With the exception of Oviedo, all the bishoprics in
this group fall under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Burgos. The
two finest Gothic temples in Northern Spain pertain to this group:
Burgos and Leon.

There is, however, but little uniformity in this northern region, for
Santander and Vitoria have but little in common with the remaining sees.

(3) _Western Castile._ A certain degree of uniformity is seen to exist
among the sees of Western Castile, namely, the warlike appearance of the
Byzantine Romanesque edifices. Besides, the use of sandstone and brick
is here universal, and the immense plain of Old Castile to the north of
the Sierra de Gata, and of Northern Extremadura to the south of the same
range, have a peculiar ruddy aspect, dry and Oriental (African?), that
is perfectly delightful.

The sees to the north of the mentioned mountain chain belong to
Valladolid; those of the south to Toledo.

(4) _Eastern Castile_ extends from Valladolid in the north
(archbishopric) to Toledo in the south (archbishopric), from Avila in
the west to Sigueenza in the east, and to Cuenca in the extreme southeast
of New Castile.

* * * * *

In the middle ages the Christian kings of Asturias (Galicia?) grew more
and more powerful, and their territory stretched out to the south and to
the east.

On the Mino River, Tuy and Orense were frontier towns, to populate
which, bishoprics were erected. To the south of Oviedo, and almost on a
line with the two Galician towns, Astorga, Leon and Burgos were strongly
fortified, and formed an imaginary line to the north of which ruled
Christian monarchs, and to the south Arab emirs.

Burgos at the same time served as fortress-town against the rival kings
of Navarra to the north and east; the latter, on the other hand,
fortified the Rioja against Castile until at last it fell into the
hands of the latter. Then Burgos, no longer a frontier town, grew to be
capital of the new-formed kingdom of Castile.

Slowly, but surely, the Arabs moved southwards, followed by the
implacable line of Christian fortresses. At one time Valladolid,
Palencia, Toro, and Zamora formed this line. When Toledo was conquered
it was substituted by Coria, Plasencia, Sigueenza, and, slightly to the
north, by Madrid, Avila, Segovia, and Salamanca. At the same time
Sigueenza, Segovia, Soria, and Logrono formed another strategic line of
fortifications against Aragon, whilst in the west Pla