Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/483

 SPANISH GOTHIC. 425 importance of the chapels attached to the cathedrals were due to the ritual. V. Social and Political. — In the Spanish peninsula, the Christian states of Castile, Leon, Navarre, Aragon, and Portugal were all growing, up and gradually driving the Mahometans into the southern part called Andalusia. After many intermittent successes, as the capture of Toledo (1084) by Alfonso T., the battle of Tolosa (1212), gained by the Christians, was the turning point, after which Mahometan influence gradually declined. It was during the reign of S. Ferdinand (1217-1252), who united Castile and Leon, and won back Seville and Cordova, that Gothic art took root, sown by the spirit of conquest and aided by the wealth of the conquered Moors. James, called the Conqueror (1213-1276), King of Aragon, pressed into the east of Spain until the kingdom of Granada was the only portion left to the Mahometans. vi. Historical. — The study of the history of a country, always necessary in order to properly understand the development of its architecture, is specially required in the case of Spain, which has been occupied at different times by peoples of various races. After the Romans left Spain the Vandals and Visigoths took possession, after which, a.d. 710-713 (page 655), the country was invaded by the Moors from North Africa, and for 800 years their influence was continuous. The evidence of this is to be seen in the stronghold of their power — the south of Spain — ■ where the curious construction, the richness of the architecture, and the exuberance of intricate, and lace-like, detail are every- where apparent. This influence occasionally reached far into the north, owing to the superior education and ability of Moorish workmen, for although Toledo was captured by the Christians in 1085, the Spanish conquests were gradual, and the final expulsion of the Moors did not take place till 1492. 2. ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER. In the south, as already mentioned, there was always more or less of Moorish influence, and from Toledo, the Moorish capital, this influence made itself felt in Saracenic features, such as the horseshoe arch, and, in later times, the pierced stonework tracery of Moorish design. These fretwork screens occupy the whole window, and are rich in detail. Elsewhere buildings, under Moorish influence, were covered with intricate geometrical and flowing patterns and rich surface decorations, for which the Saracenic art is everywhere remarkable, as in the Jews' syna- gogue at Toledo. The curious early churches of the Spanish conquerors seem to have been executed by the aid of Moorish workmen.