The Mentor: Spain and Gibraltar, Vol. 1, Num. 31, Serial No. 31, September 15, 1913

SPAIN AND GIBRALTAR
Alcázar at Seville

THREE

Tranquilly amid its gardens that glow with roses and orange blossoms, the Alcázar of Seville, palace of the old Castilian kings, stands now as it stood in the days of the Moors. Here and there a ceiling, a stairway, or a colonnade, damaged by fire or earthquake, has been repaired according to architectural ideas of more modern times; but in the main those Moorish kings who built it could sleep, if they were there today, in their own rooms undisturbed by any feeling of strangeness.

The site on which the Alcázar was built is probably the oldest in Seville. The palace replaces an old Gothic castle, which had been erected on the foundations of a Roman villa. Uncertain traditions and the imagination of historical writers have pictured the houses of shepherds on the same spot before history began.

There are many stories about the Alcázar, both true and fabulous. The Court of Maidens took its name from one of these. It was said that a tribute of a hundred maidens paid to the Mohammedan ruler had been lodged in that part of the Alcázar. History does not show that the calif ever asked for such a tribute, and it is probable that the Court of Maidens had not been built at the time when this incident is supposed to have taken place. Nevertheless, such a story has grown up, and has given the court a name that it will doubtless bear for all time.

After Castile had thrown off Moorish rule Seville was made the capital of Spain. For several centuries Christian kings lived in the Alcázar, adding somewhat to the original structure as the Moors had left it. The name of Pedro is more closely connected than any other Spanish ruler with the history and fiction of the building. He was called Pedro the Cruel. A grim sense of humor and a habit of going through the streets of Seville in disguise have made him the subject of many odd tales and rumors. Some of these stories are merely whimsical. He is said to have met four candidates for a judge’s position beside a pool in the gardens where they had gone to find him. Pedro, turning to the first, asked him what was floating in the pool.

“An orange,” replied the candidate without hesitation.

The second and third gave him the same answer.

The fourth fished out the piece of fruit with his staff, examined it, and replied more accurately, “Half an orange.”

Pedro immediately gave him the appointment.

SPAIN AND GIBRALTAR
Cathedral of Seville

FOUR

There is a Spanish proverb that says, “Whom God favors he gives a house in Seville.” The privilege of living in that bright, gay city is considered by a Spaniard to be the height of happiness. Other cities are larger, wealthier, or more important politically than Seville; but none holds a higher place in the hearts of the Spanish people. When in the beginning of the fifteenth century the old cathedral was damaged by an earthquake, a meeting was held to discuss what should be done to restore it. Then one proposed that, instead of repairing the old church, they should build a new edifice, larger and more magnificent than had ever been imagined. They planned a cathedral that should make all who saw it wonder at the daring of those who began it. What the public funds would not supply they agreed to furnish out of their own purses.

Only 117 years were consumed in the erection of this wondrous structure, which is a short time as old cathedrals go. After St. Peter’s at Rome and the Mezquita at Cordova, it is the largest church in the world. It is 414 feet long, 271 feet wide, and 100 feet high to the top of the nave. The immense pillars, as you look down the church between them, seem to diminish in the distance to the thickness of reeds. Many another cathedral could stand inside the nave of this one.

There are numerous churches in the city; most of the older ones are built on the foundations of mosques. The church of La Caridad has a strange legend connected with it. Don Miguel de Manara, the founder, had been a profligate in his youth, a sort of Don Juan, and was known far and wide for his excesses. One night when he was returning home alone he lost his way, and wandered about in a daze, unable to find his home. In imagination he met a funeral procession, and stopping one of the bearers inquired who it was that they were taking to eternal rest at such an hour.

“Don Miguel de Manara,” he replied.

Greatly surprised at hearing his own name, Don Miguel uncovered the face and saw there his own features. The procession immediately vanished; but left him so deeply impressed that he was converted and built a church and a hospital.