Had framed a spell, when the work was done,
And changed the willow wreaths to stone.”
The convent has been sequestered, and the Gothic refectory of the friars is now the public museum. Near by was the palace of Cardinal Ximenes, who was a member of the Franciscan Order.
To say nothing about the swords of Toledo would be almost like leaving the hero out of the play. Spanish weapons have been renowned from ancient times. Titus Livius and Martial mention them. Cicero alludes to the pugiunculus Hispaniensis. Gratius Faliscus, a friend of Ovid’s, speaks, in particular, of the Cultrum Toledanum which hunters wore at their belts:
“Ima Toledano præcingunt ilia cultro.”
Swords continued to be fabricated at Toledo in the time of the Gothic kings. Their broad, two-edged swords were probably the type of the alfanjes of the Moors, which we see in the paintings in the Alhambra. The kings of Castile accorded special privileges to the corporations of espaderos, such as exemption from taxes on the steel they used. This was brought from the Basque provinces, about a mile from Mondragon.
“Vencedora espada,
De Mondragon tu acero,
Y en Toledo templada.”
—“Sword victorious, thy steel is from Mondragon, but tempered at Toledo.”