Nominatissima urbs Granate: The Cultural Clash between Islam and Christianity after the Capitulation of the Nasrid Kingdom and Its Repercussions on the Arts

Abstract

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This essay offers a general overview of some of the main artistic, liturgical and musical works inspired by the Capitulation of Granada in favor of the Catholic Monarchs and related to the patronage of Cardinal Pedro González de Mendoza, Cardinal Bernardino López de Carvajal, Archbishop Fray Hernando de Talavera and his circle. Particular attention is paid to the composition of the well-known Oficios de la Toma de Granada (Offices of the Capitulation of Granada). Granada is conceived therein as a New Jerusalem, the center of a mono-religious but multicultural providentialist discourse identified with the Crown of Castile. Such convergent discourses in music, liturgy and the arts, both at the peninsular and European levels, helped turn the nominatissima urbs Granate after the fall of the Nasrid Kingdom in 1492 into an enduring symbol of Hispanic culture.