THE ROYAL HOSPITAL
Ferdinand and Isabella--Levying a tribute--Foundation of the
hospital--Molina’s description--The principal
entrance--Iconographic decoration--Gargoyles--A mural painting--The
railing--The four patios--The north-west cloister--The chapel--A
graceful font--The sculptured altars--Lace-like canopies--The
statues--The Flemish Gothic style--The sacristy--Historical
chasubles--The belfry--A palace for royal visitors--Decadence of
the hospital--The revenues--A twentieth-century staff--Twenty-six
wards--The kitchen--Milk and eggs--The Sisters--The medical
school--King Alfonso XIII. shows his appreciation--Röntgen
rays--The best in Spain.
During the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, pilgrims still flocked in
hundreds of thousands to the tomb of St. James in Galicia; and the king
and queen, knowing how poor was the accommodation provided for pilgrims
at Santiago, commanded that a commodious inn should be constructed close
to the cathedral, where pious pilgrims might find shelter and the sick
be nursed. It was just after their conquest of Granada that Ferdinand
and Isabella, in 1492, decreed that an annual sum of money should be
devoted as a thankoffering, one-third for commemoration services to be
held at Santiago Cathedral, one-third for the building expenses of the
cathedral, and one-third for the relief of the poor, who would be cared
for in the hospital they had commanded to be built. The sum of money in
question was to be raised by levying a tribute of a bushel of grain on
every pair of oxen, horses, mules, or asses used in agriculture by the
Moors or Christians.[173] The foundation of the hospital may be said to
date from that year, so pregnant with consequences, in which Columbus
discovered the New World, and in which Spain not only became for the
first time in her history a single and united kingdom, but laid the
foundations of her widespread empire to which historians have given the
name of Greater Spain. It was not, however, till 1499 that Ferdinand and
Isabella authorised the Dean of Santiago, Don Diego de Muros, to start
the building of the hospital.[174]
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE ROYAL HOSPITAL, SANTIAGO]
The work began in good earnest in the year 1501, and the building was
ready to receive the first inmates within ten years from that date. At
the time of its completion the _Hospital Real_ was the finest
establishment of its kind in the world, and it is still regarded as an
important example of the Renaissance style of architecture.
Molina, writing in 1550, said, “I believe that the hospital is so well
known in every part of the world, that all I can say about it will be
readily credited. In the three large wards there are few days when there
are less than two hundred sick people, especially in Jubilee years, and
every patient is treated with as much care as if the hospital had only
been erected for his particular benefit. This hospital is one of the
great things of the earth. Apart from its sumptuousness and the regal
grandeur of its architecture, it is a marvellous thing to feel its size,
the multitude of its officials, their diligence, the zeal of the
attendants, the cleanliness of the linen, the care taken about the
cooking, the perfect order of the routine ... the assiduity of the
doctors--in short, one may with reason regard it as a crowning glory of
Christendom.”
The _Hospital Real_ is, after the cathedral, the most interesting
edifice in Santiago. Its front forms the northern side of the chief
square of the town, the _Plaza de Alfonso XII_. The iconographic
decoration of its principal entrance at once attracts the eye of every
stranger who enters the square. Between the rectangular window and the
two rows of statues over the entrance are inscribed the following words:
“_Magnus Fernandus et grandis Helisabeth: peregrinis: divi Jacobi
construi: jussere: anno salutis: M: D: I: opus: inchoaturn: decennio:
absolutum_.” This entrance is an example of the most perfect style of
the Renaissance in Spain. In the triangles formed by the principal arch
are the busts, in bas-relief, of Ferdinand and Isabella, and in two
straight rows above the arch are the twelve apostles, each
distinguishable by his dress and other characteristic traits. On either
side of the window above them are nude statues of Adam and Eve, with St.
Catherine and St. John the Baptist to the left, and St. Elizabeth, Mary
Magdalene, and Salomé, the mother of St. James the Greater, to the
right. In the tympanum of the window are the arms of the hospital--the
cross beneath a crown, and with a lion on either side. The other statues
represent the Virgin and Child, St. John and St. Paul in the niches to
the left, and Christ, St. James in pilgrim garb, and St. Peter to the
right. Six winged angels hover above with various musical instruments.
Two eagles, resting on the graceful Ionic columns on either side of the
window, support the escutcheon with their claws. The four pillars which
adorn this entrance and the multitude of little statues all blend
together with such exquisite proportion that the effect is extremely
beautiful, even at a considerable distance. In the wall on either side
are the arms of Castille and the Imperial Eagles, which carry our
thoughts back to the days of Greater Spain.
