We ate breakfast at Bar Las Cantigas with tickets from our hostal: 2 tostadas (because the man was waiting for delivery of bread, at first he could give us only one tostada already prepared with melted cheese and chorizo, and later he made us one with tomato and oil); 2 orange juice; coffee/hot chocolate. We departed Villalcázar de Sirga at 9 am and continued across the Tierra de Campos, on a straight gravel path (senda) along the highway.
9:32 AM – After Villalcázar de Sirga: vast nothingness to north across wheat stubble of Tierra de Campos.
9:32 AM – After Villalcázar de Sirga: MT on senda along highway.
We arrived in Carrión de los Condes (pop 2,300) at 10 am.
Carrión de los Condes is located in the fertile valley of the río Carrión. This area was inhabited as early as 735 (or 276) BC by Celts and Greeks, some of whom came from the province of Caria in Asia Minor and named the place Carrión in memory of their homeland. The Romans arrived around 218 BC, establishing the province of Pallantia (Palencia), and the town itself has been identified with the ancient Lacóbriga mentioned in Roman itineraries and involved in the wars of the 1st century BC. Still in ancient times, these lands were later populated by Visigoths. The Muslims invaded the area in 714 AD. The town was retaken from the Moors during the reign of Alfonso II (791-842), some say 796, and was repopulated. Soon thereafter, the town became known as Santa María de la Victoria, due to the fact that in the early 9th century the Christians had built a church there dedicated to the Virgen de las Victorias on or near the site where the Moors were defeated. Sometimes it was just called Santa María. In the 11th century, the name of the town changed to Santa María de Carrión, combining the reference to the Virgin with the name of the river and the town’s primitive foundation. In documents, it was sometimes called just Carrión. The name Carrión de los Condes (of the Counts) did not appear until 1552, underlining the fact that it was the seat of a family of very influential counts. The town occupied a strategic position in a volatile border area and at the height of its influence in the Middle Ages had a population of over 10,000. The Codex Calixtinus said it was “rich in bread and wine.” It was a walled city and once had 12 churches and 14 pilgrim hospitals. It was effectively the capital of much of the Tierra de Campos area and from the 11th century was ruled by the powerful Leonese Beni-Gómez family, the Counts (Condes) of Carrión.
The Counts of Carrión undeservedly got a bad reputation, since it was once thought that some of them died at the hands of El Cid (c. 1043-1099) after they, very unwisely, mistreated his daughters. This misconception comes from the legendary poem “El Cantar de Mío Cid” (known in English as The Poem of the Cid), composed sometime between 1140 and 1207. According to the poem, King Alfonso VI of Castile and León honored el Cid for his victories over the Moors by proposing the marriage of el Cid’s daughters, Doña Elvira and Doña Sol, to the Infantes of Carrión, Don Fernando González and Don Diego González, sons of Conde Don Gonzalo and nephews of the King. El Cid did not like the idea, since he had discovered that these Infantes were the enemies who had previously caused his exile by accusing him of misappropriating money from the King. However, he accepted as long as the King took responsibility for these weddings.
The third and final part of the poem is called “La Afrenta de Corpes” (The Affront of Corpes). The Infantes, who were greedy of the wealth el Cid had gained from the Moors, had married the daughters and were living in el Cid’s court at Valencia when one day a lion escaped from its cage. The Infantes hid under a bench until El Cid came and put the lion back in its cage. Everyone scoffed at the fear of the Infantes. Next, the King of the Moors attacked Valencia. El Cid was victorious, but the Infantes of Carrión again proved their cowardice. They felt humiliated and devised a plan to take revenge on El Cid. They asked his permission to take their wives to Carrión. When they arrived at Robledo (oak grove) de Corpes, they stripped the daughters of el Cid, tied them to a tree to be whipped, and left them for dead. Fortunately, the daughters were found, revived, and taken to a safe place. When the news of this abuse reached El Cid, he sent men to retrieve his daughters and vowed revenge on the sons of Carrión. He appealed to the King, who had taken responsibility for the marriages. The Infantes were brought before judges, who ordered them to pay money to El Cid, but they did not have the money because they had already spent it. The matter was resolved with a duel, in which the men of El Cid defeated those of Carrión and then returned to Valencia. The marriages were dissolved, and the daughters were then married to the Infantes of Navarra and Aragon, to become queens.
