Graus. Church of San Miguel. Religion Repurposed?.

Church of San Miguel, Graus, Spain.

Architectural Clues to History.

Religious site.  Romanesque first, then Muslim? Back to Roman Catholic.
Interior of San Miguel.  And the Steeple-Minaret.

Church of San Miguel, Graus, Spain. Minaret / Steeple.
teeple?

The Church of San Miguel in Graus is on a side street, Romanesque in style, easily overlooked. Romanesque. That does not tell us much about its history. Romanesque as an architectural style covers an era ranging from 600-1000 AD. But Moors occupied Spain, beginning 700 in the south, and moving out and around until they were defeated by the Catholic Isabella and Ferdinand in 1492. Moors occupied the Huesca area, Graus included, since the 800's.  See http://clio.missouristate.edu/chuchiak/HST%20350--Theme%207-Maps_of_the_muslim_conquest_of_s.htm.  Until the Reconquest, that is some 700 years of Muslim rule in the area. What is the earliest date for a construction of a religious structure on this particular site?  The history of Spain: Visigoths were the Christians before the Moors, is that so? See http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?ParagraphID=ecs

That presents an issue in identifying origins, or repurposing of buildings.

• Repurposed buildings.  Moors occupied Spain (700-1492). So, was this building constructed before the Moors arrived in this particular place? Or was it constructed in the older style, after the Moors had prevailed. There are elements of Christian, Jewish, Islam.

• Is it, instead, an early Romanesque structure, repurposed into a Mosque, then repurposed back. Do parts of it predate or coincide with the occupation? For a primer on Romanesque, see http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Romanesque_architecture.html.  The steeple part looks more like a minaret than a Romanesque steeple. Did a mosque repurpose an old Romanesque Church, or did the church repurpose a mosque?

1.  Could religions really coexist. We don't do well now.  Did earlier groups do better?

We know that Christians and Jews could practice their religions under the Caliphate, the Moorish occupation from 700-800 to1492, give or take, with tax and status restrictions, under that Muslim rule. Interesting. 

Muslims conquered most of the Iberian peninsula, but did not respond against the locals by forcing them to leave, or forcing them to convert to Islam.  Any who did not convert could remain, subject to some but not onerous restrictions, compared to death.  The Muslims did not expel Christians or Jews, but incorporated their talents, again with restrictions if they chose to remain.  See http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/spain_1.shtml.

• Digression. Who really started persecution against other religions, Christians in Europe, with their heretic persecutions and killings; or Muslim, who offered choices, including remaining and practicing one's own religion, but with taxation and status restrictions. Or leave.
•   It was only with Spain's Catholic Ferdinand and Isabella, and the reconquest in 1492, that Christian approved history adopted formal forced expulsion of Jews from Spain, those who would not convert to Catholicism. Nice. Who is more "Christian" - the coexisting Muslims over 600 years; or the Christian persecutors forcing their ways on others.  And, confiscating their property.  Leave, but with nothing.

2.  Dates. So, what is the date of this Church?  It has undergone several periods of change.  The exterior remains simple and Romanesque, see http://www.spain.info/en/que-quieres/ciudades-pueblos/otros-destinos/graus.html

Wait for the baptism to conclude, and then explore further. The interior worship area at the front, the apse-end, is not Romanesque in appearance, except for the rounded arches. It looks traditional Christian. This rite is totally Roman Christian.  We sat through it. This section looks like any Catholic Church anywhere.  Fungible.

Church of San Miguel, Graus, Spain. Baptism. Altar panels, Crucifix.

The altar panels are Gothic, and date from 1450-1500.  The crucifix was donated in honor of Graus' patron saint, San Vicente Ferrer, in the year 1415.  San Vicente Ferrer:  Big festivities bubble and dance up the town, with the town's signature sausage, annually, see September fiesta that we missed.  Overviews at http://articulos.altoaragon.org/i_osca87.htm
San Miguel, Graus, Spain. Mural.  Dedication. Details?

3.  History shows not in the apse, at the altar area, but in the "cross beam" of the cruciform structure now in place for the shape of the church, and in the lower upright beam of that kind of structure. Rounder churches from earlier days were forcibly recreated to look like crosses after the Roman system prevailed.  

Cruciform churches had not been the rule before the rise of Rome's version. In earlier times, there were round churches in Christendom.  Mostly.  Charlemagne's chapel is round, so are many others.  See Egalitarian.  The priest equally accessible, all sides, all people.  No secrets. The cruciform imposition came with dogma and hierarchy.

Older dates. The more interesting elements of San Miguel are the older traces of times past:

San Miguel, Romanesque portion remains.  But note pointed as well as rounded arches. 

