regal sway, and vivid with traces of Oriental voluptuousness, everything
speaks and breathes of the glorious days of Granada when under the
dominion of the Crescent. In the proudest days of Moslem domination,
the Abencerrages were the soul of everything noble and chivalrous. The
veterans of the family, who sat in the royal Council, were the foremost
to devise those heroic enterprises which carried dismay into the
territories of the Christian; and what the sages of the family devised,
the young men of the name were prompt to execute. In all services of
hazard, in all adventurous forays, the Abencerrages were sure to win the
brightest laurels. In those noble recreations, too, which bear so close
an affinity to war, still the Abencerrages carried off the palm. None
could equal them in splendour of array, in gallantry of device, or in
their noble bearing and glorious horsemanship. Their open-handed
munificence made them the idols of the populace, while their lofty
magnanimity and perfect faith gained them golden opinions from the
generous and high-minded; the “word of an Abencerrage” was a guarantee
that never admitted doubt.
The main facts connected with the fate of the chieftains of that
generous but devoted race seem to have been ascertained, leaving little
doubt of this hall having been the scene of their calamitous end. Alas!
that boudoirs made for love and life should witness scenes of hatred and
of death; and let none presume to “peep and botanize” over-much, for
nothing is more certain than that heroic blood can never be effaced,
still less if shed in most unnatural murder. Nor, according to Lady
Macbeth, will “all the perfumes of Arabia” serve to sweeten the foul
deed. The blood at least is genuine to all intentions of romance as that
of “the gentle Lutenist” at Holyrood, or of Becket at the shrine of
Canterbury. It behoves us to beware of those dull people who, deprived
of imagination, pretend to judgment; and who would abolish the midsummer
fairies, or proscribe old Æsop; there is no faith in them.
All who visit the Alhambra are sure to make for the fountain
[Illustration: HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES (BENI CERRAJ).]
where the Abencerrages were beheaded, the more credulous looking with
interest upon the natural reddish-brown veins of the marble, which are
supposed to be indelible blood-stains. It is said that Boabdil resolved
upon the extirpation of the noble family of the Abencerrages in
consequence of the alleged discovery of an intrigue, including a false
charge of infidelity against his gentle queen, and directed the
decapitation of thirty-six of
[Illustration: MOSAIC--HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES.]
them in this Hall. The story has passed into ballads, dramas, and
romances, until it has grown too strong to be eradicated. Boabdil,
however, was of a mild and amiable character, if wavering and
irresolute; and too gracious to have ordered so inhuman a massacre as
the execution of thirty-six of not only a gallant, but a powerful and
numerous family, with many friends. The truth is, it was Boabdil’s
father, Muley-Abu-l-Hasen, represented by both Christian and Arabian
chroniclers as of a cruel and ferocious nature, who unjustly put to
death some cavaliers of the illustrious line upon suspicion of their
being engaged in a conspiracy to dispossess him.
It so happens that the fame of Boabdil the Unlucky can be cleared of
such infamy as the wholesale massacre of the Abencerrages through direct
evidence afforded by a contemporary Hispano-Moresque ballad, “_Ay de mi
Alhama!_” written in 1482, and which Lord Byron has made familiar by his
version, “_A very mournful Ballad on the siege and conquest of Alhama._”
The fact that Muley-Abu-l-Hasen in vain invested the castle and town of
Alhama[11] after its capture by the Marquis of Cadiz, and the direct
reference in the ballad to its loss, ascribed to the wrath of Allah at
the wickedness of the King, clearly exonerates Boabdil from the crime of
his father.
* * * * *
“By thee were slain, in evil hour,
The Abencerrage, Granada’s flower;
And strangers were received by thee
Of Córdova the Chivalry.
Woe is me, Alhama!
“And for this, oh king! is sent
On thee a double chastisement:
Thee and thine, thy crown and realm,
One last wreck shall overwhelm.
Woe is me, Alhama!”
