Nominatissima urbs Granate: The Cultural Clash between Islam and Christianity after the Capitulation of the Nasrid Kingdom and Its Repercussions on the Arts

Abstract

This essay offers a general overview of some of the main artistic, liturgical and musical works inspired by the Capitulation of Granada in favor of the Catholic Monarchs and related to the patronage of Cardinal Pedro González de Mendoza, Cardinal Bernardino López de Carvajal, Archbishop Fray Hernando de Talavera and his circle. Particular attention is paid to the composition of the well-known Oficios de la Toma de Granada (Offices of the Capitulation of Granada). Granada is conceived therein as a New Jerusalem, the center of a mono-religious but multicultural providentialist discourse identified with the Crown of Castile. Such convergent discourses in music, liturgy and the arts, both at the peninsular and European levels, helped turn the nominatissima urbs Granate after the fall of the Nasrid Kingdom in 1492 into an enduring symbol of Hispanic culture.

1. Introduction

The Capitulation or Deditio of Granada by Castile, which took place on 2 January 1492, was seen as a providential event that filled all of Christianity with joy. Among the contemporary testimonies to that event, we can highlight the celebrations over the fall of the Nasrid Kingdom in the city of Rome, the ones in the Republic of Venice, in Naples (Ricci 2017), in England, Scotland and the Germanic principalities or the ringing of bells throughout the French kingdom to commemorate the event (Baloup and González Arévalo 2017). And not only was it celebrated among his contemporaries, but centuries later, it would continue to be remembered (Martínez Medina and Biersack 2011, p. 103). A paradigmatic example of this can be found in Sir Francis Bacon, who still recalled the conquest of Granada more than a century later. In the 1622 account of the life of Henry VII, Bacon highlights the significant fact of the letters that the English monarch received from the Catholic Kings to notify him of this important event (Bacon 1885, p. 83). The Granada wars also exerted great influence in the conquest of the Americas, as reflected in Peru in the adoption of both its military strategies and procedures (Mujica Pinilla 2007, p. 170) and the missionary method inaugurated by the first archbishop of Granada, Fray Hernando de Talavera.

This event also had great repercussions on the arts of the Iberian Peninsula and beyond. The Granadine event was used, first of all, as a propagandistic vehicle for the exercise of power by the Catholic Monarchs. A good example is found in the commission of the choir stalls for the Cathedral of Toledo, the primate church in Spain, offered to the artist Rodrigo Alemán (Pereda 2002; Parada López de Corselas and Martín Sandoval 2014). The Germanic sculptor carved the most relevant scenes of the War of Granada almost contemporaneously to the events in order to exalt the government actions of two of its protagonists, first Cardinal Mendoza (Figure 1), and later in a different capacity as an evangelical missionary, Cardinal Cisneros (Pereda Espeso 2003; Heim 2009).

Additionally, a number of art pieces were aimed at reflecting the providential sense that was granted to such a conquest. The monarchs themselves would be likened to St. Helena herself or the emperor Heraclius, as reflected in the services of the Capitulation of Granada composed for its liturgical commemoration. Granada has been deemed a New Jerusalem, reconquered in order to magnify the glory of the Catholic faith over the rest of its enemies, especially Muslims (García-Arenal 2014). This fact was framed within the providentialist mentality of the time,1 with the Hispano-Catholic monarchy envisioned as an instrument of Providence called upon to implant the City of God on Earth along Augustinian lines (Vergara Ciordia 2019).

2. The Capitulation of Granada and Rome: The Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Blessed Amadeo and San Pietro in Montorio

The impact of the Capitulation was soon felt in the Eternal City. The news officially came on the last Sunday of January 1492. That same day, the relic of the Titulus Sanctae Crucis would be discovered by chance (Besozzi 1750, p. 30; Rossetti 2018). Both facts prompted the restoration and iconographic program of the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, whose title was held by the cardinal of Toledo, Pedro González de Mendoza. The Spanish Bernardino López de Carvajal was in charge of the project, first as Mendoza’s agent and later as the cardinal with the same title since 2 February 1495 (Albalá Pelegrín 2017).

