According to the standpoint of the critic, the Gothic kings’ taste for pomp and luxury may be interpreted as proof of their civilised instincts or of their native barbarism. For of the splendour of the Court of Toledo we have abundant testimony. From the writings of Isidore, we learn that the nobles used only goblets and basins of the precious metals, that their garments were of superfine silk, and their ornaments of the richest jewels. The elaborate ceremonial of the royal household may be inferred from the list of functionaries--the First Count, or Chief Butler, the _Escancias_; the Count Chamberlain, or _Cubiculario_; the Master of the Horse, _Estabulario_; the Major Domo, or _Numerario_; the Steward, or _Silonario_; the Master of the Pages, or _Espartarius_; the Count of the _Sagrarios_, or Sacred Things; and the Treasurer, or _Argentarios_. These offices were only held by the highest nobles. In the Cluny Museum at Paris and the Royal Armoury at Madrid are preserved the superb Votive Crowns discovered at Guarrazar in 1858. These priceless objects proclaim the wealth and munificence of the Visigothic monarchs. They are composed of double hoops of gold, decorated on the outside by three bands in relief. The outer bands are set with pearls and sapphires, and the middle band with the same stones in a setting of a red vitreous substance. The crown is suspended by four chains from a double gold rosette, which encloses a piece of rock crystal set in facets. Each chain consists of four links, shaped like the leaf of the pear-tree, and _percées à jour_. In its original state the crown of King Swinthila, now in the Madrid Armoury, had, hanging from its lower rim, a cross and twenty-two letters, making up the inscription, SVINTHILANUS REX OFFERET. All and each of these letters were actual jewels, set in the red glassy paste already mentioned, to them being attached large single pearls and pear-shaped sapphires. Though only twelve letters were remaining when the crown was discovered, the dedication was skilfully reconstructed by Señores de Madrazo and Amador de los Rios. The crown of Recceswinth in the Cluny Museum and the crown of the Abbot Theodosius at Madrid do not differ greatly from that of Swinthila in style and material. Though the workmanship is rude compared with modern specimens of the goldsmith’s art, these crowns still excite admiration by their beauty and richness. Inquiring into the origin of their style, Señor de Riaño arrives at the conclusion that it “must be looked for in the East; their manufacture was most probably Spanish. We cannot imagine the extraordinary magnificence of the Visigothic court, so similar to that of Constantinople and other contemporary ones, without the presence at each of a group of artists whose task was to satisfy these demands.” Not only the applied arts, but letters and learning were cultivated at Toledo. Swinthila and Recceswinth delighted in the composition of