Imitating a Model, Establishing an Identity: Copying San Juan de los Reyes at San Andr茅s, Toledo[1]
In 1957 the eminent art historian Jos茅 Mar铆a de Azc谩rate published an article dedicated to the master mason Ant贸n Egas (doc. 1475鈥揷a. 1531). Azc谩rate鈥檚 reconstruction of Ant贸n Egas鈥檚 life and works briefly considers the Epiphany Chapel in the presbytery of San Andr茅s, a parish church in Toledo (Fig. 8.1), and the Franciscan convent of Santa Mar铆a de Jes煤s in Torrijos, destroyed in the nineteenth century.[2]听While both buildings are scarcely documented, Azc谩rate attributes them to Ant贸n Egas on the basis of their visible or documented similarity to San Juan de los Reyes (Fig. 8.2), the Toledan convent established by the Spanish monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand shortly after the battle of Toro (1476), a decisive event in the War of Succession that eventually confirmed Isabella鈥檚 accession to the throne of Castile.[3]
Initially overseen by the administrator (mayordomo)听Mendo de Jah茅n, the master mason Juan Guas, and his long-time collaborator Egas Cueman, the construction of the convent鈥攅specially the cloisters and the church鈥檚 east end and crossing dome鈥攚as completed by Cueman鈥檚 sons Enrique and Ant贸n Egas after Guas鈥檚 death in 1496.[4]听Built by some of the leading architects of the late fifteenth century, and conceived in thanks for the victory at Toro, San Juan de los Reyes was charged with great political and religious significance from its inception. It was dedicated to Isabella鈥檚 patron saint, John the Evangelist, and inhabited by the Observant Franciscan order, which played a role in the Catholic Monarchs鈥 attempts to achieve religious reform.[5]听San Juan de los Reyes was also initially conceived as a pantheon for the royal couple, a function transferred to the Capilla Real in Granada after the conquest of the city in 1492.[6]听During the war that preceded this conquest, the Monarchs decorated the exterior of the convent with the chains of liberated Christian prisoners, turning it into a monument to their military success.[7]听As David Nogales has recently suggested, the celebration and memorialisation of the convent鈥檚 royal founders was further articulated in the conventual library, richly endowed with panegyrics and other political and historical texts favourable to the royal couple.[8]
Given the list of outstanding craftsmen employed in the construction of San Juan de los Reyes and the strength of the Catholic Monarchs鈥 personal involvement in its establishment and endowment, it is perhaps not surprising that the convent, and its church in particular, should have served as architectural model for other sites. In their evident imitation of San Juan de los Reyes, Santa Mar铆a de Jes煤s and the Epiphany Chapel can thus be considered as particularly remarkable examples of a wider phenomenon, one which has so far received only scant scholarly attention.[9]听Azc谩rate only mentioned it in passing and focused exclusively on questions of authorship. For him, architectural similarities among the three sites resulted from the close personal relationship between Ant贸n Egas and Juan Guas, which encouraged the repetition of successful models established by the older artist.[10]听However, due to the absence of documentary evidence, neither Santa Mar铆a de Jes煤s nor the Epiphany Chapel can firmly be attributed to either architect. Attempting to circumvent this absence and deepen our understanding of the phenomenon, this essay will explore architectural imitation from the perspective of patronage.
Information on the design and construction of Santa Mar铆a de Jes煤s and the Epiphany Chapel may be limited, but both buildings were commissioned by eminent figures at the royal court whose biography and aspirations are relatively well documented. Destroyed in the nineteenth century, Santa Mar铆a de Jes煤s offers limited possibilities of analysis. Introducing it as a revealing comparison, I will here focus instead on the Epiphany Chapel in order to sketch a portrait of the social and personal circumstances which may have led an early sixteenth-century patron to commission a building modelled on San Juan de los Reyes. As I will argue, the design of the chapel draws on that of the convent because the latter contained a flexible range of ideologically charged design elements which could be adapted to promote the personal achievements and dynastic aspirations of the chapel鈥檚 patron Francisco de Rojas, while mediating between his individual decisions and the conflicting interests of his family.
Wonderful Emulation: Santa Mar铆a de Jes煤s
Little survives of Santa Mar铆a de Jes煤s, the richly endowed convent established in 1492 by Gutierre C谩rdenas and Teresa Enr铆quez.[11]听The foundation nevertheless offers an ideal starting point for my discussion, as its connection with San Juan de los Reyes was explicitly acknowledged in a history of the Franciscan order written in 1587 by Francesco Gonzaga, General Minister of the Observant Friars. Discussing the piety of the convent鈥檚 patrons and the expense of its construction, Gonzaga exclaims:
What could then be more wonderful [than this convent], which is not surpassed in any way by any other Franciscan house, not even San Juan de los Reyes in Toledo, according to which model, not to say emulation, it was built?[12]
While Francesco Gonzaga does not explicitly attribute the decision to copy San Juan de los Reyes to Santa Mar铆a de Jes煤s鈥檚 patrons, his discussion of the site is entirely focused on their praiseworthy munificence, desire to be buried within the convent, and furnishings which they commissioned for the foundation, suggesting that he interpreted the architectural imitation of San Juan de los Reyes in terms of patrons and their choices.
Indeed, a brief summary of these patrons鈥 biographies reveals persuasive reasons for copying the Toledan convent. Always a loyal supporter of Isabella, Gutierre was a central figure at court, holding the offices of chief treasurer (contador mayor),听commander-in-chief (comendador mayor)听of the military order of Santiago for the province of Le贸n, and distinguishing himself for his courage during the war against Granada.[13]听His wife, Teresa Enr铆quez, became one of Isabella鈥檚 closest ladies-in-waiting.[14]听Teresa was known for her great devotion, earning the nickname 鈥榤ad for the Sacrament鈥 (loca del Sacramento) from Pope Julius II on account of her devotion to the Host.[15]听Following the death of her husband in 1503, she ensured the completion of the convent and fulfilled her husband鈥檚 dying wishes, including the commission of rich sepulchres which survived the destruction of Santa Mar铆a de Jes煤s and are now located in Torrijos鈥 collegiate church. As requested by Gutierre鈥檚 will, the sepulchres are carved in marble, and his recumbent effigy is decorated with the Cross of Santiago.[16]
Studying the Epiphany Chapel in San Andr茅s through the lens of patronage will reveal several commonalities with Santa Mar铆a de Jes煤s, namely a personal link to the Catholic Monarchs and the papacy; a personal experience of warfare; and a connection to Santiago and the other military orders. These similarities help to explain why two apparently contrasting buildings鈥攐ne a 鈥榬ural鈥 convent, the other the principal chapel of an urban parish church鈥攂oth copy the same model.
