see only by the direct
intervention of the king in 1135, after a lapse of four years.
The rebellious temperament of the Salamancans thus early manifested
itself. A year or two later it was to cost them very dear. Scorning the
leadership of any count or chief, the townsmen made repeated forays
into Estremadura in search of glory and plunder. Returning laden with
booty, they were met by a powerful Moorish army. The Mohammedan
commander demanded a parley with their leader. The Salamancans replied
that each man was his leader, whereupon the Moor thanked God for the
folly of his adversaries. An engagement ensued, which might be better
described as a massacre than as a battle, and but few returned to
Salamanca to tell of the fate of their comrades.
The bitter lesson was repeated thrice in after years before the
insensate citizens were sufficiently humbled to appeal to the king for
assistance. He sent them as commander a famous warrior, Don Ponce Vigil
de Cabrera, who was received in sorely tried Salamanca with much
enthusiasm. The indomitable spirit of the citizens under able
captainship achieved wonders. The castle of Albalat was taken and razed
to the ground, and the whole district of Ciudad Rodrigo subjugated.
Alfonso VII. in 1147, as a mark of favour, empowered the Alcaldes to
build or to rebuild the city wall, and to encircle the suburbs with
another.
Yet in 1170 we find the Salamancans allied with the people of Avila in
arms against Fernando II., King of Leon. They regarded the founding of
Ciudad Rodrigo as an encroachment on their privileges, and elected one
Nuño Serrano as their king. On the field of Valmuza they gave battle to
the king. Consulting the direction of the wind, they set fire to the
brushwood, hoping that the smoke would be driven in the faces of their
opponents. The wind suddenly changed, however, to the utter discomfiture
of the rebels. The luckless Nuño was captured and burnt alive, and
haughty Salamanca lay at the feet of the conqueror.
Fernando did not cherish resentment against the rebellious town. He
called a Cortes here in 1178, and liberally endowed the see. In
gratitude for the royal favour, Bishop Vital upheld the marriage of
Alfonso IX. with his cousin, Teresa of Portugal, thereby bringing upon
himself the fulminations of Pope Celestine III., and ultimately the
sentence of suspension and deposition. Meanwhile the fighting spirit of
the Salamancans was gratified by the establishment of the military order
of Alcantara by two of the townsmen, Don Suero Fernández and his brother
Gomez. The knights attached themselves to the Cistercian Order, their
headquarters being the hermitage of San Julian de Pereo, on the banks of
the Coa. The order was approved in 1177 by a bull of Pope Alexander
III., afterwards confirmed by Lucius III.
Alfonso IX. endowed Salamanca with the university, which was destined to
make its name known to the utmost confines of Christendom. This was a
flourishing time in Salamanca. The Dominicans and Franciscans settled in
the town; buildings, colleges, churches, and convents sprang up on all
sides. The banner of Salamanca was seen in the forefront of the battle
at Caceres, at Montanchez, at Merida; it fluttered over fallen Trujillo
and Medellin; it waved before the walls of Ubeda in 1234, and of Granada
two years later. The townsmen followed the Infante Alfonso to the sieges
of Murcia and Seville (1248) and were rewarded for their valour by the
privilege of holding open markets--probably heretofore the prerogative
of the governor.
To these halcyon days there succeeded for Salamanca a long period of
discord and warfare. Sancho el Bravo, when prince, held the town against
his father; and in 1288 it was severely punished for its loyalty to the
king by the rebellious Infante Don Juan, whose father-in-law, Don Lope
de Haro, seized on the citadel. Under its walls halted the Portuguese
army of King Diniz, marching upon Valladolid. In 1308 Salamanca made a
vigorous defence, in the interests of the Queen Regent, Maria de Molina,
against Nuñez de Lara.
The city is honourably distinguished by the refusal of the
ecclesiastical council, held here in 1310, to condemn the doomed order
of Knights Templars, who were, however, despoiled of their property here
as elsewhere by decree of the Council of Vienne. A more cheerful
function, the year following, was the baptism of the Infante Alfonso,
born here, August 13, 1311. The lordship of his native city was
afterwards given by this king to his wife, Maria of Portugal. The
Salamancans fought well at the battle of the Salado (1340) under their
bishop Juan Lucero. It was this prelate who in 1354 dissolved the
marriage of Pedro the Cruel with Blanche of Bourbon, and celebrated the
king’s amazing union with Juana de Castro, whom he repudiated on the
following day. Lucero’s successor, Alfonso Barrasa, was a fervent
partisan of Enrique de Trastamara. He followed him to the field with a
force of five hundred archers, and held the city against his enemies.
Meanwhile the Tejadas, one of the most powerful families of Salamanca,
had declared for Don Pedro, and threw themselves into Zamora. The town
was taken by Enrique’s partisans, while Don Alfonso Lopez de Tejada
retired to the citadel, leaving his sons in the hands of the enemy. On
their father’s refusal to surrender, the miserable lads were put to
death. Don Alfonso escaped to Portugal, where he did not return till the
reign of Juan I. He died in his native city in the year 1404. Bishop
Barrasa on the triumph of Enrique II. was liberally rewarded for his
devotion, and entrusted with important and honourable embassies to
Flanders and Italy.
We read that St. Vicente Ferrer was in Salamanca at the beginning of the
fifteenth century, and as a Spanish writer has it, converted the Jews to
the unity of the faith on the ruins of their synagogue. He does not
appear to have been equally successful in converting the Christians to
the spirit of their faith, to judge from the following tragic incident
which stained the history of Salamanca in his day. A quarrel arose over
a game of pelota between two brothers of the family of Manzano and two
of the Enriquez. The two latter were slain, and their slayers fled to
Portugal. The mother of the victims, Doña Maria Rodriguez de Monroy,
shed no tears, but silently and stoically gathered together her
retainers and retired to her country seat at Villalba. A day or two
later she, with a few followers, suddenly fell upon the murderers of her
sons as they sat in fancied security at their inn in some Portuguese
town, killed them, and bore their heads in triumph back to Salamanca,
where she flung them upon the tombs of the Enriquez. But from this deed
of vengeance sprang a bloody vendetta between the two families and their
partisans, which the eloquence of St. Juan de Sahagun in 1460 allayed
but could not extinguish. When forced to lay aside the sword and dagger,
the bowl and philtre became the instruments of this unquenchable hate.
Nay, as late as the reign of Philip II., the rival factions wore
different colours, and eagerly seized the opportunity to contend against
each other in jousts and tournaments. Juan de Sahagun, whose good deeds
are strikingly relieved against so dark a background, himself fell a
victim to poison, administered by a lady, whom his preaching and
exhortations had deprived of her lover. Acclaimed at once (1479) as the
patron of the city, it was not till October 17, 1690, that he was
formally enrolled in the list of the saints of the Catholic Church. His
feast is celebrated on the day of his death (June 11).
The fierce passions of the Salamancans were inflamed throughout the
fifteenth century not only by private but political animosities. In the
reign of Juan II. the city was alternately the prey of the partisans and
the opponents of the royal favourite, Alvaro de Luna. When the king
visited the town in 1440, the Archdeacon Juan Gómez, son of the late
bishop, Don Diego de Anaya, a furious adversary of the Constable,
garrisoned the alcazar of San Juan and the tower of the cathedral, and
compelled his sovereign to take refuge in the house of one Acevedo. The
fortress was again garrisoned against the king (Enrique IV.) six years
later by Pedro de Gutiveros, but this time the bishop was on the royal
side, and, with the help of Suero de Solis, expelled the rebel from the
town. In gratitude for this and his friendly reception by the citizens
in 1465, the unfortunate king ordered a fair or open market to be held
every year from the 8th to the 21st of September, and to the delight of
the townsmen decreed the demolition of the alcazar.
The disputed succession on the death of Enrique again plunged the city
into civil war; both claimants, Juana and Isabel, finding partisans
within its walls. Hoping to profit by these disorders, the Conde de Alba
de Tormes entered the town at the head of his vassals and endeavoured
to obtain possession of it. After much fighting he was expelled by the
citizens, headed by Don Alfonso Maldonado and Suero de Solis. Upon the
triumph of Isabel’s faction, the Portuguese quarter was promptly sacked
in revenge for the assistance given by that nation to Juana. Another
Maldonado was seized by King Fernando and ordered to deliver up his
castle of Monleon under pain of death. The captive lord gave the
necessary orders to his wife, commanding the garrison, who, at first,
obstinately refused to obey them. It was only when the headsman was
about to strike off her husband’s head in view of the ramparts that she
relented and admitted the king’s troops.
The Salamancans were assuredly of stern stuff. The Catholic Sovereigns
amused them with tournaments and pageants, and found employment for
their swords before the walls of Granada. In the year 1497 Fernando,
returning defeated from the Portuguese frontier, found his only son,
Prince Juan, at the point of death. He expired on the 4th of October,
after thirteen days’ sickness, at the age of nineteen, his mother
arriving too late to see him alive. It is related that Fernando caused
the queen to be informed that he also was dead, that her joy on finding
him alive should somewhat soften the blow. Isabel never returned to the
scene of her greatest bereavement; but we find Fernando, now a widower,
here in the winter of 1505-1506.
The failure of the harvest about this time caused so much distress that
the university was closed, and the ecclesiastical authorities had to
leave the city. Hard upon these dark days came the rising of the
Comuneros, into which the Salamancans threw themselves with all their
hearts. Even the nobility espoused the popular cause, as also did the
dean of the cathedral, various professors of the university, and the
more prominent merchants. The leaders of the movement in Salamanca were
young Maldonado Pimentel, and a skinner called Valloria, who was the
idol of the populace, and by them hailed as ‘pope and king.’ But neither
Valloria’s popularity nor Maldonado’s valour and rank availed to save
them from the scaffold to which, with so many illustrious Castilians,
they were doomed after the crushing defeat of the Comuneros at Villalar.
The establishment of the new monarchy meant for Salamanca, as for so
many other cities, the end of liberty and the end of bloodshed. Family
quarrels were henceforward to be adjusted by the king’s judges, wrongs
avenged by his justice, not by the stiletto and poisoned draught.
Outwardly Salamanca made merry over the change, and fêted Charles V. on
his state entry in May 1534. His son was married here at the age of
sixteen to Maria of Portugal--amid great rejoicings, as we are always
told of such events.
Years passed by, and Salamanca partook of the senile decay which seemed
to be creeping over Spain. The old feudal fights were recalled by the
sanguinary town and gown riots, which filled the streets with dead and
dying towards the close of the seventeenth century. Then came bad
harvests, inundations, and the earthquake of 1755. It was but a poor and
desolate city on which the French levied severe contributions in 1809,
and which they sacked from end to end, three years after, in revenge for
their disastrous defeat by Wellington before its walls. Salamanca has
worshipped Mars and the Muses; but the War-god has turned savagely on
his devotees, and from the scene of so many bloody conflicts the Genius
of Learning seems at last to have fled shuddering away.
THE OLD CATHEDRAL
The primitive cathedral of Salamanca is said to have been the church of
San Juan el Blanco, in the riverside suburb. Its proportions and
situation were not suited to the dignity of the new city founded by
Count Raymond, and we find him before long laying the first stone of a
new cathedral on one of the three eminences enclosed within the walls.
The exact date of the foundation and the names of the architects are
unknown. But tradition avers that Bishop Jeronimo consecrated the
church, and the master-builders who raised the walls of Avila at Count
Raymond’s orders most likely had some share in this, his greater work.
They were Cassandro, an Italian, Florin de Southren, a Frenchman, and
Alvar Garcia, a Navarrese. Placed at their disposal was a band of five
hundred Moslem masons and carpenters, made prisoners by the count.
Bishop Jeronimo died in the year 1120, but the records show privileges
conceded to the workmen engaged in the construction of the cathedral in
1152, 1183, and as late as 1285. According to Street, a priest of Medina
del Campo, in the year 1178, bequeathed his property to the chapter for
the purpose of completing the cloister, from which it may be inferred
that not much remained to be done to the church itself at that date.
Successive popes and kings showered donations and privileges upon the
nascent cathedral, till the chapter, rich in lands and vassals, ranked
as a feudal power, and the sacred edifice itself as a formidable
stronghold. Massive, simple, vigorous, it well deserves the epithet
_fortis Salamantina_, by which it is distinguished in the well-known
lines about the cathedrals of Spain, ‘Sancta Ovetensis, dives Toletanas,
pulchra Leonina, fortis Salamantina.’
A building so long in course of construction is sure to present certain
varieties of style, and though the old cathedral of Salamanca has
undergone very little alteration since its completion, its original
Romanesque character is seen to have been modified by Gothic influence.
The Byzantine pillars, remarks Don Jose Quadrado, carry graceful pointed
arches, and the Romanesque capitals of the clustered columns exhibit an
elegance very rare in works of that style.
In plan the church is a Latin cross, one arm having been removed to make
way for the new cathedral. The nave and aisles terminate in apsidal
chapels. Cloisters adjoin the southern side, and the entrance from the
west is through a long portico, once flanked by two massive fortified
towers. This vestibule is Byzantine, though adorned with Gothic
statuary, and now entered through a very poor arrangement of Doric and
Corinthian columns.
The nave produces a more imposing effect than is usual in Spanish
churches, owing to the absence of a choir. There is no triforium, but
the nave is lighted by round-arched windows of single lights. Over the
crossing rises the glorious dome or lantern, called by the Salamancans
the Torre del Gallo from the weathercock on its apex. This fine work is
supported on arcades, divided into sixteen compartments, and pierced
with windows over each of the cardinal sides. Outside, the lantern is
roofed with scaled tiles. At the four angles are rounded pinnacles with
continuously moulded windows; between these and contrasting with them
are pointed gables with windows, the arches of which spring sharply from
capitals. In his work on _Gothic Architecture in Spain_, Mr. Street
remarks, ‘I have seldom seen any central lantern more thoroughly good
and effective from every point of view than this is: it seems to solve,
better than the lantern of any church I have yet seen elsewhere, the
question of the introduction of the dome to Gothic churches. Though the
scale of this work is very moderate, its solidity and firmness are
excessive, and thus only is it that it maintains that dignified
manliness of architectural character which so very few of our modern
architects ever seem even to strive for.’
Standing beneath the lantern, we see the fine wooden retablo, adjusted
so as to fit the curving wall of the apse. Its fifty-five subjects are
arranged in five rows, and enclosed each in an arched frame painted
white and gold. These paintings, representing scenes from the life and
passion of Christ, are more delicate and skilful than the fresco of the
Last Judgment, on the semi-dome above, painted perhaps half a century
later in 1446, by Nicolás Florentino.
