THE SPANISH SERIES
SEVILLE
THE SPANISH SERIES
Edited by ALBERT F. CALVERT
MURILLO
SPANISH ARMS AND ARMOUR
THE ESCORIAL
CORDOVA
SEVILLE
THE PRADO
_In Preparation_
GOYA
GRANADA AND ALHAMBRA
VELAZQUEZ
TOLEDO
ROYAL PALACES OF SPAIN
MADRID
LEON, BURGOS AND SALAMANCA
VALLADOLID, OVIEDO, SEGOVIA,
ZAMORA, AVILA & ZARAGOZA
SEVILLE
AN HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE
ACCOUNT OF
“THE PEARL OF ANDALUSIA”
BY ALBERT F. CALVERT
WITH 300 ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD
NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY MCMVII
TURNBULL AND SPEARS. PRINTERS, EDINBURGH
PREFACE
There is a charm and compelling fascination about Seville which
produces in the traveller visiting the city for the first time a
sensation of physical ecstasy. The spell of the Pearl of Andalusia is
instant and enduring; I have not met a man or woman proof against its
witchery. George Borrow shed tears of rapture as he beheld Seville from
the Cristina Promenade, and “listened to the thrush and the nightingale
piping forth their melodious songs in the woods, and inhaled the breeze
laden with the perfume of its thousand orange gardens.” The Moors left
their beloved capital at the height of its prosperity, in the full
flower of its beauty; change has not affected its material importance,
and time has not staled its infinite variety. A Christian Cathedral now
stands on the foundation of the great mosque of Abu Yakub Yusuf; but
the Moorish Giralda, the most expressive monument of the Mohammedan
occupation, still beckons the distant traveller onwards to the promised
land; the Alcazar breathes the spirit of its Oriental masters; and the
shimmering Torre del Oro still reflects the light of the setting sun
upon the broad bosom of the rose-coloured river.
The history of Seville from the time of its subjugation by Musa is
a volume of romance; its pages are illumined by the cold light of
flashing steel and stained with the blood of tyrants, traitors, and
innocent men; but it forms a chronicle which the reader will follow
with absorbing interest. The more exacting student will satisfy his
thirst for knowledge in Dr Dozy’s “History of the Mohammedans of
Spain,” in Gayangos’ translation of El Makkari’s “History of the
Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain,” in Coppee’s “History of the Conquest
of Spain,” and Pedro de Madrazo’s “Sevilla”--to refer to only a few of
the many learned works that have been published on the subject. Many
will continue to be content with the few pages of Notes which appear in
the various Spanish Guides; but a certain section, it is hoped, of the
English travelling public, will find in this book an album, a handbook,
and a history which will supply a long-felt want.
In my attempt to produce a volume which will appeal both to the artist
and the tourist, to the archæologist as well as the least imaginative
sightseer, I have reproduced a number of illustrations which may
incline some persons to accuse me of a superabundant regard for detail.
It is true that many pages are devoted to intricacies of decoration
which the general reader may find of small interest, but my object in
multiplying this detail is to satisfy the requirements of those who
would fathom the mystery of Moslem art. When I was first in Granada I
inquired for pictures of the minutiæ of many choice examples of design,
and, failing to obtain anything of the kind, I had to employ a local
artist to make sketches of the detail of the mosaics. That experience
determined me, in treating of these Mohammedan cities of Spain, to
include those reproductions for which I had searched in vain, and to
make my illustrations, as far as possible, the last word on the subject
of Arabian architecture and ornament.
For the historical portion of the letterpress I have laid under tribute
the authorities already mentioned, and I have also to acknowledge the
assistance received in the compilation from Mr E. B. d’Auvergne.
A large number of the photographs included here were supplied by Messrs
Rafael Garzon and Senan & Gonzalez of Granada, Hauser & Menet of
Madrid, Ernst Wasmuth of Berlin, publisher of Uhde’s “Baudenkmaeler in
Spanien und Portugal,” and Eugen Twietmayer of Leipzig, publisher of
Junghandel’s “Die Baukunst Spaniens,” and my thanks are due to them for
the courteous permission to reproduce their work in this volume.
Some of the illustrations are reproductions of pictures which were
at one time in the San Telmo Collection. As that collection has been
distributed I have been unable to trace the originals, but as they were
so closely identified with Seville I make no apology for including them.
A. F. C.
“ROYSTON,”
SWISS COTTAGE,
N.W.
CONTENTS
PAGE
SEVILLE 1
MOORISH SEVILLE 5
SEVILLE UNDER THE CASTILIAN KINGS 35
THE ALCAZAR 45
THE CATHEDRAL 69
OTHER BUILDINGS OF THE FIFTEENTH AND
SIXTEENTH CENTURIES 89
BUILDINGS OF THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH
CENTURIES 101
THE PAINTERS OF SEVILLE 107
THE OLD ROMAN CITY 135
ILLUSTRATIONS
TITLE PLATE
General view of Seville from the Giralda Tower, West
side of the City. First view 1
General view of Seville from the Giralda Tower, West
side of the City. Second view 2
General view of Seville from the Giralda Tower, East
side 3
General view of Seville from the Giralda Tower, Central
part of the City 4
General view of Seville from the Giralda Tower, North
side 5
Procession of the Conception of the Virgin passing
through the Plaza de San Francisco 6
View of Seville 7
View of Seville 8
View of Seville 9
View of Seville 10
View of Seville 11
View of Seville 12
View of Seville 13
View of Seville 14
Bridge over the Guadalquivir 15
Hercules Avenue 16
The Plaza Nueva 17
View of Triana from the Tower of Gold 18
View of Seville from Triana 19
View of Seville from Triana 20
The Tower of Gold from San Telmo 21
A street in Seville 22
The Tower of Gold 23
Church of San Marcos, from the Palace of the Dueñas 24
Church of San Marcos 25
Court of the Hotel de Madrid 26
Hospital, with the Mosaics painted by Murillo 27
Portal of the Convent of Santa Paula 28
Church of Santa Catalina 29
Church of Todos Santos 30
The Provincial Museum, with Murillo’s statue 31
Statue of Murillo 32
General view of the Town Hall 33
The Town Hall, left side 34
The Town Hall, left side, detail of the interior angle 35
Door of the Town Hall 36
The Town Hall, detail of the principal part 37
General view of the Town Hall 38
The Town Hall, detail of the façade 39
The Town Hall, detail of the principal door 40
Window in the Town Hall 41
Principal facade of the Tobacco Factory 42
The Tobacco Factory 43
Cigar makers, Seville 44
The “Sevillanas” Dance 45
Sevillian Costumes--A Courtyard 46
General view of the Exchange 47
Court in the Exchange 48
The Aceite Postern and ancient ramparts 49
The Roman walls near the gate of the Macarena 50
The Roman Amphitheatre of Italica 51
General view of the Palace of San Telmo from the River 52
Principal Portal of the San Telmo Palace 53
Interior of the Hall of Columns in the San Telmo
Palace 54
Interior view of the Duke of Montpensier’s study in
San Telmo 55
Various objects found in the sepulchres at San Telmo.
