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61-699: Examples of this syncretism are the inclusion of shields and pinnacles on façades, columns built in the Renaissance neoclassical manner, and façades divided into three parts (in Renaissance architecture they are divided into two). It reached its peak during the reign of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , especially in Salamanca , but also flourished in other such cities of the Iberian Peninsula as León , Burgos , Santiago de Compostela , also in

122-473: A "stepped" form, with each merlon shaped like an inverted 'T'. European architects persistently used battlements as a purely decorative feature throughout the Decorated and Perpendicular periods of Gothic architecture. They not only occur on parapets but on the transoms of windows and on the tie-beams of roofs and on screens, and even on Tudor chimney-pots. A further decorative treatment appears in

183-418: A betrayal of their pure truth. By this reasoning, adding an incompatible belief corrupts the original religion, rendering it no longer true. Indeed, critics of a syncretistic trend may use the word or its variants as a disparaging epithet, as a charge implying that those who seek to incorporate a new view, belief, or practice into a religious system pervert the original faith. Non-exclusivist systems of belief, on

244-399: A consciousness of their growing power and wealth, and in their exuberance launched a period of construction of grand monuments to symbolize these with what are now considered national treasures. Typical Plateresque façades, like those of altarpieces , were made as carefully as if they were the works of goldsmiths , and decorated as profusely. The decoration, although of various inspirations,

305-563: A culture is conquered, and the conquerors bring their religious beliefs with them, but do not succeed in entirely eradicating the old beliefs or (especially) practices. Religions may have syncretic elements to their beliefs or history, but adherents of so-labeled systems often frown on applying the label, especially adherents who belong to "revealed" religious systems, such as the Abrahamic religions , or any system that exhibits an exclusivist approach. Such adherents sometimes see syncretism as

366-495: A distinctive cap. Italian military architects used the so-called Ghibelline or swallowtail battlement, with V-shaped notches in the tops of the merlon, giving a horn-like effect. This would allow the defender to be protected whilst shooting standing fully upright. The normal rectangular merlons were later nicknamed Guelph. Many South Asian battlements are made up of parapets with peculiarly shaped merlons and complicated systems of loopholes, which differ substantially from rest of

427-442: A factor that has recommended it to rulers of multiethnic realms . Conversely, the rejection of syncretism, usually in the name of " piety " and " orthodoxy ", may help to generate, bolster or authenticate a sense of uncompromised cultural unity in a well-defined minority or majority. All major religious conversions of populations have had elements from prior religious traditions incorporated into legends or doctrine that endure with

488-523: A migration of ideas is generally successful only when there is a resonance between both traditions. While, as Bentley has argued, there are numerous cases where expansive traditions have won popular support in foreign lands, this is not always so. In the 16th century, the Mughal emperor Akbar proposed a new religion called the Din-i Ilahi ("Divine Faith"). Sources disagree with respect to whether it

549-412: A new, cohesive belief system. Syncretism also manifests in politics , known as syncretic politics . The English word is first attested in the early 17th century It is from Modern Latin syncretismus , drawing on the [[[:wikt:συγκρητισμός|συγκρητισμός]]] Error: {{Langx}}: invalid parameter: |labels= ( help ) , supposedly meaning "Cretan federation"; however, this is a spurious etymology from

610-540: A single Greco-Roman pantheon , and then identifying members of that pantheon with the local deities of various Roman provinces. Some religious movements have embraced overt syncretism, such as the case of melding Shintō beliefs into Buddhism or the amalgamation of Germanic and Celtic pagan views into Christianity during its spread into Gaul, Ireland, Britain, Germany and Scandinavia. In later times, Christian missionaries in North America identified Manitou ,

671-671: A timeslot in a broadcast. In medieval England and Wales a licence to crenellate granted the holder permission to fortify their property. Such licences were granted by the king, and by the rulers of the counties palatine within their jurisdictions, e.g. by the Bishops of Durham and the Earls of Chester and after 1351 by the Dukes of Lancaster . The castles in England vastly outnumbered the licences to crenellate. Royal pardons were obtainable on

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732-413: A wall or building with them is described as crenellated ; alternative older terms are castellated and embattled . The act of adding crenels to a previously unbroken parapet is termed crenellation. The function of battlements in war is to protect the defenders by giving them part of the parapet to hide behind, from which they can quickly expose themselves to launch projectiles, then retreat behind

