Mozarabic Art (Medieval Studies)

Introduction

Few artistic terms are as contentious as “Mozarabic art,” and some scholars prefer the term “repopulation art.” The word derives from the Arabic must‛arib, which means “Arabized” or “having assimilated Arabic customs.” It was not used widely in the Middle Ages, but from the middle of the 19th century it was employed to denote Christians who lived under Arab rule in al-Andalus. By extension, it was applied to Christians who emigrated to the northern Spanish kingdoms in the 9th and 10th centuries. However, the relationship between the people called Mozarabs and Mozarabic art is not straightforward. The patrons of this art were often, but not always, immigrant Mozarabs, and the origin, confessional affiliation, and training of the artisans and illuminators are even harder to ascertain. These artists are nonetheless visible occasionally through colophons in manuscripts and inscriptions from buildings. Geographically, Mozarabic art occurs almost exclusively within the Iberian peninsula. Very little survives of the art produced by Christians in al-Andalus, regarded as the only “authentic” Mozarabic art by some scholars: one manuscript, the Biblia Hispalense, and two buildings, Santa María de Melque and the rock-cut church at Las Mesas de Villaverde, often identified with Bobastro. In contrast, a substantial body of material, both manuscripts and buildings, still exists in the north of Spain and Portugal. Chronologically, Mozarabic art developed in the 10th century. The manuscripts are occasionally dated, and generally assigned, to the middle or second half of that century, although examples can be found as late as the early 12th century. In contrast, the more problematic architectural canon is traditionally placed in the early decades of the 10th century. In terms of style, Mozarabic art is defined against earlier Asturian and Carolingian art, and against later Romanesque art of the 11th and 12th centuries, and it is equally recognizable. It is also usually studied separately from the Islamic art of al-Andalus and from the “Mudéjar” art produced under Christian rule when the reconquest was gaining speed in the 13th and 14th centuries. The presence of the horseshoe arch might be said to link the manuscript and architectural bodies of material, but its use as a defining feature is complicated by the traditionally held view that it also characterized “Visigothic” art of the 7th century. An awareness of Late Antique architecture and manuscript illumination is apparent across the Mozarabic corpus. Many of the churches even incorporate reused architectural elements (spolia), and several of the manuscripts use banded backgrounds found, for example, in the c. 600 Ashburnham Pentateuch. This did not lead to a derivative art, as Mozarabic manuscripts and buildings frequently exhibit not only a high level of technical skill, but also imaginative invention. The peculiarly Iberian nature of Mozarabic art has entangled it in a range of nationalistic discourses that reflect old divisions between ideas of an essential Hispanic character (Hispanidad) and those that prefer to emphasize its eclectic nature (convivencia). The extent of the dependence of Mozarabic art on Islamic art and its possible transmission to the north remains at the center of this controversy.

General Overviews

There is no up-to-date comprehensive introduction to Mozarabic art that covers both architectural and manuscript production. Arbeiter and Noack-Haley 1999 is a solid introduction to both bodies of material, but it is not up-to-date archaeologically and embodies a very traditional approach. Historiographical positions generated within the peninsula often reflect political stances still raw from the Spanish Civil War and the dictatorship of Franco. Gómez-Moreno 1919 and Gómez-Moreno 1951 remain important surveys of the material, especially of the architecture, perhaps because Gómez-Moreno was the early promotor of the concept of Mozarabic art. Dodds, et al. 2008 and Palol and Hirmer 1967 both extend into earlier and later periods. Dodds and colleagues treats the Mozarabic material as part of a celebration of cultural interaction (convivencia), whereas Palol stated aim was to draw attention to Spanish medieval art, which in the 1960s was still mostly ignored in favor of early medieval art from France and Italy. Walker 2016 offers the reader an alternative narrative based on recent research. Fontaine 1977 emphasizes the architectural evidence, with only brief treatment of manuscripts and luxury arts; Fontaine’s historical context focuses on monastic communities, as does Werckmeister 1993. Carrero and Rico 2015 approaches the corpus of material from a functional point of view.

Arbeiter, Achim, and Sabine Noack-Haley. Christliche Denkmäler des frühen Mittelalters: Vom 8. bis ins 11. Jahrhundert, Hispania antiqua. Mainz, Germany: Verlag Philipp von Zabern, 1999.
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A wide-ranging presentation of the traditional overview for this period. The first part is organized regionally for the architecture, with a final chapter on manuscript and luxury arts; the second is a catalogue with full bibliographies. In German, and few copies available in libraries.
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Carrero, Eduardo, and Daniel Rico. “La organización del espacio litúrgico hispánico entre los siglos VI y XI.” Antiquité Tardive 23 (2015): 239–248.
DOI: 10.1484/J.AT.5.109380Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Addresses the arrangement of liturgical space across the period in question, both in an international context and as a way of engaging in the broader debate. With an up-to-date bibliography.
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Collins, Roger. Early Medieval Spain: Unity in Diversity, 400–1000. New York: St. Martin’s, 1995.
DOI: 10.1007/978-1-349-24135-4Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A clear historical introduction to the Visigothic, Asturian, and Mozarabic periods.
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Dodds, Jerrilynn D., María Rosa Menocal, and Abigail Krasner Balbale. The Arts of Intimacy: Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Making of Castilian Culture. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2008.
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Considers the Mozarabs briefly in the context of convivencia. With a bibliographic essay and no footnotes.
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Fontaine, Jacques. L’art préroman hispanique. 2 vols. La Pierre-qui-Vire, France: Zodiaque, 1977.
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Predominantly an architectural study, with two chapters on manuscripts and one on luxury arts. Puts the case for aesthetic unity in the peninsula led by al-Andalus. Useful review by Otto K. Werckmeister in Speculum (1982), pp. 604–607, in English.
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Gómez-Moreno, Manuel. Iglesias mozárabes: Arte español de los siglos IX-XI. Madrid: Centro de Estudios Históricos, 1919.
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A seminal text that concentrates on architecture, with only brief summaries of luxury and manuscript art.
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Gómez-Moreno, Manuel. Ars Hispaniae: Historia universal de arte hispánico. El arte árabe español hasta los almohades, arte mozárabe, 3. Madrid: Editorial Plus-Ultra, 1951.
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Part of a series, this volume pairs extensive consideration of “Arabic” art in Spain up to the late 12th century with a briefer analysis of Mozarabic art. It includes some valuable early-20th-century photography of buildings and object before more recent damage or restoration. See pp. 355–393, 394–404.
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Palol, Pedro de, and Max Hirmer. Early Medieval Art in Spain. Translated by Alisa Jaffe. London: Thames and Hudson, 1967.
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Hirmer’s photography ensures that this remains a useful introduction, especially to the architecture and luxury arts of the Mozarabic period, but the text, written primarily for the general reader, lacks critical edge. Translated from the German edition of 1965.
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Walker, Rose. Art of Spain and Portugal from the Romans to the Early Middle Ages: Routes and Myths. Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam, 2016.
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An overview that puts Mozarabic art in a broad historical and economic context. The structure is chronological and chapters are dedicated to the Visigothic period, the 8th and 9th centuries, and the 10th century.
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Werckmeister, Otto K. “Art of the Frontier: Mozarabic Monasticism.” In The Art of Medieval Spain, A.D. 500–1200, pp. 121–132. New York: Metropolitan Museum, 1993.
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Addresses the monastic aspect of Mozarabic art, its relationship to Visigothic precedents, and possible Islamic borrowings in the context of migration from al-Andalus to the northern kingdoms.
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Mozarabs and the term “Mozarabic”