(In the Palace of San Telmo) 56
Palms in the Gardens of San Telmo 57
The sepulchres of the victims of Don Juan Tenorio in
the Gardens of San Telmo 58
The Roman Sepulchres in the Gardens of San Telmo 59
View in the Gardens of San Telmo 60
The Aviary in the Gardens of San Telmo 61
The River in the Gardens of San Telmo 62
The Cocoa Tree and east side of San Telmo 63
The Zapote, a tree in the Gardens of San Telmo 64
The Island and River in the Gardens of San Telmo 65
The Yucca, a rare tree in the Gardens of San Telmo 66
General view of the Hospital de la Sangre 67
Church of the Sagrario, north side 68
Principal façade of the Hospital de la Sangre 69
Porch of the Church of the Hospital de la Sangre 70
Bas-relief, Hospital de la Sangre, the work of
Torregiano 71
General view of the exterior of the Cathedral 72
The Giralda, from the Patio de los Naranjos 73
The top of the Giralda 74
The Dancing Choir-boys, Seville Cathedral 75
Dancing-boys, Seville Cathedral 76
The Gate of the Archbishop 77
Plaza de San Francisco, with the Giralda and
Cathedral 78
Plaza del Triunfo, the Cathedral, and the Exchange,
from the Gate of the Lion 79
The Fête 80
Gate of San Miguel in the Cathedral 81
Gate of the Cathedral called de las Campanillas 82
Gate of the Baptist in the Cathedral 83
The Gate of the Lizard in the Cathedral 84
General view of the Cathedral from the Tribune of the
principal door 85
Principal Sacristy in the Cathedral 86
Principal Entrance to the Cathedral 87
Interior view of the Principal Sacristy in the Cathedral 88
The Gamba Chapel 89
The Cathedral, the Gamba Chapel, and entrance to that
of the Antigua 90
Chapels of the Conception and the Annunciation in the
Cathedral 91
The Cathedral. The Chapel of the Conception 92
The Cathedral. Detail of the High Altar 93
The Cathedral. Retablo, or altar-piece of the High Altar 94
Iron railings of the lateral part of the High Altar 95
The Cathedral. Wrought-iron screen in the Choir 96
The Cathedral. Wrought-iron screen of the High Altar 97
St Christopher carrying the Child Jesus, by Mateo
Perez Alesio, in the Cathedral 98
San Fernando Square 99
Gardens of the Alcazar 100
General view of the Gardens of the Alcazar 101
View of the Gardens of the Alcazar 102
General view of the Gardens of the Alcazar 103
The Gardens of the Alcazar. Lake and Gallery of Don
Pedro I., the Cruel 104
The Gardens of the Alcazar. View of the Gallery of
Don Pedro I., the Cruel 105
The Hothouses in the Gardens of the Alcazar 106
Calle de las Vedras in the Gardens of the Alcazar 107
The Gardens of the Alcazar. Parterre of Doña Maria
de Padilla 108
The Alcazar. Baths of Doña Maria de Padilla 109
Magnificent altar in faience, painted in the fifteenth
century. (In the Oratory of the Catholic Sovereigns
in the Alcazar.) 110
Town Hall of Seville. Details of doors and balconies 111
Town Hall of Seville. Details 112
Parish Church of San Marcos 113
Various Towers of Seville 114
Details of the Mosaic commonly called El Grande 115
Sculpture and details of ancient churches 116
Architectural parts, bas-reliefs, and ceramic objects 117
Façade of the Consistorial houses 118
Entrance to the Alcazar, Seville 119
Principal Façade of the Alcazar 120
Gate of the principal entrance, Alcazar 121
Interior of the Hall of Ambassadors, Alcazar 122
Hall of Ambassadors, Alcazar 123
Interior of the Hall of Ambassadors, Alcazar 124
Interior of the Hall of Ambassadors, Alcazar 125
Hall of Ambassadors, Alcazar 126
Hall of Ambassadors, Alcazar 127
Hall of Ambassadors. Alcazar 128
Upper part of the Court of the Dolls, Alcazar 129
Court of the Dolls from the Room of the Prince, Alcazar 130
Court of the Dolls, Alcazar 131
Angle in the Court of the Dolls, Alcazar 132
Court of the Dolls, Alcazar 133
Court of the Dolls, Alcazar 134
Court of the Dolls, Alcazar 135
Court of the Dolls, Alcazar 136
Court of the Dolls, Alcazar 137
Court of the Dolls, Alcazar 138
Gallery on the second storey of the Court of the Dolls,
Alcazar 139
Upper part of the Court of the Dolls, Alcazar 140
Upper part of the Court of the Dolls, Alcazar 141
Entrance to the Dormitory of the Moorish Kings,
Alcazar 142
Dormitory of the Moorish Kings, Alcazar 143
Front of the sleeping-saloon of the Moorish Kings,
Alcazar 144
Sleeping-saloon of the Moorish Kings, Alcazar 145
Intercolumniation, where Don Fadrique was assassinated,
Alcazar 146
Sultana’s Quarters, Alcazar 146
Room in which King St Ferdinand died, Alcazar 147
Interior of the Hall of St Ferdinand, Alcazar 148
Front of the Hall of St Ferdinand, Alcazar 149
Gate of the Hall of St Ferdinand, Alcazar 150
Gallery of the Hall of St Ferdinand, Alcazar 151
Throne of Justice, Alcazar 152
Court of the Hundred Virgins, Alcazar 153
Court of the Virgins, Alcazar 154
General view of the Court of the Hundred Virgins,
Alcazar 155