Compare and Contrast: San Andr茅s and San Juan de Los Reyes
Seen from the square in front of its main entrance, San Andr茅s appears like one of many twelfth-century brick-and-rubble churches typical of Toledo (Fig. 8.3).[17]听Like San Rom谩n and San Lucas, it does not have buttresses and its low nave remains covered with a wooden roof, in spite of significant seventeenth-century reconstruction.[18]听In contrast, the Epiphany Chapel at the building鈥檚 east end makes a strong statement in its urban context. Although located in the presbytery of the parish church, this chapel was conceived as a private funerary space. Built in finely cut stone, it has robust buttresses and is strikingly taller than many surrounding structures (Fig. 8.4). The Epiphany Chapel was likely the fourth ashlar building to be erected in the city, preceded by the cathedral, San Juan de los Reyes, and the Hospital de Santa Cruz, the latter begun around 1503.[19]听The idiosyncratic nature of working in stone in this city is expressed in the structure of the heraldic decoration and window openings on the chapel鈥檚 exterior: these elements are carved in more expensive, whiter limestone, inserted in the granite wall without structural continuity.[20]听The contrast of forms and materials is particularly noteworthy on the inside, where a large pointed arch marks the rupture between the Gothic crossing and apse, and the basilican nave with its horseshoe arches (See Fig. 8.1).
With its stone structure, so unusual in its local context, the Epiphany Chapel in San Andr茅s echoes the striking architectural splendour of San Juan de los Reyes, which did not fail to impress visitors. For example, in 1495 the German traveller Hieronymus M眉nzer remarked that the convent was 鈥榖uilt 鈥 newly so finely with cut and squared stone that it is a wonder.鈥[21]听Beyond this general resonance, the Epiphany Chapel has a number of clear design similarities with San Juan de los Reyes. The east end of both churches is a shallow pentagonal apse attached to non-projecting, rectangular transepts (Fig. 8.5), although the crossing of San Juan de los Reyes is marked by a dome (Fig. 8.6) much grander than the vault of San Andr茅s (Fig. 8.7). Notably, San Juan de los Reyes鈥檚 plan design was also reproduced in the Capilla Real in Granada, whose construction was completed around 1517 by Enrique Egas, Ant贸n Egas鈥檚 brother and collaborator.[22]听Significantly, this ground plan differs from the trefoi颅l-shaped design introduced in the second half of the fifteenth century by Juan Guas and associates at the monastery of El Parral, a foundation established by King Enrique IV in the late 1440s and then transformed into a private funerary chapel by the Pachecos, close allies of this king and powerful opponents of Isabella during the War of Succession.[23]听As explored by Bego帽a Alonso Ru铆z, the innovative trefoil plan of El Parral would cast an influence of its own on the design of several sixteenth-century presbyteries with a funerary destination.[24]听Consideration of design and politics suggest that these two chains of architectural imitation were parallel and even competing phenomena.
In addition to significant similarities in their ground plan, the Epiphany Chapel and San Juan de los Reyes share several decorative details. While the quantity of heraldic decoration on the convent鈥檚 walls far surpasses that of San Andr茅s, both feature analogous inscriptions which extend along all the walls. Each inscription is designed to angle around the altarpiece, forming an architectural frame (Figs. 8.8 and 8.9).[25]听The Epiphany Chapel鈥檚 altarpiece and inscription are crowned by a cross (Fig. 8.8) with rich decoration that recalls the one once decorating the entrance to San Juan de los Reyes鈥檚 cloister (Fig. 8.10).[26]听In the chapel, the base of the cross features the Five Wounds of Christ and is comparable in design to the coat of arms of the Franciscan Observants carved above the doorway leading from church to cloister in San Juan de los Reyes (Fig. 8.11). The crosses and coats of arms are closely comparable in their detail, as is the foliage decorating the pilasters in both churches (Figs. 8.12 and 8.13). The altarpieces in each are flanked by empty niches (Figs. 8.14 and 8.15), perhaps intended to contain sculptures.[27]听The east end of both churches originally featured three altars, still present at San Andr茅s and known to have existed at San Juan de los Reyes, thanks to a royal document of 1534 and a ground plan made that year for an Inquisition trial.[28]
The plan of 1534 shows a sepulchre in the centre of the crossing at San Juan de los Reyes, probably the proxy catafalque installed by Charles V in memory of his grandmother Isabella. Documents referring to its upkeep reveal that this was a semi-temporary wooden structure draped with carpets of black velvet and covered by a velvet baldachin.[29]听Although the crossing of this church was never occupied by stone sepulchres, temporary structures were erected there for funerals and anniversaries. Similar possibilities existed at San Andr茅s, where the contract signed between the chapel鈥檚 patron Francisco de Rojas and the church鈥檚 curate on 7 January 1504 acknowledged that funerary monuments might be placed before the high altar.[30]听Such sepulchres were indeed provided for in the second will of Francisco鈥檚 brother, Alonso de Escobar y Rojas, drawn up in 1531.[31]听However, they were then explicitly forbidden by the regulations he introduced in 1533, and no tombs were erected there in the sixteenth century.[32]听Members of the family could be buried in the crypt of the chapel and commission monuments in some of the arcosolia on the sides of the church, but the central space was reserved for temporary structures, notably the 鈥榗offin covered with brocade鈥 around which Alonso de Escobar wished his funeral and memorials to take place.[33]听In both churches, the architectural structure was completed by fittings and ceremonial displays that are all but lost today.
A Complex Foundation
This short discussion of funerary practices at San Andr茅s has referred to the chapel鈥檚 patron, Francisco de Rojas, and his brother, Alonso de Escobar, and to one of their many changes of mind on matters of construction and design. Such wavering is typical of the Epiphany Chapel鈥檚 institutional history, partly complicated by the coexistence of long- and short-distance patronage.
Francisco de Rojas, patron of the Epiphany Chapel, served a long career as ambassador for the Catholic Monarchs. Between 1488 and 1507, he was almost uninterruptedly absent from Spain. He resided in Italy, mainly at the papal court, from 1501 to 1507 when the most important steps for the creation of the Epiphany Chapel took place.[34]听Francisco鈥檚 brother Alonso de Escobar thus made decisions and carried out negotiations on site. For example, it was Alonso who signed the contract of 7 January 1504 with the church鈥檚 curate, had it confirmed by the church鈥檚 parishioners (5 January 1505), and convinced Toledo鈥檚 civic authorities to allow the chapel to extend over a nearby street (20 May 1504), a potentially complex matter in a city as built-up as Toledo.[35]
Yet, in spite of his commitments abroad, Francisco was not a passive patron. He used his privileged position at the papal court to obtain the bulls that made the chapel possible: first, the authorisation to establish a chapel, endow it with vacant benefits from Toledo Cathedral and nominate chaplains (26 December 1503); second, permission to be buried outside the convent of Calatrava la Nueva and to dispose freely of his possessions, disregarding the regulations of the Order of Calatrava, of which he was a member (21 August 1504); third, several confirmations of these rights, which had been challenged by the cathedral and the order.[36]听He not only made essential contributions to the economic and liturgical endowment of the chapel, but also decisions regarding its appearance: Alonso de Escobar鈥檚 second will (1537) reveals that Francisco had returned from Rome with blocks of marble and porphyry to be transformed into the chapel鈥檚 pulpit and sepulchres.[37]听Francisco鈥檚 activity increased after his return to Toledo, as he commissioned three altarpieces for the chapel from the painters Juan de Borgo帽a and Antonio de Comontes, and exchanged letters with the ironworker Juan Franc茅s, who made an iron grille commissioned by Francisco for the convent of Calatrava la Nueva and probably also worked at San Andr茅s.[38]
Combining short- and long-distance patronage required compromise: Francisco鈥檚 initial petition to the pope and his positive reply do not seem to require that the chapel of the Epiphany be located in the presbytery of San Andr茅s.[39]听Although Rojas may have aspired to this prime location, the idea of establishing his chapel in San Andr茅s鈥檚 east end may have been promoted by the curate and parishioners. This is suggested by the confirmation of 5 January 1505, which expands on the wording of the 1504 contract, to frame Francisco de Rojas鈥檚 foundation as a charitable solution to overcrowding in the church, and especially in the apse. As underlined in the confirmation, such expansion involved the purchase of houses located east of the church and was beyond the economic means of the parish alone.[40]听It is perhaps such a juxtaposition of local and distant interests which resulted in the unusual difference in dedication between the church of San Andr茅s and its presbytery.
