Chapter 27

[106]See plan,Plate VIII.[107]The western doorways of Salisbury Cathedral are emphatically mere “holes in the wall,” and very characteristic, too.[108]I add Dr. Neale’s notes of two churches here which I did not discover.“San Juan de la Puerta Nueva. Principally of Flamboyant date, has a square east end. The whole breadth of the church is here under one vault, the span somewhere about sixty feet. The north porch, separated by a parclose from the chapel of the Cross, has an excellent Transitional door. The western façade has a middle-pointed window of five lights.“San Pedro. Has had its originally-distinct nave and aisles thrown into one in Flamboyant times, and vaulted with an immense span.”[109]Nevertheless, Dr. Neale describes it as existing, and so, no doubt, it does.—‘An Ecclesiological Tour,’ Ecclesiologist, vol. xiv. p. 361.[110]See plan,Plate VIII.[111]There is an inscription on the south-east buttress of the transept which, I believe, refers to the date of the church; but, unfortunately, though I noticed it, I forgot to write it down.[112]See Catologo de los Obispos de Leon. Cixila II. Esp. Sag., xxxiv. 211.[113]In a deed of the 20th March,A.D.1175, mention is made of Pedro Cebrian, “Maestro de la Obra de la Catedral,” and of Pedro Gallego, “Gobernador de las Torres.” It is possible, of course, that Cebrian may have been the architect of the new cathedral if it was commenced between 1181 and 1205, but I do not believe that this was the case; and the real architect was, more probably one who is thus mentioned in the book of Obits of the cathedral: “Eodem die VII. idus Julii, sub era MCCCXV. obiit Henricus, magister operis,” and who, dying in the year 1277, may well have designed the greater portion of the work. At a later date, in 1513, Juan de Badajoz was architect of the cathedral, and may probably have finished one of the steeples.—Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, i. 37, 38.[114]“Hoc tempore,” he says, “ampliata est fides Catholica in Hispania, et licet multi Regnum Legionense bellis impeterent, tamen Ecclesiæ regalibus muneribus ditatæ sunt in tantum, ut antiquæ destruerentur Ecclesiæ, quæ magnis sumptibus fuerant fabricatæ, et multo nobiliores et pulchriores in toto Regno Legionensi fuudarentur. Tunc reverendus Episcopus Legionensis Manricus ejusdem Sedis Ecclesiam fundavit opere magno, sed eam ad perfectionem non duxit.”[115]“Cum igitur,” they say, “ad fabricam Ecclesiæ Sauctæ Mariæ Legionensis quæ de novo construitur, et magnis indiget sumptibus, propriæ non suppetant facultates, universitatem vestram rogamus,”—“quatenus de bonis vobis a Deo collatis eidem fabricæ pias eleemosynas de vestris facultatibus tribuatis, ut per hæc, et alia bona opera, quæ inspirante Deo feceritis, ad eterna possitis gaudia pervenire.” This indulgence is preserved in the archives of the cathedral.—España Sagrada, xxxv. p. 269.[116]“Cum igitur Ecclesia Beatæ Mariæ Legion. Sedis ædificetur de novo opere quamplurimum sumptuoso, et absque fidelium adminiculo non possit feliciter consummari, universitatem vestram monemus et exhortamur in Domino,” &c. &c.; “ut per subventionem vestram, quod ibidem inceptum est, ad effectum optatum valeat pervenire,” &c., given in the general Council of Leon, 10 Kal. Aug.A.D.1273.—España Sagrada, xxxv. p. 270.[117]Plate V.[118]So, at least, I was assured by the superintendent of the works at the cathedral. Some of the material I saw was no doubt tufa; but some of it seemed to me to be an exceedingly light kind of concrete. The vaulting of Salisbury Cathedral is similarly constructed. I do not know whether at Beauvais the same expedient was adopted to lessen the weight.[119]The three crucifixes at the entrance to the cemetery at Nuremberg will be remembered by all who have ever seen them; and such a group would have made a fitting centre for such a cloister as this at Leon.[120]This conceit is illustrated more elaborately than I have elsewhere seen it in a palace near San Isidoro, where the angle windows are designed and executed in a sort of perspective, which is inexpressibly bad in effect.[121]Nota crucifix.[122]Witness Mr. E. Burne Jones’s beautiful picture over the altar of S. Paul, Brighton, and Mr. D. G. Rossetti’s at Llandaff.[123]Teatro Ecclesiastico, i. p. 365.[124]“Hic requiescit Petrus de Deo, qui superædificavit Ecclesiam hanc. Iste fundavit pontem, qui dicitur de Deus tamben: et quia erat vir miræ abstinentiæ et multis florebat miraculis, omnes eum laudibus prædicabant. Sepultus est hic ab Imperatore Adefonso et Sancia Regina.” Esp. Sag., xxxv. p. 356. G. G. Dávila, Teatro Eccles., i. p. 340. Dávila adds the words “servus Dei” before the name of the architect.[125]See Cean Bermudez, Arq. de Esp., i. p. 14.[126]The whole of this deed of endowment is interesting. I quote a few lines only, which have some interest, as bearing, among other things, on the Gothic crowns found at Guarrazar, and mentioned at p. 212. “Offerimus igitur” “ornamenta altariorum: id est, frontale ex auro puro opere digno cum lapidibus smaragdis, safiris, et omnia genere pretiosis et olovitreis: alios similiter tres frontales argenteos singulis altaribus: Coronas tres aureas: una ex his cum sex alfas in gyro, et corona de Alaules intus in ea pendens: alia est de anemnates cum olivitreo, aurea. Tertia vero est diadema capitis mei,” &c. &c.—Esp. Sag., xxxvi., Appendix, p. clxxxix.[127]“Sub era millesima centesima octuagesima septima, pridie nonas Martii, facta est Ecclesia Sancti Isidori consecrata per manus Raymundi Toletanæ Sedis Archiepiscopi, et Joannis Legionensis episcopi,” &c. &c.—Teatro Eccl., vol. ii., p. 243. See also the similar inscription on a stone in San Isidoro.—Esp. Sag., vol. xxxv. p. 207.[128]Ponz, Viage de España, xi. p. 234.[129]Plate VI.[130]E.g.Segovia, Avila, Salamanca, Benavente, Lérida.[131]So, at least, says Cean Bermudez, but without giving his authority.[132]Pallares Gayoso, Hist. de Lugo, from the black book in the archives.[133]Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, i. 25.[134]Plate VII.[135]A.D.1577.—Madoz, Dicc.[136]Teatro Eccl., iii. 182, 183.[137]Plate VIII.[138]The following inscription remains on one of the columns on the north side of the nave:—SANTA : MARIA : RECEAB : ESTE : PIAR : DE : FONDO : A TE : CIMA : CON : LAMETADE : DOS : ARCOS : CA : QUELQUE : O :PAGON : EN : VIII. : IDUSJULII : ERA : MCCC : XL.From which it appears that this column, with the halves of the two arches springing from it, was built inA.D.1302. On another column on the same side is an inscription recording the erection of the Chapel of the Visitation inA.D.1374.[139]Plate VIII.[140]España Sagrada, xix. p. 91.[141]Historia del Apostol Sanctiago, by Mauro Castella Ferrer, p. 463.[142]The latter document in particular has much architectural interest, and is worth transcribing in part, on account of its reference to these early buildings, and their materials and furniture. It commences as follows:—“In nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi, edificatum est Templum Sancti Salvatoris, et Sancti Jacobi Apostoli in locum Arcis Marmoricis territorio Galleciæ per institutionem gloriosissimi Principis Adefonsi III. cum conjuge Scemena sub Pontifice loci ejusdem Sisnando Episcopo.” (877-903.) “Supplex egregii eximii Principis Ordonii proles ego Adefonsus Principi cum prædicto antistite statuimus ædificare domum Domini et restaurare Templum ad tumulum sepulchri Apostoli, quod antiquitus construxerat divæ memoriæ Dominus Adefonsus Magnus ex petra et luto opere parvo. Nos quidem inspiratione divina adlati cum subditis ac familia nostra adduximus in sanctum locum ex Hispania inter agmina Maurorum, quæ eligimus de Civitate Eabecæ petras marmoreas quas avi nostri ratibus per Pontum transvexerunt, et ex eis pulchras domos ædificaverunt, quæ ab inimicis destructæ manebant. Unde quoque ostium principale Occidentalis partis ex ipsis marmoribus est appositum: supercilia vero liminaris Sedis invenimus sicut antiqua sessio fuerat miro opere sculpta. Ostium de sinistro juxta Oraculum Baptistæ et Martyris Joannis quem simili modo fundavimus, et de puris lapidibus construximus columnas sex cum basibus todidem posuimus, ubi abbobuta tribunalis est constructa, vel alias columnas sculptas supra quas portius imminet de oppido Portucalense ratibus deportatas adduximus quadras, et calcem unde sunt ædificatæ columnæ decem et VIII. cum aliis columnelis marmoreis simili modo navigio.”