These sources consider the advantages, disadvantages, and issues associated with the using the same term, “Mozarab,” for the Christians who came from al-Andalus and for the Mozarabic style found mainly in the north of Spain and Portugal. Hitchcock 2008 examines the identities of two groups of Mozarabs: those who continued to live under Arab rule, and those who emigrated to the north. Christys 2002 builds a view of Mozarabic identity through studies of specific places and texts, whereas Aillet 2010 constructs a wider view of the Mozarabic church and its relations with the surrounding Arab culture. Arce Sainz 2009 and Bango Torviso 2007 are more focused on architecture and methodology; the former draws out the evidence for churches in al-Andalus, but Bango’s article is a polemic against the term “Mozarabic.”

Aillet, Cyrille. Les mozarabes: Christianisme, islamisation et arabisation en péninsule ibérique (IXe-XIIe siècle). Madrid: Casa de Velázquez, 2010.
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An encyclopedic and nuanced study of the history and culture of the Mozarabs, encompassing Arabic glosses in Latin manuscripts, inscriptions, and archaeology.
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Arce Sainz, Fernando. “Propuesta para el estudio de la arquitectura cultual cristiana en al-Andalus.” In Relegados al margen: Marginalidad y espacios marginales en la cultura medieval. Edited by Inés Monteira Arias, Ana Belén Muñoz, and Fernando Villaseñor Sebastián, 31–39. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2009.
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A consideration of the diverse historical contexts that may have determined the architectural production of Mozarabs in al-Andalus.
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Bango Torviso, Isidro. “Un gravísimo error en la historiografía española, el empleo equivocado del término mozárabe.” In Simposio Internacional: El legado de Al-Andalus: El arte andalusí en los reinos de León y Castilla durante la Edad Media, 73–88. Valladolid, Spain: Fundación del Patrimonio Histórico de Castilla y León, 2007.
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A clear and impassioned rejection of the term “Mozarabic.”
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Christys, Ann. Christians in al-Andalus, 711–1000. London: Routledge, 2002.
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Seven essays that examine textual evidence for Mozarabs living under Arab rule.
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Hitchcock, Richard. Mozarabs in Medieval and Early Modern Spain: Identities and Influences. Aldershot, UK, and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2008.
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One of the most forensic studies of “Mozarab” identity.
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Exhibition Catalogues

The Art of Medieval Spain, A.D. 500–1200, the catalogue of an exhibition that never took place at the Metropolitan Museum in New York, is nonetheless an essential work for anyone approaching this field for the first time. It provides an unrivaled survey of the field from the Visigothic to the Romanesque period. Its selection of Visigothic, Islamic, and Mozarabic objects and manuscripts demonstrates clearly the difficulties around the categorization of the former and the stylistic coherence of the latter. Camps 1999, the catalogue of early medieval Catalonian art from the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (MNAC), serves to provide a survey of material from this specific geographic area, nominally under the rule of the Carolingian Empire, but in practice often bound to the Caliphate.

The Art of Medieval Spain, A.D. 500–1200. New York: Metropolitan Museum, 1993.
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This exhibition catalogue is a key work in English for approaching the corpus of works labelled “Mozarabic.” Generous high-quality photography with substantial catalogue entries; nos. 61–85 are in the Mozarabic section.
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Camps, Jordi, ed. Cataluña en la época Carolingia: Arte y cultura antes del románico (siglos IX y X). Barcelona: MNAC, 1999.
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Covers contemporary Catalonian material, especially architecture and sculpture, for the chronological period designated “Mozarabic” in other regions.
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Illuminated Manuscripts

This section is inevitably dominated by the Beatus manuscripts, because of their number and their quality. They feature in all subsections, as well as having a dedicated section with citations for the key foundational texts.

General Overviews

None of these resources give a complete overview of research in this area, but together they introduce the main issues under debate, the origin of the Mozarabic style, the relative importance of possible scriptoria, and the contribution of individual illuminators. Having been identified as a field of study at the beginning of the 20th century, early Spanish manuscript illumination studies quickly focused on the illustrated copies of Beatus of Liébana’s Commentary on the Apocalypse (see Beatus Manuscripts). These codices exemplify the Mozarabic style of illumination at its most accomplished, as can be seen from the illustrations in Mentré 1995. Werckmeister 1965 describes its dependence on line and vibrant color, as well as defining the Mozarabic chord of colors as red, dark blue, dark green, and yellow (see also Werckmeister 1993, cited under General Overviews). The importance of line, the general absence of classical illusionistic techniques, and the use of motifs and designs shared by Islamic art, as discussed in Werckmeister 1965, led earlier researchers in the field to see Mozarabic art as closely linked to the art of al-Andalus. John Williams has consistently argued against this position and in favor of influence from Carolingian manuscripts, especially those from Saint-Martin at Tours (see Williams 1977). The only extant Mozarabic manuscript from al-Andalus, the Biblia hispalense, has yet to receive detailed attention, but it has a useful catalogue entry in The Art of Medieval Spain, A.D. 500–1200 (cited under Exhibition Catalogues); and it is notable for the illusionistic rendering of the symbols of the evangelists in its one surviving canon table, juxtaposed with lively schematic ornament applied to the architectural elements. Nees 2002 provides a broad context, including pre-Carolingian and Carolingian manuscripts. In addition to the Beatus commentaries, the Mozarabic style was employed in many other types of manuscript, including bibles, other commentaries and homilies, liturgical books, church legislation, and saints’ lives. An appendix in Mentré 1995 contains a useful list of the major illuminated books. Williams 1999 summarizes the evidence for Spanish illuminated bibles and for their possible contribution to a revised illuminated version of Beatus’s commentary (Branch II) in the mid-10th century. Named scribes, illuminators, and scriptoria have been identified from lengthy colophons or acrostics. Williams 1977 (see also Beatus Manuscripts) promotes the importance of Castilian Valeránica over the Leonese scriptoria, emphasizing the outstanding quality of the work of the scribe Florentius and his awareness of manuscripts from Tours, contrasting it with the more eclectic and expressive work attributed to Maius from Tábara (León). Equally, Williams and Ann Boylan (in Boylan 2005) argue against the existence of a scriptorium at Silos before the late 11th century. Silva y Verástegui 1999 provides an overview of the scriptorium of San Millán de la Cogolla, a powerful and conservative monastery. Díaz y Díaz 1969 is included here for its in-depth study of manuscript transmission across the peninsula.

