THE ALHAMBRA AND GENERALIFE--OTHER RELIQUES OF THE MOORS CONTAINED
WITHIN THE CITY--THE CATHEDRAL OF GRANADA--CHAPEL OF THE CATHOLIC
KINGS--ANTIQUITY OF THE CHURCH OF ELIBERI--TOMB OF GONZALVO DE
CORDOBA--CHURCHES OF SAN JUAN DE DIOS AND SAN DOMINGO--CARTHUSIAN
CONVENT--HERMITA DE SAN ANTON.
The famed Alhambra[134] was the first object to which we bent our steps,
after depositing our effects at the _Fonda del Comercio_, and sending
our horses to the _Posada de las Tablas_. It is perched on the summit of
a steep but narrow ridge, which, falling precipitously to the north,
along the left bank of the Darro, terminates in a rugged point,
overhanging the city, to the west; and, as I have already noticed, is
supposed to have been erected by the exiled inhabitants of a town of the
same name in La Mancha, captured by _San Fernando_ about the year of our
Lord 1224.
The walls of the fortress follow the various sinuosities of the scarped
cliffs that bound the rocky ledge on three sides, and enclose a plateau,
770 yards in length, and 200 wide in its greatest breadth. But the form
of the enceinte is very irregular, and its ground plan bears a strong
resemblance to the elongated leaf of the prickly pear; the numerous
towers studding the walls of the Moorish stronghold having all the
appearance of the _inattackable_ fruit that grows round the edge of the
Spanish vegetable monster. The principal entrance is by the gate of
judgment, situated in one of the towers on the southern front of the
fortress. The approach to this gate is by a wide and well kept carriage
road, which, shadowed over by luxuriant forest trees, winds up a narrow
ravine, that, on this side, divides the Alhambra hill from another steep
mound, which projects, in like manner, towards the city, and is occupied
by the ruins of other old Moorish fortifications, called _Las Torres
bermejas_. Both hills form part of the _Cerro de Santa Elena_.
On gaining the interior of the fortress, the first object that catches
the eye, standing towards the centre of the plateau, and looking
somewhat contemptuously down upon its Moorish rival, is the gorgeous
palace of the Emperor Charles V. It is a large quadrangular building,
enclosing a spacious circular court, and its four fronts, constructed
entirely of cut stone, have a handsome appearance, albeit, the
heterogeneous mixture of the orders of architecture they exhibit, is of
rather questionable taste.
Though of so much more recent date than the palace of the Moorish kings,
the stately pile of Spain's mighty monarch seems doomed, like the throne
of his successors, to fall to the ground e'en sooner than the tottering
fabric of Mohammedanism itself. Indeed it is even now a mere shell, and
the few remaining bolts and bars that hold together its shattered walls
will, I have no doubt, shortly find their way to the same furnace that
has already converted the bronze rings and ornaments with which it was
formerly embellished, into the more useful form of _maravedis_.[135]
The celebrated palace of the Moslem princes, to which our conductor now
led the way, was commenced by Mohammed Al Fakir, son of Mohammed Abou
Said, the founder of the kingdom of Granada, A.D. 1275. It rests against
the north wall of the fortress, and its low and irregular brick walls,
overshadowed by the stone palace of the Spanish kings on one side, and
by the huge tower of Comares on another, have a mean and very
unpromising appearance. It looks like the dilapidated stables and
_remises_ attached to a French chateau of the "old school," the walls of
which only have withstood the levelling system of the revolution.
This unpretending exterior being common to all Moorish buildings, did
not occasion disappointment. Not so, however, the interior; of which,
for I was a young traveller then, I had conceived a much more exalted
idea. Indeed, the disappointment was general, for all of us had expected
to see, if not a palace on a grand scale and of magnificent proportions,
one, at all events, containing suites of courts and apartments, which,
on the score of costliness and luxury, would not cede the palm to any
erected even in these days of refinement and extravagance. When,
therefore, after following our guide through several long dirty
passages, we were ushered into a small quadrangular court, laid out like
a Dutch garden, but, unlike it, overgrown with sunflowers, larkspurs,
and marigolds, so little idea had we of being within the precincts of
the royal apartments, that my companions were about to pass on with
eager haste, until I called out, "Do stop a moment to look at this, it
is so _pretty_." "_Este es el patio de los Leones,_"[136] said our
cicerone, describing a wide circle with his stick, to draw our attention
to the light and elegant colonnade that encompassed us, adding, after a
short but effective pause, and pointing at the same time to a basin in
the centre of the court, supported on the backs of twelve nondescript
animals which were half concealed in the flowery jungle, "and those are
the _lions_, celebrated in every part of the known world, which have
given the name to this terrestrial paradise!" This grandiloquent burst
was evidently occasioned by our apparent _insousiance_. We stood
corrected, but not the less disappointed.