Court of the Virgins, Alcazar 156
Front of the Dormitory of the Moorish Kings and the
Court of the Virgins, Alcazar 157
Gallery in the Court of the Virgins, Alcazar 158
The Court of the Virgins, Capital of the door of the Hall
of Ambassadors, Alcazar 159
The Alcazar. Court of the Virgins. Capital of the
gate of the Hall of Charles V. 160
Palace of the Dueñas, Door of the Chapel 161
Palace of the Dukes of Alcalá, commonly called Casa
de Pilatos 162
The Court in the House of Pilate 163
Court of the House of Pilate 164
Gallery in the Court of the House of Pilate 165
House of Pilate 166
Gallery in the Court of the House of Pilate 167
Angle and statue in the House of Pilate 168
House of Pilate. Entrance to the ante-room of the
Chapel 169
The staircase in the House of Pilate, by Barrera 170
House of Pilate. Entrance door of the Oratory 171
House of Pilate. Way out to the flat roofs in the High
Gallery 172
Staircase in the House of Pilate 173
House of Pilate. Doors of the officers in the High
Gallery 174
House of Pilate. Window of the Prætor’s Hall leading
to the Garden 175
House of Pilate. Barred window in the Prætor’s
Garden 176
House of Pilate. Bolt on the Prætor’s Gate 177
House of Pilate. Window in the Ante-room of the
Chapel 178
House of Pilate. Section of the ceiling in the Prætor’s
Hall 179
Palace of the Dueñas in Seville 180
House of Pilate. Mosaics in the Hall of the Fountain 181
Palace of the Dueñas in Seville. Glazed tiles in the
socles of the Chapel and arches 182
Mosaic of the Peristyle in the Palace 183
House of Pilate. Mosaic in the Hall of the Fountain 184
Mosaic in the Court of the House of Pilate 185
Mosaic in the Court of the House of Pilate 186
Mosaic in the Court of the House of Pilate 187
House of Pilate. Mosaic in the Chapel 188
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo. Born in Seville, 1617 189
Altar-screen of the La Gamba, by Luis de Vargas.
Seville Cathedral 190
“Descent from the Cross,” by Pedro Campaña,
Seville Cathedral 191
“St Anthony of Padua visited by the Infant Saviour
while kneeling at his prayers,” by Murillo.
Seville Cathedral 192
“Our Lord baptized by St John Baptist,” by Murillo.
Seville Cathedral 193
“The Guardian Angel,” by Murillo. Seville Cathedral 194
“St Leander,” by Murillo. Seville Cathedral 195
“St Isidore,” by Murillo. Seville Cathedral 196
“St Ferdinand, crowned and robed,” by Murillo.
Seville Cathedral 197
“Madre Francisca Dorotea Villalda,” by Murillo.
Seville Cathedral 198
“St Anthony with the Infant Saviour,” by Murillo.
Seville Museum 199
“Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception,” by
Murillo. Seville Museum 200
“Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception,” by
Murillo. Seville Museum 201
“Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception,” by
Murillo. Seville Museum 202
“Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception,” by
Murillo. Seville Museum 203
“St Justa and St Rufina, Patron Saints of Seville,
holding between them the Giralda Tower,” by
Murillo. Seville Museum 204
“St Bonaventure and St Leander,” by Murillo.
Seville Museum 205
“St Thomas of Villanueva, giving alms at the door of
his Cathedral,” by Murillo. Seville Museum 206
“The Annunciation of Our Lady,” by Murillo.
Seville Museum 207
“St Felix of Cantalisi, restoring to Our Lady the
Infant Saviour, whom she had placed in his arms,”
by Murillo. Seville Museum 208
“Adoration of the Shepherds of Bethlehem,” by
Murillo. Seville Museum 209
“St Peter Nolasco kneeling before Our Lady of
Mercy,” by Murillo. Seville Museum 210
“The Deposition,--St Francis of Assisi supporting
the body of Our Lord nailed by the left hand to the
Cross,” by Murillo. Seville Museum 211
“St Joseph and the Infant Saviour,” by Murillo.
Seville Museum 212
“St John the Baptist in the Desert leaning against a
rock,” by Murillo. Seville Museum 213
“St Augustine and the Flaming Heart,” by Murillo.
Seville Museum 214
“St Felix of Cantalisi and the Infant Jesus,” known
as “San Felix de las Arrugas,” by Murillo.
Seville Museum 215
“St Anthony with the Infant Saviour,” by Murillo.
Seville Museum 216
“Deposition from the Cross,” by Murillo. Seville
Museum 217
“Our Lady with the Infant Saviour in her Arms,” by
Murillo. (An early picture.) Seville Museum 218
“Our Lady and the Infant Saviour,” known as “La
Virgen de la Servilleta,” by Murillo. Seville
Museum 219
“Our Lady seated, with the Infant Saviour in her lap,”
by Murillo. (An early picture.) Seville Museum 220
“St Thomas of Aquin,” by Zurbarán. Seville Museum 221
“The Virgin of the Grotto,” by Zurbarán. Seville
Museum 222
“St Bruno talking to the Pope,” by Zurbarán. Seville
Museum 223
“The Day of Judgment,” by Martin de Vos. Seville
Museum 224
“Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception,” by J.
