numents within the
cathedral are of considerable artistic and historical interest. The chapel
of Corpus Christi contains the chest which the Cid is said to have filled
with sand and subsequently pawned for a large sum to the credulous Jews of
Burgos. The legend adds that he redeemed his pledge. In the aisleless
Gothic church of Santa Agueda, or Santa Gadea, tradition relates that the
Cid compelled Alphonso VI. of Leon, before his accession to the throne of
Castile in 1072, to swear that he was innocent of the murder of Sancho his
brother and predecessor on the throne. San Esteban, completed between 1280
and 1350, and San Nicolas, dating from 1505, are small Gothic churches,
each with a fine sculptured doorway. Many of the convents of Burgos have
been destroyed, and those which survive lie chiefly outside the city. At
the end of the Paseo de la Isla stands the nunnery of Santa Maria la Real
de las Huelgas, originally a summer palace (_huelga_, "pleasure-ground") of
the kings of Castile. In 1187 it was transformed into a Cistercian convent
by Alphonso VIII., who invested the abbess with almost royal prerogatives,
including the power of life and death, and absolute rule over more than
fifty villages. Alphonso and his wife Eleanor, daughter of Henry II. of
England, are buried here. The Cartuja de Miraflores, a Carthusian convent,
founded by John II. of Castile (1406-1454), lies 2 m. south-east of Burgos.
Its church contains a monument of exceptional beauty, carved by Gil de
Siloe in the 15th century, for the tomb of John and his second wife,
Isabella of Portugal. The convent of San Pedro de Cardena, 7 m. south-east
of Burgos, was the original burial-place of the Cid, in 1099, and of
Ximena, in 1104. About 50 m. from the city is the abbey of Silos, which
appears to have been founded under the Visigothic kings, as early as the
6th century. It was restored in 919 by Fernan Gonzalez, and in the 11th
century became celebrated throughout Europe, under the rule of St Dominic
or Domingo. It was reoccupied in 1880 by French Benedictine monks.

The known history of Burgos begins in 884 with the foundation of the
citadel. From that time forward it steadily increased in importance,
reaching the height of its prosperity in the 15th century, when,
alternately with Toledo, it was occupied as a royal residence, but rapidly
declining when the court was finally removed to Madrid in 1560. Being on
one of the principal military roads of the king