The Way of St. James

One night a monk named Pelagius glimpsed a light in an area of the bishopric of Iria-Flavia (NW Spain). The monk communicated his vision to his superior, Bishop Teodomiro, discovering a cave in the right place inside which came a marble ark where the mortal remains of St. James were found. The Apostle James was the first evangelizer of the Iberian Peninsula. Following his martyrdom and death in Jerusalem, his disciples Athanasius and Theodore moved his remains to the Galician coast, aboard a boat, and there buried the body.

The discovery was made on July 25 of the year 814 and the Asturian monarch, Alfonso II of Asturias, moved on pilgrimage to the place and ordered to build a small basilica and a Benedictine monastery. The little village began to grow into Compostela (whose name derives, according to the medieval tradition, the Latin language "Campus Stellae"). In the year 899 more basilica was consecrated, ordered by King Alfonso III of Asturias.

The discovery of the relics of St. James spread throughout Europe, where the cult of relics was becoming an obsession, like the need to find a binder that served to expel all evil looming over Europe, especially Islam. No wonder the Apostle James "will collaborate" on numerous occasions with the Christian kings in the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula and their armies will fight, courageous, shouting "James and Close Spain".

The first pilgrimages took place between the faithful of the different kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. During the tenth century, Sancho the Great (King of Navarre), made a number of improvements in the route linking the Kingdom of Navarre with the population of Compostela, in order to provide greater security to the pilgrims. Among these improvements, we find the construction of the first hospices and monasteries. This stage will end up with the dreaded raids of Almansor, who came to attack the city of Compostela and stole the bells of the Cathedral of St. James, to take them to Cordoba, loaded on the shoulders of Christian captives.

Later in the tenth century, they are recorded the first French pilgrims. Then, as you could speak of a real Way of St. James, consisting of the so-called French Way. Two entrances, from Canfranc and Roncesvalles, come together in Puente de la Reina, a town that was named after bridge built for the pilgrims to cross the river Arqa. From this village, one path continues across the north of the Iberian Peninsula to its final stage in Finisterre.

In the year 951, it appears registered the first international pilgrimage, registered by the monk Gomez (Abbey of St Martin of Albelda) and carried out by Gottschalk, bishop of Puy. In the eleventh century, the heyday of the Jacobean pilgrimages from all over the known world occurs. The success of the pilgrimages we look at the numerous hospices, hospitals, monasteries and abbeys that launches the Order of Cluny, providing greater "comfort" to the pilgrim. Other promoters of pilgrimages will be the Bishop Diego Gelmírez who managed, in 1095, Pope Urban II moved the episcopal see from Iria-Flavia to Compostela, with category of "Apostolic See" like Rome. Compostela, Rome and Jerusalem become the three most important places of pilgrimage for all Christendom.

The insecurity remained one of the main problems of the pilgrimage, so the Military Order of St. James was created. The objective of this military order was to defend pilgrims from the many dangers that lurked in the way, especially the bandits.

The pilgrims of the same region, departed in groups to defend themselves from dangers, making the trip in a time when the weather was more favorable. Before starting the pilgrimage, they entrusted their assets to a monastery whose abbot gave the pilgrim, his cane, a pumpkin (to carry water), a rosary and a purse. The trip lasted as long as the peregrine wanted. To encourage pilgrimages, pilgrims were exempted from paying tolls, and protected from the rapacity of mayors, gentlemen, waiters and thieves. The pilgrim was respected and protected both by society and by the authorities.

The role of the Way of St. James, was instrumental in the kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula and Europe, because through it, there was a fluid cultural, spiritual, economic, artistic and political exchange between the different areas passing this way. The Romanesque and Gothic art penetrated in the Iberian Peninsula, through the Way of St. James. Even immigrants from Europe who settled in Spain (called Franks) came through the Way of St. James.

Berengaria of Navarre. Queen consort of England.

(Navarra, 1165 - France, 1230) was Queen consort of England, Duchess of Normandy and countess of Anjou.

She was the eldest daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre and Queen Sancha of Castile. When King Richard the Lionheart (Richard Plantagenet), king of England, on his way to Palestine towards the Third Crusade. Berengaria (which was promised to the king secretly) joined him in the city of Messina, Italy.

