Ribadavia: a Templar tomb in the church of Santiago?

Of the Sanjuanista presence in Ribadavia, as well as in other old and important Galician towns, many of which, still retain a good part of their medieval charm and splendor, it seems that there is no margin for doubt, as shown, among others, the documented church of San Juan, which although we will pass through in the present entry, it is worth saying, however, that it retains, in its Romanesque originality, numerous elements of interest, whose rich symbolism, would give more than enough margin for an interesting study apart .

His situation, as well as the situation of two other churches dedicated to important figures, such as Mary Magdalene and James, would form, metaphorically speaking, of course, the three towers, bastions or bastions that stood around an old town, where it seems The presence is also evident, and this is an interesting fact to take into account, of an important housing and cultural center: the Jew.

If the church of La Magdalena was once Romanesque, it is not, in view of the current temple - worship and devoted to museum - nothing that I remember, except a rather more than relevant detail: both the church and the plaza, as the surroundings lead -with a more than suspicious obstinacy that invites us to speculate on the importance that his figure had in the medieval Ribadavia-, his name.

From one of the sides of this Praza da Madalena -which is also known as Praza Vella-, part of the Rúa de Santiago, which perpendicular to the Rúa de Xerusalén and in barely a score of meters, ends in front of the main entrance, oriented towards west, of the church of the same name, obviously dedicated to the figure of the patron saint and, in addition, unavoidable scale of the pilgrims heading towards Compostela following the so-called Route or Vía de la Plata as it passes through Ourense, in the near the emblematic monastery of Santa María de Melón and very close, too, to the border with Pontevedra.

Perhaps more austere, in terms of ornamentation and symbolism and perhaps worse preserved than those of the homologous church of San Juan, the church of Santiago offers, however, some mysteries, which at least deserve a wake-up call. The main one, regarding the theme of the present entry, is an enigmatic and of course anonymous sepulcher that is located in an arcosolium added to the south façade, whose cover shows a capital that reminds us, as well, the interest that, apparently, also generated in that medieval Ribadavia, another interesting female figure: Santa Catalina de Alejandría, character that some historians identify with the relevant Hypatia, an interesting figure whose life coincided with the early days of Christianity and which has recently been taken to the movies by Alejandro Amenábar, in his film entitled Ágora.

This capital is easily identifiable, because it shows the head of a woman, below it a dove and on the side two wheels, the upper one with the cross-shaped center, symbolic elements that are part of its golden legend. Precisely, in an ashlar located next to this capital, a curious inscription draws attention, because unlike the typical fecit that in many temples provides the name of the magister muri, in the temple of Santiago is replaced by the laurel donor: Johan.

Unfortunately, it seems that this south side is used for the purpose of the move and the bottle, as an improvised urinal, so that the stench of human feces is nothing short of shameful and unbearable, being more noticeable in the vicinity of the sepulcher that is referenced.

Completely anonymous, as has already been said, the upper slab shows, however, an element that certainly makes one think: a long cane, topped in a circle, inside which is located, perfectly sculpted, a suggestive cross of the pate type or kick In short, something very similar to the batons of command that used to carry the Masters of the Order.

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NOTICE: originally published on my blog LA ESPAÑA DE LOS TEMPLARIOS. Both the text, photographs, and video (with the exception of music, reproduced under a YouTube license) are my exclusive intellectual property. The original entry can be found at the following address: https://juancarlosmenendez.blogspot.com.es/2015/09/ribadavia-un-sepulcro-templario-en-la.html

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