The capture of Granada is visually portrayed in the central apse of the Basilica in parallel with the battle of Eraclio against Cosroes. This parallelism would become a recurring motif in subsequent interpretations of the Granadine Wars, as shown in the Liturgical Offices of the Capitulation of Granada, which we will later comment upon. Moreover, the artist will represent within the same liturgical space Cardinal Mendoza, an active participant in the war of Granada, and Vera Cruz (the True Cross). The cardinal appears at the center of the apse adoring the Holy Cross that is held by St. Helena herself (Pereda Espeso 2009) (Figure 2).

The iconographic program was completed with the monumental inscription in Valencian ceramics on both sides of the entrance corridor to the crypt (Figure 3).2 The inscription connects Hispania with both the late Roman Empire during the Christian era and also Spain’s mission to evangelize the world. The Capitulation of Granada is thus framed within a providential plan in which Isabella and Ferdinand would serve as two of its main architects (Toesca 1967).

This providentialist vision of history, which bestows an essential role on Spain as a bastion of faith and agent of the latter’s propagation throughout the world, is also expressed in the construction of the Franciscan monastery of San Pietro in Montorio in Rome. The choice of place has its origin in the presence of a Franciscan friar, blessed Amadeo Mendes de Silva, sent therein by Pope Sixtus IV, also a Franciscan, whom he served as personal confessor and secretary. Amadeo was the maternal half-brother of Saint Beatriz de Silva, founder of the Conceptionist order and former Lady of Isabella of Portugal, and her daughter, Isabella I of Castile. According to a medieval tradition, the apostle St. Peter was crucified in that place, which is why a church was built in the 9th century with the title of Beati Petri quod vocatur ad Janiculum, according to the Libri pontificalis ecclesiae Ravennatis. Fray Amadeo would receive therein the visions of the archangel Gabriel, which he evokes in his Apocalypsis Nova (Amadeu 2014). Pope Sixtus’s approval of these revelations would be decisive for their later diffusion (Mujica Pinilla 1992, pp. 15–38).

The connection between Amadeo and the Hispanic monarchy, we may suppose, would have been his sister Beatriz. Through her, the visions of her brother reached the intimate circle of the Catholic Monarchs. In one of these visions, Saint Gabriel narrates to the Franciscan how, in response to the church’s decadence, the Lord would send the Immaculate Virgin accompanied by seven celestial princes —that is, the archangels—: a new pope would emerge around the same time, an Angelic Pope that would join forces with a universal monarch in order to annihilate the Antichrist, bringing about the fullness of time (Lázaro Pulido 2019, p. 704).

The acceptance of Amadeo’s revelations at the court gained further support with the birth of Prince John because the monarchs had asked for the intercession of the Franciscans to conceive an heir that could unite both crowns. The later conquest of Granada over the Islamic enemy would be seen as the fulfillment of the prophecy in Apocalypsis Nova that envisioned the prince of Asturias in the future as a universal monarch—Emperor of the Last Days— leading humanity to the end of time (Fernández Guerrero 2019), another motif reflected in the liturgical office on the Capture of Granada.

King Ferdinand’s construction of the monastery as a votive offering to the Apostle Peter can be better understood as an expression of personal gratitude for the birth of his son, the Prince of Asturias, reasserting in the process his own commitment to defending the papacy (Fernández de Córdova Miralles 2014, p. 75). The work would culminate with Donato Bramante’s construction of the Tempietto in 1502, at the place where tradition said that St. Peter had been crucified (Freiberg 2005, 2014, 2020), even if it also served as a fitting memorial to Prince John, his heir who died in 1497. His intention was to strengthen the union between the Hispanic monarchy and the Petrine See (Figure 4).

The Roman work commissioned by the Hispanic monarchs for the construction of the Church of Monte Giannicolo must be understood within the same spirit that motivated the conquest of Granada. The Hispanic monarchy, described as Catholic by Pope Alexander VI in 1497 (Reges Catholici), will see itself reflected in the prophecy of Amadeo, as it was also the case with the liturgical office of the Toma. It was once again Carvajal, the one in charge of carrying out this work on behalf of King Ferdinand. The links we have established between the Catholic Monarchs, the providential vision of the Capitulation of Granada, San Pietro in Montorio and the Apocalypsis Nova of Amadeo are further reinforced by López de Carvajal’s self-designation as the “Angelic Pope” upon becoming an antipope with the name of Martin VI in reaction to the election of Julius II (Moroni Romano 1861, p. 134).

