THE ALHAMBRA

                    HE WHO SEVILLA HAS NOT SEEN
                      HAS NOT SEEN A MARVEL GREAT;
                    WHO TO GRANADA HAS NOT BEEN
                      CAN HAVE NOTHING TO RELATE.

                               _Spanish Popular Rhyme._


            [Illustration: Signature: _Albert F. Calvert_]




                            [Illustration:

                                  THE
                               ALHAMBRA
                        BEING A BRIEF RECORD OF
                      THE ARABIAN CONQUEST OF THE
                      PENINSULA WITH A PARTICULAR
                       ACCOUNT OF THE MOHAMMEDAN
                      ARCHITECTURE AND DECORATION
                         BY ALBERT F. CALVERT

                  LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY HEAD
                  NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY, MCMVII
                                   ]




            E. Goodman and Son, The Phœnix Press, Taunton.


                                  TO

                    HIS MAJESTY KING ALFONSO XIII.

                                 SIRE,

The great interest your Majesty has evinced in the Moorish Monuments
which adorn your Majesty’s loyal and noble country, and the gracious
appreciation with which you were pleased to regard my first work on The
Alhambra, inspired me with the presumption to solicit the honour of your
Majesty’s August Patronage for this volume, which is humbly dedicated to
your Majesty agreeably to your gracious permission, by

                    Your Majesty’s humble Servant,

                          ALBERT F. CALVERT.




PREFACE


Although the admission may be construed by the censorious as betraying a
lack of becoming diffidence, I am tempted to believe that no apology
will be demanded for the publication of this volume by that section of
the reading public for which it has been chiefly compiled. My temerity
goes even further, and I anticipate with some confidence that visitors
to the Alhambra, and pilgrims to that glorious Mecca of Moorish
workmanship will recognise in this book an earnest attempt to supply a
long-felt want. When I paid my first visit to Granada some years ago, I
was surprised and disappointed to find that no such thing as an even
fairly adequate illustrated souvenir of this “city of the dawn” was to
be obtained. Many tomes, costly and valuable (not necessarily the same
thing), have been written to place on record the wonders of “the
glorious sanctuary of Spain,” but these are beyond the reach of the
general public. Many beautiful pictures have caught odd ecstasies of
this superb and perfectly harmonised palace of art, but these
impressions are not available to the ordinary tourist.

What is wanted, as I imagine, is a concise history and description of
the Alhambra, illustrated with a series of pictures constituting a
tangible remembrancer of the delights of this Granadian paradise

    “Where glory rests ’tween laurels,
     A torch to give thee light!”

The Alhambra may be likened to an exquisite opera which can only be
appreciated to the full when one is under the spell of its magic
influence. But as the witchery of an inspired score can be recalled by
the sound of an air whistled in the street, so--it is my hope--the pale
ghost of this Moorish fairy-land may live again in the memories of
travellers through the medium of this pictorial epitome.

I desire, however, to submit an explanation--or excuse--for the unusual
form in which this volume is issued. At the commencement of my work I
experienced no little difficulty in collecting the requisite
illustrations, for most of the obtainable photographs were ill-chosen
and but carelessly developed, and I was compelled to press my own
cameras into the service of my scheme. But when my designs became known,
I was inundated with offers of pictures of every description until the
embarrassment of artistic treasures entirely upset the original purpose
of my book. Artists placed their studies at my disposal; collectors
begged me, with irresistible Spanish courtesy, to regard their galleries
as my own; and students directed my attention to little known
publications on the subject.

Don Mariano Contreras, Conservator of the Alhambra, the son of the
gifted Raphaël Contreras, who devoted thirty-seven years of his life to
the restoration of the Palace--gave me the benefit of his knowledge of
this unique treasure-house of art; and I have also laid under
contribution the beautiful plates of Owen Jones, who disposed of a Welsh
inheritance in order to produce his great work on the _Plans,
Elevations, Sections and Details of the Alhambra_. Jones’s _Grammar of
Ornament_, which has been described as “beautiful enough to be the
horn-book of the Angels,” also contains the result of his researches in
the Alhambra, which occupied him for the greater part of eleven years. A
selection of these illustrations is here rescued from the obscurity of
public libraries and the inaccessible recesses of private collections.
The inclusion of John F. Lewis’s drawings, and the reproduction of a
series of pictures by James C. Murphy, who spent seven years in the
study of the artistic marvels of the Alhambra, I do not feel called upon
to defend. The photographs, several of which were placed at my disposal
by Don Rafaël Garzón, represent the buildings as they appear to-day; the
drawings were made before the Palace was damaged by the disastrous fire
of September, 1890.

For the historical portions of the description contained in the
letterpress I have levied tribute on a variety of authors. _The History
of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain_, by the learned Spanish
Orientalist, Don Pascual de Gayángos; Raphaël Contreras’ _Etude
Descriptive des Monuments Arabes_; Richard Ford’s reverent
appreciations; Dr. R. Dozy’s history; Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole’s _The
Moors in Spain_; Washington Irving’s fascinating writings; and _The
Alhambra Album_, presented by Prince Dolgorouki in 1829, containing the
autographs, poems and thoughts of succeeding generations of visitors to
Granada, these and many others have been drawn upon in the following
pages.

But the multiplicity of my illustrations convinced me that if I adhered
to my idea of furnishing an amount of letterpress sufficient to “carry”
the blocks, I should only end in producing a book that would tax the
physical endurance of my readers by reason of its bulk, and exhaust
their patience with a tedious superabundance of minute descriptive
pabulum. I resolved, therefore, to give pride of place to the pictorial
side of the volume; to abandon the traditions regulating the proportions
of prose to pictures; and make my appeal to the public by the beauty and
variety of the illustrations I have collected, and the immensity of
elaborate letterpress which I have not written.

                                                               A. F. C.

“ROYSTON,”

      HAMPSTEAD, N.W., 1904.




PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION


The compilation of a book of this kind reveals in the author a
refreshing optimism which does not always survive the ordeal of
publication, and it is perhaps out of sympathy with the misgivings that
assail him as he approaches the bar of public and critical opinion, that
convention cedes to him the privilege of making some apology for the
faith that is in him. In his preface he is permitted to explain himself,
and this _apologia_ or justification, call it which you will, stands as
the last word in his own defence. But the demand for a further edition
is the outcome of an amiable conspiracy on the part of the public, and
it is not required of the author to explain, justify, or excuse an issue
for which he is not directly responsible. Any revision or amplification,
however, which is to be found in a second impression, may be briefly
referred to, and at the same time tradition allows him to express the
feelings of gratitude and gratification that the occasion inspires. It
has been my ambition to acknowledge the favour with which this book has
been received, by having this edition produced with the greatest care on
special paper, and by the addition of a number of new illustrations,
including some half-tone and coloured plates reproduced from the
_Monumentos Arquitectonicos de España_ and others, which I have acquired
since it was first produced. It will be seen that several of the
coloured pictures illustrate designs which are common to the Arabian
ornamentation to be found in Cordova and Seville, and as being
representative of the Moresco work of the period, they also appear in
the companion volume on “Moorish Remains in Spain,” but it may be stated
that the whole of the plates reproduced here are from photographs and
drawings secured, or specially made to illustrate _The Alhambra_. In
its pictorial appeal it has been my ambition to make this edition as
worthy of its subject as means and ability permit, and I offer this
assurance as an earnest of my sincere appreciation of the generous
manner in which the Press and public rewarded my previous effort.

                                                               A. F. C.




List of Illustrations.


                                                                    PAGE

FRONTISPIECE

PANELS AND INSCRIPTIONS IN THE ALHAMBRA                           xxxiii.

VARIOUS MOSAICS FROM THE ALHAMBRA                                 xxxvii.

PANEL ORNAMENT IN THE ALHAMBRA                                     xxxix.

FRET.--FIG. 1. FORMED BY THE INTERLACING OF LINES                    xli.

FRET.--FIG. 2. FORMED BY THE INTERLACING OF LINES                   xlii.

PLAN OF GENERAL CONSTRUCTION OF CENTRAL ORNAMENT OF
CEILINGS                                                           xliii.

SECTION OF THE COLUMNS AND ARCHES OF GENERAL CONSTRUCTION
IN THE PALACE                                                       xliv.

DIAGRAMS                                                             xlv.

MISCELLANEOUS ORNAMENT IN THE ALHAMBRA                             xlvii.

CORNICES, CAPITALS, AND COLUMNS IN THE ALHAMBRA                     xlix.

CAPITALS FROM THE COURTS AND HALLS OF THE ALHAMBRA                    li.

VIEW OF GRANADA, SHOWING THE ALHAMBRA AND THE SIERRA NEVADA            2

GENERAL VIEW OF THE ALHAMBRA FROM SAN NICOLAS                          3

PART OF THE ALHAMBRA, EXTERIOR                                         4

THE ALHAMBRA AND THE SIERRA NEVADA                                     5

ASCENT TO THE ALHAMBRA BY THE CUESTA DEL REY CHICO--LESSER
KING HILL                                                              7

BALCONY OF THE “CAPTIVE” (ISABEL DE SOLIS), OVERLOOKING THE
VEGA, OR PLAIN, OF GRANADA                                             8

ALCOVE OF THE “CAPTIVE”                                                9

INTERIOR OF THE “CAPTIVE’S” TOWER                                     11

THE GOTHIC INSCRIPTION SET UP IN THE ALHAMBRA BY THE COUNT OF
TENDILLA, TO COMMEMORATE THE SURRENDER OF THE FORTRESS
IN 1492                                                               14

THE SURRENDER OF GRANADA BY BOABDIL TO FERDINAND AND ISABELLA,
JANUARY 2ND, 1492                                                     15

GOLD COIN (OBVERSE AND REVERSE) OF MOHAMMED I., THE FOUNDER
OF THE ALHAMBRA, WHO REIGNED 1232-1272 A.D.                           21

“WA LA GHALIB ILA ALÁ!”--THERE IS NO CONQUEROR BUT GOD!--THE
FAMOUS MOTTO, IN KUFIC CHARACTERS, OF MOHAMMED I. AND
HIS SUCCESSORS, WHICH IS INSCRIBED ON THE WALLS OF THE
ALHAMBRA IN COUNTLESS REPETITION                                  25, 51

THE WINE GATE, ATTRIBUTED TO YÚSUF I.                                 29

HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS FROM THE ENTRANCE DOOR, BUILT BY
YÚSUF I.                                                              30

THE SULTÁN’S BATH, CONSTRUCTED BY YÚSUF I.                            31

COURT OF MYRTLES, OR OF THE FISH-POND, FORMED BY YÚSUF I.             32

THE KORÁN RECESS IN THE MOSQUE, THE SCENE OF YÚSUF’S
ASSASSINATION                                                         33

THE GATE OF JUSTICE, ERECTED BY YÚSUF I.                              37

HALL OF JUSTICE AND COURT OF THE LIONS                                39

HALL OF JUSTICE                                                   41, 43

HALL OF JUSTICE, SHOWING FOUNTAIN OF COURT OF THE LIONS               42

HALL OF JUSTICE AND PART OF COURT OF THE LIONS                        45

HALL OF JUSTICE.--THREE FIGURES FROM THE PICTURE OF THE MOORISH
TRIBUNAL                                                              45

PART OF PICTURE IN THE HALL OF JUSTICE REPRESENTING A CHRISTIAN
KNIGHT RESCUING A MAIDEN FROM A WICKED MAGICIAN, OR
WILD-MAN-O’-THE-WOODS. THE CHRISTIAN KNIGHT IS, IN TURN,
SLAIN BY A MOORISH WARRIOR                                            47

HALL OF JUSTICE.--MOOR’S HEAD                                         48

FAÇADE, COURT OF THE MOSQUE, BUILT BY YÚSUF I.                        49

ELEVATION OF THE ANCIENT GATE OF JUSTICE                              53

SECTIONS OF THE HALL OF JUSTICE                                       55

PAINTINGS ON THE CEILING OF THE HALL OF JUSTICE                   57, 59

PART OF PICTURE IN THE HALL OF JUSTICE.--THE MOOR’S RETURN
FROM HUNTING                                                          61

HALL OF JUSTICE.--THE DEATH OF THE LION AT THE HANDS OF A
CHRISTIAN KNIGHT                                                      63

PART OF PICTURE IN HALL OF JUSTICE.--MOORISH HUNTSMAN SLAYING
THE WILD BOAR                                                         63

ENTRANCE TO HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS, FROM THE COURT OF LIONS          65

HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS, FROM ENTRANCE DOOR                           66

HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS                                      67, 79, 113

UPPER BALCONY OF THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS                          68

HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS, FROM THE “LINDARAJA” BALCONY                 69

BALCONY OF THE FAVOURITE, “LINDARAJA”                                 71

DETAILS OF THE GLAZED TILES IN THE DADO OF THE HALL OF THE
TWO SISTERS                                                           73

THE FAVOURITE’S BALCONY                                               76

EL JARRO. THE ARABIAN VASE AND NICHE IN WHICH IT FORMERLY
STOOD, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS. THE VASE, CONSIDERABLY
MUTILATED, IS NOW IN THE MUSEUM OF THE PALACE                     77, 95

HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS                                               79

VIEW IN THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS                                   81

DETAIL OF THE UPPER STORY, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS                    83

SECTION OF THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS, AND SECTION OF PART OF
THE COURT OF THE LIONS                                            84, 85

INSCRIPTIONS IN THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS                       87, 89

PANEL, ORNAMENT, AND INSCRIPTIONS IN THE HALL OF THE TWO
SISTERS                                                               91

DETAILS ON THE FRONT OF “LINDARAJA’S” BALCONY                         93

DETAILS AT THE EXIT OF THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS                    97

AN ARAB VASE OF THE XIVTH CENTURY IN THE NICHE WHEREIN IT
STOOD UNTIL THE YEAR 1837                                             99

MOSAIC IN DADO OF THE ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS        100

MOSAIC IN DADO OF RECESS, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS                    101

MOSAIC IN DADO, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS                              101

HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES (BENI CERRAJ)                               105

MOSAIC--HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES                                     107

HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES                                   109, 119, 121

WOODEN DOOR, HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES                                111

INTERIOR VIEW, TAKEN FROM THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS                115

CEILING OF THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS                               117

CEILING OF THE HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES                              124

MOSAIC, FROM A FRAGMENT IN THE ALHAMBRA                              125

MOSAIC, NORTH SIDE OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS                         125

CHIEF GATE OF THE ALHAMBRA                                           127

TRANSVERSAL SECTION OF THE ALHAMBRA                                  129

SECTION SHOWING HEIGHTS OF THE ALHAMBRA                              131

ELEVATION OF THE “WINE GATE”                                         133

THE GATE OF JUDGMENT                                                 135

PORCH OF THE GATE OF JUDGMENT                                        137

A SECTION OF THE GATE OF JUDGMENT                                    139

INTERIOR PERSPECTIVE OF THE ALHAMBRA                                 141

VIEW OF THE AQUEDUCT, NEAR THE ALHAMBRA                              143

A VIEW OF THE ALHAMBRA FROM THE ALBAYCIN                             145

GATE OF JUSTICE                                                      147

NORTH SIDE OF THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND                             151

ELEVATION OF AN ALCOVE IN THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND                 153

ELEVATION OF THE ARCADE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE COURT OF THE
FISH-POND                                                            155

SECTION THROUGH PART OF THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND AND THE
HALL OF THE AMBASSADORS                                              157

THE BATHS; HALL OF REPOSE                                            159

GROUND PLAN OF THE BATHS IN THE ALHAMBRA                             161

SECTION OF THE HALL OF THE BATHS                                     163

A SECTION OF THE BATHS IN THE ALHAMBRA                               165

THE SULTÁNA’S BATH                                                   167

THE SULTÁN’S BATH                                                    169

THE HALL OF THE BATHS                                                171

CEILING OF THE HALL OF THE BATHS                                     173

LONGITUDINAL SECTION THROUGH THE BATHS                               175

THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR, OF THE MYRTLES             177, 181, 191

GALLERY, THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR, OF THE MYRTLES              179

DETAILS OF THE GALLERY IN THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR, OF
THE MYRTLES                                                          183

COURT OF THE FISH-POND                                          185, 193

ENTRANCE TO THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR, OF THE MYRTLES           187

ORNAMENT IN THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR, OF THE MYRTLES           189

GALLERY IN THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR, OF THE MYRTLES            195

ENTRANCE TO THE COURT OF THE LIONS                                   196

MOSAIC, SOUTH SIDE OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS                         196

FOUNTAIN AND EAST TEMPLE IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS                   197

THE COURT OF THE LIONS                                198, 199, 201, 213

GENERAL VIEW OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS                          203, 207

LITTLE TEMPLE IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS                              205

FOUNTAIN IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS                                   205

A LITTLE TEMPLE IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS                            206

A PEEP INTO THE COURT OF THE LIONS                                   206

THE COURT OF THE LIONS, FROM THE WEST                                209

TEMPLE IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS                                     211

SIDE ELEVATION OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS AND FOUNTAIN                215

ELEVATION OF THE FOUNTAIN OF THE LIONS                               217

FOUNTAIN OF THE LIONS, WITH DETAILS OF THE ORNAMENT                  219

PLAN OF THE BASIN OF THE FOUNTAIN OF THE LIONS                       221

THE FIRST SIX VERSES OF THE INSCRIPTION AROUND THE BASIN OF THE
FOUNTAIN OF THE LIONS                                                223

THE LAST SIX VERSES OF THE INSCRIPTION AROUND THE BASIN OF THE
FOUNTAIN OF THE LIONS                                                225

ENTABLATURE IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS                                227

DETAILS OF THE CENTRE ARCADE OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS               229

PART OF PANEL IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS                              231

ENTRANCE TO THE COURT OF THE LIONS                              233, 237

ENTRANCE TO THE COURT OF THE LIONS (UPPER PORTION)                   235

LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS, TAKEN THROUGH
THE PAVILION AT EACH END OF THE COURT, AND EXHIBITING
AN ELEVATION OF THE SIDE PORTICOS                               238, 239

CAPITALS IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS, WITH A MEASURE OF ONE
METRE                                                                241

NORTH GALLERY IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS                              243

ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF THE BARQUE, WITH VIEW OF THE COURT
OF THE FISH-POND; OR, OF THE MYRTLES                                 245

THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS                                         247, 253

MOSAIC IN DADO, HALL OF AMBASSADORS                                  248

GENERAL VIEW OF THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS                         249, 251

ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF THE BARQUE, THE ANTE-ROOM OF THE
HALL OF AMBASSADORS                                                  255

PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS                          257

SECTION AND ELEVATION OF THE INTERIOR OF THE HALL OF
AMBASSADORS                                                          259

DETAIL IN THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS                                    261

KUFIC INSCRIPTIONS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS                              263

MOSAIC ON DADO OF BALCONY, HALL OF AMBASSADORS                       265

ORNAMENT FROM THE SIDE OF A WINDOW,
HALL OF AMBASSADORS                                   267, 279, 285, 287

MURAL ORNAMENT, ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS                  269

ORNAMENT AT THE SIDE OF DOORWAY, ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF
AMBASSADORS                                                          271

AN ARABIAN ORNAMENT, HALL OF AMBASSADORS                             273

AN ARABIAN ORNAMENT, ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS             275

INSCRIPTIONS AND ORNAMENT, HALL OF AMBASSADORS                       277

INSCRIPTIONS IN THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS                              281

MURAL ORNAMENT, HALL OF AMBASSADORS                                  283

ORNAMENT FROM THE SIDE OF A WINDOW, NORTH FRONT OF THE HALL
OF AMBASSADORS                                                       289

ORNAMENT IN THE SIDE OF A WINDOW, HALL OF AMBASSADORS                291

A CEILING IN OUTLINE, HALL OF AMBASSADORS                            293

THE CEILING OF THE DOME LAID FLAT, HALL OF AMBASSADORS               295

DETAILS OF GLAZED TILES IN THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS                   297

MOSAIC IN DADO, EAST SIDE OF THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS                 299

MOSAIC IN DADO, NORTH SIDE OF THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS                299

MOSAICS IN DADO, HALL OF AMBASSADORS                                 301

CEILING OF GALLERY, HALL OF AMBASSADORS                              303

EXTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE (PRIVATE PROPERTY)                            304

FAÇADE OF THE MOSQUE                                                 305

ELEVATION OF PORTICO ADJACENT TO THE MOSQUE                          307

DETAILS OF ORNAMENT OF KORÁN RECESS NEAR THE ENTRANCE DOOR
OF THE MOSQUE                                                        309

DETAILS OF ORNAMENT IN THE COURT OF THE MOSQUE                       311

DETAILS IN THE COURT OF THE MOSQUE, EASTERN FAÇADE                   313

ARCHED WINDOWS OF THE MOSQUE                                         315

INTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE                                          317, 319

THE MOSQUE, FROM KORÁN RECESS                                        319

ARAB LAMP IN THE MOSQUE                                              321

CHAMBER OF REPOSE                                          324, 325, 327

GARDEN OF “LINDARAJA,” AND THE APARTMENTS TRADITIONALLY SAID
TO HAVE BEEN OCCUPIED BY “LINDARAJA,” A FAVOURITE
SULTÁNA                                                              328

THE GARDEN OF “LINDARAJA”                                            329

MOSAIC PAVEMENT IN THE QUEEN’S DRESSING-ROOM (TOCADOR DE LA
REINA)                                                          331, 440

“THE QUEEN’S DRESSING-ROOM,” AT THE SUMMIT OF THE MIHRÁB
TOWER, WITH DISTANT VIEW OF THE GENERALIFE                           332

TOWERS AND PROMENADE                                                 333

THE TOWER OF THE PEAKS                                               336

THE HOMAGE TOWER, ANCIENT ARAB RUINS IN THE ALCAZÁBA                 337

GRANADA, FROM THE HOMAGE TOWER                                       337

THE CAPTIVE’S TOWER                                                  339

INTERIOR OF THE INFANTAS TOWER                                       339

TOWER OF INFANTAS                                               341, 345

INTERIOR OF THE INFANTAS TOWER (CEILING)                             343

ROOM IN THE TORRE DEL CAUTIVO, OR CAPTIVE’S TOWER                    347

THE LADIES’ TOWER                                                    347

TORRE DE LA AQUA--TOWER OF THE AQUEDUCT                              349

DETAIL OF THE ONLY ANCIENT JALOUSIE REMAINING IN THE ALHAMBRA        349

THE INFANTAS TOWER                                                   351

DETAILS OF THE ENTRANCE DOOR TO THE MUSEUM                           353

BAS-RELIEF, NOW IN THE MUSEUM OF THE ALHAMBRA                        355

BAS-RELIEF, FROM AN ENGRAVING IN MURPHY’S ARABIAN ANTIQUITIES        355

PALACE OF CHARLES V.                                            356, 361

ELEVATION OF SECTION OF THE PALACE OF CHARLES V.                     357

INTERIOR, PALACE OF CHARLES V.                                       359

ROMAN COURT, PALACE OF CHARLES V.                                    363

PLAN OF THE ALHAMBRA                                                 365

GROUND FLOOR PLAN OF THE ALHAMBRA, AND OF THE FOUNDATIONS OF
THE PALACE OF CHARLES V.                                             367

PLAN OF THE PALACE OF CHARLES V., AND OF THE SUBTERRANEAN
VAULTS OF THE ALHAMBRA                                               369

HALL OF JUSTICE                                                      371

SUNK LINES ON THE WALLS, HALL OF JUSTICE AND COURT OF THE
LIONS                                                                373

FRIEZE IN THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS                                375

PANEL ON JAMBS OF DOORWAYS, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS                  375

ORNAMENT IN PANELS, HALL OF THE BARQUE                               377

ORNAMENT IN PANELS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS                              377

CORNICE OVER COLUMNS, COURT OF THE LIONS                             379

FRIEZE OVER COLUMNS, COURT OF THE LIONS                              379

BAND ROUND PANELS IN WINDOWS, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS                381

PANELLING IN WINDOWS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS                            381

ORNAMENT IN PANELS, COURT OF THE MOSQUE                              383

ORNAMENTS AT THE JUNCTIONS OF INSCRIPTIONS, COURT OF THE LIONS,
AND COURT OF THE FISH-POND                                           385

SUNK LINES ON THE WALLS, HOUSE OF THE COMMANDANT                     387

ORNAMENT IN PANELS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS                              389

DETAILS OF THE ORNAMENTS WHICH ARE INTRODUCED INTO THE PAINTING
OVER THE CENTRE ALCOVE OF THE HALL OF JUSTICE                        391

DETAILS AND ARABIAN INSCRIPTIONS                                     393

DETAILS OF ARABIAN WORK                                              395

DETAILS AND INSCRIPTIONS AND ARABIAN CHAPITERS                       397

DETAILS OF ARABIAN WORK                                              399

GROUND PLAN OF THE GENERALIFE AT GRANADA                             403

THE GENERALIFE                                             405, 407, 413

A VIEW OF THE ROYAL VILLA OF THE GENERALIFE AT GRANADA               409

TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE ROYAL VILLA OF THE GENERALIFE AT
GRANADA                                                              411

GARDEN OF THE GENERALIFE                                             415

PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE GARDEN OF THE GENERALIFE                     417

ELEVATION AND GROUND PLAN OF THE PORTICO OF THE GENERALIFE           419

MOSAIC, PORTICO OF THE GENERALIFE                                    421

FRONT VIEW OF THE PORTICO OF THE GENERALIFE                          423

A CEILING IN THE GENERALIFE                                          425

GENERALIFE (PORTRAIT GALLERY), ENTRANCE TO THE GALLERY OF
RETRATOS                                                             427

GALLERY IN THE ACEQUIA COURT, GENERALIFE                        427, 437

GALLERY IN THE GENERALIFE                                            429

THE ACEQUIA COURT, GENERALIFE                                   431, 435

THE ACEQUIA COURT, FROM THE MAIN ENTRANCE, GENERALIFE                433

A CORNER OF THE ACEQUIA COURT, GENERALIFE                            435

CYPRESS COURT, GENERALIFE                                            437

MOSAIC PAVEMENT IN THE DRESSING-ROOM OF THE SULTÁNA                  440

SABRE OF THE LAST MOORISH KING OF GRANADA                            441

ELEVATION OF THE CASA DEL CARBON, OR “HOUSE OF CARBON,” ONCE
KNOWN AS THE HOUSE OF THE WEATHER-COCK                               443

HOUSE OF SANCHEZ                                                     445

PLAN AND SECTION OF THE GREAT CISTERN IN THE ALHAMBRA                447




List of Coloured Illustrations.


PLATE.  NO.                            DESCRIPTION.

I.        1   ORNAMENT IN PANELS ON THE WALLS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

II.       2   SOFFITT OF AN ARCH, COURT OF THE FISH-POND.

III.      3   ORNAMENT OVER DOORWAY AT THE ENTRANCE, COURT OF
                  THE LIONS.

IV.       4   ORNAMENT IN DOORWAY AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE VENETA,
                  HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.

V.        5   ORNAMENT ON THE SIDE OF WINDOWS, UPPER STOREY, HALL
                  OF THE TWO SISTERS.

VI.       6   ORNAMENT IN SPANDRILS OF ARCHES, HALL OF THE TWO
                  SISTERS.

VI.       7   ORNAMENTS IN SPANDRILS OF ARCHES, HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES.

VII.      8   ORNAMENTS IN PANELS, HALL OF THE AMBASSADORS.

VIII.     9   ORNAMENTS IN PANELS, COURT OF THE MOSQUE.

IX.      10   ORNAMENT OVER ARCHES AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE COURT
                  OF THE LIONS.

X.       11   ORNAMENT ON THE WALLS, HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES.

XI.      12   ORNAMENT IN PANELS ON THE WALLS, COURT OF THE MOSQUE.

XII.     13   SPANDRIL OF AN ARCH OF WINDOW, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

XIII.    14   BRACKETS SUPPORTING CEILING OF THE PORTICO, COURT OF
                  THE LIONS.

XIV.     15   SMALL PANEL IN JAMB OF A WINDOW, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

XV.      16   SMALL PANEL IN JAMB OF A WINDOW, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

XVI.     17   SMALL PANEL IN JAMB OF A WINDOW, HALL OF THE TWO
                  SISTERS.

XVII.    18   PANEL IN THE UPPER CHAMBER OF THE HOUSE OF SANCHEZ.

XVIII.   19   SOFFITT OF GREAT ARCH AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE COURT
                  OF THE FISH-POND.

XIX.     20  SPANDRIL FROM NICHE OF DOORWAY AT THE ENTRANCE OF
                 THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS, FROM THE HALL OF THE
                 BARK.

XX.      21  LINTEL OF A DOORWAY, COURT OF THE MOSQUE.

XXI.     22  CAPITAL OF COLUMNS, COURT OF THE LIONS.

XXI.     23  CAPITAL OF COLUMNS, COURT OF THE LIONS.

XXII.    24  CAPITAL OF COLUMNS, COURT OF THE LIONS.

XXII.    25  CAPITAL OF COLUMNS, COURT OF THE LIONS.

XXIII.   26  CAPITAL OF COLUMNS, COURT OF THE FISH-POND.

XXIII.   27  CAPITAL OF COLUMNS, COURT OF THE FISH-POND.

XXIV.    28  ORNAMENT ON THE WALLS OF THE WINDOWS OF “LINDA-RAJA’S”
                 BALCONY.

XXIV.    29  ORNAMENT ON THE WALLS OF THE WINDOWS OF “LINDA-RAJA’S”
                 BALCONY.

XXIV.    30  ORNAMENT ON THE WALLS OF THE WINDOWS OF “LINDA-RAJA’S”
                 BALCONY.

XXIV.    31  ORNAMENT ON THE WALLS OF THE WINDOWS OF “LINDA-RAJA’S”
                 BALCONY.

XXIV.    32  ORNAMENT ON THE WALLS OF THE WINDOWS OF “LINDA-RAJA’S”
                 BALCONY.

XXIV.    33  ORNAMENT ON THE WALLS OF THE WINDOWS OF “LINDA-RAJA’S”
                 BALCONY.

XXV.     34  COURT OF THE LIONS.

XXVI.    35  CAPITALS IN THE HALL OF TWO SISTERS.

XXVII.   36  DETAILS OF THE GREAT ARCHES IN THE HALL OF THE BARK.

XXVIII.  37  ARCHES, COURT OF THE LIONS AND HALL OF JUSTICE.

XXIX.    38  DETAILS OF THE GREAT ARCHES.

XXX.     39  FRETS FROM DIFFERENT HALLS.

XXXI.    40  DETAIL OF AN ARCH, COURT OF THE FISH-POND.

XXXII.   41  DETAIL OF AN ARCH, PORTICO OF THE COURT OF LIONS.

XXXIII.  42  CORNICE OF THE ROOF, COURT OF THE MOSQUE.

XXXIV.   43  DIVAN, COURT OF THE FISH-POND.

XXXV.    44  ACTUAL STATE OF THE COLOURS.

XXXVI.   45  WINDOWS IN THE ALCOVE, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.

XXXVII.    46  THE VASE.

XXXVIII.   47  DETAILS OF ONE OF THE ARCHES, HALL OF JUSTICE.

XXXIX.     48  DETAILS OF THE ARCHES, HALL OF THE ABENDERRAGES.

XL.        49  CENTRE PAINTING ON THE CEILING, HALL OF JUSTICE.

XLI.       50  MOSAIC DADO IN CENTRE WINDOW ON THE NORTH SIDE,
                   HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

XLII.      51  MOSAIC DADOS ON PILLARS BETWEEN THE WINDOWS, HALL
                   OF AMBASSADORS.

XLIII.     52  MOSAIC DADOS ON PILLARS BETWEEN THE WINDOWS, HALL
                   OF AMBASSADORS.

XLIV.      53  MOSAICS IN THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.

XLV.       54  MOSAIC DADO ROUND THE INTERNAL WALLS OF THE MOSQUE.

XLVI.      55  AZULEJOS. PAINTED TILES.

XLVII.     56  MOSAIC IN THE BATHS.

XLVII.     57  MOSAIC IN THE BATHS.

XLVIII.    58  MOSIAC FROM THE PORTICO OF THE GENERALIFE.

XLIX.      59  BLANK WINDOW, HALL OF THE BARK.

L.         60  SOFFITT OF ARCH, ENTRANCE OF THE HALL OF ABENDERRAGES.

LI.        61  CORNICE AT SPRINGING OF ARCH OF DOORWAY AT THE
                   ENTRANCE OF THE VENTANA, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.

