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The Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes was founded by King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile to commemorate both the birth of their son, Prince John, and their victory at the Battle of Toro (1476) over the army of Afonso V of Portugal. Afonso V defended the claims of Juana (Jane) la Beltraneja to the throne of Castilla against Isabel la Catolica, daughter of King John II (Juan) of Castilla, sister of Enrique IV (Henry), who disputed that Juana was a legitimate daughter.

This monastery was initially named "San Juan de la Reyna“ and was conceived to be the mausoleum of the Catholic Monarchs. They would change their plans later, choosing Granada as their burial place, after its reconquest in 1492. They were actually buried in the Chapel Royal of Granada Cathedral.

Statue of Isabel la Catolica in front of the Monastery

Prince John of Portugal also celebrated his victory over the Castilian army of the Catholic monarchs with a solemn procession on each anniversary of the battle. This apparent contradiction was a consequence of the indecisive military outcome of the battle: the troops under Afonso V broke while the forces led by Prince John of Portugal defeated the Castilian right wing and remained in possession of the battlefield

Undoubtedly, the battle of Toro (1476) represented a decisive political victory for the Catholic Monarchs, assuring them the throne and paving the way for the future united kingdoms of Spain. As summarized by the Spanish academic historian Rafael Casas:"...San Juan de los Reyes resulted from the royal will to build a monastery to commemorate the victory in a battle with an uncertain outcome but decisive, the one fought in Toro in 1476, which consolidated the union of the two most important Peninsular Kingdoms.”

The cloister has a small garden. The ground floor's ceiling is formed of German cross vaults set with figures of saints interspersed with animal and plant motifs, all created by the Toledo sculptor Cecilio Béjar in the 20th century

The term gargoyle is most often applied to medieval work, but throughout all ages some means of water diversion, when not conveyed in gutters, was adopted.

Toledo was chosen as the site for building the monastery due to its central geographic location and because it had been the capital of the ancient Visigoth kingdom, symbolically reconstituted by Isabella and Ferdinand with the restoration of the lost unity of Spain, through the union of Castile with Aragon

The monastery's construction began in 1477 following plans drawn by architect Juan Guas, and was completed in 1504. It was dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist for use by Franciscan friars.

In 1809 the monastery was badly damaged by Napoleon's troops during their occupation of Toledo, and abandoned in 1835.

Restoration began in 1883 but was not completed until 1967

The monastery, an example of Gothic style with Spanish and Flemish influences was restored to the Franciscan order in 1954.

Many medieval cathedrals included gargoyles and chimeras. (The most famous examples are those of Notre Dame de Paris).

Although most have grotesque features, the term gargoyle has come to include all types of images. Some gargoyles were depicted as monks, or combinations of real animals and people, many of which were humorous

Both ornamented and unornamented water spouts projecting from roofs at parapet level were a common device used to shed rainwater from buildings until the early eighteenth century.

From that time, more and more buildings bought drainpipes to carry the water from the guttering roof to the ground and only very few buildings using gargoyles were constructed. This was because some people found them frightening, and sometimes heavy ones fell off, causing damage.

Gargoyles were viewed in two ways by the church throughout history. Often gargoyles were used to assist the Church in conveying messages to the common people. Since literacy was uncommon, images were the best way to constantly convey ideas. Gargoyles were used as a representation of evil.

It is thought that they were used to scare people into coming to church, reminding them that the end of days is near

It is also thought that their presence assured congregants that evil is kept outside of the church’s walls

However, some medieval clergy viewed gargoyles as a form of idolatry. In the 12th century a church leader named St. Bernard of Clairvaux was famous for speaking out against gargoyles: What are these fantastic monsters doing in the cloisters before the eyes of the brothers as they read? What is the meaning of these unclean monkeys, these strange savage lions, and monsters? To what purpose are here placed these creatures, half beast, half man, or these spotted tigers? I see several bodies with one head and several heads with one body. Here is a quadruped with a serpent's head, there a fish with a quadruped's head, then again an animal half horse, half goat... Surely if we do not blush for such absurdities, we should at least regret what we have spent on them.

According to Lester Burbank Bridaham, writing in Gargoylaes, Chimeres and the Grotesque in French

Gothic Sculpture, "There is much symbolism in the sculpture of [the Gothic] period; but we must be wary of reading in too much meaning.”

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Presentation: Sanda Foişoreanu

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