ESCITRIAL (the correct title is Er, REAL SITIO DE SAN LORENZO EL REAL DE EscontAL), a famous monastery of New Castile, in the province of Madrid, and situated 30 m. n.w. of the town of that name. This solitary pile of granite has been called the eighth wonder of the world, and at the time of its erection surpassed every building of the kind in size and magnificence. It owes its origin (at least, so it is said) to an inspired vow made by Philip II. during the battle of St. Quentin. On that occasion, he implored the aid of St. Lorenzo, on whose day, 10th Aug., 1557, the battle was fought; and vowed that, should victory be granted to him, he would dedicate a monastery to the saint. The E. is built in the form of a gridiron, in allusion to the instrument of St. Lorenzo's martyrdom, and forms a huge rectangular parallelogram 744 ft. from n. to s., and 580 ft. from e. to w., and divided into long courts, which indicate the inter stices of the bars. Towers at each angle of this parallelogram represent the feet of the gridiron, which is supposed to be lying upside down; and from the center of one of the sides, a range of building abuts, forming the royal residence, and representing the handle. The E. was begun in 1563, and finished in 1584, and was intended to serve as a palace, mausoleum, and monastery. It has a splendid chapel with three naves, 320
ft. long, and 320 in height to the top of the cupola. The pantheon, or royal tomb, is a magnificently decorated octagon chamber, 36 ft. in diameter by 38 ft. high, in the eight sides of which there are numerous black marble sarcophagi. Kings only and the mothers of kings are buried here. The E. is an immense building; it is stated that it has 14,000 doors and 11,000 windows, and its cost was 6,000,000 ducats. Its library, previous to the sack of the E. by the French in 1808, contained 30,000 printed and 4;300 MS. volumes, mainly treasures of Arabic literature, of which a catalogue, but not a good one, was drawn up by Casiri in his Bibliotheca Arabieo-Hispanica (2 vols., Madrid, 1760-70). They were, however, at that time removed to Madrid; and on being sent back to the E., it was discovered that the library consisted only of about 20,000 volumes—a third of the whole having been lost. The French also plundered the place of its valuable col lection of coins, medals, and pictures. On Oct. 2, 1872, the E. was struck by lightning, and partially burned. The E. is saved from going to ruin by grants of public money, which are occasionally made.