Spain Road Ways. Two on the Loose. Dan with down travels anywhere.: alabaster window

Castle Loarre, near the village of the same name, is on the tentative World Heritage list. Hope for fast processing, because this is a wonder of 11th Century original structures, never cannoned, never overtaken. It fell by the literal wayside once it was no longer needed for defense against the Moors, and after incorporating an Augustinian monastery within its walls was not profitable enough. See http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5135/

Castle Loarre, Loarre, Spain

Given a choice between seeing Gothic or seeing Romanesque, I choose Romanesque every time. To me, Gothic is intimidating, a power play, the institution is in control and heretics be burned. Romanesque is tolerant. For a history of this fine castle and its Romanesque heritage, then tainted by Augustinians (say I), see this Aragon tourism site, http://www.turismodearagon.com/files/Loarre%20ingl%C3%A9sInd.PDF

Castle Loarre, Access path, Spain

Is the interior of this religious space the Queen's Chapel, and is the larger structure the Church of San Pedro? Or is the Church of San Pedro a part that the monks had built when the castle incorporated a monastery? I will call all these Queen's Chapel, because it is smaller than I expect the monastery's church would be. Am trying to confirm. The chapel has also been called the Santa Maria Chapel, see the statue below. These distinctions blur as a tourist not speaking Spanish.

Loarre Castle, Queen's Chapel, Spain; original alabaster window (thin, transparent stone); Romanesque capital with leaves, horsemen?

Loarre Castle, Queen's Chapel, Spain sunset window and capitals

Loarre Castle, Queen's Chapel, Spain; capital, rosette design, seated figures,

The rosette motif is ancient, with examples from Mesopotamia, see http://www.egyptorigins.org/rosettesx.htm.

It came to mean, as it morphed into a rose, a symbol of secrecy -- sub rosa -- matters discussed under the rose (a carving above the council door, for example), were not to be revealed. See discussion of the rosette at Castle Burg Eltz in Germany.

Loarre Castle Church of San Pedro, capital, fish, river, reeds, hearts? Is that a papyrus? Is this Moses??

Loarre Castle, capital in Queen's Chapel, Daniel in lion's den?

Madonna and child, Loarre Castle sculpture, Queen's Chapel, Loarre Castle, Spain.

This may well be known also as the Santa Maria Chapel. The dark outline just appeared. I am not a photoshopper. Is this part of automatic fix?

Loarre Castle, Capital, Queen's Chapel, angel with wonderful wings

Queen's Chapel, Loarre Castle, Capital, Celtic-type basketweave capital, from Visigoth influence? Spain

Saint Luke with the Eagle? Loarre Castle, Queen's Chapel, Spain

Queen's Chapel, Loarre Castle, Spain. Uneasy lies the crowned head? Whose?

Loarre Castle, Queen's Chapel, scary tangle Capital, Spain

The best of Spain is the Pyrenees area.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Ripoll. Santa Maria de Ripoll, Capitals, Chandelier, Alabaster, Mooning?

The old Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll was founded in 879 and completed in 1046. It has been off the beaten path, away from coastal invasion areas, but near one of the main cross-Pyrenees trade and less devastating routes. The church is Romanesque: stout columns, massive naves, shallow buttresses on the outside because the height was lower, less force thrusting out from the walls, windows small, portals with sculpturing, molding, cushion or other capitals, towers, rounded arches, all preceding the lofty Gothic.

Monastery, Santa Maria de Ripull, front view, Catalan Flag

Worn figures still show coloring from original paint, and black faces and hands are not unusual. It interests me because of the number of Black Madonnas in Europe, some easily explained as ground mold after long burying, others not so explained. There apparently is a tradition of the Black Jesus in Italy, recently in a nativity display in Verona, that caused some discomfort among White Christmas folk (search) and an ancient one at Lucca, see http://austriaroadways.blogspot.com/2009/11/linz.html. Here, see also black angel faces. What explanation?

Figure of Christ, black skin, Santa Maria de Ripoll.

This circular dropped chandelier is reminiscent of Barbarossa's chandelier in Aachen, Germany, possibly, see http://www.sacred-destinations.com/germany/aachen-cathedral,

connections to Charlemagne, and another is at Vorden's Church, Germany, see http://www.germanyroadways.blogspot.com/#!http://germanyroadways.blogspot.com/2010/11/vorden-worlds-best-church-chandelier.html; when we post for Roncesvalle, I think we have a photo of a similar chandelier inside a building we could not enter, a Charlemagne-Roland memorial.

Romanesque Chandelier, circular candle-lit form, pendants, Saint Mary of Ripoll, Spain

Romanesque font or urn? Looking for notes, alabaster? Santa Maria de Ripoll Spain

Romanesque ironwork, chapel, Santa Maria de Ripoll, Spain

Then, eyes up for the capitals: When we are long gone, who will know the lives we led. These people are also gone, and we see visually the lives they led, the struggles, the battles. Our remembrances are on transitory film, in the cloud, on photo cards, albums go in the trash as people scan grandaddy into the eternal not so much eternal machine.

Romanesque capital, battle scene, Saint Mary of Ripoll, Spain; Santa Maria de Ripoll

Romanesque capital, is that God or Christ over Bishop and King?

Romanesque capital, Christ over Bishop and King, St. Maria, Ripoll, Spain

Patterned cut-out ironwork, Catalan flag upended (so it appears), whose grave, Santa Maria de Ripoll, Spain. Buried here are Wilfred the Hairy, Raymon Berenguer III, Ramon Berenguer IV, Bernat Tallaferro, Count of Basalu, Radulf, Abbot of Ripoll, son of Wilfred. Unknown location but there are, apparently, Sunifred II, Count of Barcelona (a/k/a Sunyer). Miro I, Count of Barcelona, and Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona.

Openwork fencing, burial (whose, Berenguer III?) Santa Maria de Ripol, Spain

On closer look, this looks like an animal head, and a tail. Help out here. What is this?

Openwork fencing shows form of animal, head, tail. What? St. Mary, Ripoll Spain

And the capitals continue to show ordinary people, here one with a distinctly Phrygian Cap, the pullover cap with excess fabric pulled forward ..

Phrygian cap, capital at Santa Maria de Ripoll, Spain

Eyes down now. Watch for the bases of fine capitals, this at the base of some fine red marble: animals ferocious, great tails.

Base of capital, animals fierce, Santa Maria de Ripull, Spain

Portals are fabulous -- an entire blog could examine the extent of these carvings. Here, we like the carvings, but focus also on the ironwork, the swirl, curl pattern, almost Celtic. There is a rosette shape at the top. These were not just decorative: this kind of ironwork held the thick slats of the doors together against invasion, at least for a while under stress.