On the north aisle are the chapels of Teresa de Haro, Nuestra Señora de la Antigua—where the Spanish colours used in the Moorish campaigns were blessed—of the Pila Bautismál, with a beautiful bronze font, and a reja by Céspedes; and the large Capilla de San Pedro, built in 1442 in the Gothic style by Archbishop de Rojas. The founder’s fine monument was placed here in the eighteenth century. On the other side of the Puerta del Reloj is the Capilla de la Virgen del Sagrario, noted for a statue of the Blessed Virgin, which she is said to have kissed on her visit to St. Ildefonso. The statue is of dark-coloured wood, and was formerly clothed in a mantle embroidered by Felipe Corral; and composed of gold, rubies, emeralds, and pearls, now kept in the Treasury. In this chapel the degree of doctor is conferred on licentiates. The two small chapels of the Cristo and of Santa Leocadia are adjacent to the entrance to the Capilla de los Reyes Nuevos.
Adjoining the Chapel of the Virgen del Sagrario are a set of apartments, built with it upon the site of an old hospital, by Nicolas de Vergara, junior, at the close of the sixteenth century. These rooms are the Sacristia, Vestuario, Cuarto de la Custódia, and Ochavo. The Sacristia, entered through a portal 26 feet high, contains paintings by El Greco, to be noticed in the chapter on that master; the ‘Betrayal of Christ,’ by Goya; and a ceiling fresco by Luca Giordano, representing the Miracle of San Ildefonso. The Vestuario contains pictures by several Italian masters, among them ‘Paul III.’ by Titian; a replica of the portrait at Naples; a ‘Madonna’ by Rubens; and a ‘St. Francis’ by El Greco. The Custodia was till lately the Cathedral Treasury. The Ochavo, at the back of the Capilla de la Virgen, is richly adorned and contains the collection of relics, among them massive silver caskets, wonderfully wrought, for the bones of the saints Leocadia and Eugenius.
The vestments preserved here, to the number of forty sets, belong mostly to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and are of the most splendid description. “Each set [says Riaño] generally includes a chasuble, dalmatic, cope, altar frontal, covers for the gospel stands, and other smaller pieces. The embroideries on the orphreys, which are formed of figures of saints, are as perfect as the miniatures on illuminated MSS.”
The Cloisters to the north-west of the church were built by Cardinal Tenorio in 1389. They are not, as Miss Lynch observes, to be compared with those of Burgos, of Santiago, or of Oviedo. The garden they enclose lends a brighter, gayer note to the columned and arched galleries than is found in those other cathedrals. The frescoes in the lower cloister were painted by Francisco Bayeu, and illustrate the lives of St. Eugenius and the legend of the Niño perdido.
We should, perhaps, have described the exterior of the Cathedral first, but from the sightseer’s point of view the interior is, of course, more important. It is a general subject of complaint that it is extremely difficult to obtain a good view of any considerable part of the fabric from the outside, nor does it stand out as conspicuously from a distance as its imposing dimensions would lead one to suppose. The best view is to be obtained from the church of Nuestra Señora de la Valle, above the Puente de San Martin. The exterior, with its flying buttresses, finials, and rose-windows, reflects the Gothic spirit of the interior. The west façade is flanked by two towers, that above the Chapel of the Canons alone being complete. It is 295 feet high, and was begun by order of Archbishop Tenorio, in 1380, by Rodrigo Alfons, and completed under Archbishop Contreras in 1440 by Alvar Gomez. On the summit is a small spire, surmounted by a cross, a vane, and an arrow. Here are hung the bells, among them the famous Campana Gorda, weighing nearly two tons, and whose note reaches to Madrid. The tower also contains a peal called the Matraca, worked continuously by mechanism from Maundy Thursday till Easter Saturday. The view from the summit is far-reaching and inspiring.
Among the finest features of this noble church are its eight principal entrances. In the western façade are three portals—the Puerto del Perdon in the centre, flanked by the Puertas de los Escribános and de la Torre. All date from the first half of the fifteenth century and are in the Gothic style. The Puerta del Perdon forms a noble arch, richly ornamented, and divided into two smaller arches by a column surmounted by the figure of Christ, above which are the Twelve Apostles. Above these again is a relief in the Renaissance style representing the gift of the Chasuble to San Ildefonso. The smaller doors are in single arches, and are sculptured with statues of angels and patriarchs. The Puerta de los Escribános is so called because through it the notaries enter the church to take their oaths. It is also called the Puerta del Juicio. Above it is a long inscription commemorating the taking of Granada and the expulsion of the Jews. Above the portals the façade is adorned with a colossal sculpture of the Last Supper, the Saviour and the Apostles being seated each in a niche, and the table reaching from buttress to buttress. The façade is pierced with a beautiful rose-window thirty feet across with a glazed arcade beneath.
On the south side are the Puertas Llana and de los Leones. The former in the classic style, was made by Ignacio Haám in 1800. The Puerta de los Leones gives access to the transept, and is a magnificent Gothic work, erected in 1460 by the Fleming, de Egas, and ornamented by Juan Alemán. The sculpture of the portal is perfect. The six columns of the atrium are surmounted by six lions holding shields. Here are the famous bronze doors, wrought by Villalpando and Ruy Diaz del Corral in 1545. The wood-carving and decoration employed a great many masters, among whom may be mentioned Velasco, Troyas, and the two Copins. Between them was divided the sum of 68,672 maravedis. At the opposite or northern end of the transept is the Puerta del Reloj, dating from the beginning of the fifteenth century, and so named from the clock above it. The door is of bronze and above it is a fine rose-window of about the same period. It is considered by Street the best example of stained glass now remaining in the Cathedral. West of this, the Puerta de Santa Catalina leads into the eastern cloister. The decoration is profuse. St. Catharine, and the instruments of her martyrdom, are shown, with the arms of Spain and the Tenorio family. The Puerta de la Presentacion, also leading into the cloister, is in the Renaissance style, and dates from 1565. Pedro Castañeda, Juan Vasquez, Torribio Rodriguez, Juan Manzano, and Andrés Hernandez are named as the designers of this very fine portal. The cloisters are entered from the west side next to the tower, by the Puerta del Mollete, so called because molletes or rolls were or are distributed to the poor here.
The chapel and cloister of San Bias on the north side of the cloisters are the most important additions made to the structure in the fifteenth century. The chapel contains the monument of the founder, Cardinal Tenorio, and “in the cloister walls,” says Street, “a door which, in the capricious cusping and crocketing of its traceried work, illustrates the extremes into which Spanish architects of this age ran in their elaboration of detail and affectation of novelty.”
THE DECLINE OF THE CITY
Toledo, up till then hardly distinguished for its loyalty to the Crown, loved Isabel the Catholic, and on her account, perhaps, rendered obedience to her Aragonese husband. The Catholic sovereigns liked the city, and generally held their Court there. The magnificent Cardinal Mendoza was the prime mover in the expedition against Granada, and planted the Cross on the summit of the Alhambra. The power of the primacy was in no way diminished by the consolidation of the monarchy, and Toledo still looked rather to its archbishop than to its king for guidance and governance. Under Ferdinand and Isabel it prospered exceedingly. The arts of peace were studied, industries flourished, and the more adventurous and restless spirits found an outlet for their energies in colonial enterprises beyond the seas instead of cutting each other’s throats in the byways of the city. Toledo became courtly and urbane. The luckless princess, Juana, was born at the Alcazar in 1479; and here the Infanta Isabel was married on April 29, 1498, to the King of Portugal. Only a few months later her corpse was brought hither from Zaragoza, to be laid in the convent of Santa Isabel.