Tom Nickson - Toledo Cathedral: Building Histories in Medieval Castile

TOLEDO CATHEDRAL

TOM NICKSON

TOLEDO
CATHEDRAL

Building Histories in Medieval Castile

THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS, UNIVERSITY PARK, PENNSYLVANIA

This book is made possible by a collaborative grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Nickson, Tom, 1981 , author.

Toledo Cathedral : building histories in medieval Castile / Tom Nickson.

pages cm

Summary: A history of the Spanish Gothic cathedral of Toledo. Balances architectural history with close scrutiny of the cathedrals liturgy and cults, the sculpture on its portals and choir enclosure, its royal tombs, and its diverse treasury and textilesProvided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-271-06645-5 (cloth : alk. paper)

1. Catedral de ToledoHistory.
2. Toledo (Spain)Buildings, structures, etc.
3. CathedralsSpainToledoHistoryTo 1500.
4. Architecture, GothicSpainToledo.
5. Christian art and symbolismSpainToledoMedieval, 5001500.
I. Title.

NA 5811. T 63 N 2015

726.6094643dc23

2014032883

Copyright 2015 The Pennsylvania State University

All rights reserved

Printed in China by Oceanic Graphic International

Published by The Pennsylvania State University Press,

University Park, PA 16802-1003

The Pennsylvania State University Press is a member of the Association of American University Presses.

It is the policy of The Pennsylvania State University Press to use acid-free paper. Publications on uncoated stock satisfy the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Material, ansi z39.481992.

Additional credits:
pages iiiii, detail of Toledo cathedral, section of the east end and cloisters ()

To Mum and Dad

CONTENTS

I am first indebted to Roco Snchez Ameijeiras, who originally suggested that I work on Toledan sculpture when I began my doctoral studies at the Courtauld Institute of Art in 2004, and whose remarkable scholarship continues to push my intellectual horizons. The Arts and Humanities Research Council funded my doctoral studies, and since then the University of York and the Research Forum of the Courtauld Institute of Art have generously supported my research. I am grateful to the Dean and Chapter of the Primatial Cathedral Church of Toledo for permitting me to study the cathedral, in particular, Don ngel Fernndez Collado, who arranged for me to spend two precious mornings visiting the cathedrals upper parts, and Isidoro Castaeda Torreda and Alfredo Rodrguez Gonzlez, who were so patient with me in the cathedral archive. I am also extremely thankful for the advice and company of those I met in the archive, including Jean Passini, Amalia Yuste Galn, Carmen Labra Gonzlez, and especially Almudena Cros Gutirrez, who guided me through the archive and somehow made it fun too. Most of the research for this book was conducted in Toledos Biblioteca Provincial, in the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid, and in Londons British Library, but I must also pay tribute to the remarkable digitalization projects that have transformed access to Spanish journals in the past few years, as well as the manuscripts of the Biblioteca Nacional: the online Dialnet and Hispana.net archives (www.dialnet.unirioja.es and www.hispana.net, respectively) have become significant in their own right, and no scholar can afford to ignore them.