Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/482

 SPANISH GOTHIC. ■ Oft let me range the gloomy aisles alone (Sad luxury ! to vulgar mind unknown) Along the walls where speaking marbles show What worthies form the hallowed mould below ; Proud names, who once the reins of Empire held ; In arms who triumphed, or in arts excelled ; Chiefs, graced with scars, and prodigal of blood ; Stern patriots, who for sacred freedom stood ; Just men, by whom impartial laws were given ; And saints, who taught, and led the way to heaven." — TiCKELL. I. INFLUENCES. i. Geographical.— Spanish architecture cannot be under- stood without a knowledge of the geography of the country. The existence of rival races and kingdoms within the peninsula was rendered possible by the mountainous character of some parts, and the subdivision of the country by sierras, or chains of low rocky hills. The kingdom of Granada, where the Moors held out until the close of the Gothic period, was surrounded by mountains which inclosed a fertile plain, the finest in the country. ii. Geological. — Stone was the material generally employed, but granite and some of the semi-marbles, which the country throughout possesses, were used in places. Rubble-work, with brick bonding courses and quoins, was used under Moorish influence with much taste and success, as in the towers and gates of the city of Toledo. iii. Climate. — This varies with the structure of the country, which is that of a series of table-lands of varying elevations, divided by sierras. Burgos, in the north, 3,000 feet above the sea, is cold, and exposed to keen winds even in the summer, while in the south the climate is sub-tropical. iv. Religion. — Constant warfare with the Moors gave a certain unity to Spain, the struggle being a war of religions as well as of races. Allegiance to the Papacy has been a characteristic of Spain, and Santiago was a pilgrimage centre of more than national importance. The arrangement of the choirs and the size and