On the north-east wall of the fortress are several towers partly in
ruin, which retain traces of beautiful decorations in the interior. The
_Torre del Cautivo_ and the _Torre de las Infantas_ are the best
preserved. They appear to have formed detached habitations complete in
themselves; and from their position in this retired part of the
fortress, and the extreme beauty of the internal decorations, there can
be little doubt that they were isolated residences of favourite
Sultanás.
TORRE DEL HOMENAGE--HOMAGE TOWER.
The Homage Tower rises at the end of the _Pelota_, or Fives, Court, the
wall of which much disfigures the Place of the Cisterns. In this Homage
Tower is a Roman votive altar, embedded by the Moors in the masonry,
inscribed by “the grateful Valerius to his most indulgent wife,
Cornelia.”
TORRE DE LA AQUA--TOWER OF THE AQUEDUCT.
Close to the two Towers, _Del Candil_ and _De la Cautiva_, is the corner
Tower _De la Aqua_, where an aqueduct, stemming the ravine, supplies the
hill with water.
THE LADIES’ TOWER.
The interior of the Ladies’ Tower was formerly remarkable for an alcove
of extraordinary beauty. The Tower is isolated, and, unfortunately, a
tourist purchased it for a trifling sum. After stripping the marvellous
decoration--a masterpiece of Yúsuf I.--the aforesaid traveller
magnanimously presented the denuded carcass to the State.
THE MUSEUM.
In a chamber near to the entrance of the Court of the Lions, a
collection of Moorish remains has been brought together. A conspicuous
object is the marble sarcophagus, or tank, brought from the _Alcazába_,
with basso-relievos of animals;
[Illustration: DETAILS OF THE ENTRANCE DOOR TO THE MUSEUM OF THE
ALHAMBRA.]
among them the “deer-slaying lion,” which occurs so often in Greek art,
and, like the Mithraic daughter of the bull, may be the symbol of some
hieratic mystery, possibly the triumph of the evil principle. It is
difficult to say whether this rude
[Illustration: BAS-RELIEF, NOW IN THE MUSEUM OF THE ALHAMBRA.]
[Illustration: THE SAME SUBJECT FROM AN ENGRAVING IN MURPHY’S ARABIAN
ANTIQUITIES.]
sculpture is antique or Moorish. An Arabic inscription is carried round
the border, but this may be later than the carving; at all events, stags
are animals connected by the Orientals with the fountain--“As the hart
panteth for the water-brooks”--and the Spanish Moors, among other
departures from strict Moslem rules, did not reject either paintings or
carvings of living objects. The splendid vase, _el jarro_, has been
brought hither from the Hall of the Two Sisters, and is described at
page 76, with a plate at page 95.
PALACE OF CHARLES V.
On one side of the _Plaza de los Algibes_--Place of the
[Illustration: PALACE OF CHARLES V.]
Cisterns--is an isolated Moorish tower called _La Torre del Vino_, built
in 1345, by Yúsuf I., and remarkable for its exquisite arch, called the
“Wine Gate” (see page 133). Opposite is the large Palace begun by
Charles V., great in conception and impotent in conclusion, unfurnished
and roofless. To make way for this edifice, Charles destroyed large
portions of what the Moors had raised, tearing down whole ranges of the
Alhambra.
[Illustration: ELEVATION AND SECTION OF THE PALACE OF CHARLES V.]
[Illustration: INTERIOR, PALACE OF CHARLES V.]
[Illustration: PART OF EXTERIOR, PALACE OF CHARLES V.]