However, the poem departs from historic truth: for example, the nefarious sons-in-law, Don Fernando and Don Diego, are fictitious. However, the names Fernando and Diego were very common at the time. So, in the family of the Counts of Carrión, there was a Don Fernán (i.e., Fernando, son of Gomez, not of Gonzalo), but he died in 1083, when neither of the daughters could have been more than 9, since el Cid only married in 1074. There was also a Don Diego (son of Ansur, not of Gonzalo), but he died about a dozen years before el Cid occupied Valencia, where the legendary wedding took place. Also, El Cid’s daughters were not named Elvira and Sol (they were Cristina and María), and they did not become queens. Cristina did marry a prince of Navarra, but he was only a grandson of the king by an illegitimate son and never became king, although Cristina’s son later did. María did marry (it is said) a prince of Aragon, but he died young (before his father), and the throne passed to his father’s half-brother; María later married the count of Barcelona.
10:00 AM – Carrión de los Condes: Don by city limit sign entering town (grain elevators in background).
10:10 AM – Carrión de los Condes: Camino marker in sidewalk (same as on base of San Roque statue in following photos).
10:07 AM – Carrión de los Condes: MT with pilgrim statue (San Roque).
10:09 AM – Carrión de los Condes: MT with pilgrim statue (San Roque) from different angle, showing part of old city wall.
10:08 AM – Carrión de los Condes: pilgrim statue (San Roque) and part of old city wall topped by flag of Castilla y León. Sign on wall points straight ahead for Camino de Santiago, Iglesia Santa María (12th century), and Iglesia Santiago (12th century). Iglesia de Santa María visible behind wall.
Carrión de los Condes: Pilgrim statue; behind it are part of old wall (topped with flag of Castilla y León) and more of Iglesia de Santa María (commons.wikimedia.org).
Iglesia de Santa María del Camino (aka Iglesia parroquial de Santa María de las Victorias y del Camino) is the oldest church currently preserved in Carrión de los Condes. In its present form, it is in Romanesque style from the middle of the 12th century, during the reign of Alfonso VII. However, both tradition and some historians reckon that the construction of the church of Santa María began in the early 9th century, during the reign of Alfonso II, on the remains of a Byzantine chapel. It was partially adjoined to the old city wall and the gate of entrance into the city. It was originally called Santa María de las Victorias, due to a victory over the Moors, and later Santa María del Camino because pilgrims passed beside it on their way to Santiago de Compostela. Since then, it has been called by both names.
The church was dedicated to the Virgen de las Victorias (Our Lady of Victories), although it is not clear to which victory or victories this referred. By oral tradition for over 300 years (9th-12th centuries), it was thought to refer to the legendary Tribute of the Hundred Maidens.
The legend of the hundred maidens (doncellas) goes back to the 8th century, during the Muslim invasion. It is said that King Mauregato** had allied with Emir of Córdoba Abd ar-Rahmán I to plot against his nephew Alfonso II and usurp the throne of Asturias. Subsequent chronicles blame him for the Tribute of the Hundred Maidens (fifty noble and fifty commoners) which, in gratitude for their collaboration, was to be given to the Moors each year. Mauregato did so for the five and a half years of his reign (783-788 or 789). Some versions of the story say the tribute was demanded by conquering Moors. Of these hundred maidens, four came from Carrión, which at this time was already repopulated. On leaving the village to be delivered to the Moors, the girls passed a modest shrine with a very ancient image of Our Lady and asked permission to say farewell to the Virgin. Mary heard their prayers and sent four bulls (or a herd of bulls), which routed the Muslims, freeing the girls.
Inside the church is a 17th-century painting on wood illustrating the event, and it bears the inscription: “In the time of King Miramamolín*, the tribute of King Mauregato** [included] four maidens of this town and, arriving at site where the Moors were to take [custody of] them, were entrusted to the image of the Virgin to free them from captivity, and God was served by four bulls that appeared, furiously attacked the Moors, took away the maids. and killed most of them, leaving the maidens alone and the bulls in their care, until the neighbors collected them. With the miracle, the maidens were free and the villa was exempt from such a tribute and it happened on Easter of the Holy Spirit and in these days there are two processions and sermon from the year 826. The sermon, called maidens and bulls, still took place in the 18th century, as Antonio Ponz expressly mentions in his Viage de España [Tour of Spain] (1791).” [The year 826 would have been during the reign of Alfonso II (791-842).]
*Miramamolín is not a personal name, but a title used in Spain to designate any of the Almohad caliphs. The most famous was Muhámmed an-Násir (1181-1213), Caliph of Morocco (reigned 1199-1213), known as Miramamolín in Christian lands. However, the title was also used for his predecessors.
