Leon, Burgos and Salamanca: a historical and descriptive account

by Albert Frederick Calvert

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.’