While Francisco鈥檚 endowment may have solved overcrowding in the parish, transforming San Andr茅s鈥檚 high chapel was beset with challenges of its own. The houses existing on the site were owned by another religious institution, the Colegio de Santa Catalina, and their purchase required complex negotiations and two papal authorisations which dragged on until 1512.[41]听Moreover, the existing chapel was under the patronage of a Francisco Su谩rez, whose family initially refused to sell. The lengthy and fraught process of purchasing the site and obtaining permission to translate the corpses of Francisco Su谩rez鈥檚 parents, buried in the chapel, extended until 1514.[42]
Such complex bureaucracy delayed construction, and the institutional and architectural history of the chapel is one of fits and starts, with many questions still to be answered despite Paulina L贸pez Pita鈥檚 detailed studies.[43]听For example, how is it possible that, in 1513, Francisco had already commissioned the making and fitting of the Epiphany Chapel鈥檚 altarpieces when he only acquired the chapel space from the Su谩rez family in 1514? Questions such as this are probably unanswerable due to the loss of the documents seen by Rafael Ram铆rez de Arellano and Verardo Garc铆a Rey in the church鈥檚 archive in the early twentieth century.[44]听The wider context in which the chapel was created can nonetheless be reconstructed through the wills of Francisco de Rojas鈥檚 parents and brothers (Fig. 8.16) preserved at the Archivo Hist贸rico Nacional in Madrid. Although not unknown to scholars, the wills have never before been used to illuminate the chapel鈥檚 architecture. While several questions remain unanswered regarding the foundation and construction of the chapel, examining these wills and Rojas鈥檚 correspondence, now in the Salazar Collection of the Real Academia de la Historia, reveals why the Epiphany Chapel is so closely modelled on San Juan de los Reyes.
Blood Ties and Bloodshed
Gonzalo Fern谩ndez de Oviedo鈥檚 mid-sixteenth-century听Batallas y quinquagenas听portrays Francisco de Rojas as a self-made man, successful thanks to his virtue and special relationship with the Catholic Monarchs.[45]听Studies have consequently emphasised Rojas鈥檚 role as the founder of a dynasty established on the entailed estate (mayorazgo) of Layos.[46]听Yet the desire to establish a dynasty was already a feature of the wills of Francisco de Rojas鈥檚 parents, Alonso de C谩ceres and Marina de Rojas. In 1465, they bequeathed to Francisco, their eldest child, a听mejoria听(a share of inheritance additional to the amount required by law), based on the revenue of their pasture land (dehesa) in Villamejor.[47]听Inherited according to rules similar to those of a听mayorazgo, 迟丑别听mejoria听constituted a custom equivalent to 迟丑别听mayorazgo听before it was officially instituted in 1505.[48]听The estate was part of Marina de Rojas鈥檚 dowry, and its evident importance for the family鈥檚 economic aspirations may have determined the continuing use of the Rojas name and arms by Francisco de Rojas and his brothers.[49]
Francisco was thus emulating his parents鈥 actions when, in 1513, he established the two听mayorazgos听of M贸stoles and Layos, the latter tied to the patronage of the Epiphany Chapel.[50]听Neither听mayorazgo听was intended for Francisco鈥檚 own descendants as he did not marry. Around 1487, the Catholic Monarchs had rewarded Francisco鈥檚 first diplomatic services with the estates of Mestanza, Puertollano, Almod贸var del Campo, and Aceca, which belonged to the Order of Calatrava, an order which required its members to remain celibate.[51]听He therefore always intended 迟丑别听mayorazgos听to support the descendants of his brothers Alonso de Escobar and Juan de Rojas.[52]听Francisco鈥檚 success as a diplomat close to the Monarchs had clearly translated into significant personal wealth. Such circumstances may have led his mother to reconsider the size of her son鈥檚 inheritance. After the death of her husband, sometime between 1492 and 1498, Marina de Rojas added four codicils to her will, each expressing yet another change of heart as to whether Francisco should really be favoured with 迟丑别听mejoria. She eventually resolved to let him enjoy it during his lifetime, as, being celibate, he could not have any legitimate heirs.[53]
Marina de Rojas鈥檚 codicils also reveal a growing preference for Alonso de Escobar. They explicitly praise Alonso as her ever-present son who helped her greatly and honestly during her old age, and single out various financial rewards to thank him for his affection.[54]听Marina further indicates, implicitly, her greater respect for Alonso by referring to him as 鈥榗ommander鈥 (comendador), by virtue of his position in the Order of Santiago. In contrast, Francisco is not given the same title, although by the time the codicils were written he held the same status within the Order of Calatrava.[55]听The same title is consistently used for their father, also a commander of the Order of Santiago, suggesting that membership of this order may have been a matter of family identity for the Rojas. This is underscored by a codicil added in 1475 to Alonso de C谩ceres鈥檚 will. In this note he requested that the golden scallop shell of his uniform should no longer go to his daughter In茅s, as he had previously wished, but to his son Alonso, since, like his father, he had become a knight and commander of the order. Alonso should additionally inherit his father鈥檚 copy of the order鈥檚 regulations and other documents, which would enable him to learn how to be a good knight.[56]听The tradition would continue in later generations, as most of Francisco鈥檚 recorded descendants鈥攆rom Antonio de Rojas in the late sixteenth century to Joseph de Rojas Pantoja in the seventeenth鈥攁re connected to the Order of Santiago.[57]
Alonso de C谩ceres鈥檚 will made other significant testamentary donations to his children. Alonso de Escobar would also receive some of his father鈥檚 military equipment, namely a steel crossbow, a cuirass, leg armour and helmet. Similar gifts of military character were made to four of his six male sons, not all of whom would reach maturity. For example, Diego received his father鈥檚 tent and various weapons, including another crossbow. Some sons also received specific books. Pedro was left a sword, a crossbow, a cuirass, a copy of Boethius鈥檚听De consolatione,听a book on household management and one on agriculture. Only Juan and Francisco de Rojas did not receive specific arms. With respect to books, the latter was left a richly bound Latin breviary, perhaps in acknowledgement of the studies at which he excelled in his youth.[58]听In spite of its rich binding, Francisco鈥檚 Latin breviary seems somewhat impersonal when compared to the more specific donations made to his brothers. Alonso de C谩ceres does not seem to have taken into account that Francisco was also training to be a knight: he left for his first military campaign in 1475, the same year that Alonso composed his will.[59]听Perhaps the choice of donations suggests the dissatisfaction of Alonso de C谩ceres and Marina de Rojas with a career which had not begun as they had hoped. While this can only be speculation, what is certain from the list of gifts is that the first generation of the Rojas family had a strong military ethos which conditioned the aspirations and occupations of all members of the family. Indeed, when writing to King Ferdinand around 1513 to ask for benefices, an old and ill Francisco reminded the sovereign not only of his own diplomatic activity, but also of the whole family鈥檚 participation in the War of Granada, and in particular of their role in the conquest of Loja, where his brother Juan was gravely wounded and his brother Mart铆n killed and cut into pieces by the enemy.[60]
Collectively, this summary of Francisco鈥檚 biography and of the expectations his parents placed on him reveals several contradictions: the founder of a dynasty who could not marry; a successful son favoured by the Catholic Monarchs but perhaps not by his own parents; a knight who inherited books rather than arms. Constructing the family chapel on the model of San Juan de los Reyes鈥攁 building which he could have seen almost completed while in Castile between 1497 and 1501鈥擣rancisco could express and mediate these contradictions.