LII.       62  BORDER OF ARCHES.

LII.       63  BORDER OF ARCHES.

LIII.      64  BORDER OF ARCHES.

LIV.       65  BORDER OF ARCHES.

LIV.       66  BORDER OF ARCHES.

LV.        67  ORNAMENT IN PANELS ON THE WALL, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

LVI.       68  ORNAMENTS PAINTED ON THE PENDANTS, HALL OF THE BARK.

LVI.       69  BANDS, SIDE OF ARCHES, COURT OF THE LIONS.

LVIII.     70  BANDS, SIDE OF ARCHES, COURT OF THE LIONS.

LVIII.     71  BANDS, SIDE OF ARCHES, COURT OF THE LIONS.

LIX.       72  ORNAMENTS ON PANEL, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

LX.        73  ORNAMENTS ON PANELS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

LXI.    74    ORNAMENTS ON PANELS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

LXII.   75    ORNAMENTS ON PANELS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

LXIII.  76    FRIEZE IN THE UPPER CHAMBER, HOUSE OF SANCHEZ.

LXIV.   77    CORNICE AT SPRINGING OF ARCHES, WINDOWS OF THE HALL
OF AMBASSADORS.

LXV.    78    SPANDRIL OF ARCH. FROM THE CENTRE ARCH OF THE COURT
OF THE LIONS.

LXV.    79    SPANDRIL OF ARCH. FROM THE ENTRANCE TO THE DIVAN,
HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.

LXVI.   80    DETAILS OF THE WOOD-WORK OF THE DOOR TO THE HALL OF
ABENCERRAGES.

LXVII.  81    SPANDRIL OF ARCH. HALL OF JUSTICE.

LXVII.  82    SPANDRIL OF ARCH. HALL OF JUSTICE.

LXVIII. 83    ORNAMENTS ON THE WALLS OF THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

LXIX.   84    SPANDRIL OF ARCH. FROM THE ENTRANCE TO THE COURT OF
LIONS FROM THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND.

LXIX.   85    SPANDRIL OF ARCH. FROM THE ENTRANCE TO THE COURT OF
THE FISH-POND FROM THE HALL OF THE BARK.

LXX.    86    MOSAIC. PILASTER, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

LXX.    87    MOSAIC. DADO, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

LXX.    88    MOSAIC. DADO, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.

LXX.    89    MOSAIC. PILASTER, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

LXX.    90    MOSAIC. DADO, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.

LXX.    91    MOSAIC. DADO, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.

LXX.    92    MOSAIC. PILASTER, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

LXXI.   93    PLASTER ORNAMENTS, USED AS UPRIGHT AND HORIZONTAL
BANDS ENCLOSING PANELS ON THE WALLS.

LXXII.  94    MOSAIC. DADO, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

LXXII.  95    MOSAIC. DADO, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

LXXII.  96    MOSAIC. DADO, IN CENTRE WINDOW, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

LXXII.  97    MOSAIC. FROM A COLUMN, HALL OF JUSTICE.

LXXII.  98    MOSAIC. DADO IN THE BATHS.

LXXII.  99    MOSAIC. DADO IN DIVAN, COURT OF THE FISH-POND.

LXXII.     100    MOSAIC. DADO, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.

LXXIII.    101    PANELS ON WALLS, TOWER OF THE CAPTIVE.

LXXIV.     102    BLANK WINDOW, HALL OF THE BARK.

LXXV.      103    RAFTERS OF A ROOF OVER A DOORWAY NOW DESTROYED
BENEATH THE TOCADOR DE LA REYNA.

LXXVI.     104    BAND AT SPRINGING OF ARCH AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE
HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS FROM THE COURT OF LIONS.

LXXVII.    105    PANELLING OF THE CENTRE RECESS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

LXXVIII.   106    PART OF CEILING OF THE PORTICO OF THE COURT OF THE
FISH-POND.

LXXIX.     107    BLANK WINDOW, HALL OF THE BARK.

LXXX.      108    ORNAMENTS ON THE WALLS, HOUSE OF SANCHEZ.




[Illustration: INTRODUCTION.]


“Andalus” is the name given by the Moors to that part of the Spanish
Peninsula wherein they were all-powerful for eight centuries. Andalus
comprehended the four kingdoms of Seville, Córdova, Jaen, and Granada.
(_Los Cuatro Reinos de Andalusia._)

About the year 403 of the Hegira (A.D. 1012) Granada first acquired
importance. Záwí, the African chief who then ruled in Andalusia from
Malaga to Almeria, declared himself independent, and transferred the
seat of government from Elvira[1] to Granada. Little by little the whole
population migrated to the new capital, so that Elvira dwindled to an
insignificant village, whilst Granada rose to be a magnificent city,
culminating in grandeur and importance during the reigns of three
enlightened sovereigns of the _Beni Nasr_ dynasty--Mohammed the First
(_Al-ghálib-billah_, A.D. 1232-1272), who commenced the Alhambra;[2]
Yúsuf the First (A.D. 1333), who added greatly to its beauty, and is
regarded as the monarch who completed the building; and Mohammed the
Fifth (_Al-ghaní-billah_), son of Yúsuf, who succeeded to the throne
upon the assassination of his father in 1354, and who finished the
decorations of many of the Courts and Halls of the Palace.

One of the earliest extant references to Granada is contained in the MS.
of _Ibnu Battúttah_, the Moslem traveller, who wrote in the fourteenth
century. About the year 1360 _Ibnu Battúttah_ journeyed from Morocco to
Andalus, and visited Granada, which he thus describes: “Granada is the
capital of Andalus, and the husband of its cities; its environs are a
delightful garden, covering a space of forty miles, and have not their
equal in the world. It is intersected by the well-known river
_Sheníl_[3] (Xenil) and other considerable streams, and surrounded on
every side by orchards, gardens, groves, palaces, and vineyards. One of
the most pleasant spots in its neighbourhood is that known by the name
of _’Aynu-l-adamar_--the fountain of tears--which is a spring of cold
and limpid water placed in the midst of delightful groves and gardens.”
The suburb of Granada here referred to, preserves to this day its Arabic
name corrupted into _Dinamar_, or _Adinamar_. It is a pleasant and
much-frequented spot, close to Granada.

The city of Granada was held in the highest estimation by Andalusian
poets. One ancient eulogist says: “If that city could reckon no other
honour but of having been the birthplace of the Wizír _Ibnu-l-khattíb_,
that alone would be sufficient. But Granada has not its like in the
world: neither Cairo, Baghdád, nor Damascus can compete with it; we can
only give an idea of its worth by comparing it to a beautiful bride, of
whose dower it should form part.”

The mention of the celebrated Wizír, _Ibnu-l-khattíb_, brings to mind a
particularly interesting figure in the history of the Alhambra, for to
him we owe the composition of many of the poems inscribed upon its
walls. He flourished A.D. 1313-1374. Amongst other works of the highest
value, of which he was the author, is a biographical dictionary of
illustrious Granadians. At an early age he attracted the notice of Yúsuf
I., who promoted him through many offices of the State, until he became
that Sultán’s Grand Wizír, in which capacity he served his master
faithfully and long. After the death of Yúsuf, he retained his high
office of Wizír under Mohammed V. for twenty years, when the hostility
of his foes brought upon him the suspicion of disloyalty. He was thrown
into prison, and strangled by order of Mohammed. “Thus,” says an
admiring biographer, “perished the phœnix of the age, the prince of
poets and historians of his time, and the model of Wizírs.”

The unfortunate _Ibnu-l-khattíb_ possessed, in the highest degree, the
faculty of improvisation. It is related that he was sent on an embassy
by Mohammed V. to implore the aid of _Fáris_, Sultán of Fez, against the
Christians. On entering the Hall of Audience, and before he delivered
his message, he uttered some verses which called forth the admiration of
all present, and were so much approved by the Sultán, that before
listening to what the Ambassador had to say on affairs of State, he
exclaimed: “By Allah! I know not the object of thy visit; but whatever
it may be, I grant the request.” In concluding the anecdote, the
narrator adds: “This circumstance elicited from the celebrated _Kádí_,
_Abú-l-kásim Ash-Sheríf_, who formed part of the embassy, the very just
remark that never until that time had there been an ambassador who
attained the object of his mission before he had made it known!”

The Mohammedans in Spain, whether considered as the enthusiastic
warriors whose victorious arms spread terror and consternation, or as
the cultivated race who acted as the pioneers of art, letters, and
civilisation, are entitled to a prominent place in the annals of Europe.
But, instead of being commended to the gratitude of succeeding ages, as
they assuredly deserved to be, the Arabs have been too frequently
charged with corrupting the infancy of modern literature; and this, in
the face of the verdict of a high authority on the literature of the
Spanish Moslems, who has declared that the material he cites proves the
superiority of the Andalusians to every other nation.

Spanish historians have always manifested contempt for the writings of
the Arabs. Rejecting the means afforded them by abundant Moorish
records, they have compiled their histories from one-sided national
authorities, disdaining to cast a glance on writings of the enemies of
their country and religion. The effects of such illiberality need
scarcely be pointed out. The history of Spain, during the Middle Ages,
has been, and still is, notwithstanding the labours of modern critics, a
tissue of fable and contradiction.

Nevertheless, it was reserved for a Spaniard--Don Pascual de
Gayángos--to give to the world the true history of the Mohammedans in
Spain. He fixed upon the manuscript account of _Ahmed Ibn Mohammed
Al-makkarí_, which gives an uninterrupted narrative of the conquests,
wars, and settlements of the Spanish Moslems from their first invasion
of the Peninsula to their final expulsion; and Don Pascual so enriches
his author’s text with a mass of notes and illustrations that the work
forms, if not the only, certainly the most valuable history of the Arabs
in Spain--even the recondite production of the German _savant_, the late
Dr. R. Dozy, of Leyden, _Histoire des Musulmans d’Espagne_, yields on
the score of usefulness.

_Al-makkarí_ wrote at the close of the sixteenth century. His life was
spent in literary pursuits, and in the society of the learned. He
appears to have resembled our own John Aubrey in his genius for taking
the greatest pains to collect his material from the most authentic
sources at his command; and, if he sometimes falls into slight
inaccuracies, his editor--Don Pascual--promptly sets the matter right in
a note of profound and judicious scholarship. That portion of
_Al-makkarí_ which most concerns the present volume is contained in the
second part of his work, and consists of extracts from various Arab
authors relating to the history of the kingdom of Granada. In a note
upon the etymology of the name “Andalus,” _Al-makkarí_ derives it from
_Andalosh_, a Moorish corruption for _Vandalocii_ (Vandals), with which
attribution Don Pascual seems to agree. _Al-makkarí_ concludes his
history with a pious ejaculation for the re-occupation of the country:
“May Allah restore it entire to the Moslems!”

It is to be lamented that an ungenerous spirit actuated the authorities
in Madrid at the time Gayángos was preparing his monumental work
(_circa_ 1840). In his own land, the assistance he had every right to
expect, was withheld! He tells us that he petitioned the Ministers of
Her Catholic Majesty for permission to visit the Library of the
Escorial, and he finds himself called upon to disclose a fact very
painful to his feelings. Don Pascual’s own words are: “Strange to say,
notwithstanding repeated applications, and the interference of persons
high in rank and influence, my request was positively denied,
professedly on the plea that the Library could not be opened, a
contention having arisen between the Government and the Royal Household
as to the possession of it!” Under the enlightened rule of King Alfonso
XIII. such treatment has become impossible: all that remains of the
literature, the splendid monuments of Arabian architecture, indeed
everything which exhibits memorials of the graceful people who have
passed away, is now open to the antiquary or the artist, and zealously
guarded with the most reverent care. No longer is there danger of wanton
spoliation of the ancient palace of the Moorish Kings of Granada. The
effort now is to retard the inevitable process of decay. The late Señor
Raphaél Contreras occupied himself for thirty-seven years in an attempt
to restore the defaced or partially-destroyed arabesques of the
Alhambra. In the course of his labour of love, it was his good fortune
to be rewarded, from time to time, by the discovery of inscriptions
which had long lain hidden; and his exertions were further recompensed
by the happiness of lighting upon and replacing parts of mutilated
ornament and portions of the edifice itself which had become dislodged
by accident or rapine, thus saving somewhat from the deluge of time.

The result of his research and discovery Don Raphaél placed before the
public in a scholarly work, entitled, _Etude Déscriptive des Monuments
Arabes_, published at Madrid, and which reached its fourth edition in
1889.

A separate, or supplementary volume was promised, which should treat of
Arabic Inscriptions remaining in Seville, Córdova, and more particularly
in Granada, belonging to the most important period of the Mohammedan
Domination in those parts of the Peninsula. It is greatly to be hoped
that the work may make its appearance under the auspices of his son, Don
Mariano Contreras, the present Conservator of the Alhambra.

That portion of the Alhambra, called the _Casa Real_, or Royal House,
appears to be but a very small part of the ancient Palace of the Moorish
Kings of Granada. It is to be regretted that no traces exist at the
present day by which its limits can be accurately defined; but we may
judge, from the gallery of

[Illustration: PANELS AND INSCRIPTIONS IN THE ALHAMBRA.]

two stories at the southern end of the Court of the Fish-pond, which
still remains, that the part of the Moorish building destroyed to make
way for the Palace of Charles V., must have been of considerable
consequence. No traces of the numerous apartments, which must have been
required for guards and attendants, now exist; and a most important
feature--the hareem--is wanting.

The Alhambra, occupying the plateau of the _Monte de la Assabica_, is
situated at one extremity of the city of Granada, above which it rises
like the Acropolis at Athens. The usual entrance is by the Gate of
Justice. From the Gate of Justice we pass the _Puerta del Vino_, or Wine
Gate, to the large square called the _Plaza de los Algibes_, or Place of
the Cisterns. On the right is the Palace of Charles V.; beyond, but
without revealing any indication of its internal beauty, is the
_Casa Real_; on the left of the Place of the Cisterns is the
_Alcazába_--_Kussábah_, the citadel--long used as a place of detention
for convicts. There are several ruined towers here, which are, perhaps,
the remains of the most ancient part of the fortress.

The severe and striking aspect of the towers with which the walls of the
fortress are studded, arouses no suspicion of the art and luxury
enshrined within; they are formed to impress the beholder with respect
for the power and majesty of the King; whilst within, the fragrant
shrubs and running streams, the porcelains, Mosaics, and gilded stucco
work, and particularly the pious inscriptions which are in such
profusion upon the walls, constantly reminded the sovereign how all that
ministered to his happiness was the gift of Allah.

The inscriptions are of three sorts--“_ayát_,” _i.e._, verses from the
Korán; “_asjá_,” pious or devout sentences not taken from the Korán;
and, thirdly, “_ash’ár_,” poems in praise of the builders or owners of
the Palace. Those belonging to either of the first two classes are
generally written in the Cufic character, and the letters are often so
shaped as to present a uniform appearance from both sides, and make the
inscription readable from the right to the left, and _vice versa_, or
upwards and downwards.

The innumerable sentences abounding everywhere in the Alhambra are so
harmonious and interweaving--producing such cross-lights of poetry and
praise, merging naturally and gracefully when the mind is torpid or
indifferent to them, into mere surface ornament--that they are never out
of place, but present always an unsatiating charm. Once, at least, an
inscription in the Palace has settled a dull controversy respecting the
use of the many small, highly-decorated recesses which are seen in the
apartments. On each side of the ante-room of the Hall of the Ambassadors
is one of these recesses resembling the piscinæ of our cathedrals.
Blundering wise men insistently averred that these niches were used by
suppliants as receptacles for their slippers before entering to an
audience, until an Arabic scholar pointed to an inscription round the
aperture, which reads: “_If anyone approach me complaining of thirst, he
will receive cool and limpid water, sweet and pure._” Any Spaniard ought
to have known that here were the places of the _Alcarraza_, or porous
earthen bottles common to all comers, even as they may now be found in
the halls of some Andalusian gentlemen.

Such a niche and water-vase are represented in this volume at page 77.

“Is the Alhambra,” asks Ford, “a palace of the _Arabian Nights_, or only
a tawdry ruin bedaubed with faded colour? And what of the colour as it
exists? Is it emeraldine or plaited flowers? No, in sober truth, the
colour is dim and faded; buried in some places under white flaky icicles
of whitewash, or blurred and besmirched as a dead butterfly’s wing. Here
and

[Illustration: VARIOUS MOSAICS FROM THE ALHAMBRA.]

there are revived bright scraps of azure, gold, and vermilion; but
generally dull of outline, and dim in low, deep, shadow tone.”

Where the Moorish work is imitated, greens and purples obtrude, to
demonstrate how inferior is modern decorative skill to the genius of the
ancient Arabs. The dados, or low wainscotings, are of square, glazed
tiles, which form a glittering breast-high coat of mail up to the lower
third of the Palace

[Illustration: PANEL ORNAMENT IN THE ALHAMBRA.]

walls. Here the colours are the same as those of the old Majolica ware.
Sometimes these _Azulejo_ tiles, with their low-toned enamel colours,
are formed into pillars, or pave the floors in squares of
_fleurs-de-lis_, or other heraldic emblems. In these dados, colour is
seen in the shade. The Moors wanted shade in a country where the sun is
solid fire--the colours deep, soft, and subdued as in an Arabian carpet.

The present pavement of the halls and courts of the Palace is either of
white marble, as in the Hall of The Two Sisters and Hall of the
Abencerrages, or of brick. Seldom, however, does it appear to be the
original flooring, as in many places it is considerably above the
ancient level, concealing the lower part of the Mosaic dados. On the
pavement of one of the alcoves of the Hall of Justice are still to be
seen painted tiles which seem to suggest a style of flooring more in
harmony with the general decoration of the Halls and Courts than either
those of marble or of brick. This deduction has been objected to by
persons conversant with the manners and customs of the Mohammedans, who
contend that it is impossible that these tiles--on which the name of God
is written--should have been trodden under foot. But it should be borne
in mind that the Arabs of Spain allowed themselves considerable laxity
in observing the behests of the Korán--as is evidenced by the fountain
in the Court of Lions, the bas-relief in the Museum of the Palace, and
the paintings in the Hall of Justice.

For the student who desires to pursue exhaustively the history of the
Moors in Spain, there are but two trustworthy authorities--Don Pascual
de Gayángos, the Spanish Orientalist and historian, and Dr. R. Dozy, of
Leyden. Don Pascual’s translation of _Al-makkarí_ has been largely drawn
upon in the compilation of the present volume, as also the “Handbook”
and “Gatherings” of Richard Ford (1845 and onward), which form the bases
of the indispensable Murray’s _Guide_. For the last days of the Moslems
in Spain, Sir William Stirling-Maxwell’s _Don John of Austria_ must be
read. The fascinating volumes of Washington Irving will, of course,
continue to delight so long as the English language endures, and no
better companions can be wished for on the spot where they were written
than his stories of _The Alhambra_ and _The Conquest of Granada_. Mr.
Henry Coppeé’s _History of the Conquest of Spain by the Arab Moors_, in
two volumes, _Boston_ (Mass.), 1881; Miss Charlotte Yonge’s _Christians
and Moors in Spain_; Mr. H. E. Watt’s _Spain from the Moorish Conquest
to the Fall of Granada_; the concise _Rise and Fall of the Muslim Empire
in Spain_, by our fellow-subject, Muhammed Hayat Khan, Lahore, 1897; and
Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole’s _The Moors in Spain_ should be consulted.


ORNAMENT.

However much disguised, the whole ornamentation of the Moors is
constructed geometrically.

[Illustration: FRET.--FIG. 1. FORMED BY THE INTERLACING OF LINES. THE
NUMEROUS FRETS THROUGHOUT THE PALACE ARE FORMED UPON THE TWO PRINCIPLES
EXHIBITED IN THIS AND FOLLOWING DIAGRAM.]

It is probable that the immense variety of Moorish ornaments, which are
formed by the intersection of equi-distant lines, could be traced
through the Arabian to the Greek fret.

The Moorish system of decoration reached its culminating point in the
ornament of the Alhambra. Owen Jones says: “The Alhambra is at the very
summit of perfection of Moorish art ... every principle which we can
derive from the study of the ornamental art of any other people is not
only ever present here, but was by the Moors more universally and truly
obeyed. We find in the Alhambra the speaking art of the Egyptians, the
natural grace and refinement of the Greeks, the geometrical combination
of the Romans, the Byzantines, and the Arabs.

[Illustration: FRET.--FIG. 2. FORMED BY THE INTERLACING OF LINES.]

The ornament wanted but one charm, which was the peculiar feature of the
Egyptian ornament--symbolism. This, the religion of the Moors forbade.”

The decoration of the Alhambra is peculiarly appropriate--the
circumstances of the people rendered the ornament beautiful for that
reason--when transplanted, though it loses nothing of its loveliness, it
becomes inexpressive.

The Moors ever regarded what architects hold to be the first principle
of architecture--to decorate construction--never to construct
decoration. In Moorish architecture, not only does the decoration arise
naturally from the construction, but the constructive idea is carried
out in every detail of the ornamentation of the surface. A superfluous,
or useless ornament is never found in Moorish decoration; every ornament
arises quietly and naturally from the surface decorated.

[Illustration: PLAN OF GENERAL CONSTRUCTION OF CENTRAL ORNAMENT OF
CEILINGS.]

The general forms were first cared for; these were sub-divided by
general lines; the interstices were then filled in with ornament again
to be sub-divided and enriched for closer inspection. The principle was
carried out with the greatest refinement, and the harmony and beauty of
all Moorish ornamentation derive success from its observance. The
greatest distinction was thus obtained; the detail never interfering
with the general form. When seen at a distance, the main lines strike
the eye; on nearer approach, the detail comes into the composition; upon
yet closer inspection, further detail is seen on the surface of the
ornaments themselves.

To the builders of the Alhambra, harmony of form consisted in the proper
balancing and contrast of the straight, the inclined, and the curved.

[Illustration: SECTION OF THE COLUMNS AND ARCHES OF GENERAL CONSTRUCTION
IN THE PALACE.]

As in colour, there can be no composition in which either of the three
primary colours is wanting, so in form, whether structural or
decorative, there can be no perfect composition in which either of the
three primary figures is lacking; variety and harmony in composition and
design depend on the pre-dominance and subordination of the three.

In his monumental work on the ornamentation of the Alhambra, the late
Owen Jones, who spent many years at Granada in collaboration with his
friend, M. Jules Goury, the eminent French architect, studying the
Palace of the Western Caliphs, furnishes diagrams in support of this
conclusion, which are here reproduced; and, furthermore, says: “In

[Illustration]

surface decoration, any arrangement of forms, as at A., consisting only
of straight lines, is monotonous, and affords but imperfect pleasure;
but, introduce lines which tend to carry the eye towards the angles, as
at B., and you have at once an additional pleasure.

[Illustration]

“Then add lines giving a circular tendency, as at C., and you have now
complete harmony: in this case the square is the leading form or tonic;
the angular and curved are subordinate.

“We may produce the same result in adopting an angular composition, as
at D., add the lines as at E., and we at once correct the tendency to
follow only the angular direction of the inclined lines; but, unite
these by circles as at F., and we have harmony still more nearly
perfect, _i.e._, repose, for the eye has now no longer any want that
could be supplied.”

Still, compositions distributed in equal lines or divisions will be less
beautiful than those which require a greater mental effort to appreciate
them: proportions the most difficult for the eye to detect will be the
most agreeable.

In surface decoration by the Moors, lines flow from a parent stem: every
ornament, however distant, can be traced to its branch and root; they
have the happy art of so adapting the ornament to the surface decorated,
that the ornament as often appears to have suggested the general form as
to have been suggested by it. In all cases we find the foliage flowing
out of a parent stem, and we are never offended, as in modern practice,
by the random introduction of an ornament set down without a reason for
its existence. However irregular the space they have to fill, they
always commence by dividing it into equal areas, and round these trunk
lines they fill in their detail, but invariably return to their parent
stem.

The Moors also followed another principle, that of radiation from the
parent stem, as we may see exemplified in nature by the human hand, or
in a chestnut leaf. When style becomes debased, neither of these laws is
followed; as in Elizabethan ornament, where nothing is continuous,
nothing radiates, all is haphazard.

All junctions of curved lines with curved, or of curved with straight,
should be tangential to each other. The Oriental practice always accords
with this principle. Many of their ornaments are on the principle which
is observable in the lines of a feather and in the articulations of a
leaf; and to this is due that additional charm found in all perfect
ornamentation, which is called “the graceful.”

[Illustration: MISCELLANEOUS ORNAMENT IN THE ALHAMBRA]

[Illustration: CORNICES, CAPITALS, AND COLUMNS IN THE ALHAMBRA. THE
SPLENDID CORNICE AT THE RIGHT-HAND TOP CORNER IS FROM THE LOGGIA OF THE
GENERALIFE.]

[Illustration: CAPITALS FROM THE COURTS AND HALLS OF THE ALHAMBRA.]

A further charm is found in the works of the Arabs and Moors from their
conventional treatment of ornament, which, forbidden as they were by
their creed to represent living forms, they carried to the highest
perfection. They ever worked as Nature works, but always avoided a
direct transcript; they took her principles, but did not attempt to copy
her works.

It is true that the Arabs in Spain, as already pointed out, once or
twice allowed themselves to disregard the behests of the Korán, as
instanced in the Fountain of Lions, and the bas-relief which is now
preserved in the Museum of the Alhambra; but the Mohammedan mosques of
Egypt, India, and Spain, show everywhere the calm, voluptuous
translation of the doctrines of the Korán: an art in unison with its
imaginative and poetic teachings which led them to adorn their temples
in a manner peculiar to themselves.


COLOUR.

The colours employed by the Moors on their stucco work were in all
cases, the primaries--blue, red, and yellow (gold). The secondary
colours--purple, green, and orange, occur only in the Mosaic dados;
which, being near the eye, formed a point of repose from the more
brilliant colouring above. It is true that, at the present day, the
grounds of many of the ornaments are found to be green; it will readily
be seen, however, on a minute examination, that the colour originally
employed was blue, which, being a metallic pigment, has become green
from the effects of time. This is proved by the presence of particles of
blue colour, which occur everywhere in the crevices: in the
“restorations” also, which were made by the Catholic kings, green and
purple were freely used.

The colouring of the Courts and Halls of the Alhambra was carried out
on so perfect a motive, that anyone who cares to make this a study, can,
with almost absolute certainty, on being shown for the first time a
piece of Moorish ornament in white, define at once the manner in which
it was coloured. So completely were all the architectural forms
designed, with reference to their subsequent colouring, that the surface
alone will indicate the colours they were destined to receive.

Notwithstanding the fact that the Moors, in their marvellous system of
decoration, worked on fixed rules, the effect of their infinite variety
leaves the observer under the impression that they arrived at their
amazing achievements by instinct, to which centuries of refinement had
brought them. One person may naturally sing in tune as another does by
acquired knowledge. The happier state, however, is where knowledge
ministers to instinct, and this must have been the case with the Moors.
Their poet exhorts us to attentively contemplate the adornments of the
Palace, and so reap the benefit of a commentary on decoration; this
invitation seems to imply that there was in their works something to be
learned as well as much that might be felt.

Mr. Owen Jones admits that there is no authority for the gilding of the
columns: wherever the columns are of marble, the shafts are always free
from traces of colour of any kind. Gold, blue, and red are still seen on
most of the capitals, and, in some cases, the plaster half-columns
against the walls are covered by mosaic of a small pattern in glazed
earthenware. Nevertheless, the eminent authority on decoration is
strongly of opinion that the marble shafts could never have been,
originally, left entirely white; and, furthermore, he thinks that the
general harmony of the colouring above forbids such a supposition; but
the conclusion seems to be erroneous, when it is remembered that the
shafts of the columns are compared, in the graceful hyperbole of the
Inscriptions, to “transparent crystal;” and, again, “when struck by the
earliest beams of the rising sun, maybe likened to many blocks of
pearl.” Therefore, in view of the poetic reference by Moorish
versifiers, and the utter absence of any trace of colour on the marble,
it has been thought befitting to omit the gilding of the shafts in the
many reproductions in this volume from the beautiful coloured plates in
the work of Owen Jones. It should be recorded here that the book alluded
to is dedicated “To the Memory of Jules Goury, Architect, who died of
Cholera, at Granada, August 28th, 1834, whilst engaged in preparing the
original drawings for this work.”

Amongst the illustrations appearing on p. xlix. _supra_, which
principally consist of cornices, capitals, and columns in the Alhambra,
is a motto in Roman characters: TĀTO·MŌTA--Tanto Monta--pertaining to
Ferdinand and Isabella, and which is somewhat out of place in a page
otherwise devoted to Moorish ornament. The motto, of course, signifies
_tantamount_, and is meant to express an equality in power between the
two Sovereigns; Isabella zealously maintaining that her right of
exercising the royal authority was equivalent to that of her royal
consort: “_Tanto monta Isabella que Hernando, Hernando que
Isabella_”--of equal worth are Isabella and Ferdinand. The motto appears
in relief in the Court of the Lions.

