Cathedral of Toledo - Model and Influence of The Cathedral in Religious Architecture

Model and Influence of The Cathedral in Religious Architecture

Bishop Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada and those who followed him used master builders who had worked in or had experience designing in the French Gothic style. The cathedrals of Paris or Le Mans were their points of reference. The constructive solutions of the French Gothic builders were well-accepted, such as counter-rests, buttresses and pointed arches; nevertheless, the Spanish builders resisted the importation of the layout of the French cathedrals, where the choir and the altar were located in impressive sanctuaries, opting for smaller ones and situating the choir in the central nave. This was the syncretic solution of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, which came first; all of this developed in Spain as much by the influence of the Mozarabic rite, as also by the Visigothic tradition and the Castilian liturgy.

This historical evolution, combined with the status of the Primate Cathedral, encouraged the adoption of the Toledan model by the rest of the Spanish cathedrals, with the exception of that of Burgos and that of León which followed the French model with more fidelity. A similar arrangement of spaces can be seen in the cathedrals of Cádiz, of Seville, of Palma de Mallorca, among others. And, as was foreseeable, the Spanish Empire carried the model of the Dives Toletana beyond, influencing those constructed in the Americas and the Philippines.