Valdes Leal. Seville Museum 225
“Jesus crowning St Joseph,” by Zurbarán. Seville
Museum 226
“The Devout Punyon,” by Zurbarán. Seville
Museum 227
“Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception,” the
Virgin surrounded by Cherubim, by Fr. Pacheco.
Seville Museum 228
“Our Lord’s Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes,” by
Murillo. Seville Hospital 229
“Moses striking the Rock in Horeb,” by Murillo. La
Caridad, Seville 230
“St John of God, sinking under the weight of a sick
man, assisted by an Angel,” by Murillo. La
Caridad, Seville 231
“The Death of St Hermenigild” by J. de las Roelas.
Hospital de la Sangre, Seville 232
“The Apostleship,” by Juan de las Roelas. Hospital
de la Sangre, Seville 233
“The End of this World’s Glories,” by Valdes Leal.
La Caridad, Seville 234
“Pietà, or the Virgin supporting the dead body of
her Divine Son,” altar-screen, by Luis de Vargas.
Santa Maria la Blanca, Seville 235
“St Joseph, holding the Infant Saviour in his arms,”
by Murillo. San Telmo, Seville 236
“Our Lady of the Girdle,” by Murillo, San Telmo,
Seville 237
“Portrait of Ferdinand VII.,” by Goya. San Telmo,
Seville 238
“Portrait of Charles IV.,” by Goya. San Telmo,
Seville 239
“The Annunciation,” by F. Zurbarán. San Telmo,
Seville 240
“The Death of Laocoon and his Sons at the Siege of
Troy,” by El Greco. San Telmo, Seville 241
“Caton of Utique tearing open his wounds,” by Josef
Ribera. San Telmo, Seville 242
“Pietà. The Virgin holding the dead Saviour in her
arms,” by Morales. San Telmo, Seville 243
“Portrait of El Greco,” by himself. Gallery of San
Telmo, Seville 244
“The Miracle of St Vœu. St Hugo in the refectory
with several Chartreux,” by Zurbarán. Seville
Museum 245
“The Martyrdom of St Andrew,” by J. de las Roelas.
Seville Museum 246
“The Last Supper,” by P. de Cespedes. Seville
Museum 247
“Christ on the Cross,” by Zurbarán. Seville Museum 248
Portrait of the figure in Pacheco’s picture at Seville,
supposed to represent Cervantes 249
“The Virgin and the Child Jesus,” by Alonso Cano.
Seville Cathedral 250
“The Descent from the Cross,” by Alego Fernandez.
Seville Cathedral 251
The Cathedral 252
The Giralda 253
The Giralda 254
Cathedral. The Gate of Pardon 255
Cathedral. Puerta de los Palos 256
Plan of the Cathedral 257
Cathedral. View of an organ 258
Cathedral. Monument to Columbus 259
Cathedral. Silver Tabernacle (weighing forty-five
arrobas) 260
Alcazar Gardens 261
Alcazar Gardens 262
Alcazar Gardens 263
House of Pilate. The Goddess Ceres 264
House of Pilate. The Goddess Pallas Pacifer 265
Italica 266
Roman Walls 267
Patio de Banderas and the Giralda 268
Plaza de San Francisco 269
St Mark’s Church 270
Plaza de San Fernando 271
The Town Hall. Details of the old part 272
Façade of the Palace of San Telmo 273
Statue of Velazquez 274
Plaza de la Constitución 275
Plaza de la Constitución 276
Calle de Sierpes 277
Calle de Sierpes 278
A street in Seville 279
Hercules Avenue 280
The Pasadera 281
Courtyard of La Caridad 282
Plaza de San Fernando 283
Plaza de Gavidia 284
View from the Pasadera 285
The Drive 286
Paseo de las Delicias 287
The Quay 288
Partial view of Seville 289
Plaza de Toros 290
Fields of San Sebastian 291
Park of Maria Luisa 292
Railway Station of M.Z.A. Principal Façade 293
Railway Station of M.Z.A. General View 294
Triana Bridge 295
View from Triana Bridge 296
View from Triana 297
San Telmo from Triana 298
The Cathedral. Our Lord Crucified. Sculpture in the
Sacristy 299
Plan of Seville 300
SEVILLE
Seville is the most Spanish of the cities of Spain. On her white walls
the sunlight plays perpetually, the air is laden with the scent of the
orange, the sound of the guitar and castanets is heard continually in
the narrow streets. This is the South of romance, the South of which
northerners dream and towards which so many of them are drawn by an
irresistible fascination. The cities of Leon and Castile are grim and
Gothic. Cordova is Moorish; but Seville is not essentially one nor
the other, but presents that blending of both styles which makes her
typical, which stands for all that Spain means to the average foreigner.
Seville lives. Cordova is dead, and Granada broods over her past. These
are cemeteries of a vanished civilisation. Alone among the ancient
seats of Moorish dominion, Seville has maintained her prosperity. Her
wharves, as in the days of Al Mansûr, are still the resort of sailors
from many lands. There is still wealth in her palaces and genius in her
schools. To-day she holds the first place in native art, and Garcia
y Ramos, Sanchez Perrier, Jimenez Aranda, and Bilbao not unworthily
continue the traditions of Murillo and Zurbarán.
The city is Moorish, but informed throughout with the spirit of Spain.
In Cordova the Spaniard seems a stranger; in Seville he has assimilated
and adapted all that was bequeathed by his onetime rulers till you
might think the place had always been his. It is as though the glowing
metal of Andalusian life and temper had been poured into a mould made
expressly by other hands to receive it. Thus Seville has not died nor
decayed like her rivals. Her vitality intoxicates the northerner.