The chancel was at first reserved as a burying-place only for those of
the blood-royal. Here are the tombs of the Infanta Mafalda, daughter of
the King of Castile, who died here in the kingdom of Leon in 1204; of
Don Fernando Alfonso, natural son of Alfonso IX., Dean of Santiago and
Archdeacon of Salamanca; and of _his_ natural son by Doña Aldara Lopez,
Don Juan Fernandez, surnamed the Golden-Haired, a brave warrior, who
died in 1303. On the gospel side is the tomb of good Bishop Sancho de
Castilla, a descendant of Pedro the Cruel, and Doña Juana de Castro, who
died in 1446, and close to him his successor Vivero, a counsellor of
Fernando and Isabel. The statues of the two prelates are contained in
the same sepulchral arch. Here also lie the noble cavaliers, Don Diego
Arias, Archdeacon of Toro (_obiit_ 1350), and Don Arias Diez Maldonado
(1474), both benefactors of the cathedral, whose ashes were removed here
in 1620 by order of the dean and chapter. In the chapel of St. Nicholas,
on the epistle side, lies the Dominican Bishop Fray Pedro, who baptized
Alfonso XI., and died in the first quarter of the fourteenth century;
his effigy is enclosed by a pointed arch, above which Christ is shown as
judge.
In the south transept, still fortunately preserved, are four interesting
tombs, which appear to date from the thirteenth or the beginning of the
fourteenth century. The first is crudely sculptured with reliefs of the
Adoration of the Magi, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection; the
recumbent figure is said to be that of Diego Lopez, Archdeacon of
Ledesma. Beneath a star-shaped cupola is the hooded figure of a woman,
one Doña Elena, who passed away in the year 1272; the reliefs represent
her deathbed and ascent to heaven. The third tomb is that of Don
Alfonso Vidal, Dean of Avila and Canon of Salamanca; and the fourth, in
the best Gothic style and fine arabesques, probably dates from the
beginning of the fifteenth, rather than the preceding, century. It
certainly cannot be, as used to be believed, the tomb of the precentor
Aparitius, who died in 1274. Other very plain tombs are to be seen in
the aisles, which are adorned with paintings by Fernando Gallego, called
by Quadrado the Dürer of Salamanca.
The cloister, though as old as the church, has been extensively
modernised. The doorway from the transept, however, has not lost its
Byzantine character, nor its capitals their beautiful ornamentation of
foliage with birds and nude figures. The four altars at the angles,
dedicated respectively to the Blessed Virgin, St. Michael, St. Anthony
of Padua, and the Magi, are enriched with the paintings of Gallego. In
the cloister are also some tombs in the late Gothic style. The
sarcophagus of the Archdeacon Diego Rodriguez (1504) is upheld by three
lions; and another tomb enshrines the remains of Pedro Xerique (1529), a
canon of this cathedral, who left a fund for the endowment of fifty poor
girls with dowries--a very necessary bequest in these unsentimental
Latin countries! Of the old twelfth-century sepulchres nothing but a
few epitaphs and tablets remain.
Communicating with the cloister by some very ancient doorways are four
interesting chapels. The oldest is the Capilla de Talavera, so called
after the ‘Doctor de Talavera’ (one of the Maldonado family), who in the
beginning of the fifteenth century endowed it with twelve chaplaincies
for the celebration of the Mozarabic ritual. The chapel must have been
very old at that time. ‘It is a very remarkable chamber,’ says Street,
‘square in plan below, and brought to an octagon above by arches thrown
across the angles, and finally roofed with a sort of dome, carried upon
moulded and carved ribs of very intricate contrivance. The interlacing
of these ribs gives the work somewhat the effect of being Moorish, and
there can be little doubt, I think, that it owes its peculiarities in
some degree to Moorish influence. I should be inclined to attribute this
room and its vault to the architect of the lantern of the church.’ The
Mozarabic rite is still performed here six times a year.
The Capilla de Santa Barbara was founded about the year 1350 by Bishop
Juan Lucero, who is buried here. His tomb was hidden during centuries by
the table at which sat the examiners of the university and at which
were conferred degrees. There are several other notable tombs belonging
to the Gothic period. The effigy of a knight with a long beard and sword
represents one Garcia Ruiz, the ecclesiastic close by, Canon Garcia de
Medina, who died in 1474.
In the beautiful Gothic chapel of St. Catalina or Capilla del Canto, now
dismantled and neglected, synods and provincial councils were
customarily held. The fourth chapel, dedicated to St. Bartholomew, was
founded early in the fifteenth century by Diego de Anaya, Archbishop of
Seville. This prelate was a native of Salamanca, and took a prominent
part in affairs of state. He was deputed to persuade the anti-pope, Don
Pedro de Luna, to abandon his claims to the papacy; and failing in this,
or for some other reason, was not suffered to take possession of his see
till a few years before his death. The roof of the chapel is adorned
with stars on a very dark background. Something of the Byzantine spirit
is traceable in the ornamentation. Attention is however distracted from
these details to the imposing tombs of the founder and his family.
Enclosed by a fine railing with Renaissance designs of centaurs and
floral scrolls, the recumbent statue of the bishop is seen, clad in
full pontificals and watched over by a lion, a dog, and a hare. The tomb
is of pure alabaster, and supported by lions. At the angles are groups
of bishops and friars, and at the sides Christ with the Twelve Apostles
and the Virgin with an equal number of female saints. The architects of
this fine work and of the equally admirable railing are, unfortunately,
unknown. Several others of the tombs in this chapel are of scarcely
inferior conception and workmanship. The statues, believed to represent
Don Gabriel de Anaya and his wife, and two earlier fifteenth-century
effigies of a knight and a lady, are in partly Moorish costume,
according to an affectation of that age. The only tomb with an epitaph
is that of Doña Beatriz de Guzman, sister-in-law of the founder. The two
sons born to Don Diego before he entered the Church by Doña Maria de
Orozco are also buried here: on the gospel side lies Don Diego Gomez,
fully armed, with a lion at his feet; his brother, the warlike
archdeacon, Juan Gomez, rests in the niche adjoining the retablo.
The chapter house, also communicating with the cloister, contains some
beautifully carved chairs and tables, and a replica of a Madonna and
Child by Reni.
THE NEW CATHEDRAL
It may be presumed that the faithful of Salamanca had suffered for a
number of years on account of the smallness of their cathedral; for the
demand for a new place of worship is not traceable to any immediate or
special cause, nor to any particular individual. At the instance of the
bishop and the municipality, Fernando and Isabel, in the year 1491,
solicited and obtained from Pope Innocent VIII. authority to erect a new
cathedral at Salamanca, on the ground that the old fabric no longer
sufficed for the needs of the congregation.
The city was then nearing the zenith of its prosperity, and all over
Western Europe there was a craving for the pompous, the magnificent, and
the merely big. We can imagine that the Salamancans of the new era were
impatient of the plainness and masculine vigour of the little cathedral
of Jeronimo. The chapter spared no pains to raise an edifice which
should be as splendid as any in Spain. Nothing, however, was done till
1510, when the matter was placed in the hands of the two most celebrated
architects of the kingdom, Antonio Egas, architect of the cathedral of
Toledo, and Alfonso Rodrigues, master of the works at Seville. These
two masters could not agree as to certain details in the plans, and the
bishop Francisco de Bobadilla, son of Queen Isabel’s favourite Beatriz,
summoned the nine most eminent architects of Spain to a conference.
These were--Antonio Egas, Juan Gil de Hontañon, Juan de Badajoz, Alfonso
de Covarrubias, Juan Tornero, Juan de Alava, Rodrigo de Zaravia, Juan
Campero, and Rodrigues, who had by this time gone to the island of Santo
Domingo. At this conference, held on September 3, 1512, the plan and
proportions of the proposed building were decided, Juan Gil de Hontañon
was appointed architect, and Juan Campero clerk of the works. The
project being so far advanced, liberal donations poured in from the
municipality and the citizens, and at last the foundation-stone was
laid, as the inscription at the right-hand corner of the main façade
records, on Thursday, May 12, 1513. De Hontañon was engaged at Seville
rebuilding the dome of the cathedral, but under his occasional
supervision and that of his assistant, Juan de Alava, the work was
actively carried on. De Hontañon died in 1531, and was succeeded in his
office by his assistant; and in 1560, his son Rodrigo being then
architect, the cathedral was opened for divine worship, the event being
thus commemorated on a tablet: Pio IIII. papa, Philippo II. rege,
Francisco Manrico de Lara episcopo, ex vetere ad hoc templum facta
translatio XXV. mort. anno à Christo nato MDLX.
The cathedral exhibits the transition from late Gothic to Renaissance.
It is certainly constructed on very ambitious lines, and is not wanting
in majesty, though that fervent lover of the Gothic, Mr. Street,
declared the planning to be infelicitous and the detail throughout of
the very poorest kind. The favourable impression the interior produces
is almost entirely due to its spaciousness. The ground plan forms a
rectangle, 195 feet long by 198 feet wide. On the south side it is built
against the old cathedral, with which it communicates by a flight of
eighteen steps. The western or principal façade is the oldest part of
the building, and, as might be expected, is in the Gothic style, with
hardly any admixture of the plateresque. The three entrances are
recessed within graceful arches, and separated by massive buttresses
adorned with statuary. The main entrance has two doors, separated by a
pillar on which is a beautiful figure of the Virgin. Immediately above
the doorway are two very fine reliefs of the Nativity and the Adoration
of the Magi. These are contained within semicircular arches, which are
in turn contained within a bewildering series of arches, rounded,
elliptical, and pointed, all elaborately moulded and ornamented with
animals, putti, and heraldic achievements. The vertex of the outermost
of these arches upholds a vigorous relief of the Crucifixion, flanked by
the Apostles Peter and Paul. Hardly a square foot has been left free of
decoration, and the whole is overwrought and florid, though the rich
cream colour of the stone in itself produces a pleasing effect. The side
doors are much less elaborate, though designed on the same plan, and
appear to have been intended to receive more statuary and ornament. The
tower above is one of the few creditable performances of Churriguera--a
native of Salamanca. The noble steeple to the right was part of the old
cathedral, but was recast in the sixteenth century. It forms a landmark
for travellers in the dreary country round the city.
On the north side of the church is the fine Puerta de las Palmas, which
probably derives its name from the fine relief representing the entry of
Christ into Jerusalem. The exterior of the cathedral generally suffers
from comparison with the older structure at its side.
The interior consists of a nave and two aisles. The centre of the nave
is occupied by the choir, which is connected, as is usual in Spanish
churches, with the Capilla Mayor by a railed-in passage. There are no
projecting transept arms. Over the crossing is a lantern with a
half-orange dome, eight windows between Corinthian columns, and a
superabundance of ornamentation, which only too well announces this to
be the handiwork of Churriguera. The nave is higher than the aisles.
Both are pierced with windows, made intentionally small to exclude the
light. In front of these runs a pierced balustrade of very Renaissance
character, below which is a charming frieze in the older style, with
cherubs and animals peeping through foliage. The piers that support the
roof have their capitals painted in blue and gold. Above certain of the
arches is displayed the Vase of Lilies with the Angelic Salutation,
adopted as its arms by the chapter; above others the medallions with
busts so common in the architecture of this period.
The Capilla Mayor still lacks the retablo which it is proposed one day
to set up, and is backed by hangings and a canopy over the statue of the
Virgin. In the sanctuary are the silver urns containing the remains of
Saints Juan de Sahagun and Tomas de Villanueva; further back in the
Capilla del Carmen the tomb of Bishop Jeronimo, transported here from
the old cathedral in 1744, together with the famous Cristo de las
Batallas, the crude black image carried by the Cid with him on all his
expeditions. It must be confessed that few Spanish cathedrals contain a
less remarkable Capilla Mayor than this one.
Nor is the choir specially remarkable, except as a specimen of
Churriguera’s decorative frenzy. The stalls are carved with the figures
of saints, full-length and half-length, in very stagy poses, though the
boy-martyrs, Justus and Pastor, are, it must be confessed, very well
executed. Wherever space permitted, cherubs, floral scrolls, and all
sorts of decorative patterns have been put in. The _trascoro_ or altar
at the rear of the choir surpasses the latter in the extravagance of its
style. The Eternal Father, accompanied by angels, apostles, and
prophets, may be seen amidst a profusion of clouds and foliage. The
statues of St. Anne and St. John the Baptist obviously belong to an
earlier period and a better school. They are attributed by Ponz to Juan
de Juni, who was responsible for much of the ornamentation over the
main entrance.
The chapels are all square and of the same height and size--twenty-eight
feet square and fifty-four feet high. They are all decorated in the
Gothic style, a uniformity which suggests that they were all built at
the same time, or very carefully copied from the first one planned. Each
contains a semicircular window, and four arched recesses for tombs. This
regularity of style has operated to some extent as a check upon the
excesses of the Churrigueresque school. The Golden Chapel--the second in
the south aisle--dates from the sixteenth century. All within it is
superbly gilded, the decoration reflecting credit on its author, Canon
Francisco Sanchez de Palencia, whose noble tomb is here. His dignities
are set forth on the beautiful plateresque _reja_. The chapel also
contains a notable skeleton or memento mori. The next chapel is called
after the Presidente de Lievana, and is adorned with some good paintings
by the dumb artist Navarrete, particularly by a copy of Titian’s
‘Deposition.’ The fourth chapel on this side contains the good statue of
a very good man, Canon Palacios, who died in the odour of sanctity in
the year 1591. We may now descend to the old cathedral by a doorway on
the right, close to a fine picture of the Madonna and Child and St.
John, by Morales. The monuments of Count Raymond and Doña Urraca must
have been destroyed to make room for this part of the new building. Good
paintings by Gallego may be seen in the Capilla de San Antonio on the
opposite side of the church. There are not many good tombs, the only
ones remaining to be mentioned being those of the Bishops Corrionero
(1620), Felipe Beltran (1783), and Agustino Varela (nineteenth century).
The sacristy is a gorgeous apartment, where mirrors, gilding, and
ornamentation of every style are combined to produce a not altogether
unpleasing effect. The treasury is rich in relics of doubtful
authenticity. The silver reliquaries were once the property of the
Knights Templars, whose cause Salamanca long upheld. Here you may gaze
(with a befittingly credulous air) upon three thorns from Christ’s
crown, a piece of the true cross, an arm of St. George, St. Lawrence’s
shoulder, the head of one of the eleven thousand virgins who escorted
St. Ursula, the hearts of St. Bartholomew and St. Sebastian, and the
bodies of five Spanish martyrs who suffered under the Vandals. More
interesting are a letter in St. Teresa’s handwriting, and a small
crucifix of blackened bronze, often confounded with the Cristo de las
Batallas, and probably of the same period and source. The chalice,
monstrance, and other sacred vessels are beautifully wrought, even for a
country where metal-working has been carried almost to perfection.