—España Sagrada, xix. p. 344, Appendix.[143]Handbook of Spain, pp. 600-605.[144]The authors of the ‘Manual del Viagero en la Catedral de Santiago’ are, however, not quite of this opinion. They say of it, “The monument which we examine belongs not to Santiago, to Galicia, to Spain, but is the patrimony of the Christian religion, of the Catholic world; since in all fervent souls something remains of the ancient and fervent faith of our forefathers.” This guide-book, by the way, is one of the worst I ever met with.[145]The twentieth volume of ‘España Sagrada’ is entirely occupied with the reprint of this chronicle.[146]Histor. Compost, lib. iii. cap. 1.[147]“Postquam supradictus Episcopus,” “ad Ecclesiam Patroni sui B. Jacobi Apostoli rediens, circa eam indefessam solicitudinem exhibuit.” “Reversus itaque a supradicta expeditione, vetustissimam Ecclesiolam obrui præcepit, quæ intra immensam novæ ecclesiæ capacitatem imminente ruina lapsum minabatur. Hæc in longitudinem ad altare B. Jacobi protendebatur ab illo pilari qui juxta principalem ecclesiæ parietem, et secus unum de quatuor principalibus pilaribus existit, in sinistra parte superiorem partem chori ingredientibus pone relinquitur, et juxta fores pontificalis Palatii Ecclesiam introeuntibus, recta fronte opponitur, et in alia parte, id est in dextera, a pilari opposito supradicto pilari usque ad idem altare: latitudo vero illius eadem quæ modo et chori est. Destructa illa Ecclesia in era I.C.L.” (A.D.1112.) “quæ quasi obumbraculum totius Ecclesiæ esse videbatur, Chorum satis competentem ibidem composuit, qui usque in hodiernum diem Dei gratia et B. Jacobi per industriam ejusdem Episcopi optimi Cleri excellentia egregie decoratur. Ipse quoque Episcopus, utpote sapiens architectus, in ejusdem chori dextro capite fecit supereminens pulpitum, in quo Cantores, atque Subdiacones officii sui ordinem peragunt. In sinistro vero aliud, ubi lectiones et Evangelia leguntur. Est autem B. Jacobi specialis et præclara nova ecclesia incæpta Era I. C. XVI.—V. idus Jul.” (A.D.1078.) Histor. Compost., lib. i. cap. 78.[148]The Archbishop’s words were as follows:—“Fratres, nostra ecclesia non nostris sed Dei gratia et nostri Patroni Beatissimi Apostoli Jacobi meritis maximi et celeberrimi est nominis, et ultra portus et citra portus pro ditissima et nobilissima reputatur.” “Quælibet Sedes ultra portus pulchriora et valentiora ædificia habet quam nostra,” &c. &c.—Hist. Compost., lib. iii. cap. 1.[149]Histor. Compost., lib. ii. cap. 64.[150]Ibid., lib. iii. cap. 36.[151]See Appendix.[152]Before this time, in 1161, Master Matthew had built the bridge of Cesures in Gallicia.—Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, i. 33.[153]“Era: millena: nova: vicies: duodena.”[154]By a strange coincidence, S. Sernin boasts of having, among the bones of several of the apostles, those of S. James; though, of course, this would be strongly denied at Compostella.[155]The church from which the cathedral at Santiago was copied is one of a considerable number in France, all of which have the same general characteristics. I have already given some description of them in a paper read before the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1861, and published in their Transactions. The following list of some of the more remarkable examples will show both their date and locale:—Conques, completed inA.D.1060; S. Etienne, Nevers, commenced inA.D.1063, consecratedA.D.1097; S. Eutrope, Saintes, consecrated inA.D.1096; S. Genes,A.D.1016-1120; S. Hilary, Poitiers,A.D.1049; Montierneuf, Poitiers,A.D.1069-1096; S. Radigonde, Poitiers,A.D.1099; S. Amable, Riom,A.D.1077-1120; S. Sernin, Toulouse,A.D.1060-1096; Cluny,A.D.1089-1131; Dorat (Haute Vienne) and Bénévente (Creuse),A.D.1150-1200; S. Saturnin; Volvic; Issoire; S. Nectaire; N. D. du Port, Clermont Ferrand, circa A.D. 1080-1160; Brioude,A.D.1200. There is a church of similar construction at Granson, on the lake of Neufchâtel. These churches agree generally in their plans, but especially in those of their chevets (which almost invariably have chapels in the alternate bays only). Their sections are also alike, the triforia galleries being always vaulted with a continuous half-barrel or quadrant vault, and they have no clerestories. No doubt they were always intended to receive stone roofs, without any use of timber; and this mode of covering has been carefully restored recently at N. D. du Port, Clermont Ferrand.[156]This façade was designed by D. Ventura Rodriguez, in 1764.[157]The ground-plan of this chapel is shown onPlate IX., above the plan of the cathedral.[158]The sacristan will not trouble himself to show this chapel, and it was by a mere accident that I discovered its existence. The keys are kept by the carpenter of the chapter, whose shop is below the chapter-house.[159]The seminario on the west, the hospital on the north, and the College of San Jerónimo on the south side.[160]This is the Puerta Santa, and is only opened by the archbishop in years of jubilee.[161]It is just open to doubt whether the small circular window over the other is original, but I think the similarity to S. Sernin is in favour of its being so, in spite of some awkwardness in the mode of its introduction, which would otherwise have inclined me to doubt it.[162]See the illustration of this doorway in thefrontispiece.[163]I could not discern the meaning of a rite the people perform here. They kneel down and put the thumb and three fingers of one hand into some cavities just fitted for them in the sculpture of the central shaft, and then with the other hand throw sand down the throats of the monsters. Some people evidently did this much to their own satisfaction, whilst an acolyte called my attention to the practice as being curious and unintelligible.[164]España Sag., vol. xix.[165]This practice illustrates the intention of the singular pilgrimage chapel at the west end of Lapworth church, Warwickshire, which has two newel staircases to its small upper chamber, evidently intended to facilitate the passage of a crowd of people.[166]Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, i. p. 105.[167]“Don Juan of Medina, Bishop of Segovia, Abbat of Medina, President of the Cortes, Chancellor of Valladolid, ordered this chapel to be made in the year 1503. Laus Deo.”[168]The walls near San Vicente are 42 feet high by 14 feet thick, and the towers of the gateway upwards of 60 feet in height.[169]Ariz, Historia de Avila, part ii. p. 13. Ponz, Viage de España, xii. 308-9.[170]Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, vol. i. p. 18.[171]España Sagrada, xxxviii. p. 134.[172]See ground-plan,Plate X.[173]See ground-plan,Plate XXIII.[174]Teatro Eccl. ii. 258. Dávila, among the celebrities of Avila, includes himself, “the least of all, Pulvis et umbra.” One is surprised to find in his account of his own town so little really original matter as to the history or the date of its buildings.[175]Juan de Borgoña contracted on March 23, 1508, to paint five pictures which were lacking in this Retablo, receiving 15,000 maravedis for each, and binding himself to finish them by All Saints’ Day of the same year.[176]Plate XI.[177]See the illustration of San Esteban, Segovia.[178]Teatro Eccl. ii. 230.[179]Teatro Eccl. ii. 229.[180]Teatro Eccl. ii. 230.[181]“In 1465 the sepulchre of the martyrs was made by donations from the Catholic kings, prelates,” &c. D. Andres H. Gallejo, ‘Memoria sobre la Basilica de San Vicente,’ p. 13. This date can only refer to the canopy.