Valdés says, “Seville has ever been for me the symbol of light, the
city of love and joy.”
In my book, “Moorish Remains in Spain,” I have sketched the history
of the city and briefly referred to its importance under the Roman
sway. With the few monuments remaining from that time I do not purpose
dealing separately--incorporated as they have been, for the most part,
with works of more recent construction. Nor has Roman influence left
very profound traces in Seville, any more than in the rest of Spain.
Señor Rafael Contreras justly remarks that Roman civilisation made
no deep impression on the country or the people. “We have in Spain,”
he continues, “aqueducts, bridges, circuses, baths, roads, vases,
urns, milliaria, statues, and jewellery. Specimens are still found,
but, strictly speaking, art with us has never been either Roman or
Greek.” And Seville, in particular, even during the Roman occupation,
was rather a Punic than a Latin town. As to the successors of the
Cæsars--the Visigoths--to them can only be ascribed a few capitals and
stone ornaments, roughly executed in the Byzantine style. These, like
the Roman remains, were used by the Moors in the construction of those
buildings that have determined the physiognomy of Seville.
MOORISH SEVILLE
Seville was not among the spoils of Tarik, conqueror at the Guadalete.
That general having directed his march upon Toledo, it was reserved to
his superior officer, Musa Ben Nosseyr, to subdue the proudest city
of Bætica. The citizens held out for a month and then retired upon
Beja in Alemtejo. The Arabian commander left a garrison in the city,
henceforward to be known for five hundred and thirty-six years as
Ishbiliyah, and pushed forward to Merida. The Sevillians took advantage
of his absence to shake off his yoke, assisted by the people of Beja
and Niebla. Their triumph was short lived. Abdelasis, son of Musa, fell
upon them like a thunderbolt, extinguished the rising in blood, and
made the city the seat of government of the newly acquired provinces.
The interesting personality and tragic fate of Seville’s first Viceroy
have made the site of his residence a question of some importance.
It was formerly believed that he occupied the Acropolis or Citadel,
supposed then to be covered by the Alcazar. The researches of Señores
Gayangos and Madrazo have made it plain, however, that he established
his headquarters in a church which had been dedicated by the sister of
St Isidore to the martyrs Rufina and Justa, now amalgamated with the
convent of La Trinidad. Adjacent to this building Abdelasis erected a
mosque; and it was within its walls, while reciting the first surah of
the Koran, that he was assassinated by the emissaries of the Khalif of
Damascus--death being a not uncommon reward in the Middle Ages for too
brilliant military services rendered to one’s sovereign.
The seat of government was transferred, soon after the murder of the
son of Musa, to Cordova, and Seville sank for a time to a subsidiary
rank. The various cities of Andalusia were allotted by the governor
Abdelmelic among the different Syrian peoples who had flocked over
on the news of the conquest; and Ishbiliyah, according to Señor de
Madrazo, was assigned to the citizens of Horns, the classic Emesa.
Owing to intermarriage between the conquerors and the natives, the
distinction between the Moslems according to the places of origin
of these early settlers was soon lost in that drawn between the
pure-blooded Arabs and the Muwallads or half-breeds. In the meantime
the germs of Arabian culture had fallen upon a kindly soil, and a
new school of art and letters was in process of formation in Spain.
The imposing monuments of Roman, Greek, and Byzantine civilisation,
which the victorious hosts of Islam found ever in their path, were not
without influence upon their conceptions of the beautiful in form.
The fusion of the Hispano-Goths and Arabs likewise tended to produce
a commingling of spirit, and ultimately to give birth to an art and
a culture racy of the soil. “According to all contemporary writers,”
says Señor Rafael Contreras, “it is beyond all doubt that the style
which the artists of the Renaissance called Moorish (in the sense of
originating in Northern Africa) was never anything of the sort. The
details so much admired on account of their richness, the vaultings and
the arched hollows practised in the walls, the festoons of the arches,
the _commarajias_ and _alicates_, were Spanish works finer and more
delicate than those of the East. The root was originally in Arabia, but
it was happily transplanted to Spain, where blossomed that beautiful
flower which diffuses its perfume after a lapse of seven centuries.”
Under the Western Khalifate, Seville flourished in spite of the
assaults and internecine warfare of which it was frequently the
theatre. When in 888 Andalusia became temporarily split up into several
nominally independent states, the city acknowledged the sway of Ibrahim
Ibn Hajjaj. The chronicler Ben Hayán, often quoted by Señor de Madrazo,
describes this prince as keeping up imperial state and riding forth
attended by five hundred horsemen. He ventured to assume the _tiraz_,
the official garb of the Amirs of Cordova. To his court flocked the
poets, the singers, and the wise men of Islam. Of him it was written,
“In all the West I find no right noble man save Ibrahim, but he is
nobility itself. When one has known the delight of living with him,
to dwell in any other land is misery.” Flattery did not blind the
sagacious Ibn Hajjaj to the insecurity of his position, and he bowed
before the rising star of the new Khalifa, Abd-er-Rahman III. In 913
Ishbiliyah opened her gates to that powerful ruler and again became
subject to Cordova. The city lost nothing by its timely submission. The
generous and beneficent Khalifa narrowed and deepened the channel of
the Guadalquivir, thus rendering it navigable. He introduced the palm
tree from Africa, planted gardens, and adorned the city with splendid
edifices. Much of the splendour of the Court of Cordova was reflected
on Seville, which certainly rivalled the capital as a seat of learning.
Among its citizens was Abu Omar Ahmed Ben Abdallah, surnamed _El Begi_
or “the Sage,” the author of an encyclopædia of sciences, which was
long esteemed as a work of marvellous erudition. According to Condé,
Abdallah was frequently consulted by the magistrates, even in his early
youth, in affairs of the gravest import.
