Santiago de Compostela Cathedral

A document of 1077 refers to the construction of the cathedral on land then occupied by a group of episcopal and monastic buildings, including the earlier apostolic sanctuary, which may have dated from the reign of Alfonso II (reg. 792-842), when the supposed tomb of St James the Greater was discovered. In any case there is evidence for its development by Alfonso III (reg 866-910) between 874 and 899, its destruction by Al-Mansr in 997 and then a rebuilding of the whole complex, confirmed by archaeological remains, in a style closely related to Asturian architecture. Work began c. 1075-8 under the patronage of Alfonso VI (reg 1065-1109) and Bishop Diego Peláez, who are portrayed on several capitals in the Capilla del Salvador. The Liber Sancti Iacobi gives the name of the architect as 'Bernard the elder, a wonderful master' and mentions his assistant Rotbertus and the 50 masons under their supervision. Only the three end chapels of the ambulatory had been erected by 1088, when work was suspended after the dismissal and imprisonment of the bishop. Little further building was done until 1100, when Diego GelmÃ∆rez was raised to the bishopric. At Pamplona in 1101 a certain Esteban is mentioned as Master of the Cathedral Works; he held, or had held, the same post at Santiago, but the extent of his involvement is unclear. Work at that time was proceeding apace: in 1105 all the chevet and transept chapels were consecrated except that of S Nicolás, and the capilla mayor was provided with splendid liturgical furnishings. In 1107 Conde Raimundo de Borgoña was buried at the end of the north transept, and in 1112 the pre-Romanesque basilica was demolished, which suggests that work had begun on the nave. In 1117 this was the scene of violent disturbances, the description of which in the Historia Compostelana reveals that the nave was then wooden-roofed and its westward extension was blocked by a tower, which was subsequently demolished. According to the Liber Sancti Iacobi, the last stone was laid in 1122, but this must refer to the area enclosed by the foundations, since other passages of the document make it clear that the work was not yet completed. The building was then in the charge of another Bernard, whose duties as treasurer and royal chancellor clearly imply that his concerns were administrative rather than specifically artistic. His commission included the layout of the work, however, which seems to have been done according to Vitruvian principles, and under his direction and patronage a monumental fountain was constructed in 1122 in front of the north portal. Towards 1124 the construction of a cloister is mentioned, but it was still at the planning stage in 1134. In the interior it seems that work did not begin again until 1160. From the number of windows mentioned in the Liber c. 1130 it can be deduced that the gallery did not then extend beyond the fifth bay of the nave, at the point where the profile of the impost blocks and the style of the capitals reveal a change of workmanship, introducing Burgundian and Parisian elements. It was at this stage (1168) that Master MATEO is mentioned; he was to complete the cathedral with a Burgundian-type narthex, the PÃ⁄rtico de la Gloria, built over a false crypt and flanked by two towers. In 1168 the threshold of the PÃ⁄rtico de la Gloria was laid, and the consecration of the cathedral in 1211 suggests that it had been completed. There is a reference to a new cloister c. 1250, of which traces remain, to replace the one built in the 12th century. There is also evidence of a new Gothic chevet on the lines of those at the cathedrals of Reims and LeÃ⁄n, begun in 1258 but soon abandoned. The Late Gothic cloister was begun in 1521 by Juan de Alava and completed in 1590. The Churrigueresque west façade was built by Fernando Casas y NÃ⁄voa from 1738 to 1750 (see fig. 1). Santiago di Compostela Cathedral is built largely of granite and measures 97 m long and 22 m high. It represents the most mature example of a pilgrimage church. It has an aisled nave of 11 bays, with a narthex raised over a crypt. The transepts are six bays long, with aisles on both east and west sides and (originally) two apsidal chapels on each arm. The choir has three straight bays, an ambulatory and five radiating chapels, three of which survive relatively intact. The church has a two-storey elevation (see Romanesque, fig. 11), with lit galleries running right round the church above the aisles; there is no clerestory except in the hemicycle, where the windows pierce the vault of the apse. The main vessels are barrel-vaulted, the aisles groin-vaulted, while the galleries have quadrant vaults springing from the level of the windows, most of which have been blocked by later structures. The close resemblance of the first campaign of the cathedral to St Sernin, Toulouse (see Toulouse, fig. 2), particularly the spacing of the ambulatory chapels, paved the way for unusual features in the second phase. These included the polygonal plan of some of the apsidal chapels; a taller hemicycle gallery, which affected the composition and articulation of the exterior volumes of the building; a greater richness of decoration, including Islamic decorative motifs; the double arcading of the exterior walls of the transept and nave; the extended transepts; the stilted arches that enhance the elegance of the interior arcades; and the subtle alternation of the pier forms, with rounded and square plinths and cores, which emphasizes the modulation of the ground-plan ad quadratum. (Grove Dictionary of Art, website, 11/20/2002)general view, 198