Copying San Juan de Los Reyes
Most explicitly, choosing San Juan de los Reyes as a model enabled Francisco to express his personal connection to the Catholic Monarchs, one founded on the letters of trust written by the Monarchs for their ambassador and substantiated by the intense epistolary exchange between Francisco and King Ferdinand during the former鈥檚 second stay in Rome (1501鈥7).[61]听As noted above, San Juan de los Reyes was a royal foundation of great importance to its patrons. This personal connection was clearly articulated in the building鈥檚 rich heraldic decoration: the joint coat of arms of Aragon-Castile, created after the marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand (and never previously used by any Iberian monarch), their personal devices of the yoke and arrow (Fig. 8.17) and the joint representation of their initials on the piers of the crossing (Fig. 8.18).[62]听These arms and devices referred to Ferdinand and Isabella individually, rather than through their dynasties. The two inscriptions which run around the nave and crossing of the church similarly emphasise the Catholic Monarchs鈥 personal achievements by referring to their matrimonial unification of Aragon and Castile and praising their personal involvement in the foundation and construction of the convent.[63]
While Ferdinand and Isabella are the only figures celebrated in the sculptural decoration and inscriptions of San Juan de los Reyes, the Epiphany Chapel functioned as a family pantheon for successive generations, and is therefore decorated with Rojas and Escobar coats of arms, and those of other families related to them by marriage (Fig. 8.19).[64]听Nevertheless, the church contains a direct reference to Francisco in the form of his personal motto, 鈥楲ight shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.鈥 Drawn from听the Gospel of Saint John, the motto suggestively faces the Evangelist鈥檚 eagle and the royal coat of arms in the Isabella Breviary.
a manuscript commissioned by Francisco as a gift for Isabella while negotiating the matrimonial alliance between the children of the royal couple and those of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I.[65]听Personal achievement is strongly emphasized in the Epiphany Chapel鈥檚 inscription, which overlooks Francisco鈥檚 membership of the Order of Calatrava to underline his role as royal ambassador instead. In the space of just 116 words, this inscription contains as many as five references to the Catholic Monarchs and their territorial possessions.[66]听Connections between Francisco de Rojas and the Monarchs were underscored in the Epiphany Chapel鈥檚 liturgical calendar, with anniversary masses for the souls of Isabella and Ferdinand said each year on the day of Saint John before the Latin Gate (Sancti Ioanne ad Portam Latinam), the same dedication as San Juan de los Reyes.[67]
Apart from establishing a connection with the Catholic Monarchs and thus promoting Rojas鈥檚 personal achievements, the architectural imitation of San Juan de los Reyes also acknowledged the military ethos celebrated in the wills of Francisco de Rojas鈥檚 parents. As mentioned above, the exterior of San Juan de los Reyes is decorated with the chains of Christian prisoners liberated during the war against Granada, a conflict which had a strong personal significance for Francisco and his brothers. The decoration is completed by statues of heralds, significantly restored in the nineteenth century (Fig. 8.20).[68]听Heralds typically preceded and announced monarchs in their public appearances. Thus, the statues on the outside of San Juan de los Reyes immediately advertise its royal connection.[69]听Moreover, heralds played a major role in grand funerary ceremonies.[70]听Yet they also performed important roles on the battlefield, where they initiated battles, identified enemies, lined up troops, named the dead, recorded acts of courage and established the victor of a skirmish.[71]听The chains and sculptures on the exterior of San Juan de los Reyes thus endowed it with a militaristic spirit that must have resonated with the Rojas family. While neither the chains nor the statues were replicated in the Epiphany Chapel, their existence and significance may have drawn Francisco de Rojas and Alonso de Escobar to consider San Juan de los Reyes as a model. Viewers familiar with the latter building may also have recalled those decorations when observing the chapel, located in the same city.
The absence of chains or heralds in San Andr茅s makes any reference to a military ethos indirect at best, however much it may have recalled San Juan de los Reyes. This may have been the result of a conscious choice to strike a compromise between Francisco鈥檚 personal membership of the Order of Calatrava and his family鈥檚 long-standing connection with that of Santiago. As suggested by a fragmentary letter of 1503, Francisco had initially planned a funerary chapel in an institution connected to both orders, the Toledan convent of Santa Fe, in the possession of the Order of Calatrava until 1494, and later owned by the Order of Santiago.[72]听He later changed strategy, choosing the parish church where he had been baptised, a building with a strong connection to the history of his family but with little relation to the military orders.[73]听Although Francisco Su谩rez, the previous patron of San Andr茅s鈥檚 presbytery, was a member of the Order of Santiago, Rojas鈥檚 reconstruction of the east end effectively erased the memory of Su谩rez and of Santiago from the church鈥檚 architecture.[74]听Moreover, the newly constructed chapel remained free of sculptural or pictorial references to the Order of Calatrava. Nor did the symbols of this order feature prominently on the chapel鈥檚 movable fittings. The oldest surviving inventory of liturgical furnishings, dating to the seventeenth century, lists only one textile decorated with the Cross of Calatrava.[75]听The absence of explicit references to Calatrava contrasts sharply with the decoration of another chapel connected to Francisco, the Capilla Dorada in the convent of Calatrava la Nueva. Francisco initially owned this space but sold it after choosing San Andr茅s as his burial site. It was acquired by the听comendador mayor听Garc铆a de Padilla, who requested Crosses of Calatrava to be painted onto the altarpiece and stained-glass windows, and to be sculpted in various locations on the walls. Moreover, he specified, the lettering on his sepulchre had to start with a reference to his role within Calatrava.[76]听Such an emphasis is partly justified by Padilla鈥檚 role as听comendador mayor, more important than that of simple听comendador听as held by Francisco, and also by the chapel鈥檚 location within the order鈥檚 principal seat. Yet, the accumulation of references to Calatrava contrasts markedly with their absence in the Epiphany Chapel, where there is no explicit reference to any one of the military orders, and where the architectural emulation of San Juan de los Reyes may instead have created a more general evocation of the War of Granada in which several members of the Rojas family had taken part.