The public edifices of the Pearl of Andalusia were no doubt worthy of
its fame as a home of wisdom and culture. In addition to the mosque
built by Abdelasis, near or on the spot where the convent of La
Trinidad now stands, a notable ornament of the city was the mosque
raised on the site of the basilica of St Vincent--immortalised by
several memorable Councils. “But who,” asks Señor de Madrazo, “would
be capable to-day of describing this edifice? Nothing of it remains
except the memory of the place where it stood. Other structures,
ampler and more majestic, replaced it when, under the Almoravides and
Almohades, Seville recovered its rank as an independent kingdom. Let
us content ourselves with recording that the principal mosque, built
at the same time as and on the model of that of Cordova, although on
a smaller and less sumptuous scale, was situated on the site of the
existing Cathedral, and that in the ninth century it was burnt by the
Normans. In consequence it is impossible to say if the great horseshoe
arches which occur in the cloister of the Cathedral are works earlier
or later than that event. It does not appear probable that in the time
of the Khalifs the mosque of Seville could have had the considerable
dimensions suggested by the northern boundary of the _patio de los
naranjos_. That line is 330 Castilian feet, which would give the
mosque, extending from north to south, a length about double, the
breadth of the atrium included--unlikely dimensions for a temple which,
compared with the Jama of Cordova, was unquestionably of the second
class. No one knows who ordered the construction of the primitive
mosque of Seville.”
The irruption of the Normans, one of the results of which was the
demolition of this edifice, took place in 859. The pirates were
afterwards defeated off the coast of Murcia by the Moorish squadron,
and made sail for Catalonia. A serious descent had taken place in
844. Lisbon was the first city to fall a victim to the Northmen, whom
we next hear of at Cadiz and at Sidonia, where they defeated the
Khalifa’s troops in a pitched battle. Fierce fighting took place before
the walls of Ishbiliyah, the invaders being uniformly victorious. Laden
with the richest booty, they at length retired overland to Lisbon,
where they took to their ships. They not only destroyed the mosque of
Seville, but threw down the city walls, which dated from Roman times.
These were repaired by Abd-er-Rahman II., to be partially demolished
again by Abd-er-Rahman III. on his triumphal entry into the amirate of
Ibrahim Ibn Hajjaj.
The subjection of Seville to the yoke of the Khalifs of Cordova was,
unhappily for the city and for Islam generally, not of long duration.
The mighty Wizir, Al Mansûr, restored the waning power of the Crescent
and drove back the Christians into the mountain fastnesses of the
North. But the collapse of the Western Khalifate had been postponed,
not averted. This Al Mansûr well knew. On his deathbed he reproached
his son for yielding to unmanly tears, saying, “This is to me a
signal of the approaching decay of this empire.” His prediction did
not long await fulfilment. In 1009, seven years after his death, his
second son, Abd-er-Rahman Sanjul, had the audacity to proclaim himself
the Khalif Hisham’s heir. The empire became at once resolved into
its component parts. On all sides the kadis and governors revolted.
Independent amirates were set up in all the considerable towns. At
Ishbiliyah the shrewd and powerful kadi, Mohammed Ben Abbad, perceived
his opportunity, but contrived to excuse his ambition by a specious
pretence of legality. An impostor, impersonating the legitimate
Khalifa, Hisham, appeared on the troubled scene. Ben Abbad espoused his
cause and pretended to govern the city in his name. His power firmly
established, the kadi announced that the Khalifa was dead and had
designated him as his lawful successor. For the second time, Seville
rose to the dignity of an independent state.
The Abbadites were a splendour-loving race. Their Court was extolled by
Arabian writers as rivalling that of the Abbasside sultans. Under their
rule the city waxed every year more beautiful, more prosperous. Patrons
of art and letters, the amirs were vigorous and capable sovereigns, and
in all Musulman Spain no state was more powerful than theirs, except
Toledo. The second monarch of the dynasty, Abu Amru Abbad, better known
as Mo’temid, was a mighty warrior. He reduced Algarve and took Cordova.
When not engaged in martial exploits he took delight in composing
verses, in the society of talented men, and in the contemplation of
the garden of his enemies’ heads, which he had laid out at the door of
his palace. He was succeeded in 1069 by his son Abul-Kasim Mohammed, a
native of Beja.
The Crescent was waning. All Al Mansûr’s conquests had been recovered
by the Christians. Toledo fell before the arms of Alfonso III. The
Castilians overran Portugal and penetrated into Andalusia. The Amir
of Ishbiliyah took the only course open to him at the moment, and
cultivated the friendship of the Castilian king. He consented to the
removal of the body of St Isidore from Italica to Leon, and gave his
daughter Zayda in a sort of left-handed marriage to Alfonso III. As the
Christian king was already the husband of Queen Constancia, and Zayda’s
dowry consisted of the most valuable conquests of the Amir Mut’adid,
this transaction did not reflect much credit on either party. But it
purchased for Seville a period of peace and security, during which its
inhabitants became hopelessly enervated by luxury and ease.
The Abbadite sovereigns have left but few traces on the city which
they did so much to embellish and improve. To them, however, may be
ascribed the foundation of the Alcazar. Such at least is the opinion
of Señor de Madrazo. In the horseshoe arches of the Salón de los
Embajadores with their rich Corinthian capitals--on which the names of
different Khalifas are inscribed--we detect a resemblance to the mosque
of Cordova, and recognise the early Saracenic style, unaffected by
African, or properly Moorish, influence. To the same period and school
of architecture, Señor de Madrazo attributes the ornate arcading of the
narrow staircase leading from the entrance court to near the balcony
of the chapel; and the three arches with capitals in the abandoned
apartment adjoining the Salón de los Principes. The ultra-semicircular
curve of the arch occurs very rarely in later or true Moorish
architecture.
