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CATHEDRAL CITIES OF SPAIN

                     _UNIFORM WITH THIS VOLUME_

     CATHEDRAL CITIES OF ENGLAND. By GEORGE GILBERT. With 60
     reproductions from water-colours by W.W. COLLINS, R.I. Demy 8vo,
     16s. net.

     CATHEDRAL CITIES OF FRANCE. By HERBERT and HESTER MARSHALL. With 60
     reproductions from water-colours by HERBERT MARSHALL, R.W.S. Demy
     8vo, 16s. net. Also large paper edition, £2 2s. net.

               _BOOKS ILLUSTRATED BY JOSEPH PENNELL_

     ITALIAN HOURS. By HENRY JAMES. With 32 plates in colour and
     numerous illustrations in black and white by JOSEPH PENNELL. Large
     crown 4to. Price 20s. net.

     A LITTLE TOUR IN FRANCE. By HENRY JAMES. With 94 illustrations by
     JOSEPH PENNELL. Pott 4to. Price 10s. net.

     ENGLISH HOURS. By HENRY JAMES. With 94 illustrations by JOSEPH
     PENNELL. Pott 4to. Price 10s. net.

     ITALIAN JOURNEYS. By W.D. HOWELLS. With 103 illustrations by JOSEPH
     PENNELL. Pott 4to. Price 10s. net.

     CASTILIAN DAYS. By the Hon. JOHN HAY. With 111 illustrations by
     JOSEPH PENNELL. Pott 4to. Price 10s. net.

London: WILLIAM HEINEMANN
21 Bedford Street, W.C.

[Illustration]

[Illustration: BURGOS. THE CATHEDRAL]




CATHEDRAL CITIES
OF SPAIN

WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED
BY
W. W. COLLINS, R.I.

[Illustration: colophon]

LONDON: WILLIAM HEINEMANN
NEW YORK: DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
1909

_All rights reserved_

_Copyright, London, 1909, by William Heinemann and
Washington, U.S.A., by Dodd, Mead & Co_




PREFACE


Spain, the country of contrasts, of races differing from one another in
habits, customs, and language, has one great thing that welds it into a
homogeneous nation, and this is its Religion. Wherever one's footsteps
wander, be it in the progressive provinces of the north, the mediævalism
of the Great Plain, or in that still eastern portion of the south,
Andalusia, this one thing is ever omnipresent and stamps itself on the
memory as the great living force throughout the Peninsula.

In her Cathedrals and Churches, her ruined Monasteries and Convents,
there is more than abundant evidence of the vitality of her Faith; and
we can see how, after the expulsion of the Moor, the wealth of the
nation poured into the coffers of the Church and there centralised the
life of the nation.

In the mountain fastnesses of Asturias the churches of Santa Maria de
Naranco and San Miguel de Lino, dating from the ninth century and
contemporary with San Pablo and Santa Cristina, in Barcelona, are the
earliest Christian buildings in Spain. As the Moor was pushed further
south, a new style followed his retreating steps; and the Romanesque,
introduced from over the Pyrenees, became the adopted form of
architecture in the more or less settled parts of the country. Creeping
south through Leon, where San Isidoro is well worth mention, we find the
finest examples of the period in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, at
Segovia, Avila, and the grand Catedral Vieja of Salamanca.

Spain sought help from France to expel the Moor, and it is but natural
that the more advanced nation should leave her mark somewhere and in
some way in the country she pacifically invaded. Before the spread of
this influence became general, we find at least one great monument of
native genius rise up at Tarragona. The Transition Cathedral there can
lay claim to be entirely Spanish. It is the epitome and outcome of a
yearning for the display of Spain's own talent, and is one of the most
interesting and beautiful in the whole country.

Toledo, Leon, and Burgos are the three Cathedrals known as the "French"
Cathedrals of Spain. They are Gothic and the first named is the finest
of all. Spanish Gothic is best exemplified in the Cathedral of
Barcelona. For late-Gothic, we must go to the huge structures of
Salamanca, Segovia, and the Cathedral at Seville which almost overwhelms
in the grandeur of its scale.

After the close of the fifteenth century Italian or Renaissance
influence began to be felt, and the decoration of the Plateresque style
became the vogue. San Marcos at Leon, the University of Salamanca, and
the Casa de Ayuntamiento at Seville are among the best examples of this.
The influence of Churriguera, who evolved the Churrigueresque style, is
to be met with in almost every Cathedral in the country. He it is who
was responsible for those great gilded altars with their enormous
twisted pillars so familiar to travellers in Spain; and which, though no
doubt a tribute to the glory of God, one feels are more a vulgar display
of wealth than a tasteful or artistic addition to her architecture. The
finest of the Renaissance Cathedrals is that of Granada, and the most
obtrusive piece of Churrigueresque is the Cartuja in the same city.

Taking the Cathedrals as a whole the two most unfamiliar and notable
features are the Coros or Choirs, and the Retablos. These
latter--gorgeous backings to the High Altar, generally ill-lit, with a
superabundance of carving sometimes  and gilded, sometimes of
plain stone--are of Low-country or Flemish origin. The former, with one
exception at Oviedo, are placed in the nave west of the crossing, and
enclose, as a rule, two or more bays in this direction. Every Cathedral
is a museum of art, and these two features are the most worth study.

     NOTE.--_Since the revolution in Catalonia of July-August 1909, the
     King has decreed that no one can secure exemption from military
     service by the payment of a sum of money._




CONTENTS


                                                                    PAGE

CADIZ                                                                  1

SEVILLE                                                                7

CORDOVA                                                               23

GRANADA                                                               31

MALAGA                                                                57

VALENCIA                                                              65

TORTOSA                                                               77

TARRAGONA                                                             83

BARCELONA                                                             91

GERONA                                                               101

TOLEDO                                                               107

SALAMANCA                                                            121

AVILA                                                                137

SEGOVIA                                                              145

SARAGOSSA                                                            159

SANTIAGO                                                             174

TUY                                                                  183

ORENSE                                                               187

ASTORGA                                                              193

ZAMORA                                                               199

LEON                                                                 205

OVIEDO                                                               217

VALLADOLID                                                           225

BURGOS                                                               233

INDEX                                                                249




ILLUSTRATIONS


                                                               