ejas_," or chancel screens of wrought iron; but these are nearly
all of a late Renaissance style, and hardly come within the scope
of this volume. The requirements of Spanish cathedrals, too, for
wrought iron screens for all the side chapels, made plenty of work
for the iron masters. In fact, the "_rejeros_," or iron master, was
as regular an adjunct to a cathedral as an architect or a painter.
Knockers were often very handsome in Spain, and even nail heads
were decorated.

An interesting specimen of iron work is the grille that surrounds
the tomb of the Scaligers in Verolla. It is not a hard stiff
structure, but is composed of circular forms, each made separately,
and linked together with narrow bands, so that the construction is
flexible, and is more like a gigantic piece of chain mail than an
iron fence.

Quentin Matsys was known as the "blacksmith of Antwerp," and is
reported to have left his original work among metals to become a
painter. This was done in order to marry the lady of his choice, for
she refused to join her fate to that of a craftsman. She, however,
was ready to marry a painter. Quentin, therefore, gave up his hammer
and anvil, and began to paint Madonnas that he might prosper in his
suit. Some authorities, however, laugh at this story, and claim
that the specimens of iron work which are shown as the early works
of Matsys date from a time when he would have been only ten or
twelve years old, and that they must therefore have been the work
of his father, Josse Matsys, who was a locksmith. The well-cover
in Antwerp, near the cathedral, is always known as Quentin Matsys'
well. It is said that this was not constructed until 1470, while
Quentin was born in 1466.

The iron work of the tomb of the Duke of Burgundy, in Windsor,
is supposed to be the work of Quentin Matsys, and is considered
the finest grille in England. It is wrought with such skill and
delicacy that it is more like the product of the goldsmith's art
than that of the blacksmith.

[Illustration: MOORISH KEYS, SEVILLE]

Another object of utility which was frequently ornamented was the
key. The Key of State, especially, was so treated. Some are nine
or ten inches long, having been used to present to visiting grandees
as typical of the "Freedom of the City." Keys were often decorated
with handles having the appearance of Gothic tracery. In an old
book published in 1795, there is an account of the miraculous Keys
of St. Denis, made of silv