Were the pointed arches because the building was originally a Mosque?  It is claimed to be Romanesque, so these would not have been Gothic structures.  Both Muslim and Gothic used pointed arches. And Muslim and Romanesque used rounded.  This is why we go to less-travelled sites. Find traces without agenda added.

San Migue, Graus, Spain.  Pointed arches are also Muslim, or later Gothic.  Was this structure originally a mosque? or iwas it, for a time, repurposed Romanesque Christian.

3.  Look up, at the apex of converging arches. Whose symbolism visually, if not struturally, anchors the arches?

San Miguel, Graus, Spain. Apex, Repurposing. Non-Convergence of arches. Is this a representation of a Pilgrim, Way of Saint James?

Is that a pilgrim hat, for the Way of Saint James, one of the medieval (and contemporary) pilgrimage routes to Santiago de Compostela. at the Portuguese end of Spain, north, west.

Keep your eyes off the glitz of the Gothic, there at the Baptism area, and instead focus more on the older areas for roots.Then look up again.

 This apex symbol, again where Romanesque-Muslim arches converge, the contact point looks dogmatic; looks Celtic, even Irish.  There is a central Crucifix form, then the heraldic-shaped shields, with target in two, shield triangle in one, and cross in another. This looks old, but that assessment would take an expert. What are those symbols?

Saint Michael, Graus, Spain.  Apex of vaulting, Crucifix, then sheild heraldry, enclosed triancle, cross, target circles?

Showing the old history of changes, the arches seen from inside are off-kilter, suggesting repurposing, rebuilding, reconstruction. From what? Which came first?  All the changes at The San Miguel Church, cannot all be reconciled.  See how the arches here do not meet at the same point.  which is before, which is later.

San Miguel. Graus. Spain. Arches do not converge.  Which experts can trace origin?

Then look agaom at eye level.  Find different symbolism at a side area:

First, the Ten Commandments, and then a coat of arms.  The Ten Commandments.  Both Jewish and Christian.  What is the Koran position? No idea. So, was this Jewish-Christian tradition. When was this circular apse on the side constructed?  See the Ten Commandments, and then, below, another representation.

San Miguel, Graus, Spain. Mosaic, large tile, Ten Commandments. And, lower area, a coat of arms

The lower symbol:  It looks like a coat of arms. Which?

Now: Peer at the shape on top of that lower symbol.  Is that the large-brimmed hat worn by pilgrims on the Way of Saint James?  If so, we would expect a scallop shell to firm up the identification.  Coat of arms is in four quadrants, check the elements.

This is the Coat of Arms of Alonso of Aragon, Archbishop of Zaragoza and Valencia, and Lieutenant General of Aragon  looks like the symbol in San Miguel, Graus, found at Wikimedia Commons.  Tassles, not scales, not bells. Now, what cross displays the double bar?  Recall that in early "Christian" expansion days, popes and clergy went off to war and killed like anybody else. See Roncesvalles, Song of Roland (Charlemagne era).

Coat of Arms, Alonzo of Aragon, ArchbishopWikimedia Commons

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Coat_of_Arms_of_Archbishop_Alonso_of_Arag

This may be Saint James, scallop shell suspended on the shaft, large brimmed hat.  Graus, as other towns in the Province of Huesca, is on the route of the Way of Saint James, all finally converging after Pamplona.  The Way itself is many routes.  The Spanish consider the Pyrenees to be the real beginning, those arriving from France being preliminaries.  On the way: to Santiago as El Camino de Santiago 

San Miguel Church, possible St. James statue, Way of Saint James

What is this coat of arms?

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San Miguel, Graus, Spain. Baptismal font? But not Christian symbolism?

Loarre Castle, Spain. Clifftop, 11th Century beginning

Castles in Spain. Loarre, near Jaca.  

Loarre is one of the best, a Crusader castle with elements that predate even that.  It is a Romanesque treasure, measured by its excellent state of repair (dry, steady climate helps),  its eyrie location, open accessibility for unguided explorers roaming and climbing about, and history with Moors and conquest, invasions, migrations across borders, and defenses against further incursion, then the Reconquest. One of the best. Castles in Spain can be every iota as gripping as the legends suggest, but few offer this hands-on experience.  Go to Loarre. It is also on the tentative list for World Heritage sites, completed process by now? see http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5135/

Loarre Castle, near Jaca, Spain. Distance view from flatland side.

The History Channel featured it in a series, History vs Hollywood: The Kingdom of Heaven, see video clip at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMKWAQNKqZA.
The clip points out the three levels of defenses, the oldest part as the inner tower with its secrets and luxury; the monastery that developed around it; and, finally the much later walls.  Invasions.  See
http://www.spainisculture.com/en/monumentos/huesca/castillo_de_loarre.html

Loarre Castle, Spain, distance view, castle emerging from the cliff rock. Also near Huesca.