On paper--in type as well as in pencil--the Alhambra has generally been
represented in too glowing colours. In defence of the painter it may be
said that he labours under a peculiar disadvantage, as far as _truth_ is
concerned; for, whilst the utmost effort of his art will never enable
him to do justice to the lovely tints of nature, he cannot, with all his
skill, avoid conveying too favourable an idea of works of art,
especially in delineating architectural subjects. It follows, that, in
drawings of the building now before us, the elaborately ornamented
walls, the delicately wrought arcades, the spouting lions, the flowery
parterres, every thing, in fact, connected with it, appears fresh,
perfect, and beautiful; the dirt, weeds, cobwebs, and scribbling that
disfigure the _reality_, being omitted as unnecessary adjuncts to the
_picture_; and the palace is thus represented to us (embellished a
little, perhaps, according to the artist's fancy) rather such as it _may
have been_ in the days of the Moors, than what it _is_ at the present
time;--this leads to one source of disappointment. On the other hand,
whilst travellers have given the dimensions of the various courts and
apartments with tolerable accuracy, they certainly have misapplied their
epithets in describing them. The _reader_ is apt, therefore, to lose
sight of the scale in picturing to himself these gorgeous halls, which
the _spectator_, at the first glance, _sees_ are neither grand nor
magnificent.
We, at all events, having, from what we had previously read and seen,
formed most erroneous conceptions, both as to the size of the building,
and of its state of preservation, made the circuit of, and quitted the
too celebrated palace, disappointed with every thing within its walls.
The false impression once removed, however, and a few days given to
mourn over the sad destruction of our long cherished fancies, we again
ascended the wall-girt hill; and, having now brought our visual rays to
bear at a proper focus, and allowed greater scope to the imagination--in
other words, changing the adjectives grand and magnificent for tasteful
and elaborate, and, in some matters, suffering fancy to supply the place
of reality--we received much greater pleasure from our second visit to
the crumbling pile; a gratification that became less alloyed at each
succeeding visit.
I should here observe that, at the period of which I write, A.D. 1822,
the Alhambra, like every thing else in Spain at that epoch, was in a
deplorable state of dilapidation. No steps had yet been taken to repair
the damage done by the French on evacuating the fortress ten years
previously; and the Royal Palace, rent and shaken by the same explosions
that had thrown down the towers of the Moorish stronghold, was still
strewed with ruins, partially unroofed, and exposed to the destructive
influence of wind and rain. That it is yet standing we have to thank
General Sebastiani, who was governor of the province during a
considerable part of the late war, and bestowed great pains upon its
preservation. Perhaps, indeed, but for his interference, as well as the
repairs he caused to be executed, this _chef d'oeuvre_ of Moorish art
would have shared the fate of the walls of the fortress.
I am happy, for the sake of future travellers, to be able to add that,
on visiting Granada many years after, I found the Alhambra in a much
improved state, notwithstanding that it had in the meanwhile suffered
severely from the shock of an earthquake. The government seemed at
length to have decided that the Royal Palace was worthy of preservation,
though the work of infidels. An officer of rank had accordingly been
appointed to its guardianship, whose permission it was requisite to
obtain ere the stranger could enter its gates; and an old woman was
lodged therein as his deputy, to pocket the fees and do the honours.
Under the watchful eye and ever busy broom of this vigilant personage,
the place is now kept in excellent "_inspection order_." The white
marble pillars of its corridors have, under the influence of soap and
water and a scrubbing brush, been cleansed of the names, doggrel verses,
and maudlin sentiment, with which, from time immemorial, travellers have
thought proper to disfigure them; the rubbish of another description
that concealed its mosaic pavements has been removed; the weeds with
which its courts were overgrown are eradicated; and, in the words of an
Arabian poet, "The spider is no longer the chamberlain at the gate of
Koshrew."
