Anxiety of Influence in Medieval Seville: Reexamining Hierarchal Concepts of Style in the Alc�zar

Abstract

Fourteenth-century Iberia was a complicated and intricate place of intertwining cultural and religious entities; this mingling is particularly evident in the architecture of the Kingdom of Castile. In 1364, Pedro of Castile began a new renovation on the Real Alc�zar in Seville that included the addition of the famous Courtyard of the Maidens. More than a hundred years after the fall of Muslim Seville to the Christian Castilians, Pedro chose to emulate an architectural style commonly attributed to the Islamic aesthetics of the Nasrid Kingdom. Pedro�s allusions to the Alhambra are not only visible in the form of stylistic references; he cites the Alhambra enigmatically as well. One example is the Arabic incantation found on the walls of the Alc�zar of Seville: Wa la ghalib ill Allah��There is no conqueror but God.� This same incantation is repeated countlessly on the walls of Muhammad V�s Alhambra, as it is the Nasrid motto. This project investigates the overt references by Pedro to the aesthetics of the Nasrid Kingdom; it also explores the Alc�zar as a microcosm of political commerce and power in fourteenth-century Seville. More specifically, it challenges previous assumptions that Pedro�s designs were �influenced� by Muhammad V�s contemporary renovations of the Alhambra. Through an analysis of primary visual and secondary textual material, this project elucidates how the design and construction of the Alc�zar reflect the cultural and religious climate of fourteenth-century Seville. Finally, I aim to unravel the intricate and tangled alliance between Muhammad V and Pedro of Castile in order to reveal connections between the stylistic commerce in their renovations and the political commerce present in their alliance.