Loarre Castle has several towers.  The King's Tower, and the Queen's Tower. Which is which? A tunnel burrows beneath for escape to the mountain areas behind.

The oldest tower, free-standing.  1020-1030 or so, would probably be the one known as The King's Tower.  Have to check.  The walls came centuries later.  Note the half-open side of the turret, a design that became common.  A King would not always be inresidence.  This was a kind of garrison for troops, mostly, I understand, with a Castellan in charge, until finally the Moors of nearby Huesca were defeated.  It was then that the monastery was established -- no further use for a totally military structure..

Castellan's Tower, Loarre Castle, Spain

 Is this the Queen's Tower?  It is vastly restored. Small doors at ground level:  difficult for a knight in full armor to enter; or anyone on horseback.  Remove the armor, and become more vulnerable.

Castillo de Loarre, Huesca Province, Spain. Monastery complex tower, Augustinian, 1064 or so.

Interior Courtyard, Loarre Castle, Spain

Jaca - Cathedral of Jaca, Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle. Romanesque

Jaca was founded by the Romans, 2d Century AD.  In the 8th Century, Moors took over. Then later, in 795, Jaca beat back the Moors thanks to brave Women of Jaca -- see http://www.roughguides.com/destinations/europe/spain/aragon/the-aragonese-pyrenees/jaca/  Other sides dilute that to "brave men and women" -- others keep it at women.

The women fought like men.  See Google book O'Shea's Guide to Spain and Portugal.  On May 1 of each year, the event is a festival with women reenacting the fight .In Barcelona, the women who battled with such valor were knighted, yes, knighted, and the Order of the Hatchet was established for such warrior women, see http://www.heraldica.org/topics/orders/wom-kn.htm/  Later, it became unacceptable for women to be seen as warriors, and the authorization was withdrawn.  Order of the Hatchet.  Women Knights.  In Italy, this Order of militant women was known as the Order of the Glorious Saint Mary, see site.   This Order was approved by Pope Alexander IV in 1261.

• Traveling independently in various countries leads to tentative associations, all to be vetted and corrected by experts.  Nonetheless, this representation of a militant woman, at the Templar village of La Couvertoirade, France, even as obviously a later work andnot a medieval contemporary, looks like it might fit a militant order of women.  Did the Order fo the Glorious Saint Mary merely morph into a hospitaller sidekick, Order of St. Mary in Jerusalem?  Experts, to your research:

A Militant Mary, or something else? La Couvertoirade, Church, France.

Jaca is near the Somport Pass, was the first main town that Pilgrims found after crossing the Pyrenees on the Way of Saint James, aiming eventually for Santiago de Compostela, Spain.  The route through Aragon is breathtaking, see tourist video, Camino Santiago, There are many routes in Europe that converge at Santiago de Compostela.  Jaca is the most easterly town in Spain on the route.

World Heritage site:  The Jaca Cathedral.

Jaca Cathedral, Jaca, Spain. Night view.

Arrive late in the town where you plan to spend the night.  Instead of 2-3 hours in a cafe watching the people in the earlier 5PM town, see go to the next town, and arrive for the night at 7:30 at the one after that. 

Pub food is usually excellent anywhere.  Here, near the Cathedral, the worker's combination platter was 4 slices of pork and chicken (both), tomato and lettuce, fries, fried eggs, and a croquette -- a fried mashed potato croquette.  Tasty. 

Pub near Jaca Cathedral, Jaca Spain

This is an 11th Century building, when Jaca was the capital of Aragon. With the establishment of an episcopal (meaning bishop) see (meaning seat), a cathedral was required.  Renovations and add-ons in the 15th-18th Centuries clearly look added on.  

Cathedral at Jaca, side entrance loggia or open room

The older sections show original alabaster windows, sheer thin sheets of stone.  Note the ongoing need for fortifications, the high windows.

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Am trying to find this circular coat of arms/ There is dome-shaped head wear, helmet or clerical? crossed keys (?) two animals in the unusual position of feet flat to sides of the coat of arms .

Catedral de San Pedro Apostal, Jaca, Spain. Coat of arms, doorway

Jaca Cathedral, interior columns showing differing styles

I understand that the simpler forms are earlier, the fancier ones reflecting Renaissance influence in renovations.

Small capital, Romanesque, St. Peter the Apostle, Cathedral, Jaca

Come back the next morning for better light.  Here, the interior puts the capitals in context

Interior, Cathedral at Jaca, Jaca, Spain

And the, the Renaissance fancies take over.

Renaissance renovations, Cathedral at Jaca, Jaca, Spain

Belfry, Jaca, Spain.  Not the Cathedral. What?

What is this very old wall , belfy, building (new stucco).  I recall it being of an age with the Cathedral, need to find notes.