Boylan, Ann. “The Silos Beatus and the Silos Scriptorium.” In Church, State, Vellum and Stone. Edited by Therese Martin and Julie A. Harris, 173–205. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2005.
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A summary of the conclusions of Boylan’s doctoral dissertation, arguing against the existence of a scriptorium at Silos before the liturgical change c. 1080.
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Díaz y Díaz, Manuel C. “La circulation des manuscrits dans la Péninsule Ibérique de VIIIe au XIe siècle.” Cahiers de Civilisation Médiévale 12 (1969): 219–241, 383–392.
DOI: 10.3406/ccmed.1969.1488Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An unillustrated study of the transmission of manuscripts.
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Mentré, Mireille. Le peinture mozarabe: Un art chrétien hispanique autour de l’an 1000. Paris: Desclée de Brouwer, 1995.
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Useful for its illustrations and broad approach, but challenged by other studies. Originally published in 1984.
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Nees, Lawrence. Early Medieval Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.
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Only brief references to Mozarabic art (pp. 198–199, 218–219), but valuable for placing it in its international context.
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Silva y Verástegui, Soledad de. La miniatura en el monasterio de San Millán de la Cogolla: Una contribución al estudio de los códices miniados en los siglos XI al XIII. Logroño, Spain: Gobierno de La Rioja, Instituto de Estudios Riojanos, 1999.
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An overview of manuscript illumination in this Navarese scriptorium.
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Werckmeister, Otto K. “Islamische Formen in spanischen Miniaturen des 10. Jahrhunderts und das Problem der mozarabischen Buchmalerei.” In L’Occidente e l’Islam nell’alto medioevo. Vol. 2, 933–967. Settimane di Studio 12. Spoleto, Italy: Centro Italiano di Studi sull’Alto Medioevo, 1965.
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An examination of the possible Islamic contribution to Mozarabic manuscript illumination. In German.
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Williams, John. Early Spanish Manuscript Illumination. New York: George Braziller, 1977.
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A slim volume that introduces the major Mozarabic manuscripts.
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Williams, John. “The Bible in Spain.” In Imaging the Early Medieval Bible. Edited by John Williams, 179–218. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999.
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A clear overview of Mozarabic bible illumination, a subject that is otherwise difficult to access.
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Beatus Manuscripts

One methodological approach dominated in the early years of research into Beatus manuscripts, and it remains important: the construction of stemmata, or family trees, of the manuscripts. These trace the relationships between textual and visual idiosyncrasies and search for the character of the first illustrated codex. Neuss 1931 produced the first version, labeling the two main branches I and II. His version has been nuanced by Klein 1978 and Williams 1994 in different ways. Williams’s introductory volume to his corpus also has chapters on the possible functions of the Beatus codices and on the perceived link to Islamic art.

Klein, Peter K. “La tradición pictórica de los Beatos.” In Actas del Simposio para el estudio de los codices del “Comentario al Apocalipsis” de Beato de Liébana. Vol. 1, 85–106. Madrid: Joyas Bibliográficas, 1978.
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Important for its evaluation of the relationship between the surviving manuscripts, and for a hypothesis regarding lost versions, including the archetype for Branch II manuscripts. Klein’s resulting stemma (family tree) of the manuscripts refines Neuss’s stemma (1931); Williams 1994 offers a third variation.
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Neuss, Wilhelm. Die Apokalypse des hl. Johannes in der altspanischen und altchristlichen Bibel-Illustration. 2 vols. Münster in Westfalen: Aschendorff, 1931.
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One of the seminal German studies on Mozarabic manuscript illumination, focusing on the relationship between imagery in the Beatus apocalypses and those in early Spanish bibles. It has remained a point of reference for both Klein 1978 and Williams 1994.
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Williams, John. The Illustrated Beatus: A Corpus of Illustrations of the Commentary on the Apocalypse. Vol. 1. London: Harvey Miller, 1994.
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This introductory volume has chapters on the illustrated commentary, the uses of the commentary, and its relationship to Islamic art, which for Williams is minimal.
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Catalogues

The three catalogue volumes Williams 1994, Williams 1998, and Williams 2002 are essential for the study of Beatus manuscripts, although the photographs are all reproduced in black and white. The volumes provide a short introductory essay for each codex that summarizes the relevant research issues. The bibliographies are comprehensive, and tables helpfully list the inscriptions that accompany the miniatures and the subject matter of the illustrations, in relation to the text and by location in each manuscript. These volumes are supplemented by the catalogue of the twenty-eight, mostly liturgical, manuscripts in Visigothic script held in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris (Avril, et al. 1983). The Los Beatos exhibition catalogue is limited in scope but helpful, particularly for its good color illustrations.

Avril, François, Jean-Pierre Aniel, Mireille Mentré, Alix Saulnier, and Yolanta Zaluska, eds. Manuscrits enluminés de la Bibliothèque Nationale: Manuscrits de la péninsule ibérique. Paris: Bibliothèque Nationale, 1983.
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Valuable catalogue entries and plates for thirty-one manuscripts written in Visigothic script, including some liturgical and exegetical books (3–27, nos. 3–34). Thirteen were acquired from the abbey of Silos.
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Los Beatos: Europalia 1985 España, Chapelle Nassau, Bibliothèque royale Albert 1er, Bruxelles. Madrid: Biblioteca Nacional, 1985.
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The catalogue of a small exhibition of selected Beatus manuscripts with excellent illustrations in color, short catalogue entries. With essays by Manuel Díaz y Díaz, Luis Vázquez de Parga, and John Williams.
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Williams, John. The Illustrated Beatus: A Corpus of the Illustrations of the Commentary on the Apocalypse. Vol. 2, The Ninth and Tenth Centuries. London: Harvey Miller, 1994.
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This volume catalogues the earliest illuminated Beatus manuscripts from Spain and includes black–and-white photographs of all the images, with lists of the inscriptions that accompany the miniatures, the subjects covered, and a table setting out which illustrations appear in which manuscripts.
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Williams, John. The Illustrated Beatus: A Corpus of the Illustrations of the Commentary on the Apocalypse. Vol. 3, The Tenth and Eleventh Centuries. London: Harvey Miller, 1998.
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This volume continues the catalogue, in the same format, into the first half of the 11th century.
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Williams, John. The Illustrated Beatus: A Corpus of the Illustrations of the Commentary on the Apocalypse. Vol. 4, The Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries. London: Harvey Miller, 2002.
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This volume continues the catalogue, in the same format, including manuscripts in Mozarabic and Romanesque style.
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Facsimiles