[182]The following inscriptions on churches in Avila are given by G. G. Dávila. On a stone in San Nicolas, “In honorem B. Nicolai dedicavit hanc ecclesiam Jacobus Abulensis Episcopus, &c. &c., vi. Kal. Novembris, era MCC.XXXVI.” On a stone in San Bartolomeo, “In honorem S. Bartholomei Apost. dedicavit hanc ecclesiam Petrus Episcopus, &c. &c., vii. idus Decembris, MCCXLVIII.” The same bishop consecrated San Domingo in 1240.[183]Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, vol. i. p. 113. This convent is said to have been founded by the Catholic monarchs entirely with the confiscated goods of Jews.[184]Cean Bermudez, Dicc., &c., de los Bellas Artes en España, vol. ii. p. 125.[185]Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, i. p. 214.[186]Here lies Rodrigo Gil de Hontañon, Master of the Works of this Holy Church. He died the 31st of May, 1577. He set the first stone, which the Bishop D. Diego de Ribera laid on the 8th of June, 1525.[187]Plate XII.[188]See ground-plan,Plate VIII.[189]Colmenares (Historia de la insigne Ciudad de Segovia; Segovia. 1637) gives the date of the first foundation 1447, but the buildings do not seem to have been begun before 1474, and the vaulting was finished in 1485.—Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, i. p. 111.[190]These particulars are all given in Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, i. pp. 111, 120, 146.[191]SeePlate VIII.[192]See ground-plan,Plate VIII.[193]San Millan is said to have been founded inA.D.923, and similar early dates are given for Sta. Columba and San Esteban: none of them, I believe, retain any features of so great an antiquity.[194]I did not see the church of San Lorenzo. It has three eastern apses, and an arcaded cloister on the western and southern sides, some of the arches being round and some pointed. The detail is all of the same kind as in other examples here, with much delicate imitation of natural foliage.—See Illustration in Monos. Arqos. de España.[195]The illustration of this courtyard is engraved from a photograph.[196]See ground-plan,Plate XIII.[197]Teatro Eccl., vol. i. pp. 131-148.[198]See an illustration of this window on the ground-plan of Sigüenza Cathedral,Plate XIII.[199]Hoc. claustrum. a. fundamentis, fieri, maudavit. Reverendissimus. Dominus. B. Carvaial. Car. S. +. in. Jerusalem. patriarcha. Ierosolimitan. episcopus. Tusculan. Antistes. hujus. alme. basilice. quod. cempletum. fuit. de. mense. Novembris. anno. Salutis.M.C.C.C.C.C.V.II.procurante. D. Serrano. Abbate. S. Columbe. ejusdem. ecclesiæ. operario.[200]B: Carvaial: Car: S: +: eps: Saguntin:[201]Teatro Eccl., i 161.[202]Señor Cabezas, a commissionaire, to be heard of at the Fonda de Lino, may be recommended. He knows all the most interesting churches, as well as the Moorish remains; and to see these last it is indispensable to have some conductor who knows both them and their owners.[203]This castle is said by Ponz to have been built by Archbishop Tenorio, circa 1340.—Viage de España, i. 163.[204]It seems that the bridge of Alcantara fell down in the year 1211, and when it was repaired Enrique I. built a tower for the better defence of the city, as is recorded in an inscription given by Estevan de Garibay as follows: “Henrrik, son of the king Alfonso, ordered this tower and gate to be made, to the honour of God, by the hand of Matheo Paradiso in theera1255” (A.D.1217). InA.D.1258 the king D. Alonso “el Sabio” rebuilt the bridge, and put the following inscription on a piece of marble over the point of the arch: “In the year 1258 from the incarnation of Lord Jesus Christ, was the grand deluge of water, which commenced before the month of August, and lasted until Thursday the 26th of December; and the fall of rain was very great in most lands, and did great damage in many places, and especially in Spain, where most of the bridges fell; and among all the others was demolished a great part of that bridge of Toledo, which Halaf, son of Mahomet Alameri, Alcalde of Toledo, had made by command of Almansor Aboaamir Mahomet, son of Abihamir, Alquazil of Amir Almomenin Hixem; and it was finished in the time of the Moors, 387 years before this time; and the king, D. Alonso, son of the noble king D. Fernando, and of the queen Doña Beatriz, who reigned in Castile, had it repaired and renovated; and it was finished in the eighth year of his reign, in the year of the Incarnation 1258.” Cean Bermudez, Arq. de Esp., i. p. 254-255. The bridge was restored again by Archbishop Tenorio in 1380, and fortified in 1484 by Andres Manrique.—Ford, Handbook of Spain, p. 783.[205]I must mention in this place one very curious collection of relics of the age of the Gothic kings of Spain. This is the marvellous group of votive crowns discovered in 1858 in a place called La Fuente de Guarrazar, in the environs of Toledo, and which were immediately purchased by the Emperor of the French for the Museum of the Hôtel de Cluny. They consist of five or six crowns, with crosses suspended from them, and three smaller crowns without crosses. They are of gold, and made with thin plates of gold stamped with a pattern, and they have gold chains for hanging them up by, and are adorned with an infinity of stones. They have been illustrated in a volume published by M. F. de Lasteyrie, with explanatory text. I cannot do better than quote the conclusions at which he arrives: “(1) The crowns found at Guarrazar are eminently votive crowns. (2) They have never been worn. (3) Their construction belongs probably to the age of Reccesvinthus and the episcopate of S. Ildefonso, who excited so great a devotion to the Blessed Virgin in Spain. (4) One of the crowns was offered by Reccesvinthus (whose name, formed in letters suspended from its edge, occurs on it); possibly the next in size may have been given by the queen, and the rest by their officers. (5) The place from which they came was a chapel called N. Dame des Cormiers. (6) All of the crowns, though found in Spain, appear to belong to an art of the same northern origin as the conquering dynasty which then occupied the throne. They certainly give the idea of an extraordinary skill in the gold-smiths’ art at this early period (circa 650-672), and it is probable that they had been buried where they were found at the time that the Moors entered Toledo as conquerors inA.D.711.”—See Description du Trésor de Guarrazar, &c., par Ferdinand de Lasteyrie, Paris, 1860. Since this discovery some other crowns have been found in the same neighbourhood, and these are, I believe, preserved at Madrid. They have been described in a short paper in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, to which I must refer my readers. The crowns preserved at the Hôtel Cluny certainly form one of the greatest attractions in that attractive collection. They are in a singularly perfect state of preservation. Their workmanship is rather rude, and they all appear to be of as nearly as possible the same age and manufacture. There can be no question that M. F. de Lasteyrie is right in saying that they were never worn as crowns; they were designed for suspension before an altar, and most of them have crosses hanging from them. The largest crown—that of Reccesvinthus, is formed of two plates of gold, the inner plate plain, the outer pierced, beaten up, and set with very large stones. The plates of gold in many cases are stamped with a pattern. At the top and bottom of the plate which forms the coronet is a narrow band of cloisonnée gold, the spaces in which seem to have been filled with glass or red-coloured enamel. The largest crown is eight-and-a-half inches in diameter, and has a splendid jewelled cross suspended from its centre, and the name of the king in large Roman letters hung by chains from its lower edge, and formed of cloisonnée gold. When I see such work done in the seventh century, and then look at modern jeweller’s work, I am tempted to think that the much vaunted progress of the world is not always in the right direction. Gold and silver ornaments were exported from Spain to so considerable an extent, that the tiara of the Pope, being richly wrought with precious metal, was calledSpanoclista.—Masdeu, Hist. Critica.