THE UNIVERSITY,
thanks to which the name of Salamanca was honourably known throughout
the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries from Lisbon to
Novgorod, was founded by Alfonso IX., King of Leon, in the first quarter
of the thirteenth century--moved thereto, it is said, by the
establishment of the university of Palencia by his cousin of Castile.
Consequent on the union of the two kingdoms in the person of Fernando
III., the latter university declined and faded out of existence,
Salamanca thus remaining the oldest seat of learning in Spain.
Valladolid, the next in order of antiquity, dates from 1346, Alcalá from
1499, Seville from 1504. The sainted king in 1243 bestowed a charter on
the young university, by virtue of which the students were exempted from
the municipal law and made subject to their own tribunals. The first
court thus constituted was composed of the bishop, the dean and prior of
the Friars Preachers, the father guardian of the Discalced Franciscans,
and certain persons named as Don Rodrigo, and Pedro Guigelmo, Garcia
Gomez, Pedro Vellido, Fernando Sanchez de Porto Carrero, Pedro Muñiz,
canon of Leon, and Miguel Perez, canon of Lamego.
Under Alfonso the Learned the new foundation naturally flourished. He
not only confirmed by a royal ordinance, dated from Badajoz, 1252, all
the privileges granted by his predecessors, but exempted the students
from tolls and certain other dues, and secured them priority in the
matter of accommodation at inns. Furthermore, in 1254, he endowed a
chair of law with an annual stipend of five hundred maravedis, an
assistant or bachelor also being appointed; a master of decrees, at a
salary of three hundred maravedis; two masters of decretals, at five
hundred maravedis a year each; two masters in physics, in logic, and in
grammar, each at two hundred maravedis; an organist at fifty maravedis;
and a librarian, at a hundred maravedis. The same monarch reduced the
number of rectors to two--the Dean of Salamanca and one Arnal Sanz. In
the celebrated Partidas, in the compilation of which Alfonso was
doubtless assisted by members of this university, directions are given
that at all such seats of learning there should be good inns, abundance
of bread and wine, and pleasant walks where the students might in the
evenings take the air.
No mention is made in the decrees of 1252 and 1254 of a faculty of
theology, which probably came within the province of the cathedral
chapter. The connection between the university and the cathedral was
very intimate. Examinations were held and degrees conferred, as we have
seen, in the chapel of Santa Barbara; the doctors were admitted to the
choir, the canons reciprocally to the university theatres. Pope Innocent
IV. had referred in flattering terms to the university at the Council of
Lyons in 1245; and in 1255 Alexander IV., in a brief dated from Naples,
acclaimed it as one of the four wonders of the world, and gave it his
pontifical sanction. Boniface VIII. sent the professors a copy of his
decretals, and revised the university statutes. The students were
divided into eight sections, according to the part of the Peninsula from
which they came, and the heads of these sections elected the rector.
The election took place at Martinmas, and the installation on St.
Catharine’s Day. The newly elected dignitary was escorted to his house
by the students, each section being marshalled behind an ensign
consisting of the principal fruit of its country. The rivalries between
these different groups generally led to blows, and frequently called for
the intervention of the authorities. On such occasions it was the
privilege of the rector to defray all damages and fines. But the reign
of cakes and ale did not always endure at Salamanca. In 1308 the times
were so bad that the stipends of the professors were suppressed, and the
university only survived the crisis through the self-sacrifice of the
chapter and the intervention of the pope, who devoted a ninth of the
tithes of the archbishopric of Santiago to its maintenance.
Subsequent pontiffs continued to exhibit great interest in the now
flourishing institution, and to it belonged the honour of terminating,
by its decision in favour of Clement VI., the schism which had divided
the Christian church. A less honourable incident was the unfavourable
decision pronounced by its professors on the great project of Columbus,
referred to them by Queen Isabel. This verdict was the more surprising
as the university had adopted the Copernican system at a time when it
was considered heretical and dangerous.
The most famous school in all Spain shared the fortunes of the monarchy.
In the days of Luis de Leon there were 70 professors and 10,000
students, and the 52 printing-offices and 84 bookshops employed 3600
men. In the year 1552 there were still no fewer than 6328
undergraduates. Women competed equally with men for the honours of the
learned. Among the most illustrious members of the university were
Beatriz Galendo, surnamed the Latin, the daughter of a professor, and
the teacher and friend of Isabel the Catholic; Alvara de Alba, the
author of a mathematical treatise, and Cecilia Morillas, the wife of a
Portuguese, Dom Antonio Sobrino, and the mother of several learned
doctors, who consulted her on the most difficult points in the
humanities, in philosophy, and theology. Salamanca remained to the last
a stronghold of Catholic orthodoxy. The only one of its professors who
ever advanced heretical opinions--Pedro de Osuna--recanted in good time,
and assisted with the rest of the university at the solemn burning of
his books and the purification of the class-rooms in which he had
taught. At the end of the eighteenth century the number of students had
fallen to 2000. To-day it may be estimated at 1200 students, all drawn
(excepting those of the Irish college) from the surrounding provinces.
The nineteen professors are worse paid than an English ledger-clerk, and
no book or pamphlet has issued from the university press (if such
exists) for many years past.
The colleges were classified as Escuelas Mayores and Escuelas Menores.
The college to which the name university is specially applied seems to
have been built between 1415 and 1433 by Alfonso Rodriguez Carpintero,
though the shield of the anti-pope Benedict XIII. (Pedro de Luna) over
the door leading to the cathedral, dating from about 1380, leads one to
suppose that part of the building was already standing at that date. For
a long time, however, the cloisters of the cathedral were used as
class-rooms. The present edifice has little about it to suggest the
Gothic era. Restored by Fernando and Isabel, it ranks indeed as one of
the earliest and finest specimens of plateresque architecture. Over the
double entrance of the main façade are two rudely executed busts of the
Catholic sovereigns, clasping the same sceptre, and enclosed in one
medallion. Around this is inscribed the legend: ‘οί βασιλεῖς τῇ
ἐγκυκλοπαιδείᾳ, αὕτη βασιλεῦσί’ (‘the Kings to the University, the
University to the Kings’). The panels into which the three stages of
this beautiful façade are divided are filled with escutcheons,
medallions, foliage, scrolls, and grotesques, all admirably executed in
the creamy stone, which gives so beautiful an appearance to the
buildings of Salamanca. This fine work is ascribed to Enrique de Egas,
and said to have cost 30,000 ducats. It is surmounted by a parapet of
elaborate pierced work, and two pinnacles, which we could perhaps have
spared.
Opposite, in the courtyard, stands the fine bronze statue of the
university’s most brilliant alumnus--Luis de Leon. This great man was
born at Granada in 1527, and entered the Augustinian Order in 1544. His
writings went far to give permanency and purity to the Castilian idiom,
which only at that time was coming into use by the learned. Promoted to
the chair of theology at Salamanca, his translation into the vernacular
of the Song of Solomon excited the suspicions of the Holy Office. He was
arrested and kept in confinement at Valladolid during five years, at the
end of which time he was released, the charges against him not having
been proved to the satisfaction even of the inquisitors. On his return
to his chair he received a tumultuous ovation. As he rose, the crowd of
students awaited in dead silence an apology, a condemnation of his
unjust accusers, some reference at least to the prosecution which had
dragged on through five weary years. They were disappointed. Leon had no
mind to dwell on his personal affairs. He broke the silence of five
years with the simple words, ‘As we were saying yesterday ...’ He died,
Provincial of his order, in the year 1591, and was buried in the Convent
of San Agustino at Salamanca.
On the left side of the square is the old students’ hospital, with a
fine effigy of St. Thomas Aquinas over the doorway, and a cornice in the
plateresque style. Finer still is the portal of the adjacent Escuelas
Menores, also dating from the early sixteenth century. Above the doorway
of two arches are displayed the three escutcheons which proclaim the
university to be royal, and the triple crown and the heads of St. Peter
and St. Paul which proclaim it pontifical. These emblems appear amidst a
profusion of detail, in which the Gothic and plateresque styles seem to
have been assimilated.
Returning to the principal façade, we find the archives on the ground
floor. Opening out of the inner _patio_ may be seen the lecture-room of
Louis de Leon. His ashes now repose in the chapel once adorned by
Fernando Gallego, but ‘restored’ in the eighteenth century. The coloured
stones and marbles used in the reconstruction are not without a certain
pleasing effect. Passing up the noble staircase, with its banisters
formed of dancing figures and foliage and superb artesonado ceiling, we
reach the handsome library. This contains many treasures, among them
forty Greek codices, as many Latin, the illuminated MS. of ‘famous and
virtuous women,’ written by Alvaro de Luna, and a fifteenth-century
Bible, richly illuminated. The Sala del Claustro is shown, outside which
the student about to contest a thesis was obliged to remain for
twenty-four hours to consider his subject at leisure.
Of the four Escuelas Mayores (High Schools)--San Bartolomé, del
Arzobispo, Cuenca, and Oviedo--only the two first remain. These colleges
bore the same relation to the Escuelas Menores that our Staff College
does to Sandhurst. Here graduates were prepared for the highest posts in
church and state. The College of San Bartolomé was founded in 1401 by
Bishop de Anaya, whose sons were educated within its walls, and
transferred to the present site sixteen years later. Vergara says that
it produced seven cardinals, eighteen archbishops, seventy bishops, and
innumerable judges and councillors of state. Like so many other similar
institutions, originally intended for the poor and scholarly, the
college soon became the preserve of the rich and aristocratic. The
quarterings on the applicant’s shield were more carefully examined than
his pretensions to scholarship, and when Carlos III. undertook to reform
the college, it had earned the name of a hot-bed of vice. Its inward
reformation corresponded with its material restoration. Little or
nothing remains of the original structure. A spacious flight of steps
leads up to the handsome portico in the Grecian style, with its four
Corinthian columns and triangular pediment. The whole building is simple
and massive, and crowned by a balustrade, in the centre of which are
displayed the arms of the Anayas; the main façade the chapel with a
heavy dome and Churrigueresque entrance. The inner court or _patio_ is
surrounded by a double gallery, the lower formed by sixteen Doric
columns, the upper by as many Ionic. The magnificent staircase, dividing
after the first flight into two branches, with its arches, Corinthian
columns, and windows all in stone, surpasses any similar feat of
architecture in Spain.
In the western part of the city, where abundant evidence yet remains of
the frightful destruction wrought by the French in Wellington’s day,
stands the interesting Colegio del Arzobispo, better known as the
Colegio de los Irlandeses. Founded by Alfonso de Fonseca, successively
Archbishop of Santiago and Toledo, it dates from the year 1521. The
portal is in the classic style, with eight Ionic columns, a medallion of
Santiago, and the archiepiscopal escutcheon; the adjoining façade is of
the late Gothic. Above it rises the square cupola of the chapel designed
by Pedro de Ibarra, and containing a retablo which ranks one of
Berruguete’s finest works. The subjects of the eight panels of which it
is composed are: the Ascension, Baptism, Flight into Egypt, the
Adoration of the Shepherds, the Presentation in the Temple, the Finding
of Moses, the Descent of the Holy Ghost, and Ananias and Sapphira. The
whole was executed in less than eighteen months. Under a simple marble
slab rests the body of Archbishop de Fonseca.
The galleries of the _patio_ are formed by fluted columns and adorned
with the heads of warriors very skilfully executed.
This college is now occupied, as its modern name implies, by Irish
theological students, whose original seminary was founded by Philip II.
in 1592. A college for Scottish Catholics was founded at the same time
in Valladolid.
Of the forty colleges which once composed the University of Salamanca,
the three described above alone remain. Most have utterly disappeared;
of others, a few columns or chambers still exist, forming part now of
buildings of another sort. The Colegio de Calatrava has survived, as a
building, the three other colleges founded by the great military orders.
It was extensively restored at the end of the eighteenth century, but
the old doorway was spared with the saint’s head and knights upholding
the banner of the order carved above it. The fine court has been
dismantled, and the large chapel with transept and cupola has been
stripped of the paintings and altar-pieces which once adorned it.
MINOR CHURCHES
Among the sacred edifices of Salamanca, next to the two cathedrals,
ranks the church and convent of the Dominicans, variously known as Santo
Domingo and San Estéban. The Dominicans, on their establishment at
Salamanca in the year 1221, were first housed at San Juan el Blanco.
Thirty years later they removed to San Estéban. Their convent was
honoured in 1484 by the presence of Columbus, who found a generous host,
a powerful protector, and a mind sufficiently broad to comprehend his
project in the Friar Diego de Deza, afterwards grand inquisitor of
Spain. His scheme, rejected by the university, was carefully considered
by this learned man, and recommended to the queen. In gratitude,
Columbus named the first town founded by him in the New World, Santo
Domingo, after the order which had befriended him. From this monastery,
too, departed the first Christian missionaries for America.
The building itself, unfortunately, has disappeared. It was pulled down
in 1524 to make room for the present superb edifice, designed by Juan de
Alava, the fellow-workman of Hontañon, who was succeeded by four other
architects, till the completion of the work in 1610. The church is
accounted one of the two or three most important monuments of the middle
Renaissance period in Spain. The main façade, in the soft sandstone
usual here, exhibits a marvellous profusion of figures, ‘excellently
wrought, beautiful of themselves,’ remarks a critic, ‘but lacking in
appropriateness, and not forming a part of a comprehensive scheme.’ On
each side of the doorway, between pillars, are seen the figures of four
of the Dominican saints; above, between four similarly placed statues of
the doctors of the church, is an admirable relief of the Martyrdom of
St. Stephen, executed by Juan Ceroni of Milan, who has carved his name
and the date (1610) on the stones which were the instruments of the
saint’s death. Above this, again, is a Crucifixion, overshadowed by the
great arch which encloses the whole façade. The medallions and friezes
exhibit very careful and graceful workmanship.
The side façades are mainly Gothic in character. Each buttress is
surmounted by an ornate pinnacle. The nave is almost as spacious as that
of the cathedral. The six-pointed vaults spring from fluted columns, and
are brilliant with gilding. The windows of three lights and the
rose-windows above are filled with good stained glass. The gorgeous
retablo, which cost the Duke of Alba 4000 of his pine trees, is the work
of Churriguera; its garishness is redeemed by the fine painting of the
Martyrdom of St. Stephen by Claudio Coello, and the curious
twelfth-century image of the Virgin de la Vega in gilt bronze. Over the
choir, built by Bishop de Aranjo, is the fine Apotheosis of St.