* * * * *
With the loss of the two “Keys” to Granada--Loja and Alhama--both being
forthwith heavily garrisoned by the
[Illustration: HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES.]
[Illustration: WOODEN DOOR, HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES.]
[Illustration: PLATE IX.
No. 10.
Ornament over arches at the entrance to the Court of the Lions.]
[Illustration: PLATE X.
No. 11.
Ornament on the walls, Hall of the Abencerrages.]
[Illustration: PLATE XI.
No. 12.
Ornament in panels on the walls, Court of the Mosque.]
[Illustration: PLATE XII.
No. 13.
Spandril of an arch of window, Hall of the Ambassadors.]
[Illustration: PLATE XIII.
No. 14.
Brackets supporting ceiling of the portico, Court of the Lions.]
[Illustration: PLATE XIV.
No. 15.
Small panel in jamb of a window, Hall of the Ambassadors.]
[Illustration: PLATE XV.
No. 16.
Small panel in jamb of a window, Hall of the Ambassadors.]
[Illustration: PLATE XVI.
No. 17.
Small panel in jamb of a window, Hall of the Two Sisters.]
[Illustration: HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]
[Illustration: INTERIOR VIEW, TAKEN FROM THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]
[Illustration: CEILING OF THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]
[Illustration: HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES.]
[Illustration: HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES.]
[Illustration: CEILING OF THE HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES.]
[Illustration: MOSAIC, FROM A FRAGMENT IN THE ALHAMBRA.]
[Illustration: MOSAIC, NORTH SIDE OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
[Illustration: CHIEF GATE OF THE ALHAMBRA.]
[Illustration: PLATE XVII.
No. 18.
Panel in the upper chamber of the House of Sanchez.]
[Illustration: PLATE XVIII.
No. 19.
Soffit of great arch at the entrance of the Court of the Fishpond.]
[Illustration: PLATE XIX.
No. 20.
Spandril from niche of doorway at the entrance of the Hall of
Ambassadors, from the Sala de la Barca.]
[Illustration: PLATE XX.
No. 21.
Lintel of a doorway, Court of the Mosque.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXI.
No. 22.
No. 23.
Capital of Columns, Court of the Lions.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXII.
No. 24.
No. 25.
Capital of Columns, Court of the Lions.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXIII.
No. 26.
NO. 27.
Capital of Columns, Court of Fishpond.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXIV.
No. 28.
No. 29.
No. 30.
No. 31.
No. 32.
No. 33.
Ornament on the Walls of the windows of “Lindaraja’s” Balcony.]
[Illustration: TRANSVERSAL SECTION OF THE ALHAMBRA.]
[Illustration: SECTION SHOWING HEIGHTS]
[Illustration: OF THE ALHAMBRA.]
[Illustration: ELEVATION OF THE “WINE GATE.”]
[Illustration: THE GATE OF JUDGMENT.]
[Illustration: PORCH OF THE GATE OF JUDGMENT.]
[Illustration: A SECTION OF THE GATE OF JUDGMENT.]
[Illustration: INTERIOR PERSPECTIVE OF THE ALHAMBRA.]
[Illustration: VIEW OF THE ACQUEDUCT, NEAR THE ALHAMBRA.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXV.
Details of an Arch, Portico of the Court of Lions.
Spandril of the opposite side of Arch.
No. 34.
Court of The Lions.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXVI.
No. 35.
Capitals in the Hall of Two Sisters.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXVII.
Section on the line A.B.
Plan of the Pendants in the Angle.
No. 36.
Details of the Great Arches in the Hall of the Bark.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXVIII.
No. 37.
4, 5. Arches, Court of The Lions.
1, 2, 3, 6. Arches, Hall of Justice.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXIX.
No. 38.
Details of The Great Arches.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXX.
No. 39.
1. Hall of Ambassadors.
2. Court of The Fish Pond.
3. Hall of The Bark.
4. Hall of The Two Sisters.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXI.
No. 40.
