Ribera Sacra: Monastery of Santo Estevo de Ribas de Sil

Seen in the distance, the monastery of Santo Estevo de Rivas de Sil, supposes a poem to the Harmony. Located on the banks of the River Sil, like a guardian lighthouse anchored in the fantastic orography of the Ribeira Sacra in its part of Ourense, its imaginary song of mermaid attracts, fascinates and at the same time astonishes all those who one day has the possibility of approaching to the.

As in the monastery of Montederramo, the Herrerian style, which began to prevail during the era of that Mundi king, fundamentally Catholic -which was something his grandparents wore for a reason- and obsessive relic tracker that was Felipe II, is the first detail in which the traveler is fixed, barely located in front of his impressive covers.

The original Romanesque naiveté of the time of Abbot Franquila continues being there, although willfully transformed by the time and the added historical circumstances; so that little reminds us of that primitive monastery of the tenth century -which collected and unified some humble hermitic origins-, whose stones keep the memory, among many others, of the passage of singular characters -such as San Servando and possibly also San Froilán, that it is said that he used as a carrier of the Sacred Books he had to help in his work preaching the wolf that ate his mule, a detail that is reflected in the magnificent altarpiece that is in the chapel dedicated to the cathedral of Lugo -, many of them relevant members of the Church, who decided to end their days there and where they were, at the moment of death, Christianly buried.

Like many other monasteries located, rather than by chance, conveniently both inside and outside the limits of the Primitive Way of Saint James-authors like Juan García Atienza, they already wondered, many years ago in their works, why they used to stay, generally , excluded from this -, more than what remains at first glance of its charismatic Romanesque origins, it is remembered above all to this monastery, for the numerous miracles theoretically occurred around the rings of nine holy bishops buried there - characters to whom We referred previously, whose names, as was formerly recited in a running manner and inexcusably the list of the Gothic kings in the schools, are the following: Isaura, Vimarasio, Gonzalo Orosio, Fraolengo, Servando, Viliulfo, Pelayo, Alfonso and Pedro .

In fact, such rings and their associated legend make up the main theme of one of the monumental shields that can be seen in the main portico of entrance, accompanied by two small crosses: one Greek and one of the so-called eight-beatitudes; and both in the objects themselves and in the number that identifies them, an interesting symbolism can be seen, which lies hidden away from that accepted historical reality.

The remains were unearthed in the fifteenth century and placed in nine urns that were deposited on the sides of the main altar, a place that can not be accessed, usually because there is an iron gate that prevents the passage and prevents, also, appreciate near and in all its splendor, a small Romanesque jewel that surely must have been placed in front of the altar, or forming part of the scale that led to the primitive pulpit.

On the other hand, and obviating the excess of baroqueism - independently of the artistic, aesthetic and cultural value of the scenes it contains, related to the life of Jesus and Mary and where it can already be seen, in the scene of the Adoration of the Magi, the figure of the black king, who did not appear in previous representations and even does not appear in representations of the time- that characterized the artistic sensibility, not to mention the furniture of certain periods, including, as it could not be otherwise, that of the Altarpiece Mayor and the side chapels, it is worth observing that constant mystery that conceals the imperturbable presence of a saint that gives off a certain unorthodox odor and where, by its omnipresence, the unmistakable figure of San Roque stands out, to which we should add that other image of the Virgen del Carmen, at whose feet, a small boat reminds us of another constant that characterizes this province of Orense, the only one of the four make up the Galician Community, which has no natural border with the sea: its traditional passion for water and the abundant folklore related.

Perhaps for this subjective reason, and of course, for a very objective, humane and transcendent question of economy and subsistence, the monks had a so-called fish farm, which in this case, was only a monumental source that occupied almost the entire courtyard of the cloister that, for this reason, still retains its original name of O Viveiro. And this is another of the peculiarities of the monastery of Santo Estevo, partly converted into Parador: its three cloisters.

The oldest, which began to be erected in 1220, bears the name of Cloister two Bispos and although austere in the general iconography of its capitals, it is not at all, with that other, extraordinary and in some way very esoteric, which is perceived in the numerous vault keys.

Within the imagery of some capitals, we can see the presence of typical mythological animals, such as the harpies, which generally reminded the monks of the terrible sins of lust, references to the traditional symbol of the Camino de Santiago, such as the scallop and even the presence of those dark Celtic gods that, emerging from the vegetation, are often known with the symbolic name of Green Men. Beings and color, the latter, not only related to the enigmatic Black Virgins, but also, in an allegorical way, they are part of the most granada of the mythology of the Grail and the Knights of King Arthur.

Good proof of this, it is a dark but fascinating medieval tale, recovered, among others, by the famous John Ronald Reuen Tolkien - creator of the magnificent saga of The Lord of the Rings -, which bears precisely the title Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1).

An emblematic knight and nephew of King Arthur, it is striking that the five-pointed star, also known as the remfan star or Solomon's ring, was on his shield. In addition to many other considerations of a hermetic nature, it is also representative of the Virgin and in the context of history, it would not be another of the determining symbols in a story that, read objectively, would represent the struggle of two opposing forces; in this case, the confrontation between the New and the Old Religion.

Precisely, this Renfam star, figure among the numerous hermetic-esoteric symbols that, as previously said, make up the wonderful frameworks of the vaulting keys of this cloister.

Finally add that, less spectacular, the other two cloisters, Renaissance style, were built in the sixteenth century, after the terrible fire that struck the monastery in 1562.

Notes:
(1) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ', Alianza Editorial, S.A., Madrid, 2013.

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NOTICE: originally published in my blog ROMÁNICA, ENIGMAS DEL ROMÁNICO ESPAÑOL, although new in Steemit. Both the text, as the photographs, and the video (except music, reproduced under a YouTube license), are my exclusive intellectual property. The original entry can be found at the following address: https://juancar347-romanica.blogspot.com.es/2014/03/santo-estevo-de-ribas-de-sil.html

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