This pile of buildings, commenced for Charles V., was never finished, in
consequence of his frequent absence, occasioned by the almost perpetual
wars in which he was engaged, particularly in his efforts to suppress
the insurrections of the Moors in the Alpujarras, and elsewhere.[12] The
spot chosen for
[Illustration: ROMAN COURT, PALACE OF CHARLES V.]
the site of the Palace commands a most beautiful view of the city of
Granada, as well as its surrounding _Vega_. As a specimen of Spanish
architecture, it reflects the highest credit on Pedro Machuca, who
began it in 1526. It is, in every way, adapted to the climate; and its
interior, which, in its chief feature, takes a circular form, is
spacious and splendid. In any other situation the Palace of Charles V.
would justly excite admiration: but here it is misplaced. With all its
grandeur and architectural excellence, Washington Irving could only look
upon the structure as “an arrogant intrusion.” It is falling rapidly to
decay. The walls are crumbling, the wood-work is rotten, and the
splendid apartments--all that resulted from an intention to eclipse the
palace of the Moslem kings--are given up to bats and owls.
This projected Palace, begun in 1526, progressed slowly until 1633, and
was then abandoned. Whatever beauty there is in the Spanish Palace at
Granada, is external. On the other hand, the Moors were content with the
beauty of the interior of the Alhambra.
[Illustration: Plan of the Alhambra Palace at Granada.
_Specially drawn for Mʳ Albert F. Calvert’s book on the Alhambra, from
measurements by the late M. Jules Goury_]
[Illustration: GROUND-FLOOR PLAN OF THE ALHAMBRA, AND OF THE FOUNDATIONS
OF THE PALACE OF CHARLES V.]
[Illustration: PLAN OF THE PALACE OF CHARLES V., AND OF THE
SUBTERRANEOUS VAULTS OF THE ALHAMBRA.]
[Illustration: HALL OF JUSTICE.]
[Illustration: SUNK LINES ON THE WALLS, HALL OF JUSTICE AND COURT OF THE
LIONS.]
[Illustration: FRIEZE IN THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]
[Illustration: PANEL ON JAMBS OF DOORWAYS, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]
[Illustration: ORNAMENT IN PANELS, HALL OF THE BARQUE.]
[Illustration: ORNAMENT IN PANELS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: CORNICE OVER COLUMNS, COURT OF THE LIONS.]
[Illustration: FRIEZE OVER COLUMNS, COURT OF THE LIONS.]
[Illustration: BAND ROUND PANELS IN WINDOWS, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]
[Illustration: PANELLING IN WINDOWS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: ORNAMENT IN PANELS, COURT OF THE MOSQUE.]
[Illustration: ORNAMENTS AT THE JUNCTIONS OF INSCRIPTIONS, COURT OF THE
LIONS AND COURT OF THE FISH-POND.]
[Illustration: SUNK LINES ON THE WALLS, HOUSE OF THE COMMANDANT.]
[Illustration: ORNAMENT IN PANELS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]
[Illustration: DETAILS OF THE ORNAMENTS WHICH ARE INTRODUCED INTO THE
PAINTING OVER THE CENTRE ALCOVE OF THE HALL OF JUSTICE. THESE ORNAMENTS,
BEING OF A STRICTLY MOORISH CHARACTER, STRONGLY SUPPORT THE OPINION THAT
THE PAINTINGS ON THE CEILINGS OF THE ALCOVES OF THE HALL OF JUSTICE ARE
THE WORK OF MOORISH ARTISTS.]
[Illustration: DETAILS AND ARABIAN INSCRIPTIONS.]
[Illustration: DETAILS OF ARABIAN WORK.]
[Illustration: DETAILS, AND INSCRIPTIONS, AND ARABIAN CHAPITERS.]
[Illustration: DETAILS OF ARABIAN WORK.]
The Generalife.
The Generalife is called by the Spaniards _Cuarto Real_, signifying a
diminutive royal palace--an appanage, or “fourth part” of the Alhambra.
In point of situation, the royal villa, or “pleasaunce,” of the Moorish
Kings of Granada, is fully equal to the site chosen for the erection of
the Alhambra. It stands upon an acclivity, behind which are lovely
gardens, extensively timbered with trees of gigantic growth, where
nightingales sing themselves hoarse in shrubberies rendered luxuriant by
soft, refreshing rivulets. In the Generalife may be seen many Cufic
inscriptions: the white tiles with golden scrolls occur nowhere else.
