In art, architechture and interior decoration mudéjar signifies a synthesis of Gothic and Islamic styles. It is said to have developed during the Spanish reconquest from the Moors, but in reality it is the other way round. The Moors were very pragmatic people and often let the existing Iberian architecture almost untouched, only adding their own islamic art to new buildings or as extensions or repairs to existing structures. Hence the etymology of the word, which means ‘permitted to stay’ in Arabic.