Acknowledgment is made to the work of the late James Cavanah Murphy,
_Arabian Antiquities of Spain_, Lond., 1815, to which source we are
indebted for some of the illustrations to the present volume. Mr. Murphy
faithfully delineated, and admirably engraved the arabesques and mosaics
of the superb Courts and Halls of the Palace of the Alhambra at Granada.

For the rest, it may be said that a vast number of plates have been
specially prepared for the present volume; and it is thought a
confident expectation may be indulged of a favourable reception to an
attempt at preserving the reliques of a romantic pile--the glory and the
wonder of a civilised world.

    “I PRAY YOU, LET US SATISFY OUR EYES
     WITH THE MEMORIALS AND THE THINGS OF FAME
     THAT DO RENOWN THIS CITY.”

             _Twelfth Night, Act III., sc. 3._




The Alhambra.


The ancient citadel and residence of the Moorish monarchs of Granada is,
indisputably, the most curious, and in some ways the most marvellous
building that exists in the whole world. In its period, its
architectural style, and artistic effect, it is not without its
counterpart in Southern Spain; but the Alhambra was conceived and
constructed on so colossal a scale that it is accepted as the last word
in Arabian workmanship. From the outside it appears to be a forbidding
fortress, and, indeed, its walls are of prodigious strength; but within
it is a palace that was once the most voluptuous in the makings and
imaginings of man, and in which everything was made subservient to
luxury.

The singular fortunes of the Arabian, or Moresco-Spaniards, whose whole
existence is a tale that is told, certainly forms one of the most
anomalous, yet splendid episodes in history. Potent and durable as was
their dominion, we have no one distinct title by which to designate
them. They were a nation, as it were, without a legitimate country or a
name: a remote wave of the great Arabian inundation cast upon the shores
of Europe. From the year 710, when the Arab general Tarif landed at the
port which bears his name, and plundered Algeciras, to be succeeded in
the following year by a greater soldier, Geb-al-Tarik, whose name
survives in the title of “The Rock”--a familiar designation very dear to
Englishmen--the course of Moorish conquest from Gibraltar to the cliffs
of the Pyrenees was as rapid and brilliant as the ancient Moslem
victories of Syria and Egypt. Nay, had they not been checked on the
Plains of Tours by Charles _Martel_, who that day gained his
_sobriquet_--“The Hammerer”--all France, all Europe might have succumbed
to the ravages of the Saracenic warriors as completely as the empires of
the East were made to yield, and the crescent might have glittered on
the fanes of Paris and of London.

Repelled within the limits of the Pyrenees, the mixed hordes of Asia and
Africa that formed this great irruption, gave up the Moslem principle of
conquest, and sought to establish in Spain a peaceable and permanent
dominion. As conquerors, their heroism was only equalled by their
moderation; and in

[Illustration: VIEW OF GRANADA, SHOWING THE ALHAMBRA AND THE SIERRA
NEVADA.]

both, for a time, they excelled the nations with whom they contended.
Severed from their native homes, they loved the land given them, as they
supposed, by Allah, and strove to adorn it with all that could minister
to the happiness of man. By a system of wise and equitable laws they
formed an empire unrivalled for its prosperity by any of the empires of
Christendom, and diligently drew around them the graces and refinements
that marked the Arabian empire in the East at the time of its

[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF THE ALHAMBRA FROM SAN NICOLAS.]

greatest civilisation. If the superb remains of Moslem monuments in
Spain; if the Mosque of Córdova, the Alcázar of Seville, and the
Alhambra of Granada still bear inscriptions fondly vaunting the power
and permanency of the dominion of the Moor; can the boast be derided as
arrogant and vain? They were the outposts and frontiers of Islamism. The

[Illustration: PART OF THE ALHAMBRA, EXTERIOR.]

Southern part of the Peninsula was the great battle-ground where the
Gothic conquerors of the North, and the Moslem conquerors of the East,
met and strove for mastery; the fiery courage of the Arab being at
length subdued by the obstinate and persevering valour of the
descendants of the subjects of Don Roderick. But century after century
had passed away, and still they retained a hold upon the land.[4] A
period had elapsed equal to that which has passed since England was
subjugated by the Normans; and the descendants of Musa[5] and Taric
might as little anticipate being forced into exile across the Straits
traversed by their triumphant ancestors, as the descendants of Rollo and
William may dream of being driven back to the shores of Normandy.

With all this, however, the Moslem empire in Spain was but

[Illustration: THE ALHAMBRA AND THE SIERRA NEVADA.]

a brilliant exotic that took no fixed root in the soil it adorned.
Severed from all their neighbours in the West by impassable barriers of
faith and manners, and separated by seas and deserts from their kindred
in the East, they remained an isolated people. Their whole existence was
a prolonged and gallant struggle to maintain a foothold in a land
usurped. The few relics of the miserable and proscribed race were
ultimately expelled from the Peninsula, under the administration of the
Duke of Lerma, during the reign of Philip III.--a measure which, by
depriving Spain of a numerous and industrious population, inflicted a
severe blow on her agriculture and commerce.

Never was the annihilation of a nation more complete. Where are they?
The exiled remnant of a once powerful people became assimilated with the
predatory hordes of Barbary and the desert southward. A few broken
monuments are all that remain to bear witness to their power and
dominion in Europe.

Such is the Alhambra; an epoch marking relic--a Moslem pile in the midst
of a Christian land; an Oriental palace amidst the Gothic edifices of
the West; an elegant memento of a brave, intelligent, and graceful
people who conquered, ruled, and passed away.

    L’Alhambra! l’Alhambra! palais que les Génies
    Ont doré comme un rêve et rempli d’harmonies;
    Forteresse aux créneaux festonnés et croulans,
    Où l’on entend la nuit de magiques syllables,
    Quand la lune, à travers les milles arceaux arabes,
        Sème les murs de trèfles blancs!
                    _Les Orientales_, par _Victor Hugo_.

The Alhambra--the Acropolis of Granada--is, indeed, a pearl of great
price in the estimation of all travellers, exciting in the breast of the
stranger the most absorbing interest and concentrated devotion. To
realise the full spell--the mystery and the magic of the Alhambra--one
must live in the building by day and contemplate it--like the ruins of
fair Melrose--by moonlight, when all is still. “Who can do justice,”
says Washington Irving, “to a moonlight night in such a climate and in
such a place! The temperature of an Andalusian midnight in summer is
perfectly ethereal. We seem lifted up into

[Illustration: ASCENT TO THE ALHAMBRA BY THE CUESTA DEL REY
CHICO--LESSER KING HILL.]

a purer atmosphere; there is a serenity of soul, a buoyancy of spirit,
an elasticity of frame, that renders mere existence enjoyment. The
effect of moonlight, too, on the Alhambra, has something like
enchantment. Every rent and chasm of time, every mouldering tint and
weather-stain disappears; the marble resumes its original whiteness;
the long colonnades brighten in the moonbeams; the halls are illuminated
with a softened radiance until the whole edifice reminds one of the
enchanted palace of an Arabian tale.”

[Illustration: BALCONY OF THE “CAPTIVE” (ISABEL DE SOLIS), OVERLOOKING
THE VEGA, OR PLAIN, OF GRANADA.]

Art and nature have combined to render Granada, with its Alps, Plain,
and Alhambra, one of those few places which surpass all previous
conceptions. The town is built on the spurs of the hills, which rise on
the south-east to their greatest altitude. The city overlooks the
_Vega_, or Plain, and is about 2,500 feet above sea-level. This
altitude, coupled with the snowy background, renders it a most delicious
residence; the bosom of snow furnishing a never-failing supply of water
for

[Illustration: ALCOVE OF THE “CAPTIVE” (ISABEL DE SOLIS).]

irrigation. Accordingly, the _Vega_ supplies every vegetable production,
and is a spot--said the Arabians themselves--superior in extent and
fertility to the valley of Damascus.

The Alhambra is built on a crowning height that hangs over the River
Darro; its long lines of walls and towers follow the curves and dips of
the ground just as a consummate artist would have placed them; the
wooded slopes, kept green by water-courses, are tenanted by
nightingales, singing as if in pain at the tender scene of desolate
beauty.

Granada, which, under the Moors, was populated by half-a-million
inhabitants, knew no slow decline, but flourished until it toppled to
its fall. The date of its ruin is 2nd January, 1492, when the banner of
Castile first floated from the towers of the Alhambra. To the fatal
influence of a beautiful woman--Isabel de Solis--may be attributed, in
great part, the destruction of the Moslem cause. Isabel was the daughter
of the Governor of Martos, a town of Andalusia to the north-west of
Granada. In a foray by the Moors she was captured, and became the
favourite Sultana of Abu-l-hasan, King of Granada. Her Moorish
appellation is Zoraya--“Morning Star”--in allusion to her surpassing
loveliness, on account of which Ayeshah, another wife and cousin of
Abu-l-hasan, became jealous of her rival. This necessarily led to
dissension; conspiracy was rampant, and the Moorish Court became
separated into two parties. Of the most powerful families of Granada,
the Zegris espoused the cause of Ayeshah; while the Beni Cerraj
(Abencerrages) championed that of the “Morning Star.” In June, 1482,
Abu-Abdillah (Boabdil), son of Ayeshah, dethroned Abu-l-hasan, his
father. Thus the Moorish house was divided against itself at the very
time when Castile and Aragon became united by the marriage of Ferdinand
and Isabella. On Boabdil’s defeat and capture at Lucena in 1483, the old
king returned to Granada and was enthroned, but quickly abdicated in
favour of his brother, Mohammed (XII.), called Ez-zaghal, the Valiant.
Boabdil, later, was re-instated; but, becoming a mere instrument and
vassal of Ferdinand, finally surrendered himself and his kingdom to the
Christian king.

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE “CAPTIVE’S” (ISABEL DE SOLIS) TOWER.]

For the true character of Ferdinand consult Shakespeare, who understood
all things--“who didst the stars and sunbeams know.” He describes
Ferdinand, by the mouth of our eighth Henry’s ill-fated queen, Katharine
of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella:

    “....Ferdinand,
     My father, King of Spain, was reckon’d
     The _wisest_ prince, that there had reign’d by many
     A year before: ...”

                                  Henry VIII., Act II.

And of Katharine’s qualities, King Henry, in all things else
unrelenting, speaks in high terms:

    “....Thou art, alone,--
     If thy rare qualities, sweet gentleness,
     Thy meekness saint-like, wife-like government,
     Obeying in commanding, and thy parts
     Sovereign and pious else, could speak thee out,--
     _The queen of earthly queens_.”

                                  Henry VIII., Act II.

As to Queen Isabella, Ford is loud in her praise, regarding her as a
pearl among women. She died, indeed, far from Granada, but desired to be
buried here--in the Cathedral of Granada--the bright jewel of her crown.
Isabella was the Elizabeth of Spain, the most effulgent star of an age
which produced Ximenez, Columbus, and the Great Captain, all of whom
rose to full growth under her smile, and withered at her death. She is
one of the most faultless characters in history, one of the purest
sovereigns who ever graced or dignified a throne; who, “in all her
relations of queen, or woman,” was, in the words of Lord Bacon, “an
honour to her sex, and the corner-stone of the greatness of Spain.” Then
it was that Spain spread her wings over a wider sweep of empire, and
extended her name of glory to the far antipodes. Then it was that her
flag, on which the sun never set, was unfolded to the wonder and terror
of Europe; while a New World, boundless, and richer than the dreams of
avarice, was cast into her lap, discovered at the very moment when the
Old World was becoming too confined for the outgrowth of the awakened
intellect, enterprise, and ambition of mankind.

       *       *       *       *       *

After receiving the keys of the fortress, Ferdinand remained for a few
days in Granada, having entrusted the custody of the Alhambra to Don
Inigo Lopez de Mendoza, Count of Tendilla.[6]

[Illustration: THE GOTHIC INSCRIPTION SET UP IN THE ALHAMBRA BY THE
COUNT OF TENDILLA, TO COMMEMORATE THE SURRENDER OF THE FORTRESS IN
1492.]

The fact is recorded in a Gothic inscription formerly placed over a
cistern constructed at the command of that Governor, but now on a wall
just within the “Gate of Justice.” The letters are incised upon a large
marble tablet.

[Illustration: THE SURRENDER OF GRANADA BY BOABDIL TO FERDINAND AND
ISABELLA, JANUARY 2ND, 1492.]

The following is a translation of the inscription:

“The most high, most Catholic, and most powerful lords, Don Fernando and
Doña Isabel, our King and Queen, conquered by force of arms this Kingdom
and city of Granada, which, after their highnesses had besieged it in
person for a considerable time, was surrendered to them by the Moorish
King, Muley Hasen, together with its Alhambra, and other fortresses, on
the 2nd day of January, 1492. On the same day their highnesses
appointed, as Governor and Captain-General of the same, Don Inigo Lopez
de Mendoza, Count of Tendilla, their vassal, who, on their departure,
was left in the Alhambra with 500 horse and 1,000 foot; and the Moors
were ordered to remain in their houses and villages as they were before.
The Count, by command of their highnesses, caused this cistern to be
made.”

It will be seen, by the style of the Gothic lettering, that the
inscription was cut in the last decade of the fifteenth century. Whether
the count of Tendilla dug the well or only constructed the cistern
remains a disputable point; it is not important; but what is by no means
clear is the strange statement that the keys were surrendered by “Muley
Hasen.” Upon the capture of Boabdil[7] at Lucena by the Count of Cabra,
he was conducted to Córdova, where he was received with much honour by
Ferdinand, after the manner, in modern times, of the reception of
Schamyl at the Court of St. Petersburg. Thereafter, Boabdil became the
instrument of the Christians, and was allowed to return to Granada,
where such confusion reigned at this time, that there were always two,
and sometimes three kings in the Moorish capital of Andalusia. The
antagonism of old Muley Hasen, his son Boabdil, and the brother of
Muley, Ez-Zaghal, “the Valiant,” all posing as kings at one time,
probably hastened the overthrow of the Moorish power.

There is much uncertainty respecting the date of Muley Hasen’s death.
Some authorities state that when he was dethroned by his son Boabdil,
“he retired to Malaga.” Others say that the king could not survive the
misfortunes that his son’s rebellion brought upon the kingdom, and
“becoming blind and mad, soon afterwards died.” One account gives his
death as occurring in September, 1484, without, however, adducing
evidence in support. Is it not just possible then, that when Malaga
fell, the old king was discovered and rode in Ferdinand’s train, to
deliver the keys of Granada, as so plainly set forth in the Gothic
inscription of the Count of Tendilla?

The circumstances which attended the growth of the Spanish nation, and
the expulsion of the Moor, were necessarily productive of an
over-zealous spirit--a spirit which is ever the inevitable consequence
of subjugation in the name of heaven, and under the immediate influence
of religious feeling. How, then, could it fail to manifest itself in the
Spaniards, who, only by a war lasting seven centuries, recovered their
own country from the hands of the Moslem--the bitterest foes of the
Christian religion--usurpers who justified their violence by retorting
the opprobrious epithet “Infidels” upon the natives? A contest, so
fierce and abiding, must have inseparably connected, in the minds of the
Spaniards, every idea of honour with orthodoxy, and all that is
discreditable and odious, with dissent from their creed. Small wonder,
then, need be expressed that the degradation of the Alhambra dates from
the very day of the Castilian Conquest, on which the removal of Moslem
symbols commenced. Have we not seen the same principles rampant in
England at the time of the Reformation, and again, throughout Puritan
times; although, in our own case, the unreasonable iconoclasts professed
the same faith?

The grievous vandalism begun by Ferdinand and Isabella was carried on by
their grandson, Charles V., who despoiled the palace, on an even more
gigantic scale, of those artistic glories which he looked upon as “the
ugly abominations of the Moor.” He attempted the impossible: he
modernized and rebuilt portions of the Alhambra, put up heavy ceilings,
blocked up old passages, or constructed new, and sought to convert the
palace of an Oriental sybarite into a residence for a Western monarch.
All was in vain: the last royal residents were Philip V. and his
beautiful Queen, Elizabetta of Parma, early in the eighteenth century.
Although great preparations were made for their reception, the stay of
the sovereigns was but transient; and, after their departure, the place
once more became desolate.

During the Peninsular War, when Granada was in the hands of the French,
the Alhambra was garrisoned by their troops, and the palace was
occasionally inhabited by the French commander. Washington Irving
maintains that “with that enlightened taste which has ever distinguished
the French nation--this monument of Moorish elegance and grandeur was
rescued from the absolute ruin and desolation that were overwhelming it.
The roofs were repaired, the saloons and galleries protected from the
weather, the gardens cultivated, the water-courses restored, the
fountains once more made to throw up their sparkling showers; and Spain
may thank her invaders for having preserved to her the most beautiful
and interesting of her historical monuments.... On the departure of the
French, _they blew up several towers of the outer wall, and left the
fortifications untenable_,” &c. This last act may well have been one of
military exigence; but, on the other hand, Ford entirely disagrees with
Irving, and asserts, with all the vigour of an extinct species of Tory
John Bull, that the French are responsible for the most wanton
destruction perpetrated during their occupancy. Whatever the truth may
be, we confess to a strong fellow-feeling with the kindly American
genius who has done so much to retard the decay of the edifice, which is
still preserved to adorn the land, and attract the curious of every
clime.

For centuries the antiquities of the Spanish Arabs continued disregarded
or unknown. Prejudice--that sad inheritance of nations--was, alas! only
too actively employed in demolishing the work of the polished and
enlightened people, whose occupation of the Peninsula it was accounted
piety to efface. It was not until the end of the eighteenth century that
steps were taken to explore and protect the remains of Moorish monuments
in Spain; when, in consequence of representations of cultured Spaniards,
the Government commissioned the Royal Academy of St. Ferdinand to send
two architects and an officer of Engineers to report upon the condition,
and make drawings of the Palace of the Alhambra and the Mosque at
Córdova. The result of their labours was published at Madrid, 1780, in
an illustrated folio volume entitled _Antigüedades Arabes de España_.

It is only by the union of the graphic art with descriptions that we can
hope to form an accurate estimate of the high state of excellence to
which the Mohammedans in Spain attained in the Fine Arts while the rest
of Europe was overwhelmed with ignorance and barbarism. The coin, for
instance, represented on the opposite page is of fine gold, and is an
example of art which would not dishonour a medallist of any epoch. The
existence of a Royal Mint within the Alhambra may be admitted when we
learn that the coin was struck by order of the Founder of the Alhambra,
Mohammed I., surnamed _Al-Ghalib-Billah_--the Conqueror--who reigned in
Granada from 1232 to 1272 A.D. The coin is one of the most cherished
possessions in the cabinet of Alfonso XIII., King of Spain, at Madrid.


DESCRIPTION.

_Obverse_: Within the square, an Arabic inscription which reads: “_In
the name of God, the Merciful, the Forgiving. The blessing of God on
Mohammed and his family. There is no Conqueror but God._” On the
segments of the circle surrounding the square we read: “_Your God is one
God. There is no God but He, the Merciful, the Forgiving._”

[Illustration: GOLD COIN (OBVERSE AND REVERSE) OF MOHAMMED I., THE
FOUNDER OF THE ALHAMBRA, WHO REIGNED 1232-1272 A.D.]

_Reverse._ Within the square: “_There is no God, but God. Mohammed is
the messenger of God. Al-mahdi, Prince of the people of Granada._” On
the segments of the circle surrounding the square: “_The Commander of
the Faithful, Al-Ghalib-Billah, Mohammed, Son of Yúsuf, Son of Nasr,
whom God prosper_.”




Mohammed, the Founder of the Alhambra.


To Mohammed the First, the world is indebted for the beautiful and
romantic Oriental monument, the Alhambra. This famous monarch was born
in Arjou in the year of the Hegira 591 (A.D. 1195), of the noble family
of the Beni Nasr, or children of Nasr, and no pains were spared by his
parents to fit him for the high station to which the opulence and
dignity of his family entitled him. When he reached manhood he was
appointed alcayde, or governor of Arjou and Jaen, and gained great
popularity by his benignity and justice. Some years afterwards, on the
death of Abou Hud, the Moorish power in Spain was broken into factions,
and many places declared for Mohammed. Being of a sanguine spirit and
lofty ambition, he turned the opportunity to his own purpose, made a
progress through the country, and was everywhere received with
acclamations. In the year 1232 he entered Granada, and was proclaimed
king with every demonstration of joy. Shortly afterwards he became the
head of the Moslems in Spain, being the second of the illustrious line
of Beni Nasr to sit upon the throne. His reign was such as to render him
a blessing to his subjects. He gave the command of his various cities to
those who had distinguished themselves by valour and prudence, and had
recommended themselves most acceptable to the people. He erected
hospitals for the blind, the aged and infirm, and all those incapable of
labour, visiting the asylums frequently--not on set days, with pomp and
form, so as to give time for everything to be put in order, and every
abuse concealed, but suddenly and unexpectedly, informing himself, by
actual observation and close enquiry, of the treatment of the sick, and
the conduct of those appointed to administer to their relief. He founded
schools and colleges, which he visited in the same manner, inspecting
personally the instruction of youth. He introduced abundant streams of
water into the city, erecting baths and fountains, and constructing
aqueducts and canals to irrigate and fertilize the _Vega_. By these
means prosperity and abundance prevailed in this beautiful city, its
gates were thronged with commerce, and its warehouses filled with
luxuries and merchandise of every country.

While Mohammed was ruling his fair dominions thus wisely and
prosperously, he was suddenly menaced with the horrors of war. The
Christians, profiting by the dismemberment of the Moslem power, were
rapidly regaining their ancient territories. James the Conqueror had
subjected all Valencia, and Ferdinand the Saint was carrying his
victorious arms into Andalusia. The latter invested the city of Jaen,
and swore not to strike his camp until he had gained possession of the
place. Mohammed was conscious of the insufficiency of his means to carry
on a war with the potent sovereign of Castile. Taking a sudden
resolution, therefore, he repaired privately to the Christian camp, and
made his unexpected appearance in the presence of King Ferdinand.

“In me,” said he, “you behold Mohammed, king of Granada. I confide in
your good faith, and put myself under your protection. Take all I
possess, and receive me as your vassal.” So saying, he knelt, and kissed
the king’s hand in token of submission. Ferdinand, touched by this
instance of confiding faith, determined not to be outdone in generosity.
He raised his late rival from the earth, and embraced him as a friend,
leaving him sovereign in Granada, on condition of paying a yearly
tribute, attending the Cortes as one of the nobles of the empire, and
serving him in war with a certain number of horsemen.

It was not long after this that Mohammed was called upon for his
military services, to aid King Ferdinand in the siege of Seville. The
Moorish king sallied forth with 500 chosen horsemen of Granada, than
whom none in the world knew better how to manage a steed or wield the
lance. It was a humiliating service, however, to draw the sword against
brethren of the faith.

Mohammed gained but a melancholy distinction by his prowess in this
renowned campaign, but achieved more true honour by the humane methods
which he prevailed upon Ferdinand to introduce into the usages of war.
When, in 1428, the famous city of Seville surrendered to the Castilian
monarch, Mohammed returned sad, and full of care, to his dominions. He
saw the gathering ills that menaced the Moslem cause, and uttered the
ejaculation, often used by him in moments of anxiety and trouble: “_Que
angosta y miserabile seria nuestra vida, sino fuera tan dilatada y
espaciosa nuestra esperanza!_”--How straitened and wretched would be our
lives if our hope were not so spacious and extensive!

Sad and dispirited, the conqueror approached his beloved Granada. The
people thronged the streets with impatient joy: like to another
Coriolanus, “the dumb men flocked to see him, and the blind to hear him
speak;” for they loved him as a benefactor. Arches of triumph were
erected in his honour; and as he passed he was hailed with acclamations
as _Al Ghalib_, or the Conqueror. Mohammed shook his head when he heard
the appellation.

“_Wa la ghalib ila Alá!_” exclaimed he--There is no conqueror but God!
From that time forward he adopted the exclamation as a motto. He
inscribed it on an oblique band--in heraldry, a Bend--across his
escutcheon, and it continued to be the motto of his descendants.

Mohammed had purchased peace by submission to the Christians; but he
knew that where the elements were so discordant, and the motives for
hostility so deep and ancient, it could not be secure or permanent.
Acting, therefore, upon an old maxim, “Arm thyself in peace, and clothe
thyself in Summer,” he improved the interval of tranquillity by
fortifying his dominions, by replenishing his arsenals, and by promoting
those useful arts which give wealth and real power to an empire.

[Illustration: “WA LA GHALIB ILA ALÁ!”--THERE IS NO CONQUEROR BUT
GOD!--THE FAMOUS MOTTO, IN KUFIC CHARACTERS, OF MOHAMMED I. AND HIS
SUCCESSORS, WHICH IS INSCRIBED ON THE WALLS OF THE ALHAMBRA IN COUNTLESS
REPETITION.]

He gave premiums and privileges to the best artisans, improved the breed
of horses and other domestic animals, encouraged husbandry, and
increased the fertility of the soil two-fold by his protection, making
the lovely valleys of his kingdom to bloom like gardens. He fostered,
also, the growth and fabrication of silk, until the looms of Granada
surpassed even those of Syria in the fineness and beauty of their
productions. He caused the prolific mines of gold and silver, and other
metals of the mountainous regions of his dominions, to be diligently
worked, and was the first King of Granada who, as we have seen, struck
money with his name, taking great care, moreover, that the coins should
be skilfully executed.

It was about this time, towards the middle of the thirteenth century,
and just after his return from the siege of Seville (1248), that
Mohammed commenced the splendid Palace of the Alhambra, superintending
the building of it in person, mingling frequently amongst the artists
and workmen, and directing their labour. He stored the gardens with the
rarest plants, and with the most beautiful aromatic shrubs and flowers.
Amid these scenes he delighted in reading histories, or in causing them
to be related to him; and sometimes, in intervals of leisure, employed
himself in the instruction of his three sons, for whom he had provided
the most learned and virtuous masters. Mohammed ever remained loyal to
Ferdinand, giving him repeated proofs of fidelity and attachment. When
that renowned monarch died at Seville in 1254, Mohammed sent ambassadors
to condole with his successor, Alonzo X., and with them a gallant train
of Moorish cavaliers of distinguished rank to attend the obsequies. This
grand testimony of respect was repeated by the Moslem monarch during the
remainder of his life on each anniversary of the death of King Fernando
el Santo, when a hundred Moorish knights repaired to Seville, and took
their stations with lighted tapers in the Cathedral, around the tomb of
the illustrious deceased.

Mohammed retained his vigour to an advanced age. In his seventy-ninth
year he took the field on horseback, accompanied by the flower of his
chivalry, to resist an invasion. As the army sallied forth from Granada,
one of the _adalides_, or guides, who rode in the advance, accidentally
shivered his lance against the arch of the gate. The counsellors of the
king, alarmed by the circumstance, which was considered an evil omen,
entreated him to return. The king persisted, and at noontide the omen,
say the Moorish chroniclers, was fatally fulfilled. Mohammed was
suddenly seen to fall from his horse. He was placed on a litter and
borne towards Granada, but his illness increased to such a degree that
they were obliged to pitch his tent on the _Vega_. His physicians were
filled with consternation, and in a few hours he died; the Castilian
prince, Don Philip, brother of Alonzo X., being by his side when he
expired. His body was embalmed, enclosed in a silver coffin, and buried
in the Alhambra, in a sepulchre of precious marble, amidst the unfeigned
lamentations of his subjects, who bewailed him as a parent.

Such was the enlightened prince who founded the Alhambra, whose name
remains emblazoned amongst its most delicate and graceful ornaments, and
whose memory is calculated to inspire the loftiest associations in those
who tread these fading scenes of his magnificence and glory.




Abu-el-Hejaj (Yúsuf I.), King of Granada, 1333-1354, who completed the
Alhambra.


In the royal Mosque, where the escutcheons of the Moorish kings hang
side by side with those of the Castilian sovereigns--for the Mosque was,
after the subjugation, consecrated as a Catholic chapel--perished the
illustrious Yúsuf Abu-el-Hejaj, the high-minded prince who completed the
Alhambra, and who, for his virtues and endowments, deserves almost equal
renown with its magnanimous founder. Washington Irving was, perhaps, the
first to draw forth, from the obscurity in which it had too long
remained, the name of another of those princes of a departed and almost
forgotten race, who reigned in elegance and splendour in Andalusia, when
all Europe was in comparative barbarism.

To Yúsuf I. the Alhambra owes much of its splendour; he not only
constructed the _Gate of Justice_ and the _Wine Gate_, leading into the
Palace, as appears from the inscriptions over their respective archways;
but he must also have built, or decorated, many of the interior
apartments, for his name appears frequently in _The Hall of the Two
Sisters_, in that of the _Baños_, in the _Court of the Fish-pond_, and
in the _Hall of the Ambassadors_.

Yúsuf ascended the throne of Granada in 1333. He is said to have been of
noble presence, possessing great bodily strength united to manly beauty.
He had the courage common to all generous spirits, but his genius
inclined more to peace than to war; and, though repeatedly obliged to
take up arms, he was generally unfortunate. Amongst other ill-starred
enterprises, he undertook a campaign in conjunction with the King of
Morocco, against Castile and Portugal, but was defeated in the memorable
battle of Salado; a reverse which nearly proved a death-blow to the
Moslem power in Spain.

A long truce, after this defeat, enabled Yúsuf to devote himself to the
instruction and improvement of his people. He established schools in the
villages, with uniform systems of education; he obliged every hamlet of
more than twelve houses to have a Mosque, and reformed abuses which had
crept into the religious ceremonies and festivals of the people. The
Alhambra was now completed. Yúsuf constructed the beautiful Gate of
Justice, forming the grand entrance, which he finished in 1348. He
likewise adorned many of the Courts and Halls of the Palace, as may be
seen by the inscriptions in which his name repeatedly occurs. He built
also the Alcázar, or Citadel of Malaga, of which, alas! only crumbling
traces remain.

[Illustration: THE WINE GATE, ATTRIBUTED TO YÚSUF I.]

The genius of the sovereign stamps a character upon his time. The nobles
of Granada, emulating the graceful taste of their monarch, filled the
city with magnificent palaces, the halls of which were adorned with
mosaics, the ceilings wrought in fretwork, and delicately gilded and
painted, or inlaid with precious woods; they had lofty towers of wood or
stone, carved and ornamented, and covered with plates of metal that
glittered in the sun. So refined was the taste in decoration prevailing
amongst this elegant people that, to use the simile of an Arabian
writer, “Granada, in the days of Yúsuf, was as a silver vase filled with
emeralds and jacynths.”