The _Cuarto Real_ and its beautiful gardens once belonged to Dalahorra,
mother of “Muley Hasen,” and within three months of the capitulation of
Granada they were ceded to Alonzo de Valiza, prior of Santa Cruz of
Avila. Ford made an abstract of the original conveyance by which we
learn how Alonzo de Valiza took possession. “Don Alonzo entered the
garden pavilion, affirming loudly that he had made an entry; next, he
opened and shut the door, locking it, and giving the key into the
custody of one _Macafreto_, a well-known householder of Granada; he then
went into the garden, where he severed the branch of a tree and dug up
some earth with a spade, thus exercising his rights of proprietorship.”
Such was the practice of conveyancing in the time of the Moors.
A gateway of the _Cuarto Real_, called _Puerta del Pescado_, is of
Moorish origin, and has three arches.
A picturesque ravine divides the hill of the Alhambra from
the _Sierra del Sol_. Here, the approach is under a high
embowered avenue of fig trees and myrtles. The situation of
the Generalife--_Jennatu-l-’arif_--[13] “The Garden of the
Architect”--proved so entrancing to the Sultán _Isma’il-Ibn Faraj_ that
he was not at rest until he had erected this mountain villa as an abode
for the “Light of his Hareem,” a summer-house, devoted to seclusion,
pleasure, and luxury:
“When free and uncrown’d as the Conqueror rov’d
By the banks of that lake, with his only belov’d,
He saw, in the wreaths she would playfully snatch
From the hedges, a glory his crown could not match,
And preferr’d in his heart the least ringlet that curl’d
Down her exquisite neck to the throne of the world.”
_Tom Moore._
Once again the pages of the Grand Wizír _Ibnu-l-Khattíb_ furnish
testimony at first hand of transactions in which his ungrateful master,
Mohammed V., was involved, and who owed his safety to an accidental
visit to the Generalife.
A conspiracy, having for its object the dethronement of Mohammed V., and
the usurpation of his half-brother, Isma’il, succeeded only too well.
The mother of Isma’il, soon after the death of Yúsuf I., when Mohammed
had rightfully ascended the throne of Granada, created a party against
the monarch, and had attached to her faction all the discontented. The
castle of the Alhambra was surprised in August, 1359. The conspirators,
having liberated Isma’il from his place of confinement, mounted him upon
a horse and proclaimed him through
[Illustration: GROUND PLAN OF THE GENERALIFE AT GRANADA.
A. Advanced parts.
B. The Inner Gallery, commanding a view of the gardens.
C C C C. Terraces and Aqueducts.
D D D, E E. The surrounding country.]
[Illustration: THE GENERALIFE.]
the city as their Sultán. How Mohammed had the good fortune to escape is
thus set forth by his Wizír:
“At the time these events were taking place, the Sultán Mohammed was
absent from the Alhambra, having gone, together with a son of his, to
reside at a delightful country seat close to Granada, called
_Jennatu-l-’arif_, a spot well known for the luxuriance of its trees,
which never admit the rays of the sun,
[Illustration: THE GENERALIFE.]
as well as for the healthfulness of the air, which is continually
refreshed by running streams of limpid water. This garden is only
separated from the royal residence by a high and strong wall, defended
by a deep moat. In this place the Sultán was suddenly awakened by the
clatter of arms, the cries of the assailants, and the beating of drums
in the distance. Not knowing what caused the tumult, Mohammed went out
in the direction of the Alhambra; but, finding that the conspirators
occupied all the avenues, he retraced his steps, and Allah was pleased
to provide for his salvation; for, having mounted a fleet horse, which
was always kept saddled and prepared for him, he galloped off to Guadix,
where he arrived safely the same morning, and presented himself to the
governor of the castle, who was very far from suspecting what had
happened. Mohammed was immediately waited upon by the chief inhabitants
of the place who all swore to protect him, so that he not only reigned
undisturbed over Guadix and its immediate neighbourhood, but soon found
himself at the head of devoted followers who hastened to him from all
parts.”
