ome the capital of the
kingdom of Asturias. The cathedral church was built on the spot where
Ordono had erected a palace; the first stone was laid in 1199.

The traditions, legends, and historical events which took place in the
kingdom's capital until late in the thirteenth century belong to Spanish
history, or what is known as such. Ordono II. was mysteriously put to
death, by the Counts of Castile, some say; Alfonso IV.--a monk rather
than a king--renounced his right to the throne, and retired to a convent
to pray for his soul. After awhile he tired of mumbling prayers and,
coming out from his retreat, endeavoured to wrest the sceptre from the
hands of his brother Ramiro. But alas, had he never left the cloister
cell! He was taken prisoner by his humane brother, had his eyes burnt
out for the pains he had taken, and died a few years later.

Not long after, Alfonso VII. was crowned Emperor of Spain in the church
of San Isidoro, an event which marks the climax of Leon's fame and
wealth. Gradually the kings moved southwards in pursuit of the
retreating Moors, and with them went their court and their patronage,
until finally the political centre of Castile and Leon was established
in Burgos, and the fate that had befallen Oviedo and Lugo visited also
the one-time powerful fortress of the Roman Legio Septima.

To-day? A dormant city on a baking plain and an immense cathedral
pointing back to centuries of desperate wars between Christians and
Moors; a collegiate church, far older still, which served as cathedral
when Alfonso VII. was crowned Emperor of Spain.

_Pulchra Leonina_ is the epithet applied to the beautiful cathedral of
Leon, dedicated to the Ascension of Our Lady and to Nuestra Senora de la
Blanca.

The first stone was laid in 1199, presumably on the spot where Ordono I.
had erected his palace; the construction of the edifice did not really
take place, however, until toward 1250, so that it can be considered as
belonging to the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries.

"Two hundred years only did the temple enjoy a quiet life. In the
sixteenth century, restorations and additions were begun; in 1631 the
simple vault of the _croisee_ fell in and was replaced by an absurd
dome; in 1694 Manuel Conde destroyed and rebuilt the southern front
according to the style then in vogue, and in 1743 a great number of the
arches of the aisles fell in. Different parts of the building were
continually tumbling down, h