One anecdote will be sufficient to show the magnanimity of this generous
prince. The long truce which succeeded the battle of Salado was at an
end, and every effort of Yúsuf to renew it was in vain. His deadly foe,
Alonzo XI. of Castile,

[Illustration: HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS FROM THE ENTRANCE DOOR, BUILT BY
YÚSUF I.]

took the field with great force, and laid siege to Gibraltar. Yúsuf
reluctantly took up arms, and sent troops to the relief of the place;
when, in the midst of his anxiety, he received tidings that his dreaded
foe had fallen a victim to the plague. Instead of manifesting
exultation, Yúsuf called to mind the great qualities of the deceased
monarch, and was touched with sorrow--“Alas!” cried he, “the world has
lost one of its most excellent princes; a sovereign who knew how to
honour merit, whether in friend or foe!” The Spanish chroniclers,
themselves, bear witness to this magnanimity: according to their
accounts, the Moorish cavaliers shared the sentiment of their king and
put on mourning for the death of Alonzo. Even those Moors of Gibraltar,
which had been so closely invested, when they learned that the hostile
monarch lay dead in his camp, determined that no aggressive movement
should be made against the Christians during the observance of his
obsequies.

[Illustration: THE SULTAN’S BATH, CONSTRUCTED BY YÚSUF I.]

Upon the day on which the camp was broken up, and the army departed
bearing the corpse of Alonzo, the Moors issued in multitudes from
Gibraltar, and stood mute and melancholy, watching the mournful pageant.
The same reverence for the deceased was observed on the frontiers by all
the Moorish commanders, who suffered the funeral cortège to pass in
safety with the body of the Christian sovereign, from Gibraltar to
Seville.

Yúsuf did not long survive the enemy he had so generously deplored. In
the year 1354, as he was one day at prayer in the royal Mosque of the
Alhambra, a maniac suddenly rushed upon him and plunged a dagger in his
side. The cries of the king brought his guards to his assistance: they
found him in convulsions, weltering in his blood. He was borne to the
royal apartments, and expired almost immediately. The assassin

[Illustration: COURT OF MYRTLES, OR THE FISH-POND, FORMED BY YÚSUF I.]

was cut to pieces, and his limbs burnt in public, to gratify the fury of
the populace.

The assassination of Yúsuf is described by an eye-witness in a letter
addressed to Fárris, Sultán of Western Africa, which is printed by
Pascual de Gayangos from the chronicle of Al-Makkarí--an elegant Moorish
writer who flourished towards the end of the sixteenth century:--“As
Abu-el-hejaj (Yúsuf) was performing the last prostration of his prayer,
a madman rushed upon him and wounded him with a _khanjar_, or yataghán.
The assassin was immediately secured. The Sultán, who had been mortally
wounded, made some signs as if he wished to speak;

[Illustration: THE KORAN RECESS IN THE MOSQUE, THE SCENE OF YÚSUF’S
ASSASSINATION.]

but, after uttering some unintelligible words, he was carried senseless
to his apartments, where he shortly died. The assassin, meantime, was
given up to the infuriated mob, who slew him and burned his body. The
Sultán was interred within the Alhambra. He left three sons: Mohammed,
who succeeded him; Isma’íl, and Kays.”

The body of Yúsuf was interred in a superb sepulchre of white marble; a
long epitaph, in letters of gold upon an azure ground, recorded his
virtues: “Here lies a king and martyr, of an illustrious line, gentle,
learned and virtuous; renowned for the graces of his person and his
manners, whose clemency, piety and benevolence were extolled throughout
the kingdom of Granada. He was a great prince; an illustrious captain; a
sharp sword of the Moslems; a valiant standard-bearer amongst the most
potent monarchs.”

The Mosque, which once resounded with the dying cries of Yúsuf, still
remains, but the monument which recorded his virtues has long since
disappeared. His name, however, yet abides among the ornaments of the
Alhambra, and will be perpetuated in connection with this renowned pile,
which it was his pride and delight to adorn.




The Towers, Courts, and Halls of the Alhambra.


“As an Englishman approaches the Alhambra,” says Ford, “he rubs his
eyes, for he finds himself in a park of real English elms. Delicious
green roofs they form, but no more in keeping with the old Moorish
Palace than Bolton Abbey would be with the Pyramids. But why English?
Why; because this wood was the present of the Iron Duke, who had the
estate of Soto de Roma, with its four thousand once pheasant-haunted
acres given him reluctantly by the grateful Ferdinand VII., and who sent
out these elms from England.”

The first feeling which strikes a visitor on entering the Alhambra is
one of amazement to find himself suddenly transported to fairly-land.
Arches bearing upon pillars so slender that the wonder is they are able
to sustain the superincumbent weight--the style differing from all
regular orders of architecture--ceilings and walls incrusted with
fretwork so minute and intricate that the most patient draughtsman finds
it difficult to follow. Yet, although the patterns present so great
variety, the compotent parts are, in their origin, the same; and it is
by changing the colours and juxtaposition of the several pieces that the
astonishing diversity is produced. This exquisite Moorish work appears
to have been accomplished by means of moulds applied successively, the
continuity of the design being preserved with greatest care. Amidst or
around the complex forms are constantly disposed Arabic sentences of
moral and religious tendency, the most oft-repeated homily being, “Wa la
ghálib ila Alá,” that is, “There is no conqueror but God:” the sentence
being sometimes enclosed within Cufic characters written twice, and
forming the words signifying “Grace,” and “Blessing,” the letters so
curiously interwoven that the text may be read from left to right, and
from right to left.


PUERTA DE JUSTICIA--THE GATE OF JUSTICE.

The Gate of Justice has ever been the principal entrance into the
fortress. Like all the other towers of the Alhambra, it is built of
concrete, the jambs of the doorway being of white marble, and the
elegant horseshoe arch and spandrils of brick.

The Gate of Justice was erected in 1338 by the Sultán Yúsuf, and was so
called because (in accordance with ancient practice all over the East)
the Kings of Granada occasionally sat under it to administer justice to
every class of their subjects. The hand and key, which are seen in
relievo upon the stone, have given rise to a variety of conjectures,
more or less plausible.

The quaint open hand, carved over the outer arch, has a talismanic and
Arabian Nights effect. Some authorities say it typifies the hand of God,
the symbol of power and providence; others suppose it to be a type of
the five commandments of Islam--to fast; to give alms; to smite the
infidel; to make the pilgrimage to Mecca; and to perform purifications.
But it is, in all likelihood, the old Roman talisman against the Evil
Eye, such as we see in coral on Neapolitan lockets. The Evil Eye is
especially dreaded by Orientals, and the Spaniards tremble at its
influence even now.[8]

Over the inner arch is a sculptured key: there was an old legend
believed in through the centuries anterior to the Expulsion, that the
Christians would never take the “red castle” until the outer hand had
grasped the inner key. It was also agreed that the key was an emblem of
the Prophet’s power to open the gates of hell or heaven. The truth is,
that the key was an old Cufic emblem, intimating Allah’s power to open
the hearts of true believers. It was also a badge on the Almohades’
banners, and is seen in many Moorish castles.

[Illustration: THE GATE OF JUSTICE, ERECTED BY YÚSUF I.]

Washington Irving says of these strange symbols: “According to
tradition, the hand and key were magical devices on which the fate of
the Alhambra depended. The Moorish king who built it was a great
magician, or, as some believed, had sold himself to the devil, and had
laid the whole fortress under an evil spell. By this means it had
remained standing for several hundred years, in defiance of storms and
earthquakes, whilst almost all other buildings of the Moors had fallen
to ruin and disappeared. This spell, the tradition went on to say, would
last until the hand on the outer arch should reach down and grasp the
key, when the whole pile would tumble to pieces, and all the treasures
buried beneath it by the Moors would be revealed.”


SALA DEL TRIBUNAL--HALL OF JUSTICE.

The Hall of Justice has three court-rooms, or apses, now blazoned with
the royal Spanish badges of the yoke and the bundle of arrows, familiar
to us as the badge of Katharine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand and
Isabella, the first queen of our much-married monarch, Henry VIII.

Of the many beautiful arches which adorn the Palace, the one forming the
entrance to the central alcove, or divan, of the Hall of Justice is
perhaps the most remarkable; the exquisite form of the arch and
richly-ornamented spandril with the poetic inscription which encloses
it--“May power everlasting and imperishable glory be the destiny of the
owner of this Palace”--and the slender porcelaine columns from which it
springs, exciting the deepest admiration.

In this Hall are the famous paintings on leather, ascribed to the end of
the fourteenth century. The painting of a group of Moslems, apparently
congregated in Council, merits close attention, as giving the veritable
costume of the Moors in Granada of the fourteenth century, at which
period the delineations were certainly made, and, in all probability, by
an Italian artist working under Moslem direction. Other paintings
portray various chivalrous or amatory subjects; or they may be taken to
represent romantic episodes as legendary as the story of the Chinese
lovers on a willow-pattern plate. One scene (see p. 47) represents a
wicked magician, or wild man of the woods,

[Illustration: HALL OF JUSTICE AND COURT OF THE LIONS.]

coercing a Christian maiden, who, nevertheless, is holding a docile lion
by a leading chain; the compliant animal meanwhile permitting domestic
fowl and other pretty wantons to play undismayed around him. A Christian
warrior on horseback makes short work of the wild man; but, alas! for
the maiden, a valiant Moor comes galloping up, at once transfixes the
Christian rescuer with his spear, and presumably claims the beautiful
captive as the reward of his prowess. This episode of a Moor killing a
Christian may be taken as a strong presumption of the paintings being
wrought under Mohammedan influence, as it appears most unlikely that it
would have been so represented by a Spaniard after the conquest of
Granada. Some spectators in the upper chamber of a tower in the
background seem to heartily approve of the whole proceeding.

[Illustration: HALL OF JUSTICE.]

However fantastic these pictures may be, they are at least unique, and,
as such, must be regarded with the utmost interest. We may conjecture
that the painter fell into the hands of the Moors by the fortune of war;
or, on the other hand, came by invitation to Granada.

Much difference of opinion exists amongst writers who have described the
Alhambra with respect to these three curious paintings on leather which
are found in the domes of the alcoves of the Hall of Justice. It is said
by many that they are not the work of Moorish artists, but were executed
posterior to the Conquest of Granada by Spanish painters. This opinion
is founded chiefly on the injunctions contained in the Korán, forbidding
the representation of animated beings; but that this law was disregarded
by the builders of the Alhambra is fully proved by the fountain of the
Court of Lions, and the bas-relief which forms part of a fountain now in
the Museum of the Palace.

[Illustration: HALL OF JUSTICE, SHOWING FOUNTAIN OF COURT OF THE LIONS.]

There is evidently much more analogy between these paintings and the
bas-relief than between them and the works of the Spaniards after the
Expulsion; witness the bas-reliefs from the royal chapel of Granada,
built by Ferdinand and Isabella, which represent their entrance into the
Alhambra, and evidently belong to a later period of Art.

[Illustration: HALL OF JUSTICE.]

[Illustration: HALL OF JUSTICE AND PART OF COURT OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: HALL OF JUSTICE.--THREE FIGURES FROM THE PICTURE OF THE
MOORISH TRIBUNAL.]

The ornaments, moreover, which are introduced into these paintings are
strictly of a Moorish character.

The subject on the centre alcove is considered by the Spaniards to
represent a Tribunal, whence they have called this Hall. From the
different colours of the beards and dresses of the figures, they would
appear to represent the chiefs of the

[Illustration: PART OF PICTURE IN THE HALL OF JUSTICE REPRESENTING A
CHRISTIAN KNIGHT RESCUING A MAIDEN FROM A WICKED MAGICIAN, OR
WILD-MAN-O’-THE-WOODS. THE CHRISTIAN KNIGHT IS, IN TURN, SLAIN BY A
MOORISH WARRIOR.]

tribes of Granada. One head traced from this picture is given on page
48.

These paintings are of bright colours, but in flat tints, without
shadow, and were first drawn in outline of a brown colour. They are
painted on skins of animals sewn together, and nailed to the wooden
dome; a fine coating of gypsum forming the surface to receive the
painting. The ornaments on the gold ground are in relief.


PAINTING ON THE CEILING OF THE LEFT ALCOVE.

To determine whether the subject of this picture be legendary or
historical is difficult. Christians appear to be engaged in hunting the
lion and the bear, while the Moslems confine their attentions to the
wild boar. The spoils of the chase are presented at the feet of both
Christian and Moslem ladies--the humility with which the Christian
knight, who is upon his knees, offers his share of the spoil to his
lady, may be contrasted with the more commanding attitude of the Moslem,
as finely exhibiting the estimation in which women were held by their
respective nations. Many hounds--one of which has the luck to fall in
with a stray fox--take part in the

[Illustration: HALL OF JUSTICE.--MOOR’S HEAD.

(_From a tracing by M. Jules Goury, a celebrated French architect, from
the painting representing a Moorish Tribunal._)]

chase, and the ladies are attended by lap-dogs. The huntsmen are on
horseback and on foot. When the wild boar is slain, he is hoisted on the
back of a mule by attendants, and borne triumphantly home. A great
variety of birds and trees--amid the branches of which monkeys partially
conceal themselves--make up the various scenes. In spite of the want of
perspective, there is much spirit in the details, and the female figures
especially are most graceful.

That these unique relics should be taken from their present

[Illustration: FAÇADE, COURT OF THE MOSQUE, BUILT BY YÚSUF I.]

[Illustration: “WA LA GHÁLIB ILA ALÁ!”--THERE IS NO CONQUEROR BUT
GOD!--THE FAMOUS MOTTO OF MOHAMMED I. AND HIS SUCCESSORS. AN EXAMPLE
FROM THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: ELEVATION OF THE ANCIENT GATE OF JUSTICE.]

[Illustration: 1. SECTION OF THE HALL OF JUSTICE (_looking East_).]

[Illustration: 2. SECTION OF THE HALL OF JUSTICE (_looking towards the
Court of the Lions_).]

[Illustration: PAINTING ON THE CEILING OF THE HALL OF JUSTICE. No 1.]

[Illustration: PAINTING ON THE CEILING OF THE HALL OF JUSTICE.]

[Illustration: PART OF PICTURE IN THE HALL OF JUSTICE.--THE MOOR’S
RETURN FROM HUNTING.]

[Illustration: HALL OF JUSTICE--THE DEATH OF THE LION AT THE HANDS OF A
CHRISTIAN KNIGHT.]

[Illustration: PART OF PICTURE IN HALL OF JUSTICE.--MOORISH HUNTSMAN
SLAYING THE WILD BOAR.]

position and preserved under glass, is a consummation devoutly to be
wished.


LAS DOS HERMANAS--THE TWO SISTERS.

Perhaps the most interesting, as it certainly is the loveliest apartment
in this palace of enchantment, is the HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS, a title,
the guide books would fain have us believe,

[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS, FROM THE COURT OF
THE LIONS.]

conferred by reason of two enormous slabs of white marble laid in the
pavement, precisely alike in form, and without flaw or stain; but the
surpassing splendour of this chamber forbids us to accept a reason so
inadequate for the designation. There is nothing so very extraordinary
in two huge blocks of stone, be they never so faultless; that is only a
matter of quarrying: if such objects are to excite wonder, we may turn,
with more profit, to the Pyramids of Egypt. Let us rather concern
ourselves with the beauty and symmetry of this unequalled spot.

First, then, the gate of the tower exceeds all other gates in

[Illustration: HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS, FROM ENTRANCE DOOR.]

profusion of ornament, and in the beauty of the prospect from the
entrance through a range of apartments, where a multitude of arches
terminate in a large window affording a view of open country. In
sunshine, the variety of tints thrown upon this _enfilade_ are
surprisingly beautiful. In all probability the Hall of The Two Sisters
formed part of the private apartments of the Moorish kings. The alcoves,
or divans, on either side of the Hall, with the charming retiring rooms
on the upper floor, give it the character of a residence; just as the
Hall of Ambassadors, as its aspect shows, and its traditional name
implies, was destined only for public receptions. It may reasonably be
declared that the Hall of The Two Sisters, together with the corridors
and alcoves which surround it, cannot be equalled even by other parts of
the Palace. Its stalactite ceilings are the most perfect examples
remaining of this curious and interesting kind of decoration. To
preserve them, the outer walls are raised ten feet above the dome, and
support an encasing roof over all. Nothing can exceed the glory of the
honeycomb vaultings, with thousands of fantastic cell formations, each
one differing from the other, yet all combining in uniformity. The
effect

[Illustration: HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]

is as if the architect had been assisted in his work by swarms of
Brobdingnagian bees.

At the upper end of the Hall of The Two Sisters, but separated from it
by a corridor, is an alcove, once overlooking a beautiful garden, as we
learn from a verse in the room. It is known as The _Mirador_ or Balcony
of “Lindaraja.” On this favoured spot the poets, painters, and
architects of that day lavished their most exalted efforts. All the
varieties of form and colour which adorn other portions of the Palace
have here been blended with the happiest effect. The delighted observer
is spell-bound, and finds it difficult to remove himself from the
fascination of the place.

The lattice window of the upper story gives light to a corridor leading
to apartments appropriated to the fair odalisques. It was through these
lattices that the beauties of the hareem viewed

[Illustration: UPPER BALCONY OF THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]

the splendid fêtes enacted for their entertainment in the great hall
below, but in which they could participate only as distant spectators.
These gratings are precisely similar in their construction to those
which are now seen in the hareems of the East.

The long series of inscriptions in the Hall of The Two Sisters were much
mutilated, and in some cases utterly destroyed, in a barbarous attempt
at decoration--_rien n’est sacré pour un sapeur_--made by the
Ayuntamiento of Granada in 1832, when the Infante, Don Francisco de
Paula visited the city. Fortunately, so far as the text goes, the
sentences may be found in _Antigüedades Arabes de España_.[9] The
greatest pains have been expended upon the inscriptions which address
themselves to the eye of the connoisseur by the beautiful forms of the
characters; exercise his intellect by the effort of deciphering their
curious and

[Illustration: HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS, FROM THE “LINDARAJA” BALCONY.]

complex involutions, and reward his imagination by the beauty of the
sentiments and the music of their composition.

Many will be grateful to see some specimens of the verses from the Hall
of The Two Sisters:--

“I am the garden, and every morn am I revealed in new beauty. Observe
attentively how I am adorn’d, and thou wilt reap the benefit of a
commentary on decoration;

“For, by Allah! the elegant structures around me assuredly surpass all
other edifices by the happy presage attending their foundation.

“How many delightful prospects I enfold! Prospects, in the contemplation
of which a mind enlightened finds the gratification of its desire.

“Look upon this wonderful cupola, at sight of whose perfection all other
domes must pale and disappear;

“To which the Constellation of the Twins extends the hand of salutation;
and, for communion, the Full Moon deserts her station in the heavens.

“Nay, more; were they to take these aisles for their abiding place,
those heavenly bodies would render constant homage to their beauty.

“No wonder, then, if the stars grow pale in their high stations, and if
a limit be put to the duration of their light.

“Here also behold the portico, unfolding every beauty. Indeed, had this
palace no other ornament, it would still surpass the firmament in
splendour:

“For manifold are the gorgeous habilaments in which thou, O Sultán! hast
arrayed it, surpassing in brilliancy the lustrous robes of Yemen!

“To look at them, one would imagine them to be planets revolving in
their orbits, and throwing into shade the sunburst of morning.

“Here are columns ornamented to absolute perfection; the beauty of which
has become glorified: columns

[Illustration: BALCONY OF THE FAVOURITE, “LINDARAJA.”]

[Illustration: DETAILS OF THE GLAZED TILES IN THE DADO OF THE HALL OF
THE TWO SISTERS.]

“Which, when struck by the earliest beam celestial, may be likened,
notwithstanding their vastness, to many blocks of pearl.

“Indeed, there is no palace more imposing in its elevation, nor so
brilliantly decorated; nor having more extensive apartments;

“They may be compared to markets where the richest comers are overpaid
in beauty, and where the arbiter of elegance presides eternally to
pronounce his award;

“And where the sigh of the zephyr is inhaled by the noontide ray whose
scintillating beam is more refulgent than all other light.

“Between myself and the most high fortune the closest relationship
exists, and the greatest resemblance between us lies in the splendour of
our destiny.

“Every art has laid its gifts upon me; nay, all have united in
conferring perfection.

“By those who are permitted to behold me I am regarded as the Queen of
Beauty who bestoweth the prize upon her well-beloved;

“Indeed, when the enraptured observer has feasted his eyes upon me, he
will find reality surpassing the most extravagant flights of fancy;

“He will see the moon-beam start from my orbs, and its scintillation
leave me only to enter the mansions of the blest.

“The palace is a palace of transparent crystal; it appears to be
illimitable as the boundless ocean;

“And yet I am not the sole marvel of this heaven upon earth; for I
overlook with ecstacy a garden, the like of which no human eye has
contemplated.

“I was built by the Imam Ibn Nasr. May Allah uphold his majesty as a
pattern to other kings!”

The last half-dozen verses, printed _supra_, are inscribed on the jambs
of the doorway which gives entrance to the exquisite little chamber
already described. The windows of the _Mirador_ still overlook the
garden eulogised in the penultimate verse. The dado of the Hall of The
Two Sisters is a most beautiful Mosaic, presenting the same general form
on all four sides of the Hall, but differing considerably in the filling
up of the patterns.

[Illustration: THE FAVOURITE’S BALCONY.]

In the Hall of The Two Sisters formerly stood the famous Arab vase (_el
jarro_) [see pp. 77 and 95] which tradition says was discovered in one
of the subterranean chambers of the palace, “full of gold.” It is now
placed in the Museum. The vase is of the fourteenth century, and is
exquisitely enamelled in white, blue and gold. The decorations are
Hispano-Moresque, and are fully described in the work on pottery by
Peter Davillier. Another lovely amphora, is engraved in the Spanish work
_Antigüedades Arabes de España_,[10] the equal, indeed, the companion

[Illustration: EL JARRO. THE ARABIAN VASE AND NICHE IN WHICH IT FORMERLY
STOOD, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS. THE VASE, CONSIDERABLY MUTILATED, IS NOW
IN THE MUSEUM OF THE PALACE. (_See p. 95._)]

[Illustration: HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]

[Illustration: VIEW IN THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]

[Illustration: DETAIL OF THE UPPER STORY, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]

[Illustration: SECTION OF THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS, AND]

[Illustration: SECTION OF PART OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: INSCRIPTION IN THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]

[Illustration: INSCRIPTIONS IN THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]

[Illustration: PANEL, ORNAMENT, AND INSCRIPTIONS IN THE HALL OF THE TWO
SISTERS.]

[Illustration: DETAILS ON THE FRONT OF “LINDARAJA’S” BALCONY.]

[Illustration: EL JARRO. ARAB VASE OF METALLIC LUSTRE, PROBABLY FROM THE
BALEARIC ISLES (MAJORCA). THIS VASE NOW STANDS IN THE MUSEUM OF THE
PALACE.]

[Illustration: PLATE I.

No. 1.

Ornament in panels on the Walls, Hall of the Ambassadors.]

[Illustration: PLATE II.

No. 2.

Soffit of an arch, Court of the Fishpond.]

[Illustration: PLATE III.

No. 3.

Ornament over doorway at the entrance, Court of the Lions.]

[Illustration: PLATE IV.

No. 4.

Ornament in doorway at the entrance to the Ventana, Hall of the Two
Sisters.]

[Illustration: PLATE V.

No. 5.

Ornament on the side of windows, upper story, Hall of the Two Sisters.]

[Illustration: PLATE VI.

No. 6.

Ornament in spandrils of arches, Hall of the Two Sisters.

No. 7.

Ornaments in spandrils of arches, Hall of the Abencerrages]

[Illustration: PLATE VII.

No. 8.

Ornaments in panels, Hall of the Ambassadors.]

[Illustration: PLATE VIII.

No. 9.

Ornaments in panels, Court of the Mosque.]

[Illustration: DETAILS AT THE EXIT OF THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]

to _el jarro_, formerly existed in the Palace, but it was unfortunately
broken about the year 1837, and the pieces sold to a passing traveller.
It is here figured from Murphy’s _Arabian Antiquities_, 1815.

[Illustration: AN ARAB VASE OF THE XIVTH CENTURY IN THE NICHE WHEREIN IT
STOOD UNTIL THE YEAR 1837.]

The Hall of The Two Sisters fairly intoxicates one with the fragile yet
imperishable beauty of the place. The eye soars upward, and flutters in
and out of those flower-cup cells which seem the first creative types of
some fresh world. Architects--Owen Jones amongst the number--inform us
that the thing is very simple: it is a beauty put together by mere
receipt proceeding from three primary figures--the right-angled
triangle, the rectangle, and the isosceles triangle: capable of millions
of combinations, just like the three primary colours, or the seven notes
of the musical scale. “A simple receipt,” says an anonymous writer on
the glories of the Alhambra; “but who, nowadays,

[Illustration: MOSAIC IN DADO OF THE ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF THE TWO
SISTERS.]

can cook anything like it?” The same writer goes on to say that in
devising the Alhambra, the Moors were always thinking of the Arab tent.
They wanted air and lightness. The marble pillars are the tent spears,
but of stone. The net-work lace veil that filigrees every wall with
cobwebs of harmonious colour, is the old tent tapestry, the
Córdovan-stamped leather hangings are the Indian shawls that canopied
the wandering and victorious horseman’s tent. They wanted mere pendant
flowers woven together into roof and gossamer-pierced panels that
hardly

[Illustration: MOSAIC IN DADO OF RECESS, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]

[Illustration: MOSAIC IN DADO, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]

arrest the air. Everything must float and sway; they would not bar out
the chirp of the dripping silver water. They thinned and shaved the
pillars till they were no longer cylinders of marble, but tender
saplings, or flower-stalks, slender as spear-shafts. The spandrils are
not corbelled beams, faced with gargoyle monsters, but perforated
supports as to some fairy’s cabinet. There is nothing to hold up, only
ivory-patterned walls, and a honeycombed dome that seems to float in
mid-air.


HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES.

Here it is said that thirty-six cavaliers of the heroic line of
Abencerrage were sacrificed to appease the jealousy or allay the fears
of a tyrant. The fountain ran red with the noblest blood of Granada; and
a deep stain on the marble pavement is pointed out by the _cicerone_ of
the pile as a sanguinary record of the massacre. The discolourations
must be regarded with the same perfect faith with which one looks upon
the traditional stains of Rizzio’s blood on the floor of the chamber of
the unhappy Queen Mary at Holyrood. Who desires to be sceptical on such
points of popular belief? The enlightenment of the happy reader of De
Foe’s immortal romance--happy in the masterly illusion of the
author--robbed him of one of the chief delights of his life. If there is
any country in Europe where it is easy to live in the romantic and
fabulous traditions of the past, it is in legendary, proud-spirited,
romantic Spain, where the old, magnificent, barbaric spirit even now
contends with modern innovation.

In the silent halls of the Alhambra, surrounded with the insignia of
regal sway, and vivid with traces of Oriental voluptuousness, everything
speaks and breathes of the glorious days of Granada when under the
dominion of the Crescent. In the proudest days of Moslem domination,
the Abencerrages were the soul of everything noble and chivalrous. The
veterans of the family, who sat in the royal Council, were the foremost
to devise those heroic enterprises which carried dismay into the
territories of the Christian; and what the sages of the family devised,
the young men of the name were prompt to execute. In all services of
hazard, in all adventurous forays, the Abencerrages were sure to win the
brightest laurels. In those noble recreations, too, which bear so close
an affinity to war, still the Abencerrages carried off the palm. None
could equal them in splendour of array, in gallantry of device, or in
their noble bearing and glorious horsemanship. Their open-handed
munificence made them the idols of the populace, while their lofty
magnanimity and perfect faith gained them golden opinions from the
generous and high-minded; the “word of an Abencerrage” was a guarantee
that never admitted doubt.

The main facts connected with the fate of the chieftains of that
generous but devoted race seem to have been ascertained, leaving little
doubt of this hall having been the scene of their calamitous end. Alas!
that boudoirs made for love and life should witness scenes of hatred and
of death; and let none presume to “peep and botanize” over-much, for
nothing is more certain than that heroic blood can never be effaced,
still less if shed in most unnatural murder. Nor, according to Lady
Macbeth, will “all the perfumes of Arabia” serve to sweeten the foul
deed. The blood at least is genuine to all intentions of romance as that
of “the gentle Lutenist” at Holyrood, or of Becket at the shrine of
Canterbury. It behoves us to beware of those dull people who, deprived
of imagination, pretend to judgment; and who would abolish the midsummer
fairies, or proscribe old Æsop; there is no faith in them.

All who visit the Alhambra are sure to make for the fountain

[Illustration: HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES (BENI CERRAJ).]

where the Abencerrages were beheaded, the more credulous looking with
interest upon the natural reddish-brown veins of the marble, which are
supposed to be indelible blood-stains. It is said that Boabdil resolved
upon the extirpation of the noble family of the Abencerrages in
consequence of the alleged discovery of an intrigue, including a false
charge of infidelity against his gentle queen, and directed the
decapitation of thirty-six of

[Illustration: MOSAIC--HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES.]

them in this Hall. The story has passed into ballads, dramas, and
romances, until it has grown too strong to be eradicated. Boabdil,
however, was of a mild and amiable character, if wavering and
irresolute; and too gracious to have ordered so inhuman a massacre as
the execution of thirty-six of not only a gallant, but a powerful and
numerous family, with many friends. The truth is, it was Boabdil’s
father, Muley-Abu-l-Hasen, represented by both Christian and Arabian
chroniclers as of a cruel and ferocious nature, who unjustly put to
death some cavaliers of the illustrious line upon suspicion of their
being engaged in a conspiracy to dispossess him.

It so happens that the fame of Boabdil the Unlucky can be cleared of
such infamy as the wholesale massacre of the Abencerrages through direct
evidence afforded by a contemporary Hispano-Moresque ballad, “_Ay de mi
Alhama!_” written in 1482, and which Lord Byron has made familiar by his
version, “_A very mournful Ballad on the siege and conquest of Alhama._”

The fact that Muley-Abu-l-Hasen in vain invested the castle and town of
Alhama[11] after its capture by the Marquis of Cadiz, and the direct
reference in the ballad to its loss, ascribed to the wrath of Allah at
the wickedness of the King, clearly exonerates Boabdil from the crime of
his father.

       *       *       *       *       *

    “By thee were slain, in evil hour,
     The Abencerrage, Granada’s flower;
     And strangers were received by thee
     Of Córdova the Chivalry.
                 Woe is me, Alhama!

    “And for this, oh king! is sent
     On thee a double chastisement:
     Thee and thine, thy crown and realm,
     One last wreck shall overwhelm.
                  Woe is me, Alhama!”