Antonio Ponz, Viage de España [Tour of Spain], Vol XI (1791), pp. 185-186, wrote an account that translates as: [The Church of the convent of Santa Clara [on the east side of town, outside the old city wall] has a nice little façade of Corinthian order, and located toward the entrance of the village on the other side [of the street] is the ancient temple of nuestra Señora de la Victoria, where every year a fiesta is celebrated in the memory of the one hundred maidens that Mauregato** tried to pay annually to the Moors, according to stories, handed down by tradition; at that place where the Church is now, at the time for delivery of these maidens, there came a drove of bulls, which furiously attacked the Moors, and the maidens were free. On the day of this celebrity, there is a sermon, which is preached every year, and it is called el Sermon de doncellas, y toros [the Sermon of maidens and bulls]; on this matter, I was told that they sometimes had heard brave gerundiadas and classic nonsense; and it would be better that it should not be preached. There is an imperfect Doric frieze with the skulls of bulls on the facade of the Church, and this contributes to firmly believe how the function of the bulls happened on that site.]
(In the Ponz account, this is followed immediately by the fictitious story of el Cid’s sons-in-law mistreating his daughters.)
**Mauregato was King of Asturias and León (ruled 783-788 or 789). He was the illegitimate son of Alfonso I the Catholic, supposedly by a female Muslim captive, after the king’s wife had died. Some believe his name derived from the Latin Maurus (Moor). He usurped the throne on the death of Silo, his brother-in-law (the husband of his half-sister Adosinda). At Adosinda’s insistence, the “palace” faction of the nobility had elected the adolescent Alfonso II, son of Mauregato’s older half-brother King Fruela I (ruled 757-768) and a captured Basque woman. At that time, monarchs were elected by the nobility, as in the earlier Visigothic Kingdom, and chosen from a limited number of dynasties. Preference tended to go to the son of a king or, where that was not possible, to the husband of a king’s daughter, or, failing that, to another male of royal lineage thought capable of governing.
Mauregato, who was supported by other members of the nobility, assembled a large army of supporters and forced Alfonso into exile. For this reason, he is known as Mauregato the Usurper. (After the death of Mauregato and the brief reign of Bermudo I, Alfonso II regained the throne and ruled from 791 to 842.) For the overthrow of Alfonso II, Mauregato had to have help. Since ancient times, it has been speculated that the Moors assisted him.
It is difficult to discern exactly which victory over the Moors led to naming the church “de las Victorias.” According to some versions of the legend, the tribute ended when the four maidens were freed; according to others, it ended when King Mauregato died (in 788 or 789). However, it is also said that Ramiro I (King of Asturias 842-850) decided to end this nightmare and declared war. According to legend, the battle took place in Clavijo (15 km from Pamplona), in which Ramiro defeated the Moors. When the Christian troops were almost overcome, the Apostle James (Santiago) is said to have appeared riding a white horse and decided the battle in favor of the Christians, who removed the disgraceful tribute. The Battle of Clavijo is now regarded to be fictional, but was believed for centuries. Stories invented centuries later claimed it was fought between Spanish Christians led by Ramiro I of Asturias and the Muslims led by the Emir of Córdoba. The date of 834, originally assigned to the battle, was changed in more modern times to 844 because of contradictions in the story (for example, the reign of Ramiro I did not start until 842).
However, historians believe the naming of this church for Santa María de las Victorias probably refers to the victory over the Moors achieved by Bermudo I (reigned from 788 or 789 to 791, father of Ramiro I) or the victory of Alfonso III (ruled 866-910) who, after defeating the Moors at Zamora in 901, came to celebrate in Carrión. Any of these victories could have led to the name of the church.
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – old photo, showing south porch with flying buttresses on left (www.carriondeloscondes.org).
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south side, showing south porch with flying buttresses on left; the part at right with lighter-colored stone is probably the Baroque presbytery (www.carriondeloscondes.org).
The main chapel in the apse was demolished in 1685 to erect a large Baroque presbytery (sanctuary with main altar) with a heavy dome. Also in the 17th century, flying buttresses were added to the south side in order to avoid collapse of the church walls because of the weight of the vaults. These buttresses were subsequently covered with a coffered ceiling, forming a porch over the south portico.
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south portico, under a porch formed by buttresses with coffered ceiling (commons.wikimedia.org).
The south façade, begun in 1130, has an outstanding Romanesque frieze, spandrels, archivolts, and corbels.
10:12 AM – Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south portico with frieze just below coffered ceiling; under the flying buttresses are spandrels, between the frieze and the arch of the door.