Still, however, even in its improved condition, the future visitor must
not go prepared to walk through stately courts and suites of magnificent
apartments, else, like me, will he be sadly disappointed. The novelty in
the style of architecture, the delicacy and variety of its enrichments,
the tasteful patterns of its tesselated floors, and the laboured
workmanship of its vaulted ceilings, constitute its chief merits, and
are, I willingly admit, masterpieces of their respective kinds.
These have been so well and minutely described in Murphy's work on the
Moorish antiquities of Spain, that I shall confine my observations on
the Royal Palace to the state in which I found it at the period of my
last visit, in the autumn of 1833.
The female Cicero who, as aforesaid, was then charged with the
exhibition of "the Lions," happened to be one of those mechanical,
dogmatical persons, who not only dislike, above all things, to leave the
beaten track, but will insist upon regulating all tastes by their own.
Finding, therefore, that she had laid down a "grand tour" of the
premises from which nothing could persuade her to deviate, and had
determined in her own mind the precise number of minutes that should be
devoted to the admiration of each object, we requested she would save
herself further trouble, and us annoyance, by leaving us to the guidance
of _Mateo Ximenes_ (a name rendered classic by the pen of Washington
Irving), who, as a kind of Director General of English travellers in
Granada, had attached himself to us in the capacity of _fac totum_.
Mateo being now, from the emoluments of his self-created appointment,
one of the inhabitants _de mas tomo_[137] of the Alhambra; from his
eloquent dissertations and learned disquisitions, an acknowledged
dilettante and antiquary; and, as the "Minister of Grace and Justice"
of most visitors, a person of considerable influence with the deputy
governor of the palace, our conductress, on payment of certain dues,
made not the least scruple of acceding to our proposal, giving Mateo,
nevertheless, strict injunctions to have us constantly in sight, and to
keep our hands from picking and stealing.
For our future visits we obtained a written permission from the
commandant to make sketches, in virtue of which we were enabled to
wander about wherever and as long as we pleased; a privilege which I
would recommend all travellers to obtain immediately on their arrival at
Granada, for, besides that this permit saves both trouble and expense,
they will find no more delightful retreat during the heat of the day,
than within the shaded courts and cool and airy halls of the Moorish
palace.
The _Patio de la Alberca_, to which, following the Itinerary laid down
by the _Tia Manuela_, I will first conduct my readers, is an oblong
court, ornamented at the two ends with light colonnades, and having a
long pool of water, or tank (_Al Borkat_, whence its name is derived),
in the centre. Above, but a little retired from the northern arcade, the
huge square tower of Comares rises to the height of 142 feet; and in it,
on the level of and communicating with the court, is the grand hall of
audience of the ambassador's. This, however, being the principal
show-room of the palace, I will, following the discreet example of our
guide, keep in reserve, and proceed to the Hall of the Baths, into which
a passage leads from the eastern side of the _Patio de la Alberca_.
Art seems to have exhausted itself in the embellishment and fitting up
of this luxurious establishment. Its floors are laid with a mosaic of
porcelain. Its walls, faced also with glazed tiles to a certain height,
are finished upwards with the most elaborate moresques, moulded in
stucco to correspond with the basement. The roof of the royal bathing
apartment is arched with solid blocks of stone, bidding defiance to the
sun's rays, and is pierced with numerous starry apertures, admitting
ventilation. The basins wherein the royal couple performed their
ablutions are of white marble, and placed in separate alcoves, at the
north end of the principal saloon. The windows open upon a garden
without the palace walls, conveying perfumed breezes from its fragrant
shrubs and orange trees to the epicurean bathers within.
Another apartment, communicating with the saloon of the royal baths, is
called a _concert_ room. Music room would, perhaps, be a more correct
name for it, since I think it may be fairly doubted whether the Arabs
ever cultivated music to such an extent as to warrant our using the
term _concert_ in speaking of it. Numerous Arabic ballads, some of
considerable merit, have, it is true, been handed down to the present
generation, and are yet chaunted by public singers in the east, but
without the slightest attempt to attune either their voices or the
instruments on which they sometimes strike an accompaniment.