Building contemporary with Cathedral? Wall-spotting, Jaca, Spain.

La Seu D'Urgell, Cathedral of Santa Maria. Facade, entries, interior doors

History of La Seu D'Urgell.  In the middle ages, in 988, the Counts of Urgell gave control of the area we know as the tiny Pyrenees country of Andorra to the Bishops of the See of Urgell;  power from the secular to the religious.  The lovely cathedral in Urgell had been consecrated far earlier, according to the earliest known document, in 839.  See http://www.world66.com/europe/andorra/history. 

This town was already a major seat of influence.  The Andorrans, who, it is said, received their rights through a grateful Charlemagne whom they helped, wanted ongoing control of themselves, and did not take to intervention easily. The point is that this area is old, and so well preserved by being off the usual tourist routes, as to make a splendid trip. Today, locations of fine old churches are crowded in with surrounding streets, as perhaps they were then, as well. 

 Santa Maria, Romanesque. Facade, La Seu d'Urgell, Spain

Romanesque as a style is far more approachable than Gothic, with its spear-like spires and overkill on gew-gaws.  In some areas, the bulky Romanesque doubled as a place of refuge against invaders.  In this area, against the Moors.

Here, at the main door, is the simplicity of a few columns, an old door with smaller entry-doors, and graceful rounded arches drawing the eye around and into the door, not up and out somewhere to distract.  The courses break up the flat facade, scaffolding holes still there from the old construction. 

Main door, Santa Maria, Seu d'Urguell, Spain.  Romanesque.

From the inside, the door at Santa Maria is still reinforced with metal plates against invaders.  Is it close to original?  Solid beams bar it from the inside.

Main door, fortified, at Santa Maria, from the inside, See of Urgell, Spain

Why should a side door be more ornate in its surround, and the columns more numerous, with faces going around the arches?

Side door, Santa Maria, Seu d'Urgell.  Smaller door, but more and fussier columns

This entry may well be a later addition, when trinkety Gothic came in, and the old Romanesque was seen as outdated. Could that be? The faces around the arches recall a similar arrangement at the Cathedral at Sibenik, Croatia.  There, we were told that it represented a later time in Gothic where the common person began to take precedence over the old stylized arrangement of saints.  See http://croatiaroadways.blogspot.com/2006/06/sibenik-cathedral-faces-market-day-and.html

Faces, ordinary people, archway at Santa Maria, Seu d'Urgell, Spain, cathedral

Love old doors.  Here, the worn spot below the handle represents what kind of wear?  Multiple reinforcements. 

Door from inside, Seu d'Urgell, Santa Maria Cathedral, reinforcements.

Love secret doors to where? This one is barred from the inside, and up a little set of stone stairs,  so not even nice tourists can peek.

Interior door to where? Barred. Seu d'Urgell, Santa Maria, Spain.

Often a decorative entry barrier would be constructed with side entries and a center entry, for more flexibility in exit or entrance.  Here, the carvings are simple, geometric.

Seu d'Urgell, Spain.  Interior door system leading to the main fortified door.

This takes a professional, a real historical architect, to decipher.  Are our tentative conclusions, from guides here and there and not clear English and our Spanish very sad, close or not?

Monastery, down street from Cathedral of Santa Maria, Spain

More interior doors.  See the strong hinges.  Where does this one go?  There were, we understand escape routes out of the church.  This is not in a location where a crypt would normally be accessed, or a mere sacristy. 

Interior door, ornate hinges, Santa Maria Cathedral, Seu d'Urgell, Spain

Now, here is what we missed. 

There is a 9th Century Beatus, the Urgell Beatus, located at the Cathedral archive, the Cathedral of Santa Maria d'Urgell, but it does not circulate and was not referenced in our guidebooks.  See http://microfilms-and-facsimiles.medieval.library.nd.edu/catalog/facsimile-430/  These early texts are important in seeing how they, in meaning and illustration, have changed.  There is another uncirculated early Codex in Austria, at Kremsmunster Abbey. 

Cannot the entire Beatus -- as well as thte Austrian Codex -- please be scanned online? Do an Images search for Beatus Urgell and find some there, such bright colors, designs all over the page, and many in Wikimedia Commons.  We would like the entire thing.

More Archives:   look up Google street view and find us waving at the Google car in Seu d"Urgell, and its top camera, on our way back to the parking lot.  We could not locate us, but we did show enthusiasm.

The Parador:  Do treat yourself to a fine lunch, tablecloths, waiters waiting, at the fine Parador here.  Paradors are fine state-run hotels often in very old settings, and quite affordable if not used all the time. This Parador utilizes the cloisters of the old Cathedral, see http://www.paradoresofspain.com/detail.php?item=35