[106]See plan,Plate VIII.

[107]The western doorways of Salisbury Cathedral are emphatically mere “holes in the wall,” and very characteristic, too.

[108]I add Dr. Neale’s notes of two churches here which I did not discover.“San Juan de la Puerta Nueva. Principally of Flamboyant date, has a square east end. The whole breadth of the church is here under one vault, the span somewhere about sixty feet. The north porch, separated by a parclose from the chapel of the Cross, has an excellent Transitional door. The western façade has a middle-pointed window of five lights.“San Pedro. Has had its originally-distinct nave and aisles thrown into one in Flamboyant times, and vaulted with an immense span.”

[108]I add Dr. Neale’s notes of two churches here which I did not discover.

“San Juan de la Puerta Nueva. Principally of Flamboyant date, has a square east end. The whole breadth of the church is here under one vault, the span somewhere about sixty feet. The north porch, separated by a parclose from the chapel of the Cross, has an excellent Transitional door. The western façade has a middle-pointed window of five lights.

“San Pedro. Has had its originally-distinct nave and aisles thrown into one in Flamboyant times, and vaulted with an immense span.”

[109]Nevertheless, Dr. Neale describes it as existing, and so, no doubt, it does.—‘An Ecclesiological Tour,’ Ecclesiologist, vol. xiv. p. 361.

[110]See plan,Plate VIII.

[111]There is an inscription on the south-east buttress of the transept which, I believe, refers to the date of the church; but, unfortunately, though I noticed it, I forgot to write it down.