Dominic, a fresco by Palomino. The frescoes over the altar of the Rosary
and in the chapel of the Cristo de la Luz are by his contemporary,
Villamor. In the chapel of St. John is the tomb of Don Lope de Paz, the
defender of Rhodes and Eubœa, and in a wooden urn in the Reliquary
chapel are contained the ashes of the terror of the Low Countries,
Fernando de Toledo, Duke of Alba.
The chapter-house is a grandiose apartment, with pillars of the Doric
order, and a Corinthian altar beneath a canopy. Here may be seen some
bas-reliefs of the thirteenth century from the old church. In the
magnificent sacristy is the tomb of Bishop Herrera of Tuy, who died in
1632, and is shown in a kneeling posture. More interesting is the
cloister, with its early Renaissance arcading and fanwork vaulting. Some
of the medallions and reliefs which adorn the cloister were designed by
Alfonso Sardiña in 1626. The noble staircase adorned by a Magdalene,
which was executed by order of the illustrious Dominican theologian,
Fray Domingo Soto, of whom it was punningly said, ‘Qui scit Sotum, scit
totum.’
The seminary, built in 1617 by Gómez de Mora for the Society of Jesus,
is a building of the type more commonly admired by Spaniards than other
peoples. It is vast and heavy, commanding respect by its bulk rather
than its proportions. Over the façade, with its six gigantic columns,
rise two lofty steeples, flanking an acroterium with very bad statuary.
The cupola or lantern is not ungracefully constructed, but spoilt with
indifferent ornamentation. The interior is cold and monotonous, though
free from the extravagant decoration of the epoch of its construction.
The sacristy, which contains four copies of paintings by Rubens, is vast
even for this vast church, the richest Jesuit establishment in Spain.
Another great but much less admirable pile is the church of the
Recollect Augustine nuns, the convent having been founded in 1626 by the
favourite of Felipe IV., the Count of Monterey, as a retreat for his
sister, Doña Catilina. The architect was Juan Fontana. The church is in
the usual shape of a Latin cross, and is richly adorned with coloured
marbles, jasper, and lapis lazuli. The architecture was spoilt by
injudicious repairs effected on the collapse of the dome in 1680. The
tombs of the founder and his wife are in indifferent taste, but the
statues are good. The church is rich in paintings. Ribera’s Conception
hangs over the high altar, and the handsome retablo is adorned by his
Virgin de la Piedad. In the transept are two other works of the same
master--Our Lady of the Rosary and the Nativity. These paintings were
bought in Naples by Monterey, then viceroy, at the time of the papal
pronouncement on the mystery of the Immaculate Conception. According to
Ford, it is believed that better pictures are preserved in the convent
itself, which is not open to visitors.
San Benito is an interesting church, originally founded by the Galician
settlers in 1104, and rebuilt in the late Gothic style by the Maldonado
family in the fifteenth century. The tombs of several members of that
family are within. The statues of Arias Perez Maldonado and his wife lie
to the right and left of the chancel. The knight wears armour, and a
page rests at his feet; the lady wears the costume of the age of Isabel
the Catholic. Here also sleeps that haughty lord of Monleón, whose wife
was so reluctant to save his life at the expense of his castle. From
this church the Maldonado faction took the name of San Benito; the
opposite faction, descended from Maria la Brava, affected the church of
Santo Tomé de los Caballeros. There are some good tombs of the
fourteenth and sixteenth centuries in the church of San Isidoro,
founded by the French settlers of Count Raymond. The Portuguese built
the little church dedicated to St. Thomas of Canterbury, which still
preserves a triple apse and windows in the Romanesque style. The doorway
is Gothic, and the tomb of Bishop de Velasco, supported by lions,
obviously of the Renaissance. San Martin, built by settlers from Toro,
though injured by a fire in 1854, preserves many ancient features. Some
of the columns of the nave are Byzantine, and the doorway, with its
triple-pointed arch, belongs to the best Gothic period. The south front
is Renaissance. This is the burial-place of the Santisteban family. An
architectural curiosity to which Street calls attention, is the little
circular church of San Marcos, close to the wall at the north end of the
city, with its three apses vaulted with semi-domes, while the rest of
the edifice is roofed with wood. This odd little church was built as a
chapel royal by Alfonso IX. in 1202.
The only church of interest besides those enumerated above is the Sancti
Spiritus, built about 1190, and granted to the Knights of St. John of
Jerusalem in 1222. Afterwards, with the adjacent convent, it passed into
the possession of an aristocratic sisterhood. Rebuilt in 1541 by Leonor
de Acevedo, the portal is in the Renaissance style, and the interior in
late Gothic. The lower choir has fine artesonado work and well-carved
stalls. The retablo, which dates from 1659, displays fine reliefs of the
life of St. James, and good statues of the apostles. Near the entrance
are the tombs of the great benefactors of the convent, Martin Alfonso,
natural son of Alfonso IX., and his wife, Maria Mendez, a Portuguese
lady (1270). Another tomb is that of Pedro Vidal, an ecclesiastic, who
died in 1363.
DOMESTIC AND MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS
Salamanca contains several old mansions of the nobility, which might
well have delighted Prout. However remote may have been the date of
their foundation, later restoration has given them for the most part a
plateresque or Renaissance aspect. The Casa de las Salinas was built for
the Fonseca family in 1538, and was afterwards used as a place of
storage for salt. It is considered to be the best example of the
plateresque style in the city. The four arches of the principal façade
spring from granite columns with very well chiselled capitals. Good also
are the busts in medallions between the arches. The second story is
pierced by three square windows, supported by splendid masculine
figures, emblematic of the victories of Charles V., and in the best
style of the period. Hardly inferior to these are the cherubs and
grotesques on the columns of the jambs. Angels’ heads appear over the
arches of the gallery which crowns the edifice. The beautiful _patio_ is
adorned by arches similar to those of the façade. Round the court runs a
mean wooden gallery carried on sixteen brackets superbly carved with
terminal figures in every sort of posture, and supporting delightfully
fantastic monsters. These figures are among the best sculptures in
Salamanca, and merit close examination.
We find the five lilies of the Maldonados, those old Capulets of the
city, displayed over the entrance of the Casa de las Conchas, built for
the family in 1512. The house derives its name from the thirteen rows of
shells decorating its front. The most interesting features of the
building are the windows, each divided by a slender central shaft, and
with delicate traceries in the early plateresque style. Quadrado states
that the Jesuits, wishing to acquire the site, offered an ounce of gold
for each of the shells, but the owners declined to give up the property
at any price.
The unfinished palace of the counts of Monterey dates from the same
epoch (1530). It is a massive building of three low stories, the upper
pierced with an elegant gallery, and surmounted by a beautiful
balustrade composed of figures and foliage intertwined. Above the
general level rise square towers with open galleries, exhibiting some
good decorative details. The lower stories of the mansion are devoid of
interest.
Very suggestive of Salamanca’s fiery, flourishing days is the device
over the doorway of an old house in the little Plaza de San
Cebrian--‘Quod tibi non vis, alteri non facias.’ Close by in an
underground cellar the famous Enrique de Villena is said to have studied
magic under a sacristan from a neighbouring church. Not far away, we
believe, is a house which we failed to find, called the Casa de las
Batallas, where a temporary peace was patched up between the rival
factions of the city in 1478--a peace commemorated by a text sculptured
above the arch, ‘Ira odium generat, concordia nutrit amorem.’
Close to the Casa de las Salinas stands another memorial of that stormy
time--the battered Torre del Clavero, built in 1470 by a knight of the
Order of Alcantara, Francisco de Sotomayor. Its eight faces are
strengthened by projecting bartizan turrets, not placed as is usual at
the angles, and adorned with rude sculpture. It forms an interesting
example of Castilian military architecture. Close by were formerly the
headquarters of the Templars, and not far away is the street called
after the ‘Yellow Well,’ from which St. Juan of Sahagun miraculously
rescued a drowning child.
The centre of the city is occupied by the fine Plaza Mayor, planned in
1720 by Don Andres de Quiñones. The square compares very favourably with
the finest open spaces of the kind in Europe. It is surrounded by a
colonnade of twenty-two arches on each side, above which rise three
stories, to a pierced parapet with pinnacles. Archways, surmounted by an
acroterium, in the centre of each side, afford communication with the
adjoining streets. The arcades are adorned with medallions of Spanish
worthies. The bust of Cortes is said to mark the site of the house he
lodged in when a student. In this square, which is occupied by gardens
and is the fashionable promenade, bull-fights on an enormous scale have
been organised, and from the balconies the townsmen have more than once
looked down on the death-agonies of some wretched malefactor. One side
is occupied by the town hall (Ayuntamiento). Its architecture is
strictly in keeping with the surrounding line of houses. The façade,
supported on a gallery of five arches, is flanked by fluted columns,
statues appear between the windows, and on each side of the clock-tower
rising above the parapet.
This modern centre of what activity Salamanca can boast may be compared
with the old resorts of the population--the Plaza de la Yerba, and the
Plaza de San Boal, where Englishmen will look with interest at the
palace of the Marques de Almarza, built about the end of the fifteenth
century. Here lodged the Iron Duke in those days when Spain and England
stood side by side for war, as they now do, and we hope may ever do, in
the cause of peace.
Printed by T. and A. CONSTABLE, Printers to His Majesty
at the Edinburgh University Press
[Illustration: PLATE 1.
GENERAL VIEW OF LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 2.
VIEW FROM THE CEMETERY.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 3.
CATHEDRAL: VIEW FROM THE NORTH.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 4.
CATHEDRAL: GENERAL VIEW.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 5.
LEON CATHEDRAL.]
[Illustration: PLATE 6.
CATHEDRAL: DOOR OF THE CROSS-AISLE (RESTORED).
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 7.
LEON CATHEDRAL.]
[Illustration: PLATE 8.
LATERAL FAÇADE OF THE CATHEDRAL.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 9.
LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF THE CATHEDRAL.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 10.
CATHEDRAL: STAINED GLASS WINDOW OF THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 11.
CATHEDRAL: STAINED GLASS WINDOW OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 12.
PLAN OF THE CATHEDRAL.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 13.
CATHEDRAL: CENTRAL GATE OF THE PRINCIPAL PORCH.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 14.
CATHEDRAL: RIGHT GATE OF THE PRINCIPAL PORCH.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 15.
CATHEDRAL: DETAIL OF THE LOWER PART OF THE PRINCIPAL PORTICO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 16.
CATHEDRAL: ARCH OF THE CENTRAL PORTICO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 17.
CATHEDRAL: ARCH OF THE RIGHT DOOR.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 18.
CATHEDRAL: LEFT GATE OF PRINCIPAL PORCH.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 19.
CATHEDRAL: GATE OF THE CORO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 20.
CATHEDRAL: DOOR OF THE CHAPEL OF ST. ANDREW.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 21.
CATHEDRAL: PAINTED WALLS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 22.
CATHEDRAL: STATUE OF OUR LADY LA BLANCA IN THE PRINCIPAL PORCH.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 23.
CATHEDRAL: A SEPULCHRE.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 24.
CATHEDRAL: SEPULCHRE OF DON ORDOÑO II.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 25.
CATHEDRAL: SEPULCHRE OF MARTIN, FIRST BISHOP OF LEON.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 26.
CATHEDRAL: DETAIL OF THE DOOR OF THE CHAPEL OF ST. ANDREW.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 27.
CATHEDRAL: THE CLOISTERS. OUR LADY DEL FORO AND THE OFFERINGS OF THE
KINGS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 28.
CATHEDRAL: SPANDRIL OF CENTRAL GATE. THE LAST JUDGMENT.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 29.
CATHEDRAL: SPANDRIL OF CENTRAL GATE. THE LAST JUDGMENT.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 30.
CATHEDRAL: DETAIL OF THE RIGHT GATE.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 31.
CATHEDRAL: DETAIL OF THE GATE OF THE CHAPEL OF SAN ANDRÉS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 32.
CATHEDRAL: VARIOUS STATUES FROM THE CROSS AISLE.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 33.
CATHEDRAL: DETAIL OF THE RIGHT-HAND PORTICO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 34.
CATHEDRAL: THE BACK OF THE CHOIR.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 35.
CATHEDRAL: THE CHOIR STALLS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 36.
CATHEDRAL: THE CHOIR STALLS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 37.
CATHEDRAL: DETAIL OF THE CHOIR.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 38.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. THE GUARDIAN ANGEL OF PARADISE, AND THE
ARCHANGEL ST. MICHAEL.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 39.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. NOAH, ADAM AND EVE.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 40.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. THE ARCHANGEL GABRIEL AND ABRAHAM.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 41.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. ISAAC AND JACOB.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 42.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. ESAU.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 43.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. SAMSON.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 44.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. ST. MATHIAS AND ST. MARK.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 45.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. ST. LUKE AND ST. BARTHOLOMEW.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 46.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. ST. ANDREW AND ST. PETER.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 47.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. SANTIAGO ALFEO AND ST. PHILIP.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 48.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST AND SANTIAGO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 49.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. SAINT MARY MAGDALENE AND SANTO DOMINGO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 50.
CATHEDRAL: IN THE CHOIR. ST. NICODEMUS AND VALOUR.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 51.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. ST. MARTHA AND ST. LUCY.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 52.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. ST. FRANCIS AND ST. CATHERINE.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 53.
CATHEDRAL. CHOIR STALLS. ST. FROYLAN AND ST. NICHOLAS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 54.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. SAN VITORINO AND SAN MARTIN.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 55.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. SANTA CRISTINA AND SANTA ELENA.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 56.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. SAN GREGORIO AND SAN GERONIMO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 57.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. SAN SILVESTRE AND SAN LUPERCIO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 58.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. SAN LORENZO AND SAN VICENTE.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 59.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. SAN CELEDONIO AND SAN ESTEBAN.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 60.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS. A SAINT.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 61.
CATHEDRAL: DETAIL OF THE CHOIR STALLS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 62.
CATHEDRAL: DETAIL OF THE CHOIR STALLS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 63.
CATHEDRAL: STATUE OF THE VIRGIN.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 64.
CATHEDRAL: DETAIL OF THE CLOISTERS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 65.
CATHEDRAL: BAS-RELIEFS IN THE CLOISTERS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 66.
FAÇADE OF THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDORO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 67.
GATE OF PARDON: COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDORO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 68.
COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDORO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 69.
PRINCIPAL GATE OF THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDORO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 70.
PANTEON OF THE KINGS IN THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDORO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 71.
