32. Clock tower.
33. Principal cloister.
34. Court of the evangelists.
35. Prior's cell.
36. Archives.
37. Old church.
38. Visitors' hall.
39. Manuscript library.
40. Convent refectory.]
The library, situated above the principal portico, was at one time one
of the richest in Europe, comprising the king's own collection, the
extensive bequest of Diego de Mendoza, Philip's ambassador to Rome, the
spoils of the emperor of Morocco, Muley Zidan (1603-1628) and various
contributions from convents, churches and cities. It suffered greatly in
the fire of 1671, and has since been impoverished by plunder and
neglect. Among its curiosities still extant are two New Testament
Codices of the 10th century and two of the 11th; various works by
Alphonso the Wise (1252-1284), a Virgil of the 14th century, a Koran of
the 15th, &c. Of the Arabic manuscripts which it contained in the 17th
century a catalogue was given in J.H. Hottinger's _Promptuarium sive
bibliotheca orientalis_, published at Heidelberg in 1658, and another in
the 18th, in M. Casiri's _Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispanica_ (2 vols.,
Madrid, 1760-1770). Of the artistic treasures with which the Escorial
was gradually enriched, it is sufficient to mention the frescoes of
Peregrin or Pellagrino Tibaldi, Luis de Carbajal, Bartolommeo Carducci
or Carducho, and Luca Giordano, and the pictures of Titian, Tintoretto
and Velasquez. These paintings all date from the 15th or the 17th
century. Many of those that are movable have been transferred to Madrid,
and many others have perished by fire or sack. The conflagration of
1671, already mentioned, raged for fifteen days, and only the church, a
part of the palace, and two towers escaped uninjured. In 1808 the whole
building was exposed to the ravages of the French soldiers under General
La Houssaye. On the night of the 1st of October 1872, the college and
seminary, a part of the palace and the upper library were devastated by
fire; but the damage was subsequently repaired. In 1885 the conventual
buildings were occupied by Augustinian monks.
The reader will find a remarkable description of the emotional
influence of the Escorial in E. Quinet's _Vacances en Espagne_ (Paris,
1846), and for historical and architectural details he may consult the
following works:--Fray Juan de San Geronimo, _Memorias sobre la
fundacion del Escorial y su fabrica_, in the _Coleccion de documentos
ineditos para la historia de Espana_, vol. vii.; Y. de Herrera,
_Sumario y breve declaracion de los disenos y estampas de la fab. de
S. Lorencio el Real del Escurial_ (Madrid, 1589); Jose de Siguenza,
_Historia de la orden de San Geronyno_, &c. (Madrid, 1590). L. de
Cabrera de Cordova, _Felipe Segundo_ (Madrid, 1619); James Wadsworth,
_Further Observations of the English Spanish Pilgrime_ (London, 1629,
1630); Ilario Mazzorali de Cremona, _Le Reali Grandezze del Escuriale_
(Bologna, 1648); De los Santos, _Descripcion del real monasterio_, &c.
(Madrid, 1657); Andres Ximenes, _Descripcion_, &c. (Madrid, 1764); Y.
Quevedo, _Historia del Real Monasterio_, &c. (Madrid, 1849); A.
Rotondo, _Hist. artistica, ... del monasterio de San Lorenzo_ (Madrid,
1856-1861); W.H. Prescott, _Life of Philip II._ (London, 1887); J.
Fergusson, _History of the Modern Styles of Architecture_ (London,
1891-1893); Sir W. Stirling-Maxwell, _Annals of the Artists of Spain_
(London, 1891).