SAN MILLAN DE LA COGOLLA

 Sunday was a wonderful day. We attended our meetings in the Logroño Ward. They were just wonderful. After Church we took a bus to San Millán de la Cogolla. We had a very reverent visit to the 6th-century monastery of Suso (below)

The monastery began as a hermitage where San Millán and other monks sought refuge from the world. Over years it expanded to include a chapel and some royal tombs. One of it many unique qualities are the phases of its construction from caves to the addition of a Mozarabic chapel to a later Romanesque addition. 

The entry to Suso: It is here the Gonzalo de Berceo wrote his collection entitled Milagros de Nuestra Señora (Miracles of our Lady).

The entrance area opens up on to the monastery's portico. Here lay the remains of the Seven Sons of Lara (left-hand side of the photo). According legend, the seven brothers, sons of the nobleman Gonzalo Gustioz, were captured by Muslims in an ambush prepared by Ruy Velázquez. They were taken to Cordoba where they were beheaded. The bodies were returned to Castile and according to tradition were deposited in stone tombs now located in this southern portico of the monastery of Suso. Mudarra (also called "son of the renegade"), bastard son of Gonzalo Gustioz —father of the infants— and Almanzor's sister (the very man who had ordered the death of the seven brothers) took it upon himself to avenge the deaths of his stepbrothers.

At the far end of the portico is the tomb Ayo Nuño and on the right-hand side are where two queens of Navarra (Ximena and Elvira) are buried as well as don Tello González, lord of Cameros.

At the entrance are these beautiful alabaster capitals

Here is one of the caves where the monks lived and was later transformed into a crypt for royalty.

San Millán was buried here (later his remains were transferred to much newer late 10th - early 11th-century Yuso monastery in the valley below). According to legend King García of Navarra had ordered the relocation of the saints remains further down the valley. However, it is said that when the oxen pulling the cart reached the spot where the Yuso Monastery is located that they fell to their knees and refused to move any further. His remains are located in Yuso but in Suso a cenotaph was placed. The piece dates from the 12th century and is truly a beautiful work of art:

On Monday we spent time in the Monastery Yuso. In the morning we learned about the Glosas emilianenses. These are early transcriptions of Latin text into the vernacular. These date from the 10th and 11th centuries and represent the earliest known commentaries of what is known as Navarra-Aragonese (later to be seen as the origins of Castilian Spanish). The most salient of the texts is an invocation:

“Cono aiutorio de nuestro dueno dueno Christo, dueno Salbatore; qual dueno get ena honore et qual duenno tienet ela mandatione cono Patre cono Spiritu Sancto enos sieculos delo sieculos, facamus Deus Omnipotes tal serbitio fere ke denante ela sua face gaudioso segamus. Amén”. 

[With the mediation of our Lord, don Christ, don Savior, who shares the honor and hierarchy with the Father and with the Holy Spirit for ever and ever, Almighty God make us serve in such a way that we find ourselves happy in his presence. Amen.]

It is also here that the poet Gonzalo de Berceo wrote the earliest known collection of lyric poetry in the vernacular (circa 1250)

(view from our hotel of the Monastery Yuso)

In the monestary's courtyard

Below is the entrance from the cloister (inside view)

Main altar of the Church

Exiting out the rear of the Church is this entrance. According to the vice-prior, during the fall and early winter months, as the sun goes down, light from the rose window comes into this space and shots through the ocular portion above the door and falls on the altar behind.

The best part (for me!) was when the vice-prior offered to let anyone who played the organ to try out the churches amazing instrument just above the choir seats. Here are Eva and Seth playing:

Eva

Seth

This is the sacristia

This hymnal is approximately four feet wide and two feet high. They are placed on huge stands so that they can be seen by the choir.

This book manuscript dates from the 11th century.

Here are the remains of San Millán. The box is of wood encased in silver with ivory panels that depict key events from his life.

Here is a detail showing San Millán taking on the Devil.

Finally, our students outside the monastery with our new-found friend.