The natives of Morocco, on the other hand, who may be considered as the
"nearest of kin" to the Moors of Spain, have not the slightest notion of
_music_. A diabolical noise, made by a _zambomba_[138] and a reed pipe,
which not even a civilized dog can hear without howling, is the only
attempt at a _concert_ that I ever knew them to be guilty of executing.
This discordant clamour appears, nevertheless, to afford them unalloyed
satisfaction.
The court of the Lions, which, proceeding from the baths, is entered on
its north side, is a rectangular peristyle, 100 feet long, (east and
west) and 50 wide. The pillars are of white marble, extremely light and
beautiful, and they support a fantastic but elegant series of arches,
the superstructure of which is covered with an elaborate fretwork of
stuccoed mouldings, representing moresques, and flowers, interspersed
with sentences from the Koran, &c.
The pillars, I should observe, are perfectly plain; and, though
methodically arranged, yet, from being disposed in corresponding groups
of two, three, and four, produce a very bizarre effect.
In the centre of the court is a handsome fountain. The basin, into which
the water rises, is of oriental alabaster, as are also the twelve
animals that support it on their backs, and which, by some strange
zoological blunder, have been called _lions_, for panthers would be more
proper. The reservoir that receives the stream they disgorge is of black
marble.
It is not improbable that, on the decadence of Cordoba, this fountain
was brought from the famous palace of Zehra, built by the Kaliph
Abdalrahman III. as a country retreat for his favourite sultana; which,
embellished, according to common report, with the works of Grecian
artists, is said to have contained numerous sculptured animals; and,
amongst others, some golden (meaning probably gilt) lions, that spouted
water into a basin of alabaster, are particularly mentioned by Moorish
historians.
On the north side of the Court of the Lions is the Hall of the Two
Sisters; so called from two large slabs of delicately white marble that
occupy the centre of its floor. This apartment looks upon the fountain
in the centre of the court, and directly facing it, on the south side,
is the Hall of the Abencerrages, to which the legend of the cruel
massacre of the chieftains of that noble race has given a mournful
interest. If the tale be true, (and from the distracted state of Granada
under its two last kings there is every reason to believe it is) there
can be little reason to doubt that the stains, yet visible in the white
marble pavement, were occasioned by the blood of Boabdil's unfortunate
victims.
On the same side the Court of the Lions as the Hall of the Abencerrages
is a small apartment, wherein, in former days, the Moslem sovereigns
sought the _Kiblah_,[139] and made their private prostrations. It was
the burial place of Ishmael Farady, fifth king of Granada, one of the
most enterprising monarchs that occupied the throne, but whose
voluptuous excesses led to his assassination, A.D. 1322.
The Hall of Judgment is situated at the upper end of the court, and at
the eastern extremity of the palace.
All these apartments are almost equally beautiful, though differing from
each other in size, shape, and every part of their elaborate
decorations. If any one can claim pre-eminence over the others, it is
the Hall of the Two Sisters, the ceiling of which is composed of
delicate stalactites in stucco, and the colouring and gilding are
perhaps fresher and more gaudy. The windows in the back, or north, wall
of this apartment look upon the garden of Lindaraja, which is now laid
out with some little taste and care.
From this garden, or, by retracing our steps through the baths, we gain
a small and exquisitely finished apartment, upon which the Spaniards
have bestowed the name of _El Tocador_, or Dressing Room of the Sultana.
It is situated in a kind of tower, or buttress, that projects beyond the
walls of the fortress, and commands a lovely view in every direction.
The mosaic pavement of this little room is of extreme beauty.
The situation of the Hall of the Ambassadors, or "Golden Saloon," to
which we will now proceed, has already been described. It is a square of
36 feet, and occupies the whole space enclosed by the walls of the tower
of Comares which are of extraordinary thickness. The height of this
apartment is 60 feet, and its ceiling, vaulted in a singularly graceful
manner, is inlaid with a mosaic of mother of pearl.
