French Influences on the Toledo Cathedral

Perhaps the most obvious influence of Toledo Cathedral is the Gothic tradition in which it was created. The cathedral’s very first recorded master mason, Martin de la Obra de Sancta Maria de Toledo probably held his position from 1227 to 1234. The beginnings of his designs “are indebted, not to local or Andalusi models, but to Gothic churches north of the Pyrenees”. Nickson argues that “[Martin] must have trained in France, for nothing in [Iberia] would have prepared a local architect for the structural challenges presented by Toledo cathedral’s double aisles”. Martin’s work on the aisles had only “been attempted in… one other building: Beauvais cathedral, in northern France”. Construction of the Beauvais cathedral was actually “stalled in 1232/3,” meaning that “some of its masons [may have] headed to Cathedral in search of work”. In fact, the Toledo Cathedral shows striking similarities to “the French cathedrals of Paris and Bourges. They all consist of five aisles, a double ambulatory and a transept that does not exceed the width of the nave”. If anything, the fact that the Toledo Cathedral was so influenced by the French Gothic tradition and yet still retains elements of Andalusi influence suggests that the builders kept practicality and budget in mind, if not a desire for the melding of traditions.