[112]See Catologo de los Obispos de Leon. Cixila II. Esp. Sag., xxxiv. 211.

[113]In a deed of the 20th March,A.D.1175, mention is made of Pedro Cebrian, “Maestro de la Obra de la Catedral,” and of Pedro Gallego, “Gobernador de las Torres.” It is possible, of course, that Cebrian may have been the architect of the new cathedral if it was commenced between 1181 and 1205, but I do not believe that this was the case; and the real architect was, more probably one who is thus mentioned in the book of Obits of the cathedral: “Eodem die VII. idus Julii, sub era MCCCXV. obiit Henricus, magister operis,” and who, dying in the year 1277, may well have designed the greater portion of the work. At a later date, in 1513, Juan de Badajoz was architect of the cathedral, and may probably have finished one of the steeples.—Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, i. 37, 38.

[114]“Hoc tempore,” he says, “ampliata est fides Catholica in Hispania, et licet multi Regnum Legionense bellis impeterent, tamen Ecclesiæ regalibus muneribus ditatæ sunt in tantum, ut antiquæ destruerentur Ecclesiæ, quæ magnis sumptibus fuerant fabricatæ, et multo nobiliores et pulchriores in toto Regno Legionensi fuudarentur. Tunc reverendus Episcopus Legionensis Manricus ejusdem Sedis Ecclesiam fundavit opere magno, sed eam ad perfectionem non duxit.”

[115]“Cum igitur,” they say, “ad fabricam Ecclesiæ Sauctæ Mariæ Legionensis quæ de novo construitur, et magnis indiget sumptibus, propriæ non suppetant facultates, universitatem vestram rogamus,”—“quatenus de bonis vobis a Deo collatis eidem fabricæ pias eleemosynas de vestris facultatibus tribuatis, ut per hæc, et alia bona opera, quæ inspirante Deo feceritis, ad eterna possitis gaudia pervenire.” This indulgence is preserved in the archives of the cathedral.—España Sagrada, xxxv. p. 269.

[116]“Cum igitur Ecclesia Beatæ Mariæ Legion. Sedis ædificetur de novo opere quamplurimum sumptuoso, et absque fidelium adminiculo non possit feliciter consummari, universitatem vestram monemus et exhortamur in Domino,” &c. &c.; “ut per subventionem vestram, quod ibidem inceptum est, ad effectum optatum valeat pervenire,” &c., given in the general Council of Leon, 10 Kal. Aug.A.D.1273.—España Sagrada, xxxv. p. 270.

[117]Plate V.

[118]So, at least, I was assured by the superintendent of the works at the cathedral. Some of the material I saw was no doubt tufa; but some of it seemed to me to be an exceedingly light kind of concrete. The vaulting of Salisbury Cathedral is similarly constructed. I do not know whether at Beauvais the same expedient was adopted to lessen the weight.

[119]The three crucifixes at the entrance to the cemetery at Nuremberg will be remembered by all who have ever seen them; and such a group would have made a fitting centre for such a cloister as this at Leon.

[120]This conceit is illustrated more elaborately than I have elsewhere seen it in a palace near San Isidoro, where the angle windows are designed and executed in a sort of perspective, which is inexpressibly bad in effect.

[121]Nota crucifix.

[122]Witness Mr. E. Burne Jones’s beautiful picture over the altar of S. Paul, Brighton, and Mr. D. G. Rossetti’s at Llandaff.

[123]Teatro Ecclesiastico, i. p. 365.

[124]“Hic requiescit Petrus de Deo, qui superædificavit Ecclesiam hanc. Iste fundavit pontem, qui dicitur de Deus tamben: et quia erat vir miræ abstinentiæ et multis florebat miraculis, omnes eum laudibus prædicabant. Sepultus est hic ab Imperatore Adefonso et Sancia Regina.” Esp. Sag., xxxv. p. 356. G. G. Dávila, Teatro Eccles., i. p. 340. Dávila adds the words “servus Dei” before the name of the architect.

[125]See Cean Bermudez, Arq. de Esp., i. p. 14.

[126]The whole of this deed of endowment is interesting. I quote a few lines only, which have some interest, as bearing, among other things, on the Gothic crowns found at Guarrazar, and mentioned at p. 212. “Offerimus igitur” “ornamenta altariorum: id est, frontale ex auro puro opere digno cum lapidibus smaragdis, safiris, et omnia genere pretiosis et olovitreis: alios similiter tres frontales argenteos singulis altaribus: Coronas tres aureas: una ex his cum sex alfas in gyro, et corona de Alaules intus in ea pendens: alia est de anemnates cum olivitreo, aurea. Tertia vero est diadema capitis mei,” &c. &c.—Esp. Sag., xxxvi., Appendix, p. clxxxix.

[127]“Sub era millesima centesima octuagesima septima, pridie nonas Martii, facta est Ecclesia Sancti Isidori consecrata per manus Raymundi Toletanæ Sedis Archiepiscopi, et Joannis Legionensis episcopi,” &c. &c.—Teatro Eccl., vol. ii., p. 243. See also the similar inscription on a stone in San Isidoro.—Esp. Sag., vol. xxxv. p. 207.

[128]Ponz, Viage de España, xi. p. 234.

[129]Plate VI.

[130]E.g.Segovia, Avila, Salamanca, Benavente, Lérida.

[131]So, at least, says Cean Bermudez, but without giving his authority.

[132]Pallares Gayoso, Hist. de Lugo, from the black book in the archives.

[133]Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, i. 25.

[134]Plate VII.

[135]A.D.1577.—Madoz, Dicc.

[136]Teatro Eccl., iii. 182, 183.

[137]Plate VIII.

[138]The following inscription remains on one of the columns on the north side of the nave:—SANTA : MARIA : RECEAB : ESTE : PIAR : DE : FONDO : A TE : CIMA : CON : LAMETADE : DOS : ARCOS : CA : QUELQUE : O :PAGON : EN : VIII. : IDUSJULII : ERA : MCCC : XL.From which it appears that this column, with the halves of the two arches springing from it, was built inA.D.1302. On another column on the same side is an inscription recording the erection of the Chapel of the Visitation inA.D.1374.

[138]The following inscription remains on one of the columns on the north side of the nave:—

SANTA : MARIA : RECEAB : ESTE : PIAR : DE : FONDO : A TE : CIMA : CON : LAMETADE : DOS : ARCOS : CA : QUELQUE : O :PAGON : EN : VIII. : IDUSJULII : ERA : MCCC : XL.