       *       *       *       *       *

With the loss of the two “Keys” to Granada--Loja and Alhama--both being
forthwith heavily garrisoned by the

[Illustration: HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES.]

[Illustration: WOODEN DOOR, HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES.]

[Illustration: PLATE IX.

No. 10.

Ornament over arches at the entrance to the Court of the Lions.]

[Illustration: PLATE X.

No. 11.

Ornament on the walls, Hall of the Abencerrages.]

[Illustration: PLATE XI.

No. 12.

Ornament in panels on the walls, Court of the Mosque.]

[Illustration: PLATE XII.

No. 13.

Spandril of an arch of window, Hall of the Ambassadors.]

[Illustration: PLATE XIII.

No. 14.

Brackets supporting ceiling of the portico, Court of the Lions.]

[Illustration: PLATE XIV.

No. 15.

Small panel in jamb of a window, Hall of the Ambassadors.]

[Illustration: PLATE XV.

No. 16.

Small panel in jamb of a window, Hall of the Ambassadors.]

[Illustration: PLATE XVI.

No. 17.

Small panel in jamb of a window, Hall of the Two Sisters.]

[Illustration: HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]

[Illustration: INTERIOR VIEW, TAKEN FROM THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]

[Illustration: CEILING OF THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]

[Illustration: HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES.]

[Illustration: HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES.]

[Illustration: CEILING OF THE HALL OF THE ABENCERRAGES.]

[Illustration: MOSAIC, FROM A FRAGMENT IN THE ALHAMBRA.]

[Illustration: MOSAIC, NORTH SIDE OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: CHIEF GATE OF THE ALHAMBRA.]

[Illustration: PLATE XVII.

No. 18.

Panel in the upper chamber of the House of Sanchez.]

[Illustration: PLATE XVIII.

No. 19.

Soffit of great arch at the entrance of the Court of the Fishpond.]

[Illustration: PLATE XIX.

No. 20.

Spandril from niche of doorway at the entrance of the Hall of
Ambassadors, from the Sala de la Barca.]

[Illustration: PLATE XX.

No. 21.

Lintel of a doorway, Court of the Mosque.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXI.

No. 22.

No. 23.

Capital of Columns, Court of the Lions.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXII.

No. 24.

No. 25.

Capital of Columns, Court of the Lions.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXIII.

No. 26.

NO. 27.

Capital of Columns, Court of Fishpond.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXIV.

No. 28.

No. 29.

No. 30.

No. 31.

No. 32.

No. 33.

Ornament on the Walls of the windows of “Lindaraja’s” Balcony.]

[Illustration: TRANSVERSAL SECTION OF THE ALHAMBRA.]

[Illustration: SECTION SHOWING HEIGHTS]

[Illustration: OF THE ALHAMBRA.]

[Illustration: ELEVATION OF THE “WINE GATE.”]

[Illustration: THE GATE OF JUDGMENT.]

[Illustration: PORCH OF THE GATE OF JUDGMENT.]

[Illustration: A SECTION OF THE GATE OF JUDGMENT.]

[Illustration: INTERIOR PERSPECTIVE OF THE ALHAMBRA.]

[Illustration: VIEW OF THE ACQUEDUCT, NEAR THE ALHAMBRA.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXV.

Details of an Arch, Portico of the Court of Lions.

Spandril of the opposite side of Arch.

No. 34.

Court of The Lions.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXVI.

No. 35.

Capitals in the Hall of Two Sisters.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXVII.

Section on the line A.B.

Plan of the Pendants in the Angle.

No. 36.

Details of the Great Arches in the Hall of the Bark.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXVIII.

No. 37.

4, 5. Arches, Court of The Lions.

1, 2, 3, 6. Arches, Hall of Justice.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXIX.

No. 38.

Details of The Great Arches.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXX.

No. 39.

1. Hall of Ambassadors.

2. Court of The Fish Pond.

3. Hall of The Bark.

4. Hall of The Two Sisters.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXXI.

No. 40.

Detail of an Arch, Court of The Fish Pond.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXXII.

No. 41.

Detail of an Arch, Portico of The Court of Lions.]

[Illustration: A VIEW OF THE ALHAMBRA FROM THE ALBAYCIN.]

[Illustration: GATE OF JUSTICE.]

Christians, the reduction of the last stronghold of the Moors became
only a question of time. As we know, the surrender of Granada took place
within four years after the fall of Loja.

But it is not the history of the Dominion and Expulsion, so much as the
description of the Hall of the Abencerrages, that demands attention at
present.

After the glories of the _Sala de las Dos Hermanas_, the Hall of the
Abencerrages, elegant as it is, pales somewhat in interest. There are
but few inscriptions here. It has been repeatedly “restored,” and much
of the ornament which decorates the walls seems to have been transferred
from the Hall of The Two Sisters. The arches, however, appear in their
original state, and are most beautiful in general form, as in their
surface decoration. The manner in which the arch-form gradually grows
out from the shaft of the column is exquisite. In the centre of the Hall
is the famous “Fountain,” with the waters of which the blood of the
Abencerrage chieftains is said to have mingled.

The beautiful wooden doors to the Hall of the Abencerrages existed in
their places, and in perfect condition till the summer of 1837, when
they were removed and sawn in halves by the then resident Governor of
the Alhambra for the purpose of stopping a gap in another part of the
Palace; and, as they proved too large for the openings to which they
were applied, the superfluous parts were broken up for firewood!

The doors are of white wood, with similar mouldings and ornaments on
either side; the decorations were originally in colour, traces of which
may still be discovered. The folding doors are hung on pivots, which are
let into the socket of a marble slab below, and above into the soffit of
a beam which crosses the colonnade of the Court of the Lions. This
method of hanging the doors is precisely similar to that adopted in
ancient temples, and is still practised throughout the East. The manner
in which the bolt secures, at the same time, both flaps of the larger
doors and the wicket, is full of ingenuity.

Don Rafaél Contreras caused these doors, or what remained of them, to be
replaced in the position for which they were originally intended. He
found the fragments amid the lumber of the palace! His own words are:
“Nous l’avons restaurée en 1856, l’ayant trouvé _brisée en quatre
morceaux, abandonnée dans les magasins du palais_”--They were found,
broken into four pieces, in the lumber rooms of the palace.


PATIO DE LA ALBERCA--THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND.

This Court was called in former times _Patio de los Arrayanes_--the
Court of the Myrtles--by reason of its beautiful flowering shrubs which
gem either side of the Fishpond; trim myrtle hedges, and orange trees
rising beside the water.

To enter the Court of the Fish-pond is to be straightway translated to
the palace of Haroun-al-raschid: Granada changes to Damascus. The
Moorish arches, springing from slender palm-tree shafts, are of
bewildering beauty; the walls, no longer forbidding blocks of stone, but
pierced trellises, that turn sunlight and moonlight into patterns
resembling so much Venetian filigree. “Surely they are needle-work
turned to stone,” says a traveller of long ago; “or some great Sultán
has built them with panels cut from caskets of Indian ivory, though the
piecing be not seen. The myrtles grow green and glossy round the great
marble tank, 150 feet long, which flows with mellow water, in which
burnished fish--some apparently red-hot, others of molten silver--steer,
flirt, skim, and splash. Never stop to think that the dry, whity-brown,
tubular-tiled, sloping roofs

[Illustration: NORTH SIDE OF THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND.]

[Illustration: ELEVATION OF AN ALCOVE IN THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND.]

[Illustration: ELEVATION OF THE ARCADE ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE COURT OF
THE FISH-POND.]

[Illustration: SECTION THROUGH PART OF THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND]

[Illustration: AND THE HALL OF THE AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: THE BATHS, HALL OF REPOSE.]

EXPLANATION OF THE LETTERS OF REFERENCE IN THIS PLATE.

     A A A. Entrances to the quarter of the Palace containing the baths.

     B B B B B B. Passages communicating with the different apartments
     and baths.

     C C. Apartments, looking into.

     D D. A Court with a fountain in its centre.

     E E Baths and dressing-rooms.

     F F F. Warm baths.

     G G G. The place where the water was heated. The copper vessels
     anciently employed for this purpose were sold many years ago by the
     then Governor of the Alhambra for the sum of 14,000 reals, about
     £350 sterling. From these coppers, the warm water was conducted
     between the walls to the different baths by means of pipes
     communicating with them, and which are distinctly shown by the
     white line.

     I I I I I I. Other baths and apartments. The lines _a_ _a_ _a_ _a_
     _a_ _a_ _a_ _a_ _a_ _a_ _a_ designate steps by which the bathers
     descended into the water.

     K. The great Hall of the Baths.

[Illustration: GROUND PLAN OF THE BATHS IN THE ALHAMBRA.]

[Illustration: SECTION OF THE HALL OF THE BATHS.]

[Illustration: A SECTION OF THE BATHS IN THE ALHAMBRA.]

[Illustration: THE SULTÁNA’S BATH.]

[Illustration: THE SULTÁN’S BATH.]

[Illustration: THE HALL OF THE BATHS.]

[Illustration: CEILING OF THE HALL OF THE BATHS.]

[Illustration: LONGITUDINAL SECTION THROUGH THE BATHS.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXXIII.

No. 42.

Cornice to the roof, Court of The Mosque.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXXIV.

No. 43.

Divan, Court of The Fish Pond.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXXV.

No. 44.

Actual state of the Colours.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXXVI.

No. 45.

Windows in the Alcove, Hall of The Two Sisters.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXXVII.

No. 46.

The Vase.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXXVIII.

No. 47.

Details of one of the Arches, Hall of Justice.]

[Illustration: PLATE XXXIX.

No. 48.

Details of the Arches, Hall of the Abencerrages.]

[Illustration: PLATE XL.

No. 49.

Centre Painting on the Ceiling, Hall of Justice.]

[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR, OF THE MYRTLES.]

[Illustration: GALLERY, THE COURT OF THE MYRTLES.]

[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR, OF THE MYRTLES.]

[Illustration: DETAILS OF THE GALLERY IN THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR,
OF THE MYRTLES.]

[Illustration: COURT OF THE FISH-POND.]

[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND.]

[Illustration: ORNAMENT IN THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND.]

ought to be flat, and are not now Moorish; do not pause to imagine the
pierced marble balustrade that once walled-in this bathing-place of the
dark-skinned people; nor picture glowing Bathsebas--Rubens’ group of
floating, and laughing Sultánas, with female black slaves watching their
gambols from under the shady portico. Air and water are the perpetual
treasures of this place, and I tasted them both gratefully as I strode
under the pointed arches, away from the burning lashes of the sun that
drove me under cover.”

[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR, OF THE MYRTLES.]

The transverse section of the Court, looking towards the palace of
Charles V. (see p. 356), forms a beautiful arcade: the slender columns
which support the arches would appear unequal to their superincumbent
weight were not the spandrils lightened by perforations. The
construction of these arches is remarkable for its simplicity. Over the
columns, which are of white marble, are built brick piers, and the
spandrils of the arches are filled in with tiles placed diagonally. To
these are attached perforated plaster ornaments, which give a
singularly light and elegant appearance to the arches, and at the same
time, by freely admitting currents of air, distribute a delicious
coolness through the Courts.

It will be observed that the ornaments in plaster, with which the walls
of the Court of the Fish-pond are covered, are in a better state of
preservation than similar decorations in other parts of the Palace.

The windows over the entrance doorway are formed of ribs of plaster, and
it is thought that these were once filled with stained glass. No traces
of such glazing can now be discovered; the conjecture seems to have
arisen from the fact that a wall here, next the Hall of Ambassadors, has
similar blank windows in which small spaces are painted of various
colours. Between the windows, and at the angles, are four escutcheons of
the Kings of Granada with the oft-repeated motto: “There is no Conqueror
but God;” the whole being enclosed within a cipher, formed by the word
signifying “Grace” written twice in Cufic characters, and so interwoven
that it may be read from right to left, and from left to right. On the
ribs of the window is the word signifying “Blessing,” in Cufic
characters, with this peculiarity, that the first two letters are
enclosed within a cipher formed by the two last. This device also is so
ingeniously written that the word may be read both ways. On six
escutcheons, at the sides, the word signifying “Blessing” is treated in
the same skilful manner.

Immediately over the Mosaic under the gallery is an inscription of
twelve verses in African characters, full of Oriental hyperbole, but
perhaps inferior in composition to those already selected from the Hall
of The Two Sisters.

Under the galleries, at the north and south ends of the Court, are four
recesses, profusely ornamented, elaborate, and

[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND.]

beautiful; well preserved, and retaining much of their original colour.

From amongst the inscriptions of the Court of the Fish-pond it may be
permitted to print two or three:

“Go and tell true believers that Divine help and ready victory are
reserved for them. (From the sixty-first chapter of the Koràn).

“I am like the nuptial array of a bride, endowed with every beauty and
perfection.

“Truly, Ibn Nasr is the sun, shining in splendour;

“May he continue in the noon-tide of his glory even unto the period of
his decline.”

[Illustration: GALLERY IN THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND; OR, OF THE
MYRTLES.]

In the Court of the Fish-pond is an arch which differs in character from
all others existing in the Alhambra: it has the peculiarity of
presenting one surface only of decoration, with a principal or guiding
figure made out by colours. The ornaments bear a much nearer resemblance
to natural forms than in other parts of the Palace; and the whole arch
has more of the Persian character of decoration.


PATIO DE LOS LEONES--THE COURT OF THE LIONS.

“From the lower end of the Court of the Alberca,” says Irving, “we
passed through a Moorish archway into the renowned Court of Lions.
There is no part of the edifice that

[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

gives a more complete idea of its original beauty and magnificence, for
not any portion has suffered so little from the ravages of time. In the
centre stands the fountain famous in song and story. The alabaster
basins still shed their diamond drops; and the twelve lions which
support them cast forth their crystal streams as in the days of Boabdil.
When one looks upon the fairy tracery of the peristyles, and the
apparently fragile fret-work of the walls, it is difficult to believe
that so much has survived the wear and tear of centuries, the shocks of
earthquake, the violence of war, and the quiet, though no less baneful,
pilferings of the tasteful traveller: it is almost sufficient to excuse
the popular tradition, that the whole is protected by a magic charm.”

[Illustration: MOSAIC, SOUTH SIDE OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

The Court of the Lions, takes its name from the fountain in the centre
supported by twelve sculptured lions. The Court is a parallelogram of
100 feet by 50 feet, and is surrounded by a portico, with small
pavilions at either end. The portico and pavilions consist of 128
columns, supporting arches of the most delicate and elaborate
construction, which still retain much of their original beauty. The
irregularity in the arrangement of the

[Illustration: FOUNTAIN AND EAST TEMPLE IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

columns, which are placed sometimes singly, and sometimes in pairs, does
not detract from the general harmony; but, on the contrary, a charming
effect is produced by this capricious departure from uniformity. The
capitals, though similar in outline, offer a great variety in their
foliage; and though the same design is more than once repeated in this
Court, no attempt appears to have been made towards a symmetrical
arrangement.

The ceiling of the portico is decorated in the most complex manner, the
stucco being laid on with inimitable delicacy--it is so cunningly
handled as to exceed belief.

The walls are covered, to a height of five feet, with tiles of blue and
yellow chequy, with a border of small escutcheons enamelled blue and
gold, bearing an Arabic motto on a Bend.

[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

About each arch is arabesque work, surrounded with a rim of characters,
consisting, for the most part, of verses from the Koràn. Unhappily, a
modern roof of red tiles disfigures this beautiful Court, which is the
most highly-prized fountain-court in the Palace.

In the centre of the Court are the twelve marble lions, conventionally
treated. Supported on the backs of the animals is the beautiful basin of
the fountain--in form, a dodecagon--out of which rises a lesser basin. A
large volume of water falling into

[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

the basins, once issued from the mouths of the lions to a large
reservoir, whence it was conveyed to the apartments of the Palace.
Notwithstanding that these lions exhibit the want of development in the
art of sculpture amongst the Arabs, they yet possess a spirited, if
primitive, grace.

The inscription around the basin has been variously given: the rendering
of Pascual de Gayángos is regarded as the most

[Illustration: LITTLE TEMPLE IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: FOUNTAIN IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

authoritative. The verses, which may, perhaps, consist of twelve or so,
are couched in the usual double-shotted language of the Oriental. Two or
three are subjoined:

“Blessed be He who gave the Imam Mohammed a mansion which in beauty
excels all other mansions.

“Look at this solid mass of pearl glistening all around, which falls
within a circle of silvery froth, and then flows amidst translucent
jewels of surpassing loveliness; exceeding the marble in whiteness, and
the alabaster in transparency.

“O thou who beholdest these lions couching, fear not; _life is wanting
to enable them to show their fury_.”

The salutary warning here given irresistibly reminds one of “the
shallowest thick-skin of that barren sort” with whom the mad spirit,
Robin Goodfellow, made such frolic--the immortal

[Illustration: A LITTLE TEMPLE IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: A PEEP INTO THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

Athenian weaver, who opines--“To bring in--God shield us!--a lion among
ladies is a most dreadful thing; for there is not a more fearful
wild-fowl than your lion living.” Yet the admonition may not have been
altogether superfluous amongst the beauties of the hareem, who seldom
contemplated graven images. It must not be forgotten, moreover, that the
Mohammedans of Spain were somewhat lax in the matter of obedience to
certain precepts of the Koràn.

[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: PLATE XLI.

Centre Ornament of the Window.

Dado.

Dado.

Pilaster.

Pilasters.

No. 50.

Mosaic Dado in centre window on the N. side, Hall of Ambassadors.

The recess or divan containing these beautiful Mosaics was, doubtless,
the throne of the Moorish kings. The Mosaics are as perfect as when
originally executed, and seem, indeed, to be imperishable. They are
formed of baked clay squeezed into moulds of the different figures,
glazed on the surface.]

[Illustration: PLATE XLII.

No. 51.

Mosaic Dados on pillars between the windows, Hall of Ambassadors.

The Mosaic Dados on the pillars of the Hall of Ambassadors present a
great variety in their patterns, although the component parts are in
each the same.]

[Illustration: PLATE XLIV.

Lining of one of the columns.

Pilaster.

Dado.

Dado.

Dado.

No. 53.

Mosaics in the Hall of the Two Sisters.

The beautiful Mosaic in the centre of this plate is part of the Dado of
the Hall of the Two Sisters.]

[Illustration: PLATE XLV.

Pavement of the Hall of the Baths.

No. 54.

Mosaic Dado round the internal walls of the Mosque.

Mosaics from the Mosque and the Hall of the Baths. The Mosaic Dados
round the walls of the Mosque appear to be the only portions of the
ancient private Mosque attached to the Palace which have been preserved
intact in their original situation. The motto of the Kings of Granada,
“_There is no conqueror but God_,” was replaced by “_Nec plus ultra_” of
Charles V., when the Mosque was converted by him into a chapel. The
beautiful Mosaic at the top of the plate is placed round the fountain of
the Chamber of Repose of the Baths, described elsewhere.]

[Illustration: PLATE XLVI.

No. 55.

Azulejos. Painted Tiles.

On the floor of one of the alcoves of the Hall of Justice are to be seen
the painted tiles delineated in the centre of this plate.]

[Illustration: PLATE XLVII.

No. 56.

No. 57.

Mosaics in the Baths.]

[Illustration: PLATE XLVIII.

No. 58.

Mosaic from the portico of the Generalife.]

[Illustration: THE COURT OF THE LIONS, FROM THE WEST.]

[Illustration: TEMPLE IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: COURT OF LIONS.]

[Illustration: SIDE ELEVATION OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS AND FOUNTAIN.]

[Illustration: ELEVATION OF THE FOUNTAIN OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: FOUNTAIN OF LIONS, WITH DETAILS OF THE ORNAMENT.]

[Illustration: PLAN OF THE BASIN OF THE FOUNTAIN OF LIONS.]

[Illustration: THE FIRST SIX VERSES OF THE INSCRIPTION AROUND THE BASIN
OF THE FOUNTAIN OF LIONS.]

[Illustration: PLATE XLIX.

No. 59.

Blank window, Hall of the Bark.]

[Illustration: PLATE L.

No. 60.

Soffit of arch, Entrance of the Hall of Abencerrages.]

[Illustration: PLATE LI.

No. 61.

Cornice at springing of arch of doorway at the entrance of the Ventana,
Hall of the Two Sisters.]

[Illustration: PLATE LII.

No. 62.

No. 63.

Borders of Arches.]

[Illustration: PLATE LIII.

No. 64.

Border of Arches.]

[Illustration: PLATE LIV.

No. 65.

No. 66.

Borders of Arches.]

[Illustration: PLATE LV.

No. 67.

Ornament in panels on the wall, Hall of Ambassadors.]

[Illustration: PLATE LVI.

No. 68.

Ornaments painted on the pendants, Hall of the Bark.]

[Illustration: THE LAST SIX VERSES OF THE INSCRIPTION AROUND THE BASIN
OF THE FOUNTAIN OF LIONS.]

[Illustration: ENTABLATURE IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: DETAILS OF THE CENTRE ARCADE OF THE COURT OF LIONS.]

[Illustration: PART OF PANEL IN THE COURT OF LIONS.]

[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE COURT OF THE LIONS.

(_From a drawing made about 1830_).]

[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE COURT OF THE LIONS (UPPER PORTION).]

[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: LONGITUDINAL SECTION OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS, TAKEN
THROUGH THE PAVILION

THE ROOF IS A MODERN]

[Illustration: AT EACH END OF THE COURT, AND EXHIBITING AN ELEVATION OF
THE SIDE PORTICOS.

ONE, OF RED TILES.]

[Illustration: PLATE LVII.

No. 69.

Bands, side of arches, Court of the Lions.]

[Illustration: PLATE LVIII.

No. 70.

No. 71.

Bands, side of arches, Court of the Lions.]

[Illustration: PLATE LIX.

No. 72.

Ornaments on panels, Hall of Ambassadors.]

[Illustration: PLATE LX.

No. 73.

Ornaments on panels, Hall of Ambassadors.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXI.

No. 74.

Ornaments on panels, Hall of Ambassadors.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXII.

No. 75.

Ornaments on panels, Hall of Ambassadors.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXIII.

No. 76.

Frieze in the upper chamber, House of Sanchez.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXIV.

No. 77.

Cornice at springing of arches, windows of the Hall of Ambassadors.]

[Illustration: CAPITALS IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS, WITH A MEASURE OF ONE
METRE.]

Although the upper parts of the walls are only coated with plaster,
strengthened with reeds, centuries of neglect have not sufficed to
destroy this slight, “aerie, faerie” thing of filigree, which has not
even the appearance of durability. Wherever the destroyer has mutilated
the fragile ornaments, “the temple-haunting

[Illustration: NORTH GALLERY IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

martlet, guest of summer,” builds his nest and careers in the delicate
air, breaking, with his twitter, the silence of these sunny, now
deserted courts, once made for Oriental delights, and even now the place
in which to read the _Arabian Nights_, or spend a honeymoon--

              This guest of summer,
    The temple-haunting martlet, does approve,
    By his lov’d mansionry, that the heaven’s breath
    Smells wooingly here: no jutty, frieze,
    Buttress, nor coigne of vantage, but this bird
    Hath made his pendent bed, and procreant cradle;
    Where they most breed and haunt, I have observ’d,
    The air is delicate. [_Macbeth_, Act i., sc. 6]


SALA DE LA BARCA--HALL OF THE BARQUE.

Beyond where the fountain bubbles in the Court of the Fish-pond, is the
oblong Hall of the Barque, which is still as radiant with colours as the
edge of fading evening cloud. The rivers of poems that fret the walls
sing the praises of some long dead Sultán, who conquered twenty
fortresses, and whose excellence, running clear through his great deeds,
was as the silk thread that carries a necklace of pearls.

“The ceiling of the Hall of the Barque,” says Owen Jones, “is a
wagon-headed dome of wood, of the most elaborate patterns, receiving its
support from pendentives of mathematical construction so curious, that
they may be rendered susceptible of combinations as various as the
melodies which may be produced from the seven notes of the musical
scale; attesting the wonderful power and effect obtained by the
repetition of the most simple elements.”

Alas! it must be added that this beautiful Hall was greatly injured by a
fire, which took place in September, 1890.


SALA DE LOS EMBAJADORES--HALL OF AMBASSADORS.

After traversing the Hall of the Barque, we come upon the Hall of
Ambassadors--the Golden Saloon--with a dome which bursts like a
flower-bell upon the sight. The most

[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF THE BARQUE, WITH VIEW OF THE
COURT OF THE FISH-POND, OR OF THE MYRTLES.]

beautiful thing about these Moorish domes is, not their grand poise and
balance, but the airiness of them. They seem mere resting clouds
swelling round you and canopying you with colour. You have no sense of
their weight or means of permanency. The stalactite ornament, as it is
called, seems fashioned in emulous rivalry of golden-celled honeycomb,
in which honey still rests; honey, dyed by the juices of the flowers
from which it has been drawn. The walls are like the leaves of
illuminated missals, framed by cornices of poem and prayer.

[Illustration: THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

The Hall of Ambassadors is a square of thirty-seven feet, and is sixty
feet high from the floor to the centre of the dome. It is the largest,
as well as the most imposing of the Halls of the Alhambra, though in
arrangement and symmetry of details less perfect than the Hall of The
Two Sisters.

Inscriptions of verses from the Koràn abound amongst the decorations.

The present ceiling of the Hall of the Ambassadors is a dome of wood,
ornamented by ribs intersecting each other in various patterns in gold,
on grounds of blue and red. The ceiling is ingenious in construction and
beautiful in detail. Owen Jones thinks that an arch of brick was
originally thrown across the hall, which gave way after the completion
of the building, carrying with it an earlier ceiling, which was
afterwards replaced by the present dome.

In the centre divan, on the north side of the Hall, there is

[Illustration: MOSAIC IN DADO, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

a most beautiful Mosaic dado, as perfect as when originally executed,
and which seems to be imperishable. It is formed of baked clay, squeezed
into moulds of the different figures, glazed on the surface, and
bevelled slightly on the edge. Thus, when necessary, the Mosaics were
not only easily withdrawn from the moulds, but, when united, they formed
a key for the mortar. In this particular recess, doubtless, was the
throne of

[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF THE BARQUE, THE ANTE-ROOM OF THE
HALL OF AMBASSADORS, WITH VIEW OF THE COURT OF THE FISH-POND.

(_From a drawing made about 1830_).]

[Illustration: PLATE LXV.

No. 78.

From the centre arch of the Court of Lions.

No. 79.

From the entrance to the Divan, Hall of the Two Sisters.

Spandrils of Arches.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXVI.

No. 80.

Details of the wood-work of the door to the Hall of Abencerrages.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXVII.

No. 81.

No. 82.

Spandrils of Arches, Hall of Justice.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXVIII.

No. 83.

Ornaments on the walls of the Hall of the Ambassadors.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXIX.

No. 84.

From the entrance to the Court of Lions from the Court of the Fish
Ponds.

No. 85.

From the entrance to the Court of the Fish Ponds from the Hall of the
Bark.

Spandrils of Arches.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXX.

No. 86.

No. 87.

No. 88.

No. 89.

No. 90.

No. 91.

No. 92.

Mosaics from the Hall of Ambassadors, Hall of Two Sisters, and Hall of
Justice.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXXI.

No. 93.

Plaster Ornaments, used as upright and horizontal bands enclosing panels
on the walls.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXXII.

No. 94.

No. 95.

No. 96.

No. 97.

No. 98.

No. 99.

No. 100.

Mosaics from the Hall of Ambassadors, Hall of Two Sisters, Hall of
Justice, and Court of the Fish Pond.]

[Illustration: PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: SECTION AND ELEVATION OF THE INTERIOR OF THE HALL OF
AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: DETAIL IN THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: KUFIC INSCRIPTIONS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: MOSAIC ON DADO OF BALCONY HALL OF AMBASSADORS]

[Illustration: ORNAMENT FROM THE SIDE OF A WINDOW, HALL OF
AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: MURAL ORNAMENT, ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: ORNAMENT AT THE SIDE OF DOORWAY, ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF
AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXXIII.

No. 101.

Panels on walls, Tower of the Captive.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXXIV.

No. 102.

Blank window, Hall of the Bark.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXXV.

No. 103.

Rafters of a roof over a doorway now destroyed beneath the Tocador de la
Reyna.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXXVI.

No. 104

Band at springing of arch at the entrance of Hall of the Two Sisters
from the Court of Lions.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXXVII.

No. 105.

Panelling of the centre recess, Hall of Ambassadors.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXXVIII.

No. 106.

Part of ceiling of the Portico of the Court of the Fish Pond.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXXIX.

No. 107.

Blank window, Hall of the Bark.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXXX.

No. 108.

Ornaments on the walls, House of Sanchez.]

[Illustration: AN ARABIAN ORNAMENT, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: AN ARABIAN ORNAMENT, ENTRANCE TO THE HALL OF
AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: INSCRIPTIONS AND ORNAMENT, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: ORNAMENT FROM THE SIDE OF A WINDOW, HALL OF
AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: INSCRIPTIONS IN THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: MURAL ORNAMENT, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: ORNAMENT FROM THE SIDE OF A WINDOW, HALL OF
AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: ORNAMENT FROM THE SIDE OF A WINDOW, HALL OF
AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXXXI.

Cornice and window in the centre of the Façade of the Mosque.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXXXII.

Detail of the central part of “Lindaraja’s” Balcony.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXXXIII.

Lower part of “Lindaraja’s” Balcony.]

[Illustration: ORNAMENT FROM THE SIDE OF A WINDOW, NORTH FRONT OF THE
HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: ORNAMENT IN THE SIDE OF A WINDOW, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: A CEILING IN OUTLINE, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: THE CEILING OF THE DOME LAID FLAT, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: DETAILS OF GLAZED TILES IN THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: MOSAIC IN DADO, EAST SIDE OF THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: MOSAIC IN DADO, NORTH SIDE OF THE HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: MOSAIC IN DADO, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: MOSAIC IN DADO, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

the Moorish kings, as indicated both by the inscriptions on the walls,
and the extraordinary care bestowed upon the decoration of the recess.

The Mosaic dados present a great variety in their patterns, the
combinations being endless.

“The colours of blue, red, and gold are still to be seen on the capital
of the column of the centre window of the Hall, but no traces of gold,
or any colour, have been discovered

[Illustration: CEILING OF GALLERY, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

on the shaft. The same thing occurs in the Court of the Fish-pond and
the Court of the Lions, but, in each case, the harmony of the colouring
appears to require that they should be gilt. It is probable that in the
restorations which the Palace underwent during the residence of the
Spanish kings, it was found much more easy to remove the gold from the
columns, exposing the white marble, than to incur the expense of re-

gilding.” Such is the opinion of the famous decorative artist, Owen
Jones; but the fondness of the Oriental for the spotless purity of
marble, and the transparency of alabaster, so oft expressed in the
inscriptions, forbids its acceptance.