Only a few Mozarabic manuscripts have been produced as facsimiles, in most cases Beatus manuscripts. Most facsimiles have commentary volumes, but these can be difficult to access, as few libraries have the resources to purchase facsimiles. A Spanish Apocalypse: The Morgan Beatus Manuscript introduces the reader to the full extent of the invention involved in the new Beatus (Branch II) format in the mid-10th century. El Beato de La Seo de Urgel (S.X) shows how this book developed later in the century, as do Beati in Apocalipsin libri duodecim, Codex Gerundensis and Sancti Beati a Liebana in Apocalypsin Codex Gerundensis, both facsimiles of the Gerona Beatus, which is additionally important for its rich repertory of Islamic motifs, familiar from textiles, metalwork, and ivory. Beatus de Liébana, l’Apocalypse de Jean reproduces folios from a royal manuscript of the mid-11th century, and allows the reader to see some early features associated with Romanesque manuscript illumination alongside the Mozarabic work. Apocalypsis Beati Liebanensis Burgi Oxomensis, a facsimile of the Burgo de Osma Beatus of 1086, offers a full Romanesque example, whereas the digital facsimile, Beatus of Liébana, Commentary on the Apocalypse (The ‘Silos Apocalypse’) provides exceptional access to a manuscript from c. 1109 that is emphatically Mozarabic in style. Facsimiles of other Mozarabic manuscripts are rare, but Liber antiphonarium de toto anni circulo gives the reader an insight into the illumination of the Old Hispanic rite.

Apocalypsis Beati Liebanensis Burgi Oxomensis. 2 vols. Valencia: Vicent García Editores, 1992.
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A facsimile of the Burgo de Osma Beatus of 1086, with a commentary volume including valuable contributions from Serafín Moralejo, Barbara A. Shailor, and John Williams.
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Beati in Apocalipsin libri duodecim, Codex Gerundensis A.D. 975. Madrid: Editora Internacional de Libros Antiguos, Edilan, 1975.
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This is the second facsimile of the Gerona Beatus, produced in 975, probably at Tábara.
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El Beato de La Seo de Urgel (S.X). Edited by Peter K. Klein. Madrid: Testimonio Compania Editorial, 2004.
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A facsimile of the late-10th-century Beatus found in Urgell since the mid-12th century, but probably written in the Kingdom of León, with a commentary.
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Beatus de Liébana, l’Apocalypse de Jean: Splendeur de l’enluminure espagnole du XIe siècle. Translated by Valérie Mailoux. Edited by Jacques Robert. Paris: Editions Catleya, 1998.
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Dedicated to the Facundus Beatus commissioned by Fernando I and Queen Sancha in 1047, this volume, which is not a full facsimile, includes essays by Miguel C. Vivancos, Alberto Iniesta, and Joaquín Yarza Luaces.
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Beatus of Liébana, Commentary on the Apocalypse (The “Silos Apocalypse”). British Library, Digital Manuscripts, Add. MS 11695. London: British Library.
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The British Library has put a full digital copy of the Silos Apocalypse online. The site also offers an extensive bibliography.
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Liber antiphonarium de toto anni circulo a festivitate sancti Aciscli usque in finem: Librum Ikilani Abbati. Cathedralis Ecclesiae Legionensis in Hispania codex signatus Nr. VIII. Edited by Ismael Fernández de la Cuesta. Madrid and León: Ministerio de Cultura y Cabildo de la Santa Iglesia Catedral de León, 2011.
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A low-quality facsimile of one of the most important Mozarabic liturgical manuscripts, most often studied for its music. No commentary.
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Sancti Beati a Liebana in Apocalypsin Codex Gerundensis. Olten and Lausanne: Urs Graf, 1962.
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The first facsimile of the Gerona Beatus (975), with a slim commentary volume including an essay by Wilhelm Neuss.
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A Spanish Apocalypse: The Morgan Beatus Manuscript. New York: G. Braziller, 1991.
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A facsimile of the oldest intact example of Branch II manuscripts, written and illuminated according to its long colophon by the scribe Maius, c. 940–945. Its illuminations are celebrated for their eclecticism and invention, including the introduction of the double-page spread. Introduction and commentaries by John Williams; codicological analysis by Barbara A. Shailor. Published in association with the Pierpont Morgan Library.
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Iconographic and Other Studies

This section groups studies that take early Spanish manuscripts as the starting point for iconographic, iconological, or other focused studies. Klein 1987 and Williams 1992 debate the possible functions of Beatus manuscripts and the reasons for their production, and are best read in conjunction. Meyer Schapiro established the parameters for studies of the iconography of Mozarabic style with his seminal article on the Silos Beatus (Schapiro 1939). Williams 2003 shows how Schapiro’s work continues to be influential; Walker 1998 considers a similar issue alongside a textual and codicological analysis of liturgical manuscripts. The world maps found in several Beatus manuscripts have a rich literature; Saenz-López Pérez 2014 presents a clear overview and a deep analysis in English.

Klein, Peter K. “La function et la ‘popularité’ des Beatus, ou Umberto Eco et les risques d’un dilettantisme historique.” In Études roussillonnaises offertes à Pierre Ponsich. Edited by Marie Grau and Olivier Poisson, 313–325. Perpignan, Francr: Le Publicateur, 1987.
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A key article for examining the likely function of the Beatus manuscripts. Klein favors a liturgical function within the monastic context that produced these codices.
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Saenz-López Pérez, Sandra. The Beatus Maps: The Revelation of the World in the Middle Ages. Burgos, Spain: Siloé, 2014.
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A detailed study of the maps of the world found in Beatus manuscripts. This is a close text and image study that considers the maps in light of the Beatus text and in the context of other medieval mappaemundi.
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Schapiro, Meyer. “From Mozarabic to Romanesque in Silos.” Art Bulletin 21 (1939): 312–374.
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An highly influential article that deals with the iconography of style.
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Walker, Rose. Views of Transition: Liturgy and Illumination in Medieval Spain. London: British Library, 1998.
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A text and image study of Mozarabic liturgical manuscripts and the management of the change from the Old Hispanic to the Roman rite in the late 11th century.
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Walker, Rose. “Beatus by the Waters of Babylon.” In Early Medieval Spain: A Symposium. Edited by Alan Deyermond and Martin Ryan, 129–146. Papers of the Medieval Hispanic Research Seminar 63. London: Queen Mary University, 2010.
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An iconographic study of the figure of Jeremiah in the Beatus and its possible link to laments for the loss of Spain in 711 by 10th-century immigrants to the north.
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Williams, John. “Purpose and Imagery in the Apocalypse Commentary of Beatus of Liébana.” In The Apocalypse in the Middle Ages. Edited by Richard Kenneth Emmerson and Bernard McGinn, 229–230. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992.
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A summary of Williams’s views on the possible function of text and image in Beatus manuscripts.
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Williams, John. “Meyer Schapiro in Silos: Pursuing an Iconography of Style.” Art Bulletin 85 (2003): 442–468.
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Williams responds to Schapiro 1939, and places it in its Marxist context.
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Luxury Arts

