Irene+Rodríguez+-+Webquest

This page has been created by Irene Rodríguez Pérez.


 * Questions

1. What marks the differences between a civil and a religious building?**

The difference between a civil and a religious building is that the first one is built for acommodation (usually important people lived in them), military issues, entertainment or they can also be used as museums; and a religious building is used for praying, celebrating mass, weddings and baptisms, or as the place where monks and nuns live (monasteries or convents).


 * 2. Make a list of the most important civil buildings and another of the most important religious buildings in the city that you can still see today.**

Civil buildings - Casa y Torre de los Lujanes - Plaza Mayor - Museo de San Isidro - Palacio de los Consejos

Religious buildings - Iglesia de San Pedro el Viejo - Basilica de San Andres - Basilica de San Miguel - Capilla de San Isidro - Capilla del Obispo - Colegio Imperial de los Jesuitas - Monasterio e Iglesia de San Jeronimo el Real - Parroquia de San Gines


 * Answer the following questions for each of the buildings that you mention on your list.**
 * 3. What function did the civil buildings have? What were they used for?**

The Casa y Torre de los Lujanes was built to be the home of that family. They lived there until the eighteen century. It was also used as an optical telegraph station because it was one of the highest buildings in Madrid.

When the Plaza Mayor was called plaza del Arrabal, the main market of Madrid was located there. Then, it changed its name, and was used as a bullring, as the place where "Autos de Fe" were made, and as a trading place.

The aim of the Museo de San Isidro was to house the Nunciature Tribunal. Then it became the acommodation of the Counts of Paredes. Now it is used as an archeological museum where exhibitions and conferences are made.

The Palacio de los Consejos was built as a residence for the Dukes of Uceda. But when Philip III died, the palace was used by the Royal Treasury. It became home of some nobles, such as Mariana of Austria. Nowadays, it is used as the Council of State and the General Headquarters of Madrid.


 * 4. What function did the religious buildings have? What were they used for?**

The Iglesia de San Pedro el Viejo was built for worship and celebrating mass.

The Basilica of San Andres was built in honour of San Andres. Inside the Basilica people can pray to God, to Virgin Mary and to the Saints.

The Basilica de San Miguel was built to worship three Spanish Saints. But then, San Miguel was the only one that remained in the basilica. In the twentieth century, the Opus Dei took the temple.

The Capilla de San Isidro was built to place the remains of Saint Isidro, so people could pray and worship him.

At first, the Capilla del Obispo was built to house Saint Isidro's remains. As it didn't, the Vargas, who were the ones who ordered to build it, used the church as their family vault.

In the Colegio Imperial de los Jesuitas they teached grammar, rhetoric and theology. Nowadays, the instituto de bachillerato de San Isidro is located in its place.

The Monasterio e Iglesia de San Jeronimo el Real was a monastery. The royal family went to live there and the monks moved to other monastery. Nowadays, the only part that remains is the church, where they celebrate royal weddings and other important events.

The Parroquia de San Gines was used by the residents of Arenal street to get together and pray to good.


 * 5. Who ordered and paid for the construction of the civil buildings? Why?**

The Casa y Torre de los Lujanes was ordered and paid by Alvaro Lujan because he wanted to build a house for his family and his descendants.

The Plaza Mayor was ordered and paid by Philip III because the Plaza del Arrabal was old and he wanted to change it.

The Museo de San Isidro was ordered and paid by the Lujan family because the Court was established in Madrid.

The Palacio de los Consejos was ordered and paid by the Dukes of Uceda because it was going to be their home.


 * 6. Who ordered and paid for the construction of the religious buildings? Why?**

The rebuilding of the Iglesia de San Pedro el Viejo was ordered and paid by Lorenzo Reinoso, archbishop of Brindis, because it was very old.

The Basilica de San Andres was rebuilt, and a new temple was formed, because it was ruined. But we don't know exactly who ordered and paid to rebuild it.

The rebuilding of the Basilica de San Miguel was ordered and paid by the cardinal and prince Luis Antonio de Borbon y Farnesio, archbishop of Toledo, because the old building was burned.

The Capilla de San Isidro was ordered and paid by the cities of the Spanish reign because the wanted a place to house the remains of San Isidro.

The Capilla del Obispo was ordered and paid by Francisco de Vargas for housing the remains of San Isidro before they went to the Basilica de San Andres.

The Colegio Imperial de los Jesuitas was ordered and paid by the count of Feria because he wanted to establish a Jesuit school in Madrid.

The Iglesia de San Jeronimo el Real was ordered and paid by Enrique IV because the road to El Pardo was near.

The Parroquia de San Gines was ordered and paid by Diego de San Juan because he was a rich parish priest and he was a pious person.


 * Considering the buildings that you have studied, write a small composition (20 lines) in which you explain:**
 * 1. In what ways society organized in Madrid during the Modern Age?**
 * 2. What did the people who built the buildings hope to show with their structures?**
 * 3. What role did religion play in 16th and 17th century society? Was it a private and personal matter? Or, was it related to social status?**
 * Give your personal opinion, but support it using the buildings and exampled what you have studied to defend your ideas.**

During the Modern age, society was organized in three estates. The privileged ones were the clergy (parish priests, bishops, cardinals...) and the nobles, who paid for the construction of a lot of buildings, and the rest of the population, the workers, were the non privileged estate. It included craftsmen and peasants. That system was called Feudalism, in which a Feudal Lord owned a huge amount of land, often with a big castle inside it, and the non privileged estate worked in his land or hunted for him... As nobles and clergy were the privileged estates, they didn't pay taxes and they held the best positions in government. And the non privileged estate paid a lot of taxes, they paid the tithe to the church (that was the ten percent of their crops), and they paid the nobles in exchange of protection. They couldn't own lands and they had to work on the nobles' lands and pay to use the nobles' mill. An example of a noble family were the Lujan family. They paid for the building of the Casa y Torre de los Lujanes to show everybody that they could have a big house because they had a lot of money to pay for it - and made the rest of the people think that they didn't. An example of a glergyman that paid for a building was Luis Antonio de Borbon y Farnesio (Archbishop of Toledo), who paid for the reconstruction of the Basilica de San Miguel. In this case, he probably built the basilica to have a place in which people could pray and worship the saints or God, because he had a strong faith and wanted to share it with everyone. Religion was very important during that period and a lot of religious buildings were constructed, like the Capilla de San Isidro, or rebuilt, like the Basilica de San Miguel. In Madrid, most of the people were Catholics and they went to mass and often visited churchs to pray and worship the saints or God. Religion wasn't related to the estate which people belonged to. But they couldn't choose which religion they wanted to practise - in Madrid, and in the whole Spain, they could only be Catholics. Some jews and muslims acted as if they had converted, but they still practised their religions secretly. The Tribunal of the Inquisition was created, an institution that persecuted people who said they had converted to Christianism and wasn't true. Moriscos were one of the most persecuted groups. They were Catholics, but were descendants of muslim families, so they weren't accepted in society. They made "Autos de Fe" in the Plaza Mayor to interrogate posible Jews and Moriscos, and prove if they were Catholics or not. Sometimes they even torured them. So I think that in that time, religion wasn't a personal matter. People had no choice and must converted to Catholicism or be persecuted, tortured and interrogated for all their lives.