In the several alcoves, or divans, which surround the Hall, the walls
are covered with plaster ornaments in relief, presenting the greatest
variety; the patterns in each divan being different.

[Illustration: EXTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE (PRIVATE PROPERTY).]

Beneath this Golden Saloon is a network of dungeon-like passages, by
which, it is said, Sultáns escaped in treasonable revolts, when angry
scimitars were glittering in the fountain-courts, or when the incensed
populace were tossing their threatening spears in the humming city
below. Here is also a prison-cell sort of room, with whispering holes at
each end, which

[Illustration: PLATE LXXXIV.

Detail of the lateral windows in the Hall of the Two Sisters.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXXXV.

Details of the front of the Mosque in the Harem.]

[Illustration: PLATE LXXXVI.

Details of the upper part of “Lindaraja’s” Balcony.]

[Illustration: FAÇADE OF THE MOSQUE.]

[Illustration: ELEVATION OF PORTICO ADJACENT TO THE MOSQUE.]

[Illustration: DETAILS OF ORNAMENT OF KORÁN RECESS NEAR THE
ENTRANCE-DOOR OF THE MOSQUE.]

[Illustration: DETAILS OF ORNAMENT IN THE COURT OF THE MOSQUE.]

[Illustration: DETAILS IN THE COURT OF THE MOSQUE, EASTERN FAÇADE.]

[Illustration: AN ARCHED WINDOW OF THE MOSQUE.]

[Illustration: AN ARCHED WINDOW OF THE MOSQUE.]

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE.]

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE.]

[Illustration: THE MOSQUE, FROM KORÁN RECESS.]

[Illustration: ARAB LAMP IN THE MOSQUE.]

Philip the Second built to amuse the wretched child, Don Carlos. Also a
vaulted cellar, where some rude sculpture has been immured by the
prudish monks.


PATIO DE LA MEZQUITA--COURT OF THE MOSQUE.

The exquisite façade of this Court is much disfigured by a modern
gallery. From the portions which remain, however, the general design may
be traced with tolerable certainty.

The inscriptions are few and unimportant, consisting, for the most part,
of the constantly-recurring motto: “There is no Conqueror but God,” and
some verses from the Koran.

The grand Mosque of the Alhambra was built in 1308 by Mohammed III., and
was in good preservation until the occupation of the French, who, says
Don Pascual de Gayángos, entirely destroyed it. It has been thus
described by _Ibnu-l-Khattíb_, the Grand Wizír of Yúsuf I.: “It is
ornamented with Mosaic work, and exquisite tracery of the most beautiful
and intricate patterns, intermixed with silver flowers and graceful
arches, supported by innumerable pillars of polished marble; indeed,
what with the solidity of the structure, which the Sultán inspected in
person, the elegance of the design, and the beauty of the proportions,
the building has not its like in this country; and I have frequently
heard our best architects say that they had never seen or heard of a
building which can be compared to it.”


LA MEZQUITA--THE MOSQUE.

The old Mosque, afterwards a chapel, was “purged” and consecrated by
Ferdinand and Isabella, and retains but few traces of its purpose during
the Moorish Dominion. The door was once overlaid with bronze, and, like
all the rest of the Palace, was stripped and spoiled by generations of
guardian thieves, who allowed no one but themselves to steal. Above the
door is still the exquisite-laced niche where the Korán used to be
placed by the green-turbaned Moollahs. Near the entrance is an elaborate
and beautiful niche, which was probably the _Mihráb_, or sanctuary of
the Mosque. Whilst at his prayers in this _Mihráb_, the martyred
Yúsuf--he who built the Gate of Justice in 1348, and who completed the
Alhambra--fell a victim to the dagger of an assassin in the year 1354.
The inscriptions in the Mosque, which were dumb to the conquerors, still
protest for the old faith, and cry aloud from barge-board and netted
rafter, “Be not one of the negligent.” “God is our refuge in every time
of trouble.”


LOS BAÑOS--THE BATHS.

The plan of these Baths is very similar to the arrangement still used
throughout the East.

[Illustration: CHAMBER OF REPOSE.]

From the elegant little saloon at the entrance where the bathers
unrobed, and whither they resorted after the bath, we pass, by a
circuitous passage, in which are two smaller baths, into the general
vapour-bath, paved with white marble, and lighted with openings in the
form of stars, lined with glazed earthenware. This corresponds with the
apartment called by the Arabs the _hararah_, or vapour-bath, and
described in Lane’s _Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians_; and
it was under the graceful arcades which support the dome that the
bathers

[Illustration: CHAMBER OF REPOSE.]

underwent the attentions of the _masseuses_ who waited on them. From the
great hall we pass into a smaller one, having at each end a marble tank,
used for solitary ablutions. Beyond, at the present day, an accumulated
heap of ruins prevents the recognition of the means for heating the
bath.

The upper part of the Chamber of Repose, which is supported on marble
columns, forms a gallery with small divans, in which two persons, or, at
most, four, could be accommodated at

[Illustration: CHAMBER OF REPOSE.]

the same time; from which it would appear that the bath was confined
entirely to the use of the sovereign and his hareem. The floor is paved
with beautiful Mosaics, which are in perfect preservation.

Inscription: “What is most to be wondered at is the felicity which
awaits men in this palace of delight.”

Los Baños are well preserved, for they lie out of the way of ordinary
ill-usage. The vapour-bath is lighted from above by small lumbreras, or
“louvres.”

GARDEN OF “LINDARAJA.”

The _Mirador_--Prospect-chamber--of “Lindaraja” overlooks this secluded
little court or garden, with its alabaster fountain, its cypress,
orange, and citron trees rising from trim

[Illustration: GARDEN OF “LINDARAJA,” AND THE APARTMENTS TRADITIONALLY
SAID TO HAVE BEEN OCCUPIED BY “LINDARAJA,” A FAVOURITE SULTÁNA.]

hedges of myrtles and roses. The _Mirador_ is a charming little
apartment of fifteen feet by ten feet, or thereabouts, with three tall
windows protected by _jalousies_. It is ordinarily and

[Illustration: THE GARDEN OF “LINDARAJA.”]

erroneously pointed out as the residence of Washington Irving during his
abode in the Palace in 1829. His apartments were, however, in the Mihráb
Tower, now known as the _Tocador de la Reina_.


TOCADOR DE LA REINA--THE QUEEN’S DRESSING-ROOM--

so called by the Spaniards, is about nine feet square. It was,

[Illustration: MOSAIC PAVEMENT IN THE QUEEN’S DRESSING-ROOM (TOCADOR DE
LA REINA).]

in part, modernised and painted in arabesque by Charles V. In a corner
is a marble slab drilled with holes, through which, it is said, perfumes
were wafted while the Queen was dressing.

It is not unimportant to locate precisely the dwelling-place of
Washington Irving during his sojourn in the Alhambra in 1829. It was in
the suite of rooms annexed to the Queen’s Dressing-room that he took up
his quarters. The kindly American genius, who regarded Englishmen as his
own kith and kin, makes it quite plain. He says: “On taking up my abode
in the Alhambra, one end of a suite of empty chambers of modern
architecture, intended for the residence of the

[Illustration: “THE QUEEN’S DRESSING-ROOM,” AT THE SUMMIT OF THE MIHRÁB
TOWER, WITH DISTANT VIEW OF THE GENERALIFE.]

Governor, was fitted up for my reception. It was in front of the
Palace.... I was dissatisfied with being lodged in a modern
apartment.... I found, in a remote gallery, a door, communicating
apparently with an extensive apartment, locked against the public.... I
procured the key, however, without

[Illustration: TOWERS AND PROMENADE.]

difficulty; the door opened to a range of vacant chambers of European
architecture, though built over a Moorish arcade.... This fanciful suite
of rooms terminated in an open gallery with balustrades, which ran at
right angles with a side of the garden. The whole apartment had a
delicacy and elegance in its decorations, and there was something so
choice and sequestered in its situation along with this retired little
garden, that it awakened an interest in its history. I found, on
inquiry, that it was an apartment fitted up at the time when Philip V.
and the beautiful Elizabeth of Parma were expected at the Alhambra, and
was destined for the Queen and the ladies of her train. One of the
loftiest chambers had been her sleeping-room; and a narrow staircase
leading from it ... opened to the delightful belvedere, originally a
_mirador_ of the Moorish Sultanás, but fitted up as a boudoir for the
fair Elizabeth, and which still retains the name of the _tocador_ or
toilette of the Queen. The sleeping-room I have mentioned, commanded
from one window a prospect of the Generalife and its embowered
terraces.... I determined at once to take up my quarters in this
apartment. My determination occasioned great surprise ... but I was not
diverted from my humour.”


TORRE DE LOS SIETE SUELOS--TOWER OF THE SEVEN STAGES.

This Tower is said to descend seven stories under ground. Four
subterranean chambers have been investigated. Divers marvellous tales
are related concerning this building, in which the Moorish kings are
believed to have deposited their treasures. Here, according to fable, is
heard the clash of arms, and of soldiers seen stationed to guard immense
treasures.

LA TORRE DE LOS PICOS--THE TOWER OF THE PEAKS--

is a Moorish postern gate crowned with minarets. The openings in the
Tower for dropping missiles upon assailants are of the time of the
Catholic Sovereigns. It is said that the

[Illustration: THE TOWER OF THE PEAKS.]

French intended to blow up this Tower--the holes made by the sappers yet
remain--but the procrastination of their agents saved the building. From
this postern, a path, crossing the ravine, leads up to the _Generalife_.


TORRE DE COMARES--TOWER OF COMARES.

The whole interior of this gigantic Tower is occupied by the Hall of the
Ambassadors which is described _supra_.

[Illustration: THE CAPTIVE’S TOWER.]

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE INFANTAS TOWER.]

[Illustration: THE INFANTAS TOWER.]

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE INFANTAS TOWER (CEILING).]

[Illustration: SECTION ON THE LINE C. D. OF PLAN.

SECTION ON THE LINE C. B. OF PLAN.

SECTIONS AND PLANS OF THE INFANTAS TOWER.]

[Illustration: ROOM IN THE TORRE DEL CAUTIVO, OR CAPTIVE’S TOWER.]

[Illustration: THE LADIES’ TOWER.]

[Illustration: THE HOMAGE TOWER, ANCIENT ARAB RUINS IN THE ALCAZÁBA.]

[Illustration: GRANADA, FROM THE HOMAGE TOWER.]

[Illustration: TORRE DE LA AQUA--TOWER OF THE AQUEDUCT.]

[Illustration: DETAIL OF THE ONLY ANCIENT “JALOUSIE” REMAINING IN THE
ALHAMBRA.]

TORRE DE LA VELA--THE WATCH-TOWER.

Here, an inscription records, the Christian flag was first hoisted by
the Cardinal Mendoza and his brother. The panorama from the roof of this
Tower is glorious. Below, lies Granada, belted with plantations; beyond,
expands the Vega, guarded like an Eden by a wall of mountains. It is a
scene for painters to sketch and for poets to describe.

The _Torre de la Vela_ is so called, because on this _watch-tower_ hangs
a silver-tongued bell, which is heard on a still night even at Loja,
thirty miles away. The bell is rung on 2nd January, the anniversary of
the surrender of Granada. Maidens come on this day to strike the bell,
which act ensures a

[Illustration: THE INFANTAS TOWER.]

husband, and of excellence in proportion to the noise made, which, it
need not be said, is considerable and continuous.

TORRE DE LAS INFANTAS--TOWER OF THE INFANTAS.

TORRE DEL CAUTIVO--CAPTIVE’S TOWER.

On the north-east wall of the fortress are several towers partly in
ruin, which retain traces of beautiful decorations in the interior. The
_Torre del Cautivo_ and the _Torre de las Infantas_ are the best
preserved. They appear to have formed detached habitations complete in
themselves; and from their position in this retired part of the
fortress, and the extreme beauty of the internal decorations, there can
be little doubt that they were isolated residences of favourite
Sultanás.


TORRE DEL HOMENAGE--HOMAGE TOWER.

The Homage Tower rises at the end of the _Pelota_, or Fives, Court, the
wall of which much disfigures the Place of the Cisterns. In this Homage
Tower is a Roman votive altar, embedded by the Moors in the masonry,
inscribed by “the grateful Valerius to his most indulgent wife,
Cornelia.”


TORRE DE LA AQUA--TOWER OF THE AQUEDUCT.

Close to the two Towers, _Del Candil_ and _De la Cautiva_, is the corner
Tower _De la Aqua_, where an aqueduct, stemming the ravine, supplies the
hill with water.


THE LADIES’ TOWER.

The interior of the Ladies’ Tower was formerly remarkable for an alcove
of extraordinary beauty. The Tower is isolated, and, unfortunately, a
tourist purchased it for a trifling sum. After stripping the marvellous
decoration--a masterpiece of Yúsuf I.--the aforesaid traveller
magnanimously presented the denuded carcass to the State.


THE MUSEUM.

In a chamber near to the entrance of the Court of the Lions, a
collection of Moorish remains has been brought together. A conspicuous
object is the marble sarcophagus, or tank, brought from the _Alcazába_,
with basso-relievos of animals;

[Illustration: DETAILS OF THE ENTRANCE DOOR TO THE MUSEUM OF THE
ALHAMBRA.]

among them the “deer-slaying lion,” which occurs so often in Greek art,
and, like the Mithraic daughter of the bull, may be the symbol of some
hieratic mystery, possibly the triumph of the evil principle. It is
difficult to say whether this rude

[Illustration: BAS-RELIEF, NOW IN THE MUSEUM OF THE ALHAMBRA.]

[Illustration: THE SAME SUBJECT FROM AN ENGRAVING IN MURPHY’S ARABIAN
ANTIQUITIES.]

sculpture is antique or Moorish. An Arabic inscription is carried round
the border, but this may be later than the carving; at all events, stags
are animals connected by the Orientals with the fountain--“As the hart
panteth for the water-brooks”--and the Spanish Moors, among other
departures from strict Moslem rules, did not reject either paintings or
carvings of living objects. The splendid vase, _el jarro_, has been
brought hither from the Hall of the Two Sisters, and is described at
page 76, with a plate at page 95.


PALACE OF CHARLES V.

On one side of the _Plaza de los Algibes_--Place of the

[Illustration: PALACE OF CHARLES V.]

Cisterns--is an isolated Moorish tower called _La Torre del Vino_, built
in 1345, by Yúsuf I., and remarkable for its exquisite arch, called the
“Wine Gate” (see page 133). Opposite is the large Palace begun by
Charles V., great in conception and impotent in conclusion, unfurnished
and roofless. To make way for this edifice, Charles destroyed large
portions of what the Moors had raised, tearing down whole ranges of the
Alhambra.

[Illustration: ELEVATION AND SECTION OF THE PALACE OF CHARLES V.]

[Illustration: INTERIOR, PALACE OF CHARLES V.]

[Illustration: PART OF EXTERIOR, PALACE OF CHARLES V.]

This pile of buildings, commenced for Charles V., was never finished, in
consequence of his frequent absence, occasioned by the almost perpetual
wars in which he was engaged, particularly in his efforts to suppress
the insurrections of the Moors in the Alpujarras, and elsewhere.[12] The
spot chosen for

[Illustration: ROMAN COURT, PALACE OF CHARLES V.]

the site of the Palace commands a most beautiful view of the city of
Granada, as well as its surrounding _Vega_. As a specimen of Spanish
architecture, it reflects the highest credit on Pedro Machuca, who
began it in 1526. It is, in every way, adapted to the climate; and its
interior, which, in its chief feature, takes a circular form, is
spacious and splendid. In any other situation the Palace of Charles V.
would justly excite admiration: but here it is misplaced. With all its
grandeur and architectural excellence, Washington Irving could only look
upon the structure as “an arrogant intrusion.” It is falling rapidly to
decay. The walls are crumbling, the wood-work is rotten, and the
splendid apartments--all that resulted from an intention to eclipse the
palace of the Moslem kings--are given up to bats and owls.

This projected Palace, begun in 1526, progressed slowly until 1633, and
was then abandoned. Whatever beauty there is in the Spanish Palace at
Granada, is external. On the other hand, the Moors were content with the
beauty of the interior of the Alhambra.

[Illustration: Plan of the Alhambra Palace at Granada.

_Specially drawn for Mʳ Albert F. Calvert’s book on the Alhambra, from
measurements by the late M. Jules Goury_]

[Illustration: GROUND-FLOOR PLAN OF THE ALHAMBRA, AND OF THE FOUNDATIONS
OF THE PALACE OF CHARLES V.]

[Illustration: PLAN OF THE PALACE OF CHARLES V., AND OF THE
SUBTERRANEOUS VAULTS OF THE ALHAMBRA.]

[Illustration: HALL OF JUSTICE.]

[Illustration: SUNK LINES ON THE WALLS, HALL OF JUSTICE AND COURT OF THE
LIONS.]

[Illustration: FRIEZE IN THE HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]

[Illustration: PANEL ON JAMBS OF DOORWAYS, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]

[Illustration: ORNAMENT IN PANELS, HALL OF THE BARQUE.]

[Illustration: ORNAMENT IN PANELS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: CORNICE OVER COLUMNS, COURT OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: FRIEZE OVER COLUMNS, COURT OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: BAND ROUND PANELS IN WINDOWS, HALL OF THE TWO SISTERS.]

[Illustration: PANELLING IN WINDOWS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: ORNAMENT IN PANELS, COURT OF THE MOSQUE.]

[Illustration: ORNAMENTS AT THE JUNCTIONS OF INSCRIPTIONS, COURT OF THE
LIONS AND COURT OF THE FISH-POND.]

[Illustration: SUNK LINES ON THE WALLS, HOUSE OF THE COMMANDANT.]

[Illustration: ORNAMENT IN PANELS, HALL OF AMBASSADORS.]

[Illustration: DETAILS OF THE ORNAMENTS WHICH ARE INTRODUCED INTO THE
PAINTING OVER THE CENTRE ALCOVE OF THE HALL OF JUSTICE. THESE ORNAMENTS,
BEING OF A STRICTLY MOORISH CHARACTER, STRONGLY SUPPORT THE OPINION THAT
THE PAINTINGS ON THE CEILINGS OF THE ALCOVES OF THE HALL OF JUSTICE ARE
THE WORK OF MOORISH ARTISTS.]

[Illustration: DETAILS AND ARABIAN INSCRIPTIONS.]

[Illustration: DETAILS OF ARABIAN WORK.]

[Illustration: DETAILS, AND INSCRIPTIONS, AND ARABIAN CHAPITERS.]

[Illustration: DETAILS OF ARABIAN WORK.]




The Generalife.


The Generalife is called by the Spaniards _Cuarto Real_, signifying a
diminutive royal palace--an appanage, or “fourth part” of the Alhambra.

In point of situation, the royal villa, or “pleasaunce,” of the Moorish
Kings of Granada, is fully equal to the site chosen for the erection of
the Alhambra. It stands upon an acclivity, behind which are lovely
gardens, extensively timbered with trees of gigantic growth, where
nightingales sing themselves hoarse in shrubberies rendered luxuriant by
soft, refreshing rivulets. In the Generalife may be seen many Cufic
inscriptions: the white tiles with golden scrolls occur nowhere else.
The _Cuarto Real_ and its beautiful gardens once belonged to Dalahorra,
mother of “Muley Hasen,” and within three months of the capitulation of
Granada they were ceded to Alonzo de Valiza, prior of Santa Cruz of
Avila. Ford made an abstract of the original conveyance by which we
learn how Alonzo de Valiza took possession. “Don Alonzo entered the
garden pavilion, affirming loudly that he had made an entry; next, he
opened and shut the door, locking it, and giving the key into the
custody of one _Macafreto_, a well-known householder of Granada; he then
went into the garden, where he severed the branch of a tree and dug up
some earth with a spade, thus exercising his rights of proprietorship.”
Such was the practice of conveyancing in the time of the Moors.

A gateway of the _Cuarto Real_, called _Puerta del Pescado_, is of
Moorish origin, and has three arches.

A picturesque ravine divides the hill of the Alhambra from
the _Sierra del Sol_. Here, the approach is under a high
embowered avenue of fig trees and myrtles. The situation of
the Generalife--_Jennatu-l-’arif_--[13] “The Garden of the
Architect”--proved so entrancing to the Sultán _Isma’il-Ibn Faraj_ that
he was not at rest until he had erected this mountain villa as an abode
for the “Light of his Hareem,” a summer-house, devoted to seclusion,
pleasure, and luxury:

    “When free and uncrown’d as the Conqueror rov’d
     By the banks of that lake, with his only belov’d,
     He saw, in the wreaths she would playfully snatch
     From the hedges, a glory his crown could not match,
     And preferr’d in his heart the least ringlet that curl’d
     Down her exquisite neck to the throne of the world.”

                          _Tom Moore._

Once again the pages of the Grand Wizír _Ibnu-l-Khattíb_ furnish
testimony at first hand of transactions in which his ungrateful master,
Mohammed V., was involved, and who owed his safety to an accidental
visit to the Generalife.

A conspiracy, having for its object the dethronement of Mohammed V., and
the usurpation of his half-brother, Isma’il, succeeded only too well.
The mother of Isma’il, soon after the death of Yúsuf I., when Mohammed
had rightfully ascended the throne of Granada, created a party against
the monarch, and had attached to her faction all the discontented. The
castle of the Alhambra was surprised in August, 1359. The conspirators,
having liberated Isma’il from his place of confinement, mounted him upon
a horse and proclaimed him through

[Illustration: GROUND PLAN OF THE GENERALIFE AT GRANADA.

A. Advanced parts.

B. The Inner Gallery, commanding a view of the gardens.

C C C C. Terraces and Aqueducts.

D D D, E E. The surrounding country.]

[Illustration: THE GENERALIFE.]

the city as their Sultán. How Mohammed had the good fortune to escape is
thus set forth by his Wizír:

“At the time these events were taking place, the Sultán Mohammed was
absent from the Alhambra, having gone, together with a son of his, to
reside at a delightful country seat close to Granada, called
_Jennatu-l-’arif_, a spot well known for the luxuriance of its trees,
which never admit the rays of the sun,

[Illustration: THE GENERALIFE.]

as well as for the healthfulness of the air, which is continually
refreshed by running streams of limpid water. This garden is only
separated from the royal residence by a high and strong wall, defended
by a deep moat. In this place the Sultán was suddenly awakened by the
clatter of arms, the cries of the assailants, and the beating of drums
in the distance. Not knowing what caused the tumult, Mohammed went out
in the direction of the Alhambra; but, finding that the conspirators
occupied all the avenues, he retraced his steps, and Allah was pleased
to provide for his salvation; for, having mounted a fleet horse, which
was always kept saddled and prepared for him, he galloped off to Guadix,
where he arrived safely the same morning, and presented himself to the
governor of the castle, who was very far from suspecting what had
happened. Mohammed was immediately waited upon by the chief inhabitants
of the place who all swore to protect him, so that he not only reigned
undisturbed over Guadix and its immediate neighbourhood, but soon found
himself at the head of devoted followers who hastened to him from all
parts.”

Meanwhile, his brother, the usurper, despatched an embassy to the King
of Castile, offering to renew the treaty of peace then existing between
the two countries. The Castilian King (Pedro I.), happening then to be
at war with the people of Barcelona, readily assented to the proposal,
and ratified the usurper’s occupation of Granada. Isma’il, however, did
not long enjoy the power he had seized. He was besieged in the Alhambra
by Abú ’Abdillah, afterwards Mohammed VI., taken prisoner, and put to
death, together with his brother, Kayes, in 1360.

The history of the dethroned king, Mohammed V., is particularly
interesting for the reason that he it was who put the finishing touches
to the decoration of the Alhambra, after the work was interrupted by the
assassination of his father, Yúsuf I.

Immediately upon the death of Isma’il, Mohammed VI. was proclaimed king,
and reigned for about two years, at the end of which period, seeing
himself pressed on the one side by the rightful sovereign who burned to
revenge the outrage done to him and recover the throne of his ancestors;
and harassed, on the other hand, by Pedro, King of Castile; he formed
the strange

[Illustration: A VIEW OF THE ROYAL VILLA OF THE GENERALIFE AT GRANADA.]

[Illustration: TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE ROYAL VILLA OF THE GENERALIFE
AT GRANADA.]

resolution of throwing himself upon the protection of the latter, and
repairing to his Court. “He might just as well,” says the Wizír, “have
thrown himself into the jaws of a hungry tiger thirsting for blood, for
no sooner had the infidel dog cast his eyes on the countless treasures
which Mohammed and his chiefs had brought with them, than he conceived
the wicked design of murdering them and appropriating their riches; on
the second day of Rejeb, 763 (April 27, A.D. 1362) he was put to death
with all his followers, at a place called Tablada, close to Seville.”

But to return to the dethroned Sultán, Mohammed V., whose history is
highly romantic.

The people of Guadix continued their allegiance, protected his person,
and swore to devote their lives to his cause. Pedro was but lukewarm in
his behalf; and Mohammed, obtaining only vague promises from the
Christian King, crossed over to Fez at the invitation of the Sultán of
Western Africa (_Ibnu-l-Khattíb_, in his life of Mohammed V., gives the
details of

[Illustration: THE GENERALIFE.]

this journey), and made a public entrance into Fez, where he was
received with every mark of distinction.

After a long sojourn with the Sultán, Mohammed returned to Andalus in
great state with a large number of followers, his adherents greatly
increasing on his arrival at Guadix. All ranks flocked to his standard,
the presence of the long-absent and popular sovereign infusing new
vigour amongst the troops. The whole of the _Gharbia_, or Western
districts, submitted to him. He was then enabled to take Malaga and to
march upon Granada, which surrendered without opposition, and he thus
saw himself once again in possession of his dominions. His triumphant
entry into Granada took place April 6th, A.D. 1362, immediately before
the death of the usurper, Mohammed VI., at the hands of King Pedro.

Mohammed V. reigned until the year 1391, when he was succeeded by his
son, Yúsuf II.

       *       *       *       *       *

To reach the summer resort of the Moorish Kings from the Alhambra, the
better way is to leave the Palace by the _Torre del Picos_--Tower of the
Peaks, or minarets--and thus approach the tall white towers and long
arcades of the Generalife. To wander amidst its gardens and groves in
the most sultry season is to enjoy a still more breezy region than that
of the Alhambra.

The Generalife is a confluence of waters: the canal of the Darro empties
its full virgin stream, and at times boils under evergreen arches
through the Acequia Court.[14] In contemplation of its beauty, the
present is forgotten in the past; old-world echoes still reverberate
through the bemyrtled Courts, where the many flowers which enamel its
terraces and aqueducts tranquilly attest that once a garden smiled:

    “Cypress and ivy, weed and wall-flower grown
       Matted and mass’d together, hillocks heap’d
     On what were chambers, arch crush’d, column strown
       In fragments, chok’d up vaults, and frescos steep’d
     In subterranean damps, where the owl peep’d,
       Deeming it midnight: Temples, baths, or halls?
     Pronounce who can; for all that Learning reap’d
      From her research hath been, that these are walls--”
             _Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage_, Canto IV.

[Illustration: GARDEN OF THE GENERALIFE.]

[Illustration: PERSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE GARDEN OF THE GENERALIFE.]

[Illustration: ELEVATION AND GROUND PLAN OF THE PORTICO OF THE
GENERALIFE.]

What is pointed out as “the trysting place of the Sultána,” is a grove
of cypress trees, enormous in their proportions, and old as the Moors
themselves. The beautiful Zoraya, surnamed “The Morning Star,” to whom
reference has been already made, is said to have been discovered under
their spreading branches with her lover, the Abencerrage, but this is a
calumny of the _Romanceros_, and they are false witnesses. The tradition
is, but with little to substantiate it, that the Sultána was condemned
to be burnt alive, if,

[Illustration: MOSAIC, PORTICO OF THE GENERALIFE.]

within thirty days, she did not produce four knights to defend her cause
against her four accusers. The fatal day arrived; no knights appeared,
when, just at the supreme moment, there came upon the scene Don Juan de
Chacon, Lord of Carthagena (whom she had implored to become her
champion) accompanied by three other Christian knights, all in Saracenic
armour. They fought and conquered, and the last of the conspirators,
with his dying breath, confessed his invention of the false charge
against the Abencerrage and the innocent Sultána.

The reader who is desirous of perusing the circumstantial narrative of
this supposed transaction may be referred to the late Mr. Henry
Swinburne’s account in his _Travels in Spain_, while Mr. Peyron, in his
_Essays on Spain_, has given a translation of an Arabian document
purporting to be an official report concerning it.

Upon the naked summit of the height above the Generalife are some
shapeless ruins, known as the _Silla del Moro_--the seat of the
Moor--said to have been a point of observation of Boabdil, the Unlucky,
while an insurrection was raging in the city below. An apocryphal
portrait of Boabdil, _El Rey Chico_, hangs in the picture gallery of the
Generalife. The face is mild, handsome, and somewhat melancholy, with a
fair complexion and yellow hair. Other indifferent paintings are to be
seen in the gallery, including those of Ferdinand and Isabella. The
genealogical tree of the Marquis of Campotejar of the Grimalda Gentili
family, better known as Pallavicini, of Genoa, is exhibited in the
picture gallery. The villa now belongs to the Marquis, who, being an
absentee, has placed the palace under the care of an _administrador_.
The founder of the Grimaldi family was one Cidi Aya, a Moorish prince,
who was of service to Ferdinand on the expulsion of the Moors, at which
time he became a Christian knight under the name of Don Pedro. His son,
Don Aixa, is represented in the pedigree hanging in the picture gallery,
trampling, like a renegade, on the ensigns of his ancestors. An enormous
weapon, traditionally known as “The Sword of Boabdil,” having a
beautifully enamelled sheath enriched with gold and silver work, is
preserved in the office of the Italian Consulate at Granada.

The decorations of the Generalife are in no respect inferior to those of
the Alhambra; the wood-work is of _nogal_, or Spanish chestnut, and,
where it has not been wantonly injured, is in its original condition. It
is thought that the Moors preserved their wood-work by coating it with a
substance called

[Illustration: FRONT VIEW OF THE PORTICO OF THE GENERALIFE.]

[Illustration: A CEILING IN THE GENERALIFE.]

[Illustration: THE GENERALIFE.

ENTRANCE TO THE GALLERY OF RETRATOS (PORTRAIT GALLERY).]

[Illustration: THE GENERALIFE.

GALLERY IN THE ACEQUIA COURT.]

_colle_ and _almaqu_, _i.e._, size mixed with a reddish earth, and
rendered obnoxious to insects. The black lines which ornament the
wood-work are believed to have been traced with a hot iron.

