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Peoples and mysteries of the Camino de Santiago: Castroquilame, León

Peoples and mysteries of the Camino de Santiago: Castroquilame, León

May 2019 · 7 min read · Castile and León

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'I looked and behold a hurricane wind came from the north, a great cloud, with fire that flashed continuously and brightly around and within it like the sparkle of bronze in the midst of the fire. In its center appeared the figure of four living beings, whose aspect was this: they had a human form, but each one had four aspects and four wings each. His legs were straight, and the soles of his feet were like the hooves of a calf. They shone like the sparkle of burnished bronze. They had human hands below the wings, on their four sides. The four had faces and wings. Their wings were joined to each other, they did not turn as they walked, each one went from front to front. As for the shape of their faces, a man's face and a lion's face to the right of the four, a bull face to the left of the four and the four had an eagle's face. Such were its aspects. Their wings were spread out above, with each other having two wings that joined one another and two others covering their bodies. Each one went from front to front, they went towards where the wind impelled them, without turning to walk ... '(1)
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It would not hurt, before getting into details about this authentic Romanesque jewel, which is the Pantocrator that is currently preserved in the parish, note that Castroquilame is a small village in Berciano, which is accessed following an interesting and tremendously significant route.
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A route, eminently mystical, over which looms, still alive in popular memory, the shadow of some knights-the Templars-whose memory, in the figure of one of his great Masters, Guido de Garda, is still being commemorated every summer in what was its main strength in the region: the castle of Ponferrada.
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A route that, following the winding course of an emblematic Sil River in the direction of the neighboring province of Ourense -one of the first towns in Ourense that the traveler finds is O Barco, sadly famous for the terrible fire suffered this summer- leaves behind places like Cacabelos, where at the door of his sacristy, there is a genuinely unique engraving, showing the Baby Jesus playing cards with San Antonio, if I remember correctly.
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Priaranza del Bierzo, where a sentinel of the Temple greets and dismisses travelers and pilgrims, from the gate of his sacred tree; the castle of Ulver or Cornatel, where the fratres milites not only protected the pilgrim and offered him hospitality in his transcendental journey to the west, but also controlled the access to that thousand-year ruin montium, which are Las Médulas; Las Médulas, which is possibly its most popular and well-known viewpoint, that of Arellán, in the vicinity of Borrenes, where there was a Celtiberian fort and a hospital for pilgrims.
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And above all, for lovers of beauty and legends, Carucedo and its lake. A lake that inhabits, since time immemorial, an enchanted xana, well known in the neighboring province of Asturias: Carissia or Caricea.
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A tour, then, that surrounding the mythical environment of Las Médulas, leads us to a second viewpoint, that of Vega de Yeres, and after that, a few kilometers away, to Castroquilame and its ancestral lost history.
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To say that this is one of the three Pantocrator that survive in the province of León, involves leaving, also manifest, that acid sensation that ravages the question, or rather, to make cavaliers about the irreplaceable cultural and heritage losses, which have made of our History a puzzle that even memory can not complete.
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Having said that, we should not be surprised to know that this authentic relic is alien to the parish church that shelters it, and belonged to a nearby hermitage, which has fallen into disrepair. There would be much to add, on the other hand, about the rich and at the same time ancient symbolism that these figures that surround a Christ in Maiestas recreate.
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The Bible, at the beginning of the vision of Ezekiel, already offers us a good proof of this, bringing to mind the primordial representations that would later be associated with the figures of the four Evangelists. But it is not the only biblical testimony, this one of Ezekiel; we find yet another reference in the Apocalypse of San Juan, a difficult, complicated and visionary text, at first considered as apocryphal but which, notwithstanding the detail, forms an essential part of that cosmogenic set, which today constitutes a Vulgate Bible, reach of all.
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Whether or not this one, the beloved disciple of Jesus-let us not forget the many reflections that have been made about the figure of Mary Magdalene-in his visions, coincides practically with the vision of Ezekiel, however, being his description, the following : To the point I was caught in spirit.
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And I saw a throne placed in the sky and on the throne to one seated. The one who was sitting looked like a jasper stone and sardonice. And the nimbus that surrounded the throne looked like an emerald. Around the throne I saw twenty-four thrones and twenty-four elders sitting on the thrones in white robes and crowns of gold on their heads. Lightning and voices and thunder come from the throne, even flaming torches are burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. In front of the throne there is like a transparent sea, similar to crystal. And in the middle of the throne and around the throne, four living beings, full of eyes in front and behind. The first is similar to a lion, the second, like a bull, the third has the face like a man and the fourth is similar to an eagle in flight ... (2).
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Located above and to the left of the door - not a portico - of access to the temple, the first thing that strikes the attention in this singular Pantocrator, is that it preserves practically all of its original polychrome.
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On each side of the mandorla - or vulva, depending on what is seen - that makes up the Christic interior - a crowned Christ, who makes the gesture of blessing with the right hand, while the left holds an open book, the pedestals of his throne being two animals, possibly two lions - four nimbadas, represent the four evangelists; an angel, replaces the figure of man, and the lion and the bull have, if not the six wings of the visions of Ezekiel and John, the two that remember the sacred representations of Mesopotamian mythology.
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This would not be strange, in principle, if we consider the considerations of Robert Graves and Raphael Patai (3) in that many of the Hebrew myths had their origin in the Mesopotamian and Egyptian cosmogonies. But although there are temples from other latitudes, possibly constitute one of the few examples that can be found on this side of the Peninsula. It could well be said, therefore, that we are here with a truly monumental piece, worthy of admiration and, of course, a deep study.
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Notes, References and Bibliography:

(1) Ezekiel, 1,1.
(2) Apocalypse, 4, 2-8.
(3) Robert Graves and Raphael Patai: 'The Hebrew Myths', Alianza Editorial, S.A., Madrid, 1986.

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[Martial, latin poet]

Ars vtinam more Animvm qve effingere. Posses pulchrior in ter. Ris nvlla tabella foret.
Arte Ojala pudieras representar. el carácter y el espíritu. No habría sobre la tierra. Imagen más bella

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@Tximeleta tiene nuevos retos.
Toca la imagen y participa.
Diviértete y disfruta.

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