SPANDRIL OF GATE OF PARDON: COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDORO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 72.
FRESCO OF THE PANTEON OF THE KINGS IN THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF SAN
ISIDORO, END OF ELEVENTH CENTURY.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 73.
SECTIONS AND DETAILS OF THE PANTEON OF SAN ISIDORO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 74.
COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDORO: PAINTING ON THE WALL OF THE PANTEON OF
THE KINGS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 75.
COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDORO: PAINTINGS ON THE WALLS OF THE PANTEON
OF THE KINGS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 76.
COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDORO: CHALICE AND PATEN OF DOÑA URRACA, AND
CROSS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 77.
COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDORO: IVORY CROSS OF KING FERNANDO I. AND
SANCHA HIS WIFE.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 78.
COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDORO: RELICS, CONTAINING ST. MARTIN’S HAND,
ST. JOHN BAPTIST’S JAW, ONE OF ST. ISIDORO’S FINGERS, AND SOME OF THE
VIRGIN’S HAIR.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 79.
COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDORO: CHALICE AND CRUCIFIX IN FILIGREE GOLD.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 80.
COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDORO: IVORY COFFER.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 81.
COLLEGIATE CHURCH OF SAN ISIDORO: GOTHIC CRUCIFIX IN GOLD.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 82.
SAN MIGUEL DE ESCALADA: GENERAL VIEW OF THE CONVENT.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 83.
SAN MIGUEL DE ESCALADA: EXTERIOR OF THE TEMPLE AND PORTICO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 84.
SAN MIGUEL DE ESCALADA: INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 85.
SAN MIGUEL DE ESCALADA: INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 86.
SAN MIGUEL DE ESCALADA: SOUTHERN FAÇADE, PLAN, AND DETAILS. (TOWN HALL,
GRADEFES.)
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 87.
SAN MIGUEL DE ESCALADA: LONGITUDINAL AND TRANSVERSE SECTIONS AND
DETAILS. (TOWN HALL. GRADEFES.)
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 88.
DETAILS OF SAN MIGUEL DE ESCALADA. (TOWN HALL, GRADEFES.)
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 89.
SAN MIGUEL DE ESCALADA: A CAPITAL IN THE CHURCH.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 90.
OUR LADY DEL MERCADO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 91.
OUR LADY DEL MERCADO: BARRED WINDOW IN THE PRINCIPAL FAÇADE.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 92.
CHURCH OF SAN PEDRO DE LOS HUERTOS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 93.
GENERAL VIEW OF THE CONVENT OF SAN MARCOS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 94.
PRINCIPAL FAÇADE OF THE CONVENT OF SAN MARCOS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 95.
DETAIL OF THE FAÇADE OF THE CONVENT OF SAN MARCOS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 96.
ENTRANCE TO THE CONVENT OF SAN MARCOS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 97.
DETAIL OF THE FAÇADE OF THE CONVENT OF SAN MARCOS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 98.
DETAIL OF THE FAÇADE OF THE CONVENT OF SAN MARCOS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 99.
DETAIL OF THE FAÇADE OF THE CONVENT OF SAN MARCOS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 100.
DETAIL OF THE FAÇADE OF THE CONVENT OF SAN MARCOS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 101.
DETAIL OF THE FAÇADE OF THE CONVENT OF SAN MARCOS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 102.
SACRISTY IN THE CONVENT OF SAN MARCOS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 103.
STALLS IN THE CONVENT OF SAN MARCOS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 104.
CHURCH OF SAN MARCOS: DETAIL OF THE CHOIR.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 105.
CHURCH OF SAN MARCOS: DETAIL OF THE CHOIR STALLS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 106.
CHURCH OF SAN MARCOS: DETAIL OF THE STALLS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 107.
CHURCH OF SAN MARCOS: DETAIL OF THE CHOIR STALLS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 108.
CHURCH OF SAN MARCOS: DETAIL OF THE CHOIR.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 109.
PROVINCIAL MUSEUM OF SAN MARCOS: TRAY, CRUCIFIX, AND VASE.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 110.
PROVINCIAL MUSEUM OF SAN MARCOS: CROSS OF SANTIAGO DE PEÑALVA.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 111.
PROVINCIAL MUSEUM OF SAN MARCOS: CHRIST IN THE BYZANTINE STYLE, AND THE
VIRGIN IN THE GOTHIC STYLE.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 112.
PROVINCIAL MUSEUM OF SAN MARCOS: SAN FRANCISCO.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 113.
DON ORDOÑO II. PRESENTING HIS PALACE TO THE VIRGIN.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 114.
STANDARD OF ALFONSO VII., EMPEROR, NOW BELONGING TO THE ILLUSTRIOUS
FAMILIES OF LEON.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 115.
TOWER OF THE PONCES.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 116.
LAS CASAS CONSISTORIALES.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 117.
HOUSE OF THE GUZMANES.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 118.
BASTIONS OF THE ANCIENT WALLS.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 119.
CALLE DE SANTA ANA.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 120.
CORNER OF THE HOUSE OF THE GUZMANES.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 121.
VIEW OF THE RAILWAY STATION.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 122.
GENERAL VIEW OF ASTORGA.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 123.
MOUNTAINEERS OF THE PROVINCE.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 124.
IVORY CASKET OF THE NINTH CENTURY, FROM SAN ISIDORO AT LEON, NOW IN THE
NATIONAL ARCHÆOLOGICAL MUSEUM.]
[Illustration: PLATE 125.
TWO STATUES IN THE ARCHÆOLOGICAL MUSEUM.
LEON.]
[Illustration: PLATE 126.
VIEW OF BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 127.
GENERAL VIEW OF BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 128.
LA PLAZA MAYOR.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 129.
GENERAL VIEW FROM THE CASTLE.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 130.
MANSION OF THE CID.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 131.
EL PASEO DEL ESPOLON.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 132.
VIEW FROM THE PROVINCIAL MUSEUM.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 133.
A VIEW OF BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 134.
THE CATHEDRAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 135.
FAÇADE OF THE CATHEDRAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 136.
CATHEDRAL: PUERTA DE LA PELLEGERIA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 137.
CATHEDRAL: VIEW FROM THE CLOISTERS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 138.
CATHEDRAL: UPPER PART OF THE TOWER.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 139.
CATHEDRAL: THE CONSTABLE’S CHAPEL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 140.
CATHEDRAL: PRINCIPAL FRONT.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 141.
CATHEDRAL: FROM THE CLOISTERS GARDEN.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 142.
TOWERS OF THE CATHEDRAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 143.
CATHEDRAL: ONE OF THE SPIRES.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 144.
BOSSES.
DETAIL, SPIRE WINDOWS.
ANGLE AND CROCKET OF SPIRE.
BURGOS CATHEDRAL.]
[Illustration: PLATE 145.
INTERIOR OF SPIRE.
DOORWAY TO SPIRE.
BURGOS CATHEDRAL.]
[Illustration: PLATE 146.
COURT OF THE CATHEDRAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 147.
GENERAL PLAN OF THE CATHEDRAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 148.
BURGOS CATHEDRAL.]
[Illustration: PLATE 149.
CATHEDRAL: VIEW OF THE PRINCIPAL NAVE AND HIGH ALTAR.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 150.
BURGOS CATHEDRAL.]
[Illustration: PLATE 151.
CATHEDRAL: VIEW OF THE NAVE FROM THE GATE OF THE PELLEGERIA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 152.
CATHEDRAL: BACK PART OF THE HIGH ALTAR.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 153.
CATHEDRAL: CHOIR STALLS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 154.
INTERIOR OF THE CATHEDRAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 155.
DETAILS IN THE CATHEDRAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 156.
DETAILS IN THE CATHEDRAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 157.
DETAILS IN THE CATHEDRAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 158.
DETAILS IN THE CATHEDRAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 159.
DETAILS IN THE CATHEDRAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 160.
DETAILS IN THE CATHEDRAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 161.
CATHEDRAL: EXTERIOR OF THE CONSTABLE’S CHAPEL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 162.
CATHEDRAL: INTERIOR VIEW OF THE CONSTABLE’S CHAPEL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 163.
CATHEDRAL: THE CONSTABLE’S CHAPEL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 164.
CATHEDRAL: DETAILS OF THE CONSTABLE’S CHAPEL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 165.
CATHEDRAL: DETAILS OF THE CONSTABLE’S CHAPEL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 166.
CATHEDRAL: THE CONSTABLE’S CHAPEL FROM THE ALTAR.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 167.
CATHEDRAL: ENTRANCE TO THE CONSTABLE’S CHAPEL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 168.
CATHEDRAL: DETAILS OF THE CONSTABLE’S CHAPEL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 169.
CATHEDRAL: ALTAR-PIECE ON THE EPISTLE SIDE OF THE CONSTABLE’S CHAPEL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 170.
CATHEDRAL: WINDOWS OF SACRISTY, THE CONSTABLE’S CHAPEL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 171.
CATHEDRAL: DOORWAY AND WINDOW IN THE CONSTABLE’S CHAPEL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 172.
CATHEDRAL: SANTA ANA, IN THE ALTAR-PIECE OF THE CONSTABLE’S CHAPEL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 173.
CATHEDRAL: ST. MARGARET WITH THE MONSTER AT HER FEET, IN THE ALTAR-PIECE
OF THE CONSTABLE’S CHAPEL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 174.
CATHEDRAL: DETAILS OF THE PRINCIPAL CHAPEL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 175.
CATHEDRAL: DETAILS OF THE EXTERIOR OF THE PRINCIPAL CHAPEL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 176.
CATHEDRAL: EXTERIOR OF THE PRINCIPAL CHAPEL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 177.
CATHEDRAL: CHAPEL OF ST. ANNE.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 178.
CATHEDRAL: DETAILS OF THE ALTAR-PIECE IN THE CHAPEL OF ST. ANNE.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 179.
CATHEDRAL: CHAPEL OF SANTA TECLA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 180.
CATHEDRAL: STAIRCASE LEADING TO PUERTA ALTA DE LA CORONERIA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 181.
CATHEDRAL: VIEW OF THE CLOISTERS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 182.
CATHEDRAL: GATE OF THE OLD SACRISTY IN THE CLOISTERS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 183.
CATHEDRAL: THE CLOISTER GATE.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 184.
CATHEDRAL: PUERTA DEL SARMENTAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 185.
CATHEDRAL: GATE OF PARDON.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 186.
CATHEDRAL: A DOORWAY.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 187.
CATHEDRAL: A DOORWAY.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 188.
CATHEDRAL: PORCH OF THE PELLEGERIA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 189.
CATHEDRAL: PUERTA ALTA DE LA CORONERIA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 190.
CATHEDRAL: PUERTA ALTA DE LA CORONERIA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 191.
CATHEDRAL: THE FAMOUS COFFER OF THE CID.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 192.
CATHEDRAL: CENTRAL DOME IN THE CROSS-AISLE.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 193.
CATHEDRAL: PROCESSIONAL DOOR IN THE CLOISTERS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 194.
CATHEDRAL: ENTRANCE TO THE CLOISTERS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 195.
CATHEDRAL: DETAIL OF THE DOOR LEADING TO THE GOTHIC CLOISTERS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 196.
CLOISTERS OF THE CATHEDRAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 197.
THE LOWER CLOISTERS. ELEVENTH CENTURY.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 198.
CATHEDRAL: THE CLOISTERS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 199.
CATHEDRAL: THE CLOISTERS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 200.
CATHEDRAL: THE CLOISTERS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 201.
CATHEDRAL: DETAIL OF THE CLOISTERS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 202.
CATHEDRAL: BAS-RELIEF IN THE LOWER CLOISTERS. ELEVENTH CENTURY.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 203.
CATHEDRAL: BAS-RELIEFS IN THE LOWER CLOISTERS. ELEVENTH CENTURY.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 204.
CATHEDRAL: SOFFITS OF CLOISTER ARCHES AND ORNAMENTS FROM DOORS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 205.
SAN FERNANDO AND DOÑA BEATRIZ OF SWABIA IN THE CATHEDRAL CLOISTERS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 206.
CATHEDRAL: LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF THE CLOISTERS. ELEVENTH CENTURY.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 207.
CATHEDRAL: DETAILS OF THE SEPULCHRE OF DON FERNANDO DIEZ DE
FUENTE-PELAYO.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 208.
NICHES WITH TOMBS IN THE CATHEDRAL CLOISTERS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 209.
CATHEDRAL: PUERTA DEL SARMENTAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 210.
CATHEDRAL: SEPULCHRE OF DON FERNANDO DIEZ DE FUENTE-PELAYO. ABBOT OF ST.
MARTIN.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 211.
DETAILS OF SCREENS IN THE CATHEDRAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 212.
CATHEDRAL: EL CRISTO DE LOS HUEVOS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 213.
CATHEDRAL: SEPULCHRE OF ARCHBISHOP LUIS DE ACUÑA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 214.
CATHEDRAL: SEPULCHRE OF THE FOUNDER OF THE CATHEDRAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 215.
CATHEDRAL: OUR LADY LA MAYOR, STATUE OF SILVER.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 216.
CATHEDRAL: PROCESSIONAL CRUCIFIX IN SILVER GILT, THE WORK OF JUAN DE
ARFE IN 1592.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 217.
CATHEDRAL: GOLD ENAMELLED VASE WITH COVER AND ANTIQUE MEDALLIONS. TWO
SILVER GILT GOBLETS, AND JUG.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 218.
CATHEDRAL: DOUBLE-HANDLED VESSEL WITH COVER, THE WORK OF DOM. URQUIZA DE
MADRID, IN 1771.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 219.
CATHEDRAL: STATUES OF SAINTS AND ECCLESIASTICS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 220.
CATHEDRAL: DETAILS OF BALCONIES.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 221.
CATHEDRAL: REMAINS OF ALTAR. RELIEVO FROM PORTAL. ELEVENTH CENTURY.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 222.
CATHEDRAL: COMPARTMENT OF APSIS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 223.
CATHEDRAL: PART OF THE OPEN GALLERY OR TRIFORIUM.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 224.
CATHEDRAL: DETAILS OF THE CHOIR STALLS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 225.
ALTAR-PIECE OF THE CHURCH OF SAN NICOLÁS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 226.
LA CARTUJA: GENERAL VIEW OF THE CHURCH.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 227.
LA CARTUJA: GATE OF THE CHURCH.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 228.
LA CARTUJA: SEPULCHRE OF THE INFANTE DON ALONSO.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 229.
LA CARTUJA: INTERIOR VIEW OF THE CHURCH.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 230.
