Toledo: an historical and descriptive account of the "City of generations"Calvert, Albert Frederick
History
Toledo: an historical and descriptive account of the "City of generations"
Calvert, Albert Frederick
Art -- Spain -- Toledo; Toledo (Spain) -- Description and travel; Toledo (Spain) -- History
The newer, or Christian, portion of the mosque contains some remarkable
mural paintings, discovered in 1871. They date from about the close of
the twelfth century, and exhibit pronounced Byzantine influence. It
seems satisfactorily established that two of the four female figures
represent Saints Eulalia and Martiana; and the other two, in all
probability, the martyrs Leocadia and Obdulia. The fifth figure--that of
a man--represents a prelate. It may be, as Mr. Leonard Williams thinks,
the Archbishop Bernardo, who figures largely in the annals of the
Reconquest; or the prelate’s patron saint. It is not to that archbishop,
however, but to one of his successors--possibly Don Gonzalo Perez
(1182-1193)--that the remodelling of the building into a Christian place
of worship should be ascribed.
This intensely interesting monument is the subject of several curious
and entertaining legends. In the days of Athanagild (and it is not
impossible, as we know, that the church may have existed at that time) a
crucifix, greatly venerated by the citizens, hung over the door. Two
evil-minded Jews, Sacao and Abishai by name, to express their hatred for
Christianity, drove a lance into the side of the figure. Instantly blood
gushed forth. The terrified Israelites hid the miraculous object in
their own home, but were traced by the stains of blood, and (it is
hardly necessary to add) torn to pieces. This irritated their
co-religionists, who, to avenge them, poisoned the feet of the statue.
This resulted in a second miracle, for when a devout woman was about to
kiss the feet, they were withdrawn--to the discovery and undoing, once
more, of the villainous Jews. The right foot of the image remains
withdrawn to the present day, that all men may know the truth of the
story.
Now we come to the explanation of the name “Cristo de la Luz.” When the
Moors were about to take the city, the Christians walled up the
miraculous crucifix, with a lamp burning before it. Three hundred and
seventy years passed; and on the glorious May 25, 1085, Alfonso VI. and
his Christian chivalry came riding into reconquered Toledo. Among the
cavaliers was the Cid, Ruy Diaz de Bivar. The warrior’s horse, on
passing the mosque, stumbled, or, as others have it, knelt. With
preternatural acuteness, the Cid suspected some unusual circumstance,
and had the adjacent wall broken down. Then was discovered the crucifix
with the lamp still burning brightly, as when placed there nearly four
centuries before. The mosque was reconsecrated on the spot; and the King
left his shield as a memento. There it hangs to-day, above the central
arch, bearing a white cross on a crimson ground. Whether it is authentic
or not, we cannot say, but below it one may read: _Esto es el escudo que
dejo en esta ermita el Rey Don Alfonso VI., cuando ganó á Toledo y se
dijo aqui la primera misa._
The Cristo de la Luz is no longer a church, and is now classed among the
national monuments of Spain.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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