From which it appears that this column, with the halves of the two arches springing from it, was built inA.D.1302. On another column on the same side is an inscription recording the erection of the Chapel of the Visitation inA.D.1374.

[139]Plate VIII.

[140]España Sagrada, xix. p. 91.

[141]Historia del Apostol Sanctiago, by Mauro Castella Ferrer, p. 463.

[142]The latter document in particular has much architectural interest, and is worth transcribing in part, on account of its reference to these early buildings, and their materials and furniture. It commences as follows:—“In nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi, edificatum est Templum Sancti Salvatoris, et Sancti Jacobi Apostoli in locum Arcis Marmoricis territorio Galleciæ per institutionem gloriosissimi Principis Adefonsi III. cum conjuge Scemena sub Pontifice loci ejusdem Sisnando Episcopo.” (877-903.) “Supplex egregii eximii Principis Ordonii proles ego Adefonsus Principi cum prædicto antistite statuimus ædificare domum Domini et restaurare Templum ad tumulum sepulchri Apostoli, quod antiquitus construxerat divæ memoriæ Dominus Adefonsus Magnus ex petra et luto opere parvo. Nos quidem inspiratione divina adlati cum subditis ac familia nostra adduximus in sanctum locum ex Hispania inter agmina Maurorum, quæ eligimus de Civitate Eabecæ petras marmoreas quas avi nostri ratibus per Pontum transvexerunt, et ex eis pulchras domos ædificaverunt, quæ ab inimicis destructæ manebant. Unde quoque ostium principale Occidentalis partis ex ipsis marmoribus est appositum: supercilia vero liminaris Sedis invenimus sicut antiqua sessio fuerat miro opere sculpta. Ostium de sinistro juxta Oraculum Baptistæ et Martyris Joannis quem simili modo fundavimus, et de puris lapidibus construximus columnas sex cum basibus todidem posuimus, ubi abbobuta tribunalis est constructa, vel alias columnas sculptas supra quas portius imminet de oppido Portucalense ratibus deportatas adduximus quadras, et calcem unde sunt ædificatæ columnæ decem et VIII. cum aliis columnelis marmoreis simili modo navigio.”—España Sagrada, xix. p. 344, Appendix.

“In nomine Domini nostri Jesu Christi, edificatum est Templum Sancti Salvatoris, et Sancti Jacobi Apostoli in locum Arcis Marmoricis territorio Galleciæ per institutionem gloriosissimi Principis Adefonsi III. cum conjuge Scemena sub Pontifice loci ejusdem Sisnando Episcopo.” (877-903.) “Supplex egregii eximii Principis Ordonii proles ego Adefonsus Principi cum prædicto antistite statuimus ædificare domum Domini et restaurare Templum ad tumulum sepulchri Apostoli, quod antiquitus construxerat divæ memoriæ Dominus Adefonsus Magnus ex petra et luto opere parvo. Nos quidem inspiratione divina adlati cum subditis ac familia nostra adduximus in sanctum locum ex Hispania inter agmina Maurorum, quæ eligimus de Civitate Eabecæ petras marmoreas quas avi nostri ratibus per Pontum transvexerunt, et ex eis pulchras domos ædificaverunt, quæ ab inimicis destructæ manebant. Unde quoque ostium principale Occidentalis partis ex ipsis marmoribus est appositum: supercilia vero liminaris Sedis invenimus sicut antiqua sessio fuerat miro opere sculpta. Ostium de sinistro juxta Oraculum Baptistæ et Martyris Joannis quem simili modo fundavimus, et de puris lapidibus construximus columnas sex cum basibus todidem posuimus, ubi abbobuta tribunalis est constructa, vel alias columnas sculptas supra quas portius imminet de oppido Portucalense ratibus deportatas adduximus quadras, et calcem unde sunt ædificatæ columnæ decem et VIII. cum aliis columnelis marmoreis simili modo navigio.”—España Sagrada, xix. p. 344, Appendix.

[143]Handbook of Spain, pp. 600-605.

[144]The authors of the ‘Manual del Viagero en la Catedral de Santiago’ are, however, not quite of this opinion. They say of it, “The monument which we examine belongs not to Santiago, to Galicia, to Spain, but is the patrimony of the Christian religion, of the Catholic world; since in all fervent souls something remains of the ancient and fervent faith of our forefathers.” This guide-book, by the way, is one of the worst I ever met with.

[145]The twentieth volume of ‘España Sagrada’ is entirely occupied with the reprint of this chronicle.

[146]Histor. Compost, lib. iii. cap. 1.

[147]“Postquam supradictus Episcopus,” “ad Ecclesiam Patroni sui B. Jacobi Apostoli rediens, circa eam indefessam solicitudinem exhibuit.” “Reversus itaque a supradicta expeditione, vetustissimam Ecclesiolam obrui præcepit, quæ intra immensam novæ ecclesiæ capacitatem imminente ruina lapsum minabatur. Hæc in longitudinem ad altare B. Jacobi protendebatur ab illo pilari qui juxta principalem ecclesiæ parietem, et secus unum de quatuor principalibus pilaribus existit, in sinistra parte superiorem partem chori ingredientibus pone relinquitur, et juxta fores pontificalis Palatii Ecclesiam introeuntibus, recta fronte opponitur, et in alia parte, id est in dextera, a pilari opposito supradicto pilari usque ad idem altare: latitudo vero illius eadem quæ modo et chori est. Destructa illa Ecclesia in era I.C.L.” (A.D.1112.) “quæ quasi obumbraculum totius Ecclesiæ esse videbatur, Chorum satis competentem ibidem composuit, qui usque in hodiernum diem Dei gratia et B. Jacobi per industriam ejusdem Episcopi optimi Cleri excellentia egregie decoratur. Ipse quoque Episcopus, utpote sapiens architectus, in ejusdem chori dextro capite fecit supereminens pulpitum, in quo Cantores, atque Subdiacones officii sui ordinem peragunt. In sinistro vero aliud, ubi lectiones et Evangelia leguntur. Est autem B. Jacobi specialis et præclara nova ecclesia incæpta Era I. C. XVI.—V. idus Jul.” (A.D.1078.) Histor. Compost., lib. i. cap. 78.