As suggested by this military echo, San Juan de los Reyes offered a flexible model. Its architectural design was both rich in meaning and adaptable in form. The contract of 7 January 1504 established that the Rojas funerary chapel should feature ten piers with rich bases.[77]听Ten decorated piers do indeed enclose the whole structure: four in the apse, two at either side of the crossing, and two supporting the arch leading to the chapel. The same number defines the east end of San Juan de los Reyes, as is most evident in the famous late听fifteenth-century drawing.听of the church鈥檚 crossing.[78]听The drawing eclipses the church鈥檚 nave to focus on the east end only, and its impossible perspective reveals the ten piers simultaneously.[79]听It also emphasises the crossing by absurdly reducing the apse to nothing more than the size of the altar table. While these modifications offer a distorted impression of the interior of the church, the east end as built is certainly spacious and luminous, in contrast to the relatively modest nave. As discussed by Rafael Dom铆nguez Casas, such inflated space provided a perfect stage for funerary liturgies.[80]听In San Andr茅s鈥檚 Epiphany Chapel, the proportions of this grand funerary space were modified to suit a more modest foundation, while still offering an ideal stage for funerary celebration. Thus, the monumental crossing dome, delineated so carefully in the Prado drawing, was significantly reduced and became a simple vault in the Epiphany Chapel. Instead, the drawing鈥檚 small apse and altarpiece were increased in size, conforming to typical Spanish practice, but perhaps also in response to the different liturgical obligations of a parish church. The private, monastic and royal arena of the convent became the shared space of the parish church, where the Epiphany Chapel鈥檚 chaplains and the curate celebrated masses within the same walls, shared precious liturgical objects and collaborated in the celebration of feast days, as required by the chapel鈥檚 constitutions of 1533.[81]
This adaptation was possible because San Juan de los Reyes possessed a set of defining features which could be suited to different contexts without losing their significance. Reproducing the shape, inscription and sculptural details of San Juan de los Reyes, the Epiphany Chapel could express a personal connection to the Catholic Monarchs together with dynastic exaltation and military ethos. These features captured the achievements and aspirations of Francisco de Rojas and his relatives. Azc谩rate鈥檚 suggestion that the Epiphany Chapel may have been designed by Ant贸n Egas, a master mason with an intimate knowledge of San Juan de los Reyes, is likely, but at present undocumented. Yet, architectural imitation did not depend only on the repetition of successful models on the part of the architect. By exploring the personality and aspirations of Francisco de Rojas, the present essay has argued that copying San Juan de los Reyes enabled this patron to establish and promote a carefully crafted and lasting identity for himself and his family.
Citations
[1]听This essay is based on research undertaken as part of my PhD degree, supported by CHASE and the British Archaeological Association at the 91自拍 Institute of Art. Unless otherwise indicated, all translations are my own.
[2]听Jos茅 Mar铆a de Azc谩rate Ristori, 鈥楢nt贸n Egas鈥,听Bolet铆n del Seminario de Estudios de Arte y Arqueolog铆a: BSAA听23 (1957): pp. 9, 12.
[3]听While recognising Ant贸n Egas as the primary author of both buildings, Azc谩rate noted that his brother Enrique may also have played a part in the early stages of the Epiphany Chapel鈥檚 design. See Azc谩rate Ristori, 鈥楢nt贸n Egas鈥, p. 10.
[4]听On the construction history of this building, see among others Mar铆a Teresa P茅rez Higuera, 鈥楨n torno al proceso constructivo de San Juan de los Reyes en Toledo鈥,听Anales de Historia del Arte听7 (1997): pp. 11鈥24.
[5]听Joaqu铆n Yarza Luaces,听Isabel la Cat贸lica: promotora art铆stica听(Le贸n: Edilesa, 2006), p. 16; Jos茅 Garc铆a Oro, 鈥楻eforma y reformas en la familia franciscana del Renacimiento鈥, in Mar铆a del Mar Gra帽a Cid and Agust铆n Boadas Llavat (eds.),听El franciscanismo en la Pen铆nsula Ib茅rica.听Balance y perspectivas听(Barcelona: G.B.G., 2005), pp. 235鈥54. For a more critical analysis of the Catholic Monarchs鈥 religious reforms, see Henry Kamen,听Imagining Spain: Historical Myth and National Identity听(New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2008), p. 87.
[6]听Rafael Dom铆nguez Casas, 鈥楽an Juan de Los Reyes: espacio funerario y aposento regio鈥,听Bolet铆n del Seminario de Estudios de Arte y Arqueolog铆a: BSAA听56 (1990): p. 369.
[7]听Fernando del Pulgar,听Cr贸nica de los se帽ores reyes cat贸licos Don Fernando y Do帽a Isabel de Castilla y Arag贸n听[completed 1492] (Valencia: Imprenta de Benito Monfort, 1780), p. 259; Hieronymous M眉nzer, 鈥業tinerarium Hispanicum Hieronymi Monetarii 1494鈥1495鈥, ed. by Ludwig Pfandl,听Revue hispanique听48:113 (1920): pp. 119颅鈥20.
[8]听David Nogales Rinc贸n, 鈥楲a capilla real de Granada. Fundamentos ideol贸gicos de una empresa art铆stica a fines de la Edad Media鈥, in Diana Arauz Mercado (ed.),听Pasado, presente y porvenir de las humanidades y las artes听(Zacatecas: Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes, 2014), 5: p. 200.
[9]听Imitations of San Juan de los Reyes are discussed more fully in my PhD thesis, 鈥楯uan Guas and Gothic Architecture in Late Medieval Spain: Collaborations, Networks and Geographies鈥, 91自拍 Institute of Art, 2020.
[10]听Azc谩rate Ristori, 鈥楢nt贸n Egas鈥, p. 17.
[11]听On the recent rediscovery of part of the convent鈥檚 foundations, see 鈥楽铆ntesis cron贸logica del rescate del yacimiento鈥, in 鈥楽anta Mar铆a de Jes煤s: 鈥淓l otro San Juan de los Reyes鈥. Una d茅cada de lucha pertinaz鈥, special issue,听Ca帽ada Real听15:16 (January 2016): pp. 13鈥18.
[12]听鈥楺uid tamen mirum, cum nulli alteri Fransciscane domui, sive etiam de sancti Ioannis Regum Toletana agatur, ad cuius exemplar, ne dic膩 aemulationem, costructum extitit, aliqua ex parte cedatur?鈥 Francesco Gonzaga,听De origine Seraphicae Religionis Franciscanae, eiusque progressibus, de Regularis Observantiae institutione, forma, administrationis ac legibus, admirabilique eius propagatione听(Rome: Typographia Dominici Basae, 1587), part 3, p. 631.
[13]听John Edwards,听The Spain of the Catholic Monarchs, 1474鈥1520听(Oxford: Blackwell, 2000), pp. 14鈥15, 20鈥21.
[14]听Mar铆a del Mar Gra帽a Cid, 鈥楻eligi贸n y pol铆tica femenina en el Renacimiento castellano. Lecturas simb贸licas de Teresa Enr铆quez鈥, in Ana Isabel Cerrada Jim茅nez and Josemi Lorenzo Arribas (eds.),听De los s铆mbolos al orden simb贸lico femenino (ss. IV颅鈥揦VII)听(Madrid: Asociaci贸n Cultural Al-Mudayna, 1998), p. 147.