But for this wonderful entrance the long low front of the hospital, with
its little windows and slanting tile roof, might be taken any day for
soldiers’ barracks, or even a prison. There are, however, sixteen
remarkable stone gargoyles on the cornice beneath the roof, and the
thirty-eight corbels or projecting stones supporting the balcony are
curiously sculptured. The Churrigueresque decoration of the four large
windows giving entrance to the balcony is eighteenth-century work.
We enter the building and find ourselves standing in a portico with our
faces towards an altar enclosed behind a high iron railing. The altar is
placed beneath a walled-up arch which formerly served as an entrance to
the chapel. The arch itself is richly moulded, and ornamented in the
_plateresque_ style; it is without pilasters, its moulded archivolts
descending to the base in a manner that is markedly Gothic.
A mural painting of “The Last Judgment” covers part of the wall, and two
youthful portraits of Ferdinand and Isabella are placed on either side
of the altar. The whole interior of this portico was once covered with
frescoes, but a thick covering of whitewash has destroyed the greater
part of them. The graceful railing of wrought iron which encloses the
altar is the work of Master Guillen, the clever artist of whom we have
already spoken; its design is Gothic. The bas-reliefs of the altar,
divided into seven niches, are interesting, but the painting above is of
no value. The framed placard suspended from the railing, which is seen
in my photograph, is an announcement that certain indulgences will be
granted to those of the faithful who visit the hospital chapel, and
thither we will now repair.
On our way we will take a look at the four _patios_, or, rather,
cloisters which the four quadrangles of the hospital enclose. These
cloisters, as well as the chapel, were designed by Enrique Egas, the
famous architect of the beautiful _Colegio de Santa Cruz_ in Toledo
which was completed in 1514. Villa-Amil, quoting Cean Bermúdez, calls
Egas “one of the best architects of Spain.”[175] The first one, to our
left, is the south-western cloister, a precious jewel of the Renaissance
style. We note its slender columns, each cut from a single block, its
elegant pointed Gothic arches supporting the stone galleries, its coats
of arms, its curiously sculptured corbels, and the wonderful and weird
gargoyles springing forth as if alive from its cornices, each
representing the head, shoulders, and two front feet of a different
animal--a bear here, a fox there, and so on. And, last but not least, we
admire the doorways, with their very original _plateresque_
(_conopiada_) tracery, the most striking of these being the doorway at
the foot of the steps leading to the _Sala de San Louis_, of which I was
fortunate in securing a photograph. In the centre of this cloister is a
fountain whose water flows through extraordinary gargoyles, representing
fantastic animals, into the large basin below; some of these gargoyles
have human faces. The capitals in this cloister are really _plateresque_
in style, though their resemblance to those in the cathedral suggest
that their sculptor must have had Mateo’s work in his mind’s eye. This
is by far the most beautiful of the four cloisters.
The north-west cloister and the north-east cloister are both adorned
with Doric columns, but in the case of the upper storey it is of later
date and does not correspond with the lower. Both these cloisters have
fountains enclosed in elegant Gothic miniature temples, _templetes_ with
arches, columns, and pinnacles. We passed on to the south-east cloister
through a small passage with elegantly decorated doors: this one is
separated from the last by the eastern transept of the chapel; it is
more like the first cloister than the other two, with its fountain, its
bronze statue, and its handsome granite basin, all of which attracted
our attention. We noticed its pretty doorways leading to the kitchen and
the dispensary, and the smaller doorway leading to the vestry, all of
these were ornamented with _plateresque_ tracery.
The chapel occupies the centre of the building, and is in the form of a
Latin cross, with a shortened head, so often found in churches of the
last decade of the fifteenth and in the early years of the sixteenth
century; the shortened head is the sacristy. The most interesting
portion of this chapel is its transept, which is separated from the nave
by a strikingly artistic railing of beaten iron which, like the one in
the portico of the hospital, is the work of Master Guillen: on it we
distinguish the Arms of Spain, the Imperial Eagle, and the scallop shell
of St. James. Sanchez says of the transept: “It is in the Gothic style
peculiar to the architecture of Galicia”; and then he complains bitterly
of the barbaric coating of whitewash which covers the beautiful granite
vaulting, the balustrades, and the finely sculptured columns. Spanish
architects divide the Gothic style into three periods, and it is to the
third or last of these that the architecture of this chapel belongs,
while its ornamentation is _plateresque_. In all its lines and in all
its component parts there exists the most perfect harmony and the most
correct composition imaginable; it is consequently a very beautiful
example of the transition epoch, in which the florid elements of the
Gothic style mingled with those of the _plateresque_ to form, as it
were, a new style of architecture. In describing it thus I am not
venturing to give a new and unauthorised opinion, I am simply repeating
a truth that has been endorsed by every _connoisseur_ who has had the
privilege of visiting this beautiful little chapel.