This hall is certainly the pride of the Alhambra. Its proportions are
more just, its stuccoed walls more highly finished, and the colouring
and gilding of its ornaments more brilliant, than those of any of the
other apartments. The tower in which it is situated projects far beyond
the curtain wall of the fortress; so that, whilst it looks into the
refreshing court of the _Alberca_ on one side, from windows in the
other three, it commands extensive views over the city, and the dark
valley of the Darro. It is the only one of the principal apartments of
the palace that possesses this advantage, and it was therefore
peculiarly well adapted to the purpose of a hall of audience; since, the
wide circumvallated city spread out below, the fertile plain over which,
as far as the eye can range, it commands a view, and the fearful height
of the massive walls, upon which its casements look down, could not but
impress visitors with a sense of the wealth and power of the ruler of
this fair realm, and of the strength of his proud mountain citadel. The
windows too of this audience hall, elevated some hundreds of feet above
the rocky banks of the Darro, afforded every facility for
disposing--after the wonted manner of the Mohammedans--of any
contumacious heir presumptive, or other troublesome friend or relative,
whose journey to paradise might require hastening.
The view from the eastern window, looking up the valley of the Darro,
embraces several objects of much interest; on the right, projecting
boldly into the valley, is the tower surmounted by the Sultana's
_Tocador_, which, seen almost to its base, gives a good idea of the
height of the Alhambra's walls above the crouching city. Beyond, but
situated on the same bank of the river as the fortress, is seen the
Palace of the Generalife, and, above it, the _Silla de los Moros_,[140]
a scarped rock, whereon the Moslems were in the habit of watching the
setting sun, as he cast his gorgeous rays upon their beloved Vega. On
the opposite side of the valley is the _Sacro Monte_ convent, an immense
pile, now crumbling to the dust.
The _bassi relievi_ of the stuccoed compartment round this window are
very curious, and I should say they represented groups of fishes
intermixed with arabesques, but that several great authorities have
declared, that in all the decorations of the Alhambra there are no
traces of animal or vegetable life.
There are many other objects well worthy of notice within the Royal
Palace. Amongst others, the cicerone does not forget to point out the
apartments wherein the Sultana _Ayxa_ and her unfortunate son Mohammed
Abi Abdilehi, or Boabdil, were confined by the licentious Muley
Hassan,and the window in the tower of Comares, whence the young
prince,--who thus early, even in a father, deserved the surname of _El
Zogoybi_,[141] afterwards bestowed upon him,--was lowered down and
escaped from Granada.
The palace contains also a very handsome porcelain vase, said to be of
Moorish manufacture. Another, which was discovered at the same time in
the vaults under the royal apartments, was taken away by Count
Sebastiani. The _Granadinos_ abuse the French general in most unmeasured
terms, for what they term this _theft_; but, if he carried off nothing
else from the city, it must be admitted he charged them moderately
enough for his guardianship of what he left behind--treasures on which,
at that time, they seemed to set no value.
Independent of the interest with which the traveller explores the abode
of Granada's Moslem sovereigns, his attention is called, in no slight
degree, to the examination of the crumbling ruins of the fortress
enclosing it; over every nook of which a fresh charm has been thrown by
the delightful tales of Washington Irving, whose _fidus Achates_,
"Mateo," stoutly maintains that the accomplished writer has drawn but
slightly on the stores of his imagination.
The views from the walls and lofty towers of the fortress are most
extensive and varied. The most comprehensive is from the _Torre de la
Vela_,[142] situated at the western extremity of the Alhambra, whence,
besides the view over the city and plain, the eye embraces the whole
range of the magnificent _Sierra Nevada_, the peaks of which are several
hundred feet higher than the loftiest points of the Pyrenees; and
though not, as is usually supposed, covered with _perpetual_ snow, are
generally capped with it during nine months of the year. The highest
points of the range are the _Cerros de Mulahacen_ and _de la Veleta_,
bearing S. E. from Granada, and both computed to be upwards of 11,000
feet above the level of the Mediterranean.
On my last visit to Granada, in the month of October, the mountains were
perfectly free from snow, and "Mateo" had succeeded in persuading me to
mount to their summit under his guidance; a journey of twenty-four hours
from the city. The day was fixed accordingly, but, during the night
preceding our intended scramble, the whole ridge put on its winter
covering, and rendered the undertaking impracticable.
Leaving the fortress by a low sally-port on its north side, we will
proceed to visit the Generalife, or summer palace of the Moorish kings,
situated rather above, but on the slope of the same ridge as the
Alhambra, and separated from it by a deep ravine. The path is perfumed
with groves of myrtle, orange, and other odoriferous trees; and is
shaded with eglantine, woodbine, and wild vines, whose red autumnal
leaves, entwined in the evergreen boughs of the overhanging carobs and
ilexes, offer an impenetrable shield against the mid-day sun.