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south façade: clear view of coffered ceiling separated from frieze by checkered cornice; corbels and metopes just under cornice; frieze of the Epiphany; and archivolt over door (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rabiespierre/2315033878/).
The long upper frieze was altered by the placement of the flying buttresses added in the 17th century, so that the ends of the frieze are now on the insides of the buttresses. The frieze represents the full cycle of the Epiphany. From right to left, it begins with King Herod sitting on his throne and giving the order for the massacre of innocents to his subjects (who appear on the flying buttress). Next to him are two of the three Magi (apparently with camels) heading for Herod’s palace and then the other wise man asking Herod (who appears again on his throne listening to him) where the Messiah was to be born. Then you can see three very deteriorated figures on horseback, which seem to be the Magi again, on their journey to Bethlehem. Following that, are again the three Magi, the first still on the wall and the other two already on the flying buttress, in the act of adoring of Jesus and offering him their gifts. Finally, you can see an image of the Virgin seated on a throne with the Child (headless) on her lap receiving the gifts.
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south façade: left wrap-around of frieze shows the three Magi (two on the buttress, one still on the wall); visible on the main part of the frieze are two of the three mounted figures (Magi on their journey to Bethlehem); close view of corbels and metopes at top of frieze (https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8555/8769532739_8251d5313c_b.jpg).
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south façade: Adoration of Magi at left end of frieze on buttress (http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4888825558_09eae26d67.jpg).
At the top of the frieze, the corbels (jutting out of the wall with various figures and supporting the checkered cornice) and metopes (rectangular elements that fill the space between two figures in a frieze—in this case, between corbels). Nine corbels are preserved between the two flying buttresses, but considering the original length of the frieze, it is likely that there were formerly 13 corbels and 12 metopes.
The corbels abound in figures of animals, both real and imaginary, although there are several humans; from right to left, there are: a head of an animal which could be a calf or a cow; a harpy; a mask; an eagle with outstretched wings; an animal on its back (maybe a bear); a contortionist; a man with what looks like a harp in his left hand; a fantastic animal; and a character with a load on his shoulders.
In the metopes are animals and some of the signs of the Zodiac; from right to left are: the head of a bull (possibly a rare configuration of Taurus), an animal, perhaps a ram (Aries), decapitated by the adjacent corbel; an elephant ridden by a man with a stick (which would not be part of the zodiac).; a kind of coiled snake (Scorpio), an animal that looks like a deer with vegetal decoration (Sagittarius, represented by its prey), a winged woman holding a scale (which could be Virgo or Libra); two birds with the intertwined necks, two lions on them; and a lion (Leo).
10:12 AM
(Paint) - Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south façade with spandrels (see red circles) under flying buttresses.
On the sides are spandrels (ornamented spaces between the curve of the arch and the horizontal frieze), also altered by the insertion of the flying buttresses. They are decorated with two riders who seem to symbolize the struggle of good against evil. On the left is a man (possibly Samson or David) riding on a lion. On the right is a knight (possibly the Emperor Constantine, Charlemagne, or Santiago Matamoros) on a horse trampling a man on the ground. These two figures have been mutilated by the flying buttresses, losing their heads.
10:11 AM - Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south façade – spandrel on left with man riding on lion (both beheaded when buttress added).
10:10 AM - Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south façade – spandrel on right with knight on horse trampling a man on the ground (both knight and horse are headless).
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south façade – archivolts over main door (en.wikipedia.org Cropped).
The arch of the south door is formed by 5 semicircular archivolts. The second (from outside) archivolt, badly eroded, shows a series of varied 37 characters that are not related to each other nor to the rest of the façade, although some are grouped into specific topics, such as crafts, musicians, or vices. This is new in the Castilian Romanesque, although it had already done in the Navarra and Aragon.
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south façade - lower left part of archivolt and left capitals
The 2nd and 4th archivolts are supported by four columns with capitals, in which for a long time the people have thought to see representations of the famous Tribute of the Hundred Maidens. On the capitals of the left are bearded men (perhaps the Moors) and some women (perhaps the maidens). Of the two capitals on the right, the interior one seems to consist of interwoven plants, and the exterior one shows humans mounted on quadrupeds (possibly horses, but with large heads and open mouth, suggesting lions).
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south façade – outside left capital (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rabiespierre/2315030412).
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south façade – front of inside left capital (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rabiespierre/2314222595).
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south façade – side of inside left capital with bearded men (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rabiespierre/2314222347).
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south façade – capitals on right (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rabiespierre/2314219911).
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south façade – outside right capital (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rabiespierre/2314220891).