[Illustration: GALLERY IN THE GENERALIFE.]

Nothing can exceed the symmetry of the Portico of the Generalife. The
columns are of white marble, surmounted by arches and arabesques. The
inscription, many times repeated, and running along the whole front of
the Portico, is that which occurs so frequently in the Alhambra, “There
is no conqueror but God.” The dado has a very rich effect, the colours
being black, blue, gold, scarlet, and green.

The transverse section of the Royal Villa, shown in the plate at p. 411,
gives an idea of the beauty of the interior decorations. The ceiling of
the chief apartment is a _chef-d’œuvre_ of Arabian workmanship; the
exquisite delicacy and consummate taste displayed by the artist must be
seen before a full appreciation can be acquired. The ceiling is
delineated at p. 425.

The Acequia Court reminds the observer of the Court of the Fishpond; or
of Myrtles, in the Alhambra. Although of no such great dimensions,
similar arcades, galleries, and fountains, are here seen in profusion.
The slender pillars and gossamer-perforated fabrics are, as in the case
of the greater Palace, like nothing so much as our conception of
fairy-work, rather a dream of beauty than the production of human hands.


LA CASA DEL CARBON--THE CHARCOAL HOUSE.

Halfway down the Zacatin, which was, in Moorish times, the bazaar, or
market, of Granada--then alive with busy silversmiths, and with silk
merchants, who offered the most wondrous productions of the loom--stands
whatever remains of the elegant palace known as the Charcoal House, from
having been appropriated to the sale of that commonplace article. The
edifice, until recent times, bore the name by which it had been known
for centuries, viz.: _La Casa del Gallo de Viento_--The Weather-cock
House.

There is a tradition that the palace was built by Bàdìs Ibn Hàbus, the
third Sultàn of Granada of the Zeyrite dynasty, about 1070 A.D., by
whose direction a vane was made in the

[Illustration: THE ACEQUIA COURT, IN THE GENERALIFE.]

[Illustration: THE ACEQUIA COURT IN THE GENERALIFE, FROM THE MAIN
ENTRANCE.]

[Illustration: THE ACEQUIA COURT IN THE GENERALIFE.]

[Illustration: A CORNER OF THE ACEQUIA COURT IN THE GENERALIFE.]
[Illustration: CYPRESS COURT IN THE GENERALIFE.]

[Illustration: GALLERY OF THE ACEQUIA COURT IN THE GENERALIFE.]

shape of a warrior mounted on a steed, with a shield and levelled spear
in his hands. _Al-makkarì_ tells us that he read in the manuscript of a
learned Moorish historian the following anecdote concerning it: “I was
told by the _Faquih Sìdì Hasan_ ... that he was present at the taking
down of the talisman, known as the weather-cock, which once stood on the
top of the old _Kassabah_--fortified enclosure--at Granada, and was
removed on account of the improvements and repairs about to be made in
that building. I saw it with my own eyes; it was of heptagonal shape,
and bore the following Arabic inscription in verse:

“The palace at fair Granada presents to the eye of the observer a
talisman turning round with the succession of time.

“The horseman on its weather-cock, although a solid body, turns with
every wind.

“This to the wise man, reveals many a mystery.

“Indeed, after subsisting a short time, a calamity shall come which
shall ruin both the palace and its owner.

“Thus shall Andalus vanish one day!”

The archway-entrance to the _Casa del Carbon_ is very richly decorated,
as may be seen by the illustration at p. 443, but the interior has been
greatly interfered with and disfigured. Below, is a subterranean
passage, said to communicate with the Alhambra; but the Duke d’Abrantes,
who owned the _Casa_, regarded such means of communication as “uncanny,”
and blocked up the passage. An inspection of the Arabic title-deeds to
this interesting property, which are still extant, would amply repay the
pains of conveyancing amateurs.


LA CASA SANCHEZ--THE HOUSE OF SANCHEZ.

La Casa Sanchez, so-called from having been the dwelling of an honest
muleteer of that name, was once one of the most picturesque and most
Moorish of dwellings. But, alas! in the year 1837, the whole front was
“restored” and “beautified,” and an ancient fish-pond, similar to that
of the Court of Myrtles, was filled up and converted into a garden by
one of the resident officers of the Palace. The ruthless _empleado_, who
caused the Moorish doors of the Hall of the Abencerrages to be sawn
asunder, permitted also this outrage by a man of equal

[Illustration: MOSAIC PAVEMENT IN THE DRESSING-ROOM OF THE SULTÁNA.]

taste with himself, who ruined the little architectural
gem. The ruin yet offers a specimen of minute and beautiful
_tarkish_--stucco-work--that even the lovely examples of the Alhambra
itself cannot surpass. An illustration at p. 445, from a drawing of
about the year 1830, ’ere the spoiler came, will give an idea of the
departed beauty of the jewelled building.

[Illustration: SABRE OF THE LAST MOORISH KING OF GRANADA, COMMONLY
CALLED “THE SWORD OF BOABDIL.”]

[BLANKPAGE] [Illustration: ELEVATION OF THE CASA DEL CARBON, OR “HOUSE
OF CARBON,” ONCE KNOWN AS THE HOUSE OF THE WEATHER-COCK.]

[Illustration: HOUSE OF SANCHEZ.]

[Illustration: PLAN AND SECTION OF THE GREAT CISTERN IN THE ALHAMBRA.]

[BLANKPAGE] APPENDIX.

Moresco-Spanish Ballads.

Selected from the Translations of John Gibson Lockhart.


Lockhart’s intention was to furnish the English reader with some notion
of that old Spanish minstrelsy preserved in the different _Cancioneros_
and _Romanceros_ of the Sixteenth Century; he owns, however, than only a
Spaniard can achieve for his native _chansons_ what Percy, Ellis, or
Ritson has done for English ballads. Until such a Spanish editor arises,
it seems impossible to determine to what period the composition of the
oldest Spanish ballads now extant ought to be referred.

The first collection of romantic Spanish ballads, that of Ferdinand de
Castillo, was published so early as 1510; and, as the title of the book
declares that the volume contains the ancient and modern songs of the
Troubadours of Spain, it is clear that a certain number of the pieces
were then considered ancient. There are not wanting circumstances which
would seem to establish for many of the Spanish ballads a claim to
antiquity much higher than is to be inferred from this date; for, in the
_General Chronicle of Spain_, which was compiled in the fourteenth
century at the instance of Alfonso the Wise, allusions are constantly
made to the popular songs of the minstrels, or _Joglares_. One thing is
certain, that the Spaniards are in possession of the oldest, as well as
the largest, collection of _popular_ ballad poetry, properly so called,
than is to be found in the literature of any other European nation; and
Lockhart very pertinently puts the enquiry, “Had there been published at
London, in the reign of our eighth Henry, a vast collection of English
ballads about the wars of the Plantagenets, what illustration and
annotation would not that collection have received ere now?”

It is fair, perhaps, to conclude that a great and remarkable influence
was exerted over Spanish thought and feeling--and, therefore, over
Spanish language and poetry--by the influx of those Oriental tribes who
occupied, for long centuries, the fairest provinces of Spain;
particularly when it is remembered that the Christian youth studied
freely and honourably at the feet of Jewish and Mohammedan philosophers.

Throughout the oldest Spanish ballads there breathes a spirit of charity
towards their Moorish enemies, for, in spite of adverse faith, in spite
of adverse interests, they had much in common. Loves, and sports--nay,
sometimes their haughtiest recollections--were in common; and even their
heroes were the same: Bernardo del Carpio, Fernan Gonzalez, the Cid
himself, had, at some period of their lives, fought beneath the standard
of the Crescent, and the minstrels of either nation had equal pride in
the celebration of their prowess. Even in the ballads most exclusively
devoted to the records of feats of Spanish heroism, it is quite common
to find some handsome compliment paid to the Moors. And when, at a later
period, the conquest of Granada had mingled the Spaniards with the
persons and manners of the Moors, the Spanish ballad-mongers still
celebrated the achievements of their Saracen rivals; and the compliment
towards “the Knights of Granada, gentlemen, albeit Moors,”

    _Caballeros Granadinos_
    _Aunque Moros hijos d’algo_,

must have been extremely gratifying to the defeated.

The ballads of Moorish origin are rather of the romantic than the
historical class. They were sung in the villages of Andalusia in either
language, but to the same tunes, and listened to with equal pleasure by
Mussulman and Christian. In these strains, says Lockhart, whatever
merits or demerits they may possess, they present a lively picture of
the life of the Arabian Spaniard. We see him as he was in reality, “like
steel among weapons--like wax among women.”

There came, indeed, a time when the fondness of the Spaniards for their
Moorish ballads was made a matter of reproach; but this was not till
long after the period when Spanish bravery had recovered the last
fragments of the Peninsula from the Moslem.

The greater part of the Moorish ballads refer to the period immediately
preceding, and at the time of the downfall of the throne of Granada. The
amours of that splendid court; the bull fights, and other spectacular
displays in which its lords and ladies delighted no less than those of
the Christian courts of Spain; the feuds of the two great families of
the Zegris and the Abencerrages, which contributed so largely to the
ruin of the Moorish cause; and the incidents of the last war, in which
the power of the Moslem was entirely overthrown by the arms of Ferdinand
and Isabella.

The ballad, composed on the departure from Granada of the Moors, is a
specimen of romantic minstrelsy which has never depended on historic
truth. The allusion in the third stanza to the old white beard of the
Moorish king seems to favour the conjecture that “Muley Hasen,” and not
his son Boabdil, surrendered the keys of the fortress.


“THE FLIGHT FROM GRANADA.”

     There was crying in Granada when the sun was going down--
     Some calling on the Trinity--some calling on Mahoun!
     Here passed away the Korán--there in the Cross was borne--
     And here was heard the Christian bell, and there the Moorish horn;

     _Te Deum Laudamus!_ was up the Alcala sung:
     Down from th’ Alhambra’s minarets were all the crescents flung;
     The arms thereon of Aragon they with Castile’s display;
     One king comes in in triumph--one weeping goes away!

     Thus cried the weeper, while his hands his old white beard did tear,
    “Farewell, farewell, Granada! thou city without peer!
     Woe, woe thou pride of heathendom! seven hundred years and more
     Have gone since first the faithful thy royal sceptre bore!

    “Thou wert the happy mother of a high renownéd race;
     Within thee dwelt a haughty line that now go from their place;
     Within thee fearless knights did dwell, who fought with mickle glee
     The enemies of proud Castile--the bane of Christientie!

    “The mother of fair dames wert thou, of truth and beauty rare,
     Into whose arms did courteous knights for solace sweet repair;
     For whose dear sakes the gallants of Afric made display
     Of might in joust and battle on many a bloody day!

    “Here gallants held it little thing for ladies’ sake to die,
     Or for the Prophet’s honour, and pride of Soldanry:
     For here did valour flourish, and deeds of warlike might
     Ennobled lordly palaces, in which was our delight.

    “The gardens of thy Vega, its fields and blooming bowers--
     Woe, woe! I see their beauty gone, and scatter’d all their flowers
     No reverence can he claim, the king that such a land hath lost
     On charger never can he ride, nor be heard among the host;
     But in some dark and dismal place, where none his face may see,
     There, weeping and lamenting, alone that king should be!”

     Thus spake Granada’s king as he was riding to the sea,
     About to cross Gibraltar’s Strait away to Barbary:
     Thus he in heaviness of soul unto his queen did cry.--
     (He had stopp’d and ta’en her in his arms, for together they did fly).

    “Unhappy king! whose craven soul can brook”--(she ’gan reply)
    “To leave behind Granada--who hast not heart to die--
     Now for the love I bore thy youth, thee gladly could I slay!
     For what is life to leave when such a crown is cast away?”

THE DEATH OF DON ALONZO OF AGUILAR.

The Catholic zeal of Ferdinand and Isabella was gratified by the
external conversion at least of great part of the Moors of Granada; but
the inhabitants of the Sierra of Alpujarra, to which the remnant of the
Moors had retired, resisted every effort of the priests who were sent
among them, so that the order for baptism was at length enforced by
arms. These Moorish mountaineers resisted strenuously, but were at
length subdued, and, in great part, extirpated. Amongst many severe
losses sustained by the Spanish forces in this guerilla warfare, was
that recorded in the following ballad. The tragic story has been made
familiar to English readers by the Bishop of Dromore’s exquisite version
of “Rio Verde! Rio Verde!”

    Fernando, king of Aragon, before Granada lies,
    With dukes and barons many a one, and champions of emprise;
    With all the captains of Castile that serve his lady’s crown,
    He drives Boabdil from his gates, and plucks the Crescent down.

    The Cross is rear’d upon the towers, for our Redeemer’s sake!
    The king assembles all his powers, his triumph to partake;
    Yet at the royal banquet, there’s trouble in his eye--
    “Now speak thy wish, it shall be done, great king!” the lordings cry.

    Then spake Fernando: “Hear, grandees! which of ye all will go,
    And give my banner in the breeze of Alpujar to blow?
    Those heights along, the Moors are strong; now who, by dawn of day,
    Will plant the Cross their cliffs among, and drive the dogs away?”

    Then champion on champion high, and count on count doth look;
    And falt’ring is the tongue of lord, and pale the cheek of duke;
    Till starts up brave Alonzo, the knight of Aguilar,
    The lowmost at the royal board, but foremost still in war.

    And thus he speaks: “I pray, my lord, that none but I may go:
    For I made promise to the queen, your consort, long ago,
    That ere the war should have an end, I, for her royal charms,
    And for my duty to her grace, would show some feat of arms!”

    Much joy’d the king these words to hear--he bids Alonzo speed;
    And long before the revel’s o’er the knight is on his steed;
    Alonzo’s on his milk-white steed, with horsemen in his train,
    A thousand horse, a chosen band, ere dawn the hills to gain.

    They ride along the darkling ways, they gallop thro’ the night;
    They reach Nevada ere the cock hath harbinger’d the light;
    But ere they’ve climb’d that steep ravine, the east is glowing red,
    And the Moors their lances bright have seen, and Christian banners spread.

    Beyond the sands, between the rocks, where the old cork-trees grow,
    The path is rough, and mounted men must singly march and slow;
    There, o’er the path, the heathen range their ambuscado’s line,
    High up they wait for Aguilar, as the day begins to shine.

    There, nought avails the eagle-eye, the guardian of Castile,
    The eye of wisdom, nor the heart that fear might never feel,
    The arm of strength, that wielded well the strong mace in the fray,
    Nor the broad plate, from whence the edge of faulchion glanced away.

    Not knightly valour there avails, nor skill of horse and spear;
    For rock on rock comes rumbling down from cliff and cavern drear;
    Down--down like driving hail they come, and horse and horsemen die;
    Like cattle whose despair is dumb when the fierce lightnings fly.

    Alonzo, with a handful more, escapes into the field,
    There, like a lion, stands at bay, in vain besought to yield;
    A thousand foes around are seen, but none draw near to fight;
    Afar, with bolt and javelin, they pierce the steadfast knight.

    A hundred and a hundred darts are hissing round his head;
    Had Aguilar a thousand hearts, their blood had all been shed;
    Faint, and more faint, he staggers upon the slippery sod,
    At last his back is to the earth, he gives his soul to God!

    With that the Moors plucked up their hearts to gaze upon his face,
    And caitiffs mangled where he lay the scourge of Afric’s race;
    To woody Oxijera then the gallant corpse they drew,
    And there, upon the village green, they laid him out to view.

    Upon the village-green he lay, as the moon was shining clear,
    And all the village damsels to look on him drew near;
    They stood around him all a-gaze, beside a big oak-tree,
    And much his beauty they did praise, tho’ mangled sore was he.
    Now, so it fell, a Christian dame, that knew Alonzo well,
    Not far from Oxijera did as a captive dwell,
    And hearing all the marvels, across the woods came she,
    To look upon this Christian corpse, and wash it decently.

    She look’d upon him, and she knew the face of Aguilar,
    Although his beauty was defac’d with many a ghastly scar,
    She knew him, and she cursed the dogs that pierced him from afar,
    And mangled him when he was slain--the Moors of Alpujar.

    The Moorish maidens, while she spake, around her silence kept,
    But her master dragged the dame away--then loud and long they wept;
    They washed the blood, with many a tear, from dint of dart and arrow,
    And buried him near the waters clear of the brook of Alpujarra.


THE BULL-FIGHT OF GAZUL.

Gazul is the name of one of the Moorish heroes who figure in the
“_Historia de las Guerras Civiles de Granada_.” The following is one of
many ballads in which the dexterity of Moorish cavaliers in the
Bull-fight is described. The reader will observe that the shape,
activity, and resolution of the animal destined to furnish the amusement
of the spectators, are enlarged upon, just as the qualities of a modern
racehorse might be amongst ourselves--nor is the bull without his name.
The day of the Baptist is a festival of the Mussulmans, as well as
amongst Christians:

     King Almanzor of Granada, he hath bid the trumpet sound,
     He hath summon’d all the Moorish lords, from the hills and plains around;
     From Vega and Sierra, from Betis and Xenil,
     They have come with helm and cuirass of gold and twisted steel.

     ’Tis the holy Baptist’s feast they hold in royalty and state,
     And they have closed the spacious lists, beside the Alhambra’s gate;
     In gowns of black with silver laced, within the tented ring,
     Eight Moors to fight the bull are placed, in presence of the King.

     Eight Moorish lords of valour tried, with stalwart arm and true,
     The onset of the beasts abide, as they come rushing through;
     The deeds they’ve done, the spoils they’ve won,
         fill all with hope and trust
     Yet, ’ere high in heaven appears the sun, they all have bit the dust!

     Then sounds the trumpet clearly, then clangs the loud tambour,
     Make room, make room for Gazul!--throw wide, throw wide the door!
     Blow, blow the trumpet clearer still! more loudly strike the drum!
     The Alcaydé of Algava to fight the bull doth come.

     And first before the King he passed, with reverence stooping low,
     And next he bowed him to the Queen and th’ Infantas all a-rowe;
     Then to his lady’s grace he turned, and she to him did throw
     A scarf from out her balcony was whiter than the snow.

     With the life-blood of the slaughtered lords all slippery is the sand,
     Yet proudly in the centre hath Gazul ta’en his stand;
     And ladies look with heaving breast, and lords with anxious eye,
     But firmly he extends his arm--his look is calm and high.

     Three bulls against the knight are loosed, and two come roaring on,
     He rises high in stirrup, forth stretching his rejón;
     Each furious beast upon the breast he deals him such a blow,
     He blindly totters and gives back across the sand to go.

    “Turn, Gazul, turn!” the people cry: the third comes up behind,
     Low to the sand his head holds he, his nostrils snuff the wind;
     The mountaineers that lead the steers without stand whispering low,
    “Now thinks this proud Alcaydé to stun _Harpado_ so?”

     From Guadiana comes he not, he comes not from Xenil,
     From Gaudalarif of the plain, or Barves of the hill;
     But where from out the forest burst Xarama’s waters clear,
     Beneath the oak-trees was he nursed, this proud and stately steer.

     Dark is his hide on either side, but the blood within doth boil,
     And the dun hide glows, as if on fire, as he paws to the turmoil.
     His eyes are jet, and they are set in crystal rings of snow;
     But now they stare with one red glare of brass upon the foe.

     Upon the forehead of the bull the horns stand close and near,
     From out the broad and wrinkled skull like daggers they appear;
     His neck is massy, like the trunk of some old knotted tree,
     Whereon the monster’s shaggy mane, like billows curled, ye see,

     His legs are short, his hams are thick, his hoofs are black as night,
     Like a strong flail he holds his tail in fierceness of his might;
     Like something molten out of iron, or hewn from forth the rock,
     _Harpado_ of Xarama stands, to bide the Alcaydé’s shock.

     Now stops the drum; close, close they come; thrice meet,
          and thrice give back;
     The white foam of _Harpado_ lies on the charger’s breast of black;
     The white foam of the charger on _Harpado’s_ front of dun;
     Once more advance upon his lance--once more, thou fearless one!

     Once more, once more! in dust and gore to ruin must thou reel!
     In vain, in vain thou tearest the sand with furious heel!
     In vain, in vain, thou noble beast! I see, I see thee stagger,
     Now keen and cold thy neck must hold the stern Alcaydé’s dagger!

     They have slipped a noose around his feet, six horses are brought in,
     And away they drag _Harpado_ with a loud and joyful din;
     Now stoop thee, lady, from thy stand, and the ring of price bestow,
     Upon Gazul of Algava, that hath laid _Harpado_ low.


THE BRIDAL OF ANDALLA.

The following exquisitely tender ballad has been often imitated by
modern poets:

    “Rise up, rise up, Xarifa! lay the golden cushion down;
     Rise up, come to the window, and gaze with all the town!
     From gay guitar and violin the silver notes are flowing,
     And the dulcet lute doth speak between the trumpet’s lordly blowing;
     And banners bright from lattice light are waving everywhere,
     And the tall, tall plume of our cousin’s bridegroom floats
          proudly in the air;
     Rise up, rise up, Xarifa! lay the golden cushion down:
     Rise up, come to the window, and gaze with all the town!

    “Arise, arise Xarifa! I see Andalla’s face--
     He bends him to the people with a calm and princely grace;
     Through all the land of Xeres and banks of Guadalquivir,
     Rode forth bridegroom so brave as he, so brave and lovely never,

     Yon tall plume waving o’er his brow, of purple mixed with white,
     I guess ’twas wreathed by Zara, whom he will wed to-night:--
     Rise up, rise up, Xarifa! lay the golden cushion down:
     Rise up, come to the window, and gaze with all the town!

    “What aileth thee, Xarifa? what makes thine eyes look down?
     Why stay ye from the window far, nor gaze with all the town?
     I’ve heard you say on many a day, and sure you said the truth,
     Andalla rides without a peer, ’mong all Granada’s youth;
     Without a peer he rideth, and yon milk-white horse doth go
     Beneath his stately master, with a stately step and slow:--
     Then rise, oh! rise, Xarifa! lay the golden cushion down;
     Unseen here through the lattice, you may gaze with all the town!”

     The Zegri lady rose not, nor laid her cushion down,
     Nor came she to the window to gaze with all the town;
     But though her eyes dwelt on her knee, in vain her fingers strove,
     And though her needle press’d the silk, no flower Xarifa wove;
     One bonny rosebud she had traced, before the noise drew nigh;
     That bonny bud a tear effaced, slow drooping from her eye.
    “No, no!” she sighs; “bid me not rise, nor lay my cushion down,
     To gaze upon Andalla with all the gazing town!”

    “Why rise ye not, Xarifa? nor lay your cushion down?
     Why gaze ye not, Xarifa, with all the gazing town?
     Hear, hear the trumpet, how it swells, and how the people cry!
     He steps at Zara’s palace-gate--why sit ye still?--oh, why?”

      “At Zara’s gate stops Zara’s mate; in him shall I discover
       The dark-eyed youth pledged me his truth with tears, and was my lover?
       I will not rise, with weary eyes, nor lay my cushion down,
       To gaze on false Andalla with all the gazing town!”


ZARA’S EAR-RINGS.

    “My ear-rings! my ear-rings! they’ve dropped into the well,
     And what to say to Músa, I cannot, cannot tell;”
     ’Twas thus, Granada’s fountain by, spoke Albuharez’ daughter--
    “The well is deep--far down they lie, beneath the cold blue water;
     To me did Músa give them, when he spake his sad farewell,
     And what to say when he comes back, alas! I cannot tell.

    “My ear-rings! my ear-rings!--they were pearls, in silver set,
     That, when my Moor was far away, I ne’er should him forget;
     That I ne’er to another tongue should list, nor smile on other’s tale,
     But remember he my lips had kissed, pure as those ear-rings pale,
     When he comes back, and hears that I have dropped them in the well,
     Oh! what will Músa think of me!--I cannot, cannot tell!

    “My ear-rings! my ear-rings!--he’ll say they should have been,
     Not of pearl and of silver, but of gold and glittering sheen,
     Of jasper and of onyx, and of diamond shining clear,
     Changing to the changing light, with radiance insincere;
     That changeful mind unchanging gems are not befitting well;
     Thus will he think--and what to say, alas! I cannot tell.

    “He’ll think, when I to market went, I loitered by the way;
     He’ll think a willing ear I lent to all the lads might say;
     He’ll think some other lover’s hand among my tresses noosed,
     From the ears where he had placed them my rings of pearl unloosed;
     He’ll think, when I was sporting so beside this marble well,
     My pearls fell in--and what to say, alas! I cannot tell.

    “He’ll say, I am a woman, and we are all the same;
     He’ll say, I loved, when he was here, to whisper of his flame,
     But, when he went to Tunis, my virgin troth had broken,
     And thought no more of Músa, and cared not for his token.
     My ear-rings! my ear-rings! oh, luckless, luckless well!
     For what to say to Músa, alas! I cannot tell.

    “I’ll tell the truth to Músa--and I hope he will believe,
     That I thought of him at morning, and thought of him at eve:
     That, musing on my lover, when down the sun was gone,
     His ear-rings in my hand I held, by the fountain all alone;
     And that my mind was o’er the sea, when from my hand they fell,
     And that deep his love lies near my heart, as they lie in the well!”


THE LAMENTATION FOR CELIN.

     At the gate of old Granada, when all its bolts are barred,
     At twilight, at the Vega-gate, there is a trampling heard;
     There is a trampling heard, as of horses treading slow,
     And a weeping voice of women, and a heavy sound of woe!
    “What tower is fallen, what star is set, what chief comes here bewailing?”
    “A tower is fallen, a star is set!--Alas! alas for Celin!”
     Three times they knock, three times they cry, and wide the
          doors they throw;
     Dejectedly they enter, and mournfully they go;
     In gloomy lines they mustering stand, beneath the hollow porch,
     Each horseman grasping in his hand a black and flaming torch;
     Wet is each eye as they go by, and all around is wailing,
     For all have heard the misery.--Alas! alas for Celin!

     Him, yesterday, a Moor did slay, of Ben-cerraji’s blood--
     ’Twas at the solemn jousting--around the nobles stood;
     The nobles of the land were by, and ladies bright and fair
     Looked from their latticed windows, the haughty sight to share;
     But now the nobles all lament--the ladies are bewailing--
     He was Granada’s darling knight.--Alas! alas for Celin!

     Before him ride his vassals, in order two by two,
     With ashes on their turbans spread, most pitiful to view;
     Behind him his four sisters, each wrapped in sable veil,
     Between the tambour’s dismal strokes take up their doleful tale;
     When stops the muffled drum, ye hear their brotherless bewailing,
     And all the people, far and near, cry--“Alas! alas for Celin!”

     Oh! lovely lies he on the bier, above the purple pall,
     The flower of all Granada’s youth, the loveliest of them all:
     His dark, dark eyes are closed, his rosy lip is pale,
     The crust of blood lies black and dim upon his burnished mail;
     And evermore the hoarse tambour breaks in upon their wailing,
     Its sound is like no earthly sound--Alas! alas for Celin!

     The Moorish maid at the lattice stands, the Moor stands at his door;
     One maid is wringing of her hands, and one is weeping sore;
     Down to the dust men bow their heads, and ashes black they strew
     Upon their broidered garments, of crimson, green, and blue;
     Before each gate the bier stands still, then bursts the loud bewailing,
     From door and lattice high and low--“Alas! alas for Celin!”

     An old, old woman cometh forth, when she hears the people cry--
     Her hair is white as silver, like horn her glazing eye:
     ’Twas she that nursed him at her breast--that nursed him long ago;
     She knows not whom they all lament, but soon she well shall know!
     With one deep shriek, she thro’ doth break, when her ears
          receive their wailing,
    “Let me kiss my Celin ere I die.--Alas! alas for Celin!”

[Illustration: ARCH OF THE WINE GATE.]

[Illustration: PLAN, ELEVATION, AND DETAILS OF THE GATE OF JUSTICE.]

[Illustration: TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE HALL OF JUSTICE.]

[Illustration: FAÇADE OF THE MOSQUE.]

[Illustration: SECTION OF THE PAVILION IN THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: DETAIL OF THE CENTRAL ARCH OF THE COURT OF THE LIONS.]

[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE BALCONY OF LINDARAJA.]

[Illustration: TRANSVERSE SECTION OF THE MOSQUE.]




Index.


Frontispiece

Dedication

Preface, v., vii.

Preface To Second Edition

Introduction, xxv.-liv.


Abencerrages, 10, 103-112, 149, 150

Abou Hud, 22

Abu-l-hasen, King of Granada (father of Boabdil), 10, 14, 17, 18

Abu’ Abdillah (Boabdil), 10, 17, 18, 107, 108, 422

Acequia Court, 414.

Alcarraza, xxxvi.

Alcazába, xxxv.

Alfonso XIII., King of Spain, xxxi., 21

Alfonso the Wise, 449

Algibes, xxxv.

Alhama, 108

Alhambra:--Album, ix.;
  Begun, 26;
  Completed, 32;
  Diagrams of Principle of Ornament, xlv.;
  Exterior, 4;
  Fire in the Hall of the Barque, viii.;
  Frets, xli., xlii.;
  Courts, Halls, and Towers of, 35;
  Inscriptions, Mosaics, and Panels, xxxv., xxxvi.;
  Miscellaneous Ornament, xlvii.;
  Museum in the, 352-356; Ornament, xli.;
  Pavements, xxxix., xl.;
  Vases, 77, 95, 99;
  Views of, 3, 5, 7.
  _See_ also “List of Illustrations” in front of volume

Al-makkarí, xxx., xxxi., 439

Alonzo X., 26

Alonzo de Valiza, 401

Alonzo XI., 30, 31

Ambassadors, Hall of, 28, 244-304

“Andalus,” Etymology of, xxxi.

Andalusians, Superiority of, xxx.

_Antigüedades Arabes de España_, 20

Appendix, 449

Ayeshah, 10

Azulejo Tiles, xxxix.


Bacon, Lord, 13

Bádís Ibn Hábus, 430

Ballads:--Moresco-Spanish, 449;
  The Flight from Granada, 451, 452;
  The Death of Don Alonzo de Aguilar, 453, 455;
  The Bull-Fight of Gazul, 455, 457;
  The Bridal of Andalla, 457, 458;
  Zara’s Ear-rings, 458, 459;
  The Lamentation for Celin, 459, 460

Barnardo del Carpio, 450

Barque, Hall of the, 244

Bas-relief, 355

Baths, The, 28, 31, 324-327

Boabdil, _see_ Abu’ Abdillah


Cabra, Count of, 17

Campotejar, Marquis of, 422

Casa del Carbon, 430, 439

Casa del Gallo de Viento, 430

Casa Sanchez, 439

Casa Real, the Spanish name for the Alhambra, xxxii.

