Petrus Petri (also Pedro Pérez) ( 1220 – 1291) was a thirteenth-century Spanish master architect. For centuries it was held with complete certainty that he was the first master architect of the

Cathedral of Toledo , native_name_lang = , image = Toledo Cathedral, from Plaza del Ayuntamiento.jpg , imagesize = 300px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption ...

, based on the only existing testimony regarding the authorship, a legend inscribed in vulgar Latin still visible on a tombstone in the church Towards the middle of the 20th century, the bishop of

Ciudad Real Ciudad Real (, ; en, "Royal City") is a municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It is the 5th most populated municipality in the region. History It was founde ...

thoroughly investigated this claim and brought to light a series of documents which demonstrated the existence of a first master prior to Petrus Petri called Master Martín, married to María Gómez and certainly of French origin, who had been summoned by Ximénez de Rada. One of the documents is dated to 1227 and names "a master Martín of the work of Saint Mary of Toledo". Another document lists income collected by the cathedral in 1234 and records again the name of "Master Martín of the work", of whom it is also written that he was a tenant of a house associated with the cathedral. In later writings there appear the names of Martín (

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

) and Juan Martín (master of stonemasons), who are believed to be relatives of each other. No new documents have appeared, so at present this master Martín is accredited as the first architect. To this argument it must be added that the date of the beginning of construction does not correlate with the age of Petrus Petri who during those years must have been too young to be an architect. Cathedral of Toledo

Studies released after this discovery indicate that the master Martín would be the designer of the chapels of the ambulatory and upon his departure by death or by absence the supervision of the work was taken up by master Petrus who finished the ambulatories and constructed the triforia in Toledan style. Towards the end of the 20th century, the sanctuary and two sections of the naves of the south side were completed. It is known that Petrus Petri also worked on the

Old Cathedral of Salamanca The Old Cathedral (Spanish: ''Catedral Vieja de Santa María'') is one of two cathedrals in Salamanca (Spain), Salamanca, Spain, the other being the New Cathedral of Salamanca. The two cathedrals are joined together. History It was founded by Bis ...

, discussed in the Archives of the Cathedral of that city, where he also worked with Florín de Pituenga,

Casandro Romano Saúl Armendáriz (born May 20, 1970) is an American-born Mexican ''luchador'', or professional wrestler, who works as an ''exótico'' for several independent promotions all over the world under the ring name Cassandro. He is a former NWA Worl ...

, Alvar García, Pedro de la Obra,

Juan el Pedrero ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

, Sancho Pedro and Juan Franco.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petri, Petrus Spanish architects Gothic architects People from Toledo, Spain 1220s births 1291 deaths 13th-century Spanish architects 13th-century Castilians