793-580: Is also accepted that the policy of sulh-i-kul , which formed the essence of the Dīn-i Ilāhī, was adopted by Akbar as a part of general imperial administrative policy. Sulh-i-kul means "universal peace". The syncretic deism of Matthew Tindal undermined Christianity's claim to uniqueness. The modern, rational, non-pejorative connotations of syncretism arguably date from Denis Diderot 's Encyclopédie articles Eclecticisme and Syncrétistes, Hénotiques, ou Conciliateurs . Diderot portrayed syncretism as

854-689: Is called Plateresque as the replacement of Gothic decoration with grotesques inspired by the works of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio . Any persuasive argument, however, must admit that the Plateresque or Protorenaissance was an artistic movement that responded to the demands of the ruling classes of imperial Spain, which had just completed the Reconquista and begun the colonization of the Americas. The Spanish were developing

915-463: Is characterized by ornate decorative façades covered with floral designs, chandeliers, festoons , fantastic creatures and all sorts of configurations. The spatial arrangement, however, is more clearly Gothic-inspired. This fixation on specific parts and their spacing, without structural changes of the Gothic pattern, causes it to be often classified as simply a variation of Renaissance style. In New Spain

976-626: Is in the fortress at Buhen in Egypt . Battlements were used in the walls surrounding Assyrian towns, as shown on bas reliefs from Nimrud and elsewhere. Traces of them remain at Mycenae in Greece , and some ancient Greek vases suggest the existence of battlements. The Great Wall of China has battlements. In the European battlements of the Middle Ages the crenel comprised one-third of

1037-441: Is often used to describe the product of the large-scale imposition of one alien culture, religion, or body of practices over another that is already present." Others such as Jerry H. Bentley , however, have argued that syncretism has also helped to create cultural compromise. It provides an opportunity to bring beliefs, values, and customs from one cultural tradition into contact with, and to engage different cultural traditions. Such

1098-588: The Arabs had a more decorative and varied character, and were continued from the 13th century onwards not so much for defensive purposes as for a crowning feature to the walls. They serve a function similar to the cresting found in the Spanish Renaissance architecture . "Irish" crenellations are a distinctive form that appeared in Ireland between the 14th and 17th centuries. These were battlements of

1159-678: The Palacio de Correos de Mexico . In Cuba there is the Havana Central railway station , and in Guatemala there is the National Palace of Culture . Syncretism Syncretism ( / ˈ s ɪ ŋ k r ə t ɪ z əm , ˈ s ɪ n -/ ) is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought . Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions , especially in

1220-788: The Twenty-fifth Dynasty in Manetho's Aegyptiaca , developed a syncretic worship identifying their own god Dedun with the Egyptian Osiris . They maintained that worship even after they had been driven out of Egypt. A temple dedicated to this syncretic god, built by the Kushite ruler Atlanersa , was unearthed at Jebel Barkal . Syncretism was common during the Hellenistic period, with rulers regularly identifying local deities in various parts of their domains with

1281-466: The theology and mythology of religion , thus asserting an underlying unity and allowing for an inclusive approach to other faiths. While syncretism in art and culture is sometimes likened to eclecticism , in the realm of religion, it specifically denotes a more integrated merging of beliefs into a unified system, distinct from eclecticism, which implies a selective adoption of elements from different traditions without necessarily blending them into

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1342-472: The "other" cult may survive or infiltrate without authorized syncresis . For example, some conversos developed a sort of cult for martyr-victims of the Spanish Inquisition , thus incorporating elements of Catholicism while resisting it. The Kushite kings who ruled Upper Egypt for approximately a century and the whole of Egypt for approximately 57 years, from 721 to 664 BCE, constituting

1403-563: The Gothic tradition. In the Americas, especially in today's Mexico, various indigenous cultures were in certain stages of development that can be considered Baroque when the Spanish brought with them the Plateresque style. This European phenomenon mixed symbiotically with local traditions, so that pure Gothic architecture was not built in the Americas, but the Plateresque mixed with Native American influences, soon evolving into what came to be called American Baroque. The Plateresque style follows

1464-441: The Plateresque acquired its own configuration, clinging tightly to its Mudéjar heritage and blending with Native American influences . In Spain its development is most remarkable in the city of Salamanca although examples are found in most regions of the country. In the 19th century with the rise of historicism , the Plateresque architectural style was revived under the name of Monterrey Style . The term Plateresque came from