Meanwhile, his brother, the usurper, despatched an embassy to the King
of Castile, offering to renew the treaty of peace then existing between
the two countries. The Castilian King (Pedro I.), happening then to be
at war with the people of Barcelona, readily assented to the proposal,
and ratified the usurper’s occupation of Granada. Isma’il, however, did
not long enjoy the power he had seized. He was besieged in the Alhambra
by Abú ’Abdillah, afterwards Mohammed VI., taken prisoner, and put to
death, together with his brother, Kayes, in 1360.
The history of the dethroned king, Mohammed V., is particularly
interesting for the reason that he it was who put the finishing touches
to the decoration of the Alhambra, after the work was interrupted by the
assassination of his father, Yúsuf I.
Immediately upon the death of Isma’il, Mohammed VI. was proclaimed king,
and reigned for about two years, at the end of which period, seeing
himself pressed on the one side by the rightful sovereign who burned to
revenge the outrage done to him and recover the throne of his ancestors;
and harassed, on the other hand, by Pedro, King of Castile; he formed
the strange
[Illustration: A VIEW OF THE ROYAL VILLA OF THE GENERALIFE AT GRANADA.]
[Illustration: TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE ROYAL VILLA OF THE GENERALIFE
AT GRANADA.]
resolution of throwing himself upon the protection of the latter, and
repairing to his Court. “He might just as well,” says the Wizír, “have
thrown himself into the jaws of a hungry tiger thirsting for blood, for
no sooner had the infidel dog cast his eyes on the countless treasures
which Mohammed and his chiefs had brought with them, than he conceived
the wicked design of murdering them and appropriating their riches; on
the second day of Rejeb, 763 (April 27, A.D. 1362) he was put to death
with all his followers, at a place called Tablada, close to Seville.”
But to return to the dethroned Sultán, Mohammed V., whose history is
highly romantic.
The people of Guadix continued their allegiance, protected his person,
and swore to devote their lives to his cause. Pedro was but lukewarm in
his behalf; and Mohammed, obtaining only vague promises from the
Christian King, crossed over to Fez at the invitation of the Sultán of
Western Africa (_Ibnu-l-Khattíb_, in his life of Mohammed V., gives the
details of
[Illustration: THE GENERALIFE.]
this journey), and made a public entrance into Fez, where he was
received with every mark of distinction.
After a long sojourn with the Sultán, Mohammed returned to Andalus in
great state with a large number of followers, his adherents greatly
increasing on his arrival at Guadix. All ranks flocked to his standard,
the presence of the long-absent and popular sovereign infusing new
vigour amongst the troops. The whole of the _Gharbia_, or Western
districts, submitted to him. He was then enabled to take Malaga and to
march upon Granada, which surrendered without opposition, and he thus
saw himself once again in possession of his dominions. His triumphant
entry into Granada took place April 6th, A.D. 1362, immediately before
the death of the usurper, Mohammed VI., at the hands of King Pedro.
Mohammed V. reigned until the year 1391, when he was succeeded by his
son, Yúsuf II.
* * * * *
To reach the summer resort of the Moorish Kings from the Alhambra, the
better way is to leave the Palace by the _Torre del Picos_--Tower of the
Peaks, or minarets--and thus approach the tall white towers and long
arcades of the Generalife. To wander amidst its gardens and groves in
the most sultry season is to enjoy a still more breezy region than that
of the Alhambra.
The Generalife is a confluence of waters: the canal of the Darro empties
its full virgin stream, and at times boils under evergreen arches
through the Acequia Court.[14] In contemplation of its beauty, the
present is forgotten in the past; old-world echoes still reverberate
through the bemyrtled Courts, where the many flowers which enamel its
terraces and aqueducts tranquilly attest that once a garden smiled:
“Cypress and ivy, weed and wall-flower grown
Matted and mass’d together, hillocks heap’d
On what were chambers, arch crush’d, column strown
In fragments, chok’d up vaults, and frescos steep’d
In subterranean damps, where the owl peep’d,
Deeming it midnight: Temples, baths, or halls?