Most objects in precious materials, metals, ivories, and silks, possessed by Christians in the north, were produced in al-Andalus. They were brought to the northern kingdoms by a variety of methods, including booty, diplomatic gifts, ransom payments, and trade, according to Constable 1996 and Shalem 1995. Rosser-Owen 2015 adds relic acquisition to this list of means of transmission. In the mid-11th century, such objects may have been included in paria or protection payments made by the Muslim taifa kingdoms to the Christian rulers. The possibility that such objects were occasionally made in the north before the end of the 11th century remains controversial. One case study is given here, on the processional ivory cross from the Navarrese monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla, as explained in Anderson 2014.

Anderson, Glaire. “Sign of the Cross: Contexts for the Ivory Cross of San Millán de La Cogolla.” Journal of Medieval Iberian Studies 6.1 (2014): 15–41.
DOI: 10.1080/17546559.2014.889321Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A historically based study of a large ivory cross carved with animal and vegetal decoration otherwise found on ivories from al-Andalus.
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Constable, Olivia Remie. Trade and Traders in Muslim Spain: The Commercial Realignment of the Iberian Peninsula, 900–1500. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
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A wide-ranging survey of trade in Spain and Portugal over the early and late medieval period.
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Rosser-Owen, Mariam. “Islamic Objects in Christian Contexts: Relic Translation and Modes of Transfer in Medieval Iberia.” Art in Translation 7.1 (2015): 39–63.
DOI: 10.2752/175613115X14235644692275Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An argument for viewing these portable objects from Christian treasuries as part of the translation of relics from the south to the north of the peninsula, and not only as booty or symbols of triumphalism.
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Shalem, Avinoam. “From Royal Caskets to Relic Containers: Two Ivory Caskets from Burgos and Madrid.” Muqarnas 12 (1995): 24–38.
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Shalem presents the Andalusi caskets found in Christian treasuries as spoils of war.
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Architecture

This section is divided to identify not only types of publication and different media, but also key issues, including the disputed boundaries of this field where it abuts Visigothic and Asturian architecture. The last two decades have seen a new emphasis on building archaeology in the Iberian peninsula and on the analysis of building and carving techniques, which is reflected in a separate heading on technical expertise.

General Overviews

Dodds 1990 has set the agenda for more than two decades and continues to be the key text in English. It provides a readable and impassioned introduction to the field that argues for a distinctive Visigothic architecture, limits the use of “Mozarabic” to buildings where the patrons can be securely identified as Mozarab immigrants, and sees minimal input in the 10th century from al-Andalus. In this, Dodds parallels Williams’s view of the relationship between manuscripts and al-Andalus. Bango Torviso 1994 likewise presents the traditional view in an account of “repopulation architecture.” In contrast, Utrero’s publications, some in English, employ more recent building archaeology to revise the canon proposed by Bango and Dodds (see also Journals). Soraluce Blond 2008, a book on restoration, is included here, as the afterlife of buildings is crucial to this debate; information on these later interventions tends to be dispersed, and Soraluce has performed a valuable service by bringing together some of the material.

Bango Torviso, Isidro. “Arquitectura de repoblación.” In Historia del Arte de Castilla y León. Vol. 1, Prehistoria, Edad Antigua y Arte Prerománico. Edited by Alfonso Moure Romanillo, 169–216. Valladolid: Junta de Castila y León, 1994.
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This encapsulates Bango’s argument for the term “repopulation architecture” as part of a wide survey of art and architecture, but restricted to the provinces of Castile and León.
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Dodds, Jerrilynn D. Architecture and Ideology in Early Medieval Spain. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1990.
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This key text presents the traditional view with clarity and verve. Annoyingly information on many individual monuments is given only in the footnotes.
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Soraluce Blond, José Ramón. Historia de la arquitectura restaurada de la Antigüedad al Renacimiento. A Coruña, Spain: Universidad de Coruña, 2008.
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A valuable record of restoration, otherwise difficult to access.
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Uscatescu, Alexandra, and Juan Carlos Ruiz Souza. “‘Orientalismos’ y ‘entaglement’ cultural: Estímulos y desenfoques historiográficos.” Anales de Historia del Arte 22 (2012): 297–308.
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A discussion of the use of classical architectural vocabularies in al-Andalus, and a brief but fervent argument against what is perceived here as a “mozarabista” and Orientalist approach that emphasizes the architectural contribution of al-Andalus over that of the Visigoths. Employs a discussion of the shared use of classical pre-Islamic artistic vocabularies across the Mediterranean.
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Utrero Agudo, María de los Ángeles. Iglesias tardoantiguas y altomedievales en la Península Ibérica: Análisis arqueológico y sistemas de abovedamiento. Anejos de Archivo Español Arqueología 40. Mérida, Spain: CSIC, Instituto de Arqueología, 2006.
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The published version of a doctoral thesis that considers the corpus of Late Antique and early medieval churches in the peninsula through an analysis of their building archaeology and vaulting systems. Includes a helpful short bibliography for each building.
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Utrero Agudo, María de los Ángeles. “Late Antique and Early Medieval Hispanic Churches and the Archaeology of Architecture: Revisions and Reinterpretations of Constructions, Chronologies and Contexts.” Medieval Archaeology 54 (2010): 1–33.
DOI: 10.1179/174581710X12790370815652Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A summary in English of the results of the approach taken by Caballero (see Journals) and Utrero.
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Conference Proceedings

Much of the debate, and most of the challenges to more traditional views, have been published in focused volumes of a supplementary series (Anejos de Archivo Español de Arqueología), based on the conferences on Visigodos y Omeyas (Visigoths and Umayyads), of the Archivo Español de Arqueología, produced under the auspices of the research center Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas in Madrid. Caballero Zoreda and Mateos Cruz 2000 is the volume that sets out the debate for the reader. Caballero Zoreda and Mateos Cruz 2007 discusses much of the sculpture that belongs to Late Antiquity, or to the Visigothic or Umayyad periods, in the Iberian peninsula, but also in Italy for comparative purposes. Caballero Zoreda, et al. 2009 collects together twelve articles, with an introduction and conclusion, to enable the reader to approach this difficult material through studies of epigraphy, royal palaces, urban centers, and rural churches. Caballero Zoreda, et al. 2012 provides the reader with seventeen articles that together place Asturias in a broad historical and cultural context. Although the series focuses on new approaches, it is careful also to include some contrary points of view.

