ABSTRACT
In the late Middle Ages the Order of Santiago became a 'feudal' institution with great economic and political power, control of which was desired by nobles as well as kings. These same nobles and kings were the patrons of important artistic undertakings aimed at the greater glory of the Order and themselves. Taking advantage of a period of economic prosperity, the Order's officials decided to carry out ambitious architectural programmes in some of their most symbolic buildings: Uclés, San Marcos and Calera de León. We have chosen these buildings because they express simultaneously a triple architectural concept: they reflect the power and prestige of the Order of Santiago; they demonstrate their hierarchical significance; and they show the importance of the place in which they were erected. Because of the Order's long architectural history, the present research is centred on the period of the last two-thirds of the fifteenth century and the sixteenth century.