LA CARTUJA: SEPULCHRE OF THE INFANTE DON ALONSO.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 231.
LA CARTUJA: SEPULCHRE OF THE SOVEREIGNS JOHN II. AND ISABEL OF PORTUGAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 232.
LA CARTUJA: SEPULCHRE OF THE SOVEREIGNS JOHN II. AND ISABEL OF PORTUGAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 233.
LA CARTUJA: STATUE OF SAN BRUNO.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 234.
LA CARTUJA: DETAILS OF THE SEPULCHRE OF THE SOVEREIGNS JOHN II. AND
ISABEL OF PORTUGAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 235.
LA CARTUJA: DETAILS OF THE SEPULCHRE OF THE SOVEREIGNS JOHN II. AND
ISABEL OF PORTUGAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 236.
LA CARTUJA: DETAILS OF THE SEPULCHRE OF THE SOVEREIGNS JOHN II. AND
ISABEL OF PORTUGAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 237.
LA CARTUJA DE MIRAFLORES: DETAILS OF THE CHOIR STALLS, AND STALL OF THE
OFFICIATING PRIEST.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 238.
LA CARTUJA DE MIRAFLORES: STALLS OF THE LAY BROTHERS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 239.
LA CARTUJA DE MIRAFLORES: A SIDE DOOR.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 240.
LA CARTUJA DE MIRAFLORES: DETAIL OF THE CHOIR.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 241.
LA CARTUJA DE MIRAFLORES: CHOIR STALLS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 242.
LA CARTUJA DE MIRAFLORES: DETAIL OF THE CHOIR STALLS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 243.
LA CARTUJA DE MIRAFLORES: THE PRIOR’S STALL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 244.
LA CARTUJA: DETAIL OF THE SEPULCHRE OF DON JUAN II. AND HIS WIFE.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 245.
LA CARTUJA: SEPULCHRE OF THE INFANTE DON ALONSO. BROTHER OF ISABEL I.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 246.
LA CARTUJA: TOMB OF THE INFANTE.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 247.
LA CARTUJA: COMPARTMENT OF KING’S TOMB.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 248.
LA CARTUJA: PORTIONS OF CORNICE, KING’S TOMB.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 249.
LA CARTUJA: ORNAMENT FROM THE INFANTE’S TOMB.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 250.
PORTION OF THE KING’S STATUE.
PORTION OF INFANTE’S ROBE.
INFANTE’S PRIE DIEU CLOTH.
LA CARTUJA: KING’S EFFIGY. INFANTE’S ROBE. INFANTE’S PRIE-DIEU CLOTH.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 251.
PANELLED WALL BEHIND THE INFANTE’S STATUE
LA CARTUJA: PANELLED WALL. ALABASTER CROWN AND TASSELS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 252.
LA CARTUJA DE MIRAFLORES: A SIXTEENTH-CENTURY CHIMNEYPIECE.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 253.
CATHEDRAL AND LA CARTUJA: EFFIGIES FROM TOMBS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 254.
LA CARTUJA: CEILING ORNAMENTS. CATHEDRAL: DETAILS FROM THE CONSTABLE’S
MONUMENT.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 255.
CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS: VIEW OF THE TEMPLE.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 256.
CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS: FAÇADE OF THE MONASTERY.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 257.
CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS: PATIO DE SAN FERNANDO.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 258.
CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS: ENTRANCE TO THE CHURCH.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 259.
CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 260.
CHURCH OF LAS HUELGAS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 261.
A SEPULCHRE IN THE CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 262.
DETAILS OF THE EXTERIOR OF SANTA MARIA LA REAL, COMMONLY CALLED DE LAS
HUELGAS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 263.
CLOISTERS AND SEPULCHRE IN THE CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 264.
A SEPULCHRE IN THE CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 265.
A SEPULCHRE IN THE CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 266.
SEPULCHRES IN THE CHOIR OF SANTA MARIA LA REAL DE LAS HUELGAS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 267.
CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS: VIEW OF THE CHOIR.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 268.
CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS: THE CLOISTERS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 269.
CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS: CLOISTERS OF SAN FERNANDO.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 270.
CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS: ENTRANCE TO THE NAVE OF ST. JOHN.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 271.
CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS: DOOR IN THE CHAPEL OF SAN SALVADOR.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 272.
CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS: THE CLOISTERS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 273.
CONVENT OF LAS HUELGAS: FLAG TAKEN BY ALFONSO VIII. AT THE BATTLE OF LAS
NAVAS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 274.
GATE OF THE KING’S HOSPITAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 275.
FAÇADE OF THE CHURCH OF THE HOSPITAL OF THE KING.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 276.
INTERIOR VIEW OF THE COURTYARD OF THE HOSPITAL OF THE KING.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 277.
CLOISTERS IN THE MONASTERY OF SANTO DOMINGO DE SILOS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 278.
MONASTERY OF SANTO DOMINGO DE SILAS (SILOS).
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 279.
CASKETS AND CHALICE IN THE MONASTERY OF SANTO DOMINGO DE SILOS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 280.
RELIQUARY, DETAILS, AND PATEN IN THE MONASTERY OF SANTO DOMINGO DE
SILOS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 281.
DETAIL OF AN ALTAR: MONASTERY OF SANTO DOMINGO DE SILOS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 282.
THE ARCH OF FERNAN GONZALEZ.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 283.
GATE OF THE HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 284.
MONASTERY OF SAN JUAN DE ORTEGA: SEPULCHRE OF THE FOUNDER.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 285.
GATE OF THE HOUSE OF THE ‘CORDON.’
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 286.
HOUSE OF THE ‘CORDON.’
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 287.
CHURCH OF SAN GIL: CHAPEL OF THE NATIVITY.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 288.
ALTAR-PIECE OF THE BUENA MAÑANA IN SAN GIL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 289.
CHURCH OF SAN GIL: ALTAR-PIECE OF THE CHAPEL OF THE KINGS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 290.
GATE OF THE CHURCH OF SAN LESMES.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 291.
ALTAR-PIECE IN SAN LESMES.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 292.
PORCH OF THE CHURCH OF SAN ESTÉBAN.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 293.
ENTRANCE TO THE PARISH CHURCH OF SAN NICOLÁS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 294.
ALTAR-PIECE IN SAN NICOLÁS DE BARI.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 295.
ARCHWAY OF SANTA MARIA, SIXTEENTH CENTURY.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 296.
GATE OF SANTA MARIA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 297.
THE ARCO DE SANTA MARIA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 298.
PROVINCIAL MUSEUM: ARABESQUES OF THE ARCO DE SANTA MARIA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 299.
EXTERIOR VIEW AND DETAIL OF THE ARCH OF SANTA MARIA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 300.
PROVINCIAL MUSEUM: SEPULCHRE OF DON JUAN DE PADILLA IN FRESDELVAL,
FIFTEENTH CENTURY.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 301.
PROVINCIAL MUSEUM: SEPULCHRE OF DON JUAN DE PADILLA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 302.
INTERIOR VIEW OF THE PROVINCIAL MUSEUM.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 303.
PROVINCIAL MUSEUM: FRONT OF AN ALTAR IN ENAMELLED BRONZE, ELEVENTH
CENTURY.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 304.
PROVINCIAL MUSEUM: VISIGOTHIC SEPULCHRE OF SIXTH CENTURY, FOUND AT
BRIVIESCA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 305.
COFFIN OF BRIVIESCA: PRESERVED IN THE PROVINCIAL MUSEUM.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 306.
PROVINCIAL MUSEUM: ROMAN STATUE FOUND IN THE RUINS OF SALONICA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 307.
TRANSVERSE SECTION AND DETAILS OF THE CHURCH OF SAN JUAN (BAÑOS).
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 308.
CHURCH OF GAMONAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 309.
INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH OF GAMONAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 310.
PORTAL OF THE CHURCH OF THE VILLA DE SASAMÓN.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 311.
TOWER OF THE CHURCH OF THE VILLA DE SANTA MARIA DEL CAMPO.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 312.
CHAPEL OF OUR LADY OF THE VALLEY IN THE RODILLA MONASTERY. GENERAL VIEW
OF THE EXTERIOR.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 313.
CHAPEL OF OUR LADY OF THE VALLEY IN THE RODILLA MONASTERY.
PORCH.
INTERIOR.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 314.
MONASTERY OF FRESDELVAL: PORTAL.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 315.
MONASTERY OF FRESDELVAL: HOSPICE.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 316.
MONASTERY OF FRESDELVAL: CLOISTERS.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 317.
MONASTERY OF FRESDELVAL: WINDOW IN THE RUINED TEMPLE.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 318.
MONASTERY OF FRESDELVAL: WINDOW IN THE RUINED TEMPLE.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 319.
OLMILLOS CASTLE.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 320.
A COURTYARD.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 321.
LERMA: THE DUKE OF LERMA’S PALACE AND THE COLLEGE.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 322.
LERMA: THE COLLEGE.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 323.
LERMA: INTERIOR OF THE COLLEGIATE CHURCH.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 324.
LERMA: SEPULCHRE OF THE CARDINAL DUKE OF LERMA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 325.
LERMA: DETAILS OF THE SEPULCHRE OF THE CARDINAL DUKE OF LERMA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 326.
LERMA: THE MAGDALENE.
(COPY OF A PICTURE BY LEONARDO DA VINCI.)
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 327.
LERMA: OUR LADY OF THE SILLA.
(COPY OF A PICTURE BY RAPHAEL.)
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 328.
BRIDGE OF HORADADA.
BURGOS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 329.
CATHEDRAL, FROM THE EAST.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 330.
GENERAL VIEW FROM THE SCHOOL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 331.
GENERAL VIEW OF SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 332.
GENERAL VIEW OF SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 333.
A PORTION OF SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 334.
ROMAN BRIDGE OVER THE TORMES.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 335.
BRIDGE OF BEJAR.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 336.
VIEW OF THE ANCIENT WALL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 337.
PRINCIPAL NAVE OF THE OLD CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 338.
NAVE OF CROSS-AISLE OF THE OLD CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 339.
SEPULCHRES IN THE OLD CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 340.
LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF THE OLD CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 341.
DOÑA ELENA, DIED 1272.
CHANTRE APARICIO, DIED 1274.
SEPULCHRES IN THE OLD CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 342.
DON ALONSO VIDAL, DEAN OF AVILA.
DON DIEGO LOPEZ, ARCHDEACON OF LEDESMA.
SEPULCHRES IN THE CROSS-AISLE, OLD CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA]
[Illustration: PLATE 343.
SEPULCHRE IN THE CLOISTERS OF THE OLD CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 344.
SEPULCHRE IN THE CLOISTERS OF THE OLD CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 345.
SEPULCHRE IN THE CLOISTERS OF THE OLD CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 346.
CAPITALS OF THE SEPULCHRES IN THE CLOISTERS OF THE OLD CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 347.
CAPITALS OF THE SEPULCHRES IN THE CLOISTERS OF THE OLD CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 348.
CAPITALS OF THE SEPULCHRES IN THE CLOISTERS OF THE OLD CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 349.
CAPITALS AND EFFIGIES IN THE OLD CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 350.
CAPITALS IN THE OLD CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 351.
THE OLD CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 352.
DETAILS OF THE OUTSIDE AND PLAN OF THE CUPOLA OF THE OLD CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 353.
THE CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 354.
VIEW OF THE CATHEDRAL FROM THE ‘SEMINARIO.’
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 355.
CATHEDRAL: EAST FAÇADE.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 356.
TOWER OF THE CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 357.
CATHEDRAL: THE TOWER DEL GALLO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 358.
PRINCIPAL FAÇADE OF THE CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 359.
PRINCIPAL NAVE IN THE CATHEDRAL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 360.
CATHEDRAL: VIEW OF THE CROSS-AISLE.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 361.
CATHEDRAL: ENTRANCE TO THE CHAPEL OF THE BISHOP OF SEVILLE, DON DIEGO DE
ANAYA.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 362.
CATHEDRAL: VIEW OF THE SACRISTY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 363.
CATHEDRAL CHAPEL IN THE CLOISTERS.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 364.
CHAPEL OF ST. BARBARA IN THE CATHEDRAL CLOISTERS.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 365.
CATHEDRAL: DOME OF THE TOWER OF THE ‘GALLO.’
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 366.
CATHEDRAL: GENERAL VIEW OF THE PUERTA DEL NACIMIENTO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 367.
CATHEDRAL: GATE OF THE NATIVITY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 368.
CATHEDRAL: GATE OF ST. CLEMENT.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 369.
CATHEDRAL: GATE OF THE ‘RAMOS.’
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 370.
CATHEDRAL: GATE OF THE PATIO CHICO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 371.
CATHEDRAL: RIGHT HAND GATE; OR, GATE OF THE BISHOP.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 372.
CATHEDRAL: THE BEHEADING OF ST. JOHN BAPTIST.
BY JAC. GERONIMO ESPINOSA.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 373.
CATHEDRAL: THE VIRGIN HOLDING THE DEAD BODY OF HER DIVINE SON.
PIETÁ IN WOOD, BY SALVADOR CARMONA.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 374.
CATHEDRAL: WOODEN CRUCIFIX WITH WHICH THE TROOPS OF THE CID WERE
HARANGUED. THE SMALLER CRUCIFIX THE CID CARRIED BENEATH HIS ARMOUR.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 375.
CATHEDRAL: CHAIR AND TABLE IN THE CHAPTER HALL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 376.
GENERAL VIEW OF THE CHURCH OF SANTO DOMINGO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 377.
DETAIL OF THE FAÇADE OF SANTO DOMINGO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 378.
FAÇADE OF THE CHURCH OF SANTO DOMINGO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 379.
DETAIL OF THE FAÇADE OF SANTO DOMINGO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 380.
CLOISTERS OF SANTO DOMINGO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 381.
INTERIOR OF THE CHURCH OF SANTO DOMINGO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 382.
ARCHES IN THE CHOIR OF THE CHURCH OF SANTO DOMINGO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 383.
INTERIOR VIEW OF THE SACRISTY OF SANTO DOMINGO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 384.
DOOR OF THE CONFERENCE HALL OF SANTO DOMINGO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 385.
GENERAL VIEW OF THE CLOISTERS OF SANTO DOMINGO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 386.
CLOISTERS OF SANTO DOMINGO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 387.
FRESCO IN THE CHURCH OF SANTO DOMINGO, BY PALOMINO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 388.
DOOR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. MARTIN.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 389.
GATE OF THE CHURCH OF ST. MARTIN.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 390.
DOOR OF THE CHURCH OF SAN JUSTO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 391.
CHURCH OF THE AUGUSTINES: THE CONCEPTION OF THE VIRGIN, BY RIBERA.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 392.
