Whether we read a page of Cervantes, or gaze on one of Velasquez's faces, or wander through one of the grand cathedrals of Spain, we realize that this great world-empire has never ceased to exist in matters of art, but still in the twentieth century must rouse our wonder and admiration. In barren deserts, on parched and lonely plains, amid hovels crumbling to decay, still stand the monuments of Spain's greatness. But if nowhere else in the world can one find such glorious works of art surrounded by such squalor, let us draw from the past the promise of a revival in Spain of all that constitutes the true greatness of a nation. In the fourth century, Bishop Hosius of Cordova was, from every point of view, the first living churchman—Cordova itself became, under the Ammeyad Caliphs in the tenth century, the most civilized, the most learned, and the loveliest capital in Europe. Three hundred years later, Alfonso X of Castile was not only a distinguished linguist and poet, but the greatest astronomer and lawgiver of his age. When the Spanish people have once more made education as general as it was under the accomplished Arabs, and adopted the division of power insisted on in a letter from Bishop Hosius to the Emperor Constantius, "Leave ecclesiastical affairs alone.... We are not allowed to rule the earth," they will take the rank their character and genius deserve among the nations. Their cathedrals will then stand in an environment befitting their grandeur, a society which will help them to transmit to coming generations the noblest, imperishable hopes of humanity.
John Allyne Gade.
New York City.
CONTENTS
| [I.] | Salamanca | [1] |
| [II.] | Burgos | [31] |
| [III.] | Avila | [65] |
| [IV.] | Leon | [89] |
| [V.] | Toledo | [119] |
| [VI.] | Segovia | [165] |
| [VII.] | Seville | [189] |
| [VIII.] | Granada | [237] |
| Books Consulted | [267] | |
| Index | [269] |
ILLUSTRATIONS
| New Cathedral of Salamanca ([page 24]) | [Frontispiece] |
| Cathedrals of Salamanca: The towers of the old and new buildings | [3] |
| Cathedrals of Salamanca: Plans | [6] |
| Threshing Outside the Walls of Salamanca | [10] |
| Cathedral of Salamanca: The Tower of the Cock | [16] |
| Salamanca: From the Vega | [28] |
| Cathedral of Burgos: West front | [33] |
| Cathedral of Burgos: Plan | [36] |
| Cathedral of Burgos: View of the nave | [40] |
| Cathedral of Burgos: Lantern over the crossing | [46] |
| Cathedral of Burgos: The Golden Staircase | [50] |
| Cathedral of Burgos: The Chapel of the Constable | [54] |
| Cathedral of Burgos: The spires above the house-tops | [58] |
| Cathedral of Avila | [67] |
| Cathedral of Avila: Plan | [68] |
| Cathedral of Avila: Exterior of the apse turret | [72] |
| Avila: From outside the walls | [80] |
| Cathedral of Avila: Main entrance | [86] |
| Cathedral of Leon: From the southwest | [91] |
| Cathedral of Leon: Plan | [94] |
| Cathedral of Leon: Looking up the nave | [98] |
| Cathedral of Leon: Rear of apse | [104] |
| Cathedral of Toledo | [121] |
| Cathedral of Toledo: Plan | [124] |
| Cathedral of Toledo: The choir stalls | [140] |
| Cathedral of Toledo: Chapel of Santiago, tombs of Alvaro de Luna and his spouse | [158] |
| Cathedral of Segovia | [167] |
| Cathedral of Segovia: Plan | [170] |
| Cathedral of Segovia: From the Plaza | [176] |
| Cathedral of Seville: The Giralda, from the Orange Tree Court | [191] |
| Cathedral of Seville: Plan | [194] |
| Cathedral of Seville: Gateway of Perdon in the Orange Tree Court | [210] |
| Cathedral of Seville and the Giralda | [228] |
| Cathedral of Granada: West front | [239] |
| Cathedral of Granada: Plan | [242] |
| Cathedral of Granada: The exterior cornices of the Royal Chapel | [248] |
| Cathedral of Granada: The reja enclosing the Royal Chapel and tombs of the Catholic Kings | [256] |
| Cathedral of Granada: The tombs of the Catholic Kings, of Philip and of Queen Juana | [262] |