The same idea of Spanish imperial power that López de Carvajal wanted to reflect in the Basilica of Santa Croce was the one embodied in the work at the Giannicolo (Cantatore 2007, pp. 29–102). The connection between the monastery of San Pietro in Montorio and the architects of the Granadine war can be seen at first glance at the entrance to the conventual church. The coat of arms of the Catholic Monarchs as direct heirs to the prophecy of Blessed Amadeo is sculpted on the façade. At the top of the double staircase leading to the temple is the coat of arms of Enrique Enríquez, uncle of Ferdinand the Catholic, (Figure 5) an in-law of the then Cardinal Rodrigo de Borja and father of Teresa Enríquez, Lady of the Queen whose husband, Gutierre de Cárdenas, would be essential in the capture of Granada. He hoisted the banner of the Order of Santiago at the top of the Alhambra (Fernández de Córdova Miralles 2005, pp. 345–54).

3. Hernando de Talavera, Pedro de Alcala and the Christianization of Granada

The process of Christianization and, therefore, of “de-Islamization” of the new kingdom annexed to Castile was conducted on behalf of the monarchs by the elected archbishop of Granada, Fray Hernando de Talavera, and by the Count of Tendilla, Iñigo López de Mendoza, who was related to the aforementioned Don Pedro González. Talavera will sign official documents as Archiepiscopus Granatiensis regis comissariusque, in his double capacity as archbishop and ruler (Folgado García 2023). The Great Tendilla would exercise his power as captain-general of the kingdom and as warden of the Alhambra.

A Hieronymite monk and royal confessor, Fray Hernando de Talavera stands out as a cultural agent that brought together the Christian traditions of Castile with their Arabo-Islamic counterparts in Granada.3 In sharp contrast with the polemical stance of other Christians, Talavera promoted a more peaceful and cohesive fusion of both cultures. With his dual-governing roles, Talavera brought to fruition important civil and ecclesiastical works, part of an effort to create a new Christian kingdom in a land that had been part of the Islamic world for eight centuries.4 Talavera, through his actions, showed as much respect as possible for Granadine Islamic customs, a conciliatory disposition that marked the signing of the Capitulations between King Boabdil and the Catholic Monarchs in Real de la Vega on 25 November 1492 (Garrido Atienza 1910).

The most outstanding milestones among Talavera’s cultural initiatives include the establishment of Nasrid or Andalusi Arabic as the language of the population of Granada, the inclusion of Andalusi chants in the Catholic liturgy and the incorporation of a political-religious chronicle of the Capitulation of Granada in the liturgical celebrations of the Roman rite through the composition of liturgical offices. Through these endeavors, Talavera shows himself as an authentic creator and artistic patron (Gilbert 2018, 2020).

The main objective of the newly appointed archbishop of Granada was the Christianization of its inhabitants. For this purpose, Talavera created a method of evangelization based on liturgical celebrations designed to replace Muslim prayer and catechesis.5 The synthesis of his evangelizing plan can be found in the Memorial dirigido a los vecinos del Albaicín (Memorial addressed to the neighbors of the Albaicín) that he himself wrote (de Talavera 1500).6 The execution of his evangelical program also required knowledge of Arabic, the local vernacular. Therefore he ordered his personal confessor, Fray Pedro de Alcalá —another Hieronymite— to compose the Vocabulista arávigo en letra castellana (An Arabic Dictionary in Spanish script) (de Alcalá 1505) and the Arte para ligeramente saber la lengua aráviga7 (An Art to acquire rudimentary knowledge of the Arabic language) (de Alcalá 1505), works jointly published in 1505 in order to facilitate better communications between Muslims and Christians (Figure 6 and Figure 7).8

The Vocabulista is a dictionary of the native language of Granada, while the Arte provides its grammar, based—according to the author—on the model developed by Antonio de Nebrija in his 1492 Gramática de la lengua castellana (Grammar of the Castilian Language). We should underscore the Alcalá—Nebrija connection and Talavera’s mediating role when he was bishop of Ávila, as a promoter of Nebrija’s Gramática (Grammar), as noted by Nebrija in his own prologue (Figure 8 and Figure 9):