GATE OF THE CHURCH OF SAN BENITO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 393.
PARISH CHURCH OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 394.
PORTAL OF THE PARISH CHURCH OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 395.
CHURCH OF THE THIRD ORDER OF ST. FRANCIS.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 396.
VIEW OF THE SEMINARY FROM THE IRLANDESES.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 397.
VIEW OF THE SEMINARY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 398.
CHAPTER-HALL IN THE SEMINARY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 399.
THE SEMINARY: ABRAHAM OFFERING MELCHISEDECH BREAD AND WINE.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 400.
THE SEMINARY: THE QUEEN OF SHEBA VISITING SOLOMON, BY RUBENS.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 401.
THE SEMINARY: CHRIST SCOURGED. STATUE IN WOOD BY SALVADOR CARMONA.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 402.
GENERAL VIEW OF THE UNIVERSITY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 403.
FAÇADE OF THE UNIVERSITY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 404.
UPPER PART OF THE FAÇADE OF THE UNIVERSITY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 405.
LOWER PART OF THE FAÇADE OF THE UNIVERSITY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 406.
UNIVERSITY: MEDALLION REPRESENTING THE CATHOLIC SOVEREIGNS OVER THE
PRINCIPAL ENTRANCE.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 407.
FAÇADE OF THE UNIVERSITY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 408.
LIBRARY IN THE UNIVERSITY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 409.
UNIVERSITY: ALTAR OF THE CHAPEL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 410.
GALLERY IN THE UNIVERSITY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 411.
PORTICO OF THE UNIVERSITY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 412.
DETAILS OF THE PORCH OF THE UNIVERSITY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 413.
DETAILS OF THE PORCH OF THE UNIVERSITY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 414.
DOOR OF THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 415.
COURT OF THE COLLEGE OF THE IRLANDESES.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 416.
FAÇADE OF THE COLLEGE OF THE IRLANDESES.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 417.
PORCH OF THE COLLEGE OF THE IRLANDESES.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 418.
PORTICO OF THE CHAPEL OF THE COLLEGE OF THE IRLANDESES.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 419.
COURT OF THE COLLEGE OF THE IRLANDESES.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 420.
DETAILS OF THE COURT OF THE ARCHBISHOP’S COLLEGE, NOW OF THE IRLANDESES.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 421.
GATE OF SANTA MARIA DE LAS DUEÑAS.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 422.
PROVINCIAL MUSEUM: MODEL IN WOOD FOR AN ALTAR FOR THE CATHEDRAL, BY
MANUEL RODRIGUEZ.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 423.
PROVINCIAL MUSEUM: ARM-CHAIR OF FR. ANTONIO DE SOTOMAYOR.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 424.
PROVINCIAL MUSEUM: ST. MICHAEL OVERCOMING SATAN. SILVER STATUE. THE WORK
OF JUAN DE ARFE.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 425.
CLOISTERS IN THE RUINS OF THE SCHOOL OF THE VEGA.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 426.
CAPITALS IN THE COLLEGE OF THE VEGA.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 427.
STATUE OF OUR LADY OF THE VEGA.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 428.
THE HOUSE OF SALINAS.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 429.
COURTYARD OF THE HOUSE OF SALINAS (UPPER PART).
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 430.
DETAIL OF THE COURTYARD OF THE HOUSE OF SALINAS.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 431.
GENERAL VIEW OF THE COLLEGE OF CALATRAVA.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 432.
STAIRCASE IN THE COLLEGE OF CALATRAVA.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 433.
TOWER OF THE ‘CLAVERO.’
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 434.
GENERAL VIEW OF THE SCHOOL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 435.
FAÇADE OF THE SCHOOL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 436.
INTERIOR GATE OF THE SCHOOL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 437.
ENTRANCE TO THE SCHOOL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 438.
PORCH OF THE ARCHIVOS OF THE SCHOOL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 439.
COURTYARD OF THE SCHOOL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 440.
BACK OF THE SCHOOL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 441.
COURTYARD OF THE SCHOOL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 442.
PRINCIPAL FAÇADE OF THE HOUSE OF THE SHELLS.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 443.
GRATED WINDOW OF THE HOUSE OF THE SHELLS.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 444.
TRIPLE GRATED WINDOW OF THE HOUSE OF THE SHELLS.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 445.
BALCONY AND TRIPLE GRATED WINDOW OF THE HOUSE OF THE SHELLS.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 446.
DOORWAY IN THE HOUSE OF THE SHELLS.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 447.
COURTYARD IN THE HOUSE OF THE SHELLS.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 448.
HOUSE OF MONTEREY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 449.
TOWER OF THE HOUSE OF MONTEREY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 450.
HOUSE OF MONTEREY.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 451.
LA PLAZA MAYOR.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 452.
THE TOWN HALL.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 453.
PATIO DE LA GOBERNACIÓN.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 454.
ANCIENT COLLEGE, NOW THE HOUSE OF THE PROVINCIAL DEPUTATION.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 455.
RIVER GATE THROUGH WHICH HANNIBAL ENTERED.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 456.
HOUSE OF DOÑA MARIA THE BRAVE.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 457.
AVENUE OF THE CAMPO OF SAN FRANCISCO.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 458.
STATUE OF FR. LUIS DE LEON.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 459.
THE PACIFICATION OF THE FACTIONS OF SALAMANCA. A RELIEF BY DON ANICETO
MARINAS.]
[Illustration: PLATE 460.
MARKET, PROVINCE OF SALAMANCA: ‘A BAD BARGAIN,’ BY J. ARANJO.
(NATIONAL EXHIBITION OF BEAUX-ARTS, 1884.)]
[Illustration: PLATE 461.
PEASANTS’ DANCE, BY D. FIERROS.
SALAMANCA.]
[Illustration: PLATE 462.
CHARRO, OR PEASANT OF THE PROVINCE.
SALAMANCA.]
* * * * *
THE
SPANISH SERIES
Edited by ALBERT F. CALVERT
A new and important series of volumes, dealing with Spain in its various
aspects, its history, its cities and monuments. Each volume will be
complete in itself in a uniform binding, and the number and excellence
of the reproductions from pictures will justify the claim that these
books comprise the most copiously illustrated series that has yet been
issued, some volumes having over 300 pages of reproductions of pictures,
etc.
Crown 8vo. Price 3/6 net
1 GOYA with 600 illustrations
2 TOLEDO ” 510 ”
3 MADRID ” 450 ”
4 SEVILLE ” 300 ”
5 MURILLO ” 165 ”
6 CORDOVA ” 160 ”
7 EL GRECO ” 140 ”
8 VELAZQUEZ ” 142 ”
9 THE PRADO ” 223 ”
10 THE ESCORIAL ” 278 ”
11 ROYAL PALACES OF SPAIN ” 200 ”
12 GRANADA AND ALHAMBRA ” 460 ”
13 SPANISH ARMS AND ARMOUR ” 386 ”
14 LEON, BURGOS AND SALAMANCA ” 462 ”
15 CATALONIA, VALENCIA, & MURCIA ” 288 ”
16 VALLADOLID, OVIEDO, SEGOVIA, } ” 390 ”
ZAMORA, AVILA AND ZARAGOZA }
* * * * *
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
MURILLO
A BIOGRAPHY AND APPRECIATION. ILLUSTRATED BY OVER 165 REPRODUCTIONS FROM
PHOTOGRAPHS OF HIS MOST CELEBRATED PICTURES
While the names of Murillo and Velazquez are inseparably linked in
the history of Art as Spain’s immortal contribution to the small
band of world-painters, the great Court-Painter to Philip IV. has
ever received the lion’s share of public attention. Many learned
and critical works have been written about Murillo, but whereas
Velazquez has been familiarised to the general reader by the aid of
small, popular biographies, the niche is still empty which it is
hoped that this book will fill.
In this volume the attempt has been made to show the painter’s art
in its relation to the religious feeling of the age in which he
lived, and his own feeling towards his art. Murillo was the product
of his religious era, and of his native province, Andalusia. To
Europe in his lifetime he signified little or nothing. He painted
to the order of the religious houses in his immediate vicinity; his
works were immured in local monasteries and cathedrals, and,
passing immediately out of circulation, were forgotten or never
known.
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
SPANISH ARMS AND ARMOUR
A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE ROYAL ARMOURY AT MADRID.
ILLUSTRATED WITH 386 REPRODUCTIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS. DEDICATED BY
SPECIAL PERMISSION TO H.M. QUEEN MARIA CRISTINA OF SPAIN
Although several valuable and voluminous catalogues of the Spanish
Royal Armoury have, from time to time, been compiled, this “finest
collection of armour in the world” has been subjected so often to
the disturbing influences of fire, removal, and re-arrangement,
that no hand catalogue of the Museum is available, and this book
has been designed to serve both as a historical souvenir of the
institution and a record of its treasures.
The various exhibits with which the writer illustrates his
narrative are reproduced to the number of nearly 400 on art paper,
and the selection of weapons and armour has been made with a view
not only to render the series interesting to the general reader,
but to present a useful text book for the guidance of artists,
sculptors, antiquaries, costumiers, and all who are engaged in the
reproduction or representation of European armoury.
* * * * *
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
THE ESCORIAL
A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE SPANISH ROYAL PALACE,
MONASTERY AND MAUSOLEUM. ILLUSTRATED WITH PLANS AND 278 REPRODUCTIONS
FROM PICTURES AND PHOTOGRAPHS
The Royal Palace, Monastery, and Mausoleum of El Escorial, which
rears its gaunt, grey walls in one of the bleakest but most
imposing districts in the whole of Spain, was erected to
commemorate a victory over the French in 1557. It was occupied and
pillaged by the French two and a-half centuries later, and twice it
has been greatly diminished by fire; but it remains to-day, not
only the incarnate expression of the fanatic religious character
and political genius of Philip II., but the greatest mass of
wrought granite which exists on earth, the leviathan of
architecture, the eighth wonder of the world.
In the text of this book the author has endeavoured to reconstitute
the glories and tragedies of the living past of the Escorial, and
to represent the wonders of the stupendous edifice by reproductions
of over two hundred and seventy of the finest photographs and
pictures obtainable. Both as a review and a pictorial record it is
hoped that the work will make a wide appeal among all who are
interested in the history, the architecture, and the art of Spain.
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
TOLEDO
A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE “CITY OF GENERATIONS,” WITH
510 ILLUSTRATIONS
The origin of Imperial Toledo, “the crown of Spain, the light of
the world, free from the time of the mighty Goths,” is lost in the
impenetrable mists of antiquity. Mighty, unchangeable, invincible,
the city has been described by Wörmann as “a gigantic open-air
museum of the architectural history of early Spain, arranged upon a
lofty and conspicuous table of rock.”
But while some writers have declared that Toledo is a theatre with
the actors gone and only the scenery left, the author does not
share the opinion. He believes that the power and virility upon
which Spain built up her greatness is reasserting itself. The
machinery of the theatre of Toledo is rusty, the pulleys are jammed
from long disuse, but the curtain is rising steadily if slowly, and
already can be heard the tuning-up of fiddles in its ancient
orchestra.
In this belief the author of this volume has not only set forth the
story of Toledo’s former greatness, but has endeavoured to place
before his readers a panorama of the city as it appears to-day, and
to show cause for his faith in the greatness of the Toledo of the
future.
* * * * *
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
SEVILLE
A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT, WITH 300 ILLUSTRATIONS
Seville, which has its place in mythology as the creation of
Hercules, and was more probably founded by the Phœnicians, which
became magnificent under the Roman rule, was made the capital of
the Goths, became the centre of Moslem power and splendour, and
fell before the military prowess of St. Ferdinand, is still the
Queen of Andalusia, the foster-mother of Velazquez and Murillo, the
city of poets and pageantry and love.
Seville is always gay, and responsive and fascinating to the
receptive visitor, and all sorts of people go there with all sorts
of motives. The artist repairs to the Andalusian city to fill his
portfolio; the lover of art makes the pilgrimage to study Murillo
in all his glory. The seasons of the Church attract thousands from
reasons of devotion or curiosity. And of all these myriad visitors,
who go with their minds full of preconceived notions, not one has
yet confessed to being disappointed in Seville.
The author has here attempted to convey in the illustrations an
impression of this laughing city where all is gaiety and mirth and
ever-blossoming roses, where the people pursue pleasure as the
serious business of life in an atmosphere of exhilarating
enjoyment.
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
THE PRADO
A GUIDE AND HANDBOOK TO THE ROYAL PICTURE GALLERY OF MADRID. ILLUSTRATED
WITH 221 REPRODUCTIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS OF OLD MASTERS. DEDICATED BY
SPECIAL PERMISSION TO H.R.H. PRINCESS HENRY OF BATTENBERG
This volume is an attempt to supplement the accurate but formal
notes contained in the official catalogue of a picture gallery
which is considered the finest in the world. It has been said that
the day one enters the Prado for the first time is an important
event like marriage, the birth of a child, or the coming into an
inheritance; an experience of which one feels the effects to the
day of one’s death.
The excellence of the Madrid gallery is the excellence of
exclusion; it is a collection of magnificent gems. Here one becomes
conscious of a fresh power in Murillo, and is amazed anew by the
astonishing apparition of Velazquez; here is, in truth, a rivalry
of miracles of art.
The task of selecting pictures for reproduction from what is
perhaps the most splendid gallery of old masters in existence, was
one of no little difficulty, but it is believed that the collection
is representative, and that the letterpress will form a serviceable
companion to the visitor to The Prado.
* * * * *
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
GRANADA AND THE ALHAMBRA
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MOSLEM RULE IN SPAIN, TOGETHER WITH A PARTICULAR
ACCOUNT OF THE CONSTRUCTION, THE ARCHITECTURE, AND THE DECORATION OF THE
MOORISH PALACE, WITH 460 ILLUSTRATIONS. DEDICATED BY SPECIAL PERMISSION
TO H.I.M. THE EMPRESS EUGÉNIE
This volume is the third and abridged edition of a work which the
author was inspired to undertake by the surpassing loveliness of
the Alhambra, and by his disappointment in the discovery that no
such thing as an even moderately adequate illustrated souvenir of
“this glorious sanctuary of Spain” was obtainable. Keenly conscious
of the want himself, he essayed to supply it, and the result is a
volume that has been acclaimed with enthusiasm alike by critics,
artists, architects, and archæologists.
In his preface to the first edition, Mr. Calvert wrote: “The
Alhambra may be likened to an exquisite opera which can only be
appreciated to the full when one is under the spell of its magic
influence. But as the witchery of an inspired score can be recalled
by the sound of an air whistled in the street, so--it is my
hope--the pale ghost of the Moorish fairy-land may live again in
the memories of travellers through the medium of this pictorial
epitome.”