Inside the bottoms of the innermost archivolt are four corbels in the form of fierce bull heads that project out onto the sides of the main door.
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south façade – south door with bull head corbels (see red circles) (wikimedia.commons.org).
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south façade – bulls on left corbels (es.wikipedia.org).
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santa María – south façade – bull heads on right corbel with capitals (es.wikipedia.org).
We stopped briefly at a pilgrim store for MT to look at hats (she didn’t care for her blue rain hat) but did not buy one.
Iglesia de Santiago was built in the mid-12th century in Romanesque style. It was part of a vanished monastery complex, and initially adjoined the primitive city wall. The church was destroyed by the explosion of a powder magazine during the War of Independence (1811) but thankfully leaving the magnificent west façade and its frieze intact, as a national monument. The church was rebuilt in 1849, using the original materials but reducing the size; the tower was rebuilt in Moorish style. The building has now been adapted as a museum where the image of Santiago Matamoros continues the theme of death and destruction.
10:15 AM – Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santiago – west façade, with frieze, under bell tower.
10:16 AM – Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santiago – west façade frieze; sign for “Museo” (Museum), which the building now houses.
The west façade is its most interesting artistic feature. Its arch is topped by a frieze in high relief, whose iconography summarizes the apocalyptic Revelation of John the Evangelist on Patmos. In the center, Christ in Majesty (Pantocrator) is seated on a throne with the Book of Life (closed because the judgment has not yet started), surrounded by four animals that are emblems of the four Evangelists. On both sides of this scene are figures of the 12 Apostles (6 on either side), custodians of the 12 gates of the heavenly Jerusalem. The frieze has been damaged by the normal wear and tear of time and a fire of 1811, but the figures of apostles on the left side are the best preserved and retain their trefoil arches. The 1st apostle to the left of the Pantocrator is San Pedro (St. Peter) with the keys to heaven and the arch above it reads “PET[RUS].” The 2nd is unrecognizable and has no inscription, since part of his arch is missing. The 3rd clearly represents Santiago and its arch reads “IACOBUS.” The 4th apostle has no inscription. The arch of the 5th apostle reads “[I]ACOBV[S MIN]O[R]S” and is believed to be James the Lesser. The 6th has no inscription.
This frieze is regarded as one of the most outstanding works of the late Romanesque in the Iberian peninsula. The figure of Christ (Pantocrator) is one of the most interesting representations of the Spanish Romanesque, due to its distance from the conventional and its proximity to classical sculpture. The treatment of the hair and beard and the mastery of the arrangement of folds in the clothing underline the great talent of the sculptor. The figures representing the Evangelists are fashioned with particular finesse and naturalism in the gestures of the characters, something not too common in Romanesque sculpture, which generally tries to represent a symbolic and anti-naturalistic world. In spite of being of the late 12th century, this work is far from the static style characteristic of the Romanesque; here the figures seem to be alive, looking forward toward the Gothic style.
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santiago – west façade – Christ (Pantocrator) in center of frieze (https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1486/24130874784_98790d6c00_b.jpg).
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santiago – west façade - Santiago Apóstol on left side of frieze (commons.wikimedia.org cropped).
10:16 AM - Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santiago – west façade – archivolts over main door (Cropped).
The segments of the archivolts show 2 figures of lions and 24 figures. It was once thought that these represented the Elders of the Apocalypse, of which there are also 24. However, they actually represent of medieval trades (guilds) of Carrión, evoking the vitality of the town during the 12th century. Represented from left to right are: a lion; a bearded man without arms; a young man (a smith?) hitting a tape on the anvil; a man with a globular vessel or vial of an alchemist (or a potter?); a shoemaker cutting out a leather shoe with huge scissors; a potter or embosser of coins; a smelter or blacksmith; a metal manipulator; a man lifting his right hand toward the opposite shoulder carrying a mask on that hand (possibly a minstrel or juggler); a blacksmith with bellows, who curiously seems to be a Jew, since he wears the hat and has curls falling to the sides of his face; a copyist; a reader monk; a harpist; a judge stroking his beard and with the scepter, symbol of his power; a cobbler; a locksmith; a blacksmith working on an anvil; two warriors fighting each other; a mourner; a vihuela (Spanish lute) player; a famous contortionist dancer; a tailor; and another lion.
