s, some of which in default of pure workmanship are richly
ornamented, this see of Tuy would have to pass as a very poor one
indeed.

The roof of the building has been added lately, doubtless after one of
the many earthquakes. It is of a simple execution, neither good nor bad,
composed of a series of slightly rounded arches with pronounced ribs.

It is outside, however, that the tourist will pass the greater part of
his time. Unluckily, the houses which closely surround the building
forbid a general view from being obtained of any but the western front,
yet this is perhaps a blessing, for none of the other sides are worthy
of special notice.

As mentioned, the appearance of the church is that of a fortress rather
than of a temple, or better still, is that of a feudal castle. The
crenelated square tower on the western front is heavy, and no higher
than the peaked and simple crowning of the handsome Romanesque window
above the narthex; the general impression is that of resistance rather
than of faith, and the lack of all decoration has caused the temple to
be called sombre.

The handsome narthex, the summit of which is crenelated like the tower,
is the simplest and noblest to be found in Galicia, and is really
beautiful in its original severity. Though dating from a time when
florid ogival had taken possession of Spain, the artist who erected it
(it is posterior to the rest of the building--early fifteenth
century) had the good taste to complete it simply, without
decoration, so as to render it homogeneous with the rest of the
building. It is also possible that there were no funds at hand for him
to erect it otherwise!

[Illustration: TUY CATHEDRAL]

The doors stand immediately behind this narthex. The portal is carved or
decorated in an elaborate late Romanesque style, one of the most richly
ornamented porticos belonging to this school in Spain, and a handsome
page in the history of Galician art in the twelfth century. The low
reliefs above the door and in the tympanum of the richly carved arcade,
are _felt_ and are admirably executed.

The northern entrance to the building is another fine example of
twelfth-century Spanish, or Galician Romanesque. Though simpler in
execution than the western front, it nevertheless is by some critics
considered purer in style (earlier?) than the first mentioned.

The tower which stands to the left of the northern entrance is one of
the few in the Romanesque style to be seen in