On May 14, 1191, Berengaria and Richard were married at St. George's Chapel in Limassol, Cyprus. She never knew England, because from 1191-1192, the queen lived in Acre (Palestine) while her husband was fighting the Saracens. Later, they returned to Europe separately from 1192-1194 (period in which King Richard was imprisoned in Germany), she lived in Poitiers (France), contributing to the achievement of the ransom demanded by the German emperor to free her husband (in fact, the brother of Queen, prince Ferdinand of Navarre, was one of the hostages offered to secure the part of the rescue was payable). Between 1195 and 1196, Berengaria and Richard met again and resumed their living together. Thus, both projected the construction of a residence in the County of Anjou, but frequent disputes between Richard and King Philip Augustus of France's returned to definitively separate.

After the death of King Richard (1199), fallen during a siege, Berengaria initiated a dispute with her brother in law, John Lackland (John Plantagenet), the successor to her husband on the throne of England, for their refusal to comply testamentary dispositions established by Richard for his wife.

Thanks to the intervention of the Popes Innocent III and Honorius III, Berengaria was rewarded for her widow fighting of the hand of King Henry III of England, as his father (John Lackland) never got to meet the agreements made. In 1204, King Philip Augustus of France awarded her the Lordship of Le Mans, in exchange for their rights to Norman towns of Falaise and Domfront. She lived there until her death in 1230.

Anecdotes and curiosities of the Romans.

- For the Romans, mistletoe was a symbol of peace, why is used at Christmas.

- After pruning the branches of trees, women who wished become pregnant were whipped.

- The Priestesses of Venus exercised sacred prostitution in honor of this goddess. Over time, the name of the goddess came to refer to women engaged in prostitution.

- Prostitution was considered a social good.

- The verb fornicate comes from the fornices, which were the rooms where prostitutes received their customers.

- The Leno (current pimp) was in charge of maintaining order and charged a fee for the service of the prostitute.

- For the Romans there were 3 types of prostitutes: the prostitute (the woman who wants it) that is the woman handing over her body to whom she wishes. The Pala (the woman who has no choice) that accepts anyone who can pay the price demanded, and útlimo, the Meretrix (the woman who is enriched) it is the woman who makes a living freely.

- Each prostitute had, at the entrance to his room, a drawing to which reference was made sexual ability.

- The fellatio was considered the most disgusting habit that a customer could ask for. It was the most expensive service due to lack of hygiene of some customers.

- Prostitutes and women licentious habits, should wear a short tunic for distinguishing them from other women.

- The Statio Cunnulinguiorum were where gigolos offering to perform oral sex on women.

- Roman women, when they wanted to avoid becoming pregnant, sought castrated lovers.

- The mint was considered an aphrodisiac. In wartime cultivation and infusions are prohibited to avoid weakening the soldiers.

- The worst crime a woman could commit was adultery. The householder could repudiate her if he caught her committing such an act and make her execute after conducting a trial.

- Women, especially noblewomen, paid large sums to spend the night with a gladiator and even put some condition that the gladiators were not washing after the fight.

- If, on the wedding night the husband was not able to deflower his wife, she must consummate intercourse with a wooden statue of the god Priapus. This god was represented with a large erect phallus.

- That, during the wedding night, no energy was missing husband, mother of the bride put a jar of honey next to the marriage bed.

- Roman women preferred their eyebrows join on their nose. To achieve this effect, including a mixture of ant eggs and dry flies were applied.

- On December 25 coincided with the feast of the winter solstice and the feast of various Roman and Germanic gods. On the night of 24 to 25 December, the Romans celebrated the Birth of the Unconquered.

Medieval hospitals.

The health organization in Spain was, during the Middle Ages, one of the largest in the Western world. Hospitals covered as a spider web, the entire territory of the Iberian Peninsula, with a large number of centers, including shelters, charitable homes and hospitals. As a result of mergers of several establishments in large populations, or abandonment and destruction, today many of these centers are abandoned or have been completely demolished. However, we are indebted to these charities who knew mitigate the effects of the great plagues of the Middle Ages, plus famines and wars.

Hunger, leprosy and the Black Death were the great executioners of western European society. Neither the feudal lord; neither bourgeois, the servant, the artisan and peasant possessed protection against the threatening presence of evil, and Spain was no exception. Before the development of these diseases, creating a minimum of hospital facilities was agreed.

From the eleventh century, made mass pilgrimages to shrines, monasteries were overwhelmed by such an influx of people to the point of having to care at all times of day, pilgrims, which prevented the normal development of monastic life. The solution came with the founding of hospitals (in this case the hospital is a place where hospitality is practiced). Institutions often dependent on a monastery. The brotherhoods of pilgrims were also institutions that most encouraged the creation of these beneficial buildings.