Detail of an Arch, Court of The Fish Pond.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXII.
No. 41.
Detail of an Arch, Portico of The Court of Lions.]
[Illustration: A VIEW OF THE ALHAMBRA FROM THE ALBAYCIN.]
[Illustration: GATE OF JUSTICE.]
Christians, the reduction of the last stronghold of the Moors became
only a question of time. As we know, the surrender of Granada took place
within four years after the fall of Loja.
But it is not the history of the Dominion and Expulsion, so much as the
description of the Hall of the Abencerrages, that demands attention at
present.
After the glories of the _Sala de las Dos Hermanas_, the Hall of the
Abencerrages, elegant as it is, pales somewhat in interest. There are
but few inscriptions here. It has been repeatedly “restored,” and much
of the ornament which decorates the walls seems to have been transferred
from the Hall of The Two Sisters. The arches, however, appear in their
original state, and are most beautiful in general form, as in their
surface decoration. The manner in which the arch-form gradually grows
out from the shaft of the column is exquisite. In the centre of the Hall
is the famous “Fountain,” with the waters of which the blood of the
Abencerrage chieftains is said to have mingled.
The beautiful wooden doors to the Hall of the Abencerrages existed in
their places, and in perfect condition till the summer of 1837, when
they were removed and sawn in halves by the then resident Governor of
the Alhambra for the purpose of stopping a gap in another part of the
Palace; and, as they proved too large for the openings to which they
were applied, the superfluous parts were broken up for firewood!
The doors are of white wood, with similar mouldings and ornaments on
either side; the decorations were originally in colour, traces of which
may still be discovered. The folding doors are hung on pivots, which are
let into the socket of a marble slab below, and above into the soffit of
a beam which crosses the colonnade of the Court of the Lions. This
method of hanging the doors is precisely similar to that adopted in
ancient temples, and is still practised throughout the East. The manner
in which the bolt secures, at the same time, both flaps of the larger
doors and the wicket, is full of ingenuity.
Don Rafaél Contreras caused these doors, or what remained of them, to be
replaced in the position for which they were originally intended. He
found the fragments amid the lumber of the palace! His own words are:
“Nous l’avons restaurée en 1856, l’ayant trouvé _brisée en quatre
morceaux, abandonnée dans les magasins du palais_”--They were found,
broken into four pieces, in the lumber rooms of the palace.
PATIO DE LA ALBERCA--THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND.
This Court was called in former times _Patio de los Arrayanes_--the
Court of the Myrtles--by reason of its beautiful flowering shrubs which
gem either side of the Fishpond; trim myrtle hedges, and orange trees
rising beside the water.
To enter the Court of the Fish-pond is to be straightway translated to
the palace of Haroun-al-raschid: Granada changes to Damascus. The
Moorish arches, springing from slender palm-tree shafts, are of
bewildering beauty; the walls, no longer forbidding blocks of stone, but
pierced trellises, that turn sunlight and moonlight into patterns
resembling so much Venetian filigree. “Surely they are needle-work
turned to stone,” says a traveller of long ago; “or some great Sultán
has built them with panels cut from caskets of Indian ivory, though the
piecing be not seen. The myrtles grow green and glossy round the great
marble tank, 150 feet long, which flows with mellow water, in which
burnished fish--some apparently red-hot, others of molten silver--steer,
flirt, skim, and splash. Never stop to think that the dry, whity-brown,
tubular-tiled, sloping roofs
[Illustration: NORTH SIDE OF THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND.]
[Illustration: ELEVATION OF AN ALCOVE IN THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND.]
[Illustration: ELEVATION OF THE ARCADE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE COURT OF
THE FISH-POND.]
[Illustration: SECTION THROUGH PART OF THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND]
[Illustration: AND THE HALL OF THE AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: THE BATHS, HALL OF REPOSE.]