[15]听Gra帽a Cid, 鈥楻eligi贸n y pol铆tica femenina en el Renacimiento castellano鈥, p. 149.
[16]听Rosa L贸pez Torrijos and Juan Nicolau Castro, 鈥楲a familia C谩rdenas, Juan de Lugano y los encargos de escultura genovesa en el siglo XVI鈥,听Bolet铆n del Seminario de Estudios de Arte y Arqueolog铆a:听BSAA听68 (2002): pp. 173颅鈥75.
[17]听Antonio Miranda S谩nchez,听Muros de Toledo听(Toledo: Delegaci贸n en Toledo del Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Castilla La Mancha, 1995), p. 34.
[18]听Fernando Mar铆as,听La arquitectura del Renacimiento en Toledo (1541鈥1631)听(Toledo: Publicaciones del Instituto Provincial de Investigaciones y Estudios Toledanos, 1983), 3: p. 7.
[19]听Miranda S谩nchez,听Muros de Toledo, p. 63; Rosario D铆ez del Corral Garnica, 鈥楲a introducci贸n del Renacimiento en Toledo. El Hospital de Santa Cruz鈥,听Academia:听Bolet铆n de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando听62 (1986): p. 166.
[20]听Miranda S谩nchez,听Muros de Toledo, p. 64.
[21]听Hieronymus M眉nzer,听Doctor Hieronymus M眉nzer鈥檚 Itinerary (1494 and 1495); and Discovery of Guinea,听trans. and ed. James Firth (London: James Firth, 2014), p. 120. The original Latin reads: 鈥楻ex Ferdinandus cum sua Regina novam illam fabricam edificat ex secto et quadro lapide adeo superbe et splendide, ut mirum sit鈥︹ Hieronymus M眉nzer, 鈥業tinerarium Hispanicum Hieronymi Monetarii 1494鈥1495鈥, pp. 119颅鈥20.
[22]听For a recent discussion of the Capilla Real in Granada in the context of other royal pantheons, especially San Juan de los Reyes, and further bibliography, see Bego帽a Alonso Ruiz, 鈥楲as capillas funerarias de los Trast谩mara: de la creaci贸n de la memoria a 鈥渓a grandeza humillada鈥濃, in Olga P茅rez Monz贸n, Matilde Miquel Juan, and Mar铆a Mart铆n Gil (eds.),听Ret贸rica art铆stica en el tardog贸tico castellano. La capilla f煤nebre de 脕lvaro de Luna en contexto听(Madrid: S铆lex, 2018), pp. 163鈥70.
[23]听Mar铆a L贸pez D铆ez,听Los Trast谩mara en Segovia: Juan Guas, maestro de obras reales听(Segovia: Caja Segovia. Obra Social y Cultural, 2006), pp. 196鈥215.
[24]听Bego帽a Alonso Ruiz, 鈥楿n modelo funerario del tardog贸tico castellano: las capillas treboladas鈥,听Archivo Espa帽ol de Arte听78:311 (2005): pp. 277鈥95.
[25]听The altarpiece now in San Juan de los Reyes is not the original, destroyed in a fire in 1808. Daniel Ortiz Pradas,听San Juan de los Reyes de Toledo. Historia, construcci贸n y restauraci贸n de un monumento medieval听(Madrid: La Erg谩stula, 2015), p. 65.
[26]听The sculpture group was moved to its present location, above the modern entrance to the convent, in the mid-twentieth century. See Daniel Ortiz Pradas, 鈥楬erederos de Juan Guas. Arquitectos de San Juan de Los Reyes en los siglos XIX y XX鈥,听Anales de Historia del Arte听22 (2012).
[27]听No contemporary documents describe the content of these niches. The niche on the south wall of the Epiphany Chapel is now occupied by the sculpture of a female saint, but this can hardly be the original arrangement as neither the statue鈥檚 size nor the shape of its pedestal fit the space. In 1848 one of the two niches in San Juan de los Reyes also contained a 鈥榣arge sculpture carved in the round鈥. See Manuel de Assas,听Album art铆stico de Toledo: colecci贸n de vistas y detalles de los principales monumentos toledanos听(Madrid: Litograf铆a de D. Bachiller, 1848), n.p. (see under 鈥楬ornacina lateral de la Capilla Mayor鈥).
[28]听Filem贸n Arribas Arranz, 鈥楴oticias sobre San Juan de los Reyes鈥,听Bolet铆n del Seminario de Estudios de Arte y Arqueolog铆a: BSAA听29 (1963): p. 72n24, and Inquisici贸n, 3079, no. 7 (M.P.D., 112), Archivo Hist贸rico Nacional (hereafter AHN).
[29]听Dom铆nguez Casas, 鈥楽an Juan de Los Reyes: espacio funerario y aposento regio鈥, pp. 373鈥34.
[30]听Rafael Ram铆rez de Arellano,听Las Parroquias de Toledo. Nuevos datos referentes a estos Templos sacados de sus archivos听(Toledo: Talleres Tipogr谩ficos de Sebasti谩n Rodr铆guez, 1921), p. 12.
[31]听Alonso de Escobar鈥檚 will of 17 June 1531 requested the construction of a pulpit and centralised sepulchre, specifying that materials were already available (see below). Consejos, 32586, leg. 3, no. 10, fols. 242 and 242v, AHN.
[32]听The regulations of 1533 confirm that relatives could be buried beneath the floor of the chapel, but without decorated tombstones (piedras de sepulturas) or statues (bultos). IV/1863, s.f., Archivo Diocesano de Toledo (hereafter ADT). However, in 1791 the chapel鈥檚 patron ordered that a tomb be moved away from the centre of the space. See Paulina L贸pez Pita,听Layos: origen y desarrollo de un se帽or铆o nobiliario, el de los Rojas, condes de Mora听(Toledo: Caja de Ahorros, 1988), p. 114.
[33]听鈥榮olamente se ponga un ataud con el pano de brocado en la capilla鈥︹ 鈥楾estamento que hi莽o Alonso de Escobar鈥 (17 de junio de 1531), Consejos, 32586, leg. 3, no. 10, fol. 239r, AHN.
[34]听For Rojas鈥檚 activity in Rome, see 脕lvaro Fern谩ndez de C贸rdova Miralles, 鈥楧iplom谩ticos y letrados en Roma al servicio de los Reyes Cat贸licos: Francesco Vitale di Noya, Juan Ruiz de Medina y Francisco de Rojas鈥,听Dicenda. Estudios de lengua y literatura espa帽olas听32 (2014): pp. 113鈥54; Alessandro Serio, 鈥楿na representaci贸n de la crisis de la uni贸n din谩stica: los cargos diplom谩ticos en Roma de Francisco de Rojas y Antonio de Acu帽a (1501鈥1507),听Cuadernos de historia moderna听32 (2007): pp. 13鈥29.
[35]听Ram铆rez de Arellano,听Las Parroquias de Toledo, p. 13. The expansion was allowed with the proviso that enough space was left unencumbered to ensure an alternative passage. See Paulina L贸pez Pita, 鈥楩undaci贸n de la capilla de la Epifan铆a en la iglesia de San Andr茅s de Toledo鈥,听Beresit: Bolet铆n de la Cofrad铆a Internacional de Investigadores听2 (1988): pp. 135, 138. The city was so built-up that in 1538 the city authorities requested the king to prohibit the institution of new hospitals, monasteries or convents within the walls. See Linda Martz and Julio Porres Mart铆n-Cleto,听Toledo y los toledanos en 1561听(Toledo: Instituto Provincial de Investigaci贸n y Estudios Toledanos, 1974), p. 43.