10:16 AM (Cropped) - Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de
Santiago – west façade – left side of archivolt: a lion; a bearded man without
arms; a young man (a smith?) hitting a tape on the anvil; a man with a globular
vessel or vial of an alchemist (or a potter?); a shoemaker cutting out a leather
shoe with huge scissors; a potter or embosser of coins; a smelter or
blacksmith; a metal manipulator; a man lifting his right hand toward the
opposite shoulder carrying a mask on that hand (possibly a minstrel or juggler);
a blacksmith with bellows, who curiously seems to be a Jew, since he wears the
hat and has curls falling to the sides of his face; a copyist; a reader monk; a
harpist; a judge stroking his beard and with the scepter, symbol of his power; a
cobbler.
1143a1-2
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santiago – west façade – bottom left part of
archivolt: a bearded man without arms; a young man (a smith?) hitting a tape on
the anvil; a man with a globular vessel or vial of an alchemist (or a potter?);
a shoemaker cutting out a leather shoe with huge scissors; a potter or embosser
of coins (https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6060/6286086747_ab0110e28b_b.jpg).
1143a1-3
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santiago – west façade – top left section of
archivolt: a shoemaker cutting out a leather shoe with huge scissors; a potter
or embosser of coins; a smelter or blacksmith (https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2857/13428593994_df40b5baae_b.jpg).
10:16 AM (Cropped) - Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de
Santiago – west façade – right side of archivolt a reader monk; a harpist; a
judge stroking his beard and with the scepter, symbol of his power; a cobbler; a
locksmith; a blacksmith working on an anvil; two warriors fighting each other;
a mourner; a vihuela (Spanish lute) player; a famous contortionist dancer; a
tailor; and another lion.
1143c-1
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santiago – west façade - archivolt section
left near top of arch: (part of) a man, possibly a minstrel; a blacksmith with
bellows (https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8277/8842975165_f3cd81be46_b.jpg).
1143a-4
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santiago – west façade – top section of
archivolt: a reader monk; a harpist; a judge stroking his beard and with the
scepter, symbol of his power; a cobbler (https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6226/6312046811_4d88f83be2_b.jpg).
1143ez Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de
Santiago – west façade – upper right part
of archivolt: locksmith, blacksmith working on anvil, two warriors fighting
each other, a mourner (flickr.com).
These archivolts rest on a column on each side. The capitals show the struggle between good and evil. The left capital shows the virtues; its front side shows a lion with open jaws (the devil) trying to reach the soul of a righteous person, protected by two angels that scare the lion while a third pulls him by the hair; the other side of that capital shows the lion with mouth closed and the soul of a righteous man carrying a book in his hands, still protected by angels. The capital on the right shows the condemnation of souls; the inside shows the body of a sinner who, after being buried, is removed from the tomb, and the front side shows him left naked (symbol of shame) and helpless before two dogs that continuously bite and devour him, showing the constant torture of Hell. Above each capital are borders with plant motifs and showing various intertwined, finely carved figures representing the despair of souls in sin when failing to reach Heaven.
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santiago – west façade – front of left capital (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rabiespierre/2314863468/).
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santiago – west façade – front and inside of left capital (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rabiespierre/2314860096/).
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santiago, right side of left capital
(commons.wikimedia.org).
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santiago – west façade – inside of right capital (commons.wikimedia.org).
Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santiago – west façade –inside and front of right capital (flickr.com).
10:16 AM – Carrión de los Condes: Iglesia de Santiago – opposite the west façade is a banner for “Iglesia de Santiago Apóstol.”
We continued through town.
10:24 AM – Carrión de los Condes: Supermercado David, with signs on door for Pizzas Campofrío and Ternera Rabo [veal tail]; in window for Aciete Oliva [olive oil], Lechazo [suckling lamb], and Morcillas [blood sausage] de Fuenteandrino.
10:27 AM – Carrión de los Condes: run-down house for sale at top of steps.
10:27 AM – Carrión de los Condes: close-up of house for sale with missing wall (open house?) with “Se Vende” (For Sale) sign (telephoto, 76 mm).
On the way out of town, we passed through the suburb of San Zoilo with a 4-star hotel in the Real Monasterio de San Zoilo.
The Real Monasterio de San Zoilo (10th to 16th century) dates from the 10th century (prior to 948, originally called San Juan Bautista), but was endowed again in 1047 by the Counts of Carrión, at which time the name changed to San Zoilo and relics of that saint were brought here from Córdoba. In 1076, the Countess Teresa donated the monastery to the powerful Order of Cluny. By the second half of the 11th century, it had become one of the most important monastic institutions in the Tierra de Campos. Although originally built as a monastery, the royal family of Castilla y León used it as their court (hence the Real [royal] designation). It has Romanesque elements but was largely influenced by the Renaissance period, including the splendid Plateresque cloisters. It is now a national monument and has been restored as a private hotel similar to a Parador.
