Painting and sculpture were encouraged by the Spanish Muslims without any restriction save in regard to religion. There are some remarkable examples of representations of animals and persons, among them some glazed vessels at Elvira on which are depicted painted human figures. In metallurgy and ceramics great advanges were made, but the glazed tiles or bricks belong to a later period. In bronze work mention should be made of the mosque lamps, and the chest, studded with silver plates of the period of Ḥakam II, which is preserved in the cathedral of Gerona. In furniture immense luxury was displayed; their carpets, silk curtains, divans and cushions gave scope to many industries. With the growth of Muslim influence, buildings for public baths multiplied and at length came to be used even more than in the days of the Romans.
The difference between their family life and that of the Christians was very marked. As is well known, Muslims might have even four lawful wives and as many concubines as they could support: hence the Caliphs and the wealthy had many wives whom they kept in harems. The law gave the first wife the right to secure a promise from her husband that he would not contract a fresh marriage or take concubines. Within the house the woman was subject to the man; but she could dispose of the greater part of his property and appear in the law courts without her husband's leave. She exercised the same authority as he did over the sons, so far as concerned their formal protection, and could obtain divorce for valid grounds. Further, the women enjoyed more liberty in their social relations than is generally supposed. They often walked through the streets with their heads uncovered and attended men's meeting-places like the schools.
The brilliant civilisation of the Caliphate naturally influenced the Christians to the North. This influence was not only due to proximity, but also, contrary to the general view, to frequent community of interests between Christians and Muslims, and especially to Christian slaves who escaped or secured their freedom and on their return home nearly always kept their Arab names. Between Christians and Muslims visits were frequently exchanged and mutual succour given in time of civil war: they traded together and inter-married not only in the lower but also in the higher classes, including royalty. Such marriages must have been very common, since the Arabs arrived in Spain not as tribes but as hands of warriors. Throughout the later wars the combatants on both sides were apparently a mixture of Muslims and Christians.
When two people come into contact the higher civilisation invariably influences the other. Such indeed was the case of the Arabs in Spain and the Spaniards from the beginning of the ninth to the end of the thirteenth century, when Arab philosophy and science were at their height. In practical life Arab influence was even greater, not only in political but also in legal and military organisation; and this explains why the Christians after the re-conquest of the districts inhabited by Muslims were com-