Entering the chapel by the door from the first cloister we note a
graceful font for consecrated water, very shallow, and supported by a
slender pedestal--it is enriched with Gothic moulding. Ancient fonts
were always large enough to allow for the immersion of infants; this one
probably dates from the end of the fifteenth century, and its sculpture
is of the same class as that of other parts of the chapel. The beaten
iron candelabra is also good work, though gilded and silvered in a
tasteless manner.
The beautifully sculptured and decorated altars at the four angles of
the central square of the transept are considered to be the greatest
glory of the hospital; their sculpture is in the Flemish Gothic style,
and rivals even that of Toledo in its perfect grace and finish. So
finely chiselled are the lace-like canopies of white stone which adorn
the niches in which the statues are placed, that at first sight the
traveller may be pardoned for mistaking them for stucco, though in
reality they are carved from the same white Portuguese stone as that of
which the new cathedral in Madrid is being constructed. To appreciate
the work here we must have ample leisure at our disposal; we must look
closely and spy out for ourselves the innumerable beauties, the
sculptured idyls, the pictorial poems, the doves, fruits, and foliage
that are interwoven with the pedestals on which the little statues
[Illustration: VESTIBULE OF THE ROYAL HOSPITAL, SANTIAGO
PHOTO. BY VARELA]
[Illustration: CLOISTER IN THE ROYAL HOSPITAL, SANTIAGO
PHOTO. BY VARELA]
stand, and introduced into the stone filigree which covers the spaces
like a spider’s web. Here we see stone moulded as if it were soft wax or
potter’s clay. Every statue here is in itself a perfect work of art, the
drapery, the serene and often majestic expression on the beautiful
faces, the restful pose of the limbs, all combine to fascinate the most
satiated eye. The statues on the two northern altars which face to the
south are, on the right, St. Benedict, the founder of the Benedictine
Order, St. Maurus, of early French fame, and St. Francisco; on the left,
St. Vincent and St. Lawrence. The statues on the other two altars facing
east and west respectively are, on the right, St. Peter, St. John, St.
James, and two anchorites, supposed to represent St. Anthony (the first
anchorite) and St. Paul; and on the left, the Virgin Mary, Mary
Magdalene, and Maria Salomé, mother of St. James, with St. Catherine and
Santa Lucia.
Above the graceful Gothic arches over the transept there runs round it
the elegant cornice decorated also in the Flemish Gothic style; the
wooden galleries are modern, but the groined vaulting, not unlike that
of our Tudor roofs, above the windows of coloured glass is very fine,
and in keeping with the rest of the transept.
The modern altar in the centre of the transept is dedicated to the
Virgin Mary; it has her statue and those of the four evangelists. Here
also are kept the relics of St. Heliodorus, which were the gifts of Pope
Pius VIII. in 1839. There is another altar placed on a level with the
dormitories (in 1828) in order that the sick might be able to hear the
voice of the priest. Another altar in the Churrigueresque style, erected
in the eastern arm of the transept at the beginning of the eighteenth
century, has behind it some bad examples of the painting of that period.
On the northern wall are some better paintings, representing St. Gregory
the Great, St. Ambrose of Milan, St. Jerome, whose translation of the
Bible is still the only one authorised by the Catholic Church, and St.
Augustine of Hippo. Above the door of the sacristy is a painting that
represents the Father Eternal.
The sacristy, though its walls and vaulting are still disfigured by
whitewash, is worthy of a visit, for it, too, is a good example of the
later Gothic style. Happily, during the year 1507 some of the whitewash
which covered its stone work was removed at the earnest request of a
local archæologist. It is left in an undeservedly neglected condition,
and contains much rubbish, out of which a very old stone statue of St.
James has recently been extracted; the rescued figure now stands in a
niche in the wall. This sacristy also has a curious painted glass window
on which St. James is represented with very good colouring; he wears a
green tunic, a pink robe, and there is a rich blue background; his hair
and beard are white, and in his hand he carries his pilgrim’s staff; the
face is very good work. The sacristan brought forth some interesting and
historical chasubles, and unfolded them that we might examine their
designs. They were of rich velvet embroidered with silver and gold
thread, and dated, some from the beginning of the sixteenth, and some
from the seventeenth century. On one of them was St. James with pilgrim
garb, hat, shells, and staff. The soft green and delicate turquoise
blues of the velvets were very beautiful. The various kinds of
architecture introduced into the embroidery gave us a clue to the period
of each. The walnut chests in which these priestly garments and other
valuables are kept are both old; one bears the date 1606, the other
1680.
