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

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

Chapter 19: SPAIN AND GIBRALTAR Cathedral of Seville
By Dwight L. Elmendorf
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About This Book

A traveler's account surveys Spain and Gibraltar, mapping their landscapes, cities, and monuments while tracing layers of history left by successive peoples, from ancient settlers to Moorish rulers. It contrasts medieval Toledo's preserved atmosphere with Madrid's modern energy, guides readers through Seville's Alcázar and Granada's Alhambra, and describes the dramatic approach across the Pyrenees and the rocky Tagus gorge. Architectural survivals, cultural customs, and scenic variety are highlighted alongside suggestions for travelers and an invitation to experience the evocative, historically layered mood celebrated by earlier writers.

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.

PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION
ILLUSTRATION FOR THE MENTOR, VOL. 1, No. 31
COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC.

VIEW OF ALHAMBRA. GRANADA, SPAIN