Una noria gótica en el claustro de la Catedral de Toledo

Abstract

After observing and analyzing the narrow chamber, located under the south side of the cloister, and its relationship to other buildings, we propose that the waterwheel of which is spoken in the fifteenth century is the one raised in this original rectangular structure that communicates with the old cistern of the major mosque of Toledo. The importance of this machine to obtain water is reflected in the numerous entries, preserved in the “Books of Work and Factoring”, mentioning its repairs in one of the major constructive times in the Cathedral, the first third of the fifteenth century. During those years they worked in the raising of the Tower of the Bell, the Tower of the Clock and the Cloister. The research of the preserved buildings in the cloister together with the medieval documents of the Chapter Archive reveals the complex system of recovery, storage and use of water in the great cathedral building. It’s a complex and an effective system for utilizing water, stressing the survival of the old structures of the mosque and its adaptation to the new Gothic building.