Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 13.djvu/815

 SEVILLE

745

SEVILLE

Yacub. The famous tower called the Giralda is due to Almanzor. In order to secure the liturgical orien- tation, when the mosque was converted into a cathe- dral, its width was made the length of the new church; and it was divided into two parts, the lesser part, on the cast, being separated from the rest by a balustrade and gi-ating, to form the chapel royal.

This cathedral having become too small for Seville, the chapter resolved in 1401 to rebuild it on so vast a scale that [)osterity should deem it the work of mad- men. Only the Giralda and the Court of Oranges were left as they were. The work was commenced in 1403 and finished in December, 1506. The dome was as high as the lower part of the Giralda; it fell in, how- ever, in 1511, and was restored by Juan Gil de Mon-

by Danchart in 1482 and is the largest in Spain. In the sacristy beyond it are preserved the "Alphonsine Tables" {Tablas Alfonsinas), a reliquary left by the Wise King. The splendid stalls of the choir are the work of Nufro Sdnchez, who wrought them in 1475. The Plateresque screen which closes the front of the sanctuary was designed by Sancho Munoz in 1510. The chapel of S. Antonio holds Murillo's famous picture of the saint's ecstasy and the Infant Jesus descending into his arms. The chapel royal contains the tombs of St. Ferdinand, Alfonso the Wise, and Beatrix, consort of the latter, while in the pantheon, behind the sanctuary, lie the remains of Pedro I, his son Juan, the Infante Fadrique, Alfonso XI, and other princes.

tanon in 1517. The principal facade, which looks to the east, extends the whole width of the building, and is as high as the naves, to which its five divisions corre- spond. The decoration of the upper part, including the rose window, are eighteenth-century work. The plan of the building is a rectangle, 380 by 250 feet, the chapel royal projecting an additional 62 feet to the east. It is roofed with seventy ogival vaults, sup- ported by thirty-two gigantic columns. In the win- dows above the door of the bell-tower is preserved the original design of the Giralda, which, it is said, was constructed by Gcver, to whom are attributed the invention of algebra, and the origin of the name (Al- Geber). Where the bell-chamber now is there stood another rectangular mass, surmounted with four enormous balls, or apples, of bronze. In the interior is an enormous spike which serves as an axis, from which thirty-five sloping planes radiate. In 1568 Fcrndn Ruiz, by order of the chapter, added ninety- two feet to the height of the tower, giving it its present form, and setting up the giraldillo, gyrating statue of Faith, which serves as a wind-vane. This statue, cast by Bartolomc Morel, measures over 13 feet in height and weighs 2S quintals (about 2840 lb.). The magnificent rcrcdos of the high altar was designed

After the cathedral, the Alcazar is the most note- worthy building in Seville. No other Mussulman building in Spain has been so well preserved. Inhab- ited for a time by the Abbatid, Almoravid, and AI- mohad kings, its embattled enclosure became the dwelling of St. Ferdinand, and was rebuilt by Pedro the Cruel (1353-64), who employed Granadans and Mohammedan subjects of his own (mudejares) as its architects. Its principal entrance, with Arab fagade, is in the Plaza de la Monteria, once occupied by the dwellings of the hunters (monteros) of Espinosa. The principal features of the Alcazar are the Court of the Ladies, brilliantly restored by Carlos I, with its fifty- two uniform columns of white marble supporting interlaced arches, and its gallery of precious ara- besques; and the Hall of Ambassadors, which, with its cupola, dominates the rest of the building, and the walls of which are covered with beautiful azulrjos (glazed tiles) and Arab decorations. The University of Seville was founded by Archdeacon Rodrigo Fer- nandez de Santaella, in virtue of an ordinance of the Catholic Sovereigns dated 22 Feb., 1502, and two Bulls of Julius II, of 1505 and 1506. It could not compete, however, with the powerful institutions of Salamanca and Alcald. The same Archdeacon San-