[36]听L贸pez Pita, 鈥楩undaci贸n de la capilla de la Epifan铆a鈥; Paulina L贸pez Pita, 鈥楩rancisco de Rojas y su vinculaci贸n con la Orden de Calatrava鈥, in Jer贸nimo L贸pez-Salazar P茅rez (ed.),听Las 贸rdenes militares en la Pen铆nsula Ib茅rica,听vol. 2,听Edad Moderna听(Toledo: Ediciones de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 2000), pp. 2229, 2231.
[37]听Consejos, 32586, leg. 3, no. 10, fols. 242鈥42v, AHN; Inocencio Cadi帽anos Bardeci, 鈥楶recisiones acerca del Tr谩nsito de la Virgen de Juan Correa de Vivar鈥,听Bolet铆n del Museo del Prado听24:42 (2006): p. 12n4.
[38]听Verardo Garc铆a Rey, 鈥楬istoria de la pintura espa帽ola. Fe de errores a una obra鈥,听Arte Espa帽ol.听Revista de la sociedad de amigos del arte听19:2 (1930): p. 58, doc. 1; Duke of Berwick and Alba (ed.),听Noticias hist贸ricas y geneal贸gicas de los estados de Montijo y Teba, seg煤n los documentos de sus archivos听(Madrid: Imprenta Alemana, 1915), 20: p. 75; Francisco de Borja de San Rom谩n, 鈥楧ocumentos in茅ditos. Testamento del maestro Juan Franc茅s (23 de diciembre 1518)鈥,听Toletum:听Bolet铆n de la Real Academia de Bellas Artes y Ciencias Hist贸ricas de Toledo听18/19 (1924): p. 111.
[39]听L贸pez Pita, 鈥楩undaci贸n de la capilla de la Epifan铆a鈥, pp. 132鈥33.
[40]听Leg. 23, no. 1, Archivo Conde de Mora, in L贸pez Pita, 鈥楩undaci贸n de la capilla de la Epifan铆a鈥, p. 135.
[41]听L贸pez Pita, 鈥楩undaci贸n de la capilla de la Epifan铆a鈥, pp. 138鈥41.
[42]听L贸pez Pita, 鈥楩undaci贸n de la capilla de la Epifan铆a鈥, p. 142.
[43]听Notably, L贸pez Pita,听Layos; 鈥楩undaci贸n de la capilla de la Epifan铆a鈥; 鈥楩rancisco de Rojas y su vinculaci贸n con la Orden de Calatrava鈥.
[44]听Ram铆rez de Arellano,听Las Parroquias de Toledo; Garc铆a Rey, 鈥楬istoria de la pintura espa帽ola. Fe de errores a una obra鈥.
[45]听Gonzalo Fern谩ndez de Oviedo,听Batallas y quinquagenas, edited by Jos茅 Amador de los R铆os y Padilla and Juan P茅rez de Tudela y Bueso (Madrid: Real Academia de la Historia, 1983), p. 271.
[46]听For example L贸pez Pita,听Layos.
[47]听鈥楾estamento que hicieron Alfonso de Caceres鈥 Do帽a Marina de Roxas鈥︹ (22 May 1475), Consejos, 23827, leg. 1, no. 7, AHN, 听esp. fol. 9v.
[48]听Jean-Pierre Mol茅nat, 鈥楲a volont茅 de durer: majorats et chapellenies dans la pratique tol茅dane des XIIIe鈥揦Ve si猫cles鈥,听En la Espa帽a medieval听9 (1986): p. 690.
[49]听Pedro de Rojas,听Discursos ilustres, hist贸ricos i geneal贸gicos听(Toledo: Ioan Ruiz de Pereda, 1636), 172v. Pedro de Rojas, knight of Calatrava, count of Mora and lord of Layos, was a descendant who wrote a history of the family in the seventeenth century. He listed the children of Alonso de C谩ceres and Marina de Rojas in a section dedicated to the surname Escobar, yet styled each of them as 鈥楻ojas鈥, including 鈥楢lonso Escobar y Rojas鈥. Adoption of the Rojas name was a condition for inheriting 迟丑别听mayorazgos听of Layos and M贸stoles. See Paulina L贸pez Pita, 鈥楩undaci贸n del Mayorazgo de M贸stoles鈥,听Anales toledanos听25 (1988): pp. 100鈥1.
[50]听L贸pez Pita,听Layos, p. 61.
[51]听L贸pez Pita, 鈥楩rancisco de Rojas y su vinculaci贸n con la Orden de Calatrava鈥, p. 2227; Francisco Fern谩ndez Izquierdo,听La orden militar de Calatrava en el siglo XVI: infraestructura institucional, sociolog铆a y prosopograf铆a de sus caballeros听(Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient铆ficas, 1992), p. 64.
[52]听L贸pez Pita,听Layos, p. 61.
[53]听The codicils are dated to 15 June 1492, 7 April 1494, 14 September 1495 and 17 January 1498. See 鈥楥uaderno de codicilo que dio Do帽a Marina de Rojas, mujer que fue de Alfonso de C谩ceres鈥, Consejos, 23827, leg. 1, no. 9, AHN, especially the first, second and fourth codicils, fols. 3, 5, 8.
[54]听鈥楥uaderno de codicilo que dio Do帽a Marina de Rojas, mujer que fue de Alfonso de C谩ceres鈥, Consejos, 23827, leg. 1, no. 9, AHN, especially the first and third codicils, fols. 2, 6.
[55]听Fern谩ndez Izquierdo,听La orden militar de Calatrava en el siglo XVI, p. 122ff.
[56]听鈥楾estamento que hicieron Alfonso de Caceres鈥 Do帽a Marina de Roxas鈥︹ (22 May 1475), Consejos, 23827, leg. 1, no. 7, fol. 3v, AHN. In 1514 Alonso would nevertheless transfer from Santiago to Calatrava, as suggested by a royal permission he obtained for the purpose. Duke of Berwick and Alba,听Noticias hist贸ricas y geneal贸gicas, 39: p. 93.
[57]听As evident from the wills preserved in Consejos, 23827, AHN.
[58]听鈥楾estamento que hicieron Alfonso de Caceres鈥 Do帽a Marina de Roxas鈥︹ (22 May 1475), Consejos, 23827, leg. 1, no. 7, fols. 4鈥5v, AHN. For information about Francisco de Rojas鈥檚 studies and career, see Fern谩ndez de C贸rdova Miralles, 鈥楧iplom谩ticos y letrados en Roma al servicio de los Reyes Cat贸licos鈥, esp. p. 128; Jes煤s F茅lix Pascual Molina and Irune Fiz Fuertes, 鈥楧on Francisco de Rojas, embajador de los Reyes Cat贸licos, y sus empresas art铆sticas: a prop贸sito de una traza de Juan de Borgo帽a y Antonio de Comontes鈥,听Bolet铆n del Seminario de Estudios de Arte y Arqueolog铆a:听BSAA Arte听81 (2015): p. 61.