1525-502: The Renaissance arrived in Spain and architects began copying Renaissance architectural features without understanding the new ideas behind them, that is, without letting go of medieval forms and ideas. Many of the Plateresque buildings were already built, to which were added only layers of Renaissance ornamentation, especially around openings (windows and doors), and in general, all non-architectural elements, with some exceptions. Although

1586-790: The added benefit or aim of reducing inter-religious discord. Such chapters often have a side-effect of arousing jealousy and suspicion among authorities and ardent adherents of the pre-existing religion. Such religions tend to inherently appeal to an inclusive, diverse audience. Sometimes the state itself sponsored such new movements, such as the Living Church founded in Soviet Russia and the German Evangelical Church in Nazi Germany , chiefly to stem all outside influences. According to some authors, "Syncretism

1647-471: The amendments by Juan de Herrera and Philip II of Spain to the design of the monastery of El Escorial , whose construction began in 1563. By that time the decoration, though still profuse, is completely within Italianate parameters and applied to buildings designed according to the logic of Renaissance ideas. The Monterrey o neo-plateresque style  [ es ] arose in the 19th century. It

1708-403: The ancient French cren (modern French cran ), Latin crena , meaning a notch, mortice or other gap cut out often to receive another element or fixing; see also crenation . The modern French word for crenel is créneau , also used to describe a gap of any kind, for example a parking space at the side of the road between two cars, interval between groups of marching troops or

1769-400: The appellation 'Plateresque' is usually applied to the act of superimposing new Renaissance elements on forms governed by medieval guidelines in architecture, this trend is also seen in the Spanish painting and sculpture of the time. This is the period in which the Renaissance had taken hold on the Iberian Peninsula , although it had not yet reached its peak there. That event occurred with

1830-473: The attackers, and closed during reloading. The Romans used low wooden pinnacles for their first aggeres ( terrepleins ). In the battlements of Pompeii , additional protection derived from small internal buttresses or spur walls, against which the defender might stand so as to gain complete protection on one side. Loop-holes were frequent in Italian battlements, where the merlon has much greater height and

1891-789: The concordance of eclectic sources. Scientific or legalistic approaches of subjecting all claims to critical thinking prompted at this time much literature in Europe and the Americas studying non-European religions such as Edward Moor's The Hindu Pantheon of 1810, much of which was almost evangelistically appreciative by embracing spirituality and creating the space and tolerance in particular disestablishment of religion (or its stronger form, official secularisation as in France) whereby believers of spiritualism , agnosticism , atheists and in many cases more innovative or pre-Abrahimic based religions could promote and spread their belief system, whether in

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1952-418: The creation of new surfaces and subspaces, which were in turn decorated profusely, such as niches and aediculas . Italian elements were also being developed progressively as decoration: rustications , classical capitals , Roman arches and especially grotesques. The decoration had specific meanings and can not be read as merely decorative; thus laurels, military shields and horns-of-plenty were placed in

2013-461: The crenels are called merlons . Battlements on walls have protected walkways, termed chemin de ronde behind them. On tower or building tops, the often flat roof is used as a protected fighting platform . The term originated in about the 14th century from the Old French word batailler , "to fortify with batailles " (fixed or movable turrets of defence). The word crenel derives from

2074-670: The critical circles of academia, some examples can be found on the Gran Vía of Madrid . In Mexico there was also a new iteration of Plateresque which spread to the Southwestern United States, beginning in the first half of the 18th century. This Neo-plateresque is not to be confused with that of Spain at the end of 19th and early 20th centuries, the so-called Monterrey style. In the Spanish Colonial Revival architecture style centuries later, it

2135-454: The family or beyond. Battlement A battlement , in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles , comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals to allow for the launch of arrows or other projectiles from within the defences. These gaps are termed embrasures , also called crenels or crenelles , and

2196-421: The granting of such licences, but occasionally charged a fee of about half a mark . Battlements may be stepped out to overhang the wall below, and may have openings at their bases between the supporting corbels , through which stones or burning objects could be dropped onto attackers or besiegers; these are known as machicolations . Battlements have been used for thousands of years; the earliest known example

2257-404: The houses of military personnel. In a similar vein, Greek and Roman myths were depicted elsewhere to represent abstract humanist ideals, so that the decorative became a means to express and disseminate Renaissance ideals. Plataresque implemented and preferred new spatial aspects, so caustrales , or stairs of open boxes, made their appearance. However, there were few spatial changes with respect to