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
EL GRECO
A BIOGRAPHY AND APPRECIATION. ILLUSTRATED BY REPRODUCTIONS OF OVER 140
OF HIS PICTURES
In a Series such as this, which aims at presenting every aspect of
Spain’s eminence in art and in her artists, the work of Domenico
Theotocópuli must be allotted a volume to itself. “El Greco,” as he
is called, who reflects the impulse, and has been said to
constitute the supreme glory of the Venetian era, was a Greek by
repute, a Venetian by training, and a Toledan by adoption. His
pictures in the Prado are still catalogued among those of the
Italian School, but foreigner as he was, in his heart he was more
Spanish than the Spaniards.
El Greco is typically, passionately, extravagantly Spanish, and
with his advent, Spanish painting laid aside every trace of
Provincialism, and stepped forth to compel the interest of the
world. Neglected for many centuries, and still often misjudged, his
place in art is an assured one. It is impossible to present him as
a colourist in a work of this nature, but the author has got
together reproductions of no fewer than 140 of his pictures--a
greater number than has ever before been published of El Greco’s
works.
* * * * *
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
VELAZQUEZ
A BIOGRAPHY AND APPRECIATION. ILLUSTRATED WITH 142 REPRODUCTIONS FROM
PHOTOGRAPHS OF HIS MOST CELEBRATED PICTURES
Diego Rodriguez de Silva Y Velazquez--“our Velazquez,” as Palomino
proudly styles him--has been made the subject of innumerable books
in every European language, yet the Editor of this Spanish Series
feels that it would not be complete without the inclusion of yet
another contribution to the broad gallery of Velazquez literature.
The great Velazquez, the eagle in art--subtle, simple,
incomparable--the supreme painter, is still a guiding influence of
the art of to-day. This greatest of Spanish artists, a master not
only in portrait painting, but in character and animal studies, in
landscapes and historical subjects, impressed the grandeur of his
superb personality upon all his work. Spain, it has been said, the
country whose art was largely borrowed, produced Velazquez, and
through him Spanish art became the light of a new artistic life.
The author cannot boast that he has new data to offer, but he has
put forward his conclusions with modesty; he has reproduced a great
deal that is most representative of the artist’s work; and he has
endeavoured to keep always in view his object to present a concise,
accurate, and readable life of Velazquez.
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
ROYAL PALACES OF SPAIN
A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE SEVEN PRINCIPAL PALACES OF
THE SPANISH KINGS. PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED
Spain is beyond question the richest country in the world in the
number of its Royal Residences, and while few are without artistic
importance, all are rich in historical memories. Thus, from the
Alcazar at Seville, which is principally associated with Pedro the
Cruel, to the Retiro, built to divert the attention of Philip IV.
from his country’s decay; from the Escorial, in which the gloomy
mind of Philip II. is perpetuated in stone, to La Granja, which
speaks of the anguish and humiliation of Christina before Sergeant
Garcia and his rude soldiery; from Aranjuéz to Rio Frio, and from
El Pardo, darkened by the agony of a good king, to Miramar, to
which a widowed Queen retired to mourn: all the history of Spain,
from the splendid days of Charles V. to the present time, is
crystallised in the Palaces that constitute the patrimony of the
Crown.
The Royal Palaces of Spain are open to visitors at stated times,
and it is hoped that this volume, with its wealth of illustrations,
will serve the visitor both as a guide and a souvenir.
* * * * *
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
VALLADOLID, OVIEDO, SEGOVIA, ZAMORA, AVILA AND ZARAGOZA
A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT, WITH 390 ILLUSTRATIONS
The glory of Valladolid has departed, but the skeleton remains, and
attached to its ancient stones are the memories that Philip II. was
born here, that here Cervantes lived, and Christopher Columbus
died. In this one-time capital of Spain, in the Plaza Mayor, the
fires of the Great Inquisition were first lighted, and here Charles
V. laid the foundation of the Royal Armoury, which was afterwards
transferred to Madrid.
More than seven hundred years have passed since Oviedo was the
proud capital of the Kingdoms of Las Asturias, Leon, and Castile.
Segovia, though no longer great, has still all the appurtenances of
greatness, and with her granite massiveness and austerity, she
remains an aristocrat even among the aristocracy of Spanish cities.
Zamora, which has a history dating from time almost without date,
was the key of Leon and the centre of the endless wars between the
Moors and the Christians, which raged round it from the eighth to
the eleventh centuries.
In this volume the author has striven to re-create the ancient
greatness of these six cities, and has preserved their memories in
a wealth of excellent and interesting illustrations.
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
LEON, BURGOS AND SALAMANCA
A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT, WITH 462 ILLUSTRATIONS
In Leon, once the capital of the second kingdom in Spain; in
Burgos, which boasts one of the most magnificent cathedrals in
Spain, and the custodianship of the bones of the Cid; and in
Salamanca, with its university, which is one of the oldest in
Europe, the author has selected three of the most interesting
relics of ancient grandeur in this country of departed greatness.
Leon to-day is nothing but a large agricultural village, torpid,
silent, dilapidated; Burgos, which still retains traces of the
Gotho-Castilian character, is a gloomy and depleting capital; and
Salamanca is a city of magnificent buildings, a broken hulk, spent
by the storms that from time to time have devastated her.
Yet apart from the historical interest possessed by these cities,
they still make an irresistible appeal to the artist and the
antiquary. They are content with their stories of old-time
greatness and their cathedrals, and these ancient architectural
splendours, undisturbed by the touch of a modernising and
renovating spirit, continue to attract the visitor.
* * * * *
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
MADRID
A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE SPANISH CAPITAL, WITH 450
ILLUSTRATIONS
Madrid is at once one of the most interesting and most maligned
cities in Europe. It stands at an elevation of 2,500 feet above the
sea level, in the centre of an arid, treeless, waterless, and
wind-blown plain; but whatever may be thought of the wisdom of
selecting a capital in such a situation, one cannot but admire the
uniqueness of its position, and the magnificence of its buildings,
and one is forced to admit that, having fairly entered the path of
progress, Madrid bids fair to become one of the handsomest and most
prosperous of European cities.
The splendid promenades, the handsome buildings, and the spacious
theatres combine to make Madrid one of the first cities of the
world, and the author has endeavoured with the aid of the camera,
to place every feature and aspect of the Spanish metropolis before
the reader. Some of the illustrations reproduced here have been
made familiar to the English public by reason of the interesting
and stirring events connected with the Spanish Royal Marriage, but
the greater number were either taken by the author, or are the work
of photographers specially employed to obtain new views for the
purpose of this volume.
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
GOYA
A BIOGRAPHY AND APPRECIATION. ILLUSTRATED BY REPRODUCTIONS OF 600 OF HIS
PICTURES
The last of the old masters and the first of the moderns, as he has
been called, Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes is not so
familiarised to English readers as his genius deserves. He was born
at a time when the tradition of Velazquez was fading, and the
condition of Spanish painting was debased almost beyond hope of
salvation; he broke through the academic tradition of imitation;
“he, next to Velazquez, is to be accounted as the man whom the
Impressionists of our time have to thank for their most definite
stimulus, their most immediate inspiration.”
The genius of Goya was a robust, imperious, and fulminating genius;
his iron temperament was passionate, dramatic, and revolutionary;
he painted a picture as he would have fought a battle. He was an
athletic, warlike, and indefatigable painter; a naturalist like
Velazquez; fantastic like Hogarth; eccentric like Rembrandt; the
last flame-coloured flash of Spanish genius.
It is impossible to reproduce his colouring; but in the
reproductions of his works the author has endeavoured to convey to
the reader some idea of Goya’s boldness of style, his mastery of
frightful shadows and mysterious lights, and his genius for
expressing all terrible emotions.
* * * * *
UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME
CORDOVA
A HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT CITY WHICH THE
CARTHAGINIANS STYLED THE “GEM OF THE SOUTH,” WITH 160 ILLUSTRATIONS
Gay-looking, vivacious in its beauty, silent, ill-provided,
depopulated, Cordova was once the pearl of the West, the city of
cities, Cordova of the thirty suburbs and three thousand mosques;
to-day she is no more than an overgrown village, but she still
remains the most Oriental town in Spain.
Cordova, once the centre of European civilisation, under the Moors
the Athens of the West, the successful rival of Baghdad and
Damascus, the seat of learning and the repository of the arts, has
shrunk to the proportions of a third-rate provincial town; but the
artist, the antiquary and the lover of the beautiful, will still
find in its streets and squares and patios a mysterious spell that
cannot be resisted.
* * * * *
BY ALBERT F. CALVERT
LIFE OF CERVANTES
A NEW LIFE OF THE GREAT SPANISH AUTHOR TO COMMEMORATE THE TERCENTENARY
OF THE PUBLICATION OF “DON QUIXOTE,” WITH NUMEROUS PORTRAITS AND
REPRODUCTIONS FROM EARLY EDITIONS OF “DON QUIXOTE”.
Size Crown 8vo. 150 pp. Price 3/6 net
PRESS NOTICES
“A popular and accessible account of the career of Cervantes.”
_Daily Chronicle._
“A very readable and pleasant account of one of the great writers of all
time.”
_Morning Leader._
“Mr. CALVERT is entitled to the gratitude of book-lovers for his
industrious devotion at one of our greatest literary shrines.”
_Birmingham Post._
“It is made trebly interesting by the very complete set of Cervantes’
portraits it contains, and by the inclusion of a valuable bibliography.”
_Black and White._
“We recommend the book to all those to whom Cervantes is more than a
mere name.”
_Westminster Gazette._
“A most interesting résumé of all facts up to the present time known.”
_El Nervion de Bilbao, Spain._
“The most notable work dedicated to the immortal author of _Don Quixote_
that has been published in England.”
_El Graduador, Spain._
“Although the book is written in English no Spaniard could have written
it with more conscientiousness and enthusiasm.”
_El Defensor de Granada, Spain._
* * * * *
BY ALBERT F. CALVERT
THE ALHAMBRA
OF GRANADA, BEING A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE MOSLEM RULE IN SPAIN FROM THE
REIGN OF MOHAMMED THE FIRST TO THE FINAL EXPULSION OF THE MOORS,
TOGETHER WITH A PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE CONSTRUCTION, THE ARCHITECTURE
AND THE DECORATION OF THE MOORISH PALACE, WITH 80 COLOURED PLATES AND
NEARLY 300 BLACK AND WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS (NEW EDITION). DEDICATED BY
PERMISSION TO H.M. KING ALFONSO XIII.
Size 10 × 7-1/2 Price £2 2s. net
PRESS NOTICES
“It is hardly too much to say that this is one of the most magnificent
books ever issued from the English Press.”
_Building World._
“One is really puzzled where to begin and when to stop in praising the
illustrations.”
_Bookseller._
“The most complete record of this wonder of architecture which has ever
been contemplated, much less attempted.”
_British Architect._
“A treasure to the student of decorative art.”
_Morning Advertiser._
“Mr. CALVERT has given us a Book Beautiful.”
_Western Daily Press._
“It is the last word on the subject, no praise is too high.”
_Nottingham Express._
“May be counted among the more important art books which have been
published during recent years.”
_The Globe._
“Has a pride of place that is all its own among the books of the month.”
_Review of Reviews._
“Has in many respects surpassed any books on the Alhambra which up to
the present have appeared in our own country or abroad.”
_El Graduador, Spain._
“It is one of the most beautiful books of modern times.”
_Ely Gazette._
“One of the most artistic productions of the year.”
_Publishers’ Circular._
“The most beautiful book on the Alhambra issued in England.”
_Sphere._
“The standard work on a splendid subject.”
_Daily Telegraph._
“A remarkable masterpiece of book production.”
_Eastern Daily Press._
“A perfect treasure of beauty and delight.”
_Keighley News._
“A magnificent work.”
_Melbourne Age, Australia._
“Immense collection of fine plates.”
_The Times._
“A standard work, the compilation of which would credit a life’s
labour.”
_Hull Daily Mail._
* * * * *
BY ALBERT F. CALVERT
MOORISH REMAINS IN SPAIN
BEING A BRIEF RECORD OF THE ARABIAN CONQUEST AND OCCUPATION OF THE
PENINSULA. WITH A PARTICULAR ACCOUNT OF THE MOHAMMEDAN ARCHITECTURE AND
DECORATION IN THE CITIES OF CORDOVA, SEVILLE AND TOLEDO, WITH MANY
COLOURED PLATES, AND OVER 400 BLACK AND WHITE ILLUSTRATIONS, DIAGRAMS,
ETC., DEDICATED BY PERMISSION TO H.M. KING ALFONSO XIII.
Crown 4to. (7-1/2 × 10 ins.) Price £2 2s. net
PRESS NOTICES
“The making of this book must surely have been a veritable labour of
love; and love’s labour has certainly not been lost.”
_Pall Mall Gazette._
“The best age of Moorish architecture in Spain is shown with remarkable
vividness and vitality.”
_The Scotsman._
“A most gorgeous book.... We cheerfully admit Mr. CALVERT into the ranks
of those whom posterity will applaud for delightful yet unprofitable
work.”
_Outlook._
“A large and sumptuous volume.”
_Tribune._
“The illustrations are simply marvels of reproduction.”
_Dundee Advertiser._
“One of the books to which a simple literary review cannot pretend to do
justice.”
_Spectator._
“A special feature of a work of peculiar interest and value are the
illustrations.”
_Newcastle Chronicle._
“The illustrations are given with a minuteness and faithfulness of
detail and colour, which will be particularly appreciated and
acknowledged by those who are most acquainted with the subject
themselves.”
_Liverpool Post._
“It is impossible to praise too highly the care with which the
illustrations have been prepared.”
_Birmingham Daily Post._
“It is illustrated with so lavish a richness of colour that to turn its
pages gives one at first almost the same impression of splendour as one
receives in wandering from hall to hall of the Alcazar of Seville; and
this probably the highest compliment we could pay to the book or its
author.”
_Academy._
“It is certainly one of the most interesting books of the year.”
_Crown._
“The occasional delicacy of design and harmony of colour can scarcely be
surpassed.... a valuable and profusely illustrated volume.”
_Guardian._
“An excellent piece of work.”
_The Times._
“Mr. CALVERT has performed a useful work.”
_Daily Telegraph._
“A truly sumptuous volume.”
_The Speaker._
“Mr. CALVERT has given a very complete account of the evolution of
Moresco art.”
_The Connoisseur._
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