Caballero Zoreda, Luis, and Pedro Mateos Cruz, eds. Visigodos y omeyas: Un debate entre la Antigüedad tardía y la Alta Edad Media: Mérida, 1999. Anejos de Archivo Español de Arqueología 23. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2000.
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A useful collection of conference papers that examine the difficulties of assigning monuments to the Visigothic or Umayyad/Mozarabic periods.
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Caballero Zoreda, Luis, and Pedro Mateos Cruz, eds. Escultura decorativa tardoromano y altomedieval en la Península Ibérica. Anejos de Archivo Español Arqueología 41. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2007.
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This volume includes studies on sculpture that may be “Mozarabic,” although it has traditionally been considered “Visigothic.”
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Caballero Zoreda, Luis, Pedro Mateos Cruz, and María de los Ángeles Utrero Agudo, eds. El siglo VII frente al siglo VII: Arquitectura, Anejos de Archivo Español Arqueología 51. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2009.
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A fairly recent volume of conference papers that presents alternative views of the 7th century and its relation to following centuries.
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Caballero Zoreda, Luis, Pedro Mateos Cruz, and César García de Castro Valdés, eds. Asturias entre visigodos y mozárabes (Visigodos y Omeyas, VI, Madrid 2010). Anejos de Archivo Español de Arqueología 63. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2012.
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A recent volume of conference papers that includes helps to define the boundaries between Asturian and Mozarabic art.
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Studies on Technical Expertise and Reuse (Spolia)

The analysis of building techniques is essential for evaluating the formation of the designers, builders, and decorators of Mozarabic buildings. Bango Torviso 2008 points to the availability of these techniques in Roman and Late Antique buildings, and in those traditionally assigned to the Visigothic period. Caballero Zoreda and Utrero Agudo 2012 questions whether these techniques could be relearned and applied through mere observation, and suggests instead that the artisans may have been trained in al-Andalus. The possible reuse of earlier structures, of marble columns and capitals, and of imitation spolia, is a key feature of Mozarabic building, as it is of Umayyad building in Córdoba, so Greenhalgh 2009, an examination of this phenomenon in a wider context, is included here alongside studies of reuse in the peninsula, as discussed in Utrero Agudo and Sastre de Diego 2012.

Bango Torviso, Isidro. “Los expolios del paisaje monumental y la arquitectura hispana de los siglos VII al XI: Reflexiones sobre el proceso constructivo de San Miguel de Escalada.” De Arte 7 (2008): 7–50.
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A view of the use of spolia that supports Bango Torviso’s view of “repopulation architecture.”
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Caballero Zoreda, Luis, and Fernando Arce Sainz. “Producción decorativa y estratigrafía.” In Escultura decorativa tardoromano y altomedieval en la Península Ibérica. Edited by Luis Caballero Zoreda and Pedro Mateos Cruz, 233–274. Anejos de Archivo Español Arqueología 41. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2007.
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A study of sculptural techniques in the Mozarabic period.
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Caballero Zoreda, Luis, and María de los Ángeles Utrero Agudo. “Una aproximación a las técnicas constructivas de la Alta Edad Media en la Peninsula Ibérica: Entre visigodos y omeyas.” Arqueología de la Arquitectura 4 (2005): 169–192.
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An article that analyzes the differences between the technical expertise available to the Visigoths and that of the Umayyads in Córdoba and the contemporary Christians in the northern kingdoms.
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Caballero Zoreda, Luis, and María de los Ángeles Utrero Agudo. “Cómo funcionaban los talleres constructivos en la alta edad media hispánica.” In Mundos medievales: Espacios, sociedades y poder; Homenaje al Profesor José Ángel García de Cortázar y Ruiz de Aguirre. Edited by Beatriz Arízaga Bolumburu, 427–440. Santander, Spain: Editorial de Universidad de Cantabria, 2012.
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This article examines workshop practice during the Mozarabic period.
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Greenhalgh, Michael. Marble Past, Monumental Present: Building with Antiquities in the Medieval Mediterranean. Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston: Brill, 2009.
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A broad study of the reuse of marble that includes a few references to Mozarabic churches.
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Utrero Agudo, María de los Ángeles. “Reinforcement in Early Medieval Hispanic Architecture.” In Proceedings of the Second International Congress on Construction History. Vol. 3, 3431–3445. Cambridge: Construction History Society, 2006.
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A highly technical study of the mechanisms used to support Mozarabic buildings, and their possible origins.
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Utrero Agudo, María de los Ángeles. “Las estructuras abovedadas en la historia de la arquitectura hispanica tardoantigua y altomedieval.” Anales de Historia del Arte Volumen Extraordinario (2009): 219–232.
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An article on vaulting techniques in Mozarabic churches.
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Utrero Agudo, María de los Ángeles, and Isaac Sastre de Diego. “Reutilizando materiales en las construcciones de los siglos VII-X. ¿Una posibilidad o una necesidad?” Anales de Historia del Arte 22 (2012): 309–323.
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A study of spolia and other reuse in Mozarabic buildings.
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Studies on Individual Buildings

The individual studies included here present buildings from across the peninsula, including two from Portugal: Caballero Zoreda, et al. 2003 and Fernandes 2008. Garen 1992 considers a Christian building in al-Andalus, Santa María de Melque, and concluded that it should be dated in the 8th century on the basis of comparisons with buildings in the Middle East. Caballero Zoreda 2004b and Larrea Conde 2007 address the architecture of Navarre and Álava. Larrea is an important article that has underpinned the dating of surrounding churches in the 9th century. Guardia 2007 and Ito 2005 study two of the most emblematic Mozarabic buildings, San Miguel de Celanova in Galicia and Santiago de Peñalba in El Bierzo, both demonstrating clear interest in Andalusi vaulting techniques.