Pronounce who can; for all that Learning reap’d
From her research hath been, that these are walls--”
_Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage_, Canto IV.
[Illustration: GARDEN OF THE GENERALIFE.]
[Illustration: PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE GARDEN OF THE GENERALIFE.]
[Illustration: ELEVATION AND GROUND PLAN OF THE PORTICO OF THE
GENERALIFE.]
What is pointed out as “the trysting place of the Sultána,” is a grove
of cypress trees, enormous in their proportions, and old as the Moors
themselves. The beautiful Zoraya, surnamed “The Morning Star,” to whom
reference has been already made, is said to have been discovered under
their spreading branches with her lover, the Abencerrage, but this is a
calumny of the _Romanceros_, and they are false witnesses. The tradition
is, but with little to substantiate it, that the Sultána was condemned
to be burnt alive, if,
[Illustration: MOSAIC, PORTICO OF THE GENERALIFE.]
within thirty days, she did not produce four knights to defend her cause
against her four accusers. The fatal day arrived; no knights appeared,
when, just at the supreme moment, there came upon the scene Don Juan de
Chacon, Lord of Carthagena (whom she had implored to become her
champion) accompanied by three other Christian knights, all in Saracenic
armour. They fought and conquered, and the last of the conspirators,
with his dying breath, confessed his invention of the false charge
against the Abencerrage and the innocent Sultána.
The reader who is desirous of perusing the circumstantial narrative of
this supposed transaction may be referred to the late Mr. Henry
Swinburne’s account in his _Travels in Spain_, while Mr. Peyron, in his
_Essays on Spain_, has given a translation of an Arabian document
purporting to be an official report concerning it.
Upon the naked summit of the height above the Generalife are some
shapeless ruins, known as the _Silla del Moro_--the seat of the
Moor--said to have been a point of observation of Boabdil, the Unlucky,
while an insurrection was raging in the city below. An apocryphal
portrait of Boabdil, _El Rey Chico_, hangs in the picture gallery of the
Generalife. The face is mild, handsome, and somewhat melancholy, with a
fair complexion and yellow hair. Other indifferent paintings are to be
seen in the gallery, including those of Ferdinand and Isabella. The
genealogical tree of the Marquis of Campotejar of the Grimalda Gentili
family, better known as Pallavicini, of Genoa, is exhibited in the
picture gallery. The villa now belongs to the Marquis, who, being an
absentee, has placed the palace under the care of an _administrador_.
The founder of the Grimaldi family was one Cidi Aya, a Moorish prince,
who was of service to Ferdinand on the expulsion of the Moors, at which
time he became a Christian knight under the name of Don Pedro. His son,
Don Aixa, is represented in the pedigree hanging in the picture gallery,
trampling, like a renegade, on the ensigns of his ancestors. An enormous
weapon, traditionally known as “The Sword of Boabdil,” having a
beautifully enamelled sheath enriched with gold and silver work, is
preserved in the office of the Italian Consulate at Granada.
The decorations of the Generalife are in no respect inferior to those of
the Alhambra; the wood-work is of _nogal_, or Spanish chestnut, and,
where it has not been wantonly injured, is in its original condition. It
is thought that the Moors preserved their wood-work by coating it with a
substance called
[Illustration: FRONT VIEW OF THE PORTICO OF THE GENERALIFE.]
[Illustration: A CEILING IN THE GENERALIFE.]
[Illustration: THE GENERALIFE.
ENTRANCE TO THE GALLERY OF RETRATOS (PORTRAIT GALLERY).]
[Illustration: THE GENERALIFE.
GALLERY IN THE ACEQUIA COURT.]
_colle_ and _almaqu_, _i.e._, size mixed with a reddish earth, and
rendered obnoxious to insects. The black lines which ornament the
wood-work are believed to have been traced with a hot iron.