El tercero elemento provecho deste mi trabajo puede ser aquel que, cuando en Salamanca di la muestra de aquesta obra a vuestra real Majestad, y me preguntó que para qué podía aprovechar, el mui reverendo padre Obispo de Ávila me arrebató la respuesta; y, respondiendo por mí, dixo que después de vuestra Alteza metiesse debaxo de su iugo muchos pueblos bárbaros y naciones de peregrinas lenguas, y con el vencimiento aquellos ternían necessidad de recebir las leies qu’el vencedor pone al vencido, y con ellas nuestra lengua, entonces por esta mi arte, podrían venir en el conocimiento della como agora nosotros deprendemos el arte de la gramática latina para deprender el latín.

(de Nebrija 1492, ff. 3r-v)

[The third benefit of this work may be this: when in Salamanca I showed your royal Majesty a sample of this work, you asked of what purpose it could be; the Reverend Father Archbishop of Ávila snatched my response, and answering for me he said that after your Highness has put under her yoke many barbarous peoples and nations of alien languages, with defeat they would have to receive the laws that the conqueror imposes on the on the conquered, and with them our language; then, through this my art they would be able to come into the knowledge of it, as now we depend on the art of Latin grammar to learn Latin].

(de Nebrija and Armillas-Tiseyra 2016, p. 204)

The importance of the Arte (Art) does not only lie in its relationship with Talavera. It is, in our opinion, one of the most important testimonies to a sustained effort at fostering a dialogue between Christians and Muslims, along with the translation into Nasrid Arabic of liturgical texts for the Ordinary of the Mass (de Alcalá 1505, ff. 42v−44) and for three special Masses—In honore beatissime Virginis Mariae (de Alcalá 1505, ff. 44−45), In honore Sanctissime Trinitatis (de Alcalá 1505, ff. 45−45v) and In honore Sancti Spiritus (Alcalá, ff. 45v−46v). We point out this fact because it represents a milestone in the history of the Catholic Latin rite. A vernacular language, in this case, Andalusi Arabic, was used in the celebration of the liturgy par excellence, the Mass.

Along with these liturgical texts, chapter XXXVIII of his Gramática (Grammar) (de Alcalá 1505, ff. 21ss) also contains a more doctrinal part where we can read, both in Spanish and in the language of the people of Granada, the essential prayers of the Christian faith and a Breve colación para los clerigos que confiessan cristianos nuevos (Brief collation for clerics who hear the confessions of new Christians) (de Alcalá 1505, f. 23), a bilingual treatise in the form of an examination of conscience to assist confessors in administering the sacrament of penance. Arte and Vocabulista are, as we have seen, Granadine creations that serve to this day as major sources for our knowledge of Andalusi Arabic and whose purpose was to promote an encounter between both worlds.

The importance that Fray Hernando gave to the language is not only evident in his desire to preserve it and organize it with the creation of the books entrusted to Fray Pedro de Alcalá, but he himself wanted to learn Arabic, and so he ordered the clergy and people under his charge to do the same, as described by his biographer Jerónimo de Madrid.9 His eagerness to learn Arabic was not limited to the translation to the Mass itself, as attested in the Arte, but the inclusion as well of Arabic chants in both the processions and the Divine Office. The convert Francisco Núñez Muley, page of Fray Hernando, attests to this in A Memorandum for the President of the Royal Audiencia and Chancery Court of the City and Kingdom of Granada in which he compares the evangelizing style of Talavera and the one that was adopted in the time of the monarch of the house of Austria, King Philip II:

In the time of Don Hernando de Talavera, the first archbishop that the Catholic Monarchs established in this city, there were religious teachers [alfaquís] and religious leaders [mustis] who received salaries from the archbishop in exchange for providing him with information related to Islam and what went against its precepts. Informed in this way by persons who knew a good deal about Islamic jurisprudence and the books that contained it, the archbishop permitted during his tenure that the zambra be performed with all of this instruments, as it was because of the festive celebrations and weddings of the natives that it was performed. The zambra and its corresponding instruments were also used to honor the Holy Sacraments of the Corpus Christi processions, each trade guild having its own banner (…). And when His Holiness said mass in person there was a zambra in the choir with the clerics. At the moments when the organ would normally be played, because they didn’t have one, they responded with the zambra and its instruments. And some words of Arabic were even spoken in mass: when the archbishop said, Dominus bobispon, people responded with, Ybara figun. I remember this as if it were yesterday, in the year 1502.