[148]The Archbishop’s words were as follows:—“Fratres, nostra ecclesia non nostris sed Dei gratia et nostri Patroni Beatissimi Apostoli Jacobi meritis maximi et celeberrimi est nominis, et ultra portus et citra portus pro ditissima et nobilissima reputatur.” “Quælibet Sedes ultra portus pulchriora et valentiora ædificia habet quam nostra,” &c. &c.—Hist. Compost., lib. iii. cap. 1.

[149]Histor. Compost., lib. ii. cap. 64.

[150]Ibid., lib. iii. cap. 36.

[151]See Appendix.

[152]Before this time, in 1161, Master Matthew had built the bridge of Cesures in Gallicia.—Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, i. 33.

[153]“Era: millena: nova: vicies: duodena.”

[154]By a strange coincidence, S. Sernin boasts of having, among the bones of several of the apostles, those of S. James; though, of course, this would be strongly denied at Compostella.

[155]The church from which the cathedral at Santiago was copied is one of a considerable number in France, all of which have the same general characteristics. I have already given some description of them in a paper read before the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1861, and published in their Transactions. The following list of some of the more remarkable examples will show both their date and locale:—Conques, completed inA.D.1060; S. Etienne, Nevers, commenced inA.D.1063, consecratedA.D.1097; S. Eutrope, Saintes, consecrated inA.D.1096; S. Genes,A.D.1016-1120; S. Hilary, Poitiers,A.D.1049; Montierneuf, Poitiers,A.D.1069-1096; S. Radigonde, Poitiers,A.D.1099; S. Amable, Riom,A.D.1077-1120; S. Sernin, Toulouse,A.D.1060-1096; Cluny,A.D.1089-1131; Dorat (Haute Vienne) and Bénévente (Creuse),A.D.1150-1200; S. Saturnin; Volvic; Issoire; S. Nectaire; N. D. du Port, Clermont Ferrand, circa A.D. 1080-1160; Brioude,A.D.1200. There is a church of similar construction at Granson, on the lake of Neufchâtel. These churches agree generally in their plans, but especially in those of their chevets (which almost invariably have chapels in the alternate bays only). Their sections are also alike, the triforia galleries being always vaulted with a continuous half-barrel or quadrant vault, and they have no clerestories. No doubt they were always intended to receive stone roofs, without any use of timber; and this mode of covering has been carefully restored recently at N. D. du Port, Clermont Ferrand.

[156]This façade was designed by D. Ventura Rodriguez, in 1764.

[157]The ground-plan of this chapel is shown onPlate IX., above the plan of the cathedral.

[158]The sacristan will not trouble himself to show this chapel, and it was by a mere accident that I discovered its existence. The keys are kept by the carpenter of the chapter, whose shop is below the chapter-house.

[159]The seminario on the west, the hospital on the north, and the College of San Jerónimo on the south side.

[160]This is the Puerta Santa, and is only opened by the archbishop in years of jubilee.

[161]It is just open to doubt whether the small circular window over the other is original, but I think the similarity to S. Sernin is in favour of its being so, in spite of some awkwardness in the mode of its introduction, which would otherwise have inclined me to doubt it.

[162]See the illustration of this doorway in thefrontispiece.

[163]I could not discern the meaning of a rite the people perform here. They kneel down and put the thumb and three fingers of one hand into some cavities just fitted for them in the sculpture of the central shaft, and then with the other hand throw sand down the throats of the monsters. Some people evidently did this much to their own satisfaction, whilst an acolyte called my attention to the practice as being curious and unintelligible.

[164]España Sag., vol. xix.

[165]This practice illustrates the intention of the singular pilgrimage chapel at the west end of Lapworth church, Warwickshire, which has two newel staircases to its small upper chamber, evidently intended to facilitate the passage of a crowd of people.

[166]Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, i. p. 105.

[167]“Don Juan of Medina, Bishop of Segovia, Abbat of Medina, President of the Cortes, Chancellor of Valladolid, ordered this chapel to be made in the year 1503. Laus Deo.”

[168]The walls near San Vicente are 42 feet high by 14 feet thick, and the towers of the gateway upwards of 60 feet in height.

[169]Ariz, Historia de Avila, part ii. p. 13. Ponz, Viage de España, xii. 308-9.

[170]Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, vol. i. p. 18.

[171]España Sagrada, xxxviii. p. 134.

[172]See ground-plan,Plate X.

[173]See ground-plan,Plate XXIII.

[174]Teatro Eccl. ii. 258. Dávila, among the celebrities of Avila, includes himself, “the least of all, Pulvis et umbra.” One is surprised to find in his account of his own town so little really original matter as to the history or the date of its buildings.

[175]Juan de Borgoña contracted on March 23, 1508, to paint five pictures which were lacking in this Retablo, receiving 15,000 maravedis for each, and binding himself to finish them by All Saints’ Day of the same year.

[176]Plate XI.

[177]See the illustration of San Esteban, Segovia.

[178]Teatro Eccl. ii. 230.

[179]Teatro Eccl. ii. 229.

[180]Teatro Eccl. ii. 230.

[181]“In 1465 the sepulchre of the martyrs was made by donations from the Catholic kings, prelates,” &c. D. Andres H. Gallejo, ‘Memoria sobre la Basilica de San Vicente,’ p. 13. This date can only refer to the canopy.

[182]The following inscriptions on churches in Avila are given by G. G. Dávila. On a stone in San Nicolas, “In honorem B. Nicolai dedicavit hanc ecclesiam Jacobus Abulensis Episcopus, &c. &c., vi. Kal. Novembris, era MCC.XXXVI.” On a stone in San Bartolomeo, “In honorem S. Bartholomei Apost. dedicavit hanc ecclesiam Petrus Episcopus, &c. &c., vii. idus Decembris, MCCXLVIII.” The same bishop consecrated San Domingo in 1240.

[183]Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, vol. i. p. 113. This convent is said to have been founded by the Catholic monarchs entirely with the confiscated goods of Jews.

[184]Cean Bermudez, Dicc., &c., de los Bellas Artes en España, vol. ii. p. 125.

[185]Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, i. p. 214.

[186]Here lies Rodrigo Gil de Hontañon, Master of the Works of this Holy Church. He died the 31st of May, 1577. He set the first stone, which the Bishop D. Diego de Ribera laid on the 8th of June, 1525.

[187]Plate XII.

[188]See ground-plan,Plate VIII.

[189]Colmenares (Historia de la insigne Ciudad de Segovia; Segovia. 1637) gives the date of the first foundation 1447, but the buildings do not seem to have been begun before 1474, and the vaulting was finished in 1485.—Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, i. p. 111.