[Illustration: GALLERY IN THE GENERALIFE.]
Nothing can exceed the symmetry of the Portico of the Generalife. The
columns are of white marble, surmounted by arches and arabesques. The
inscription, many times repeated, and running along the whole front of
the Portico, is that which occurs so frequently in the Alhambra, “There
is no conqueror but God.” The dado has a very rich effect, the colours
being black, blue, gold, scarlet, and green.
The transverse section of the Royal Villa, shown in the plate at p. 411,
gives an idea of the beauty of the interior decorations. The ceiling of
the chief apartment is a _chef-d’œuvre_ of Arabian workmanship; the
exquisite delicacy and consummate taste displayed by the artist must be
seen before a full appreciation can be acquired. The ceiling is
delineated at p. 425.
The Acequia Court reminds the observer of the Court of the Fishpond; or
of Myrtles, in the Alhambra. Although of no such great dimensions,
similar arcades, galleries, and fountains, are here seen in profusion.
The slender pillars and gossamer-perforated fabrics are, as in the case
of the greater Palace, like nothing so much as our conception of
fairy-work, rather a dream of beauty than the production of human hands.
LA CASA DEL CARBON--THE CHARCOAL HOUSE.
Halfway down the Zacatin, which was, in Moorish times, the bazaar, or
market, of Granada--then alive with busy silversmiths, and with silk
merchants, who offered the most wondrous productions of the loom--stands
whatever remains of the elegant palace known as the Charcoal House, from
having been appropriated to the sale of that commonplace article. The
edifice, until recent times, bore the name by which it had been known
for centuries, viz.: _La Casa del Gallo de Viento_--The Weather-cock
House.
There is a tradition that the palace was built by Bàdìs Ibn Hàbus, the
third Sultàn of Granada of the Zeyrite dynasty, about 1070 A.D., by
whose direction a vane was made in the
[Illustration: THE ACEQUIA COURT, IN THE GENERALIFE.]
[Illustration: THE ACEQUIA COURT IN THE GENERALIFE, FROM THE MAIN
ENTRANCE.]
[Illustration: THE ACEQUIA COURT IN THE GENERALIFE.]
[Illustration: A CORNER OF THE ACEQUIA COURT IN THE GENERALIFE.]
[Illustration: CYPRESS COURT IN THE GENERALIFE.]
[Illustration: GALLERY OF THE ACEQUIA COURT IN THE GENERALIFE.]
shape of a warrior mounted on a steed, with a shield and levelled spear
in his hands. _Al-makkarì_ tells us that he read in the manuscript of a
learned Moorish historian the following anecdote concerning it: “I was
told by the _Faquih Sìdì Hasan_ ... that he was present at the taking
down of the talisman, known as the weather-cock, which once stood on the
top of the old _Kassabah_--fortified enclosure--at Granada, and was
removed on account of the improvements and repairs about to be made in
that building. I saw it with my own eyes; it was of heptagonal shape,
and bore the following Arabic inscription in verse:
“The palace at fair Granada presents to the eye of the observer a
talisman turning round with the succession of time.
“The horseman on its weather-cock, although a solid body, turns with
every wind.
“This to the wise man, reveals many a mystery.
“Indeed, after subsisting a short time, a calamity shall come which
shall ruin both the palace and its owner.
“Thus shall Andalus vanish one day!”
The archway-entrance to the _Casa del Carbon_ is very richly decorated,
as may be seen by the illustration at p. 443, but the interior has been
greatly interfered with and disfigured. Below, is a subterranean
passage, said to communicate with the Alhambra; but the Duke d’Abrantes,
who owned the _Casa_, regarded such means of communication as “uncanny,”
and blocked up the passage. An inspection of the Arabic title-deeds to
this interesting property, which are still extant, would amply repay the
pains of conveyancing amateurs.
LA CASA SANCHEZ--THE HOUSE OF SANCHEZ.