Tea at Trianon: Seville Cathedral

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

Seville Cathedral

Let's keep in mind that the mosque had been built over an older Christian Church from the days of the Visigoths. From SUR in English:

The construction of Seville Cathedral began in 1401, over the remains of the city's former aljama mosque - a reflection of Seville's Islamic past. The decision to build a Christian temple of colossal magnitude was intended to demonstrate the power and wealth of the city, which was an important commercial and political centre at the time.

Legend has it that the architects and builders set out to "make a church so big that those who see it finished will think we are mad". It is fair to say that they succeeded. Covering an area of 11,520 square metres, Seville Cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral and the third-largest church in the world, after St Peter's in the Vatican and St Paul's in London.
The exterior of the cathedral is impressive for its size and elaborate Gothic decorations. Its imposing façades are adorned with sculptures of saints, reliefs and decorative elements that show the mastery of the artists of the period. Among its numerous gates, the Puerta del Perdón, the Puerta de la Asunción and the Puerta de San Miguel stand out, each with unique architectural details. (Read more.)