(Núñez Muley 2007, pp. 79–80)

4. The Offices of the Capitulation of Granada

The music, liturgy and literature were also enriched as a result of the conquest of the Nasrid Kingdom. An example of this can be found in the Oficios de la Toma de Granada (Offices of the Capitulation of Granada), which traveled all over the peninsula, crossing its borders as could be gauged from Bacon’s quote. Its aim was to disseminate a political vision and a providentialist understanding of the Hispanic monarchy by means of liturgical prayers. It was also conceived as an instrument of the Church to persuade people in favor of the Ferdinand–Isabelian cause against Islam.

There are four offices known nowadays.10 The authors are the Mercedarian bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo, Fray Diego de Muros (1405–1492), the Hieronymite archbishop of Granada, Fray Hernando de Talavera and an anonymous author associated with the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, who used the text composed by the latter as a base for his own. We have no doubt of the direct participation of Talavera and Muros in the war of Granada; as to the anonymous author, we suspect that, if he did not play an active role in the conflict, he was close to it, perhaps as secretary of Cardinal Mendoza.

Diego de Muros wrote his Officium exaltationis fidei […] pro victoria civitatis et Regni Granate months before his death (9 December 1492). We can find it as an appendix in the Breviarium ad ritum et consuetudinem almae Compostellanae ecclesiae (Breviarium 1497, ff. 185−189),11 printed in Lisbon in 1497, probably thanks to the efforts of his homonymous nephew, dean of the cathedral of Santiago and founder of the Hospital de los Reyes Católicos (Hospital of the Catholic Monarchs) (Rodríguez Carrajo 1963, p. 326). The Office consists of I Vespers, Matins, Lauds, Terce, Sexta, Nona and II Vespers. The music to sing this Office is found in Cantoral 22 of the Cathedral of Santiago (Castillo-Ferreira 2016, p. 312).

The second is part of the Breviarum Compostellanum printed in Salamanca in 1569 (Breviarium 1569, ff. 317−320v). The liturgical calendar present in the volume shows that the Office was to be recited on January 2 to commemorate the Capitulation of Granada. There are no studies of this text, and it has not been put in relation with the rest of the Offices of the Capitulation. Comparing the 1569 text with the one published in 1497 suffices to ascertain that the latter one is an adaptation of the one penned by Diego de Muros. The importance of this Office lies in the fact that, in spite of the prohibitions of the Council of Trent pertaining to the liturgical commemoration of particular events (St. Pius 1568), the Cathedral Chapter of Santiago was able at least to ignore the request of Saint Pius V and continue celebrating the Capitulation of Granada with this liturgical office.

The third of the Oficios is written by Talavera himself. Talavera confirms his authorship of the Office in a letter dated 1493, addressed to Queen Isabella, where he presents it to her (la muy excelente vittoria y digna de inmortal memoria que Nuestro Señor dio al Rey don Alfonso XI […] cerca del rio que dicen del Salado—the very excellent vittoria and worthy of immortal memory that Our Lord gave to King Don Alfonso XI […] near the river they say of the Salado). Therein he exclaims:

¡o que si viese vuestra muy excelente devotion el officio de vuestra dedition de Granada! que no le publico ni comunico hasta que le vea ni ge lo enbio porque no le debe ver sin que yo sea presente para le dar razon de cada cosa y cosa contenida en él.

(Rodríguez Valencia 1970, p. 39)

[If only you, most devout lady, could see the Office of your Capture of Granada! I do not want to publish it nor make it known until I see you, now do I want to send it to you, for you should not see it without me being present so that I can explain to you each and every thing contained in it].