The Moslem conquerors had, in the majority of cases, converted to their
use the Christian churches in the cities they occupied. Many of the
mosques that adorned Ishbiliyah during the reign of the race of Abbad
had been adapted in this way, the lines of pillars being readjusted in
most cases to give the structure that south-easterly direction that the
law of Islam required. Traces of these Abbadite mosques remain in the
churches of San Juan Bautista and San Salvador. On the wall of the
former was found an inscription which has been thus translated by Don
Pascual de Gayangos: “In the name of the clement and merciful Allah.
May the blessing of Allah be on Mohammed, the seal of the Prophets. The
Princess and august mother of Er-Rashid Abu-l-hosaya Obayd’ allah, son
of Mut’amid Abu-l-Kasim Mohammed Ben Abbad (may Allah make his empire
and power lasting, as well as the glory of both!), ordered this minaret
to be raised in her mosque (which may Allah preserve!), awaiting the
abundance of His rewards; and the work was finished, with the help of
Allah, by the hand of the Wizir and Katib, the Amir Abu-l-Kasim Ben
Battah (may Allah be propitious to me!), in the moon of Shaaban, in the
year 478.”
The site of the present collegiate church of San Salvador was occupied
by a mosque, which was used by the Moors for a considerable time after
the Christian conquest, and preserved its form down to the year 1669.
An inscription on white marble relates that a minaret was constructed
in the year 1080, by Mut’amid Ben Abbad, that “the calling to prayer
might not be interrupted.”
The reign of the Abbadites was brought to a close by the advent of the
Almoravides (a word allied to _Marabut_), who, at the invitation of
the Andalusian amirs, invaded Spain in the last quarter of the eleventh
century. It was a story common enough in history. The Africans came at
first as the friends and allies of the Spanish Arabs, and effectually
stemmed the tide of Christian successes; but in 1091, Yusuf, the
Almoravide leader, annexed Ishbiliyah and all Andalusia to his vast
empire. The city became a mere provincial centre, the appanage of
the Berber monarch. Mo’temid, loaded with chains, was transported to
Africa, where he died in 1095, having reigned as amir twenty-seven
years.
The Almoravides lived by the sword and perished by the sword.
Perpetually engaged in warfare, among themselves or with the
Christians, they left no deep impress on the character of Seville or
of Andalusia generally. With them the student of the arts in Spain has
little concern. They burst like a tornado over the land, destroying
much, creating nothing. Little more than half-a-century had passed
since the downfall of the Abbadites, when the star of the Almoravides
paled before the rising crescent of the Almohades or Al Muwahedun. The
new sectaries, as fierce as their predecessors, but more indomitable
and austere, wrested all Barbary from the descendants of Tashrin and
annexed Ishbiliyah to their empire in 1146.
The reign of the Almohades is the most interesting period in the
history of the city. It was marked by the foundation of Seville’s most
important existing edifices, and by the introduction of a new style
of architecture. Hitherto, what is loosely called Moorish art, had
been native Andalusian art, following Saracenic or Syrian ideals. Of
this first period, the Mezquita at Cordova is the finest monument.
Seville is peculiarly the city of the second, or true, Moorish period.
Byzantine and Oriental influences disappeared and were supplanted by
the African or, more properly, Berber, character. The new conquerors
of Andalusia were a rude, hardy race, and we find something virile
and coarse in their architecture. “Beside the Giralda of Seville,”
remarks Herr Karl Eugen Schmidt, “the columns of the mosque of Cordova
seem small; the pretty halls of the Alhambra have something weak and
feminine.” The weakness of the Almohade builders, as is usually the
case with imperfectly civilised peoples, lay in an excessive fondness
for ornamentation. Señor de Madrazo’s criticism, though severe, is,
on the whole, just. While admitting the beauty of certain of their
innovations, such as the stalactited dome (afterwards carried out
with so much effect at Granada) and the pointed arch, he goes on to
say, “The Almohade architecture displays that debased taste which
is imitative rather than instinctive, and which creates only by
exaggerating forms to a degree inconsistent with the design--differing
from the Mudejar work of the thirteenth to the fifteenth centuries,
which reveals an instinctive feeling for the beautiful in ornament,
which never loses sight of the graceful, the elegant, and the bold, and
which consequently never betrays any aberration. The Almohade style,
in short, at once manifests the vigour of the barbarian civilised
by conquest; the Mudejar style has the enduring character of the
works of a man of taste, wise in good and evil fortune; both are the
faithful expression of the culture of peoples of different origins and
aptitudes.” Elsewhere the same authority observes, “It is certain that
the innovation characteristic of Musulman architecture in Spain in
the eleventh and twelfth centuries, cannot be explained as a natural
mutation from the Arabic art of the Khalifate, or as a prelude to
the art of Granada, because there is very little similarity between
the style called secondary or Moorish and the Arab-Byzantine and
Andalusian; while, on the other hand, it is evident that the Saracenic
monuments of Fez and Morocco, of the reigns of Yusuf Ben Tashfin,
Abdul Ben Ali, Al Mansûr, and Nasr, partake of the character of the
ornamentation introduced by the Almohades into Spain.”
The most important example of this style is the Giralda, now adjacent
to the magnificent Christian cathedral which was reared in later
days on the foundations of the great mosque. Señor de Madrazo has
reconstructed for us the general form and aspect of the finest monument
of Almohade piety. The mosque replaced that which had been destroyed
by the Normans, and appears to have embodied some part of the original
structure, to judge from the horseshoe arches still to be seen in the
Claustro de la Granada. The work was begun by order of Yusuf, the son
of Abd-er-Rahman, the founder of the dynasty. The mosque formed a
rectangle, extending from north to south, and surrounded by cloisters
and courtyards. The interior was divided into longitudinal naves by a
series of marble columns, which supported an adorned ceiling of carved
and painted wood. The _mihrab_, or sanctuary, would have been at the
southern extremity, after the Syrian custom, it taking the Spanish
Muslims some time to realise that Mecca lay east rather than south
of Andalusia. The mosque would also have contained a _maksurrah_, or
vestibule, for the imam and his officials, the _nimbar_, or pulpit, for
the sovereign, and the tribune for the preacher. In the northern court
was the existing fountain for ablutions, surmounted by a cupola, and
surrounded by orange and palm-trees. The eastern court was known as the
Court of the Elms. In all probability, attached to the sacred edifice,
was the _turbeh_, or tomb of the founder.