The chief attraction of the _Generalife_, (House of Love) are the
refreshing coolness of its courts and apartments, the sweetness and
abundance of its crystal waters, the luxuriance of its flowers and
fruits, and the beauty of the views that its impending balconies
command.
The stucco fretwork and porcelain mosaics, with which the apartments are
ornamented, are in the same style as those of the Alhambra; but with the
highly finished and gorgeous decorations of the Royal Palace yet fresh
in the recollection, those of the _Generalife_ appear far inferior. In
the opinion of Mr. Murphy, however, the mosaic work in the portico of
the _Generalife_ not only surpasses any other specimen of Moorish
workmanship, but "for variety of execution and delicacy of taste is
fully equal, if not superior, to any Roman mosaics which have come down
to our times."
I should have been unwilling to admit this, even at the time he wrote;
but the late discoveries at Pompeii have brought to light mosaic
pavements far exceeding, as well in boldness of design as in beauty of
execution and colouring, any thing of the kind that has ever been
produced in modern times; and which, whilst causing us to estimate more
highly than heretofore the proficiency of the ancients in the art of
_drawing_, make us regard the mosaics of the Moors as mere pieces of
mechanism.
The wood-work in the roofs of the various apartments of the
_Generalife_ is worthy of remark, not only from the beauty of the
workmanship, but from its state of preservation. Murphy has fallen into
error in translating _Nogal_ (of which they are composed) _chesnut_--he
should have said _walnut_.
The walls of one of the apartments are decorated with portraits of some
of the most renowned warriors who figured in the siege of Granada;
amongst others of _Gonzalvo_, "the great Captain;" _Ponce de Leon_, the
captor of Alhama; _El Rey Chico_, Boabdil; and Ferdinand and Isabella.
They are all said to have been "taken from life," and the work of one
individual.
The gardens of the _Generalife_ are more pleasing from the luxuriant
growth of their flowers and fruits, than for the manner in which they
are laid out. One must taste the _pomegranate_ of the Generalife to
appreciate fully the value of that refreshing fruit; and he who has
eaten of its muscatel grapes can have no doubt of the wine house, from
whence Ganymede supplied the cups of the thirsty olympics.
At a certain cypress-tree that grows within the walled court of the
palace, "_Mateo_" mysteriously wags his head; and should any curiosity
be evinced at this intimation of a tale that he could unfold, will open
a budget of Royal scandal, purloined from Florian, and other romancers,
which furnishes him with the means of displaying his historic lore for
the rest of the evening.
Descending from the _Generalife_, and crossing the "golden" Darro ere it
enters the city, we will mount the rough streets of the Albayzin. The
hill side is perforated with numerous caverns, many of which are
tenanted by a singularly savage race of beings, who, differing in
character from either Moors or Spaniards, appear to be descended from
the aborigines of the country.
Several curious wells, arches, and other Moorish remains, are to be seen
in the quarter of the Albayzin; and the view it commands is one of the
finest in Granada, embracing the greater part of the city, and the
richly wooded bank, whereon are perched the bright _Generalife_, and the
sombre _Alhambra_, backed by the snow-clad ridge of _Nevada_.
Amongst the numerous Moorish reliques that the city contains, the most
perfect, perhaps, are the baths. But, at every turn, a ruined bridge, a
dilapidated gateway, or some other memento of the Saracens, presents
itself, giving Granada peculiar interest in the eyes of the seeker after
Moorish antiquities. Neither in modern sights does it fall short of
other more populous and flourishing cities.
The Cathedral is not so large nor so handsome as that of Malaga. The
interior is heavy, excessively gaudy, and fitted up in the worst
possible taste. The architecture is Corinthian, but of a very spurious
sort. Some good paintings are to be found distributed in the various
chapels; the best are in that of the _Santissima Trinidad_, viz.--the
Trinity, by _Cano_, and a Holy Family by _Murillo_--the latter a
masterpiece.
