Architectural Languages, Functions, and Spaces: The Crown of Castile and Al-Andalus

Abstract

Abstract Since 1859, when Rodrigo Amador de los Ríos gave his speech “El estilo mudéjar en la arquitectura” at the Fine Arts Academy of San Fernando, the study of medieval Spanish art has been marked by the notion of the mudejar. Through it, Spain found a style and the basis of an identity that set it apart from other European countries. Mudejar became the name for every work that showed some indication of Islamic influence: buildings constructed with traditional techniques and materials, yet with some decorative element of Andalusian origin or simply buildings that contained a mudejar name in the list of those supervising their construction. In this essay, the influence of Islamic architecture in Christian territories is approached from a diVerent angle. Buildings are considered primarily spaces created for certain functions and secondarily representatives of a style or technique. Islamic styles were copied by Christians to very diVerent degrees. In some cases, completely, as in certain royal or noble palaces. In other cases, such as the façades of many Wfteenth-century city buildings or funerary chapels, Islamic spaces were appropriated and refashioned in Gothic style.

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