The medieval hospital fulfill three basic functions: hospice for beggars, hostel for pilgrims and hospital for the sick. Moreover, these centers also became humanitarian shelters for abandoned children, dramatic social situation that was very worrying as a result of epidemics, famine and war.

In Catalonia, the hospital organization covering the areas of greatest transit of the Spanish geography, from the Mediterranean to Aragon, from the Ebro River to Occitania. Thus, these hospitals appear erected in the main towns (Barcelona, ​​Lleida, Tarragona, Tortosa, Vic, Reus and Manresa), on routes frequented comunicació (Cervera, Calaf, Olesa de Bonesvalls, Solsona ...) the edge of the inner pilgrimage routes (who deviated from the main pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela, in the Pyrenees), hospitals created in the mountain passes, the result of altruistic action of religious orders. These centers can be classified into two groups:

- Due to its location: city, country, road of pilgrimage.

- For its purpose: leprosarium, hostel, specific treatment for fever, leprosy, ergotism or St. Anthony's Fire.

The concept of hostel, refers to that at nightfall, the city closed their doors, leaving foreign hikers in need of shelter around or in the worst case, having to sleep in the open. To this end, were created some buildings that adequately fulfilled their dual mission, hospital and hostel.

From the twelfth century to the fifteenth century was experienced in Spain, a real fever construction of hospitals. This was driven mainly by the terrible epidemics that plagued Christianity and deep social inequalities. Furthermore, from the outset, the space problems were a constant in the life of the hospital.

Celtic women.

Celtic women lived in a system of equal rights and duties as men. From birth, both sexes were reared together, getting the same cultural and spiritual education, sharing their games as well as apprenticeships and they were equally brave at the time of entering the battlefield.

Among the rights, then the Roman and Christian law took care to ban (and censored) were:

- The right to choose her husband, no one could impose a wedding. The Celtic laws included the renewal of the marriage contract a year of marrying the couple.

- The woman had the right to divorce, with equitable distribution of goods. Keeping each spouse and distributing their own goods which have increased during the marriage.

- Divorce was not something shameful or frowned upon by the rest of society and concubinage.

- There was a "friendship thighs" which was that women could freely choose a man to her liking, for sex openly without thereby incur any liability on the part of one or the other. Without this imply any judgment by the rest of the clan or tribe.

- The woman managed its assets could trade and could take legal reasons if necessary.

- Women had the duty and the right to receive an equitable education for men. Women, like men, could come to practice medicine and, according to their ability and dedication, reached Druidesses ranges, poets, legislators, educators, family heads, traders, fighting and weapons instructors, obtaining the seniority of "Wise Woman".

- The Celtic women had great dignity, were tireless, cheerful, willful workers, because this was part of their tradition, like having a great strength to work in the fields, herd cattle and the rigor of the struggle.

- They had the virtue of acting like beasts to adversity or obligations, then become seductive "lovely mermaids" when love, break or holiday parties.

- Flirty quintessential Women were obsessed with personal cleanliness and aesthetics. They were experts in developing various cosmetics to color their pale faces. They had special care in choosing and designing their clothes, which they made themselves and adorned with precious stones, gold and bronze. They were excessive, like men, wearing jewelry, necklaces, bracelets, rings and hair ornaments.

The Iberian woman.

Historical context.

The Iberian culture embraces a set of pre-Roman civilizations that share a lot of ways, although there are regional differences, as the territorial occupation of this civilization covers a wide territory. This culture is closely related to colonization from the eastern Mediterranean, ie the interaction with Greek and Punic. In relation to women, in the iconography Iberian influences are seen in fashion, both in costumes and jewelry and hairstyles.

Stand out for their originality, headdresses and hairstyles, of Eastern and Greek influence but, moreover, original. Strabo have a reference in this regard: "In other places, women are combed with a rounded comb the back of the neck and tied at the head portion of the ears, which decreases gradually in height and width ". In veils, shawls and dresses also Eastern and Greek influence is evident. There are outfits with frills, fringes and borders. Among the gems are belts, necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings.

How was the life of the Iberian women?

Strabo says of the Iberian women:

"Women work the land and give birth in the same field, under a tree, and then continue working."

"The husband is the one who gives the dowry to the woman, and it is women who inherit and choose wives for their brothers".