The Office, composed by Talavera, was entitled In festo deditionis nominatissime urbis Granate (Figure 10). There is an extant copy at the General Archive of Simancas,12 which contains the text of the sung parts and the prayers and also the text of the lessons or sermon. Likewise, the so−called Libro de Santa Fe (Book of Santa Fe) has also come down to us, preserved in the musical archive of the collegiate Church of Santa Fe (Talavera s/d, ff. 25−41).13 Dated 1507, it only contains the text and music of the sung parts. It is addressed to the members of the choir (Ramos 2003). The Office consists of Vespers I, Matins, Lauds, Terce, Sexta, Nona Vespers II, and the composition of a votive Mass of the Capitulation, a novelty in comparison to the other two Offices. It enjoyed such broad diffusion that it was probably sung at the English court, brought over by Catalina de Aragón (Vega García-Ferrer 2004, pp. 12–13).

Fray Hernando’s Office served as the basis for the fourth Office, preserved in the Chapter Archives of Santiago.14 It figures with two titles. The first one, on the inside cover, reads in Spanish: Reço antiguo de la fiesta de Granada (Folgado García and Ruiz Torres 2020, p. 177). The second title, at the beginning of the text, is Officium diei festi deditionis Granate (Folgado García and Ruiz Torres 2020, p. 177). The Office is written in a parchment book twenty-seven pages long. It has at its base Talavera’s text, but with the following original parts added: for Matins, part of Lessons II, V and VI, and Lesson III in its entirety; and for the Mass itself, the super oblata prayer and the post−communion prayer. Another original feature with respect to Talavera is the fact that most of the liturgical texts—that is, all except for the lessons, the biblical texts and the prayers of the Mass—are set to music. Finally, the Office comes preceded by a synthetic “Introduction” ut legentes hoc officium, absent in Talavera’s version.

Lesson III highlights the importance of Cardinal Mendoza in the Capitulation of Granada.15 Although the author of the Office is unknown to us, we could tentatively posit, based on the mention of the Hyspaniarum cardinali Petro videlicet de Mendoca and its preservation at the cathedral of Santiago, that the material or intellectual author might have been the nephew of the aforementioned bishop, Diego de Muros, also called Diego de Muros. The latter was Mendoza’s personal secretary and, therefore, a personal witness to his master’s participation in the Granada War; moreover, he was connected to the Jacobean cathedral. Just like Mendoza, Diego de Muros might have first come upon the text of Talavera’s Office of the Capitulation in Granada, which might have, in turn, prompted him to adapt it for the cathedral choir of Santiago (Figure 11).

The lesson of the Jacobean text (Lectio III) also establishes a parallelism between Emperor Eraclio and the War of Granada, as was the case in the Roman Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. It also highlights the actions of both the Catholic Monarchs and Cardinal Mendoza:

Regis christianissimi atque victoriosissimi: qui velut alter imperator Eracleus, fide catholica flagrans: vexillum sancte crucis in cunctis urbibus regni Granate primum, et hodie in capite earum supra altissima eius urbis Menia: cum honore maximo fecit exaltari. Regis clarissimi, pulcri aspectus et optime fortunati: qui similis inclito Godofredo Gallie comiti, ac primo regi Iherosolimorum: cum magno religionis fervore illustrissimo Iohanne primogenito suo carissimo, ac nobili Hyspaniarum cardinali Petro videlicet de Mendoca: ecclesie presule Tolletane multisque prelatis, ac militarium ordinum magistris: suorumque regnorum ac dominorum non paucis magnatibus, ducibus: marchionibus, et comitibus: aliisque baronibus constipatus: nostram Iherososolimam (sic): urben (sic) videlicet Granatam, sumo ac immortali Deo et corone regni sui: triumphaliter et victoriosissime hodierna die vendicavit.

(Folgado García and Ruiz Torres 2020, p. 183)

[To the most Christian and victorious king, who, like the second emperor Heracles, was ardent in the Catholic faith. He raised the banner of the holy cross first in all the cities of the kingdom of Granada, and nowadays, with the greatest honor, at the head of them all, on the most illustrious city of Menia. You, most illustrious, comely, and blessed king, who resembles the renown Godfrey, Count of Gaul and first king of Jerusalem: with great religious fervor, the illustrious John, his most beloved son, and the noble Cardinal of Spain, namely, Pedro de Mendoza, the ecclesiastical prefect of Toledo and of many prelates, and masters of the military orders, and of their kingdoms and lords, which includes not a few magnates, dukes, marquises and counts, and other barons—he seized our Jerusalem, that is, the city of Granada, and claimed it triumphantly and most victoriously on behalf of the immortal God, the crown of his kingdom].