2318-421: The imprecision of the name Plateresque and the difficulties inherent in using it to describe productions from a period of confusion and transition between styles, especially since they are characterized by decorative profusion suggesting an attempt to disguise the failure of Spanish architects to develop new structural and spatial ideas. It has even been suggested that this problem could be solved by identifying what

2379-550: The internal structure of the buildings. Something similar happened in the same period in Portugal, resulting in what became known as the Manueline style. A movement began in late 15th century Spain to disguise Gothic buildings with florid decoration, especially grotesques, but the superficial application of this principle did not change the spatial qualities or architectural structure of those buildings. This process began when

2440-454: The line of Isabelline , where decorative elements of Italianate origin combine with Iberian traditional elements to form ornamental complexes that overlay the Gothic structures. We can speak of Plateresque that retains Gothic forms as a basis until 1530. After that date, although it continued to be used and Plateresque ornaments were still evolving, it became part of an architecture that was beginning to incorporate Renaissance ideas. In 1563, with

2501-660: The naive idea in Plutarch 's 1st-century AD essay on "Fraternal Love (Peri Philadelphias)" in his collection Moralia . He cites the example of the Cretans , who compromised and reconciled their differences and came together in alliance when faced with external dangers. "And that is their so-called Syncretism [Union of Cretans]". More likely as an etymology is sun- ("with") plus kerannumi ("mix") and its related noun, "krasis", "mixture". Overt syncretism in folk belief may show cultural acceptance of an alien or previous tradition, but

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2562-403: The newly converted laity . Religious syncretism is the blending of two or more religious belief systems into a new system, or the incorporation into a religious tradition of beliefs from unrelated traditions. This can occur for many reasons, and the latter scenario happens quite commonly in areas where multiple religious traditions exist in proximity and function actively in a culture, or when

2623-545: The other hand, may feel quite free to incorporate other traditions into their own. Keith Ferdinando notes that the term "syncretism" is an elusive one, and can refer to substitution or modification of the central elements of a religion by beliefs or practices introduced from elsewhere. The consequence under such a definition, according to Ferdinando, can lead to a fatal "compromise" of the original religion's "integrity". In modern secular society, religious innovators sometimes construct new faiths or key tenets syncretically, with

2684-507: The parapet. A defensive building might be designed and built with battlements, or a manor house might be fortified by adding battlements, where no parapet previously existed, or cutting crenellations into its existing parapet wall. A distinctive feature of late medieval English church architecture is to crenellate the tops of church towers, and often the tops of lower walls. These are essentially decorative rather than functional, as are many examples on secular buildings. The solid widths between

2745-641: The payment of an arbitrarily-determined fine by a person who had fortified without licence. The surviving records of such licences, generally issued by letters patent , provide valuable evidence for the dating of ancient buildings. A list of licences issued by the English Crown between the 12th and the 16th centuries was compiled by Turner & Parker and expanded and corrected by Philip Davis and published in The Castle Studies Group Journal . There has been academic debate over

2806-488: The purpose of licensing. The view of military-focused historians is that licensing restricted the number of fortifications that could be used against a royal army. The modern view, proposed notably by Charles Coulson, is that battlements became an architectural status-symbol much sought after by the socially ambitious, in Coulson's words: "Licences to crenellate were mainly symbolic representations of lordly status: castellation

2867-587: The relevant god or goddess of the Greek Pantheon as a means of increasing the cohesion of their kingdom. This practice was accepted in most locations but vehemently rejected by the Jews , who considered the identification of Yahweh with the Greek Zeus as the worst of blasphemy. The Roman Empire continued the practice, first by the identification of traditional Roman deities with Greek ones, producing

2928-601: The silversmith trade. Diego Ortiz de Zúñiga used it for the first time, applying it to the Royal Chapel of the Cathedral of Seville in the 17th century. Traditionally Plateresque has been considered a style exclusively "Spanish", a term also applied to architecture in the Spanish territories held by the Spanish Crown between the 15th and 17th centuries. But by the mid-20th century this geographical connotation

2989-883: The spiritual and fundamental life force in the traditional beliefs of the Algonquian groups , with the God of Christianity . Similar identifications were made by missionaries at other locations in the Americas and Africa who encountered a local belief in a Supreme God or Supreme Spirit of some kind. Indian influences are seen in the practice of Shi'i Islam in Trinidad . Others have strongly rejected it as devaluing and compromising precious and genuine distinctions; examples include post- Exile Second Temple Judaism , Islam , and most of Protestant Christianity. Syncretism tends to facilitate coexistence and unity between otherwise different cultures and world views ( intercultural competence ),