EXPLANATION OF THE LETTERS OF REFERENCE IN THIS PLATE.
A A A. Entrances to the quarter of the Palace containing the baths.
B B B B B B. Passages communicating with the different apartments
and baths.
C C. Apartments, looking into.
D D. A Court with a fountain in its centre.
E E Baths and dressing-rooms.
F F F. Warm baths.
G G G. The place where the water was heated. The copper vessels
anciently employed for this purpose were sold many years ago by the
then Governor of the Alhambra for the sum of 14,000 reals, about
£350 sterling. From these coppers, the warm water was conducted
between the walls to the different baths by means of pipes
communicating with them, and which are distinctly shown by the
white line.
I I I I I I. Other baths and apartments. The lines _a_ _a_ _a_ _a_
_a_ _a_ _a_ _a_ _a_ _a_ _a_ designate steps by which the bathers
descended into the water.
K. The great Hall of the Baths.
[Illustration: GROUND PLAN OF THE BATHS IN THE ALHAMBRA.]
[Illustration: SECTION OF THE HALL OF THE BATHS.]
[Illustration: A SECTION OF THE BATHS IN THE ALHAMBRA.]
[Illustration: THE SULTÁNA’S BATH.]
[Illustration: THE SULTÁN’S BATH.]
[Illustration: THE HALL OF THE BATHS.]
[Illustration: CEILING OF THE HALL OF THE BATHS.]
[Illustration: LONGITUDINAL SECTION THROUGH THE BATHS.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXIII.
No. 42.
Cornice to the roof, Court of The Mosque.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXIV.
No. 43.
Divan, Court of The Fish Pond.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXV.
No. 44.
Actual state of the Colours.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXVI.
No. 45.
Windows in the Alcove, Hall of The Two Sisters.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXVII.
No. 46.
The Vase.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXVIII.
No. 47.
Details of one of the Arches, Hall of Justice.]
[Illustration: PLATE XXXIX.
No. 48.
Details of the Arches, Hall of the Abencerrages.]
[Illustration: PLATE XL.
No. 49.
Centre Painting on the Ceiling, Hall of Justice.]
[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR, OF THE MYRTLES.]
[Illustration: GALLERY, THE COURT OF THE MYRTLES.]
[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR, OF THE MYRTLES.]
[Illustration: DETAILS OF THE GALLERY IN THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR,
OF THE MYRTLES.]
[Illustration: COURT OF THE FISH-POND.]
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND.]
[Illustration: ORNAMENT IN THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND.]
ought to be flat, and are not now Moorish; do not pause to imagine the
pierced marble balustrade that once walled-in this bathing-place of the
dark-skinned people; nor picture glowing Bathsebas--Rubens’ group of
floating, and laughing Sultánas, with female black slaves watching their
gambols from under the shady portico. Air and water are the perpetual
treasures of this place, and I tasted them both gratefully as I strode
under the pointed arches, away from the burning lashes of the sun that
drove me under cover.”
[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR, OF THE MYRTLES.]
The transverse section of the Court, looking towards the palace of
Charles V. (see p. 356), forms a beautiful arcade: the slender columns
which support the arches would appear unequal to their superincumbent
weight were not the spandrils lightened by perforations. The
construction of these arches is remarkable for its simplicity. Over the
columns, which are of white marble, are built brick piers, and the
spandrils of the arches are filled in with tiles placed diagonally. To
these are attached perforated plaster ornaments, which give a
singularly light and elegant appearance to the arches, and at the same
time, by freely admitting currents of air, distribute a delicious
coolness through the Courts.
It will be observed that the ornaments in plaster, with which the walls
of the Court of the Fish-pond are covered, are in a better state of
preservation than similar decorations in other parts of the Palace.