10:34 AM – San Zoilo: Real Monasterio de San Zoilo – Baroque main façade.
10:39 AM – San Zoilo: Camino marker with route options, at end of town; we chose the straighter, dashed route to Calzadilla de la Cueza.
At the far edge of San Zoilo, MT stopped at a gas station for baño, before starting on the long trek. The name of the station was Río Nubis, an older name for Río Carrión, which we had just crossed between Carrión de los Condes and San Zoilo.
10:44 AM – San Zoilo: Río Nubis gas station at end of town – sign with gas prices (per liter) [comma = decimal point].
At the first Option, we chose not to follow the N-120 highway, but to follow a blacktopped narrow road to just past the ruins of the 12th-century Abadía Santa María de Benevivere.
The Abadía Santa María de Benevivere was once an illustrious 12th-century abbey. After the death of his wife, Don Diego Martínez de Villamayor decided to retire to the contemplative life and founded the abbey in 1169. This was apparently his idea of “good living” (bene vivere). The abbey was occupied by Canons Regular living in community under the rule of St. Augustine. In its heyday, it has six subordinate priories. The founder established a pilgrim hospital next to the abbey, served by the monks. The abbey was famous in the 12th century, but its fame was enhanced by the Poema de Benevivere (Poem of Benevivere), written in Latin around the beginning of the 13th century. It tells the story of Don Diego Martínez, who aspired to be a saint, and King Alfonso VII of Castile, in whose court he had been a very influential advisor. It contrasts the religious and secular goals and ideals, and shows their intimate relationship. The monks lost their property in the Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal of 1835. The monastery was sold in 1843 and almost completely demolished.
Then we took the gravel road (usually raised above the fields) over the Calzada Romana (Roman road) known as Via Aquitana. The Roman road led us all the way to Calzadilla de la Cueza.
The Via Aquitana provided a link between Burgos and Astorga. It is alternatively known as the Calzada de los Peregrinos (Road of the Pilgrims). This stretch of the original Roman road is still intact after 2,000 years. More remarkable is the fact that this section goes through an area of bog land devoid of any stone for its construction. It is estimated that 100,000 tons of rock were needed just for the substrata to raise the surface above the winter flood levels, and every ton had to be transported from elsewhere.
12:32 PM – Via Aquitana: hay bales covered in white plastic.
12:50 PM – Via Aquitana: gravel road through fields with nothing much to see.
We passed the Fuente de Hospitalejo rest area (which had no fountain) in a small poplar grove. All the way from Carrión de los Condes, we saw only 2 other pilgrims on foot (a young South Korean man who stayed near us most of the way but stopped behind at the second rest area; and a young lady we saw taking a break under some trees shortly before that). Otherwise, we saw a few bikers and one middle-aged couple on an ATV with helmets, but with their packs on the front of the vehicle.
Finally, in the distance, we saw a tower, but we were having some doubts when we approached it, seeing only that tower and a hay barn. Luckily, Calzadilla de la Cueza was hidden downhill behind them.
1:34 PM – Via Aquitana: where we saw the first glimpse of the tower in Calzadilla de la Cueza (to right of road), at 1:34 pm [hard to find it in photo].
1:34 PM – Via Aquitana: where we saw the first glimpse of the tower in Calzadilla de la Cueza (to right of road), at 1:34 pm [hard to find it in photo (see red circle)].
2:01 PM – Via Aquitana: clearer view of tower in Calzadilla de la Cueza, at 2:01 pm.
We arrived in Calzadilla de la Cueza (pop 60) at 2:20 pm.
The first part of the name, Calzadilla, is the diminutive of calzada (from the Vulgar Latin calciata, which means way or road), in reference to the Roman road than ran through it. The last part of the name comes from the río Cueza nearby to the west.
3:58 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: tower, cemetery, and hay barn (on hill NE of town).
3:58 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Camino marker and sign at entrance to town.
3:57 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Back side of Camino sign (showing distance to next town as 9 km to Terradillos de los Templarios), Camino marker and mud brick enclosure (a corral?).
3:58 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Albergue Camino Real (from near town entrance sign) next to Albergue Municipal de Peregrinos; road to left curves around to the hostal.
3:56 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Albergue Camino Real (a block E of hostal) with sign on wall for “piscina” (pool).
3:59 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: arrow on street in front of albergue pointing down the road to the bar-hostal.
We got a double room with bath for 40€ at Hostal Camino Real and got sellos: “Hostal-Restaurante ‘Camino Real’.” The owner of both albergue and bar-hostal, César Acero, is a seasoned Camino pilgrim. He had done the Camino five times.