Caballero Zoreda, Luis. “La iglesia de San Millán de la Cogolla de Suso: Lectura de paramentos 2002.” In Arte medieval en La Rioja: prerománico y románico; VIII Jornadas de Arte y Patrimonio Regional (2002). Edited by Ignacio Gil Diéz Usandizaga, 13–93. Logroño, Spain: Gobierno de La Rioja, Instituto de Estudios Riojanos, 2004a.
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This article concerns the small church of San Millán de la Cogolla on its mountainous site, analyzing its Mozarabic and other phases through building archaeology.
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Caballero Zoreda, Luis, ed. La iglesia de San Pedro de la Nave. Zamora, Spain: Instituto de Estudios Zamoranos, 2004b.
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This book is dedicated to the key monument of San Pedro de la Nave, which used material from the earlier periods, but may have been completed in its current form in the Mozarabic period. It has one of the most important collections of relief sculpture, much of it figurative.
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Caballero Zoreda, Luis, Fernando Arce Sainz, and María de los Ángeles Utrero Agudo. “São Gião de Nazaré (Portugal): Un tipo original de iglesia.” Arqueología de la arquitectura 2 (2003): 75–80.
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The complex archaeology of this Portuguese church is reevaluated. Traditionally assigned to the Visigothic period, it has more than one campaign. Decoratively, it employs both reused architectural elements and new carving.
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Fernandes, Paulo Almeida. “A igreja de São Pedro de Lourosa e a sua relacão com a arte asturiana.” Arqueologia Medieval 10 (2008): 21–40.
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The Portuguese church of São Pedro de Lourosa is viewed in the context of Asturian art.
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Garen, Sally. “Santa María de Melque and Church Construction under Muslim Rule.” Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 51.3 (1992): 288–305.
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A highly influential article that highlighted parallels between this church and 8th-century Islamic buildings in the Middle East, in particular Khirbat al-Mafjar in Jordan.
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Guardia, Milagros. “El Oratorio de San Miguel de Celanova: Arquitectura y liturgia.” In Rudesindus: O legado do santo, iglesia del monasterio de San Salvador de Celanova, 1 de octubre–2 de diciembre 2007. Edited by Francisco Singul, 131–145. Santiago de Compostela, Spain: Xunta de Galicia, 2007.
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The small Mozarabic oratory of San Miguel at Celanova (Orense) clearly relates to the mihrab of the mosque in Córdoba. Here it is considered in the historical context of its possible patron, Bishop Rosendus, a Galician aristocrat and not a Mozarab.
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Ito, Yoshihiko. “La iglesia de Santiago de Peñalba y su contexto arquitectónico.” Anuario del Departamento de Historía y Teoría del Arte 17 (2005): 9–20.
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The Mozarabic church of Santiago de Peñalba was built in a remote valley associated with Visigothic saints. This article considers the relationship between the aspiration of the craftsmen to emulate Andalusi buildings and the level of expertise required to achieve it.
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Larrea Conde, Juan José. “Construir iglesias, construir territorio: Las dos fases altomedievales de San Román de Tobillas (Álava).” In Monasteria et territoria: Élites, edilicia y territorio en el Mediterráneo medieval (siglos V-XI). Edited by Jorge López Quiroga, 321–336. Oxford: BAR International Series, 2007.
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A key monument for dating a group of churches in Álava and around Burgos. This article argues for dates in the first half of the 9th century and for local aristocratic and ecclesiastical patronage.
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Studies on the Relationship between Visigothic and Mozarabic Architecture

Overviews of the more established view of the relationship between Visigothic and Mozarabic monuments are provided by Kingsley 1979, which is a through survey of the individual monuments and their masonry, and by Ripoll and Carrero 2009, which takes into account more recent work. Barroso Cabrera, et al. 2001 introduces the reader to a key monument. Over the last two or three decades, building archaeology has been used to propose late-9th or 10th-century dates for many of the standing churches usually considered to be Visigothic and 7th-century works. Collins 2006 sets the debate in its historical context as well as summarizing archaeological studies. Caballero Zoreda 2001 is a good introduction to the issues; Caballero Zoreda and Feijoo Martínez 1998 and Caballero Zoreda, et al. 2003 provide examples of the application of the methodology. Fernandes 2009 gives the reader a Portuguese perspective. Sánchez Pardo 2012 provides evidence for building in Galicia during the Visigothic period.

Barroso Cabrera, Rafael, Jorge Morín de Pablos, and Achim Arbeiter, eds. La iglesia de Santa María de Quintanilla de las Viñas. Madrid: Ediciones B.M.M. & P., 2001.
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A focused study of the church at Quintanilla de las Viñas that treats its structure and figurative sculpture as “Visigothic.”
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Caballero Zoreda, Luis. “Sobre la llamada arquitectura ‘visigoda’: Paleocristiana o preromanica?” In Visigoti e Longobardi: Atti del seminario, Roma, 28–29 aprile 1997. Edited by Javier Arce and Paolo Delogu, 133–160. Florence: All’insegna del giglio, 2001.
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One of the articles in which Caballero first put forward his argument in favor of a 9th- or 10th-century date for many churches previously considered “Visigothic.”
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Caballero Zoreda, Luis, Fernando Arce Sainz, and María de los Ángeles Utrero Agudo. “Santa Comba de Bande (Orense): Arquitectura y documentación escrita.” Arqueología de la Arquitectura 2 (2003): 69–73.
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Another church that is traditionally considered Visigothic is here reassigned to the 9th or 10th centuries.
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Caballero Zoreda, Luis, and Santiago Feijoo Martínez. “La iglesia altomedieval de San Juan Bautista en Baños de Cerrato (Palencia).” Archivo Español Arqueología 71 (1998): 181–242.
DOI: 10.3989/aespa.1998.v71.282Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A redating of the church and of most of the standing structure of San Juan de Baños to the late 9th or early 10th century.
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Collins, Roger. Visigothic Spain, 409–711. Oxford: Blackwell, 2006.
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A very useful overview of Visigothic Spain that also addresses the dating difficulties around “Visigothic” architecture in chapter 7.
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Fernandes, Paulo Almeida. “Esplendor ou declínio? A arquitectura do século VII no território ‘Português.’” In El siglo VII frente al siglo VII: Arquitectura. Edited by Luis Caballero Zoreda, Pedro Mateos Cruz, and María de los Ángeles Utrero Agudo, 241–273. Anejos de Archivo Español Arqueología 51. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2009.
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A consideration of Visigothic architecture in Portugal.
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Kingsley, Karen. “Visigothic Architecture in Spain and Portugal: A Study in Masonry, Documents and Form.” PhD diss., University of California, Berkeley, 1979.
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An unpublished thesis that presents an overview and catalogue of the structures and documentary evidence for “Visigothic” churches. Dodds 1990 (cited under Architecture: General Overviews) relies on some of Kingsley’s analysis.
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Ripoll, Gisela, and Eduardo Carrero. “Art wisigoth en Hispania: En quête d’une revision nécessaire.” Perspective 2 (2009): 256–276.
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A thorough revision of the evidence for Visigothic art, supplied by new archaeology. This supports the traditional view.
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Sánchez Pardo, José Carlos. “Arqueólogia de las iglesias tardoantiguas en Galicia (ss. V-VIII): Una valoración de conjunto.” Hortus Medievalium 18.2 (2012): 395–413.
DOI: 10.1484/J.HAM.1.102824Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
An article on Galician churches tracing their archaeology to the Visigothic period.
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Studies on the Relationship between Asturian and Mozarabic Architecture

Asturian architecture is the building attributed to the 8th- and 9th-century kingdom of Asturias in the far north of Spain. Building quality varied from plain rubble build to quite accomplished barrel vaulting with transverse arches. Arias Páramo 1999 catalogues each of these monuments with plans and details possible later 10th-century Mozarabic campaigns. Utrero Agudo 2012 examines the difficult borderland between the two periods.