The windows over the entrance doorway are formed of ribs of plaster, and
it is thought that these were once filled with stained glass. No traces
of such glazing can now be discovered; the conjecture seems to have
arisen from the fact that a wall here, next the Hall of Ambassadors, has
similar blank windows in which small spaces are painted of various
colours. Between the windows, and at the angles, are four escutcheons of
the Kings of Granada with the oft-repeated motto: “There is no Conqueror
but God;” the whole being enclosed within a cipher, formed by the word
signifying “Grace” written twice in Cufic characters, and so interwoven
that it may be read from right to left, and from left to right. On the
ribs of the window is the word signifying “Blessing,” in Cufic
characters, with this peculiarity, that the first two letters are
enclosed within a cipher formed by the two last. This device also is so
ingeniously written that the word may be read both ways. On six
escutcheons, at the sides, the word signifying “Blessing” is treated in
the same skilful manner.
Immediately over the Mosaic under the gallery is an inscription of
twelve verses in African characters, full of Oriental hyperbole, but
perhaps inferior in composition to those already selected from the Hall
of The Two Sisters.
Under the galleries, at the north and south ends of the Court, are four
recesses, profusely ornamented, elaborate, and
[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND.]
beautiful; well preserved, and retaining much of their original colour.
From amongst the inscriptions of the Court of the Fish-pond it may be
permitted to print two or three:
“Go and tell true believers that Divine help and ready victory are
reserved for them. (From the sixty-first chapter of the Koràn).
“I am like the nuptial array of a bride, endowed with every beauty and
perfection.
“Truly, Ibn Nasr is the sun, shining in splendour;
“May he continue in the noon-tide of his glory even unto the period of
his decline.”
[Illustration: GALLERY IN THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR, OF THE
MYRTLES.]
In the Court of the Fish-pond is an arch which differs in character from
all others existing in the Alhambra: it has the peculiarity of
presenting one surface only of decoration, with a principal or guiding
figure made out by colours. The ornaments bear a much nearer resemblance
to natural forms than in other parts of the Palace; and the whole arch
has more of the Persian character of decoration.
PATIO DE LOS LEONES--THE COURT OF THE LIONS.
“From the lower end of the Court of the Alberca,” says Irving, “we
passed through a Moorish archway into the renowned Court of Lions.
There is no part of the edifice that
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
gives a more complete idea of its original beauty and magnificence, for
not any portion has suffered so little from the ravages of time. In the
centre stands the fountain famous in song and story. The alabaster
basins still shed their diamond drops; and the twelve lions which
support them cast forth their crystal streams as in the days of Boabdil.
When one looks upon the fairy tracery of the peristyles, and the
apparently fragile fret-work of the walls, it is difficult to believe
that so much has survived the wear and tear of centuries, the shocks of
earthquake, the violence of war, and the quiet, though no less baneful,
pilferings of the tasteful traveller: it is almost sufficient to excuse
the popular tradition, that the whole is protected by a magic charm.”
[Illustration: MOSAIC, SOUTH SIDE OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
The Court of the Lions, takes its name from the fountain in the centre
supported by twelve sculptured lions. The Court is a parallelogram of
100 feet by 50 feet, and is surrounded by a portico, with small
pavilions at either end. The portico and pavilions consist of 128
columns, supporting arches of the most delicate and elaborate
construction, which still retain much of their original beauty. The
irregularity in the arrangement of the
[Illustration: FOUNTAIN AND EAST TEMPLE IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
columns, which are placed sometimes singly, and sometimes in pairs, does
not detract from the general harmony; but, on the contrary, a charming
effect is produced by this capricious departure from uniformity. The
capitals, though similar in outline, offer a great variety in their
foliage; and though the same design is more than once repeated in this
Court, no attempt appears to have been made towards a symmetrical
arrangement.
The ceiling of the portico is decorated in the most complex manner, the
stucco being laid on with inimitable delicacy--it is so cunningly
handled as to exceed belief.
The walls are covered, to a height of five feet, with tiles of blue and
yellow chequy, with a border of small escutcheons enamelled blue and
gold, bearing an Arabic motto on a Bend.