Social context.

Some women flaunted an elevated position as priestesses, occupying a role as intermediaries between gods and men, so the Iberian ladies have been witnesses of that relationship (eg, the Lady of Elche or Dame Offeror). Sacred prostitution was practiced and found evidence of some sanctuaries.

The Iberian woman is closely related to the supernatural world of magic, of mystery, of the non-rational.

The situation of the Iberian woman depends on her social class. If she belongs to the aristocracy, she enjoys extensive powers as deduced from the regalia of their graves competing in wealth with men. The Iberian woman appears, in religious ceremonies, on an equal footing with men, or even at a higher level when it represents the Goddess (eg, the Lady of Elche or the Lady of Baza). It is even possible that the priesthood was composed entirely of women.

Most women worked with men in the care field and livestock and, in many cases, she takes over completely from the field, cattle and children, since the Iberian society was very bellicose and the confrontations between different villages were frequent. The Iberian woman looks after the family and the village while the man is fighting in the war.

Despite the positive assessment of women in the Iberian world, she makes a sedentary function, protector of the family, and is the man who moves, which embodies the individualization and power.

Women belonging to a higher social class, whose clearest example is the priestesses, had valuables and occupied a privileged position in society. Some women practiced sacred prostitution, a form of prostitution with special consideration to society.

According to Strabo: women farmed and cared for the children while men went to war and did all productive work. Women exercising craft work, woven wool and linen, while men specialized in the manufacture of swords.

Muiñeira. Spanish dance.

It is a folk dance of northwestern Spain, specifically in the regions of Galicia, Castilla y León and Asturias, to sing and dance accompanied by bagpipes, tabor, tambourine and sometimes the shells. The first paper of this dance XVI century. Today is, above all, a dance instrumental. So called because it was danced outside while waiting mills grinding.

The "Auturuxo" is a cry that is used at parties to encourage the dancers. It is usually a loud cry, sharp and prolonged. The "Aturuxo" is the cry of defiance that executed the ancient Celts of Galicia prior to their battles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18kDios7eFA

The Iberians

The Iberians was like the ancient Greek writers called the people of the east and south of the Iberian Peninsula to distinguish inland villages whose culture and customs were different.

Although the Iberians shared certain common characteristics were not a homogeneous ethnic group since diverged in many aspects. It is not known in detail the origin of the Iberians, although there are several theories that attempt to establish them:

- One hypothesis suggests that the Iberians came to the Iberian Peninsula during the Neolithic period, 5000 years before Christ.

- Another hypothesis states that these were part of the original inhabitants of Europe.

Social organization:

Iberian society was strongly hierarchical in several very different social castes, all with good and well-defined mission to properly run a society that depended on herself to maintain their city.

The noble warrior caste and was the one who had more prestige and power in society. Besides weapons, horses have also granted prestige and reflected power and greatness.

It was also important to the priesthood, in which women were a bond of life and death. The priestesses enjoyed great prestige, as were those who were in constant contact with the world of the gods.

Another was the caste of artisans, appreciated because of the clothes they left with those who dressed and sheltered from the cold, they developed the footwear, which modeled the pots to store water and food and, above all, for being who made weapons and armor.

Finally, there was the common people, who were those doing the toughest jobs.

Dama de Elche, Iberian priestess.

clothing:

- Warriors: wore a dress fabric, like the Romans, with a red border.

- Priestesses: their clothing was the one with more embellishments. From them we have inherited (in Spain today) the blanket and the comb, which is used to cover the head and body and monkeys can be seen today in the Spanish town called Castellón (fallera bun).

- Other garments: a well-known garment was sagum, a layer of wool.

The economy.

Agriculture was the mainstay of the economy. Agriculture was practiced was the rainfed crops being fundamental: cereal, grapes, olives and legumes (beans, peas and lentils). The fruits were being grown apples and figs.

In certain parts of the peninsula, also grew flax and esparto.

Sacred animals.

Animals such as bulls, lynxes, wolves and vultures, were part of the world of the gods. The bull represents virility and strength, the lynx was linked to the world of the dead, vultures took the souls of dead warriors in battles to the world of the gods.

Burials.

They used the rite of incineration. The ashes were kept in ceramic urns, cup-shaped, with lid and without decoration. These urns were placed in pits dug into the ground, along with grave goods. To indicate the location of the tomb, built mounds of various sizes, but the most elaborate were the highest class.