Toledo, the Story of an Old Spanish Capital — John Shaqi
Toledo, the Story of an Old Spanish CapitalLynch, Hannah
History
Toledo, the Story of an Old Spanish Capital
Lynch, Hannah
Toledo (Spain) -- Description and travel; Toledo (Spain) -- History
his flock, ordered the mouth of the cave to be built up and covered with
mud, 1543. Antonio Ponz, commenting on this prodigious and serious
account given by Lozano of a fabulous cave and an impossible tale, makes
merry over the naïve Spaniard's accuracy of description and facts. "One
would really believe he had seen it all," writes the unenthusiastic
Ponz, "the statue, the bronze, the _admirable_ sculpture, and had
measured the extent of the cave." The same may be said of Lozano's
grandiose description of the Roman buildings of which hardly a vestige
remained in his time, 1666. The Circo Maximo, Gamero asserts, was built
to hold a hundred thousand persons, from which we might infer that
Toledo under the Romans had an important population.
Approaching less apocryphal days, we learn that Toledo was one of the
earliest towns of Spain to embrace Christianity. It is even said that St
Peter and St James passed here, and some add St Paul, preaching the
Gospel and creating bishops. St Eugenius, of Greek or Roman origin, was
the first. The Spanish historians decline to accept the tradition that
St Denis of Paris sent Eugenius to Spain, preferring to keep him in
company with the Apostles. But it allows that he went to Paris to see St
Denis, and here was martyred near the city by the prefect, Fescenino
Sicino, his headless body being flung into a filthy lagoon so that his
disciples and admirers should never be able to find it. Two hundred
years later the lake gave up its dead, uncorrupted. One Ercoldo, being
ill, saw St Denis in sleep, who told him to rise cured, and go to the
lake, where he would find the body of the illustrious martyr awaiting
burial. At the same time he promised for the sake of Eugenius, great
health to the neighbourhood and the honour of many miracles. Pisa
records this tale at some length with unction and faith. Several
centuries later the emperor, Alfonso VII., grandson of the victor of
Toledo, obtained from his son-in-law, Louis of France, the right arm of
Eugenius as a relic, and the arm was brought to Spain in all pomp by the
Abbot of St Denis in person. Later, Philip II. obtained the entire body
from Charles IX., with the consent of the Cardinal, Duke of Lorrain,
Abbot of St Denis. The town prepared a magnificent reception for the
remains of the founder of its cathedral. Antonio de Rivera, the
choir-master, gives a detailed description of the triumphal arches, the
Latin and Castillian poems, the dances and other diversions of the hour.
The King was present as well as his unfortunate son, Don Carlos, the
princes of Hungary and Bohemia, Rodolpho and Hernesto, sons of
Maximilian, the bishops of Cordova, Siguenza, Segovia, Palencia, Cuenca,
Osuna, Lugo and Gerona. Francisco Bayeu painted a fine fresco of the
scene for the cathedral cloisters, representing the entrance of the
remains under the Puerta de Visagra.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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