[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
About each arch is arabesque work, surrounded with a rim of characters,
consisting, for the most part, of verses from the Koràn. Unhappily, a
modern roof of red tiles disfigures this beautiful Court, which is the
most highly-prized fountain-court in the Palace.
In the centre of the Court are the twelve marble lions, conventionally
treated. Supported on the backs of the animals is the beautiful basin of
the fountain--in form, a dodecagon--out of which rises a lesser basin. A
large volume of water falling into
[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
the basins, once issued from the mouths of the lions to a large
reservoir, whence it was conveyed to the apartments of the Palace.
Notwithstanding that these lions exhibit the want of development in the
art of sculpture amongst the Arabs, they yet possess a spirited, if
primitive, grace.
The inscription around the basin has been variously given: the rendering
of Pascual de Gayángos is regarded as the most
[Illustration: LITTLE TEMPLE IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
[Illustration: FOUNTAIN IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
authoritative. The verses, which may, perhaps, consist of twelve or so,
are couched in the usual double-shotted language of the Oriental. Two or
three are subjoined:
“Blessed be He who gave the Imam Mohammed a mansion which in beauty
excels all other mansions.
“Look at this solid mass of pearl glistening all around, which falls
within a circle of silvery froth, and then flows amidst translucent
jewels of surpassing loveliness; exceeding the marble in whiteness, and
the alabaster in transparency.
“O thou who beholdest these lions couching, fear not; _life is wanting
to enable them to show their fury_.”
The salutary warning here given irresistibly reminds one of “the
shallowest thick-skin of that barren sort” with whom the mad spirit,
Robin Goodfellow, made such frolic--the immortal
[Illustration: A LITTLE TEMPLE IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
[Illustration: A PEEP INTO THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
Athenian weaver, who opines--“To bring in--God shield us!--a lion among
ladies is a most dreadful thing; for there is not a more fearful
wild-fowl than your lion living.” Yet the admonition may not have been
altogether superfluous amongst the beauties of the hareem, who seldom
contemplated graven images. It must not be forgotten, moreover, that the
Mohammedans of Spain were somewhat lax in the matter of obedience to
certain precepts of the Koràn.
[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]
[Illustration: PLATE XLI.
Centre Ornament of the Window.
Dado.
Dado.
Pilaster.
Pilasters.
No. 50.
Mosaic Dado in centre window on the N. side, Hall of Ambassadors.
The recess or divan containing these beautiful Mosaics was, doubtless,
the throne of the Moorish kings. The Mosaics are as perfect as when
originally executed, and seem, indeed, to be imperishable. They are
formed of baked clay squeezed into moulds of the different figures,
glazed on the surface.]
[Illustration: PLATE XLII.
No. 51.
Mosaic Dados on pillars between the windows, Hall of Ambassadors.
The Mosaic Dados on the pillars of the Hall of Ambassadors present a
great variety in their patterns, although the component parts are in
each the same.]
[Illustration: PLATE XLIV.
Lining of one of the columns.
Pilaster.
Dado.
Dado.
Dado.
No. 53.
Mosaics in the Hall of the Two Sisters.
The beautiful Mosaic in the centre of this plate is part of the Dado of
the Hall of the Two Sisters.]
[Illustration: PLATE XLV.
Pavement of the Hall of the Baths.
No. 54.
Mosaic Dado round the internal walls of the Mosque.
Mosaics from the Mosque and the Hall of the Baths. The Mosaic Dados
round the walls of the Mosque appear to be the only portions of the
ancient private Mosque attached to the Palace which have been preserved
intact in their original situation. The motto of the Kings of Granada,
“_There is no conqueror but God_,” was replaced by “_Nec plus ultra_” of
Charles V., when the Mosque was converted by him into a chapel. The
beautiful Mosaic at the top of the plate is placed round the fountain of
the Chamber of Repose of the Baths, described elsewhere.]
[Illustration: PLATE XLVI.
No. 55.