The Burial of Count Orgaz was painted by El Greco in 1586. Based on a 14th-century legend. Toledo, Spain.From the 5th century to the 16th century about thirty synods were held at Toledo. The earliest, directed against Priscillian, assembled in 400. At the synod of 589 the Visigoth King Reccared declared his conversion from Arianism; the synod of 633, guided by the encyclopedist Isidore of Seville, decreed uniformity of liturgy throughout the Visigothic kingdom and took stringent measures against baptized Jews who had relapsed into their former faith. The council of 681 assured to the archbishop of Toledo the primacy of Spain.

As nearly one hundred early canons of Toledo found a place in the Decretum Gratiani, they exerted an important influence on the development of ecclesiastical law. The synod of 1565–1566 concerned itself with the execution of the decrees of the Council of Trent; and the last council held at Toledo, 1582–1583, was guided in detail by Philip II.

Toledo was famed for religious tolerance and had large communities of Jews and Muslims until they were expelled from Spain in 1492; the city therefore has important religious monuments like the Synagogue of Santa María la Blanca, the Synagogue of El Transito, and the Mosque of Cristo de la Luz.

Toledo was home to El Greco for the latter part of his life, and is the subject of some of his most famous paintings, including The Burial of the Count of Orgaz, exhibited in the Church of Santo Tomé.

Additionally, the city was renowned throughout the middle ages and into the present day as an important center for the production of swords and other bladed instruments.