Art, Liturgy, and Legend in Renaissance Toledo: The Mendoza and the Iglesia Primada

In this text, Lynnette Bosch examines liturgical manuscripts that members of the powerful Mendoza family commissioned for the cathedral of Toledo at a time when it was the symbolic centre of the Spanish nation. Using patronage as a filter, Bosch relates the style, content and function of these lavish manuscripts to the many-sided ritual life of the Cathedral and, beyond that, to its social and political role in efforts to forge Spanish identity in the midst of the Reconquista. Bosch’s study shows that the patrons of the Toledan manuscripts were active proponents both of the Catholic monarchy and of an extraordinary hybrid culture. Although mediaeval legend and history are laced through this coballero culture , Bosch also connects it to the taste and outlook associated with the Renaissance. The book includes a complete catalogue of the Toledan liturgical manuscripts.