Pontevedra: from the Celtic villages to the great cathedrals

It does not stop being, in the end, a simple question of contrasts, that of seeing in Pontevedra, a community where the natural interconnection between models of life is felt most, where the archaic of deeply rooted customs, the Celts, obstinately refuse to disappear, coexisting, perhaps more intensely than in the other communities -even if we stick to the implicit romanticism of its ruins and in the modus vivendi and operandi of its small villages-, with the evolutionary fruit of other beliefs and philosophies -evidently , the Christian - who, after all, never managed to uproot them completely.

We should not be surprised, therefore, if we stick to this approach, and we observe, in the magnificent constructions of some artistic styles -the Romanesque and the Gothic, mainly- that were established as the Christianization of these lands progressed with unstoppable impetus. , continuous references to those old myths and beliefs, which were politically used by the powers that be, in addition to evangelizing the people, to make them understand, also, their triumph over the Old Religion.

Although, at first the policy of destroyed pagan temples carried out by that fanatical pylon hammer raised to the sanctity, that was San Martin Dumiense, deprived the posterity of ingratiating with the vision of magnificent monuments -especially megalithic- more intelligent-no less perfidious-as those carried out by Pope Gregory the Great, when he instructed the future Saint Augustine to destroy the pagan idols, but respecting their temples, sanctifying them with Christian relics to attract people, resulted in , also, the use by the stonemasons of the old symbols.

In such a way, that when one strolls through the Romanesque temples of the region -extensible concept, of course, to those of other regions- or because of its great cathedrals, such as that of Tui -located in the vicinity of the Portuguese border and scarce 6 kilometers from the old Celtic fortress of La Guardia, with views of the endless mar- no must be missed, if next to that candid Christian interpretation of the Book, there are also symbols that had a special significance for the old inhabitants of the place, such as the mysterious green men -representatives of those primal spirits of Nature, whose memory nests in the most flowery of legends- knots, horns and cauldrons and stories, like that of San Ero -replica of that one that is also commented on in the Navarrese monastery of Leire, about the abbot San Virila- that possibly have their origin, likewise, in the mythical Celtic epics.

Pontevedra, as a whole, is therefore a fascinating world to know.

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NOTICE: originally published in my blog ROMÁNICA, ENIGMAS DEL ROMÁNICO ESPAÑOL. Both the text, as the photographs, and the video (except music, reproduced under a YouTube license), are my exclusive intellectual property. The original entry, where you can check the authorship of juancar347, can be found at the following address: https://juancar347-romanica.blogspot.com/2015/03/pontevedra-de-los-poblados-celtas-las.html

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