3050-591: The start of construction of the monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial , the Renaissance architecture was purified through the interventions of Juan de Herrera , which ended the splendor and spread of the Plateresque in the Iberian Peninsula. But in Mexico it was not forgotten, leading to a Neo-Plateresque style in the 18th century. In any case the Plateresque, considered or not as a style, and whether exclusively Spanish or more broadly European, represents

3111-466: The territory of New Spain , which is now Mexico , and in Bogotá . Plateresque has been considered down to current times a Renaissance style by many scholars. To others, it is its own style, and sometimes receives the designation of Protorenaissance . Some even call it First Renaissance in a refusal to consider it as a style in itself, but to distinguish it from non-Spanish Renaissance works. The style

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3172-466: The transition between Gothic and Renaissance styles. In the 15th century a tendency to decorate with flamboyance began to develop in the Crown of Castile from Flemish , Islamic and Castilian architecture, which received the name of Isabelline Gothic because most of the construction was done at the command of Isabella I of Castile . These ornaments, which were of progressive complexity, did not influence

3233-411: The wall). Sometimes a merlon was pierced with two or three loopholes, but typically, only one loophole was divided into two or three slits by horizontal or vertical partitions. The shape of loopholes, as well as the shape of merlons, need not have been the same everywhere in the castle, as shown by Kumbhalgarh . In Muslim and African fortifications, the merlons often were rounded. The battlements of

3294-437: The width of the merlon: the latter, in addition, could be provided with arrow-loops of various shapes (from simply round to cruciform), depending on the weapon being utilized. Late merlons permitted fire from the first firearms . From the 13th century, the merlons could be connected with wooden shutters ( mantlets ) that provided added protection when closed. The shutters were designed to be opened to allow shooters to fire against

3355-458: The world. Typical Indian merlons were semicircular and pointed at the top, although they could sometimes be fake: the parapet may be solid and the merlons shown in relief on the outside, as is the case in Chittorgarh . Loopholes could be made both in the merlons themselves, and under the crenels. They could either look forward (to command distant approaches) or downward (to command the foot of

3416-578: Was differentiated from the earlier and plainer Mission Revival style with the additional refinement of Plateresque and Churrigueresque detailing. Bertram Goodhue and Carleton Winslow Sr. studied Spanish Colonial structures in Mexico before designing the 1915 Panama–California Exposition in San Diego, California , that introduced this style to the United States and subsequent widespread popularity. In Mexico there are other examples, such as

3477-512: Was mainly of plant motifs, but also had a profusion of medallions, heraldic devices and animal figures, among others. Plateresque utilized a wealth of materials: gold plates on crests and roofs, vases, etc. There is evidence of more polychrome works at the conclusion of the first third of the 16th century, when there appeared heraldic crests of historical provenance and long balustrades, to mention one kind of less busy decoration. The proliferation of decoration for all architectural surfaces led to

3538-404: Was named after the Palacio de Monterrey in Salamanca , a plateresque building built in 1539. Widely admired among 19th-century architects, it was profusely imitated across Spain, with the new imitations spawning a new historicist style, the neoplateresque. The style survived until the early 20th century, featured in national and regional 'revivals'. It spread widely, and though not accepted in

3599-400: Was one of many Sufi orders or merged some of the elements of the various religions of his empire. Din-i Ilahi drew elements primarily from Islam and Hinduism but also from Christianity , Jainism , and Zoroastrianism . More resembling a personality cult than a religion, it had no sacred scriptures, no priestly hierarchy, and fewer than 20 disciples, all hand-picked by Akbar himself. It

3660-462: Was questioned under the arguments of several authors, especially Camón Aznar (1945) and Rosenthal (1958), who defined Plateresque generically as a unitary amalgam of elements – Gothic, Muslim, and Renaissance. Aznar does not regard it as a style properly denoted as Renaissance, and Rosenthal emphasizes its association with certain buildings in other European countries, mainly France and Portugal, but also Germany and others. This problem highlights

3721-465: Was the architectural expression of noble rank". They indicated to the observer that the grantee had obtained "royal recognition, acknowledgment and compliment". They could, however, provide a basic deterrent against wandering bands of thieves, and it is suggested that the function of battlements was comparable to the modern practice of householders fitting highly visible CC TV and burglar alarms, often merely dummies. The crown usually did not charge for

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