The Story of SevilleGallichan, Walter M. (Walter Matthew)
History
The Story of Seville
Gallichan, Walter M. (Walter Matthew)
Seville (Spain)
The Crescent has vanished from the Giralda. A figure of Christian faith
stands there in its stead, and from the Cathedral issue the strains of
the choristers and the swelling of the organ. For long centuries this
spot in the heart of Seville has been dedicated to worship. Romans,
Visigoths, Moors and Catholic Christians each in their day of power have
bent the knee to their deities upon the ground which we are now
treading. It is a strange, composite fane! The lower part of the Giralda
is Moorish, the upper part Christian. In the middle of the Court of the
Oranges we have the Moslem fountain; and in the wall is a stone pulpit
from which many eminent Catholic divines have preached against heresy.
The Giralda, incorporated with the Cathedral, dominates all, but it is
the most Moorish feature of the great pile.
[Illustration: Stone Pulpit in Court of Oranges.]
We must now inspect the minaret. Our way is through the Capilla de la
Granada of the Cathedral. Here we may see one more monument of the
Moors, a horseshoe arch, once a part of the Mosque. Within, suspended
from the roof, is a huge elephant's tusk, a bridle, said to have
belonged to the Cid's steed, and a stuffed crocodile, a present from the
Sultan of Egypt, who sent it to Alfonso el Sabio, with a request for the
King's daughter as wife.
The ascent of the Giralda is not laborious. We can walk up the inclined
plane without losing breath; and at each window of the stages there are
lovely peeps of the city and the vast plain of the Guadalquivir. From
these windows there are fine outlooks upon the Cathedral, and the
details of its wonderful buttresses can be well studied as we ascend
stage by stage. The stages, or _cuerpos_, of the tower are all named.
We soon arrive at the Cuerpo de Campanas, where there is a peal of
bells. Santa Maria is a ponderous bell which cost ten thousand ducats.
It was set up in the year 1588 by the order of the Archbishop Don
Gonzalo de Mena. This bell is vulgarly called 'the plump' by reason of
its great bulk and weight. Its note is deep and resonant, and can be
heard all over the city, and far away in the country, when the wind is
favourable.
[Illustration: Cuerpo de Azucenas]
Another _cuerpo_ is that of the Azucenas, or white lilies, so called on
account of its architectural urns, with ironwork flower decorations. El
Cuerpo del Reloj (the Clock Tower) contained the first tower-clock made
in Spain. It was put in its place in the presence of King Enrique III.
The present clock was the work of José Cordero, a monk, and it dates
from 1765. It is said that portions of the old clock were used by
Cordero.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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