Above the roof of the transept rises the low belfry decorated with four
chaste Gothic pinnacles and a handsome cornice. The bells hang beneath
them, and are reached by a spiral stone stairway.
It appears that, annexed to the hospital, there was, in 1521, an
accessory building, intended for the accommodation of royalty, and
called _palacio de fuera_, or the outside palace. Juan Nuño, a scribe,
wrote of it (in 1554) that Pedro de Leon, looking at it with his own
eyes and measuring it with his own feet, found it to have a _patio_
forty-seven feet square surrounded by corridors, large reception-rooms
with fireplaces, and twenty-six rooms in all.
The decadence of this magnificent hospital dates from Napoleon’s
invasion of Spain at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The
hospital lost its rich revenues when the Peninsula was overrun by its
enemies, and from being a national, it sank to the position of a
provincial hospital. It was as recently as 29th July 1880 that the nuns
of the Convent of St. Vincent de Paul took up their residence within its
walls and became its nursing staff. The governor of the province, the
archbishop, and many of the neighbouring prelates took part in the
ceremony of their installation, and the event was a memorable one for
the people of Galicia. Ever since then those gentle, self-forgetting,
and self-sacrificing Sisters have shown themselves the guardian angels
of the sick and the needy, as well as of the helpless foundlings who are
reared within those charitable walls.
A hospital, with practically no revenues and built at the
[Illustration: ROYAL HOSPITAL, SANTIAGO]
[Illustration: CONVENT OF SAN PAYO, SANTIAGO
WHERE EACH NUN HAD A SEPARATE KITCHEN AND A MAID TO WAIT ON HER
PHOTOS. BY AUTHOR]
beginning of the sixteenth century, cannot be expected to meet with all
the requirements of a twentieth-century medical staff, but its bright
and busy interior presents nevertheless a pleasing sight to the visitor
who does not go too closely into details. The “Belen Ward,” in which I
spent a pleasant afternoon chatting with nurses and patients, is a long,
cheerful room with four big windows on either side and another large
window at the end facing the door, from which there is a glorious view
of the neighbouring hills and valleys. The buxom Sister in charge, in a
spreading white cap, was preparing chocolate for the patients. When
ready it was handed round to them in coffee-cups; some dipped bread into
it, while others took it with a spoon, as it was too thick to drink
straight off. Each bed had a neat curtain on a rail to screen it from
the rest. The floors were of stone; by each bed there was a piece of
plank for the invalid to stand on, and all who required them had
hot-water bottles for their feet. There are twenty-six wards in all; the
largest is the “Santiago Ward” at the top of the central portion of the
building; it contains twenty-five beds, all far apart so that medical
students can get near enough to watch the operations. The Sister told me
that the upper wards being near the roof got very hot in summer, but
that the lower ones were always deliciously cool and fresh.
The hospital kitchen is also a sight worthy of inspection. One hundred
and eight litres of milk enter its doors daily, with some eighty kilos
of beef, three hundred and eighty eggs, and three hundred and fifty-two
kilos of bread, besides chickens. There is not a chair in this lofty
kitchen, for no one there has time to think of sitting down even for a
minute; a man-cook presides over a large stove in the centre, and four
or five Sisters move briskly round it. One thousand eggs were brought to
the outer kitchen while we were there; they had come from the
neighbouring villages, neatly packed in layers with straw. The Sisters
rise at four o’clock even in winter, and those who are not on night duty
retire at nine. I was struck with their peaceful contented faces, and
their gentle and refined manners. The Gallegan poor are indeed fortunate
to have such women as these to care for them.
The hospital is in close connection with the Medical School of the
University, and has some clever surgeons among its staff, whose
successful operations have earned them a good deal of fame. Röntgen rays
have been installed there since 1901, the electricity being supplied
from a factory on the river Tambre, fourteen kilometres from Santiago.
In 1903, in token of his appreciation of the work done by Dr. Miguel
Gil Casares, King Alfonso XIII. made a handsome contribution towards the
expenses of this department of the hospital, and the _Gabinete de
Radiologia_ has recently been fitted up with the latest improvements,
including the apparatus of Dr. Albeis, and is now considered to be the
best of its class in Spain.
[Illustration: A CORNER OF A CLOISTER]
[Illustration: A DOORWAY LEADING TO A CLOISTER
THE ROYAL HOSPITAL, SANTIAGO
PHOTOS. BY VARELA]
[Illustration: A SCULPTURED ALTAR]