Arias Páramo, Lorenzo. Preromanesque in Asturias: The Art of the Asturian Monarchy. Gijón, Spain: Ediciones Trea, 1999.
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A useful survey of 9th-century Asturian art, in English, including references to later alterations in the Mozarabic period.
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Utrero Agudo, María de los Ángeles. “A finales del siglo IX e inicios del X: Entre asturianos y mozárabes.” In Asturias entre visigodos y mozárabes (Visigodos y Omeyas, VI, Madrid 2010). Edited by Luis Caballero Zoreda, Pedro Mateos Cruz, and César García de Castro Valdés, 125–145. Anejos de Archivo Español de Arqueología 63. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2012.
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Perhaps the most serious attempt to separate “Asturian” from “Mozarabic” architecture.
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Catalonia

Catalonia is usually treated separately, as it was officially part of the Carolingian, and subsequently Capetian, Empire. Entries in the exhibition catalogue Cataluña en la época carolingia (Camps and Mancho 1999, Poisson 1999, and Sánchez Martínez 1999) describe examples of architecture and sculpture from the region that might be categorized as Mozarabic. Ponsich 1988 and Ripoll 2009 question such a designation.

Camps, Jordi, and Carles Mancho. “La escultura en Cataluña en los siglos IX y X.” In Cataluña en la época carolingia: Arte y cultura antes del románico (siglos IX y X). Edited by Jordi Camps, 215–218, 525–527. Barcelona: Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, 1999.
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An overview of sculpture produced in Catalonia during the Mozarabic period.
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Poisson, Olivier. “Sant Miquel de Cuixà: A Benedictine Monastery in the 10th and 11th Centuries.” In Cataluña en la época carolingia: Arte y cultura antes del románico (siglos IX y X). Edited by Jordi Camps, 534–536. Barcelona: Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, 1999.
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An entry on a site north of the Pyrenees that may have once been “Mozarabic” to the extent that it had horseshoe arches.
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Ponsich, Pierre. “Saint-Michel de Cuxa au siècle de l’An Mil (950–1050).” Cahiers de Saint-Michel Cuxa 19 (1988): 7–32.
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An article that sees Cuxa firmly within the Carolingian tradition.
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Ripoll, Gisela. “Corpus architecturae religiosae europeae, saec. IV-X (CARE-Hispania).” Mainake 31 (2009): 229–242.
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Part of a project that aims to survey early medieval architecture. This overview of the Catalonian material is one of the early outcomes.
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Sánchez Martínez, Manuel. “Cataluña y al-Andalus (siglos VIII-X).” In Cataluña en la época carolingia: Arte y cultura antes del románico (siglos IX y X). Edited by Jordi Camps, 29–35, 431–435. Barcelona: Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, 1999.
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An entry on the political relationship between Catalonia and al-Andalus.
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Stone Sculpture

Stone sculpture in the form of finely carved composite capitals, roll-corbels, and chancel barriers is one of the defining features of Mozarabic buildings. Noack-Haley 1991 provides the most comprehensive analysis of the capitals, although she excludes examples that are traditionally considered Visigothic. Cruz Villalón 2012 and Hoppe 2000 consider the claims of the material usually catalogued as Visigothic to be included within the corpus of Mozarabic sculpture. Anedda 2013 examines the full range of sculpture at the key monument of San Miguel de Escalada.

Anedda, Damiano. “La scultura decorativa di San Miguel de Escalada: Plutei, fregi e stucchi.” ArcheoArte: Rivista elettronica di Archeologia e Arte 2 (2013): 199–221.
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A focused study on the finely carved capitals found at San Miguel de Escalada near León.
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Cruz Villalón, María. “La plástica asturiana y su relación con la creación visigoda y la andalusí.” In Asturias entre Visigodos y Mozárabes. Edited by Luis Caballero Zoreda, Pedro Mateos Cruz, and César García de Castro Valdés, 147–178. Anejos de Archivo Español Arqueología 63. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2012.
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An analysis of the sculpture from Asturias, considering it in the context of sculpture that may have been produced in the Visigothic period or under the Umayyads in al-Andalus.
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Hoppe, Jean-Marie. “Le corpus de la sculpture visigothique: Libre parcours et essai d’interprétation.” In Visigodos y Omeyas: Un debate entre la Antigüedad Tardía y la Alta Edad Media. Edited by Luis Caballero Zoreda and Pedro Mateos Cruz, 307–355. Anejos de Archivo Español Arqueología 23. Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2000.
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A reassessment of the corpus of sculpture traditionally assigned to the Visigothic period.
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Noack-Haley, Sabine. Mozarabischer Baudekor. Vol. 1, Die Kapitelle. Mainz am Rhein: Zabern, 1991.
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A valuable detailed and comprehensive study of Mozarabic capitals, with excellent photographs.
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Wall Paintings

Arias Páramo 1999 documents the painted stuccowork found on the interior of Asturian and Mozarabic churches, The first examples are usually dated to the 9th century, although some of these painting schemes may have been part of later refurbishments in the 10th century. Guardia 2007 pays particular attention to the way that paint was employed to imitate masonry, especially brickwork.

Arias Páramo, Lorenzo. The Pre-Romanesque in Asturias: The Art of the Asturian Monarchy. Gijón, Spain: Trea, 1999.
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Concentrating mostly on the art and architecture of Asturias usually attributed to the 9th century, it also includes the “Mozarabic” figurative painting from the church of San Miguel de Liño, Monte Naranco, Oviedo, and other paintings that could have been part of late-9th- or 10th-century decorative schemes (especially pp. 185–192).
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Guardia, Milagros. “De Peñabla de Santiago a Berlanga de Duero: La pintura mural de los siglos X y XI en el reino de Léon y en Castilla. ¿Un espejo del al-Andalus?” In Simposio International “El legado de Al-Andalus. El arte andalusi en los reinos de Léon y Castilla durante la Edad Media.” Edited by Manuel Valdés Fernández, 115–156. Valladolid, Spain: Fundación del Patrimonio Histórico de Castilla y León, 2007.
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This essay in a conference volume considers some of the few surviving “Mozarabic” wall paintings in the context of Andalusi architecture.