[59]听According to Pedro de Rojas, Francisco鈥檚 first military campaign took place in 1475, during the War of Succession. Pedro de Rojas,听Discursos ilustres听(Toledo: Ioan Ruiz de Pereda, 1636), 200v.
[60]听Antonio Rodr铆guez Villa (ed.),听D. Francisco de Rojas, embajador de los Reyes Cat贸licos. Documentos justificativos听(Alicante: Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes, 2006), pp. 8鈥9, accessed 10 March 2019,听http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/nd/ark:/59851/bmcks732. For the battle of Loja, Edwards,听The Spain of the Catholic Monarchs, p. 105.
[61]听Fern谩ndez de C贸rdova Miralles, 鈥楧iplom谩ticos y letrados en Roma鈥, p. 131.
[62]听Faustino Men茅ndez Pidal de Navascu茅s, 鈥楲as armas de los Reyes Cat贸licos鈥,听Hidalgos: la revista de la Real Asociaci贸n de Hidalgos de Espa帽a听525 (2011): p. 24.
[63]听The inscriptions are transcribed in Antol铆n Abad P茅rez, 鈥楽an Juan de los Reyes en la historia, la literatura y el arte鈥,听Anales toledanos听11 (1976): p. 169.
[64]听Alonso de Escobar鈥檚 will for example requested the arms of Escobar, Rojas, Ribera, Guzm谩n, Roelas and Gadieles to be placed above the sepulchre he would share with his wife Constanza de Ribera. 鈥楾estamento que hi莽o Alonso de Escobar鈥 (27 January 1531), Consejos, 32586, AHN.
[65]听British Library, Add MS 18851 (鈥楾he Breviary of the Queen of Castile鈥), fols. 436v鈥37r; Janet Backhouse,听The Isabella Breviary听(London: The British Library, 1993), pp. 12, 17.
[66]听The inscription reads: 鈥楨l muy noble caballero Francisco de Royas mand贸 fundar esta capilla para reposo de sus padres y delos sus莽esores dellos, estando en Roma por embaxador de los muy cat贸licos Reyes y Se帽ores Don Fernando e Do帽a Isabel, Rey y Reyna de las Espa帽as e de las Si莽ilias aquen e allende el faro e de Jerusalem, negociando entre otros muy ardos negocios de sus magestades e por su mandado la empresa y conquista del dicho Reyno de Si莽ilia aquende el faro que vulgarmente llaman el reyno de Napoles y Jerusalem, la qual y todas las victorias puso al servicio de las Santisima Trinidad y de la gloriosisima Virgen Santa Mar铆a, Nuestro Se帽or y de todos los Santos鈥. L贸pez Pita,听Layos, p. 113.
[67]听Ram铆rez de Arellano,听Las Parroquias de Toledo, p. 15; Balbina Mart铆nez Cavir贸,听El Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes听(Bilbao: Iberdrola, 2002), pp. 13鈥14.
[68]听Ortiz Pradas,听San Juan de los Reyes de Toledo, p. 196.
[69]听Dom铆nguez Casas, 鈥楽an Juan de Los Reyes: espacio funerario y aposento regio鈥, p. 366.
[70]听Rafael Dom铆nguez Casas, 鈥楨xequias borgo帽onas en tiempos de Juana I de Castilla鈥, in Miguel 脕ngel Zalama Rodr铆guez (ed.),听Juana I en Tordesillas: su mundo, su entorno听(Valladolid: Ayuntamiento de Tordesillas, 2010), pp. 262, 265 and passim; Javier Arias Nevado, 鈥楨l papel de los emblemas her谩ldicos en las ceremonias funerarias de la Edad Media (siglos XIII颅鈥揦VI)鈥,听En la Espa帽a medieval听1 (2006): pp. 49鈥80.
[71]听Mart铆n de Riquer,听Her谩ldica castellana en tiempo de los Reyes Cat贸licos听(Barcelona: Quaderns Crema, 1986), p. 48.
[72]听A transcription of the letter in Duke of Berwick and Alba (ed.),听Noticias hist贸ricas y geneal贸gicas, 19: p. 73. On the succession of the orders, see Mar铆a Jos茅 Lop Ot铆n, 鈥楲as autoridades eclesi谩sticas de Toledo y las 贸rdenes militares a fines del siglo XV鈥, in Ricardo Izquierdo Benito and Francisco Ruiz G贸mez (eds.),听Las 贸rdenes militares en la Pen铆nsula Ib茅rica,听vol. 1,听Edad Media听(Toledo: Ediciones de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 2000), p. 1074. On the architectural history of the convent in the early sixteenth century, see Clara Delgado Valero, Yolanda Guerrero, Francisco Masa and Blanca Piquero, 鈥楲a iglesia de Santiago en el convento de Santa Fe, de Toledo: una obra documentada de Ant贸n Egas,鈥櫶Goya: Revista de arte听211/212 (1989): pp. 34鈥43.
[73]听L贸pez Pita, 鈥楩undaci贸n de la capilla de la Epifan铆a鈥, p. 132.
[74]听L贸pez Pita, 鈥楩undaci贸n de la capilla de la Epifan铆a鈥, p. 141.
[75]听L贸pez Pita,听Layos, Appendix, p. 256.
[76]听Very little survives of the chapel today. A detailed description is however contained in an anonymous manuscript of 1644. Vicente Casta帽eda y Alcover, 鈥楧escripci贸n del sacro convento de Calatrava la Nueva鈥,听Bolet铆n de la Real Academia de la Historia听28 (1928): pp. 402鈥43. For an extensive discussion of the chapel, its patron and decoration, see Irune Fiz Fuertes and Jes煤s F茅lix Pascual Molina, 鈥楲a Capilla Dorada del convento de Calatrava la Nueva. Precisiones iconogr谩ficas y patronazgo鈥,听Anuario del Departamento de Historia y Teor铆a del Arte听28 (2016): pp. 97颅鈥112, accessed 12 September 2018, doi:10.15366/anuario2016.28.005.
[77]听Ram铆rez de Arellano,听Las Parroquias de Toledo, p. 12.
[78]听Juan Guas,听Capilla mayor de San Juan de los Reyes, Toledo, 1485鈥1490, Madrid, Museo Nacional del Prado, D00552.
[79]听For a more extensive discussion of the drawing鈥檚 artificial perspective, Sergio Sanabria, 鈥楢 late Gothic drawing of San Juan de los Reyes in Toledo at the Prado Museum in Madrid,鈥櫶Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians听51:2 (1992): pp. 161颅鈥73.
[80]听Dom铆nguez Casas, 鈥楽an Juan de Los Reyes: espacio funerario y aposento regio鈥, p. 366.
[81]听鈥楥apilla de la Santa Epifan铆a en la Iglesia Parroquial de San Andr茅s de Toledo. Copia autorizada de las constituciones y modificaciones en ellas introducidas en virtud de la bula de Clemente VII鈥, IV/1863, ADT, especially 鈥楲as fiestas de la capilla. C贸mo se han de celebrar鈥, VII鈥揑X; see also the earlier regulations established by Francisco de Rojas, transcribed in L贸pez Pita,听Layos, p. 109.
DOI: 10.33999/2019.52