manueline [key], sumptuous, composite Portuguese style of architectural ornamentation of the early 16th cent. It combined contemporary Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Flemish elements and was named for King Manuel I of Portugal (reigned 1495–1521). The Chapter House of the Convent of Christ at Tomar, Portugal (early 16th cent.), with its large-scale windows surrounded with sculptured organic and twisted rope forms, is the major monument of the manueline style. The style was extended to the decorative arts and spread to Spain, Mexico, and India.
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