The Giralda is not only the most important and famous of minarets, but
is among the three or four most remarkable towers in the world. It is
more to Seville than Giotto’s campanile to Florence; it rivals in fame
the now vanished campanile of St Mark’s. Unlike similar edifices in
Egypt and Syria, minarets among the western Moslems were built strong
and massive, rather than slender and elegant. The Giralda,” says Herr
Schmidt, “is one of the strongest buildings in the world, and few of
our Christian church towers could have withstood so successfully the
lightning and the earthquake.”
The Giralda is quadrangular in section, and covers a space of 13.60
square metres. The architect--whose name is variously spelt Gever,
Hever, and Djabir--is said to have used quantities of Roman remains
and statuary as a base for the foundations. The thickness of the
wall at the base is nine feet, but it increases with the height, the
interior space narrowing accordingly. The lower part of the tower is of
stone, the upper part of brick. At a height of about 15 metres above
the ground begin those decorations in stone which lend such elegance
and beauty to this stout structure. They consist in vertical series of
windows--mostly _ajimeces_ or twin-windows--some with the horseshoe,
others the pointed arch, flanked on either side by broad vertical bands
of beautiful stone tracery, resembling trellis-work. The windows are
enclosed in arches which exhibit considerable diversity of design. The
decoration as a whole is harmonious and beautiful.
The Moorish tower only reaches to a height of 70 metres. The remaining
portion, reaching upwards for another 25 metres, is of Christian
workmanship. Before this was added, the tower appears to have been
crowned, like most West African minarets, by a small pinnacle or
turret. This supported four balls or apples of gilded copper, one of
which was so large that the gates of Seville had to be widened that it
might be brought into the city. The iron bar which supported the balls
weighed about ten hundredweights, and the whole was cast by a Sicilian
Arab named Abu Leyth, at a cost of £50,000 sterling. We owe these
particulars to a Mohammedan writer of the period, and his accuracy was
confirmed in 1395, when the balls, having been thrown to the ground by
an earthquake, were carefully weighed and examined.
The upper or newer part of the Giralda was built by Fernando Ruiz
in 1568. Despite its Doric and Ionic columns and Renaissance style,
it does not mar the beauty and harmony of the whole building, and
is itself a remarkably graceful work. The entablature of the second
stage or storey bears the words _Turris fortissima Nomen Domini_. The
whole fabric is surmounted by the bronze statue of Faith, executed
by Bartolomé Morel in 1568. It stands fourteen feet high, and weighs
twenty-five hundredweights, yet so wonderful is the workmanship that
it turns with every breath of the wind. Hence the name applied to the
whole tower--Giralda--from _que gira_, “which turns.” The figure wears
a Roman helmet. The right hand clasps the labarum of Constantine, and
the left a palm branch symbolical of victory.
The Giralda is ascended by means of thirty-five inclined planes, up
which a horse might be ridden with ease to the very top. The various
_cuerpos_ or stages of the ascent are all named. The Cuerpo de Campanas
is named after its fine peal of bells. The bell named Santa Maria was
hung in 1588 by order of the Archbishop Gonzalo de Mena. It cost ten
thousand ducats, and weighs eighteen tons. The Cuerpo de Azucenas (or
of the lilies) is so named after its urns with floral decorations in
ironwork. El Cuerpo del Reloj (clock tower) contains a clock partly
constructed in 1765 by the monk José Cordero, with pieces of another
placed here in 1400 in the presence of Don Enrique III.--the first
tower-clock set up in Spain. The Cuerpos de Estrellas (stars) and de
las Corambolas (billiard-balls) are named after the predominant devices
in their schemes of decoration.
The highest platform of the Giralda affords, as might be expected,
a very extensive view. On the whole, the prospect is disappointing.
The neighbourhood of Seville is not beautiful, nor are there any
very notable sites or natural features included within the panorama.
Standing below Morel’s great statue, however, and gazing down upon the
city, interesting considerations naturally present themselves. That
the figure of Christian faith should thus be reared on the summit of a
building specially intended to stimulate the zeal and to excite the
devotion of the followers of Islam is a reflection calculated to give
profound satisfaction to the devout Spaniard. The whimsical philosopher
may also find an appropriateness in the handiwork of the men of the
simpler, cruder faith conducting one upwards to the more refined and
complicated creed. I do not know if Mohammedans ever visit Seville.
If so, they doubtless console themselves for the desecration of their
sacred edifices by thoughts of Hagia Sophia and the onetime Christian
churches of the East. And the Giralda has fared better at the hands of
the Christians than many a church of their own has done. I may instance
the chapel at Mayence, which with practically no alteration in its
architecture and internal arrangements now serves the purpose of a
beer-shop.
As the Giralda attests the size and beauty of the great mosque, so
several smaller towers exist in Seville to mark the sites of the lesser
Mohammedan temples. The most important of these is the tower or minaret
of San Marcos. It is seventy-five feet high and ten feet broad--the
highest edifice in the city except the Giralda. It is built according
to the pure Almohade style, “without any admixture,” points out Señor
de Madrazo, “of the features taken from the Christian architecture of
the West.” According to Mr Walter M. Gallichan there is a tradition
that Cervantes used to ascend this tower to scan the vicinity in
search of a Sevillian beauty of whom he was enamoured. The church is
Gothic, and dates from 1478, but the beautiful portal exhibits Mudejar
workmanship, and may be ascribed to the days of St Ferdinand or of his
immediate successors.