Cathedral of Granada, 13

Charcoal, House of, 430, 439

Charles V., xxxv., 19, 356, 364

Charles Martel, 2

Cid, The, “el Campeador,” 450

Cisterns, Place of the, xxxv., 356

Colours employed by the Moors, liii.

Columbus, 13

Contreras, Don Mariano, viii., xxxii.

Contreras, Don Raphaël, viii., ix., xxxii.

Conveyancing, Curious practice of, 401

Coppeé, Henry, xl.

Córdova, 4, 17

Cuarto Real, _see_ Generalife


D’Abrantes, Duke, 439

Darro, 10, 414

De Solis, Isabel, 8, 9

Dolgorouki, Prince, vii.

Dozy, Professor, ix., xxx., xl.


Elizabeth of Parma, 19, 335

English Elms at Granada, 35

Ez-zaghal, 10, 18


Ferdinand, the Saint, 23, 24, 26

Ferdinand VII., 35

Ferdinand and Isabella, 10, 13, 17, 18, 19, 422

Fernando of Talavera, Archbishop of Granada, 14

Fish-pond, Court of the, xxxv., 28, 32, 150, 191, 192, 195

Ford, Richard, ix., 13, 35, 401


Gayángos, Don Pascual de, ix., xxx., xxxi., xl., 323

Geb-al-Tárik, 1, 5

Generalife, The, 401, 402, 414, 422, 429, 430, 439

Gibraltar, 1

Gold Coin of Mohammed I., 20, 21

Gonzalez, Fernan, of Castile, 450

Goury, Jules, xlv., lv., 48

Granada, xxix., 2, 4, 6, 9, 15, 414

Guadix, 408, 413


Homage Tower, 352


Ibnu Battútah, xxviii.

Ibnu-l-khattib, xxviii., xxix., 402, 413

Illustrations, List of, xi.-xix.

Illustrations, List of coloured, xxii.-xxv.

Irving, Washington, ix., xl., 7, 19, 37, 331, 335, 364

Isabella and Ferdinand, 10, 13, 17, 18, 19

Isabel de Solis, “The Captive,” 8, 9, 11

Isma’il-Ibn-Faraj, 402

Jaen, 23

James the Conqueror, 23

Jennatu-l-’arif, _see_ Generalife

Jones, Owen, viii., xliv., lv.

Justice, Gate of, xxxv., 28, 29, 36, 37, 38

Justice, Hall of, 38, 41, 42, 47, 48, 65


Katherine of Aragon, 13, 38


Ladies’ Tower, 352

Lane-Poole, Stanley, ix.

Lerma, Duke of, 6

Lewis, John F., viii.

“Lindaraja,” 67, 71, 328, 329

Lions, Court of the, 195-244

Lockhart, J. G., 449-460

Lucena, 10, 17


Macafreto, 401

Machuca, Pedro, 364

Malaga, 18, 29, 414

Martos, 10

Mint within the Alhambra, 20

Mohammed I., xxvii., 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 51

Mohammed V., xxvii., 402, 407, 408, 413

Mohammed VI., 408, 413, 414

Mohammed XII. (Ez-zaghal), 10, 18

Moorish Ornament, xli.-liii.

Moors, Final Expulsion of the, 5

“Morning Star,” 10

Mosque, The, 49, 304-324

Motto of Mohammed I. and his successors, 25, 51

Muhammed Hayat Khan, xli.

Muley Hasen, _see_ Abu-l-hasen, King of Granada

Murphy, J. C., viii., lv.

Musa, 5, and foot-note

Museum of the Alhambra, 352, 356;
  Bas-relief, 355;
  Vase, 77, 95


Pedro I., 408, 413, 414

Peninsular War, 19

Peyron, Mr., 422

Philip of Castile, 27

Philip III., 6

Philip V., 19, 335


Queen’s Dressing-room, 331


Saint Ferdinand, Academy of, 20

Sanchez, House of, 439

Salado, Battle of, 29

Seville, 4, 24, 26

Silla del Moro, 422

Swinburne, Henry, 422


Tablada, 413

“Tanto Monta,” lv.

Tarif, 1

Tárik, 1, 5

Tendilla, Count of, 14, 17

Tours, 1

Tower of “The Captive,” 351, 352

Tower of Comares, 336, _see_ Hall of Ambassadors

Tower of the Infantas, 351, 352

Tower of the Peaks, 336, 414

Tower of the Seven Stages, 335

Two Sisters, Hall of the, 28, 30, 65-103;
  Verses in the, 70-75


Vega, or Plain of Granada, 9

Votive Altar (Roman), Embedded in the Masonry of the Alhambra, 352


Watt, H. E., xli.

Weather-cock, House of the, 430, 439

Welíd (Sultán), 5

Wellington, Duke of, 35

“Wine Gate,” xxxv., 28, 29, 356


Ximenez, 13


Yonge, Charlotte M., xli.

Yúsuf, I. (Abu-el-Hejaj), xxvii., xxix., 28-34, 402

Yúsuf II., 414


Zacatin, 430

Záwí, xxvii.

Zegris, 10

Zoraya, the “Morning Star,” 10

       *       *       *       *       *

                             THE ALHAMBRA

                         BY ALBERT F. CALVERT

               _UNIFORM WITH “MOORISH REMAINS IN SPAIN”_


                         _SOME PRESS OPINIONS_

“A remarkable representation of the chief features of a building that
has been, for six centuries, one of the wonders of the world.”--_Times._

“The standard work upon a splendid subject.”--_Daily Telegraph._

“Affords an inviting opportunity of studying this beautiful example of
Moorish art.”--_Morning Post._

“A treasure to the student of decorative art.”--_Morning Advertiser._

“Seems to have been a labour of love.”--_Sporting Life._

“Superb pictorial guide.”--_Sportsman._

“It is a book apart.”--_Manchester Courier._

“The final book on the Alhambra.”--_Sussex Daily News._

“Takes high rank among the lavish books.”--_Financial News._

“Among the most important art books which have been
published.”--_Globe._

“For any adequate idea of its beauty one must go to the book
itself.”--_Echo._

“Altogether an attractive volume.”--_Sunday Special._

“Exercises on the reader something of the fascination which inspired its
production.”--_Observer._

“Will contribute as much as anything to bringing home to men’s minds the
greatness of the Moors.”--_Reynolds._

“Helps one to realise the wonder and the glory of the Alhambra in a way
that few other books can do.”--_Lloyds._

“As a history it is conciseness itself.”--_Outlook._

“The coloured plates ... alone are worth the price of the
volume.”--_Academy._

“A monumental work.”--_Bristol Mercury._

“A notable work of art.”--_Lowestoft Standard._

“It is the last word on the subject.”--_Nottingham Express._

“One of the most sumptuous of modern tomes.”--_Newcastle Chronicle._

“The most adequate illustrated souvenir.”--_Scotsman._

“A remarkable masterpiece of book production.”--_Eastern Daily Press._

“A magnificent work.”--_Melbourne Age._

“Few writers would be better qualified to describe the
Alhambra.”--_Bookseller._

“The most complete record ... which has ever been contemplated, much
less attempted.”--_British Architect._

“One of the most magnificent books ever issued from the English
Press.”--_Building World._

“In every way well produced.”--_Building News._

“Instructive and attractive.”--_Field._

“We have seldom had a more pleasurable task than that of reviewing
it.”--_Commercial Intelligence._

“A fitting memorial of one of the greatest of human
achievements.”--_Review of Reviews._

“We shall be surprised if collectors of valuable books on art do not
rush to become possessed of it.”--_Public Opinion._

“Artistically excellent.”--_Guardian._

“Quite the most beautiful book upon the Alhambra issued in
England.”--_Sphere._

“One of the most artistic productions of the year.”--_Publishers’
Circular._

“One of the most detailed and sumptuous works on the Alhambra that has
come under our notice.”--_Yachtsman._

“It may be doubted if Irving or any other visitor would perceive as much
of the beauty of the Alhambra.”--_Liverpool Courier._

“A monumental work ... perfect in description and equally perfect in
artistic illustration.”--_Sheffield Telegraph._

“At once an instruction and a delight.”--_Lancashire Post._

“Will afford ... exquisite delight.”--_Western Daily Press._

“An ineffable delight to every lover of the beautiful.”--_Dundee
Advertiser._

“Very exceptional interest and attractiveness.”--_Glasgow Herald._

“A perfect treasure of beauty and delight.”--_Keighley News._

“One of the most beautiful books of modern times.”--_Ely Gazette._

“No traveller could desire a more sumptuous remembrancer.”--_To-day._

“A very handsome art-work.”--_Melbourne Argus._

                       MOORISH REMAINS IN SPAIN

                         BY ALBERT F. CALVERT

                     _UNIFORM WITH “THE ALHAMBRA”_


                         _SOME PRESS NOTICES_

“This book is certainly a store-house of Moorish ornament; of plates and
illustrations there are literally hundreds, numbers of them printed in
colours and gold, drawn out geometrically.... The wealth of illustration
cannot be gainsaid; and with it Mr. CALVERT has made a genuine and very
successful attempt to grapple with the problem of the working out of the
bases of the Moorish geometrical designs, so amazing in their ultimate
intricacy. In a series of diagrams, nearly two hundred in number, the
astonishing complexity of the designs based on the triangle, rectangle,
pentagon, and hexagon is unravelled with a completeness that surpasses
anything of the sort with which we are acquainted. It is an excellent
piece of work, which gives Mr. CALVERT’S book a real value of its
own.”--_Times._

“Mr. ALBERT F. CALVERT has in this sumptuous volume produced an artistic
_chef d’œuvre_ as well as a deeply interesting historical treatise on
one of the most picturesque periods of European history. Here we have in
a series of graphic word-pictures the marvellous exploits of the Moors
in the Peninsula, the foundation of an empire which lasted for several
centuries, and has left marks of its eminence in arts and in learning,
in a record of brilliant scholars and in architectural remains which are
still the wonder of travellers. The influence of Moorish art is still
felt among nations to whom the word Saracen is but a name, and Mr.
CALVERT has performed a useful work in bringing together for the benefit
of artists and students the masterpieces which the ravages of time,
neglect, and hatred have still spared in Spain.... Mr. CALVERT deals in
these pages with Cordova, Seville, and Toledo, and gives us drawings of
the most famous Moorish buildings therein, with complete details of the
wonderful decorative art lavished upon them by now forgotten architects
and artists. These are faithfully reproduced in the illustrations, which
form a veritable treasure-house of suggestion for moderns. The author
has, indeed, brought Spain to the doors of Englishmen who are unable to
visit that country, and placed its treasures fully before them. It only
remains to add that the volume is produced in a style worthy of the
object.”--_Daily Telegraph._

“A volume which is not only rich in elaborate reproductions of Moorish
designs in outline and colour, but is animated by a warm admiration for
the great race which has left us so many tributes to beauty. Modestly as
Mr. CALVERT states his claims, the reader should not neglect his
eloquent introduction, in which he reminds us that it was to the Moslem
Spain first owed some permanent national organisation.... The present
condition of the monuments which remain is briefly described in
subsequent chapters dealing with Cordova, Seville, and Toledo. Mr.
CALVERT’S thorough study of Arabian work enables him to give the student
valuable aid in distinguishing what are the monuments which belong to
the golden age of Islamic achievement. He shows how little there is of
this time in Seville, though Spanish taste endeavoured to maintain the
tradition for four centuries after the Moorish spirit had given way
before the conquering Christian.”--_Morning Post._

“The book gives a vivid idea of the present state and former
magnificence of Moorish buildings in the three Spanish cities which its
author now describes; while the illustrations, which include upwards of
eighty coloured plates, and an immense number of photographic halftones,
are exceptionally good.”--_Standard._

“An examination of the book reveals at once the fact that it is very
well illustrated; while the author brings to his work an unmistakable
freshness and vigour, brought about by prolonged visits to the places
described, and gives evidence of the possession of the observing eye and
a facility for expressive description.”--_Evening Standard._

“It is really impossible to do justice, in a journal of this kind, to
the sumptuous volume (its price is two guineas and the book is worth it)
before us. To do that--to give the reader any adequate notion of the
beauty of the illustrations with which it is enriched--we should have to
summon all the resources of the colour printer’s art to our assistance,
in order to reproduce them in a special _edition de luxe_ of the
“P.M.G.” Inasmuch as that is not to be done, we must ask the reader to
take it on trust from us that the illustrations of Moorish decorative
art are something quite out of the common.... The making of this book
must, surely, have been a labour of love; and love’s labour has
certainly not been lost.”--_Pall Mall Gazette._

“_Qui multum peregrinatur, raro sanctificatur_ runs the old monkish saw;
but we find its living contradiction in Mr. CALVERT. This modern Jason
set out to Western Australia in quest of gold. Adventuring into deserts,
he found what he sought and returned home content, only to set forth
again on further pilgrimages; which, if the evidence of our eyes is to
be trusted, have resulted in the discovery of still more gold. Verily
there is a profusion of it in this book; but its liberal use has paid
the fee of sanctification. We cheerfully admit Mr. CALVERT into the
ranks of those whom posterity will applaud for delightful yet
unprofitable work.”--_Outlook._

“This valuable and profusely-illustrated volume is designed to be the
companion and complementary volume to the same author’s work on the
Alhambra.... Mr. CALVERT’S frequent and protracted visits to Spain
caused him to realise that the Moors were not a one-city nation, and
that there were splendid remains of earlier Mohammedan architecture and
decoration in Cordova, Seville, and Toledo. Moorish work of these three
cities forms the theme of the present volume, in which, as in the book
on the Alhambra, the letterpress is made subservient to the
illustrations. The supply of pictures is at once lavish and
excellent.... The colouring and the elaboration of the designs of
various schemes of Moorish ornamentation, apart from general
architectural effects, are often marvellous, and almost bewildering,
both in the boldness of their conception and in the intricacy of their
pattern.”--_Guardian._

“Mr. CALVERT has produced a beautiful book.... It is illustrated with so
lavish a richness of colour that to turn its pages gives one at first
almost the same impression of splendour as one receives in wandering
from hall to hall of the Alcazar of Seville: and this is probably the
highest compliment we could pay to the book or its author.”--_Academy._

“This is one of the books to which a simply literary review cannot
pretend to do justice. Mr. CALVERT gives a brief record of the Moorish
conquest of Spain, but the main purpose of his book is to bring before
the English reader the art, architectural and decorative, of the
people.... In this volume he deals with and presents, with great wealth
of illustration, the relics of their achievement in Cordova, Seville,
and Toledo.... The book seems worthy of the subject, and we would gladly
give a more effective description of its many beauties.”--_Spectator._

“As a production it is, without doubt, one of the most beautiful we have
seen, the illustrations and colour printing, being exquisite. The author
evidently knows his subject well, as the description in detail of
Cordova, Seville, and Toledo range far and above any other publication.
It is certainly one of the most interesting books of the
year.”--_Crown._

“A truly sumptuous volume.”--_Speaker._

“This sumptuous volume.”--_Westminster Gazette._

“Scholarly and richly illustrated volume.... Although he himself
deprecates the value of the essays accompanying the illustrations of his
book, declaring his purpose to have been rather to present a picture
than to chronicle the romances of Spanish-Morisco art, Mr. CALVERT has
given a very complete and deeply-interesting account of the evolution of
that art, which he has skilfully combined with a condensed history of
the people who produced it.”--_Connoisseur._

“Just when the new Spanish marriage is attracting attention to a country
of departed greatness, Mr. CALVERT’S volume appears with the courtliest
of dedications to His Majesty Alfonso XIII. In many respects this
handsome volume is a timely wedding present for his Spanish Majesty, as
it is a gorgeous literary tribute to the beauty of the jewels in the
Spanish Crown--Cordova, Seville, and Toledo. Mr. CALVERT is an
enthusiast and an antiquary.... The author himself allows us to regard
his volume in the main as a picture book, and we can imagine that many a
designer who eschews the noble simplicity of fresh forms and the
Christian aspiration of Gothic art will turn with profit to the wealth
of plates here bestowed. The coloured plates are gorgeous rather than
delicate; for that we must thank the Moors, and marvel at the
inventiveness of their artist geometricians.”--_Antiquary._

“Already in his _Alhambra_ Mr. CALVERT has shown his keen appreciation
of the beauties of Spanish-Moresco architecture combined with an insight
into its special characteristics and a recognition of the manner in
which those characteristics reflect the idiosyncracies of its builders.
The present volume deals chiefly with the Cathedral Mosque of Cordova,
the Alcazar of Seville, and the less important relics of Moorish art at
Toledo, bringing vividly before the imagination the almost bewildering
richness of design, with the infinite variety, yet intrinsic simplicity,
of decorative motives, that set the art of the Moors apart from that of
any other people, the creators of the marvellous palaces and tombs of
India not excepted.... Though Mr. CALVERT relies mainly on the copious
illustrations of his book to impress upon the spectator the beauty of
the survivals of Moorish art in Spain, he supplements his descriptions
of them with a history of the Moors during the eight centuries of the
domination in Spain. To the actual story of the three typical towns
selected Mr. CALVERT has added a very interesting and richly-illustrated
chapter on the general principles of Arab ornament.”--_Studio._

“An interesting, well-written, and illuminative work, sumptuously
illustrated and tasteful alike in method and detail. Mr. CALVERT is to
be heartily congratulated. His admirable work on the Alhambra, to which
the present volume is designed to be complementary, showed him to be not
merely a careful and appreciative student of Moorish art, but a
connoisseur possessed of remarkable powers of discrimination. Of the new
book before us we can at once say that it is in every way worthy of its
fascinating subject, and a fitting companion to its predecessor.... The
exquisiteness of the Mosque Cathedral of Cordova, and the superb tracery
and decoration of the Alcazar of Seville, are here adequately revealed,
perhaps for the first time. Indeed, to the traveller familiar with these
wonders of Moorish delicacy, the present volume will reveal new
beauties. Mr. CALVERT, as in his previous work, has made his letterpress
subservient to his illustrations, and the illustrations are given with a
minuteness and faithfulness of detail and colour, which will be
particularly appreciated and acknowledged by those who are most
acquainted with the subjects themselves.”--_Liverpool Post._

“For his history and description of the mark which the Moor has left on
Toledo, Cordova, and Seville, Mr. CALVERT has consulted many
authorities, and has produced a useful and well-written letterpress
which is in style touched by the colour and romance of the subject....
Certainly the marvellous loveliness and richness and intricacy of
detail, as well as the vastness of extent of boldness of conception of
the relics of Moorish art in the three cities named, could not be more
fully and vividly brought before the eyes than in this series of
illustrations.... The great feature of the book is the series of eighty
full-page coloured plates, in which the colour as well as form of the
wonderful arabesque and diapering which distinguish the typical
buildings of the best age of Moorish architecture in Spain, are shown
with remarkable vividness and fidelity.”--_Scotsman._

“It is only fitting that this important volume has been dedicated to the
King of Spain, for it would be difficult to imagine a more sumptuous
work illustrating the beautiful buildings which the Moors left behind
them in the Peninsula to bear everlasting record to their taste and
culture.... The illustrations are such a prominent feature of this
volume that they claim our first attention. At the risk of being
suspected of exaggeration we can only say that it is impossible to
praise too highly the care with which they have been prepared. There are
some hundreds of them, of which between eighty and ninety are exact
reproductions in colour and gold of various portions of the marvellously
beautiful decorations so beloved of the Moors and so characteristic of
their work. The other illustrations are so numerous and well chosen as
to give a perfect series of pictures of every portion of these Moorish
buildings. Details of tracery, capitals of pillars, sections of friezes,
decorations and roofs are pictured with absolute faithfulness, and as a
treasure-house of Moorish art this book and its predecessor are, and
will probably remain, unique. But by modestly remarking in his preface
that he has made the letterpress subservient to the illustrations, the
author has done himself a great injustice. Not only is the book
carefully thought out and well arranged, but it is written in a most
sympathetic spirit, and abounds in passages of real
eloquence.”--_Birmingham Daily Post._

“This handsome volume is the complement of Mr. CALVERT’S work on the
Alhambra, and, like its predecessor, is lavishly illustrated.... The
illustrations have been chosen with excellent taste, and executed with
considerable skill.... It would be difficult to find anything more
representative in their respective ways.”--_Manchester Guardian._

                         IMPRESSIONS OF SPAIN

                         BY ALBERT F. CALVERT

                          _8vo. 10s. 6d. NET_


                         _SOME PRESS OPINIONS_

“Covers a great deal of ground, and treats a great many
subjects.”--_Times._

“Is full of that true knowledge which comes of sympathy, and is both
more trustworthy and more agreeable than many more pretentious
volumes.”--_Morning Post._

“Mr. CALVERT lends to his theme freshness of colour, detail, and good
judgment.”--_Daily Mail._

“No work of recent times so adequately depicts Spain and its people with
so sympathetic an appreciation of its greatness and charm.”--_Daily
News._

“Its charm consists in the author’s whole-hearted enthusiasm for his
subject.... Must infect the most hostile reader.”--_Pall Mall Gazette._

“A most acceptable addition to the literature of travel.”--_Morning
Advertiser._

“We can heartily recommend this book.”--_Field._

“Can be honestly recommended to anyone desirous of acquiring a knowledge
of Spain.”--_Court Circular._

“The author may be congratulated on a work that is by far the best he
has produced.”--_Mining Journal._

“Ought to be in the hands of everyone who would know something of the
most maligned, and possibly, the most delectable country in
Europe.”--_Bookseller._

“Wholly charming.”--_Commercial Intelligence._

“Cannot fail to stimulate interest in so fascinating a
country.”--_Shipping Gazette._

“Rarely have we seen a book that afforded us greater interest and
pleasure.”--_Chamber of Commerce Journal._

“Mr. CALVERT’S first aim has been to supply reliable information ...
there can be no two opinions that he has succeeded.”--_Aberdeen Evening
Express._

“A magnificent volume ... the best which has been published abroad
concerning Spain.”--_El Vanguardi_ (Barcelona).

“An exquisitely tasteful volume.”--_El Diaro_ (Barcelona).

“Written in a spirit of impartiality and justice worthy of all
eulogy.”--_Diario de Barcelona._

“To follow Mr. CALVERT ... is to be stirred with the keen desire to see
something in person of this ancient and always remarkable
country.”--_Leeds Mercury._

“Mr. CALVERT’S interest is fresh and warm, and he is frankly
enthusiastic about his subject.”--_Western Mail._

“A very interesting series of pen pictures.”--_Birmingham Daily Mail._

“Gives evidence of keen observation and power of deduction.”--_Western
Daily Press._

“Those who have read Mr. CALVERT’S books on Australia will be eager to
welcome this new book from the same pen ... the same happy and skilful
picturing power.”--_Western Morning News._

“Makes surprisingly pleasant reading.”--_Hull Daily Mail._

“Has many claims to favourable notice.”--_Ilford Guardian._

“A vivid presentation of the country.”--_Bristol Mercury._

“Very sympathetic and very well informed.”--_Midland Counties Herald._

“One feels a strong desire to go to Spain, if only to share some of the
pleasure which the author has experienced.”--_Preston Guardian._

“A remarkable, beautiful and useful addition to the literature of
Spanish travel.”--_East Anglian Times._

“Contrives, without becoming prosy or dull in the slightest degree, to
convey an immense amount of information.”--_Scotsman._

“Full of colour and variety.”--_Glasgow Herald._

“Fascinating because of its simplicity and realism.”--_Dundee
Advertiser._

“The work of a great traveller.... One of the most readable books of its
kind we have come across.”--_Irish Times._

“The whole of Spain will assuredly be grateful to the author for the
publication of this volume.”--_La Publicidad_ (Madrid).

“The author has rendered our country service by the publication of this
work.”--_El Graduador_ (Alicante).

“There is much of truth and justice in this study.”--_El Nervion_
(Bilbao).

                           LIFE OF CERVANTES

                         BY ALBERT F. CALVERT

                      _CROWN OCTAVO. 3s. 6d. NET_


                         _SOME PRESS OPINIONS_

“A popular and accessible account of the career of Cervantes.”--_Daily
Chronicle._

“An admirable, condensed biography.”--_Daily News._

“Will appeal to a large number of readers.”--_Morning Post._

“Mr. CALVERT is to be congratulated.”--_Standard._

“A very readable and pleasant account of one of the greatest writers of
all time.”--_Morning Leader._

“We recommend the book to all those to whom Cervantes is more than a
mere name.”--_Westminster Gazette._

“A timely production ... written in a straightforward, unaffected style
... supplies sufficient data to form a useful and readable
narrative.”--_Globe._

“The illustrations include ... a fascinating collection of title-pages
and illustrations from the various editions of _Don Quixote_.”--_Star._

“Nothing could be more useful than this careful and authoritative
book.”--_Vanity Fair._

“Is made trebly interesting by the very complete set of Cervantes’
portraits it contains.”--_Black and White._

“Nothing better could be desired.”--_Literary World._

“It is very well written ... a really capital and most interesting
little book.”--_Queen._

“Thoroughly interesting and readable ... contains a wealth of
information which should be greatly appreciated by all lovers of the
chivalrous knight.”--_Dublin Express._

“A most interesting resumé of all the facts up to the present time
known.”--_El Nervion_ (Bilbao).

“A complete and conscientious study.... The most notable work dedicated
to the immortal author of _Don Quixote_ that has been published in
England.”--_El Graduador_ (Alicante).

“An excellent little volume.”--_Graphic._

“A well-written book ... specially valuable for the collection of the
proverbs of Cervantes.”--_Christian Leader._

“Terse and brief.... The work of an enthusiast who does not surrender
his critical position, a careful historian, whose living interest in
life is not stifled by his absorption in detail.”--_Christian World._

“Those who have been interested in Cervantes ... could not do better
than get it.”--_Society Pictorial._

“A very timely little volume ... full of information and of convenient
compass.”--_Onlooker._

“A handy, compendious life.”--_Rapid Review._

“Mr. CALVERT, who is an appreciative writer, has condensed his
subject-matter, and given it an accurate, concise, and readable
form.”--_Hampstead Express._

“Not the least interesting part of the volume consists of the
illustrations.”--_Glasgow Herald._

“There is room at the present moment for this very readable
account.”--_Dundee Advertiser._

“Can be heartily recommended to all who want to know something of the
life of Cervantes.”--_Nottingham Express._

“Mr. CALVERT is entitled to the gratitude of book lovers for
his industrious devotion at one of the greatest literary
shrines.”--_Birmingham Post._

“More than a biographical account ... the figure of Cervantes receives
such a setting as only a man of letters and a scholar could give
it.”--_Bristol Mercury._

“Most excellent and attractive ... written with fulness of knowledge and
refined appreciation of the merits of Spain’s greatest
romancer.”--_Yorkshire Daily Post._

“No Spaniard could have written it with more conscientiousness and
enthusiasm.... All the plates are exquisite, and, as the historical
narrative leaves nothing to be desired, the book constitutes a most
opportune literary jewel.”--_El Defensor_ (Granada).


FOOTNOTES:

[1] Formerly _Illiberis_, the Roman town at the foot of the Sierra
Nevada, about six miles from Granada.

[2] _Kilaat Al-hamra_, the red castle.

[3] _Sheníl_ is the _Singilis_ of the Romans. The name of another
“considerable stream” of Granada--the Darro--is derived from _Hadároh_
in Arabic, probably from _Hadár_, which means the rapidity with which
a swollen river comes down from the mountains; a description well
defining the character of the river Darro, which rushes down the
hill-side and comes boiling along its channel at the foot.

[4] The Moors were not finally expelled from Spain until 1610.

[5] It is a little singular that not only the Arab Governor of North
Africa, Viceroy of the Caliph Welid, who despatched from Ceuta the
invading forces under Tarif and Geb-al-Tarik, bore this name; but,
eight centuries afterwards, the gallant hero who alone was able to
rouse the lethargic Boabdil from his stupor to make a last stand
for Islam, bore it also. The name of Musa of Granada must always be
honoured as that of a fearless knight who, disdaining to surrender,
at the last rode through a score of Christian knights, killing many
of them; and, when too weak to continue the struggle, threw himself,
encumbered with armour, into the river Xenil, thus meeting his end.

[6] The Conde de Tendilla, the first Alcayde of the Alhambra, raised
the tomb to be seen in the Cathedral of Granada, where lies Fernando
“the Good,” of Talavera, first Archbishop of Granada, who died 14th
May, 1507. The Count inscribed it “_Amicus Amico_.”

[7] “Boabdil” is a corruption of Abu’ Abdillah, or Boabdila, as the
Spaniards pronounced the name. He was, in addition to his sobriquet
of “the Unlucky,” also called As-sagher, or “the lesser” (el rey
chico), to distinguish him from his uncle and successor, Abu’ Abdillah
(Mohammed XII.)

[8] In the Hall of the Ambassadors, or Golden Saloon, is an inscription
referring to this:--“The best praise be given to Allah! I will remove
all the effects of an Evil Eye upon our master Yúsuf.”

[9] Edited by Pablo Lozano. The antiquities and history of the Moorish
domination in Spain remained unheeded until representations were made
that research and accurate delineation would alone make their monuments
intelligible. The Royal Academy of St. Ferdinand was commissioned
to make drawings of the Palace of the Alhambra and of the Mosque of
Córdova. The result of their labours were published at Madrid, in
1780, in a folio volume entitled as above, with sixteen plates of
Arabic designs, accompanied by a few pages of letterpress. It is an
exceedingly rare volume.

[10] Madrid, 1780 (already referred to).

[11] The Moorish fortress of Alhama was rightly regarded as one of the
two “Keys” of Granada, Loja--the Lôsha of the Moors--ranking as the
other. Loja was besieged by Ferdinand and Isabella, and captured, in
1488, after thirty-four days’ investment; chiefly, it is said, by the
aid of English archers under Earl Rivers, son of Anthony Wydeville,
brother to Elizabeth, Queen of our Edward IV. Alhama had fallen 28th
February, 1482, and its loss is the subject of the ballad referred to.

[12] Such, at least, are the reasons given for the abandonment of the
gigantic blocks of stone which were heaped up by Charles to rival the
unsurpassable. It is said, however, that repeated shocks of earthquake
frightened him out of the enterprise.

[13] _Al-’arif_, in Spanish, _Alarife_, means “an inspector of public
works”; and, according to Ibnu-l-Khattíb, the Grand Wizír of Yúsuf I.,
and of his son, Mohammed V., the site of the Generalife belonged to a
person of that profession before it passed into the hands of the Sultán
_Isma’il-Ibn-Faraj_, who, in A.D. 1320, bought the land
for a large sum, and built the palace as a delightful retreat from the
cares of State.

[14] Acequia Court. The Arab word is _Sákiyyah_, whence the Spanish
_Acequia_ is derived. The word means an artificial or diverted running
stream in a garden; or, a canal for the purpose of irrigation.