[190]These particulars are all given in Cean Bermudez, Arq. de España, i. pp. 111, 120, 146.

[191]SeePlate VIII.

[192]See ground-plan,Plate VIII.

[193]San Millan is said to have been founded inA.D.923, and similar early dates are given for Sta. Columba and San Esteban: none of them, I believe, retain any features of so great an antiquity.

[194]I did not see the church of San Lorenzo. It has three eastern apses, and an arcaded cloister on the western and southern sides, some of the arches being round and some pointed. The detail is all of the same kind as in other examples here, with much delicate imitation of natural foliage.—See Illustration in Monos. Arqos. de España.

[195]The illustration of this courtyard is engraved from a photograph.

[196]See ground-plan,Plate XIII.

[197]Teatro Eccl., vol. i. pp. 131-148.

[198]See an illustration of this window on the ground-plan of Sigüenza Cathedral,Plate XIII.

[199]Hoc. claustrum. a. fundamentis, fieri, maudavit. Reverendissimus. Dominus. B. Carvaial. Car. S. +. in. Jerusalem. patriarcha. Ierosolimitan. episcopus. Tusculan. Antistes. hujus. alme. basilice. quod. cempletum. fuit. de. mense. Novembris. anno. Salutis.M.C.C.C.C.C.V.II.procurante. D. Serrano. Abbate. S. Columbe. ejusdem. ecclesiæ. operario.

[200]B: Carvaial: Car: S: +: eps: Saguntin:

[201]Teatro Eccl., i 161.

[202]Señor Cabezas, a commissionaire, to be heard of at the Fonda de Lino, may be recommended. He knows all the most interesting churches, as well as the Moorish remains; and to see these last it is indispensable to have some conductor who knows both them and their owners.

[203]This castle is said by Ponz to have been built by Archbishop Tenorio, circa 1340.—Viage de España, i. 163.

[204]It seems that the bridge of Alcantara fell down in the year 1211, and when it was repaired Enrique I. built a tower for the better defence of the city, as is recorded in an inscription given by Estevan de Garibay as follows: “Henrrik, son of the king Alfonso, ordered this tower and gate to be made, to the honour of God, by the hand of Matheo Paradiso in theera1255” (A.D.1217). InA.D.1258 the king D. Alonso “el Sabio” rebuilt the bridge, and put the following inscription on a piece of marble over the point of the arch: “In the year 1258 from the incarnation of Lord Jesus Christ, was the grand deluge of water, which commenced before the month of August, and lasted until Thursday the 26th of December; and the fall of rain was very great in most lands, and did great damage in many places, and especially in Spain, where most of the bridges fell; and among all the others was demolished a great part of that bridge of Toledo, which Halaf, son of Mahomet Alameri, Alcalde of Toledo, had made by command of Almansor Aboaamir Mahomet, son of Abihamir, Alquazil of Amir Almomenin Hixem; and it was finished in the time of the Moors, 387 years before this time; and the king, D. Alonso, son of the noble king D. Fernando, and of the queen Doña Beatriz, who reigned in Castile, had it repaired and renovated; and it was finished in the eighth year of his reign, in the year of the Incarnation 1258.” Cean Bermudez, Arq. de Esp., i. p. 254-255. The bridge was restored again by Archbishop Tenorio in 1380, and fortified in 1484 by Andres Manrique.—Ford, Handbook of Spain, p. 783.

[205]I must mention in this place one very curious collection of relics of the age of the Gothic kings of Spain. This is the marvellous group of votive crowns discovered in 1858 in a place called La Fuente de Guarrazar, in the environs of Toledo, and which were immediately purchased by the Emperor of the French for the Museum of the Hôtel de Cluny. They consist of five or six crowns, with crosses suspended from them, and three smaller crowns without crosses. They are of gold, and made with thin plates of gold stamped with a pattern, and they have gold chains for hanging them up by, and are adorned with an infinity of stones. They have been illustrated in a volume published by M. F. de Lasteyrie, with explanatory text. I cannot do better than quote the conclusions at which he arrives: “(1) The crowns found at Guarrazar are eminently votive crowns. (2) They have never been worn. (3) Their construction belongs probably to the age of Reccesvinthus and the episcopate of S. Ildefonso, who excited so great a devotion to the Blessed Virgin in Spain. (4) One of the crowns was offered by Reccesvinthus (whose name, formed in letters suspended from its edge, occurs on it); possibly the next in size may have been given by the queen, and the rest by their officers. (5) The place from which they came was a chapel called N. Dame des Cormiers. (6) All of the crowns, though found in Spain, appear to belong to an art of the same northern origin as the conquering dynasty which then occupied the throne. They certainly give the idea of an extraordinary skill in the gold-smiths’ art at this early period (circa 650-672), and it is probable that they had been buried where they were found at the time that the Moors entered Toledo as conquerors inA.D.711.”—See Description du Trésor de Guarrazar, &c., par Ferdinand de Lasteyrie, Paris, 1860. Since this discovery some other crowns have been found in the same neighbourhood, and these are, I believe, preserved at Madrid. They have been described in a short paper in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, to which I must refer my readers. The crowns preserved at the Hôtel Cluny certainly form one of the greatest attractions in that attractive collection. They are in a singularly perfect state of preservation. Their workmanship is rather rude, and they all appear to be of as nearly as possible the same age and manufacture. There can be no question that M. F. de Lasteyrie is right in saying that they were never worn as crowns; they were designed for suspension before an altar, and most of them have crosses hanging from them. The largest crown—that of Reccesvinthus, is formed of two plates of gold, the inner plate plain, the outer pierced, beaten up, and set with very large stones. The plates of gold in many cases are stamped with a pattern. At the top and bottom of the plate which forms the coronet is a narrow band of cloisonnée gold, the spaces in which seem to have been filled with glass or red-coloured enamel. The largest crown is eight-and-a-half inches in diameter, and has a splendid jewelled cross suspended from its centre, and the name of the king in large Roman letters hung by chains from its lower edge, and formed of cloisonnée gold. When I see such work done in the seventh century, and then look at modern jeweller’s work, I am tempted to think that the much vaunted progress of the world is not always in the right direction. Gold and silver ornaments were exported from Spain to so considerable an extent, that the tiara of the Pope, being richly wrought with precious metal, was calledSpanoclista.—Masdeu, Hist. Critica.

Back to Index Next