In all the above-mentioned offices, the Catholic Monarchs act as protagonists chosen by divine providence to restore the true faith in Granada (García-Arenal 2014). The liturgical text written by the bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo underscores the importance of Cardinal Mendoza.16 The Office of the Cathedral of Santiago is, in our opinion, the most complete at a propagandistic level because, in addition to the Catholic Monarchs and Cardinal Mendoza, it also includes Prince John (illustrissimo Iohanne primogenito), deemed the future restorer of the longed-for unity of the Iberian kingdoms. Perhaps the prophecy written by the Franciscan Amadeo in his Apocalypsis nova, mentioned above, lies behind this affirmation.

Each of the characters that appear in the Compostelan office is concrete embodiment of the ideal represented by the likes of Zerubbabel, Heracles or Godfrey “the Gaul” because they were able to introduce again the true faith, symbolically represented by the placement of a cross on the highest point of the city of the Alhambra, the new Jerusalem of Granada, thanks to Fray Hernando de Talavera.

5. Conclusions

The Capitulation of Granada had an international echo beyond our borders. It brought to an end the Holy War against Muslims, who were eventually expelled from the Iberian Peninsula under Christian rule over a century later. The Reconquest had been completed. This fact had repercussions in the arts, as illustrated by the choir stalls of the Cathedral of Toledo and the composition of liturgical offices to commemorate it. The choir stalls and the Divine Office were both conceived as memorials to God’s intervention on behalf of his people in the face of an Islamic enemy.

If in Toledo, the Fall of Granada was visually memorialized in the cathedral choir and in the cathedrals of Santiago, Burgos and Granada, that same feat was annually commemorated in liturgical form on January 2. The Conquest of Granada also became a source of artistic creativity beyond the Pyrenees, as illustrated in Rome in the iconographic program of the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, a story fully retold in images across the apse. It was interpreted as part of God’s salvific design for Spain on behalf of the whole world. The same providentialist sense of the Hispanic monarchy inspired the construction of the Franciscan monastery of San Pietro in Montorio. This was aided by the messianic prophecies of Blessed Amadeo. The works in both religious buildings—the basilica and the monastery—were supervised by the future Cardinal Bernardino de Carvajal.

The artistic representations of the War of Granada in Spain and Italy served as visual panegyrics to their protagonists: Queen Isabella, King Ferdinand and Cardinal Pedro González de Mendoza. Music, literature, architecture, sculpture and painting served to narrate the deeds that these characters carried out so that the cross would once again rule over Granada—the New Jerusalem of these artistic representations.

While these visual artists retold the story of Granada’s fall in sculpture, painting and architecture, some ecclesiastics did the same by means of the Divine Office. Fray Hernando de Talavera stood out among them. As a confessor of the Queen and a companion of both King Ferdinand and Cardinal Mendoza, he had witnessed firsthand the Capitulation of Granada. He had been in charge of administering the Nasrid Kingdom in the immediate aftermath of its conquest. Therein lies the importance of the writing of the Office, which he described to Queen Isabella as “el Officio de vuestra dedition de Granada”. This Office had undeniable connections with the Office of the Cathedral of Santiago discussed above, although we cannot affirm with absolute certainty that he was its author. In any case, we know that the Office was composed to be recited on January 2nd in commemoration of Granada’s Deditio.

As we have been able to observe, the four offices jointly chronicle the Capitulation of Granada in a belligerent, religious and providentialist language that aspires to prolong itself in time by means of liturgical prayer. Like the images of the low choir stalls of Toledo, the chants of the clergy in the cathedral choirs of Granada, Santiago and Burgos—annually celebrating the glories of the “divine war” of Granada—were meant to serve as a reminder for future generations of the victory of the cross over Granadine Islam and to show that divine providence always favored its people. The liturgy was meant to exalt God’s grandeur but also to glorify and “sanctify” such protagonists of God’s actions in history as the Hispanic monarchy.