The pillars round the _Altar Mayor_--above which rises the Dome--are
richly gilt; and the light admitted by painted windows, above and
behind, has a fine effect. Some paintings by _Cano_, under the Dome, are
very good, and the Cathedral is ornamented with two busts of great
merit, (Adam and Eve) by the same master, whose talented hand directed
the chizel with the same success as the pencil.
The _Capilla de los Reyes Catolicos_ communicates with the Cathedral,
but is under a separate roof. It is of Gothic architecture, and
celebrated for a flat arch of remarkable boldness, which supports its
roof. The remains of Ferdinand and Isabella, and their immediate
successors, Philip and Joanna, are deposited in this chapel. Their
tombs, executed by order of the Emperor Charles V., are superbly
sculptured. That of the "Catholic Kings" is the most elaborately wrought
and highly finished; but the other is lighter, and displays more
elegance of design. The recumbent figures of Ferdinand and Isabella are
remarkably well carved;--the repose in the queen's countenance is
incomparably expressed. The same cannot be said of the manner in which
the "mad" Joanna and her Austrian husband have been sculptured; with the
latter of whom, at all events, the artist could not offer the usual
excuse, that crowned heads are difficult _subjects_ to manage, since the
Spaniards themselves surnamed Philip "_El Hermoso_."[143]
In ascending rather too hastily and unguardedly from the tomb of the
conquerors of Granada, I struck my head against the iron grating above,
and was laid prostrate and senseless at the foot of the altar. It
required a good pint of the church wine--which our worthy, priestly
cicerone insisted upon administering, both internally and externally--to
set me up again; and, as a reward for my patience under suffering, he
showed us the splendidly illuminated missal, used by the "Catholic
Kings," and deposited with the crown, sword, and sceptre of the great
Ferdinand, in the sacristy of the Cathedral.
The church of San Geronimo is one of the oldest in Granada--which city
boasts of being the first in Spain that embraced Christianity--_San
Cicilio_, one of the seven apostles ordained by Peter and Paul, having
founded a church at Eliberi, in the first century.[144] It contains
some paintings said to be by Murillo, but is more celebrated as being
the burial-place of _Gonzalvo de Cordoba_. A plain white marble slab,
let into the pavement at the foot of the principal altar, and bearing
the following simple inscription, is all that marks the spot where the
remains of the greatest captain Spain ever produced were interred.
Gonzali Fernandez
de Cordova
Sui propriâ virtute
magni ducis nomen
proprium sibi fecit
ossa
perpetua tandem
luci restituenda
huic interea loculo
credita sunt
gloria minime consepulta.
The church of _San Juan de Dios_ is well worthy a visit; though its
decorations are rather gaudy than handsome. It contains a few small, but
very good paintings by _Cano_, and a valuable silver urn, embossed with
gold, wherein are deposited--so the Spaniards assert--the bones of our
Saviour's favourite disciple, who died at Granada.
There are many other churches deserving of the traveller's notice, but
it would be tedious to enumerate them. To the lovers of Rossini's music,
however, I would recommend a visit to that of _San Domingo_ during _High
Mass_. I once heard there the whole of the airs from _Mosé in Egitto_,
besides various _pezzi scelti_ from the _Gazza ladra_, to which, in
England, we dance quadrilles.
The Carthusian Convent (_extra muros_) is noted for its riches, and
collection of paintings. We could not gain admission on our first visit;
as, after toiling up the eminence on which it is situated, we found the
grating in the portal closed by a board, announcing "_Hoy se sacan
animas_"--To-day souls are extracting from purgatory;--a praiseworthy
occupation, from which it would have been sinful to take the worthy
friars; although it was gently hinted to us, that a few _pesetas_ would
remove any scruples _they_ might entertain. The day following,
however,--the funds for suborning the devil having been exhausted,--we
were admitted to inspect the interior of the convent. It contains
numerous paintings, some few said to be by Murillo, others by Cano; but
I doubt whether either of those great masters ever touched them. The
rest are mere daubs, representing the persecutions of the monks by Henry
VIII, by the Moors, and by the German Lutherans.
The _Hermita de San Anton_ is a small edifice on the outskirts of the
city, which, on a certain day in the spring of the year, is endowed with
the singular power of curing horses of the _cholic_; all that is
required being to ride them nine times, at a brisk pace, round the
exterior of the church--_ni mas ni menos_.