3:53 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: SE corner of Hostal Camino Real.
4:23 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Hostal Camino Real from SW (Jacotrans van at right).
3:53 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Hostal Camino Real entrance (with taxi phone number at right).
2:16 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Hostal Camino Real – our room, No. 203.
2:16 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Hostal Camino Real - our room, No. 203, doors to hall and bathroom.
3:51 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Hostal Camino Real – 2nd [US 3rd] floor top of staircase (near our room).
3:51 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Hostal Camino Real – view from 2nd [US 3rd] floor down staircases – to ground floor with man working at bar (left) and reception desk (right).
3:51 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Hostal Camino Real – view from 1st [US 2nd] floor landing; reception desk on ground floor.
3:52 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Hostal Camino Real - view from 1st [US 2nd] floor landing; bar on ground floor.
Don showered; we washed clothes and hung them on Don’s line in the window of our room. We went downstairs to the bar for a large bottle of water, 1 pincho de tortilla (2€), and a plate of olives (total 4€). We got the girl working at the bar (reluctantly) to call Casa El Cura at Calzadilla de los Hermanillos for us and reserve a room for the next night. She had a hard time communicating with the person who answered and even asked them if they spoke Spanish, but she finally got the reservation for us (we hoped). Then MT went up to shower, and Don toured the town.
3:53 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Jacotrans Transporte de Mochilas (Transport of Bags) van parked just E of Hostal Camino Real.
4:00 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: mud brick building near mud brick walled enclosure (corral?).
4:01 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: mud brick walled enclosure (corral?) on way up to cemetery.
4:03 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: another remnant of mud brick wall near cemetery (hay barn on right).
4:04 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: cemetery gate with “Descansen en Paz” [Rest in Peace].
4:05 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: bell tower in cemetery.
4:05 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: view from cemetery of E part of town, with mud brick enclosure (corral?) at left.
4:06 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: view from cemetery of mud brick enclosure (corral?) (telephoto, 112 mm).
4:05 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: view from cemetery of town W of albergue, including church.
4:06 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: view from cemetery of back (N) side of old church San Martín (telephoto, 112 mm).
4:09 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Iglesia de San Martín – SE corner – mud bricks visible beneath better kiln bricks.
4:09 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Iglesia de San Martín – front (S) side with entry (closed) and belfry.
Apparently Iglesia de San Martín is still in use, since guidebooks say it has a 16th-century Renaissance altarpiece installed when the nearby 12th-century Monasterio de Santa María de las Tiendas (ruins to the west, on río Cueza) was deconsecrated.
4:10 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Iglesia de San Martín – south side (from SW).
4:12 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: mud brick building in Calle Mayor.
4:12 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: another building on same corner (of Travesa Mayor and Calle Mayor) with mix of mud brick and kiln brick.
4:13 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: farther W on Calle Mayor – newer brick houses with flowers (the second one has a coat of arms).
4:14 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: coat of arms of Acero family (name of owner of hostal and albergue) on nice modern house in Calle Mayor (telephoto, 133 mm).
4:14 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Acero house on Calle Mayor.
4:19 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: mud brick wall at SW edge of town.
At 7:30, we ate 11€ menu dinner at Hostal Camino Real: 1st course: we split verduras (vegetables) and macaroni with tomato and meat sauce; 2nd course: both had salmon (steaks) with rice (vice fries); dessert: MT had an orange/Don strawberry yogurt; bottle + 1/3 red wine from León (they brought a 2nd bottle); bottle of water; bread.
8:03 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Hostal Camino Real – salmon with rice (vice fries), bread, and wine.
8:05 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Hostal Camino Real – view of dining room from near door to reception; MT at left.
8:05 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Hostal Camino Real – dining room; MT with her salmon and wine in foreground and the South Korean pilgrim near the door. (He said he never did catch us on the path, but he had started from Frómista at 5 am; he had only 17 days to go from Burgos to Santiago.)
8:05 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Hostal Camino Real – Don eating salmon, with our 2nd bottle of wine.
8:06 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Hostal Camino Real – our 2nd bottle of wine (“Pago – Zarza Los Loritos” vino tinto from Bodegas Gonzalo in León) and MT checking her photo on iPhone instead of eating her salmon.
8:11 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Hostal Camino Real – Don and MT with 2 waitresses (the one at left had made the phone call for us).
8:43 PM – Calzadilla de la Cueza: Hostal Camino Real – sunset from our window.
No comments:
Post a Comment