Christ of the Light or
Cristo de la Luz is the only of the ten former mosques of
ToledoToledo is a municipality located in central Spain, 70 km south of Madrid. It is the capital of the province of Toledo and of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha...
which remains largely as it was in the
MoorishAl-Andalus was the Arabic name given to the parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Arab and North African Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492....
period. It was then known as
Mezquita Bab-al-Mardum, deriving its name from the city gate
Bab al-MardumThe Puerta Bab al-Mardum or Puerta Valmarón is a city gate of Toledo, Spain. It was built in the 10th century and is probably the oldest gate of the city. Its name 'mardum' is Arabic for 'blocked up'. Perhaps because its function was taken over by the Puerta del Sol. The Spanish name Valmarón is a...
. It is located near the
Puerta del SolPuerta del Sol is a city gate of Toledo, Spain, built in the 13th century by the Knights Hospitaller.The medallion above the arch of the gate depicts the ordination of the Visigothic Ildephonsus, Toledo's patron saint...
, in an area of the city once called Medina where wealthy Muslims used to live.
The mosque is a small building measuring about 8 x 8m.
Discussion
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Christ of the Light or
Cristo de la Luz is the only of the ten former mosques of
ToledoToledo is a municipality located in central Spain, 70 km south of Madrid. It is the capital of the province of Toledo and of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha...
which remains largely as it was in the
MoorishAl-Andalus was the Arabic name given to the parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Arab and North African Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492....
period. It was then known as
Mezquita Bab-al-Mardum, deriving its name from the city gate
Bab al-MardumThe Puerta Bab al-Mardum or Puerta Valmarón is a city gate of Toledo, Spain. It was built in the 10th century and is probably the oldest gate of the city. Its name 'mardum' is Arabic for 'blocked up'. Perhaps because its function was taken over by the Puerta del Sol. The Spanish name Valmarón is a...
. It is located near the
Puerta del SolPuerta del Sol is a city gate of Toledo, Spain, built in the 13th century by the Knights Hospitaller.The medallion above the arch of the gate depicts the ordination of the Visigothic Ildephonsus, Toledo's patron saint...
, in an area of the city once called Medina where wealthy Muslims used to live.
Architecture
The mosque is a small building measuring about 8 x 8m. Four columns capped with Visigothic capitals divide the interior into nine compartments. Above these are nine vaults, each with a distinctive design.
Behind this square section, a
MudéjarMudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Christian territory after the Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
semi-circular apse contains frescoes of Pantocrator and the Tetramorphs.
History
An inscription written with brick in Kufic script on the south-west facade reveals the details of the mosque's foundation:
- Bismala (in the name of Allah). Ahmad ibn Hadidi had this mosque erected using his own money requesting a reward in paradise for it from Allah. It was completed with the aid of Allah under the direction of Musa ibn Alí, architect and Sa'ada, and concluded in Muharraq in the year 390. (13th December 999 – 11 January 1000 AD)
According to legend, when King
Alfonso VIAlfonso VI , nicknamed the Brave or the Valiant, was King of León from 1065, king of King of Castile and de facto King of Galicia from 1072, and self-proclaimed "Emperor of all Spain"...
entered Toledo in conquest in 1085, his horse knelt before the door of the mosque. A shaft of light guided the king to a figurine of the crucified Christ which had been hidden for centuries. He left his shield there with the inscription, "This is the shield which the King Alfonso VI left in this chapel when he conquered Toledo, and the first mass was held here".
In 1186, Alfonso VIII gave the building to the Knights of the Order of St John, who established it as the Chapel of the Holy Cross (
Ermita de la Santa Cruz). They extended it by adding the apse.
External links
See also
- Mezquita de las Tornerias
The Mezquita de las Tornerías is a mosque in Toledo, Spain. It was built in the middle of the 11th centuryThe mosque was built after the example of the Mosque of Cristo de la Luz...
- Former mosque Al-Dabbagin
The San Sebastian is one of the oldest churches of Toledo, Spain. It once was close to the former city gate called "Bab-al-Dabbagin" also known by its Spanish name as "Puerta de los Curtidores" . Archeological research shows that it was originally built as a mosque in the 10th century, and enlarged...